v < r. /AM; s 



I'.ltTVT. ,'AMIX 



Alfiera, tod who wa* now Archimandrite under Mark, patriarch of 

 Alexandria, II* also obtained Utter* from th* patriarch for sevtral 

 Grerkt who WOT* in high (tattoo* in AbjMfaia, and from All lley for 

 th. .herref of Mecca, the neyib of Huona, and the kin* of Senuaar. 

 Tko provid. d be art off for Uppr Ktypt. a country which waa then 

 fur from b*io|t accurately known. Whatever iaterest Brace's aoooaot 

 of Kcyptiau antiquiiire which be give* io tlie firtt book of hi travel* 

 might po*ses at the time, I -as now pasted away. Hi* description ii 

 Dot free from inaoeuraciea, but be corrected teveral common errora. 

 From the Nile be cromed the deaert to Coawir, whence be aailed 

 for Jidda in April 1789 : but inatead of going direct to Jidda he wmt, 

 according to bia own statements, up the gulf to Tor. and thrnee along 

 the Arabian coatt to Jidda, lie give* hia obnerrationa on the hydro- 

 graphy of bin court a, the position aud bearing of the town* and 

 harbour*, Ac. This voyax* up to Tor, aa well a* the lubaequent Toy age 

 to the tlraits of Beb-el-Mandeb, bare been by aome considered aa 

 fictitious, and Dr. Murray himaelf in hit correspondence with Bait 

 (Hall* ' Life of Salt') acknowledged that "the date* are contrary to 

 their exkUnoe;" yet it fa a fact that Bruee'a observationi are fully 

 confirmed by the survey of the coaata of the Red Sea ( Notea on 

 Brace'* Chart io the Journal of the Geographical Society,' TO!. v.) 

 made uader the orders of the Bombay government. 



At Jidda Bruce received every encouragement for hia Abyssinian 

 journey. The English at Jidda exerted their influence with the 

 autboritiea of that place. Metical Aga, the minuter of the thereof of 

 Mecca, originally an Abymininn alavc, who waa well acquainted with 

 Baa Michael the governor of Tigrtf, and at that time the mott power- 

 Ail chief in Abyaainia, agreed to tend one of bit confidential servant*, 

 Mahomet Giblxrti, a native of Abyssinia, to accompany Bruoe in bia 

 journey ; and he wrote to Kaa Michael, recommending the traveller aa 

 *n Kngliah phyaician to hi* protection against the nayib of Masowa, 

 a kind of independent chief, whoa* cruelty and avarice were the dread 

 of stranger*. Tbia precaution of Metical Aga proved very useful to 

 Bruce. He aailed with Oibberti for Maaowa in September 1789. On 

 arriving at Matowa, Oibberti went on shore first and despatched th* 

 letter* to Rat Michael, after which Bruce waa detained several weeks, 

 nooved and threatened by the nayib, and in tome danger of his life. 

 Bruce exhibited hii usual firmness and courage, and was countenanced 

 in aeoret by Ahmed, the nayib's nephew, and a better man than his 

 uncle, for whom Bruce had brought a letter from Mecca. At lost 

 mewengers came to Masowa from the interior, bearing letters from 

 llai Michael and from Janui, his deputy at Adowa, requesting the 

 nayib immediately to forward the foreign physician. On the 15th of 

 November Bruoe left Arkeeko with the caravan, aud after crossing the 

 Tarxnta Mountains arrived at Dixan, the frontier town of Tigrd. On 

 th'' Cth of December he arrived at Adowa, the residence of Ras 

 Michael, who wat then absent on a campaign in Aniliara. Bruce was 

 kindly received by the deputy Janni, with whom he remained till the 

 ; of January 1770. He visited Axum and other places in the 

 neighbourhood, and continuing his journey through Siri and ncro.<s 

 the Taoazxe, he panted over the Lamalmon, a part of the Samen range, 

 and arrived at Oondar about the tnid ile of February. The Ras and 

 the young king were still absent with the army, but Bruce became 

 acquainted with Ayto Aylo, a man of rank and very partial to 

 foreigner*, who introduced him to the iteghd or queen dowager, and 

 afterwards to her daughter Ozoro Esther, Rfts Michael's wife, who 

 continued Brm-e'a constant friend during bia reoidenoa in Aby-ninia. 



1 rute remained nearly two years in Abyssinia, which be spent 

 entirely in that division of the empire called Amhara, and in tbnt 

 part of it which borders on the lake Dembea, without ever again 

 _ Tigris. Concerning the phyaical geography of the country 

 bin information it aoanty and inaccurate. The southern provinces of 

 Shoe, Efnt, 4c. be did not visit The country waa in a state of con- 

 fu-j-.n, owing to a civil war between Ras Michael and other chieftiins. 

 The campaign of that year 1770, after beginning unfa.vour.ibly to 

 Michael's cause, ended by hia complete triumph, which waa attended 

 by all the atrocities of revenge to which that clever but cruel chief 

 w*a prone. In November of that year Bruoe succeeded iu reaching 

 tbe source* of the Abawi, which was then considered as the main 

 stream of the Nile ; thus accomplishing what he bad from the begin- 

 ning Axed in bis mind aa th* main object of hi* ambition. 



A* Bruoe' t narrative of hia residence in Abyaainia has been the 

 (abject of much controversy . and as doubt* of his veracity have been 

 by tome carried to an unreasonable extreme, it is well to ttate here 

 what credible native witoe.fi who btd known him at Oondar stated 

 many year* after to Salt concerning him. Salt, in his aecond journey 

 to Abyssinia, became acquainted with Dofter Esther, a learned old 

 man, n>ueh rep< cted in the country, who, when a young man studying 

 at Oondar, had bs*n intimately acquainted with Brnc, and. after a 

 lap** of newly forty yean, (till tpoke of him in terms of friendly 

 regard. He aaid that when Bruce fint arrived at Oondar, Ha* Michael 

 was absent with th* army, but that " having questioned two Greeks, 

 Hydro l'tro and Paulo*, who gave a favourable account of hi* 

 ratigion," the lias, on hia return, was induced to treat him with great 

 alt. ntion. Bruce't reputation wa* greatly increased by hi* having 

 cured one of lUt Michael's children, and also Ayto Confu, Ororo 

 Either' i son by a former husband, of the small-pox. Ozoro Either, 

 the itegbe or queen dowager, and Ayto Aylo became hit warm patron*. 



After remaining tome time at Oondar he set out, with the king's per- 

 mMotj, to visit the *ource* of the Abawi, under the protection of 

 Fasil, the governor of Damot and Oojatn, who had then mad* hi* 

 p.a.-e with Kaa Michael Brno* went with Balugani, a young Italian 

 artist, who attended him on his traveH After failing in a first 

 att-mpi, in which they were plundered, they succeeded in a second, 

 and returned aafe to Oondar. Dofter Esther described Bruce a* a 

 noble-looking man, who rode remarkably well on a black horse of hi* 

 own ; the king sometime* lent him a horse out of his stud. Bruce 

 waa greatly noticed by the king, and was one of the batoomals or 

 favourites at court ; Raa Michael wa* also attached to him, but seldom 

 gave him anything. Bruce resided partly at Koscam and partly at a 

 houe near Kedus Raphael, which waa given him by the king. Ke8a 

 Yaaous, and many other person* of rank in the country, were much 

 attached to Brace, and when th* latter quitted Abys-inia, Dofter 

 Esther aaid " be left behind him a great name." After Ras Michael's 

 defeat and disgrace, Bruce returned home by way of Sennaar. Thn* 

 far Dofter Esther's account agree* with the main part of Bruoe'i 

 narrative ; bat there it a considerable discrepancy in several of the 

 details. Dofter Either said that Brace did not speak the Tiure 

 language, nor much of the Amharic; that when he arrived in the 

 country he could read the written characters of their books, but did 

 not possess any great knowledge of the Qeez, though in this respect, 

 as well a* with regard to the Amharic, be considerably improved him- 

 self during his stay. He was accompanied by an interpreter of tbe 

 name of Michael, through whom he generally conversed. He spoke 

 however Arabic with tome of the Mussulman inhabitants. Brace 

 never commanded a body of horse, as he stated ; the king had no 

 body-guard, though be had a body of black horsemen from Sennaar, 

 who were commanded by Idris, a Mussulman. Bruce waa not actually 

 engaged in war, but he was present at one battle, probably the second 

 battle of Serbraxos; and this is confirmed by Bruoc's original journals, 

 quoted by Dr. Murray in bis edition of the ' Travels,' and which differ 

 considerably from Brace's text in the narrative. No shummut or 

 district was ever given to Brace, though he waa said to have frequently 

 asked for the government of Ras-el-Feel, which was held at one time 

 by Ayto Confu. Dofter Esther said that Anih i Yasous, prince of 

 Shot, never visited Oondar in Bruce' s time, all connection between 

 Shoa and Oondar having been broken off long before. It may be 

 observed here also, that in Brace's original memoranda (see Appendix 

 vol. vii. of Murray's edition) there is no mention of this visit as stated 

 in the narrative. The description of the Oalla chief Ouangnol, I Lifter 

 Esther said was strongly misrepresented ; he remembered his visit to 

 Oondar, when the Oalla waa becomingly dressed, as most OaUas are 

 when they come to court With regard to the story of the Worari or 

 plundering parties on a march cutting a piece of flesh from the living 

 animal, Dofter Esther had heard of the practice, and believed it true. 

 This has been fully confirmed since by Pearce. ('Life and Adventure* 

 of Nathaniel Pearce,' edited by Hall.) On being told of liruce's dis- 

 gusting description of Abyssinian banquets, Dofter Esther said he 

 had never witnessed such practices, and expressed great abhorrence at 

 the thought. He admitted that the licentiousness of the higher orders 

 was carried to much greater lengths in Amhara than in TignS (see also 

 Pearoe's ' Life,' and Coffin's account of his excursion to Qondar 

 annexed to it), but said that the scene described by Brace wat cer- 

 tainly greatly exaggerated, and, as a proof of its inaccuracy, he 

 pointed at the drinking of healths, a custom unknown in Abyssinia. 

 (Salt's ' Abyssinia,' ch. 8.) Such was Dofter Esther's sober statement, 

 the accuracy of which waa confirmed to Salt from other quarters, 

 among others by Sydee Paulus, already mentioned, who had lived 

 fifty years in Abyssinia, and remembered Bruce perfectly well; and 

 by Apostoli, another Greek, who had often conversed with Janni, Ras 

 Michael's deputy, "who had always spoken of Bruoe with great 

 raepact." (Salt, ch. 9.) Oobat, the missionary to Abyssinia, observes 

 of the description of the feast aa given by Bruce, " I admit that such 

 a feat* may have taken place among the most shameless libertines, 

 but excesses of that kind are not customary, either as to their cruelty 

 or their indecency." 



It appears evident from all this that when Bruce composed hi* 

 narrative, he did not consult or did not scrupulously adhere to hi* 

 journals, but borrowed largely from his own imagination, especially 

 with regard to detail* ; he confounded date*, and jumbled together 

 distinct incidents and circumstances, either through careleanei* or 

 for th* take of effect " 11* waa become old and indolent," says his 

 friend Dr. Murray, "and I have reason to believe that after nearly 

 twenty years had elapsed sine* his return from Abyssinia, his tale to 

 his amanuensis resembled more that of an old veteran by his parlour 

 fire-side in a winter evening, than the result of fresh and accurate 

 observation. Ho wished to have it understood that he had omitted 

 nothing when be travelled, but performed all a species of ambition 

 seldom reconcilable with fact" (Hall's 'Life of Salt') There are 

 however some points in Bruce's narrative which cannot be accounted 

 forsoeaiily. Th* Axum inscription, with the pretended words "King 

 Ptolemy Kvergetes," seems to be one of these. He also totally omits 

 throughout the narrative of his journey to mention Balugaui, a young 

 Italian artist who had joined Bruce at Algiers, and had been the con- 

 stant companion of all his journey* at far aa Oondar and th* source* 

 of th* Nil*, had kept hi* journals, aaaktsd him in drawing, and had 



