Chapter XVI: Letter VIII: From Mr. Willis to Mr. Jackson

Harley-Street, London,

My Dear Sir, 12th December, 1797.

I thank you warmly for your intelligence concerning the interior of
Africa, and beg you will continue to favour me with all the
information you can collect upon this subject. Mr. Park has been
almost as far as Jinnie, but did not reach Timbuctoo; he is now on
his way to England, in an American ship, via America. We are
anxious for his arrival, which may be expected in the course of the
present month; and all the Africani are extremely curious to hear
the detail of his most interesting journey, which we hope will
produce some authentic knowledge, of a considerable part of those
regions, that have hitherto baffled all the ardour and energy of
European enquiry, though they have always excited the curiosity of
the most eminent and enlightened men, both in past and present
times.

I thank you also for the commercial intelligence you have sent me.

Do you know whether the emperor of Marocco has any collection of
books? If he has, probably some ancient books, of great value,
might be found among them.
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I should consider it as a very great obligation if you could
procure, and send me any book or manuscript in the character and
language of Timbuctoo. We are informed that, besides the Arabic,
they have a character of their own, perfectly different.

I remain, my dear Sir,
Sincerely your's,

J. WILLIS.

_Extract of a Letter to Mr. Jackson, from His Excellency J.M.
Matra, British Envoy to Marocco, &c._

Tangier, November 8, 1797.

I have not yet received any answer from Sir Joseph Banks to the
letter from you, which I sent to him. Should you be able to obtain
any information from Timbuctoo[104], or of the interior of this
country, which would gratify one's curiosity, I will be very
thankful for a slice of it.

I am ever, dear Jackson,
Most faithfully your's,
JAMES M. MATRA.

[Footnote 104: All _my information_ respecting Timbuctoo, will
be found in Jackson's Account of Marocco, Chapter XIII.]
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