The Great Ambition And Object Of Mr. Bruce Was To Discover The Source Of
The Nile; For This Purpose He
Left Britain in 1762, and after visiting
Algiers, Balbec, and Palmyra, he prepared for his journey into Abyssinia.
He sailed
Up the Nile a considerable way, and afterwards joined a caravan
to Cosseir on the Red Sea. After visiting part of the sea coast of Arabia,
he sailed for Massoucut, by which route alone an entrance into Abyssinia
was practicable. In this country he encountered many obstacles, and
difficulties, and after all, in consequence of wrong information he
received from the inhabitants, visited only the Blue River, one of the
inferior streams of the Nile, instead of the White River, its real source.
This, however, is of trifling moment, when contrasted with the accessions
to our geographical knowledge of Abyssinia, the coast of the Red Sea, &c.,
for which we are indebted to this most zealous and persevering traveller.
Since Mr. Bruce's time, Abyssinia has been visited by Mr. Salt, who has
likewise added considerably to our knowledge of this country, though on
many points he differs from Mr. Bruce.
The most important and interesting accession to our knowledge of the north
of Africa was made between the years 1792 and 1795, by Mr. Browne. This
gentleman seems to have equalled Mr. Bruce in his zeal and ardour, but to
have surpassed him in the soundness and utility of his views; for while the
former was principally ambitious of discovering the sources of the Nile, - a
point of little real moment in any point of view, - the latter wished to
penetrate into those parts of the north of Africa which were unknown to
Europeans, but which, from all accounts of them, promised to interest and
benefit, not only commerce, but science.
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