to pull them down.  Soon after day-break I arrived at Tunis, a town fairly built of very white stone, but quite without gardens, which, they say, were all destroyed when the Turks first took it, none having been planted since.  The dry land gives a very disagreeable prospect to the eye; and the want of shade contributing to the natural heat of the climate, renders it so excessive, that I have much ado to support it.  ’Tis true, here is, every noon, the refreshment of the sea-breeze, without which it would be impossible to live; but no fresh water but what is preserved in the cisterns of the rains that fall in the month of September.  The women of the town go veiled from head to foot under a black crape, and being mixed with a breed of renegadoes, are said to be many of them fair and handsome.  This city was besieged in 1270, by Lewis (sic) king of France, who died under the walls of it, of a pestilential fever.  After his death, Philip, his son, and our prince Edward, son of Henry III. raised the siege on honourable terms.  It remained under its natural African kings, till betrayed into the hands of Barbarossa, admiral of Solyman the Magnificent.  The emperor Charles V. expelled Barbarossa, but it was recovered by the Turk, under the conduct of Sinan Bassa, in the reign of Selim II.  From that time till now, it has remained tributary to the grand signior, governed by a bey, who suffers the name of subject to the Turk, but has renounced the subjection, being absolute, and very seldom paying any tribute.  The great city of Bagdat (sic) is, at this time, in the same circumstances, and the grand signior connives at the loss of these dominions, for fear of losing even the titles of them.

I WENT very early yesterday morning (after one night’s repose) to see the ruins of Carthage.—­I was, however, half broiled in the sun, and overjoyed to be led into one of the subterranean apartments, which they called, The stables of the elephants, but which I cannot believe were ever designed for that use.  I found in them many broken pieces of columns of fine marble, and some of porphyry.  I cannot think any body would take the insignificant pains of carrying them thither, and I cannot imagine such fine pillars were designed for the use of stables.  I am apt to believe they Were summer apartments under their palaces, which the heat of the climate rendered necessary.  They are now used as granaries by the country people.  While I sat here, from the town of Tents not far off, many of the women flocked in to see me, and we were equally entertained with viewing one another.  Their posture in sitting, the colour of their skin, their lank black hair falling on each side their faces, their features, and the shape of their limbs, differ so little from their country-people the baboons, ’tis hard to fancy them a distinct race; I could not help thinking there had been some ancient alliances between them.