Spinifez and Sand. By the Hon. David W. Carnegie. (C.
Arthur Pearson. 21s.)—" In the Australian bush," says Mr. Carnegie, "the traveller has only Nature to war against," Nature's most formidable weapon being thirst. Water is the chief subject of this narrative; the want of it gives occa- sion for the most harrowing descriptions, the discovery of it figures as the chief triumph. Any reader of this book will carry away as his most definite impression the story of Queen Victoria Spring, and of Empress Spring, the latter being a dis- covery of Mr. Carnegie's. In a way, different as are the circumstances, the narrative reminds us of Arctic travel. On the whole, the balance is in favour of the "White North "t the Esquimanx, if that is any test, are much higher in the scale of humanity than are the Australian natives. Mr. Carnegie's book may be divided into two parts,—the first relating his experiences as digger and prospector, with an appendix on gold-mining ; the second dealing with his explorations, a work which seems to have been much more to his taste than gold-seeking. Explorations are always interesting, and Mr. Carnegie tells his story well. But he did not escape the ill-luck which seems to dog this work with a peculiar insistence on the great Australian Continent. (He has reason for thinking that he found some traces of Leichardt's expedition, though not imeh as to throw any real light on its fate.) There are some interesting details of native customs. The laws of relationship by blood and marriage are curiously complicated considering the low stage of existence in which the tribes are found.
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