A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies Part 7

The whole globe of the earth is called terraqueous, consisting of two bodies, namely, Land and Water, which may be divided in the following manner, viz.

LAND into Continents, Islands, Peninsulas, Isthmuses, Promontories, Mountains.

1. A Continent is a large tract of land, comprehending divers countries, kingdoms, and states, joining altogether, without any separation of its parts by water, of which we have four, viz.

Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

2. An Island is a part of land encompa.s.sed round with water.

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 encompa.s.sed with land, except only one pa.s.sage, whereby it communicates with the main ocean.

10. A Strait is a narrow pa.s.sage, 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 bra.s.s, 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 n.o.bility, 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 sh.o.r.e 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 G.o.d, 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of German couple]

_An Account of_ GERMANY.

GERMANY is a large, fruitful, and pleasant country, which has the t.i.tle 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 n.o.blemen 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 princ.i.p.al 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 b.u.t.ter 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 a.s.sume 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Spanish couple]