exert a very absolute and dangerous power over | tribes and subdivisions called Goondees, which the people. This is strengthened by the occasional exercise of good offices, and by the influence of some rare examples of wisdom and virtue, evinced in repressing bloodshed and violence. But the blind regard of the Affghans for these holy impostors is chiefly attributable to their ignorance and superstition, which lead them almost to adore all dervishes and other ascetics, and to visit their tombs as those of canonised saints. were held more binding than ties of blood. From these Goondees, however, were excepted the Eussuffzehees, the most powerful and numerous, as well as most haughty, insolent, and turbulent tribe of the Berdooranees, who are said to number 700,000 souls. They now occupy Swaut, Bunere, Punjecora, &c., and are notorious for the anarchy which reigns among their oolooses. Though an agricultural people, they do not themselves labour; this is left to their fakirs, a species of villains or servants, consisting of strangers or individuals of conquered tribes of other nations, reduced to serve these invaders, and protected by them for their services. Their masters, or khawunds, can beat or kill them at pleasure, but are bound by custom to protect them; and provided they pay the customary tax, and do their work, they may engage otherwise in trade as they please, and are commonly treated mildly. The Khyberees, who possess the upper branches of the Rajgul or Speengur mountain, and derive their name from the formidable pass of Khyber, are the most rapacious and treacherous robbers of all Affghanistan: no previous agreement secures the traveller from their assaults; they watch the approach of the caravan, matchlock in hand, and choose their victims with certainty and security. They are a lean muscular race, capital marksmen, and carry swords and short spears in addition to their matchlock; they are altogether more uncouth than most of their countrymen. The Khuttuks, occupying the banks of the Indus, from the Caubul river to the Salt range, are a tall well-favoured people, as remarkable for honesty and orderly conduct as is their country for dreary and rugged barrenness. Personal Appearance, Amusements. - The men of Affghanistan are for the most part robust, generally lean, though bony and muscular. They have elevated noses, high cheek bones, and long faces; their hair is commonly black, sometimes brown, rarely red; they wear long thick beards, but shave the middle of the head: the western tribes are stouter than those to the east; the latter have darker complexions, and more strongly marked features: their demeanour is frank and open, equally free from stateliness and pue- The Toorkolanees, who are brave, active, inrility: they are very social, delighting in dinner-dustrious, and cheerful, are all subject to one parties, smoking after dinner, and sitting in powerful chief, who exercises over them a very a circle telling stories of kings, viziers, and powerful authority. genii, or singing songs, generally about love, to the sound of instruments like rude guitars, fiddles, and hautboys: they take much snuff, of a high-dried fine-powdered sort, like the Scotch: they are fond of the chase, driving the game into some valley, and killing great quantities; also of coursing hares, foxes, and deer with greyhounds; and they ride down partridges in the open ground, tiring them out till they can knock them down with sticks: they are also fond of horse-racing and fighting cocks, quails, rams, dogs, and even camels. The western Affghans have a dance, called the attum or ghoomboor, in which ten or twenty people move in strange attitudes, shouting and clapping hands in a circle, round a single person, who plays on an instrument in the centre. The national costume appears to consist of a loose pair of trousers of dark cotton stuff; a large shirt like a waggoner's frock, reaching a little below the knees; a low cap, the sides being of black silk or satin, and the top of some sort of brocade; half-boots, lacing up to the calf; and a cloak of soft grey felt, or of well-tanned sheepskin with the wool inside. The women wear a shirt like that of the men, but much longer and of finer materials, coloured or embroidered with silk; their trousers are tighter than those of the men; a small cap of brightcoloured silk, embroidered with gold thread, comes down to the forehead or the ears; and they throw over their head a large sheet of plain or printed cotton, with which they hide their face when a stranger approaches; they divide the hair on the brow, and plait it into two locks which fasten behind; they wear round their head strings of Venetian sequins, and chains of gold or silver, which are hooked up, and end in two large balls hanging down on either side: ear rings, finger rings, and nose pendants are worn. In towns the fashions more approach those of Persia, particularly to the westward. Of individual Tribes. What has been said applies to the nation in general; but almost every tribe has its peculiar characteristic, which can be but shortly touched upon. The Berdooranees, who occupy the north-eastern districts, are brave but quarrelsome, active, industrious; but selfish, bigoted, and remarkable for vice and debauchery. Their quarrelsome disposition is thought to have given origin to a sort of federative alliance, offensive and defensive, among The tribes of Damaun are said to be more simple and honest, less bigoted and litigious, less vicious and debauched, than the northern tribes. They are a more bony and fairer race than the Berdooranees, and universally wear long hair and beards. They owe the greater order which prevails in their oolooses to an establishment of magistrates, formed some fifty or sixty years ago, which has been eminently efficient. The Gundepoors are a particularly thievish and quarrelsome race, in spite of a commercial turn, which leads many of them to make annual trading journeys to India and Khorasan. The Baboors are a civilised tribe, much employed in merchandise. The Stooreanees were shepherds, till robbed of their pasture lands by the Caukers, when they betook themselves to agriculture. These agricultural tribe shave all fakîrs, or villains, like the Eussuffzehees. Of the central division, the Jaujees and Toorees, hereditary enemies, live in the glens and valleys of the Solymaun range. The country of the former is colder, wilder, and higher than that of the latter; the mountain sides are covered with pines. The Jaudraus, who dwell in a pleasant district westward of the rich plain of Bunnoo, are remarkable only for their disgusting vices. The Sheeranees, who inhabit the borders of the Tukhtu-e- Solymaun, a wild inaccessible country, are very poor and uncivilised, plunder every one, and are at war with all the world; yet they never break their word, and a single individual of their tribe suffices to secure the safety of a party: they are described as wild and savage in their ap pearance, as in their habits and mode of life. | people, ought to be mentioned the Tajuks.* The Zmurrees, neighbours of the last, resemble The word is used in opposition to that of Toork, them closely, but are less inveterately predatory. the peaceable to the warlike; and it was ap The Vizeerees, N. W. of the two last-mentioned plied to the subdued Persians by their Tartar tribes, live in little societies, among pine-covered masters. In Affghanistan they are supposed to mountains, and are equally uncivilised and ad- be descendants of Arabs displaced by their condicted to plunder; yet the smallest escort ensures querors, who now live scattered over the land safety, and the chiefs, powerful khans, are, it is which they might once have cultivated as their said, remarkable for their love of peace. The own. As tenants or servants, they are mild, Vizeerees are divided into a fixed and erratic sober, peaceable, and industrious, and live on population. The long valley of Zawura, which good terms with the Affghans, who, though they opens on the plain of Tull and Chooteeallee, isregard them as inferiors, do not treat them with inhabited by the white and black (speen and contempt. They are most numerous in and tor) Zereens, great carriers of merchandise between Upper Sinde and Candahar. The two most noble and important tribes, however, are the Dooranees and Ghiljees. Their territory consists chiefly of high bleak downs, interspersed with hills, in some parts desert, in others sparsely cultivated, in all open, bare, and fit chiefly for pasture. They are therefore chiefly a pastoral people, with patriarchal habits, and five for the most part in tents of black wool. These (kizhdees) are from 20 to 25 feet long by 10 or 12 broad, and 8 or 9 high, supported by a row of three poles, and closed all round with a curtain. In winter they are lined with felt, and are warm and comfortable. The country of the Dooranees is 400 miles long by 130 broad, extending from the Paropamesan mountains to the Khojeh Amrân range. They were formerly called Abdallees, till the late Ahmed Shah, their chief and sovereign, changed the name, in consequence of the dream of a famous saint, he taking that of Shah Dooree Doorân. They may amount to 800,000 souls; the Suddoozehee, from whence sprung the king, is a subdivision of the Populzehee. The king is their hereditary chief, and military commander of the whole: he claims a horseman's service for every plough of land; and the officers commanding them are the civil magistrates of their respective districts, besides being employed in offices of state at court, when there was a court. The internal government of the clans is better maintained than among other tribes, and the progress of improvement and civilisation among the agricultural Dooranees has been correspondingly great. They are generally handsome stout men, with good complexions and fine beards. They are brave and hospitable; and though not quite strangers to rapacity, still may be esteemed the worthiest of their race. The Ghiljees occupy the upper valley of the Turnuk, and great part of the Caubul valley, to the Berdooranee country; a tract which contains some of the principal cities, with some fine districts of land, but the climate of which is cold. The Ghiljees were formerly the leading tribe of Affghanistan. It was a branch of them that conquered Persia and broke down the power of the Seffavean kings; and they are still a high-minded, brave, and numerous people. around the great cities, and are all zealous soonnies. Mr. Elphinstone calculates the Taujuks as numbering 1,500,000 throughout the whole country. Invasion of Affgharistan by the English in 1839. - Affghanistan has been for a considerable time past split into three or more chiefships And an attempt unwarily made by us, in 1839, to dethrone Dost Mahomed Khan, the chief of Caubul, on account of treachery and bad faith, led to some of the severest reverses we have met with in the East. The Bolan Pass, a long and narrow defile, leading through the mountains on the S. frontier of Affghanistan, having been passed with difficulty, the British forces advanced to Candahar and Ghuznee. The latter was taken by storm on the 22d July, 1839. The army soon after entered Caubul; and the chief Shah Shoojah was established on the musnud, Dost Mahomed Khan having retreated with a few followers beyond the Oxus. A force of about 8,000 men, partly Europeans and partly Sepoys, exclusive of native troops, having been left in the country (mostly at Caubul) to support and consolidate the newly established order of things, the rest of the British army returned to India. But no sooner had they withdrawn than plots and conspiracies began to be formed against the English garrison. From some unexplained fatality, the latter did not become fully alive to their danger till the envoys, Sir Alexander Burnes and Sir William Macnaghten, had been assassinated, when it was too late to adopt the precautions necessary to ensure their safety. Being unable to maintain themselves in Caubul, the troops, amounting to about 5,000 men, exc. of an infinitely greater number of camp-followers, women, and children, commenced their retreat from it in January, 1842. The defiles through which they had to pass being of the most impracticable description, the cold extreme, and the attacks of the Affghans incessant, the retreat was most disastrous, and resulted in the all but total destruction of those engaged in it. The receipt of this melancholy intelligence produced a great sensation in India and England. Government immediately resolved to march a fresh army into Affghanistan to inflict a signal and well-merited punishment on its treacherous people and chiefs. This was effected in 1842. The Hotekee and Tokhee are the noblest of their Having entered Caubul the British troops declans, having produced — the first, kings; and the stroyed its fortifications; the prisoners and desecond, their viziers; and they are a hospitable tachments that were left in the country were reand good people, ranking deservedly as the lieved; and our ascendancy and the prestige that second of the Affghan tribes: they amount to had so long been attached to our arms were again about 100,000 families, and resemble much the triumphantly restored. But having wisely reDooranees in appearance, customs, manners, nounced all idea of maintaining a permanent and dress, though hating them, as their suc-footing in the country, we finally quitted it in cessful rivals, with an unquenchable hatred. December, 1842. The revolutions of which it They are perhaps the fairest and handsomest of all the Affghans. There is yet another class, which, though not strictly Affghan, still, as amalgamated with that *In Persia the inhabitants of great part of the northern provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea are Tajuks, or Tots. They are held to be the aboriginal people of the country, and speak a peculiar language, supposed a mixed dialect of ancient Persian." has since been the theatre are but little known; and are too unimportant to deserve being noticed in a work of this description. (Principally four.ded on a communication from J. B. Fraser, Esq.) AFIUM-KARA-HISSAR (or Black Castle of Opium), a city of Asiatic Turkey, in Anatolia, cap. Sanjiack, 188 m. E. Smyrna, lat. 38° 45′ N., long. 30° 56′ E. It is situated on the declivity of a mountain range, and is defended by a citadel, built on a high and almost inaccessible rock. Pop. estimated by Kinneir at 12,000 families, or from 50,000 to 60,000 individuals. It is pretty well built; but the streets are exceedingly narrow, and in many parts very steep. Some of them are washed by streams that descend from the adjacent mountains. It has numerous mosques, two Armenian chapels, six khans, and five public baths; an extensive manufactory of black felts, fire-arms, short sabres or yatagans, with stirrups, bridles, &c. But it is principally celebrated for the great quantity of opium grown in its vicinity; from which, indeed, it derives its modern name. It is said by L'Anville to be the Apamea of the Greeks and Romans; but the latter was situated a good deal further W. According to the Turkish annals, it was founded by Aladdin, one of the Seljuckian sultans. It was the patrimony of Othman, the founder of the Turkish empire, of which it has ever since formed a part.-(Kinneir's Journey, p. 229.; Olivier, vi. p. 400.) AFRAGOLA, a town of Naples, prov. Terra di Lavoro, 5 m. N. N. E. Naples, in a plain. Pop. 3,000. It has manufactures of straw hats; and a great annual fair, which commences on the second Sunday of May. AFRICA. A vast peninsula, one of the great divisions of the globe, situated to the S. of Europe, and to the W. and S. W. of Asia. It is separated from the former by the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar; the two continents approaching at the latter within about 10 m. of each other. It is separated from Asia by the Red Sea, at whose southern extremity, the strait of Bab-el-mandeb, the shores of the two continents are only 16 m. apart. But at the most northerly extremity of the Red Sea, Asia and Africa are united by the isthmus of Suez; the Mediterranean being there about 72 m. from the Red Sea. The most southerly point of Africa, Cape das Agulhas (Cape Needles), is in lat. 34° 52′ S.; and the most northerly, Cape Blanco, opposite Sicily, in lat. 37° 21' Ñ. Cape Gardafui, the most easterly point, is in long. 51° 30′ E., and lat. 11° 50 N.; and Cape Verde, the extreme western point, is in long. 17° 33′ W., and 14° 43′ N. lat. The distance between the most southerly and most northerly points is consequently about 5000 m., and between the extreme eastern and western points not much less. The area probably falls little short, if it do not exceed, 12,000,000 sq. m. 1. Africa is distinguished from the other continents by its coasts extending mostly in continuous, unbroken lines, having but few indentations of the sea, and no extensive peninsulas; so that it forms a more compact and undivided mass of land. The uniformity of its outline seems to be in accordance with the uniformity of its interior. The surface of the latter does not present that endless succession of changes which are met with in Europe and southern Asia, and which are found in both Americas, but on a greater scale and at greater distances. It resembles rather the northern parts of Asia, exhibiting elevated table-lands and low plains, both of immense extent and of remarkable uniformity. The whole of Africa south of the equator, and north of it up to 100 lat., seems to constitute an extensive table-land, fringed in most parts by a comparatively narrow stripe of low land along the sea. North of this table-land, between 100 and 300 N. lat., extends an immense but low plain, the greater part of which is occupied by the Great Desert, or Desert of Sahara. A comparatively narrow tract of mountainous country, including Atlas and its dependencies, separates the desert from the Mediterranean. On the E. the desert does not reach the Red Sea; being separated from it by the mountains of Abyssinia and the rocky countries extending from them northward along the Red Sea to the shores of the Mediterranean. 1. The elerated table-land in South Africa is less known than any other portion of the continent, the nature of its surface rendering it extremely difficult to penetrate | from the sea-coast into the interior. We are only well acquainted with the southern extremity, which forms Ocean a broad line of coast, running east and west nearly the Cape Colony. Here Africa presents to the Indian along the 34th parallel from 180 to 260 E. long., or from the Cape of Good Hope to Algoa Bay. Along this coast extends an undulating country, intersected with a few elevations deserving the name of hills. Its width varies between 10 and 50 miles. North of this the table-land rises in terraces. The first terrace, called the Long Kloof, is enclosed by the double ridge of the Zwarte Berge, or Black Mountains, of which the northern, or the Groote (Great) Zwarte Berge, rises to about 4,000 f. above the sea. North of this range is the second terrace, called the Great Karroo, which is about 100 miles across and 3,000 feet elevated above the sea. It is bounded on the N. by the Nieunveld Bergen, a chain of which some summits are considered to rise to 9,000 or 10,000 feet. On its northern side the table-land seems to have attained its mean elevation, which probably is not less than from 4,000 to 5,000 feet. At both the eastern and western extremities the two above-mentioned ranges run N. W. and N. E. parallel to the sea-shore, at a distance of from 30 to 200 miles; the intermediate space being likewise occupied by two or more terraces. The ranges along the W. shores do not extend farther than about 250 S. lat., where they terminate in isolated hills and with a high bank on the Gareep or Orange River. N. of this river the coast, when seen from the sea, presents only high sand-hills without any traces of water, and is, consequently, entirely destitute of vegetation. It extends as far as Cape Negro (18° S. lat.). The interior east of the western ranges and of this coast is an elevated sandy desert, with few wells and little rain. Only that portion lying S. of Gareep river has been visited, the remainder, and by far the greater portion, is less known than the Sahara itself. This desert country, which presents a level without hills or mountains, extends over half the breadth of the continent as far as 24° E. long. The eastern half of the table-land from the Cape Colony to 180 S. lat. offers a different aspect. A great number of mountain-ridges, of moderate elevation, traverse it in different directions; and at the foot of these ridges the country is well watered and fertile; though here, too, extensive sterile tracts occur, but they are not continuous. We are, however, only acquainted with the southern part, up to 260 S. lat. Farther north, about 200, a high mountain range is said to exist, called the Lupata Mountains, but this is doubtful. The descent from the table-land to the Indian Ocean is also formed by two or three terraces, the highest edge of it being about 90 or 100 miles distant from the shore. This edge, formed by a mountain ridge, prevents the rivers of the table-land run westward, and fall partly into the Gareep river, or from escaping to the Indian Ocean; so that they either are partly lost in the sands of the desert. North of the Zambese river (about 18° S. lat.), which appears to have the greatest part of its course on the tableA lake, called Moravi, is reported to extend over many land, the interior of its eastern parts is entirely unknown. degrees of lat., but its existence is doubtful. The eastern descent of the table-land resembles that farther south, the equator, or the mouth of the river Juba; for farther being formed by terraces. This, however, extends only to north, up to Cape Gardafui, the coast itself is formed by high rocks, rising to 400 feet and upward, and no mountain ranges are visible from the sea. A few rivers, apparently of considerable size, break through the rocks along the coast. It would seem that on the western side of the continent, between 18° and 40° S. lat., there is a considerable depression in the table-land. This country, which is known under the name of Lower Guinea, has low shores, behind which at a considerable distance the surface seems to rise, but not to a great height. Then follows an uneven plain, watered in its lower parts by numerous rivers, among which the Zaire or Congo and the Cuanza are the largest ; but towards the sources of these rivers the country is mountainous, and it is even reported that some of the mountains are always covered with snow. In the plain numerous lakes of considerable extent are met with. North of the river Zaire, at about 4° S. lat., the country again rises at no great distance from the sea to a great height. This high ground is called Serra Complide. Its W. declivity extends N. W., by degrees approaching nearer the Atlantic, till it reaches the innermost corner of the Bay of Biafra, where it comes close down to the sea, and forms for more than 30 miles the shore, rising, under the name of Cameroon Mountains, to 13,000 feet above the water. These great mountain masses seem to form the W. extremity of an extensive range, which at about 5 of N. lat. seems to traverse the whole continent, and of whose central parts we get some information from the Arabian geographers, by whom it is called Djebel-el-Kumrl, or the Moon Mountains. This range, which seems to constitute the higher edge of the table-land to the north, appears to stretch eastward towards the Strait of Bab-el-mandeb, until it unites to the mountain system of the Abyssinian Alps. North of this range, as far as about 100 N. lat., a mountainous country extends between 10 and 250 E. long., which may be considered as the terraces by which the table-land descends gradually to the low plain, which extends farther north. The extensive mountain region which has obtained among us the name of Kong may be considered as a continuation of the high table-land of southern Africa, being separated from its northern terraces only by the narrow valley of the Quorra, between 70 and 80 N. lat., and farther south from the Cameroon Mountains by the extensive delta of that river. East of the meridian of Greenwich it approaches by degrees nearer the sea, whilst its northern edge draws off in a N. W. direction, until between 40 and 50 W. long, it approaches 15° N. lat., so that between 50 and 12° W. long. it extends over ten degrees of lat. It terminates rather abruptly near 120 W. long., but its rocky masses come down close to the shore between Cape Palmas and Cape Sierra Leone. This mountain region, in which a great number of fertile valleys and plains are embosomed, is of very moderate height in its eastern and more narrow portion, rising hardly to more than 3000 feet; but farther west it is higher, and between 50 and 80 W. long. it is reported to be crowned by several peaks which pass the snow line. But only a very small portion of it has been visited by Europeans. In its western districts are the sources of the Quorra. 2. The Great Plain, which, on the south, is bounded by the high table-land of southern Africa and the Kong Mountains, and hence stretches northward to Mount Atlas and the ridges depending on it, contains two different countries a fertile and a sterile. The former called Soodan, and the latter Sahara. Soodan, under which name the lower terraces of the table-land seem also to be comprised, extends from the E. descent of the Kong Mountains to the banks of the Bahr-el-Abiad (the W. branch of the Nile), occupying, inclusive of the lower terraces of the high table-land, the country lying between 50 and 150 N. lat. Its lower districts, which lie contiguous to the Sahara, are, according to a vague estimation, from 1000 to 1200 feet above the sea, but the terraces of the table-land rise to 3000 feet and upward. In many parts it is well watered by rivers, which descend from the table-land or originate in the low ridges by which the country is intersected; such districts are covered with immense forests, and are very fertile where cultivated. In other parts water is rather scarce, and some of them partake largely of the nature of the Sahara. Its climate is extremely hot, nevertheless it sometimes happens that during night the thermometer descends to the freezing point. The Sahara, or sea of sand, covers perhaps nine tenths of the whole plain. For on the west of the meridian of Greenwich, it extends from the foot of the Kong Mountains (15° N. lat.) to that of Mount Atlas (about 30°), occupying the whole width of the plain, which is here 1000 miles across. Farther east, where it is bounded on the south by Soodan, it is some what less wide, which is produced by some mountain ranges connected with the Atlas, extending in an E. S. E. direction. But its breadth is nowhere less than 750 m. It is divided into two parts by a tract of stony country, by which it is traversed from N. to S., between 13 and 15 E. long., and which in parts offers some cultivable land, while in others the stony surface is covered with sand. By following this stony tract Messrs. Denham and Clapperton, who set out from Tripoli, succeeded in reaching Soodan. That portion of the desert which extends between this tract and the Atlantic Ocean is called Sahal, and is almost entirely covered with a fine sand, which being agitated by strong easterly winds, appears like the surface of the sea, and often rises in the air in the form of sands pouts. Low hills and wells occur in a few places; and water, in many parts, is only found at a depth of more than 100 feet. In that division of the desert which extends between the above-mentioned stony tract on the one side and Egypt and Nubia on the other, the surface is covered rather with gravel than with sand, and in many places with a hard clay; elevations, and even ridges of low hills are bere much more frequent, and consequently also wells. All the western part of the Sahara would, owing to its burning heat and the want of water, be totally impassable, were it not that it is here and there interspersed with verdant well-watered spots or oases, which appear like islands of the blest in the midst of desolation. The ancients compared them to the spots on a leopard's skin. (Strabo, p. 130.) These oases are mostly of very limited dimensions; but some of them, particularly those on the east side of the great desert, are very extensive: the country of Fezzan, for example, is in fact an oasis. They are usually surrounded by higher land, which serves to account for the springs, and consequently the verdure, for which they are so celebrated. But there seems to be much probability in the shrewd conjecture of Major Rennell, that the oases are indebted for no inconsiderable portion of their reputed beauty and delicious freshness to the striking contrast between them and the parched desert by which they are surrounded. -(Geography of Herodotus, 8vo. ed. ii. p. 185.) Those only who have toiled for days amid a pathless burning sand, can form a proper idea of the delight experienced in falling in with one of - the tufted isles, That verdant rise amid the Libyan wild. In England or France they might be thought nothing of; but in the Sahara they seem more than a paradise. The famous temple of Jupiter Ammon was erected in the oasis of Siwah, in the N. E. angle of the great desert, in lat. 21° 12′ N., long. 26° 19 E. 3. The Abyssinian Mountains, which are little known to us, except in their north-eastern and northern declivities, where they approach the strait of Bab-el-mandeb and the shores of the Red Sea, and terminate at about 120 N. lat., seem to constitute an extensive mountain system, whose centre is placed between 80 and 9 N. lat. in the countries called Narea and Effat. In this part it seems to approach the snow-line, but not to rise above it. It is less elevated at the source of the Barhel-Azrek or Blue River, one of the upper branches of the Nile, where it rises, according to Bruce, at from 9,000 to 10,000 feet above the sea. We do not know whether or in what manner the Abyssinian Mountains are connected with the Gebel-el-Komri, or whether they are separated from the high table-land, or constitute its N. E. boundary, which seems to be the more probable hypothesis. The valleys of this mountain system are fertile and well peopled. From the northern declivity of the Abyssinian Mountains extends along the shores of the Red Sea as far as the isthmus of Suez a rocky country, which, between 120 and 20° N. lat., occupies in width an extent of between 300 and 400 m., but farther north by degrees grows narrower. Between 230 and 300 N. lat. it is only from 150 to 200 miles across. Near its western border it has a deep, but comparatively narrow depression, in which the river Nile flows N. from the Abyssinian Mountains to the Mediterranean. This long valley is mostly very fertile. The small portion of the rocky country which lies to the west of this valley, and which forms the eastern boundary of the Sahara, does not rise to a great height, rarely to more than about 1000 f. above the valley. But the countries east of the valley of the Nile and between it and the Red Sea are more elevated. They form a table-land, mostly of an uneven surface, which however in many places exhibits extensive plains, whilst in others it rises into ranges of high hills. Many of the plains are covered with sand, and resemble the eastern portion of the Sahara; other districts afford pasture ground, but very few places are fit for agriculture and cultivated. This rocky country terminates on the banks of the Nile in the parallel of Kahira (Cairo), from the neighbourhood of which its northern boundary runs off in an E. N. E. and W. N. W. direction. The former con. stitutes the isthmus of Suez, and reaches to the Mediterrancan between the Lake of Menzaleh and Ras Kazaroon in Syria; farther east it joins the mountains of Arabia Petræa. This rocky country lies to the E. of the delta of the Nile. On the W. of the delta the rocks run from Kahira W. N. W. to the Arabs' Gulph, where they approach the Mediterranean near the Arabs' Tower (31° N. lat. and 29° 30′ E. long.). From this line the rocky country extends westward with a width of about 70 m. at the outset, which, however, increases as it advances farther W., so as to occupy between 200 and 300 miles at 200 E. long., where it suddenly terminates. In the neighbourhood of the Egyptian delta, the rocks are hardly a hundred feet above the plain, but farther W. they rise into high hills and mountain-ridges (Gerdobah Mountains), and terminate with the high table-land of Barca, whose mean elevation above the sea is estimated to be about 1500 feet. Where the table-land of the Barca terminates with a rather abrupt descent (near 20°), a narrow strip of the Sahara comes up to the very shores of the Mediterranean, at the most southerly corner of the Gulf of Sydra or Kibbir (the Great Syrtis,) where it terminates on the beach with sand-hills. This strip of the Sahara separates the rocky region of the Nile from the mountain system of the Atlas." 4. Mount Atlas and its dependencies, by far the most celebrated of the African chains, occupy that portion of the continent most to the north and nearest to Western Europe. It seems to begin on the E. near the eastern boundary of the country of Fezzan, whence two ridges of moderate elevation run W.N. W., and in the beginning are called Karush. Farther E., however, they receive The largest river is the Nile, which probably has a course of not less than 2500 m.; but as the source of its remotest branch, the Bahr-el-Abiad (the White River), is still unknown, its length cannot be determined with any degree of precision. It is equally impossible to determine the length of the Quorra or Joliba, the Niger of the ancients. For though its middle portion was ascertained by Mungo Park, and its lower by Clapperton and the Landers, its upper portion, which seems to traverse the high table-land enclosed by the Kong Mountains, has no been visited. Its whole length does not probably exceed 2000 m. The course both of the Senegal and Gambia are known; the former running about 1000 and the latter 700 m. The rivers traversing the high table-land of Southern Africa are only known at their mouths and a short distance inwards. These are the Congo or Zaire, and the Coanza, which fall into the Atlantic Ocean; and the Zambese, which falls into the channel of Mozambique. The river Gareep or Orange, which flows a short distance to the N. of the Cape Colony, is pretty well known in its whole course, and may run about 900 miles. other names. This mountainous country, which traverses | tor; to which are to be added the deltas of the Nile and the N. of Fezzan and the S. of Tripoli, is nowhere pro- the Quorra. bably more than 120 miles in width; but the ridges of low hills which issue from it advance to the very shores of the Mediterranean, between Cape Mesurata and the Gulf of Cabes (the Lesser Syrtis), so that the whole region may be from 180 to 200 m. across. At the Gulf of Cabes, however, the region of Mount Atlas enlarges considerably towards the N., and thence to its western extremity on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean its mean breadth exceeds 350 miles. The highest ridge seems to traverse the region in an oblique line, beginning on the east opposite Sicily, at Capes Bon and Blanco, and torminating on the shores of the Atlantic at Capes Geer and Non. The mountains which occur in that line do not appear to rise above the line of congelation, or at least only in a few insulated points. The country which extends N. of it to the shores of the Mediterranean is mountainous, and contains a number of fertile longitudinal valleys. Farther W. (about 5o W. long. ), how ever, where its northern slope is diverted W. to the At lantic Ocean, it extends in large plains, which follow each other in the form of terraces. The tracts of country which lie to the S. of the highest ground cannot be called mountainous, their surface being formed by wide, broad-backed ridges, of very moderate elevation, and by slight depressions between them in the form of shallow valleys. These latter tracts partake of the hot and dry character which distinguishes everywhere the African continent; whilst the district situated towards the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean resembles more the countries of southern Europe. (See ATLAS.) 5. Climate. By far the greater part of Africa lies within the torrid zone, those countries only which are situated towards its southern and northern extremities being beyond the tropics, or within the temperate zones. Owing to the vast extent of its arid plains, and the general want, in so far as we are able to discover, of the tempering influence of extensive inland lakes or seas, the temperature of Africa is decidedly higher than that of any other of the great divisions of the globe. The parts without the tropics are destitute of that regular succession of four seasons which is considered as a characteristic feature of the temperate zone. Here, as between the tropics, the year is divided into the dry and rainy seasons; but with this difference, that between the tropics the rainy season sets in when the sun approaches the zenith, whereas it occurs in the countries beyond the tropics when the sun approaches the opposite tropic, and consequently is at the greatest distance from their zenith. The rainless zone, or the space intervening between the countries which have the rainy season in summer and those which have it in winter, occupies in Africa a much wider extent of surface than in the other divisions of the globe. In the northern hemisphere, the tropical rains cease on the southern borders of the Sahara at about 169 N. lat., and the winter rains begin at its northern border about 280; so that the rainless region here occupies twelve degrees of lat. In the stony country E. of the Sahara, the tropical rains cease between 180 and 190 N. lat, and the winter rains between 27° and 380; here therefore the rainless season occupies nine degrees of lat. We are less acquainted with the climate of the countries lying contiguous to the southern tropic; but it is certain that on the western side of Africa, between 280 and 20° S. lat., a great sandy desert extends over the greatest portion of the table-land, in which there falls very little if any rain. The eastern declivity of the table-land, which is exposed to the immediate influence of the north-east monsoon, has a regular succession of dry and rainy seasons. The great extent of the rainless regions seems to be one of the principal causes of the high temperature of this continent. Nearly all the countries of Africa are hotter than those of Asia and America situated under the same parallels. The highest degree of heat is experienced in the Sahara and the countries bordering the great desert. It is, however, worthy of remark that in Soodan, in about 100 N. lat., and at no great distance from the Sahara, the temperature sometimes descends at night to the freezing point. 7 Lakes. These are neither numerous, nor generally of great extent. In the older maps a large lake is laid down to the W. N. W. of Mozambique, called Moravi or Zambre; but its existence is problematical. The largest lake by far of which we have any certain account is that of Tchad, made known and partly explored by Messrs. Denham and Clapperton. It is situated almost in the centre of the continent, in Soodan, to the S. of the great desert, near the 15th degree of N. lat., and under the 15th degree of E. long. The lake Debo, or Dibbie, in the same lat., and under the 5th degree of W. long., traversed by the Niger or Joliba, though considerable, is of very inferior dimensions. Some lakes are met with in the ranges of Mount Atlas, especially towards the Gulf of Cabes, among which that of Lowdejah is the most extensive. The greater number of lakes seem to occur within the depression of the table-land of southern Africa, between 40 and 18° S. lat.; but our information on this as on most other points connected with the geography of Africa is in the last degree vague and unsatisfactory. The lake of Dembea, in Abyssinia, traversed by the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Eastern Nile, is also of very considerable magnitude. 8. Minerals. The mineral riches of Africa are very imperfectly known; but the probability seems to be that in this respect it is but little if at all inferior to any of the other great divisions of the globe. Gold dust, principally obtained from the sands in the upper parts of the rivers, forms a principal article of import from Africa; and iron, the most useful of all the metals, is known to be very generally diffused. Salt is wanting in Soodan and some other very extensive districts; but on the other hand it is found in immense quantities both to the S. and N. of this central district. II. Races of People. Although we are accustomed to consider the inhabitants of Africa as being generally of the Negro race, the actual number of varieties of the human family occupying this portion of the globe is not only much greater than those found in Europe, but the differences in colour, form, and stature are much wider. There are about seven ascertainable varieties, which may be enumerated as follows, beginning with the southern extremity of the continent; viz., the Hottentot, Kaffer, Abyssinian, Egyptian, Numidian, Nubian, and Negro. We shall give a brief description of each race in this order. In the Hottentot the colour of the skin is a yellowish brown, and has been compared to that of a "faded leaf." The cheek bones are high, and much spread out in the lateral direction; and from these the face is suddenly con 6. Rivers. Though Africa, being mostly situated be-tracted below to a very narrow and pointed chin. tween the tropics, has the full advantage of the abundant tropical rains, it is less favoured with running waters than the other divisions of the globe. This is partly ascribable to the great extent of the rainless regions, and partly to the elevation of the table-land occupying the southern half of the continent. The countries which are well watered are not numerous, and occupy but a small portion of the whole surface. Such are the northern declivity of Mount Atlas, the countries embosomed within and lying contiguous to the Kong Mountains, Soodan, the valleys of the Abyssinian Mountains, the western coast between 40 and 180 S. lat.. and the comparatively narrow strip of country lying along the east coast from the Cape of Good Hope to the equa Nose remarkably flat and broad towards end. Colour of the eyes a deep chesnut; they are long, narrow, and removed to a great distance from each other. The hair of the head is of a singular nature; it does not cover the whole scalp, but grows in small tufts at certain distances from each other. When kept short, it has the appearance and feel of a hard shoe-brush; with this difference, that it is curled, and twisted into small round lumps about the size of a marrowfat pea. When suffered to grow, it hangs on |