WILD LIFE IN AFRICA.*
TBACKERKY somewhere describes the evolution of the annual Keepsakes" once so fashionable, in which eminent artists were first employed to produce illustrations, and more or less eminent authors were then invited to "write up to" them. The portly volume now before us owes ite existence to a some- what similar arrangement, as of the two names on its title- page the first in that of Mr. Cherry Keartou, whose share in the work seems to have been to take the admirable photographs —more than a hundred and sixty in number—with which the narrative of Mr. James Barnes is adorned. Most of these • Through Central Africa fro= PAW to West. By Cherry Barton sad James Benace, Loan Cassell end Co. [lla net.] photographs display the wild life of the Central African jungle under unusually favourable conditions. "It was resolved," says Mr. Barnes, "that there would be no wounded, trapped, or harassed animals taken, that slaughter would be conspicuous by its absence, that, so far as possible, animals would be seen moving undisturbed in their natural habitat, and that the native life would he represeusted unstageclan a truth- fully." The travellers seem tohave succeeded fairly well in living up to this excellent ideal, and Mr. ICearton's photographs are in consequence exceptionally interesting. Many of them are taken from long rolls of "moving pictures," which have, we think, already earned a great measure of popularity amongst the audiences of cinematograph shows, who—if managers would only realize it—vastly prefer this sort of thing to the so-culled " humorous " films. Mr. Barnes tells as that he and Mr. %carton intend "to present to the great natural history museums of the world a duplicate net of the pictures obtained on this expedition, to form, as it were, the nucleus of a 'film library' for free exhibition only, in order that the public, may see at least souse of the mounted epeei- mans staring out of their glass CaSes moving naturally in the freedom of prairie, veldt, or forest, for before long some of them may be as extinct as the dodo." This is an admirable idea, and we sincerely hope that it will be duly carried out. The amazingly rapid progress made in the development and pacification of Central Africa is exemplified by the fact that these pictures were mostly taken on the ronte followed by Stanley in his last terrible journey, only some twenty-five years ago.
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