MEMOIR OF BRUCE. 83 



charger of great power and size, which he required 

 in consequence of his extreme corpulence and weight. 

 He occasionally visited London, and kept up a cor- 

 respondence with the Honourahle Daines Barring- 

 ton, Buffon, and other men of science. He some- 

 times amused himself in translating the prophecies 

 of Enoch, and even projected an edition of the 

 Bible with notes, pointing out numberless instances 

 in which the Jewish history was singularly confirmed 

 by his own observations. 



His temper was irritable, and exceedingly sensi- 

 tive on the contraverted points of his travels. One 

 day when visiting a relation in East Lothian, a 

 gentleman bluntly remarked in his presence, that 

 " it was impossible the natives of Abyssinia could 

 eat raw meat!" Bruce said not a word, but left 

 the room, and immediately brought from the kitchen 

 a piece of raw beef-steak, peppered and salted in 

 the genuine oriental style. " xbu shall eat that, 

 sir, or fight me," he said, handing the platter to 

 the sceptical gentleman ; which task being most re- 

 luctantly performed, " Now sir (said Bruce calmly), 

 you will never again say it is impossible!' 



The last act of his life was one of courtesy. A 

 large party had dined at Kinnaird ; and when the 

 company were about to depart, Bruce, who was 

 gaily talking to a young lady in the drawing-room, 

 observed that her aged mother was proceeding to her 

 carriage unattended. In hurrying to her assistance, 

 at the head of the great staircase, his foot the foot 

 that had borne him in safety through so many dangers 



