552 MERGE TO GYRENE.

whole. The length and course of the channel will be seen in the plan of Gyrene, where it is marked with a dotted line beginning from the cliff, at the foot of which the fountain now discharges itself, and runs across the level ground on which the amphitheatre, and little temple (as we have named it) of Diana are situated. Within forty feet of the end of the channel (that is to say, about thirteen hundred feet from its beginning at the foot of the cliff), it becomes so low, that a man cannot advance farther without creeping upon his hands and knees, and then finishes in a small aperture scarcely a foot in diameter, beyond which of course it is impossible to penetrate.

We were not a little surprised at the length of this singular excavation, which seemed, as we advanced, as if it never would finish ; and as we could not accelerate our mode of operation without sacrificing the plan of the passage, we had to remain for several hours in the water before we had completed our task. We must say, however, that with all the inconvenience of the stooping position which we were obliged to assume, and the extreme cold of the water, we found the undertaking a very agreeable one, for the interest naturally increased with the length of the passage, and we were more than rewarded for our trouble and temporary annoyance before we reached the end of the passage. In fact we observed after continuing our route for some time, that the clay, which we have already mentioned had been washed down in considerable quantities by the current, was occasionally plastered against the sides of the passage, and smoothed very carefully with the palm of the hand: in this we thought we perceived that something like letters had been scratched.