BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 129
he married, and abandoning the idea of India, embarked in the excellent
business left by his father-in-law. The death of his wife, however, which took
place soon after their mam-age, at Paris, whither he had taken her for the
recovery of her health, again altered Bruce’s destiny. Deeply affected by her
loss, he first devolved the cares of his business on his partner, and soon afterwards
withdrew from the concern altogether.
Some time subsequent to these occurrences, Bruce had become acquainted
with Lord Halifax, who suggested to him that his talents might be successfully
exerted in making discoveries in Africa; and, to give him every facility, his
Lordship proposed to appoint him consul at Algiers. He repaired to his post in
1763, where he employed himself a year in the study of the Oriental languages ;
and this appointment was the first step to the discovery of the source of the Nile.
As our readers must be familiar with the perilous adventures of this traveller,
as kpicted by himself in one of the most entertaining works in our language, it
would be altogether idle to attempt any abridgment of them. After many
hair-breadth escapes, and overcoming many difEculties both by sea and land,
Bruce returned in safety to Marseilles in March 1773, and was received with
marked consideration at the French court.’
On his arrival in Great Britain he had an audience of George the Third,
to whom he presented drawings of Palmyra, Baalbec, and other cities, with
which he had promised to furnish his Majesty previous to his departure. It had
been insinuated that Mr. Bruce was an indifferent draughtsman, and that the
drawings which he had brought home were not done by himself, but by the artist
he had taken along with him. This charge was perfectly untrue, although it
derived some countenance from his declining to comply with a request of the
King, that he should draw Kew. When he had submitted the above-mentioned
draughts, his majesty said, “ Very well, very well, Bruce ; the colours are fine,
very fine-you must make me o n e y e s ; you must make me one of Kew 1’’
Bruce evaded compliance by saying, “ I would with the greatest pleasure obey
your Majesty, but here I cannot get such colours.”
It was not until seventeen years after his return to Europe, that he gave
that work to the world which has perpetuated his name. It appeared in 1790,
and consisted of four large quarto volumes, besides a volume of illustrations, and
was entitled, “Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, in the years
1768-69-70-71-72-73. By James Bruce of Kinnaird, Esq., F.R.S.”’
There is in the museum at Kmnaird a very fine quadrant, with an inscription, as a present from
the King of France. Mr. Bruce retained such a strong remembrance of the kindness shown hini
by Louis XVI., that when he heard of the King’s tragical end, in January 1793, his feelings were
so much overpowered that he cried like a child.
a The long interval that elapsed between the period of his return and the publication of his
travels had induced many people to pretend that he had nothing worth while communicating to the
world. This malicious report was mentioned to him by a friend. He replied, “James, let Ihm say,
as my maternal grand-aunt said. You have,” continued he, “no doubt seen that inscription upon
Airth-are you acquainted with its oringin?”-“No,” was the rejoinder. “Then,” said he,
“I’ll tell you. My grand-uncle was amongst others a great sufferer during the Usurpation, and,
owing to his adherence to the Stuarts, was obliged to fly to Sweden. His wife, by her judicious
S
130 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The singular incidents detailed in these Travels-the habits of life there described,
so totally unlike anything previously known in Europe-and the style
of romantic adventure which characterised the work-led many persons to distrust
its authenticity, and even to doubt whether its author ever had been in
Abyssinia at all. Those doubts found their way into the critical journals of the
day,’ but the proud spirit of Bruce disdained to make any reply. To his
daughter alone he opened his heart on this vexatious subject; and to her he
often said, “The world is strangely mistaken in my character, by supposing
that I would condescend to write a romance for its amusement. I shall not live
to witness it ; but you probably will see the truth of all I have written completely
and decisively confirmed.”
So it has happened. Recent travellers have established the authenticity of
Bruce beyond cavil or dispute. Dr. Clark, in particular, states, in the sixth
volume of his Travels, that he and some other men of science, when at Cairo,
examined an ancient Abyssinian priestwho perfectly recollected Bruce at the
court of Gondar-on various disputed passages of the work, which were confirmed
even in the most minute particular ; and he concludes this curious investigation
by observing, that he scarcely believes any other book of travels could
have stood such a test. Sir David Baird, while commanding the British troops
embarked on the Red Sea, publicly declared that the safety of the army was
mainly owing to the accuracy of Mr. Bruce’s chart of that sea, which some of
the critics of the day ventured to insinuate he had never visited. On this subject
Bruce is strikingly corroborated by that well-known traveller, Lieutenant
Burnes. In a letter written from the Red Sea, so lately as 1835, he says-
& I cannot quit Bruce without mentioning a fact which I have gathered here,
and which ought to be known far and wide in justice to the memory of a great
and injured man, whose deeds I admired when a boy, and whose book is a true
romance. Lord Valentia calls Bruce’s voyage to the Red Sea an episodical
fiction, because he is wrong in the latitude of an island called ‘Macowar,’ which
Bruce says he had visited. Now this sea has been surveyed for the first time,
and there are two islands called Macowar ;’ the one in latitude 23” 50‘ visited
by Bruce, and the other in latitude 20” 45’, visited by Valentia ! Only think
of this vindication of Bruce’s memory ! Major Head knew it not when he wrote
his fife, and it is worth a thousand pages of defence.”
The following rather amusing anecdote is told of Bruce :-It is said that
once, when on a visit to a relative in East-Lothian, a person present observed
it was “impossible” that the natives of Abyssinia could eat raw meat. Bruce
very quietly left the room, and shortly afterwards returned from the kitchen with
management, and by carrying on a 8maIl trade in the coal line, made a considerable fortune, and built
the wing of the house at Airth, now standing. Some evil-minded persons chose to insinuate that
she had acquired this fortune in a way not very creditable to her chastity. Treating this slander with
the contempt it merited, she, with conscious innocence, caused the inscription of ‘ let t hsuy ,’ to
be placed over the door.”
I The amusing “ Adventures of Baron Munchausen ” were writteh purposely in ridicule of him,
and were received by the public 84 8 just satire on his work.
