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gentleman who lived in the neighbourhood of Gray’s Inn. 
He married a white woman, who lived in the fame family; 
and, when fhe proved with child, took a lodging for her 
in Gray’s-Inn-lane; when (he was at her full time, the 
mailer had bufinefs out of town, and took his man with 
him, and did not return till ten or twelve days after this 
woman was delivered of a girl, which was as fair a child 
to look at as any born of white parents, and her features 
exaftly like the mother’s. The black at his return was 
much difturbed at the appearance of the child, and ('wore 
it was not his: but the nurfe who attended the lying-in 
woman foon fatisfied him : for fhe undrefled the infant, 
and fhowed him the right buttock and thigh, which were 
as black as the father, and reconciled him immediately to 
both mother and child. Dr. P. was informed of thefaft, 
and went to the place, where he examined the child, and 
found it true; this was in the fpringof the year 174.7, as 
his notes fpecified which he took on the fpot. 
Wifhing to add as much as poffible to this account, he 
took an opportunity of inquiring about matters of this 
fort, in a family who came to live in Red Lion-fquare not 
many months before, and had lived in Virginia feveral 
years in a confpicuous light; and was informed by the 
lady of the family of the following curious particu¬ 
lars: About nineteen years previous, in a fmall planta¬ 
tion near to that of this family, which belonged to a 
widow, two of her flaves, both black, were married; one 
of them brought forth a white girl, which this lady faw 
very often. When the poor woman was told the child 
was like the children of white people, fhe was in great 
dread of her hufband, declaring, at the fame time, that 
file never had any thing to do with a white man in her 
life; and therefore begged they would keep the place 
dark, that he might not lee it. When he came to afk her 
how flie did, he wanted to fee the child, and wondered 
why the room was flint up, as it was not ufual; the wo¬ 
man’s fears increafed when he had it brought into the 
iight; but while he looked at it he leaned highly plealed, 
returned the child, and behaved with extraordinary ten- 
dernefs. She imagined he diflembled his relentment till 
flie fhould be able to go about, and that then he would 
leave her; but in a few days he laid to her, “You are 
afraid of me, and therefore keep the room dark, becaufe 
my child is white; but I love it the better for that: for 
my own father was a white man, though my grandfather 
and grandmother were as black as you and myfelf; and, 
although we came from a place where no white people 
ever were leen, yet there was always a white child in 
every family that was related to us.” 
NE'GRO PO'INT lies on the eaft coaft of Brafd, three 
leagues fouth-fouth-eaft from the Rio Grande, and four¬ 
teen from Cape St. Rocque. 
NE'GRO RIV'ER. See Rio Negro. 
NE'GROES (Illand of), or Buglas, one of the Phi¬ 
lippine Iflands, in the Eaftern Indian Sea; about 240 miles 
in circumference. It is fruitful in rice, in which the in¬ 
habitants pay tribute; and it fupplies Sebu, and other 
adjacent parts. The mountains are inhabited by blacks 
with curled hair; who, by reafon of their numbers, gave 
■their name to the illand, and who live in a kind of brutal 
liberty, like their forefathers. The land is divided among 
them, fome living on the tops of mountains, others on 
the fide ; but they fight fiercely among themfelves, if one 
party attempts to invade the territory of the other. This 
happens very often; for it is their cultom, that thole above 
can have but one wife, and her they mult take by force 
from thofe below; and fo on the contrary, thole beiow 
from thole above ; confequently every day there is blood- 
Ihed, and force perfons killed, commonly with poiloned 
arrows : thefe are headed either with iron, flint, bone, or 
wood hardened in the fire. At the mouths of the river 
dwell a third fort of blacks, who have no commerce with 
the other two, and are fuch enemies to the Spaniards, that 
they give them no quarter; neverthelefs, if the illand hap¬ 
pens to be invaded by pirates, they run with their arms 
Von. XVT. No. 114.6. 
0S!> 
to defend it; and, this fervice being performed, they retire: 
they behave in this manner, as looking upon themfelves 
to be the old lords of the illand. The Bifays, it is true, 
as an acknowledgment for having been permitted by 
them to fettle there, lupply them with rice ; and the 
blacks requite them with wax. Thefe Bifays live in the 
plain, and they are molt numerous on the weft fide, under 
the direction of the fathers of the lociety. In the illand 
there are about 3000 that pay tribute, governed by a cor- 
regidore, and a military commander. Here grows a great 
deal of cacao, originally brought to the Philippines from 
New Spain, as alfo much rice, which the'mountains pro¬ 
duce without watering. Lat. 10. 10. N. Ion. 121. 30. E. 
NE'GROLAND, or Nigrit'ia, a name given to a vaft 
extent of country, in the interior parts of Africa, and 
comprehending many great and populous kingdoms, ex¬ 
tending from the 7th degree of weft longitude to the 27th 
eaft, and from the iotli to the 25th north latitude; being 
bounded on the north by Sahara and the mountains which 
feparate it from the ftates of Barbary, on the eaft by Nubia 
and Abyflinia, on the fouth by Guinea and countries 
unknown, and on the weft by Guinea. The country to 
which the geographers of Europe have given the name 
Nigritia is called by the Arabs Soudan, and by the natives 
Aafmm; two words of fimilar import, that, like the Eu¬ 
ropean appellation, exprcfs the Land of Blacks, and like 
that too are applied to a part only of the region to which 
their meaning fo obvioully belongs; yet, even in this 
limited fenfe, the word Soudan is often varioufly em¬ 
ployed: for, while fome of the Africans reft rift it to the 
empire of Cafhna, which is fituated to the north of the 
Niger; others extend it, with indefinite comprehenfion, 
to the negro-ftates on the fouth of the river. Of this vaft 
country, little is known more than the names of fome of 
the towns and kingdoms of which it is compofed. Some 
parts, particularly on the river Niger, are reprefented as 
exceedingly fertile; other parts are reprefented as fandy 
and defert. That it is exceedingly populous, is evident, 
from the great lupply of Haves it has fo long afforded 
to the European traders. 
NE'GROPONT, an illand in the Grecian Archipelago : 
ninety-fix miles long, and from eight to lixteen broad* 
This ifiand was anciently called Euboea; afterwards, from 
its capital, Egrippos, whence the word Negropont feems 
to be derived. In the moft ancient times, it was called 
Chalcodotis, or Cains Macro, or Maoris. It is divided from 
the continent by a ffrait, formerly called Euripns, but now 
fo narrow at the capital, that a galley can hardly pals 
through; and it is joined to the continent by a bridge, 
being thought to have been once fo by an ilthmus. The 
Euripus was anciently much celebrated for the ftated 
irregularities of its motions. The learned jefuit Babin 
obferves, that in the firft eight days of the month, and 
from the 14th to the 20th, inclufively, and alfo in the 
three laft days, it is regular both in its ebb and flood; 
but, on the other days of the lunar month, very irregular ; 
the ebb and flood returning fometimes 11, 12, 13, and 14, 
times, within 2401- 25 hours. This irregularity, which 
has baffled the refearches both of ancients and moderns, 
gave rile to a proverb among the Greeks. Such is the 
fertility of the level parts of this illand, that it abounds 
in a very extraordinary manner in grain, wine, oil, and all 
kinds of excellent fruits. It has alio feveral mountains, 
which, for a confiderable part of the year, are covered 
with fnow: of thele, the higheft is Oclie. Among the 
capes, the moft remarkable are Capo d’Oro, called Capo 
Chimi, Capo Figara, the ancient name of which was Ca- 
phareus, and Capo Liter, formerly Censeum. In the firft 
ages, when navigation was in its infancy, failing round 
the firft of thefe capes was reckoned dangerous, from the 
many rocks and whirlpools along the coaft. This illand 
had formerly many confiderable cities; but the only places 
now worth notice are Negropont and Caftel Roflo. It 
was taken from the Venetians in 174.0, by Mahomet II. 
Lat. 38, to 39. 10. Ion. 23. 10. to 24. 44. E. 
8 N 
NE'GRO- 
