lated by the comparative wealth or poverty of the donors; but those persons are considered as most meritorious who incur the greatest expense in honour of their deceased relative. There are women whose sole employment it is to attend the house of mourning, where they howl, lament, and tear their hair and faces in a barbarous manner. Their cries continue with very little intermission during three days, and the additional din occasioned by their repeatedly beating wooden boxes or pots is truly horrible. The customs and ceremonies used on these occasions, with many other interesting subjects relating to Tripoli, are so faithfully and pleasingly described in Tully’s narrative*, that they render any further observations on my part unnecessary. Mr. Ritchie, finding that Mukni still delayed his departure, and that some weeks might yet elapse before he commenced his journey, determined on employing the intermediate time in visiting Benio- leed and the Gharian mountains. For this purpose he procured a Chowse, a person employed by the Bashaw to collect the revenues, and hired two camels to carry our provisions and baggage. A t this time M. Dupont thought fit to resign the office which he had pledged himself to fulfil, and abruptly left Mr. Ritchie, influenced, as we had reason to think, by the advice and suggestions o f some of his supposed friends. N o t wishing to revive a subject so little creditable to those who influenced the conduct of M. Dupont, I shall only observe, that the petty intrigues which were carried on in order to detract from the merits of the mission, and eventually to obstruct its progress, were most disgraceful. * Narrative of a ten Years’ Residence in Tripoli. JO U R N E Y TO T H E G H A R IA N M OU NTA IN S A N D B E N IO L E E D . Sunday, February 7th, 1819.—Leaving Belford in charge of our house, we quitted Tripoli at 10. 5. A. M. and after passing through the gardens of the Meshea <ua*, at eleven arrived on the desert to the southward of them, near the tomb of the Maraboot Seyd aa*-. who is spoken of in the “ Letters from Tripoli.” The sand here rises in irregular hills, and is totally barren, not the slightest traces of vegetation being perceptible. We continued travelling over this until five o’clock, when we came to small spots of grass and shrubs, on which flocks were feeding, and where a few Bedouins had pitched their tents. We waited here for our camels, having directed our course south south-west about fifteen miles, and on their coming up, pitched our tents near a well on the plain. The Chowse ordered us a supper, from the Sheikh of the Arabs, and we soon had a smoking bowl of Bazeen and lamb. All the young girls came to stare at us and our tents, as something quite ne.w to them. Monday, 8th February.—At eight we started, and travelled south-west by south over a country nearly desert, until ten, when we passed a few corn-fields, and a pretty plain covered with tents and flocks. Here we stopped to examine the ruins of the Castle of Mejnine This was once used as a frontier post for the troops of the Bashaw, who kept the rebel Arab tribes in check; but having been built of mud and small stones, the rains have now washed it nearly away: part of the walls only and a gate are still standing. From this place we had a fine view of the Gharian mountains, and observed that several hills in the range were in a conical form. On leaving it, we proceeded until 1. SO. P. M. when we stopped at a tent by the invitation of an Arab, who had ridden the preceding
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