Cairo is situated on the Nile, a little above the division of the river into branches. It is not only the emporium of Eastern Africa, but one of the most commercial cities in the world. It was founded, in 973, by the Saracens. Near Cairo, are the celebrated Pyramids, which have, for upwards of 3000 years, withstood the influence of time. The grand Pyramid is 543 feet high, and its base covers eleven acres of ground.

Alexandria, once the seat of learning and royal magnificence, lies now, for the greater part, in ruins. It was built by Alexander the Great, 331 years B. C. It became the seat of the Ptolemies, a race of enlightened princes, who placed their glory in commerce and the sciences. It was, in 640, reduced by the Caliph Omar, and subjected to the Saracen yoke. It is generally believed that then its immense library, containing 700,000 volumes, was reduced to ashes; Omar remarking, that if it contained matter contrary to the doctrines of Mahomet, it was pernicious; if not, it was at least superfluous.

Thebes, Memphis, Alexandria, and Cairo, have been successively the capitals of Egypt.

Egypt is governed by a Pasha, or Bashaw, who, though no. minally subject to the Grand Signior, is the efficient ruler of the country.

Near the mouth of the western branch of the Nile, is the Bay of Aboukir, where Lord Nelson gained a great naval victory over the French, in 1798.

Nubia is bounded on the north by Egypt; on the east by the Red Sea; on the south by Abyssinia; and on the west by Bornou. It is 600 miles long, and 500 broad. Its chief states are Dongola on the north, and Sennaar on the south.

Abyssinia, situated to the south of Nubia, is a very extensive country. It is very elevated and mountainous, which renders the temperature cooler than that of Egypt or Nubia.

Adel is a small kingdom to the south of Abyssinia.

Ajan is a very extensive tract and is said to be divided into several kingdoms, of which we have no certain account.

The Portuguese have several settlements on the coasts of Zanguebar and Mosambique.

Mocaranga is said to be the most civilized and powerful kingdom on the south-east of Africa. Soffala and Sabia are supposed to be its dependencies.

The countries on the eastern coast produce gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, ebony, and drugs.

The Colony of the Cape of Good Hope includes the territory which lies to the south of 30° of S. latitude, and is about 500 miles from E. to W., and 300 from N. to S. This flourishing colony belongs to Great Britain, in whose possession it has been since 1806. It has been said that the inhabitants are either in a furnace, below a water-fall, or at the mouth of a pair of bel lows; so great is the violence of the heat, rain, and wind; it is, nevertheless, healthy. The colony produces wine, some of which is exported under the name of Cape Madeira.

The country of the Hottentots lies south of 28° S. latitude, and includes many tribes within the colony of the Cape.

Caffraria extends from 20° to 28° S. latitude, but it formerly included both Cape Colony and the country of the Hottentots.

Guinea is generally divided into the Grain, the Ivory, the Gold, and the Slave Coast, each named after its chief commercial wealth.

The Ashantees excel their neighbours in courage and discipline.

Sierra Leone is an English settlement, formed for the civilization of the interior of Africa.

Under the name of Senegambia, the districts near the rivers Gambia and Senegal are included. They are divided into distinct governments, but the natives consist of four classes, the Mandingoes, Feloups, Jaloffs, and Foulahs. The Foulahs are converts to the Mahometan faith, divested in some degree of its gloomy and bigoted character. They are industrious, and form one of the most intelligent and respectable tribes in Africa. Their principal kingdom is that behind Sierra Leone, of which Temboo is the capital. The Mandingoes exhibit the genuine negro character, and are far inferior in sprightliness and intelligence to the Foulahs.

8. CENTRAL AFRICA.

This extensive district comprises Sahara, or the Great Desert, Soudan, or Nigritia, which contains several kingdoms, Bornou, Darfur, and several other tracts almost entirely unknown.

Sahara, or the Great Desert, is 1500 miles long, and 800 broad. This immense space is a vast sandy plain, with the exception of a few fertile spots, like islands, whose inhabitants are separated from the rest of the world.

Nigritia lies in the torrid zone, and is traversed by the river Niger.

Tombuctoo is the great mart of trade between the Arab and Negro states.

Haoussa is a populous and well cultivated district. It has manufactories of cotton goods, carpets, trinkets, and cutlery. Bornou is the most powerful and extensive monarchy in Africa.

9. ISLANDS. The Azores, the Madeiras, the Cape Verd Islands, in the North Atlantic, and St. Matthew, Ascension, and St. Helena, in the South; Fernando Po, Prince's, St. Thomas, and Annobon, in the Gulf of Guinea; and Madagascar, Bourbon, Mauritius, the Comoro isles, and Socotra, in the Indian Ocean.

The Azores, or Western Islands, are 9 in number: the prin cipal are St. Michael and Tercera. They are opposite to the coast of Portugal, to which kingdom they belong, but they are generally described under Africa. The Canaries are 13 in num. ber, of which Teneriffe is the principal; from Ferro, the most western of the group, the first meridian used formerly to be taken. At St. Helena, the Emperor Napoleon died in 1821, after six years' exile. Madagascar is the largest African island, being 800 miles long, and nearly 300 broad.

10. Capes.Serrat and Bon on the north; Guardafui on the east ; Good Hope on the south; and Voltas, Formosa, Palmas, Verd, Blanco, and Bojador on the west.

11. GULFS AND BAYS.-The gulfs of Cabes and Sidra, and bay of Aboukir in the Mediterranean; Soffala Bay in the Channel of Mozambique; False Bay, and Table Bay, near the Cape of Good Hope; and the Gulf of Guinea, south of the Gold Coast.

12. STRAITS.-The Straits of Gibraltar and Babelmandel; and the Channel of Mozambique, between Madagascar and the Continent.

13. MOUNTAINS.-Atlas, in Barbary; the Sierra Leone, between Guinea and Nigritia, and the Mountains of the Moon, which traverse Central Africa.

14. RIVERS. The Nile which runs through Abyssinia, Nubia, and Egypt; the Niger in Nigritia; and the Senegal, the Gambia, the Zaire or Congo, and the Orange River, which fall into the Atlantic.

The Nile rises in the mountains of the Moon, in a district called Donga, lat. 8o N., runs through Abyssinia, Nubia, and Egypt, and after a course of 2000 miles, falls into the Mediterranean. It passes Dongola, Thebes, and Cairo. In passing through Upper Egypt, it is confined between the mountain ranges, which leave only a narrow strip on each side. Near Cairo the valley widens, and the river spreads over the wide and level plain of the Delta. It there separates into branches, of which the most important are those of Rosetta and Damietta. The Niger, whose source is now assigned to the mountains of Kong, flows from W. to E, through Bambarra, Tombuctoo, and Haoussa. This river has long furnished one of the most perplexing problems in Geography, and to ascertain its whole