prisoner, he would carry her to Rome, and expose her to the derision of the populace. 13. She resolved not to endure this ignominy. Now in Egypt there is a venomous reptile, called an asp, the bite of which is mortal, but not painful. Cleopatra applied one of these reptiles to her bosom; in a little while her body grew benumbed, and her heart ceased to beat; and thus died the beautiful but wicked queen of Egypt. This event occurred thirty years before Christ. 14. The moral of the story of queen Cleopatra is very important. It shows that a person on whom Heaven has bestowed the richest gifts, may so abuse them as to cause mischief and misery to all around. -2. Describe QUESTIONS. 1. Mention the exploits of Shishak. the statue of Memnon.- -3. By whom was Egypt conquered ?Did Alexander conquer Egypt ? -4. -6. What of Ptolemy and his -7. What of descendants? How long did they reign in Egypt ?Cleopatra ?- -8. Who was Mark Antony? Cleopatra ? Did he wish to punish -12. Who was Octavius ?- -13. How long was the death of Cleopatra before Christ? CHAPTER XXXIX. AFRICA continued.Sequel of the Egyptian History. 1. AFTER the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman empire; and it continued to belong to a portion of it called the Eastern empire, till the year 640 after the Christian era. It was then conquered by the Saracens, and it remained under their government upwards of six centuries. 2. The Saracen sovereigns were dethroned by the Mamelukes, a body of slaves whom they had trained up as their guards. The Mamelukes ruled Egypt till the year 1517, when they were conquered by the Turks, who kept possession till the year 1798. It was then invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte, with an army of forty thousand Frenchmen. 3. The Turks, ever since their conquest of Egypt, had kept a body of Mamelukes in their service; these made a desperate resistance. A battle was fought near the pyramids, in which many of them were slain, and others were drowned in the Nile. Not long after this victory, Bonaparte returned to France, and left General Kleber in command of the French army. 4. General Kleber was a brave man, but very severe, and his severity cost him his life. He had ordered an old Mussulman, named the Sheik Sada, to be bastinadoed on the soles of his feet. Shortly afterwards, when the general was in a mosque, a fierce Arab rushed upon him, and stabbed him to the heart. 5. In 1801, the English sent Sir Ralph Abercrombie with an army to drive the French out of Egypt. General Menou was then the French commander. Sir Ralph Abercrombie defeated him at the battle of Alexandria, but was himself mortally wounded. 6. In the course of the same year, the French army sailed from Egypt back to France. The inhabitants lamented their departure, for the French generals had ruled them with more justice and moderation than their old masters, the Turks. Egypt is now governed by a ruler who bears the title of Pacha, but the country is no longer a part of the Turkish empire. 7. The present capital of Egypt is Grand Cairo. It is much inferior to what it was in former times, but still contains about three hundred thousand inhabitants. Alexandria, built by Alexander the Great, as I have before said, is now much reduced, but the ruins around it show that it was once a splendid city. QUESTIONS. 1. Describe the state of Egypt from Cleopatra's death to its subjugation by the Mamelukes.- -2. How long did the Mamelukes govern Egypt? How long the Turks ? -3. What battle was fought in 1798 ?-5. What took place in 1801 ?- -6. How is Egypt now governed? Name the capital of Egypt. Its population. What of Alexandria? CHAPTER XL. AFRICA continued. Ethiopian Affairs. -Summary of 1. ALL the interior parts of Africa were anciently called Æthiopia; but, properly speaking, Ethiopia comprised only the countries now called Nubia and Abyssinia. This region lies south of Egypt, and extends along the shore of the Red Sea. The first inhabitants of Æthiopia are supposed to have emigrated from Arabia the Happy. Their early history is almost unknown. 2. Æthiopia, or at least a portion of it, was formerly called Sheba, whose queen visited king Solomon. It is said that one of her descendants was king of Abyssinia about thirty years ago. 3. It used to be the custom to confine the Æthiopian princes on a high mountain, which was named Geshen. It was very high and steep, and looked like an enormous castle of stone. No person could ascend this mountain, or come down from it, unless he were raised or lowered by means of ropes. 4. The princes lived on the summit of the mountain, in miserable huts. The greater part of them never came down till their dying day. But whenever the king died, one of the princes was summoned to the throne. 5. The Ethiopians were believers in the Jewish religion till the middle of the fourth century after the Christian era. Candace, the queen of the country, was then converted to Christianity, and her subjects followed her example. 6. The inhabitants of Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, are still called Christians, but their mode of worship is mixed up with many Jewish practices. They also pray to the Virgin Mary and the saints, like the Roman Catholics. 7. The people of this part of Africa are not negroes. They are of an olive complexion, and have long hair and agreeable features. But in the north-eastern part of Abyssinia, there is a race of negroes called Shangallas, a wild and savage people. In QUESTIONS. 1. What was anciently called Æthiopia? which direction is it from Egypt? Who were the first inhabitants of Ethiopia?2. What was thiopia formerly called?——3. What was once the custom ?. -4. How did the princes live ?5. Till what time did the Ethiopians believe in the Jewish religion? 6 What of the worship of the people of Ethiopia at the present time? -7. Their personal apppearance? The Shangallas ? CHAPTER XLI. AFRICA continued.- -Origin of the Barbary States, and their Piracies on the Christians. 1. THE Barbary States are Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. They are bounded north by the Mediterranean Sea, east and south by the desert, and west by the Atlantic Ocean. These countries were inhabited in the time of the Romans. Morocco was then called Mauritania; and Algiers, Numidia. These regions were first settled by from Phoenicia, Greece, and other countries. 2. In this region stood the celebrated city of Carthage. Its site was about ten miles north-east of the present city of Tunis. It was founded by the Phoenicians, 869 years before the Christian era. The Phoenicians, as I have already told you, were the first people who engaged in commerce, and founded colonies for the purpose of carrying on trade. 3. In the history of Rome I shall tell you how Carthage was destroyed. The Romans erected a new city where it had formerly stood. This was conquered and destroyed by the Saracens, who then built the city of Tunis. In the year 1574, Tunis was seized by the Turks. 4. The city of Algiers was built by the Saracens, in the year 944. The Turks obtained possession of it in 1518, through the efforts of two pirates, named Horuc and Hayradin. They were brothers, and both bore the name of Barbarossa, or Red-Beard. |