It so happened that at the time Mr. Rassam received an intimation
that he was selected for the duty of conveying a letter from the
Queen to the Emperor of Abyssinia, I had gone with him on a visit
to Lahej, a small Arab town about twenty-five miles from Aden. We
talked a great deal about that strange land, and on my expressing
my desire to accompany Mr. Rassam to the Abyssinian Court, that
gentleman proposed to Colonel Merewether, the Political Resident
at Aden, to allow me to go with him as his companion: a request
that Colonel Merewether immediately granted, and which was shortly
afterwards sanctioned by the Governor of Bombay and the Viceroy of
India.

We had to wait a few days, as the Queen's letter had been detained
in Egypt, in order to have it translated, and it was only on the
20th of July, 1864, that Mr. Rassam and myself left Aden for Massowah
in her Majesty's steamer _Dalhousie_.

On the morning of the 23rd, at a distance of about thirty miles
from the shore, we sighted the high land of Abyssinia, formed of
several consecutive ranges, all running from N. to S., the more
distant being also the highest; some of the peaks, such as Taranta,
ranging between 12,000 and 13,000 feet.

As the outline of the coast became more distinct, the sight of a
small island covered with white houses surrounded by green groves,
reflecting their welcome shadows in the quiet blue water of the
bay, gave us a thrill of delight; it seemed as if at last we had
come to one of those enchanted spots of the East, so often described,
so seldom seen, and to the longing of our anxious hearts the quick