18 
haufted by difeafe, without friends, 
without credit, unknown, and full 
of mifery, he found his way to Ko- 
ningfberg. ‘There, in the hour of 
his utmoit diftrefs, he refolves once 
more to have recourfe to his old be- 
nefactor; and he luckily found a 
perfon who was willing to take his 
draft for five guineas on the Prefi- 
dent of the Royal Society. 
«* With this afliftance he arrived 
in England, and immediately waited 
on Sir Jofeph Banks, who told him, 
knowing his temper, that he be- 
lieved he could recommend him to 
an adventure almoft as perilous as 
the one from which he had return- 
ed ; and then communicated to him 
the withes of the Affociation for dif- 
covering the inland countries of 
Africa. Ledyard replied, that he 
had always determined to traverfe 
the continent of Africa as foon as 
he had explored the interior of 
North America; and, as Sir Jofeph 
had offered him a letter of intro- 
duction, he came directly to the 
writer of thefe memoirs. Before I 
had Jearnt from the note the name 
and bufinefs of my vifitor, I was 
ftruck with the manlinéfs of his 
perfon, the breadth of his cheft, the 
opennefs of his countenance, and 
the inquietude ofhiseye. I opened 
the.map of Africa before him, and, 
tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, 
and from thence Weitward in the 
latitude and fuppofed direction of 
the Niger, I told him that.was his 
route, by which I was anxious that 
Africa might, if poffible, be ex- 
plored.’ He faid, he fhould think 
himielf fingularly fortunate to ba 
‘entrufted with the adventure. I 
afked him when he would fet out? 
- £ To-morrow se ns was his an- 
fwer. 
te a perfon as Mr. Ledyard 
ANNUAL REGIST ER;) 
_ death, attributed to various caufes, 
of his refearches, and difappointed i 
1790. 
was formed by Nature for the ob- — 
je& ,in contemplation; and, were 
we unacquainted with the fequel, 
we fhould congratulate the Society ~ 
in being fo fortunate as.to find fuch — 
a nian for one of their miffionaries ; 
—but—the reader will foon be ac- ~ 
quainted with the melancholy cir- 
cumftance to which we allude. 
Mr. Ledyard undertook, at his 
own defire, the difficult ana perilous. ~ 
tafk of traverfing from Eaft to Weft, 
in the latitude attributed to the Ni- 
ger, the wideft part of the continent a 
of Africa. On this bold adventure — 
he left London June 30, 1781, and — 
arrived at Cairo on the 1gth of | 
Auguft, a 
Hence he tranfmitted fuch ac- @ 
counts to his employers as manifeft ~ 
him to have been a traveller who 
obferved, reflefted, and compared ; 
and fuch was the information which ~ 
he collected here from the travelling 
flave-merchants, and from others, — 
refpefting the interior diftri€ts of — 
Africa, that he was impatient to ~ 
explore them. He wrote to the 
Committee, that his next communi- 
cation would be from Sennar (600 — 
miles to the South of Cairo): But 
arrefted him at ‘the commencement — 
the hopes which were entertained of 
his proje&ted journey. A bilious.~ 
complaint, produced by vexatious © 
delays, induced him to try_too ftrong — 
a dofe of the acid of vitriol, which © 
he counteracted by the ftrongeft tar- — 
tar emetic ; the continued difcharge © 
of blcod produced by which, haf- © 
tened his death, and he was buried © 
at Caire. 
Extracts from the Li ife of John » 
Elwes, £/7; 4y Edward. Tophamail 
E/q. 
THE 
