272 



February 25. 



SIR Wm. R. HAMILTON, A. M., President, in the Chair. 

 Rev. H. Lloyd read a letter which he had recently re- 

 ceived from M. D'Abbadie, relating to his scientific expedi- 

 tion in Africa. The following is an extract. 



" Adwa, (Abyssinia,) July 24lh, 1838. 



'* Our voyage to Abyssinia (my brother accompanied 

 me) was chiefly undertaken in order to learn the principal 

 languages of that country, and the best manner of travelHng 

 in it, with a view of returning to Europe, there to prepare a 

 complete and well directed expedition. We left Cairo in 

 December 1837, and proceeded by Keneh and Ckosair to 

 Djiddah, where I took a great deal of pains to correct, by 

 local information, the nomenclature of places on the Red 

 Sea. We next proceeded to Massawwa, where I remained 

 alone for nearly two months, studying the Hababi tongue, a 

 Semitic language, nearly allied to Ethiopic, and spoken 

 from Ansky Bay almost as far as Sawakim. The customs 

 and manners of the Habab tribes afforded me several proofs 

 of their Arabian origin. On my brother's return from the 

 high lands of Abyssinia, I proceeded with him into that 

 country, carrying our baggage, instruments, &c. Unfor- 

 tunately we were detained so long on the road, by a chain 

 of untoward circumstances, that the rainy season set in be- 

 fore we reached this place. After a forced stay of twenty 

 days, and a tiresome journey of twenty more, we arrived 

 safely in Goander, the splendid but fallen capital of Ethio- 

 pia. Here I made myself master of the Amarna language, 

 at least enough to travel without an interpreter, and got 

 some valuable information on the sources of the White Nile. 

 Our object being now attained, it was high time to turn 

 back before the swollen waters of the Tacazay had com- 



