confluence of the Frome with the Avon. The hot wells in the neighborhood appear, to have been known in 1480; but the water was chiefly used externally, till about the year 1670; when a baker, dreaming that his diabetes was relieved by drinking the water, he tried the experiment and recovered. The trade of Bristol is chiefly with Ireland, the West Indies, or North America, Hamburg and the Baltic. By the navigation of the two rivers Severn and Wye, Bristol also engrosses much of the trade of Wales. In 1787, Bristol employed about 1600 coasting vessels, and 416 ships engaged in foreign commerce. Inhabitants in 1801, 63,645. Houses 10,896.

BATH is esteemed the most elegant town in England The hot baths, from which it derives its name, were known in the Roman times. Situated in a vale, Bath is very hot in summer. The houses are constructed of white stone, which abounds in the vicinity. Its inhabitants in 1801, amounted to 32,200, and its houses to 4,463.

MANCHESTER, in Lancashire. In 1802 the number of inhabitants was 84,020. The number of houses 12,823. The cotton manufactures of Manchester are known over Europe and America.

BIRMINGHAM, in Warwickshire, is a celebrated manufacturing town. Between the years 1741 and 1790, it had received an augmentation of seventy two streets, 4172 houses, and 23,320 inhabitants the population in 1802 amounted to 73,670; and the houscs to 16,403.

SHEFFIELD, in the most southern part of Yorkshire, had been distinguished for a kind of knives called whittles, and other articles of cutlery, as early as the thirteenth century; yet till within the last half century, the manufactures of Sheffield were conveyed weekly to the metropolis, on pack horses. In 1751, the river Don was rendered navigable to within 2 miles of the town; which facilitated the export. The plated goods commenced about 1758. In the year 1615, the population only amounted to 2152; in 1755, to 12,983; in 1789, about 30,000. In 1802, is was 31,514.

EXETER, in the county of Devon, is the seat of an extensive commerce in coarse woollen goods, manufactured in a part of Somersetshire and in Devon and Cornwall. They are exported to Italy, and other parts of the continent, to the annual value, as is supposed, of 600,000l. and the East India company purchase yearly to a considerable amount. Inhabitants, 17,398.

PORTSMOUTH is the grand naval arsenal of England. The haibor is noble and capacious; narrow at the entrance, but spreading out into an inland bay 5 or 6 miles in length, and from 2 to 4 i breadth. The advantages derived from nature have been improv ed by the art and industry of successive generations; and to a patriot, Portsmouth presents one of the most interesting scenes to be found in the British dominions. The regular fortifications to wards the land, in themselves happily a novelty to the British eye, the magnitude and variety of the maritime objects and manufactures, and the prospect of Spithead, the grand focus of naval armiament, conspire, with a thousand relative ideas concerning the

power of England, supreme in every sea, to excite astonish ment and exultation. Inhabitants, exclusive of Gosport, 32,166.

WORCESTER is situated on the noble river Severn, over which there is a beautiful bridge. The manufactures are chiefly gloves and woollen stuffs; and the porcelain maintains a high reputation. Inhabitants, 11,353.

The next memorable town is NORWICH, the capital of Norfolk; from its size and consequence, justly styled a city. The damasks, camlets, crapes, stuffs, &c. here wrought, have been computed at the yearly value of 700,000l. Inhabitants, 36,850; houses, 7500. YARMOUTH is a noted sea-port, with a beautiful quay. Inhabit.ants, 14,845.

On the Humber, the wide receptacle of many rivers, stands the great sea-port of HULL, which was founded by Edward I. The harbor is artificial, and is supposed to present the largest dock in the kingdom. The trade is important with America and the south of Europe, but chiefly with the Baltic; and several ships are employed in the northern whale fishery. The coasting traffic is extensive in coals, corn, wool, and manufactures: and Hull supplies the commerce of many northern counties; having not only communication with the Trent, and other branches of the Humber, but with the rivers and canals of Yorkshire.* Its inhabitants amounted in 1801, to 29,516.

LEEDS is the principal port for broad-cloths, or what foreigners term fine English cloth. It is situated on the river Aire, in an extensive vale. The population of the parish amounts to 53,162, and the houses to 6691 the cloths are woven in the neighboring villages; but are died, prepared, and sold, at Leeds. The cloth-hall appropriated to the sale, is a vast edifice; and the whole business is transacted within the space of an hour on the market days.

On the river Tyne, stands NEWCASTLE, so termed from a fortress erected by Edward I. This large and populous town, containing 28,366 inhabitants,† is placed in the centre of the grand coal-mines in the counties of Durham and Northumberland, which have for centuries supplied London and most of the east and south of England with that fuel; which has, perhaps, contributed more to the manufactures and commerce, and consequent wealth and power of this kingdom, than any other material or circumstance. The coal fleets sometimes amount to five hundred sail; their station is at Shields. Even as a nursery of scamen, the trade is invaluabie. In all parts of the neighborhood are seen large carts laden with coals, and proceeding towards the port, on inclined planes, without the help of horses or men, to the great surprise of the stranger.

Caermarthen is the principal town in South Wales: it stands upon the river Towy. Inhabitants, 5548.

Caernarvon is the chief town of North Wales, for the beauty of the situation, regularity of the streets, and above all for the grandeur of the castle, one of the most magnificent in Europe, founded

Aiken, Eng. delin. 56.

+ Hassel says 36,963, in 1801.

by Edward I. in 1282. The town has a considerable trade with London, Bristol, Liverpool, and Ireland, and has a beautiful quay along the side of the Menai, a straight between North Wales and Anglesea.

Inland Navigation. The Duke of Bridgewater is justly venerated as the grand founder of inland navigation: his spirit and opulence were happily seconded by Brindley, who possessed an uncommon natural genius in mechanics. It was in the year 1758 that the first act was obtained for these great designs. The first canal extends from Worsley mill, about. seven computed miles from Manchester, and reaches that town by a course of nine miles. In this short space almost every difficulty occurred that can arise in similar schemes; but mountains and rivers yielded to the genius of Brindley. There are subterraneous passages to the coal in the mountain, of near a mile in length, sometimes cut through the solid rock, and occasionally arched over with brick; with air-funnels to the top of the hill, some of them thirty-seven yards perpendicu lar. This beautiful canal is brought over the river Irwell, by an arch of thirty nine feet in height, and under which barges pass without lowering their masts. The Duke of Bridgewater soon afterwards extended a canal of twenty-nine miles in length, from Longford-bridge, in Lancashire, to Hempstones, in Cheshire.

The Lancaster canal extends from Kendal, by Lancaster, toWest Houghton, a space of about 74 miles.

The canal from Leeds to Liverpool, directed in a northerlycourse by Skipton, winds through an extent of 117 miles; and from this canal a branch also extends to Manchester.

From Halifax to Manchester is another considerable canal, com--monly called that of Rochdale; length 314 miles, begun in 1794. Another canal extends from Manchester towards Wakefield ;. and another, called the Peak Forest canal, stretches from the former, southeast, about 15 miles.

Another joins the river Dun, several miles above Doncaster, to the river Calder, near Wakefield.

The Chesterfield canal extends from Chesterfield to the Trent and another from Horncastle to Sleaford. Grantham canal reaches from that town to the river Trent, a course of 30 miles.

The grand design of Brindley was to join, by inland navigation, the four great ports of the kingdom, Bristol, London, Liverpool, and Hull. Liverpool is accordingly connected with Hull by a canal from that long navigable river the Trent, and proceeding N. to the Mersey. The canal which joins these two rivers is styled the Grand Trunk; and was begun in 1766, under the direction of that great engineer; but was not completed till 1777 the length is 99 miles. It was attended with great difficulties, particularly in passsing the river Dove, in Derbyshire, where there is an aqueduct of twenty-three arches; the tunnel, through the hill of Hare-castle in Staffordshire, is in length 2880 yards, and more than 70 yards below the surface of the ground, and was executed with great labor and expense. But the utility corresponds with the grandeur of the design: salt from Cheshire, coals and pottery

from Stafforshire, and manufactures from various places, are transported on this canal.

From the Grand Trunk 5 or 6 branches extend in various directions among which must not be omitted that to the river Severn, near Bewdley, which connects the port of Bristol with those of Liverpool and Hull; the length is 46 miles; completed in 1772. The other canals are too numerous to mention.

Manufactures and Commerce. The earliest staple commodity of England was tin, a metal rarely found in other countries. Wool had been regarded as a grand staple of England, but was chiefly exported in a crude state, till Edward UI. encouraged settlements of Flemish manufacturers. Wool soon became the prime article of commerce. The exportation of raw wool was at length prohibited The woollen manufactures preserve great importance, though they no longer attract such particular regard, amidst the exuberance of English manufactures.

In recent times the manufactures of iron and copper, native minerals, have become great sources of national wealth; nor must the new and extensive exportation of elegant earthen ware be forgotten. The cotton manufacture is diffused far and wide, forming a grand source of industry and prosperity. That of linen, except of sail-cloth, is not much cultivated in England. The manufactures of glass and fine steel, clocks, watches, &c. are deservedly eminent and extensive. As the nation is indebted to Wedgewood for converting clay into gold, so to Boydell for another elegant branch of exportation, that of beautiful prints.

Besides manufactured articles, England exports a number of native products too numerous to be here mentioned.

The English manufactures have been recently estimated at the annual value of 63,600,0001. and supposed to employ 1,585,000 persons. Of these the woollen manufacture is supposed to yield in round sums, 15,000,000l. the leather 10,000,000. the iron, tin, and lead 10,000,000l. the cotton 9,000,000l. The other chief manufactures, which yield from 1 to 4,000,000/. may be thus arranged, according to their consequence; steel, plating, &c. copper and brass, silk, potteries, linen and flax, hemp, glass, paper.

The commerce of England is, at the present period, enormons, and may be said to extend to every region of the globe. The trade with the West Indies is one of the most important, and that with the East Indies alone, would have astonished any of the celebrated trading cities of antiquity.

The following table exhibits the amount of the imports, exports, and tonnage of Great Britain every year of the present century.

The extent of the commercial shipping of the British empire. was, September 30, 1805, as follows:

The annual income of Great-Britain was estimated in 1799, by Mr. Pitt, at 102,000,000; and including the money, of which the estimate is far from certain, the whole capital of Great-Britain may perhaps be calculated at more than one thousand two hundred millions.

Climate and Seasons. The climate of Great-Britain is perhaps more variable than that of any other country on the globe. Scotland is of a clearer and drier temperature than that of England. The humidity of the climate clothes the meadows with verdure; but is injurious to the health of the inhabitants.

The year might properly be divided into eight months of winter, and four of summer. June, July, August, and September, are usu ally warm summer months; but a night of frost is not unknown, even in August. The winter may be said to commence with the beginning of October, at which time domestic fires become necessary; but there is seldom any severc frost till Christmas, and Janu ary is the most stern month of the year March is generally the most unsettled month of the year, interspersed with dry frosts, cold rains, and strong winds, with storms of hail and sleet.

Face of the Country. From the mouth of the Tweed to Bamborough, extends a sandy shore. Thence to Flamborougir-head, are mostly low cliffs, of lime-stone, and other materials. Scar borough stands on a vast rock, projecting into the waves; but Flamborough-head is a far more magnificent object, being formed of lime-stone, of a snowy whiteness, and stupendous height, visible far off at sea.

Hence to the Humber are commonly clay cliffs. The extensive coast of Lincolnshire is flat, and, probably gained from the sea. The county of Lincoln, and part of six others, are the low countries of Britain; and the coast is distinguishable by churches, not by hills. The shores of Norfolk and Suffolk present sometimes loainy or clayey precipices, sometimes hillocks of sand, and some times low and flat spaces. Hunstanton cliff rises to the height of