:Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich on Monday gave the Associa- tion
a most interesting lecture on the gradual "shrinkage of the unknown world," which is now so nearly complete. There is no further chance for the explorer of finding any- thing which appeals to the iniagination,—a great island, a race differentiated from the rest of humanity, or even an unknown but grand mountain range. Thilet is the only !erne country left that can be -called unknown; and Dr. Sven Iftiltiin is revealing much of that, though, we may remark, we do- not yet know the truth about the authority or the suc- cession of the Dalai Lamas. Are they Incarnations or only Popes? The Pacific is known; Central Africa is known ; Northern Asia is known, to Russian geographers at all events; there only remain Central South America and 'bits of countries like Arabia. The field now belongs to the more minute explorer, whose work must be com- pleted before any new territories can be utilised by the roadmaker, the railway huilder, or even the telegraph man. There is more interest, Sir Thomas thinks, in geography than ever, but the old passion of the explorer has no longer food. We shall very soon know this little planet as we know England, and though much will be gained from that know- ledge, a great source of intellectual excitement will be gone. Geography has ceased to be a road to adventure, and be- come a science, which by and by, like political economy, will be called " dreary."
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