CHAPTER XVII.

FOOTNOTES:[1][Inscription][2]In speaking of the fountain to which the Libyans conducted the founders of Cyrene, Herodotus says, αγαγοντες δε σφεας επι κρηνην λεγομενην ειναι Απολλωνος, ειπαν—“Ανδρες Ελληνες, ενταυτα υμιν επιτηδεον οικεειν· ενταυτα γαρ ὁ ουρανος τετρηται.”—(Melp. ρνηʹ).And as the stream here alluded to is the principal fountain of the place we may suppose it with probability to have been that of Apollo.[3]There are, however, many exceptions to this rule, which does not appear to have been by any means generally adopted by the Greeks. The number of columns on the flanks of temples seem to have been usually (at the same time)morethan double the number in front, and seldomlessby more than one, the proportion given by Vitruvius.[4]The pycnostyle is the least intercolumniation allowed by Vitruvius, and is one diameter and a half of the column at the bottom of the shaft; but neither this proportion, nor that of the systyle, which is equal to two diameters of the column, are recommended by him for general adoption: since “the matrons (he adds) who go to their supplications, mutually supporting each other, cannot pass through the intercolumniations (those of the pycnostyle and systyle dimensions are intended) unless they separate and walk in ranks. The view of the entrance, and of the statues themselves, is also obstructed when the columns are placed so little apart; and the ambulatory, whose width is governed by the interval between the columns, is inconvenient from its being so narrow.”—Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 11, 12.[5]“The temples of the gods ought to be so placed that the statue, which has its station in the cella, should, if there be nothing to interfere with such a disposition, face the west; in order that those who come to make oblations and offer sacrifices may face the east, when their view is directed towards the statue: and those who come to impose upon themselves the performance of vows, may have the temple and the east immediately before them. Thus the statues they regard will appear as if rising from the east and looking down upon the suppliants.”—(Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 79.)[6]The most ancient position of temples appears to have been east and west, with the entrance, or frontispiece, towards the west; and the statue of the deity looking towards the same point; so that they who worshipped should have their faces turned towards the rising sun. The contrary aspect was, however, adopted at an early period, and appears to have been universal in later ages whenever local causes did not interfere with such an arrangement.[7]The closely-drawn girdle of the ladies of antiquity, like the snood of the Scottish maidens, was symbolical of an unmarried state; and to loosen it was part of the nuptial ceremony.[8]The height of the upper range from the level of the sea, as obtained by Captain Smyth from a sea base, was 1575 feet.—The dip of the visible sea horizon, repeatedly measured by us with a theodolite from the summit, was 42′ 00″, which, adding ¹⁄₁₄ for terrestrial refraction, gives 2003 feet for the height—the mean of these, which we have adopted, is 1805 feet.[9]We may add, that the circumstance of being obliged to reduce our drawing (which is a large one) to the size of a quarto plate, has, at the same time, operated to its disadvantage, as might naturally indeed have been expected.[10]It must be recollected that these façades were merely representations of porticoes, and that the columns did not project farther from the surface than half their own diameter.[11]All the excavated tombs were not provided with antechambers, and the cellæ in such cases commenced from the surface of the external façade.[12]The metopes are often far from being square, and the mutules are placed at different distances from the triglyphs according to the fancy of the architect. The capital of the triglyphs is very rarely continued, in the same line, across the metopes; but is almost always deeper in the last-mentioned division, forming a moulding in the space between the triglyphs, which gives an air of finish to this part of the entablature. Above the capital of the triglyphs, between it and the cymatium below the corona, there is usually a band or fillet, of the same depth, for the most part, with the capital, and on the same plane with it; and the capital itself sometimes projects a little beyond the femora of the triglyph, and sometimes is on the same level with it. The cymatium below the corona is for the most part much deeper than the usual proportion of that member; which appears to have been done in order to show the ornament upon it, which would not otherwise, from the projection of the corona and the depth of the mutules, be conspicuous. The proportion of the corona itself also varies, and the scotia beneath it is sometimes introduced, and sometimes omitted altogether. Much difference exists in the depth of the cyma, as well as in that of its fastigium; and the lions’ heads, which are often sculptured upon it, are sometimes introduced and sometimes omitted. Whenever these are placed, as they usually are, over the axes of the columns, an ornament representing the end of a tile is often found to accompany them, placed on the fastigium, exactly over the centre of the metopes. There is also a difference in the depth of the regulæ and mutules, as well as in the thickness and depth of the guttæ, the form of the latter being sometimes conical and sometimes cylindrical, and on some occasions almost square. The upper part of the two outer channels of the triglyphs are sometimes cut parallel with the line of the capital; but more frequently inclined a little downwards, so as to meet the bottom of the moulding above the metopes, which we have already stated is not often in a line with that of the capitals of the triglyphs. The depth of the tænia, also, and that of the epistylium (or architrave) varies in different instances; as well as the proportions of the columns themselves, and those of their abaci, or plinths: the latter are generally surmounted with an elegantly proportioned cymatium, which is itself almost always crowned with a fillet. We may add that the curve of the echinus also varies, but is usually of a light and elegant proportion; and the annulets sometimes follow the line of the curve, and sometimes range with that of the hypotrachelium: the number of these occasionally two, but more frequently three; and the upper and lower ones (in the last-mentioned instance) are frequently cut square, while the central one forms an angle, the apex of which projects beyond the two others. This, however, only occurs when the annulets range with the shafts of the columns, for when they range with the line of the echinus they are generally cut like the teeth of a saw, as the central one is in the instance just mentioned. We observed that for the most part when annulets were adopted there were no channels, or grooves, hollowed in the hypotrachelium, and this equally obtained whether the annulets followed the line of the echinus or that of the shaft. There was commonly a fillet dividing the channels, or fluting of the shaft, the proportion of which was not always the same, and we rarely saw any fluting where these were not adopted, and very seldom any columns where the shafts were left plain. The difficulty of preserving the edges of the fluting with nicety, and of keeping them from being chipped and broken, appears to have been the reason for adopting the fillet; for as the proportions of the façades, particularly those of the interior ones, were necessarily on a small scale, the edges of the fluting, where no fillet was used, must have been nearly as sharp as the edge of a sword, and consequently very liable to accident. We may add that the width of the fillet accommodated itself to the entasis of the shaft, and was continued round the upper part of the channels, so as to form the crown of the hypotrachelium, when no annulets were made use of; for in that case the channels finished in these, forming an elegant curve from the line of the column to the lowest of the annulets, which sometimes projected considerably from the upper part of the shaft. With regard to the disposition of the triglyphs with respect to the columns, we usually found them placed over the axes of the latter, with sometimes one, and sometimes two intervening, as we have already mentioned above; with the exception, however, of those at the extremities of the zophorus, which were sometimes placed in the angle, and sometimes a little removed from it, being in the latter case placed over the joint centre of the half column and pilaster which usually terminated the façade at both extremities. We must remark, with respect to the introduction of the pilaster conjointly with the columns at the angles, that the shafts and the capitals were not wholly relieved from the surface, although they were more so than half their diameter. It must be recollected at the same time that the whole façade was generally formed in the rock itself, and had consequently no weight to support, and no internal arrangements to which it was necessary that it should be accommodated. The placing of the triglyphs was therefore purely optional, and might be adapted to the taste or the fancy of the architect, who was thus enabled to follow his own ideas of proportion and arrangement, without reference to any standard but the eye.[13]In the tomb of Theron at Agrigentum we have a similar instance of a Doric entablature supported by Ionic columns.[14]An operation which is at present necessary, in order to make them bear out.[15]Each of these customs (as practised by the Greeks) had well-founded claims to great antiquity; for interment appears to have been in use in the time of Cecrops, and burning must at any rate be allowed to have been practised by the Grecians, as far back as the Trojan war, if we rely upon the testimony of Homer. The custom of burning was perhaps the most peculiar to the Greeks, of the two modes in question; for Lucian, in enumerating the various methods resorted to by different nations in the disposal of their dead, expressly assigns burning to the Greeks, and interment to the Persians—διελομενοι κατα εθνη τας ταφας, ὁ μεν Ἕλλην εκαυσεν, ὁ δε Περσης εθαψεν . . . (περι πενθους, § 21.) Some, however, considered the former as an inhuman custom, and philosophers were divided in their opinions on the subject: each sect esteeming that method the most reasonable by which bodies would, according to their tenets, be soonest reduced to their first principles.—See Potter’s Archæologia, vol. ii. p. 207-8, &c.

FOOTNOTES:

[1][Inscription]

[1]

[Inscription]

[2]In speaking of the fountain to which the Libyans conducted the founders of Cyrene, Herodotus says, αγαγοντες δε σφεας επι κρηνην λεγομενην ειναι Απολλωνος, ειπαν—“Ανδρες Ελληνες, ενταυτα υμιν επιτηδεον οικεειν· ενταυτα γαρ ὁ ουρανος τετρηται.”—(Melp. ρνηʹ).And as the stream here alluded to is the principal fountain of the place we may suppose it with probability to have been that of Apollo.

And as the stream here alluded to is the principal fountain of the place we may suppose it with probability to have been that of Apollo.

[3]There are, however, many exceptions to this rule, which does not appear to have been by any means generally adopted by the Greeks. The number of columns on the flanks of temples seem to have been usually (at the same time)morethan double the number in front, and seldomlessby more than one, the proportion given by Vitruvius.

[4]The pycnostyle is the least intercolumniation allowed by Vitruvius, and is one diameter and a half of the column at the bottom of the shaft; but neither this proportion, nor that of the systyle, which is equal to two diameters of the column, are recommended by him for general adoption: since “the matrons (he adds) who go to their supplications, mutually supporting each other, cannot pass through the intercolumniations (those of the pycnostyle and systyle dimensions are intended) unless they separate and walk in ranks. The view of the entrance, and of the statues themselves, is also obstructed when the columns are placed so little apart; and the ambulatory, whose width is governed by the interval between the columns, is inconvenient from its being so narrow.”—Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 11, 12.

[5]“The temples of the gods ought to be so placed that the statue, which has its station in the cella, should, if there be nothing to interfere with such a disposition, face the west; in order that those who come to make oblations and offer sacrifices may face the east, when their view is directed towards the statue: and those who come to impose upon themselves the performance of vows, may have the temple and the east immediately before them. Thus the statues they regard will appear as if rising from the east and looking down upon the suppliants.”—(Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 79.)

[6]The most ancient position of temples appears to have been east and west, with the entrance, or frontispiece, towards the west; and the statue of the deity looking towards the same point; so that they who worshipped should have their faces turned towards the rising sun. The contrary aspect was, however, adopted at an early period, and appears to have been universal in later ages whenever local causes did not interfere with such an arrangement.

[7]The closely-drawn girdle of the ladies of antiquity, like the snood of the Scottish maidens, was symbolical of an unmarried state; and to loosen it was part of the nuptial ceremony.

[8]The height of the upper range from the level of the sea, as obtained by Captain Smyth from a sea base, was 1575 feet.—The dip of the visible sea horizon, repeatedly measured by us with a theodolite from the summit, was 42′ 00″, which, adding ¹⁄₁₄ for terrestrial refraction, gives 2003 feet for the height—the mean of these, which we have adopted, is 1805 feet.

[9]We may add, that the circumstance of being obliged to reduce our drawing (which is a large one) to the size of a quarto plate, has, at the same time, operated to its disadvantage, as might naturally indeed have been expected.

[10]It must be recollected that these façades were merely representations of porticoes, and that the columns did not project farther from the surface than half their own diameter.

[11]All the excavated tombs were not provided with antechambers, and the cellæ in such cases commenced from the surface of the external façade.

[12]The metopes are often far from being square, and the mutules are placed at different distances from the triglyphs according to the fancy of the architect. The capital of the triglyphs is very rarely continued, in the same line, across the metopes; but is almost always deeper in the last-mentioned division, forming a moulding in the space between the triglyphs, which gives an air of finish to this part of the entablature. Above the capital of the triglyphs, between it and the cymatium below the corona, there is usually a band or fillet, of the same depth, for the most part, with the capital, and on the same plane with it; and the capital itself sometimes projects a little beyond the femora of the triglyph, and sometimes is on the same level with it. The cymatium below the corona is for the most part much deeper than the usual proportion of that member; which appears to have been done in order to show the ornament upon it, which would not otherwise, from the projection of the corona and the depth of the mutules, be conspicuous. The proportion of the corona itself also varies, and the scotia beneath it is sometimes introduced, and sometimes omitted altogether. Much difference exists in the depth of the cyma, as well as in that of its fastigium; and the lions’ heads, which are often sculptured upon it, are sometimes introduced and sometimes omitted. Whenever these are placed, as they usually are, over the axes of the columns, an ornament representing the end of a tile is often found to accompany them, placed on the fastigium, exactly over the centre of the metopes. There is also a difference in the depth of the regulæ and mutules, as well as in the thickness and depth of the guttæ, the form of the latter being sometimes conical and sometimes cylindrical, and on some occasions almost square. The upper part of the two outer channels of the triglyphs are sometimes cut parallel with the line of the capital; but more frequently inclined a little downwards, so as to meet the bottom of the moulding above the metopes, which we have already stated is not often in a line with that of the capitals of the triglyphs. The depth of the tænia, also, and that of the epistylium (or architrave) varies in different instances; as well as the proportions of the columns themselves, and those of their abaci, or plinths: the latter are generally surmounted with an elegantly proportioned cymatium, which is itself almost always crowned with a fillet. We may add that the curve of the echinus also varies, but is usually of a light and elegant proportion; and the annulets sometimes follow the line of the curve, and sometimes range with that of the hypotrachelium: the number of these occasionally two, but more frequently three; and the upper and lower ones (in the last-mentioned instance) are frequently cut square, while the central one forms an angle, the apex of which projects beyond the two others. This, however, only occurs when the annulets range with the shafts of the columns, for when they range with the line of the echinus they are generally cut like the teeth of a saw, as the central one is in the instance just mentioned. We observed that for the most part when annulets were adopted there were no channels, or grooves, hollowed in the hypotrachelium, and this equally obtained whether the annulets followed the line of the echinus or that of the shaft. There was commonly a fillet dividing the channels, or fluting of the shaft, the proportion of which was not always the same, and we rarely saw any fluting where these were not adopted, and very seldom any columns where the shafts were left plain. The difficulty of preserving the edges of the fluting with nicety, and of keeping them from being chipped and broken, appears to have been the reason for adopting the fillet; for as the proportions of the façades, particularly those of the interior ones, were necessarily on a small scale, the edges of the fluting, where no fillet was used, must have been nearly as sharp as the edge of a sword, and consequently very liable to accident. We may add that the width of the fillet accommodated itself to the entasis of the shaft, and was continued round the upper part of the channels, so as to form the crown of the hypotrachelium, when no annulets were made use of; for in that case the channels finished in these, forming an elegant curve from the line of the column to the lowest of the annulets, which sometimes projected considerably from the upper part of the shaft. With regard to the disposition of the triglyphs with respect to the columns, we usually found them placed over the axes of the latter, with sometimes one, and sometimes two intervening, as we have already mentioned above; with the exception, however, of those at the extremities of the zophorus, which were sometimes placed in the angle, and sometimes a little removed from it, being in the latter case placed over the joint centre of the half column and pilaster which usually terminated the façade at both extremities. We must remark, with respect to the introduction of the pilaster conjointly with the columns at the angles, that the shafts and the capitals were not wholly relieved from the surface, although they were more so than half their diameter. It must be recollected at the same time that the whole façade was generally formed in the rock itself, and had consequently no weight to support, and no internal arrangements to which it was necessary that it should be accommodated. The placing of the triglyphs was therefore purely optional, and might be adapted to the taste or the fancy of the architect, who was thus enabled to follow his own ideas of proportion and arrangement, without reference to any standard but the eye.

[13]In the tomb of Theron at Agrigentum we have a similar instance of a Doric entablature supported by Ionic columns.

[14]An operation which is at present necessary, in order to make them bear out.

[15]Each of these customs (as practised by the Greeks) had well-founded claims to great antiquity; for interment appears to have been in use in the time of Cecrops, and burning must at any rate be allowed to have been practised by the Grecians, as far back as the Trojan war, if we rely upon the testimony of Homer. The custom of burning was perhaps the most peculiar to the Greeks, of the two modes in question; for Lucian, in enumerating the various methods resorted to by different nations in the disposal of their dead, expressly assigns burning to the Greeks, and interment to the Persians—διελομενοι κατα εθνη τας ταφας, ὁ μεν Ἕλλην εκαυσεν, ὁ δε Περσης εθαψεν . . . (περι πενθους, § 21.) Some, however, considered the former as an inhuman custom, and philosophers were divided in their opinions on the subject: each sect esteeming that method the most reasonable by which bodies would, according to their tenets, be soonest reduced to their first principles.—See Potter’s Archæologia, vol. ii. p. 207-8, &c.

Plan ofDERNA,BYCaptn. F. W. Beechey R.N.(Large-size)

Plan ofDERNA,BYCaptn. F. W. Beechey R.N.

(Large-size)

Plan ofMERSA ZAFFRĀN,BYCaptn. F. W. Beechey R.N.J. & C. Walker Sculpt.Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle St. London.(Large-size)

Plan ofMERSA ZAFFRĀN,BYCaptn. F. W. Beechey R.N.

(Large-size)

Planof the PORT and RUINS ofAPOLLONIA,now calledMERSA SUZA:BYCaptn. F. W. Beechey R.N.J. & C. Walker Sculpt.Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle St. London.(Large-size)

Planof the PORT and RUINS ofAPOLLONIA,now calledMERSA SUZA:BYCaptn. F. W. Beechey R.N.

(Large-size)

Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.SINGULAR POSITION OF TWO INHABITED CAVES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF APOLLONIA.Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.

Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.

SINGULAR POSITION OF TWO INHABITED CAVES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF APOLLONIA.

Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.

Arrival of Captain Smyth at Derna — Our Party set out from Cyrene to meet him — Remains of Ancient Forts, and Sarcophagi observed on the Journey — Marks of Chariot-wheels in the Stony Track indicative of an ancient Road — Barren Appearance of the Mountains which rise at the back of Derna — Perilous Descent from their Summit to the Plain below — Exhausted condition of our Horses in accomplishing it — Arrive at Derna, where we found the Adventure, and wait upon Captain Smyth — Description of the town of Derna — Ravages occasioned by the Plague there — Prompt Measures of Mahommed Bey in subduing it — Some Account of Mahommed Bey — Civility and attention received by our Party from Signor Regignani the British Agent at Derna — Take leave of Mr. Tindall, who sails on board the Adventure — Departure from Derna on our road to Apollonia — Gradual increase of Vegetation observed on the Route — Thickly-wooded Ravines and dangerous Passes on this Road — Beautiful Stream at Elthroon — Arrive at El Hilal — Capacious Harbour at that place — Ancient Remains observed there — Arab Encampment at El Hilal — Dishonest Conduct of our Chaous — Arrive at Apollonia — No Water to be found there — Begin to dig a Well in order to procure some, our stock being wholly exhausted — Bad Success of this attempt — Continue our Journey to Cyrene — Miss the Path over the Mountain, and lose our way among the thickets and underwood — Inconvenience of this mistake to all Parties — Find the right track, and at length reach the Fountain of Apollo — Rencontre of our Servants with some female Inhabitants of the Mountain — Singular position of the Caves which they lived in — Gain intelligence at Cyrene of a Spring in the neighbourhood of Apollonia — Set out again for that place — Description of the Road — Architectural Remains, and beautiful appearance of the Country through which it passes — Meet with an Hyæna in the dusk of the evening — The forest much infested by these animals and Jackalls — Peculiarities of both — Arrive at Apollonia, and find the Spring described to us — Other Caves in the Mountain — Unwillingness of their Inhabitants to admit us — Description of the City of Apollonia.

Wehad been about three weeks at Cyrene, busily employed in walkingover the ground, and in making plans and drawings of the remains of antiquity which it presented, when news was brought to us from the Vice-Consul at Derna that H. M. S. the Adventure had arrived there. As we particularly wished to communicate with Captain Smyth, we left Mr. Campbell in charge of the tents and set out on our journey to the eastward. We continued to descend for the first hour, taking the route of Safsaf, where there are extensive remains of building, and soon came to a stony, uninteresting country, partially cultivated, and much overrun with brushwood; at noon we had reached a place called Tereet where we perceived the remains of ancient forts and those of some tombs and sarcophagi. We found ourselves here in the neighbourhood of an Arab encampment, and continuing our route over a country that appeared to have been cleared for the purposes of building, arrived by two o’clock at Lamlada, another ancient station, occupied, like that already mentioned, by Arabs. The nature of the ground continued very much the same with that which we had already passed over, except that it was more hilly; and by five we had arrived at Goobba, where we found many remains of building and a welcome supply of fresh water from a spring. We observed that the tombs here had architectural fronts similar to those which we have spoken of at Cyrene. As the evening was fast closing in, we did not stop to give these much attention, but proceeded on to Beit Thiarma where we pitched our tent late at night. At this place there is a spring of fresh water, built round, and upon a hill close to it the remains of an ancient fort. We had reason toconjecture from the frequent remains of building which we had met with in our journey to this place, as well as from the occasional marks of chariot-wheels impressed in the rocky soil we had passed over, that the road which we had taken was the same with that formerly used in travelling from Cyrene to Darnis now Derna[1].

The next morning we continued our course east-south-east, and began to ascend by a very bad, stony pathway, which took us four hours to surmount, winding all the time through olive and fir trees thickly planted in every direction. About noon we reached the brow of the range which separated us from the town of Derna, and here began the most difficult part of our journey, the descent into the plain below. The face of the mountain is devoid of vegetation, occasionally polished like glass; and its inclination approaches in many places far too closely to the perpendicular to render it safe as a road. Indeed it is in so many parts scarcely practicable, that we could not help wondering, when we arrived at its foot, how we had contrived in any way to descend it without breaking our own and our horses’ necks in the attempt.

There was neither road nor pathway to be found, and we were obliged to scramble down in the best way we could, sometimes stumbling over rugged and encumbered parts of the mountain, andslipping along at others over a hard, polished surface, which was still more difficult to pass than they were. When we arrived at a descent more than usually perpendicular, we had the greatest difficulty, after sliding down ourselves, to make our poor horses follow us; and it was truly distressing, as well as provoking, to see these fine animals reduced to a condition in which they did not appear to have the power of exerting the slightest portion of their natural energy. Their eyes appeared starting from their heads, and their nostrils were distended to the utmost extent; a mass of white foam was collected round their mouths, mixed with blood which the sharp Mamaluke bit had drawn forth in our endeavours to keep them from falling down the cliff, and the perspiration which terror and fatigue (without mentioning the heat of the sun) had drawn forth, literally ran down in streams from their bodies. They became at length so helpless and so completely overcome, that we doubted whether we should ever get them down the cliff at all, and indeed our own fatigue and continued anxiety would not have rendered us very effective conductors if the descent had lasted much longer. Yet our horses had been accustomed to roads of every description, or rather to countries with no roads at all, and had often laboured through deep and heavy sands, and over rugged and mountainous passes, in the course of their journey from Tripoly. They had also an advantage in having only three shoes, which prevented them from slipping about so much as they would otherwise have done; and in short they went through this arduous part of theirjourney much better than most horses would have done, and much better perhaps than we had any reason to expect from the nature of the pass which they descended. It will scarcely be necessary to add that on reaching the bottom of the precipice (for so we must call it) we stopped to recruit the exhausted strength of all parties before we set out for the town: our horses had had several very heavy falls, but fortunately experienced no material injury; and after leading them on till they were sufficiently recovered, we were able to mount them again and continue our route along the sea-side to Derna, where we arrived in the evening and found the Adventure at anchor in the roadstead. We lost no time in waiting upon Captain Smyth, who informed us that he had succeeded in completing the coast line between Derna and Alexandria.

The town of Derna is situated at the mouth of a large ravine, and is built on a low point of land running out from the foot of a range of barren mountains distant about a mile from the coast. It is supposed to be built on the site of the ancient Darnis, but there are scarcely any remains of building at the present day which have claims to particular notice. It is amply provided with water (the first requisite for a town in hot climates), and well situated at the entrance of a large ravine, or fiumara, along which a part of it is built.

The houses are much better than those at Bengazi and are surrounded by gardens producing abundance of grapes, melons, figs, bananas, oranges, greengages, and other fruit; they have also theadvantage of being well sheltered by thick groves of date-trees, which give a very pleasing appearance to the town, and contribute materially to the comfort of the inhabitants by forming a perpetual shade. A delightful stream of water gushes out from the rock above the town, passing through several streets in its course, and irrigating the gardens, and even the corn-fields in its neighbourhood. In short the actual resources of Derna give it a very decided advantage (in point of comfort) over every other town in the Bashaw’s dominions. A very pleasant wine (we were told) is made from the grapes of this place, all of which is consumed by the natives themselves, in spite of the prophet’s injunctions.

The ravine at the mouth of which the town is situated is of considerable depth and extent, winding up far into the mountains; some of the gardens are formed upon its sides, and about them a few trees occasionally appear, where the soil has been able to lodge. In the rainy season a considerable body of water rushes down from the mountains to the sea, and is sometimes so deep and so rapid as to become wholly impassable: at such times it separates one half the town from the other and occasions a consequent inconvenience. In the summer, however, it is dry, and the market is held upon its shining bed.

It may readily be imagined that natives of Africa complain little of any inconvenience which fresh water may chance to occasion them; and we doubt even whether the inhabitants of Derna would not rather run the risk of losing a part of their town every winter,than be deprived of the pleasure of seeing and admiring so large a portion of this valuable fluid, and of enjoying the consciousness that, at least once a year, they have more of it than they know what to do with.

The water which flows from the spring we have mentioned above was conveyed through the streets (as the people informed us) by one of their former Beys, a native of Egypt, who is said to have expended a considerable sum of money in beautifying and improving the place, and to have erected a large and handsome mosque which stands in the centre of the town.

The streets of Derna are for the most part narrow and irregular, and not without that quantity of rubbish and dirt which may be supposed indispensable to Arab towns and tastes; but the luxuriance of its gardens and groves are however quite sufficient to balance these objections; and the abundance of grapes which overhang the walls and houses, the terraces, covered walks, and every part of the town, give it a highly pleasing and picturesque appearance.

On the eastern bank of the ravine is the principal burying-ground of the place, distinguished in particular by a lofty and handsome tomb raised on four arches, under which the body is placed, with its usual simple covering of snow-white cement, and the stone carved turban at its head. The town is undefended both by sea and land, and may at any time be destroyed by no greater force than could be brought to bear against it by a brig of war. Upon a hill at the back of it are the remains of a castle built some years ago by the Americans; but the guns are now thrown down, and the castle itselfis little more than a mere heap of ruins. As this is a conspicuous object in sailing along the coast, the observations for latitude and longitude were reduced to it. Some large building-stones and fragments of columns bedded in the walls of the Arab houses are all that we could perceive of ancient remains in Derna. Above the town there are a few tombs extant, but in a very mutilated state, excavated in the side of the mountain. What is called the port affords some protection for small vessels with the wind from north-west to south-east; but even these cannot remain with a northerly or north-east wind: during the fine weather, however, some few anchor in it and load with corn, wool, and manteca, the produce of the inland country.

The plague has made dreadful ravages at Derna, as is evident by the number of deserted houses on its outskirts. The year previous to our arrival it was brought (we were told) from Alexandria, and the mortality which it occasioned was very considerable: the prompt measures of the Bey, however, subdued it, who ordered the clothes of all persons attacked with it to be burnt, their houses to be properly ventilated, and the streets to be cleared of everything that was likely to communicate the infection. These exertions were probably assisted by the general healthiness of the place, and the constant change of atmosphere produced by the passage of water through the town: the only remedy we heard of for the disease was the favourite application of a hot iron to the tumours, which we understood to have been peculiarly successful in many cases.

Derna is the residence of Bey Mahommed, eldest son to the Bashaw of Tripoly, who commands the whole district extendingfrom the frontiers of Egypt (the eastern part of Bomba) to Sidi Aráfi, one short day west from Grenna. Mahommed Bey is well known for his active and turbulent spirit, and for his rebellion against the Bashaw’s authority, which once obliged him to seek refuge in Egypt. His bold and enterprising measures succeeded in quelling the marauding tribes of Arabs who infested the country and levied contributions on the peaceful inhabitants of the towns; but his courage and conduct were sullied by cruelties which we do not feel inclined to justify from their necessity, however well we might probably succeed in attempting to do so before an Arab or Turkish tribunal. Indeed so many acts of cruelty and extravagance are related of this prince, that we should scarcely know how to reconcile them with the noble qualities which many allow him to possess, if we did not know from experience that such inconsistencies are common in barbarous countries; and that it is possible for the same man to be cruel and forgiving, avaricious to extortion, and liberal to profusion, generous and mean, open and intriguing, sincere and deceitful, temperate and dissipated, in short anything but cowardly and brave.

We resided while at Derna in the house of the British agent (Signor Regignani) appointed by the Consul at Tripoly, from whom letters had been forwarded, which arrived before us, with orders for our proper accommodation. The Bashaw had also written to his son, Bey Mahommed, to afford us his assistance and protection, and although the Bey was absent, collecting the tribute, during the time of our stay at Derna we had no reason to complain of any want of attention to the applications which we occasionally made to him.From Signor Regignani we invariably received the greatest attention and kindness, and although his influence in Derna was certainly very limited, and he himself often exposed to unavoidable insult, drawn upon him in a great measure by his religious persuasion[2], yet there was nothing which he had it in his power to command, that he did not very freely afford us.

At Derna we took leave of one of our companions (Mr. Tindall, a young officer attached to the Adventure), who had accompanied the Expedition from Tripoly.

The field of our operations, on arriving at Cyrene, was limited to a comparatively small tract of country, and we were enabled in consequence to dispense with this gentlemen’s services, which we knew would be useful on board. We were sorry to part with Mr. Tindall, who had materially assisted us in our operations, and whose frank and spirited character, and joyous disposition, had so often enlivened the frugal board of our little party. We took our leave at the same time of Captain Smyth and the officers of the Adventure, from whom we had received many friendly attentions, which we often look back upon with pleasure. Our arrangements completed, the Adventure sailed from Derna, and as soon as we had finished plans and drawings of the town, we set out on our return to the tents.

We left Derna on the second of June, and pursued our course along the beach towards Apollonia, with the intention of returning to Cyrene by that route. After travelling along a stony flat runningout from the base of the mountain, we reached El Hyera, where there is a well of fresh water within a few feet of the sea, and the remains of a fort upon a small eminence a little above it: at night we stopped at Bujebàra, close to the cape of the same name, with which Derna forms a large bay; and which has three rocky islets lying off it. The mountains, which extend in a range along the coast, at a distance of from a mile to a mile and a half, are continually broken by deep ravines which cross the beach in their passage to the sea, and make the road in some places nearly impassable.

It was curious to observe the gradual increase of vegetation in passing from Derna to Apollonia by this route: the mountains at the former place, as we have already mentioned, are perfectly destitute of any; in advancing, a little underwood is here and there seen, and a few bushes sparingly dotted about the plain; these increase by degrees, as the country becomes bolder, and gradually spread themselves over the sides of the hills, ascending higher and higher every mile, till, in approaching El Hyera, one continued wood reaches down from the top of the mountains to the sea. On the third, we pursued our journey along the coast by a very indifferent road, and at two miles’ distance from Bujebàra the range comes down close to the sea and terminates in perpendicular cliffs, along the edge of which we were obliged to pass to the great risk of our horses and camels. At the foot of these, which is washed by the sea, we noticed a small rocky point with a quarry upon it, extending itself in a semicircular form so as to afford some protection for boats which might also be hauled upon the sandy beach within it. Eight miles to the westwardof Bujebàra we came to a deep ravine, through which ran the largest body of water which we had seen in Africa; it is called Wady Elthroon. The sides of this ravine, which proceeded from an immense fissure between the mountains, were thickly clothed with pine, cypress and olive-trees, and the river, which ran with some rapidity, was studded with small islands covered with oleanders, which we found in full bloom as we passed. Along the brink of the stream was spread a beautiful turf, which opened in little plots, broader or narrower, according to the nature of the ground, on which we threw ourselves down to take a few minutes rest and enjoy a long draught of the clear cool water and a short dream of Arcadian felicity. In truth, the spot was delightful—we scarcely recollect to have seen a more pleasing one anywhere—and to meet with such a scene in an African climate was to render the view doubly grateful.

Ascending the opposite side of the ravine, we entered a country fertile in corn and which seemed to be very well peopled; here we found some ruins very much decayed and mutilated, apparently those of an ancient town of small dimensions, which, as its situation will be found to correspond, we will venture to suggest as the Erythron of Ptolemy; and indeed the similarity of the names would naturally lead to this conclusion.

On leaving Elthroon the road took a westerly direction, at the foot of the range, through a country well cultivated in some parts and in others overrun with pine-trees. At every mile we were interrupted by a provoking ravine, which we hardly knew whether most to admire for its beauty, or to exclaim against for the serious impedimentswhich it presented. Night brought us to El Hilàl, a mountain so called. The point of El Hilàl extends to the north-east and forms a bay of about a mile in depth, in which even large ships might find shelter with the wind from north to south-east by east. It is in this spot that Cellarius has placed a naval station and town, and there are certainly remains at the present day about it indicative of an ancient site, while the harbour itself would be sufficiently qualified for a naval station to correspond with that part of the description. Two ancient forts are seen in ruins on the cliff and we noticed an ancient tomb which is excavated in the rock, close to the ravine, retaining still a very handsome façade. Three miles to the eastward of the forts at El Hilàl are some others, also in ruins, and the remains of strong walls in the neighbourhood of stone-quarries, all of which would seem to point out the spot as an ancient station. This place has also the peculiarity of being the only part of the coast which can be seen from Cyrene, from which it is distant about fourteen miles. In Ptolemy’s chart we find a naustathmos (or naval station) placed on the western side of this promontory; but we saw nothing that would answer to the position in that direction. Ras El Hilàl, with Bujebàra on the south-east, forms an extensive bay; and another with Cape Rasát on the north-west near the centre of which is situated (now called Marsa Suza) the Port of Cyrene, Apollonia. From El Hilàl commence two ranges of mountains extending themselves to the westward, one along the coast, from it to Ptolemeta, forming the southern boundary of the plain on which Apollonia is built; the other rising in a range above these, diverging towardsMerge and abreast of Cape Ras Sem. At El Hilàl we found an Arab encampment and obtained from it a goat and some corn for our horses. The Bedouins were civil and obliging, and brought us out a very acceptable present of kuskusoo, for which we made a suitable return. They would, however, have had but little reason to be satisfied with the conduct of strangers whom they had treated with courtesy, if we had not very fortunately made a discovery on leaving them which our Chaous had not probably anticipated. We had made it a practice in the course of our journey to pay the Arabs for whatever we had of them; and although this practice is considered by Turks not only as superfluous but very plebeian, we found it more consistent with our ideas of propriety, and at the same time more politic than if we had adopted a line of conduct more dignified and less honest.

Our Chaous had received from us a sufficient sum of money to make a liberal return to the Bedouins of El Hilàl for the corn and the goat which they had supplied us with; but instead of complying with our orders on this head he thought it more adviseable to keep the piasters in his purse than to distribute them as he had been directed: and we should accordingly have left behind us a much worse character for liberality than we deserved, if this discovery had not been made before we took our departure. Chaous Massoud looked rather foolish when the charge was brought home to him, too well substantiated to admit of denial, and we afterwards found that his honesty in other matters was not greater than on the occasion here alluded to. On our arrival at Grenna we sent him back to Derna and procured another Chaous from Bey Mahommed. Massoudwas an Egyptian, and took every occasion to show his superiority, in point of civilization, over the Arabs and Moors of the west. He was particularly proud of his singing; and as his lungs were nearly equal to his conceit, was never tired of displaying his fancied abilities to the utmost extent of his voice, not dreaming for a moment that any of his auditors could possibly be less amused with his efforts than himself. With this view, he always kept close to our side, adapting the pace of his horse to ours, and quavering without intermission. His voice was good, and had he been able to moderate it, and to use it only on proper occasions, would rather have cheered than annoyed us on the road; for his songs had some subject, and were infinitely preferable to the tiresome monotony and endless repetition of two or three unmeaning words which had been so unmercifully dinned into our ears ever since we left Tripoly. The songs of the Arabs are however not always without a subject, as the examples which we have of their poetry in England will testify; but we are obliged to confess that the greatest attempts at invention which we ourselves noticed in a journey of seven or eight hundred miles were nothing more than short allusions to what was going forward at the time, or to something which was in anticipation. For instance, in ascending a hill, the song of our Arab companions would be—“Now we are going up the hill—now we are going up the hill.” And in descending—“Now we are going down—now we are going down.” Each sentence being repeated all the time the action alluded to was going forward, without the slightest variation of any kind. In approaching a town, the song would consist of somethingabout the time we were likely to arrive there, or what good things were to be had at the place—eating being usually the summum bonum. On our return to Bengazi in June the whole burthen of our camel-driver’s song for three days was the reward which he expected to have for driving his camels so fast.

It was late in the evening when we arrived at Apollonia, without having met with a single human being; our road led chiefly over a stony country intersected by deep ravines, which our horses had the greatest difficulty in crossing.

We were told at El Hilàl, that we should find Arab tents and plenty of water at Apollonia, but neither of these had we the good fortune to meet with, after a long and very diligent search.

We accordingly began to dig a well in the sand, but the water which drained into it was too salt to drink, and our labour was wholly thrown away. The day had been hot, and the exertions which were necessary in getting our horses safely across the deep and numerous ravines which obstructed our passage from El Hilàl to Apollonia, had tolerably exhausted the strength of our party before we arrived at our journey’s end; but the circumstances in which we were placed had the effect of renewing it for a time, and it was midnight before we discontinued our search for Arab tents, and our efforts to procure a supply of water. As no hopes of finding either appeared to be left us, we gave over the search, and retired to our tents; the water-skins were carefully drained, and afforded us something less than a pint, which was divided amongst the party, consisting of eight, and we laid ourselves down to sleep away the inconvenience which wehad not been able to remedy. At daylight on the fifth we rose to make our way to Cyrene, which we knew could not, at all events, be more than half a day’s journey to the southward; but ill fortune still pursued us, for neither our Chaous, nor the camel-driver, had any knowledge whatever of the road. As we knew, from our actual position, that we could not well be mistaken in the direction of Cyrene, we set out upon the chance of finding some track which might eventually lead to the point required; and after following several paths, one after the other, all of which only led us into the wood and left us, a great part of the day was consumed without effect. It was too late to think of returning to El Hilàl, for it would not have been safe to cross after dusk the many deep ravines which interposed in that route, and we determined to make our way over the mountains which lay between us and Cyrene, since we could not find a pass leading through them. We knew that on reaching the summit of the range we should have a view of the place we were bound to, which could not, in a straight line, be far from us; but our project was soon discovered to be more easily projected than executed: for the sides of the mountain were thickly covered with wood, among which we were obliged to scramble as we might, and after dragging our horses for several hours through these impediments, and over the rough stony ground and slippery parts of the rock, we found, on reaching the top of one hill, that another was before us, as difficult to pass as the one we had just surmounted; and that a thickly-wooded valley must be crossed before we could attain even the foot of it. By this time the camels which had pursueda different track were discovered on the opposite side of a ravine, and we flattered ourselves that they had succeeded in finding the right path; it was impossible however for us to join them without retracing our steps, and we knew that we should never have been able to get our horses down the hill, which had cost them so many leaps and heavy falls to ascend; nothing therefore was left but to push on as well as we could, and after four hours’ labour, such as we never experienced, and have certainly no wish to encounter again, we reached the top of the range and stopped a few minutes to refresh our horses, who were covered with foam, and trembling so much with terror and fatigue that a halt had become unavoidable. They had been, like ourselves, for nearly two days without water, and the heat of the weather, joined to the exertions which were necessary, had rendered thirst doubly annoying. On arriving at the summit of the range our view was still impeded by wood, and though we climbed several trees, to look out for an object which might guide us on the way which still remained for us to take, we could not succeed in overtopping the forest which lay between us and Cyrene. Our course was therefore still doubtful, and in a short interval which we devoted to rest, it was proposed that some of us should push on in advance, leaving the horses in charge of the others, and endeavour to find some opening: this was accordingly done, till our voices could scarcely be heard by each other, but still without any success. Beyond this distance it would not have been prudent to go, as we should scarcely have found one another again, had we ventured to ramble out of hearing. As it was, we experienced some difficulty inre-assembling our little party, consisting of four, and began once more to lead our horses forward who were very unwilling to move. After some further search, we came suddenly on a path which crossed us at right angles in our course; and as it was broad and evidently led through the wood, we determined at all events to follow it. It continued to be practicable and commodious, to our great relief and satisfaction; and we forgot, for a time, all our troubles, in the prospect of a speedy release from the embarrassment which our trip over the hill had brought upon us.

This path was very fortunately the right one, and led direct from Cyrene to Apollonia; but as it came into the plain at some distance from the point at which we began to ascend, and was wholly concealed by the wood which covered the sides of the mountain, it escaped our observation altogether, till we crossed it at the top of the range. After following it for some time we came to an open space, and were gratified with a view of Cyrene, which in the course of a few hours more we reached, and found ourselves once again by the side of the fountain which appeared to us, after our long abstinence, more attractive and beautiful than ever.

We found on inquiry that our camels and baggage had not arrived, a circumstance which rather surprised us, as we expected from the view which we had had upon the road that they would have been in advance of us. Two men were immediately despatched in search of them, carrying a skin of water which we knew from our own experience would be acceptable, and after sun-set we had the pleasure of seeing them arrive without any material lossor accident. It appeared that the road up the mountain which they had been observed to take terminated abruptly at the foot of a precipice, a circumstance which greatly surprised them, for the track which they followed was undoubtedly trodden, and, as it seemed to them, very recently. No outlet, however, was on any side visible, and as they stood pondering on the object of a road which led only to the base of a high perpendicular cliff and was closely hemmed in by thickets and brushwood, they thought they heard a mill at work, the sound of which seemed to come from above[3]. As they looked up with astonishment towards the side of the mountain, from which the noise apparently came, they clearly heard a soft female voice issue from it, and soon perceived two very pretty young Arab girls looking out of a square hole on the side of the precipice, at the height of about an hundred and fifty feet above their heads—the place being not only inaccessible from below but equally so from above, and indeed on all sides of it, owing to the smoothness and perpendicular surface of the cliff in which it was formed.

When their surprise was a little abated our servants requested some water, but were told that there was none in the house; the girls inquiring at the same time where our people were going, and if they belonged to the English at Grenna. They replied in the affirmative, and said they had lost their way. One of the females then asked how many the party consisted of, and were answered, fifteen,though there were only two; the remainder, it was added, were close at hand in the wood. This embellishment was intended as a defensive measure to conceal the actual weakness of the company, for the elevated position of their fair auditors had not made the most favourable impression upon our servants; who suspected that persons living so far out of reach, must have stronger reasons for moving so far from their fellow-creatures, than was consistent with honesty and peaceable intentions. Accordingly when the girls had explained that the road which they were seeking led over the plain below, (where their fathers, they said, were cutting corn,) our wanderers turned to retrace their steps and descend the mountain-path as fast as possible; not a little anxious with regard to the reception they might experience on their route from neighbours of a more formidable description than the elevated little personages who had addressed them. As they began to descend one of the girls again called to them, and letting down a long rope made of twisted skins with knots in it two feet apart, desired them to make their water-skin fast to the end of it, with which, as the skin was empty, they willingly complied, choosing rather to run the risk of losing it altogether than to forego a possible chance of getting it replenished. The skin was quickly hauled up, and disappeared through the hole, leaving its owners in anxious suspense, not so much on account of the hide itself as of its anticipated contents. They had however no reason to repent of their confidence, for the skin very shortly made its appearance again and proved to be nearly full of water, to the delight of our thirsty attendants; who after expressing theirgratitude for the supply, continued their journey with renewed strength and spirits, and arrived at Cyrene in the evening, as we have already mentioned above.

We found Mr. Campbell in quiet possession of the tents. He had had a good deal of trouble with our escort Boo Buckra, who had caught a fever, and nearly lost his life in consequence of repeatedly cramming himself with bazeen immediately after he had been physicked and bled.

On arriving at Cyrene we began to make inquiries respecting the water which we had been told we should find at Apollonia, and discovered that a spring in reality existed, at a short distance only from the place, but situated in the depth of a ravine, so as not to be easily perceived. We had observed the remains of an aqueduct, leading in the direction of this very ravine, and had an idea of exploring the wady in search of the spring which originally supplied it. But finding no stream crossing the plain or issuing from the ravine (or wady) in question, we concluded that it existed no longer; and as we had little time to spend in curiosity determined upon pushing on as fast as possible to Cyrene, where we knew that our resources were certain. Having made this discovery, which secured our supply of water, we determined to return without delay to Apollonia, and remain there till the fast of Rhamadàn should be concluded, during which time no Mussulman is allowed to eat or drink while the sun is above the horizon, and consequently the excavations would go on but slowly which we had already begun at Cyrene. Apollonia remained to be explored and laid down in ourmap, as no opportunity had been hitherto enjoyed of bestowing more than a slight inspection upon it.

While we were making the necessary arrangements for our departure, Shekh Aàdam, a man of some influence in the place, waited upon us with an order from Bey Mahommed enjoining him to render us every assistance in his power. We thought him accordingly a very proper person to accompany us in our visit to Apollonia, as his knowledge of the country would probably be of service in our researches, while his influence at the same time might prevent interruption. We had not indeed met with a single individual either at or in the neighbourhood of the place, excepting the two fair tenants of the cliff who dwelt among the haunts of the eagle; but as Arab tribes have in general no fixed habitation, but move as the season or circumstances direct, we could not tell how long we might remain unmolested in our rambles among its antiquities. Shekh Aàdam was in consequence attached to our party; and we again left Cyrene, on the 7th of June, with the intention of proceeding direct to Apollonia.

The road which leads to that place from the fountain winds along the foot of the upper range on which Cyrene is situated, and then taking a north-easterly direction, through a tolerably level and very fertile country, passes through the ruins of an ancient village, where a number of sarcophagi are still visible, ranged on either side of the path. Here the road turns more to the northward, and leading through a wood, over some stony hills, continues along a ridge between two deep ravines to the brow of the mountainswhich overlook Apollonia, down which it then winds in a zigzag direction, till it reaches the plain on the sea-coast below at no great distance from the port[4].

The whole of this road has been anciently paved, excepting the parts which have been cut through the rock, where deep marks of chariot-wheels are still observable. It has also had tombs on both sides of it, extending the greater part of the way, and has been defended by forts, the remains of which are visible near the edge of the lower range of hills. The country through which it passes is highly interesting and beautiful; near Cyrene it has been cleared from the wood which originally covered it, and appropriated to the cultivation of grain: this part is fertile in the extreme, and is succeeded by beautifully undulating ground overspread with flowering shrubs, which thicken as they approach the top of the lower range, where they are lost in dark forests of pine extending themselves down to the beach. The intermediate space between the corn-land and the forest has probably been laid out in villas and country residences, for we observed many ground-plans of buildings scattered over it which are not those of tombs or military works. As this part is wooded, the remains are not visible till they are very closely approached, so that there are probably many which have never been visited and certainly many which we never examined ourselves; not indeed owing to want of inclination, but to the circumstance of our not having more time at our disposal than was necessary for objects of more immediate importance.

On our return to Apollonia, by the road which we have just described, we noticed several excavated chambers in similar positions to those which our servants had mentioned: they were cut in a ravine to the westward of our path, many hundred feet above the level of the torrent, in places apparently inaccessible. We found, on inquiry, that whole families resided in them, ascending and descending by means of ropes; and indeed we ourselves could see persons in some of them who appeared to be reconnoitring our movements. It was late in the evening before we reached the plain upon which Apollonia is situated, and so dark in the thicker parts of the wood which reaches from the top to the bottom of the hills that we could scarcely distinguish our way. As we were leading our horses down a very steep part of the road we came suddenly upon a large hyæna, which we should not have seen if he had not been perched upon a mass of rock somewhat higher than our heads, lying close by the side of the path. The foremost of our party had drawn a horse-pistol and was in the act of presenting it to this unwelcome visitor, when he opened a howl which so startled our horses that we had the greatest difficulty in holding them, and turning himself round, walked slowly up the side of the hill, evidently in no way disconcerted at our appearance. As we did not wish to fire if it could have been avoided, we made no attempt to molest him in his retreat; for the report of our fire-arms would have alarmed the whole forest, which we understood to be much infested by hyænas and jackalls. As it was, the dismal howl which our shaggy friend uttered was echoed immediately by the shrill cries of numberless jackalls, none of which, however, were we able to see,and the plain was reached without interruption. We had been so much accustomed to the cry of the jackall, an animal very common in northern Africa, that it would not of itself have engrossed our attention for a moment; but although we had very frequently been disturbed by hyænas, we never found that familiarity with their howl or their presence could render their near approach an unimportant occurrence; and the hand would instinctively find its way to the pistol before we were aware of the action, whenever either of these interruptions obtruded themselves closely upon us either by night or by day. It must, however, be confessed that the cry of the jackall has something in it rather appalling, when heard for the first time at night; and as they usually come in packs, the first shriek which is uttered is always the signal for a general chorus. We hardly know a sound which partakes less of harmony than that which is at present in question; and indeed the sudden burst of the answering long-protracted scream, succeeding immediately to the opening note, is scarcely less impressive than the roll of the thunder-clap immediately after a flash of lightning. The effect of this music is very much increased when the first note is heard in the distance, (a circumstance which often occurs,) and the answering yell bursts out from several points at once, within a few yards, or feet, of the place where the auditors are sleeping. The jackall can never be a formidable animal to anything but sheep and poultry, unless, perhaps, when the number assailing is very great; but it is usually so little molested by the Arabs, whose dogs protect their live-stock from harm, that we have frequently gone close up within a few yards of one, before he would turn to walk away. The same indifference in retreating is also peculiarto the hyæna, who not only walks away very slowly when advanced upon, but appears at the same time to have a limping motion, as if he were lame of one leg. The hyæna most commonly seen in the north of Africa is that which is striped in the back, black and grey; its paws are scarcely more formidable than those of a large dog, but its teeth and neck are very strong, and there is no animal fiercer when wounded or closely attacked.

We arrived at Apollonia late in the evening, and set out early the next morning, to find the spring which was said to exist in a neighbouring ravine. We followed the course of the aqueduct mentioned above, which appeared to us to finish at the mouth of the wady; but our companion, Shekh Aàdam, pointed out to us a spot where it was continued over the hill and along the side of the precipice: this was probably done to avoid the rush of water which thunders down the vallies after rain, and brings with it large stones, trunks of trees, and other matters, sweeping everything before them in their course. As the aqueduct was constructed of stone, and covered over apparently with the same materials, besides being coated in the inside (or water-course) with cement, there does not seem to be any objection to its having been carried out of the level. We proceeded up the ravine nearly a mile and a half, and then came to a stream of water issuing out of the rock at some distance above, which descended in little cascades and was lost in the bed of the wady. The sides of this ravine are nearly perpendicular, and about five hundred feet in height: near the top we observed two caves, situated as those were which have already been described; and hadsome conversation with the people who appeared at the entrance of them. We made them understand that we should like to ascend and pay them a visit in their aërial abodes, but as they seemed to be unwilling to admit us, we did not press the subject any further[5]. The lower parts of the ravine are thickly covered with pine, olive, and carob trees, and the whole has a very wild and picturesque appearance.

The town of Apollonia, now called Suza Hammàm, from the number of wild pigeons that frequent it, is situated at the bottom of an open bay, formed between Ras El Hilal and the cape known by the name of Ras Sem. It stands close to the sea, upon a small eminence, or long narrow slip of elevated ground; and is situated at the extremity of a fertile plain, which extends itself from the foot of a ridge of mountains, distant a mile and a half from the sea coast, and running in an east and westerly direction. The length of the city may be reckoned at nearly three thousand English feet, and its greatest breadth at scarcely more than five hundred. It has been completely surrounded by a very strong wall, with quadrangular turrets on three of its sides, and circular ones of much larger dimensions on the remaining side (that to the westward). As the wall has been carried along the brow of the hill, more attention has been paid to its strength than to its symmetry, but the turrets are for the most tolerably equidistant, being about eighty yards apart. The two circular turrets at the north-western angle of the wall have been built with even greater attention to solidity than other parts of this well-defendedtown; for they have been exposed for ages past to the wash of the sea without suffering any material injury. On the northern and north-eastern sides, however, the sea has made considerable inroads, and very few traces of the wall are there remaining, some parts being wholly without any. The east end of Apollonia appears to have been fortified as a citadel, for which its elevated position above the rest of the town appears to have been admirably adapted. The cliff on which it stands rises perpendicularly from the lower part of the city, and could only be approached by a narrow pass and by a gate in the outer wall. The walls themselves are here doubled and still rise, though not entire, to a height of thirty and forty feet. The quarries which have been excavated about this and other parts of the walls, serving the purpose of an excellent fosse, contribute also very materially, as will be observed in the plan, to the strength of the city of Apollonia. The entrances to the town are all of them narrow (the widest of the gates being no more than five feet across); and their positions, in the angles formed by the wall with the turrets, are remarkably well chosen for the purposes of security and defence. There appear to have been seven gates on the south side of the city, including that belonging to the citadel, and one, near the centre, on the western side, which are all that we were able to discover any traces of: indeed this number of gates, for the size of the city, will be considered unusually large; and were it not for the intervention of the quarries between the city walls and the plain, would have tended to weaken the position. Opposite the largest of the gates on the south side of the town is a spacious semicircularexcavation, the sides of which rise perpendicularly to a considerable height, and which appears to have formed an approach to the gate here alluded to. Close to this is a remarkably strong fort, built with sloping sides, like those at Ptolemeta, and others already described in the Syrtis. Here also pass the remains of the aqueduct which formerly supplied the town from a spring of most delightful water, situated at the extremity of the ravine which we have mentioned above, and distant nearly four miles from the town. The sea has encroached very considerably at Apollonia; and it is difficult to say, in what the shelter of the harbour consisted: the line of coast is too strait to afford any protection; and it seems probable, that the small island to the northward of the town, and a reef of rocks a little to the south-westward of this, constituted the only shelter which it afforded. We had imagined, that a communication might formerly have existed between the island and the reef of rocks here alluded to; but it soon appeared that the water was much too deep between these, to allow of any such idea being reasonably entertained. The same cause would also have operated very effectually in preventing the construction of an artificial communication between the points which we have just mentioned; for the heavy sea which rolls into the port in windy weather would soon have swept away anything less than the Breakwater at Plymouth. Had such a communication ever existed, the harbour would have been a most excellent one; but as we cannot suppose that it ever did, from the reasons which we have stated above, we may conclude, perhaps, that vessels usually laid under the lee of the island, and thatwhen this was impracticable, they were drawn up on the beach. We may believe at the same time, that what art could effect in the flourishing periods of Cyrene was done for the improvement and the security of its port, as we find it to have been with regard to the defence of the town[6]. Extensive remains of building, apparently the foundations of a quay, are still visible, stretching out from the beach into the sea, at the depth of a few feet under water. Some quarries, which have been formed in the rock to the north-eastward of the town, are also now under water; and the insulated tomb, which forms so striking an object in the view we have given of Apollonia, is always surrounded by the sea when the wind sets in strong from the northward[7]. Other tombs on the beach are likewise filled on these occasions; as well as some large cisterns to the north-eastward of the town, through which the water roars with a noise like thunder, and dashes up through the apertures formed in them above. The cisterns here alluded to were probably appropriated to the use of the vessels in the harbour, which might have been watered from them very conveniently; and they might at all times have been kept filled with excellent water by means of the aqueduct mentioned above. We have already noticed the encroachments of the sea upon the land, which we ourselves have had occasion to observe in several parts of the coast from Tripoly to Bengazi, as well as thosementioned by other writers on the coasts of Tunis and Algiers. The present state of Apollonia affords another decided instance of the advance of the sea to the southward; and portions of the elevated ground on which the front of the town has been built are continually falling in from this cause. The scene of the principal theatre situated without the wall, to the eastward of the town, has been wholly swept away by the waves, although the quarry in front of it must have greatly contributed to break the force of the sea in this quarter. It will be seen by the plan of the town of Apollonia, that a part of this theatre is built against the wall of the citadel, and the other part against the high ground behind the subsellia. The seats appear in consequence to have been approached from above, we mean, from the ground on a level with the uppermost range; and as the greater number of the ranges are still very perfect, the effect of the whole building is that of a stupendous flight of steps leading down from the elevated ground against which they lean to the beach on a level with the orchestra. It is this effect, we presume, which induced Signor Della Cella to notice the seats of the theatre as a “magnificent staircase[8];” and it must be confessed that a more noble flight of steps will not often be seen than the one which is in question. This building, like those of a similar nature at Cyrene and Ptolemeta, has no interior communications; and the body of the people appear to have entered fromabove, as we have already observed. It is probable, however, that some approach to the orchestra (where the seats allotted to persons of rank were usually placed) was contrived from the lower ground upon a level with it; but the whole of that part has been so completely washed away, that we had no means of ascertaining what arrangements had been made there. The road to the theatre appears to have been through the quarries to the south-eastward of the town; and the gates by which the audience approached it were probably the two which lie to the eastward of the aqueduct, and that which was appropriated to the citadel[9].

Within the walls, to the southward of the town, there appears to have been a small building of a circular form, sunk below the level of the soil about it, in which there are traces of several ranges of seats, which might have belonged to a small theatre of some description, perhaps to an Odeum; but the whole is so much buried with soil, in which grass (when we saw it) was growing, that it would be impossible to obtain any details of it, without a good deal of previous excavation. It will be seen by a reference to the plate, p. 500, in which those details are given, that the ground-plans of some of the buildings of Apollonia may be made out with tolerable certainty[10]. The Christian churches, in particular, are very decided; as well as the remains of a noble building of a similar form at the western extremityof the city. The handsome marble columns, which now encumber the structures which they once contributed so materially to adorn, afford evident proofs that no expense had been spared in the erection of these magnificent buildings; for the material of which their shafts are composed is not found in this part of the coast of Africa, and must have been transported at great labour and cost from the quarries of distant places[11]. On the centre of the shaft of some of these columns we found the figure of a large cross engraved; they have all been originally formed of single pieces, some of which still remain entire, and would be no unappropriate or inconsiderable ornaments to churches of modern construction. The discovery of these splendid monuments of Christianity in a country now labouring under ignorance and superstition, afforded pleasing memorials of early piety, and recalled the active times of Cyprian and Anastasius, of the philosophic Synesius, (himself a Cyrenean) and other distinguished actors in those memorable scenes which northern Africa (from Carthage to Alexandria) once presented to an admiring world. But the grass is now growing over the altar-stone, and the munificence which gave birth to the structures here alluded to is visible only in their ruins[12].

Back to Index Next