The ancient Norseman’s desire to wander and to conquer still stirs the blood of many of his modern descendants. Happily nowadays, the wandering is done for the benefit of humanity and the conquests are those of peace and not of the “Swan Path.” Sven Anders Hedin, explorer and geographer, is a case in point. He was born at Stockholm, February 19, 1865, and is the son of Ludwig Hedin, official chief architect of Stockholm. When a mere child he exhibited the traits that distinguished his later years, and there are many stories told of how his parents were kept on the alert to prevent their baby—for he was not much more—from playing truant, which he did whenever the opportunity offered. The boy was indeed father to the man, and his parents, on his finishing his education, had the wisdom not to attempt to thwart his expressed desire to become an explorer. Had they done so the world would possess much less geographical knowledge than it now does. After courses in the universities of Stockholm, Upsala, Berlin and Halle, he began his travels. The Orient attracted him, and he made journeys through Persia and Mesopotamia. In 1895 he was a member of King Oscar’s embassy to the Shah of Persia. He is best known in connection with his explorations in Asia, those of Khorasan, Turkestan and Thibet being especially notable. Hedin is the author of many works on travel and has contributed largely to those journals which are published in the interest of science of geography. E. BURTON HOLMES. E. Burton Holmes, who is well known to the American public through his lectures on foreign countries, was born in Chicago, January 8, 1870. He is the son of Ira and Virginia (Burton) Holmes. Educated at first in the Allen academy, and subsequently in the Harvard school, Chicago, he, not long after his graduation, began to evince that uncontrollable desire to see the world which is innate in the breast of the born explorer. Notwithstanding that he is still a comparatively young man, Mr. Holmes has managed, since he attained his majority, to visit Japan, Algeria, Corsica, Greece and Thessaly. He has also taken part in an expedition sent under the auspices of a scientific organization to Fez, Morocco. All of the continental countries of Europe are known to him, as are the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippine Islands and China. He has visited the Yellowstone Park and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado river. His first appearance on the lecture platform was in 1890, and since then he has appeared in nearly all of the American cities. Mr. Holmes has graphic powers of description, which explains the popularity of his addresses. His lectures have been published in book form. A. H. SAVAGE LANDOR.