horneman's travels. 
Banks, he informed the Association, that, to an 
excellent constitution, Mr Horneman united great 
and respectable literary attainments, and a consi- 
derable knowledge of mechanics, both theoretical 
and practical ; that he was patient of fatigue ; in 
his form stout and athletic ; in his habits tempe- 
rate and abstemious ; in his disposition cheerful 
and full of vivacity ; and that, excepting the usual 
diseases of infancy, he had known sickness only 
by name. To this letter Sir Joseph Banks an- 
swered, " If Mr Horneman be really the person 
" you describe, he is the very identical person 
" whom we are in search of This reply was 
communicated to Horneman, at Hanover, by the 
professor, who, to his astonishment, saw him enter 
his apartment before he imagined the letter could 
have reached him ; such expedition had the young 
adventurer used in travelling from that city on 
foot. In the course of one night he formed an 
excellent plan of his journey, which was immedi- 
ately despatched to London, for the inspection of 
the Association. The summer of 1796 was em« 
ployed in attending the lectures on natural history 
at Gottingen, and in acquiring Arabic and the 
other oriental languages. In February 1797 he 
visited London, and was introduced to the Afri- 
can Association, who unanimously sanctioned his 
appointment. After a passport had been procur- 
ed from the French Directory, Mr Horneman pro- 
