tion to the number and force of these checks, the monarchies of Europe, fuch as Ruffia, France, Spain, and Denmark, differ from one another. Befides monarchies, in which one man bears the chief fway, there are in Europe aristocracies or governments of the nobles, and democracies or governments of the people. Venice is an example of the former; Holland, Switzerland, and fome states of Italy, afford examples of the latter. There are likewife mixed governments, which cannot be affigned to any one class. Great Britain, which partakes of all the three, is the most singular inftance of this kind we are acquainted with. The other mixed governments of Europe are compofed only of two of the fimple forms, fuch as Poland, and several states of Italy; all which shall be explained at length in their proper places.

The Chriftian religion is eftablished throughout every part of Europe, except Turkey; but from the various capacities of the human mind, and the different lights in which fpeculative opinions are apt to appear, when viewed by persons of different educations and paffions, that religion is divided into a number of different fects, but which may be comprehended under three general denominations; 1ft, The Greek church; 2d, Popery; and, 3d, Proteftantifm; which laft is again divided into Lutheranifm and Calvinifm, fo called from Luther and Calvin, the diftinguished reformers of the fixteenth century.

The languages of Europe are derived from the fix following: the Greek, Latin, Teutonic or old German, the Celtic, Sclavonic, and Gothic.

GRAND DIVISIONS OF EUROPE.

THIS grand divifion of the earth is fituated between the 10th degree weft, and the 65th degree east longitude from London, and between the 36th and 72d degree of north latitude. It is bounded on the north by the Frozen Ocean; on the eaft, by Afia; on the fouth, by the Mediterranean fea, which divides it from Africa; and on the west, by 'the Atlantic Ocean, which feparates it from America; being 3000 miles long, from Cape St. Vincent in the west, to the mouth of the river Oby in the north-eaft; and 2500 broad from north to fouth, from the North Cape in Norway, to Cape Caglia, or Metapan, in the Morea, the mott fouthern promontory in Europe. It contains the following kingdoms and ftates:

Turkey in

Italy.

Netherlands.

Empire.

British

fmall Piedmont, Monferrat, Milan, Parma, Modena, Mantua, Venice, Genoa, Tuscany,&c. ftates.

Che cities. Turin, Cafal, Milan, Parma, Modena, Mantua, Venice, Genoa, Florence.

*This includes the Crim Tartary, now ceded to Ruffia; for the particulars of which, fee Russia.

Exclufive of the BRITISH ISLES before mentioned, EUROPE con tains the following principal ISLANDS.

* Minorca was taken from Spain by General Stanhope, 1708, and confirmed to Great Britain by the treaty of Utrecht, 1713; but was befieged and taken by the Spaniards February 15, 1782, and confirmed to them by the definitive treaty of peace, figned at Paris, September 3, 1783. It has fince been again taken by the English, November 15, 1798.

DENMARK.

I Shall, according to my plan, begin this account of his Danish majesty's dominions with the moft northerly fituations, and divide them into four parts: 1ft, Eaft and Weft Greenland, Iceland, and the islands in the Atlantic Ocean; 2d, Norway; 3d, Denmark Proper; and, 4th, his German territories.-The dimenfions of these countries may be seen in the following table.

The reader may perceive, that in the preceding table no calculation is made of the dimenfions of Eaft and Weft Greenland; because, in fact, they are not yet known, or known very imperfectly: we shall proceed to give the latest accounts of them, and from the beft authorities that have come to our hands.

EAST AND WEST GREENLAND, ICELAND, AND THE ISLANDS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

EAST GREENLAND,

THE moft northerly part of his Danish majefty's dominions, or, as others call it, New Greenland, and the country of Spitzbergen, lies between 11 and 25 deg. E. long. and 76 and 80 deg. N. lat. according to captain Phipps's obfervations in his voyage, 1773. Though it is now claimed by Denmark, it certainly was difcovered by fir Hugh Willoughby in 1553; and is fuppofed to be a continuation of Old Greenland. It obtained the name of Spitzbergen (or craggy mountains) from the height and ruggedness of its rocks. Few animals or vegetables are to be found here, and the fish and fowl are faid to forfake the coaft in winter. The Ruffians of Archangel have, within the last thirty years, formed fettlements for hunting in feveral places of the island of Spitzbergen. The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, reflected from the fnow, enable them to pursue the chafe during the long winter's night that reigns in thefe gloomy regions; and they take a great number of fea-lions, which serve them for food. There is a whale fifhery, chiefly profecuted by the Dutch and British veffels, on its coafts. It likewife contains two harbours; one called South Haven, and the other Maurice Bay. The inland parts are uninhabited.

WEST GREENLAND

LIES between the meridian of London, and 53 deg. W. long. and be tween 60 and 76 deg. N. lat.

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INHABITANTS.] By the latest accounts from the miffionaries employed for the converfion of the Greenlanders, their whole number does not amount to above 957 constant inhabitants. Mr. Crantz, however, thinks the roving fouthlanders of Greenland may amount to about 7000. There is a great refemblance, in afpect, manners, and drefs, between those people and the Efquimaux Americans, from whom they naturally differ but little, even after all the endeavours of the Danish and Germán miffionaries to convert and civilife them. They are low of ftature, few exceeding five feet in height, and the generality are not fo tall. The hair of their heads is long, ftraight, and of a black colour; but they have feldom any beards, because it is their constant practice to root them out. They have high breafts and broad shoulders, especially the women, who are obliged to carry great burdens from their younger years. They are very light and nimble of foot, and can alfo ufe their hands with much kill and dexterity. They are not very lively in their tempers; but they are good-humoured, friendly, and unconcerned about futurity. Their moft agreeable food is the flesh of rein-deer; but that is now scarce among them; and their best provifions are fish, seals, and fea-fowl. Their drink is clear water, which ftands in the house in a large copper veffel, or in a wooden tub, which is very neatly made by them, ornamented with fish

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men make their hunting and fishing implements, and prepare the woodwork of their boats; and the women cover them with skins. The men hunt and fish but when they have towed their booty to land, they trouble themselves no farther about it; nay it would be accounted beneath their dignity even to draw out the fifh upon the fhore. The women are the butchers and cooks, and also the curriers to dress the pelts, and make cloaths, fhoes, and boots, out of them; fo that they are likewise both shoemakers and taylors. The women alfo build and repair the houses and tents, fo far as relates to the masonry, the men doing only the carpenter's work. They live in huts, during the winter, which is incredibly fevere; but Mr. Crantz, who has given us the latest and beft accounts of this country, fays, that in the longeft fummer days it is fo hot, from the long continuance of the fun's rays, that the inhabitants are obliged to throw off their fummer garments. They have no trade, though they have a moft improvable fishery upon their coafts; but they employ all the year either in fishing or hunting; in which they are very dexterous, particularly in catching and killing feals.

CURIOSITIES.] The taking of whales in the feas of Greenland, among the fields of ice that have been increafing for ages, is perhaps one of the boldeft enterprises of man. Thefe fields or pieces of ice are frequently more than a mile in length, and upwards of 100 feet in thickness; and when they are put in motion by a form, nothing can be more terrible: the Dutch had 13 fhips crushed to pieces by them in one season.

There are several kinds of whales in Greenland; fome white, and others black. The black fort, the grand bay whale, is in most esteem, on account of his bulk, and the great quantity of fat or blubber he affords, which turns to oil. His tongue is about 18 feet long, inclosed in long pieces of what we call whalebone, which are covered with a kind of hair like horse-hair and on each fide of his tongue are 250 pieces of this whalebone. The bones of his body are as hard as an ox's bones, and of no ufe. There are no teeth in his mouth; and he is ufually between 60 and 80 feet long; very thick about the head; but grows lefs from thence to the tail.

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When the feamen fee a whale-fpout, the word is immediately given, a fall! a fall! when every one haftens from the fhip to his boat, fix or eight men being appointed to a boat, and four or five boats usually belong to one hip.

When they come near the whale, the harpooner firikes him with his harpoon (a barbed dart), and the montter, finding himself wounded, dives fwiftly down into the deep, and would carry the boat along with him if they did not give him line faft enough. To prevent the wood of the boat taking fire by the violent rubbing of the rope on the fide of it, one wets it conftantly with a mop. After the whale has run fome hundred fathoms deep, he is forced to come up for air, when he makes fuch a terrible noife with his fpouting, that fome have compared it to the firing of cannon. As foon as he appears on the furface of the water, fome of the harpooners fix another harpoon in him, whereupon he plunges again into the deep; and when he comes up a fecond time, they pierce him with fpears in the vital parts, till he fpouts out ftreams of blood instead of water, beating the waves with his tail and fins till the fea is all in a foam, the boats continuing to follow him fome leagues, till he has loft his ftrength; and when he is dying he turns himself upon his back, and is drawn on thore, or to the fhip, if they be at a diftance from the land. There they cut him in pieces, and, by boiling the blubber, extract the oil, if they have conveniences on fhore; otherwife they barrel up the