considerable trade. The invention of printing is disputed between this town and Mentz. "Haarlaem Oil," highly celebrated throughout the world as a domestic medicament, is manufactured here on a large scale, but the greatest part of that sold in the United States is made by that speculative class who are ever ready to feed on the miseries of humanity. This, a compound of benzoin and other aromatic gums dissolved in alcohol.

The HAGUE, called by the Dutch "S'GRAVENHAGEN," and by the French "La Haye," is situated near the sea-coast, 32 miles south-west of Amsterdam, and is reckoned one of the best built cities of Europe. It is the metropolis of the kingdom, and seat of government. The canals and streets are arranged as in Amsterdam. The king's palace is more remarkable for its size than its beauty. The public buildings, generally, are well-built and substantial, and not devoid of ornament. The city has several manufactures. Population, 66,000. The Castle of Ryswick, near The Hague, is memorable on account of the treaty of 1697, which was signed therein. Several beautiful villages are in the vicinity, and afford pleasant summer

retreats for the citizens.

LEYDEN, (the "Lugdunum Batavorum" of the Romans,) is a very ancient city, upon the old Rhine, about six miles from the sea. It consists of islands, intersected by canals, over which innumerable bridges are thrown, and along which the buildings are erected. It is surrounded by walls and ditches, opening to the country by eight gates. Leyden is noted for its university, founded in 1575. Population, 35,000. West of the city a cut has been made to carry the Rhine forward to the sea, which it now enters by a sluice near the village of Katwyk-op-zee. The country round Leyden is the most fertile in the lower part of Holland, and is termed the Rhinland.

ROTTERDAM, on the north bank of the Meuse, 20 miles from the sea, is, after Amsterdam, the most populous and most commercial city in the kingdom, and the most advantageously situated. The largest vessels not only safely navigate the river, but are brought into the heart of the city, by means of canals. It communicates with other parts of the kingdom by the canals, and with Germany by the Rhine. The Indian and Chinese trade employs about one-third the annual tonnage. Except the Stadthouse, which is a recent structure, there are no remarkable public buildings in Rotterdam; but the quay, called the "Boomtges," presents a long line of handsome houses. Population, about 80,000.

SCHNEIDAM, with 10,000 inhabitants, is chiefly known for the vastness of its gin distilleries; and DORT, on an island, is celebrated for the synod held therein in the 17th century, the object of which was to put down Arminianism.

MIDDELBURG, the capital of Zealand, is situated near the centre of the island of Walcheren, and communicates with the sea by a large navigable canal. It is a busy commercial city. FLUSHING, on the south side of Walcheren, is a strongly-fortified town, with a fine harbor, magnificent docks, vast building yards, and extensive magazines.

BOIS-LE-DUC, (called by the Dutch "Hertogens-bosch,") the capital of North Brabant, is a considerable town, of some 15,000 inhabitants, situated on the Dommel, and is noted for its fine church of St. John, its manufactures of ribbons and musical instruments. BREDA is a fortified town, on the Merk, and is the seat of the Royal Military Academy, in which 22 professors teach the various departments necessary to form the soldier.

UTRECHT, (the "Ultra-Trajectum ad Rhenum," of the Romans,) is a

very ancient city, situated upon a branch of the old Rhine, and is of importance for its industry, its literary establishments, and its trade and commerce. As usual, it is intersected by canals. The university possesses a rich library and a fine collection of objects of natural history, with other valuable adjuncts. Population, 34,000. In the vicinity is ZEYST, a village, where there is a community of Moravians, whose industry renders it flourishing.

GRONINGEN is a large and well-built town, with 24,000 inhabitants. It contains some fine buildings, and several literary establishments, of which the university and botanic garden are the principal.

MAESTRICHT, on the Meuse, is an important fortified town. In the neighboring hill of St. Peter's are immense quarries, or underground galleries, said to occupy a space of 18 miles long by 6 miles wide, and crossing in every direction, so as to form an intricate labyrinth. Population, about 18,000.

LUXEMBURG, the capital of the Grand Duchy, is a town of 11,000 inhabitants, and is reckoned one of the strongest fortresses in the world. It is one of the fortresses of the Germanic Confederation; the Prussians have the right of forming a part of its garrison; but the King of Holland, as Grand Duke, appoints the governor and military commandant, subject to the approbation of the Germanic Diet.

The Dutch have some considerable colonies in the several divisions of the world, the principal of which are:

In ASIA-Java, and part of Sumatra; Amboyna, Banda, Macassar, Ternate, and Timor.

In AFRICA-Several forts on the coast of Guinea.

In AMERICA-Surinam, in South America; and Curaçoa, Aruba, BuenAyre, St. Eustatius, Saba, and part of St. Martin, in the West Indies. The population of the colonies is estimated at 6,500,000; of whom 6,440,000 are of the Malay race, 110,000 Chinese, and 10,000 negroes.

The early history of Holland, to the time of Charles V., is so intimately blended with that of Belgium, that a separate account need not be given in this place they shared the same fate, were the same people, and endured the same prosperity and reverses. From the Duke of Burgundy the States passed into the hands of Maximilian of Austria, and subsequently became Spanish provinces, and remained under the Spanish crown until the middle of the 17th century; but on the conclusion of peace, after the battle of Ramillies, in 1706, they were assigned to Austria. In 1741, the French captured the southern provinces, and held them until 1748; Austria again lost the Netherlands in 1792, and in 1794 they were again in the hands of the French, and were held by them until the restoration of the Bourbons in France. At this period Belgium and Holland were united into the kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Prince of Orange raised to the crown. In 1830, the Belgic provinces revolted, and became an independent state; and Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was elevated to the new throne. Nothing remarkable has since occurred; and it is probable that this nation may plod on, as it now does, in a dull routine, for ages yet to come.

THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION.

THE states composing this great confederation, all independent and distinct, except so far as they have delegated powers to the central government, extend from sea to sea across the middle of Western Europe, between 45° 30′ and 55° N. latitude, and between 5° 48′ and 19° 20′ E. longitude. The greatest length of Germany is 678 miles, and its greatest breadth 600. The superficial area is about 246,795 square miles. This territory is bounded on the north by the Baltic Sea, Denmark, and the North Sea or German Ocean; on the east by Hungary, Poland, and Prussia; on the south by Switzerland, Italy, the Adriatic Sea, and Illyria; and on the west by France, Belgium, and Holland.

The southern and central parts of Germany are traversed by ranges of mountains in every direction, separated only by narrow valleys, while to the north the elevation subsides into a wide sandy plain, little above the sealevel. The Tyrol is wholly occupied by branches of the Alps, presenting many of the peculiarities of Switzerland. To the north of these mountain districts, the Danube extends almost across the whole length of the country, declining from 2,000 feet elevation at its source, to 530 feet where it enters Hungary. The Hercynian and Bohemian mountains form the northern boundary of the Danubian Valley, and though inferior in height to the Alps, form a series of high valleys and tablelands, which fill up the central portions, and in their eastern prolongation form the singular valley of Bohemia, which presents the appearance of having been a lake before it was drained by bursting its mountain barriers. Northward of these the country sinks into plains, the length of which extends, without interruption, through Silesia, Lusatia, Brandenburg, Pomerania, Mechlenburg, Holstein, Hanover, and the lower part of Westphalia, where it assumes the appearance of a vast heath or morass, an appearance, indeed, which it exhibits in other places. The great rivers, the Oder, the Elbe, the Weser, and the Rhine, with their tributaries, drain this extensive region. To the west of the Elbe scarcely a tree appears, but the level tracts are covered with heath and juniper. To the east the country is more sandy, and covered with pines, interspersed, however, with extensive plats of fertile soil. The plain of Saxony, of which Leipsig is the centre, is more elevated, and has a more fruitful soil. Middle Germany is much diversified by picturesque scenery, and abounds with verdant and well-wooded valleys, which are watered by clear streams. The banks of the Meyn, the Funda, and the Mozelle, are remarkable for their varied scenery, and the valley of the Rhine unites the grandeur of a fine landscape with the appearance of a highly fertile country. In the elevated plains of Bavaria the soil is more cold, but generally productive. In the Austrian territories the plains are confined by the Alps; but are equally fertile, while they are as deep, and sometimes as narrow as those of Switzerland.

Within the confederate territory there are 60 navigable rivers. The DANUBE rises in the Black Forest, and takes hence a course due east, receiving numerous tributaries, and passes into Hungary at Presburg, near which place it receives the drainage of Moravia through the March. The DRAVE and SAVE also rise in Southern Germany; and the ADIGE, which

flows south, has its sources in the Rhotian Alps. The ELBE rises from numerous affluents on the north side of the Bohemian mountains, and drains the valley of Bohemia. After escaping through the Sudetic mountains, it flows over the plains of Northern Germany to the ocean. The WESER and

its large affluents pursue a similar course. The ODER drains the northeast, and reaches the sea in a little stream, 20 miles below Stettin. The RHINE, in the west, rises in Switzerland, and on leaving that territory shoots in a northern direction, receiving in its course the Meyn and the Moselle, and passes into Holland, and ultimately finds the sea through several channels. These are all magnificent rivers, and give to the country commercial advantages which it otherwise could not enjoy. The minor rivers are too numerous to name, and they are less important. The lakes of Germany are all small; and except the Lake of Constance, on the border of Switzerland, useless.

The geology of Germany is extremely varied in its several parts. South of the Rhotian Alps the rocks are of primary formation, and form rugged and fantastic masses, which at a distance look like castles in ruins. This formation overlies porphyry. The Alps of Salzburg, which extend to the Danube, are composed of granitic and primitive rocks. Their tops are lost in the clouds. To the west of the lower course of the Ens are found fine marbles and rock-salt; to the east, mines of silver, lead, iron, and coal. Upon the right bank of the Danube, the low plains are covered with alluvium and detrital matter. Upon the adjoining slopes of the Carpathian and Sudetic mountains there are isolated basins of coal formation. In Silesia the alluvial plains abound in a black clay. The constitution of the Bohemian mountains is essentially different in several respects, and small grained granite, micaceous rocks, slate, schist, and sienite, form the Bohmewall. Forests occupy their tops, and their bases are covered with pools and marshes. Some of the mountains are of volcanic origin, and contain free-stone and basalt, surrounded with lime-stone full of fossil shells. The porphyries of the Erzegebirge have undergone some violent upheaving. Many mineral springs issue from these hills, all from their character indicating igneous action. Near Eger is the Kammerberg, a conical mountain covered with lava and scorice. The substructure, however, of the Erzegebirge is granitic, and its mineral wealth, particularly on the Saxon side, is of such importance, as to have given the chain the name it bears, which means metaliferous mountains. In the valley of the Danube extend vast tracts of the epoch of the Paris Basin, and large deposits of extinct animals are found in the alluvial soils. The granitic rocks of the Black Forest support in some places limestone of the secondary period; the spurs which extend to the north are composed of old sand-stone; the slopes that overlook the Rhine are formed of soil posterior to the chalk, and the flanks of the whole chain are covered with thick forests.

To the north of the Meyn the hills are composed of primitive limestone; to the east and west, of volcanic deposits, which form on the one side the chain of the Vogelberg and Wester-wald, and on the other the basaltic group of Eifel. The constitution of the formations now entirely changes, and to the north and west all the plains which descend to the North Sea are covered with immense beds of sedimentary deposits, or with beds of sand overlying chalk, limestone, gypsum, &c., which mix at last along the shores of the Baltic, with the sandy and marshy soils of Pomerania The great plain has every appearance of having been at no very distan epoch

covered by the sea, and in many places its surface still consists of bare sand

The soil of Germany is generally productive. The plains of the north, indeed, contain much waste land; but along the rivers there are rich and fertile soils, where the most abundant crops are raised. There is, also, in the mountain country south, much barren land; but the beautiful valleys and small plains among the hills rival the fertility of the best alluvial soils of the north. In general the soil of the north is heavy, and in the south light; the former is best adapted for corn, and the latter for the vine. The best soils are found in the middle districts, between the mountains of the south and the northern plain. In Bohemia, Silesia, Franconia, Saxony, and on the Rhine, the proportion of good soil is much greater than in the north or south.

The mines of Germany are as various as they are rich in products; and are wrought with much skill and economy. Precious stones are found in many places; rock-crystal, amethysts, and topazes, are plentiful in Bavaria; chalcedony, agate, petchstein, and porcelain-jasper, in Bohemia; barytes in many parts, and abundance of building stone and clays everywhere. Fossil coal is found in extensive beds. Gold is procured by washing,though only in small quantities, in Saltzburg in Bohemia, in the Rammelsberg, and in Silesia. Silver and cinnabar are raised in the mines of the Erzegebirge in Saxony. Iron, copper, tin, lead, calamine, bismuth, cobalt, nickel, titanium, arsenic, and almost every other mineral, are more or less abundant. In consequence of this abundance, mineralogy has become a branch of a liberal education.

Mineral springs in every variety are scattered over Germany. The Thermal Springs of Aix-la-Chapel, Pyrmont, Carlsbad, Baden, &c., on the Rhine, attract crowds of visitors. Those of Ischel-Baden, near Vienna, and many more, though less frequented, are in no wise inferior. The acidulous springs of Selters, Driburg, and Robitsch; the bitter waters of Seidschutz, Seidlitz, &c.; and the long series of salt springs which follow the base of the northern Alps, attest the richness of the understrata in metallic deposits.

The extent of Germany, no less than its various elevations, naturally produce great variations in climate. On the northern plains the temperature is not cold, but the atmosphere is humid and inconstant. They are exposed to the fogs and the tempests from two seas. Central Germany enjoys a more clear and equable climate. The mountains form a barrier against the effects of the oceanic influences, but the elevation renders the air colder than a climate of latitude alone would indicate. The climate, however, of this region, is finer than any other in Germany; and is the most salubrious and agreeable of any in Europe. The Alpine regions of the south comprise every variety of climate, in accordance with elevation and protection. The air is generally raw and cold in the exposed elevations, while in the plains and valleys a climate equal to that of the finest parts of Italy, is enjoyed.

Forest trees hold a first rank in the vegetable products of Germany, and not only supply the wants of the people, but afford timber for export. The oak abounds most in the central regions. The other trees are becch, ash, mountain ash, poplar, pine, and fir; and in sheltered spots, walnut, chesnut, almond, and peach trees, thrive luxuriantly. The coniferous trees are