The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1857-12-19
BOOKS ANglPalAIT

tractiye work ceHe3as5an account Of Dr. Barth OBJ
seryatious upgn t45rFon lying to the South dNeSt
Of Lake Tsab It3ieas with description aud hAtory
of the Kius9 q Bornu. and the travels ofDr Barth
in the regjn 5borlt ring upon the lake. After long
and tedious : arucy to the Southwest he reached IN
the nsi5AboThood of Adamawa large navisohe
~streauI -Nhich he regarded beyond question the
bSVe Northeastern branch of the celebrated Niger
His emotions upon meeting with it, are thus described;
! I'd looked lorg and silently upon the sIream II was
zone of th happiest moments OF IA! ute born ON Tue
bank of a large navigable river, M cou'elct1 P'o
of great energy aud Hte had from my Childhood
gre1t prelIertion for river scenery; aud although
plunged for many wears M th too exclusive stu0! OF
antiquity never lost this native instinct As soon as
lett home and becameth the independent master Oh III!
actions began TO combine travel WIN StUG!, "u W
study while travelling iJ being my greatest dehgnt 10
trace running waters from their sources ana 10 see
them GROW into brooks To follow the brooks and see
them become rivers till they az last disappeared n e
alLdevourug ocean i had wandered all around tue
Mediterranean with its many CULTS ITS beautiful pen
ipsuas its fertile iSlandS-nOt hurried along 10y stet
but SLOWLY wandering from place to place, itoWlug
the traces of the settlements OF the GreeNs ana mo-
mans around this beautiful basin once tQer terra H'0s
Rjta Aud thus when entering upon tHe eu' euIulOus
career IN which subsequently engaged, IL hau Oeeu
the object of my most lively desire 90 throw ght upon
the natural arteries and photographer network ..
the unknown regions of Central Africa. the 7'e1'
Eastern branch of the Niger was the Ioremusl 'o'
emmy INV attention and. although for some time uu-
certain as 20 the identity of the river Oh Adam"T9'
with chat laid down I'm is lower course by MeSS's '"
Allen. Laird eud Odhed, had long made up u!
mind on this point thanks 20 the clear lnioratioH vi
INV friend Ahmed Ben Meiub. / had now, with IN! /
own ewes clearly established the direction ana nature
ftbis mighty river and to an appropriated mh9 'he''
could be no longer any doubt that this river JouS 'nt
majestic water course, explored by the gentlemen s'
mentioned Hence / chersb the we'll founded cohIic-
So Na1. IL
ence and commerce will penetrate into the yer! ue'V
of the continent and abolish slavery or rather those
infamous slave-hunts and religious wars, deS'ro{."s
the natural germs of human happiness ana Spreauins
devastation and desOatiOn all around
He qiyes minute descriptions of the central regions
If thar mysterious continent and enables TO have
mncb clearer insight into it's condition. He found Mo-
hammedauism extending in every direction and thinks
that it is rather an Improvement on Paganism. lie
further remarks;
otis difficult 10 decide how Christian government
is TO deal with these countries where none but NO
hsmmedans maintain any SORT OF government 1t can
not be- denied that they alone here succeed M giving To
distant regions q certain bond OF unity ana IN making
the isud more accessible 20 trade ana intercourse
Their esteem for me increased when / showed them
nv little prayer-bOOk which wore M red case SIu!g
round my shoulders lust they wear tue.r hurah'i"-
deed Christian cen sure oi acqutug '"v
esteem, of a MOsem-at least of a learned oue-than
of his religion; but he must not b. jealous boman
Catholic nor breach doctrines which seem 90 deny the
unity Of God He took great delight IN hearing a
psalm of the well known 'uebi Daud DAVID read III
English He well as almost all oil MS companions
spoke Arabic.
These Mohammedan colonies scattered through the
region were tt means of enabling Dr. Bartb to pro-
cure much information in regard to the more Eastern
countries Not few Of them had performed the
Journey to Mecca across the eontnet and some of them
might be considered well informed men. One Of them
could describe to him the celebrated lake Nyassa, as
an eve witness He had even visited Bombay and
Madras.
He found slavery prevailing very eXJenSNe! among
the interior tribes. He remarks
'Slayery exists on an immense scale in this country
and there are many private individuals who have more
than a thousand slaves Ihaye been assured that the
head slaves of some of these men have as many as
thousand slaves each under their command, with whom
they undertake occasional expeditions for their mas
ters'
One of these chief men, so Dr. Borth was informed,
received every year in tribute, besides horses and cat
tie about 5000 slaves.
This volume ends with the uuJimely death of Mr..
Oyerweg, the travelling companion of DR.. Barth.
There are youmjnous appendices containing scientific
information of various kinds Of great value Another
volume viii complete this valuable contribution to the
geography Of that dark and mysterious continent,
whose destuies are strangely linked with cur own.
Liriagstoas Trarels and Researches IN South frica-
with maps aud engrayings New York; Harper Il
Brothers SyO PIP. 49, Through j. N0odhOuSe
Il Co.
Interesting as Dr. Barths explorations are, those Of
Dr. Livingston have a much deeper interest to u.s. on
several accounts. The ardent, Scotch Presbyterian
seeking to carry the cross of Christ into the dark
places Of Africa travelling 1000 miles in four years.
over ground never trodden before by the white
man. attacked thirty-oue times by African fever
once by ou and encountering every form of danger
to carry out his benevolent designs such traveller
for such purpose must interest more than the
equally perseyeriug German, travelling under govern
tai protection and for purely scientific purposes lis
true that they rather supplementary to each other
than rival works Dr. Barth penetrated Central Africa
from the North and DR., Livingston from the South
and hence each describes region untouched by the
other
We cannot pretend to give even synopsis of awork
so extensive and so full of minute details as this one
We can only say that Dr. L. fully qualified give
the most reliable account of every thing that he
Being the sou-iu-law of Mr. NoiIat he has imbbed
some Of the burning zeal of his distinguished father
in law and though not brilliant writer, yet per-
haps more scientifically accurate He is physician,
geologist, and a Of clear, strong good sense,
and one whose observations are of the most reliable
kind He describes a most wonderful region of he
earth in many respects, and that may ct be made
tributary to civilization aud Christianity in way that
il never vet has been. Whether Dr. LIS hopes about
the cultivation of cotton and sugar shall ever be real
ed or not there will doubt be vast commercial adj
vantages that must accrue FROM opening up of the
rich and healthiu regions OF Central Africa to the
world But for the valuable and Interesting statements
on all Subjects made by the illustrous missionary
we must refer the reader the volume itself with
the assurance that it will reward careful perusa Ii
contains ory-seven illustrations, some of them very
striking and fun aud accurate map o. Dr. LIS route
across tine continent It may be interesting to some
readers To state, that Dr. L. fully corroborares the
wonderful stories of Gordon Cumming. which were
doubted by some sceptca persons their FIRST pub.-
cation 20 the world Taking the volume all in ALL it
is the mos, interesting and valuable contribution hat
has been made to missionary and geographical know
ledge for many years.
The Southern Presbyterian Rsrier.-The OctoberNo /.
of this able quarterly published in Columbia, S c.,
has been received. The following are its contents
1. The Sabbatarian Controversy by Il. L. Dabney'
d. d.
. The NIessiaujc Interpretation of Is. 50, by Rev
Jas Cohen, (coacIuded)
3. The Alphabet OF Natural Theology, by Rev. f. ]
Rockwell
A. The Influence of Stimulants upon the Manifesto
tiou of Mind by j. 1IcF. Castor, NJ D.
g. Our Problem by Rev 4. f. Dickson.
6. The Testimony of the Rocks, by Rev w D. /