line of islands on the north, of which the largest is Texel, probably marks the ancient coast line of the continent.

MOUNTAINS.

Holland is a flat country absolutely destitute of mountains, scarcely in any place rising above the level of the ocean, and for the most part sinking 30 or 40 feet below high-water mark. The sea is kept out by immense embankments, which are sometimes broken down by the violence of the waters.

GULFS, LAKES, ETC.

The Zuyder Zee (i. e. Sea of the South) stretches to the centre of the kingdom: Haarlem Meer communicates with it by the channel of Y. Dollart Bay is between Groningen and Germany; and the Bies Bosch is in the neighbourhood of Dort.

All these have been formed by irruptions of the sea, in comparatively modern times. The Bies Bosch was caused in 1421, by the rupture of several dykes, when 72 villages and a population of 100,000 souls were submerged.

RIVERS.

The Rhine and the Meuse terminate their course in Holland, but owing to the level nature of the country which they traverse, they divide into numerous sluggish streams, that frequently interlace each other, and seem to gain the sea with difficulty.

As soon as the Rhine enters Holland it divides, the great mass of its waters going under the name of the Waal to Dort; the river which retains the name of Rhine soon sends off another branch, the Yssel, to the Zuyder Zee. Yet again it divides, the greater part of the remaining portion of waters going to the sea near Rotterdam, under the denomination of the Lech. The Rhine itself passes Utrecht and falls, a diminished stream, into the ocean near Leyden. The Meuse rises from the northern acclivity of the Vosges in France, near the source of the Soane, leaves the French territory at Charlemont, passes the Belgian towns of Namur and Liege, enters Holland at Maestricht, and pursues a circuitous course to the sea. Its mouths are mingled

with those of the Lech and Waal.

CANALS.

Holland is intersected with innumerable canals; they may be compared, in number and size, to the public roads in England. A prodigious inland trade is carried on by them between Holland and every part of France, Flanders and Germany. When they are frozen, the inhabitants travel on them with skates, and goods are carried in carts or sledges.

CLIMATE.

Holland is reckoned one of the most unhealthy countries in Europe. It is subject to frequent fogs and marshy exhalations, so that cold and moisture are the prevailing characteristics of the climate. In winter the frost is sometimes so severe, as to freeze not only the lakes and rivers, but also the Zuyder Zee.

TRADE AND COMMERCE.

During the 17th century the foreign commerce and navigation of Holland was greater than that of all Europe besides. By the rivalry of other nations it has lost its pre-eminence, but its trade is still great. Its principal imports are sugar, coffee, spices, &c., wine and brandy, grain, timber, and other Baltic produce. From England it imports hardware, tin-plate, rock-salt, and printed cottons. The exports consist, 1st, of native produce, as cheese, butter, madder, flax, linseed, &c.; 2dly, of the produce of her colonies in the East and West Indies ; and, 3dly, of the produce of the extensive regions through which the Rhine and Meuse flow, of which Holland is the natural emporium.

Agriculture and gardening are brought to great perfection in Holland; the moisture of the climate greatly promotes the verdure of its pastures. The culture of ornamental plants, especially of the tulip and hyacinth, is carried to a great length.

PROVINCES.

Groningen, Friesland, Overyssel, Drenthe, Gelderland, Utrecht, Holland Proper, Zealand, North Brabant, part of Limburg, and part of Luxemburg.

CHIEF TOWNS.

Amsterdam, the capital of Holland, on the Y, is intersected by the small river Amstel. Originally a small fishing village, it is now the second commercial city in Europe: it was built on piles, and is situated in the midst of a marsh: by means of a canal to Helder, vessels having communication with Amsterdam avoid the dangerous navigation of the Zuyder Zee: the city is surrounded on the inland side by forts and ramparts, and by means of sluices the surrounding country can easily be inundated: a multitude of canals intersect the town, forming it into 90 islands. Pop. 220,000.

Hague, a fine city; the usual residence of the court, and the place where the States General assemble. Pop. 58,000.

Rotterdam, on an arm of the Meuse, (more properly the Lech,) where the small river Rotter enters it; the second city in importance in the kingdom: the birth-place of Erasmus. Pop. 78,000. Utrecht, on the Rhine; the seat of an university.

Leyden; formerly celebrated for its university, and its trade in books. Dort (or Dordrecht); it chiefly trades in timber, which is floated down the Rhine in immense rafts: the synod assembled here in 1618 and 1619 which condemned the doctrines of Arminius.

Bergen-op-Zoom, communicating with the Scheldt, is an important fortress.

Delft, between Rotterdam and Leyden, was long noted for its earthenware: the birth-place of Grotius.

Groningen, is the most important city in the north: an university. Brock, a town in North Holland, remarkable for its cleanliness. Haarlem, a beautiful city; as in the other large cities of Holland canals, planted on each side with trees, run along the principal streets an organ in one of its churches is much celebrated. Luxemburg, in the Dutch portion of the duchy of that name; a very strong city.

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS.

Java forms the most valuable of the Dutch colonies; in the east they also possess the Moluccas, Bencoolen on the coast of Sumatra, Macassar, and the eastern coast of Celebes, Banda, &c. They have several forts on the Gold

Coast in Africa; and in the West Indies the islands of Curaçoa and Eustatia, Saba, and part of St. Martin; and on the continent of South America they are masters of Dutch Surinam. The most valuable portion of Surinam, comprehending the districts of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, were ceded to the British in 1814.

POPULATION.

Holland contains about three millions of inhabitants.

CHARACTER.

The Dutch are proverbial for their industry and economy. They are dull and phlegmatic, and are rarely affected by violent passions. There is less depravity amongst the lower orders in Holland than in most other parts of Europe, and there are few among them that are wholly uneducated.

GOVERNMENT.

Holland and Belgium were long in the power of Spain; the persecution of the Reformers by Philip II. excited the Dutch to a revolt. The seven United Provinces achieved their freedom, after an arduous struggle, in 1648, and were acknowledged as an independent state. Napoleon, in 1810, made both Belgium and Holland a part of his immense empire. On the overthrow of that conqueror these countries were formed into one independent kingdom, under the name of the Netherlands; but in consequence of the revolution of August, 1830, the Belgic provinces have once more been severed from Holland.

The government of Holland is a limited monarchy. The States General, which consist of an upper and lower chamber, share the legislative power with the king. Trial by jury has not yet been adopted. The present king is William II.

RELIGION.

The Calvinist, or Reformed Church of Holland, is that to which the reigning family and the majority of the people are attached, but perfect toleration is allowed, and the ministers of all sects are paid by the government.

ANIMALS.

The stork is very common in Holland, and generally builds its nest on the tops of the houses.

ANCIENT NAME.

Batavia; so called from its being possessed by the Batavi, a Belgic tribe which supplanted the Celts, the original inhabitants.

BELGIUM.

BOUNDARIES.

N. by Holland.-E. by Rhine Prussia.-S. by France. -W. by the North Sea.

EXTENT.

Between 4910 and 5110 N. lat., and 210 and 6o E. long.

RIVERS.

Belgium in its physical features resembles Holland. The Schelde rising on the borders of France, passes Ghent, where it receives the Lis; before reaching Antwerp it is enlarged by the Dender and by the Ruper, which is formed of the Senne and the Dyle; below Fort Lillo it divides into two estuaries, the East and West Schelde, which form the islands (in the Dutch territory) of Beveland, Walcheren, &c.

CANALS AND RAILWAYS.

Numerous canals, in addition to navigable rivers, give great advantages to the industry and commerce of the country. Belgium was the first state in Europe to plan and execute, at the public cost, a general system of railways. Taking Mechlin as the centre of the system, one line extends northwards to Antwerp, another eastward to Louvain, Liege, Verviers and the frontiers of Prussia, whence it is continued by a private company to Cologne; a southern line passes Brussels, Mons and