with 34 professors, and a library of 56,000 volumes.-Fulda, on the Fulda, with 8,000 inhabitants, was formerly the seat of a sovereign bishop. In the Minster, an ancient building here, is the grave of St. Bonifacius.Hanau, near the Mayne, into which the Kinzig falls, is a fine town, very regularly built, the streets straight, and cutting one another in right angles, with a population of 11,997 inhabitants.-Nenndorf, a village, is celebrated for its asphaltic sulphurous waters, which are annually visited by above 800 persons.

CHAP. XV.-THE GRAND DUCHY OF HESSEN-DARMSTADT. THE grand duchy of Hessen-Darmstadt consists of two large, and several smaller districts. The southern part is bounded on the N.W. by Nassau; on the N. by Francfort and Hessen-Cassel; on the N.E. and E. by Bavaria; on the S. by Baden; on the S.W. by Bavaria; and on the W. by the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine. The northern part of which some small districts lie enclosed in the counties of Waldeck and Nassau-is surrounded on the N.E. and S. by HessenCassel; on the S.W. by Francfort and Hessen-Homburg; and on the W. by Nassau and the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine. Stein estimates the superficial extent of this country at 153 German square miles; Hassel at 193.30, or 4,156 British square miles.

History.] The earlier history of the reigning house of HessenDarmstadt has been already told. George the I., son of Philip the Magnanimous, who succeeded to the lands of Darmstadt, left three sons in 1595, of whom the eldest, Louis V. succeeded in Darmstadt; Frederic, the second son, became the founder of the line of Hessen-Homburg; and the third, who had got Ratzbach, died without heirs, and his lands reverted to the elder line. Under several of the succeeding princes the territory was increased, and the present prince, Louis X., obtained also, by the exchanges which took place at the peace of Luneville, some further augmentation of territory. In 1806, the landgrave joined the Rhenish confederacy, and took the title of grand duke; and in 1813 he joined the German confederacy, after having again made some exchanges of territory. On the 18th of March, 1820, he promulgated a constitution, and established two chambers; but the States having objected strongly to the constitution as then proposed, some changes were made on it, whereupon it was adopted by the States on the 20th of December, 1820.

Physical Features.] The whole country is mountainous; but where the majestic Rhine breaks through the southern part, it expands on both sides into fertile plains. The northern part partakes of the features of northern Germany, whilst the southern is adorned with the luxurious vegetation of the south of Germany.

Mountains.] The principal mountains are the Odenwalde, along and across which runs the celebrated road from Darmstadt, near to Basel, called the Bergstrasse, or Mountain-road,' begun by the Romans, and which is celebrated for the romantic scenery of its environs. To this ridge belongs the Malchen, which was formerly believed to be the Melibocchus of Ptolemy, and from which there is a beautiful view. The Höhe, a mountain known by the Romans under the name of Taunus, and of which the Feldberg, 2,605 feet high, is one of the principal points, rises here. The Vogelsberg is a ridge consisting principally of basalt. The princi

pal rivers are the Rhine, the Nahe, the Neckar, the Main or Mayne, the Lahn, and the Eder.

Productions.] The productions in the southern part are those of the south of Germany. The rearing of cattle is a principal branch of agricultural labour in the highland districts.

Population.] Hassel estimates the population at 633,026. They have reached a higher point of civilization than those of Hessen-Cassel. There are a few Frenchmen and Waldenses, and about 15,000 Jews. Of the above population, the Lutherans amounted to 366,000; there were 140,000 Catholics; 98,000 Calvinists; and 1000 Mennonites. In 1826, the population had increased, according to Balbi, to about 700,000.

Government, &c.] Hessen-Darmstadt holds the 9th place in the confederacy, with 3 votes in plenum. The succession goes in the male line; the grand duke is of age at 18. The constitution secures equality of rights to every citizen without distinction of religious creed in the Christian confessions. The revenue amounted in 1826, according to Balbi, to £652,763: 13: 4d.; and the debt to £1,125,000. The military force, without the militia, amounts to about 8 or 9000 men; the contingent is 6,195 men.

Topography.] The grand duchy is divided into 3 large provinces: viz. Starkenburg, Rhine Hessen, and Upper Hessen.

The capital is Darmstadt, the residence of the grand duke, with about 20,000 inhabitants. It contains a gymnasium, with a library of 90,000 volumes, a theatre, and a fine park. The new part of the town is wellbuilt. In the neighbourhood is a magnet rock.-Offenbach, on the Mayne, with a population of near 8000, is the most industrious town in the country. There is a very extensive manufactory of tobacco, and another of snuff here; jewellery, paper, hosiery, and musical instruments, are objects of a very lively industry.

Cities of Mentz, &c.] Mayence, or Mentz, situated a little below the confluence of the Rhine and Mayne, on the left bank of the former, once the seat of an archbishopric, and the capital of an electorate, contains a population of 25,000. Though pleasantly situated, and well-provided with churches, Mentz is but indifferently built. The streets are generally narrow; and there are three regular ones, which run parallel to each other from the Rhine.63 The fortifications are very extensive, and the city has both an Austrian and Prussian garrison. There is a bridge of boats over the Rhine 1,722 feet long. Mentz has a public library of 90,000 volumes, and a museum of Roman antiquities, said to be the finest out of Italy. The cathedral is very large, and remarkable as the burial place of several distinguished individuals, among others, of the celebrated Minnesinger, Frauenlob. Mayence early occurs in German history; it was here that the Roman general, Drusus, built his

63 In 1631, it was captured by the great Gustavus, who kept his Christmas here, attended by 6 sovereign princes, 12 ambassadors, and a great number of the German Protestant nobility. In 1792, it was taken, almost without opposition, by the French, though defended by a garrison of 6000 men. In 1794, it was recovered by the Prussians, after a long and obstinate defence, in the course of which both the inhabitants and garrison experienced all the horrors of famine. It was frequently but vainly besieged or blockaded by the French in the subsequent period of the war. But what could not be accomplished by sieges, was obtained by treaty; and Mentz was given up to the French, by the peace of Campo Formio, in 1797. Though capable of a long and protracted defence, it was abandoned by the French troops in the commencement of 1814; and is now declared to be one of the four federal fortresses of Germany, to be maintained, as a bulwark against French invasion, at the charge of the German confederation.

fortress of Moguntiacum; here Bonifacius, the apostle of the Germans, was first bishop; and in this city the art of printing was first cultivated. There are an aqueduct and several Roman antiquities in the neighbourhood. Mentz is 41 British miles N.W. of Manheim, 22 British miles S.W. of Frankfort on the Mayne, 50 miles S.E. of Coblentz, 100 miles S.E. of Bonn, 117 S.E. of Cologne, 75 miles E.N.E. of Treves, and 82 N.E. of Sarrelouis, 60 miles S. of Landau; the three last distances are horizontal, being taken upon a map: 8° 12' Long. E. of Greenwich, and 50° 2′ N. Lat.-Castel, or Cassel, with 1,908 inhabitants, on the right side of the Mayne, has 4 strong forts belonging to the fortifications of Mayence.-Bingen, with 3,223 inhabitants, is situated on one of the most beautiful spots of the district, called the Rhinegau, where the Nahe flows into the Rhine, and where high and narrow rocks cause the famous whirlpool called the Bingerlock. Here are also bishop Hatto's Mausethurm, or 'Mice Tower,' and the ruins of the castle of Ehrenfels. Worms, with 6,230 inhabitants, is a very ancient, and was once an important free town. Several important diets were held here, particularly those of 1495 and 1517, which proclaimed the public peace, and that of 1521, which was followed by the edict against Luther.-Giessen, with about 7000 inhabitants, has a university with 23 professors, and two libraries, one of 18,000, and one of 25,000 volumes. It lies on the Lahn.

CHAP. XVI.-THE DUCHIES OF HOLSTEIN AND LAUENBURG.

WE have already described these two duchies in our account of Denmark. The king of Denmark holds for these countries the 10th place in the German confederation with 3 votes in plenum. Their contingent to the army of the confederacy is 3,600 men.

CHAP. XVII.-THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG.

THE king of the Netherlands holds the 11th place in the confederacy, with 3 votes in plenum, for Luxemburg. The contingent to the army of the confederacy is 2,556 men. The description of this duchy will be given in our account of the Netherlands.

CHAP. XVIII.-THE GRAND DUCHY OF SACHSEN-WEIMAR. THE grand duchy of Sachsen-Weimar and Eisenach, forms a part of the possessions of the dukes of Saxony of the Ernestine line, and the grand duke is the chief of this line. On the N. and N.E. lies the Prussian province of Saxony; on the E. and S.E. it is surrounded by the principalities of Altenburg and Reuss, and by the Prussian dominions; on the S. by the Schwarzburg, Prussian, Gothen, Meiningen, and Bavarian dominions; and on the W. by Hessen-Cassel. The territorial surface is 66.28 German square miles, or nearly 1,425 British square miles.

History.] The Ernestian line-as we have already related-after John Frederic had been compelled to resign the greater part of his lands to Maurice, was continued by his sons, but divided into several branches.

The late grand duke, who died in June, 1828, was an excellent and able man, who took much pleasure in protecting and advancing the arts and sciences, and was the personal friend of Goethe, and many others of the most distinguished men in Germany. He gave a constitution to his dominions in 1816, by which he established equality of rights among the citizens, the freedom of the press, and an elective representation of one chamber. He was succeeded by his son.

Physical Features.] The greater part of this country lies in Thuringia, and presents the same physical features. The principal rivers are the Saale and the Werra. The soil is of various qualities, but agriculture is skilfully conducted. Wood forms the staple riches of the country. Population.] The population amounted to 226,000 in 1828, of whom 74,000 belonged to Eisenach. The Protestants had 519 churches served by only 335 clergymen. The Roman Catholics had 10 churches and 13 chapels. About 186,000 are Lutherans; the Catholics exceed 10,000. All Christian confessions enjoy equal rights. Establishments for education are well-conducted in 1827 there were 494 schools, with 32,213 scholars, in this small territory. Indeed, more has recently been done here for the advancement of the arts and sciences, than in any other country of Europe, comparatively speaking. There was a time when the four most distinguished living poets of Germany, Goethe, Schiller, Wieland, and Herder, besides Musæus and several other illustrious scholars lived at Weimar, and shed a glory on the court of the grand duke, far eclipsing that which the splendour of nobility can confer.

Government.] The succession goes in the male line. The grand duke holds the 12th place in the confederacy, with one vote in plenum. The revenue in 1826 was 4,913,000 francs, or £204,380: 4: 2d., according to Balbi, and the debt 16,291,000 francs, or £688,795: 3: 4d. The military force, according to the act of confederacy, is fixed at 2,100; but not to burden the country, there is no standing army except a small corps of hussars, and a staff, under which the militia, who are always kept in readiness, can be organized in case of need.

Topography.] The grand duchy is divided into the two principalities of Weimar and Eisenach, containing 30 towns, 6 boroughs, and 386 hamlets. Weimar, the capital of the grand duchy, contains 10,000 inhabitants. It lies 60 miles S.W. of Leipzig, in a fertile valley watered by the Ilm. A drawing academy was established here in 1778. The theatre is considered one of the best in Germany. The cathedral contains some fine paintings by Lucas Kranach, who is buried here; and here also is the tomb of the illustrious Schiller. The public library contains 95,000 volumes. Under the auspices of the duchess of Weimar, this little capital-as Madame de Stael remarks-was changed into a seat of knowledge and elegance; the most refined society in Germany was assembled in her palace; and even Napoleon himself, in the full intoxication of victory, was compelled to respect her.

Jena is a considerable town, walled and well-built, 12 miles E. of Weimar, on the Saale, with large suburbs, in a pleasant valley bounded by hills. It contains a ducal palace, two literary societies, an university, and 5,200 inhabitants. The university was founded in 1548, by the sons of the unfortunate Frederic, who lost his electoral dominions in consequence of the fatal battle of Muhlberg. The noble founders of this academy, having designed it as a bulwark for the Protestant religionof which to their honour they were the great political supporters-took care to furnish it with able, learned, and pious professors. The divines

of Jena have proved themselves eminent pillars of the Lutheran church, as Matthew Vlack Illyric, Solomon Glassius, the famous oriental philologist, the pious and the learned Gerhard, John Francis Budde, and John George Walch. In the days of its glory, it could boast of more than 4000 students. But it sadly degenerated towards the middle of the 18th century, when through the relaxation of discipline, the students were more famous for fighting and drinking than for studying. In 1783, the students did not exceed 600. But these disorders have been lately cured; and the university, under the auspices of the late famous Griesbach, and professor Eichorn, resumed much of its former celebrity. It has now 56 professors.-Eisenach, with 8,258 inhabitants, possesses several manufactures. On the highest mountain, near the town, lies the Wurtburg, once the residence of the landgraves of Thuringia,-celebrated for an assembly of Minnesingers, who here contended for the palm of poetry, afterwards by Luther's residence,—and latterly by an assembly of students, who met here on the 18th of October, 1817, to celebrate the anniversary of the Reformation, and the battle of Leipzig. This festivity, however, though patronized by the duke himself, excited the displeasure of the holy allies. Perhaps the high-wrought feelings of the young men had found expression in intemperate, or at least unguarded language; but the head and front of their offending seems to have been a sort of political auto da fe, which in the moment of their enthusiasm they made of certain books and writings, which they thought militated against rational freedom.

CHAP. XIX. THE DUCHY OF SACHSEN-GOTHA.

THE duke of Sachsen-Gotha, who holds the 12th place in the confederacy, was the chief of the 2d branch of the Ernestine line. His possessions are the two principalities of Gotha and Altenburg, lying in Thuringia. They are quite separated; the western part, or the principality of Gotha, is surrounded by Prussia, Schwarzburg, Weimar, Hessen-Cassel, and Meiningen; the eastern part, or the principality of Altenburg, lies, divided into two districts, between Prussia, royal Saxony, Reuss, Weimar, Schwarzburg, and Coburg. The surface is nearly 1,100 British square miles. The population is about 193,000. The majority are of the Lutheran creed, and about 10,000 are of Wendish descent. The country is mountainous, being partly covered by the Thuringian forest. The rivers of the country belong to the basins of the Weser and Elbe, the principal are the Unstrut, the Saale, and the Pleisse.

Government.] There was a kind of representative constitution in Sachsen-Gotha, which has been preserved with some alterations. The succession was in the male line; but the duke Frederic IV. died in 1825, and with him this branch of the Ernestine line was extinguished, and the country has been since administrated under the name of Meiningen, Coburg, and Hildburghausen, till some difficulties about the succession of these side-lines are decided. The revenue is said to be 2,457,000 francs, and the debt 7,000,000 francs. The military force is about 1,960. The militia can be brought to 28,784. Gotha, the chief town, contains 13,000 inhabitants. The public library contains 60,000 volumes, and 2000 MSS.; and the private library of the duke 20,000 volumes.— Altenburg, the capital of the principality of that name, has 10,160 inhabitants, and conducts some manufactures.