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 excava- 
tion, 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. 
