GEOGRAPHY, OR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 4, 1 May 1855, Page 12

GEOGRAPHY, OR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

Chapter 111. We shall speak by and bye of the countries to the South of Africa. They were not known to our forefathers. We are now writing only of the countries known to them. On the Nortli of Africa is the Mediterranean sea. It lies between Africa and Europe. It is bounded on the east by »~yna, of which Judea is a part. On the west it runs into the Atlantic ocean. We will cross from Egypt, and sail alone the coast of Syria. Two great cities stood there formerly, Tyre and Sidon. On the north-east was that famous city Antioch. Nearly opposite is the island of Cyprus. Sailing along the coas t of the mainland we pass a bay where once stood the city of Tarsus. Further to the westward was the country of Pamphylia. We sail on towards the north and come to Ephesus. Far inland, were the people of Colosse and the country of Galatia ihe names of all these places are now changed. Ihe whole of this great peninsula, which has sea on three sides of it, is called Asia Minor, or little Asia. Crossing from Ephesus by sea westward, we come to Greece—the land of the Greeks. The two chief cities there, are Athens and Corinth Ihe Cjreeks were a great and trading people in old time. They did not venture out into the open sea; they were afraid because their ships were small; but they sailed up and down their inland sea, from one port to another, ana selling. The Greek was the best and clearest of all languages ; the New Testament was written in Greek. These books were all written •no ono knew how to print then. The paper which they used, was made from the leaves of a plant verv like flax j the outside of the leaves was stripped off, and the inner part used as paper. Several of these leaves were then laid side by side, and joined together at the edges, so as to make one

wide page. The plant they used grows in it is called Papyrus. The paper we use now is made of old rags, torn and ground in a mill, till it becomes a soft pulp. The Greeks were very skilful in building, and carving ; there are beautiful statues of their gods, which they carved, still to be seen in Athens. These idols are what St. Paul rebuked them for, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. The Greeks are not as powerful now, as they used to be; a people called Turks, have conquered them, and live in parts of their country. Leaving Greece, we sail westward till we come to Italy, a long narrow peninsula stretching down into the sea. It is bounded on the north by high mountains called the Alps, which divide it from Germany. There were many different races of people, and many cities in Italy ; the greatest of all in old time was Rome. The Romans were a brave and powerful people ; they made war on all the nations around, and conquered them; they were masters of Syria and Judea, and all the sea-coast of the Mediterranean. They even sailed as far as England to conquer our forefathers the Britons. Italy is a pleasant land, warm and fruitful; olives grow there, and wheat and vines. Rome stands on seven hills, on a bend of the river Tyber. In the south-west of Italy is the city of Naples, on the eea-coast, near the burning mountain Vesuvius. Two cities were once destroyed by the fire and ashes that poured down from the mountain. Some Englishmen have lately visited the place where they stood, and on digging under ground have found houses, statues, earthenware vessels, and many other things, still remaining, which had been covered by the burning stream. Sailing from Italy to the west, we come to the narrow straits of the Mediterranean Sea, (the' Straits of Gibraltar) which divide Spain from Afric?. There are high cliffs on either side. On the north side lies Spain, a large square country. To the west of Spain is Portugal. To the north east are the chain of mountains called the Pyrenees. On the other side of these mountains lies France. The vine grows well in Spain, and the Spaniards make a great quantity of wine every year, which is carried in ships to all parts of the world! They use goat-skins for wine bottles, as the Jews used to do. The Cork tree grows in Spain; from its' bark, corks for bottles are made. The bark! is stripped off, bung up to dry, and then cut up! into corks. This does not kill the tree. Every! ten years when the new bark is grown, it fs-l stripped off again in the se.ni3 way. Madrid is 1 the ehief city of Spain. It is in the middle'

of the country. Another city is Gibraltar, which is built on the cliffs above the Straits. The chief city of Portugal is Lisbon; it is on the sea-coast. There are great numbers of cities and villages in all the countries we have been writing about—in Greece, Italy, Spain, and France. But only the names of the capitals or chief cities are written here. We will now sail out through the Straits into the Atlantic Ocean, towards the north. We see two islands lying to the north of us ; these are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain is divided into two parts; the southern part is called England, the northern, Scotland. The west of England i 3 called Wales. Formerly the people of Scotland, England, and Ireland were each governed by a king of their own. Now they are all one nation, and have but one Queen over all. The people in Wales &re Britons, to whom all the country formerlv belonged. England is a fertile country 5 wheat is the chief produce. It abounds in cattle, cows, sheep, and horses; but its great wealth is from its iron and coal mines; these extend underground from west to north in great abundance. The coal is dug up, and carried by ships and boats to all parts of England. The large forests have been all cleared away long ago, only some woods remain. Coal is used instead of firewood. Tin is also dug out of the earth. The tin mines are in the south-west of England. London is the chief city; it stands on the banks of the river Thames; it is a very great city; there are thousands of houses and shops; the river is crowded with ships. The English cut canal* through the country, that they may carry their heavy goods inland, in large flat-bottomed boats, drawn by horses. A.nothcr way for carrying goods inland is by steam, not by a steam-ship, but by carriages drawn by a steam engine; the road they run on is called a rail-road; there are iron rails laid very straight on each side of the road, on which the wheels run ; the engine is moved by the force of the steam; and draws after it a long train of carriages with men,

goods, and cattle. Those carriages go very fast, twenty, or even thirty miles an hour. (To be continued )

It is with very sincere regret that we fe?l called upon to explain and apologize for one or two paragraphs which have lately found insertion in the pages of the 'Maori Mcsseuger\—a Journal which for the past six years of its existence, has most carefully refrained from every thing calculated to give the slightest personal or political tendency to pages primarily intended and invariably and assiduously directed to the instruction and improvement of the Native mind. Circumstances to which it is unnecessary to refer, for a short time interrupted the publication of the Messenger. Upon its re-appearance, a variety of matter which had been prepared by the Translator, and kindly supplied by several valuable contributors, were indiscriminately printed. Over these the former and present Editor had no control. They were not submitted to his inspection, nor did they come under the observation of the Native Secretarv. For their publication the Translator alone is accountable ; and, to him only, the unjustifiable observations levelled at the VVesleyan Methodist Society, in the double number for March and April, as well as one or two other unauthorised paragraphs; are altogether attributable. The Maori Messenger, however, is again placed under careful supervision, and we beg to assure its readers and friends of all classes that no more objectionable matter will have place in its columns.