more than a found. In Naples, there are zo archbishops, 107 bishops. In Sicily, 3 archbishops, and 8 bithops. In the year 1782, there were, in Naples alone, 45,525 priests, 24,694 monks, 20,793 nuns. In 1783, government refolved to diffolve 466 convents of nuns.

Chief City.] Rome, once the capital of the world, is now the chief city in Italy. It contains, according to modern writers, 170,000 inhabitants, and is fituated upon the river Tiber. It was founded by Romulus 750 years before Chrift, and was formerly three times as large as at prefent; and is now one of the largeit and handfomeft cities in Europe.

Mountains.] Mount Vefuvius, in the kingdom of Naples, and Etna, in Sicily, are remarkable for their fiery eruptions, which frequently bury whole cities in ruins.

Government.] The government of Venice is ariftocratical, under a chief magiftrate called a Doge, who is said to be a king as to robes, a fenator in the council houfe, a prifoner within the city, and a private man out of it.

There are many different fovereignties in Italy. It is divided into little republics, principalities and dukedoms, which, in fpiritual matters, are fubject to the pope, who, like the ghoft of the deceafed Roman empire, fits crowned upon its grave.

Hiflory.] The era of the foundation of Rame begins April 20, 753 years before the birth of Chrift. Authors generally affign the honour to Romulus its firft king, who was but eighteen years old. He was a wife, courageous and politic prince.

The

St. Peter is placed at the head of the ropes or bithops of Rome, in the 33d year of the common era. prefent pope is Pius VII. elected March 14, 1800.

Į 17° & 40° E.lon.
&

}

182,562

34° & 49°N. lat.

Boundaries.] BOUNDED by Ruffia, Poland, and

Sclavonia, on the North; by

Circaffia, the Black Sea, the Propontis, Hellefpont, and Archipelago, on the Eaft; by the Mediterranean, on the South; by the fame Sea, and the Venetian and Auftrian territories, on the Welt.

Soil, Air and Productions.] Nature has been lavish of her bleflings upon the inhabitants of Turkey in thefe particulars. The foil, though unimproved through the indolence of the Turks, is luxuriant beyond defcription. The air is falubrious, and friendly to the imagination, unless corrupted by the neighbouring countries, or through the uncleanliness of its inhabitants. The feafons here are regular and pleafant, and have been celebrated from the remoteft times of antiquity. The Turks are invited to frequent bathings, by the purity and wholesomeness of the water in every part of their dominions. Raw filk, cotton, oil, leather, tobacco, cake soap, honey, wax, manna, and various fruits and drugs, are nere produced in plenty.

Chiet City CONSTANTINOPLE, the capital of this empire, anding on the weft fide of the Bofphorus, in the province of Romania, was rebuilt by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, who transferred hither the feat of the Roman government; upon his death it obtained the name of Conftantinople. It is of a trian

gular

gular fhape, wafhed by the fea on two fides, and rifing gradually from the thore, in the form of an amphithea tre. The view of it, from the harbour, is co. feilly the fineft in the world. The city is furrounded by a wall about 12 miles in circumference, and the fuburbs are very exter five. It contains 1,000,000 fouls, of which 200,000 are Greek, 40,0co Armenians, and 60,000 Jews,

Regin. The established relion in this empire, iz the Mahometar, of the feet of the Suncres. All other religions are tolerated, on paying a certain capitation Among the Chritians refiding in Turkey, thefe of the orthodox Greeks are the most numerous, ar d they eri y among other privileges, that ct being a lanted to dig nities and pets of trust and per fit. The Tark th clergy are numerous, being compofed of all the learned in the empire, and are the only teach.rs of the law, and must be confulted in all important cafes.

Government. See Turkey in Asia.

Hiftory.] The Ottoman Empe, or fovereignty of the Turkish empire, was founded at Conftantinople by Othman I. upon the total de trvation of the empire of the eattern Greeks, in the year 1300, who was fucceeded by a race of the melt warlike prir ces that are recorded in hiftory. The Tarkt'h throne is hereditary in the family of Oman. The prefent Ottoman or Tarkith Emperor is Abdelhamet or Achmet III. who had been in confrement 44 years. He fucceeded his brother Mutapha III. January 21, 1774

ISLANDS, SEAS, MOUNTAINS, & OF

EUROPE.

HE principal iflands of Europe, are, Great Britain,

fea, are Yvica, Majorca, and Minorca, fubje&t to Spain. Corfica, fubject to Great Britain. Sas fubject to its own King; and Sicily is governed by a Viceroy under

the

the King of Naples, to whom the island belongs. The islands of the Baltic, the Adriatic, and Ionian feas are not worthy of notice.

The principal feas, gulfs, and bays in Europe, are the Adriatic fea, between Italy and Turkey; the Baltic fea, between Denmark, Poland, and Sweden; the Bay of Biscay, between France and Spain; the English channel, between England and France; the Euxine or Black fea, between Europe and Afia; the German ocean, between Germany and Britain; and the Mediterranean fea, between Europe and Africa.

The chief mountains in Europe, are, the Alps, between France and Italy; the Appeninne hills in Italy; the Pyrenean hills, that divide France from Spain; the Carpathian mountains, in the fouth of Poland; the Peak in Derbyshire; the Piinlim mon, in Wales; befides the terrible volcanoes, or burning mountains of Vefuvius and Stromboli, in Naples; Etna, in Sicily, and Hecla, in the cold ifland of Iceland.

A S I

A.

HIS immenfe tract of country ftretches into all cli

hardy inhabitants, clothed in fur, are drawn in fledges -over the fnow; to the fultry regions of India and Siam, where, feated on the huge elephants, the people fhelter themfelves from the fcorching rays of the fun by the fpreading umbrella.

This is the principal quarter of the globe; for in Afia, the All Wife Creator planted the garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve were formed, from whom the whole human race have derived their existence. Afia became again the nursery of the world after the deluge, whence the defcendants of Noah difperfed their various colonies into all the other parts of the globe.

It was here

here our Saviour was born, and accomplished the great and merciful work of our redemption; and it was hence that the light of his glorious gospel was carried with amazing rapidity, into all the furrounding nations, by his difciples and followers. This was, in fhort, the theatre of almost every action recorded in the Holy Scriptures.

This vast tract of land, was, in the earlieft ages, governed by the Affyrians, Medes, Perfians and Greeks. Upon the extinction of these empires, the Romans carried their arms even beyond the Ganges, till at length the Mahometans, or, as they are ufually called,Saracens, spread their devaftations over this country, destroying all its ancient fplendour, and rendering the most popu lous and fertile spots of Afia wild and uncultivated déferts.

Among the remarkable mountains of Asia, are, Arrarat, near the Cafpian fea, on which the ark of Noah rested, when the waters of the deluge fubfided; and Horeb and Sinai, in Arabia.

The principal languages fpoken in Afia, are, the modern Greek, the Turkish, the Ruffian, the Tartarian, the Perfian, the Arabic, the Malayan, the Chinese, and the Japanese. The European languages are also spoken upon the coafts of India and China.

The continent of Afia is situated between 25 and 180. degrees of east longitude, and between the equator, and 80 degrees of north latitude. It is about 4,740 miles in length, and about 4,380 miles in breadth. It is bound. ed north, by the Frozen Ocean; weft, by the Red Sea, Levant, or Mediterranean, and Europe; eaft, by the Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, which feparates it from America; fouth, by the Indian Ocean; fo that it is almost furrounded by the fea.

This vast tract of country is divided as follows, viz.