ally undisturbed, while the vapours accumulated in this calm place fall down in never-ceafing deluges of rain.

In thofe parts of the Atlantic which lie under the temperate zone, a north wind prevails conftantly during the autumn and beginning of winter, which are therefore the most favourable times for embarking for the East-Indies. A north wind prevails likewife almoft conftantly in Nova Zembla, and the countries within the Polar Circle during the winter. In the Cape de Verd Iflands, a fouth wind prevails during the Seventh-month; and during the Ninth-month, a north-weft wind blows at the Cape of Good Hope.

Regular winds are produced on land by various caufes. The ancient Greeks obferved a constant breeze produced by the melting of the fnow on the high mountains in the neighbourhood; the fame kind of winds are now obferved to take place in the kingdom of Congo, and the fouthern parts of Africa. Winds are alfo produced by the flux and reflux of the tide; and in general, when there is a great current of water, it is likewife attended by a correfponding current of air.

The winds which blow for fome months of the year one way, and the reft another, are called Monfoons, taking their name from a famous navigator, who ufed them with fuccefs in his voyages. They prevail chiefly in the ocean betwixt Afia and Africa, and along the coafts of the East-Indies.

Some winds are in a manner peculiar to certain coafts. Thus, the fouth wind blows almoft conftantly on the coafts of Chili and Peru. Weft winds prevail almoft conftantly on the coaft of Terra Magellanica, and the borders of the Straits le Maire; while, on the coasts of Malabar the north and north-west winds are equally prevalent. A north-west wind alfo prevails very much on the coaft of Guinea; but at fome diftance from land the north-eaft conftantly prevails. A weit wind blows on the coafts of Japan during the last two months of the year; and during the whole winter no fhips can leave the port of Cochin, on account of the impetuofity of the winds which fet in upon that coaft: here indeed they blow with fuch vehemence, that the ports are entirely choked up with fand, and even boats are not able to enter; but the winds which blow from the eaft during the other half of the year clear the harbours, and fet the confined fhips at liberty. At the Straits of Babelmandel, (the entrance to the Red Sea) there is a fouth wind which returns periodically, and is always followed by one from the north-east.

The fea ard land breezes, as they are called, which blow towards the fea in the night, and from it in the day, though evidently immediately dependent on the rarefaction produced by the fun, do not in all countries come on at the fame time of the day or night. Where fuch breezes prevail, they purify the air greatly, and the inhabitants enjoy a fhare of health unknown to thofe who live farther up the country; for, it is obfervable that, they do not ex tend far from the fea coafts. In fuch places as Dampier, a celebrated navigator, had occafion to obferve, he tells us, that the fea breeze begins at nine o'clock in the morning, increafing gradually till twelve, after which it gradually dies away, and is fucceeded by the land breeze at five in the afternoon. At Malabar, the land-breeze begins at midnight, and continues till noon, after which the fea-breezes take their turn, and continue till noon, after which the fea breezes take their turn, and continue till midnight. At Congo, they begin at five in the afternoon, and continue till nine the next day, &c.

But befides thefe regular winds which are to be met with in particular parts of the globe, there are others which arife with fo little regularity, that the causes of them remain hitherto infcrutable. In general, the winds are more powerful on clevated fituations, than fuch as are lower; and indeed mountains seem to have no fmall share in producing winds. In fome countries, particularly the Cape of Good Hope, when a cloud appears on the top of certain mountains, the wind very foon begins to blow from it, as if it had been confined there in a bag;

a bag; and from fome caverns alfo a wind is perceived to iffue. It is a common obfervation, that when our atmosphere is unufually clear, fo that we can fee the dark part of the new moon, rough weather is about to follow; and in the hot countries, which are fubject to hurricanes, thefe forms are preceded by an unufual clearness of the water, fo that the bottom may be seen to a vast depth. The fea alfo in fuch cafes boils and fwells up without any apparent cause.'

THE compiler of this work is unwilling to difimifs it, without mentioning a pracice which he used to adopt, as a geographical exercife for his fcholars, when engag. ed in that pleafing task, the tuition of youth, hoping that, if parents and teachers will but try it, the fcholars and children may derive from it a pleating and useful amufement. The method was, to propofe an imaginary journey; fuppofe from Dublin to Paris, to Rome, to Conftantinople, to Jerufalem, to Delhi, to Pekin, or to any other place; or an imaginary voyage, direct or circuitous, or round the world, or long or fhort. In the first inftance, from Dublin to Paris, it was proposed to the lower claffes to defcribe the easielt courfe: these chofe, perhaps, that by water, from the mouth of the Liffey, fouthward through the Irish Channel, round the Land's End, by the Iles of Scilly, and eastward through the English Channel, to Havre-de-Grace, at the mouth of the Seine; and thence, up the river, to the capital. Others adopted a western circuitous courfe, through the fouth of Ireland, and across the sea to Nantz, or Bourdeaux, on their way to Paris. Some took the poft road, or a devious way, through Wales and England, to Dover and Calais; and others, perhaps, chofe a route through the north of Ireland, Scotland, across the German Ocean, and through fome of the continental countries of Europe, in a SW. direction, to Paris. In all these inftances, they planned out their route by the maps, and related, in form of a letter, what they thought the most entertaining in the defcriptions of the places along the way, which they found in the Gazetteer.

The author also takes the liberty to query of teachers, whether it may not be useful for every defcription of fcholars to learn lo much aftronomy as is contained in the preceding introduction? If they approve of it, they can eafily dilate upon it by way of explanation; for, how injurious is it to the human intellect, that the youth are made to commit to memory, or, indeed, to read, what they do not understand, as is commonly done in making them repeat the explanations of words, &c.! The practice is about as hurtful to intellect, as the application of corporal punishment, or, indeed, of fevere rebuke, is to the chastity of truth, or found principle.

Though Geography be one of the most plain and fimple fciences, being much easier learnt than reading and writing, there are fome parents who declare they know very little of the fubject; to thefe the following remark may be acceptable, as it may enable them to lead their children on, as above-mentioned, in imaginary journeys, or tours, round the earth, till they outain, in this familiar way, a tolerable acquaintance with the different parts of our globe.

To conceive aright of the world, being reprefented in two circles on the map, they are to obferve, that each of them reprefents a hemifphere, or oppofite half of the globe: if thefe circles were put back to back, faftened at the edges all round, and fwelled up like a blown bladder, into a fpherical form, it would give a reprefentation of our earth: when, therefore, in marking any line on either of thefe circles, we get off at one edge, we are immediately on the correfponding part of the other, and fo, on it, may purfue, or continue our track or way. Hence it will appear, that in defcribing a track round the whole earth, or globe, on the map, we must neceffarily crofs both the circles.

REMARKS.

An idea of a place, or it's fituation, may fometimes be formed from it's name. In England, borough, bury, berry, burgh, or brough, as alfo cafter, chefter, ceafter, and chafter, at the end of the name of a place, fhew it to have been a town or fortified place. Chip, cheap, or chipping, in the names of places, implies a market; combe, a valley between two hills; and comb in the end, or comp in the beginning of names, a low fituation. Minfter, is a contraction of monaftery. Mouth expreffes the fituation where a river falls into the fea, or other water; and nefs, a promontory which runs into the water in a form resembling a nofe. Thorp, throp, threp, trep, and trop, all fignify a village; and wold, whether fingly or jointly, fignifies a plain open country, or hills without a wood.

In Ireland, ard fignifies high; ath, water; bally, a town, and clon, a retirement. Dun and rath imply a fort. Innis fignifies an ifland; kil, a church; knock, a hill; lis, an inclofure; lugh, a lake, and magh, a field.

The Contractions of the Names in the Counties of England and Wales, are

THE

UNIVERSAL GAZETTEER,

AA, rivers of Courland, Germany, and populous city, and, next to Copenha

Swifferland, Flanders, and France. Aa, in the Danish language, Ea in the Saxon, and Eau in the French fignify wa

AACH, a small town of Nellenburgh in Suabia, near a river of the fame name which falls into the Lake of Zell. It is fubject to Austria, and seated on an emiBence between the Danube and the lake of Conftance. Lat. 47. 45. N. lon. 9. o. E. AAGGI DOGGII, a mountain of Amafia, over which the caravans pafs, in their journey between Constantinople and Ifpa

AALBERG, or AALBURG, a bishoprick in Jutland, Denmark; has for it's capital AALBORG, (that is, eel-town, from the AARHUUS, a diocefe of N. Jutland, number of eels taken there) an old, large Denmark; his for it's capital

AARDALSWERK, or SEMDALSWERK, a

copper-work, now difufed, in the parish of
Leyrdal, in Norway.