had been erected after the destruction by Vespasian, and levelled three towers which he had spared. This literally fulfilled the prophecy of Christ, and proved his mission divine. Jesus Christ also prophesied, that Jerusalem should be "trodden down of the Gentiles." Adrian banished all the Jews. The place was settled by Romans and other foreigners. The Jews are now persecuted by Mahometans, Jerusalem is now trodden down by Gen

tiles.

Antiquities. A description of the antiquities of these regions would too much swell this abridgement. The most splendid ruins are those of Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Desert, Balbec, the ancient Heliopolis, is about 50 miles northwest of Damascus, chiefly famous for the ruins of a temple supposed to have been dedicated to the Sun.

ASIATIC RUSSIA.

Extent. THE extent of the Russian dominions in Asia exceeds that of all Europe. The length is about 4570 miles; the breadth 1960.

Boundaries. This vast region is bounded on the east by the seas of Kamschatka and Ochotsk; north by the Arctic ocean; west by European Russia, and south by the terri tories of Turkey and Prussia, and the empire of China.

General Description: The climate of Asiatic Russia is generally frigid, though in some provinces it is temperate. The south part of Siberia is fertile, producing all the nec essaries of life; the north part is extremely cold and aimost uninhabited The northern and eastern parts of this immense region are covered with almost perpetual snow, and intersected by numerous rivers, the principal of which are the b, the Oby, the Yenese, the Angara, the Lena, and the Irtish. In the north of Siberia is the large lake of Prazinsko In the south is the sea of Baikal,

Asiatic Russia is peopled by numerous tribes, of various origin, manners, and customs, The Tartars are the most numerous, who are the same with the Huns of antiquity. Among the distinct tribes of Tartars are the Nogays, the Kirguses, the Bashkirs, the Monguls, the i un, guses, the Samoiedes, the Kamschadales, &c. all of whom

pretend to be descended from Turk, the eldest son of Ja. pheth.

The inhabitants of Siberia are of three sorts, Pagans Mahometans, and Russians. The two first are clothed in skins, and their wealth consists in bows, arrows, a knife, and kettle. The Russians settled here are much the same as in their native country. The country is rich in furs, and the mountains contain some mines. The most valua ble animal is the rein deer. In Kamschatka dogs are used for carriages. The urus or bison is found among the Cau

casian mountains.

The principal islands belonging to Asiatic Russia are the KURILE ISLANDS, 22 in number, extending from the southern extremity of Kamschatka to Japan; they are valuable for their furs, particularly that of the sea otter. Only four of these islands are inhabited.

TARTARY.

TARTARY, taken in its most extensive sense, contains all that vast country of Asia, which lies between the Arctic ocean north, and Persia, Hindoostan, and China south. It includes a great variety of nations, to which is applied the general name of Tartars, with a particular one often applied from their local situation. Tartary may be divided into three parts, viz. RUSSIAN TARTARY, CHINESE TARTARY, and INDEPENDENT TARTARY. The first of these divisions has been described under the preceding article.

INDEPENDENT TARTARY lies chiefly between the latitudes of 35 and 50 degrees, and is bounded on the north by Asiatic Russia; west by Persia and Hindoostan; south by Hindoostan; east by the county of the Kalmucs The country enjoys a fine climate, though its northern parts have excessively cold winters. The fice of the country is variegated with plains and hills, and the soil usually rich and productive. The principal ridge of mountains is that snowy ridge denominated Belur Tag, on the east of Great Bucharia The greatest river is the Jihoon, the ancient Oxus, which heads in the Belur mountains. The Salt lake, or sea of Aral, is 200 miles long, and 70 broad, 100 miles eastward of the Caspian sea.

That part of Independent Tartary, which is best known, is called Bucharia, which is divided into Great and Little Bucharia. The inhabitants value themselves on being the most robust and valiant of all the Tartars. The women also surpass the other Tartarians in beauty, and sometimes attend their husbands to the field of war.

The famous city of SAMARCAND is the capital of this country. It has some commerce in calicoes, cotton, rice, and cattle. It was the seat of Tamerlane the Great, and in his time was celebrated as the seat of learning and civilization.

CHINESE TARTARY is bounded north by Siberia, east by the Gulf of Kamschatka and the Eastern sea, south by China, west by the country of the Kalmucs, who are established between the Caspian sea and Kashgar. The different tribes which at present inhabit it were formerly comprehended under the general name of Mongnl or Mogul Tartars, a warlike and formidable nation. These Tartars have neither towns, villages, nor houses; they form wandering hordes, and live under tents, which they transport from one place to another, as the different seasons. or the wants of their flocks require. Their ordinary drink is warm water, in which a little coarse tea is infused; with this they mix cream, milk, or butter. The Moguls are free, open and sincere. They pride themselves chiefly on their dexterity in handling the bow and arrow, mounting on horseback, and hunting wild beasts. They burn the bodies of their dead, and transport the ashes to eminences, where they inter them, and cover the grave with a heap of stones. They are unacquainted with money, and trade only by barter. The skins they use for clothing are generally those of their sheep. Their religion consists in the worship of Fo. They have the most superstitious veneration for their Lamas. All the Moguls are governed by khans, or particular princes, independent one of the other, but all subjected to the authority of the emperor of China, whom they consider as the grand khan of the Tartars.

Chinese Tartary has 3,000,000 inhabitants; and the Taxed Countries, subject to the Chinese government, contain 31,500,000 souls. Of these Taxed Countries, the principal are, 1. Korea, which has its own king. Little is known of this country, as all commerce with strangers

is prohibited. Number of inhabitants, 1,500,000. 2. Thibet, or Tangut, which see. 3. The kingdom of Annan, 10,000,000 inhabitants. The king maintains 113,000 land troops, 30,000 of which are disciplined in the European manner, and 26,800 seamen. 4. Tonkin, once the most powerful of the Eastern Asiatic empires, containing with the Liquens isles, another division of the Taxed Countries, 8,000,000 inhabitants, subject to the king of Annan. All the above governments acknowledge the emperor of China as their sovereign.

CHINA.

Boundaries and Extent. BOUNDED north by Tartary, from which it is separated by a great wall, 500 leagues in length; east by the Yellow sea and Chinese ocean; south by the same ocean and the kingdoms of Tonkin, Birmah, and Laos; west by Thibet. It lies between 21 and 50 degrees north lat. 2030 miles long from north to south, and 490 broad.

Divisions and Population. China is divided into 17 provinces, which contain 4402 walled cities. It contains 333,000,000 inhabitants according to Barrow, 188,500,000 according to Hassel.

Climate. The climate and soil are varions, as the different provinces are nearer to or remote from the south, severe cold being felt at Pekin, while the southern provinces are exposed to excessive heat.

Rivers and Canals. Here are several large rivers, and where these are wanting, there are fine canals. The principal river is the Hoang-ho called also the Yellow River. It rises in Tartary, and, after a course of 2000 miles, falls into the Eastern sea. Another great river is the Kiang-ku, which passes by the city of Nan-king, and falls into the ocean, 100 miles south of the Hoang-ho. In China there

is scarcely a town or even a village which has not the advantage either of an arm of the sea or a canal; by which means navigation is rendered so common, that almost as many people live on the water as on the land. The grand canal is one of the wonders of art; extending from the city of Canton to the extremity of the empire; it is about D D

50 feet wide, and passes through or near 41 large cities. It has 75 large duices to keep up the water, besides several thousand bridges.

Lakes.

There are several large lakes in China, well stored with fish, the chief support of the neighboring inhabitants

Soil and Productions. In several of the provinces, the land yields two crops a year; yet, though the husbandman cultivates it with such care, as not to lose the smallest portion of ground, China has often been desolated by famine. Its numerous mountains (which are chiefly in the north and west parts of the empire) contain mines of iron, tin, copper, quicksilver, gold, and silver; but those of gold and silver are not permitted to be opened; the emperors having always feared, that if the people should be exposed to the temptation of these artificial riches, they would be induced to neglect the more useful labors of agriculture. Quarries of marble, coal mines, lapis lazuli, and rock crystals, are abundant in China They have potter's earth too, of such various and superior kinds, that their celebrated fine porcelain will ever remain unrivalled.

Besides the fruit peculiar to the country, China produces the greater part of those of Europe. Among the trees peculiar to China, is the tallow tree, the fruit of which has all the properties of tallow; the wax tree; the tsi-chu, or varnish tree; the iron wood, which is so hard and heavy, that it sinks in water, and the anchors of the Chinese ships of war are made of it; the camphire tree; the bamboo reeds, the tea tree, &c.

Civil and Political History. Learning, with the arts and sciences in general, are much cultivated,, in this country. The government is absolute, and the emperor has the privilege of naming his successor, but the chief mandarin has permission to tell him of his faults. He looks upon his subjects as his children, and professes to govern them with paternal affection. In the garden of one of his palaces is a temple, in which is a magnificent throne. On this the emperor sits at certain times, to hear and determine causes. Such is the virtue of this seat, that it is believed, that on the justice or injustice of his decrees, his life or immediate death depends.