BRUCE, 
SB 
sinuated himself into the favour of the Galla 
chief, and had obtained a grant of the village of 
Geesh, for the purpose of visiting the sources of 
the Nile which lie in its vicinity. This having 
been always the grand object of our traveller's 
ambition, he determined, in its pursuit, to brave 
the imminent dangers arising from the barbarous 
people by whom this district was now occupied. 
He departed accordingly, without regard to the 
earnest advice of his Abyssinian friends, or to the 
fears with which they endeavoured to inspire 
him. 
He visited first the great cataract of Alata, 
down which the Nile falls, after passing through 
the lake of Dembea. He describes it as the most 
magnificent sight he ever beheld. The whole 
river fell down in one sheet from the height of 
about forty feet, with a force and noise which 
made our traveller dizzy. A thick haze covered 
the fall, and spread over the course of the stream 
both above and below. The water seemed re- 
ceived into a deep and capacious basin, and, at 
the same time, tortured into twenty different 
eddies. Mr Bruce declares, that, while in view 
of this stupendous scene, his mind was in a sort 
of temporary alienation ; — it seemed as if the 
fountains of the great deep were once more broken 
up, and this mighty element was again to over- 
whelm the world in destruction. No length of 
