We have now described the basin of the Lake Tzana. The southern portion of Amhara remains to be noticed. This part of Amhara is bounded by the rivers Abai and Bahr-el-Azrek on the south and west, and by a line drawn through the southern extremity of Lake Tzana on the north. The river Abai rises near 11° N. lat. and 37° E. long., at the foot of Mount Giesh, in a swamp full of springs. The elevation of Mount Giesh, from the sides of which several streams besides the Abai take their rise, is 9500 feet; that of the springs of the Abai is 8500 feet.

of that name, extends from Dingelber, on the south-western | Biegemider. It has nine arches: the centre one, 60 feet side of Lake Tzana, to the south-eastern corner of the lake. wide, spans the river; the others-three on the Gojam or It widens as it proceeds from the former to the latter point. southern bank, and five on the Biegemider bank-serve for Where it reaches the Abai River, it is 20 miles wide, ex- the approach on either side. The bridge has no parapet, tending from the lake to the confluence of the Abai with and is about 12 feet broad. It is built of rough stones and the Kelti. This plain is very fertile, but also very flat, and lime; the arches are turned in large flat bricks. It was consequently not healthy. Behind the low ground, and erected by the Portuguese in the reign, it is said, of Hatzie between it and the Talba Waha Mountains, intervenes a Fásil. The centre and the first northern arch have been hilly tract, the soil of which consists of decomposed volcanic sprung, and the ruins lie in the river; Ras Fásil, who matter, and is therefore very fertile. Between this hilly ruled these provinces in the time of Bruce, is supposed to tract and the mountain-range, are sporadic mountain sum- have been the author of this destruction. At the Broken mits, with intervening valleys; the most remarkable are Bridge, the elevation of the Abai is about 3850 feet, and Lijambera and Amidamit. therefore it has descended 2260 feet in a course of 40 miles, which gives 56 feet per mile. About 10° 45′ N. lat., the Abai receives from the east the large river Bashilo, which collects the waters of the ancient province of Amhara. It rises at the northern foot of Mount Sagaral, at the extreme eastern edge of the table-land, near the sources of the Milli and the Berkona, which flow in an opposite direction towards the Hawash. Further south, the Abai receives the Wálaka or Shónkura; and where it begins to turn towards the west, it receives on its left bank the Jamma, one of its largest tributaries. This river drains a large tract of country to the east of the Abai, as far as the western flank of the Chakka Mountains. Both the Jamma and the Bashilo were first made known by the Portuguese. Just before the junction of the Jamma, the Abai was found by Dr. Beke to be a little under 3000 feet in elevation, which gives a fall of only 850 feet from the Broken Bridge, a distance of above 100 miles. At Melka Kuki-that is, Ford of Kuki-he found the elevation 2815 feet, the distance from the Jamma being about 60 miles. In its course after the junction with the Jamma, the Abai receives numerous streams on both sides; those from the north or Gojam bank being for the most part inconsiderable, whilst those from the south, which water the countries of the Galla tribes, are much larger. The chief of the latter rivers are the Mogur, from the Mountains of Salala, from the opposite flank of which descend tributaries of the Hawash-the Guder, the Agul, and the Dibuk.

Abai, the Abyssinian name of this river, is interpreted by some Parent-as if it were the same as the Arabic word Abou, father; but this is at least doubtful, and those who are disposed to look for Sanscrit roots in the language of this country, might connect Abai with the Sanscrit Ap, water. The first account of the springs of the Nile is by Father Peter Paez, from whose unpublished MS. Kircher's account is taken; and this agrees with the account of Gregory, the Abyssinian, which Ludolf had directly from him (A.D. 1657). Paez visited them in 1618. Mr. Bruce visited them in 1770, and puts them in N. lat. 10° 59′ 25′′, and E. long. 36° 55′ 30′′; giving at the same time a much more minute account of them than that in Kircher, which is not very clear. One of the worst blots on the fame of Bruce, is the attempt which he made to deprive Paez of the merit of having anticipated him in the discovery of the sources of the Abai, or, as he supposed, of the Nile. The sources of the Abai have been visited since Bruce's time by many travellers. After a north and north-eastern course of about 70 miles, it enters the Lake of Dembea on the west side, having descended about 40 feet a mile. It has, as might be supposed, a very rapid current, and several cataracts of no great elevation, one of which was visited by Bruce, and another he had heard of. In its course to Lake Tzana or Dembea, the Abai receives several streams. The principal of these is the Jemma, which rises on the northern side of Mount Mizan, and flows northwards between Mount Lijambera and Mount Amidamit. The Abai flows in an easterly direction through Lake Tzana, in which its current is distinctly visible, and flows out of the lake at its northeast corner. About 15 miles down from the mouth of the lake, the Abai is joined on its left bank by the Alata, a small stream, but entitled to particular mention, on account of its proximity to the Cataract of Tis Esát, or the Smoke of Fire, which Europeans, from Father Jerome Lobo downwards, have called the Cataract of Alata,' after its name. About half a mile east from the fall, there is a bridge where the river runs with great violence through a deep, narrow fissure in the rock, which immediately above the bridge is not above two yards across. The rapids extend up to the Fall of Alata. Dr. Beke thus describes the Tis Esát: The river, gliding through a fine grassy plain between a line of dark foliage on each side, its smooth surface being disturbed by only a few ripples-for so some slight rapids appear in the distance-falls at once perpendicularly over the ledge of the rock which crosses its course, and is lost to sight, whilst in its place arise volumes of vapour having precisely the appearance of smoke; hence the highly expressive and poetical name given to the cataract by the inhabitants, of Tis Esát, or the Smoke of Fire. I was told that by descending into the deep ravine into which the river falls, a view from below might be obtained; but independently of its being late, which rendered my immediate return expedient, I felt no inclination to dispel the charm which the view above leaves on the imagination by going to see a common waterfall.' The height of the fall was given by the people of the place at 60 or 70 cubits-that is, about 100 feet. Somewhat less than 30 miles further down, is another bridge, called the Bridge of Andabiet, or the Broken Bridge, from its ruined condition. This bridge is on the high road from Báso to

The question has been asked and discussed-are the Abai and the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue Nile, identical? Bruce not only took for granted that the Abai was one of the branches of the Nile, but believed that it was the main stream. The latter position was subsequently abandoned by all; but it has been generally held that the Abai is identical with the Blue Nile. Dr. Beke, in an article in the London Geographical Journal, vol. xvii. part 1, maintains that not the Abai, but the Dedhesa, which comes from the south, and is met by the Abai in 10° 30′ N. lat. and 35° 30′ E. long., is the Bahrel-Azrek; and states that the natives never apply the name Nile to any other river than the Bahr-el-Abiad, or White Nile. We must refer those who desire to know fully the grounds of this opinion, to the article above mentioned. The general nature of his argument is to the effect, that the Bahr-el-Azrek has been traced further south than the ascertained extreme southern limit of the course of the Abai. Dr. Beke determined this limit at 9° 52′, near the Ford of Melka Kuki, in 37° 30′ E. long., whilst the Azrek has been traced to 9° 35'. He concludes: 'It is physically impossible for a river in this position, and with this course, to be the upper portion of the Bahr-el-Azrek, which was traced by Russegger as far southwards as 9° 35′ N. lat., and there found to come from still further south.'

The whole of the peninsula encircled by the Abai and the Zingini is known by the name of Gojam, though the inhabitants of that country distinguish the various provinces by different names-as Gojam, Damot, Enabsie, &c. Near the centre of this peninsula, there is a range of mountains running in a general direction from W.N.W. to E.S.E., extending with varying elevation from Mount Yekandach, near the Abai, in the province of Enabsie, to Mount Eshiti, beyond the Zingini. The most elevated portion of this range lies between 37° 20′ and 37° 50′ E. long., and bears the name of the Talba Waha Mountains. To the west of these mountains, the most prominent summits are Mount Lichema, Mount Giesh, Mount Atzab, Mount Barf, and Mount Eshiti. With the exception of the few which run north into the Lake Tzana, all the streams which rise on the banks of this range run like radii of a circle from its centre towards the river Abai. They are very numerous, but not of large volume. The summit of the pass over this range, through which the road from Báso to Biegemider runs, was

estimated by Dr. Beke to have an elevation of above 11,000. | numbers; they are not negroes. North of the Shankalas Mount Goeba he found to be 8500 feet. At this latter place is the country of Ginjar, inhabited by Mohammedan blacks, he found the vegetation to consist in great part of heaths whose language is a corrupt Arabic. Their country is suband ferns; at the summit of the pass there was nothing ject to inroads from Kuara and Dembea, and furnishes but stunted grass, and the plant Jibárroa. Hoar-frost lay many slaves to the market of Gondar. The chief towns of on the ground, and ice lined the brooks, on the 8th of the peninsula are-in Gojam, Yaush, and Yejubbi, and in November. Damot, Burie, and Gudera. Yaush is a large town, and contains the monastery of St. Michael. It is situated in a level tract at the foot of the first step in the descent to the Abai. This tract is, in its lower part, around Zaush, mostly under cultivation. Yejubbi is situated about two hours to the west of Zaush; it is a large commercial town. Near it is the market-place (not town) of Báso. Burie was formerly the capital of Damot, and the residence of the Dejazmaches, but it has been supplanted by Gudera. Burie consists of three villages, distant from each other half a mile, on the banks of the Isser, which contain the three churches of St. Abbo, St. John, and St. Michael. Gudera is placed on a mass of volcanic rocks, rising out of a plain, which during the rains is mostly covered with water, and then forms an extension of a lake to the east of the place. This plain lies at the base of the low ridge which connects Mounts Lichema and Giesh.

West

The usual domestic animals are found. The Sanga oxen, found south of Antalo, are remarkable for the great size of their horns. Black sheep are numerous, from which is got the skin called lovisa. Wild animals of all descriptions are numerous. The tiger, however, is not found. The skin of the black leopard is valuable, and is sold at a high price, being worn by the governors of the provinces. The larger quadrupeds are found only in the wildernesses, which extend both on the south and north sides of Abyssinia. Tigré is much infested with locusts, which frequently lay waste the fields.

the southern, thickly clustered with houses, forming the | is got a bad oil. Cotton is grown in the lower parts of the capital of the kingdom of Shoa. The houses are con- country, as in Shiri, Waldubba, and Walkkeit. Excellent structed chiefly of wood, with conical thatched roofs, and grapes grow at the foot of the rocky masses east of Lake are generally surrounded with a garden. Tzana. Ankobar is 8200 feet above the level of the sea. of it a day's journey, is Angollala, situated in an undulating plain, at an elevation of 8400 feet above the sea. The climate of the region around Ankobar is compared with that of spring or autumn in England. Travellers compare the country between Ankobar and Angollala to the Alps, speaking of Alpine air and Alpine plants. The kingdom of Shoa alone in all Abyssinia possesses security and stability. In other parts, political divisions are continually changing; and what were towns a year or two ago, may now be towns no more. Wherever a ruler chooses to make his residence, a town arises; when he departs, it vanishes. This dependence of a town's existence on the influence of the court, holds true in part even of Gondar, Antalo, and Adowa. These are only the shadows of what they have been, although Gondar is still a place of some consequence, being the residence of the nominal emperor. For more than a century, Abyssinia, with exception of Shoa, has been bordering on anarchy. The Negus, or emperor, is a mere puppet, with a yearly pension of 300 dollars, and part of the Excise levied on butter sold in the market of Gondar. The wars, which rage continually, injure the country, and thin the population. The kingdom of Shoa, though of modern date, has already acquired consistency and power.

We shall conclude our topographical notice of Abyssinia with a few sentences on the regions adjacent to Shoa on the north.

The country on both sides of the river Bashilo, a tributary of the Abai, and reaching to the region in which are the sources of the Tacazzé, is at present in possession of the Wollo Gallas. This country comprehends the ancient province of Amhara. It is a table-land of very high elevation, and some parts are a complete wilderness, whilst other parts have good pastures, and are fit for cultivation. East of the water-shed, between the Hawash and the Tacazzé, the country, called Angot, is in possession of the Yejjoos, who speak Amharic, and are either Christians or Mohammedans. Near the southern limit of their country is Lake Haik, in which there is an island with a famous monastery.

The table-land of Abyssinia is characterised by an extraordinary depression of the beds of the rivers. They begin to break from the level by fissures in the surface; at first only a few yards in width, and gradually open to the extent of several miles, forming cataracts of 100 feet, or even much more in height, and continuing down a succession of falls and rapids, so as to descend several thousand feet in a few miles. Our description of the Abai and Tacazzé may be referred to for examples.

Another peculiarity is the suddenness of the rise and fall of the Abyssinian rivers. The following from Bruce, referring to the Taranta Pass, will illustrate this phenomenon:The river scarcely ran at our passing it; when, all on a sudden, we heard a noise on the mountains above, louder than the loudest thunder. Our guides on this flew to their baggage, and removed it to the top of the green hill, which was no sooner done than we saw the river coming down in a stream about the height of a man, and the breadth of the whole bed it used to occupy.' Another remarkable characteristic is the great number of hill-forts, or Ambas, as they are called, which often rise with steep sides almost inaccessible, except by a few paths; on the top they sometimes display a level surface of considerable extent. Many of these minor elevations are formed of sandstone, lying in horizontal masses, which have been split or worn down vertically, so as to give the whole a castellated appearSalt describes Devra Damo, north-east of Adowa, as completely scarped on every side, with one path leading up to it, and in this, as well as in its general appearance, resembling the hill-forts of India.

ance.

Productions.-Though a tropical country, Abyssinia resembles the temperate regions in its productions, especially in vegetable products. This is owing to its elevation. No Indian grain is found except neug (Sesamum Orientale), and even it is scarce. Wheat and barley are grown extensively, the latter especially, as it is the only corn given to horses and mules. Of leguminous vegetables, the chief are teff, beans, lupines, lentils, and a kind of vetch, which is eaten. A plant, nuck, is much cultivated for the seed, from which

VOL. 1.

Abyssinia is poor in minerals; the most common are iron and salt. Iron-ore is found in abundance in the mountains of Lasta; it is worked, and is of good quality. The salt is found in the salt-plain, between the Red Sea and the table-land. Coffin crossed this plain in 1809. It took five hours to cross it; and the traveller was provided by the natives with sandals, made of the leaves of the dwarf-palm, which are always used in crossing this desert. For about half a mile, the incrustation was slippery, and broke under the tread, but afterwards Mr. Coffin found it hard, like a rough irregular sheet of ice. On the west side, he found the Abyssinians cutting out the salt in pieces like a mower's whetstone, which is done with tolerable ease, as it lies in horizontal flakes. The salt near the surface is pure and hard, but that beneath is coarser, and requires some exposure to the air before it is hardened. In some places the salt is three feet deep; but in general at the depth of two feet, it is too much mixed with earth to be fit for use in its native state. This district supplies all Abyssinia with salt. This salt, cut into long flat pieces, is one of the principal mediums of exchange in Abyssinia; its value, of course, increasing the further it is carried westward. 'In the more remote parts of Ethiopia,' says Ludolf, you may buy a good mule with two or three bricks of that salt.'(See Rüppel for the productions of Abyssinia.)

With respect to the population of Abyssinia, no definite statement, only a rough approximation, can be made. From the accounts of travellers, we may estimate it at present between three and four millions. Rüppel gives the area of Abyssinia, exclusive of the kingdom of Shoa, at 270,000 sq. miles. The kingdom of Shoa has about 12,000 sq. miles. The main part of the population belong to the Caucasian race, and have features similar to those of the Bedouins of Arabia. Distinct from these are the Gallas, who, however, are not negroes. The Gallas form the majority of the inhabitants of Shoa, and of that vast extent of country, as yet little known, which lies south of the Abai. We have already mentioned that the Shankalas constitute the negro population of Abyssinia. The Falashes and Agous belong to the Caucasian type. The former are of Hebrew origin, but have adopted a few Christian ceremonies. They occupy the strongest and highest points of the Samen Mountains, and have done much damage to the neighbouring provinces. The chief language in Abyssinia is the Geez or Ethiopian. [See ETHIOPIA.] It is a dead tongue; the living languages are dialects derived from it: these dialects are four-the Amharic, that of Tigré, that of Shoa, and that of the Yejjoos. These dialects are closely connected, and are all understood by those to whom any of them is the native tongue. The Galla language is altogether different. Dr. Beke collected vocabularies of thirteen languages and dialects, spoken in Abyssinia and the countries to the south.

Of the manners of the Abyssinians of Gondar, we have an elaborate picture by Bruce, which we believe to be heightened with the usual colouring of that traveller. In his eleventh chapter he describes a feast of the higher classes, in which a cow or bull is brought to the door; the feet are tied; the skin is stripped off the hind-quarters; and the flesh is cut from the buttocks in solid square pieces. 'The prodigious noise the animal makes,' adds Mr. Bruce, with the most comical gravity, is a signal for the company to sit down to table.' The licentious termination of the feast exceeds anything that we know of the most barbarous nations of the earth, and may at least be doubted until it is confirmed. As to the Abyssinians eating raw flesh occasionally, or even frequently, that does not appear to us to be by any means beyond the reach of probability; and, indeed, we find Mr. Pearce (see Salt, p. 295) corroborating the fact

so far as this that some brutal Lasta soldiers, on a marauding expedition, while driving a cow, cut two steaks from the rump, which they devoured raw, to satisfy their craving hunger. The animal was then driven on to the camp, and killed. But Mr. Pearce, who had been several years in Tigré, never heard of such feasts as Bruce describes. Mr. Salt, when he was in Abyssinia, met with a learned doctor from Gondar, who had known Bruce, and spoke favourably of him. The feast story, however, was more than he would admit, and he expressed great abhorrence at the thought of it. At the same time, he allowed that the licentiousness of the higher orders was carried much further in the kingdom of Amhara than in Tigré. Yet Mr. Salt met with many young men at Chelicut, who came from Gondar, whose dress and manners created a very favourable impression; and he says: 'I have reason to believe, that in general the people of Tigré are much ruder in their habits and fiercer in disposition than those of Amhara.' The prince Kasimai Yasous, who was at Chelicut on a visit from Gondar, had superior accomplishments to most of the young men in the country, and could both read and write the Geez with great facility.

of rock-salt are called amole. With regard to the manufactures of the Abyssinians, there is little to be said. They do not excel in any department. They are not yet acquainted with the art of printing; and hence the copying of manuscripts has become a distinct branch of industry. They use a kind of cane for a pen, and copy on parchment. Rüppel praises their handwriting as very fine.

(Bruce's Travels; Lord Valentia, Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Egypt; Salt, Voyage to Abyssinia and Travels into the Interior of that Country; Pearce, Life and Adventures, by Hall; Gobat, Journal of a Three Years' Residence in Abyssinia; Rüppel, Reise in Abyssinien; Isenberg and Krapf, Journals, detailing their proceedings in the kingdom of Shoa, &c.; Kirk, Report on the Route from Tajurra to Ankóbar, in London Geographical Journal, vol. xii.; Beke, Communications respecting the Geography of Southern Abyssinia (and his Route from Ankóbar to Dérná), in L. G. Journal, vol. xii.; Beke, Continuation of Routes in Abyssinia, in L. G. Journal. vol. xiv.) ABYSSINIAN CHRISTIANS.-The discovery of a body of Christians in so remote a country excited, in no small degree, the attention of Europe in the fifteenth cenThe early Portuguese writers allow the people of Narea tury, which has been again revived by Sult's last mission, the first rank among the Abyssinians for good manners; in 1810. From the Tareek Negushti,' or 'Chronicle of while their account of the people of Tigré was unfavourable, the Abyssinian Kings,' combined with the evidence of the and in accordance with that of Mr. Salt. Yet this traveller ecclesiastical writers, we learn that Christianity was introlived three weeks at Chelicut, saw the Ras daily, and was duced into Abyssinia, in the time of Constantine, by Frumenoften invited to his evening repasts, without either seeing or tius, or Fremonatos, as the chronicles call him. Frumentius, hearing of any of the indecencies and grossness which Mr. after residing some years in the country, was raised by Bruce describes. Intoxication, however, is common at Athanasius, the patriarch of Alexandria, to the dignity of feasts. The Abyssinian is in general well made, and some-bishop. He arrived in Abyssinia perhaps about the year times handsome, with features completely Roman. Those A.D. 330, and probably in the reign of the King Aizanas, of Narea are described as not darker than the Southern Europeans, but the people of Abyssinia in general are nearly black. They must not, however, be confounded with the negro tribes, as they have neither the nose, lips, nor hair that characterise the people of Western Africa. It is true, that some of those whom Bruce saw on the Taranta had curly heads and short hair; but this is done by art, 'each man having a wooden stick with which he lays hold of the lock, and twists it round a screw, till it curls in the form he desires.' Mr. Salt saw, on one occasion, the Ras's wife, who was the sister of the Emperor, and he describes her form as elegant, though small; her features were regular; and having fine teeth and coalblack hair, she might in any country have been esteemed handsome.'

Of

whose name still exists on the inscription of Axum. It is, however, not certain to which king of the Abyssinian chronicles we ought to apply the names of Aizanas and his brother Saizanas, both of which occur on the inscription, and also in a letter of the Emperor Constantine, addressed to them A.D. 356. When the Greek merchant Cosmas visited Abyssinia, A.D. 525, it was completely a Christian country, and well provided both with ministers and churches. the Abyssinian churches, which probably belong to the earlier periods of their conversion, or at least are eight or nine hundred years old, there are still some remains. The most remarkable is Abuhasubha, hewn out of the solid rock, which at this place is soft and easily worked. The Portuguese Alvariz, describes ten such churches as these, of which he has given a plan, and one of them is probably the same as The Abyssinians even now are not without authors. Mr. that which Mr. Pearce visited at Jummada Mariam. (Salt, Salt brought to England a manuscript, containing an ac- p. 302.) The great church at Axum is comparatively count of the Ras's last campaign against the Galla, which modern, though parts of it, such as the steps, clearly belong the Ras himself made a present of to Mr. Salt. The history to a prior edifice. Mr. Salt describes the well-built remains was written by a court scribe, in a style very complimentary of a church, or monastery near Yahee, which he assigns to to his master. The Ras had a jester at court, whose powers the sixth century of the Christian era. of mimicry, and even of regular acting, were of a very high order. A painter was also in his service; and Mr. Salt has given (p. 394) an outline of one of his subjects, representing a combat between some mounted Abyssinians and Galla, which conveys rather a favourable impression of this artist's skill. The Abyssinians are generally fond of pictures, with which they line the inside of their churches, and decorate their chief apartments, when they can procure them.

Commerce.-The commerce of Abyssinia on the east coast is carried on through Massówah and Tajurrah. Of course the former is the harbour of Tigré and Amhara, the latter of Shoa and the southern countries. Tajurrah is 370 miles from Ankobar, by the caravan-road. The route by this road has been much more frequented since the establishment of the British settlement at Aden. [See ADEN.] The great proportion of the goods imported into Abyssinia is consumed there. Some of the articles imported, however, do certainly pass on to countries south of the Abai. The market-place for the commerce of these countries with Abyssinia is at Báso, in Gojam, about 20 miles north of the Abai, and near the towns of Yaush and Yejubbi already mentioned. There are two caravan-roads from Báso to Gondar, and also two from Gondar to Massówah. From the south are brought slaves, ivory, gold, iron, coffee, civet, cloth, cattle. The countries from which these are brought are known by little but the name; but future travellers will no doubt direct their efforts to the exploration of that large region lying between the Abai and the Indian Ocean. It has already been observed that the currency consists of pieces of rock-salt shaped like a whetstone. These pieces

The monastic, and also the solitary life, spread into Abyssinia from the deserts of the Thebais, and when the Portuguese Jesuits entered the country, they found it full of such devotees; many of them seemed, however, to be monks only as far as celibacy was concerned, for they cultivated the ground and lived in villages.

Though a king of Abyssinia, Zarah Jacob, in 1445, sent an ambassador to the council of Florence, very little was known of the country until the Portuguese entered it. We cannot undertake to explain exactly how the notion of an Asiatic Christian prince residing in India, under the name of Prester John, got abroad; those who are curious may consult Ludolf (book ii. c. 1.) and the first chapter of the second book of Tellez. However this may be, John II. of Portugal, anxious to follow up the Portuguese schemes of discovery, and to discover the true Prester John, sent Peter Covilham and Alfonso Payva to find him out wherever he was. These envoys are said to have gone as far as India, but without success, and Payva returned home. Covilham, however, happening to be in some port of the Red Sea, heard of a Christian prince of the Abessines, whom he forthwith concluded must be the object of his search; and accordingly this enterprising man succeeded in reaching (A.D. 1490) the court of the Negus, or king of Abyssinia, which was then in Shoa. This was the beginning of that connection between the Abyssinians and the Portuguese, which continued for about one hundred and fourteen years; but during this long period the missionaries had one leading idea, which was to bring over the Abyssinians to the Catholic faith. Peter Paez, who entered the country in 1603, actually prevailed on the Emperor, his bro

ther, and the nobles, publicly to declare their adhesion to the Church of Rome.

ACA CIA-TREE. See ROBINIA.

| is common in some parts of the country, is used on the occasion. Formerly, (says Mr. Salt,) if a man married more Though the Jesuits pursued their proselyting practice with than one wife, he was excluded from participating in this such pertinacity, they did not neglect to study the country rite, but wealth and power have induced the Church to relax itself, and, accordingly, it is to them that we owe our first its severity in this respect. Marriage itself, in Tigré, accounts of many parts of Abyssinia; and for some, they are appears a mere civil institution: the woman keeps her name, yet the only authorities. A list of the principal works of the and the parties can separate whenever they agree to do so. Portuguese on Abyssinia is given by Salt, and the reader In this case the woman has her dowry back, which is not forwill see, in the compilation of Ludolf, and the abridg-feited unless she is manifestly guilty of adultery. The higher ment of Tellez, how much we are indebted to these zealous classes are subject to no rule, but what may be considered as and often very able men. imposed by the relatives of the me and female. The With the Christian religion, the Abyssinians received the Abyssinians bury their dead immediately after washing and Holy Scriptures, which they now possess in the ancient Ethio- fumigating the body with incense: while the bearers are pic version, made, according to Ludolf, from the Greek Sep- putting it in the ground, the priests recite a form of prayer. tuagint, though nothing is known of the date of this version. Other strange ceremonies that follow are described by Salt. As to the New Testament, (says Ludolf,) no entire copy has-Ludolf's History of Ethiopia.--Bruce, vol. ii. p. 422.been yet brought to Europe. Mr. Bruce brought with him Salt's Abyssinia. from Abyssinia a complete copy of the Scriptures in the Ethiopic language, and also a set of the Abyssinian Chronicles. The Abyssinians divide the Scriptures, which they have entire, differently from what we do, making four principal parts of the Old Testament, and mixing what we call the Canonical with the Apocryphal books. The New Testament is also divided into four parts, to which they add the Book of Revelations as a supplement. For other information respecting the Abyssinian liturgies, and the religious opinions of the Abyssinians. we refer to Ludolf, Book iii. chap. 4, 5. Ludolf denies the existence of the book of Enoch, because he had only seen a spurious copy. A knave who got possession of an Ethiopic book, wrote the name of Enoch upon it, and sold it to Peiresc for a considerable sum of money, and this was the book that Ludolf saw. Bruce brought home three copies of the book of Enoch; one of which he gave to the Bodleian Library at Oxford. This book was originally written in Greek, but the original is lost-all but one large fragment. In the epistle of Jude reference is made to the prophecies of Enoch; and Mr. Bruce says, 'the quotation is word for word the same in the second chapter of the book.' This, however, will not prove the genuineness of the prophecies of Enoch, as Mr. Bruce has very well argued. An English translation of the book of Enoch was published by Dr. Lawrence, Oxford, 1822, 8vo.

The High Priest (or sole bishop) of Abyssinia is called Abuna, which signifies Our Father; and as Frumentius, the first bishop, received his appointment from the Patriarch of Alexandria, this dignitary has, probably, always been a foreigner. When Mr. Salt was in Abyssinia (1810), the Patriarch of Alexandria had just sent a Greek as Abuna, or High Priest, who, unfortunately, died of an epidemic disorder soon after his arrival. His followers were going back to Alexandria to see if they could get a new one appointed. The King is the head of the Church. Polygamy, though not allowed by the ecclesiastical canon, is common enough in practice; and Mr. Salt mentions an instance of one gentleman who had five wives at once. The king, of course, marries as many as he pleases: the clergy, also, who are not monks, may marry, but only once. A second marriage renders them unworthy of their sacred office, according to the ancient canons. Circumcision, according to Bruce, is practised in Abyssinia.

ACA'CIA, the name of a plant of the PEA-TRIBE, mentioned by Dioscorides, as a useful astringent thorn, yielding a white transparent gum. The account given by this Greek author, meagre as it is, accords so well with the gum-arabic trees of modern Egypt, that we can scarcely doubt their identity. Accordingly it is to these, and to others closely related to them, that the classical name is still applied.

With modern botanists, the Acacia is an extensive genus of trees or shrubby plants, inhabiting the tropical parts of both the Old and New World, and, in a very few instances only, extending into temperate latitudes; although over the whole of Australia, and its dependent islands, the species are spread in much abundance.

Some of the species produce catechu and gum-arabic; the bark of others yields a large quantity of tannin, which, in the form of an extract, is annually imported from Van Diemen's Land in considerable quantity; the species from which this substance is procured are chiefly A. decurrens and mollissima. As objects of ornament they are usually of striking beauty; and it may be doubted whether, in the whole vegetable kingdom, equally brilliant colouring, and elegant foliage, combined with a most graceful aspect, are united in the same individuals.

Botanists are acquainted with nearly 300 species. Of these we shall mention only a few of the most interesting. GENERIC CHARACTER.

Flowers polygamous.

Calyx, with either four or five teeth.

Petals, either four or five; sometimes distinct from each other, sometimes adhering in a monopetalous corolla. Stamens varying in number from 10 to 200.

Pod not separating into many joints; juiceless, twovalved.

The species are extremely variable in the structure of their leaves and flowers. Some of them have true leaves that are twice or thrice pinnate, with a multitude of minute, shining, or at least even, leaflets; others have, in a perfect state, no leaves properly so called, but, in their stead, the leaf-stalks enlarge, and assume the appearance, and no doubt also the functions, of true leaves: species of the latter description are known by their spurious leaves being expanded vertically, instead of horizontally as in leaves of the ordinary construction. By these very remarkable points of difference in structure the species may be conveniently sepainto two great subdivisions.

§1. Leaves pinnated in various degrees. About 200 species known.

It would appear, from what we know of the Abyssinian Church, that its priests, at present, are not well informed, nor are the people in general well acquainted with the prineiples of the Christian religion, though they may be Chris-rated tians in name; yet some of their ceremonies are conducted with great decency, and very much resemble those of the Church of England. When Mr. Salt stood godfather to a boy who was baptized into the Christian faith, after naming the child-George, he was requested to say the Belief and Lord's Prayer, and to make much the same promises as those required by our own Church." The head priest then crossed the boy on the forehead, after dipping his hand into the water, and pronounced, George, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.'

When Salt was at Chelicut, Lent was strictly observed for fifty-two days, and no flesh was eaten during this period, though fish and various dishes were always plentiful on the table: the people always fasted till sunset. A feast followed this severe and protracted fast, in which they all seemed anxious to make up for lost time, by over-eating and drinking.

The Sacrament is also administered in Abyssinia, in a very decorous manner; and red-wine made of a grape, which

Acacia Catechu. The catechu acacia. (Willd. Sp. pl. iv. 1097. Mimosa catechu, Linn.) Spines growing in the place of the stipulæ ; when young, straight, but afterwards becoming hooked. Leaves in ten divisions; leaflets in from forty to fifty couples, linear, downy; with one depressed gland at the base of the leaf-stalk, and from two to three between the upper divisions. Flowers arranged in cylindrical spikes, which grow two or three together.-A tree with a tolerably high and stout stem; found in mountainous places in the East Indies, especially in Bengal and Coromandel. It is most common in Canara and Bahar. Its pods are from two to three inches long, quite flat, and of a narrow, oval figure. Its unripe pods and wood yield, by decoction, one of the sorts of catechu, or terra-japonica, of the shops, a powerfully astringent substance, formerly thought to be a kind of earth. The other sort of catechu is obtained from a kind of palm. [See ARECA.]