munication with the Black Sea by the Northern Dwina and the Dneiper. From the Baltic there is a water conveyance to the Caspian Sea, through the Neva and the Wolga. In these and similar communications, the space between the rivers is traversed by a canal. Moscow has a communication with the river Don by a canal; the Don approaches the Wolga within the distance of 40 miles in the southern part of Russia, and several attempts have been made to unite them, but they have not yet succeeded. Such a junction would unite the Frozen Ocean, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea, with the Caspian Sea.

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS.

THE Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituted in the year 1814, consists of sixteen provinces; seven Dutch, and nine Belgic, together with the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. It extends from 49° 30' to 53° 30' north latitude, and from 2° 30' to 7° of east longitude. It is bounded on the north by the North Sea; on the east by the Kingdom of Hanover and the Prussian territories of the Lower Rhine; on the south by France; and on the west by the North Sea, which divides it from Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk.

DUTCH PROVINCES, usually called HOLLAND.

Provinces.

Chief Towns.

Rivers, &c.

Holland................
....................... Amsterdam.......................Amstel.

Zealand.........Middleburg. ...Island of Walcheren.

Friesland......... Lewarden............Ee.

Groningen......Groningen..
............ Hunse and Fivel.
Overyssel.........Zwoll..................Aa.
Gelderland.......Arnheim........

.................Rhine. Utrecht............Utrecht................................... Rhine.

The seven provinces above mentioned contain about eleven thousand square miles, and two millions of inhabitants. These provinces contain neither mountains nor hills, and the only elevation commanding an extended view, is the top of a tower or steeple, from which the country appears like a vast marshy plain, intersected in all directions by an infinity of canals and ditches. The prospect, however, is not always uninteresting: it exhibits verdant meadows covered with numerous herds

of cattle, clusters of trees, elegant country houses, parks, &c.; numerous barks passing and repassing on the canals, and a close succession of farms, villages, and towns.

HOLLAND is the most important of all the provinces, and the city of Amsterdam, before the French revolution, was accounted one of the greatest trading cities in Europe. From the year 1810 to the fall of Bonaparte, Amsterdam was the chief town of the French department of the Zuyder Zee, and the third town in the French empire, taking rank after Paris and Rome: it contains about 200,000 inhabitants. Holland is divided into two parts, North and South Holland. Haarlem is the second city of North Holland, and contains 20,000 inhabitants; the other towns of note are Alkmaar, Hoorn, and Helder at the entrance of the Texel. The principal towns in South Holland are Rotterdam, a large commercial town, situated on the Rotter and Maes, containing 54,000 inhabitants; Leyden on the Rhine; the Hague, formerly the seat of Government, is now, along with Brussels, the alternate residence of the king and legislature; the other towns are Delft, Dort or Dordrecht, Gouda or the Yssel, Briel and Helvoetsluys in the island of Voorn, &c.

.

ZEALAND is composed of several islands formed by the different branches of the Scheldt: the principal islands are Walcheren, South and North Beveland, Schouen, and Tholen. The chief towns are Middleburg and Flushing in the island of Walcheren, Goes in South Beveland, and Ziricksee in the island of Schouen. The inhabitants of the province of Zealand are at a great expense in defending their property from the encroachments of the sea, which, in high tides and stormy weather, overflows or breaks down their dykes.

FRIESLAND is secured against the sea by large dykes; in the south-west quarter are a number of small lakes, and the south-east contains extensive heaths and woods. The principal towns are Harlingen, Francker, and Dorkum. The standard commodities of Friesland are salt, cheese, butter, and beer.

GRONINGEN lies very low, and is protected by dykes against the inundations of the sea. The soil is in general

marshy, but the pasturage is rich, and feeds a great number of cattle.

OVERYSSEL is an extensive province nearly equal in size to North and South Holland, and resembles these provinces in the marshy aspect of its territory; but in other respects it is far inferior, being the least populous of the Dutch provinces. Here are no sea ports of consequence, no large villages, or highly cultivated districts. The most important branch of industry is the rearing of cattle; the principal exports are butter, cheese, tallow, cattle, hides, wool, and turf. Deventer on the Yssel contains about 10,000 inhabitants; it is the seat of an Athenæum, or provincial academy; linen is manufactured in the neighbourhood.

GELDERLAND is watered by the Rhine, the Wahal or Waal, the Yssel, the Leck, and the Maes or Meuse, together with several large canals. The surface is not quite so flat as the maritime provinces of the Netherlands, and the soil is, in many places, not very fertile. The principal productions are corn, buck-wheat, potatoes, fruit, tobacco, and hops. The principal towns are Zutphen, Nimeguen, Thiel, Bommel, and Harderwyk.

UTRECHT is surrounded by the provinces of Holland and Gelderland, except on the north, where it borders on the Zuyder Zee; the air is good, and the soil in general fruitful; to the east there is some sterile and sandy land. The chief towns are Utrecht and Amersfoord. At Utrecht was formed the union of the seven provinces in 1579, and likewise the treaty which terminated the wars of queen Anne in 1713.

UNIVERSITIES.

The Universities are Leyden, founded in 1575, Groningen in 1614, and Utrecht in 1636. The universities of Francker, and Harderwyk, are now converted into provincial Academies, or Athenaa. At Amsterdam, Middleburg, Deventer, and Breda, seminaries called Athenæa, have also been established. There is a military school at Dort, and a naval school at Helvoetsluys. The established religion is the Calvinistic protestant.

ISLANDS.

The islands formed by the Scheldt, and the mouth of the Maes, have already been described. The Texel, at the entrance of the Zuyder Zee, is separated from the fortress of Helder by a narrow channel called, MarsDiep. Texel contains a large and secure harbour, with a fort which commands the entrance, it has likewise a commodious roadstead for shipping on the east coast. The other islands are Vlieland, on which there is a light-house, Schelling, Ameland, &c.

Belgium*, or SOUTHERN PROVINces of the KingDOM.

Provinces.

Chief Towns.

Rivers, &c.

East Flanders............Ghent................. Scheldt, Lys, &c.
West Flanders..........Bruges...............Canals.
Hainault.................................. .Tournay....

..........................Scheldt. North Brabant..... ...Breda....... .......................Merck.

Brussels...... .Senne.

......

South Brabant...... { Antwerp............Scheldt.

EAST FLANDERS is separated from West Flanders by a line running almost due south from Sluys, including part

The name given by the French, since the revolution, to the Aus trian Netherlands, and the bishopric of Liege, which they divided into the nine following departments:

of Dutch Flanders. The chief towns are Ghent, Dendermonde, Oudenarde, Hulst, and Sas Van Ghent. The soil is fertile and produces corn, pulse, flax, madder, and tobacco, and the pasturages are excellent.

WEST FLANDERS contains a considerable tract of seacoast, in the central part of which is Ostend, from which a canal extends to Bruges. The other towns of note are Furnes, Ypres, Courtray, and Menin on the Lys, and Sluys, in the island of Cadsand.

The surface of West Flanders is generally level except near the coast, and the soil is fertile. The exports consist of corn, pulse, rape-seed, oil, tobacco, butter, cheese, and cattle. The manufacture of lace, fine linens, cotton stuffs, and leather, are extensive, and there are several large breweries and distilleries.

HAINAULT is situated on the French frontier, southward of East Flanders and South Brabant. The eastern part is covered with wood, and not altogether so fruitful as the western part, but both produce plenty of corn, and contain good pasturage. The mineral productions are iron, lead, marble, and large quantities of coal. Here are manufactures of woollens, cottons, lace, glass, iron, and earthenware. The chief towns are Tournay, Mons, and Ath on the Dender. The village of Jemappes, on the road from Mons to Valenciennes, is remarkable for the first general action of the revolutionary war, wherein Dumourier gained a complete victory over the Austrians in November, 1792; the carnage on both sides was so great, that three coal-pits adjacent were filled with the carcases of men and horses!

moss,

NORTH BRABANT, formerly called Dutch Brabant, is situated to the south of Gelderland, between the Maes and the province of Zealand. It is covered with heath, and wood, but produces corn, especially wheat, hops, and flax; the inland trade is facilitated by numerous canals. The chief towns are Breda, Bergen-opZoom, Eyndhoven, Bois-le-Duc, and Gravé.

SOUTH BRABANT, formerly Austrian Brabant, forms an important part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. The chief towns are Brussels on the Senne, Antwerp on