and islands in the Mediterranean. He was shortly afterwards intrusted with the completion of the survey, begun by the command of Napoleon, of the shores of the Adriatic, which he finished some time in the year 1819, and returned to England in 1820. On his arrival, he had an interview with Lord Melville, by whom he was sent to Paris to communicate the result of his hydrographical operations to Captain Du Parc, of the French navy, in order that a chart of the Mediterranean Sea might be formed from their combined discoveries. In 1821, having been previously admitted a member of the Antiquarian and Astronomical Societies, he was appointed to the command of the Adventure, and was sent out to terminate his investigation of the African coast between Egypt and Tripoli, which he completed in the latter end of 1823, and returned home in September, 1824; in the February of which year he was made a post-captain. Respecting his voyage, he thus speaks in his official report:"It is with pleasure I am able to add, that though, from the very nature of my mission, I have been obliged to hang on lee-shores and coasts little known to, and therefore avoided by, other navigators, this service has been effected, not only without the ship having touched the ground, but without the loss of a spar, a sail, a cable, or an anchor."

The plans and charts he had made during his survey, obtained for him the eulogy of all the scientific men of Europe, and are now used by the navies of all the principal countries in that quarter of the globe. Captain Beaufort thus speaks of them in a letter to Captain Smith: "The more I see of your Mediterranean surveys, the more

I admire the great extent of your labours -the perseverance of your researches, the acuteness of your details, and the taste with which you have executed the charts. Take them altogether, no survey has ever before issued from the admiralty that can be compared to yours. It is quite astonishing the work you did, and did it in such a masterly manner, in the time you were abroad." And the celebrated Baron Zach, in the first volume of his journal, thus alludes to him:-"On ne cherche pas, et on trouve plus rarement encore, chez un bon marin. Assurément on ne pouvait confier une expedition aussi importante à un navigateur plus habile, plus expert, et plus zélé que le Capitaine Smith."

He also, whilst abroad, received various testimonies of the personal interest which many foreign monarchs took in the success of his enterprising labours; the Emperor of Austria gave him a gold snuff-box; and from the Crown Prince of Denmark he received a present of the maps containing the last discoveries of Loevenoern, accompanied by a kind and complimentary letter. In 1826, he was elected a F. R. S.; in 1829, an associate of the Academy of Sciences at Palermo; and in 1830, one of the council of the Geographical Society of London. In addition to his work on Sicily, he published one on Sardinia, and another called The Life and Services of Captain Philip Beaver; besides various miscellaneous articles which appeared both in English and foreign reviews. Captain Smith, on his ship being paid off, retired to his residence at Bedford, where he passes the chief part of his time in astronomical observations, in an observatory built by himself.

CAPTAIN HUGH CLAPPERTON, son of a surgeon at Annan, in Scotland, and one of twenty-one children, was born in that town in the year 1788. At an early age, he was placed under the care of Mr. Downie, a celebrated mathematician, under whom he

made himself acquainted with practical mathematics, including navigation and trigonometry. In 1805, he became cabin boy to Captain Smith, commander of a trading ship called the Postlethwaite, in which he made many voyages to North America, and distinguished him

self by his skill and intrepidity. Being at Liverpool, at a time when rock salt was very dear, and with which his vessel was laden, he was detected bringing on shore a few pounds of it in his handkerchief, and was immediately seized by the custom-house officers, who released him only on his consenting to go on board the Tender, in which he was conveyed to the Renommée frigate, at the Nore, and ranked as a man before the mast. On representing his situation, however, to a friend at Annan, who wrote to Captain Briggs, the commander of the Clorinde, to which vessel he was subsequently removed, he was promoted to the rank of midshipman, and was shortly afterwards sent to the dock-yard, at Plymouth, to be instructed in the cutlass exercise; which, on having attained a sufficient knowledge of, he was appointed to teach to others; and, for that purpose, was removed to the Asia, a seventy-four ship, under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane. In 1814, he went out to Bermuda, acting, in his way thither, as drill sergeant, a situation he filled with great skill and credit, and made himself so useful and agreeable, that he gained the friendship of the admiral and the whole crew.

On arriving at Bermuda, he was despatched, in a flag-ship, to Halifax, whence he proceeded to Upper Canada, where he was made a lieutenant, and ultimately appointed to the command of the Confiance schooner. In 1817, he returned to England, and retired on half pay to his native town, where he continued till 1820, when he removed to Edinburgh, and becoming acquainted with Dr. Oudney, agreed to accompany him in an expedition to Africa.

He arrived at Tripoli about November, 1821, where he was joined by Major Denham, with whom and Dr. Oudney, he proceeded to Mourzuk; whence, after making an excursion to the westward, he travelled to Kouka, in Bornou, passing, in his way thither, several hundred bodies of black slaves, who had died of fatigue in their way through the Tibboo desert. At Kouka he remained a month, and proceeded thence to Mandara, Munga, and the Gambarou; and, returning to Kouka, he was attacked with a delirious fever,

from the effects of which he never perfectly recovered. In December, 1823, he parted from Major Denham, and travelled with Dr. Ŏudney, who was then in very ill health, through the territory of Soudan, to Murmur; where the latter died of a diarrhoea, and was buried by Mr. Clapperton, who helped to dig his grave, and read the funeral service over him. To the loss of Dr. Oudney, which afflicted him extremely, he thus alludes in his journal:-" At any time, and in any place, to be bereaved of such a friend, had proved a severe trial; but to me, his friend and fellow traveller, labouring also under disease, and now left alone amid a strange people, and proceeding through a strange country which had hitherto never been trodden by European foot, the loss was severe, and afflicting in the extreme." From Murmur, our traveller proceeded to Sackatoo, the capital of Houssa, and, on returning to the first-mentioned place, was much exasperated on hearing of the destruction of the clay wall round Dr. Oudney's grave. "I felt," he says, "so indignant at this wanton act of barbarity, that I could not refrain from applying my horsewhip across the governor's shoulders, and threatened to report him to his superior, the governor of Katagum, and also to despatch a letter on the subject to the sultan, unless the wall was immediately rebuilt; which, with slavish submission, he promised faithfully to see done without delay."

In 1825, Clapperton returned to England, when he was made a commander; and, before he could complete the account of his recent journey, was employed by government to make a second expedition to Sackatoo, for the purpose of delivering certain presents to the Sultan of the Fellans, in compliance with a request made by the latter, through Clapperton, to the King of England. Accordingly, on the 25th of August, he embarked in the ship Brazen, and arrived at Whidah the latter end of the following November. In the succeeding nonth he commenced his journey to Sackatoo, accompanied by Captain Pearce, Dr. Morrison, and his servant, Richard Lander; and, on the 9th, arrived at Dagmoo, where, in consequence of

sleeping during the night in the open air, himself and all his companions were taken ill, and Captain Pearce and Dr. Morrison shortly afterwards died. He subsequently reached Katunga, where he was within thirty miles of the Quorra, or Niger, but was not permitted to visit it. Continuing his journey northwards, he arrived at Kano, and then proceeded westward to Sackatoo, where he was in hopes of obtaining permission to continue his course to Timbuctoo. On his arrival, however, at the former place, in December, 1826, his baggage was suddenly seized, under pretence that he was a spy, and was conveying warlike stores to the Sultan of Bornou, then at war with the Sultan of the Fellans, who opened all the letters addressed to, and also seized all the presents intended for, the former. This treatment destroying all his anticipations, preyed so deeply on his spirits, that he is said, by his servant, Lander, "never to have smiled afterwards;" and a dysentery at the same time attacking him, on the 12th of March, 1827, he sank into a state which soon brought on his death.

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Twenty days," says Lander, "my poor master remained in a low and distressed state. His body, from being robust and vigorous, became weak and emaciated; and, indeed, was little better than a skeleton." A short time before his death, he called him to his bed, and said, "Richard, I shall shortly be no more; I feel myself dying; do not be so much affected, my dear boy!-it is the will of the Almighty;-it cannot be helped. Take care of my journal and papers after my death; and when you arrive in London, go immediately to my agents, send for my uncle, who will accompany you to the colonial office, and let him see you deposit them safely in the hands of the secretary. After I am buried, apply to Bello, (the sultan,) and borrow money to purchase camels and provisions for your journey over the desert. Do not lumber yourself with my books; leave them behind, as well as the barometer, boxes and sticks, and every heavy article you can conveniently part with. Remark what towns or villages you pass through; pay attention to whatever the chiefs may say to you, and put it on paper.

The little money I have, and all my clothes, I leave to you: sell the latter, and put what you may receive for them into your pocket; and if, on your journey, you should be obliged to expend it, government will repay you on your return." "He then," says Lander, "took my hand betwixt his; and, looking me full in the face, while a tear stood glistening in his eye, said, in a low, but deeply affecting tone, My dear Richard, if you had not been with me, I should have died long ago; I can only thank you, with my latest breath, for your kindness and attachment to me; and if I could have lived to return with you, you should have been placed beyond the reach of want; but God will reward you.' This conversation," continues Lander, “occupied nearly two hours, in the course of which my master fainted several times. The same evening he fell into a slumber, from which he awoke in much perturbation, and said he had heard distinctly the tolling of an English funeral bell in a few days afterwards he breathed his last." He died on the 13th of April, and was buried at the village of Chungary, or Jungali, by Richard Lander, who gave two thousand cowries to the natives to build a house four feet high over the spot.

The person of Mr. Clapperton was tall and handsome, and of prodigious strength; he possessed a bold and enterprising spirit, and was remarkable alike for his religious feelings, and his active and practical benevolence.

Several anecdotes are recorded of his daring and courage. During his first expeditions to sea, he would often plunge into the water with his clothes on, and swim alongside the vessel; an experiment which once nearly cost him his life. In the winter of 1815, while in command of a block-house, he was attacked, and vanquished, by an American schooner, and reduced to the alternative, either of being made prisoner, or of crossing Lake Michigan to York, a journey, over the ice, of nearly sixty miles. He chose the latter, and had proceeded with his party a considerable distance, when a boy, benumbed by the cold, was unable to move further; Clapperton instantly took him upon his back, and, supporting himself with a staff, walked with

his burthen for eight or nine miles, when he found that the boy was dead. Another proof of his strength and humanity is told of him by Richard Lander, who says, "Whenever we came to a stream which was too deep to ford, and unfurnished with a ferry-boat, being too weak myself to swim, my generous master used to take me on his shoulders; and, oftentimes, at the imminent risk of his own life, carry me in safety to the opposite bank."

His journal, though written in a

loose, uneducated manner, teems with valuable and novel information; and the addition he has made to the geography of North America, by his observations on the latitude and longitude of various places, is as considerable as important. He was the first European who traversed the whole of central Africa, from the Bight of Benin to the Mediterranean; and by thus establishing a continuous line from Badagry to Tripoli, he has materially lessened the difficulties of future researches.

FRANCIS LYON, after having served as a midshipman in various vessels, and been engaged in several sea-fights, was appointed lieutenant of the Berwick, in July, 1814; and joined, subsequently, the Albion, flag-ship of Admiral Penrose, in which he was present at the battle of Algiers, on the 27th of August, 1816. In 1818, he accompanied Mr. Ritchie in his travels into Africa, with whom he proceeded as far as Mourzuk, whence, after witnessing the death of his companion, he set out on an expedition into the interior of Fezzan, and having passed a year in exploring it, returned to Tripoli, and sailed for Leghorn, where he landed, and travelled through Italy and France, to London. About a year after his arrival, which took place in July, 1820, he published his journal, under the title of A Narrative of Travels in Northern Africa, accompanied by Geographical Notices of Soudan, and of the Course of the Niger, with plates, and maps; from which it appears, that previous to his commencing the journey, he understood Arabic, and taught that language to Mr. Ritchie. The work contains much new and valuable information respecting the natives and customs of Africa, and a very interesting account of the adventures and sufferings of the author.

Shortly after the publication of his journal, he was mentioned to Lord Melville, by Captain Smith, as an ale assistant to him, in his intended investigation of the coast of Tripoli "Lieutenant Lyon," he writes, "I

have no hesitation in recommending as singularly eligible for such a mission, from his natural ardour, his attainments, his professional habits, and, above all, his very complete assumption of the Moorish character." For some reason, however, he did not proceed to Tripoli, but was appointed to the command of the Hecla, in which he accompanied Captain Parry on his first expedition to the North Pole; and, on his return, published a very minute account of the manners and condition of the Esquimaux.

In November, 1823, he was made a post-captain; and in the following year, went out as commander of the Griper, on a second voyage to the Arctic Sea, having been presented a few days previous to his departure, with the freedom of his native city, Chichester, by the mayor and corporation, who publicly complimented him on the zeal and perseverance with which he had prosecuted his travels in Africa; into which unhealthy and inhospitable country, notwithstanding the death of his companion, the treachery of the natives, and the failure of his resources, he had penetrated further than any Englishman who had ever come back to give an account of his travels.

The principal object of his second voyage to the icy regions, was to endeavour to connect with the discoveries of Captain Franklin, the western shore of Melville Peninsula; but repeated and dreadful tempests, after his arrival in the Arctic Sea, so disabled his snip,

that he was obliged to return to England without accomplishing his object. After mentioning in his journal, the striking of his vessel in a storm, his preservation in which made him call that part of the ocean where it occurred "the Bay of God's mercy," he thus describes another tempest: "The hurricane blew with such violence as to be perfectly deafening; our ship pitched at such a rate, that it was not possible to stand even below; while on the deck we were unable to move without holding by ropes, which were stretched from side to side. The snow fell in such sharp, heavy flakes, that we could not look to windward, and it froze on deck to above a foot in depth. The sea made incessant breaches quite fore and aft the ship, and the temporary warmth it gave while it washed over us, was most painfully checked by its almost immediately freezing on clothes. To these discomforts we added

our

the most horrible uncertainty as to whether the cables would hold out until day-light; and the conviction, also, that if they failed us, we should instantly be dashed to pieces; the wind blowing directly to the quarter in which we knew the shore must lie."

In November, 1824, Captain Lyon arrived in England, and in the following year, a few months previously to his marriage with the youngest daughter of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, he received, from the University of Oxford, the honorary degree of D. C. L. Shortly afterwards, having become one of the commissioners of the Real del Monte Mining Company, he went out to Mexico, and on his way back in 1827, was wrecked off Holyhead, and on reaching the shore in safety, received intelligence of the death of his wife. He has since visited Brazil on a mining speculation, from which he has not yet returned

THOMAS EDWARD BOWDICH was born in the year 1790, at Bristol, and received the rudiments of his education at the grammar school of that city, from which he was removed to a celebrated academy at Corsham, in Wiltshire, where he completed his studies. On leaving school, though at first intended for the bar, he entered the counting-house of his father, and passed some years in a mercantile apprenticeship, at the termination of which he married, and became a partner in his father's business. About a year afterwards, the occupations of trade, to which he had always been averse, became so disagreeable to him, that he obtained the appointment of writer in the service of the African Company, and arriving at Cape Coast Castle, in 1816, was received by his uncle, the governor-in-chief, through whose influence he was soon enabled to distinguish and enrich himself by the exertion of his talents.

In 1817. he was appointed second in command of a mission to Ashantee, but on his arrival at Coomassie, circun

stances induced him to take the conduct of the expedition into his own hands, and, on sending an account of his proceedings to the governor, he received an authority approving of his acts, and authorizing him to assume the future directorship of the negotiation, which he conducted with such skill and address, that he persuaded the Ashantee monarch to conclude a treaty, on terms particularly advantageous to the British settlements on the Gold coast. On his return to England, he, in 1819, published, in one quarto volume, an account of his mission, the following extracts from which will give some idea of the perils to which he was exposed during his return from the Ashantee capital:"A violent tornado ushered in the night; we could not hear each other holla, and were soon separated; luckily, I found I had one person left with me, (the Ashantee) who, after I had groped him out, tying his cloth round his middle, gave me the other end, and thus plunged along, pulling me after him, through bogs and rivers, exactly like an owl tied to a duck in a pond.