indulgences. Their Brinde feast has excited the astonishment of all travellers. The Portuguese ambassador, Alvarez, being invited to a feast, was much surprised, instead of the usual dishes, to see brought in "pieces of raw flesh, with warm blood." The landlord, on seeing his guests show no favour to this dish, ordered other food better suited to their tastes; but immediately began to devour the flesh.

Mr. Bruce and Mr. Salt have given particular descriptions of these barbarous festivals, or what the former styles their "Polyphemus banquets." The table, which is low, is first covered with successive piles of teff cakes, serving at once as food and as towels to wipe their fingers upon. The company then being seated, the next process is the slaughter of the cattle, which are standing at the door, and the cutting of warm steaks from their flesh. Mr. Bruce describes these to be extracted while the animal is yet alive, and roaring under the pain of the wound. But Mr. Salt affirms that the head is separated from the body, before the slicing is performed. Both admit that the luxury of an Abyssinian feast consists in having the pieces brought in while the blood is yet warm, and the fibres palpitating.

"The company," says Mr. Bruce, "are so ranged, that one man sits between two women.-No man in Abyssinia, of any fashion whatever, feeds himself, or touches his own meat. The women take the steak and cut it lengthways, like strings, about the thickness of your little finger, then crossways into square pieces, something smaller than dice. This they lay upon a piece of teff bread, strongly powdered with black or Cayenne pepper, and fossil salt; they then wrap it up in the teff bread like a cartridge.

This

"In the mean time, the man, having put up his knife, with each hand resting on his neighbour's knee, his body stooping, his head low and forward, and his mouth open very like an idiot, turns to her whose cartridge is first ready, who stuffs the whole into his mouth, which is so full, that he is in constant danger of being choked. is a mark of grandeur. The greater a man would seem to be, the larger piece he takes in his mouth; and the more noise he makes in chewing it, the more polite he is thought to be. They, indeed, have a proverb, that says, 'Beggars and thieves eat only small pieces, or without making a noise.'

"Having despatched this morsel, which he does very expeditiously, his next female neighbour holds forth another cartridge, which goes the same way, and so on till he is satisfied. He never drinks till he has finished eating; and before he begins, in gratitude to the fair ones that fed him, he makes up two small rolls of the same kind and form; each of his neighbours open their mouths at the same time, while with each hand he puts their portion into their mouths. He then falls to drinking out of a large handsome horn; the ladies eat till they are satisfied, and then all drink together. A great deal of mirth and joke goes round, very seldom with any acrimony or ill humour."

Mr. Bruce and Mr. Salt both witnessed the barbarous practice, when on a journey, of cutting steaks from a living animal, and then closing up the wound and driving him on.

Marriage.

Marriage, in Abyssinia, is a very slight connexion, formed and dissolved at pleasure. The most formal mode of concluding it, is when the lover, having made a contract with the parents, seizes the bride, and carries her home on his shoulders. A magnificent feast is then given of brinde and bouza, and at a fixed period of 20 or 30 days afterwards, they go to church and take the sacrament together. It is in a few instances only, that even this slight ceremony is used. The connexion is dissolved at the will of either party. Mr. Bruce mentions being in a large company at Koscam, where there was a lady present with seven men, each of whom had been successively her husband, although none of them stood in that relation to her at that time.

Religion.

The Abyssinians profess Christianity, and have the scriptures translated into their own language, but the art of printing not being in use among them, copies of the bible are very scarce, and the people are lamentably ignorant of the religion which they profess. They are of the Eutychian sect, and their metropolitan, styled Abund,

i. e. our Father, is appointed by the patriarch of Alexandria. The religion consists of a motley collection of traditions, tenets, and ceremonies, derived from the Jewish and Christian churches, unworthily dignified with the name of Christianity. Saturday and Sunday are both regarded as Sabbaths; and their festivals and saints are innumerable.

"There is no country in the world," says Mr. Bruce, "where there are so many churches as in Abyssinia. Though the country is very mountainous, and consequently the view much obstructed, it is very seldom you see less than five or six churches; and if you are on a commanding ground, five times that number. Every great man that dies thinks, that he has atoned for all his wickedness if he leaves a fund to build a church, or has built one in his life time.

"When you go to the church you put off your shoes before your first entering the outer precinct; but you must leave a servant there with them, or else they will be stolen, if good for any thing, by the priests and monks, before you come out again. At the entry you kiss the threshold, and two door-posts, go in and say what prayer you please; that finished, you come out again, and your duty is over.

"The churches are full of pictures, painted on parchment, and nailed upon the walls, in a manner little less slovenly than you see paltry prints in beggarly country ale-houses. St. George is generally there with his dragon, and St. Demetrius fighting a lion. There is no choice in their saints; they are both of the Old and New Testaments, and those that might be dispensed with from both. There is St. Pontius Pilate and his wife; there is St. Balaam and his ass; Samson and his jaw-bone; and so of the rest."

BARBARY.

The Barbary states are situated in the north of Africa, between the Mediterranean on the north, and Sahara, or the Great Desert, on the south. They consist of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.

The most important natural feature of Barbary is the great mountain chain of Atlas. The most elevated summits of this celebrated range are in the western part, and are about 13,000 feet in height. According to ancient fable, the world was supported by the shoulders of Atlas, and the heavens rested on its top.

The space intercepted between the Atlas range and the sea, is from 50 to 200 miles in width, and is watered by innumerable streams from the mountains, displaying exuberant fertility, and enjoying one of the finest climates in the world.

MOROCCO.

Morocco, the capital of the empire of the same name, is situated in the interior about 100 miles from Mogadore, the principal port of the country. It is greatly reduced from its former prosperity and importance, and is now said to contain only 40,000 or 50,000 inhabitants. It is situated in a pleasant plain, planted with palm trees, is well watered, and has a pleasant climate.

The emperor's palace is of hewn stone, ornamented with marble. The temples and mosques are still numerous, and some of them lofty and splendid; but much of the city is in ruins, and many of the streets are filled with the rubbish of decayed buildings.

FEZ.

Fez, the capital of a province, belonging to Morocco, is situated in the interior, about 160 miles S. of Gibraltar, and contains about 100,000 inhabitants. It is built in a valley, and the gardens around it form a delightful amphitheatre. The hills which surround it are covered with trees, orange groves, and orchards. It is much reduced from its ancient importance, but is still a large city with considerable trade, and exhibiting a singular mixture of splendour and ruin.

Fez is a celebrated city among the Mahometans, and is said to have contained, in the 12th century, 700 temples and mosques. It was regarded as a sacred place, and pilgrimages were formerly made to it, at a time when the road to Mecca was shut up. It was also famous as a seat of learning, and contained numerous schools and learned institutions, some remains of which still exist.

Algiers, the capital of the country of the same name, is situated on the coast of the Mediterranean. The population is variously stated from 100,000 to nearly 200,000. It is built on the declivity of a hill, on which the houses rise gradually in the form of an amphitheatre, and terminate nearly in a point at the summit, presenting, when viewed from the sea, a beautiful and magnificent spectacle. The walls of the city are 30 feet high towards the land side, and 40 towards the sea.

It is only a mile and a half in circuit, but the population is great in proportion to the extent, the streets being very narrow, and every house of three stories, and occupied by several families. The principal street is only 12 feet wide; the others are so narrow that two persons can scarcely walk abreast. The houses are annually whitewashed, have flat roofs, and are so accommodated, that visits to a considerable distance can be performed on the tops of them.

town.

Algiers is celebrated chiefly as a naval and piratical The harbour is a work of immense labour, and the entrance is defended by a castle and several batteries.

TUNIS.

Tunis, the capital of the country of the same name, is situated on a large bay of the Mediterranean, about 10 miles SW. of the site of ancient Carthage, and contains about 120,000 inhabitants. It is built in a most irregular manner, the houses are generally of only one story, constructed of mud, and white-washed, the streets are extremely narrow, unpaved, and dirty, and there are few magnificent edifices. The palace of the bey is the most superb structure in the city, and one of the most magnificent in Africa.

The Moorish houses are of only one story with flat roofs; those belonging to European consuls are insulated habitations, resembling prisons. Tunis has a celebrated harbour, with a strong citadel, and its commerce is much greater than that of any other town in Barbary.