3. A Peninsula, called also Chersonesus, is a piece of dry land
every where environed with water, save only a narrow neck of land
adjoining the same to the Continent.
4. An Isthmus is that narrow neck of land which joins the
Peninsula to the Continent, by which people go from one to the
other.
5. A Promontory is a high piece of land, stretching out into the
sea, the extremity whereof is commonly called a Cape.
6. A Mountain is a rising part of dry land, overtopping the adjacent
country, and appearing the first at a distance.
WATER is divided into Oceans, Seas, Gulfs, Straits, Lakes, and
Rivers.
7. Ocean is a vast collection of water, environing a considerable
part of the Continent.
8. The Sea is a smaller body of water, intermixed with Islands, and
for the most part environed with land.
9. A Gulf is a part of the Sea, every where encompassed with land,
except only one passage, whereby it communicates with the main
ocean.
10. A Strait is a narrow passage, either joining a Gulf to the
neighbouring Sea or Ocean, or one part of the Sea or Ocean to
another.
11. A Lake is a small collection of deep standing water, surrounded
by land, and having no visible communication with the Sea.
12. A River is a considerable stream of fresh water, rising out of
one, or various fountains, continually gliding along in one or more
currents, till it empties itself into the sea or ocean.
OF THE
FOUR QUARTERS OF THE WORLD,
AND FIRST OF EUROPE.
_A Swedish Man and Woman in their proper_
_Dresses_.
[Illustration: Woodcut of Swedish couple]
_An Historical and Geographical Account of_
SWEDEN, DENMARK, _and_ NORWAY.
SWEDEN is one of the Northern Kingdoms, great and populous; is
bounded on the North by Lapland, Norway, and the Frozen Sea; on the
East by Muscovy; on the South by the Baltic Sea; on the West by
Denmark and Norway. It is divided into six parts, contains
seventeen cities, the capital is Stockholm; the air is cold, but
wholesome; it abounds with all the necessaries of life; the
inhabitants are long-lived; they trade in brass, lead, iron,
steel, copper, skins, furs, deals, oak, pitch, and tar: They are
civil, and so industrious that a beggar is not to be seen among
them; good soldiers, strong and healthy. It was formerly elective,
but now hereditary. It is governed by a King and the States, which
consist of the nobility, clergy, and the merchants; their religion
is Lutheranism, and dialect Teutonic and German.
_An Account of_ DENMARK.
DENMARK lies to the North of England, is but a small kingdom,
Copenhagen is the metropolis. The King of Denmark is also Sovereign
of Norway, Greenland, Fero, &c. The air is very cold, the country
fruitful; there is store of deer, elks, horses, cattle, &c. also
fish, especially herrings; their commodities are chiefly tallow,
timber, hides, and rigging for ships: The crown is hereditary, the
government entirely in the power of the King, and their religion the
same as in Sweden.
_An Account of_ NORWAY.
NORWAY is a kingdom on the North-West shore of Europe, belongs to
the King of Denmark, is separated from Sweden by a ridge of
mountains always covered with snow; the chief town is Drontheim. It
is mountainous, barren, and extremely cold, therefore but thinly
peopled; they are a plain people, of the same religion as those of
Denmark. The produce of the country is good for timber, oak, pitch,
tar, copper, and iron; and their seas abound with fish, which the
inhabitants dry upon the rocks without salt, and sell them to most
nations in Europe, to victual their ships in long voyages. They
have very little corn grown in the country; and the inhabitants feed
on the flesh of bears, wolves, and foxes; and the poorer sort make
bread of dried fish ground to powder, while the better sort exchange
the commodities above-mentioned for corn, fruits, wine, and other
necessaries. Their longest day in the northern parts is two months,
and shortest in the southern about eight hours.
_A Moscovite, or Russian Man and Woman in_
_their proper Dresses_.
[Illustration: Woodcut of Russian couple]
_An account of_ MOSCOVY, _or_ RUSSIA.
MOSCOVY is the largest country in Europe, and which comprehends all
that vast country which obeys the Czar, or Czarina. It is bounded
by the Northern Ocean on the North; the rivers Oby and Tanais on the
East; the Little Tanais, the rivers Desna and Sosa, with Lesser
Tartary, on the South; Narva, Poland, Sweden, and Norway on the
West: It contains about forty provinces; is a marshy country, not
well inhabited, full of forests and rivers; the winter is long, and
very cold; they sow only rye before winter, and the other corn in
May, though their harvest is in July and August. They have plenty
of fruit, melons, fowl, and fish; and their commodities are salt,
brimstone, pitch, tar, hemp, flax, iron, steel, copper, and Russian
leather, much valued in England. They wear long beards, short hair,
and gowns down to their heels; are a mistrustful and cruel people,
cunning in trading, and deceive with impunity, it being counted
industry; naturally lazy and drunken, and lie on the ground or
benches, all excent [sic] the gentry. Until Czar Peter the Great
(who polished the people, as well as enriched and improved the
country), they were barbarous and savage; but he setting up
printing-houses and schools in his dominions, banished ignorance,
and introduced the liberal arts. Their government is hereditary and
absolute, their religion is that of the Greek church. They have a
number of clergy, and divers monasteries for friars and nuns. The
Emperor of Moscovy is called the Czar, and Empress the Czarina.
_A French Man and Woman in their proper Dresses_.
[Illustration: woodcut of French couple]
_An Historical and Geographical Account of_ FRANCE.
FRANCE is one of the finest and largest countries in Europe, lies in
the middle of the Temperate Zone, is washed by the ocean to the
west, by the Mediterranean Sea to the South, joins to the Low
Countries to the North, Germany and Italy lie to the East, and Spain
to the South. Its length and breadth is about 225 leagues each.
Its chief city is Paris; there are ten universities, and many very
stately palaces, the chief of which is that at Versailles, about
eleven miles from Paris, where their Kings used to reside. It
abounds with all the necessaries of life, which made the Emperor
Maximilian say, "That if it were possible he himself were God, his
eldest son should succeed him, and the second should be King of
France." The common people were reckoned industrious, and the
better sort very polite, well bred, extremely gay in dress, and
civil to strangers, till their late wonderful revolution destroyed
all distinctions, and involved them in a contest with the rest of
Europe; which seems to have reversed their manners, and renders it
impossible to say what will in future be the distinguishing traits
of the national character, when they shall again cultivate the arts
of peace. Their commodities are brandy, wine, salt, silks, linen
and woollen, hemp, canvas, paper, soap, almonds, olives, &c. To
take a view of the country, their fields are long and open,
intermixed with corn and vines, and every hedge so beset with choice
fruits, that eyes can hardly have fairer objects.
'Twas in this country that Master Tommy Courtly and his sister, who
went over with their papa, learnt all that good manners and genteel
behaviour, which made every body love and admire them so much at
their return home; which had such an effect on their brother Jack,
(who was a rude, ill-natured, slovenly boy), that he soon grew
better; and to prevent himself being utterly despised, and turned
out of doors, by his papa and mamma, for his undutiful behaviour, he
immediately mended his manners, and in a very little time was
beloved and admired, almost equally with his brother Tommy. It has
now, however, ceased to be the school of Europe; and as the late
extraordinary events, which brought their Monarch to the block, and
occasioned the people to declare for a Republican government, have
been attended with a total loss of trade, and the destruction of the
arts, it must be many years before travellers can again visit this
country with hope of similar advantages.
_Germans in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of German couple]
_An Account of_ GERMANY.
GERMANY is a large, fruitful, and pleasant country, which has the
title of an Empire. It is bounded on the North by the Baltic Sea,
Denmark, and the German Ocean; on the East by Hungary, Prussia, and
Poland; on the South by the Alps; on the West by the Netherlands,
Lorrain, and French Compte. It is divided into higher and lower;
its whole length is about 840 Italian miles, and breadth about 740;
the soil is very fertile, and furnishes every thing necessary; the
chief rivers are the Danube, the Rhine, Elbe, Oder, and Weser.
Tacitus, speaking of the Ancient Germans, says, "They sung [sic]
when they marched to fight, and judged of the success by the shouts
and huzzas at the onset. Their wives, as martial as themselves,
accompanied them to the war to dress their wounds, and provide them
with necessaries. They esteemed nothing so infamous as to throw
away or lose their shield. They buried the bodies of their noblemen
on a funeral pile, with their arms and horse." The Germans of our
age are laborious, simple, and brave, but ready to serve for money,
constant in their religion, true friends, open enemies.
The inventions of printing, gunpowder, and fire-arms are attributed
to them. There are above three hundred different Sovereignties in
Germany, most of which are subject to the supreme head, the Emperor,
who is chosen by the nine Electors, viz. the Archbishops of Mentz,
Triers, and Cologn; the King of Bohemia; the Duke of Bavaria; the
Duke of Saxony; the Marquis of Brandenburgh, (King of Prussia); the
Prince Palatine of the Rhine; and the Elector of Hanover, (King of
England). The Electors are the principal members of the Empire, and
absolute Sovereigns in their own dominions. Their religion, for the
greatest part, is Popery; but in several states and cities,
particularly Prussia, the Protestant prevails. The chief city is
Vienna, in the Dukedom of Austria, which is the seat of the Emperor.
_A Dutch Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Dutch couple]
HOLLAND and FLANDERS, which are called the Seven Provinces, and the
Netherlands, are inhabited by the Dutch.
This country is also in Germany, though mostly independent of the
Empire; the greatest part belongs to the Dutch, part to the French,
and part to the Emperor: Its capital city is Amsterdam, a place of
vast trade and riches. The air is moist and foggy; the country,
lying low, is naturally wet and fenny, and employed chiefly in
grazing of cattle; little corn grows there, but they import
abundance from other countries; the soil is fertile, the natural
produce is chiefly butter and cheese, in which their trade has been
great, but that of herrings the most considerable; and they had
manufactures of various kinds, carrying on a prodigious trade to
most parts of the world. They are a plain and frugal people, and
very laborious. Their form of government was very peculiar; but
their independence having been absorbed in the vortex of the French
revolution, it is uncertain what form it may assume in a short
period. Their language is a dialect of the German. The reformed
religion, according to the doctrines of Calvin, is the established
one, though all are tolerated.
_A Spanish Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Spanish couple]
_An Account of_ SPAIN.
SPAIN is separated from France by the Pyrenean Hills, and on all
other sides is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Straits of
Gibraltar, and the Atlantic Ocean. The King has the most lands of
any Prince in the world, on which account some of their predecessors
have boasted, "That the sun never sets in their dominions, as having
possessions in all the four parts of the world." He is stiled [sic]
his Catholic Majesty. His Court is different from all others, he
gives audience but one day in a week, and the rest he is shut up in
his palace, the courts of which are full of merchants' shops, and
resemble the cloisters of religious houses. The air of Spain is
pure and dry, but very hot; the soil is sandy, and mostly barren,
though where fertile not well cultivated, through the pride and
laziness of the people, to which they are much addicted; though what
they want in corn is made up in a variety of excellent fruits and
wines, of which they have great plenty. Their chief commodities are
wine, oil, fruits of various sorts, wool, lamb-skins, honey, cork,
&c. The people are grave and majestic, faithful to their Monarch,
delicate in point of honour, jealous, lascivious, and tyrants over a
vanquished enemy; look upon husbandry and the mechanical arts with
the greatest contempt. Their government is an absolute Monarchy,
and their crown hereditary as well to females as to males. Their
religion is Roman Catholic, nor is any other tolerated. Madrid is
their capital city, which stands near the middle of the country, on
top of a hill, by the little river Manzanares.
_A Portuguese Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Portuguese couple]
_An Account of_ PORTUGAL.
PORTUGAL joins to Spain, and to the East is bounded by Spanish
provinces; the capital city is Lisbon, a place of great trade and
riches, with an excellent harbour: The soil of this country is poor,
and produces but little, except wine and fruit. The nobility and
gentry are magnificent and hospitable, but the common people much
addicted to thieving. It is governed by its own King, who is by
much the richest crowned head in Europe. His government is
absolute, and crown hereditary. The established religion is Popery,
though others are tolerated, but are under a necessity of being very
reserved and cautious, for fear of the inquisition, which is a court
or tribunal for the examination and punishment of offenders, whom
they torture in the most cruel manner.
Lisbon, the capital city, as before-mentioned, is about six miles in
length, built on seven hills, surrounded with a wall, on which are
77 towers, and 36 gates; is reckoned to contain 30,000 houses, and
150,000 inhabitants, (whose foreign trade is equal to any city in
Europe, except London and Amsterdam.) There is a cathedral, 37
parish churches, 23 cloisters, several handsome squares, and
sumptuous buildings, the largest of which is the King's palace.
Such was the state of this opulent city till the 1st of November,
1755, when the greatest part of it was reduced to a heap of ruins by
a most tremendous earthquake, which was followed by a terrible
fire. A gentleman who was present, giving an account of the
calamity to his friend in England, says, "It is not to be expressed
by human tongue, how dreadful and awful it was to enter the city
after the disaster; in looking upwards one was struck with terror,
in beholding frightful ruined fronts of houses, some leaning one
way, some another; then, on the contrary, one was struck with horror
in beholding dead bodies, by six or seven in a heap, crushed to
death, half buried, half burnt; and if one went through the broad
squares, nothing to be met with but people bewailing their
misfortunes, wringing their hands, and crying _the world was at an
end_: In short, 'twas the most lamentable scene that eyes could
behold."
The King, in his letter on the melancholy occasion to the King of
Spain, concludes thus: "I am without a house, in a tent, without
servants, without subjects, without money, and without bread."
_An Italian Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Italian couple]
_An Historical Description of_ ITALY.
ITALY in the scriptures is called Chittim, and Mesech. Pliny (an
ancient Latin writer) gives it this character: "Italy is the
nurse-mother of all nations, elected by the Gods to make the Heavens
more glorious, and unite the dispersed governments of the world."
&c. The situation is very advantageous, being towards the midst of
the Temperate Zone. It is bounded by the Alps on the North, which
separates it from Germany; on the East by the Adriatic Sea; on the
South by Mare Inferum, or the Sea of Tuscany; and on the West by a
part of the Alps, and the River Var, which are its bounds towards
France and Savoy. The air of this country is temperate and
healthful; the soil so fruitful, that there seems to be a continual
spring: It abounds with grain, fruits, and flowers, and a variety
of living creatures, as well for pleasure as profit; on which
account Italy is called the Garden of Europe. The people are
polite, dexterous [sic], prudent, and ingenious, extremely
revengeful, jealous, and great formalists; their genius lies much
for poetry, music, antiquities, &c. and, in short, all the liberal
arts. Their tongue is derived from the ancient Latin. The cities
are fair, well built, and magnificent; Rome is looked on as the
capital, and is called the _Holy_, Naples the _Noble_, Florence the
_Fair_, Genoa the _Proud_, Milan the _Great_, Venice the _Rich_,
Padua the _Learned_, and Bonia the _Fat_. There are 300
bishoprics in it, and many universities. It was governed of old by
Kings, then by Consuls, and last of all by Emperors, who raised it
to the highest pitch of glory. Only the Roman Catholic religion is
professed in Italy; neither are the Protestants suffered there,
though the Jews are permitted in some cities. This country affords
more entertainment to travellers than any other in the world, in
which may be seen many remains of the greatest, wisest, and bravest
people that ever lived, namely, the old Romans. The present people
are inured to slavery, harassed with tyrannies and impositions of
their priests. The country is but badly cultivated; its
commodities are wine, oil, corn, rice, velvets, silk, glass, &c.
_A Turkish Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Turkish couple]
_An Account of_ TURKEY.
TURKEY, or the Empire of the Turks, comprehends many provinces in
Europe, Asia, and Africa; so it is with reason the Sultan is called
Grand Signior. The empire is divided into 25 governments, of which
there are seven in Europe, seventeen in Asia, and Egypt makes one of
itself; two of the governments have what they call Beglerbergs at
the head of them, and the rest are governed by Bashaws. Most of
these countries are fruitful, but neglected through the laziness of
the Turks, and oppressions the Christians lie under, who chuse [sic]
rather to let the land lie untilled, than cultivate it for others.
It is thin of inhabitants, occasioned by frequent plagues and
continual wars, which carry off great numbers. They are very
temperate, robust, and good soldiers. Their religion, whereof
Mahomet was the author, comprehends six general precepts, viz.
circumcision, prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimage, and abstinence from
wine. Friday is their most solemn day of the week, which they
distinguish only by being longer at prayer on that than other days.
They observe an extraordinary fast on the ninth month, which whoever
breaks is certainly punished with death: They keep it so strict,
that labourers ready to faint with thirst dare not taste a drop of
water. They have a sort of monks called Dervises [sic], who live a
very austere life, keeping a profound silence, go barefoot, with a
leather girdle round their bodies, full of sharp points to mortify
the flesh, and sometimes beat and burn themselves with hot irons:
they are very charitable, and spare nothing for the maintenance of
the poor. The government is monarchial; the Grand Signior, or
Sultan, is absolute master of the lives and fortunes of his
subjects; his orders are above the laws, which are but few. If his
ministers grow rich, they certainly suffer death, right or wrong,
their wealth (which goes to the Sultan) being esteemed a clear proof
of their guilt.
The customs and ways of the Turks are very different from ours: the
left is the upper hand with them; they bury in the dark, and carry
the dead head-foremost; their books are all manuscripts, for they
suffer no printing among them. Their commodities are chiefly raw
silks, oil, leather, cake-soap, honey, wax, and various fruits and
drugs. Constantinople, which was formerly Thrace, by the Turks
called Stamboul, is their capital, and seat of the Ottoman or
Turkish Emperor.