22 JOURNEY FROM Hamet the Great. From that time to the present it has remained under the government of the Moors, although the supremacy of the Grand Signor is still acknowledged, and tribute is paid to the Porte.

A\e may say, in allusion to the actual state of Tripoly, that it appears to be making some advances towards civilization, and is beginning to feel the good effects which result from a state of security and tranquillity. Indeed, when we reflect upon its deplorable condition at the time of the accession of Sidi Yusuf, and look back upon the horrors of civil discord and contention to which it had been for more than eight years exposed — impoverished at the same time by indiscriminate extortion and plunder, and subjected during the period of these heavy calamities to the dreadful effects of famine and plague — we may venture to assert that the present state of Tripoly is far better than might have been expected. It is now secure under the protection of an established government, property is respected, and commerce is improving ; its markets are well supplied, its manufactures are encouraged, and its population appears to be increasing *. A considerable portion of the revenue of Tripoly was formerly drawn from the plunder obtained by her corsairs ; and a very lucra-* 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 pi'ecaution 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