PREFACE.

Towards the close of the year 1837 I undertook, at the request of a friend, a journey into the most distant portion of the countries under the government of the Viceroy of Egypt, in order to collect information referring to commerce, but more especially with the view of convincing myself whether trade might be carried on with these countries directly, instead of through the intermediation of agents, in whose hands it had hitherto rested. The task, although rather arduous, was not displeasing to me, for a residence of several years in Egypt had rendered me tolerably proficient in the Arabic language and colloquial dialect, and my prior travels in various parts of the Soudan had made me familiar with the habits of the natives, besides