MEMOIR OF BRUCE. 25 
he endeavoured to soothe his sorrows with study 
and travel. 
For two years he devoted himself to the acquisi- 
tion of the Spanish and Portuguese languages, and 
also made considerable progress in several styles of 
drawing. It fortunately happened that the concern 
in which he was engaged required a regular and 
constant intercourse with those countries, so that 
his desire to visit the continent coincided with the 
ordinary routine of the business. 
After having made a short visit to the islands of 
Guernsey and Alderney, he sailed in the month of 
July for the continent, and spent the remainder of 
the year in Portugal and Spain. From Corunna, 
where he landed, he proceeded to Ferrol, and thence 
to Oporto and Lisbon. His professed object was to 
be present at the vintage of that season, hut his 
journals showed that he had paid more attention to 
the manners and customs of the people. From 
Portugal Bruce entered Spain, passed through To- 
ledo, and made an excursion over the mountains 
into the province of new Castillo. About the middle 
of November he reached Madrid, having traversed 
the districts of Cordova and Seville. His intimate 
knowledge of the Spanish language was of great 
service to him, in enabling him to appreciate more 
narrowly the habits and condition of society. 
The traces of Oriental manners visible in the 
south, the ruinous palaces of the Kaliphs, and the 
romantic tales of Moorish chivalry, turned his atten- 
tion to the unexplored collections of Arabic manu- 
