by the Grand Seignor. In 1798, however, when the French invaded Egypt, the strength of the Mamelukes was broken by successive defeats, and considerable bodies of Turks having marched into the kingdom, the pacha conceived a plan for their destruction; and having invited their chiefs to a feast, treacherously massacred the greater part of them. Those who escaped fled at first to Upper Egypt and afterwards to Nubia, where they are now established, and still cherish the hope of regaining their ancient power, though the vigor of the pacha's government seems to preclude any immediate prospect of it.

Government.] The government is despotic as in all the countries subject to Turkey. The present pacha, whose allegiance to the Grand Seignor is merely nominal, is represented as a man of very superior talents, and ambitious of improving the situation of his subjects and extending the trade of Egypt. He guarantees the security of person and property to all foreign merchants who establish themselves in the cities or traverse his dominions; and furnishes guards for the protection of merchandize ascending or descending the Nile.

Religion and Language.] The Arabs and Turks are Mahometans. The Copts profess Christianity and were formerly united with the Greek church. Their patriarch resides at Alexandria, and claims the supremacy, not only over the churches of Egypt, but over those of Abyssinia. The Arabic language is generally spoken. The Coptic language is that of the ancient Egyptians with a mixture of Greek and Arabic. A version of the Scriptures and some religious works are written in it; but it is no longer spoken.

Commerce.] No country in the world is so well situated for commerce as Egypt, lying as it does between three continents, and bordering on seas which connect it immediately with all the most populous countries on the globe. For more than 2,000 years the commerce of Europe with India passed through Egypt, and the present pacha is desirous of restoring it to its old channe!. He insures goods for a small premium from the Red sea to the Mediterranean, and a number of vessels now annually arrive at Suez, laden with the products of China, Hindoostan and the Asiatic islands. This country is also the centre of an extensive commerce carried on by caravans with the interior of Africa, with Syria and Arabia. Through it pass the numerous pilgrims who come from all the Mahometan states of Africa to pay their devotions at the shrine of Mecca; and who defray the expenses of their journey by the trade which they carry on. The trade with Turkey is carried on principally from Damietta, and that withs the other European states from Alexandria.

BARBARY STATES.

Situation.] The Barbary states occupy that long, narrow country, lying along the Mediterranean sea on the north, and the Sahara or Great Desert on the south, and extending from Egypt on the east to the Atlantic on the west.

Divisions.] The Barbary states are five in number, viz 1. Barca. 2. Tripoli. 3. Tunis. 4. Algiers. 5. Morocco.

Face of the Country.] The most prominent natural feature of this region is the great mountain chain of Atlas which runs completely through it from west to east. The tract between this chain and the sea is from 50 to 200 miles wide, and is mostly level, well watered and fertile. The country between the mountains and the desert, particularly the part south of AIgiers and Tunis, is dry and sandy, but produces dates in such abundance that it is called Biledulgerid or the country of dates. There is no large river in Barbary, but the soil is well watered by innumerable small streams, which rise in the mountains and after a short course discharge themselves into the sea. The country south of the mountains is also watered by some considerable streams which flow southward and are lost in the sands of the desert.

Climate.] The climate is temperate and pleasant. The winter is characterised by heavy showers, but from April to October rain seldom falls. The plague occasionally visits this country, and is awfully destructive in its ravages. The leprosy is also very common. There are no volcanoes; but various circumstances indicate the action of subterraneous heat, particularly the springs and rivulets, many of which serve the purpose of warm baths. Earthquakes are common, but they are never very violent.

Productions.] The vegetable productions do not differ materially from those of the south of Europe. Fruits are abundant and of excellent quality; the principal grains are wheat and barley. The mountains yield silver, copper, iron, lead and antimony. But the most abundant mineral is salt, which exists in immense quantities. All the lakes are nearly as salt as the sea; salt springs are more numerous than fresh; and in the territory of Tunis there is no water fit for drinking except what falls in the form of rain. Hence the immense labor bestowed in supplying the cities with water by aqueducts, conducted often over a vast extent of country.

Animals.] The mountains and desert tracts of Barbary nourish multitudes of the fiercer tribes of animals. The lion appears nowhere armed with greater strength and ferocity; and his attacks are frequent and formidable. Serpents of an enormous size are also common. The buska is a black, venomous serpent, 7 or 8 feet long, which coils itself up and darts to a very great distance; the wound inflicted is small, but in a few minutes after the bite, the sufferer turns black and expires. The borders of the Sahara

produce also the boa constrictor, the most enormous of the serpent species, and at the sight of which, according to ancient report, whole armies have fled. It is often 80 feet long, and as thick as a man's body, but is not venomous. It has immense strength, however, and moves with such swiftness that it is impossible to escape from it. It will twist itself round an ox or a tiger, and after crushing their bones to a jelly, will swallow them whole, and then lie supinely on the ground, for two or three days, unable to move. In this torpid state it may be killed or taken alive without danger. Scorpions are a constant source of annoyance in this country, and in summer frequently enter the houses and even the beds, but, in general, their bite is not mortal.

The locust is a plague of a very destructive nature. It is bred in the desert tracts, whence, at periods which cannot be foreseen, its swarms pour down in vast bodies upon the fertile regions. They move in a close and regular mass which bids defiance to all attempts to arrest or retard their progress. Every green substance is soon entirely consumed, and tracts covered with all the bloom of vegetation are at once converted into a desert.

Inhabitants.] The inhabitants may be divided into 4 classes : 1. The Moors, who are the ruling people, and constitute the mass of the population in all the cities. The term, Moor, is very vaguely applied, but is generally understood to mean that portion of the Mahometan conquerors of northern Africa, who have adopted a settled mode of life. 2. The Jews, who are the principal merchants, and are continually insulted, and most cruelly oppressed by the Moors. 3. The Arabs, who wander with their flocks and herds in the interior districts, on the borders of the great desert. They are governed by their own chiefs or sheichs, and merely owe tribute and military service to the sovereign in whose territory they are situated; and whenever the government is weak or disputed, the sheichs refuse to submit to it. 4. The Brebers, who are descendants of the ancient natives, and inhabit the mountainous regions. They live in fixed villages and cultivate the ground, but like the Arabs are governed by their own chiefs, and pay very little respect to the regular government. All these classes, except the Jews, are Mahometans.

Piracy.] The Moors are pirates, and formerly committed great depredations on the commerce of Christian nations in the Mediterranean. They carried on the business systematically, and their prisoners were condemned to the most galling slavery. Within a few years, however, the spirited exertions of the Americans and the English have given them a check, and it may be hoped, put a final period to their depredations.

1. BARCA.

Barca lies along the coast of the Mediterranean between Egypt and Tripoli, and extends so far into the interior as to include the small states of Siwah and Augila. It is a sandy desert,

except a few oases or fertile spots inhabited by wandering Arabs, the whole number of whom is estimated at 300,000. They are divided into four or five tribes, under their own chiefs, who are in a great measure independent, but acknowledge a species of subjection to the bashaw of Tripoli. Derne, the chief town, lying on the coast in lon. 22° 10' E. was taken by the American general Eaton in 1805.

2. TRIPOLI.

Situation and Extent.] Tripoli extends on the coast of the Mediterranean from the gulf of Syrtis or Sidra to the gulf of Cabes. It is bounded on the N. by the Mediterranean; E. by Barca; S. by the Sahara; and W. by Tunis. Including Barca, the area is estimated at 210.000 square miles.

Government.] The government is despotic, and the sovereign is calle pacha or bashaw. The country was formerly dependent on Trkey, and the pachas were appointed every three years by the Grand Seignor, but a revolution took place about a century ago, which ended in establishing the ancestors of the present monarch upon the throne, and the office is now considered hereditary in his family. All his sons take the title of bey.

Population, Army, &c.] The population is estimated by Ali Bey at 2,000,000. The only troops maintained in time of peace are the body guard of the pacha, consisting of 300 Turks and 100 Mamelukes, but in time of war it is said that the Arab tribes can furnish an army of 10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. The navy consists of 11 vessels, mounting in all about 100 guns. The revenue of the pacha is only about $200,000 per annum.

Chief Town. Tripoli, the capital, is situated on the coast in lon. 13° 21′ E. It is surrounded by a wall, and has a convenient harbor defended by a fort. The population is estimated at only 12,000 or 15,000.

Commerce.] Considerable commerce is carried on with the European countries on the Mediterranean. The principal exports are olive oil, saffron, wax, honey, wool, salt and dates, all of which are productions of the country; together with gums, ostrich feathers and several other articles brought by the caravans from the interior of Africa. The great caravans from western Barbary pass through Tripoli on their way to Mecca.

3. TUNIS.

Situation.] Tunis is bounded N. and E. by the Mediterranean; S. E. by Tripoli; S. by Biledulgerid, and W. by Algiers.

Government, Population, &c.] At the head of the government is a Bey, who is under the protection of the Grand Seignor, but is entirely independent, and his power is hereditary. The populas tion is variously estimated from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000. In time

of peace, the army consists of 10,000 or 15,000 troops, but on an emergency can be increased to 50,000 or 60,000. The navy is composed of 15 or 20 small vessels. Tunis is reckoned among the piratical states, but the inhabitants are more civilized, and less disposed to robbery and violence than their neighbors. The revenue of the bey is estimated at 600,000 dollars.

Chief Towns. Tunis, the capital, is situated on the west bank of a salt-water lake, about 6 miles from the head of the gulf of Tunis, with which the lake is connected by a narrow outlet. The town is surrounded by walls and contains about 120,000 inhabitants, many of whom are engaged in the manufacture of velvet, tapestry, turbans, and particularly the red caps for which Tunis is famous. An extensive commerce is carried on partly with European states, and partly by means of caravans with the interior of Africa.

Ruins of Carthage.] The remains of this great city, the ancient emporium of northern Africa and empress of the sea, are situated on a promontory 12 miles E. N. E. of Tunis, but can now scarcely be distinguished by a superficial observer. The harbor has been filled by the action of the winds and a change in the bed of the river which fell into it. There are no remains of the ancient walls, no triumphal arches or splendid pillars. The cisterns, however, still remain almost entire, and are on a magnificent scale. The great aqueduct which brought the water from a distance of 50 miles, may still be traced through the whole of its course, and the arches in many places remain almost entire.

4. ALGIERS.

Situation and Extent.] Algiers is bounded N. by the Mediterranean; E. by Tunis; S. by the Atlas mountains, which separate it from Biledulgerid, and W. by Morocco. It extends from about 8° 30' E. to 1° 30′ W. lon.

Divisions. Algiers is divided into three provinces. 1. Mascara, which borders on Morocco, and contains the towns of Tlemsan and Oran. 2. Titterie, or Algiers proper, which forms the central province and contains the capital and Boujeiah. 3. Constantina or the eastern province, a very fertile region, which formerly belonged to Tunis, but has been wrested from that state by the Algerines. Its principal towns are Constantina and Bona.

Chief Towns.] Algiers, the capital, is situated on the coast of the Mediterranean in lon 3° 30' E. It is built on the declivity of a hill, and the houses, rising successively one above another in the form of an amphitheatre, and being all painted white, present a fine appearance from the sea. The harbor, which is about 800 feet long, 500 broad and 15 deep, is formed by two moles, one running directly north and the other northeast, and is strongly defended with forts and batteries. The city was bombarded by an American fleet under Commodore Decatur in 1816; and