SIR CLEMENTS MARKHAM.* THE biography of Sir Clements Markham is
full of romance. His was one of those unusual characters whose extreme versatility is in itself romantic. His imagination and natural energy found their food and outlet in many more varied interests than appeal to the ordinary person, and his life from childhood to old age seems to belong to the youthof the world. Ho was as keen to the last in the questions that arose out of the Scott expedition, so earnestly pro- moted by him, its tragic end so deeply mourned, as in the boyish days when Polar books, geography, and astronomy were among his favourite subjects. Another of his special taates, that for history, he showed at ten years old by writing a History of England, followed by histories of more than twenty other countries ; and among his latest works appeared histories of the Incas of Peru and of the Conquest of New Granada, closely following on those Lives of Richard III. and Edward VI. which showed the independence of his historical judgments. At eighty-five he was still working on an immense collection of notes for a complete history of the Polar Regions, to include "everything that was known of what might be called 'the Ends of the Earth' from prehistoric times to the present day." It is good to know that his labours will not be thrown sway, and that this great book, edited by Dr. Guillemard, is to be published by the Cambridge University Press. But in spite of this, his biographer laments the passing away with Sir Clements Markham of "a prodigious accumulation of geographical knowledge . he was undoubtedly the greatest living authority on geographical science." Learned societies throughout Europe and America, especially the Royal Geographical Society, of which he was Vice- President, having worked for it during more than fifty years, bear out Admiral Markham's testimony.
This book, simply and straightforwardly written, gives an ex- cellent account of the mental and physical activities of Sit Clements Markham throughout his long life. It does not appear that he had any special leaning towards the Navy as is profession, until one day when,a handsome, inMffigent boy full of lively charm, he happened to make the acquaintance of a Lord of the Admiralty, Sir George Seymour, who promptly offered him is cadetship, and proposed to take him to the Pacific in his flagship, H.M.S. ' Collingwood.' It was a chance of adventure, of seeing the world, quite irresistible to a young mind so eager for experience. The life fulfilled his ex- pectations and strengthened his longing for travel and scientific
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discovery in the regions of the Southern seas ; though on the other hand he seems to have been impatient of discipline, and the gradual rebellious restlessness which gained upon him ended in almost open discontent when ho and his brother-officers were not allowed to show active sympathy with the rebels against the French pro- tectorate in the island of Tahiti. These mid other adventures during the years spent on the Pacific station make amusing reading ; the more so because the whole story throws much light on the manners and customs of the Navy seventy years ago. For instance, the Admiral in command objected strongly and publicly to smoking, as "a deleterious and filthy habit that destroyed the inner coating of the stomach and rendered the smoker unfit for social purposes." He hoped that his officers would not "practise this dirty and dis- gusting vice. If any officer was unable to exist without smoking, he was to report himself to the Admiral, when a time and place would be allotted to him for the purpose of indulging in this per- nicious habit." Nobody dared to report himself, and the expedients to which the officers were thus driven were comic and various.
In 1010 young Markham sailed for the Arctic regions on board the 'Assistance,' one of the ships sent out on the Government expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. Inspirit, and probably in years, lie was' the youngest person in the expedition." He was but twenty, yet it was by his careful journals and studies at this time that ho acquired tho scientific knowlellgo of the Arctic world of which in later years ho was to make such remarkable use. At the same time, it does not seem that his Arctic studios were those nearest his heart. Even then his thoughts and plans for the future were chiefly concerned with the exploration of Peru, first dreamed of in the earliest days of his service in the Pacific. All his life it was South America and its hidden wonders in history, geography, botany, andother sciences which attracted Markham most strongly and constantly. On this very expedition his spare time was spent in studying the language of the Incas in a grammar accidentally picked up on board.
On his return to England Clemente Markham loft the Navy, and shortly after this was able to revisit Lima, and to undertake the solitary and dangerous wanderings in Peru which prepared him in those young days for future adventures and discoveries of higher importance. Often kindly received by cock-fighting Bishop or hospitable Curs, he was not always welcomed as an explorer in the more lonely parts of the country, and encountered many dangess from hostile Indians and robber negroes. But these risks and diffi- culties wore slight compared with what he went through a few years later, when he returned with his young wife to South America on an important mission from the India Office to collect cinchona plants and seeds, and to arrange for their conveyance to India and cultivation there. By his untiring and fearless exertions in this affair, which meant the overcoming of powerful local opposition, as well as much personal risk in conveying the plants safely to the coast. Markham was the means of providing the world in general with that blessing to fever-stricken countries, a plentiful supply of quinine.
All his life he was a great traveller, and a diligent student of the world he lived in. Ho did all in his power to encourage the spirit of enterprise in others, and there were few brighter examples of it than himself. The nineteenth century had not many men with wider sympathies and interests than Sir Clemente Markham ; and although his energy and passion for the righting of wrongs may have led sometimes to controversy, few men were more rich in friends,
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