it from the name of a female native of Africa bearing the same
appellation* ; and it is probable that had'there been any other tra-
dition existing in his time on the subject, it would have been mentioned
with that which he has recorded. The several tribes which
in his sera inhabited the northern coast of Africa have also been
enumerated by Herodotus ; and no mention is made among these,
of any race of people called Levatæ. I t is evident also that his
knowledge of Africa was not confined to recent occurrences or to
the actual state of the country in his own time i for he has given
us very clear and minute details of events which took place several
centuries before that period, among which may be instanced the
account which he has transmitted of the first occupation of, the
country by the Greeks, described in the Fourth Book of his Geography,
and alluded to in the passage above quoted; from Major
llennell. ,
We may observe, on the ground of these objections, that, if the
derivation suggested be actually correct, it must, in all probability,
have taken place long before the period of Herodotus ; but there is
'. É t ë !jfe| SS 5 wm mm È S W ü l H S B B j * * may be a t the same time r e ^ r k e d that some wrlte 8
have derived the term Libya from the Arabic word (Lüb) wMeh cgnrfies
and might therefore be without impropriety applied to a dry and sultry regmn. W
may a d ! tha t M (Libya) > the Phmnician, or Hebrew term few 2
i S r S S the dav is—o-â o-ëh, to Lübâtô—of which we could never gamany other translation
Tom the natives, than that it applied to their own country . Lüb&tS ^ y ^
nounced clearly Nftbato, and it was sometimes impossible to tell which
pronunciations was intended.
at the same time no positive proof on their authority that it may
not have Been possibly the true one.
On the morning after our arrival at Lebida the Shekh of the place
came to pay us a visit, and to offer his assistance in procuring us coins
and gems, which are constantly found among the ruins by the Jews,
who pay a consideration to the Bashaw for the exclusive enjoyment *
of this privilege. The offer of our new friend was readily accepted,
and he himself very cordially entertained by his brother Shekh,
Mahommed el Dubbah; but, his supper being eaten, we never heard
more of him or of the antiquities which he professed to procure
for us.
The effeets of a heavy storm, which had occurred on the preceding
night, obliged us to remain at Lebida the whole of this day, in order
to dry our provisions and clothes ; for we had no sooner pitched the
tents, on the evening of our arrival, than we were overtaken by a
violent storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied by continued
gusts of wind, which kept us employed during the greater part of
the night in attending to the tent-pegs.
In the mean time, the rain never ceased to fall in torrents, and
soon made its way, impelled by the force of the wind, through every
part of a good substantial canvass; one of our tents was completely
upset, and the whole of our party, with the better half of the baggage,
were wet through long before the dawn of day. Towards
morning, however, the storm died away, and the first appearance of
the sun, in a tolerably clear sky; was in truth a most comfortable
prospect. As it promised to be fine for the rest of the day, we