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 he 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 w r as 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 
