CHAP. VIII. irregular aperture, broken by the people of the country through one of the divisions hewn in imitation of pannels. Through this hole, barely wide enough for a person to thrust his head, we obtained a view of the interior. Here same sort of chamber as in the others, but

Test joint or crevice, either belonging to the doors, or any where in its massive sides, by means of which a stone might be removed, or any opening effected for a place of admission. This may be left for explanation by future travellers who visit Macri. It was to us altogether incomprehensible; and therefore it is better to curtail the marvellous, than, by enlarging upon such a subject, to incur the imputation of writing a romance. Something like the curious cement, before mentioned (254) in the Oracular Cave to the west of the Theatre, might perhaps, by its resemblance to natural stone, have deluded our observation, and thus concealed a secret entrance to the tomb. There is reason to suspect, from the general appearance of their places of burial, that the Telmessensians were not more studious of beauty and elegance in their construction, than of preventing access to them afterwards; and it is probable that, in certain instances, the only clue to the interior was in possession of the priests, or of the family to whom these sepulchres belonged. Hence may have originated the Oriental Tales of charms used in admission to subterranean caves, and chambers of the dead(256).

I endeavoured to delineate the next we visited, on account of its simplicity and beauty. The letters of an inscription in the front of it were rude, and barbarously engraven. The repetition of the words THE MONVMENT (To μvμsion) is also remarkable. Within, it had three Soroi, one on each side of the chamber. One of the pannels in front was open; the other never was intended to be so, the rock behind being plain and entire (257). Of all these tombs, the most magaificent are those cut in a precipice facing the sea. Many of these have the appearance of being inaccessible; but by dint of climbing from rock to rock, at the risk of a dangerous fall, it is possible to ascend even to the highest. They are there fronted with rude pillars, whose capitals exhibit the curvature, or horn, generally considered as denoting the Ionic order of architecture; and those pillars

are integral parts of the solid rock. Some of them are CHAP. VIII. twenty feet high. The mouths of these sepulchres are closed with beautiful sculptured imitations of brazen or iron doors, with hinges knobs, or bars. The porous nature of the rock had occasioned filtrations, and a stalactite deposit had nearly covered a very long Inscription by the side of one of them. All that could be discerned was a repetition of the words to μvior, as in the former instance. A species of sage, growing in great abundance, to the size of a large shrub, also covered the rocks here, yielding a fine aromatic smell. Enough has perhaps already been said of these monuments; and yet not more than a third part of them has been described. The whole mountain facing the sea is filled by their remains. After examining that which has been last described, I ascended to one above, appearing larger than any of the others. Here the rock consisted of a beautiful breccia; and before the mouth of this remarkable tomb were columns of that substance, twenty feet in height. This is the most elevated of all the sepulchres of Telmessus. The view from it commands the Bay. Looking hence upon the water, I could plainly perceive the traces of extensive ruins stretching into the sea, visible from that eminence, although covered by the waves. To the east of the town, at a considerable distance from it, near the mouth of the river Glaucus, there appeared the substruction of an antient work, that seemed to have been part of a mole, and of a fortress. The peasants of the place informed us, that ten leagues to the east of what are called the Seven Capes, or one day and a half's journey from Macri, at a village called Koynûcky, there are very great ruins, among which may be discerned statues, columns, Ruins at Koyand several antient inscriptions. These reports are often nucky. exaggerations; but it may be worth while to seek here the remains of Xanthus, and of Patara, cities of Lycia, coneerning whose modern state we have no information; the one celebrated for the seige it sustained against Brutus, and the other for the embellishments bestowed upon it by Ptolemy Philadelphus.

During the time we remained in Macri Bay, the Aghas of the country were at war: marauding parties, profiting by the general tumult, had set fire to several villages. It

Turbulent

State of the
Country.

Conduct of the Natives upon the Coast,

CHAP. VIII. was therefore dangerous to venture far from the coast. Indeed, the sea-side was not without its dangers, Captain Castle, venturing along the beach, in search of a convenient place to obtain a supply of fresh water, fell into the hands of a party of the natives, as wild and savage in their appearance as any of the tribes of Caucasus. We found him surrounded by twenty-five armed men, who had taken his dirk from him, and who seemed very mischievously disposed. One of these fellows, a sturdy mountaineer, wore, by way of ornament, one of the buttons of a British naval officer's uniform. We could not learn how he obtained this. As our interpreter was not with us, it was proposed that we should adopt a method resorted to by Captain Cooke in such situations, and prevail upon some of these men, by signs, to accompany us on board. Four of them consented, among whom was the Chief. They followed us to the place where the boat was stationed, but expressed visible uneasiness, and began to call loudly to their companions on shore, as we stretched out from the land towards the Tauride. We conducted them, however, upon deck, when a new dilemma occurred; for Captain Castle, conceiving that he had been insulted by these men, insisted upon fighting with their Chief. It was with difficulty we could prevent this from being noticed by the party who had ventured with us; but getting them all at last into the cabin, and having appeased our worthy Captain, by pointing out the danger to which he would expose others of our countrymen, in offending the natives of a coast frequented at that time by our ships for wood and water, he consented to overlook the indignity. After giving them a dram each, with a little gunpowder, some Constantinople pipes, tobacco, and coffee, they were so gratified, that we might perhaps have ventured with them, even to Koynucky, whither they offered to escort us. We contented ourselves, however, in gaining their permission to botanize unmolested around the Gulph, and for that purpose accompanied them back to their companions.

We landed upon the western side of the bay, near the phare laid down in the chart as the most convenient for watering ships, where a river empties itself into the Gulph.

me we found the ruins of several buildings, situated in

New-discov

Isle of

pools of stagnant water and most unwholesome marshes. CHAP. VIII. The sands were covered with exceedingly rare plants. To add to the extraordinary allurements presented by the coast of Macri, it is pre-eminently distinguished by the interest it offers to the botanist. We found no less than eleven. new species, besides many almost unknown, during our short examination of the place. The new discovered plants alone will be mentioned in a note (258). We also visit- Abercrombie. ed a beautiful little uninhabited island, lying in the mouth of the bay. It consists of a single mountain covered with an exuberant vegetation, and full of mosquitoes, "wheeling their droning flight," sole tenants of the wilderness, with the exception of a few rabbits. The aromatic odour exhaled from the shrubs and herbs whereby it is completely mantled, is full as powerful as in the scented atmosphere of Rhodes. A few solitary graves of unknown persons appeared near the shore; containing, probably, the bodies of British seamen, who had fallen victims to the pestilential air of the Gulph, during their station here. We added to the number of the animals found upon it, by losing four out of the fourteen sheep put on shore by our crew, to graze while we remained at anchor. Neither antient nor modérn geographers have bestowed any name upon this island: this is the more remarkable, as it affords a very important land-mark for vessels entering the Gulph. Its lofty conical form, resembling those sepulchral mounds erected by antient nations as monuments of departed heroes, together with its situation, surrounded by colossal monuments of the dead, not ill befits it for a natural cenotaph. It may therefore bear the name of ABERCROMBIE, whose deathless glory, green as the perennial foilage by which it is invested, will flourish to the end of time, while the boasted renown of every howling soothsayer of Telmessus is hushed in oblivion.

CHAPTER IX.

FROM ASIA MINOR TO EGYPT.

The Tauride sails for Egypt.

The Tauride sails for Egypt--Vigilance of the English Cruizers-Extraordinary Instance of the Propagation of Sound-Astonishing Appearance presented by the British Fleet-Spectacle caused by the Ravages of WarState of Affairs upon the Author's Arrival-Obstacles encountered by the Expedition under Sir Ralph Abercrombie-Sir Sidney Smith-Account of the Campaign -Causes of the Delay in landing the Troops-Death of Major M'Arras—Descent of the Army-Battle and Victory of the Eighth of March-General Menou-Affair of the Twelfth-Action of the Thirteenth-Battle of the Twenty-first-Sensation caused by the Death of Abercrombie-Measures pursued by his Successor-The Author's View of the Country-Journey to Rosetta.

CHAP. IX. THE impatience of our Captain to get forward with his cargo to the fleet, added to the weak state of my health, made us eager to leave Macri. Having got in our stock of water, and our sheep from Abercrombie's Isle, a contrary wind prevailing, we beat out of the Gulph, and made our course for Egypt. The wide surface of the Libyan Sea was before us. We entertained anxious thoughts concerning the safety of our little bark, deeply laden, and ill-suited, either in her complement of mariners or style of construction, to encounter the deadly gales and the calms of the Mediterranean. Landsmen, however, are generally