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OF

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

VOL. III.

CONTAINING

& HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF

THE EMPIRES AND STATES IN

EUROPE, ASIA and AFRICA,

WITH THEIR COLONIES.

To which is added,

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF NEW HOLLAND, and

THE PRINCIPAL ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC

AND INDIAN OCEANS.

For the Use of Schools.

BY NOAH WEBSTER, ESQ.

NEW-HAVEN, (Connecticut)

PUBLISHED BY BRONSON, WALTER & CO.

O. Steele & Co. Printers.

Edyo] 98106.578

1860

DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT, to wit:

BE it remembered, That on the twenty-third day of July, in

the thirty-first year of the independence of the United States of America, NOAH WEBSTER, Esq. of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit:

"ELEMENTS of Useful Knowledge, vol. 111. Containing a His"torical and Geographical Account of the Empires and States "in Europe, Asia, and Africa, with their Colonies. To "which is added, a brief description of New Holland, and "the principal Islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. For "the use of schools. By NOAH WEBSTER, Esq."

IN conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, intitled "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned." HENRY W. EDWARDS,

Clerk of the District of Connecticut.

THE first and second volumes of the Elements of Useful Knowledge, having been well received by my fellow citizens, I have compiled a third volume, which, it is presumed, will be found no less interesting than the preceding. In some respects, it may be more interesting; as the countries here described present innumerable subjects of description, which are not found in the United States.

In this volume, as in the former, I have endeavored to render the work useful to the Student, by interweaving, with topographical description, important historical facts, which will serve to excite his curiosity, and prompt him to further inquiry. The young reader wants to know not only the position of a country, and its present state; but the origin and progress of its settlement, its revolutions, and in short the events to which it owes its character and condition. A bare enumeration of the latitude and longitude of a place, its boundaries, magnitude and population, is by no means the most useful part of Geographical Knowledge.

To render the work as correct as possible, the best modern treatises on Geography have been consulted, with several histories and travels. In the present revolutionary state of Europe, a compiler is sometimes embarrassed by the uncertainty of the fate of kingdoms and states; for while he is writing, a kingdom may be dismembered or annihilated, and his account of it rendered incorrect. I have however attempted to state the actual condition of the several states in Europe, at the commencement of the present year.

In this and the preceding volumes, the reader and student will find a brief survey of the globe, and of the nations which inhabit it. Minute details are incompatible with the design of this work; they can neither be introduced into schools, nor would they be useful, if they could. The most prominent features of the earth, and the most interesting

facts respecting the character and condition of its inhabitants, selected with judgment, and arranged with method, are far the most suitable for young students, as they interest the mind, without burdening the memory.

In a few instances the common orthography is corrected, by retrenching a superfluous letter. Thus the true primitive spelling of lether and fether, which has been corrupted in modern times, by introducing a, is here restored.— On investigation, I find that modern writers have, in many instances, perverted the pure orthography of our language, while the pronunciation remains unchanged. This has created a difference between the orthography and pronunciation, which did not originally exist, and which ought not to be permitted in our elegant language. Several examples are mentioned in the Preface to my Compendious Dictionary. These errors may gradually be amended, without inconvenience.

Having been long perplexed with the discordant opinions of English authors, no two of whom agree in the orthography of words, I have resorted to an investigation of the primitive English, as it was written before the Norman conquest, with a view to ascertain what is right, and what is wrong, in the English books, and to fix a standard of propriety, on original principles. This examination will enable me to solve the doubts and reconcile the differences of opinion, which have existed on this subject. This is a field which no English author has fully explored; and the practice of settling controverted points by the opinions of this or that writer of distinction, has only multiplied disagreements, and increased the embarrassments of the student. If my fellow citizens should approve of my purpose, and continue to afford me the liberal encouragement I have hitherto received, I will endeavor to give them a more uniform, and correct standard of writing than they~ yet possess.

NEW-HAVEN, JULY, 1806.

GENERAL VIEW

OF THE

EASTERN CONTINENT.

BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. The Great

SEC. 1. Eastern Continent, the first seat of mankind, the most populous and first civilized portion of the globe, is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans on the east and south, and by the Arctic Ocean on the north. From north to south, it is about 7500 miles in length; and from east to west, about 7000 miles in bredth.

2. Of the Seas on this Continent. The chief inland Seas which are contained in this part of the globe, are the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the Euxine, the Egean, the Caspian, and the Red Sea.

3. The Mediterranean. The Mediterranean enters this Continent from the west, by a strait of 7 or 8 leagues wide, called the strait of Gibraltar, in the 35th degree of north latitude. After passing the southern side of Spain, it opens to a bredth of 450 miles, but is again contracted between Sicily and Africa, and terminates on the east by the shore of Syria. It is about 2000 miles in length, and almost divides the Continent into two parts.

4. The Euxine. The Euxine or Black Sea lies between the 41st and 47th degrees of north latitude, and between the 28th and 42d degrees of east longitude; being at least 600 miles in length, and 450 in bredth. On the north side, the Crimea, a large peninsula, projects into this sea, and on the north east of this peninsula, is

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