Morocco," "City of Uesan," "Fez,” Consulates," "Climate and Soil," "Population," had appeared in different numbers of the Ausland for 1871 and 1872; the chapter on "Religion" in Nos. 310, 346, and 361 of the Globus for 1871.

The statement of these facts proves, I think, that the assertion that "the German edition was also not written by me " may be designated a deliberate falsehood (eine wissentliche Unwahrheit); for I take it for granted the reviewer is a geographer. That all these chapters had thus previously appeared, though in a different form and unconnected, my German publisher knew. Messrs. Low, however, had no knowledge of it, and I did not consider it necessary to inform them of it, as they had simply to do with a translation of my German work. Having thus, I trust, proved the authorship of the book to be mine, I should like, also, to show that the reviewer, purposely it would seem, has been at pains to place much in a false light, and to give false impressions of other things, by quoting mere isolated sentences.

the main thing being that the truth was adhered to. However, in order to remove your reviewer's scruples on account of my not having alluded to the Mittheilungen, Ausland, and Globus, in which papers portions of my work had already appeared, I beg to refer him to the reviews in those journals of my German work, 'My First Residence in Morocco,' and hope he will thereby be convinced that the German edition was "composed" by myself. GERHARD ROHLFS.

***Had the work in question been represented in the first instance as being what it is now shown to be, there would have been no room for doubt as to its authenticity. And had the author's own title of his German work, 'My First Residence in Morocco,' been retained, instead of the catching title, Adventures in Morocco,' and the English edition openly declared to be a translation; and further, had not Dr. Rohlfs' own "Vorwort" been superseded by a clever, but certainly misleading --we are far from saying "intentionally" misleading "Introduction" by Mr. Winwood Reade,What is the meaning of the reviewer's surprise the true character of the work would have been when he says, "The present Sultan of Morocco, sufficiently manifest. Though, even then, we Sidi Mohammed ben Abd er Rahman," &c. When, should not have had the remotest idea that the in the beginning of the year 1873, I am writing German edition itself was little more than a coma book on Morocco, the subject of which is compilation, or "composition," of articles already pubprised within the limits of a journey performed in lished, not merely in Petermann's Mittheilungen 1861-63, can I be thinking of Mulei Hassan ? How pitiful it is to bring forward such things in a review !

The critic wonders I have not become better acquainted with Arabic than to allow such phrases as "Lah ilah il allah, Mohammed ressul ul Lah" to stand. The learned reviewer does not say how he would write the sentence, or how he would write the others he complains of. I can assure him that in Germany no Orientalist, unless he used the orthography of the Oriental Society or Lepsius's "Standard Alphabet," would write otherwise than I have done. Moreover, he cannot have read the foot-note on page 8 of the German edition. Without claiming to be an Orientalist, I can assure the critic that "ma ma" would be understood by no one, or, at all events, the people could only have supposed that I was crying out for my mother, for my mama. But el ma, or, as pronounced, I'ma, would be at once understood by every one. Still more unfortunate is the critic's suggestion that what I probably intended to write was "moye," an expression which is only met with east of Tripoli, and which I was at that time entirely unacquainted

with in Morocco.

With the German edition there is no map; I therefore attached but little importance to the English map, and, indeed, do not think it any great matter whether it agrees with the text or not. Any one who may feel a greater interest in the work and may wish to study the country from it, can always refer to Petermann's maps of my journeys. I have taken the liberty of sending you Plate IV. of Petermann's Journal for 1865, for your reviewer, which I trust will make clear to him how I, after often going out of my way, and at first finding myself on the road to Tetuan, arrived after a three days' march at Tleta Risana; and that this place is halfway between Tangiers and L'xor, and therefore a good day's march from each place. And if your reviewer reads the first chapter through carefully, he will find that I was perfectly justified in saying, as I do on page 23 of the German edition (I have not seen the English translation yet, but presume it is correct), "I was ashamed after a three days' journey, and under such circumstances, to return." True, the sentences quoted, "half-way between Tangiers and L'xor," and "half-way," and "after only three days," could give the public only a false impression. The reviewer seems not to have noticed that I did not go straight, but by a roundabout way to Tleta Risana.

Your reviewer thinks I should have given the account of my being attacked in the same words as in Petermann's Journal, and also mention that it had appeared there. I beg to inform him that the incident happened to me, and I was perfectly free to say as much or as little about it as I liked,

for 1863, but likewise in Ausland for 1871 and 1872, and the Globus for 1871. Had Messrs. Low & Co. themselves been aware of this fact, which Dr. Rohlfs deliberately avows he "did not consider it necessary to inform them of," we hardly think they would have announced the English translation as a new work."

For our own part, we must confess that we are not specially acquainted with the above-named geographical journals. But when we saw that the English work before us was based on a journey performed in the years 1861-1863, we naturally turned to Petermann's Mittheilungen, to see what was said on the subject at the time, the result being as appears in our review.

Still, whatever doubts were thereby raised in our mind as to Dr. Rohlfs' share in the composition and publication of the English work, we certainly

never asserted that "the German edition was also not written by him"; all that we ventured to remark being, that "it is not at all clear that even the German edition was 'composed' by Dr. Rohlfs himself"; and seeing the way in which the work has been produced in England, we cannot but feel that we were justified in what we then said.

The intemperate language in which this unfounded charge is brought against us we exceedingly regret for the sake of the distinguished traveller himself, who, if he will but calmly reperuse our article, will perceive that our sincere desire was to speak only well of him personally, desire was to speak only well of him personally, and that our intention most assuredly was not to place anything in a false light or to give false impressions, by quoting isolated sentences, or otherwise. We should now much prefer not to notice Dr. Rohlfs' further remarks on our article; but "in the interest of truth," we are bound to do so. We therefore reply to them in the order in which they stand.

In a work professing to be "recently composed," and intended to convey "the latest information," it was but reasonable to expect that the author would notice, if only in a foot-note, the death of the one sultan and the accession of the other, without leaving this task to a "translator." Dr. Rohlfs states, both here and at the commencement of his letter, that his German work published by Kühtmann was composed in the year 1873. He must allow us to say that this is a mistake. The work, though bearing on its title-page the year 1873, was not only composed, but printed and published, in the preceding year. The author's "Vorwort" is dated "Weimar, September, 1872," and we have seen a printed copy of the work with the same date, "1872," in Dr. Rohlfs' own handwriting.

We beg leave to differ from the author as to the correctness of his representation of the Moslem confession of faith, "Lah ilah il allah,

The

Mohammed ressul ul Lah," which, we should rather write "La illah i Allah, Mohammed ressul Ullah.” It is not a question of the pronunciation of the words, which is the same either way, but of the spelling of the name of the Deity, which, whether in the grammatical form of "Allah," or "Illah," or "Ullah," we should imagine almost every one to know, is a single word written with a double l. negative "la," too, is, we think, pretty generally We had not read the known to have no final h. foot-note in page 8 of the German edition, for the simple reason that we did not know, nor were we bound to know, of its existence; but now that we have seen it, we have nothing to alter in what we said. As to "El ma," we, of course, bow to the author's superior local knowledge. But our main objection was to "El, ma," which Messrs. Low & Co. have admitted to be a printer's error. And we may remark that in our article it is not printed "ma ma," but "Ma! ma!"

We do not at all agree with Dr. Rohlfs as to its being of little importance whether or not the work has a map, or whether that map agrees with the text or not. We repeat that the map accompanying the work is totally misleading. The publishers have stated that "the Route map s laid down by Dr. Rohlfs himself," and they have submitted to us the original German map, part of one published by Dr. Petermann, which Mr. Weller took as his model. On comparing it with the one that Dr. Rohlfs has now sent us, we find the two differ most materially, the only route laid down on the former" by Dr. Rohlfs himself" being that of his second journey in Morocco,"Rohlfs' zweite Reise," as it bears on its face,with the introduction, however, of a direct route from Tetuan to Kasr el Kebir (L'xor), which the traveller does not appear to have ever taken. Now that we have Dr. Petermann's excellent map of 1865 before us, we can trace on it the author's route on his first journey described in the present work; though even on this map the distance from Tangiers to Tleta Risana in a direct line, "as the crow flies," is nearly twice as far as it is from the latter place to L'xor.

And, lastly, had Dr. Rohlfs, when he sent his German work to England for translation and publication, been as explicit as he now is in stating all the publications in which the contents of that “ne work" had already appeared, this very unpleasant discussion would never have arisen.

Literary Gossip.

IT is said that Mr. John Forster's next work is likely to be a biography of Swift, for which he has collected a valuable mass of materials, including not a few unpublished letters of the famous Dean.

MR. GEORGE SMITH, of the British Museum, has just arrived from the expedition to Assyria, undertaken on behalf of the Trustees. Mr. Smith's collections are following by steamer, and include, it is said, some curious and interesting objects of antiquity.

SIR GARDNER WILKINSON has presented to the Governors of Harrow School his collection of coins; in number about one thousand. It will be remembered that he before gave to the same body (for the purpose of founding a museum at the school) his large and most valuable collection of Egyptian, Greek, and other antiquities.

THE principal questions to be submitted to the Conference of Diplomatic and Military Representatives, who, in response to Prince Gortschakoff's invitation, will assemble at Brussels on the 27th of July, are to be dealt with in a forthcoming work by Mr. Sutherland Edwards, who proposes to describe from actual observation the practice of invading armies in regard to requisitions, contributions, and

forced labour; fines, pillage, and incendiarism; the taking of hostages, the general repression of illegitimate warfare, and the bombardment

of fortified and unfortified towns. His book will be called 'The Germans in France: Notes on the Method and Conduct of the Invasion, the Relations between Invaders and Invaded,

and the Prussian Laws of War.'

MESSRS. A. & C. BLACK have in the press a work on Education, by Dr. Donaldson, Rector of the Edinburgh High School. It is entitled 'Lectures on the History of Education in Prussia and England, and on Kindred Topics.'

SHORTLY before his lamented death last summer, Mr. Thornton Hunt placed in the hands of Mr. Townshend Mayer, of Richmond, the papers of Leigh Hunt for examination, and such public use as he might deem expedient. These papers comprise a large amount of unpublished matter, particularly plays, more or less complete, note-books, and a mass of correspondence, ranging over fifty years, with the most celebrated of Leigh Hunt's contemporaries, and are said to throw light on many matters of literary interest, and especially on several passages in Leigh Hunt's own life. Mr. Townshend Mayer has decided to use some of these letters as materials for a

series of articles, the first of which will appear in one of the magazines in July, and will be entitled, Leigh Hunt and B. R. Haydon.' Several letters from Haydon will be given in their entirety.

PROF. J. B. MAYOR, of King's College, London, late Fellow and Tutor of St. John's College, Cambridge, is preparing an edition of Cicero de Natura Deorum,' with English notes.

that there are two distinct parts of it; and that, supposing it decided, contrary to the present judgment of most authorities, that the same final education is good for men and women, it would not follow that they should be educated in the same place."

Ar the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Union of Mechanics' Institutes of Yorkshire held at Ripon the other day, it was stated that the institutions connected with the Union numbered 136, having an aggregate membership of 28,000, and 175,000 volumes in their libraries.

M. J. VAN PRAET has continued his political essays commenced in 1867 by the publication of a new volume, Essais sur l'Histoire Politique des Derniers Siècles,' which extend from the Treaty of Utrecht to the American Revolution. We find in them an account of Bolingbroke's negotiations, and an attempt at rehabilitating the infamous Cardinal Dubois.

A PORTION of a new Free Library, that part of it appropriated to newspaper and magazine literature, has just been opened at Galashiels. The most important part of the building, that to be devoted to books and general literature, will not be ready for some weeks. We hear that above 2,000l. has been subscribed to promote the object.

DR. G. BÜHLER, who has been commissioned by the Bombay Government to examine and catalogue the Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts in Western India, has lately examined a valuable collection of rather old palm-leaf MSS., in the possession of the Jain community at Jessalmere. In the Sitzungsberichte of the Academy of Berlin, for March 30, 1874, Prof. Weber has published a letter from Dr. Bühler, which contains an interesting account of this collection. From a rough list compiled some ninety years ago which was shown to him, Dr. Bühler infers the library must at that time have

shortly publish a book on 'The History of Civilization during the Times of the Khalifs,' in two volumes. The first will contain a pic

ture of the political and statistical condition of the Khalifate during the Ommeyades and the first Abbassides, whilst the second will give us a sketch of the social and domestic life of the Arabs of that period. Herr von Kremer has lived for a long time in Asia, where he collected most valuable manuscripts to serve His work will probably his investigations.

be translated into English.

WE hear that Kabuli Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador at the Austro-Hungarian court of Vienna, is engaged in writing a Turkish History of Rome.

M. THÉODORE another of his biographies of "Les Fondateurs de la Monarchie Belge." His subject this time is, Alexandre Gendebien, Member of the Provisional Government and of the National Congress.

JUSTE has published

THE death is announced of Prof. Ussinger of Kiel. He was well known by his historical works on the relations of Denmark and Germany, and was Secretary of the Historical Society of the Duchies of SleswickHolstein and Lauenburg.

FROM Germany we hear that the new work of Gregorovius, 'A History of Lucrezia Borgia, which has attracted much attention, has reached a second edition. An addition to the innumerable works on Goethe is 'Goethe's Leben und Schriften,' by Karl Goedeke.

M. PETERSEN, of Christiania, writes to

us:

"The Norwegian poet, Jonas Lie, on his return from Rome some weeks ago, where he has lived for several years, has published a new and interesting tale, Lodsen og hans Hustru' (The Pilot and his Wife'). It has been eagerly looked for by the public, and it is making a greater sensation in

an Oxford paper on University Reform. He is anxious that the Colleges should be moulded to suit the interests of the University, but that they should retain their individuality. Caution, he thinks, ought to be exercised in relaxing the restrictions on celibacy. The income of a certain number of Fellowships should be applied to the support of libraries, laboratories, and special research; but he would not devote the whole funds to research, or treat education as only a secondary matter.

He disapproves of increasing the value of scholarships, and would make the elections to college tutorships public acts of the Colleges. He approves of the affiliation of local institutions; but "paying," he says, " for the education of great cities, which are well able to pay for themselves, and if they were in America would have done it twice over, is not a proper use of academical funds, at least till all academical purposes have been exhausted." He adds:

however, have since been destroyed; of others

nevertheless, of very great value, partly on account of the age and excellent condition of partly because there are found among them the manuscripts which have been preserved, copies of several important works which were extremely rare. Of great historical interest is either entirely unknown, or, most of them, are an artificial epic by Bilhana, the subject of which forms the history of three kings of the older Chalukya line of Kalyání, who reigned in the eleventh century A.D., viz., Somes'vara I. and II., and Vikramadityadeva, surnamed Tribhuvanamalla. The discovery of a commentary on the homonymous part of Hemachandra's dictionary, composed by the author himself, shows that the late Dr. Goldstücker was right in asserting the authenticity also of that portion of the work. Although the property of the Jain colony, the library contains few Jaina works, but mostly works belonging to Brahmanical literature. A considerable service might be rendered to Sanskrit studies if the Bombay Government would get unique MSS. in this collection copied, and old MSS. of important works collated by trustworthy pundits.

MR. MORTIMER COLLINS has in the press a three-volume novel, called 'Frances.'

LOVERS of Eastern literature will be glad to learn that M. Alfred von Kremer, the author of 'Die Herrschenden Ideen des Islam,' will

seamen on the southern coast of Norway. The characters are well drawn, and the poet's pictures of nature and human life are lively, and are richly coloured. One would almost think that the author had been a sailor all his days, with such an astonishing vividness is the life on board ship described in his book. I am inclined to think that the author has succeeded in pointing out the way to be taken by naval story-tellers who may wish to meet the exigencies of the times. At any rate, I am sure that The Pilot and his Wife' will be warmly welcomed everywhere, and perhaps it will not be found least interesting in England. Englishmen are likely to sympathize with this

fresh and spirited story of a sailor's love and a sailor's life."

SCIENCE

The Moon, considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite. By James Nasmyth and James Carpenter. (Murray.) WE have no popular physiographical account of the Moon which can be compared with the one furnished us by Messrs. Nasmyth and Carpenter. We have here an elaborate and

detailed account of the various characteristic

features of the Moon's surface, illustrated by exceedingly beautiful plates, which are well calculated to bring the matter vividly before the reader. Indeed, these plates form the distinguishing feature of the volume. They have been produced in the following way. Careful drawings were made of various

portions of the Moon's surface, under conditions most favourable for telescopic view; "these drawings," say the authors,—

were again and again repeated, revised and compared with the actual objects, the eye thus advancing in correctness and power of appreciating minute details, while the hand was acquiring by assiduous practice the art of rendering correct representations of the objects in view. In order to present these illustrations with as near an approach as possible to the absolute integrity of the original objects, the idea occurred to us that, by translating the drawings into models, which when placed in the Sun's rays would faithfully reproduce the lunar effects of light and shadow, and then photographing the models so treated, we should produce most faithful representations of the original. The result was in every way highly satisfactory, and has yielded pictures of the details of the lunar surface such as we feel every confidence in submitting to those of our readers who have made a special study of the subject."

An idea of the details of the lunar surface is, perhaps, better conveyed to the generality of persons by the photographs thus produced than by the telescope itself, for the various details in the Moon itself are not all equally visible under the same conditions, and besides, it requires considerable practice to render the student to be able really to see what is to be seen by means of a telescope. As the authors themselves justly say, "After all, it is the eye that sees, and the best telescopic assistance to an untrained eye is of small avail. The eye is as susceptible of education and development as any other organ; a skilful and acute observer is to a mere casual gazer what a watch-maker would be to a ploughman, a miniature painter to a white-washer. It is to be observed that these remarks are here made by gentlemen well qualified to give an opinion. Mr. Nasmyth's careful observation of the Moon extends over a period of thirty years. Mr. Carpenter is well known as presiding specially over the Equatorial in Greenwich Observatory, and his accuracy in drawing freehand sketches of the phenomena observed is not second to that of any other observer. If these remarks be borne in mind by the purchasers of telescopes, much disappointment will be saved, and the truth will be appreciated that time and trouble must be expended in becoming acquainted with the use of this as of every other instrument. The fact, however, enhances the value of such a work as the present, which presents at once many things which really only the practised eye can learn from the telescope itself. And although a picture must always be inferior to the real object, and, above all, useless for the purposes of new discovery, still the method in which these have been formed, and the excellence of the photographs, places them in the very first rank. Besides the photographs of special portions of the Moon, there is one of the full Moon itself, which the reader will do well to compare carefully with the "picture map,"- -a most useful plate accompanied by a reference catalogue of the chief craters.

It is interesting to know what is the minuteness of detail in which we can see the lunar features. "With a power as small as 30 or 40 many exceedingly delicate details on the Moon are visible to an eye that is familiar with them under higher powers. With 200 we may say that every ordinary detail will come out under favourable conditions; but when minute points of structure, mere nooks and corners, as it were,

are to be scrutinized, 300 may be used with advantage. Another 100 diameters almost passes the practical limit." We can thus gain an idea of the actual size of the smallest object visible under the most favourable circumstances. If we bear in mind that a linear mile at the Moon corresponds to an angle of 0.87 of a second, and that "perhaps the smallest angle that the eye can without assistance appreciate is half a minute," we see that an object 200 yards across would thus, with a magnifying power of 300, be just brought into view as a point, but its shape could not be determined.

The various features of the lunar surface are divided by the authors, roughly speaking, into four classes, namely, craters, great ring formations not manifestly volcanic, peaks and mountain ranges, cracks and radiating streaks. There can be no doubt that the craters in the Moon are volcanic formations, and this is rendered ocularly more evident by the sixth plate, in which a picture of a piece of the Moon is placed alongside of a picture, similarly taken, of the terrestrial region about Vesuvius. The general features of most lunar craters consist of a perfect ring of mountains surrounding a nearly level surface slightly depressed below the general surface of the Moon, and in the middle of which stands a conical mountain. The diameters of the rings vary very greatly, from the size of terrestrial craters up to the enormous size of 78 miles. The history of the formation of these craters is gone into at considerable length in Chapter VIII., from a perusal of which it will be seen how very much more energetic volcanic action must have been on the Moon than on the Earth. Indeed, the greater number of the craters on the Earth are at the tops of volcanic mountains, which have been built up gradually by action, to which our authors give the name of exudative as opposed to eruptive, and to which the formation of the peaks and mountain ranges on the Moon seems principally due. For but little effect in producing mountain ranges on the Moon seems to be attributable to gradual rising or crumpling of the crust owing to its shrinking. To this cause, how ever, accompanied by the expansion of the materials of the crust on solidifying, our authors attribute the preparation of the ducts through which the volcanic matter has eventually been discharged from the interior. As to the great ring formations not manifestly volcanic, greater difficulty presents itself, owing to their size. The Mare Crisium is nearly 300 miles in diameter. The hypothesis which seems, perhaps, most tenable is that of Prof. Dana, who conceives those places to be the result of the continued ebullition of a large tract of the Moon's surface, and to have been formed by an action analogous to that which is exemplified on the Earth in the crater of Kilauea, in the island of Hawaii. A very remarkable feature of the Moon's surface consists in the cracks and radiating streaks which are found all over it, but more especially connected with certain localities. streaks invariably diverge from some crater. "The most remarkable bright-streak system is that diverging from the great crater Tycho. The streaks that can be easily individualized in this group number more than one hundred, while the courses of some of them may be traced through upwards of six hundred miles

from their centre of divergence." They are not seen under all conditions of sunlight, and are seen best under direct incidence of the Sun's rays. They appear to be formed of some highly-reflecting substance, and, in this respect, only exhibit a particular case of the great variety in the reflective powers of different parts of the Moon's surface. They traverse over plains, mountains, craters, and all asperities, holding their way totally disregardi ful of every object that happens to lie in ther course." This seems to lead to the inference that they are of later formation than the features which they traverse. There are nume rous other circumstances indicating the suc cession in which events occurred on the Moon's surface. For instance, though we frequenti see a smaller crater overlapping and partially obliterating a larger one, we never see the reverse,- -a fact which clearly indicates the gradual decay of the energy of the volcanic action. The fact that the bright streaks are invariably found diverging from a crater "inpressively indicates a close relationship or community of origin between the two phenomena. It is no less clear that the actuating cause or prime agency must have been very deep-seated." Our authors' natural history of the streaks is that an upheaval under a crater gave rise to radiating cracks, up which molten matter welled with no great violence, inasmuch as the streaks are level or nearly level with the surrounding surface. The cracks seem closely related to the radiating streaks, and, in many instances, diverge also from centres.

The chapter entitled 'The Chronology of Formations' will be found an interesting one, especially in those portions which deal with the supposed recent alterations in the crater Linné," which was for a considerable period declared, upon the strength of observations of very promiscuous character, to be varying in form and dimensions almost daily; but the alleged constant changes of which have since been tacitly regarded as due to varying circumstances of illumination, induced by combinations of libratory effects with the ordinary changes depending upon the Sun's rays as due to the age of the Moon." Schmidt, however, who first observed the supposed change, is still of opinion that it is an instance of actual change, and there is no one who is better entitled to speak from long and careful labours in connexion with the Moon's topo graphy. There can be little doubt that, although volcanic action may have ceased for centuries, and although the action of air and water can not take place, still the great differences of temperature to which the Moon's surface is exposed in the course of each lunation must exercise a moving force on the substances of which it is composed, which may result in actual changes of form. From observations by Lord Rosse and others, it is inferred that the difference in temperature between night and day on the Moon is probably not less than 500° Fahrenheit. This is owing to the absence of any atmosphere comparable with The bright that which surrounds our planet. The question atmosphere is briefly touched upon in the volume before us. The only evidence which points to the existence of any atmosphere is that discussed by Sir George Airy, who has pointed out that the value of the Moon's semi-diameter, from direct measurement, is two seconds of

of the existence of an

as deduced

augular measurement, or about a thousandth part, greater than that deduced from occultasions. This Sir George Airy attributes to cne of two causes: either it may be due to irradiation of the telescopic semi-diameter, to which cause (one existing entirely in the retina of the eye) he has, no doubt, that a part, at least, of the two seconds is to be ascribed; or it may De due to refraction by the Moon's atmosphere. Even if the whole were due to this cause, it would indicate an atmosphere having a horizontal refraction of only one second, which is only one two-thousandth part of the horizontal refraction of the Earth's atmosphere. "It seems possible," the Astronomer Royal concludes," that an atmosphere competent to proluce this refraction would not make itself visible in any other way." Mr. Huggins was inable, from careful observation of the specrum of a star at its occultation, to obtain evidence of any signs of a lunar atmosphere. We heartily recommend to readers of all classes the volume now before us.

3

CHEMICAL NOTES.

AFTER Gräbe and Liebermann's celebrated discovery of the artificial production of alizarin, and the consequent introduction of dyes obtained from anthracene, the attention of chemists was directed to a number of substitution-derivatives yielded by this hydrocarbon. The nitro-derivatives, however, received but little attention, in consequence of the peculiar behaviour of anthracene under the influence of nitric acid; the re-action producing Foxidized products, and not nitro-derivatives. The subject has been recently studied by Herr E. Schmidt, whose results are at variance with those of Phipson, Bolley, and other chemists who had previously worked in this direction. Schmidt has succeeded in preparing pure chrysene-a hydrocarbon obtained in the dry distillation of organic bodies-and has studied its behaviour with bromine, chlorine, nitric acid, and other re-agents. He obtained chrysene in rhombic tabular crystals, which, though colourless, exhibit an intense reddishviolet fluorescence. Schmidt's 'Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Anthracens und Chrysens' will be found in the last part of the Journal für Praktische Chemie.

In the current number of the Chemical Society's Journal, Mr. W. H. Perkin describes the action of bromine on alizarin. He thus obtains a substitution-compound, called bromalizarin, which, as a dyeing agent, combines with mordants as readily as alizarin, producing colours which are believed to be equally fast. It differs, however, from alizarin in imparting slightly different shades of colour; thus, the reds are less purple, and the purples less blue than those obtained from alizarin. To illustrate these differences, Mr. Perkin's paper is accompanied by samples of actual fabrics printed respectively with alizarin and with bromalizarin.

It was shown, some time ago, by M. Camille Vincent, that methylamine, one of the compound ammonias, existed in wood-spirit or methylalcohol. He has since studied the origin of this amine, and communicated his results to the Annales de Chimie. It appears probable from these researches, that the methylamines are not produced directly during the carburization of the wood, but that they result from the re-action of ammonia on acetone during the repeated distillation to which the crude spirit is subjected in order to purify it for industrial uses.

Some interesting analyses of specimens of native gold and silver have been lately made by Prof. Church, of Cirencester, and communicated to the Chemical News. The nuggets brought home from Ashantee, which, it will be remembered, presented a rich yellow tint, deepened superficially by association with a ferruginous earth, were found to contain 9.94 per cent. of silver,-a rather larger proportion of alloy than might have been expected

from the fine colour of the gold. Some streamgold from Wanlockhead, in Dumfriesshire, yielded 12:39 per cent. of silver. Although but little is now heard of the gold-fields in southern Scotland, they were at one time of much importance; indeed, the Crawfurd Moor Mines yielded the gold from which the Scotch regalia were made in 1542, and it was also from this gold that the celebrated bonnet pieces of James IV. and V. were coined. In a sample of Sutherlandshire gold, Mr. Makins has found more than one-fifth its weight (20.78 per cent.) of silver. The specimens of native silver analyzed by Prof. Church came from Allemont, in Dauphiné, and contained a very high proportion of mercury and antimony.

Prof. Rammelsberg has contributed to the recently-published Jubilee volume of Poggendorff's Annalen an interesting historical paper, in which he traces the history of mineral chemistry as recorded in the Annalen during the past halfcentury. He refers the great development of this branch of science to the influence of Berzelius and his disciples.

scope has not been completed long enough to admit of any systematic work on the solar prominences, its principal purpose, being yet done. The more than usual clearness of the weather has enabled a full amount of observations of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars to be obtained; and the Altazimuth instrument has shown its special utility in determining the Moon's place on fourteen days, when, from passing the meridian within three hours of the Sun, she could not be observed with the Transit-Circle under any circumstances of weather. In the whole year, 194 observations of

the Moon were made with the former instrument, and 112 with the latter. The reduction of all observations is in a very satisfactory state, and the printing of those for last year has commenced.

The preparations for observing the Transit of Venus next December have occupied much time at the Royal Observatory. These are now completed; most of the parties have already started, and the rest will shortly follow. The model representing the circumstances of the transit has been of the greatest service in enabling the intendUnder the name of Ludwigite, Prof. Tschermaking observers to acquire practice, so as to be fully describes in his Mineralogische Mittheilungen a au fait with the exact kind of observation to be new mineral from the Bannat. This is of much made when the critical and not-to-be-recalled interest to the chemist, as presenting a combination moment arrives; and they have also all undergone not previously recognized. In fact, Ludwigite con- a training in photography, chiefly under Capt. sists of borate of magnesia combined with proto- Abney, R.E., whose new dry-plate process is to be peroxide of iron. Microscopic sections show that adopted at all the British stations. the iron-compound does not exist as magnetic ore, mechanically disseminated through the mineral, and it seems probable, therefore, that Ludwigite is a true molecular combination of a borate and an oxide.

A resin embedded in the lignite of Dux, in Austria, has been analyzed by Herr Fischer, and appears to be a new species, for which Dr. Doelter proposes the name Duxite.

Some experiments made many years ago by M. P. A. Favre tended to show that hydrogen is capable of assuming two distinct allotropic conditions. When set free by electrolysis, the gas is in a peculiarly active condition; and in passing from this state to that of ordinary hydrogen, it disengages a definite quantity of heat. Pursuing his researches on hydrogen, he studied its absorption by palladium, and has recently extended his observations to the condensation of electrolytic hydrogen by platinum-black. These researches show that there is a marked difference between the two cases. With platinum-black the gas is condensed in the condition of ordinary hydrogen, whilst with palladium it suffers a molecular change, whereby it passes into an allotropic condition.

The re-actions which sulphuretted hydrogen exerts on metallic salts have been lately studied by M. Berthelot, with special reference to their thermal relations. His observations have been recorded in a recent number of the Comptes Rendus of the Academy of Sciences.

Several analyses of mineral waters have been recorded within the last few weeks. Fresenius has made a very elaborate examination of the water of a newly-discovered spring at Wiesbaden, thus adding another to his numerous analyses of the warm springs in that locality. Bach has examined, with great care, the water of the Kirchof spring at Leipzig, and M. Gorceix has published his analyses of the waters and gases erupted last year from the old volcano of Nisyros in the Grecian Archipelago.

THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH.

THE annual visitation of the Royal Observatory was held on Saturday last, the 6th inst., and we have before us the usual Report of the AstronomerRoyal to the Board of Visitors. From it we learn that the ordinary work of the Observatory has been carried on with the accustomed regularity in its three great departments of-1, astronomical observations; 2, magnetical and meteorological observations; and, 3, the distribution of time, and care of chronometers. Besides these, another has, in the past year, been introduced, that of spectroscopy and photo-heliography. A large number of solar photographs has been taken, but the spectro

The principal acting superintendent of the expeditions and their preparation is Capt. Tupman, R.M.A. (also local chief of the Sandwich Islands party), to whose zealous and skilful discharge of that office great part of the hoped-for success will be due. The local chiefs of the other four parties, Kerguelen's, Rodriguez, Christchurch (New Zealand), and Alexandria, are the Rev. S. J. Perry, Lieut. Neate, Major Palmer, and Capt. Browne, respectively. All but the last have now sailed.

The Astronomer-Royal has appended to his Report the printed copy of “Instructions" issued to all the observers, which will be read with interest, as showing how fully everything of any importance has been considered and provided for with the view of insuring the greatest possible amount of ultimate success.

At the end of the Report itself, Sir George Airy devotes a few words to the great work in which he has been for some time personally engagedthe preparations for the formation of fresh Lunar Tables, according to a new treatment of the theory, by which, availing himself of all that has been done in the best algebraical investigations of that theory, he hopes to be able to give greater accuracy to the final results, using operations entirely numerical throughout the work. "Considerable progress," he remarks, "has been made in the extensive numerical developments, and I hope, at any rate, to put it in such a state that there will be no liability to its entire loss." May that hope be more than realized!

THE PIGMIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA. Naples, May 31, 1874. PROF. PANCERI, of Naples, who has been passing the winter at Cairo, has brought to Italy with him two negro children, who have excited a great deal of newspaper interest in this part of the world, and I dare say their fame has reached England. Schweinfurth, in his recent work, describes a race of pigmies living south of the Soudan, and his accounts have excited much attention among anthropologists. It was reported in Florence that an Italian traveller, by name Miani, had penetrated to that region since Schweinfurth's expedition, and had brought three of these pigmies away with him. Unfortunately, Miani died on the White Nile, but his followers came on to Khartoum, where his effects remain. The pigmies (two boys, the third a girl, having also died) were brought on to Cairo by the negro soldier (a native of Dhinka), who accompanied Miani, and there they were taken charge of by the Khedivé. At the instance of the Florentine Geographical Society, the King of Italy obtained the consent of the Khedivé to the two pigmies and their Dhinka

friend making the journey to Europe, in company with Profs. Panceri and Gasco. They accordingly have arrived at Naples, and are domiciled in the Asiatic College, which they will quit for a few days to be presented by Prof. Panceri to the King. I have had an opportunity of seeing the children through the kindness of the Professor, who has also furnished me with the facts known with regard to them. The boys are called respectively, Thiebot and Kerallah, and were given by the King of the Akkas (Munsa by name) to Miani. The region inhabited by these pigmies lies 2° south of Monbuttu, and is called by the natives Tikki-tikki Nakka. The names of the two boys were given to them by Miani, and are not native names. The smaller boy is 1 mètre 2 centimètres in height; the larger is 1 mètre 15 centimètres. There are no documents or any statements tending to establish the age of either of the children. The newspapers have gratuitously invented the extraordinary assertion that the elder is twenty-seven years of age. This is mere sensationalism. The larger boy has barely yet shown the marks of puberty, whilst the smaller is obviously a young child, having the protuberant belly common to negro and other savage races at an early age. The more moderate statement as to the ages of the two supposed Akka children, which is accepted by most persons (including Prof. Panceri), is that the elder is about fifteen years, and the younger nine years of age. There is, however, no evidence in favour of this supposition, except the assertion of the negro soldier, who was with Miani when he received them, and who declares that they belong to a pigmy race. A boy of three feet and a half in height, having marks of puberty, may well be supposed to have small potential stature, and, possibly, belong to a race not exceeding 4 to 5 feet in height. The carriage of the elder boy, and the firmness of the joints, has been adduced by some scientific observers who have seen him as evidence that growth is nearly complete. Such, however, is not the impression which an hour spent in the company of the two children left upon my mind.

Schweinfurth is expected to visit the Akkas in Naples on his way to Egypt. He is about to make another journey (whether short or long, I do not know), and, it is said, intends to dig up the skeleton of a full-grown Akka, who died when accompanying Schweinfurth on his return from Central Africa.

A vocabulary of thirty words has been extracted from the Akka children through the intermediation of the Dhinka soldier, who speaks Arabic. His own language differs altogether from theirs ; but I have not heard what has been made out from the examination of the vocabulary. The Dhinka man asserts that in the country of the Akkas it rains continually; that all the Akkas are very small people, but that there are other inhabitants of that country of ordinary stature.

Miani was above sixty years of age when he died, and is stated not to have been a scientific explorer, but was employed by the Khedivé with commercial objects. E. R. L.

SOCIETIES.

ROYAL-June 4.-J. D. Hooker, President, in the chair. The Annual Meeting, for election of Fellows, was held. The following were elected : I. L. Bell, W. T. Blanford, H. B. Brady, T. L. Brunton, M.D., Prof. W. K. Clifford, A. W.

BRITISH ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.-June 10.-H. S. Cuming, Esq., V.P., in the chair.-Mr. J. W. Grover exhibited forgeries of daggers and keys; portion of a gypsire found in the City, sixteenth century; and shoes of late fourteenth century, found at Billingsgate.-The Rev. S. M. Mayhew exhibited a brooch of hard white metal, representing the crescent moon, with pearled edges, within which rests the sun in full splendour, surmounted by an estoille of eight wavy rays, fifteenth century; a hawking pouch, early fifteenth century; two plaques of very thin latten, embellished with brilliant red, blue, white, and gold lacquer, and elaborately decorated with repoussé work, apparently the central and one of the lateral facings of a feretrum or shrine of Nuremberg manufacture, of the sixteenth century; a pewter spoon, plated with silver, late sixteenth century; a pewter salt-cellar, seventeenth century; a costrel of well-baked stone-coloured earthenware, seventeenth century, covered with yellow glaze.-Mrs. Baily exhibited a costrel of the sixteenth century, having a species of thrush painted on the outer face, and of a pale reddish hue, covered with an opaque cream-coloured glaze.-Mr. J. T. Irvine exhibited a drawing of a curious pair of sixteenth century nut-crackers.-Mr. E. Chester exhibited a Dutch medallion of William and Mary of wood stained black, and with two legends.-Mr. L. E. P. Brock exhibited a highly-polished bone skate; two bone spearheads; a Roman tripod candlestick and pins; coins of Domitian and Germanicus; a remarkably fine fragment of Samian ware, various mediæval objects and specimens of early Chinese pottery. Mr. H. W. Henfrey read a paper 'On the National Flags of the Commonwealth, and Mr. H. S. Cuming notes 'On a Medallion of St. Benedict.'

ARCHEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.-June 5.-Mr. O. Morgan, V.P., in the chair.-The following papers were read: Some Account of Bampfylde House, Exeter,' by Mr. R. Dymond,-and 'Notes upon the Burial of the Body and Heart of Abbot Roger de Norton, in St. Albans Abbey,' by Sir G. Scott.In the discussion which followed the second paper, Mr. Clark and Mr. Greaves referred to other and singular examples of heart burial, Mr. Greaves quoting the instance of the bequest of his heart to the Abbey of Dieulacres by Ralph, Earl of Chester, during his lifetime.-The Chairman exhibited an original kitchener's account of the Abbey of Tewkesbury, A.D. 1385-6; a portable reliquary, in the shape of a flat round box, about four inches in diameter, the interior being divided into nine compartments, in each of which are still existing the relics placed there in the fifteenth century, and which had belonged to an Italian refugee

representing animals and various objects, whi were pronounced by the Prince to be weighs gold dust.-Sir J. Maclean also brought two "aggry" beads in a small brass casket, taken fr the King's palace. These beads are said to from the interior of Africa, and to be highly pr costing double their weight in gold dust. The were long a puzzle to antiquaries, and Mr. Grea read an amusing extract from Camden's 'Britan in reference to these gemme anguiner. — A spe men of Ashanti weaving was exhibited by Green. It was a cotton fabric, wove in str about four inches wide, which were sewn togeth their looms being of a very archaic character. "robe" now shown had in it a stripe know the "royal stripe," which only those of r descent could wear. The specimen shown longed to Prince Ansah, who showed the mod wearing it.-Mr. S. Smith made some observat on the workmanship of the various objects shor

Mrs. Tregastis contributed a gold ring, was a good specimen of modern African werk which some characteristics of Etruscan ora were well reproduced.-The Rev. C. R. Ma exhibited a vase of Caistor ware, which had ter found lately at Felixstow, Suffolk.-Mr. E Bohn exhibited a portrait of Sir T. Arundel, Wardour, which had probably been carried Ireland after the siege of Wardour Castle, da the Civil Wars, and had only lately been recure A motto and arms at the sides of the po caused some discussion, as did also the "rest tion" of the painting. Mrs. J. G. Nichels some original MSS., consisting of an o charter of Richard, King of the Romans and E of Cornwall, brother of King Henry the granting freedom from military service to W de Ferrers, dated at Liskeard, 24th of December in the thirteenth year of his reign, with seal attached; five deeds of the thirteenth century relating to Arlesey, Bedfordshire, to some of whil remarkable seals were attached; eight decumett of the fifteenth century, in Flemish, relating to di Trond, near Liége.-Miss Ffarington brti a good specimen of a seventeenth century inscribed "Boughuet à Londres"; and Mr. Wyle sent a tracing of woodcut of a sword of early found in the canton Berne, and on which is a inscription which has not yet been deciphered.

ZOOLOGICAL.-June 2.-A. Grote, Esq., in the chair. The Secretary read a Report on the st tions made to the Menagerie during May, 1 amongst which were specially noticed a Blue-facet Green Amazon Parrot (Chrysotis bouqueto, a young male Koodoo Antelope (Tragelaphus strasvers and a Racoon-like Dog (Nyctereutes prec 2 Pa acquired by purchase; two Pacific Whitbre presented by the Rev. S. J. Whitmee; & Res Antelope (Oryx Beisa), presented by Admiral Carp

fifteenth centuries; medals of Queen Elizabeth

J. E. Howard, Sir H. S. Maine, LL.D., E. J. Mills, Rev. S. J. Perry, H. W. Rumsey, M.D., A. R. C. Selwyn, and Major C. W. Wilson.

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES.-June 4.-0. Morgan, Esq., V.P., in the chair.-This being a ballot for the election of Fellows, no papers were read. The following gentlemen were declared to be

y-bone, Anglesey, and a weighing machine found in Conway Castle.-Col. Greaves, C.B., exhibited

on some net

war.

These consisted of two bracelets, or "wristlets," as Prince John Ossoo Ansah called them

Latham, J. A. A. Sparvel-Bayly, W. Sawyer, H. A. Freeman, and J. Fielden.