MERGE TO GYRENE.

4-29 and is no otherwise serviceable than as it affords an occasional draught to the Bedouins who frequent the neighbourhood during the summer, and to the cattle who drink with their masters. The excavated chambers of the fountain of Apollo * are occupied at this season by flocks of sheep and goats, and the whole of the level space in front of the mountain is thickly covered at such times with these animals, as well as with numerous herds of cattle, attracted thither by the water which now strays over its surface. When we first arrived at Cyrene these intruders had not made their appearance ; and we rambled about, to our great comfort and satisfaction, without meeting a single living creature besides those of our own party in the day time, and a few jackalls and hyaenas in the morning and evening, which always ran off* on our approach.

After satisfying our thirst, and, in some degree, our curiosity, at the fountain, we descended a few feet to some remains which we perceived on a level piece of ground below it ; and found that they were those of a peripteral temple which, from the fragment of an inscription that we discovered among its ruins, mentioning the name of the Goddess, appears to have been dedicated to Diana.

Little more than the ground-plan of this temple is now remaining, and' most of the columns are buried beneath the soil ; we were able, * In speaking of the fountain to which the Libyans conducted the founders of Cyrene, Herodotus says, avasyovTEr Je etti xq-nmv A'ltoWmos, eittocv — “AvSej ExXrivEr, evTocuToc vixiv iTcirrisov ontEEiv' svra.uTx yocq o ovqavo rErp-nrat.’' — (Meip. §voi').

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.