252 JOURNEY FROM follow, though they did not lead us quite in the direction we wished ; and having got as near to our object as they could carry us, we had seldom many walls to scramble over before we reached the place where it stood. It is probable that some of these walls are of very considerable antiquity ; for the soil in this neighbourhood could not at any time have been cultivated without removing the crust of stone from its surface ; but we could not discover any inscriptions upon them, though we often examined them with the hope of being able % to do so. We observed that in the vicinity of the forts the walls were usually placed much closer together, and the inclosures were in consequence smaller than in other parts.

The extensive plain in which the town of Bengazi is situated, is bounded to the southward by the range of high land, on whose summit Cyrene once stood so conspicuously ; and the whole of the plain at the foot of this range is covered with vegetation from the hills to the sea. The sight, we believe, was refreshing to all parties ; for our very horses and camels appeared to partake of the pleasure which we could not avoid feehhg ourselves in contemplating so agreeable a scene. One of our party was dispatched in advance to Bengazi, accompanied by the Bashaw’s Chaous, to apprize the British resident of our approach, and to concert with him such measures as might be necessary for our accommodation in the town, where the violence and long duration of the winter-rains would oblige us, we well knew, to remain for some time. It was night before they reached the salt lake by which Bengazi is nearly