22 CAVE OF HERCULES. ch. i. 



star twinkling its brightest, stretched upward towards the 

 zenith. The great tower rose in dark shadow, for the lantern 

 was turned away from us ; but we could discern, streaming 

 out to seaward, in spite of the apparent clearness of the 

 air, two faintly marked cones of yellow light that were soon 

 quenched in the moonlight. The air was still, the sea was 

 quiet, and at first the silence seemed unbroken ;• but as the 

 listener stood, the pulses of the great ocean, though they 

 smote but gently the cavernous rocks below, beat distinctly 

 on the ear, and marked the passing minutes. 



We rose betimes next morning, finding fresh enjoy- 

 ment in each breath that we drew of the delicious air, 

 and after breakfast set out for a walk southward along the 

 coast. For the first two or three miles the rocky ground 

 sloped downward towards our right, and finally fell steeply 

 to the beach. It was apparent that the season was not 

 quite advanced enough to enjoy the full beauty of the 

 flora, but we found, besides the Drosophyllum already 

 mentioned, many interesting forms. Orchids were not 

 so abundant as they usually are at this season in the 

 warmer part of the Mediterranean region. Plantanthera 

 di/phylla, growing in shady spots, was the only uncommon 

 species. 



An indentation of the coast marks the spot where a 

 slender stream descends to the sea through a stretch of 

 white sand,; and beyond this the rocky coast rises but 

 slightly above the sea level. Our steps were directed 

 towards the so-called Cave of Hercules. This was ori- 

 ginally a mere hollow in the face of the sea cliff; but 

 from a remote period of antiquity it has been quarried 

 for the purpose of extracting the hand-mills universally 

 used in this part of Marocco. These, which are quite the 

 same as the Scotch querns, are cut out in the rudest way 

 by hammer and chisel, leaving the surface of the rock 

 marked by a series of circular indentations about eighteen 

 inches in diameter. In this way the original dimensions 

 of the cave have been greatly enlarged, and, as it is still 



