4 49 E. The great centre of the silk manufacture. 6 2 E.

Varennes

49 7
49 15

6 10 E.

5 10 E. Where Louis XVI. was taken by the re-
volutionists in his flight from Paris.
4 1 E. Where the Kings of France were formerly
crowned.

2 7 E. Near Paris, formerly a residence of the
Kings of France.

1 54 E. Giving its title to the Duchy of that name, which has always been held by a Prince of the Blood Royal.

3 30 E. 48 15 4 7 E.

Auxerre

47 47

Troyes

In Corsica, which belongs to France, is

Bastia
Ajaccio

N. La.
42°41'

41 55

Long.

9° 26'E.

8 45 E. The birth-place of the Emperor Napoleon.

The principal rivers are the Seine, which rises a little north-west of Dijon in Burgundy, and receiving in its course the Yonne, near Fontainebleau, formerly a royal residence, flows by Paris and Rouen into the English Channel at Havre, after a course of about 440 miles. The Loire rises in the mountains of Cevennes, in the district of Ardèche, and receives the Allier, another considerable river, which rises not far from it. Its course is near 600 miles; it flows by Orleans and Tours, and enters the Bay of Biscay beyond Nantes. The Garonne rises in the Pyrenees, passes by Toulouse and Bordeaux, and receiving the Dordogne at its mouth falls into the Bay of Biscay, not far from the Isle of Oleron, after a course of about 350 miles. The Rhone rises in the Glacier of Furca, in Switzerland; after passing through the Lake of Geneva it receives the Saone at Lyons, and the Du

rance at Avignon, and enters the Mediterranean to the east of Nismes and Montpellier. Its whole course is about 470 miles.

The principal Mountains of France are its south-eastern boundary, the Alps, many of whose summits attain an altitude of 13,000 or 14,000 feet above the sea level, and north of them the smaller chains of Jura and Vosges, forming an eastern barrier. In the south-west the Pyrenees separate it from Spain. There is a very remarkable extinct volcanic district in Central France, in the departments of Puy de Dome and Cantal, some of the cones of which attain an elevation of from 4000 to 5000 or even 6000 feet.

The chief product of France is wine; its chief manufactures are silk, cambrics, lace, fine woollen cloths, tapestry, porcelain, and sugar made from the beet-root. *

Above France is Belgium, and above it Holland. They are bounded on the north and west by the North Sea, and on the east by Hanover and a detached part of Prussia. In Belgium (Pl. XV.) the chief cities are —

About ten miles south of Brussels is the village of Waterloo ; and about two miles farther south is the ever-memorable

ca.

*The extent of France is about 207,252 square miles, including CorThe population in 1846 was 35,400,486.

plain where Napoleon was utterly defeated by the Duke of Wellington, June 18. 1815.

The chief Rivers are the Scheldt, which rises in France, south of Cambray, and passing by Valenciennes and Antwerp, after a course of about 200 miles falls into the German Ocean near Flushing. The Meuse, or Maese, rises in France a little north of Langres, and has a course of about 400 miles, flowing by Namur, Liege, and Maestricht, in Holland; it afterwards receives the Waal, a branch of the Rhine, and falls into the North Sea below Rotterdam. In Belgium its banks are eminently beautiful and picturesque. There are no mountains of importance in Belgium.

The principal Rivers are the Rhine, hereafter to be described, with its branches, the Waal and Yssel, and the Meuse, already mentioned, which all flow into the North Sea. There are no Mountains in Holland. *

* The extent and population of Belgium and Holland are as follow::Eng. Sq. Miles. Pop. 1845-9

The chief products of Belgium are grain, flax, coal, iron, and other metals; of Holland, butter and cheese. The principal manufactures of Belgium are woollen cloths, linen, lace and hardware; of Holland, woollen cloths, leather, and some silks. The Dutch carry on a vast trade in fisheries, particularly that of herrings. Holland is also celebrated for its numerous distilleries.

East of Holland and France is Germany (Pl. VIII.), containing, besides great portions of the Empire of Austria and of the Kingdom of Prussia, (which will be more conveniently described separately,) four smaller kingdoms, Hanover, Saxony, Bavaria, and Wurtemburg; together with thirtyfour minor states, including four Free Cities. It will be sufficient, in the present work, to enumerate only the principal.

In the north, immediately below Denmark, is Hanover, formerly subject to the same kings with England, but now passed into a separate branch of the royal family. Surrounded by Hanover, on all sides but the north, is the grand Duchy of Oldenburg. North-east of Hanover, on the Baltic, are Mecklenburg, and Holstein, of which the King of Denmark is Duke, and which is included in the German Confederation; south-east of Hanover is Brunswick, having Anhalt to the east. Below Brunswick are Hesse Cassel and Hesse Darmstadt with Nassau to the west, and to the east Saxe Coburg Gotha, Meiningen, and Weimar. These, together with several other small states, are so intermixed in situation that it is not easy to describe their boundaries. East of these is Saxony. South of the Maine is Baden, bordering upon the Rhine; east of this, Wurtemburg; and still east, Bavaria.

The principal Cities in Germany are