Will ^ L v ► ^V\\\ to. '■'St M >V v^\ m ■■ SB Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/travelsinfootsteOOplay ^cro TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE Plate L FAC-SIMILE OF A WATER COLOR DRAWING BY BRUCE. JC the < < :: OF BPJJC • N ALB EM A ; , ’ 'vTft ILLUSTRATED B* LIEUT.-C OL s U '■ I AI R i.M. t."'- : : -a:. NEI ■ (J k.i;: 'AN PAf f -i ox * rATEJfr. <8 O id < oJ f. FAC-SIMILE. OF A WA'ER COLOR DRAWING B >RJCt TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS A OF BRUCE IN ALGERIA AND TUNIS ILLUSTRATED BY FACSIMILES OF HIS ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY LIEUT.-COLONEL B. L. PLAYFAIE H.B.M. CONSUL-GENERAL IN ALGERIA LONDON G. KEGAN PAUL & CO., 1 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 1877 {The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved) RAC IJeab Lady True low, May I dedicate to you the following pages, written to illustrate the earliest travels of your ancestor, James Bruce; and to make known a portion of that priceless collection of drawings, too long shut up in the muniment room of Kinnciird, which you have so kindly and so unre¬ servedly placed, at my disposed, ? Although you are the sole heiress of the illustrious traveller, all the world are co-heirs ivith you in his fame and in the result of his explorations ; and they will tender to you their sincerest thanks for restoring to them so important a part of their heritage. Believe me, dear Lady Thurlow, Yours most gratefully, British Consulate General, Algiers : October 1, 1877 . B. L. PLAYFAIR LIBRARY OF RICARDO A. CAM I NOS CONTENTS. —ooj^oo- PAGE INTRODUCTORY . 1 PART I. CHAPTER I. Bruce appointed Consul-General at Algiers.15 II. Julia C^sarea.23 III. Start for Bone—Visit the Forest of Edough and Mines of Ain Barbar.31 IV. Bone to Guelma—Ruins of Announa—Hammam Meskoutin—Roknia—Cave of Djebel Thata— Mahadjiba—The Soumah.36 V. Constantine.47 VI. Bruce’s Route to Lambessa—Zana or Diana Veteranorum—The Medrassen—Bruce arrives at the Aures—Curious Meeting with a Chief of those Mountains . . . . . .52 VII. Our Arrival at Batna—History and Description of the Aures Mountains.61 VIII. Start for the Aures—Lambessa—El-Arbaa—Menaa ...... 70 IX. Ascent of the Oued Abdi—Mines of Taghit—Arrival at Oued Taga.77 X. Timegad.83 XI. Leave Timegad—Foum Kosentina—Megalithic Remains—Oum el-Ashera—El-Wadhaha—Ascent of Chellia—Ain Meimoun—Lions.01 XII. Ain Khenchla—Across the Plains of the Nememcha to Tebessa.98 XIII. Tebessa—Return to Constantine.103 XIV. Constantine to Algiers through Kabylia.114 CONTENTS. • 1 • Vlll PART II. CHAPTER PAGE XV. Start from Algiers on Second Expedition—Earl of Kingston undertakes Photographic Depart¬ ment-Arrival at Tunis—Sebkha es-Sedjouni—Mohammedia—Aqueduct of Carthage—Oudena —Zagohuan . ........ 127 XVI. Es-Sabala—The Medjerda—Dragons of the Atlas—Bizerta—Immense Land-locked Harbour —Fish in Lake—Djebel Ishkul—Wild Buffaloes . ... . . 140 XVII. Visit to the Bet and General Kheir-ed-din—Difficulties attending Travel in Tunis—Improve¬ ment in the Government of the Country—Commencement of Bruce’s Journey by the Medjerda —Our Start for Susa by Sea—Susa.147 XVIII. Departure from Susa—Es-Sahel—Effects of the Disforesting of Tunis—Olive-trees—El-Djem 154 XIX. El-Djem to Kerouan.163 XX. Kerouan to Djebel Trozza, Djilma and Sbeitla . . . . . . . . . . 172 XXI. Sbeitla. .177 XXII. Bruce’s Journey from Sbeitla to Hydra.188 XXIII. Leave Sbeitla—Sbiba—Er-Raheia—Hamada Oulad Ayar—Arrival at Mukther . . 191 XXIV. Mukther.. 197 XXV. Mukther to Zanfour—Bruce’s Route from Kef to Zanfour. . 205 XXVI. Zanfour to Ain Edjah and Teboursouk—Dougga. 213 XXVII. Leave Teboursouk—Valley of Lions—Ain Tunga—Testour . 2^6 XXVIII. Testour to El-Badja by the Mountains—El-Badja. 231 XXIX. Route from El-Badja to Tabarca. 238 XXX. Tabarca .... 0 .„ * • • ..24/ XXXI. From Tabarca to La Calle. 251 PART IIP XXXII. Bruce’s Route from Tebessa to the Djerid and back to Tunis .... 265 XXXIII. Bruce s Route to Djerba, Tripoli, and back to Tunis . , . 275 XXXIV. Tripoli.. • • • • . . . Z7O XXXV. Bruce’s Route continued—Lebidah—Bengazi—Teuchira—Ptolometa—-Shipwreck at Bengazi_ Departure for Canea . . . oco INDEX ... .295 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE I. II. III. IY. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. o;=s^oc— Tombeau de la Chretienne, or Tomb of Juba II. Vase brought by Bruce from Xorth Africa Map of Part of Algeria and Tunis .... Tombeau de la Chretienne, Details of Columnation False Door of Tombeau de la Chretienne Aqueduct of Julia C^sarea. Portcullis at Seniors . El-Kantara of Constantine in 1765 The Medrassen, or Tomb of the Xumidian Kings Arch of the Gods, Timegad. The Capitol, Timegad ....... Temple of Jupiter, Tebessa. Quadrifrontal Arch of Caracalla at Tebessa Aqueduct at Carthage . Amphitheatre of El-Djem, Plan of Lower Storey Amphitheatre of El-Djem, General View Amphitheatre of El-Djem, Interior of Lower Corridor Entrance to Hieron of Temples at Sbeitla . Back View of Temples at Sbeitla .... Triumphal Arch at Hydra. Tombstone at Mukther ....... Lower Triumphal Arch at Mukther, by Bruce Lower Arch at Mukther, Present Condition Lower Arch at Mukther, Architectural Details . Arch of Trajan at Mukther. a Frontispiece Title Page PAGE to face 1 55 24 27 to face 28 44 to face 48 *• 55 56 55 88 90 55 106 * 55 108 55 130 * 55 158 5 5 158 * 55 158 55 184 * 55 184 5 5 190 198 to face 198 * 55 198 5 > 198 * 55 202 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE PAGE XXI. Triumphal Arch and Temple at Zanfour. ... to face 208 XXII. Temple of Jupiter and Minerva at Dougga, Side View.. 216 XXIII. Temple of Jupiter and Minerva at Dougga, Front View.„ 216 XXIV. Lybian Mausoleum at Dougga, Bruce’s Drawing.. 220 Lybian Mausoleum at Dougga, Catherwood’s Drawing ......... 222 XXV. Theatre at Dougga. to face 224 XXVI. Theatre at Ain Tunga.. . . . „ 226 XXVII. Quadrifrontal Arch at Tripoli. ....,, 280 XXVIII. Quadrifrontal Arch at Tripoli, Architectural Details 282 Map of Bruce’s Route in Tripoli and the Cyrenaica ....... ,, 284 XXIX. Fag-simile of Bruce’s MS. .............. 294 Temple at Ptolemeta, Outer Covering of Volume. lalila I kC.Bla iti '(Utica) las Aiiaj 'GoramhSUa- btMAMET GULF of ).Bahmourv \J.Kcmriat Dimas Zam^iorv. > 'Mahadia , 'Chott cl ■A Merabi Sic L Mans our isoi ir (’Mosques) Negrineo ’Sub. Maidauf' Palus TriVtc*^- uwura if iaraten NoosF louat iHounfSqi >jk lsfiuh ("travels IN THE FOOTSTEPS OP BRUCE) by Lieut. Col. R. L.Playfair 1877 v elftnb MAP OF PAM m A 3 LXIEIRIIA and tKe Regency of Tunis. ELO^md Pn^iisb Miles Reference Bntce’a Route Bruce's probable Route Authors Route Kilometres Oulad Noile & 4£_Afer£od«_ INTRODUCTORY. I must explain briefly how I came to travel in the footsteps of Bruce, and to illustrate the first works of this great father of African travel. Many years of my life have been passed in and about the countries which he first opened out to geographical knowledge. When, therefore, I found myself at Algiers as Bruce’s successor in office, after the lapse of a century, my interest in him was redoubled. I read the unsatisfactory account of his Barbary explorations, prefixed to the first volume of his travels, with the greatest regret that it was not more detailed, and I resolved to ascertain whether some hitherto unpublished matter might not exist, tending to throw greater light on the subject. I searched the records of the Consulate in vain; not a document of his time remained ; all had been destroyed by fire before the French conquest. At the Record Office in London a series of his reports exists, containing many interesting details of the State of Algiers. They are bound up with Arabic documents relative to treaties of great historical value; but, naturally enough, there is not a word regarding his explorations, which only commenced after he had resigned his public duties in August 1765. I then bethought me that Lady Thurlow, daughter of the late Lord Elgin, was great-great-granddaughter of the traveller, and heiress of Kinnaird. I applied to her, and was overjoyed to find that she possessed immense stores of his manuscripts, draw¬ ings, and collections. Lord Thurlow selected from amongst these everything relative to the first journey Bruce made in Africa before proceeding to Abyssinia, and these he most kindly placed at my disposal for publication, if I thought the subject sufficiently interesting. I went to Lord Thurlow’s, fully prepared to find much valuable matter, but I had no conception that a treasure of such magnitude and importance awaited me. I do not intend to allude to the great mass of drawings irrelevant to my present subject; what especially interested me was a collection of more than a hundred sheets, some having designs on both sides, completely illustrating B 2 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. all the principal subjects of archaeological interest in North Africa ft om Algicis to the Pentapolis, and executed in a style which an architectural artist of the present day could hardly excel. Mr. Bruce frequently exhibited these drawings during his lifetime, and alluded to the desire he entertained of publishing a work on the antiquities of Africa. Orna¬ mental title-pages for the various parts of this work actually exist, but he appears never to have commenced the letterpress necessary to illustrate the drawings. It is possible that the manner in which his book of travels had been received induced him to abandon the subject in disgust, but it is more probable that the enormous expense of engraving the drawings, estimated at from 3,000/. to 5,000/., rendered the project too costly to be realised. After his death the increasing taste for the arts and the more general patronage of publications of that nature induced his son to think of making arrangements regarding such a work, but his designs were interrupted by his own death in 1810. Major Cumming Bruce more than once entered into negotiations with the trustees of the British Museum for the transfer of the whole collection to the nation, but no arrangement satisfactory to both parties could be arrived at, and for the past thirty years they have remained unseen by the present generation, and almost forgotten, in the possession of the Bruce family. With some of the monuments I was perfectly familiar, and I could judge of their extreme fidelity ; others I found to be priceless records of structures which no longer exist; but the remainder, especially those situated in the Regency of Tunis, I could not identify at all, and I immediately formed the determination to follow him in his wanderings as far as it was possible for me to do so, and to ascertain the actual condi¬ tion of those remarkable ruins, which the depredations of time and of barbarians have not been able to destroy. r lo have followed in his footsteps exactly in the same order in which he made the journey would, for many reasons, have been inconvenient; and to have accompanied him throughout the whole extent of his explorations in the districts of the Djerid, Iripoli, and the Cyrenaica was more than I could accomplish. I determined, how¬ ever, to visit every ruin in Algeria and Tunis which he had illustrated, and so to plan my route as to include all that was most picturesque and instructive in a country hardly at all known to the modern traveller. No traveller has ever had to contend against a greater amount of ill-deserved obloquy than Bruce. There is hardly an act of his life or a statement in his writings that has not been questioned or received with incredulity ; and yet, the more the countries in which he journeyed have been explored, the more his astonishing accuracy INTRODUCTORY. 3 and truthfulness have been recognised, I well remember, now nearly thirty years ago, meeting the brothers d’Abbadie at Cairo, on their return from a residence of many years in Abyssinia. I was on terms of intimacy with two of them, and our conversa¬ tion naturally turned a good deal on Bruce’s travels. They assured me that, though they had occasion to consult his work as a daily text-book, they had never discovered a misstatement, and hardly even an error of any considerable importance in it. It is not to be supposed that these drawings should have escaped criticism, and some people have even expressed grave doubts as to their having been, in any con¬ siderable degree, executed by Bruce himself. On this point he ought to be allowed to state his own case, and I subjoin all the passages I have found in his MSS. bearing on the subject. I had all my life applied unweariedly, perhaps with more love than talent, to drawing, the practice of mathematics, and especially that part necessary to astronomy. ••••••« By the experiments I had made at Psestum, and still later at an aqueduct about four-score miles from Algiers, where were the ruins of Jol or Caesarea, the capital of the younger Juba and Cleopatra, I had found the immense time it would take a single hand to design the whole parts of any ancient fabric of ornamental architecture, so as to do it and the public justice. All the members of the Tuscan were plain, easily measured, and as easily drawn, but by the account I had from Shaw, and the inscriptions copied, and one awkward representation of three temples which he actually gives in his work, I found all here were ruins of architecture in the best time of Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines. The description he gives of Jibbel Aures, Jemme, Hydra, and Spaitla sufficiently shows this. 1 found that without a number of assistants it was impossible even to do tolerable justice to such a multitude of objects, of greater consideration for taste, materials, and number than those at Rome, where all the orders of architecture, Composite, Corinthian, and Ionic, were to be found in their most perfect state. But where was that assistance to be obtained ? and what encourage¬ ment was it in my power to give ? that would induce a number of men of merit to dedicate so much of their time to the dangers of such an undertaking, unknown ways, sickly climates, and dangerous journeys. That I might not, however, be wanting to myself, I applied to Mr. Byres, Mr. Lumsden, and several other intelligent gentlemen then in Rome ; several students were spoken to, but none would venture. A M. Chalgrin, a Frenchman, engaged himself, was terri¬ fied, and then drew back. All the assistance I could get was a young man, a Bolognese, called Luigi, surnamed Balugani, which signifies short-sighted. This was very feeble help ; but being of good disposi¬ tion, in twenty-two months which he stayed with me at Algiers, by close application and direction he had greatly improved himself in what I chiefly wished him to apply to, foliage and ornaments in sculpture. Assisted by him alone, the voyage to Africa and Asia was performed. He contracted an incurable distemper in Palestine, and died after a long sickness, after I entered Ethiopia, having suffered constant ill-health from the time he left Sidon. I had drawing instruments 4 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. a prodigious quantity of pencils, India ink, and colours. To these was added an instrument upon constructing whose parts great care was taken by Messrs. Nairne and Blunt, opposite to the Royal Exchange, under my constant direction and inspection ; this was a large camera obscura, 1 upon whose specula great attention and pains had been shown, and many improve¬ ments and conveniences were added, which was all enclosed in a case representing a huge folio book, about four feet long and ten inches thick. This, attentively used, and placed with taste and judgment, forwarded the work of drawing in a manner not easily conceivable ; in a moment it fixed the proportion of every part to what size you pleased ; it gave you in clear weather the sharpest, truest, and most beautiful projection of shade; every break that was in the building was truly represented upon the paper, every vignette, that nature had hung upon the summit or edges of the cornice, gave hints that could not be mistaken where the artist could place others with equal or superior advantage. It is true there were inconveniences in those lines at a distance from the focus, but those errors were mechanical and known, and easily redressed. A small one of these, an imperfect instrument, made at Rome, the young man Luigi had brought with him to Algiers, which afterwards served in good stead in saving my more excellent one. I shall just name the quantity of work done. First, thirteen large views of Palmyra, upon the largest imperial paper, the drawings twenty-two inches high, two of the same of Baalbec. 2 On large imperial paper, of a smaller size— Two views of the ruins of Carthage. A temple over the fountain of Zowan. 3 A noble triumphal arch at Tunga. 4 A magnificent Corinthian arch and temple at Tipasa. 5 Two views of a fine triumphal arch at Hydra, where are the Welled Sidi Boogonnim, . Dr. Shaw’s lion eaters, as bad to him as my raw beef to me. Spaitla or Sufetuia, vide Dr. Shaw, page 201, two Corinthian temples, one Composite temple ; three views of these and one of a triumphal arch which serves as an approach to them. Jibbel Aures, Aura.sius Mons , a very fine ornamented building, 6 use unknown. El Jemme, or Tisdrus , view of the amphitheatre there. Taggou-zaina, the ancient Diana Veteranorum, triumphal arch of the Corinthian order there. 7 Timgad olim Thamugadi , magnificent temple of white marble of the Corinthian order, though highly finished, and a triumphal arch with great particularities in archi¬ tecture. Medrashem, tomb of Syphax. 1 This instrument still exists at Kinnaird. ^ In searching for Bruce’s Barbary drawings in Her Majesty’s Library at Windsor Castle, eighteen drawings of a myia an aa ec weie discovered; they bore no names or signature, and the authorship was unknown to the librarian until 1 identified them. 3 Zacfiiouan * ™ S iS 8videntl J' a clerical > there is no good arcl, at Ain Tunga. Bruce probably means Zanfour. - e . eSSa " . 0 The Prietorium of Lambessa. ' I his does not exist in the Kinnaird collection. INTRODUCTORY. Jol, Caesarea, magnificent aqueduct of three rows of arches. Cirta, Syphax’s capital, view of the aqueduct and cascade there. Muctar, two triumphal arches of the Corinthian order. Tripoli in Africa, a four-faced triumphal arch of white marble, the most ornamented of any building in the world ; in parts of its details the most beautiful, never before known. Assuras, triumphal arch and temple. Ptolometa, old Ionic temple, the only one I know existing, built by Ptolemy Phila- delphus, where my travels in Africa ended. In order to conceive the number of pieces that each elevation or view was accompanied by, you may compute six to each elevation. All these buildings, besides one or two perspective views, have geometrical elevations, and sections, with the whole detail of their ornaments and parts, all measured with the most inde¬ fatigable industry and strictest regard to truth. These sketches are most of them still by me, and you may still see how far every one was advanced in the desert. I have now but one word to say as to what happened upon my coming home. When I carried my views of Palmyra to the King, he was exceedingly struck and pleased with them, and going to the window with the Prince of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, the Queen remained with me at the drawings, and I was a good deal surprised at her asking if I had not had help ? I answered, ‘ Undoubtedly, every help that I could get to make them worthy of the King ’—yet I had desired Dr. Hunter to describe every part of my voyage and performance, and he told me he had done so. ****••• I wall not be so hard as to expect that any one man shall be an excellent sk}^ painter, an admirable figurist, a landscape, tree and water painter, a painter of ruined picturesque architec¬ ture, of ornaments and foliage, and of straight lines. Claude Lorraine was never capable of this, Clarisso cannot; Bartolozziis not, and Cypriani far from being able; Mr. Robert Strange is capable of no part of it. I will give them leave to take all the help that they can get, and I will choose three drawings in the King’s collection and two of my own, and defy them to produce the equal in the term of two years. Mr. Robert Strange, now Sir Robert Strange, knows well I have been at least an indifferent draughtsman in ruined architecture near these forty years, for about that time he himself recommended me my second drawing master, poor Bonneau, then teaching Lady Louisa Greville, daughter of my Lord Brock, afterwards Lord Warwick. Till then I had only been used to drawing military architecture ; and with a ruler and compass I have ever since mostly drawn ; I wish to make every part of my work as perfect as possible. You and Dr. Douglas will both testify how willingly I seek, and thankfully and openly I embrace every assistance. This I think doing justice to the public and to posterity, from whom, after ten days’ abuse from people that I despise, I shall receive the commendation or blame that appears ex facie of my work. The famous Piranese, the best draughtsman of broken architecture that I know, is of another opinion ; that perfection in every part he disdains ; his figures are just untouched and 6 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. clone with little, as he calls it; he knows he is no figurist, and therefore, in place of than agreeable ornament to design, he has placed figures in convulsions upon the points of stones and of rocks, with long legs and arms, and no bodies, but monstrous heads, and liker demons of another world than inhabitants of this. This the connoisseurs call freedom in design, masterly manner, and indeed it is so; it is freedom, just as great an one taken with the public as it would be for an individual in private life to walk in company with a long beard, nightgown and slippers. The two great requisites in travelling are to see well and record faithfully what we have seen. I hope I may have succeeded in the first, but I am very certain I have done so in the last. Thus, then, we see that according to Bruce’s own account the drawings were made by himself, with the aid of the camera obscura, and with such assistance as he could obtain from his young artist, Luigi Balugani. That they were done on the spot admits of no doubt whatever. During our late expedition my companion, the Earl of Kingston, took most successful photographs of every building drawn by Bruce throughout Tunis, with the single exception of Hydra ; and though time, and the more destructive hand of man, have dealt hardly with some of the ancient monuments, others are almost unchanged, and a comparison of the original drawing and the photograph must satisfy the most sceptical on this point. One of the most striking instances of accuracy of detail is in the case of the triumphal arch giving access to the Hieron of the three temples at Spaitla (Plate XIY.). In the attic of this building the first course of stones is entire ; in the second only four stones are represented as remaining ; two of these are in place, and two others have fallen on their sides, and are projecting beyond the surface of the faqade. In our photograph these four stones now occupy exactly the same position as in Bruce’s sketch. The drawings themselves furnish abundant proof, that two people worked simul¬ taneously at delineating the ruins. Nearly every monument is drawn in duplicate, but no two sketches are ever from the same point of view. In some instances the difference of angle is very slight, as if the two companions had chosen positions sufficiently close to be able to converse together. A glance at the itinerary (page 21) v ill show that they never remained long enough in one place for either of them to have repeated his view of the object designed. Most of the measurements are written in Italian, as if Bruce had taken the actual dimensions and called them out to Balugani, who had recorded them. At the same time Bruce wrote Italian with as much facility as English, and many remarks in the former language occur in his own handwriting. Sometimes, instead of only two copies of the same monument, there are several; but the same difference is always observable. INTRODUCTORY. 7 One of these sketches, or sets of sketches, is done with the most perfect accuracy and good taste. Generally there is no attempt at accessories of any kind, but where such are inevitable they are always true to nature. The other, as far as its architecture is concerned, is also accurate, but it is marred by the introduction of grotesque figures and impossible landscapes, such as it was the custom of that age to consider, and which Bruce himself has described, as ‘ that agreeable ornament to design.’ My impression is that the former are the production of Bruce himself, the latter perhaps in part his sketches, but finished up and ‘ agreeably ornamented ’ by Luigi Balugani. There is still a third class of illustrations, finished architectural drawings done to scale; plans, sections, and elevations, with elaborate details of sculpture, colum- nation, &c. These could manifestly have been done better at home than abroad, and they are executed so beautifully, and with such a profound knowledge of archi¬ tectural design that it is difficult to believe that they are the unaided work of Bruce himself. They were done during the retirement of the traveller at Kinnaird with a view to his intended publication, and it is just possible that he may have been aided by a professional draughtsman. It may be in allusion to this that he wrote to his friend the Hon. Daines Barrington, ‘ You and Dr. Douglas will both testify how willingly I seek, and thankfully and openly I embrace, every assistance. This I think doing justice to the public and to posterity.’ These drawings were exhibited to the Institute of British Architects by Major Gumming Bruce, M.P., in 1837, and the following letter was addressed to him by Mr. Donaldson, their honorary secretary, under date May 17, 1837 :— ‘ By a special resolution passed at the ordinary meeting, held on Monday last, I am directed to convey to you the grateful acknowledgments of the members for the rich treat with which you favoured them on that occasion, by laying before them the highly interesting series of drawings prepared by Bruce, the traveller, in illus¬ tration of the antiquities existing in Northern Africa. The members were struck with that profusion of important edifices which embellished the provinces of the Bomans ; and they admired the perseverance and skill which enabled Bruce to procure such minute and highly wrought details of these monuments. 4 The members hope that these documents may ere long be published, and thus add another to the long list of obligations which not only this country, but all Europe, owes to his spirit of enterprise and research. These drawings prove that he added the acquirements of the naturalist, the geographer, and the philosopher, to those of the antiquarian, the scholar, and the artist.’ They were also shown at the Graphic Society about the same period, and the following is an extract from their proceedings, dated May 10. 8 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. 4 Distinguished as Brace is for his researches in Abyssinia, these drawings furnish ground for an honourable and lasting reputation from a very distinct source. It has been said among some to whom their existence was known that they were not Brace’s, but the work of a young Italian artist named Balugani, who was sent to him by Lumsden, the author of 44 Roman Antiquities.” ‘ But among the drawings shown at the Graphic Society were some of Passtum made by Bruce when he was alone, prior to his visit to Africa, where Balugani first joined him. The execution of these prove the same hand as appears in the greater part , and best, of those of the African cities ,’—that is, according to my theory, of all those which were not 4 agreeably ornamented ’ by Balugani. They were submitted to several other eminent archaeologists and architects of the day; amongst others to Mr. C. M. Cockerell, who, writing under date June 9, 1837, thus alludes to them :— 4 In an antiquarian point of view I consider them of the utmost importance . . . in a practical point of view they offer to the professor of architecture many motives of composition and ornament entirely new; and if not equal to the choicest remains of Greece are, perhaps, of more frequent use, and on both these grounds it is exceedingly to be regretted that they have been so long withheld from the public.’ Mr. W. Hamilton, the celebrated archaeologist and diplomatist, who was one of the founders and first presidents of the Royal Geographical Society, and to whom we are indebted for the discovery of the Rosetta stone on board a French transport, writing on the same date, thus expresses himself : 4 They are indeed most interesting documents of his ability, fidelity, and perseverance. ... I was particularly struck by his correct selection, amongst the many monuments he saw, of those only which were of a good time, and certainly they give a most favourable notion of the state of the arts under the first two centuries of the Roman Empire. We must not, of course, look to that quarter of the world for genuine specimens of Greek art, but these drawings afford the most convincing proofs that taste and judgment prevailed in these distant and flourishing colonies to at least as late a period as they did in Rome itself.’ No man is a better judge of architectural drawings than my esteemed friend Monsieur Cesar Daly. I submitted two of them only for his inspection, and these by no means the most remarkable of the series-the Triumphal Arch and the Capitol of Timegad, which we had visited together. His opinion is worthy of being recorded :_ 4 The architectural conscience of Bruce exceeds that of most of the best architectural draughtsmen of his time, which nevertheless was rich in talent of this nature. You may remember with what care I myself designed the triumphal arch at Timegad. I intended to publish this drawing of a monument now accessible to everyone, and INTRODUCTORY. 9 having, as director of the Revue generate de TArchitecture, a reputation to keep up, my conscience as an artist was most particularly stimulated. Well, I have compared Bruce’s design with mine, and I repeat that I am much struck with his extreme exactness and the great conscientiousness of the man, so rigorous towards himself, regarding the design of a monument which in all probability none of his contem¬ poraries would ever be called upon to verify. ‘ During the thirty-five years that I have directed the Revue d'Architecture, that I have visited exhibitions of architecture, inspected the portfolios of architects, &c., &e., I have seen so much inexactness, which has inspired me with the most profound disgust, that I give, or rather I offer with eagerness, the tribute of my sympathy and respect wherever I find talent joined to honesty. I admired Bruce as a brave and intelligent traveller; now I love him as a serious and honest artist. I thank you once more. You will certainly find a means of publishing these treasures ; they belong to science ; they honour England in Bruce, and will serve most happily to teach us that which existed here and there in our Algeria, and which unfortunately exists no longer, or only in a state of debris! Bruce makes frequent allusion to drawings of his being ‘ in the King’s collection, 5 and in one place he remarks : ‘ They composed three large volumes folio, two of which 1 presented to the King ; one, not being then finished, remains in my custody to this day.’ These two volumes of drawings were exhibited by Her Majesty the Queen, through Mr. Woodward, the late Librarian at Windsor, to the Society of Antiquaries of London, on March 27; 1862. 1 I have not had an opportunity of inspecting these, and I am not aware of what the contents of the volumes in question may be : it is to be hoped that they contain drawings of the interesting monuments of which no sketches sufficiently finished to admit of reproduction exist in the Kinnaird collec¬ tion, namely, the Amphitheatre of El-Djem and the Triumphal Arch of Diana Veteran orum. All the relics and documents of this traveller have been preserved with scrupulous care; but I cannot resist expressing an opinion that his drawings, of which the Barbary sketches form only a portion, should not be allowed to remain in any private hands, but should be religiously enshrined in our national collection. To reproduce the entire series would be a work of great magnitude and expense; nor is it necessary, either from an architectural or an archaeological point of view. In Bruce’s own days they could only have been published by the costly process of 1 Proc. Soc. Antiq., 2nd series, vol. ii. p. 9G. C 10 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. engraving. Photographic processes have now greatly facilitated the publication of such drawings, and permit ns to lay them before the public as actual fac-similes. In making my selection, I have as a rule preferred such drawings as I believe to have been done by Bruce himself on the spot; but I have included some of the more finished sketches to show the share that Balugani had in them, and specimens of those that I believe to have been subsequently executed in Scotland. A few words are still necessary as to the manuscripts, which the traveller has left, and which are of the most fragmentary and unsatisfactory description. They consist of the following documents :— 1. A carefully-written autobiography, intended for the Hon. Daines Barrington, Bruce’s intimate friend, after the publication of his travels. It is fantastically, perhaps conceitedly, entitled, ‘ Memoirs of One Unknown.’ It alludes with some asperity to the reception his book met with, and professes great contempt of the doubts thrown on his veracity. It extends to about 86 pages of long folio, and bears date April 14, 1788. 2. A rough note-book of Arab manufacture, in which entries were evidently made from day to day immediately after each halt. On the first page is this memorandum :—- If I should die in this voyage, these notes are not to be published, as they are memoranda only for myself, and unintelligible, and designed to be so, to anybody else. This contains a record of his journey from November 5, 1765, till December 30 in the same year. At the end are a few rough details of architecture, and copies of inscriptions. 3. A few sheets of native paper, as if torn out of a note-book similar to, but not exactly the same size as the preceding, containing a note on the Aqueduct at Arriana, and the records of his journey from December 29,1765, till his arrival at Gabes about the middle of the following month. It is marked No. 7, which is erased, and No. 3 substituted. A fac-simile is given of one page of this manuscript (Plate XXV.). 4. A note-book, 12mo., of Arab paper, marked No. 2, containing notes on the Pentapolis, and of his subsequent journey in Syria and the Bed Sea. 5. A similar book, marked No. 6, containing notes on the Pentapolis. 6. A volume containing, as its name indicates, ‘Basso-relievos, Statues, and Inscriptions, 1765.’ 7. Draft of original letter, in Bruce’s handwriting, to Mr. Wood, author of the work on ‘ Baalbec and Palmyra,’ dated Tunis, April 2, 1766, published in Yol. I. of ‘ Bruce’s Travels,’ Appendix No. XXIII. INTRODUCTORY . 11 8. A note on ‘ Tripoly in Africa,’ certainly not written by Bruce. 9. An autograph memoir on the Island of Tabarca. 10. An autograph memoir on Tunis and Djerba, the island of the Lotophagi. 11. An original letter, dated London, June 16, 1775, to Mr. Seton (of Touch?), giving an account of his adventure with the Arab chief at Lambessa. This has been published in Major Cumming Bruce’s pamphlet, 1837. In addition to these manuscripts and drawings, Bruce brought a very interesting collection of antiquities from North Africa, consisting of fragments of sculpture and inscriptions, including part of the frieze of the Temple of Hercules at Kef, a number of medals and coins, a small bronze statue of Mercury, and an exquisite bronze vase, which forms the design on the cover of this work. It has four faces, two of nymphs and two of satyrs, very beautifully executed, of a date probably not later than the second century. These are all in the possession of Lord Thurlovv. There is little doubt that Bruce transcribed his rough notes, and added many particulars, then fresh in his memory, which he did not think it necessary to record in his daily journal. This occurred during his residence at the island of Djerba. Probably this manuscript was not included amongst the books and drawings which he forwarded from Tripoli in Africa to Smyrna, or those which he despatched at Bengazi to Tripoli in Syria, in which case they would certainly have been lost during the shipwreck at Bengazi. His jacket-book was saved there, and may be the manuscript which I have numbered 2, into which 3 would naturally fit, but almost everything else he possessed was lost, especially A book with many drawings, and a copy of M. de la Caille’s Ephemerides, having a great many manuscript marginal notes. In addition to illustrating Bruce’s travels, I have had another object in view 7 —to furnish an advanced hand-book of travel to those who, like myself, dislike diligence routes and French auberges, and revel in the delightful liberty of life on horseback and under canvas. I hope they will find many such suggestions as to routes here, as I should have been glad of myself, though they must not expect to be treated with the same amount of hospitality. And here I think I ought, in justice to myself, to acknovdedge the authorship ol ‘ Muiray’s Handbook to Algeria.’ I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to avoid any allusion to the districts therein described; but this was not always possible, and pas¬ sages will, no doubt, be found, which, but for this avowal, might lay me open to the charge of obtaining my information from a popular work in everybody’s hands. Every word of these manuscripts relating to his Barbary journey I have embodied 12 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. in my text, either in the order in which I visited the places, or, where I was unable to do so, as a continuous narrative in his own words. I have elsewhere acknowledged my deep obligations to Monsieur Cesar Daly, with whom I had the pleasure of making the first part of my journey. I would also record how much I am indebted to Professor Donaldson, the Nestor of British architects, who, ever since he signed the letter to Major Cumming Bruce, before quoted, in 1837, has felt the deepest interest in Bruce’s work; he greatly aided me in making the best possible selection of the drawings for publication, and in many other respects he has given me the benefit of his great professional knowledge and experience. I cannot conclude these introductory remarks without allusion to a letter which lias reached me since the manuscript was in the publishers’ hands, and which has to me almost the solemnity of a voice from beyond the tomb. Mrs. Whitely Dundas, of Clifton, aiter stating that she had seen in the paper's a paragraph to the effect that I had recently been instrumental in erecting a stained-glass window and memorial biass in the church at Algiers to Bruce, and that I was occupied on a work to illus¬ trate his travels in this country, adds: 'I can well imagine, even after the lapse of so many years, how proud and gratified my mother would have been could she have lived to see this day. She was Bruce’s only daughter, and died before her father’s fame and veracity were fully established.’ If what has been to me so great a labour of love shall have the effect of adding one leaf to the well-earned laurel-wreath of my favourite hero, I shall be amply repaid” My work has had no other object, although I have thought it advisable to combine the result of my own journeys with his, and thus to give the subject a wider interest, and make it useful for travellers in little-known parts of Algeria and Tunis. Hov e’vei badly my shaie of the work may be performed, Bruce’s merits can hardly fail to ensure its success. Never was a trite old saying more aptly applied than t at a opted by his biographer, and which I have engraved on his monument at Algiers : Magna est veritas et prsevalebit.’ PART I. CHAPTER I. BRUCE APPOINTED CONSUL-GENERAL AT ALGIERS. The circumstances which induced Bruce to accept the post of Consul-General at Algiers are contained in the following extracts from his autobiography :— My Lord Halifax, in many conversations, laughed at me for my intention of returning to Scotland. He said, the way of rising in this King’s reign was by enterprise and discovery ; that all Africa, though just at our door, was yet unexplored ; that every page of Doctor Shaw, a writer of undoubted credit, spoke of some magnificent ruins which he had seen in the kingdoms of Tunis and Algiers; that now was the age to recover these remains of architecture and add them to the King’s collection. Fortune seemed to enter into this scheme. At the very instant, Mr. Aspinwall, very cruelly and ignominiously treated by the Dey of Algiers, had resigned his consulship, and Mr. Ford, a merchant, formerly the Dey’s acquaintance, was named in his place. Mr. Ford was ap¬ pointed, and, dying a few days afterwards, the consulship became vacant. Lord Halifax pressed me to accept this, as containing all sorts of conveniences for making the proposed expedition. The appointment was a handsome one, the salary was 900/. a year, and a promise was added that a vice-consul of my own appointment would be allowed to keep my place while on the discovery, and that, if I made wide excursions into Africa, and any considerable additions to the King’s collection, my former conditions of being made a baronet were to be preserved, and either a pension if I chose to retire, or my rank and advancement in the diplomatique line, preserved to me on my return. Many conversations passed about the then unknown and despaired of fountains of the Nile; but this was considered as an enterprise above the power of extraordinary men, presump¬ tion to think it was within the reach of an untried ordinary man like me, but agreed on all hands that he that should achieve it, if he was a Briton, should not in this age despair of any reward. In passing through Holland, I had collected all the printed books in the Arabic language, and at the time when I was to go to Algiers I was as good an Arabian as these books and dic¬ tionaries and this manner of study could make me. Thus prepared, I set out for Italy through France, and though it was in time of war, and some strong objections had been made to particular passports solicited by our Government from the French Secretary of State, Monsieur de Choiseul most obligingly waived all such exceptions with regard to me, and most politely assured me that those difficulties did not in any shape regard me, but that I was at perfect liberty to pass through or remain in France with those that accom- 16 TRAVELS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE. panied me, without limiting their number, as short or as long a time as should be agreeable to me. On my arrival at Rome, I received orders to proceed to Naples, there to await His Majesty’s further commands. While waiting at Naples for instructions to proceed to his post, Bruce visited Psestum, the ruins of which were then but little known, and at the suggestion of Sir James Gray, the British Ambassador, made accurate drawings of those ruins, and con¬ ceived the idea of illustrating the history of that city from its various coins of different periods. This idea, which he was the first to originate, he executed with great learn¬ ing and ingenuity. On proceeding to Africa, he entrusted these drawings to Sir Robert Strange, for the purpose of having them engraved; but, from circumstances which have never been explained, copies of them were surreptitiously obtained, and, on his return from Abyssinia, he found that his work had been pirated and published under another name. In his autograph memoir he expresses himself strongly on this subject, but his chief complaint is That the bunglers did not know how to avail themselves of the materials for the history of Paestum which, by whatever means, had fallen into their hands. To resume, however,' Bruce’s own narrative :— 1 he Government was so kind as to send the ‘ Montreal’ frigate to carry me to Algiers. I pursued my plan, studied hard, was become now a good Orientalist in general. I speedily spoke the Arabic fluently ; among the natives and among the servants I exercised myself every day. I was also an adept in Geer, or Ethiopic, as far as Ludolph and Memmers and the few books 1 had could make me, but these were as yet very few. i t happened at St. Philip s in Minorca, as it always, I believe, happens, that when a fortress is surrendered to an enemy, the papers, plans, and documents found therein are to be delivered UP t0 the captors. The French, when they took Minorca, had found in that fortress a multitude ot blank Mediterranean passes, a number of these being always lodged for common demand with the Secretary of the Governor of Minorca and Gibraltar. The French, upon finding these, had countersigned them, and sold them to Sardinians, Genoese, Neapolitans, and Spaniards, who navigated under their authority with English colours. They had not even taken the precaution of Putting an English supercargo on board, so that English colours were found everywhere, with not a man on board but the enemies of Algiers. This Regency soon were informed of this in all its circumstances by the French and Swedish Consuls lesiding in Algiers; they could not read, their only trial of the passport was by a countercheck delivered them by the Consul. When they applied this to these false passports rrf . eCked and agl ’ eed ’ when the shi P s were ’ notwithstanding, brought into Algiers, the