and a variety of small birds; among which the capsa
sparrow is remarkable for the elegance of its plumage and the
sweetness of its notes, in which it excels every other bird: this
beautiful little creature cannot live out of its native country. I
had almost forgotten to mention the storks and cranes, which are seen
here in great numbers, and so extremely tame, from being perfectly
unmolested, that they build their nests and rear their young in the
very centre of the towns and villages, and on the tops of the towers
of their mosques. Of the reptile kind, venomous spiders, scorpions,
vipers, and enormously large serpents, are common in Barbary.

The greatest natural curiosities of this country are the salt-pits
(which in some places are immensely large), and several hot springs,
possessing such a great degree of heat, that an egg being put in for a
short time will become quite hard. The face of the country itself is a
natural curiosity; the vallies, which are several leagues in extent,
and the mountains, which reach as far as the deserts of Suz, Tafilet,
and Gessula, interspersed with forests or corn-fields, and rich
meadows, are remarkably curious.

The artificial curiosities are very numerous, and claim the attention
of all who may visit this country. They ought properly to be divided
into two classes; in the first of which may be placed the
subterraneous cavern and passage near Tangiers; the ruins of the
amphitheatres, triumphal arches, temples, &c. erected by the
Carthaginians, Romans, and Arabs, at Fez and the several other towns
of Barbary. The country is besides all over scattered with the remains
of ditches and ramparts, evidently designed for the defence of camps,
forts, and castles, no other vestiges of which, however, can be
found. Besides these, I have observed a number of round towers, which
appear to have belonged, some to houses of religion, and others to the
palaces or residences of former rulers in this country.

In the second class, we may place the efforts of the architectural and
mechanical genius of the present inhabitants, exemplified in the
wonderful aqueducts at Morocco, which commence in Mount Atlas (by the
natives called _Gibbel-el-Hadith_), and convey water in the greatest
abundance to all the houses of the city and its environs. Nor is the
wheel at Fez, which I mentioned in a former letter, less worthy of
remark; and several mausoleums in their burial-places have been
constructed in a ver