the Vosges Mts., 5,000 ft.; the Plateau of Langres; and the Jura Mts., besides the Graian, Cottian, and Maritime Alps.

Among the highest peaks are those of Mt. Blanc, Little St. Bernard, Mt. Cenis, and Mt. Viso, on the Italian frontier.

Coast-line-1,600 miles. France lies rather compactly together, yet she has access to the commercial world by means of the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and the Mediterranean Sea. Starting from the Belgian frontier, and sailing down La Manche, we pass the following capes and inlets:-C. Gris Nez, the mouth of the R. Somme, that of the Seine, Pt. St. Pierre, C. la Hogue, B. of St. Malo, Pt. de Sillon, and Ushant I. In the B. of Biscay, proceeding to the S. are-Brest Har., Raz Pt., Belle Isle, the mouth of the R. Loire, I. Dieu, I. de Rhe, I. d' Oleron, and the mouths of the Garonne, and Adour. Between the Adour and the mouth of the Garonne are the famous sand dunes of the Landes. On the Mediterranean are the G. of Lyons, the mouths of the Rhone, and Hyeres Ids. Corsica belongs also to France, though it is Italian in the character of its inhabitants.

Rivers.-France is extremely well watered, and its rivers may be divided into those flowing into the English Channel; those flowing into the Bay of Biscay; those flowing into the Mediterranean Sea; and those emptying themselves into the Rhine or Meuse.

(a) Rivers emptying themselves into the English Channel.-These include the R. Somme, having on or near its banks, the towns of St. Quentin, Amiens, Abbeville, St. Valery, and Crecy.-The Seine, rises in the Plateau of Langres; with its right hand tributaries—the Aube, the Marne, the Oise (Aisne); with the left hand tributaries-the Yonne, and Eure; its length is about 470 miles; on the Seine itself stand Troyes, Nogent, Melun, Paris, Versailles, St. Cloud, St. Germain, Nantes, Rouen, Harfleur, and Havre.

To the W. of the Seine is the Orne, with Caen at its mouth.

(b) Flowing into the Bay of Biscay.-As the river Seine is the principal channel by which the surface waters of N. and N.E. France are drained into the English Channel, so the great valley of the Loire receives most of the drainage of central and W. France, to pour it into the B. of Biscay. This river rises in the N. part of the Cevennes, and sweeps round in a great arc, flowing first to the N. and then to the W., receiving on its left bank the following tributaries: the Allier, Cher, Indre, Vienne (Creuse); and on its right bank-the Loir (Sarthe and Mayenne); the Loire is 520 miles long, and drains an area of 33,000 sq. miles; On the Loire are,-St. Etienne, Nevers, Orleans, Blois, Tours, Angers, and Nantes. The other great river having its embouchure (mouth) in the B. of Biscay, is the Garonne, rising in the Pyrenees, and receiving on its right bank the waters of the Arriege, Tarn, Lot, and Dordogne; with the Gers, and Baisse, on the left bank; On the Garonne stand Toulouse, Agen, and Bordeaux.

(c) Flowing into the Mediterranean Sea is the drainage of the Rhone, rising in Switzerland, at an elevation of 5,500 ft. This receives the waters of the Saone, and Doubs, which unite and flow under the name of the Saone, to the junction of the Rhine proper, at Lyon, after which the river receives on its left bank

-the Isere, and Durance, rising in the Graian and Cottian Alps respectively. This river is 500 miles long, and drains an area of 23,000 sq. miles; On it are,-Lyon, Vienne. Avignon, and Arles.

(d) On the N.E. Frontier we have no rivers flowing entirely through French territory, but there are the Moselle flowing into the Rhine; and the Meuse.

Divisions.-France has been divided since 1789, into 32 Provinces, subdivided into 89 Departments.

The Provinces now include

French Flanders Limousin

Roussillon

Foix

Guienne and Gas.

cony

Towns.-Besides the towns already given as situateȧ on the principal rivers, we have the following, on the sea coasts:

(a) On the English Channel:-Dunkirk, Calais, St. Valery, Dieppe, Fechamp, Honfleur, Cherbourg, Avranches, St. Malo, St. Brieue, Morlaix, and Brest.

(b) On the B. of Biscay are,-Quimper, L'Orient, Vannes, La Rochelle, Biarritz, and Bayonne.

(c) On the Mediterranean are,-Narbonne, Cette, Montpellier, Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, and Nice. The following brief summary of the principal towns should be well mastered :

:

Paris, capital of France, on both sides of the Seine, the finest city in the world; principal buildingsthe Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Pantheon, the Tuileries, the Louvre, the Palais Royal, and Luxembourg; besides are, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Cemetery of Pere la Chaise. Industry: manufacture of articles de luxe (articles of luxury, jewellery, bronzes, &c.) Sevres (porcelain), St. Denis and Versailles are in the neighbourhood.

Lyon, (where the Saone joins the Rhine), the centre of the silk trade.

Marseille, the principal port on the Mediterranean, the Southampton of France.

Bordeaux, principally engaged in the export of wines and brandy.

Rouen, the Manchester of France, delightfully situated on the Seine, with a fine Cathedral.

General Remarks.-The climate of France, especially in the S., is clear, fine, warm, and dry. Olives, maize,

vines, mulberry, tobacco, hemp, flax, madder, oranges, and beetroot, are cultivated, besides the cereals. The

soil is generally fertile, except in the district of the Landes; a large portion of the surface is, however, still covered with forest, as very large coal-fields are scarce, the principal beds being near the borders of Belgium, and in the upper valley of the Loire. The principal manufactures in France are those of silk, cotton, wool, linen, wine, brandy, and articles of luxury. The towns chiefly employed in Silk manufacture are, -Lyon, Paris, Nismes, Avignon, Tours; Woollen manufactures are carried on at Orleans, Rheims, Rouen, and Elboeuf; Caen, Louviers, and Evreux, in Normandy; Cotton, at Rouen, St. Quentin, Paris, Lille, and Troyes.

HOLLAND.

Boundaries.—Holland is bounded on the N. and W., by the German Ocean. On the S., by Belgium. On the E., by Prussia. It is 200 miles long, and 120 miles broad, and has an area of 14,000 sq. miles.

Mountains. This country, as its names Holland, Netherlands, and the Low Country shew, is very flat, and contains no ranges of any elevation, as it forms one of the lowest portions of the Great Plain of Europe.

Coast-line-200 miles. Holland possesses a very considerable extent of coast-line compared with its area, and the Dutch have always been a great commercial people. This coast is exceeding low-lying, and is in fact protected from incursions of the sea by the admirable Dykes, which have been laboriously con structed either from earth or solid Norwegian granite. The principal inlets are.-the Dollart, Lauwer Zee, Zuyder Zee, the mouths of the Rhine, Maas, and Scheldt, (and the Haarlem Meer, lately drained).

Rivers.-The rivers of Holland consist of a few small streams flowing into the Zuyder Zee, as-the Vechte or Yssel, together with the lower courses of

the Rhine, and Meuse. In fact Holland consists to a great extent of the Delta of the Rhine, 4,000 sq. miles, and the lowlands round the Zuyder Zee. At the mouth of the Rhine are the Islands of Walcheren, Over Flakee, and others; while off the entrance of the Zuyder, are, the Texel, Vlieland, Ter Schelling, Ameland, &c.

Divisions.-Holland is divided into the following provinces:-Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overyssel, Gelderland, Utrecht, N. Holland, S. Holland, and N. Brabant, Zealand, and Limburg.

Towns. Groningen, on the Riet Diep; Zwolle, on the Vecht; Arnheim, Utrecht, and Leyden, on the Rhine; Amsterdam, and Haarlem, near the Y.; Rotterdam, and Schiedam, on the Maas. On or near the coast are,-Bergen-op-Zoom, the Hague, Ryswick. The following are fortresses:-Maestricht, Breda, Bergen-op-Zoom, Bois-le-duc, and Nimeguen. The ports are,-Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Flushing, and the Helder.

Amsterdam.-Pop. 270,000, on the Y, derives its name from the little river Amstel, at the mouth of which it is situated; capital of Holland, built on 100 islands; the chief port of the kingdom.

Rotterdam is the second port of Holland.

Utrecht gave its name to the peace of Utrecht, 1713. Important woollen manufactures.

Zutphen, site of the battle in which Sir P. Sydney fell mortally wounded, 1586 A.D.

General Remarks.-Agriculture is carried to a high state of perfection, corn, flax, potatoes, and madder beiug largely grown; and much fat stock reared. Large quantities of butter and cheese are exported.

The internal communication is chiefly by means of canals, which intersect the country in all directions, and are generally lined with avenues of trees.

The commerce is considerable, especially with the Dutch possessions of Java, Sumatra (part of), Borneo, Celebes, &c.