CHAPTER III.

FOOTNOTES:[1]Threesides of the town of Tripoly are said, in Tully’s Memoirs, to be washed by the sea, which is certainly not now the case.[2]The noted corsair Dragūt is said to have been the author of this defence, and two forts which were situated near the sea are also attributed to this person.But Leo Africanus, who flourished at the same period with Dragūt, at the beginning of the 16th century, has mentioned the walls of Tripoly as being high and handsome, though not very strong; and as the existing walls of the town, if they be really those of Dragūt, bear all the appearance of having once been very solid, we may perhaps suppose that those mentioned by Leo were standing before the present ones were constructed.The greatest length of the city, including the walls, may be said to be about 1360 yards, and its extreme breadth about a thousand yards.[3]The happy confusion of buildings which surmount the walls of the castle, raised at various times for the convenience and accommodation of the royal family, together with the little world which is contained within its limits, have been well, and correctly described in Tully’s Memoirs.[4]To the eastward of the town, however, on a tract of rocky and elevated ground, is the burial-place of the ancient city; where the researches of Mr. Consul Warrington have brought to light some very interesting objects; particularly several large sepulchral urns of glass, the most perfect we have ever seen.[5]We allude principally to the works of Consul Tully and Captain Lyon, and to Blaquiere’s Letters from the Mediterranean.[6]“In our way home” (says the artless and amiable writer of Tully’s Memoirs) “we passed through a street noted for its corn-wells, or rather caverns, dug very deep into the earth. They are situated on each side of the street, at about thirty yards’ distance. They were designed for magazines to lay up corn in, where they say it will keep perfectly good for an hundred years. Happy were it for the inhabitants of this country if these caverns were filled now as they wereformerlywhen the country wasso rich in the produce of corn, that it was from hence exported to many parts of the world, and prized almost above any other. The barley when sown here yields twice as much as it does in Europe. When it grows properly, they reckon thirty and thirty-five ears for one an ordinary produce; while in Europe fourteen or fifteen is considered as a good return.” In dry seasons, however, which frequently occur, the case appears to be far otherwise. “The times are so much altered now,” (continues the authoress above mentioned,) “that corn is imported at an immense expense. This melancholy change is attributedto the want of rains, which have failed for several years past. There have not been more than one or two good harvests for thirty years. If cargoes of wheat do not soon arrive from Tunis, the state of this place will be dreadful beyond description.”—Tully’s Narrative, p. 49.—Again, the same writer says, p. 67, “It has been ascertained by the Bashaw to-day, that there is only barley for sale at two bazars, or market-places, left in the place.A few years since the barley here grew so favourably, that it produced in return three times as much as in any part of Europe. Such quantities of it were exported, that Tripoly was enriched by its sale;but the failure of rain has left the country for several years without one good harvest.”This account is consistent with the above, and we have here some idea of what may be meant by the wordformerly, in the passage first quoted, which is certainly somewhat indefinite.[7]Part of the sandy plain to the south-eastward is, however, occasionally flooded during the prevalence of strong northerly gales, and there is a tract of marshy ground, to the westward of the town, between the cultivated parts and the sea.[8](Leo Africanus in Ramusio, p. 72.)—With respect to the former extension of Tripoly to the northward, here mentioned by the African geographer, the observation is certainly in some degree correct, and consistent with the present appearance of other parts of the coast of Northern Africa; but we must at the same time observe that the town could scarcely have projected any farther to the northward than the sites of the French and Spanish forts; for beyond these we get into five and eight fathoms water.[9]We must, however, confess, that we cannot altogether understand, why the loss of the ground in the immediate neighbourhood of Tripoly, said by Leo Africanus to have been flooded in his days, should have necessarily occasioned to the inhabitants of the town so great a scarcity of grain as that mentioned by this geographer. For the high grounds immediately beyond the parts which were overflowed, must at all times, we should conceive, from their rocky foundation, have been placed above the level of the sea at its greatest height, and might therefore have been cultivated as we find them to be at present; and the Gharian mountains, as well as the country of Tagiura, both of which are still very productive, are mentioned by Leo as places highly cultivated at the period of the overflow alluded to.We may remark on this subject—that the coincidence of the former with the present state of the last-mentioned places, appears to be the more worthy of notice, from the circumstance of our finding the actual produce of other districts, both in Tunis and Tripoly, very different from what it appears to have been in earlier periods. Among other examples, in proof of this assertion, we may notice the great difference which has taken place in the produce and soil of Byzacium. This district was formerly much renowned for its fertility; and we are informed by Pliny that one grain of corn from the Byzacium was sent to the Emperor Augustus, which yielded four hundred shoots; and that three hundred and forty stems had been afterwards sent to Nero, produced equally from a single grain of corn[a]. But whatever be the cause of the change which has taken place, we find the soil of the Byzacium to have greatly fallen off from its former extraordinary fertility; in proof of which we need only extract the following observations from Shaw’s Travels in Barbary.“The many parts which I have seen of the ancient Byzacium, or winter circuit, fall vastly short in fertility of the character which has been attributed to them by the ancients. For such as are adjacent to the sea coast are generally of a dry, sandy nature, with no great depth of soil in the very best portion of them. This is called the Sahul, and is planted for the most part with olive-trees, which flourish here in the greatest perfection. Neither is the inland country in a much better condition.”[a]Misit ex eo loco Divo Augusto procurator ejus, ex uno grano, (vix credibile dictu) quadringenta paucis minus germina, extantque de ea re epistolæ. Misit et Neroni similiter CCCXL stipulas ex uno grano.—Nat. Hist.l. xviii. c. 10.Again (lib. v. c. 4.) Ita (Byzacium) appellatur regio CCL. M. P. circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ, cum centesima fruge agricolis fœnus reddente terra.[10]Before we take leave of Tripoly it may be proper to recommend, for the information of those who may hereafter visit that country, the useful precaution of not subjecting themselves to the fluctuation which is usual in the exchange of the place. Money, in Tripoly, is in the hands of a few; and its possessors, who are by no means unacquainted with the most profitable methods of laying it out, are not at all times particularly remarkable for a liberal treatment of strangers. We found the exchange get more unfavourable as our demand for money increased; and having been obliged to make some comparatively heavy payments in Spanish dollars, the value of them rose in proportion as it was known we had occasion for them[a]. In order to remedy, or rather to prevent impositions of a similar nature, it would be advisable for travellers to take with them, in Spanish dollars, the amount of the sums they may have occasion for in Tripoly; for even if the exchange should be good on their arrival there, it would most probably lower as they were known to have occasion for money. Should this be inconvenient, bills might be drawn on Malta, and the money inSpanish dollars[b]forwarded by the first secure vessel which might be sailing from that port to Tripoly.[a]It must, however, be observed, in justice to the house of Messrs. Beaussier and Co., that we experienced a more liberal treatment from them than from any other house in Tripoly.[b]TheSpanishdollar is the coin in most general request in the northern and inland parts of Africa.[11]We find both these cities mentioned by Pliny; and one of them (Oea) by Pomponius Mela, while nothing is said by Strabo either of the cities or the district. Pliny died A.D. 79; Mela is supposed to have flourished about the middle of the first century, and Strabo in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. We may infer, from the silence of Strabo on the subject, that neither Sabrata nor Oea existed in his time; and as Pliny, though he mentions both cities, appears to have been unacquainted with the name of the district in question, we may also perhaps infer that it was bestowed upon it after his time. What is stated by Cellarius on the subject of Tripolis, appears to confirm this opinion: for he tells us that he knew of no one before the time of Solinus, who made any mention in Africa of the name[a]; and thatheonly applied the term to the district, and not to any particular city.Solinus is known to have written after Pliny, towards the close of the first century; and we may therefore, perhaps, conclude, that the district called Tripolis, received that appellation between the times of Pliny and Solinus.[a]Nec qui ante Solinum, non antiquissimum scriptorem, mentionem vocis Tripolis in Africa fecerit succurrit nobis; qui vero, non urbem, sed trium oppidorum regionem intellexit.—(Lib. iv. cap. 3. § 18.)[12]Tráblis, the Moorish name of the town, is not, however, properly acorruptionof Tripolis; it is merely the same word articulated through the medium of Arab pronunciation.Some authors have imagined an early African nameTarabilis, orTrebilis, from which the Roman name Tripolis was derived; but this is merely imaginary, since the meaning of Tripolis clearly points out its origin to be Greek.[13]In hoc tractu autem, post Cinyphum fluvium, prima Ptolemæo est Νεαπολις (Neapolis) de qua, in editis, exstat, ἡ καὶ Τριπολις (quæ etiam Tripolis vocatur): in Palatino autem codice nihil de Tripoli legitur, sed ἡ καὶ Λεπτις μεγαλη (quæ, Neapolis, etiam Leptis Magna dicitur.)—Geog. Antiq. lib. iv. cap. 3.It may be added, in support of the reading in the Palatine manuscript, that Neapolis is mentioned by Ptolemy immediately after the Cinyphus, which lies to theeastwardof Leptis Magna; so that the geographer, in passing, as he does, from east to west, must be supposed to have omitted Leptis Magna altogether, if Neapolis be not intended to denote it.[14]This reading of Ptolemy, as will appear from the passage which we have quoted above from Cellarius, is contradicted by the Palatine manuscript; and must be rejected on the authority of Scylax and Strabo, and even of Ptolemy himself.—(See the Fourth Book of Cellarius). The passage of Pliny is not so easily disposed of. After mentioning the city of Sabrata, this author observes, in speaking of the country which lies between the Great and Lesser Syrtis, “Ibi civitas Oensis, Cynips fluvius ac regio, oppida, Neapolis, Taphra, Abrotonum, Leptis altera, quæ cognominatur magna.”—(Hist. Nat. lib. v. cap. 5.) Here we find Neapolis mentioned immediately after Oea, and distinguished from Leptis Magna. “Io crederei,” says Signor della Cella, “che sia piu conforme al vero, l’ammettere che Tripoli degli antichi geografi debba riconoscersi nelle rovine che trovansi a ponente de Tripoli tuttora chiamato Tripoli Vecchio. Pare che l’abbandono, qualunque ne fosse la cagione, di questa città, desse luogo alla formazione di quella che attualmente ne porta il nome, e che in quell’ epoca fu chiamataTripoli il nuovo, o la nuova città, e da’ Greci Νεαπολις. In questa opinione consente la vera lezione di Tolommeo, ove leggesi Νεαπολις ἡ καὶ Τριπολις. (Neapoli che dicesi anche Tripoli.) Ho detto la vera lezione di Tolommeo, perchè io ho per apocrifa quella adottata dal Cellario, dove in vece di Τριπολις, avendo sostituito Λεπτις, tutto rimane alterato e confuso. Con Tolommeo concorda Plinio che ha per due città diverse Neapoli e Leptis Magna, e tra queste due tramette Gaffara e Abrotano; e Plinio, per le cognizione che poteva attinger nella città, e ne’ tempi ne’ quali scriveva, merita sopra ogni altro credenza intorna alla geografia di questa parte dell’ Africa.”—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 41.)It will not here be very evident how the modern town of Tripoly can, on the authority of Pliny, be supposed to be the same with Neapolis. For Tripoly is identified by the best authorities with Oea; and Neapolis is mentioned, in the passage alluded to, as situated between Oea and Taphra, (the Graphara and Garapha of Scylax and Ptolemy.) But supposing it to be, as Signor della Cella has stated, that the decay of the “Tripolidegliantichigeografi” had really given occasion to the building of the present one, under the title he has conferred upon it of Neapolis; it follows that the former city must have borne the name of Tripolis in the time of Pliny, who, so far from knowing any town of that name, does not even recognise the district under the title.It must, however, be confessed, that the introduction of Neapolis, in the situation which Pliny has assigned to it, is by no means very easily accounted for. At the same time it is certain, that the position in question is directly in opposition to the authority of Strabo, as well as to that of Scylax and of Ptolemy; who, all of them, identify Neapolis with Leptis Magna, as will be seen by a reference to Cellarius. This author, who insists very properly upon the authority of Strabo, &c., that Neapolis is Leptis Magna, supposes, with Hardouin, that Pliny has adopted the passage above quoted from Mela, whom he censures for having brought together places so distant from each other. But Mela is evidently speaking of the country to the westward of theLesserSyrtis; of Leptis Parva, and the Neapolis Colonia of Ptolemy, situated near the extremity of the Mercurii Promontorium, in the vicinity of Clypea; so that, although the towns and cities which he enumerates do not come in the proper succession, they all of them belong to the part of the country which he is describing; and not, as Cellarius imagines, to both sides of the river Triton, which would have made a much more serious confusion. It is therefore less easy to imagine whence Pliny has derived his Neapolis, or what is his authority for the order in which he places the other cities of the district; if indeed he intended them to be in order at all, which from his mention of Oea (the civitas Oeensis) conjointly with the river Cinyphus[a], we might probably be authorized in denying. We findAbrotonumalso introduced by Cellarius, instead ofAcholla, in the passage which he has quoted from Mela: the proper reading is—Hadrumetum, Leptis, Clypea,Acholla, Taphrure[b], Neapolis, hinc ad Syrtim adjacent, ut inter ignobilia celeberrimæ.[a]The Taphrure of Mela must not be confounded with Pliny’s Taphra, which is the same with Graphara or Garapha.[b]Mela has however done the same (ultra est Oea oppidum, et Cinypus fluvius, per uberrima arva decidens . . .) and the difficulty is increased by what follows—tumLeptis altera, &c.; both accounts are very confused, and open to much discussion, but this is not the place for it, and we have already perhaps said too much upon the subject.[15]Or rather of a female relation of Consul Tully, to whom the work in question is attributed.It is observed in the same work, “When this arch was built, there were few habitations nearer this place than Lebida, the Leptis Magna of the ancients;” and farther on, “the Romans strayed to the spot where Tripoly now stands, to hunt wild beasts; and under this arch they found a welcome retreat from the burning rays of the sun.” But the arch was erected after the middle of thesecondcentury; and both Sabrata and Oea were extant in the time of Pliny, who flourished in the middle of thefirst,—the conclusion is obvious.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Threesides of the town of Tripoly are said, in Tully’s Memoirs, to be washed by the sea, which is certainly not now the case.

[2]The noted corsair Dragūt is said to have been the author of this defence, and two forts which were situated near the sea are also attributed to this person.But Leo Africanus, who flourished at the same period with Dragūt, at the beginning of the 16th century, has mentioned the walls of Tripoly as being high and handsome, though not very strong; and as the existing walls of the town, if they be really those of Dragūt, bear all the appearance of having once been very solid, we may perhaps suppose that those mentioned by Leo were standing before the present ones were constructed.The greatest length of the city, including the walls, may be said to be about 1360 yards, and its extreme breadth about a thousand yards.

[2]The noted corsair Dragūt is said to have been the author of this defence, and two forts which were situated near the sea are also attributed to this person.

But Leo Africanus, who flourished at the same period with Dragūt, at the beginning of the 16th century, has mentioned the walls of Tripoly as being high and handsome, though not very strong; and as the existing walls of the town, if they be really those of Dragūt, bear all the appearance of having once been very solid, we may perhaps suppose that those mentioned by Leo were standing before the present ones were constructed.

The greatest length of the city, including the walls, may be said to be about 1360 yards, and its extreme breadth about a thousand yards.

[3]The happy confusion of buildings which surmount the walls of the castle, raised at various times for the convenience and accommodation of the royal family, together with the little world which is contained within its limits, have been well, and correctly described in Tully’s Memoirs.

[4]To the eastward of the town, however, on a tract of rocky and elevated ground, is the burial-place of the ancient city; where the researches of Mr. Consul Warrington have brought to light some very interesting objects; particularly several large sepulchral urns of glass, the most perfect we have ever seen.

[5]We allude principally to the works of Consul Tully and Captain Lyon, and to Blaquiere’s Letters from the Mediterranean.

[6]“In our way home” (says the artless and amiable writer of Tully’s Memoirs) “we passed through a street noted for its corn-wells, or rather caverns, dug very deep into the earth. They are situated on each side of the street, at about thirty yards’ distance. They were designed for magazines to lay up corn in, where they say it will keep perfectly good for an hundred years. Happy were it for the inhabitants of this country if these caverns were filled now as they wereformerlywhen the country wasso rich in the produce of corn, that it was from hence exported to many parts of the world, and prized almost above any other. The barley when sown here yields twice as much as it does in Europe. When it grows properly, they reckon thirty and thirty-five ears for one an ordinary produce; while in Europe fourteen or fifteen is considered as a good return.” In dry seasons, however, which frequently occur, the case appears to be far otherwise. “The times are so much altered now,” (continues the authoress above mentioned,) “that corn is imported at an immense expense. This melancholy change is attributedto the want of rains, which have failed for several years past. There have not been more than one or two good harvests for thirty years. If cargoes of wheat do not soon arrive from Tunis, the state of this place will be dreadful beyond description.”—Tully’s Narrative, p. 49.—Again, the same writer says, p. 67, “It has been ascertained by the Bashaw to-day, that there is only barley for sale at two bazars, or market-places, left in the place.A few years since the barley here grew so favourably, that it produced in return three times as much as in any part of Europe. Such quantities of it were exported, that Tripoly was enriched by its sale;but the failure of rain has left the country for several years without one good harvest.”This account is consistent with the above, and we have here some idea of what may be meant by the wordformerly, in the passage first quoted, which is certainly somewhat indefinite.

This account is consistent with the above, and we have here some idea of what may be meant by the wordformerly, in the passage first quoted, which is certainly somewhat indefinite.

[7]Part of the sandy plain to the south-eastward is, however, occasionally flooded during the prevalence of strong northerly gales, and there is a tract of marshy ground, to the westward of the town, between the cultivated parts and the sea.

[8](Leo Africanus in Ramusio, p. 72.)—With respect to the former extension of Tripoly to the northward, here mentioned by the African geographer, the observation is certainly in some degree correct, and consistent with the present appearance of other parts of the coast of Northern Africa; but we must at the same time observe that the town could scarcely have projected any farther to the northward than the sites of the French and Spanish forts; for beyond these we get into five and eight fathoms water.

[9]We must, however, confess, that we cannot altogether understand, why the loss of the ground in the immediate neighbourhood of Tripoly, said by Leo Africanus to have been flooded in his days, should have necessarily occasioned to the inhabitants of the town so great a scarcity of grain as that mentioned by this geographer. For the high grounds immediately beyond the parts which were overflowed, must at all times, we should conceive, from their rocky foundation, have been placed above the level of the sea at its greatest height, and might therefore have been cultivated as we find them to be at present; and the Gharian mountains, as well as the country of Tagiura, both of which are still very productive, are mentioned by Leo as places highly cultivated at the period of the overflow alluded to.We may remark on this subject—that the coincidence of the former with the present state of the last-mentioned places, appears to be the more worthy of notice, from the circumstance of our finding the actual produce of other districts, both in Tunis and Tripoly, very different from what it appears to have been in earlier periods. Among other examples, in proof of this assertion, we may notice the great difference which has taken place in the produce and soil of Byzacium. This district was formerly much renowned for its fertility; and we are informed by Pliny that one grain of corn from the Byzacium was sent to the Emperor Augustus, which yielded four hundred shoots; and that three hundred and forty stems had been afterwards sent to Nero, produced equally from a single grain of corn[a]. But whatever be the cause of the change which has taken place, we find the soil of the Byzacium to have greatly fallen off from its former extraordinary fertility; in proof of which we need only extract the following observations from Shaw’s Travels in Barbary.“The many parts which I have seen of the ancient Byzacium, or winter circuit, fall vastly short in fertility of the character which has been attributed to them by the ancients. For such as are adjacent to the sea coast are generally of a dry, sandy nature, with no great depth of soil in the very best portion of them. This is called the Sahul, and is planted for the most part with olive-trees, which flourish here in the greatest perfection. Neither is the inland country in a much better condition.”

We may remark on this subject—that the coincidence of the former with the present state of the last-mentioned places, appears to be the more worthy of notice, from the circumstance of our finding the actual produce of other districts, both in Tunis and Tripoly, very different from what it appears to have been in earlier periods. Among other examples, in proof of this assertion, we may notice the great difference which has taken place in the produce and soil of Byzacium. This district was formerly much renowned for its fertility; and we are informed by Pliny that one grain of corn from the Byzacium was sent to the Emperor Augustus, which yielded four hundred shoots; and that three hundred and forty stems had been afterwards sent to Nero, produced equally from a single grain of corn[a]. But whatever be the cause of the change which has taken place, we find the soil of the Byzacium to have greatly fallen off from its former extraordinary fertility; in proof of which we need only extract the following observations from Shaw’s Travels in Barbary.

“The many parts which I have seen of the ancient Byzacium, or winter circuit, fall vastly short in fertility of the character which has been attributed to them by the ancients. For such as are adjacent to the sea coast are generally of a dry, sandy nature, with no great depth of soil in the very best portion of them. This is called the Sahul, and is planted for the most part with olive-trees, which flourish here in the greatest perfection. Neither is the inland country in a much better condition.”

[a]Misit ex eo loco Divo Augusto procurator ejus, ex uno grano, (vix credibile dictu) quadringenta paucis minus germina, extantque de ea re epistolæ. Misit et Neroni similiter CCCXL stipulas ex uno grano.—Nat. Hist.l. xviii. c. 10.Again (lib. v. c. 4.) Ita (Byzacium) appellatur regio CCL. M. P. circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ, cum centesima fruge agricolis fœnus reddente terra.

Again (lib. v. c. 4.) Ita (Byzacium) appellatur regio CCL. M. P. circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ, cum centesima fruge agricolis fœnus reddente terra.

[10]Before we take leave of Tripoly it may be proper to recommend, for the information of those who may hereafter visit that country, the useful precaution of not subjecting themselves to the fluctuation which is usual in the exchange of the place. Money, in Tripoly, is in the hands of a few; and its possessors, who are by no means unacquainted with the most profitable methods of laying it out, are not at all times particularly remarkable for a liberal treatment of strangers. We found the exchange get more unfavourable as our demand for money increased; and having been obliged to make some comparatively heavy payments in Spanish dollars, the value of them rose in proportion as it was known we had occasion for them[a]. In order to remedy, or rather to prevent impositions of a similar nature, it would be advisable for travellers to take with them, in Spanish dollars, the amount of the sums they may have occasion for in Tripoly; for even if the exchange should be good on their arrival there, it would most probably lower as they were known to have occasion for money. Should this be inconvenient, bills might be drawn on Malta, and the money inSpanish dollars[b]forwarded by the first secure vessel which might be sailing from that port to Tripoly.

[a]It must, however, be observed, in justice to the house of Messrs. Beaussier and Co., that we experienced a more liberal treatment from them than from any other house in Tripoly.

[b]TheSpanishdollar is the coin in most general request in the northern and inland parts of Africa.

[11]We find both these cities mentioned by Pliny; and one of them (Oea) by Pomponius Mela, while nothing is said by Strabo either of the cities or the district. Pliny died A.D. 79; Mela is supposed to have flourished about the middle of the first century, and Strabo in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. We may infer, from the silence of Strabo on the subject, that neither Sabrata nor Oea existed in his time; and as Pliny, though he mentions both cities, appears to have been unacquainted with the name of the district in question, we may also perhaps infer that it was bestowed upon it after his time. What is stated by Cellarius on the subject of Tripolis, appears to confirm this opinion: for he tells us that he knew of no one before the time of Solinus, who made any mention in Africa of the name[a]; and thatheonly applied the term to the district, and not to any particular city.Solinus is known to have written after Pliny, towards the close of the first century; and we may therefore, perhaps, conclude, that the district called Tripolis, received that appellation between the times of Pliny and Solinus.

Solinus is known to have written after Pliny, towards the close of the first century; and we may therefore, perhaps, conclude, that the district called Tripolis, received that appellation between the times of Pliny and Solinus.

[a]Nec qui ante Solinum, non antiquissimum scriptorem, mentionem vocis Tripolis in Africa fecerit succurrit nobis; qui vero, non urbem, sed trium oppidorum regionem intellexit.—(Lib. iv. cap. 3. § 18.)

[12]Tráblis, the Moorish name of the town, is not, however, properly acorruptionof Tripolis; it is merely the same word articulated through the medium of Arab pronunciation.Some authors have imagined an early African nameTarabilis, orTrebilis, from which the Roman name Tripolis was derived; but this is merely imaginary, since the meaning of Tripolis clearly points out its origin to be Greek.

[12]Tráblis, the Moorish name of the town, is not, however, properly acorruptionof Tripolis; it is merely the same word articulated through the medium of Arab pronunciation.

Some authors have imagined an early African nameTarabilis, orTrebilis, from which the Roman name Tripolis was derived; but this is merely imaginary, since the meaning of Tripolis clearly points out its origin to be Greek.

[13]In hoc tractu autem, post Cinyphum fluvium, prima Ptolemæo est Νεαπολις (Neapolis) de qua, in editis, exstat, ἡ καὶ Τριπολις (quæ etiam Tripolis vocatur): in Palatino autem codice nihil de Tripoli legitur, sed ἡ καὶ Λεπτις μεγαλη (quæ, Neapolis, etiam Leptis Magna dicitur.)—Geog. Antiq. lib. iv. cap. 3.It may be added, in support of the reading in the Palatine manuscript, that Neapolis is mentioned by Ptolemy immediately after the Cinyphus, which lies to theeastwardof Leptis Magna; so that the geographer, in passing, as he does, from east to west, must be supposed to have omitted Leptis Magna altogether, if Neapolis be not intended to denote it.

It may be added, in support of the reading in the Palatine manuscript, that Neapolis is mentioned by Ptolemy immediately after the Cinyphus, which lies to theeastwardof Leptis Magna; so that the geographer, in passing, as he does, from east to west, must be supposed to have omitted Leptis Magna altogether, if Neapolis be not intended to denote it.

[14]This reading of Ptolemy, as will appear from the passage which we have quoted above from Cellarius, is contradicted by the Palatine manuscript; and must be rejected on the authority of Scylax and Strabo, and even of Ptolemy himself.—(See the Fourth Book of Cellarius). The passage of Pliny is not so easily disposed of. After mentioning the city of Sabrata, this author observes, in speaking of the country which lies between the Great and Lesser Syrtis, “Ibi civitas Oensis, Cynips fluvius ac regio, oppida, Neapolis, Taphra, Abrotonum, Leptis altera, quæ cognominatur magna.”—(Hist. Nat. lib. v. cap. 5.) Here we find Neapolis mentioned immediately after Oea, and distinguished from Leptis Magna. “Io crederei,” says Signor della Cella, “che sia piu conforme al vero, l’ammettere che Tripoli degli antichi geografi debba riconoscersi nelle rovine che trovansi a ponente de Tripoli tuttora chiamato Tripoli Vecchio. Pare che l’abbandono, qualunque ne fosse la cagione, di questa città, desse luogo alla formazione di quella che attualmente ne porta il nome, e che in quell’ epoca fu chiamataTripoli il nuovo, o la nuova città, e da’ Greci Νεαπολις. In questa opinione consente la vera lezione di Tolommeo, ove leggesi Νεαπολις ἡ καὶ Τριπολις. (Neapoli che dicesi anche Tripoli.) Ho detto la vera lezione di Tolommeo, perchè io ho per apocrifa quella adottata dal Cellario, dove in vece di Τριπολις, avendo sostituito Λεπτις, tutto rimane alterato e confuso. Con Tolommeo concorda Plinio che ha per due città diverse Neapoli e Leptis Magna, e tra queste due tramette Gaffara e Abrotano; e Plinio, per le cognizione che poteva attinger nella città, e ne’ tempi ne’ quali scriveva, merita sopra ogni altro credenza intorna alla geografia di questa parte dell’ Africa.”—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 41.)It will not here be very evident how the modern town of Tripoly can, on the authority of Pliny, be supposed to be the same with Neapolis. For Tripoly is identified by the best authorities with Oea; and Neapolis is mentioned, in the passage alluded to, as situated between Oea and Taphra, (the Graphara and Garapha of Scylax and Ptolemy.) But supposing it to be, as Signor della Cella has stated, that the decay of the “Tripolidegliantichigeografi” had really given occasion to the building of the present one, under the title he has conferred upon it of Neapolis; it follows that the former city must have borne the name of Tripolis in the time of Pliny, who, so far from knowing any town of that name, does not even recognise the district under the title.It must, however, be confessed, that the introduction of Neapolis, in the situation which Pliny has assigned to it, is by no means very easily accounted for. At the same time it is certain, that the position in question is directly in opposition to the authority of Strabo, as well as to that of Scylax and of Ptolemy; who, all of them, identify Neapolis with Leptis Magna, as will be seen by a reference to Cellarius. This author, who insists very properly upon the authority of Strabo, &c., that Neapolis is Leptis Magna, supposes, with Hardouin, that Pliny has adopted the passage above quoted from Mela, whom he censures for having brought together places so distant from each other. But Mela is evidently speaking of the country to the westward of theLesserSyrtis; of Leptis Parva, and the Neapolis Colonia of Ptolemy, situated near the extremity of the Mercurii Promontorium, in the vicinity of Clypea; so that, although the towns and cities which he enumerates do not come in the proper succession, they all of them belong to the part of the country which he is describing; and not, as Cellarius imagines, to both sides of the river Triton, which would have made a much more serious confusion. It is therefore less easy to imagine whence Pliny has derived his Neapolis, or what is his authority for the order in which he places the other cities of the district; if indeed he intended them to be in order at all, which from his mention of Oea (the civitas Oeensis) conjointly with the river Cinyphus[a], we might probably be authorized in denying. We findAbrotonumalso introduced by Cellarius, instead ofAcholla, in the passage which he has quoted from Mela: the proper reading is—Hadrumetum, Leptis, Clypea,Acholla, Taphrure[b], Neapolis, hinc ad Syrtim adjacent, ut inter ignobilia celeberrimæ.

It will not here be very evident how the modern town of Tripoly can, on the authority of Pliny, be supposed to be the same with Neapolis. For Tripoly is identified by the best authorities with Oea; and Neapolis is mentioned, in the passage alluded to, as situated between Oea and Taphra, (the Graphara and Garapha of Scylax and Ptolemy.) But supposing it to be, as Signor della Cella has stated, that the decay of the “Tripolidegliantichigeografi” had really given occasion to the building of the present one, under the title he has conferred upon it of Neapolis; it follows that the former city must have borne the name of Tripolis in the time of Pliny, who, so far from knowing any town of that name, does not even recognise the district under the title.

It must, however, be confessed, that the introduction of Neapolis, in the situation which Pliny has assigned to it, is by no means very easily accounted for. At the same time it is certain, that the position in question is directly in opposition to the authority of Strabo, as well as to that of Scylax and of Ptolemy; who, all of them, identify Neapolis with Leptis Magna, as will be seen by a reference to Cellarius. This author, who insists very properly upon the authority of Strabo, &c., that Neapolis is Leptis Magna, supposes, with Hardouin, that Pliny has adopted the passage above quoted from Mela, whom he censures for having brought together places so distant from each other. But Mela is evidently speaking of the country to the westward of theLesserSyrtis; of Leptis Parva, and the Neapolis Colonia of Ptolemy, situated near the extremity of the Mercurii Promontorium, in the vicinity of Clypea; so that, although the towns and cities which he enumerates do not come in the proper succession, they all of them belong to the part of the country which he is describing; and not, as Cellarius imagines, to both sides of the river Triton, which would have made a much more serious confusion. It is therefore less easy to imagine whence Pliny has derived his Neapolis, or what is his authority for the order in which he places the other cities of the district; if indeed he intended them to be in order at all, which from his mention of Oea (the civitas Oeensis) conjointly with the river Cinyphus[a], we might probably be authorized in denying. We findAbrotonumalso introduced by Cellarius, instead ofAcholla, in the passage which he has quoted from Mela: the proper reading is—Hadrumetum, Leptis, Clypea,Acholla, Taphrure[b], Neapolis, hinc ad Syrtim adjacent, ut inter ignobilia celeberrimæ.

[a]The Taphrure of Mela must not be confounded with Pliny’s Taphra, which is the same with Graphara or Garapha.

[b]Mela has however done the same (ultra est Oea oppidum, et Cinypus fluvius, per uberrima arva decidens . . .) and the difficulty is increased by what follows—tumLeptis altera, &c.; both accounts are very confused, and open to much discussion, but this is not the place for it, and we have already perhaps said too much upon the subject.

[15]Or rather of a female relation of Consul Tully, to whom the work in question is attributed.It is observed in the same work, “When this arch was built, there were few habitations nearer this place than Lebida, the Leptis Magna of the ancients;” and farther on, “the Romans strayed to the spot where Tripoly now stands, to hunt wild beasts; and under this arch they found a welcome retreat from the burning rays of the sun.” But the arch was erected after the middle of thesecondcentury; and both Sabrata and Oea were extant in the time of Pliny, who flourished in the middle of thefirst,—the conclusion is obvious.

[15]Or rather of a female relation of Consul Tully, to whom the work in question is attributed.

It is observed in the same work, “When this arch was built, there were few habitations nearer this place than Lebida, the Leptis Magna of the ancients;” and farther on, “the Romans strayed to the spot where Tripoly now stands, to hunt wild beasts; and under this arch they found a welcome retreat from the burning rays of the sun.” But the arch was erected after the middle of thesecondcentury; and both Sabrata and Oea were extant in the time of Pliny, who flourished in the middle of thefirst,—the conclusion is obvious.

Departure of the Expedition from Tripoly — Passage through Tagiura — Fertile appearance of the latter — Its Mosque, and actual remains — Tagiura considered as the site of Abrotonum — Existence of a salt-water lake at Tagiura, consistent with Strabo’s account of Abrotonum — Present tranquil condition of the country in this neighbourhood contrasted with its dangerous state in the time of Consul Tully — Sand-heaps to the eastward of Tagiura — Remarks on their formation, and on the accumulation of sand in other places — Dangers of the sand-storm considered — Passage over the sandy tract to the eastward of Tagiura — Arrive at Wady Ramleh — Stormy weather at that place — Take leave of our European friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly — Continuance of the gale — Arrive at Wady’m’Seyd — Attempt to pass, without success, across the sand-hills to the coast. — Arrive at Guadigmata — Position of Graphara, as laid down by Scylax, considered. — Ancient remains discovered by Captain Smyth in the neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd and Abdellata. — Remarks on these, considered as the remains of Graphara — Scuffle with the Arabs at Sidy Abdellati — Remains at that place indicative of an ancient military station — Cross the range of Sélem — Extensive view from its summit over the fertile plains of Lebida and Jumarr — Rains still continue — Distress of the camels — Meet with the English Consul on his return from an excursion to Lebida — Report of a troop of marauding Arabs lying in wait for our party.

Onthe 4th of November our arrangements were completed, and we were able to send the greater part of our baggage to the tents which had been pitched in a garden without the town; on the following morning we took a final leave of Tripoly, and set out on our journey to Tagiura.

Our party consisted of three Europeans, who acted equally as interpreters and servants, a Tchaous, or janissary, belonging to the Bashaw, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah, with five other Bedouin Arabs, and three Arabs of Tripoly to look after the horses, making altogether (ourselves included) eighteen.

After passing through the Messeah, or cultivated district in the neighbourhood of Tripoly, and along the large Salt Marsh, mentioned in Tully’s Memoirs, which was now completely covered with water, we entered the scattered villages of Tagiura. They are surrounded by gardens, yielding abundant crops of corn, fruit and vegetables, and shaded by thickly-planted date and olive-trees, which are equally valuable to the inhabitants. We find Tagiura described by Leo Africanus as a country containing a good many villages, or hamlets, and many gardens of date and other fruit trees; and its present general appearance is probably little different from that which it presented in the time of this geographer.

In consequence of a considerable emigration from Tripoly, this country (he adds) became “assai nobile e civile;” but we must confess that there are at present very little remains of its importance, or extraordinary civilization; unless a large mosque, of some apparent antiquity (highly reverenced by its Mahometan population) and the good-humoured hospitality with which we were received by the natives, may be considered as examples of both.

The people, however, appeared to be contented and happy, and greeted us with many friendly salutations as we passed through their highly-cultivated country. Some Roman columns, which are said to be in the interior of the mosque, would seem to point out its vicinity to an ancient site[1]; and if we must necessarily consider Tagiura tooccupy the position of any ancient town, we should suppose it to stand on that of Abrotonum.

But it will be found, upon inquiry, that there are considerable difficulties attendant on such a conclusion. For Abrotonum is stated by Scylax to have been two days’ sail from Leptis Magna[2]; and the distance between Tagiura and Lebida (already identified with Leptis Magna) is no more than 59 miles.

The mean rate allowed by Major Rennell, for the sailing of the vessels of the ancients, is 35 miles per day; so that the distance between Leptis Magna and Abrotonum should, at this rate, be 70 miles. It is true that the rate of Nearchus, in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf, as estimated by the same author, is no more than 22½ and 30 miles; but this was occasioned by circumstances not attendant on voyages in general, and must be considered (says the Major) as an unusually low rate.

Another difficulty arises from the mention of Abrotonum as aport, as well as a city, in the passage we have quoted from Scylax; for Tagiura cannot be said to possess one.

It will here immediately occur to the reader, that Tripoly has a very good port; and that the distance of that town from Lebida will answer remarkably well with the distance of Scylax in question: for Tripoly may be estimated at 67 miles from Lebida, which will bewithin three of the 70 miles mentioned as the distance between Leptis Magna and Abrotonum. Both these circumstances together will therefore appear very strongly to favour the supposition that Tripoly is Abrotonum; while a third, which we have already mentioned,viz., that Oea is not stated to be a port by ancient writers, (at least, not that we have been able to learn,) will contribute to strengthen the idea.

These facts would undoubtedly make it seem very probable that Modern Tripoly is the Abrotonum of Scylax; but then the authorities of D’Anville and Cellarius, and these are no slender authorities, concur in placing that town on the site of Oea, as which we have accordingly considered it[3].

We will not pursue the question further; but will leave our readers to judge how far Abrotonum may be placed at Tagiura under the circumstances which we have already stated; merely adding, that the fertile plains of Tagiura are admirably calculated for the position of a town, and that many a pleasant day has been spent among their villages and gardens by the European inhabitants of Tripoly, who often make parties to visit them.

We may at the same time contrast the present quiet state of Tagiura with that in which it was found by Consul Tully a short time before the accession of Sidi Yusuf. It was then considered necessary, in visiting this place, although during what were called tranquil times, that the party of the Consul, amounting to upwards of forty, should be increased by the addition of several of the Bashaw’s Chaouses; and it was afterwards reported to His Highness, that he had had, notwithstanding this prudent precaution, a very narrow and fortunate escape.

We found the roads to, and through, Tagiura in most places inundated by the heavy rains which had fallen before the commencement of our journey; a circumstance which, if it did not expedite our travelling, had certainly the good effect of rendering it more pleasant, by cooling the atmosphere and preventing the sand from flying. This was the more fortunate, as the gardens to the eastward of the town are bounded by a dreary tract of sandy desert, which we were obliged to cross. The approach to it was indicated by numerous hillocks of sand accumulated about the date-trees on the outskirts of the villages, leaving their heads exposed, at various heights abovethe sand, while some of them scarcely appeared above the summit. Judging from the present appearance of Tagiura, we should imagine that many gardens, situated on its eastern limits, have been completely overwhelmed by these heaps.

Any object which is stationary would arrest the progress of sand borne towards it by the violence of the wind; and the low enclosures of Arab gardens in exposed situations might in a few years disappear altogether.

We are not, however, inclined to attribute quite so much to the overwhelming properties of sand, as many other travellers have done; and we do not think that the danger of being actually buried will appear, on consideration, to be altogether so great, to those who are crossing sandy deserts, as writers of high respectability have asserted. The sand which encounters a body in motion, would pass it, we should imagine, without accumulation; and the quantity which might even be heaped upon sleepers could scarcely be more than they might easily shake off in waking. We shudder at the dreadful accounts which have been recorded of whole caravans, and whole armies, destroyed by these formidable waves of the desert; and when our pity is strongly excited by such relations, we are seldom inclined to analyze them very deeply. But a little reflection would probably convince us that many of these are greatly exaggerated: some, because the writers believed what they related; and some, because they wished their readers to believe what they might not be quite convinced of themselves.

In fact, we think it probable that they who have perishedin deserts, from the time of the Psylli and Cambyses to the present, have died, as is usual, before they were buried, either from violence, thirst, or exhaustion[4].

The idea in question has, however, become very general; and we can neither attribute much blame to the reader who believes what is related on respectable authority, or to the writer who simply informs us of what he himself considers to be true. To him whose only view is to excite interest by exaggeration, we may, at least, say it seems to be superfluous: for the hardships and dangers of a journey over the sandy desert may be fully sufficient to satisfy the most adventurous, and to exhaust the most robust, without calling up the airy forms of imaginary horrors, to lengthen out the line of those which really present themselves[5].

But if the desert have terrors peculiar to itself, it has also its peculiar pleasures. There is something imposing, we may say sublime, in the idea of unbounded space which it occasionally presents; and every trifling object which appears above its untenanted surface, assumes an interest which we should not on other occasions attribute to objects of much greater importance.

The little romance which its stillness and solitude encourage, is atthe same time grateful to the feelings; and one may here dream delightfully of undisturbed tranquillity and independence, and of freedom from all the cares, the follies, and the vices of the world. Whenever the wind is cool, without being too strong, the purity of the air is at once refreshing and exhilarating; and, if his stock of water be not very low, the traveller feels disposed to be well pleased with every thing[6].

Such was precisely the feeling with which our party entered upon the tract of sandy desert before them. We were glad to escape from the continual din and bustle which had attended our preparations at Tripoly; and the very absence of harassing workmen and tradesmen was alone a source of real satisfaction: the coolness of the sea-breeze was unusually refreshing, at least, we persuaded ourselves that it was so; and the anticipation of an interesting journey was acting very strongly upon our minds.

After quitting the cultivated grounds of Tagiura, the traveller is left to pursue his course (in going eastward) as his experience or his compass may direct—there being no indication whatever of any track in the sands of the wide plain before him. As our principal object, in this part of our journey, was to obtain a correct delineation of the coast, we pursued our route along the margin of the sea; which from Tagiura to Cape Sciarra takes the form of a bay, at the head of which lies Wady Ramleh. It was late in the afternoon of the sixthwhen we reached the Wady, and came up with the party who had preceded us in advance with the camels and heavy baggage.

Wady Ramleh, or Rummel (as it is sometimes pronounced, which signifies, in Arabic, sandy river, or sandy valley), is a small, but constant stream of pure water, which finds its way across the desert from the mountains to the southward. The bed of the stream is much below the surface of the soil; and judging from its width, and the steep banks which confine it, we should conclude that at the periods when the freshes come down from the mountains, Wady Ramleh may be swelled into a considerable body of water. Here our day’s journey finished, and we pitched our tents near the stream, making them as comfortable as a stormy night would allow of for the friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly[7]. On the following morning the rain fell in torrents; and as the prospect afforded by the weather was not very inviting, we would not allow our companions to stray farther with us from home; but took our leave of them, as we flattered ourselves, with mutual regret, and they retraced their steps towards Tripoly, while we continued our journey to the eastward.

The wind had by this time increased to a violent gale, and we were very soon wet to the skin: but although such a state may not appear to be at all times an enviable one, it was in fact very much so on this occasion; for the clouds of sand which would have been hurled in our faces by the wind, had the surface of the desert beenless wet, would have proved a much greater annoyance. With this reflection we pursued our journey very contentedly, and our Arab friends, composing Shekh Mahommed’s escort, appeared to be equally well satisfied; for they soon began to open the several budgets of songs with which an Arab is never unprovided, roaring them out to the full extent of their well-practised and powerful lungs, till they fairly drowned the noise of the gale.

At 10A.M.we passed through Wady’m’Seyd, a small stream somewhat inferior to Wady Ramleh, and soon entered upon the extensive plain of Jumarr. Wady’m’Seyd may be termed the eastern limit of the long sandy tract which stretches from thence far to the westward, and passing to the southward of Tripoly, is bounded, in that direction, by the Gharian mountains.

The sandy nature of the ground to the westward of Wady’m’Seyd had latterly led us away from that part of the coast, and we now endeavoured to regain the beach; but the sands were so soft that our horses sank up to their saddle-girths, and our utmost efforts to reach it were unavailing: we were in consequence obliged to give up the attempt, and leave this portion of the coast line incomplete. Among the sand-hills we found several patches of rocky ground strewed with fragments of pottery, but no vestiges of building were discernible. The plain of Jumarr, from the excellence of its soil, would no doubt be extremely productive; but notwithstanding this advantage, and its vicinity to the metropolis, a small part of it only is cultivated, and but few Arab tents were to be seen. The Gharian range may here be considered to be about seven milesfrom the coast; and the heavy rains and torrents from the mountains have made several large ravines in this neighbourhood, which crossed our path in their passage to the sea: the most considerable of these are Wady Terragadt and Wady Booforris. Soon after four o’clock we reached Guadigmata, where we found a small Arab encampment, and pitched our tents for the night.

It is in the neighbourhood of Guadigmata, between that place and Wady’m’Seyd, that we must look for the Graphara of Scylax. For as that city is described by the geographer as being midway between Abrotonum and Leptis Magna, that is, a day’s sail from each—Guadigmata being 26 miles from Lebida, and the whole distance from Lebida to Tagiura 58½—it follows that the site of Graphara might be fixed three miles to the westward of Guadigmata; which would place it at 29 miles’ distance from each of the cities in question, or half way between Lebida and Tagiura[8].

There are, however, no remains to the westward of Guadigmata (between that place and Wady’m’Seid) that we could perceive in our route; but two miles beyond Guadigmata there are some remains of building on a rising ground to the eastward of it, which are too much buried under the soil to allow us to give any satisfactory description of them. Two large upright stones, which seem to have been the jambs of a gateway, are all that are nowstanding; and not even the ground plans of other parts of these remains could be obtained without excavation. We learnt, however, from Captain Smyth that, in the neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd, there is a small boat-cove resembling an ancient cothon; and near it the ruins of several baths with tesselated pavements; which must have been situated on that part of the coast which we were not able to visit, for the reasons mentioned above. To the eastward of these, another small port was also discovered by Captain Smyth (formed by a point of land between the Wadies of Ben-z-barra and Abdellata), at which the produce of the country is shipped off in the summer. The mouth of the Abdellata is described by this officer as forming a picturesque cove, and he observed on its left bank (a little way inland) a village consisting of troglodytic caverns, excavated in the sand-stone rock; many of which being furnished with doors, are used by the natives instead of the usual matamores, or subterranean storehouses, as granaries.

The former of the ports here described may possibly have been that of Graphara required; but as there are more extensive remains in the neighbourhood of that at Abdellata (or Abdellati), which we shall presently have occasion to mention, we will not venture to fix it as such decidedly.

On the day after our arrival at Guadigmata, the weather proving still very bad, we did not proceed on our route; but spent the day in examining and securing our baskets of provisions many of which we found to have been wet through, and in making those other little arrangements which, notwithstanding all precautions, areusually found to be necessary a day or two after the commencement of a long journey.

We continued our route on the following morning, and found the country beyond become gradually hilly, and the road to be again intersected by Wadys, or ravines, extending themselves from the mountains to the sea[9]. By four we had arrived at Sidy Abdellàti: so called from a celebrated Marábut, whose tomb, surrounded by gardens and date-trees, stands conspicuous on the banks of one of the Wadys. The country about it is everywhere well cultivated, the wells are numerous, and the hills were covered with sheep and goats; but notwithstanding the numerous flocks in our neighbourhood, we found considerable difficulty in procuring a single lamb for our party.

While we were here a disturbance took place which had, at one time, assumed rather an alarming appearance. Our camel-drivers had allowed their beasts to stray over the cultivated grounds of the neighbouring Arabs, who came to demand remuneration, or to revenge themselves, in the event of not obtaining it, upon the owners of the camels[10]: the latter, together with our Arab escort, formed a tolerably strong party, and thinking themselves in a condition to do so, did not hesitate to resist the demand; a scuffle accordingly took place, in which many blows were exchanged, baracanstorn, and knives and pistols brought into action. The arrival of Shekh Mahommed put an end to the fray before any serious consequences had ensued, and he satisfied the assailants by reprimanding the camel-drivers, and promising to make them keep their animals within bounds. We were ignorant ourselves of the cause of the disturbance, and seeing our party suddenly attacked, we naturally ran to their assistance, which certainly would not have been the case had we known they had been the aggressors. This made us more cautious afterwards, as we found that our drivers took advantage of the strength of the party to improve the condition of their camels.

The most conspicuous character in this disturbance was a trusty black slave of our conductor the Dúbbah, who appeared to have inherited from his master the art of raising his voice above that of every other person. Having had his pistols wrested from him, he was so hurried away by the violence of his passion as to seem quite unable to give it sufficient vent; and had just raised his knife to plunge it into an Arab, when he was prevented by one of our party, who presented a musket at him and deprived him of his weapon; for although he was fighting on our side, we were not of course desirous that he should proceed to such unjustifiable extremes.

The remains of some strongly-built forts, of quadrangular forms, occupying the heights which command the road, sufficiently point out Sidy Abdellàti as an ancient military station; and indeed, had we found there no vestiges of antiquity, we should have been induced from the nature of the ground to look for some indications of fortification; since the advantages of position, of soil, and of water,which it possesses, are too great to have been overlooked by the ancients.

About the tomb of the Marábut which we have mentioned above, there are frequent traces of building; and the tomb itself is constructed with the fragments of more ancient structures; while the beach and its neighbourhood are strewed with a quantity of pottery and glass. These ruins, although they now, with the exception of the Marábut and the forts, consist only of loose stones and imperfect ground-plans, appear to be more indicative of the site of an ancient town than those which we have mentioned at Guadigmata; and, if Graphara could be placed so near as twenty miles to Leptis Magna, they might probably be considered as its remains. The quadrangular forts which we have just mentioned as occupying the heights of Sidy Abdellàti, might in that case have belonged to a station attached to the town; and the port discovered by Captain Smyth at Abdellata (mentioned above) may then be taken as the one intended by Scylax.

Without carrying the subject further, we may say, in conclusion, that Sidy Abdellàti has undoubtedly been a strong military station, whatever pretensions it may have to be considered as the site of Graphara.

After leaving this place, the road led us, through the valley of Selîn, to a tolerably wide stream called Neggázi, which, winding between the hills, gave an unusual interest to the view. We continued our route for a short time along its banks, and then ascended the range of hills called Sélem, which branches off from the Terhoona[11]range and extends to the sea. From the top of Sélem there is an extensive view westward, over the plain of Jumarr, as far as the sandy desert; and on the eastern side of the ridge there is another view, equally imposing, over the plain of Lebida; so that in spite of the torrents of rain which still continued to deluge us, we could not help stopping occasionally to admire them.

From the summit of this range we noticed several remains of what appeared to be towers, conspicuously situated on the peaks of the hills to the northward; and which, from the strength of their position, might have bid defiance to any attack that could be made upon them: their situations appear to have been chosen with the intention of their being easily distinguished one from another, so as to answer the purpose of communication. The valleys of this range are capable of the highest degree of cultivation, but their fertility has only been partially taken advantage of by the Arabs of the neighbourhood. In some of them we noticed vines and olive-trees flourishing most luxuriantly between patches of ground producing corn and vegetables. Descending on the eastern side of the range, the road lies along the side of the mountain, and several ruins of forts and tombs are conspicuous on either side of it: here also are several remains of ancient wells, and we noticed one, in particular, which had fragments of marble columns lying near it. During the whole of this day the road was so slippery, in consequence of the heavy rains, that our camels could with difficulty proceed: they were continually fallingunder their burthens, and the alarm which their unsteady footing occasioned them added greatly to the distress of their situation. In the evening we pitched our tents in a valley about a mile from Mergip tower, where we met the English Consul on his return from an excursion to Lebida: he informed us of a report which was in circulation at that place, of a troop of marauding Arabs being in wait for our party two days south of Mesurata. This report was corroborated by Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah, who seemed inclined to make it of some importance.

We suspected, from the Shekh’s manner, that he had himself circulated this story to enhance the value of his protection; and we were determined in consequence not to appear to believe it. As we did not however think it right to omit some precautions, in the event of the report proving after all to be true, we requested the Consul to mention it when he returned to the Bashaw; who might then take whatever measures he should judge to be necessary on the occasion.

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