The objects of the expedition had in all probability been made known to the Bey before our arrival; but we thought it proper to state them in general terms to his excellency, through the medium of Mr. Giacomo Rossoni, in his official character of interpreter. This was no sooner done than the eyes of the spectators, which had hitherto been actively employed, were relieved for a short time by their organs of speech, exerted in ill-suppressed whispers. From their gestures, and a word or two which we caught _en passant_, we could perceive that very few of the Arabs assembled believed a single word of our statement, (so far, at least, as the motives for the expedition were concerned;) for they could not at all imagine why persons should be commissioned to make researches of such a nature as those which they had just heard proposed, where money was not in fact the real object of inquiry. His excellency the Bey, though he received the statement graciously, and offered his assistance very freely in facilitating the operations of the mission, was scarcely himself convinced of the sanity of a government which could concern itself with science and research, particularly if no considerable _pecuniary_ equivalent was likely to result to His Majesty’s treasury for the expenses incurred by its expeditions[2]. We had brought with us several papers for Bey Halīl from the Bashaw, all of which, when presented (with the exception of one), he put into the hands of his secretary Hashi, his excellency not being himself quite _au fait_ at deciphering the contents of his letters. The paper retained was the teskeré from the Bashaw (already mentioned) for five hundred dollars; and it is probable that the frequent arrival of similar orders had rendered their appearance so familiar to Bey Halil, that he was able to distinguish them without the assistance of his secretary, though he could not read a word of other matter. A slight change of countenance, when he first cast his eyes upon the teskeré, was, however, the only visible effect which it produced on the exterior of the Bey of Bengazi; and his good breeding did not allow him to manifest in any other way that our visit was not in all respects perfectly agreeable to him. We may add, that the sum was punctually paid to us, after some little (possibly unavoidable) delay, by the hands of secretary Hashi; and the credit of his excellency was in no other way diminished, than by the discharge of the five hundred dollars at several times, instead of being made at one payment. Had we known at Tripoly so much of the Bey’s private history, as we have already stated above, this teskeré might have been spared him; for we should certainly not have been induced to accept any order upon him, however trifling, could we have supposed that its payment might be inconvenient.