in circumference, and thinly pe@pl.ed; the ancient caftle* thoügbqftill
the residence of the reigning family* riéelng in a’ruinous, condition. ,\At
prefent the Bey feems to be .honoured or difgraeed with t4jo title- and
fun&ioRs of Pallia; while tjie prijrtéék eld.qft- fon has the- title of Bey.
Even-the tributary Arabs 'are often in a ftate of rinfurredition ; 'and r.the
month, of- December, when the grafs-begins to -prefent fufEcien^|qystge,
is a conam.Qn i'eafon of warfare. | There ar,é olfve and date -tr^qs,. white
thorny ^nd SgÖï^b|p<^; ibut the'fields of grain, are few and fganty.
Towards Mefurata the vegetation is more. luximkut^lam; of the anient
Cyreqe, an interefting fpot, there is hq-recen-t account.
Next on the weft is Tunis, the central region q| northern Afrjc)i, |riie
weftern part of the proper Africa of antiquity» and formerly the. chief
feat óf Carthaginian power. In the middle ages Tripoli was fubjedt to
Tunis; which was feized by BarbarofTa in 1533* Of this kingdom, as
it is called, Dr. Shaw has given a good defeription, haying, travelled
through the greater part of i t ; and it is to be. regretted th^t,.he di-dmot
vifit 'Tripoli, ftill an obfeure. region in geography. In tn$ fummer thé Ijey
qf Thinis rèfidés^a^fce* northern part, at^diih winter retites to the fouth,
where there is a lake of considerable extent, the'Palu&Tritónis of antiquity.
The chief river is; the Mejerda, the Bagrada oTqlaffiqal ,jepu|;è.SWhe
chftiayjf Atjas feems here to terminate, in Cape Boftj.bqing called the
mountains 0? Megala, Uzelett, £ec.; but qurVubïKpj’f : chief purluitRe-
ing antiquities, the natural objedls are, treated with lel% care. t Ambng
the mineral productions he has obfeyved ajabafter, cryftal, hbles, 'pl'è'm«
bago, iron, lead, The cattle are fmall and dender, and. the Kqrfès.haye
degenerated! The fheepof Zaara are as tall as fallow.deer. There,are
liqns, panthers, hyenas, chakals, and other feroejous-, animals. :A.,The
manufactures are velvets, filks, linen, and red caps .worn by the common
people, In general the Tunifiaus are renowned as the mp|t polite
and civilized among the Mahometans of Africa, a character for which
they ate probably, indebted to the fituation O.f their country, for many
ages, the feat of the chief African powers. The ruins of Carthage, njot
far to the N. E. of Tunis, have been accurately illustrated by Dr.
Shaw*. The town pf Tunis is about three miles in circumference,
* This city was founded about 125Ó or 1300 years before the birth, of Ghrift, as appears from
Herodotus and the. Parian Chronicle.
IN Tf fE NORTH. 74*
eon-taming abo*int't‘en>;thiö)u:&Md'i'-hou&S4' o« pe r -hap s - foul s . The’ To*is;
chiSiS ekp®rte:fbem.to Jbe*wQplkn«fki<fe,> -red. egoid-duft, tekdi,- oily
' Algiër may- bë'ifèA‘tid^*!aVflJhè k i f Mahometan ftatej ón-thé Meditfer- Algier.,
‘ranSan! fer- M'dlfoS^ris^cMellyi e^teadfe&,;ate®rgr the-Atlantic. In the
thirteenth cehtury Africa was firflr, divided into-utbj©fefctqp,et3ty royalties,
which- ftilhfubfift withirfeiM variatiens-.^hlth/i514 ®arba¥©flaU feized Ah
gtef, which afterwards beeam&tfe i®@j:qdvfeat oft piÉatèsvji and. ©ire ofi the
Days candidly declared that the fjóutntnyiwas; amafttof robbers, .and.he
was their'chiefï Thi^Ooity^-fnppsfednbM.Shayv tQafr%.the-iangienf, Ieo-
fium, and; ismphabftVje a mile-and; a half ffij circuit*, inhabit
tents; asm,eaag.g,erated, to .more -than • ft hundred- thsufand.,3: but probably
half that number- wpubb be. nearer the truth. , tJtoisrlp.djerpus§ to behold
thisipowfr t*©'b®tg; from the. maritime
two fhjps oi:war>v.maiutaiM4 f^ ;rthêtg©èeral e^pepes^ might up
the. port, and- extinguish the claims: and the.piracy. vThe- antiqnities of
this kingdom have /.beenaccurately; examined by Dr. Shaw, whofe work
is however more: full of erudition, than {of ToKd and iateasefking know->
ledge, 1 The chief river is. the Sheliif,' riling from thé northern-fide of
tberAtks, as: the Wak a®d afterwa®d&lknjdihg
to, the weft, being the Chinak of amtiquity, while the ;latterris the Za-
hns. Tha kingdom, of Algieri chiefly comprifes the Mumidia and part
of the Mauretania of the ancients,- -being’ bounded Qn-lhedSohy Gètiuik,
and1 the1 eha|tts£©Ëtle© Atlas, called Lowat and AnèpEji which areshow®
ever: by Shaw’s aceounttoffmall: elevation, and the grand- ridges ofthe
Atlas aretowards the weft, in the kingdom of MorOcco The moon-,
tain qf ; J«rj®ra iii#iè' hfghelh m in
length, in a Ni K. and-iS^'Wi dilsè0 io*B%: fall ©frocks aaedrpM«i$k8S£ita8
©nlyj covered with, fnow during, the winteriir’iThfe.«mour^aa|i’k ahotuj
f e H, miles to Öie S. E. of Algier, .and pqrhaps fortes a pajt of the-r^al
Atlantic, ebaaa» which in this, dme&ioni will terminate- ^Sn- the: ryelt: ,
than above fuppofed-; but it at any rate e-xpi-r-es- in- - gentle**elevations,
3 Shaw, p. 68. -
* Between cape Spartel and Arzilla the inland mountains are obfei-ved from, the fea, covered with
fnovy even in May. Sail: Dir. p. i . . . ... .
5 though f: