Geographical Collections. 143 
est intensity, found by him to be similar in figure to that of North America, but 
of smaller dimensions, curving round a maximum intensity, in longitude 102° 
east of Greenwich, and in latitude apparently somewhat to the north of 60°, but 
which will be more particularly determined in the present summer. Mr. Han- 
steen has already traced the southern bend of this curve below the 60th parallel 
from the Jenisei river on the west, to the longitude of 115° east, (25° east of the 
Jenesei, and latitude of 61°, where it pursues a direction nearly north and south.) 
_ After proceeding to T'ouroukansk, Mr. Hansteen returns to Krasnogarsh,—to 
cross, in a route from thence to the Caspian Sea, the curves 278, 287, and 297, 
in their further prolongation to the south-east ; whilst Dr. Erman, who quits 
him at Irkutsk, and is furnished with the necessary instruments, will proceed by 
Jakutsk and Ochotsk to Kamtschatka, in which route he expects again to cross 
the same curves, after they have passed their southern Asiatic limit, and resumed 
for a second time a north-easterly direction. 
Scientific Expedition.—Letters dated off the Cape of Good Hope have been 
received from Captain Foster, of his Majesty’s ship Chanticleer, who, our readers 
will no doubt remember, sailed from England more than a year since on a scien- 
tific voyage to the southern hemisphere. As might have been expected, the 
Chanticleer has encountered much severe weather, and was forced by it into 
Mossel Bay. Captain Foster, we are happy to learn, has procured satisfactory 
observations at Cape Horn and South Shetland ; and from his operations, con- 
sisting chiefly of pendulum experiments, important results may naturally be ex- 
pected. 
Major Laing’s Papers.—Dispatches have been received at the Colonial Of- 
fice, of the 13th August 1829, from Mr. Warrington, English consul at Tripoli. 
They state that Hassouna Dghies, suspected of having in his possession the pa- 
pers of the late Major Laing, had run away. It was believed that Dghies had 
absconded, for fear that the improper means by which he had possessed himself 
of these interesting documents should be discovered. An account of this trans- 
action, from the Semaphore of Marseilles, has appeared in the Literary Gazette. 
M. Rousseau, the French ex-consul at Tripoli, has arrived at Marseilles, where 
he was performing quarantine: it is to be hoped that he will be commanded pub- 
licly to clear away the heavy imputations under which he labours with respect to 
the murder of Major Laing, and the possession of his papers. 
Captain Ross.—Accounts from Orkney state that Captain Ross, in the Vic- 
tory steamer, had touched at Icelanburgh on his northward course; and that, 
with “ all well,”’ he had found the season unusually open. 
Russian Discovery Ships.—St. Petersburg, Sept. 14.—The Moller and Si- 
mavin corvettes, commanded by Captains Stanikowitsch and Lutke, have just ar- 
rived at Cronstadt, after an absence of three years, in which they have performed 
the voyage round the world. The results of the expedition will not be without 
advantage to science. Captain Stanikowitsch explored the coasts of the peninsula 
of Alashka, while Captain Lutke made a most accurate survey of the space be- 
tween Kamtschatka and Behring’s Straits. The latter also examined the great 
archipelago of the Carolines, and discovered several groups which have escaped 
the researches of preceding navigators. Dr. Mertins and M. Kastalsky, the na- 
turalists, have brought home valuable collections of natural history ; and the 
painters, Messrs. Portels and Mikhailoff, portfolios full of interesting drawings. 
The crews of both ships enjoyed excellent health during the whole voyage. 
Baron Humboldt.—Intelligence has been received at Berlin, of Baron de 
Humboldt’s expedition in the Ouralic mountains. This savant has carried his 
researches farther than had been expected. ‘The Ouralic mountains are already 
in his rear, and he was on the road which leads to the frontiers of China. It is 
expected he will return again to Berlin, 
