Proceedings in Egi/pt and Nubia. 65 



moment of his death, and the writer of the journal had the hap- 

 piness of meeting him there in the winter of 1815, when his ar- 

 dent mind was firmly bent on its purpose of traversing the whole 

 continent of Africa, and solving the problems of the outlet of the 

 Niger, and the hidden sources of the Nile, and his hopes 

 of success were so high as to amount to confidence. 



The Journal enumerates some of the works which Mr. Burck- 

 hardt had collected in Arabic literature, and, it is said, that the 

 Association for which he trayelled had in their possession a variety 

 of notices on the interior of Africa, with several vocabularies of 

 African languages, collected from the natives who visited Egypt 

 during Mr. Burckhardt's detention in that country. 



Such are a small part of the labours of this extraordinary 

 person, whose accomplishments and perseverance were such as 

 could not have failed, had he lived, to place him high in the ranks 

 of the most distinguished travellers of this or indeed any age. He 

 has, in fact, left behind him materials which have scarcely ever 

 been equalled by any of his predecessors for the interest and im- 

 portance of the subjects, the extent of his observations, and for 

 the elegance even of his style, though written in a foreign idiom. 



The close of Mr. Burckhardt's last work, we understand, is 

 brought down to tlie 25th March, 1817, when the approaching 

 summer seemed to offer to him the pleasing prospect of a caravan 

 destined to Mourzouk, a route which he had long before 

 decided on as the most likely to conduct towards that point 

 which had now for many years been the principal object of hig 

 life. His expressions on this occasion, and which we copy 

 from one of the last letters he was destined to write, cannot be 

 contemplated, at the present moment, without feelings of deep 

 regret. 



' I write to Sir Joseph Banks, and repeat to you, that I am 

 in anxious expectation of a caravan from Libya, and I have been 

 long prepared to start on the shortest notice. I shall leave Egypt 

 with more pleasure, because I shall now no more liavc to regret 

 leaving my journals in a rude state, wliich would have been 

 the case if I had started last year ; and it will aftbrd me no 

 small consolation upon my future travels, to think that, what- 



VoL. vm. F 



