the nose, and so minute, that it is almost incredible of what use they can be to such a ponderous animal. Both the species of the two-horned rhinoceros are found in all the woods of Africa, from Soudan to the Cape of Good Hope. The various species of the antelope, peculiar only to Africa, are found chiefly in Southern Africa, and some of them are elegantly formed. The African elephants, which are found in all the wooded parts of Africa, from the southern boundaries of the Great Desert to the Cape of Good Hope, are of less size than those of India, Pegu, Siam, CochinChina, and Ceylon, seldom averaging more than nine feet high. The buffaloes, the strongest, fiercest, and most powerful animals of the bovine tribe, are also numerous. A buffalo is about the size of a common ox, but nearly double its bulk. Its horns, twelve or thirteen inches broad at the base, are only separated by a narrow channel, which fills up by age, and gives to the animal's forehead the appearance of solid bone. The African lions are described as the noblest of their race, far excelling those of Asia for size, beauty, and strength; a remark which indeed applies to all the animals of Africa except the elephant. There Nature seems to have exhibited her wondrous power, and shewn her greatness amid sterility, desolation, and barbarism. The lion is found in every part of Africa, and his habits differ little from the feline race to which he belongs. Much of his time is passed in lethargic slumber, from which he is only roused by the attacks of enemies, or by the calls of hunger, when he lies in ambush, and springs on his prey of antelopes or sheep. The Hottentots of the Cape, however, allege, that when he attacks a flock of sheep, he rather prefers to spring on the person attending them than on any of the flock. There are various species of tigers in Africa, less powerful than the striped Bengal and Asiatic tigers, but not less ferocious. The leopards, and also the tiger-cats, are numerous and fierce, and all of them will turn and spring upon their pursuers.

The native dogs are of two kinds, the one resembling the common wolf, and the other not unlike the fox. There are also various species of wolves, jackalls, and hyænas, which commit great depredations among the cattle, and which, being numerous in the caves of the Table Mountains, very frequently, in the early period of the Cape of Good Hope settlements, were accustomed to prow! about the towns and villages by night. Baboons and monkeys abound in the woods of the tropical regions, of all sizes and varieties. Lizards are numerous in the sandy deserts, and there are several species of the cameleon. Crocodiles or alligators are common in the rivers, to the great terror of the Negroes. Noxious insects and reptiles of every description abound scorpions, enormous spiders, snakes, serpents, and other venomous creatures. But the termites, or white ants, and the locusts, are perhaps the greatest scourges of Africa. The former, small as they are, march together in myriads, and the devastation which ensues is almost incredible, for they devour every thing in the shape of wood, leather, &c. which comes in their way. The locusts sometimes lay waste a district; whenever an army of them is on the march, not a blade of grass or leaf of a tree can escape them; in a few hours they will utterly consume a whole field of corn, leaving nothing but the dry soil; no obstacle can allay their devastating progress, and they leave the country through which they pass as if it had been visited by some awful curse.

The birds of Africa are equally gigantic like the animals, and equally diversified in their plumage. The vultures descend on the dead carcasses of animals, and devour them with an eagerness which often renders them unable to rise from the ground. The snake-eater attacks the snakes wherever they are found, and it feeds its young on these poisonous reptiles. Eagles, kites, and crows are abundant. The solitary pelicans, the cranes, flamingoes, and water-fowl of every description, frequent the African

lakes and rivers; parrots, parroquets, and birds of the most beautiful plumage, inhabit those equinoctial regions, displaying in the sun-beams colours so elegant and brilliant, as to astonish and bewilder the spectator.

The coasts of Africa abound with fish, some kinds of which are extremely nutritious. On the southern coasts, the black and spermaceti whales are numerous; and on all the African coasts the sharks abound in shoals.

The forests of Africa are in some parts interminable, and abound with the finest trees of incredible dimensions. The vegetable productions are reared in all parts of Africa, except in the sandy deserts, without severe labour. In the tropical countries, near the coast, there are the cocoa, palm, and the common palm, which afford wine and oil, citrons, lemons, pomegranates, plantains, and bananas, rice, Indian corn, and various useful plants, some of which were introduced by the Portuguese. In the interior there are figs, pomegranates, plantains, yams, melons, gourds, earth-nuts, and various kinds of millet, maize, rice, vegetable butter, sweet potatoes, onions, and pepper. Cotton and indigo are every where cultivated, and they have plants which afford them dyes of the finest hue. In the temperate regions, maize and millet, and the finest grain of every description, are produced; every kind of European fruits and vegetables; grapes, figs, peaches, and apricots, of the finest and most delicious flavour; melons and pumpkins are as fine as can be found; while in the northern parts grows the jujube, and on the skirts of the Desert are whole forests of the datepalm, which affords a considerable part of the sustenance of the natives. Mr Park, in those wild and hitherto unknown countries which he explored, found most of the edible roots which grow in the West Indies, but neither the sugar-cane, the coffee, nor the cocoa-tree were seen by him, and he could not learn that they were known to the natives. The pine-apple, and other delicious fruits, which human industry has

brought to perfection in the tropical climates of America, were also unknown. Of one species of their corn, the Negroes made excellent beer, by malting the seeds in a manner similar to the malting of barley in England, and the beer thus produced Mr Park declares equal to the best strong beer he had ever tasted in his native country.

The British possessions in Africa are of great value. They have the important territory and colony of the Cape of Good Hope, formerly in the hands of the Dutch, various settlements and factories on the coasts, and some most valuable islands. Sierra Leone, an establishment founded for the purpose of civilizing Negroes by education and free labour, appears to have entirely prevailed, and its unhealthy climate is well known. The French and Portuguese have also various settlements and colonies, especially on the rivers Gambia and Senegal, and carry on an extensive trade with the neighbouring Arabs, Moors, Berbers, and Negroes. The tribes of Africa are too numerous to mention; and many of them, of whom nothing is known, half Mahometans, half Pagans, are constantly at war with each other. See EGYPT, ETHIOPIA, LYBIA, NILE, &c.

AGAGITES, a name of the people called the Amalekites, so called from Agag, king of Amalek, whom Saul took, and spared, contrary to the Divine command; but who was put to death by order of the prophet Samuel in Gilgal. See AMALEKITES.

AGALLA, the name of a city beyond the Jordan. See EGLAIM.

AHAVA, or AHAVAH, essence or generation, the name of a small river of Babylonia or Assyria, on the banks of which Ezra assembled the captive Israelites, in his way to Jerusalem, and where he held a solemn fast, Ezra viii. 21, 31. Ezra intended to collect as many Israelites as he could to return with him to Judea, and he halted in the country of Ava, or Ahava, while he sent messengers among the Caspian mountains to invite all the Jews located there to join him. This country is said to be the same as that

called Ava, whence the kings of Assyria translated the people called Avites into Palestine, and where they settled some of the captive Israelites, 2 Kings xvii. 24, 31; xviii. 34; xix. 13.

AHLAB, which is of milk, or which is fat, otherwise brother of the heart, a city belonging to the tribe of Asher, Judges i. 31. Its situation is now un

known.

AHOLAH, his tabernacle, his tent, and AHOLIBAH, or AELIBAH, my tent and my tabernacle in her, two symbolical names used by the prophet Ezekiel to denote the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the former representing Samaria, the capital city of Israel, and the latter Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea, Ezek. xxiii. 4. They are represented by the prophet as women of Egyptian extraction, which refers to the sojourn of the Hebrews in that country, and their deliverance under Moses; and they are upbraided for imitating the idolatries and abominations of the Egyptians and Assyrians, which was the cause of their being carried into captivity by those very people for whom they had evinced such an outrageous affection.

AI, HAI, AIATH, or AIJA, mass or heap. These were the names of two cities, one of which was situated in the country of the Moabites, and is only mentioned as having been plundered by the Chaldeans, Jer. xlix. 3. The other city of A1, which is distinguished in the campaigns of Joshua, was situated about one mile to the east of Bethel, at no great distance from Jericho, and about nine miles northeast of Jerusalem. It is called AGAI by the Septuagint, and AINA by Josephus. Abraham, while he was sojourning in the Plains of Moreh, near Sichem, pitched his tent in the vicinity of this city, "having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east," Gen.xii.8; xiii.3. These two places of Bethel and Ai were so near each other, that they are constantly mentioned together in the scriptures, Ezra ii. 28; Neh. vii. 32. Ai was a very strong place, governed by a king, and commanded a district or small province of land.

VOL. I.

After the capture of Jericho, Joshua sent a detachment of three thousand soldiers against the city, but they were repulsed by the inhabitants with the loss of thirty-six men, which made them sufficiently panicstruck and dispirited. Astonished at this circumstance, Joshua immediately perceived that some one of the tribes had through covetousness violated the anathema pronounced by God against the city of Jericho, by secretly appropriating part of the spoil. The offender was discovered by lot, and put to death in the Valley of Achor. Joshua, having purged his army of all those connected with the cause of his first repulse, now directed himself against this important city, and. sent by night no fewer than 30,000 men to encompass or invest Ai. The account of the war against it, and Joshua's stratagem, are, it is said, "such as could be applied with strict local accuracy to a city situated on ground like this. The ambush, it appears, was placed among the hills on the west, or, in the words of the scriptures, behind the city, between Bethel and it.' The portion of the troops which was to decoy the men of Ai from their city was pitched on the north side of it, and then there was a valley between it and Ai. The ambush was composed of 5000 men, and the rest of the host, or 35,000 men, were to make the false attack; for they had only lost thirty-six men out of the 3000 sent up first against the city, and the whole number that crossed the Jordan were 40,000 men prepared for war." Thus far Mr Buckingham, who personally examined the ground and the site of Ai. The stratagem succeeded; the king of Ai, assisted by the men of the neighbouring town of Bethel, sallied out at the head of his troops to attack the assailants, while the Israelites, affecting great terror, fell back, and drew the enemy into the open plain. When Joshua perceived that all the soldiers of Ai were fairly out of the gates, and pursuing the Israelites in their pretended flight, according to a preconcerted arrangement with the commanders of his ambuscades, he elevated his shield

B

upon the top of a spike, as the signal for them to enter the city. At the recognized signal the troops in ambush immediately entered the place, thus left defenceless, and set it on fire. The men of Ai, perceiving their city in flames, attempted to return, but they were speedily attacked in the rear by the troops composing the successful ambuscade who had set the city on fire, and by Joshua and the main army in front. A dreadful carnage took place, both Bethel and Ai being emptied of their inhabitants, and every one of them was put to the sword. Not an individual was spared; and even when there had been slain, of both men and women, to the number of 12,000, the victors re-entered the city, ransacked the houses and streets, and "smote it with the edge of the sword." The city was then consumed to ashes, and completely destroyed, being literally reduced to a pile of ruins. The king of Ai was taken prisoner early in the action, whom Joshua ordered to be hung upon a gibbet until sunset, when his body was taken down, and thrown before the chief gate of the city, over which the victors threw a mass or heap of stones, which remained many years afterwards. Unlike the taking of Jericho, the work of the day was concluded by the victors dividing the spoils among them. In order to reconcile an apparent discrepancy between the 3d and 12th verses of the 8th chapter of the Book of Joshua, respecting the number of men composing the ambuscades sent against Ai, it is evident that there were two bodies placed in ambush between it and Bethel, one of 25,000, the other of 5000 men each. The district of Ai was subsequently included in the possessions of the Benjamites, who rebuilt the city; but it was afterwards taken and destroyed by Sennacherib, Isa. x. 28. It was again rebuilt, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity, Neh. xi. 31, but few remains of it are now left. The country in which the old city of Ai stood is described as being most beautiful and fruitful, well cultivated, and clothed with the finest verdure. See ACHOR and BETHEL.

AIN, a fountain; also the name of a city. See AEN.

AIJALON, or AJALON, a chain, or strength, or a stag. There were four cities of this name, and a valley, called the Vale of Aijalon. The first was a city belonging to the tribe of Dan, and assigned to the Levites of Koath's family, although the Amorites contrived to keep possession of it for a considerable time. It was situated between Timnah and Bethshemesh; and it was probably here that Saul's army halted in their pursuit of the fugitive Philistines, 1 Sam. xiv. 31. It was taken by Uzziah, or some other king of Judah, but was again captured by the Philistines, in the reign of Ahaz, king of Israel. AIJALON, the name of a city three miles east of Bethel, belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. It was fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 10. AIJALON, a town belonging to the tribe of Ephraim, two miles from Shechem, on the road to Jerusalem, and east of Bethoron. AIJALON, a city belonging to the tribe of Zebulon, where Elon, one of the judges of Israel, was buried. It is uncertain over which of those cities Joshua desired the moon to stand still while he was excited by victory, as they all lay at no great distance from him, to the south-west, the north-east, and the north-west, Josh. x. 12. See AZEKAH, BETHORON, and GIBEON.

ALAMMELECH, God is king, a city mentioned in Josh. xix. 26. It belonged to the tribe of Asher. Its particular situation is uncertain, but it was not far distant from Mount Carmel.

ALEMA, a city in the country of Gilead, beyond the river Jordan, 1 Macc. v. 6.

ALEMETH, or ALMON, a sacerdotal city belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, Josh. xxi. 18. Some ancient geographers assert that Alemeth was a distinct city from Almon, but Calmet maintains that they both mean the same place.

ALEXANDRIA, so called after Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, its founder, now called SCANDERIA, is an ancient and celebrated city of Lower Egypt, situated between the Lake Mareotis and

the Canopic, or westerly branch of the Nile, near the Mediterranean Sea, one hundred and twenty-five miles west of Grand Cairo, north lat. 31° 13', and east long. 29° 45'. It was built by Alexander the Great soon after his conquest of Tyre, in the year of the world 3673, and 333 years before the birth of Christ; and is now, perhaps, the only remaining monument of that renowned monarch of antiquity. Alexandria is often mentioned in the Latin version of those books of the Old Testament which were written after the reign of Alexander; but the name does not occur in Hebrew, Alexandria being so called from its great founder Alexander, a Greek proper name, signifying one that assists men, or one that helps stoutly, or one that turns away evil. Instead of it, we read of a city called No, or Ammon-No, which is held by some writers to have been the ancient city of Diospolis in Delta, between Busiris and Mendesa. It is certain that there was a city on the site of Alexandria, before that city was founded or rebuilt by Alexander the Great. The Arabians allege that, before that event, it was anciently called Caissoun; and some historians maintain that it occupies the site of the old city of No, or AmmonNo, and that Alexander, being struck with its advantageous situation, there built the noble city called after himself. It is more than probable, however, as has been eloquently stated by a popular historian, "that the opposition and efforts of the republic of Tyre, which gave Alexander so long and so severe a check in the career of his victories, led him to perceive the vast resources of a maritime power, and suggested to him an idea of the immense wealth which the Tyrians derived from their commerce, especially with the East Indies. As soon, therefore, as he had accomplished the destruction of Tyre, and reduced Egypt to subjection, he formed the plan of rendering the empire which he designed to establish the centre of commerce as well as the seat of dominion." Alexandria is repeatedly mentioned in the book of the New Testament entitled the Acts of the Apostles.

A party of Alexandrian Jews raised a furious persecution against Stephen, Acts vi. 9. Apollos, one of St Paul's presbyters, who is termed "mighty in the scriptures," and who appears to have been one of the most eloquent preachers of the apostolic times, was born here, Acts xviii. 24; and in a ship belonging to this city St Paul made his second voyage to Rome.

Dinocrates, the same architect who rebuilt the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus, prepared the plan of Alexandria. The death of its founder, oc

casioned by a drunken debauch at Babylon, in the prime of life, took place a few years afterwards; and as a prophecy prevailed, and was thoroughly believed, that the place where that cele brated hero was buried would rise to great opulence and prosperity, the governors of several provinces and cities in his speedily-dismembered empire disputed the honour of possessing his body. It was first proposed to carry it to Aigui in Macedonia, where the kings of Macedonia were generally buried, but the decision was given in favour of Egypt. Aridæus, the half-brother of Alexander, was charged with the trust of conveying the body of the deceased monarch from Babylon to the city of Alexandria. He employed two years in preparing for the funereal pomp and solemnity; and the body was first deposited at Memphis, and afterwards removed to Alexandria, embalmed in honey, and enclosed in a coffin of gold. The fate of the remains of Alexander the Great has never been ascertained; but his mausoleum was violated by Seleucus Cibyofactes, which means avaricious, who carried off the golden coffin, and put a glass one in its place. In 1804, a sarcophagus was discovered near Alexandria, by the celebrated traveller, Dr Daniel Clarke, during the French invasion of Egypt, which is supposed to be that of Alexander the Great. A contention had arisen between Lord Hutchinson, the British general, and the French general Menou, relating to the antiquities collected by the French. A deputation of the merchants of Alexandria waited upon Dr