CURRENT LITERATURE.
Sport in Abyssinia. By the Earl of Mayo. (John Murray.)—As a pioneer in the opening-np of Abyssinia to the lovers of sport on a large scale, Lord Mayo has hardly proved a success. Much " blazing- away "—for the most part ineffectual—some hardships of travel, a good deal of trouble with inconsiderate natives, and a strange sickness that sent him prematurely home, fill up the measure of his tale. He tells it all in a lively, straightforward way, and while relating his own mis- haps, holds out encouragement to possible followers in his steps by the greater good-fortune of his friend and travelling-companion, who (escaping illness) returned home with a satisfactory "bag," if animals as large as lions, leopards, buffaloes, and crocodiles can be included in a term of such narrow dimensions. To the non-sportsman, the interest of this slight narrative lies partly in its occasional sketches of scenery and native manner, but mostly in the writer's intercourse with the remarkable man who is now leading the armies of King Johannes against the Egyptians. General Kirkham was originally, it seems, a steward in the Peninsular and Oriental service, then a volunteer under Colonel Gordon in China ; wounded severely there, he came home, and was employed in the Commissariat in the Abyssinian war. At the close of that war, he offered his services to the new King, and has ever since led the life of active exertion in his adopted country which has placed him in the proud position of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces of Abyssinia. He is described as "a fair, rather good-looking, thin man," with simple, friendly manners, and he entertained the travellers hospitably in his "little house, with a roof like an extinguisher, perched on a high hill, that overlooked a plain, which was dotted about with water-pools. Kirkham bad told us they were famous places for ducks, and sometimes snipe." On the whole, though there is little in Lord Mayo's experiences that call for a wider than private circulation, yet an hour or so may bo spent pleasantly enough over the pages of his
journal.
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