254 GEOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY. It is also bounded on the west . side by the Westernor Atlantic ocean. Asia is also bounded on the north-by the Northern Frozen seas : On the south by the Indian ocean : On the east it includes China and the Oriental islands : Buton the north-east its bounds are unknown, for travellers have not yet been able to determine whether those eastern parts of Great 'Fartary may not be joined to some unknown parts of North America. Africa is a large Peninsula joining to Asia by a little neck of land at Egypt boundedon the north by theMediterranean sea : On the west by the Atlantic ocean : On the north east by the Red sea ; and on the south and east by the Southern and Indian oceans. America was unknown to the ancients till found out byChris- topher Columbus, a little above two hundred years ago. It is Called in general the West Indies. It lies almost three thousand miles to the westward , from Europe and Africa on the other side of the Atlantic and Ethiopic seas : It is made up of two large continents, divided by a narrow neck of land into two parts ; the one is called North America or Mexicana, the other 'South America or Peruana. Let us treat briefly of each of these in their order. SECT. XIII. Of Europe and its several Countries and Kingdoms. THE chief countries of which Europe is composed may be distinguished into the northern, the middle, and the southern parts. , I. The northern parts are the British isles, Denmark, Nor- way, Sweden, Muscovy, and Lapland. The British isles are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain contains the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, which were lately united into one. 'l'he chief cityof England is London, and Edinburgh is the chief in Scotland, as Dublin is in Ireland. Note, That Wales is reckoned a part of England, though they speak 'a different language.' Denmark is asmall kingdom on the north of Germany made up of one peninsula, and several islands in the Baltic sea ; its chief city is Copenhagen, which 'stands in the largest of those islands. The kingdom of Norway (which lies all along bordering on the west of Sweden) has its chief townDrontheim ; this together with the isle of Iceland far distant in the northern sea is under the government of the king of Denmark. Sweden is one of the northern kingdoms which almost en- compasses the Baltic sea ; its chief city is Stockholm. . That part of it tha flies on the east side of the Baltic:is called Pin-
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