1868. | Geography. 91 
Livingstone, and the boat expedition sent in search of him ; secondly, 
the geography of Abyssinia; thirdly, the exploration of Central 
Greenland by Mr. E. Whymper. Mr. Young, in command of the 
expedition sent by the Government on the track of Livingstone, 
had met with every facility from the authorities at the Cape, had 
engaged a negro crew, entered the Congoni mouth of the Zambesi, 
and was progressing towards the accomplishment of his errand 
with all due speed. Still, no news could be expected from him until 
February or March in next year. In the meantime it is impossible 
to tell whither Livingstone may have betaken himself. With regard to 
the geography of Abyssinia, the value of this Society was likely to be 
now felt. Mr. Clements Markham, the honorary secretary, has pre- 
pared an account of the discoveries of the early Portuguese travellers, 
and the Society has been the centre around which all the geogra- 
phical knowledge, now so important to the Government embarking 
in an expedition of which they are unable to realize the difficulties, 
has been collected, the whole nation in this way participating in the 
benefit accruing to scientific research, for which they are so unwill- 
ing to pay. Already the Topographical Department, under Sir H. 
James, have been busy in systematizing the information afforded 
by former travellers, whilst private geographers, Mr. Wyld, Mr. 
Keith Johnston, and Mr. Peterman have been engaged on maps 
that will elucidate the passage of the English army. Sir Samuel 
Baker has contributed somewhat to our knowledge of the water 
system of this country, and has especially shown that the fertili- 
zation of Egypt by the waters of the Nile is attributable to the 
soil carried down the Abyssinian tributaries, rather than to the more 
regular sources of the constant flow which traverse larger portions 
of the continent. It is expected that some new papers will be read 
on yarious explorations of Central America, and it is to be hoped 
that before long an account will be given by Mr. Whymper, of 
Greenland, whence he has just returned, having accomplished an 
inland journey not quite so extensive as he had intended, but which 
will considerably increase our knowledge of the animal and vege- 
table life of the interior of that country. 
The first paper read this session was by Mr. Clements Markham, 
“On the Portuguese Expeditions to Abyssinia, from the Fifteenth 
to the Seventeenth Centuries.” All that was known of Abyssinia 
down to the time of Bruce was the result of the discoveries of the 
Portuguese, who had performed wonders in discovery for such a 
small nation. King John II. despatched two of his subjects, one 
of whom penetrated to the court of the Negus or Emperor Alexander, 
in 1450, where he was detained by this predecessor of Theodorus, 
and never again allowed to quit the country ;—rather a bad omen 
for Colonel Cameron and Mr. Rassam. This Portuguese was alive in 
1520, when a second embassy arrived, who were detained six years, 
