or perhaps two water-sheds intervened between the Lualaba and the head-waters of the Bahr-el-Ghazal; nor does he seem to be aware that his great river at Nyangwé contained nineteen times the volume of water contributed by the western affluent of the White Nile. When this revelation breaks on him it is not too much to suppose that he will abandon his Nile theory and rest satisfied with the secondary honour-if indeed it be secondary of having discovered and traced the upper course of the Congo, which is emphatically called by the natives the great river' of Africa."

In accordance with this theory, Sir Henry proceeded to state that an expedition has been set on foot among Dr. Livingstone's friends-to be called "The Livingstone Congo Expedition "--which is to ascend the Congo and endeavour to penetrate to the Equatorial lake where Livingstone's rivers are lost, and in the vicinity of which, towards the close of next year, the great traveller ought to be found. It is also proposed to send an expedition from Zanzibar, under a young naval officer, Lieutenant Cameron, to take stores and supplies to Livingstone by way of Tanganyika, and also "to examine the geography of the lake region of Equatorial Africa, which is now one of the chief African problems remaining unsolved."

Whilst on the subject of geographical research, we must briefly notice the publication this year of the "Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai," by Captains C. W. Wilson and H. E. Palmer, R.E. The project was first started in 1867 by the late Rev. Pierce Butler, in conjunction with Captain Palmer, and the "Sinai Survey Fund" was set on foot with the patronage of the Geographical Society. Mr. Butler died before the undertaking was fully organized, but his place was filled by a learned Biblical geographer, the Rev. George Williams, and in the autumn of 1868 a wellequipped expedition, so composed as to represent all the necessary branches of research, left England for Sinai, where they 'spent about six months in active and arduous work. The results of the labours are now before us in the above-named splendid work, consisting of a folio volume of letterpress and plates, three volumes of photographs, and a portfolio of maps, plans, and sections.

The interest of the work centres mainly on the identification of Scripture topography attempted in it. Great attention was devoted to fixing the locality of the Mount of the Law, which, notwithstanding the arguments of some comparative geographers to the contrary, must clearly be held to lie within the limits of the Peninsula. It would seem that five mountains have been severally named for this honour of these three have been set aside, and of the remaining two, Jebel Musá and Jebel Serbál, the explorers have unanimously fixed upon the former as the true locality. We have not space to follow the interesting investigations into the probable localities of the Red Sea crossing, the Wilderness of Sinai, and other topics. The surveys and maps, which were executed with the greatest accuracy, were divided into two branches-namely, special detailed surveys, on the six-inch scale, of Jebel Musá and Jebel Serbál, and a general geographical survey, on the half-inch scale, of the country between those mountains and Suez, "so extended as to embrace all possible routes by which the children of Israel could have approached from Egypt," and covering an area of about 3200 square miles. An interesting paper was read at a meeting of the Society of Biblical Archæology by Mr. George Smith, of the British Museum; the subject was a

Cuneiform Inscription, containing, as is asserted, a Chaldean account of the Deluge, inscribed upon some of the clay tablets discovered some fifteen years ago in the site of the old palace of Nineveh, which have been deposited in the British Museum. The Cuneiform account, Mr. Smith said, agrees with the Biblical narrative in making the Deluge a Divine punishment for the wickedness of the world; but the minor differences in the details show that the inscription embodies a distinct and independent tradition. Sir Henry Rawlinson supposed the tablets themselves might date from the time of Sardanapalus in the sixth or seventh century B.C., and might be copies of much more ancient documents. We understand, however, that subsequent consideration has induced Sir Henry to suspend his judgment as to the correctness of the meaning put upon the inscription.

An expedition was fitted out by Government, at the suggestion of Dr. Carpenter, for the purpose of making a scientific inquiry into the physical and biological conditions of the Deep Sea. The vessel set sail in December of this year, and her mission was thus described by Admiral Richards, hydrographer to the Admiralty, at a meeting of the Geographical Society. The "Challenger," he said, was a vessel fitted out to make a voyage of discoveries and scientific research. One great object of the expedition was to investigate those mysterious regions which lie beneath the surface of the sea. In that respect the voyage of the "Challenger" would be different from any other that had ever been undertaken either by this or any other country. Twelve months would possibly be occupied in investigation in the Atlantic Ocean, and the ship would then, he believed, go down to that great ice-barrier at the edge of the Antarctic Continent, and endeavour to abstract the secrets which lie hidden there. It would afterwards proceed to Australia and New Zealand, and then to the Coral Sea; subsequently to Japan, the North Pacific Ocean, North-west America, and the South Pacific. He hoped the " Challenger" would return to our shores in about three years.

PART II.

CHRONICLE

OF REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES

IN 1872.

JANUARY.

3. LION-TAMING.-A shocking occurrence took place at Bolton to-day, when a lion-tamer, named Massarti, was worried to death in a den of lions. Massarti was going through a performance, about half-past ten, with five male lions, when one of the lions struck him with its paw, and he fell upon one knee. He turned round and struck at it with a sword he had in his hand, when another lion placed its paw upon his legs, holding him down, and tearing the leopard's skin from his breast. Four of the lions then attacked him, but Massarti kept cool, and struck at them with his sword. They knocked him to the other end of the caravan, when Massarti fired his revolver, which was loaded with blank cartridge, three times among them. While this was going on the greatest excitement prevailed among the spectators, who greatly retarded the authorities in their efforts to rescue the lion-tamer. This was an extra performance, and it had not been deemed requisite to prepare hot irons, as is customary, before Massarti entered the den. Irons were heated, however, but nearly ten minutes elapsed before the man could be got out. He was frightfully mangled, the back part of his scalp being torn away, and lumps of flesh bitten out of his thighs. He raised his head to show that he was still alive, and remarked on his way to the infirmary that "he was done for." He died almost directly he was admitted to that institution.

4. THE PRINCE OF WALES's CONVALESCENCE is so well established that Sir William Jenner was enabled to leave Sandringham yesterday, and Sir James Paget to-day. Drs. Gull and Lowe continue in attendance, but their services are not so unremittingly required.

6. ASSASSINATION OF JAMES FISK.-This day, in New York, James

A

Fisk, of Erie fame, was murdered in the corridor of the Grand Central Hotel. The American papers were full of the story for days, and no such scene of excitement had been witnessed since the assassination of Lincoln. Three years ago Mr. James Fisk, jun., who was then in the midst of his first struggle with the representatives of the English owners of the Erie Railway, fell in love with Josephine Mansfield, a woman of extraordinary personal beauty, destitute of education and accomplishments, a married woman, who had separated herself from her husband and resumed her maiden name. Fisk, although a married man, fell madly in love with this woman. She accepted his addresses, and placed herself under his protection. He confided to her all the secrets of the numerous intrigues in which he was engaged, took to her house his fellowmembers of the Ring, entertained them there with sumptuous banquets, and discussed with them in her presence the various schemes then on foot for the completion of the plan concocted by the Ring. The liaison continued without interruption till a few months ago, when Mansfield, wearied of her lover, supplied his place in her affections by a Mr. Edward S. Stokes, a Wall-street broker, and a quondam friend of Fisk's, who, wounded by this ingratitude and treachery, found relief in a number of querulous and quaint epistles, addressed to the faithless Josephine, which, however, received no reply until a few weeks ago, when Mr. Fisk received a missive informing him that not only these, but all the other letters written by him to Josephine, would be returned to him upon the payment of 25,000 dols., but that if this sum were not immediately forthcoming, the letters in question would be published, accompanied by a full and authentic exposition of the whole of the information concerning the Erie Railway Company and the Erie Ring, which Josephine had acquired during her intimacy with its Head Centre. Mr. Fisk indignantly refused to comply with this demand for black mail, and immediately afterwards was summoned to answer a complaint instituted by Mansfield and Stokes, alleging that he had publicly accused them of a conspiracy to extort money. This case came on for trial at New York. Mansfield and Stokes both appeared; some preliminary evidence was taken, but an adjournment was suddenly effected, and it was presently announced that the case had been abandoned in consideration of Mrs. Mansfield receiving 25,000 dols. Immediately afterwards, however, it was stated that this money was paid, not by Fisk, but by certain Boston bankers of high stan ling, who themselves had been parties to some of the more disreputable intrigues of Fisk, and who feared the disclosures which it was in the power of Mansfield and Stokes to make. The truce thus patched up was of brief duration, for a fortnight afterwards the libel suit was revived, and Stokes, appearing upon the witness-stand, stated that although the originals of the criminatory letters had been delivered up to the Boston bankers on payment of the 25,000 dols., certified copies of them had been retained, which he then proposed to produce. Mr. Fisk, as is well known, had among his retainers a

certain judge of New York whose authority was superior to that of the court in which these proceedings had been instituted; and he now produced an injunction from this judge, forbidding the production of the certified copies. Meanwhile Fisk had gone before the grand jury and obtained an indictment against Stokes for conspiracy to extort money. To-day Fisk and Stokes met in the corridor of the Grand Central Hotel. Fisk had entered the vestibule, and was going up the stairs which led into the hall. When he reached the last step Stokes, above him, standing near the balustrade, rested a revolver on the rail and fired at Fisk. The shot struck him in the left arm; another immediately followed. It struck him in the abdomen, and Fisk cried out, " For God's sake, will anybody save me?" Stokes glared at him fiercely, fired two more shots, and then turned and ran up the stairs. Fisk sank and died in a few hours. Stokes was arrested, but it need scarcely be added, in conclusion, that so "sensational" a murderer as Mr. Stokes escaped capital punishment upon his trial.

7. A BABY HIPPOPOTAMUS.-At the Zoological Gardens this strange little animal expired. It had lived but eighty-four hours. The dam had plenty of milk, and frequently coaxed her young one to suck; but it could never find its way to her teats, and tried in vain at her ears, snout, and paws. It was requisite that the calf hippopotamus should be taken away from its mother, in order that it might be fed by hand, or suckled by two she-goats. It would not suck at all till its eyes were blindfolded, and it was necessary to preserve absolute silence. The sight of people or sound of their voices frightened the shy little creature too much. It lived only six hours after being removed from the mother, and imbibed three pints of milk. The most probable opinion is that it was born with some internal organic disease, like its brother, which died three days after its birth, in February of last year.

11. A TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION occurred in a colliery situated in the Lynvi Valley, about three miles from Maesteg and nine miles from Bridgend, by which many lives were lost. The pit where the accident happened is 130 yards deep. The explosion was heard over the whole country. The underground blast had swept through all the works, and there had been a great destruction of life. Eleven men and six horses had been killed.

16. A JURY OF MATRONS.-The scene that was enacted at the Old Bailey on the occasion of the conviction and sentence of Christina Edmunds was one of rare occurrence. There was a profound sensation among the bystanders at the unexpected announcement that the prisoner claimed to be with child, which was not diminished when the words, "Let the Sheriff impannel a jury of matrons forthwith," were heard. Such is the law from ancient times, and in obedience to the injunction the Under-Sheriffs sallied into the court in quest of matrons. After about twenty minutes a dozen well-to-do and respectably-dressed women were captured and directed to enter the jury-box. Mrs. Adelaide Whitlaw, the fore