is the usual result of a serious dispute between soldiers or sailors. Civilians, on the other hand, are said to gratify their resentment against each other by administering poison in a cup of coffee; and this mode of removing an enemy or a rival has become so common, that when any person dies suddenly, people say, "He has taken his coffee!" The medicated beverage is sometimes given with the view of producing instant dissolution, and at others with the intention of prolonging the victim's miseries for several months.

But it is admitted by all travellers, that the distant view of Tripoli, especially from the Mediterranean, is grand and not a little imposing. Previously to entering the bay, says an author who spent several years in Northern Africa, the country is rendered picturesque by various tints of beautiful verdure. No object whatever seems to interrupt the evenness of the soil, which is almost white, and interspersed with long avenues of trees; for such is the appearance of the numerous palms, planted in regular rows, and kept in the finest order. Their immense branches, coarse when near, are neat and distinct at a distance. The land lying low and very level, the naked stems of these trees are scarcely seen; and the plantations of dates seem to extend many miles in luxuriant woods and groves. The whole town appears in a semicircle some time before reaching the harbour's mouth. The extreme whiteness of the buildings, flat, square, and covered with lime, encountering the sun's fiercest rays, is not less striking than oppressive. The baths form clusters of very large cupolas, crowded together in different parts of the town. The mosques have in general a

small plantation of Indian-figs and date-trees growing close to them, which, at a distance, appearing to be so many rich gardens, give to the whole city, in the eyes of a European, an aspect truly novel and pleasing. On entering the harbour the town begins to show what it has suffered from the destructive hand of time,-large hills of rubbish appearing in different parts of it. The castle or palace in which the pasha resides is at the east end, within the walls. This edifice is very ancient and well-enclosed. It has, however, lost all symmetry on the inside, from the innumerable additions made to it with the view of accommodating the different branches of the royal family, none of whom are permitted to live elsewhere. In fact, it has gradually increased to such an extent as to have assumed the appearance of a fortified village.*

In

This description coincides exactly with that given by Captain Beechey. He tells us, that the outline of Tripoli is extremely irregular, and that, though the walls which encompass it seem to have been very strong, they are fast falling into ruins. The ramparts are provided with a few guns, which, however, are for the most part unserviceable, and more likely to injure those whom they are meant to protect than to annoy an enterprising enemy. truth, the pasha does not rely upon the artificial defences of the place for security against the aggressions of a European fleet. He has much more confidence in that jealousy which has hitherto prevented the great Christian governments from co-operating together for a common object, and, more especially, for establishing colonies on the shores of Tully's Letters, p. 16.

*

Barbary, though their own reputation, and the lives and properties of their subjects, require that they should at all hazards attain an undisputed ascendency over those piratical tribes who have so long infested the Mediterranean.

The grand mosque, in which the pasha's family are buried, is said to have a very handsome exterior. It stands in the main street, near the southern gate of the city, and almost opposite to the palace. Before the entry there is a species of portico fabricated of lattice-work, curiously carved, and two folding-doors of the same material; while a great number of beautifully-coloured tiles, with which the bottom of the lattice-work is set, give it an appearance of neatness very pleasing to the eye. Over the doors of all the mosques are long sentences from the Koran, cut in stone and painted. Those on this edifice are not only more richly gilt and coloured, but the sculpture is also much handsomer than on any other in the town.*

The principal specimen of antiquity now remaining is the triumphal arch already mentioned, built of fine marble and ornamented with sculpture and inscriptions. The greatest part of this beautiful monument is buried in the earth, which reaches nearly to the middle of it; and the upper part has received considerable damage from the accidents of war and the ignorant curiosity of the natives. It was erected by the Consul Scipio Efritus, in the days of Pius Antoninus, and afterwards dedicated to the honour of his successors. We are told that it is esteemed by all good judges as more striking than any of the most celebrated in Italy; as the temple Tully's Letters, vol. i. p. 14.

崇

of Janus at Rome, though constructed of marble, and regarded as one of the finest of these edifices, has only a plain roof. It does not appear so high as it really is, owing to the great accumulation of sand carried thither by the winds; and this is the reason why there is as much of the structure now under the surface as can be seen above it. The stones of which it is composed are so extremely large, that it seems wonderful how they could be conveyed from the quarry; and, in a country and an age so destitute of mechanical means, it is perhaps not less surprising how they were raised to such a height from the ground. No cement has been used to fasten them together; yet, so solid are they, that, so far as the ravages of time are considered, the pile may be pronounced quite uninjured The ceiling is of the most beautiful sculpture, a small part of which only remains in view, as the Moors, blind to its beauties, have for some time filled it up with rubbish and mortar, to form shops or warehouses in the interior of the arch. On the outside are enormous groups of whole-length figures of men and women, exhibiting allegorical scenes, or, it may be, representing some of the more important facts of history. Europeans, it is said, are often tempted to bring these antiquities to light, and they might doubtless make great and useful discoveries; but the jealous Turks will not permit them to disturb a stone, or move a grain of sand, on such an account; and repeated messages have been sent from the castle on these occasions to warn Christians of their danger.*

The inhabitants may be divided into Moors and Arabs, the former having a fair complexion, while Tully's Letters, vol. i. p. 18.

*

Rich Moor and Female.

the latter are in general dark and sallow. They are all remarkable for regular and athletic forms, and a cripple or deformed person is rarely seen amongst them. There are, besides, some Turks and Jews, together with a certain proportion of negroes and European renegadoes. As the pasha affords little countenance to the Moors, who have, therefore, but a very small chance of rising in the offices of government, they apply themselves to trade, to manufactures, and even to agriculture, whence many of them have acquired considerable wealth. The cut inserted above represents a couple in this class of society, who, by their dress and appearance, afford some indication of the opulence to which they have attained.