302 
THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION. 
end of March to Tripoli, and proceeded by Malta 
and Marseilles to England, where he arrived on 
July the 26th. During the time, however, that 
he remained at Mesurata, Mr Lucas, suspecting 
that his journey would be impracticable, employed 
himself in procuring from the Shereef Imhammed, 
an account of Fezzan and of the countries beyond 
it towards the south, which he had visited as a fac- 
tor in the slave trade. He roused the ShereePs 
curiosity, by displaying a map of Africa, as a pre- 
sent which he intended for the king of Fezzan, and 
requested his assistance to render it more correct. 
This proposal, which gratified the vanity, as well as 
the curiosity, of the Shereef, was seconded by the 
promise of a copy for his own use, and Mr Lucas 
obtained from him all the information he required. 
The memorandums which he procured in this 
manner, were read to the governor of Mesurata, 
who had formerly travelled to Fezzan, and who 
confirmed the accuracy of the Shereef 5 s relation. 
But before the arrival of Mr Lucas in England, 
the committee of the Association had obtained a 
more decisive test of its value, in a narrative given 
by Ben Alii, a native of Morocco, of his extensive 
travels as a merchant, in the countries to the south 
of the Sahara. For, though the Moor's recollec- 
tion had been impaired by the lapse of 20 years, 
and his remarks were those of a superficial ob- 
server, rather possessed of activity of mind, than 
