ABYSSI- torrents, which produced vast irregular chasms in it. NIA. On reaching the summit, it was found, that though from below it had the appearance of being sharp pointed, it was in reality, a large plain, full of springs, which are the sources of most rivers in this part of Abyssinia. These springs boil out of the earth, sending forth such quantities of water as are sufficient to turn a mill. A perpetual verdure prevails; and it is entirely owing to indolence in the husbandman if he has not three harvests annually. The mountains of Adowa, in Tigre, Amda Gideon, or the Jews' Rock, in Samen, and the triple ridge of Afonnasha, Litchambara, and AmidAmid, supposed by Mr. Bruce to be the mountains of the Moon, are among the others of greatest notoriety Blue River. Tacazzé. Lake Tzana. Climate. and distinction. RIVERS. The principal river is Bahar-el-azrek, or Blue river, called by the natives, Abay. Its chief spring is a small hillock, situated in a marsh, in the country of the Agows, whence it flows into the lake Dembea, after emerging from which, it pursues a semicircular course round the provinces of Damot and Gojam, then takes a northerly direction through Sennaar, till in lat. 16°, it unites with the Abiad, which is the Nile of the ancients, The next considerable stream is the Tacazzé or Tacuz, which rises to the west of Antalo, and pursues a northwest course to the Nile, through Sennaar. Mr. Bruce informs us that it carries near one third of the water which falls on the whole empire; and when passing it, he saw the marks of its stream, the preceding year, 18 feet perpendicular above the bottom; nor could it be ascertained whether this was the highest point to which it had reached. It is extremely pleasant; being shaded with fine lofty trees, the water remarkably clear, and the banks adorned with the most fragrant flowers. At the ford where he crossed, this river was fully 200 yards broad, and about three feet deep; running very swiftly over a bottom of pebbles. At the very edge of the water the banks were covered with tamarisks, behind which grew tall and stately trees, that never lose their leaves. It abounds with fish; and is inhabited by crocodiles and hippopotami. The neighbouring woods are full of lions and hyenas. Maleg is another large stream which joins the Abay, after a parallel course on the west. Two others, the Hanazo and the Hawash, flow towards the entrance of the Red Sea; the former loses itself in the sands of Adel. The largest collection of waters in the country, is the lake Tzana; which is also called the lake of Dembea. It has an island in the midst, of the former name. In the southern extremity of the kingdom is the lake of Zawaja, a chief town of the Hawash The CLIMATE of Abyssinia is, in general, temperate and healthy; although the mountainous nature of its surface exposes different situations to the diversified effects of heat and cold, dryness and moisture, and of a free circulation or a stagnation of the atmosphere. In the more elevated districts, the sky is clear, and the air cool. The inhabitants are healthy and sprightly; whilst those who live in the vallies, marshes, or sandy deserts, experience excessive heat, with a humid and suffocating air. From April to September, there are heavy rains; and in the remaining season of drought, the nights are cold. Mr. Bruce observed, the thermometer stood at 32°, on the summit of Lamalmon, in the depth of winter, the wind NIA. north-west; clear and cold, attended with hoar frost, ABYSSI which vanished into dew a quarter of an hour after sun-rise. He never saw any sign of the congelation of water upon the top of the highest mountains; but he observed hail to lie for three hours in the forenoon, on Amid Amid. The range of the barometer and thermometer, according to a register which he kept at Gondar, from February 19, 1770, to May 31, 1771, will appear from the following table. One of the native historians describes a fall of snow, for which no term had been previously invented, in a curious manner. "This village (Zinzenam) has its name from an extraordinary circumstance that once happened in these parts. A shower of rain fell, which was not properly of the nature of rain, as it did not run upon the ground, but remained very light, having scarce the weight of feathers, of a beautiful white colour, like flour: it fell in showers, and darkened the air more than rain, and liker to mist. It covered the face of the whole country for several days, retaining its whiteness the whole time; then went away like dew, without leaving any smell, or unwholesome effect, behind it." season. The rainy season commences about the end of Rainy April, and ends in September. To avoid the inconveniences that attend the overflowing of their rivers during this season, the Abyssinians have built many of their towns and villages on the mountains. They are generally mean, consisting only of one story, and constructed with straw and laths, earth and lime. In many of the villages the houses are separated by hedges, which being always green, and intermixed with flowers and fruit trees, enliven the scene, and contribute to the salubrity of the country. DISEASES. With the rains, all epidemic diseases Fevas. disappear; but at other times the Abyssinians are subject to violent fevers, which prove fatal on the third day. Those who survive to the fifth day often recover, merely by drinking cold water, and by repeatedly throwing cold water upon them in their beds. The tertian fever is common. All fevers terminate in intermittents; and if they continue long, in dysenteries, which are always tedious, and often mortal. Bark and ipecacuanha, in small quantities, water, and fruit not over ripe, have been found the most effectual remedies. The dysentery, commencing with a constant diarrhoea, is seldom cured, if it begins with the rainy season; otherwise, small doses of ipecacuanha either remove it, or change it into an intermittent fever, which yields to the bark. Another endemial disease is called hanzeer,' the hogs or the swine, and consists in a swelling of the glands of the throat, and under the arms, which by ineffectual attempts for producing suppuration, and opening the tumours, becomes a running sore and resembles the evil. In connection ABYSSI with this disorder, we may mention those swellings, NIA. to which the whole body is subject, but more particularly the arms, thighs, and legs, sometimes accompanied with ulcers in the nose and mouth, which deface the smoothness of the skin, and which, on this account, are much dreaded by the Abyssinians. The last two diseases sometimes yield to mercurials; but the last is speedily and completely cured by antimonials. Another complaint, called farenteit, or the worm of Pharaoh, afflicts those who are in the habit of drinking stagnant water. It appears in all parts of the body, but chiefly in the legs and arms; and is a worm with a small black head and a hooked beak, of a whitish colour, and a white body of a silky texture, resembling a small tendon. The natives seize it by the head, and wind it gently round a piece of silk, or a bird's feather, and thus by degrees they extract it without any inconvenience or permanent scar. Mr. Bruce suffered much from this complaint, and the breaking of the worm in extracting it. The most terrible of all the diseases of this climate, is the elephantiasis. The cicuta, mercury, and tar-water, were unsuccessfully tried in this complaint: the greatest benefit was derived from whey made of cows milk. To the alternation of scorching heat and chilling cold, thin clothing, the use of stagnant, putrid water for four months, and other such causes, these diseases may be partly, if not wholly ascribed. The small-pox was introduced into Abyssinia at the time of the siege of Mecca, about the year 356, and the Abyssinian army was the first victim to it. Vegetable VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.-The variety of elevaproductions, tion, in different parts of this country, occasions a proportionate variety of soil and productions. In many places the mountains are barren and inaccessible. This, however, is compensated by the fertility of the vallies: wheat, barley, and other grain is raised in considerable crops, and the inhabitants have two, and sometimes three harvests in a year. Teff is their chief grain, which grows in every soil, and furnishes their bread. On the grounds which are unfit for the production of teff, a plant is raised, called tocusso, which yields a black bread for the lowest classes. Wine is made only in one or two places; but there is every where the greatest profusion of fruits: a prodigious variety of flowers adorn the banks of the rivers. Among these is a species of rose, which grows upon trees, and is much superior in fragrance to those which grow on bushes. Sena, cardamom, ginger, and cotton, are likewise produced here in great quantities. 1ants. Other vegetable products are, the papyrus, the ancient material for paper: which Bruce supposes to have been a native of Ethiopia, and not of Egypt. The Balessan, balm, or balsam plant; which attains the height of 14 or 15 feet, and is used for fuel. It is found on the coast of the Red sea, among the myrrh trees behind Azab, all the way to Babelmandel. This tree produces the balm of Gilead mentioned in Scripture. Along the same coast are the sassa, myrrh, and opocalpasum trees. The sassa or opocalpasum is used in manufactures. The Ensete, an herbaceous plant, in Narea, which thrives chiefly in swampy places, forms a considerable part of the vegetable food of the Abyssinians. When used for this purpose, it is to be cut immediately above the small detached roots, or perhaps a foot or two higher, according to the age of the plant. VOL. XVII. The NIA. The green is to be stripped from the upper part till it ABYSSIbecomes white; and when soft, is very grateful and nutritious with milk or butter. The kolquall is a kind of tree, of which only the lower part is woody, the upper part being herbaceous and succulent. flowers are of a fine golden colour, and the fruit turns to a deep crimson; so that the trees make a very beautiful appearance. The whole plant is full of a very acrid and caustic milk. The Gir-gir, or Geshe-el-aube, a kind of grass found about Ras-el-Feel, grows to the height of about three feet four inches. The gaguedi is a short tree, only about nine feet high, a native of Lamalmon. The flowers, which are yellow and very beautiful, turn towards the sun like those of the helianthus. The wansey, a tree common throughout all Abyssinia, flowers exactly on the first day on which the rains cease. It grows to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; having a thick bark and close heavy wood; the first part of which is white, but the rest of a dark colour. The flowers are of a beautiful white colour. It is held in great estimation by the Abyssinians, and is even worshipped by the Galla. Kuara is a beautiful tree, growing in the south and south-west parts of Abyssinia. It has a fruit like a bean, of a red colour, which in the early ages was made use of as a weight for gold and diamonds; and hence Mr. Bruce is of opinion that the name of the imaginary weight carat is derived. The wooginoos, or brucea antidysenterica, is common throughout the whole empire, but principally on the sides of the valleys. It is a sovereign remedy against the dysentery, a very common and fatal disease in hot countries. Mr. Bruce had experimental proof of its antidysenteric virtue. Cusso, or banksia anthelmintica, is a very beautiful and useful tree, being a strong anthelmintic, and used as such by the Abyssinians. Nook or nuk, a plant not to be distinguished from our marigold, either in shape, size, or foliage, is sown very generally over the country, and furnishes all Abyssinia with oil for the kitchen and other uses. This country presents an inexhaustible field of research to the botanist. Mr. Salt, in his two recent journies, added eight genera and a hundred and twenty eight species. It is remarkable, that every bush of this country retains its verdure and productiveness in all seasons of the year. The process of fructification is singular, although the same part of the tree flowers only once in twelve months. The blossoms appear, and the fruit advances gradually to maturity, first on the western boughs, next on the southern, then the northern, and finally the eastern; which produces blossoms and fruit till the commencement of the rainy season. The leaves of the trees are of a tough texture, and varnished; in consequence of which they are adapted to resist the violent and frequent rains which descend. QUADRUPEDS. Both wild and tame quadrupeds, Quadru some of which are the most beautiful in the world, abound peds. throughout Abyssinia. Some of the cow species have no horns, and have bosses on their backs: others, again, are distinguished by having horns of prodigious dimensions, capable of holding ten quarts each. The animal itself is inferior to the English cow. The disproportion between the animal and its horns induced Mr. Bruce to imagine that it was occasioned by disease; but Mr. Salt has since ascertained them to be natural protuberances. "Here," (at Gibba) he says, " for the first time I was gratified by the sight of the Galla oxen or Sanga, cele G 6 ABYSSI- brated throughout Abyssinia for the remarkable size of NIA. their horns: three of these animals were grazing among the other cattle, in perfect health; which circumstance, together with the testimony of the natives, that the size of the horns is in no instance occasioned by disease,' completely refutes the fanciful theory given by Mr. Bruce respecting this creature. It appears by the papers annexed to the last edition of Mr. Bruce's work, that he never met with the Sanga; but that he made many attempts to procure specimens of the horns, through Yamir, a Greek, residing at Adowa. This old man very correctly speaks of them in his letters, as being brought only by the cafilas from Antálo; and I have now ascertained that they are sent to this country as valuable presents by the chiefs of the Galla, whose tribes are spread to the southward of Enderta. So far, then, as to the description of the horns, and the purposes to which they are applied by the Abyssinians, Mr. Bruce's statements may be considered as correct: but with respect to the disease which occasions their size, probably derived from their pasture and climate;' 'the care taken of them to encourage the progress of this disease;' the emaciation of the animal;' and the extending of the disorder to the spine of the neck, which at last becomes callous, so that it is not any longer in the power of the animal to lift its head:' they all prove to be merely ingenious conjectures, thrown out by the author solely for the exercise of his own ingenuity. I should not venture to speak so positively upon this matter, had I not indisputably ascertained the facts: for the Ras having subsequently made me a present of three of these animals alive, I found them not only in excellent health, but so exceedingly wild, that I was obliged to have them shot. The horns of one of these are now deposited in the museum of the Surgeons' College; and a still larger pair are placed in the collection of Lord Valentia, at Arley Hall. The length of the largest horn of this description which I met with was nearly four feet, and its circumference at the base, twenty one inches." See MISCELLANIES, Plate 1. Birds, &c. NIA. next supply is the carcases of the large animals, as the ABYSSI Many of the birds feed upon insects, and others on Abyssinia is excessively infested with swarms of locusts and ants: particularly by a species of fly called Tsaltsalya; which is somewhat larger than a Tsaltsaly bee, with wings placed separate, like those of a fly, of pure gauze, without colour or spot. The head of this insect is large, the upper jaw sharp, armed at the end with a strong pointed hair, about a quarter of an inch in length: the lower jaw is furnished with two of these hairs. The legs are serrated in the inside, and covered with down. The motion of this insect is rapid, like that of a gad-fly, producing a jarring noise, accompanied by a humining; which is no sooner heard than the utmost consternation prevails among the cattle, who instantly quit " ABYSSI- their food, and run wildly about, till they are exNIA hausted with fatigue. The thick skin of the camel is no security against his attacks; and even the elephant and rhinoceros are obliged to roll themselves in the mire; which, when dried upon them, affords some resistance. This terrible insect is happily confined to the black loamy soil, and the sands of Atbara afford a retreat from his pursuit. Fishes. Serpents. Govern Devasta armies. Among the few fishes are the torpedo and the binny; the latter is good food, and grows to a considerable Its whole body is covered with beautiful scales, resembling silver spangles. In Upper Abyssinia, Mr. Bruce states that he saw no serpents, and but very few varieties in the low country. The large snake called boa, which is about the thickness of an ordinary man's thigh, and often twenty feet long, is the most remarkable. The grassy verge of large pools furnishes him a retreat. His chief subsistence is upon antelopes and deer, which he swallows piece-meal, after crushing their bones. There is also the cerastes or horned viper, which is commonly about thirteen or fourteen inches in length; the poison of which is contained in a bag under its canine teeth. It moves in all directions, and with great rapidity; springing suddenly upon any thing it chooses to attack, after approaching, with its head averted, to within a proper distance. Mr. Bruce asserts the reality of the incantation of serpents and scorpions, which in some is natural, in others produced by medical preparations. an GOVERNMENT.-Nothing can be more irregular or despotic than the constitution of the government. It is, in fact, a legal despotism, there being no assembly of the people, and no privileged order of nobles to controul the absolute will of the sovereign; and yet it is unsupported by any such military force as is calculated to sustain its pretensions. Any one of the governors of the several districts is a match for his master, and his authority is even capable of being set at defiance by the meanest force. Though the crown is hereditary, it depends on the minister to choose the individual who is to enjoy it: and as he of course wishes to have the government in his own hands, he never fails to fix upon an infant, during whose minority he rules, and who is not seldom sacrificed before he attains the years of maturity. Civil wars and commotions are the necessary result, and contribute to barbarize the people. The devastions of the tations committed by the soldiers are such, that “ army leaves nothing living behind, not even the vestige of a habitation; but fire and the sword reduce every thing to a wilderness and solitude. The beasts and birds, unmolested, have the country to themselves, and increase beyond all possible conception. The slovenly manners of this savage people, who, after a battle, bury neither friends nor enemies; the quantity of beasts of burthen that die perpetually under the load of baggage, and variety of mismanagement; the quantity of offal, and half-eaten carcasses of cows, goats, and sheep, which they consume in their march for sustenance: all furnish a stock of carrion sufficient to occasion contagious distempers, were there not such a prodigious number of voracious attendants, who consume them almost before putrefaction. There is no giving the reader any idea of their number, unless by comparing them to the sands of, the sea. While the army is in motion, they are a black canopy, which extends over it for leagues. When encamped, the ground NIA. Criminals. is discoloured with them beyond the sight of the eye; ABYSSIand all the trees are loaded with them." Human life seems to be little respected. The number of criminals executed for high treason, whose bodies are cut in pieces and thrown about the streets, invite the hyenas to the capital, in the same manner that the carrion of the camp invites the birds of prey to follow it. To keep them off, an officer called Serach Massery, with a long whip, begins cracking and making a noise worse than twenty French postilions at the door of the palace before the dawn of day. This chases away the hyenas and other wild beasts: this too is the signal for the king's rising, who sits in judgment every morning fasting; and after that, about eight o'clock, he goes to breakfast." The king is anointed at his election with plain oil of King's olives; "which being poured upon the crown of his head, coronation. he rubs into his long hair indecently enough with both his hands, pretty much as his soldiers do with theirs when they get access to plenty of butter." In former times, however, the coronation ceremony was of a more splendid description. The king, dressed in crimson damask, with a great chain of gold about his neck, his head bare, and mounted on a horse richly caparisoned, advanced at the head of his nobility, passed the outer court, and came to the paved way before the church. Here he was met by a number of young girls, daughters of the ambares or supreme judges, together with many noble virgins standing on the right and left of the court. Two of the noblest of these held in their hands a crimson cord of silk, somewhat thicker than common whip-cord, stretched across from one company to another, as if to shut up the road by which the king was approaching the church. When this cord was prepared and drawn tight about breast-high, the king entered, advancing at a moderate pace, displaying his skill in horsemanship as he went along. Being stopped by the string, the damsels asked, who he was? To this he answered, "I am your king, the king of Ethiopia." But they replied, "You shall not pass; you are not our king." Retiring some paces, he again presented himself, and the question was repeated; when he answered, "I am your king, the king of Israel." But the same reply was still given by the girls. The third time, on being asked, "Who he was?" he answered, "I am your king, the king of Sion:" and drawing his sword, he cut the cord asunder. The damsels then cried out, "It is a truth you are our king: truly you are the king of Sion." On this they began to sing hallelujah, and were joined by the whole army and the rest of the king's attendants. Amidst these acclamations, the king advanced to the foot of the stair of the church, dismounted, and sat down upon a stone, resembling an altar of Anubis or the dog-star. A number of priests went in procession. The king was first anointed, then crowned, and accompanied half up the steps by the singing priests. He stopped at an aperture made in one of the steps, where he was fumigated with myrrh, aloes, and cassia: after which divine service was celebrated; and he returned to the camp, where fourteen days were spent in feasting and rejoicing. These ceremonies are now omitted on account of the expence; but some attention is still paid to the dignity of the government. The king is saluted, like the ancient Persian monarchs, with the title of "king of kings," and the royal person is NIA. ABYSSI- approached with every external sign of adoration, nor does any one venture to rise from the ground till he is ordered to do so. When the sovereign rides abroad, or gives audience, his head and forehead are perfectly covered, and his eyes only are seen, while one hand is placed upon his mouth. Communication is held with his subjects by means of an officer named Kal-Hatze, the voice or word of the king. He sits enclosed in a balcony with lattice windows and curtains when in council, through a hole in the side of which he speaks to the Kal-Hatze. No majority can prevail against the prerogative of the king, and they have even sometimes been punished with imprisonment for differing from his opinion. The constant prevalence of war has of late obliged him to expose his person in the field. He is then usually attended by an officer called Lika Magwass, who carries his shield and lance. Anciently such was the respect paid him, that no king ever fell in battle, and even now he is often secured by arraying himself in his insignia. Justice ill administered. Population. Houses. Gondar. Koscam. Justice is but miserably administered. The complainants stand before the palace from day-break to evening, uttering loud cries in their respective languages. At those times when the rains prevent such as are really distressed from repairing to the capital, or standing in the streets, a set of vagrants are provided, whose business it is to imitate the querulous tones of sorrow; which they affirm is done to maintain the honour of the king, lest he should sit in his palace in lonely quietness. The phrase adopted in cases of real or fictitious affliction is, Rete O jau hai, Do me justice, O king! POPULATION.-At present we have no satisfactory information with regard to the population of Abyssinia. The account of Alvarez is, that it is one of the most populous regions of the globe, but this is doubtless anexaggeration. Mr. Bruce, on the other hand, says, that it is difficult to raise the royal army to more than thirty thousand, but in so barbarous a state that it might be concluded every tenth person joins the army. On a great occasion he declares it only amounted to twenty thousand. The truth may probably be found between these extreme representations. The general fertility of the country, and the salubrity of the air, are highly favourable to an extensive population. In general their houses are mean, consisting chiefly of clay, in a conic form, and thatched; they are separated from each other by hedges. The houses of the sovereign and grandees are spacious, but the only approach to architectural grandeur is to be seen in the churches, which are built on eminences, of a circular form, with conical thatched roofs, surrounded with pillars of cedar, within which is an arcade affording a refreshing retreat. The present metropolis of the empire is Gondar, which is situated upon a mountain, and, according to Bruce, contains about ten thousand families, or fifty thousand persons. As the houses are only one story high, it occupies a considerable extent of ground. The royal palace at the west end of the town was once a considerable edifice consisting of four stories, flanked with square towers, and commanding a fine view of the country southward to the lake of Tzana. Great part of it is now in ruins. Koscam, the palace of the Iteghe, is situated on the southern side of the mountains of the sun, called Debra Tzai. It is a square tower of three NIA. stories, with a flat roof and battlements, encompassed ABYSSIby a wall of a mile in circumference, within which is a church esteemed the richest in the kingdom. Higher on the hil are the houses of the people of rank, chiefly relations of the Iteghe. Axum, the ancient Axum. capital, is celebrated for its extensive ruins. Tradition assigns its construction to the age of Abraham. Among the ruins are forty obelisks of granite, but without any hieroglyphics. There are also the traces of a magnificent temple originally 110 feet in length, with two wings on each side, a double porch, and an ascent of twelve steps. Siré is larger than Axum, but the houses Siré. are built of no better materials than clay, and covered with thatch. It stands on the brink of a steep narrow valley. Adowa is the capital of the province of Tigré, Adowa but does not contain above 300 houses; though it occupies a large space, by reason of the inclosures of a tree called wanzey, which surround each of the houses. It stands on the declivity of a hill, situated on the west side of a small plain surrounded by mountains. It is watered by three rivulets which never become dry even in the greatest heats. The natives are of a dark olive complexion, and are Comso averse to white that they even dislike white grapes plexion. on account of the colour. To the conduct of the Jesuits may be ascribed in part this degree of aversion. Their dress is a large cotton cloth, with a blue and yellow border wrapped round them, and bound with a sash. They wear also a kind of breeches reaching to the middle of the thigh, and girt with a belt of white cloth, or, among the higher ranks, of red Indian cotton cloth, with girdles of silk or worsted brought from the Levant. A turban constitutes their head-dress. LANGUAGE. The language is an ancient offspring Language. of the Arabic, and is divided into various dialects, of which the principal are, the Tigrin, or that of the province of Tigre, and the Amharic, now the prevailing language of the country. The Galanic is also considerably diffused. Ludolf and other missionaries have contributed to illustrate the Abyssinian language; and, as Mr. Murray, the editor of Bruce's Travels, has intimated, the characters are the Coptic forms of the Greek alphabet, modelled on the plan of the Arabic, deranged from their former order, and made rude by the hands of barbarous scribes. COMPUTATION OF TIME.-The Abyssinian compu- Computatation of time is, like that of the ancient Egyptians, by tion of time. the solar year. Thirty days constitute their month, to which is added in the month of August five days and a quarter to complete the year. Every fourth year they add a sixth day. The year commences with the 29th or 30th of August, which is the first of their month Mascaram. Their common epoch is from the creation of the world, and they reckon 5500 years from the creation to the birth of Christ, rejecting the odd eight years of the Greeks, who make this period 5508 years. They make use also of other epochs, as from the council of Nice and Ephesus. In their ecclesiastical computations they follow the golden number and epact. The epact was invented by Demetrius, the twelfth patriarch of Alexandria, in the reign of Severus. The Abyssinians have another method of computing time peculiar to themselves, which consists in describing their years by the names of the evangelists. As they are familiar with their writings by reading them, in order, every year in their churches; when they |