252 
JOURNEY FROM 
follow, though they did not lead us quite in the direction we wished ; 
and having got as near to our object as they could carry us, we had 
seldom many walls to scramble over before we reached the place 
where it stood. It is probable that some of these walls are of very 
considerable antiquity ; for the soil in this neighbourhood could not 
at any time have been cultivated without removing the crust of stone 
from its surface ; but we could not discover any inscriptions upon 
them, though we often examined them with the hope of being able 
% 
to do so. We observed that in the vicinity of the forts the walls 
were usually placed much closer together, and the inclosures were in 
consequence smaller than in other parts. 
The extensive plain in which the town of Bengazi is situated, is 
bounded to the southward by the range of high land, on whose 
summit Cyrene once stood so conspicuously ; and the whole of the 
plain at the foot of this range is covered with vegetation from 
the hills to the sea. The sight, we believe, was refreshing to all 
parties ; for our very horses and camels appeared to partake of the 
pleasure which we could not avoid feehhg ourselves in contemplat- 
ing so agreeable a scene. One of our party was dispatched in 
advance to Bengazi, accompanied by the Bashaw’s Chaous, to ap- 
prize the British resident of our approach, and to concert with him 
such measures as might be necessary for our accommodation in the 
town, where the violence and long duration of the winter-rains 
would oblige us, we well knew, to remain for some time. It was 
night before they reached the salt lake by which Bengazi is nearly 
