REVIEWS. 
163 
prudent course that could he adopted, and they sailed in a south-westerly 
direction to regain Tromso, where they arrived on the 22nd. Another sailing- 
vessel, the Dutch schooner Willem Barents, under the command of Captain de 
Bruyne, was engaged in an exploration of these seas at the same time as the 
Isbjorn, hut was more fortunate, for she met with no ice of consequence on 
her way to Franz Josef Land, which she sighted on the 7th September. 
Captain Markham’s narrative of the events of the voyage is very plea- 
santly given, and as the g-reater part of the time was passed off the shores of 
Novaya Zemlya, upon which the travellers landed frequently, we get from 
him a very good account of the scenery of the islands, which is illustrated 
by several very well-executed woodcuts. Much attention was paid to the 
natural history of the districts visited, and Captain Markham not only 
records his observations upon the habits of various animals, especially some 
of the sea-birds ; but he made considerable collections both of animals and 
plants which have enabled him to add considerably to our knowledge of the 
fauna and flora of Novaya Zemlya. Special reports on these collections by 
several distinguished naturalists are given in the form of appendices at the 
end of the book, which, from all points of view, must be regarded as an 
important contribution to the literature of Arctic exploration. 
HELMHOLTZ’S LECTURES.* 
P ROF. HELMHOLTZ’S reputation stands upon a tripod. It rests, first and 
foremost, upon his originality as a physicist ; then upon his mathema- 
tical powers ; and, thirdly, upon his contributions to physiological science. 
Rarely has a man of such versatility exhibited the profundity of knowledge 
which Prof. Helmholtz has reached in each of these pursuits. Whether we 
view him as physicist, as mathematician, or as physiologist, we are equally 
constrained to admire the rarity of his genius. 
The work which is now before us contains essays bearing upon each of 
his favourite studies, and therefore, though small, it will appeal to a variety 
of readers. The mathematician will instinctively open the volume at the 
lecture ‘ On the Origin and Significance of Geometrical Axioms;’ the medi- 
cal man will unfailingly turn to the address entitled ‘ Thought in Medicine ;’ 
while the student of physics will natually read the eloge on Gustav Magnus, 
or the lectures ‘On the Relation of Optics to Pointing,’ or the discourse ‘ On 
the Origin of the Planetary System.’ 
But these Lectures are not addressed exclusively, or even mainly, to 
specialists ; they are, as the title indicates, emphatically ‘ popular.’ When 
Ancient Pistol asks the king, ‘Art thou base, common, and popular V he 
uses the word as a derogatory expression. But these Lectures are popular 
* Popular Lectures on Scientific Subjects. By H. Helmholtz, Professor 
of Physics in the University of Berlin. Translated by E. Atkinson, Ph.D., 
F.C.S. Second Series. 8vo. London: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1881. 
