jerk into their mouths. They make no use of knives and forks, and rarely of spoons. The males eat in one company, the females in another, and the children and servants in a third. But among the Arabs and Brebers, the master of the tent generally eats alone; the dish then passes to the children; next, to the wives; and lastly, to the servants.

One of the greatest luxuries among the Moors is tea, which is scarce and dear in Barbary. Coffee is an article of great consumption; other common drinks are water, lemonade, and sherbet. Smoking is a common practice; and for this they use a wooden tube about four feet long, with an earthen bowl.

The Moors have a loose, flowing dress; they wear their beards, but have their heads shaved, except a single lock in the middle.

Women.

The condition of the women is the same as in other Mahometan countries. Reared in ignorance, and imprisoned in their apartments, they are rather the slaves than the companions of their husbands. They are generally fleshy, have round faces, small nose and mouth, and handsome, but not expressive, countenances.

Corpulency is considered their principal charm; and the fattening of young women becomes a very important object of domestic attention. A girl, when engaged to be married, is fed abundantly with cuscasoe in order to acquire the fascinating quality of fatness.

The natives of Barbary marry at an early age; and generally without having had much opportunity of forming a mutual attachment.

Funerals.

When any one dies, a number of women are hired for the purpose of lamentation; they perform their duty by making the most frightful howlings, by beating their heads and breasts, and tearing their faces with the nails of their fingers. They are so expert in expressions of grief, that they seldom fail by their mounful sounds and afflicted gestures, to impress the funeral assembly with the deepest thoughtfulness and sorrow.

This custom of employing mourning women has prevailed extensively in eastern countries from remote ages, and is still common. It is referred to in the 9th chapter of Jeremiah. "Call for the mourning women, that they may come ;-and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters."

Locusts.

When

Of all the insects of Barbary, the most formidable is the locust, which always comes from the south, and often continues its visits for three, five, or seven years. swarms of these insects approach, they resemble an immense cloud darkening the sun; and when they settle on the ground to carry on their devastations, they are often crowded upon each other to the depth of several inches.

They all advance in the same direction, climbing over every obstacle in their progress, clearing the ground of every vegetable substance, consuming even the bark of the trees, and announcing their approach, at a considerable distance, by the noise of feeding. "The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness."

In order to give a new direction to their course, the inhabitants are accustomed to dig pits and trenches across their paths, which they fill with water, or with combustible materials, to be set on fire at their approach; but so immense are the numbers of these destroyers, and so eagerly do they press forward their ranks, that the trenches are soon filled, and the flames completely extinguished by the constant succession of new swarms. They partially disappear during the rainy season; and are frequently carried away by hurricanes into the sea.

During these periods of desolation, the locusts are very generally used as food, and are even esteemed a delicacy. At these seasons, the lower classes subsist almost entirely upon them. They also form now, as they did in ancient times, an important part of the food of the poorer inhabitants, in some of the countries of Asia. Of St. John it is said, that "his meat was locusts and wild honey," which indicates that he fared as the poorest of men.

WESTERN AFRICA.

NEGROES. See Plate, No. 90.

The Negroes are ignorant and superstitious, possessing little intelligence or vigour of mind, and having but few of the arts of civilized life. They are, however, except when corrupted by the pernicious influence of the slave trade, a simple, mild, and generous race, who need only to be enlightened and directed by the gentle spirit of the gospel, in order to render them the most happy and amiable of mankind.

They are divided into a great number of tribes; some of the principal of those found in Western Africa are the Mandingoes, Foulahs, and Jaloffs, a great part of whom profess Mahometanism, but combine with it many pagan superstitions. Polygamy is practised by them, as it is, indeed, generally throughout Africa. Indolence and a fondness for music and dancing are generally characteristic of the negroes.

MANDINGOES.

The Mandingoes have spread themselves extensively over the countries watered by the Gambia, Senegal, and Niger. They are a tall, slender race, with remarkably small eyes. They are subject to few diseases, but are short-lived, seldom surviving the period of 55 or 60 years.

They are gentle, simple, fond of flattery, humane, gay, and lively, but have an incorrigible propensity to theft. The dress of both sexes is made of cotton cloth, which is manufactured by themselves, and dyed blue.

Polygamy is practised by them, and as the husband procures his wives by purchase, he requires the utmost deference and submission, and treats them rather as servants than as companions. As disputes are apt to arise among these rival ladies, the husband, when a beating proves insufficient, may carry them before the chiefs of the town, or, if all fails, has recourse to the expedient of Mumbo Jumbo. This formidable scourge of female rebellion enters the town after dark, arrayed in a fantastic coat, made of bark, with a tuft of straw on his head, and sum

mons to the market place the offending lady, who dares not disobey. Her clothes are then taken off, and she is tied to a post, and severely scourged with Mumbo's rod, amid the shouts and laughter of the whole assembly.

This system of polygamy, and the bad treatment of the females, seem to concentrate all their tenderness in their offspring, from whom, in return, they experience a much stronger attachment than is felt towards the fathers. The women are attentive to the education of their children, and one of the first lessons they teach them is the practice of truth. An unfortunate mother, whose only son had been murdered by Moors, consoled herself in the reflection that he had never told a lie.

The Mandingoes believe in a Supreme Being, and a future state of rewards and punishments. Their knowledge is extremely limited. They conceive the earth to be an extended plain, the extremities of which are overhung with clouds; while the sea is represented as a large river of salt river, on the other side of which is "the land where slaves are sold."

The Jaloffs occupy the country between the lower part of the Gambia and that of the Senegal. They are among the handsomest of the negroes, but have the proper negro features, bright black colour, woolly hair, flat nose, and protuberant lips, but not to such a degree as the Mandingoes.

FOULAHS.

The Foulahs are widely diffused in Western Africa ; but their most populous kingdom is Foota Jallo. They are clearly distinguished in form and features from the other negro tribes. Their complexion is black, mixed with olive; they have a thin face, small high features, with an agreeable expression, and long, soft, silky hair. They are of a graceful, manly form, and of a peculiarly polished and insinuating air.

No people in Africa bear a higher character for industry, hospitality, humanity, and other virtues, than the Foulahs. Like other negroes they have a strong passion for music and dancing. Their employment is chiefly pasturage.

GUINEA.

Guinea is a name applied to a large extent of the western coast of Africa, and is divided into the Grain coast, Ivory coast, Gold coast, and Slave coast, which are visited for slaves, gold, ivory, and pepper.

In the interior lie several considerable countries, some of the most important of which are Ashantee and Dahomey.

ASHANTEE.

The kingdom of Ashantee, which has been known to Europeans only a few years, is represented as the most powerful, civilized, and commercial, on the western coast of Africa. It is situated immediately behind the states on the Gold coast.

Coomassie, the chief town, contains a population of about 15,000, or according to the inhabitants 100,000. It has four principal streets, about half a mile long, and from 50 to 100 yards broad. The houses are low and small, composed of canes wattled together, and plastered with clay and mud, and covered with palm leaf thatch. The gov

ernment is a despotism, and the king's harem is said to contain 3,333 women.

DAHOMEY.

Dahomey is a considerable kingdom of Western Africa, situated behind the Slave coast.-Abomey, the capital, is said to contain about 24,000 inhabitants. The houses are built without any regularity.

The ferocity which prevails in this nation almost surpasses belief. Human skulls form the favourite ornament in constructing palaces and temples. The king's sleeping chamber has the floor paved with the skulls, and the roof ornamented with the jawbones, of chiefs whom he has overcome in battle.

Every year, at a grand festival, the king waters the graves of his ancestors with the blood of great numbers of human victims. Whenever he wishes to announce to his deceased father any remarkable event, or to consult him on any emergency, he sends for one of his ablest messengers, and after delivering to him his errand, cuts "off his head, thus sending him with his message to the invisible world.