eapital for sale, but as often destroy them, from motives of superstition. To the amateurs for antique researches, there cannot be, a greater inducement for excavating at this place, than that their efforts would most assuredly be attended with the greatest success; for, in their own language, it is virgin ground, as, with the exception of a few of the fine granite pillars, taken away more than a century ago to ornament a palace of Lewis the Fourteenth, this place has scarcely ever been visited by any European travellers.

The limits of this communication, preclude the possibility of my transcribing for your amusement, any of the numerous and curious inscriptions I copied, during my stay at the above spot. As to the site chosen for this city, it could not possibly have been more beautiful; the ground from the ruins rises in a sloping direction towards the Mesurata mountains, only five miles inland, and which afford a most charming prospect; the surrounding country bears very considerable marks of cultivation, and by what I could collect from the country people, the climate in that part of the regency is truly enviable."*

* Of Leptis, Mr. Lucas gives the following account.

"Here stand the remains of the town of Lebida ; they consist of the ruins of a temple and several triumphal arches. The fertility and beauty of the neighbouring plains discover the reasons which induced the Romans to erect a sea-port town în a place where there is no natural harbour: a luxuriant vegetation, totally unaided by the Arab inhabitants, extends for five-and

Leaving this place, and pursuing your course westward, there are no objects worthy of particular attention, if we except several ruined towers, and a few inconsiderable villages. Tajoura,* within ten miles of Tripoly, is a large and populous village, with a good summer road-stead for shipping. The people of this place are supported by cultivation, and send large quantities of poultry, fruit, and vegetables, to supply the capital. From Tajoura to Tripoly the country assumes a most agreeable appearance, being like a continued garden all the way; the road is also tolerably good.

Tripoly, the capital, and Eo of antiquity, is situated in latitude 32° 54′ north, longitude 13° 18′ east, and built on a neck of land, which projec a short distance into the sea. It is surrounded by a high wall, flanked with six bastions. There are two gates, one on the south, and the other towards the port on the east; the Bashaw's castle stands on the south-east quarter of the town; towards the north, which flanks the harbour, there is a semicircular battery of two tiers, mounting in all twenty pieces of heavy cannon; this communicates with the city by a mole, on which twelve

twenty miles to the eastward, and the beauty of the scene is increased by the remains of a stupendous aqueduct, which conweyed water to Lebida from a distant pool."

* The Brother of Hey radin Bashaw, surnamed Cacha-diablo by the Spaniards, and a celebrated Corsair, was proprietor of Tajoura in 1550

more large guns are placed; another battery, of eight guns, is connected with the latter, and extends southward; on the west there is a fort built, but owing to its being insulated during the heavy winter gales, no guns are kept there; it is connected with the city by a small mole, balf a mile east of the castle and on the beach there is a battery, of eight guns, called the English fort; it commands the harbour, but is open on the land side.

The castle is an irregular and extensive square pile; when viewed from the port, it has a very respectable appearance. It has one grand entrance, and two sally points; the former is towards the town, and one of the latter communicates with

Le dock yard, which runs along the northern side of the castle, the other looks towards the country. The ramparts are very high, and well stocked with brass cannon, yet it is not considered as by any means fit to resist the attack of a British naval force, although the Americans, when at war with his Highness, in 1804, did not make any serious impression on it; against the assaults of Moors and Arabs it is justly thought to be impregnable. Thė state hall in the court, near the entrance, is a very elegant room, both from its shape and structure; a handsome throne is placed at the extremity opposite the doors, and on each side are pillars of dark marble, which give this apartment a very pretty effect. The present Bashaw has constructed another beautiful apartment, where he usually receives the consuls and naval officers of European

in an

powers. There is nothing else very attractive within its walls, as the whole is divided into courts, passages, houses, apartments irregularly piled on each other, and stables without order or distribution. The harbour of Tripoly, though not very spacious, is perfectly safe throughout the year, and capable of containing a large fleet of merchant ships; small frigates, whose draught of water does not exceed eighteen feet water," may also ride there in perfect safety.* It is formed by a reef of rocks, which run eastern direction from the northern extremity of the town; although this affords the greatest shelter to ships during the prevalence of north-east gales, the only wind injurious in Tripoly, it might, at a very trifling expense, be converted into a capital pier, which, together with the construction of a light-house, would render the port uncommonly good. The idea has often been suggested to his Highness the Bashaw, but I apprehend its execution is reserved for some more public spirited period than the present. It very frequently happens that merchant vessels are driven to leeward of Malta in winter, when it is often difficult to make that island; in these cases they might, with the utmost propriety, take shelter here, as in westerly gales the anchorage is good, not only in the harbour, but two miles off the town.

The caravanseras, mosques, houses of the dif

* His Majesty's ships Winchelsea and Iris, both frigates, were at an anchor in the harbour for some weeks, in the year 1794.

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ferent consuls and higher classes of the inhabitants, in Tripoly, are usually built of stone, and regularly white-washed twice a-year. The dwellings of the lower orders are fabricated of earth, small stones, and mortar; they are all of a square form, with a court in the centre, and never more than one story high; the court is generally paved with Maltese stone, which has made that an article of considerable commerce here. The roofs of the houses being perfectly flat, serve the purpose of an agreeable promenade; as also to receive the rain water, which descends through the pipes into cisterns constructed below for its reception. The private houses; with the exception of those which belong to foreign consuls, have no windows to wards the street; the better sort of houses consist of two stories, and are by no means so sumptuous as those of Tunis or Algiers, being destitute of all ornament, and very rarely furnished with more than carpets and a few cushions. Bazars, or market-places, occupy a considerable portion of the city, and are kept in excellent order. The new bazar has not been long built; it is a very spacious and airy building with an arched roof, which affords. shelter in winter, and shade during the intense heat of summer. It is appropriated exclusively to the sale of woollens, Levant produce, and slaves brought from the interior, particularly those of Bornou and Tombuctoo.

Of the several mosques, the only one worth particular notice here is that which fronts the