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reproached for an avaricious calculating character, growing out of their mercantile habits, but the charge is much exaggerated. There are among them thousands of families as unconnected with trade as the aristocracy of France or England; and their mercantile men are no more strangers to the pleasures of society, than the merchants of other countries. The Belgians, in the provinces bordering on Holland, are hardly to be distinguished from the Dutch, while in the provinces to the south, the dress, language and habits of the French are prevalent.

Revenue, Debt, &c.] The annual revenue is nearly £7,000,000 and the expenditure about the same. The navy costs only £500,000 a year; the army £2,500,000; but the largest item of expenditure is the interest of the national debt. That debt amounts to £140,000,000, but the interest being in general as low as 2 or 2 per cent. does not much exceed £3,000,000. Army and Navy.] The army on the peace establishment amounts to above 50,000 regular troops, a large force for so small a state, but required by its exposed frontier. The navy consists of 12 ships of the line, and twice as many frigates, and a number of smaller vessels.

Manufactures.] In the 13th and following centuries the Netherlands took the lead of all the neighboring states both in trade and manufactures. The linen of Holland, the lace of Brussels, the leather of Liege, the woollens of Leyden and Utrecht, and the silks of Amsterdam and Antwerp were known several centuries ago throughout Europe. Many of these branches are still flourishing, and maintain their ancient reputation. The cotton manufactures of Ghent and the hard-ware manufactures of Liege rival those of England.

Commerce.] The commerce of this country, both internal and external, is greatly promoted by its natural situation, and was formerly more extensive than that of any other country in Europe. Being at the mouth of so many large rivers its merchants supplied the west of Germany with fish, colonial produce and manufactures, and received in return principally timber, which was floated down the Rhine in immense rafts. The carrying trade extended to almost every part of Europe; in several countries, as in Ireland, Dutch merchantmen sailing from port to port and performing all the coasting trade, at the same time from the central situation of the country, wine, brandy, fruit, and wool were brought in vast quantities from the south of Europe to supply the wants of the north, and corn, hemp, flax, iron and timber were brought from the north to supply the wants of the south. These articles were generally purchased as cheap and almost always in more convenient portions in Holland than in the countries of their growth. In the fisheries, particularly the herring fishery, the number of vessels employed by the Dutch is said to have exseeded that of all the rest of Europe. At the same time, from the possession of valuable colonies in the East and West Indies, the foreign trade extended to the most distant parts of the world. The wars in which the Dutch were successively engaged with

Spain, England and France, but above all the union of the country with France and the consequent loss of the colonies, brought all the branches of this flourishing commerce to the verge of ruin. Since the establishment of the independence of the kingdom, most of its former colonies have been restored, and commerce has begun to revive, but it will take a long time to restore it to its former prosperity.

Islands. There are many large islands formed by the mouths of the Maese and the Scheldt, the principal of which are Walcheren, South Beveland, North Beveland, Tholen, Schouwen, Overflakkee, Voorn, Beierland, and Ysselmonde. Texel, at the mouth of the Zuyder Zee, is a large island, on the east side of which is the famous road where the Dutch East India ships assemble. The other considerable islands on the northern coast are Vlieland, Schelling, and Ameland.

FRANCE.

Situation and Extent.] France is bounded N.W. by the English channel; N.E. by the kingdom of the Netherlands; E. by Germany, Switzerland, and Italy; S. E. by the Mediterranean; S.W. by Spain, and W. by the bay of Biscay. It is remarkably fortunate in its frontier, having strong natural barriers in the Pyrenees on the side of Spain, in the Alps on the side of Italy, in the ridge of Jura on the side of Switzerland, and in the Vosges mountains and the river Rhine on the side of Germany; it is open only on the side of the Netherlands. It lies between lat. 42° 23′ and 51° 3′ N. and between lon. 4° 40′ W. and 9° 3′ E.. It is 650 miles long from E. to W. and 560 broad from N. to S. The area is computed at 200,000 square miles.

Divisions.] Before the revolution France was divided into 32 provinces. At present it is divided into 86 departments. The departments are subdivided into 368 arrondissements, the arrondissements into 2,669 cantons, and the cantons into 38,990 communes.

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Mountains.] The Pyrenees, which separate France from Spain, run in a direction a little south of east from the bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean. They contain many lofty summits, the highest of which is Mont Perdu, which is 10,578 feet above the level of the sea. The mountains of Lozere, which are loosely connect ed with the eastern part of the chain of the Pyrenees, proceed in a N. E. direction to the sources of the Loire, where they divide into two branches; the northwestern branch, called the Mountains of Auvergne, proceeds towards the centre of France, and contains the summits of Mont d' Or, (6,288 feet,) the Cantal, (5,964 feet,) and the Puy de Dome, (4,960 feet high;) the northeastern, called the Sevennes, less lofty than the other, passes between the Loire and the Rhone, and proceeds as far north as the department of Cote d'Or.

On the east side of the Rhone there are several chains, more or less connected with each other. The Alps, called here the Maritime Alps, separate France from Italy. The Mount Jura

chain, which may be regarded as a branch of the Alps, commences near Geneva at the S.W. extremity of Switzerland, and after forming the boundary between Switzerland and France, continues its course in a northerly direction under the name of the Vosges as far as the parallel of 50° N. lat. The most elevated peaks in the Jura chain are the Reculet, (5,200 feet,) and the Dole (5,178 feet above the level of the sea.)

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Rivers.] The four principal rivers in France are the Garonne, the Loire, the Seine and the Rhone. 1. The Garonne rises in the department of the Upper Pyrenees, and flowing on the whole in a N.W. direction, passes by Toulouse, Agen, and Bourdeaux, and discharges itself into the Atlantic ocean through two mouths after a course of more than 400 miles. It is three miles wide at its mouth, and frigates ascend as far as Bourdeaux. Its principal tributaries are the Arriege, the Tarn, the Lot and the Dordogne. After the junction of the Dordogne the river is called Gironde. 2. The Loire, the largest river in France, rises in the department of the Upper Loire, between the mountains of Sevennes and Auvergne, and flows at first in a northerly direction to the centre of the kingdom, where it turns to the west, and passing by Orleans, Blois, Tours, Angers and Nantes, falls into the Atlantic after a course of 500 miles. It is navigable to Nantes for vessels of 70 or 80 tons, and for boats almost to its source. principal tributaries are the Allier, the Cher, the Indre, the Vienne, the Sevre-of-Nantes, and the Mayenne. 3. The Seine rises in the department of Cote d' Or, and flowing in a northwest direction, passes by Troyes, Paris,and Rouen, and discharges itself into the English channel, after a course of 400 miles. It admits vessels of considerable burden as far as Rouen, and boats to Troyes. Its principal tributaries are the Aube, the Yonne, the Marne, the Oise and the Eure. 4. The Rhone issues from the lake of Geneva in Switzerland, and pursues a S.W. course to Lyons, where it turns to the south, and passing by Vienne, Valence and Avignon, discharges itself through three mouths into the Mediterranean. It is the most rapid river in Europe, and the upward navigation can be performed only by draught or steam. Its principal tributaries are the Saone, a large river from the north which joins it at Lyons, and the Isere and Durance from the east, which bring the tributary waters of the western face of the Alps.

The smaller rivers which discharge themselves directly into the sea are, the Somme and the Orne, which fall into the English channel; the Vilaine, the Sevre-of-Niort, the Charente and the Adour, which fall into the bay of Biscay; and the Herault and Var, which fall into the Mediterranean.

The principal rivers, whose course lies only partly in France are, 1. The Escaut or Scheldt, which rises in the department of Aisne, and flows immediately into the Netherlands. 2. The Maese, or Meuse, which rises in Upper-Marne, and passes by Neufchateau, Verdun, and Mezieres into the Netherlands. 3. The Moselle, which rises in the mountains of the Vosges, and running north across the S. E. corner of the Netherlands into Germany,

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