Brunswick, Some districts of this province, however, lie without these boundaries: viz. the circles of Henneberg and Neustadt in Saxony; Wolfsburg and the village of Bocklain in Brunswick; and the town of Benneckenstein in Hanover. And, on the other hand, the 3 duchies of Anhalt, and some districts of Schwarzburg, Weimar, and Brunswick, lie within its boundaries.

Physical Features and Soil.] The larger part of the province, viz. the whole district of Magdeburg to the S. W. extremity, and the larger eastern part of the district of Merseburg beyond the Saale, is one of the flat countries of the north of Germany, and has only a few hills. The smaller part of the districts of Merseburg and Erfurt is more mountainous, but is interspersed with large and fertile plains; the mountains are not of any considerable height, except in the circle of Henneberg, on the S,W. edge of which rises the Henneberg, the highest mountain of the N. of Germany. The soil is of various qualities; in the northern part of the district of Magdeburg there is a great deal of sand, and only along the rivers is found fertile soil; but the hilly grounds also bear good harvests, The eastern part is of the same quality; but the southern part of Magde, burg is a heavy clay, which is very fertile, and yields abundant harvests of rye and wheat,

Mountains.] The two largest chains of mountains in this province are the Harz, which runs on the S.W. edge of the district of Magdeburg, and have their highest point the Brocken here, and the Thüringian forest, which spreads over the circle of Henneberg.

Rivers, Lakes, and Canals.] The principal river is the Elbe; to its basin belong the Mulde, the Saale, a large navigable river, the Aland, and the Havel, which bounds the N.E. side of the province. The rivers on the S. and W. sides of the Harz belong to the basin of the Weser; among these are the Leine and the Aller. The province has several canals, among which are the canal of Plauen, the Schiffsgraben, and the Flossgraben. There are few large lakes; the principal ones are the salt and fresh water lakes in Mannsfeld, and the Arendsee which covers 2,170 acres. There are many fishponds and bogs; the most remarkable among the latter is the moveable bog called the Drömling, which has 129,343 acres of surface, but it belongs only partly to this province.

Climate.] The climate is everywhere temperate and healthy; it is coldest in the neighbourhood of the Harz.

Productions.] The productions are horses, cattle, game, fowls, corn, vegetables, potatoes, hops, madder, flax, tobacco, fruit, wood, silver, copper, lead, iron, salt, marble, slate, peat, and coal.

Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce.] Of all Prussian provinces, Saxony is the one in which agriculture has been carried to the greatest perfection. Corn forms the principal riches of the province, and Magdeburg is one of the granaries of the kingdom. The rearing of horses and cattle is not so important here as elsewhere; that of sheep is more so, and the breed has been greatly improved by merinoes. Mining is carried on for silver, copper, iron, and coals; but the most important mineral production is salt. Manufactures, though found in all towns of any importance, do not form a principal branch in the industry of this province. A brisk commerce is conducted in all the natural productions of the province, and the balance is decidedly in its favour.

Inhabitants. The mass of the inhabitants are Germans; a part show traces of Wendish origin; there are also French colonists, but they

have been gradually blended with the Germans and Jews. The religia of the majority is Lutheran; there are 1,132,272 Protestants, 78,001 Catholics, and 3,242 Jews in Saxony. There is one university, and several gymnasiums-of which some have a particularly good reputation— besides a number of other town and parochial schools. The peasants in this province are very comfortably situated, and some of them are rich.

Topography. There are 151 towns, 27 boroughs, 2,966 villages, and 1,010 hamlets and isolated farms in this province; which is composed of districts very differently situated, some of them having belonged for a long time to the monarchy, and others being new acquisitions made since 1815. The administration is the same as in the other Prussian provinces.

1st. District of Magdeburg.] There are 462,510 Protestants, 7,360 Catholics, and 2,142 Jews, in this district, which is divided into 15 circles. Magdeburg, the chief town, and the capital of the whole province, built on the left side of the Elbe, is one of the strongest fortresses of the monarchy, and contains a population of 36,650 inhabitants, who conduct an animated commerce, and carry on several manufactures. At Schönebeck, on the Elbe, a town containing 4,860 inhabitants, there is the most extensive salt-work in the whole monarchy, and one of the most important in Germany. The town of Guedlinburg, with 12,100 inhabitants, was formerly a rich nunnery, of which the abbess had a vote in the diet of the empire. There are great distilleries of brandy here. Wernigerode, with 5,046 inhabitants, belongs, with the surrounding lordships, to the count Holberg, under Prussian sovereignty. The castle of the count lies in a beautiful situation on a mountain 827 feet above the level of the sea; the library consists of 30,000 volumes, among which there is a collection of 2000 bibles.

2d. The District of Merseburg.] The number of Protestants in this district is 499,963, that of Catholics, 1,713. Merseburg, on the Saale, contains a population of 7,483 souls, and conducts some unimportant manufactures. In the cathedral is an organ with 4000 pipes; and in one of the suburbs a royal stud with 250 horses. The town of Laucksbedt contains a mineral bath, with good establishments for visitors. Lützen is celebrated by the battle of 1632, in the Thirty years' war, in which Gustavus Adolphus was killed. Halle, on the Saale, has a population of 24,000 souls. It is the seat of a university, with 42 professors. The library is said to contain 50,000 volumes. The orphan hospital, in which about 200 children are kept, and which was founded in 1695 by A. H. Franke, is one of the largest establishments of the kind in Germany; & library of 20,000 volumes, a museum, and a printing office, belong to it. There is a large establishment for education preparatory for the university, and an extensive bible society here. Wittemberg, a town on the Elbe, with 6,800 inhabitants, is illustrious in German history, as having been the scene of the Reformation in 1517. One of the oldest German universities, which existed here, was in 1817 united to that of Halle; in the church of the castle are the graves of Luther and Melancthon. Mühlberg, on the Elbe, is remarkable for the battle of 1545, where the elector John Frederic was made prisoner by Charles V. At the town of Eisleben, the house in which Luther was born is now employed as a school for poor children.

3d. District of Erfurt.] There are 170,499 Protestants, and 68,928 Catholics, in the district of Erfurt, and the chief town, which gives its

name to the district, contains 21,400 inhabitants. It is fortified, and has two very strong citadels. Langensalza, on the Salza, is the most important manufacturing town in the Prussian part of Thüringia.

V. THE PROVINCE OF WESTPHALIA.

This province belongs to the second large division of the Prussian monarchy, and is bounded on the N.W. by Holland; on the N. by Hanover; on the E. by Hanover, Schauenburg, Lippe-Detmold, Brunswick, and Hessen-Cassel; on the S.E. by Hessen-Cassel, Waldeck, and Hessen; and on the S.W. and W. by the province of Jülich-Cleve-Berg.

Physical Features and Soil.] The northern part of Westphalia belongs to the great plains of the north of Germany, and has only a few small elevations running from the Egge to the Weser. The southern parts from the south side of the Lippe, consists in a conglomeration of ridges of small mountains and hills, which run to all sides. The soil of the north part is mostly sandy, with some large moors, heaths, and bogs. In the southern parts, the soil, though not sandy, is frequently stony, and not always very productive. The mountains of this province belong to the lower chains of the Harz. The most remarkable are the Weser mountains: the Teutoburgerwald, a remarkable chain, which runs like a wall from the Rhine to almost the middle of the Ems; and the Porto Westphalien, a beautiful picturesque chain. The violence of the water has broken through the latter mountain about a mile to the south of Minden, and this opening forms the celebrated Porto Westphalien, or pass of Westphalia.

Rivers. The largest river is the Weser, but it only flows on the western side, where it forms the boundary for about 60 miles. It then breaks through the Porto Westphalien, and runs for 28 miles through the district of Minden; it receives several small rivers as the Diemel and the Emmer. The next river is the Ems, which is not navigable, and receives no river of considerable size. The Lippe is partly navigable. The Röhr, which falls into the Rhine, was made navigable by Frederic II. and the Vechta, runs through the Netherlands into the Zuydersee. There are no lakes or ponds in this province, but a number of bogs, and some mineral springs.

Climate.] The climate is temperate and healthy; the air is more rough, but also more pure in the S. than in the N. where there are many bogs. The winter is everywhere cold and damp; in summer the heat is sometimes very great.

Productions.] Horses, and the common domestic animals, swine, in great number, fowls, game, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, hemp, flax, copper, lead, iron, marble, lime, salt, peat, and coals, are the productions of this province.

Agriculture and Industry.] Agriculture is everywhere the principal branch of industry. The richest corn districts are the vicinity of Paderborn, the northern part of the duchy of Westphalia, and some districts of Minden and Münster. There are other parts where the soil is so stony that nothing but oats can be cultivated. Rye is the most common corn; from it is prepared the brown bread called pumpernickel, celebrated throughout Germany. The rearing of cattle is considerable, particularly herds of swine, which furnish the celebrated Westphalian hams. There are extensive salt-works; iron and linen are the most important articles of manufacture.

Inhabitants.] The inhabitants are all of the Low-German race. There are about 638,259 Catholics, 425,976 Protestants, and 9,721 Jews. In a great part of the country the inhabitants live dispersed in small isolated farms. The Catholics have two universities, one at Münster, and one at Paderborn; they have also seminaries for the clergy, gymnasiums, and elementary schools, The Protestants have gymnasiums, and city and parochial schools; but the state of general information, and school-establishments, is here decidedly inferior to other Prussian provinces, and the inhabitants stand lower in civilization than in most other parts of the monarchy,

Topography.] Westphalia is divided into 3 districts, subdivided into circles. It contains 128 towns, 60 boroughs, and 4,045 villages.

1st. District of Münster.]

The number of Catholics and Protestants in this district are nearly equal. The chief town of the whole province is Münster, on the Aa, with 18,218 inhabitants. It is the seat of the government, and contains a Catholic university, several colleges and schools, and a public library. Warendorf, on the Ems, with 3,958 inhabitants, conducts extensive cotton, silk, worsted, and linen manufac tures.

District of Minden.] There are 36 towns, 7 boroughs, 589 villages, 812 hamlets and isolated houses, in this district, which is divided into 12 circles. The chief town is Minden, upon the Weser, over which is a bridge 600 feet in length. The population of this town is 9000 souls. It possesses several manufactures, among which are large sugar-refineries, and conducts a pretty extensive commerce upon the Weser. In the town of Bielefeld there are some extensive linen-manufactures, of which the beautiful damask table linen is highly celebrated. The whole population here are employed in the staple manufacture of linen; the flax is spun in the adjacent villages, and the town itself is surrounded by very extensive bleachfields. The ancient town of Paderborn, upon the Pader, the seat of a bishop, contains nearly 6000 inhabitants. The Catholic university, founded here in 1615, has only two faculties,-theology and moral philosophy. The small town of Driburg, situated in a fine romantic country, possesses a mineral spring, which attracts a number of visitors. Corvey was formerly a magnificent convent of Benedictines, the most ancient in Westphalia, of which the abbot was a bishop and prince of the empire, with a vote in the diet. The cathedral here is very magnificent, and it is still the seat of a bishop.

3d. The District of Arensberg.] There are 202,766 Protestants, 178,826 Catholics, and 3,489 Jews in this district. Arensberg, the chief town of the whole province, contains 3000 inhabitants. The Buhr flows around it. It was a flourishing town in the middle ages. Dortmund, on the Emscher, with 4,476 inhabitants, an ancient independent town, formerly belonged to the Hanseatic league; it lost its independence only in 1802.

VI. THE PROVINCE OF CLEVE-BERG.

The province of Cleve-Berg is bounded on the N. by the Netherlands; on the N.E. and E. by the province of Westphalia; on the S. and S.W. by the province of the Lower Rhine; and on the S.W. by the Netherlands. It is the smallest of all the Prussian provinces, but it is the most populous in proportion to its extent: possessing a population of 983,000 souls on a superficial extent of territory not exceeding 3,450 British square miles.

Physical Features.] The Rhine divides this province into two parts. The right banks of the Rhine are here steep and rugged; the left have some hills, but also beautiful fertile plains; the northern district is quite flat and intersected with bogs.

Mountains.] The principal chain is the Westerwald, of which the different branches cover the whole eastern parts, but the highest point rises not more than 2000 feet above the level of the sea. With this chain is connected the Siebengebirge, or 'Seven Mountains,' a chain extending along the Rhine, from which seven conic mountains, among which the Lowenberg of 1,896 feet, the Oelberg of 1,827, and the castled crag of Drachenfels' 1,473 feet in altitude, are the most remarkable. Rivers. The principal river of the province is the Rhine, which here

nobly foams and flows

The charm of this enchanted ground.'

All the other rivers, except the Maes, belong to its basin; the most remarkable are the Lippe and the Ruhr, which are also navigable; the Erft and the Neuss are partly navigable. The Maes, or French Meuse, receives only the Nieres.

Climate.] The climate is temperate; the air on the right side of the Rhine is pure and healthy, but on the left side it is more damp.

Productions.] Game, fish, bees, corn, vegetables, tobacco, fruit, wine, wood, flax, iron, lead, coals, marble, and slate, are the productions of this district. The soil is in general not favourable for agriculture, the mountains being too stony, and the valleys too narrow for the operations. Flax is one of the principal objects of agriculture. Wine is manufactured in the neighbourhood of Bonn: but neither in large quantities, nor of very superior quality. The rearing of cattle is, like the production of corn, not sufficient for the consumption. Mining is not very productive, except the working of coals.

Industry and Commerce.] With so little production this province would be badly off, if the industry of the inhabitants did not make up for what nature has denied them. It is not only the most industrious part of the whole Prussian monarchy, but of all Germany. The district of Berg has been by travellers described as 'England in miniature.' The principal manufactures on both sides of the Rhine are broadcloth, worsted, silk, linen, cotton, ribbons, leather, soap, paper, tobacco, and brandy; on the right exclusively iron, steel, copper, and brass. The commerce is flourishing; the exportation consists in the manufactures of the country; there is also a very important commerce by commission and transit from and to Holland.

Inhabitants.] The inhabitants are all of German origin. The majority are Catholics, whose number are estimated at 657,047; the Lutherans and Calvinists amount to 268,787; there are also 8,372 Jews, and some other sects. Among the establishments for education here, besides the newly formed university at Bonn-already one of the best in Germany-there are a number of gymnasiums, high schools, and parochial schools. These establishments were on the whole in a very neglected state when this province came under the Prussian government, but they are already better organized and are daily improving.

Administration.] The administration has been for the most part organized on the same footing with the other Prussian provinces of Germany; but several ancient institutions have been permitted to