The Geographical Journal for March contains a most inter- esting
paper on Southern Najd by Mr. H. St. J. B. Philby, of the Indian Civil Service, the only living European who has crossed Southern Arabia from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. Mr. Philby is said by Commander Hogarth to speak Arabic like a native ; one of our agents in the interior reported that Mr. Philby in Arab dress was indistinguishable from his Beduin companions, except that his feet were a little too clean. Mr. Philby's paper describes a journey to the south of Riadh, the capital of our good friend and ally, the Wahhabi chief, Ibn Saud. Mr. Philby found some lakes, and noted the remains of what
appeared to be ancient Persian settlements. We think of Arabia as one vast desert, but a ruined city south of Riadh seems to have been destroyed by a flood. Mr. Philby travelled under the protection of Ibn Saud, and was able to make a map and to take a number of photographs. Thus the least-known country in the world is at last yielding up its secrets.
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