Many spots of more than ordinary interest were comprehended within the limits of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica: some of these had been the favourite themes of mythology, haunts in which the poets of Greece and Rome had loved to linger; and others had been celebrated in the more sober language of historians whose fame is less perishable than the objects which they describe. But whatever might once have been the state of a country placed before us so conspicuously in pages which are dear to us, there had not in our own times been any opportunity of ascertaining its actual condition. The name of Cyrene was familiar to classic ears, but no one had visited its remains; the “secret springs” of Lethe and the Gardens of the Hesperides had almost been confounded with the fables of antiquity; and the deep and burning sands, overspread with venomous serpents, which were supposed to form the barrier between Leptis Magna and Berenice, had rarely been trodden since the army of Cato had nearly found a grave beneath their weight[2].
The outline of this extensive Gulf (the Greater Syrtis), the coast of which was as formidable to the vessels of the ancients as its sands were supposed to have been to their armies, had never been accurately laid down in modern charts, and the contradictory statements of its form and peculiarities appeared to call for minute investigation. There were many geographical points to be determined in the space between Tripoly and Bengazi, and remains of several ancient towns (besides Cyrene) were known to exist in the Pentapolis, of which no plans had hitherto been made. Under all these circumstances it appeared to Captain Smyth that, as he was himself about to sail in the Adventure to finish his survey of the northern coast of Africa, it might so be arranged that a party on shore should proceed simultaneously along the tract of country mentioned, communicating from time to time with his vessel as occasions might offer in the course of their route. The views of His Majesty’s Government were at this period favorable to the cause of research; and the labours of many skilful and enterprising men had been, since the peace, advantageously directed to various points of interest, from the sultry plains of Fezzan to the borders of the Frozen Ocean. It was therefore not long after the plan in question had been submitted to the Admiralty and the Colonial Department, that it was acceded to by Earl Bathurst and Lord Melville; and the means of carrying it into effect were referred to the consideration of one of the heads of the Admiralty, whose well-directed ability had often been manifested in the promotion and arrangement of similar undertakings, and whose exertions in the cause of science and discovery are well known and highly appreciated[3].
Accordingly, when the necessary dispositions had been made, Lieutenant Beechey was appointed on the part of the Admiralty to undertake the coast line from Tripoly to Derna,—if practicable, as far as Alexandria; and Mr. Tyndall, a young gentleman on board the Adventure, was directed to assist him in the survey. Earl Bathurst appointed Mr. Beechey to examine and report on the antiquities of the country, and Mr. Campbell of the Navy was soon after nominated to accompany the expedition as surgeon. The party was embarked on board His Majesty’s Ship Adventure, and sailed from England early in July with Captain Smyth, proceeding directly to Malta: there they were joined by Lieutenant Coffin of the Navy, who had come out in the Adventure, and who handsomely volunteered his services on shore, which were accepted without hesitation. A short time was sufficient to complete the few remaining preparations, and the expedition left Malta for Tripoly.
We have already said that it had been in contemplation to extend our journey farther to the eastward, and to examine the country between that place and Alexandria, in which it seemed probable that interesting remains might be found. We had in that event proposed to return by Siwah, and along the track of Horneman to Augila; from which place we should have re-entered the Greater Syrtis, and explored some of the more inland parts of it in the course of our journey back to Tripoly. Circumstances, however, which it will not here be necessary to explain, prevented our going farther eastward than Derna, and limited the period of our stay in the Pentapolis to a much shorter period than we had originally calculated upon. Our work has in consequence assumed the form of a Journal, and has become more contracted on points of unquestionable interest, and more diffuse in matters which would otherwise have been omitted, than it would have been in the character which we wished it to have taken. We do not, however, mean to apologize for having done less than we might have done under the circumstances in which we were placed; or to underrate the value of the matter which we have been able to lay before the Public: the materials which we had to work upon are in themselves sufficiently interesting to call for the attention of those who read for information, and the labour which has been employed in collecting them (during the whole course of a long and fatiguing journey) has not been thrown away upon trifles.
We have given to the world (we may say with the greatest accuracy) an extensive tract of coast which has been hitherto unsurveyed, and of which our best charts afforded a very imperfect outline, as will appear by a reference to the maps at the head of the work.
We have obtained the plans of towns and places, (rendered interesting by antiquity, and by the rank which they hold in the pages of history,) of which we have hitherto had no details; and have described, or made drawings of every object of note which has presented itself on the field of our operations. In fact, whatever may be the merit of our work in other respects, or the value attached to our exertions, we are satisfied ourselves with the matter acquired and with the labour and diligence which has been employed in collecting it; and it is because our materials are worthy of more attention than we had time and opportunities to bestow upon them, that we regret we are not able to offer them to the Public in a more complete form than we have been able to give them. Had it been in our power to employ excavation, on a more extensive scale than we did, and to bestow as much time upon every object worth attention as its importance appeared to demand, our work could have been a more perfect one; that is to say, it would have treated of art, and its details more exclusively (we mean the details of sculpture, architecture, and painting,) than it does in the shape which it at present assumes. We might also have given additional interest to our narrative by introducing more plates than we have been able to insert; but our number has been (we believe necessarily) limited, and we may add that the selection of those which appear might have been better if we had known, before the drawings went to the engraver, that we should have been obliged to leave out so many of them.
Something should be said to account for the delay which has taken place in publication since the work was first announced. We may state that, so far as we are ourselves concerned, more than three parts of the MS. was finished at least two years ago; and that the remainder was only kept back because it could not be completed till the first portion was printed.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]The plan here alluded to of the City of Lebida was obligingly placed at our disposal by the author, and we wished to have had it engraved for the work; but, in consequence of being obliged to limit our number of plates to much fewer than we had originally anticipated, this plan, with some others of our own, have been omitted.
[2]The poetical account of this tract of country by Lucan is well known to the readers of ancient literature, and we shall have occasion hereafter to advert to it in speaking of the actual appearance of the Syrtis.