No man is a better judge of architectural drawings than my esteemed friend Monsieur César 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:—‘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 having, as director of the Revue générale de l’Architecture, 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 contemporaries 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., &c., 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 débris.’
Bruce makes frequent allusion to drawings of his being ‘in the King’s collection,’ and in one place he remarks: ‘They composed three large volumes folio, two of which I 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.[8] 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 collection, namely, the Amphitheatre of El-Djem and the Triumphal Arch of Diana Veteranorum.
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 archæological point of view. In Bruce’s own days they could only have been published by the costly process of engraving. Photographic processes have now greatly facilitated the publication of such drawings, and permit us 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.