ABYSSINIA. 177 



Language. ...A variety of languages are spoken in this country. 

 The Jews speak a dialect of the Hebrew ; the Moors an impure Ara- 

 bic ; the Gallas have likewise a language of their own. The dialect 

 of the court is that of Amhara ; that of Tigre, however, approaches 

 nearest to the old Ethiopic, which has a considerable affinity to the 

 Arabic, and is called leshone geez, or the learned language - x and is 

 still used not only in all their literary and religious books, but also in 

 their public instruments and records. 



History.. ..As the accounts of kings and princes of remote ages are 

 not always entertaining, and as the history of so barbarous and uncivi- 

 lized a people will, we presume, afford but small amusement to our 

 readers, whatever satisfaction they may have received from surveying 

 the manners and customs of the people, and the natural history of the 

 country ; we shall, therefore, make no further apology for omitting 

 the account of the annals of Abyssinia, but refer those who have any 

 desire of information upon this subject, to the second volume of the 

 Travels of our adventurous author, where they will find a very ample 

 detail through more than 700 pages of a ponderous quarto.. 



VOL, II, A a, 



