51 paign in 1791. Taken together, thefe maps comprehend near three degrees of latitude, and from two to three degrees of longitude, extending over a tract of country, with the geography of which we have, hitherto, been very imperfectly acquainted. In the map illuftrating the work now before us, Major Rennell has incorporated the documents that were fent home by Lord Cornwallis, reducing the fcale to two-thirds of the original; and thereby including, in one large fheet, the whole breadth of the peninfula. In this reduced map, every pofition, and every name, occurring in the original maps of the marches, is preferved; and by inferting a competent number of the furrounding pofitions, the reader is enabled to refer the movements of the co-operating armies to certain well known points in the geography, and likewife to obtain a clear idea of the operations of two diftinct campaigns, in different parts of the fame country, pointing by various routes to the fame object. Befide tracing the marches in a map, Major Rennell has illuftrated his work with a plan of the battle of Seringapatam, and with three other plates containing views of the armies in the field, refpectively commanded by Gen. Meadows, Earl Cornwallis, and Gen. Abercrombie: but our journal not admitting the infertion of plates, we must confine our obfervations to that part of the fubject which is capable of being explained without their affiftance. Myfore, the proper country of Tippoo, is an elevated region, towering above the rest of the peninfula of India, and thence called a table land; because, though roughened by many lofty eminences, yet thefe, in a general point of view, are no more than inequalities on the furface of a vaft fat mountain. To enter the country fituated on this extenfive terrace, it is necessary to ascend the Gauts; a word importing, in a limited fenfe, paffes through, or over, mountains, but, in a more extenfive fignification, denoting the mountains themselves. The level of the table land, fupported by the Gauts, must neceffarily rife as it extends weftward, fince all the rivers run from that quarter. The top of the western Gauts, fronting the Malabar coaft, muft therefore be confiderably higher than that of the eaftern. On the western fide, the defcent is fo abrupt that it merits the term of wall, better, perhaps, than any other range of mountains whatsoever. This table land formed the theatre of Lord Cornwallis's campaign in 1791. He afcended it by the pafs of Muglee, about 80 miles almoft directly west from Madras; which pafs is thus defcribed: • Several parts of it are fteep; particularly the fecond and longest afcent of 500 yards. The road was new, and well made; and neither rugged nor ftony. The draft bullocks were not taken out E. 2 of of the yokes; and with the affiftance of the troops, of the drag ropes, and the elephants pufhing from behind, the whole of the heavy guns were got up in a few hours. The pafs is altogether fix miles through.' At the foot of the eastern Gauts, lies the valley of Barramaul, which terminates in a point at the north, and reaches 40 miles in length, and almost as much in breadth toward the fouthern boundary. This triangular space is divided only by the river Panaur, from the Darampoory valley; and the two diftricts together form a vaft hollow, feventy miles long, between the Carnatic and Myfore mountains, commanding the principal avenues between the two countries, and including a territory fertile and populous. The northern part, or proper Barramaul, fignifies the twelve places; the valley having in it that number of forts fituated on rocky eminences. It is a moft important fpot; and in the event of a partition of Tippoo's dominions, the Major thinks that Barramaul, with the neighbouring diftricts, ought to be placed in our hands. He hopes that we may fairly anticipate the fall of the tyrant, who has, in fome very recent inftances, forfeited every claim to mercy; and, by ftaining his hands with the blood of defenceless prifoners, has called down the vengeance of our countrymen on his guilty head.-To what extent Tippoo's views of conqueft might have reached, had he been allowed to purfue an uncontrouled career, is doubtful, fince those views would probably have expanded with his profperity. It is certain, that he had ftrengthened his inland fortreffes; that he had extended his frontiers at the expence of the Mahrattas and the Nizam; and that, in the preface to his Military Code, he fets forth, as the strongest inducement toward attaining a perfection in difcipline," that the Europeans having ufurped from the faithful, certain large tracts of land, in various parts of India, they ought, from pious motives, to be difpoffeffed of them." From the account which Major Rennell gives of Tippoo, it appears that his fkill cannot be doubted in the most difficult parts of the art of war, particularly in the arrangement of his marches, and in the choice of his pofitions. The rapidity of his movements is incredible; in two days, his army marched above 60 miles; and from fo active and vigilant an enemy, the convoys of ftores and artillery, on the fafe arrival of which the fuccefs of our attempt on Seringa patam would depend, muft doubtlefs have been expofed to confiderable danger. It is an unpleasant reflection, fays the Major, that a neceffity should have exifted for a progreffive increafe of our military force in India but it is a neceflary confequence of our wars, to make better foldiers of thofe with whom we contend. An army of feven thoufand in the field eftablished our power; twenty-seven theufand only fupport it :' In the work throughout, Major R. makes the best panegyric of Earl Cornwallis, and the other British commanders, by clearly explaining the difficulties of various kinds with which they had to ftruggle; and the public are certainly much indebted to this incomparable geographer, for putting it in their power to make themselves acquainted with a subject which has fo long agitated their hopes and fears. It may be proper to apprize our readers, that this work has been written without any intercourfe with Lord Cornwallis, to whom the author, as we are affured, is unknown; and that the article, in his Lordship's difpatches, wherein honourable mention is made of Major Rennell, was merely the refult of his perfuafion that the Major was the perfon moft capable of making the beft ufe of the geographical communications that were fent home. ART. IX. Philofophical Tranfactions of the Royal Society of London. On the Rate of Travelling, as performed by Camels, and its MA [AJOR Rennell observes that, in every diftant research, whether directed to the purposes of geography, or not, and whether fuccefsful or unfuccefsful with refpect to the main object in view, the very act of inquiry muft furnish the geographer with materials; and hence he infers that, among all the difcoveries and improvements, toward which the views of the very laudable Affociation for promoting Difcoveries in the interior Parts of Africa are directed, it may be expected that the geography of that continent will make the quickest progrefs. If, indeed, due care be taken to furnish thofe who are employed in the inquiry, with fuch means for making obfervations as are best adapted to their fituations, and with fuch inftructions as will enable them to apply thofe means without much trouble to themselves, it is fufficiently obvious that this must be the cafe : but without any means at all, except thofe which the traveller muft neceffarily ufe to convey himself from place to place, and the account of the days taken up in doing it, acquifitions of confiderable importance muft accrue to geography; and Mr. Rennell has endeavoured, in the paper before us, to point out Gil...s. how this may best be done by fuch modes of travelling as are moft likely to be used in the country where thofe inquiries are to be made. The mode of travelling, most common in Africa, is by means of camels; and Mr. R. fays that the rate of the camel's movement appears to him to be, beyond all others, the leaft variable, whether we examine it by portions of days or of hours.' This circumftance occurred to him, on examining (though for a different purpose,) the journals of feveral gentlemen who had croffed the deferts between Aleppo, Bagdad, and Bufforah, by this kind of conveyance. Mr. Rennell examined five journals, viz, that of Mr. Carmichael, who went by a caravan where there were 1000 camels, 600 of which were loaded, and the reft light; that is, they carried only a man, or fome burthen of fimilar weight; whereas the ordinary load of a camel is five or fix hundred pounds weight. Secondly, one kept by Colonel Capper, who paffed the fame defert in 1778, with a caravan where there were from 80 to 100 camels lightly loaded. Thirdly, Mr. Hunter's journal of his paffage through this defert in 1767. Thefe three gentlemen all crofled the great Arabian defert; and the time taken up by them in going from Aleppo to Buflorah was 322 hours, 310 hours, and 299 hours, refpectively. Mr. Rennell remarks that the principal part of this difagreement, small as it is on fuch a great length of time, arose chiefly in a small part of that time; namely, in the journey from Aleppo to Hagla, at the beginning, owing to the travellers joining the caravans at different diftances from Aleppo, and before which, they had travelled by a quicker conveyance than camels afford; and in a fmall part of it at the latter end; namely, between Rackamah and Bufforah; where, on one account or another, thefe gentlemen proceeded by different routs: for, he fhews that the hours taken up by the three travellers in going from Hagla to Rackamah were 193, 194, and 187 respectively. The other two journals, which Mr. Rennell compared, were thofe of Mr. Holford, in 1780, and of Mr. Irwin, in 1784; thefe two gentlemen went by the way of the little defert, as it is generally called, and through the city of Bagdad. After comparing, in various ways, the data which these journals afford, Mr. Rennell concludes that the hourly rate at which a camel travels, as deduced from Mr. Carmichael's journey, is 2.475 British miles; from Colonel Capper's, 2.51; from Mr. Hunter's, 2.585; from Mr. Irwin's, 2.48; and from Mr. Holford's, 2.5; and that the mean of the five experiments gives 2.51 British miles for the rate at which camels travel in an hour; hour; which may therefore be taken at 2 measure. miles, British Mr. Rennell farther remarks that it does not appear from thefe journals, that the load of a camel has any influence on it's fpeed, when it is fuffered to go at it's own rate, as it always is, in caravans the only way in which the load affects the camel's travelling is, that the animal will not travel for fo long at a time when fully laden, as it will when light. As it is poffible, however, that all the perfons, who may be fent into the interior part of Africa, may not be provided with watches, particularly the natives, Mr. Rennell, by comparing the number of days in which each of the five journeys, as well as one made by Teixera, across the Chaldean defert, were performed, with the whole number of hours which elapfed during their journeys, has deduced the following circumstances; viz. that the heavily loaded caravans, which were accompanied by Mr. Carmichael, Mr. Holford, and Teixera, travelled, on a medium, in each day, for 7 h. 10', h. 40, and 7 h. 30', refpectively; and that the light caravans of Mr. Irwin, Mr. Capper, and Mr. Hunter, travelled, in each day, on a medium, for 9 h. 12', 8h. 38', and 8 h. 45, refpectively: the mean of the three former is 7 h. 27', and of the latter 8 h. 52': confequently, reckoning the rate of travelling of camels, in caravans, to be 2; miles in an hour, the distance, travelled by the heavy caravans, in a mean day, will be 18.625 British miles; and by the light caravans 22; fo that, hence, any traveller who is in poffeffion of a pocket compafs, to point out the direction in which he travels, and can tell what that was, and the number of days employed by the caravan in going from one place to another, may contribute, very confiderably, to the improvement of the Eastern geography. On Infinite Series. By Edward Waring, M.D. F. R. S, &c. This paper, as we have already obferved of fome other late communications of Profeffor Waring, feems to be written, more with a view to inform us what he has done in other places, than to exhibit any new difcoveries in the fubjects which he difcufles at prefent. He has, however, in fome inftances, extended the inquiries which he mentions, farther than he had done before; and, in others, he has fhewn how what he had already done may be applied to other fubjects befide thofe to which he had applied them in former publications. Among thefe, it may not be improper to mention a very neat, and, feemingly, ready method of refolving Kepler's Problem, and all others of a like nature; as well as the refolution of two or three other problems, on very general principles, which may be usefully applied to many fubjects in mechanics, and phy E 4 fica |