This formidable personage is the Marábūt mentioned by Della Cella as having threatened to eat him alive; and the Doctor was assured, by a black slave who stood near him, that he was perfectly capable of fulfilling his extraordinary threat[14]. So much has been written on the subject of these knavish fanatics, that we shall not here attempt any description of them: every book of travels in Mahometan countries contains more or less notice of the wondrous feats which are attributed to them, and of the no less remarkable credulity of those whom they impose upon[15]. We may, however, observe that the country between Lebida and Mesurata, and more especially the neighbourhood of the last-mentioned place, is much infested by these artful and unblushing pretenders to piety and supernatural powers. On the morning of the 15th we left the ruins of Lebida, and passing between the gardens which are scattered over its plain, proceeded on our road to Zeliten. About nine miles to the eastward of Lebida is the stream called Wad’ el Kháhan, which we found to possess more pretensions to the title of river than any which we had hitherto seen. It appears to have its rise in the mountains to the southward; and after spreading itself in shallows over a rocky bed, it falls about twenty feet, and continues its course, though very slowly, to the sea. The banks of Wad’ el Kháhan are in some places high, sloping down to the water’s edge, and are covered with underwood, among which a few trees may occasionally be observed to rise. The verdure of its banks give it an agreeable appearance, and some remains of building, which are seen here and there through the soil, contribute to increase the interest of the stream. By the side of the road, at about a mile and a half from where the river empties into the sea, are the remains of the aqueduct mentioned above, which supplied the city of Lebida; and other traces of building are occasionally observable in its neighbourhood. Here also may still be observed the same morasses which formerly characterized this spot, and gave occasion for the construction of the causeway, still existing, which is mentioned by Strabo as having been built by the Carthaginians[16]. All these circumstances contribute to point out Wad’ el Kháhan as the Cinyphus, and as such we may reasonably consider it.