So little is known of the remote districts of Tartary, that our readers will, we think, be interested in a brief sketch of journey lately made by the Abbé Armand David, which is described in the Revue des deux mendes. The exploration of a semi-civilized country is difficult under any circumstances but it is especially so, and likely to be full of incident when it is attempted with so slight resources as the Abbé David relied on. True, he lind the advantage of an experienced All who have read Huc's tra-vols in Tartary will appreciate the advantage of Samdatchiemba's guidance, ud M. David was fortunate in secur-ug his escort. But even Samdatchiemba could only make the best of existent resources, and could not improve upon the food and shelter actually obtainable or alter the character of his countrymen. The Abbé, however, was pre-ured to put up, with hardships, and ally understood how to use the prestige with which his nationality invested him, " Nous n'avous pas i'aspect guerrier, Samdatchiemba ino et moi, charges de paperasses remuplies d'herbes, de boites de carton, de filets d'insects et autres objects tout aussi pen effrayants;" but their presence created great excitement; and the Abbé held farther that "a European beard and arms could defy haudreds of malefactors, Chinese or Mongols." He held the wise principle which we could wish to see a little better appreciated by our official Representatives, that, in Eastern countries, we must "assume an air of command, to avoid being crushed and this creed, supported by tact and discretion, carried him safely through all complications.
Ho is now in the country of Onrato, a district bounded on the east by Kwei-hwa-cheng, on the south by the Yellow River, on the north by various Chinese settlements. In a geographic cal point of view it may be divided into three sections, the Southern, a plain 300 miles long comprised between the Yellow river and the Oala mountains, the Central covered by high mountains, and the Northern, having lower hills and wide plains. It is into this district, that we purpose just uow to follow M. Da. vid and his guide, whose '"inexhaustible fecundity of resources" seems to have well seconded his master's energy. Troubles begin from the outset; a little ass which has been hired with difficulty proves unable to carry the load put upon it; and so the Abbé and Samdatchiemba have to relieve it each of 40 Ibs. weight, which does not facilitate their own progress in a ragged mountain district. They console themselves, however, with the reflection that the load will soon be lightened by the progressive decrease of their provisions, and trudge gail on. The region of inns is soon left behind, and a tent which they carry with them is their future shelter. Lamaseries are the distinctive features of the country; peopled by hundreds of lazy monks, who remain, as our traveller says, dans un'etat d'ignorance incroyable, et vient tranquilles avec les subsist tances que fournissent les familles—ro-fages, in fact, for ignorance and idleness. It is only at intervals however that these large establishments are met with; at other intervals the country is as desortasit is wild. Once they are caught by a hurricane, on the afternoon of a day which promised to be brilliantly fine. But suddenly the sky was obsoured by clouds of dust, the antelopes descended to the plains for shelter; thunder roared, rain fell in torrents, and a wind of hurricane force threatened to tear away their tent from the ravine which they had selected as of fording the best available shelter.. As it was, their millet was smothered by the sand storm, and they had the gratification of eating it with an admixture of grit during the rest of the journey. Brigands and wild animals were talked of with a frequency which the experience of the travellers hardly justiied. They were accosted once, but showed a front which seemed to discourage their interlocutors, who no doubt thought that two men with a donkey load of books, plants, and millet were not sufficiently rich plunder to be worth the fight which they threatened to make. The braves of course tried to be disagreeable, as they always are. Near the city of Pao-than, the commercial centre of the district, the Abbé fell among a crowd of Tartar soldiers, who had been gathered to protect the country against Mussulman - rebels, and who at once wished to carry off the strangerstotheir General. The Abbé requested, however, instead, that they would carry his passport to their Chief, and his tone of superiority at once quieted them.
The object of the expedition, as we have before explained, was to gather information regarding the flora and fauna of the country; and all this while the Abbé David wus making rapid progress with his task. The details which the Revue gives of his discoveries, will interest naturalists as much as his experiences of travel and hia
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.