ABSTRACT
Scenes and Sketches was actually the first published work by Joseph Donaldson (1794–1830), though it dealt with the latter end of his service in the 94th Scots Brigade. He wrote anonymously, but subsequent editions of the work in multivolume sets with his other two memoirs clearly identified Donaldson as their author. As this latter point suggests, Donaldson’s writing met with some success. Although this account did not describe Donaldson’s marriage, he did wed an Irishwoman prior to his discharge in 1815 and brought his wife back to Glasgow. The difficult circumstances he faced as a veteran led him to enlist in the East India Company. He served only in the British Isles in recruiting and clerical posts while simultaneously training as a surgeon. At his discharge in 1827, he moved to Oban to work as a doctor. This did not prove profitable, and he moved to London and later to Paris, but these attempts to improve his fortunes also proved fruitless. After his premature death of heart failure in Paris, Donaldson’s widow and daughter decided to republish his writing in order to provide them with income.
