contain mines of iron, copper, lead, and sulphur: and gold of extreme fineness is, or used to be produced, in Damota and the shallow mines of Narea. The great salt plain, south of Tigré, supplies the whole of Abyssinia with salt, and the mineral, when cut into long, flat pieces, is one of the principal media of exchange. Though situated within the tropics, the vegetation of Abyssinia is somewhat extra-tropical. The chief alimentary plants are millet, barley, wheat, maize, and teff, the latter a grain smaller than the mustard, with an agreeable taste, and not liable to be spoiled by worms. There are generally two harvests: one during the rainy season, and the other in spring. At Adowah, and the neighborhood, there are three crops. Some vines are cultivated, and "ensete," an herbaceous plant resembling the banana. The papyrus is found in the marshes; myrrh, coffee, &c., are commercial staples; and the whole country is perfumed by roses, jessamines, lilies, and primroses. The zoology of Abyssinia is almost unknown. In the forests of the low regions elephants and monkeys are found, and the two-horned rhinoceros is common. Hyænas, lions, leopards, bears, gazelles, zebras, &c., inhabit the different parts. The cattle are numerous, and of large size. The ass and mule supply the place of the camel, while horses, which are small, but very lively, are used only for the purposes of war. The serpents are of enormous size, and the lakes and rivers swarm with sea-horses and crocodiles. The varieties of birds are not less numerous; one of which is the great golden eagle. The insect tribe are in great variety, and very splendid; and the locust is here, as in the greater part of Africa, the scourge of the people, and often produces the miseries of a famine. Bruce speaks also of a black ant, which nearly cut his carpets in shreds.

The "Abyssinians," or Agazians, are a fine-formed race, with handsome, bronze-colored features, and long hair. Their language is much mixed with the Arabic; but many of its roots are sufficiently peculiar to stamp the Agazians as an indeginous and primitive race. The Abyssinians are nominally Christians of the Jacobite scct, and used to have an ecclesiastical primate, called the " Abuna," appointed by the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria; but in reality their religion is a corrupt mixture of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity of the lowest grade, and has very little influence on their manners and conduct. They are deeply superstitious, and are altogether in a low state of civilization. The arts and mechanical professions are chiefly in the hands of strangers, and especially of the Jews, who furnish all the smiths, masons, and thatchers of the country.

The "Gallas" are a savage and warlike people, who have made themselves masters of the southern provinces; and are distinguished from negroes by their low stature, deep brown complexions, and long hair. They are very ferocious, and steeped in idolatry. They worship trees, stones, the moon, and some of the stars; and believe in magic and a future state.

The "Shangallas" inhabit the wooded heights in the north-western parts. They are decidedly negroes, with faces not unlike those of apes. They spend one part of the year under the shades of trees, and the rest in caves dug in soft rocks. Some of the tribes feed on elephants and the rhinoceros, others on lions and bears, and some on locusts. They go quite naked, and are armed with poisoned darts. The Abyssinians hunt them like wild

beasts.

The "Agows," another caste, form two tribes or nations occupying the country about the sources of the Tacazze and the Abawi. Possessing a

fertile but inaccessible country, courageous, and provided with good cavalry, they have maintained their independence against both the Gallas and the Abyssinians. Though they have been converted to Abyssinian Christianity, yet their principal worship is addressed to the spirit who presides at the source of the Abawi; and they every year sacrifice a cow to this spirit.

Besides these above enumerated there are the "Gafates," a numerous people, who live in Damota, and speak a distinct language; the "Gurags," a set of expert and intrepid robbers, who live in the hollows of the rocks, in the south east of Abyssinia, and the "Dobenah," a numerous tribe, who live by hunting elephants and rhinoceroses, between the Mareb and the Tacazze.

But, of all the people of Abyssinia, the Jews present the most extraordinary historical curiosity. They bear the name of Falasjí, or the exiles, and seem to have formed for ages a state of more or less independence, in the province of Samen, under a dynasty, the king of which always bore the name of "Gideon," and the queens that of " Judith." Although reduced at last to very narrow limits, they could muster, in Bruce's time, 50,000 infantry. But their royal family having become extinct, they appear to be now dependent on the government of Tigré; and a great number also live. among the Shellukhs, along the banks of the Abiad. They are even much more ignorant than the Christians; they are ignorant of the tribe to which they belong, and do not know at what period their ancestors came into Abyssinia.

The ancient monarchy of Abyssinia has been completely dismembered. Among the many petty states which have risen upon its ruins, the three following appear to predominate, viz:-the kingdoms of Amhara, Tigré, and Shoa; the first comprising the provinces to the west of the Tacazze; the second, the provinces east of that river, and the last the provinces to the south and west The last appears to have been less injured by the civil

wars than the rest.

THE KINGDOM OF AMHARA.

AMHARA comprises the central provinces, and has long been in a state of complete anarchy. The members of the royal family are dispersed over their country, and live partly by the bounty of the chiefs, and partly by their own industry. Gondar, the capital, is situated in a fine plain to the north of Lake Dembea. It is very extensive, but two-thirds of the houses appear to be in a ruinous state, and the population does not exceed 6,000.

THE KINGDOM OF TIGRE.

TIGRE is the strongest of these sovereignties, not only from its position, but also from the warlike spirit of the people and their resources. Antalow, its chief town, contains 1,000 houses, but the king generally resides at Shellikout. The palace and the church, which is considered to be one of the finest in Abyssinia, are its principal buildings. Tigré may be considered as the cradle of the Abyssinian Empire. Its people are the true Abyssinians, and have extended their dominion over the adjoining region, which has been dignified with the title of kingdom, and divided into provinces. It contains several other towns, in which some manufactures and considerable trade are carried on. Many splendid ruins, indicative of an ancient civilization, still exist.

THE KINGDOM OF SHOA, OR SHWA.

SHOA includes the southern portion of the late empire, and the king, who is a member of the ancient royal family, has extended his dominion over many of the Galla tribes, and carries on an extensive slave-trade, exporting his captives through Tajura, a seaport town to the south-west of the Strait of Bab-el-mandeb. His capital is Ankobar, a small and unimportant place.

OTHER SMALL PETTY STATES.

THE low country between the eastern mountains and the Red Sea, is nearly uninhabited, from excessive heat and the scarcity of water. It is occupied by a number of small tribes, more or less savage, who preserve their independence, and form as many states as there are chiefs. The principal places are-Durora, a village on the Bay of Amphila; Zulla, or Adullé, a miserable town on Annesley Bay; Massuah, a small town of about 2,000 inhabitants, on an islet of the same name, with a good harbor, the principal station of the maritime commerce of Abyssinia, but now in possession of the Pasha of Egypt; Arkiko, a small town on the mainland, opposite Massuah, the residence of a "naib," who recognizes the sovereignty of Tigré, but is independent in the administration of his petty state, &c., &c.

The ancients never acquired any accurate knowledge of Abyssinia. It was known to them under the name of "Ethiopia sub Ægypto," and considered as the proper Æthiopia, though that term included all the then known Africa. The descriptions given of the people, inaccurate and confused as they are, however, sufficiently prove that the country had been visited, and the Greek inscriptions at Axum indicate that the natives were not unacquainted with the arts and literature of that polite nation. The port of Axum, indeed, in very early times, was that from which the finest ivory was exported, and a commercial intercourse maintained with the coasts of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Prior to the fourth century Abyssinia was converted to Christianity, which it has ever since nominally professed; and after the spread of Islamism the country became a refuge for those sectaries who were reluctant to change their faith. The Arabian geographers make very slight mention of the country, so that Abyssinia remained almost unknown till near the era of modern maritime discovery.

In 1445 the emperor of Abyssinia sent an ambassador to the Senate of Florence, and wrote a famous letter to his subject priests at Jerusalem. This, and the favorable reports of the priests now referred to, gave rise to the most exaggerated rumors. It was said that a Christian prince, to whom the Portuguese gave the fantastical name of "Prester John," ruled over a vast, highly civilized, and rich empire in the centre and east of Africa. This statement inflamed at once the spirit of discovery, and of religious zeal the two ruling principles of the age. The Portuguese monarchs, who took the lead in exploring the eastern world, immediately devised measures for acquiring a knowledge of so remarkable a region. The pas sage to India by the Cape had not yet been discovered: Abyssinia was therefore viewed as a tract through which the commerce of India might be conducted. Two envoys were therefore sent to explore it, one of whom perished, while the other arrived in 1490 at the imperial court, residing then at Shoa. The reports which he made respecting the country were favorble, and having prevailed on the empress-mother to send an Armenian as an

ambassador to Portugal, the Portuguese sent out several other embassies. Of these the most remarkable is that described by Alvarez, in 1520. He remained six years in the country, and traversed it from north to south. Paez, Almeyda, Lobo, and others, successively undertook journies into Abyssinia, and from the accounts of these and other missions, Tellez first, (1660,) and afterwards Ludolph, (1681,) principally compiled their histories. Public curiosity, however, with respect to Abyssinia, gradually subsided; till towards the close of the last century, (1790,) it was revived by the publication of Bruce's Travels. Many of the circumstances he relates are so very extraordinary as to give to his descriptions a good deal the appearance of romance. The authenticity of his works was in consequence very generally doubted; and it must be admitted that some of his statements have been shown to be unfounded, and that others are of very questionable authority. But the accuracy of the leading features of his works has been fully established by Mr. Salt, and other late travellers.

Our limits will not permit of our laying before the reader any sketch of the history of Abyssinia; and though we had abundant space, the subject is too uninteresting to attract attention. All that is known respecting the country may be found in the "Modern Universal History," (vol. xv., 8vo. edition.) The reader may also consult the Travels of Bruce, Salt, and Lord Valentia, Mr. Gobat's Journal, to which is prefixed Dr. Lee's History of the Abyssinian Church; and the Encyclopædias generally.

MOGHREB, OR NORTH-WESTERN AFRICA.

"ARDH EL MOGHREB" is the name given by the Arabs to the whole of Northern Africa west of Egypt. The name signifies "the west," and the people of those countries are called Moghrebins" or Westlanders. Moghreb is divided into four portions:-1. "Bilad-ul-Beraber," the country of the Berebers, or Barbary; 2. "Bilad-ul-Jerid," the country of dates; 3. "Es-Sahara," or the Desert; and 4. " Bilad-es-Soudan," Negroland or the country of the Blacks. Bilad-ul-Jerid is, properly speaking, only the southern portion of Barbary to the confines of the Desert-it has no definite limits, and is rather a common appellation than a proper name; we shall therefore consider the first and second of these Arabic divisions as one geographical region, under the European name of Barbary,-reserving a separate section for each of the other two.

THE STATES OF BARBARY.

BARBARY Comprehends the long narrow tract of country along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from Egypt to the Atlantic, being bordered on the north-west by that ocean, and south by the Sahara. It lies between 28 and 360 N. latitude, and 11° W. and 27° 12' E. longitude, extending in length 2,000 miles, and varying in breadth from 400 miles downwards, and contains about 700,000 square miles.

The general aspect of the country has been noted before. The western portion is composed of the Atlas Mountains and their interjacent valleys, VOL. II.

40

with an extensive flat country on both sides, which slopes to the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic on the one side and the Great Desert on the other. The want of wood in these regions seem to be a remarkable characteristic, but the capability of the soil is extraordinary. The middle region, nearly corresponding in extent with Algeria, is separated from Marocco by the extensive Desert of Argad. North of the Atlas range the soil is generally fertile, and the aspect pleasant; but to the south, little else is seen than naked rocks and plains scorched by the sun. In Tunis the cultivable plains are of considerable extent, and well watered valleys occur among the offshoots of the Atlas. The soil has been celebrated for centuries: it was once considered as the granary of the world, and the most valuable province of the Roman Empire. Speaking, generally, sea-salt or chloride of sodium is spread over the soil of Barbary in surprising abundance, and most of the springs are saline. In Tripoli the desert presses forward on the sea, leaving only a few fertile tracts among the hills and along the shore. The eastern portion of it skirts the greater Syrtis, the coast of which forms a wild and dreary region. It is not, however, entirely barren, for though it is parched up in summer, yet after the autumnal rains the ground is covered with a luxuriant vegetation. Barca is generally a sandy desert, but certain portions of it are very fertile, and only require the hand of industry to make them productive. The north-western tract was the Pentapolis of the ancients, and from the care bestowed upon it, arrived at a very high degree of cultivation. To the east, however, on the confines of Egypt, the country increases in sterility: the few patches of cultivation it contains are near the coast, or form oases in the midst of the Lybian desert, which constitutes the western border of the Region of the Nile.

The rivers and lakes of Barbary are neither numerous nor important. The Mejerdah is the only one navigable, and that after the rains. The other principal rivers are the Shelíf and the Mohalou. The latter is reckoned the largest river of Barbary, though in summer it is often dried up. The Atlantic Ocean receives the Aoulkos and the Seboo, the latter of which is navigable for boats to Fez. The Om-erbegh separates Fez from Marocco. The Tensift, called also Wady Mara-kash, passes a few miles north of Marocco, and enters the sea between Mogadore and Asafy. There are also several rivers in Bilad-ul-jerid, which flow into the desert, and are absorbed by the sand, or form marshes, where their waters are evaporated by the heat.

The Salt Lake of Marks, the Palís Tritonis of the ancients, is situated in the southern part of Tunis, and consists of a great extent of drift sand, in which tracks of caravans are marked out by the trunks of palm-trees fixed in the ground from which circumstance it has received its name. It is about eighty miles long by twenty broad. After the rains it forms a great salt lake; but in summer it is nearly dry, and covered with salt. It contains several islands of firm soil, which are covered with groves of palms. Two lakes named " Al Shot," or " Al Shat," the one 140 miles south-east, and the other 250 miles south-west of Algiers; Melgig, not far west of Sibkah, and the Lake Beni Gumi to the east of Tafilelt, are large receptacles for the rivers of Bilad-ul-jerid, and of much the same character with the lake of Marks. There are, indeed, several other lakes of this kind, all of which are called Sibkah (i e. salted earth.) The Lake of Bizerta is a large double lake in Tunis, near the sea, with which it is connected by a broad canal flowing through the town. The Lake of Fezarah, south of Bona, is about ten geographical miles in length, and six and a half in breadth, but very