chap, xyiii.] ACTION OF THE ABYSSINIAN RIFERS. 477 
last affluent the Atbara in lat. 17° 37'. Those two 
great mountain streams flooding suddenly in the end 
of June, fed by the rains of Abyssinia, raise the volume 
of the Nile to an extent that causes the inundations of 
Lower Egypt. 
The basin of the Nile being thus understood, let us 
reflect upon the natural resources of the vast surface 
of fertile soil that is comprised in that portion of 
Central Africa. It is difficult to believe that so mag¬ 
nificent a soil and so enormous an extent of country is 
destined to remain for ever in savagedom, and yet it 
is hard to argue on the possibility of improvement in 
a portion of the world inhabited by savages whose 
happiness consists in idleness or warfare. The advan¬ 
tages are few, the drawbacks many. The immense 
distance from the sea-coast would render impossible 
the transport of any merchandise unless of extreme 
value, as the expenses would be insupportable. The 
natural productions are nil , excepting ivory. The 
soil being fertile and the climate favourable to cul¬ 
tivation, all tropical produce would thrive;—cotton, 
coffee, and the sugar-cane are indigenous; but although 
both climate and soil are favourable, the conditions 
necessary to successful enterprise are wanting;—the 
population is scanty, and the material of the very 
worst; the people vicious and idle. The climate, 
although favourable for agriculture, is adverse to the 
European constitution ; thus colonization would be out 
of the question. What can be done with so hopeless 
a prospect ? Where the climate is fatal to Europeans, 
from whence shall civilization be imported ? The heart 
of Africa is so completely secluded from the world, and 
the means of communication are so difficult, that al¬ 
though fertile, its geographical position debars that vast 
extent of country from improvement: thus shut out 
from civilization it has become an area for unbridled 
atrocities, as exemplified in the acts of the ivory traders. 
Difficult' and almost impossible is the task before 
the Missionary. The Austrian Mission has failed, and 
