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uniformly distributed than ever before; and the new constitution afforded advantages to the great body of the people, which they soon began to estimate. The government gained in firmness as the prejudices against it diminished. The king, besides his civil list, had 1,000,000 francs as a French prince. He was much inclined to dissipation, but, at the same time, disposed to do good to his people. In 1809, internal commotions began, occasioned by the war between Austria and France. The eastern frontier of the kingdom was attacked by a corps under Schill. In the south, an insurrection broke out among the peasants near Marburg. These circumstances gave rise to severe measures, and the extension of the high police. The king was obliged, by France, to increase his army to 30,000 men; and the taxes were, in consequence, so much augmented that, neither the minister of finances nor the estates of the kingdom knowing any other means to provide for the exigency, the public domains were sold, and the public debt was arbitrarily reduced, by expunging a certain portion of each man's demand. In 1810, the whole of the former Hanoverian territory was united to Westphalia; but hardly had she taken possession of it, when another imperial decree was issued, annexing not only this newly-acquired territory, but also the former provinces of Osnabrück, Minden and part of Ravensberg, to the French empire. It was of no avail that the king strove to prevent this measure by personal representations in Paris; he was obliged to submit, and, moreover, to adopt the continental system (q. v.): but this was not so oppressive in Westphalia as in some other countries, the government mitigating its rigour as much as possible. In 1812, the king led his army to Poland; but the emperor soon obliged him to leave his troops and return. Of his 24,000 men, but few escaped the disasters which befel the French forces beyond the Niemen. A new army, of 12,000 men, was immediately organized, and accompanied the imperial army to Saxony; but the hearts of the soldiers were with their brethren who stood opposed to them. Even before the battle of Leipsic (q. v.), Czernitscheff drove the king from his residence, and occupied Cassel for three days. The king returned with some French troops, but only to receive the news of the great battle of Leipsic, and to leave his residence and kingdom for ever, after having caused every thing valuable in his palaces, and even a part of the treasures of the museum, to be carried off. Two days after his departure, the Russians entered Cassel; and, in a few days, the old governments were re-established almost throughout the kingdom. Oct. 20, 1813, the kingdom of Westphalia ceased to exist.

5. The Prussian Province of Westphalia was created, in 1815, out of the provinces which Prussia formerly possessed in the Westphalian circle, with the exception of the duchies of Cleves and Berg, and the abbeys of Essen and Werden. It is bounded by the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick, the two Lippes, electoral Hessia, Waldeck, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, the Lower Rhine, and Juliers-CleveBerg. The southern and eastern parts are mountainous, yet have some fertile plains; the northern and north-western parts contain considerable heaths. The climate is generally moderate, but rough in the mountainous parts of the Sauerland. The Weser, Ems, Lippe, and Ruhr, are the most important navigable rivers. The products are cattle, grain, flax, wood, much iron, copper, calamine, lead, coals.

salt, minerals waters, &c. The agricultural products are not sufficient to supply the inhabitants The manufacture of linen, and all kinds of iron and steel wares, is extensive. Many of the inhabitants of the northern parts go annually to the Netherlands, to assist in gathering the harvest, and to dig turf. The whole province contains 7780 square miles, and, with the military, 1,096,000 inhabitants, partly Catholics, partly Protestants, chiefly Lutherans. It is divided into three governments, Muns ter, Minden, and Arnsberg, with capitals of the same names. In Hamm, a periodical called Archives of History and Antiquities is published by a society for promoting the knowledge of the history and antiquities of Westphalia.

This

WESTPHALIA, PEACE OF; the name given to the peace concluded in 1648, at Münster and Osnabrück (both situated in Westphalia), by which an end was put to the thirty years' war (q. v.), and a new political system was established in Europe, which continued till the breaking out of the French revolution. For Germany, particularly, it became the foundation of the whole political system-a system unwieldy and oppressive. This peace was not concluded until after seven years of negotiation and preparation. Towards the end of 1641, prelminaries were agreed upon at Hamburg, having reference chiefly to the mode of proceeding in regard to the future peace, and the place where the del berations should be carried on. The actual negotiations did not commence until 1644, at Osnabrück, between the ambassadors of Austria, the German empire and Sweden; at Münster, between those of the emperor, France and other powers; but the articles adopted in both formed one treaty. division of the members of the diplomatic congress was intended partly to prevent disputes on points of etiquette between France and Sweden, partly because Sweden refused to have any thing to do with the papal nuncio, who was sent to assist in negotiations. Quarrels on points of etiquette. carried to the most ridiculous extreme, prevented the opening of the congress for a long time. The ministers of princes claimed the title of excellency, like those of the electors. A round table was adopted for the sessions, in order to evade other punctilios. Peace was concinded at Münster. whither the ministers, who had been at Osnabrück, repaired, after they had also concluded a treaty shortly before, on October 24, 1648. By this peace, the religious and political state of Germany was settled: the sovereignty of the members of the empire was acknowledged. They received the right of concluding treaties among themselves and with foreign powers, only not against the emperor and empire. Their consent was made necessary to enable the emperor to put any of the members under the ban. The electoral family of the Palatinate received back the Palatinate (q. v.) of the Rhine, and the eighth electorship was created for it, with a provision, however, that this should be abolished in case the Bavarian house should become extinct (as actually happened in 1777), since the Palatine house would then recover the Bavarian electorate. The changes which had been made for the advantage of the Protestants since the religious peace, in 1555, were confirmed by the determination that every thing should remain as it had been at the beginning of the (so called) normal year, 1624. The Calvinists received equal rights with the adherents of the Augsburg Confession, or the Lutherans. The princes of the empire were bound not to pro

The county is divided into eight baronies, and 142' parishes, all of which but two are in the diocese of Ferns. The two islands called Salters belong to the county. This county is mountainous in its north, north-west and west confines. It contains much coarse land, and stiff elay soil, which, from the want of limestone, it is difficult to improve. The best part of the county is the baronies of Barge and Forth on the east, where the land is less elevated, and where the soil is sufficiently light to produce excellent crops of barley. Beans are successfully cultivated, and also clover and turnips. Potatoes are planted in drills, and lime and marl, though expensive, are much used as manure. Whole fields, are kept under furze as in Cork and Waterford for fuel. Although there are no rich grazing farms, yet there are numerous dairies, which are ill-managed. The cows and the sheep are of an inferior kind. The rivers are the Slaney and the Barrow. The former crosses the county from Newton-Barry | to Wexford, and receiving the Barrow from the north, exibits on its fine wooded banks much beautiful and picturesque scenery. It is navigable to Enniscorthy near the middle of the county. By means of the Barrow, which divides the county from Kilkenny on the west, large vessels can reach the town of New Ross, situated near the junction of the Barrow and Nore. The principal towns are Wexford, the county town, described in a separate article, Enniscorthy on the Slaney, New Ross, and Gorey, and the pleasant village of Newton-Barry. Enniscorthy was once celebrated for its iron works, of which some still exist. The cotton manufacture is now carried on here, and a great deal of coarse woollen cloth is made. There is a fine old castie here in tolerable repair. The town was nearly destroyed during the rebellion in 1798. New Ross, on the Barrow, is well fitted for becoming a place of commercial importance. The buildings are said to be numerous and elegant, and the population rapidly increasing. Vessels of large size can unload at the quay, and it is one of the principal ports for the exportation of wool. Population of the county in 1831, 182,991.

WEXFORD; a seaport town of Ireland, situated at the mouth of the river Slaney. The town is irregularly built, and the streets narrow, but it contains some handsome buildings. The church, situated in the principal street, is an elegant modern structure. The market and court-house are built with much taste, and the barracks erected on the site of the old castle, command an extensive view. The great ornament of the town is the wooden bridge thrown across an arm of the sea 2100 feet wide, where it was found impracticable to erect a bridge of stone. This bridge is the favourite promenade. Wexford was once a place of great strength, and some remains of its ancient thick walls still exist. The harbour is formed by two tongues of land between which there is an entrance half a mile wide, which was formerly defended by Fort Margaret and Fort Rosslane, built at the end of each isthmus. The harbour, though spacious, is shallow. A good deal of woollen cloth is manufactured in the town and neighbourhood, and the chief trade consists in the exportation of barley, malt, beer, beef, hides, butter and tallow.

WEYDE, ROGER van der. See Roger. WEYMOUTH; a sea-port, borough, and markettown of England, in Dorsetshire, at the mouth of the Wey, celebrated as a fashionable bathing-place. It is situated on the British channel, at the western

side of a most beautiful bay, well protected from the north winds by hills. It is 128 miles from Lom don, and 65 from Bath. It communicates with Melcombe Regis, to which it is united by a handsome new bridge. Weymouth became a place of fashionable resort in consequence of its being trequented by George III, and is now greatly enlarged by the addition of many new and elegant buildings The fashionable promenade is on the esplanade, which is a beautiful raised terrace, of considerable length and breadth, kept in the most perfect repair, with a slope gradually descending to the sande The united borough of Weymouth and Melcon.de Regis sent four members to parliament previous to the reform act of 1832, which deprived it of two of its members. Population of Weymouth in 183I. 2529; of Melcombe Regis, 5126; total 7655.

WEZLAR, formerly a free imperial city, in the circle of the Upper Rhine, since 1814, belonging to the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine, in the government of Coblentz, has a romantic situation on the Lahn. It contains 750 houses and 450 inhabitants. The principal building is the cathedra: Wezlar is famous for having been, as long as the empire existed, the seat of the court of the empire called the imperial chamber. The papers belonging to 80,000 legal processes are preserved in a partscular building in this place. The imperial chan ber was fixed in Wezlar in 1693. In 1806, it was, of course, dissolved. In 1803, the city and territor were given to the then chancellor of the emper subsequently the grand duke of Frankfort

WHALE (balana). These animals so much re semble fish in their external form, that they arr almost universally considered as such by the great mass of mankind. If, however, we examine ther structure more carefully, we shall find that they differ from quadrupeds only in their organs of mo tion. They are warm-blooded, breathe atmospher air only, and by means of lungs, and bring forth and suckle their young in the same manner as quadrapeds: in short, all the details of their organization are the same as in this class of animals. The body and tail are continuous, the latter tapering gradu ally, and terminating in a large, horizontal, cartiis. ginous fin: the hind feet are altogether wanting but their position is marked by two small, rus mentary bones, enveloped in the skin: the fore ters have externally the form of fins or flippers; but they possess the same bones as those of quadrupers, flattened, however, shortened, and enveloped in a tendinous mbrane: the head is of enormous size often occupying one third of the total length of the animal; and the opening of the mouth corresponds in magnitude: the neck is excessively short, a d externally appears to be altogether wanting: the nostrils are the blow-holes or spiracles, situated at the top of the head, by means of which atmospherie air penetrates to the lungs when the animal rises to the surface of the water: the skin is entirely desti tute of hairs; and beneath it a thick coating of ors fat, commonly called blubber, envelopes the animal the eyes are exceedingly small, compared with the bulk of the animal, and the external ear is alto gether wanting: their senses, in consequence, wou! not seem to be very acute; neither do they display much intelligence: the sea affords them abundance of food, which they are enabled to procure w little difficulty; and they find in their size and strength a sufficient protection against most dangers

The common or Greenland whale (B. mysticetus) is destitute of teeth, but, in their place, the upper

jaw is furnished with transverse layers of a horny substance, called baleen or whalebone, which, at the edges, split into long, slender fringes. This species is productive of more oil than any other; and, beug less active, slower in its motion, and more timid than the rest of its kind of similar magnitude, is more easily captured. When fully grown, its length is from fifty to sixty-five feet, rarely, if ever, reaching seventy, and its greatest circumference from thirty to forty: the ordinary weight is about seventy tors. When the mouth is open, it presents a cavity large enough to contain a boat full of men, being six or eight feet wide, ten or twelve high in front, and fifteen or sixteen long. These animals have no voice, but in breathing or blowing, make a very loud noise: the vapour they discharge is ejected to the height of some yards, and appears, at a distance, like a puff of smoke. The usual rate at which they swim seldom exceeds four miles an hour; and though their extreme velocity may be at the rate of eight or nine, this speed never continues longer than for a few minutes before it relaxes to almost one half. They are also capable of ascending with such rapidity as to leap entirely out of the water, which feat they sometimes perform apparently as an amusement, to the no small terror of inexperienced fishers. Sometimes they throw themselves into a perpendicular posture, with their heads downwards, and, rearing their tails on high, beat the water with tremendous violence: the sea is then thrown into foam, and the air filled with vapours: the noise, in calm weather, is heard to a great distance, and the concentric waves, produced by the concussions on the water, are communicated abroad to a considerable extent. Sometimes the whale shakes its mighty tail in the air, which, cracking like a whip, resounds to the distance of two or three miles. Whales usually remain at the surface to breathe about two minutes, seldom longer, during which time they "blow" eight or nine times, and then descend for an interval of five or ten minutes, but sometimes, when feeding, fifteen or twenty. When struck, they have been known to descend to the perpendicular depth of a mile, and with such velocity, that instances have occurred in which they have broken their jawbones by the blow struck against the bottom. Their food consists of mollusca, shrimps, and other all crustaceous animals. When feeding, they swim with considerable velocity, below the surface, with the jaws widely extended; a stream of water consequently enters the capacious mouth, bearing alang large quantities of marine insects. The water escapes again at the sides, but the food is entangled and strained by the whalebone, which, from its compact arrangement, does not allow a particle of the size of the smallest grain to escape. Whales, though often found in great numbers together, can scarcely be said to be gregarious, occurring, most generally, solitary, or in pairs, excepting when drawn to the same spot by the attraction of an abundance of palatable food, or a choice situation of the ice. They occur most abundantly in the frozen seas of Greenland, and Davis's straits, in Baffin's and Hudson's bays, in the sea to the northward of Beering's straits, and along some parts of the northern shores of Asia, and probably of AmeThey are never met with in the German Gran, and rarely within two hundred leagues of the British coast; but along the coasts of Africa and South America, they are found, periodically, in derable numbers, and are captured by the

southern British and American whalers. It is not, however, certainly ascertained, whether this species is identical with the northern, though it evidently approaches it very closely.

The affections of the whale towards its own kind appear to be strong. The fishers are in the habit of taking advantage of the love of the old whale for its offspring, to entice it into their snares; and the artifice often succeeds when probably, no other would. The cub, though of little value in itself, is struck, to induce the mother to come to its assistance. "In this case," says Captain Scoresby, "she joins it at the surface of the water, whenever it has occasion to rise for respiration; encourages it to swim off; assists its flight, by taking it under her fin; and seldom deserts it while life remains. She is then dangerous to approach; but affords frequent opportunities for attack. She loses all regard for her own safety, in anxiety for the preservation of her young;-dashes through the midst of her enemies;-despises the danger that threatens her; and even voluntarily remains with her offspring, after various attacks on herself from the harpoons of the fishers. In June 1811, one of my harpooners struck a sucker, with the hope of its leading to the capture of the mother. Presently she arose close by the fast-boat;' and seizing the young one, dragged about a hundred fathoms of line out of the boat with remarkable force and velocity. Again she arose to the surface; darted furiously to and fro; frequently stopped short, or suddenly changed her direction, and gave every possible intimation of extreme agony. For a length of time she continued thus to act, though closely pursued by the boats; and, inspired with courage and resolution by her concern for her offspring, seemed regardless of the danger which surrounded her. At length, one of the boats approached so near, that a harpoon was hove at her. It hit, but did not attach itself. A second harpoon was struck; this also failed to penetrate: but a third was more effectual, and held. Still she did not attempt to escape, but allowed other boats to approach; so that, in a few minutes, three more harpoons were fastened; and in the course of an hour afterwards, she was killed."

The instruments of general use, in the capture of the whale, are the harpoon and lance. The harpoon is an instrument of iron, about three feet in length, terminating in an arrow-shaped head, the two branches of which have internally a smaller reversed barb, resembling the beard of a fish-hook. When this instrument is forced, by a blow, into the fat of a whale, and the line is held tight, the principal barbs seize the strong ligamentous fibres of the blubber, and prevent it from being withdrawn. The lance is a spear of iron, six feet in length, terminating in a head of steel, made very thin and exceedingly sharp, seven or eight inches in length and two or two and a half in breadth. These two instruments, together with lines, boats and oars, form all the necessary apparatus for capturing the whale. Considerable address is requisite to approach sufficiently near to the animal during its short stay at the surface; but when this has been accomplished, the hardy fisher rows directly upon it, and, an instant before the boat touches, buries the harpoon in its back. But if, while the boat is at a little distance, the whale should indicate his intention of diving, the harpoon is thrown from the hand; and when this is done skilfully, it is efficient at the distance of eight or ten yards. The wounded whale