sand, which, being piled up in hillocks, cannot be passed without the severest labour. These, when blown up by the wind, sometimes produce the most terrible effects, and whole caravans have been buried beneath them.

This vast tract of waste does not present an aspect quite uniform, but is diversified by oases, or islands, where the supply of water admits of a certain degree of verdure and cultivation, and affords support to a greater or less number of inhabitants. In some instances they afford merely springs for the refreshment of travellers. The inhabited spots are occupied by nomadic Arabs, who, after having exhausted one place, rove to another.

The only impulse, by which civilized nations are led to traverse these dreary wastes, is commerce, or the love of gain. The trade is carried on by merchants, who are inured, from their infancy, to that train of hardship and difficulty, attending these formidable journies. Efficacious means are afforded by the introduction of that most useful animal, the camel, which is emphatically called the 'ship of the desert.' Caravans, sometimes containing 2,000 men, proceed from different parts of northern Africa to the interior of the continent, loaded with salt, clothes, and various kinds of European goods, receiving in return gold, ivory, and slaves.

One of the principal centres, in the interior of Africa, for the caravans, is Tombuctoo, which is situated to the south of the desert, near the Niger. This celebrated emporium has a communication with Morocco, also with Tripoli, and various other places. The journey from Tripoli to Tombuctoo is performed in about 80 days, and the longest time passed without finding water, is six days.

The coast of Sahara, extending along the desert, is for the most part rocky, dangerous, and destitute of harbours. Hence a considerable number of European vessels suffer shipwreck, and are cast ashore, when their crews suffer the most dreadful fate. They are not only stripped of all their property, but reduced to a state of bondage, where they experience every outrage which can be prompted by the union of avarice and bigotry. Their only hope of relief is from being carried over the desert to be sold in Morocco, when the humanity of European merchants settled there, often affords them the means of being restored to their country.

THE NILE.

The Nile, though by no means the largest, is the most celebrated river in the world. To ascertain the sources of this river has been an object of great interest from the early ages. It is described as rising in the western part of Africa, by Herodotus and Pliny, who seem to have held the opinion still retained by some moderns, that the Niger and the Nile are the same river.

But it is now generally supposed to be formed by two main branches, the Bahr el Abiad, the longest and largest branch, rising in the Mountains of the Moon or of Donga; and by the Bahr el Azrek, which rises in the mountains of Abyssinia. These rivers unite in latitude about 16 N. A considerable distance below this junction it receives the Tacazze; after which, in the course of about 1,000 miles, it is not fed by any river, scarcely by the smallest rivulet.

The Nile, after having passed through Dongola and Nubia, enters Egypt at Syene, traverses the country through its whole extent, and below Cairo divides into two great branches, one flowing into the Mediterranean at Damietta, and the other at Rosetta. In ancient times it had seven mouths, but these two are the only ones of any importance now remaining. In passing through Upper Egypt, it is confined between two mountain ranges, which leave only a narrow strip on each side. The Delta of the Nile commences below Cairo, where the valley widens, and the river separates into branches.

The course of the Nile is upwards of 2,000 miles in length; but it is narrow in proportion, being only from a quarter to half a mile wide. It flows only about three miles an hour. Its waters are always turbid, and it has a variety of fish.

A little above Syene are the famous cataracts of the Nile, which, however, are far from corresponding to the magnificent descriptions given of them by the ancients. Mr. Legh describes that at Syene as formed merely by the river forcing its way in a contracted channel through rocks. According to Mr. Burckhardt, the cataract, a few miles higher up, is little more considerable. Pocoke mentions three, the first of three feet, the second of five, the third somewhat greater. The boats of the Arabs ascend and descend these rapids.

The inundation of the Nile, which produces all that fertility for which Egypt is distinguished, is occasioned by the periodical rains, which fall from June to September throughout the northern tropical regions. The rise begins to be perceived about the 17th of June, and continues till August, when the river is at its height, and all the level parts of the country are overflowed.

On the plain of the Delta the inundation takes place spontaneously; but Upper Egypt, and other countries above it, are irrigated by means of water-wheels, which lift the water from the river, and as the wheels revolve, pour the water into a reservoir, from which it is distributed throughout the fields by small channels dug in the ground. These wheels resemble the wheels of a mill sluice, with the difference that the rim is furnished with buckets, instead of water-boards. The land watered by each will yield about 1,500 bushels of grain.

Of the canals for conveying the water, that of Cairo is the principal, and is opened when the river has obtained the height of 32 feet. The ceremony of opening it forms a national festival, and is celebrated by the most extravagant marks of joy. The waters leave a slime, more or less thick, which fertilizes the country.

The north and northwest, or Etesian wind, is a monsoon which blows, annually, during the months of July and August, at the time of the Nile's inundation, affords wonderful advantages for commerce. A vessel, leaving Rosetta, is driven with extraordinary velocity against the whole force of the torrent to Cairo, or into any part of Upper Egypt, For the purpose of her return, even with greater rapidity, it is only necessary to take down mast and sails, and leave her to be carried against the wind by the powerful current of the river. It is thus possible to perform the whole voyage from Rosetta to Cairo, and back again, with certainty, in about 70 hours; a distance by the river equal to 400 miles.

THE NIGER,

The Niger, the great river of Central Africa, has, in modern times, excited extraordinary interest, by reason of the contradictory accounts respecting its course and termination. To ascertain these has long been a grand

geographical problem, in prosecuting which much property has been spent, and many lives sacrificed. The Niger rises in a range of mountains towards the west of Africa, not a great distance from the sources of the Senegal and Gambia. It is known to pursue an easterly course for the distance of 1,200 or 1,400 miles, flowing by Sego, Jenne, and Cabra, the port of Tombuctoo, thence passing into unknown regions in the interior of Africa.

With regard to its subsequent course and termination, various hypotheses have been formed. By one hypothesis, the Niger is supposed, after pursuing a further course to the east, to lose itself in a lake, or inland sea, in the interior. A second supposition is, that the Niger and the Nile, are the same river. A third hypothesis is, that this river, after a long course through Central and Southern Africa, empties itself into the ocean by the Zaire or Congo. A fourth hypothesis is, that the Niger, after passing through Wanagara, turns to the southwest, and pours itself into the gulf of Guinea, through the great channels that intersect the delta of Benin. A circumstance in favour of this supposition is the number and magnitude of the rivers, that flow into the gulf of Guinea.

DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA.

In 1788, 95 English gentlemen, generally men of rank, wealth, and learning, considering the little knowledge possessed respecting African geography, a reproach to an enlightened age, formed themselves into an "Association for promoting the discovery of the Interior Parts of AfriTheir efforts, although they have accomplished much less than was aimed at, have, nevertheless, greatly increased our knowledge of that continent; at the expense, however, of many valuable lives.

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The first traveller, employed by the Association, was Ledyard, an American, a native of Groton, Connecticut, and a man of great enterprise and energy of character. He had sailed with captain Cook round the world, and had travelled over the north of Europe and Asia. Arriving in England, he waited on sir Joseph Banks, who proposed to him a tour of discovery in Africa, which he entered into with enthusiasm. Sir Joseph gave him a letter of introduction to one of the members of the committee of

the Association. The description, which that gentleman has given of the interview, strongly marks the character of this hardy traveller.

"Before I learned," says he, " from the note, the name and business of my visiter, I was struck with the manliness of his person, the breadth of his chest, the openness of his countenance, and the inquietude of his eye. I spread the map of Africa before him, and tracing a line from Cairo to Sennaar, and from thence westward in the latitude and supposed direction of the Niger, I told him that was the route by which I was anxious that Africa might, if possible, be explored. He said he should think himself singularly fortunate to be entrusted with the adventure, I asked him when he would set out, 'To-morrow morning,' was his answer.

From such zeal, decision, and intrepidity, the Association naturally formed the most sanguine expectations. Mr. Ledyard sailed from England for Egypt, and arrived at Cairo in August, 1788, but was taken sick, and died in the January following, after his arrangements had been made for proceeding into the interior.

"I am accustomed to hardships," said Ledyard, on the morning of his departure from London, "I have known both hunger and nakedness to the utmost extremity of human suffering: I have known what it is to have food given me as charity to a madman; and I have at times been obliged to shelter myself under the miseries of that character, to avoid a heavier calamity: my distresses have been greater than I ever owned, or ever will own, to any man. Such evils are terrible to bear, but they never yet had power to turn me from my purpose. If I live, I will faithfully perform, in its utmost extent, my engagement to the Society and if I perish in the attempt, my honour will be safe, for death cancels all bonds."

The following is the beautiful eulogium of this careful observer of human nature, on the benevolence of the female character:-"I have always remarked," says he, "that women, in all countries, are civil and obliging, tender and humane; that they are ever inclined to be gay and cheerful, timorous and modest; and that they do not hesitate, like men, to perform a generous action. Not haughty, not arrogant, not supercilious, they are fond of courtesy, and fond of society; more liable, in general, to err,