4. ABYSSINIA.-The former kingdom of Abyssinia has been broken up into several distinct states, the principal of which are the kingdoms of Shoa, Amhara, and Tigré. Ankobar, in Shoa, is the most important town in Abyssinia. Gondar, in Amhara, near Lake Dembea, was formerly the capital of the whole country. Antalo is the capital of Tigré, but Adowa is a larger and more important town. Axum, the ancient capital of Abyssinia, contains several records of the early Christianity of the country. It is now almost in ruins. Masuah or Mossowah, on the Red Sea, the principal, and almost the only port in Abyssinia, belongs at present to Egypt.

Christianity was introduced into Abyssinia so early as the year 333; and it still exists in many parts of it, but in corrupted forms.

The Gallas, a barbarous and warlike race of people, frequently overrun the southern parts of Abyssinia, and are now in possession of large portions of it. The Abyssinians themselves are in many respects semibarbarous. See page 89.

WESTERN AFRICA.

1. SENEGAMBIA.-Senegambia strictly means the region between the rivers Senegal and Gambia, but it extends southward to the confines of Upper Guinea. Bathurst, on the island of St. Mary, at the mouth of the Gambia, is the capital of the British portion of Senegambia. Bissao is a Portuguese settlement in it; and for the French settlements, see page 283. The chief native tribes are the Jaloofs or Yalofs, the Foulahs, and the Mandingoes.

2. UPPER GUINEA, which comprises the following:

Benin,

Cape Coast Castle, Elmina.

Abomey.

Benin, Waree, Badagery, Lagos, Bonny,
Eboe.

Sierra Leone was established in 1787 by some English philanthropists, as a home for negroes who had been emancipated, or who had been recaptured from slave vessels. It has been a British colony for some time; and the climate is so fatal to Europeans, that it is called the White Man's Grave."

Liberia was established in 1821 by the United States for the same purpose as Sierra Leone. The form of government is republican.

3. LOWER GUINEA, which comprises-1. Biafra. 2. Loango. 3. Congo. 4. Angola. 5. Benguela. Towns.-2. Loango. 3. St. Salvador. 4. St. Paul de Loanda. 5. Benguela.

a The terms Grain Coast, Ivory Coast, and Slave Coast, which were applied by the old navigators to portions of the coast of Guinea, have now no geographical signification. The Grain Coast did not mean cereal produce, but grains, as of pepper, &c.

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

This section of the African continent comprises the following countries:

1. British Colonies. 2. Orange River Free State. 3. Transvaal. 4. Kaffraria. 5. Zululand.

The British Colonies are-Cape Colony, including British Kaffraria, Basutoland, Griqualand, East and West, &c. Its AREA is 240,000 square miles, and its POPULATION 1,250,000. The capital, Cape Town, has a POPULATION of 25,000, and the other principal towns in the colony are Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, George Town, Constantia, and King William's Town. Griqualand West is the name of a district annexed in 1871. It was previously part of the Orange River Free State. It is separated from Cape Colony by the Orange river. Its AREA is about 17,800 square miles, and its POPULATION 25,000. Natal extends along the east coast, from the River Umtamfume to the River Tugela. It is divided from Cape Colony by Kaffraria. Its AREA is 18,750 square miles, and its POPULATION 400,000. Pietermaritzburg and D'Urban are its chief towns.

The Orange River Free State is an independent Dutch republic, north-east of Cape Colony. The AREA is about 44,000 square miles, and the POPULATION 245,000. Bloemfontein is the capital.

The Transvaal is a Dutch republic, under the suzerainty of Great Britain. Valuable deposits of gold have been found on the Limpopo river, to the north of this state. The area is 114,000 square miles. Praetoria is the capital. Kaffraria or Transkei and Zululand are maritime districts. The former lies between Cape Colony and Natal, and the latter north of Natal. They are inhabited by native Kaffir tribes, subject to British rule. The land of the Hottentot tribes, the most degraded of which are the Boshmans or Bosjemans, lies to the north of Cape Colony.

EASTERN AFRICA.

COUNTRIES.-1. Sofala. 2. Mozambique. 3. Zanguebar. 4. Somauli. TOWNS.-1. Sena, Sofala. 2. Mozambique, Quillimane. 3. Quiloa, Zanzibar, Mombaz. 4. Zeyla, Berbera.

Of Eastern Africa very little is known. It consists of the countries along the coast from Delagoa Bay to the Straits of Bibelmandeb. The Somauli tribes inhabit the coast from the Gulf of Aden to the equator. The Imaum of Muscat claimed the sovereignty of tnat portion of it which lies between the equator and Cape Delgado, but it now belongs to the Sultan of Zanzibar, and the rest belongs to Portugal. Sena, on the Zambezi, is the capital of the Portuguese possessions. Sofala, south of the Zambezi, is supposed to be the Ophir of the Scriptures.

CENTRAL AFRICA, OR NIGRITIA.

COUNTRIES.-1. Ludamar. 2. Bambarra. 3. Timbuctoo. 4. Houssa. 5. Borgoo. 6. Yarribi. 7. Nyffé. 8. Yaoori. 9. Bornou. 10. Mandara. 11. Begharmi. 12. Darsaley. 13. Darfur.

TOWNS.-1. Benowm. 2. Sego. 3. Timbuctoo. 4. Saccatoo, Kano. 5. Kiama, Boussa. 6. Abbeokouti. 7. Rabba. 8. Yaoori. 9. Kouka, Angornou. 10. Mora. 11. Mesna. 12. Warra. 13. Cobbé.

Of these countries very little is known. Bornou, south-west of Lake Tchad, is the most powerful of them. Its population is supposed to amount to 5 millions. At Kouka, its capital, Denham and Clapperton saw several thousand cavalry wearing coats of mail, or iron chain armour. The kingdoms or countries next in importance are Bambarra and Timbuctoo, west of the Upper Niger; Borgoo and Yarribi, west of the Lower Niger; Houssa and Yaoori, on the east of the Lower Niger, Houssa is the chief seat of the warlike Fellatahs.a

AMERICA.

AMERICA, or the New World, was discovered in the year 1492 by Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa. It is distinguished from all the other great divisions of the globe by the size and grandeur of its mountains, lakes, and rivers.

America is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the south by the Antarctic Ocean; on the east by the Atlantic; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It is divided by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea into two vast peninsulas-one of which is called North, and the other South America. North and South America are united by the Isthmus of Darien or Panama, which in one part is only twenty-eight miles across. The length of the whole continent from north to south is 10,500 miles.b The breadth of North America, where broadest, is about 3,500 miles; and of South America about 3,200 miles.

The AREA of America, including the islands, is about 15,500,000 square miles, and the POPULATION 95,000,000.

GENERAL DIVISIONS OF NORTH AMERICA.

The northern part of North America, from the great lakes to the Arctic Ocean, is called British America, except a portion of the northwestern extremity (Alaska), which belongs to the United States.

The middle regions, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, belong to the United States.

The southern parts, and the Isthmus, comprise Mexico, Belize, and the Republican States of Central America.

THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS.

The AREA of the British possessions in North America is estimated at 3,470,000 square miles; and the POPULATION (in 1881) at about 4,325,000.

a The Fellatahs or Foulahs are a mixed race-partly of Negre. and partly of Moorish or Numidian descent.

b From about the 72nd degree of north (Cape Murchison), to about the 56th degree of south latitude (Cape Froward).

DOMINION OF CANADA

AND BRITISH NORTH AMERICA.

The constitution and government of some of the British American possessions have undergone various modifications since 1791. The most recent change was that effected by Royal proclamation of the 22nd May, 1867, which ordained that, on and after the 1st of July, 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, should form and be one dominion, under the name of Canada. Crown selected the city of Ottawa as the capital and seat of legislature of the Dominion of Canada and Confederate States of British North America. Since then the other colonies, with the exception

of the Island of Newfoundland, have joined the Confederation.

Nova Scotia and Cape Breton,
New Brunswick,

Manitoba and Kewatin,.

British Columbia, with

couver's Island,

Prince Edward Island,

Chief Towns.

The

OTTAWA, Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, London.

Montreal, Quebec, Three Rivers.

Halifax, Windsor, Yarmouth, Sydney.
Frederickton, St. John, St. Andrew's.
Winnipeg.

Victoria, New Westminster, Lytton.
Charlotte Town.

Newfoundland is now the only colony of British North America not included in the Dominion of Canada. Its capital is St. John's. Labrador, between the Atlantic and Hudson Bay, is under the Government of Newfoundland. Its chief towns are Nain and Hebron.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.-Ottawa (27,000), the capital of the Dominion, is situated on the river Ottawa, a tributary of the St. Lawrence. Magnetic iron ore is found in the neighbourhood. Toronto (86,000), west of Lake Ontario, is the seat of government for the province of Ontario. It exports large quantities of wheat to Britain. Kingston, at the north-east extremity of Lake Ontario, is a naval arsenal. Hamilton (36,000), beautifully situated on the western extremity of Lake Ontario, is rapidly increasing in importance as a manufacturing and commercial city. Quebec (62,000) on the St. Lawrence, was founded by the French and ceded to Great Britain in 1763. It is strongly fortified. Many of the inhabitants are of French extraction. Six miles from Quebec are the celebrated Falls of Montmorency, 250 feet high. Montreal (140,000), on an island in the St. Lawrence, below its confluence with the Ottawa, is the largest city in Canada. There is a tubular bridge here, over the St Lawrence, nearly two miles long. St. John (26,000), the most important town in New Brunswick, has an excellent harbour which is open throughout the year. It exports large quantities of dried fish, timber, and furs. Halifax (36,000), the capital of Nova Scotia, is a wood-built city with an excellent harbour. It is the principal naval station in British America. It is only 1,800 miles from the west coast of Ireland.

THE UNITED STATES.

The United States extend from the British possessions on the north, to the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean on the east, to the Pacific Ocean on the west. They originally consisted of 13 States, but now they amount to 38 States and 10 Territories, and the District of Columbia. The AREA of the United States, including Alaska, is estimated at 3,600,000; and the POPULATION in 1880 was upwards of 50 millions.

NEW ENGLAND, OR NORTHERN STATES.

The* denotes that this was one of the original 13 Sta tes.