of human nature, apart from those high personal qualities by which he was distinguished, said, _Je crois que Lord Malmesbury était le plus habile Ministre que vous aviez de son temps. C'était inutile de le devancer, il fallait le suivre de près. Si on lui laissait le dernier mot, il avait toujours raison._ And as is shown alike by his official career, and by his private correspondence, we may well apply to the first Lord Malmesbury the epithet by which M. Thiers has so truly characterized Mr. Pitt--'ce pur Anglais.' ART. IV.--_The Explorations in Palestine. Publications of the Palestine Exploration Fund, viz._-- (1.) _Report of Preliminary Meeting, 1865._ (2.) _Captain Wilson's Expedition, 1866._ (3.) _Meeting at Cambridge, 1867._ (4.) _Annual Meeting, with Lieutenant Warren's Report, 1868._ (5.) _Statement of Progress, January 1st, 1869._ (6.) _Lieutenant Warren's Letters and Reports, with Lithographed Plans._ (7.) _Lieutenant Warren's Notes on the Valley of the Jordan, and Excavations at Ain es Sultan (Jericho.)_ (8.) _Dean Stanley's Sermon on the Exploration of Palestine._ (9--15.) _Quarterly Statements_ I. _to_ VII., _April, 1869, to October, 1870._ (16.) _The Recovery of Jerusalem._ Edited by the Honorary Officers of the Palestine Exploration Fund. With Fifty Illustrations. Richard Bentley. The Palestine Exploration Society was established in 1865, for the accurate and systematic investigation of the archeology, topography, geology, physical geography, and manners and customs of the Holy Land, for Biblical illustration. The universality of interest belonging to Palestine, and the inefficiency of individual efforts at exploration, made the step advisable; while the success of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem in 1864 at once suggested the scheme and gave encouragement to its promoters. In the original prospectus of the Society it was proposed to excavate at Jerusalem for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of the Temple enclosure, the position of the tombs of the kings, the site of the Tower of Antonia, &c; to examine other important sites, such as Gerizim, Samaria, Jiljilieh (probably Gilgal) and the mounds at Jericho; to collect materials for a work on manners and customs comparable to Mr. Lane's 'Modern Egyptians;' to effect an accurate survey of the Holy Land; to determine levels and sites and the course of ancient roads; to investigate the geology of the country, especially in the Valley of Jordan and basin of the Dead Sea; and lastly, to apply the same energy and ability to the study of the botany, zoology, and meteorology of Palestine, which naturalists have given to those of the forests of South America and the rivers of Africa. The time is come when we may ask how much of this programme has been carried out, and what amount of light, if any, is being thrown on the Scriptural history. Three years ago, we touched upon the subject;[10] but the Society was then in its infancy,