conveyed to Dantzic in open flats. These are constructed on the banks in seasons of leisure, on spots far from the ordinary reach of the water, but which, when the rains of autumn, or the melted snow of the Carpathian Mountains in the spring, fill and overflow the river, are easily floated. Barges of this description are about 75 feet long, and 20 broad, with a depth of 2 feet. They are made of fir, rudely put together, fastened with wooden treenails, the corners dovetailed and secured with slight iron clamps, the only iron employed in the construction. A large tree, the length of the vessel, runs along the bottom, to which the timbers are secured. This roughly cut keelson runs 9 or 10 inches from the floor, and hurdles are laid on it which extend to the sides. They are covered with mats made of rye-straw, and serve the purpose of dunnage; leaving below a space in which the water that leaks through the sides and bottom is received. Vessels of this description draw from 10 to 12 inches of water, and yet they frequently get aground in descending the river. The cargoes usually consist of from 180 to 200 quarters of wheat. The wheat is thrown on the mats, piled as high as the gunwale, and left uncovered, exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, and to the pilfering of the crew. During the passage the barge is carried along by the force of the stream, oars being merely used at the head and stern, to steer clear of the sandbanks, which are numerous and shifting; and to direct the vessel in passing under the several bridges. These vessels are conducted by six or seven men. A small boat precedes with a man in it, who is employed in sounding. This mode of navigating is necessarily very slow; and during the progress of it, which lasts several weeks, and even months, the rain, if any falls, soon causes the wheat to grow, and the vessel assumes the appearance of a floating meadow. The shooting of the fibres soon forms a thick mat, and prevents the rain from penetrating more than an inch or two. The main bulk is protected by this kind of covering, and when that is thrown aside, is found in a tolerable condition. The vessels are broken up at Dantzic, and usually sell for about two-thirds of their original cost. The men who conduct them return on foot. When the cargo arrives at Dantzic or Elbing, all but the grown surface is thrown on the land, spread abroad, exposed to the sun and air, and frequently turned over till any slight moisture it may have imbibed is dried. If a shower of rain falls, as well as during the night, the heaps of wheat on the shore are thrown together, in the form of the steep roof of a house, that the rain may run off, and are covered with a linen cloth. It is thus frequently a long time after the wheat has reached Dantzic before it is fit to be placed in the warehouses."

4th. Sandomir.] The territorial extent of the waivodship of Sandomir measures about 5,700 square miles, with a population of 432,000. Here the most extensive iron furnaces in Poland are wrought. There are also some copper mines. The principal town is Radim, containing about 1500 inhabitants.

5th. Lublin.] The waivodship of Lublin contains 6,900 square miles, with a population of 490,000. Its capital, of the same name, contains 10,400 inhabitants. Agriculture is here well-conducted. M. Chaltkofski supposes that the secale of Lublin changes in time into wheat; it contains a great quantity of flour, and is remarkable for its thin pellicle. The fairs of Lublin are frequented by German, Russian, American, Greek, and Turkish merchants.

6th. Podlachia.] The waivodship of Podlachia is estimated at 5600

square miles, and the population 286,000. This is a fertile country, but in many places very wild and picturesque. Siedlec, the chief town, contains 2200 inhabitants. The bread which is made here is in high repute throughout the whole country, and likewise an ardent spirit which is manufactured here.

7th. Plock.] The waivodship of Plock contains 7,800 square miles. Its population is estimated at 364,000. The town of Plock has a population of 6000 souls, and conducts a considerable commerce by the Vistula. Pultaska, famous in history as marking the site of two great battles, contains about 2,200 inhabitants. The extent of land in cultivation in this waivodship is equal to 127,984 hufens; a Polish hufen or hide, being nearly equal to thirty acres. The forests, heaths, marshes and lakes, extend to 102,386 hufens.

Sth. Augustov.] The waivodship of Augustov contains 1600 square miles, and 335,000 inhabitants. The largest inland lakes of Poland are situated here. The town of Suvalki contains 3000 inhabitants. The town of Augustov has nearly 2000 inhabitants, and carries on a considerable trade in cattle. The colossal Kamadulensian convent of Wigry is built upon an island in a lake of the same name in this waivodship; and upwards of ten thousand pilgrims annually resort to the Dominican monastery of Segny.

Authorities.] The following works may be consulted on the geography and history of Poland, viz. Tableau de la Pologne, ancienne et moderne, par Malte Brun, 8vo. Paris, 1807.-Die Polnischen Geographen.— Voyage en Allemagne et en Pologne, etc. par Gley, Paris, 1816, 2 vols. Svo.-Rulhiere's Histoire de l'Anarchie de Pologne et du Dememberment de cetto Republique. Paris, 1807, 4 vols.-An excellent Atlas of Poland, in 58 sections, was published at Weimar in 1820.

THE REPUBLIC OF CRACOW.

THIS little republic, whose territorial extent does not exceed 500 square miles, with a population of 100,000 souls, 30,000 of whom reside in the capital, owes its anomalous existence to the disputes of three despotic monarchs! In 1815, when the final fate of Poland was decided at the congress of Vienna, the Austrian and Russian monarchs respectively laid claim to the little town and territory of Cracow, situated at the very point where the newly acquired territories of these two powers and those of Prussia join together. To this lucky position Cracow owes its exemption from the fate of Poland. The holy allies, unable to determine which of their number had the best right to this little territory, magnanimously resolved that none of their number should possess it; and finally declared Cracow a republic under the protection of the three surrounding powers! A small district of very fertile land, running about twenty miles along the left banks of the Vistula, was on this occasion added to the territories of the republic.

Physical Features and Products.] Cracow, or Krakaw, consists of a plain running along the banks of the Vistula, which becomes navigable immediately under the walls of the capital. The climate is temperate, rather cold than warm, but, upon the whole, milder than the rest of Poland. The principal production is grain. A considerable quantity of cattle are likewise reared here. The agriculture of this district, though very slovenly in the eyes of a British farmer, is conducted in a superior manner to the rest of Poland; yet in bad years the district does not grow a sufficient quantity of grain for its own consumption. Apples, plums, cherries, chesnuts, almonds, and peaches, are reared in the neighbourhood of the capital. The vegetables of this district are in high repute throughout Poland. There are no manufactories with the exception of the ironworks of Krzessovice. The peasants manufacture their own cloth and linen; and a few weavers supply the capital, in which the whole commerce is concentrated.

Inhabitants.] The bulk of the inhabitants are Poles, and the Polish language is every where dominant. The religion is that of the Roman catholic church, the bishop of Cracow being primate; but all sects are freely tolerated. There is no political distinction among the inhabitants, if we except the members of the chapter of the cathedral and of the university, who possess a few unimportant privileges.

Constitution.] The constitution is called democratic. But notwithstanding the nominal independence of this republic, its makers have been pleased to declare that no criminal belonging to their States shall be protected within its neutral limits. The legislative power is in the hands of a popular representative assembly, which meets towards the close of each year, the sittings never exceeding four weeks. On these occasions laws are discussed, the administration reviewed, and the budget drawn up. This assembly likewise elects the senators and magistrates, who are

responsible to it. Each community, or parish, sends a deputy to the assembly, which likewise contains three members from the senate, three prelates from the chapter, three doctors from the faculties of the university, and six judges of equity. The president is chosen from the three members sent by the senate. No change of any existing laws can be proposed in this assembly which have not previously received the sanction of the senate. The executive power is vested in the senate, which consists of a president and twelve members, who must be thirty-five years of age, and contribute at least 150 Polish florins to the public revenue. The president, and eight senators, are elected by the popular representatives, the university elects two, and the chapter the other two. Six of the former class of senators and one of each of the latter retain their office for life; the others are changed annually. The president is elected every three years, but may be re-elected. The senate exercises the patronage of the republic. The political divisions of Cracow are into town and country-communities; the former containing at least 2000, and the latter 2500 inhabitants. Every community is governed by a starost, or mayor, and in every district of 6000 inhabitants is a judge of equity, a kind of justice of peace. The electors include all who pay 50 florins to the public service, or belong to a liberal profession. The military force consists of a town militia, and a body of gens d'arms for the preservation of public order. In 1817, the revenue amounted to 301,072 florins, and the expenditure to 286,440.

Cracow.] Cracow, the ancient capital of Poland, and once the place of coronation of her kings, possesses a large but dilapidated castle, and a cathedral remarkable on account of its altars and twenty chapels, and is the burial-place of several kings of Poland. There are 70 other churches and chapels in this city, and several magnificent convents. The streets are irregularly built. There is a large square, which is however disfigured by the miserable booths by which it is surrounded. The university, once called the schola regni, and the most ancient, and formerly the only establishment of the kind in Poland, is a fine building. In 1817, the number of students was only 131, although all Poles are allowed to receive their education here.

The country is divided into ten districts, containing one town, two boroughs, and seventy-seven villages and hamlets. The town of Chrzanav, is situated upon the Cholka, and contains about 1,300 inhabitants. The burgh of Krzessovice contains 3000 inhabitants, and is a fashionable place of resort.

scenery.

The adjacent country is remarkable for its rich and picturesque

DENMARK.

DENMARK, the mark or country of the Danes,'-a people whose name first appears in history about that period when the universal monarchy of Rome began to decline-consists, according to the ancient Danish divisions, of the Danish Islands, and the peninsula of Jutland. Since the dissolution of the German empire, the three Duchies of Sleswick, Holstein, and Lauenburg, have been added to this country. Iceland and the Feroe Islands have for many ages been considered as Danish settlements. Besides these European possessions, the Danish Crown has several foreign appendages which we may here enumerate; viz. Tranquebar on the coast of Coromandel, and the factories of Portonovo, Friedrichsnager, Bassora, and Serampore, the seat of the Baptist missionaries, in Asia; the forts of Christiansburg, Friedensburg, Königstein, and Prinzenstein, with the two factories of Afflahue and Little Poppo, all situated upon the Guinea coast, in Africa; the settlement of Greenland in North America; and the Islands of St Thomas, St Croix, and St John, in the West Indies.

Boundaries.] The kingdom of Denmark-comprehending under this name the Danish Islands, the peninsula of Jutland, and the three Duchies -lies on the northern edge of the temperate zone, between 8 and 12° 30′ eastern longitude, and 55° 21′ 5′′, and 57° 42′ 24′′ northern latitude. The islands are situated at the extremity of the Baltic, having the Cattegat on the north. The Sound divides Zealand from Schonen; the Great Belt, Funen from Zealand; the Small Belt, Funen from Sleswick. Laaland, Falster, Langeland, and Moen, are situated in the Baltic; and Samsöa in the Cattegat. The continent of Denmark forms a long projecting peninsula, washed on the N. and W. by the waters of the German Ocean; on the N. E. by the Cattegat; and on the S. E. by the Baltic. On the S. the Elbe forms the boundary; but the territory of Hamburg lies on the Danish side of that river; on the S. E. Denmark borders upon Mecklenburg and Lubec. In the Baltic are the islands of Femern, Arroe, and Alsen; in the German Ocean, Amröm, Nordstrand, Fuer, Sylt, Romoe, and several others; and in the Cattegat, Anholt, and Lessua.

Extent and Population.] The surface of the peninsula of Jutland and the islands, according to the most recent calculations, extends to 14,821, and that of the three Duchies to 7,551 square miles. The whole kingdom of Denmark may therefore be estimated at about 22,300 square miles. The Feroe Islands are said to have a superficial extent of 500 square miles; and Iceland, according to Eggar, contains 30,500 square miles. The population of the Danish dominions has not been officially returned since 1811, but at present approximates to 2,000,000; viz. Jutland, 400,000; Zealand (including Copenhagen,) Funen, and other islands,