Fredericksteen, rendered memorable by the death of Charles XII. of Sweden, who was killed in the trenches during a siege.

Minerals.] The most valuable minerals are iron and copper. The value of the iron annually produced is estimated at about £150.000 it is in general of a good quality, though not equal to that of Sweden. The copper is of very superior quality, and the chief mines of it are at Roraas. There is a salt-work near Tonsberg, on the west side of the gulf of Christiania, which produces about 20,000 tons of salt a year.

Animals.] The Norwegian horses are small but hardy; the horned cattle are likewise diminutive, but are readily fattened. Goats are more common than sheep In Norwegian Lapland, the reindeer forms the principal wealth, and almost the only source of the subsistence of the inhabitants. Attempts are now making to rear this useful animal in the southern provinces. Aquatic fowl are so numerous that bird-catching has become a regular employment, and affords support to several thousands of the inhabitants.

Population The population, consisting of 930,000, is principally confined to the southern part of the country. In the three southern provinces there are more than 10 to a square mile; in Drontheim nearly eight, and in the bleak regions of the north but little more than one.

Religion.] The Lutheran is the established religion, and the great body of the inhabitants are of this persuasion. The country contains five bishoprics corresponding with the five governments. The bishoprics are divided into districts under the care of provosts, and these districts are subdivided into parishes. Where the parish is large it contains, besides the principal church, one or more chapels of ease, under the care of chaplains. There are in the whole country 49 provosts, 329 parish priests, and 92 chaplains.

Education.] There is at Bergen a university on a small scale, for teaching the classics, mathematics and philosophy; and there are several academies or higher schools maintained at the expence of the government. Each parish is provided with two or three schools, where children are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Character.] The Norwegians are tall, well formed, robus, and brave, and make excellent soldiers and sailors. They possess hospitality and simplicity, and are in general accustomed to live in a very plain style, both as to diet and dwelling. The ancient habits and character of the people are much better preserved in the secluded vallies of the interior, than in the towns along the coast, where there has been a mixture of settlers from Denmark and Germany, and a considerable commercial intercourse with these countries, as well as with Britain and Holland. Even the Norwegian language has, in the seaports and among the upper ranks, been in general supplanted by the Danish.

Government.] Norway formerly belonged to Denmark, but in 1814 Denmark was compelled to transfer it to Sweden. It is

however to a considerable extent an independent kingdom, preserving its ancient constitution and laws, and having a separate assembly or diet, a separate treasury, and separate army. The union with Sweden consists simply in its being permanently governed by the same king.

Revenue, Army and Navy.] The annual revenue is usually about $1,500,000. The army consists of 12,000 regular troops, besides militia. The navy is on a very small scale, containing only six brigs, eight schooners, and about 100 gunboats.

Fisheries.] The fisheries are extensive, and may be considered, after timber and iron. the chief support of the export trade. The herring and cod fisheries are the principal branches, and give employment to many of the poor inhabitants along the coast. Salmon are likewise caught in great numbers in the lakes and rivers.

Manufactures and Commerce. Norway, like other poor and thinly peopled countries, has scarcely any manufactures, the only works entitled to that name being the forges, foundries, glasshouses, potash refineries, and saw-mills, which owe their existence principally to the abundance of wood. The principal imports are manufactured goods of various descriptions, groceries, wine, and corn. The exports are timber, iron, copper, fish and oil, potash and glass, also cattle, hides and tallow. The commerce is principally with England, Holland and Denmark. The shipping belonging to Norway amounts to nearly 100,000 tons, and the number of seamen is about 10,000.

Natural Curiosity.] The Malstrom, or Moskoe-strom, is a remarkable whirlpool near the little island of Moskoe, one of the Loffoden islands, in about lat. 68° N. It is occasioned by the very rapid ebb and flood of the sea between Moskoe and a neighboring island. About a quarter of an hour, at high and low water, it is quiet. But when the tide is rising or falling, and especially when the N.W. wind blows in opposition to the tide, the sea boils with the most violent agitation; its roar is heard at the distance of many leagues, and the force and extent of the vortex is so great, that ships three miles off are sometimes forced towards the centre and finally dashed in pieces against the bottom. Whales are frequently absorbed by it in spite of their endeavours to escape.

SWEDEN.

Situation and Extent.] Sweden is bounded on the N. by Norway on the E. by Russia and the Gulf of Bothnia; on the S. E. and 3. by the Baltic sea; and W. by the Sound, the Cattegat and Norway. It extends from 55° 20 to 69° 30' N. lat. being about 1,000 miles long from north to south, and containing according to Hassel 188,433 square miles.

Divisions.] Sweden is divided into 24 lans or provinces, as in The extent and population in 1800 are an

the following table.

nexed to each province.

Face of the Country.] The coast is indented by numerous inlets, and is every where lined with a succession of small islands and rocks, which render the navigation very difficult and dan

gerous. The principal chain of mountains is that elevated range which divides Sweden from Norway and from which numerous inferior ridges proceed towards the S. E. l'he whole country is diversified with extensive lakes, large transparent river, wild cataracts, gloomy forests, verdant vales, stupendous rocks and cultivated fields.

Lakes.] The lakes are very numerous in all parts of Sweden. Of these the most important are, 1. Malar lake, which is about 60 miles long and from 20 to 30 broad, and communicates with the Baltic at Stockholm. It is said to contain upwards of 1200 islands, great and small. 2. The lake of Hielmar, lying southwest of lake Malar and communicating with it by a rapid torrent. It is 40 miles long but of small width. 3. Lake Wetter, lying southwest of Hielmar lake, is 80 miles long but seldöm more than 12 broad, and discharges its waters through the river Motala into the Baltic. 4. Lake Wener, lying N. W. of lake Wetter, is the largest of all, being 80 miles long and in some places 50 broad, and discharges its waters through the river Gotha into the Cattegat.

Rivers.] The largest rivers in Sweden are called Elbs or Elfs. Gotha Elf, the outlet of lake Wener, leaves it at its S. W. extremity, and pursuing a course W. of S. for 70 miles discharges itself into the Cattegat by two mouths, several miles apart. Soon after leaving lake Wener it forms the famous cataracts of Trolthala. Numerous rivers fall into lake Wener, the most considerable of which is Clara Elf, which rises in Norway, in lake Foemund, a little south of the Dofrafield mountains, and pursuing a southeasterly course of about 280 miles discharges itself into lake Wener at Carlstad. The Gotha Elf is frequently considered as merely a continuation of the Clara Elf. The Motala, the outlet of lake Wetter, flows in an easterly direction, and passing by Norkoping, falls into the Baltic after a course of 65 miles.

The Dal is formed by two branches, both of which rise in the mountains on the borders of Norway, near lat. 62° N. It falls into the gulf of Bothnia about ten miles east of Geffle, after a circuitous course of more than 250 miles. Near its mouth is a celebrated cataract, esteemed little inferior to that of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, the breadth of the river being nearly a quarter of a mile, and the perpendicular height of the fall between 30 and 40 feet. There are numerous other rivers north of the Dal, which rise in the mountains on the western boundary and pursue a southeasterly course to the gulf of Bothnia. They are generally rapid in their course and incapable of navigation. The names of the most important, beginning in the south, are the Angerman, the Umea, the Pitea, the Lulea, and the Tornea.

Canal.] There is a canal around the cataracts of Trollbata in the river Gotha, which overcomes a fall of 130 feet. It is a mile long, 22 feet broad, and 9 feet deep, and in some parts is cut through the solid rock. This important undertaking, which was completed in 1800, opens a safe and commodious water commu

hication from Gottenburg to the extensive country around lake Wener. It is the intention of the Swedish government to prolong this line of navigation through the Wetter and several other Jakes to the eastern coast, thereby forming a direct communication between the Baltic and the German ocean, passing through the centre of the kingdom.

Roads. Great attention has been paid by the government to the roads of Sweden. Though not so broad, they are as good as the English turnpikes. The traveller journeying many thousands of miles, and in every direction, will scarcely find one that deserves the name of indifferent. They are made with stone and gravel, Each landholder is obliged to keep a part yet no toll is exacted.

in repair, proportioned to his property.

Climate.] The different parts of Sweden present considerable varieties of temperature; but even in the middle regions winter maintains a long and dreary sway. The gulf of Bothnia be comes one field of ice, and travellers pass over it regularly to Russia. In the most southern provinces, where the mass of the population is centered, the climate may be compared to that of Scotland, which lies under the same parallel; but the western gales from the Atlantic, which deluge the Scottish Highlands with perpetual rain, and form the chief obstacle to improvement are here little felt. In the north the summer is hot from the great length of the days, and vegetation arrives quickly at maturity. At Tornea, the sun is for some weeks visible at midnight; and the winter in return presents as many weeks of complete darkness. Yet these long nights are relieved by the light of the moon, by the reflection from the snow, and by the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, which dart their ruddy rays through the sky with an almost constant effulgence.

Soil and Productions.] The soil of many parts of the northern districts is so full of stones and rocks, that there is scarcely room for a tree to take root, but in the vallies and plains, wherever the climate permits, it is quite productive. The southern provinces are the most fertile, and agriculture is here conducted The quantity of corn raised in the with much skill and industry. country is not sufficient for the consumption of its inhabitants. It is estimated that 6,400,000 tons are annually produced, and 200,000 tons imported. The quantity of flax and hemp also is not enough for the supply of the country, but of hops there is a superabundance. The immense forests which spread over the mountains yield excellent timber for masts and other purposes, and an abundance of tar and turpentine.

Minerals.] The principal mineral production is iron, and Swedish iron has long been celebrated as the best in the world. The mine of Dannemora, in the province of Upsal, is particularly celebrated for the superiority of the metal, which in England is called Oregrund iron, because it is exported from Oregrund, an adjacent port. The mine yields annually more than 4,000 tons of metal, and employs about 1200 persons. The chief copper mines are in the province of Stora Kopparberg near the town of Fahlun