As recent telegrams have given somewhat startling news regarding Venezuela, and as the most important from American leading newspaper, though contradicted, may at any moment be repeated with truth, we think a brief sketch of the country and its history may enable our readers to follow subsequent events with knowledge and interest. In the first place the me ' Venezuela" which means Little Venice" is entirely a misnomer and was only used by the Spanish "Conquistadores" in describing the habitations of the Mara-ceibo Indians, whom they found living on the lakes near the coast, in huts built on piles. How great misnomer this is, can at once be seen by looking at a large scale map, where it will be seen that the country owns a forest covering a tract of ground larger than France, steppes like those of the Gobi, and mountain tracts in which Switzetland could easily be pliced and lost Venezuela is the most northern region the South American continent, lair tirely within the tropics, between 1° and 12° 20' north Intitude, and 60° 31" 75° 53' west longitude, and its climates range from the most intense cold in the Alpine districts, to the greatest heat known on the earth's surface on the plains. Venezuela is divided into three different distinct regions. The first, the Alpine, whose mountain ranges joining the Andes vary from 6,000 feet to 16,000 feet above sea level, consists of an aren of 1,700 square Spanish leagues, amongst: which are situated the "4 "Cold Deserts," where the climate is so severe that during the many civil wars, on more than one occasion, whole regiments have perished attempting to cross them. These mountains rise in successions of table-lands which are surrounded by amphithentres of hills in tiers, The second region consists of mountain about 2,000 feet high running parallel to the coast, between which lie the marvelously fertile valleys of Valencia, Ara mas, and Pai, where in places the jet black leaf-mould soil has been found to be sixty feet deep. Here overan area of 1,400 square Teagues are grown coffee, cacio, maize, cotton, indigo, sugareane, and plantains, and where, under any decent government, were an agricultural immigrant population encouraged to settle, could be grown wheat, barley, oats, hops, and all fruits grown in temperate European climes. The third region is Parima or Guay: Here there is a virgin forest containing most valuable woods, extending over Give thousand square leagues, besides vast tures called ""sabenaa"'upon which are reared prodigious herds of cattle; this tract of country as a grazing ground cannot be surpassed anywhere in the world, as amongst these pastures rise millions of springs which eventually uniting form 1,020 navi able rivers, of which seven are of the first class; thirty of the second class; twenty-two of the third class; and nine hundred and sixty-three of the fourth class. There are besides many lakes, the largest of which, Maracaibo, covers space of 214 square leagues.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.