Bayard Taylor, in one of his books, describes an interview with a certain prince or titled individual from one of the interior kingdoms of Africa. The prince, in describing the wealth and resources of the kingdom of Dahomey, said that the king never walked out unless accompanied by at least ten thousand attendants, and that when he chose to ride, forty thousand horses were led to the door of his palace, from which he could make his selection. He continued in the same strain, and when he had finished his story, he asked a question in regard to Mr. Taylor’s country. Mr. Taylor replied, that the United States were so large that it took two years to travel from one end of the country to the other; that it required six weeks of rapid riding to go round the walls of the capital; and that our Sultan, who was called the President, had a wardrobe of sixty thousand coats, from which he made his selection to dress himself for breakfast. In this manner each person conveyed to the other the proper idea of the country, and nothing more. The prince substantially informed the American that Dahomey was a rich country, and the king powerful; while the American, on the other hand, informed the prince that America was a very large country, and that the president’s wealth was personal, rather than national. But we are getting away from silver, a substance which it is not desirable at any time to see far from us. [Sidenote: ANCIENT SILVER MINES.] The locality of the ancient silver mines is buried in obscurity; but it is known that silver was obtained, together with gold, from various parts of Africa, and also from Asia. The Spanish silver mines were developed at a very early period, and were the basis of the extensive commerce which Spain conducted for a long time with other countries. Hannibal is said to have opened a mine which furnished three hundred pounds of silver daily, and was worked by horizontal tunnels extending a mile and a half into a mountain. During the middle ages the production of silver fell off very greatly, and until the fifteenth century comparatively little silver mining was carried on. The production of Spanish mines was greatly decreased, and the wealth of Spain fell off in a proportionate degree. Rich mines of silver existed in the new world, particularly in Mexico and Peru. The conquest of Mexico by Cortes in 1519 was speedily followed by the development of the rich silver mines of that country. From a very early period the Aztecs had been familiar with silver, and wrought it into many ornamental and useful articles. The mines were opened and extensively worked by the Peruvians in Guanajuato, Zacatecas, and other districts, and their production was greatly increased by the abundance of quicksilver, and its employment in the reduction of ores. Quicksilver is used for this purpose to a greater extent in Mexico and Peru than in other countries. [Sidenote: GREAT MINES OF MEXICO.]