“ After receiving a liberal education he devoted particular attention to the Arabic language, and made a special study of the manners and customs of the East. Pretending to be a descendant of the Abbasids, Badia in 1803 set out on his travels. Under the name of Ali Bey el Abbassi, and in Mussulman costume, he visited Morocco, Tripoli, Egypt, Arabia and Syria, and was received as a person of high rank wherever he appeared. ”