480 
MORAL AND POLITICAL 
bary of the republican form of government, as they 
have assemblies of the people, and elect their own 
chiefs. They pay a nominal, but very imperfect 
and precarious obedience to the sovereign of Mo- 
rocco, and the other Moorish princes in whose do- 
minions their mountains are situated. They are 
skilful in the use of fire-arms, and employ them- 
selves much in firing at a mark. These exercises 
render them formidable to the armies of Morocco, 
who, in their frequent rebellions, have often found 
the contest unequal. The most powerful and the 
fiercest of these tribes is the Errifi. The eye of 
an Errif has become proverbial for its keen and 
piercing expression. The Shelluhs, on the other 
hand, are less robust in their form, milder in their 
manners, and more civilized. When offended, 
however, they cherish a resentment equally deadly, 
nor is it safe to pass through their country without 
having secured the protection of one of their chiefs. 
Most of the inhabitants of Egypt are foreigners, 
who have not become in any degree naturalized to 
its climate or soil. This celebrated country pre- 
sents only one native race, which is that of the 
Copts, or descendants of the most ancient inhabi- 
tants of Egypt. They are a people of mixed 
origin. The blood of the ancient Egyptians is 
adulterated by the confused mixture of the Persi- 
an, Grecian, Roman, and Arabian races ; and the 
motley offspring of these dissimilar tribes have ra- 
