lloraima and British Guiana. By J. W. Beddam-Whotham. (Hurst and
131ackett.)—We feel in a way responsible for this volume. Some two years age, it was asked in the Spectator, "Will no one explore Roraima P" Our author has done his best to explore it. Ho journeyed to it from George Town, in Demerara, and found it im- possible to climb (all our readers may not be aware that Roraima is a mountain), at least on the sides at which it is accessible. It might yield to explorers coming from the other direction, but then the difficulty of a primeval, unexplored forest presents itself. At present, nothing has been done to upset the generally received belief that the summit can be reached only by balloons. But though Mr. Boddam- Whotham did not in this sense "explore Roraima," be has written a very entertaining and interesting volume about his journey thither, for which the public ought to be much obliged to him, and if we may any so, to us. Most of this journey was done in boats ; and the picture of rivertravel which is given us is, on the whole, a very attractive one. Six weeks might be very pleasantly spent in boating, on the tributaries of the Essequibo. The scenery is in parts magni- cent, the climate quite endurable, and the Indians not other than amiable. Perhaps, however, there is something repulsive about a bill of faro which includes "macaw soup," "electric eels," and "curried monkey ?" The volume also includes "a glance at Bermuda, the West Indies, and the Spanish Main," pleasant sketches, which con- siderably increase its value.
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