were once so renowned, were drawn from the northern coasts of Britain.

The very dense population has been already noticed; and the number of large towns full of people is equally extraordinary. The chief town of the whole country, and of the province of Holland in particular, is Amsterdam, seated at the bottom of the great inlet called the Zuyder Zee, which forms its port, formerly one of the most frequented in the world. The inhabitants have been reckoned 212,000. The streets of this and of most of the other towns of Hol land are straight, well built, and clean, having in general a canal in the middle, and a quay on each side, where the vessels may lie before the merchants' doors. Leyden, a celebrated university, possesses about 50,000 people. Rotterdam, another much frequented port, contains about 48,000. Harlem, where the art of printing, if it was not invented, was at least very early practised, possesses 40,000 peoplė. The Hague, although only considered as an open village, was the seat of government, and contains 36,000 inhabitants. Middelburg, the capital of the island of Zealand, a noted port, with 30,000 people. Utrecht, another celebrated university, has about 20,000.

The prevailing religious profession of Holland is the calvinistic form of protestantism, resembling the Church of Scotland: persons of other professions, particularly Roman catholics, are very numerous, and enjoy perfect liberty of conscience.

The seven united provinces were lately converted into a kingdom for Louis the brother of the emperor of France, with a council of state, consisting of thirteen members, and a legislative body, composed of thirty-eight members, elect ed by the different provinces or departments in proportion to their population.

VOL. II.

VI.

VI.

GERMAN STATES.

The term Germany is applied by the English to a multitude of states of various degrees of extent, population, and importance, occupying the heart of Europe, extending about 600 English miles from the Baltic to the southern borders. of Austria, and about 500 miles from the Rhine to the frontiers of Poland. This country we call Germany, from the Germania of the ancient Romans; but in the language of the country it is called Deutschland, or the country of the Teutones; and the inhabitants Deutsch, (pronounced like the English words dyche or tyche,) an appellation by us corrupted and improperly confined to the natives of Holland and the other United Provinces, whom we commonly call Dutch.

Germany being situated between the parallels of 46° and 54° of n. lat. the climate is in general temperate, although along the shores of the Baltic the cold is often severe; but in the middle and southern provinces the warmth is sufficient for maturing grapes and producing wines of good quality. The northern and western parts of the country are in general one vast sandy plain, little elevated above the sea; but in the eastern and southern parts are many tracts of hills and mountains, uniting by gradual succession to the lofty ranges of the Alps. The most northerly mountains of any note in Germany are, the Hartz, 40 miles south-east from Hanover, rising to the height of above 3000 feet. The Erzgeberg, a range separating Saxony from Bohemia, are more remarkable for their valuable mineral productions than for their elevation. In the south-west part of the country are a number of broad ranges of considerable height, called the Schwartzwald, that is to say, the Black Forest, a name probably

probably occasioned by the vast dark forests with which those mountains are in general covered. The northern slopes of the ranges of the Alps indicate, along the frontiers. of Bavaria and Austria, the boundary between Germany and Italy. The Carpathian mountains, rising in the east of Germany, extend between Poland and Hungary.

Germany furnishes many noble rivers: the Danube, called in German the Donau, rising in Suabia, flows eastward for about 1300 miles, through Bavaria, Austria, Hungary, and Turkey, into the Black Sea, being navigable for about 1 200 miles all the way from Ulm. The Rhine, although rising in the Swiss Alps, forms for many leagues the boundary between Germany and France, its course being about 600 miles into Holland, where its noble stream is dissipated, and arrives without a name in the sea. The Elbe, having its source in the mountains between Bohemia and Silesia, flows northwesterly for 500 miles, and discharges itself into the sea below Hamburg. The Oder, rising in the mountains of Moravia, falls into the Baltic below Stettin, after 2 northerly course of 360 miles. Other considerable rivers of Germany are the Ems and Weser, running by Emden and Bremen. into the German ocean. The Mayne runs westward from the centre of Germany, and passing by Francfort, a handsome independent town, noted for its fairs, - and containing 36,000 inhabitants, waters the vineyards of Hocheim, whence originally came the wine we call Old Hock, and, opposite to Mentz, unites with the Rhine, which higher up receives, on the same side, the Necker, a considerable stream from the Black Forest, The Danube in its course receives many rivers, chiefly from the southern mountains, as the Leck, which waters Augsburg, the Iser passing by Munich, and the Inn, which joins it at Passau, contributing a body of water scarcely less considerable than that of the Danube itself.

The northern parts of Germany present a few uninterest

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ing lakes, but in the mountainous districts of the south are several of considerable magnitude. The lake of Constance, in the south-west, properly belongs to Switzerland.

Many forests of vast extent, chiefly of oak, are scattered over Germany, vestiges of those for which it was noted in ancient times.

From the present fluctuating situation of affairs in Germany, it is impossible at this time (1808) to point out with precision the limits, the population, or the resourses of the several states into which that country is divided: in the fol lowing statement, therefore, it is only meant to convey some notion of the principal divisions, as they stood a few years back.

Saxony contained about 11,680 square miles, and a population of 1,896,000: the chief towns are Dresden and Leipsig, the former with 50,000 inhabitants, and the latter with about 30,000: the country is fertile and well cultivated, producing grain, hops, flax, hemp, tobacco, and a little wine, with mines of silver, tin, copper, lead, iron, and coals. The prevailing religion is Lutheranism; and in Saxony the German language is spoken and written with greater purity and elegance than in any other portion of the country. Saxony is now erected into a kingdom.

Hanover contained about 8,224 square miles, and 850,000, inhabitants. Hanover, the principal town, possesses 15,000 people: Gottingen, a celebrated seat of learning, founded by George II. of Britain, contains about 7,500. The country is in general a sandy plain; but in the south are the Hartz mountains, already mentioned, producing seme silver from mines supposed to be the most ancient of the north of Europe, having been worked in the year 968. Other mines afford copper, lead, and iron; marble, slate, limestone, and coal, are also met with in Hanover. The established religion is Lutheranism.

Hesse contained 2,760 square miles, and 759,000 inhabit

ants

ants: the chief town, Cassel, about 22,000. The country is in general hilly, with a number of fertile valleys producing corn, pasture, and a little wine. Gold and silver have been found in the country of Hesse, with copper, lead, and coal. Lutheranism is the prevailing religious profession.

Mecklenburg, divided into two duchies, contained 4,800 square miles, and above 300,000 inhabitants: the country is sandy, with many lakes, marshes, and heaths, interspersed. The chief products are oats and rye, flax, hemp, cattle, wool, and timber. The religion is the Lutheran, and at Rostock is an university.

Brunswick.-This duchy contained 1472 square miles, and 170,000 people: the chief town, Brunswick, possessing 22,000. The country in appearance and productions resembles the other parts of Hanover, within which it is in a great measure inclosed. From the Lunenburg branch of the house of Brunswick the present royal family of Britain is descended.

In the north-west corner of Germany, but independent of any of the princes of that country, lies the great trading city Hamburg, containing about 100,000 inhabitants; on the north bank of the Elbe there very broad, but divided by several islands.

Lubeck.-Another considerable and independent trading town on the river Trave, which discharges itself into the Baltic, contains about 30,000 people.

Lubeck and Hamburg, in the year 1241, formed an agreement for the mutual protection of their commerce gainst pirates and robbers; and in the course of time many other cities of Germany, both maritime and inland, were united with them for the same purpose; whence arose the celebrated Hanseatic league, so called from the obsolete German term hanse, signifying an alliance or association.

Bavaria, a district extending 150 miles by 120, is watered

by