Bordeaux is built on the W. bank of the Garonne, about 40 miles from its mouth. The tide flows quite up to the city; its port is ample, commodious, and strongly fortified; and ships of considerable burden may unload at the quays, which are grand and extensive. It is the first commercial town in France, and formerly it was not unusual to see 400 or 500 vessels in the harbor at once. The chief exports were brandy and claret. The population, in 1808, was 90,992.

Lyons, at the conflux of the Rhone and the Saone, was the - second city in France before the revolution, and is said to have contained 150,000 souls. It was the centre of the inland commerce in this part of the kingdom, and the seat of the most extensive manufactures. Irreparable injury was dond to the city by the jacobin party, in consequence of the fidelity of the inhabitants to the king. In 1802 it had 11,000 houses, and 88,919 inhabitants.

Rouen, on the Seine, is a large commercial and manufacturing
In 1802 it had 84,223 inhabitants.

town.

Nantes, on the Loire, is one of the largest trading cities in France. It had, in 1807, 77,162 inhabitants.

Toulouse, on the Garonne. It had 50,171 inhabitants in 1802. Strasburg is the thoroughfare between France and Germany, situated at the conflux of the Ile and the Brusch, about a mile from their entrance into the Rhine. Inhabitants, in 1802, 49,056. Cologne, built in the form of a crescent, on the Rhine, is fortified in the ancient manner. Inhabitants, in 1807, 42,706.

Orleans, on the Loire, is one of the most agreeable cities in France. Inbabitants in 1802, 41,937.

Montpellier stands upon a rising ground fronting the Mediterranean, which is about nine miles to the south. Inhabitants, in 1807, 32,723.

Metz stands at the conflux of the Seille and Moselle. In 1807 it had 32,099 inhabitants.

Rheims is situated on the Vesle. Formerly the archbishop of Rheims was the first peer of France, and always crowned the king. In 1802, it had 30,225 inhabitants.

"Toulon, on the Mediterranean, a little east of Marseilles, has an · outer harbor, which is large, circular, and surrounded by hills. The entrance on both sides is defended by a fort with strong batteries. Toulon is the only harbor for the navy on the southern coast. Inhabitants, 29,760.

Brest is the chief resort of the navy on the western coast. It has two parish churches, a marine seminary, a court of admiralty, and 25,865 inhabitants. The harbor, if we except Toulon, is the largest and safest in the kingdom, and capable of containing 500 ships of war, in 8, 10, and 15 fathoms at low water.

Boulogne lies on the English channel, on the declivity, and at the foot of the chalk mountain. It has 10,685 inhabitants. The harbor, formed by the river Liane, is defended at the mouth by a small fort. The entrance is difficult. Here lay the flotilla, in 1804 and 1805, prepared for the invasion of Great Britain.

Bayonne, at the corner of the bay of Biscay, is a league from the sea, on the Nive, which forms a good harbor, with a narrow and dangerous entrance. The commerce with Spain is valuable. Inhabitants, 13,190.

Havre, or Havre de Grace, lies a little north of the mouth of the Seine. The harbor has depth for large vessels, and the water does not ebb, till three hours after full tide, being as it were dammed up by the current of the Seine, which crosses its mouth. It has 20,620 inhabitants.

Inland Navigation. The chief work, noticeable under this head, is the celebrated canal of Languedoc, commenced and completed in the reign of Louis XIV. by Riquet, the engineer, under the auspices of that able minister Colbert. Fifteen years of labor were employed, from 1666 to 1681. This noble canal begins in the bay of Languedoc; and at St. Perriol is a reservoir of 595 acres of water: it enters the Garonne about a quarter of a mile below the city of Toulouse. The breadth, including the towing paths, is 144 feet; the depth 6 feet; the length about 180 miles. The expense was more than half a million sterling.

Manufactures. For a century extending from 1650 to 1750, Mr.* Young supposes France to have possessed the most flourishing manufactures in Europe; and French writers affect to speak of the English manufactures as being of recent fame. Not to mention many others, the silk manufactures of Lyons were estimated to employ 60,000 people, the looms being computed at 12,000.

Commerce. By the account for 1784, which did not include the provinces of Lorrain and Alsace, nor the West-Indian trade, the statement was

Balance,

35,786,700 or £1,565,668 sterling. At present France has no commerce on the ocean.

Climate and Seasons. Mr. Young divides the country into four climates. A line passing from Herbignac, a town a little north of the mouth of the Loire, nearly straight through Beaumont, Clermont, and Couci, to the Rhine, will leave a tract to the N. W. caited the northern climate, in which the vine will not grow. It is considerably warmer than England, but equally moist; and produces a great variety of fine fruits. The vine climate is a space included between this and a line passing nearly parallel with the other, from the mouth of the Garonne, through Ruffec and Luneville. This is the pleasantest. The air is light, pure, and elastic; and the sky is generally clear. The summers are not fervid, and the winters are mild. The maize climate is broader. Its southern boundary is a line passing from the Pyrenees through Carcassonne and Grenoble to the Alps. The vine also grows here luxuriantly. The tract S. E. of this line is called the olive climate. It is much the smallest, and in the summer season is crowded with myriads of

*Young's France, i, 569.

flies. Both vines and maize grow here abundantly. This division of France, which, with here and there a set-off, is strictly accurate, points out the eastern side of the kingdom, as 24 degrees of latitude hotter than the western, or at least more favorable to vegetation.

Face of the Country. France, north of the mountains of Au vergne, and west of the range of the Vosges, may be called an uneven country; but is no where mountainous. The surface is every where sufficiently varied to render the prospects interesting. Between the Pyrenees and the mountains of Auvergne, lies an ex, tensive tract of the same description, reaching from the ocean to the Rhone. Limosin surpasses every province of France in beauty. Hill, dale, wood, inclosure, streams, lakes, and scattered farms are mingled into a thousand delightful landscapes. The banks of the Seine for 200 miles from its mouth, and of the Loire as high as Angers, are also eminently beautiful. The course of the Soane is marked by a noble tract of meadows. The country east of the Rhone presents many pleasing scenes, and the course of the Isère is a scene of perpetual beauty. The Pyrenees are the most striking of the mountains, and their verdure, their woods, their rocks, and their torrents have all the characters of the sublime and beautiful.

Soil and Agriculture. The north part of France is a rich calcareous plain, having a loam of considerable depth, and of an admirable texture. Farther W. the land is poor and stony. The S. W. part of the kingdom from Auch to Bayonne is indifferent; but the plain of the Garonne and its branches has a deep, mellow, friable, sandy loam, with sufficient moisture for any culture: much of it is calcareous. The east provinces are calcareous, but less uniformly rich than the northern. Lower Poitou and Alsace are eminently fertile. The tract between the Mediterranean and the Cavennes mountains is of the same description..

The agriculture of France is greatly behind that of England, About one third of the country is divided into little farms, too small to support their proprietors.

Rivers. The Rhine, till lately a boundary of France, but since the annexation of Holland, running for a considerable extent through it, has already been described. Of the other rivers there are four of considerable size; the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne and the Rhone.

The Loire passes Orleans, and thence S. of W. to the ocean. Its whole length is upwards of 500 miles.

The Rhone, a noble and rapid stream, rises in Mount Furca, about 5400 feet above the sea. It winds about 90 miles westward, through the vale, called the Vallais, and enters the Geneva lake near its eastern extremity. From the western end its course is S. · W. to Lyons. Its direction is S. from Lyons to the gulf of Lyons, which it enters by several mouths. Its length exceeds 400 miles.. The Garonne rises in the Pyrenees, and runs N. W. to the bay of Biscay. About 12 miles below Bourdeaux it is joined by the Dordogne, from the N. E. and for the remainder of its course,

about 28 miles, it is called the Gironde. Its length is 300 miles. The canal of Languedoc connects it with the Aude.

The Seine is of about equal length with the Garonne. Rising near Saint Seine, it runs in a N. W. direction to the English channel, and is the most beautiful stream in France.

The Somme runs by Amiens and Abbeville to the English channel. The Adour empties below Bayonne. The Var falls into the Mediterranean about 4 miles west of Nice.

Mountains. Mont Jura, a vanguard of the Alps, forms a boundary between France and Swisserland.

The grand chain of the Cevennes run from N. to S. and sends out branches towards the E. and W. The Monts D'Or form the centre, and are the highest mountains in France. The chief elevation is that of the Puy de Sansi, which rises about 6300 feet above the level of the sea.

The Pyrenees remain to be described. Mont Perdu is considered as the highest elevation of the Pyrenees, ascending above the sea about 11,000 feet. Other noted heights are Marboré, the Pic de Midi, the Niege Veille, &c. The Pyrenean chain appears at a distance like a shaggy ridge, presenting the segment of a circle fronting France, and descending at each extremity till it disappear in the ocean and Mediterranean.

Mineralogy. There are silver mines in Alsace, and in the department of the Upper Rhine. The same district and others also contain mines of copper. The dutchy of Deux Ponts, on the west of the Rhine, is celebrated for mines of quicksilver. The annual product of these and the neighboring mines may be estimated at 67,200 pounds of mercury.* Two thirds of the lead of France are from Bretagne. Antimony, mines of calamine, manganese, cobalt, and mercury are found in different parts of France.

Iron is found in abundance, particularly in some of the northern departments. In 1798, it was computed that there were 2000 furnaces, forges, &c. for the working of iron and steel. The coal mines of France were at the same time estimated at 400, constantly wrought; and 200 more capable of being wrought.

Besides excellent freestone the environs of Paris contain abundance of gypsum. Alum is found in considerable quantities at Aveyron. The Pyrenees in particular supply beautiful marbles.

FRENCH ISLANDS.

Corsica is 110 miles from the coast of Genoa, and 11 from that of Sardinia. It lies between 41 11 and 42 54 N; and between 8 and 10 E; having the gulf of Genoa N; the Tuscan sea E; the straits of Bonifacio S; and the Mediterranean W. Its length is 106 miles; its breadth from 50 to 40; and it contains, according to Hassel, 3977 square miles. The English conquered the island in 1795; but, in a few years, the inhabitants returned to their allegiance to France. The religion is the catholic. The island now

* Journ. des Mines, xi. 43.

↑ Ibid. Ann. vii. p. 171.

constitutes two departments of France. The northern Golo, the southern Liamone, which includes also the island of Elba. Total population, 185,695. The language is the Italian. The Genoese purposely kept the inhabitants in ignorance. There was a university of some reputation at Corte, in the centre of the island. Bastia on the N. E. side, the largest town in the island, had in 1807, 11,366 inhabitants. It has a small good harbor for merchant ships. A mountain in the neighborhood commands the town. Ajaccio on the S. E. coast, the birth-place of Napoleon Bonaparte, contains 6576 inhabitants. Bonifacio, in the S. has 3187. Coral, which is found abundantly on the coast, is the chief article exported. The commerce might be extensive. The coast every where offers good anchorage, and there are numerous and excellent harbors on every side of the island. Porto Vecchio, in the S. E. is 5 miles long, 1 broad, with a great depth of water, and a good bottom. It is one of the best in Europe. The climate is mild; and the air, except in the neighborhood of marshes, is healthy. Many of these have been drained. The interior of the land is mountainous, and a chain of mountains commences near the coast, about 20 miles W. of Porto Vecchio, and runs N. N. E. across the island, leaving about of the island to the E. Gradaccio, the highest elevation, is near the centre. The whole island, together with the coasts of France and Italy, are visible from its tops. There are large tracts of woodland. The inhabitants live chiefly in little villages; many of which are built on the summits of the mountains at such a height that they are visible only in the night, when the shepherds kindle their fires. The soil is fertile even on the mountains. It produces flax, wheat, rye, barley, and millet. Excellent wines are made in several of the cantons; and the vine and the olive find here a kinder climate than in France. The lemon, orange, pomegranate, almond, and mulberry are thrifty. Chesnut trees are wonderfully numerous. The oak, the fir, the cedar, and the pine grow to a great height. The island swarms with bees: the honey is rather sharp, but the wax is excellent. The horses are of the Sardinian breed; small, but strong and active. The cattle are large; but inferior. Oil supplies the place of butter. Sheep are numer ous; their wool is coarse, but their mutton excellent. The inhabitants are thin and swarthy. They are described as generally indolent, ignorant, and superstitious. They are not distinguished for their probity, and are said never to forgive an injury, or an affront. At the same time they are intrepid, active, sagacious, and hospita-ble.

Elba, with the little surrounding isles, was added to the French territory in 1802. It is 12-miles from Etruria, and 30 from Corsica. It is chiefly mountainous. The air is delightful. The soil produces the fine fruits of tropical climates. Wood and pastures are scarce. It is wonderfully rich in mineralogy. Here are mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, magnet, lead, sulphur, and vitriol; and: quarries of marble, granite, and slate. The iron mine of Rio for-merly yielded a clear annual profit of 50,000 crowns. The mines are now farmed for 500,000 livres. The island contains 158 square