a country of considerable extent, which, though frequently ruled by turbulent and nearly independent chiefs, ranks as one of the provinces of the Turkish empire. It extends from the thirty-ninth to the forty-third degree of north latitude, for the space of about 250 miles, along the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Venice. The extent inland nowhere exceeds 100 miles, and is in the southern part not more than 30. The chain of Pindus, called now the mountains of Sagori, of Metzovo, and of Suli, separate it by an ill-defined line from Macedonia and Thessaly. The Turks divided it into pashalics, of which the principal were those of Scutari, Ochrida, Vallona, and Butrinto; but these distinctions, amid late revolutions, have been in a great measure obliterated. The divisions chiefly recognised are those formed by the varieties of the native tribes. Colonel Leake, who is considered one of the best-informed authorities on this head, divides them into the Nggezi, or Ghegides, whose principal towns are Dulcigno, Scutari, and Durazzo; the Toske or Toskides, who occupy Berat and Elbasan; the Liapae, a poor and predatory race, who inhabit the mountains between the Toske and Delvino; and the Tsami, who inhabit the most southerly district, and whose principal towns are Suli and Paramithia. In 1838, it was divided by the Turks into six sanjaks, besides a number of smaller divisions.

Albania nearly coincides with the ancient Epirus, but comprising part of Macedonia, Illyria, and Chaonia. This country was then, as now, distinguished by the rude valour of its inhabitants. Its remote situation, and the want of union among its tribes, generally prevented it from acting any conspicuous part in Grecian politics. The only remarkable exception occurs in the reign of Pyrrhus II., who was justly ranked with the greatest captains of antiquity. After his death the country was again split into a number of petty states, which were unable to resist the united strength of Macedon; and to that kingdom Epirus continued subject, till both were alike subdued by the Roman arms.

It was during the time of the Greek empire that the name of Albania was first given to this district. During the decline of the empire the Albanians gradually rose to distinction, and at last to independence. Their valour enabled them to maintain their ground against the Bulgarians, who had occupied all the neighbouring districts of Greece. Nor were they less successful against the Turks, a more formidable enemy. Under the command of the celebrated George Castriot, commonly called Scanderbeg, they baffled all the efforts of Mahomet II., the conqueror of Constantinople. That powerful monarch entered Albania only to experience a succession of defeats, and was at length compelled to acknowledge its independence by a formal treaty. On the death of Scanderbeg, the Turks redoubled their efforts against Albania, which was at length reduced to a state of nominal subjection. The siege of Scutari, in 1478, formed the termination of this memorable struggle. The subjection, however, was always imperfect; revolts were frequent, and the inhabitants of the mountainous districts still preserved their independence. It was by the motives of pay and plunder, rather than by compulsion, that these hardy soldiers were allured into the Turkish ranks. In proportion as the Ottoman empire declined in vigour, its hold of Albania became less firm; and the vigorous and enterprising genius of Ali Pasha again converted this dependency into what might almost be called a separate kingdom.

Ali was born at Tepellene, a small town in the interior of Albania. His father held the rank of a pasha of two tails, but was not possessed of any extensive power; and he died when Ali was only fifteen. In a district so turbulent, and filled with warlike and hostile leaders, the young chief was necessarily placed in a very critical situation. He was him- self accustomed to boast, that he began his fortune with sixty paras and a musket; and an Albanian who attended a late traveller (Mr Hobhouse) declared, that he remembered to have seen Ali with his jacket out at elbows. Ali was ere long driven from Tepellene, his native place, and was abandoned by almost all his followers. A plan was next formed for his destruction, by the inhabitants of Gardiki, a neighbouring town; and for this purpose they surrounded, in the night time, a village where he had taken refuge. Ali escaped through a garden, but his mother and sister fell into the hands of the Gardikotes, and were treated with every species of indignity; wrongs for which he afterwards took a dreadful vengeance. His address and activity enabled him gradually to repair his fortunes. He insinuated himself into the favour of Coul Pasha, then the principal chief of Albania, whose daughter he at length married. Having thus been enabled to collect some followers, he succeeded in surprising Yanina, the capital, and in prevailing upon the Porte to recognise him as pasha of that important district. From this time he took the lead among the Albanian chiefs; employing sometimes force, sometimes money, and sometimes treachery, to increase his authority, and add to the extent of his dominions.

The most formidable adversaries with whom Ali had to contend were the Suliottes, a people placed in the southern extremity of Albania. They inhabit an almost inaccessible range of mountains, beneath whose gloomy shade winds a river, which Dr Holland conjectures, on very plausible grounds, to be the Acheron of the ancients. (Travels in the Ionian Isles and Albania.) The strength of their native bulwarks, their passion for war, and contempt of death, made them the terror of Albania, which they frequently invaded; while no foreign power had ever ventured to scale the tremendous barriers by which they were guarded. Ali at length succeeded, partly by force and partly by bribery, in gaining the passes which led into their country; and the whole nation, after a furious resistance, was reduced to subjection, and partly extirpated.

In 1811 and 1812 Ali attacked and defeated the passhas of Berat and Delvino; by which means he gained possession of some of the finest parts of Albania, and a population of between 200,000 and 300,000 souls. Tepellene, his native place, now fell into his power; and now also it was that he obtained the means of inflicting signal vengeance on Gardiki. With his accustomed duplicity he pretended a complete oblivion of all grounds of resentment, until he had surrounded and inclosed the city with his troops; when upwards of 700 of those of the inhabitants who were supposed to have been most deeply involved in the ancient guilt, were dragged into a large khan near the city, and bound together with cords. On a signal given by Ali, the Albanian soldiery, who were stationed on the walls of the khan, began a discharge of musketry, which continued until the destruction of the whole 700 was completed.

The dominions of Ali were not confined within the limits of Albania; he extended his sway over the mountainous district of Macedonia, nearly the whole of Thessaly, and great part of Livadia. He was kept in check by Ismael Bey, who possessed an authority nearly as independent over the plains of Macedonia. In Albania, his power was almost absolute; and while little regard was paid to the imperial firman, a letter with the signature of Ali commanded implicit obedience. The Albanians were enthusiastically attached to him; they viewed him as a native sovereign; they admired the energy of his character, and, when they heard of any other chief, commonly remarked, "he has not a head like Ali."

The natives estimated Ali's military force as high as 50,000, 60,000, or even 100,000 men. This could only apply to the case of a general levy en masse, in the event of invasion. It does not appear that Ali ever brought into the field a greater disposable force than 15,000. His standing army was supposed to be about 10,000, of whom 4000 or 5000 were stationed round his capital Yanina. The amount of his revenues was still more uncertain. They arose from the following sources:—1. A land-tax, amounting generally to about 10 per cent. of the produce; 2. a tax on cities and towns, levied in the form of requisition; 3. the customs, which he raised to six per cent.; 4. the inheritance of all who died without male heirs.

Ali's figure was corpulent and unwieldy, his neck short, his stature about five feet nine inches. The expression of his countenance was striking and majestic; and his features gave no indications of those terrible qualities by which he was characterised. His abilities were certainly of no mean order. He displayed that union of deep thought and contrivance, with prompt and decisive action, which indicate a mind equally formed for politics and for war. He was remarkable for his address, both in gaining friends, and in lulling asleep the suspicions of his bitterest enemies. But, if his abilities were of a superior order, his moral qualities were of a kind which rendered him an object of fear and detestation. His cruelty rather resembled that of an Indian savage than of even the least civilised European. Impaling and roasting alive were among the common punishments reserved for those who had unhappily offended him. The fierceness of his cruelty was only exceeded by the depth of his dissimulation. It was impossible for the most skilful observer to conjecture, from his outward deportment, the real sentiments with which he regarded any individual. The only observable difference consisted in a peculiar kindness of manner towards those unfortunates whose cruel doom he had silently and unremittingly sealed.

Ali's ordinary residence was near Yanina, in an immense building which combines the characters of a palace and a fortress. The outer courts were irregularly crowded with Albanian soldiers, and with persons of all descriptions, who attended upon him, or had petitions to present. Each petitioner in approaching, knelt and kissed his garment. He exercised in person the whole judicial authority, and his decisions, though necessarily given too promptly, are, however, said to have been guided by an apparent wish of arriving at the truth, and of doing justice. He rose at six in the morning, and, with the exception of an hour at dinner, and an hour at supper, spent the whole day in business. His habits at table were extremely temperate, though he was not so strict a Mussulman as to decline the use of wine. His harem contained 390 females of various descriptions. It formed an edifice entirely distinct from the rest of the seraglio, and is said to have been furnished in a style of the most gorgeous magnificence; but no European ever found admission into it.

Although the government of Ali was completely despotical, yet, viewed comparatively, it appears to have been better for Albania than the terrible anarchy to which it was formerly exposed.

The progress of this enterprising chief was viewed by the Porte with jealousy and alarm, though it was found prudent to maintain an outward good understanding with him, by investing him with the government of the provinces which he had subdued. The Sultan having in vain attempted to induce Ali to repair to Constantinople, with the secret intention of despatching him, at length sent against him Pacho Bey, a former adherent of Ali, but afterwards one of his bitterest opponents. A recent and daring attempt, by two hired agents of Ali, to assassinate this person, furnished sufficient ground for placing Ali under the ban of the empire. He soon found himself deserted by the tribes in whom An Albanian military force, according to the description of Dr Holland, cannot so properly be called an army, as a tumultuous assemblage of armed men. There is no regular distribution into corps; nor is much regard paid to the authority of any officer, with the single exception of the pasha himself. Yet such is their activity and intrepidity, that they have sometimes proved formidable to the best-disciplined European armies. The main strength of the Turkish infantry in the Russian campaigns consisted of Albanians.

This fierce and haughty race display a greater degree of contempt for the female sex than is usual even among the most barbarous nations. The females are literally regarded as inferior animals, and treated as such; but in the country districts they are not confined or veiled, as is customary in Mahometan countries.

The dress of the Albanian consists of a cotton shirt, a jacket, a mantle, sandals, and a red cap; to which is added a large capote, or great coat, as a shelter from the weather. Every part except the shirt consists of woollen. As they have usually one suit, which they wear day and night, it soon exhibits a dreadful spectacle of dirt and vermin, and at length literally falls to pieces. The dress of the females is more various, and often fantastic. A singular custom prevails among the girls, of stringing together the pieces of money which they have collected for their portion, and wearing them upon their heads. Some of them have their hair hanging down in braids to a great length, loaded with this species of ornament.

Yanina, the present capital, is beautifully situated on the banks of a small lake, inclosed within a circuit of lofty mountains. The houses in general are not externally either splendid or elegant; and they are built in the most irregular manner, with scarcely any approach to the form of streets. The intermixture, however, of gardens and trees gives to the city a fine appearance from a distance; particularly when combined with the magnificent background which everywhere crowns the landscape. There is a considerable number of Greeks at Yanina, who display an active and intelligent character, and cultivate with ardour the different branches of science and literature. The total number of inhabitants is estimated at upwards of 36,000.

The commerce of Albania is chiefly carried on through Arta, a small city situated on a gulf of the same name, in the most southern district of the country. The principal merchants, however, are Greeks residing at Yanina, among whom a very active commercial spirit appears to prevail. The mercantile houses of this city have often branches in other countries, particularly Germany and Russia; and several of them suffered considerably by the conflagration of Moscow. Under the continental system of Napoleon, Malta became the great channel for the trade of Albania, and, notwithstanding the subsequent political changes, probably retains it to a certain extent. The exports consist almost entirely of unmanufactured produce. Notwithstanding its mountainous character, the fertility of its plains affords a surplus of grain, of which a considerable quantity is sent to Italy, the Ionian Isles, Malta, and other places. Wool is exported chiefly unmanufactured, but partly also wrought into coarse cloth. Other important articles of export are, oil, tobacco of good quality, cotton and cotton yarn, chiefly from Thessaly. Some cargoes of wood for building and fire are annually sent to Malta. The chief imports consist of woollen cloths, used for winter coverings. For this purpose the preference is given to a coarser and cheaper species than any that is usually manufactured in Great Britain. This is supplied from Germany. Albania imports also guns, gunpowder, hardware, coffee, and sugar. On the 8th of October, an annual fair is opened in the neighbour- hood of Yanina, and continues for fourteen days, when the imported articles are exchanged for native commodities, which then pour in from every quarter.

The reader will find much interesting information in regard to this country, and its late ruler, in the Travels of Mr Hobhouse and of Dr Holland. The latter resided for some time at Ali's court, where, in quality of physician, he enjoyed the privilege of a familiar intercourse with that extraordinary personage; and in the pages of Colonel Leake, we have still later notices of this country.

country of Asia, bounded on the west by Iberia; on the east by the Caspian Sea; on the north by Sarmatia; on the south by Armenia and the river Cyrus, now Kur, which, springing from the Moschian Mountains that separate Colchis from Armenia, falls into the Caspian Sea within a small distance from the southern borders of this country. The whole country, formerly called Albania, now goes under the names of Daghistan, Schirvan, and Leghistan, and is extremely fruitful and pleasant. The ancient historians take notice of the Albanian men as tall, strong-bodied, and, generally speaking, of a very graceful appearance; far excelling all other nations in comeliness as well as stature. Modern travellers extol the beauty of the women. The Albanians were anciently an independent and pretty powerful people; but we find no mention made of their kings till the reign of Alexander the Great, to whom the king of Albania is said to have presented a dog of extraordinary fierceness and size. It does not appear that the Albanians were ever conquered by the Romans, even when their power was at the greatest height; though, when they ventured to engage in war with that powerful empire, they were always defeated, as might naturally be expected.