A B Y 
remote from the centre, it feems abfurd to fuppofe that the 
Jieavier and denfer bodies gave place to the more light and 
fluid; that the central part thould confift of water only, 
and the more fuperficial part of a cruft or Ihell. Vid. 
Whitehurft’s Inquiry into the original Formation of the 
Strata, See. See Deluge. 
Abyss is mo're particularly ufed in antiquity, to denote 
the temple of Proferpine. It was thus called on account 
of the immenfe fund of gold and riches depofited there; 
fome fay, hid under ground. 
Abyss is alfo ufed in heraldry to denote the centre of 
an efcutcheon. In which fenfe, a thing is faid to be bore 
in abyfs, en abyfme, when placed in the middle of the fliield, 
clear from any other bearing: He bears azure, a fleur- 
de-lis, in abyfs. 
ABYSSINIA, or Modern Ethiopia, is a very extenfive 
empire in Africa, called by the Arabians Al Habafh. 
•—Into this part of the globe the admiffion of travellers 
has been fuppofed extremely difficult, and their return 
from thence almoft impracticable. James Bruce, Efq. of 
Kinnaird, in Scotland, has, however, lately made the tour 
of thofe remote regions: from whence he has returned 
home in fafety, and has fince" favoured the world with a 
very interefting and curious defcription of Abyffinia and 
the other parts of Ethiopia, through which he travelled 
to difcover the fource of the Nile. According to a map 
of the country publiflied by this gentleman, Abyffinia is 
bounded on the fouth by a vaft chain of mountains, extend¬ 
ing with very little interruption from 34° to 44 0 E. Ion. 
and between So 0 and 90° N. lat. On the eaft and north- 
eaft it has the Red Sea, and on the fouth-eaft the kingdom 
of Adel. On the weft and north its boundaries are lei's dif- 
tinclly marked; having on both thefe quarters the barba¬ 
rous kingdom of Sennaar, whofe limits frequently vary ac- 
'cording to the fortune of war. From Arkeeko, fituated 
near the foot of the Bafaltes mountains, in about 15° 30' 
N. lat. it extends to near 7 0 N. lat. where the mountains 
of Cafta, the mod foutherly province of Abyflinia, termi¬ 
nate. Along the coaftof the Red Sea lie the territories in¬ 
habited by the Hazorta-Shiho, the diftrict of Engana-Shi- 
ho, and the kingdom of Dancali, including the territory of 
Azab. To the weftward of thefe are the province or king- 
domof Tigre, including the country of the Dobas, part of 
the kingdom of Bali, and that of Dawaro. Still farther 
weft are thofe of Sire, Lafta, Amhara, the greateft part of 
Bali, and part of Fatigar, which laft reaches beyond the 
mountains. Proceeding ftill in the fame direction, we come 
to Tcherkin, Tchelga, Abargale, Salao, Begemder, Shoa, 
and Ifat; reckoning always from north to fouth; Tcher¬ 
kin, for inftance, being to the northward of Tchelga, See. 
Shoa extends a conliderable way to the weftward ; fo that, 
befides Ifat, it has to the fouth of it alfo the kingdoms of 
Hade and Cambut; the latter extending beyond the fouth - 
ern ridge of mountains. To the weftward are Ras-el-Feel, 
Dembea, Gojam, and Damot; and beyond thefe are the 
kingdoms of Dembea, Bizamo, Gooderoo, and Guraque; 
thole of Nare or Enarea and Cafta occupying the fouth- 
weft corner of the empire. 
The principal river is the Nile, which has its fource in 
this Country; and the mod conliderable lake is that of Dam- 
bea, which difcharges itfelf info the Nile; it is about 700 
miles in length, and ninety in breadth. The air is pretty 
temperate in the mountains, and therefore their towns and 
ftrong holds are. generally placed on them ; but in the val¬ 
leys it is hot and fuffocating. The torrents in the rainy 
feafon waft) a great deal of gold from the mountains. This 
feafon begins in May, when the fun is vertical, or direftly 
over their heads, and ends in September.—Thefe rains 
produce the inundation of the Nile; for the particulars 
of which fee that Article. 
The Abyffines in general are of an olive complexion, 
tail, graceful, and well featured. Thofe who are neither 
mechanics nor tradefmen (which fpw of them are), nor 
tillers of the ground, are enured to bear arms, which are a 
head-piece, a buckler, a coat of mail, bows and arrows, 
Vol. I. No. 3. 
darts, pikes capped with iron at both ends, a fling, and a 
fword: they have very few fire-arms, and thofe were in¬ 
troduced by the Portuguefe. The habit of perfons of qua¬ 
lity is a fine filken veft, or fine cotton, with a kind of fcarf. 
The citizens have the fame habit, only coarfer. The 
common people have nothing but a pair of cotton draw¬ 
ers, and a fcarf which covers the reft of their body. The 
women are of a healthy conftitution, aftive, and moderate¬ 
ly handfome, having neither flat nofes nor thick lips like 
the negroes; and nature is fo friendly, that they Hand in 
little need of midwives, which is indeed the cafe of moft 
countries in the torrid zone. They appear in public as 
in Europe, without being forbid the converfation of the 
men as among the Mahometans. Princefles of the royal 
blood are not permitted to marry foreigners: and when 
they take the air, they go in great ftate,. with 400 or 500 
women attendants. Their language bears a great affinity 
with the Arabic; but particular provinces have a differ¬ 
ent dialed!. 
Gold, filver, copper, and iron, are the principal ores 
with which their mines abound in this extenfive part of 
Africa: but not above one third part is made ule of by 
way of merchandize, or converted into money; of which 
they have little or no ufe in Abyffinia. They cut their 
gold indeed into fmall pieces for the pay of their troops, 
and for expencesof the court, which is but a modern cuf- 
tom among them; the king’s gold, before the ertd of the 
17th century, being laid up in his treafury in ingots, with 
intent to be never carried out, or never tiled in any thing 
butveffels and trinkets for the fervice of the palace. Iu 
the lieu of fmall money, they make ufe of rock fait as 
white as fnow and as hard as ftone. This is taken out of 
the mountain of Lafta, and put into the king’s warehoufes ; 
where it is reduced into tablets of a foot long, and three in¬ 
ches broad, ten of which are worth about a French crown. 
When they are circulated in trade, they are reduced into 
ftill fmaller pieces, as occallon requires. This fait is alfo 
applied to the fame purpofe as common fea-falt. With 
this mineral fait, they purchafe pepper, fpices, and lilk 
fluffs, which are brought to them by the Indians, in their 
ports in the Red Sea. Cardamums, ginger, aloes, myrrh, 
caflia, civet, ebony-wood, ivory, wax, honey, and cotton, 
are merchandifes which may be had from Abyffinia; to 
which may be added fugar, hemp, flax, &c. It is affirmed 
there are in this country the fineft emeralds that are any 
where to be found ; and, though they are found but in one 
place, they are there in great quantities, and fome fo large 
and fo perfect as to be of almoft ineftimable value. The 
greateft part of the merchandifes above mentioned, are more 
for foreign than inland trade. The domeftic commerce 
conlifts chiefly in fait, honey, buck-wheat, grey peafe, ci¬ 
trons, oranges, lemons, and other provifions, with fruits 
and herbage necelfary for the fupport of life. Thofe pla¬ 
ces that the Abyllinian merchants frequent the moft, who 
dare venture to carry their commodities by fea themfelves, 
are Arabia Felix, and the Indies, particularly Goa, Cam- 
baye, Bengal, and Sumatra. With regard to their ports 
on the Red Sea, to which foreign merchants commonly re¬ 
fort, the moft confiderable are thofe of Mette, Azum, Za- 
jalla, Maga, Dazo, Patea, and Brava. The trade of the 
A.byffioians by land is inconfiderable. There are, howe¬ 
ver, bands of them who arrive yearly at Egypt, particu¬ 
larly at Cairo, laden with gold duft, which they bring to 
barter for the merchandifes of that country, or of Europe, 
for which they have occaiion. Thefe cafilas or caravans, 
if we may be allowed thus to call a body of forty or fifty 
poor wretcheswho unite togetherfor their mutual affiftance 
in their journey, are commonly three or four months in 
their route, traverfing forefts and mountains almoft im ■ 
paflable in order to exchange their gold for neceflaries for' 
their families, and return immediately with the greateft 
part of the merchandife on their backs. Frequently the- 
Jews or Egyptians give them large credit; which may 
feem furpriling, as they are beyond recourfe i f they ihoadd. 
fail of payment. But experience has fliewn, that they have. 
L never 
