of eighteen months, and having endured, in the latter part of his journey, the horrors of a famine, which destroyed several of his attendants, and nearly proved fatal to himself. On his return, he received the thanks of the Company and a handsome gratuity; and, in 1774, he established in the interior of the country, Cumberland Factory. In 1775, he became governor of the Prince of Wales' Fort; seven years after which, it was attacked and taken by a French squadron, under the command of La Perouse, who seized all the papers he found, but restored the manuscript of Hearne, on condition of its being printed on his arrival in England. After rebuilding, and putting in a good state of defense, the fort, he continued to reside there till 1787; in which year he returned to England, and prepared his journal for the press, which appeared about three years after his death, which took place some time in 1792. The work, containing a preface, in which he refutes the charges of Dalrymple as to the correctness of his latitudes, has been translated into most of the European languages; and besides throwing a light upon one of the most important points in geography, shows its author to have been a man of extraordinary courage and perseverance, of profound observation, and of a benevolent and enlightened mind. He had also intended to publish copies of a vocabulary of the language of the northern Indians, which he had completed in sixteen folio pages; but the original was, unfortunately, lost by a friend to whom he had lent it.
JOHN LEWIS BURCKHARDT.
John Lewis Burckhardt, descended from an eminent family in Switzerland,
was born at Lausanne, about the year 1785. He received the
rudiments of his education at a school at Neufchatel, and completed his
studies at the universities of Leipsic and Gottingen. At the latter, he
recommended himself, by his talents and general good conduct, to the favorable
notice of the celebrated Blumenbach, who gave him a letter of introduction
to Sir Joseph Banks, upon whom Burckhardt called, on his
arrival in London, in July, 1806. His acquaintance with Sir Joseph brought
him in connexion with the other members of the African Association, and
ended in his undertaking, under the patronage of the Society, to explore
the interior of Africa. His offer was accepted in May, 1808, when he immediately
set about preparing himself for his journey, by studying in London
and at Cambridge, not only the Arabic language and oriental customs, but
also astronomy, chemistry, mineralogy, medicine and surgery. In addition
to this, he suffered his beard to grow, accustomed himself to wear the eastern
dress, and in the intervals of his studies, exercised himself by long journies
on foot, bare-headed, in the heat of the day, sleeping upon the ground,
and living upon vegetables and water.
On the 25th of January, 1809, he received his final instructions, and on the 2d of March, he embarked at Cowes, for Malta, where he appeared in an oriental costume, and, by his judicious conduct, contrived to conceal his real character from several Swiss officers, whom he had previously known. Being unable to procure a vessel bound for Cyprus, he embarked in one sailing to the coast of Caramania. 'I introduced myself,' he says, 'to the passengers, who were Tripolines, as an Indian Mohammedan merchant, who had been, from early years, in England, and was now on his way home;
