28 MEMOIR OF BRUCE. 



cated to Mr. Pitt, with whom he had the honour of 

 conversing on the subject. That able minister 

 seemed inclined to adopt his plan; but before it 

 could be carried into execution, and when Bruce 

 had received orders to wait upon him on the sub- 

 ject, Mr. Pitt resigned his office. The scheme 

 however, was not allowed to drop : it had been laid 

 before the king, and was highly recommended by 

 Lord Halifax. The Earl of Egremont and Mr. 

 Grenville had several meetings with Bruce to con- 

 cert the expedition, which was to be entrusted to 

 Lord Howe. But the Portuguese ambassador in- 

 terfered, and the idea was suddenly abandoned. 



After these repeated disappointments, Bruce re- 

 tired to Scotland ; but he was soon again called to 

 London by Lord Halifax, who suggested to him 

 the congenial task of exploring the coasts of Bar- 

 bary and the magnificent remains of Moorish archi- 

 tecture, which had been already partially visited by 

 the learned Dr. Shaw. The discovery of the sources 

 of the Nile was likewise made the subject of con- 

 versation ; and it was from this incident that Bruce 

 conceived the design of solving that great geogra- 

 phical problem which, as he 'expresses himself, had 

 baffled the researches of all travellers for the last 

 two thousand years. Fortune seemed to smile on 

 this arduous undertaking, for the consulship of 

 Algiers having become vacant by the death of 

 Mr. Ford, Bruce was induced to accept the office as 

 affording additional convenience for making his pro- 

 posed scientific excursion into the interior. Before 



