the antiquarian discoveries constantly made in Ireland, and the spirit of antiquarian research which is now kindling, to direct attention to the great similarity which exists between Abyssinian and Irish customs, in their respective funeral ceremonies. And this is readily done, by placing before the reader the following passages from the life of Nathaniel Pearce, a seaman, who having deserted from H.M.S. Antelope at Mocha, embraced the Mahometan religion, and accompanied the late Mr. Salt to Abyssinia, where he was left with the Ras, or sovereign of Tigré, on the return of the expedition to Massowa in 1810. Pearce married an Abyssinian wife, by whom he had a son who died. In 1819 Pearce made his way to Cairo, where he joined Mr. Salt, and arranged the papers from which his life was subsequently published. In the early part of June 1820, he died at Alexandria.

When Pearce lost his child, he tells us that "The priests came, and the customary prayers were read, and my poor child was carried away to be buried, his mother following in a distracted manner. After the funeral, the people returned to my house; and after they had cried for about half an hour, I begged they would leave off, and let me have a little rest, as I found myself unwell. They complied, and left me with only a few

friends; but, in a few minutes, the people of Antàlo, my acquaintances, hearing of my misfortunes, came flocking and began their cry; and I was obliged to sit and hear the name of my dead boy repeated a thousand times, with cries that are inexpressible, whether feigned or real. Though no one had so much reason to lament as myself, I could never have shown my grief in so affected a manner, though my heart felt much more. Before the cry was over, the people with devves were standing in crowds about my house, striving who should get in first; and the door was entirely stopped up, till at last my people were obliged to keep the entrance clear by force, and let only one at a time into the house. Some brought twenty or thirty cakes of bread, some a jar of maize, some cooked victuals, fowls, and bread, some a sheep, &c.; and in this manner I had my house filled so full that I was obliged to go out into the yard, until things were put in order and supper was ready. The head priest came with a jar of maize and a cow. What neighbours and acquaintances bring in the manner above mentioned is called devves; the bringers are all invited to eat with you; they talk and tell stories to divert your thoughts from the sorrowful subject; they force you to drink a great deal but I have remarked that at these cries,

when the relatives of the deceased become a little tranquil in their minds, some old woman, or some person who can find no one to talk to, will make a sudden dismal cry, saying, 'Oh, what a fine child! and is he already forgotten?' This puts the company into confusion, and all join in the cry, which perhaps will last half an hour, during which the servants and common people, standing about, drink out all the maize, and, when well drunk, will form themselves into a gang at the door and begin their cry; and if their masters want another jar of maize to drink, they must pour it out themselves, their servants being so intoxicated that they cannot stand. In this manner they pass away a day without taking rest. I must say, however, that the first part of the funeral is very affecting; and the only fault I can find is, that they bury their dead the instant they expire. If a grown person of either sex, or a priest, is by them when they expire, the moment the breath departs, the cries and shouts which have been kept up for hours before, are recommenced with fury; the priests read prayers of forgiveness while the body is washed, and the hands put across one another upon the lower part of the belly, and tied to keep them in that position, the jaws tied as close as possible, the eyes closed, the two great tocs tied together, and the

body is wrapped in a clean cloth and sewed up; after which the skin called neet, the only bed an Abyssinian has to lie upon, is tied over the cloth, and the corpse laid upon a couch and carried to the church, the bearers walking at a slow pace. According to the distance of the house from the church, the whole route is divided into seven equal parts; and when they come to the end of every seventh part, the corpse is set down, and prayers of forgiveness offered to the Supreme Being for the deceased. Every neighbour helps to dig the grave, bringing their own materials for the purpose, and all try to outwork one another. Indeed, when a stranger happens to die where he has no acquaintances, numbers always flock to assist in burying him; and many of the townspeople will keep an hour's cry, as if they had been related. There is no expense for burying, as every one assists his neighbour, as I have mentioned above. But the priests demand an exorbitant sum, from those who have property, for prayers of forgiveness; and I have seen two priests quarrelling over the cloth of a poor dead woman, the only good article she had left. If a man dies and leaves a wife and child, the poor woman is drained of the last article of value she possesses, to purchase meat and drink for those priests, for six months after her misfortune;

otherwise they would not bestow a prayer upon her husband, which would disgrace her, and render her name odious amongst the lowest of the populace. In this manner I have known many families ruined. An Agow servant of Mr. Coffin's, who had been left behind with me on account of ill health, died at Chelicut, where he had formerly taken a wife; and the little wages he had saved had enabled him and his wife to keep a yoke of oxen, she having a piece of land of her own. Knowing the man to be very poor, and the great regard he had for his master, I was induced to give a fat cow and a jar of maize to the priests, to pray for the poor man's soul; this they took, and the poor woman made what corn she had into bread and beer for them; after which they refused to keep their weekly fettart [prayers of forgiveness] for a month, unless she paid them more; to complete which, and to satisfy these wretches, she was obliged to sell her two oxen; and the poor woman was again reduced to work and labour hard with the pickaxe.

"There are numbers of men and women who get a living by making rhymes and attending at cries, who are often sent for from a great distance to attend the cry of a person of distinction; and if they are noted poets, they receive high pay in corn, cattle, or cloth. I am acquainted with a