with which it is connected by a bridge of boats: Buda is the residence of the Viceroy, but Pest is the seat of the high courts of justice, and the place of meeting for the Diet. Trieste is situated at the head of the Adriatic, and possesses considerable importance from it's being the only sea-port of any consequence for the whole extent of the Austrian dominions, from Tyrol to Transylvania: Venice, though entitled to all the privileges of an Austrian sea-port since 1814, does not, from its distance and situation, interfere with the trade of Trieste. Venice is likewise situated at the head of the Adriatic Sea, which, from it, is now generally called the Gulf of Venice; it is built on a collection of small islands, reputed 72 in number, separated from the main land by shallows from 6 to 8 feet deep: this position in the midst of water, gives it a singular appearance at a distance, its domes, spires, churches, and public buildings, appearing to the spectator to float on the surface of the waves. It was founded A. D. 421, and was formerly the capital of a very powerful republic. The government, which was at first democratic, became in 1247 a settled aristo. cracy, the chief officer bearing the title of Doge. It was for some time the most commercial city in the world, and public banks were first adopted here; but it has now lost all it's importance, and presents but a melancholy shadow of its former magni. ficence; it's population, in 1821, was estimated at 110,000. In 1797, the Venetian States were annexed to the crown of Austria, whose possesions in Italy are now known by the name of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, from it's two great component parts, Lombardy and Venice. The name of Lombardy, though properly applicable only to the Vale of the Po, is commonly given to the whole tract of country lying between the Alps and the Apennines, from the frontiers of Switzerland to Tuscany. It corresponds in a great measure with the Gallia Cisalpina of the Romans, and derived its name from the Lombards, who conquered it in the sixth century, and retained it under the form of a kingdom till the eighth it comprehends the province of Milan, the Duchies of Parma and Modena, together with parts of Piedmont, Venice and the Papal States, but of late years the name has been more especially applied to the province of Milan alone. The city of Milan, the metropolis of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, is situated on the R. Olona, near it's junction with the Southern Lambro; it's cathedral is reckoned the grandest and most imposing specimen of gothic architecture existing, and next to St. Peter's of Rome, and St. Paul's of London, is the finest church in Europe. : 37. THE KINGDOM OF BAVARIA is bounded on the E. and S. by the empire of Austria, on the W. by the kingdom of Wurtemburg and the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse Darmstadt, and on the N. by several of the Petty States. It is divided into eight circles, or provinces, the names of which, together with their chief cities, and the population of the latter, may be seen in the following table: The last of these provinces is disjointed from the main body of the Bavarian territory; it lies to the W. of the Rhine, and borders upon France, Rhine-Prussia, Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt. It's chief town, Speyer, or Spires, as it is frequently called, is situated on the Rhine, and is chiefly famed from it's having been frequently the seat of the old German Diet. Munich, or München, as the Germans call it, the metropolis of Bavaria, and celebrated for it's cultivation of the liberal sciences, stands on the banks of the R. Iser, which (as we have already seen) is a tributary of the Danube: it is the seat of government, and the residence of the king, who has also a favourite palace near the city, named Nimphenburg. Regensburg, known also by the name of Ratisbon, is situated on the S. bank of the Danube, and is remarkable as having been the place of assembly for the Diet of Germany from 1662 till the extinction of that body in 1805.-The government of Bavaria is a constitutional monarchy, hereditary in the male line. The parliament is composed of two houses; the first of which consists of the Royal family, the great officers of state, the superior clergy, and the mediatised nobles; these are called the counsellors of the realm: the other house is composed of deputies from the body of the people. The established religion is the Roman Catholic, but all sects have free toleration. The king of Bavaria takes the third rank in the German Diet. 38. THE KINGDOM OF WURTEMBURG is bounded on the E. by the kingdom of Bavaria, on the S. by the republic of Switzerland and the grand duchy of Baden, on the W. and N. likewise by the latter state: it nearly surrounds the two principalities of Hohenzollern. It is divided into four circles, or provinces, the names and chief towns of which, with the population of the latter, may be seen in the following table: The government of Wurtemburg is a constitutional monarchy; the executive power is vested in the king, controlled by a representative body. The majority of the people profess the Lutheran religion, but all sects are tolerated. The king holds the 6th place in the German Diet. Stuttgard, the metropolis of the kingdom, stands on the banks of the Nisselbach, not far from its junction with the Neckar; it is the seat of government, and the residence of the king. Higher up the Neckar, is Tübingen, famed, as well as Stuttgard, for it's cultivation of literature and the fine arts. CHAPTER X. GALLIA. 1. GALLIA1 was bounded on the N. and W. by the Ocean, on the S. by the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, and on the E. by the Alps, as far as M. S. Gothard, whence a line to the issue of the Rhine from the L. of Constance, and the subsequent course of that river, separated it from 1 Unde tot allata segetes? quæ silva carinas Claudian, in I. Stil. I. 316. 2 Germany. It thus contained, in addition to the modern kingdom of France, the little county of Nice, the Western half of Switzerland, and such parts of Germany and the Netherlands as are W. and S. of the Rhine. It was also called Gallia Transalpina or Ulterior3, Gallia Comata, Galatia5 by the Greeks, and Celtica by the natives. It was originally divided amongst three great nations, the Celta, Belgæ, and Aquitani. The Celta inhabited the middle of the country, and were separated from their Northern neighbours, the Belgæ, by Sequana fl., Matrona fl., and Vocesus M.; to the S. the Garumna fl. was the limit between them and the Aquitani, whose territory is sometimes called Armorica. This extent of the Celta includes the Roman conquest in South Eastern Gaul, which they designated by the name of Provincia3, (whence the modern Provence,) with the occasional epithets of Nostra or Gallia; it was also called Braccata?, from a peculiar dress worn by the inhabitants, whilst the remainder of Transalpine Gaul was termed Comata 10, from the people wearing their hair long. 2. The Celtæ appear to have greater claims to being the aboriginal inhabitants of Gaul, than either the Belga, said to be of German origin, or the Aquitani, who are supposed to have passed over from Spain. The Alpis Maritima, reaching to the sea, was certainly the natural limit of Gaul, but the ancients appear generally to have considered the Var Varus fl., as the common, although extended boundary between it and Italy": in defining it, therefore, regard must always be had to the time. 3. After the conquest of Gaul by Cæsar, and in the time of Augustus, the four provinces were more equally divided as to extent, without particular attention being paid to the distinction of their inhabitants. Their boundaries were then as follows: Belgica, or North Eastern Gaul, was separated from the Roman province on the S., by a line running from Adula M. S. Gothard, through Lemanus L., to the R. Arar; from Celtica, by the upper course of this river, to Vocesus M., and thence by a N. W. line to the English Channel, near the mouth of Samara fl. Somme. Celtica, or Lugdunensis as it was now called, from Lugdunum its capital, was the North Western part of Gaul, and was bounded on the E. by Belgica, on the Diodor. Sic. V. 24. Strab. IV. init. Mela, III. 2. 7 Cæsar. Bell. Gall. I. 1. 8 Id. I. 2. 10. 9 Mela, II. 4. Plin. III. 4. 10 Et nunc tonse Liger, quondam per colla decora 11 Hence, Lucan, Mitis Atax Latias gaudet non ferre carinas, Lucan. I. 443. Pharsal. I. 404. S. mostly by Liger fl., and on the W. and N. by the Ocean. To the S. of this was Aquitania, or South Western Gaul, bounded on the E. by a part of Lugdunensis, and Cebenna M., on the S. by Tarnis fl., and the Pyrenees, and on the W. by the Ocean. The Roman Province, or South Eastern Gaul, took the name of Narbonensis from Narbo Martius Narbonne, the metropolis of the whole country. In the course of time, each of these provinces was divided into several others, till at length their number amounted to 17, the details of which will be found under the great divisions just given. 4. The superficial extent of these great provinces, and of their subdivisions, may be seen in the following table: 5. The principal mountains of Gaul are the Pyrenæi 12 the Pyrenees, extending from the Mediterranean to the B. of Biscay; one of the highest peaks in them is M. Perdu, rising 11,272 feet above the level of the sea. Cebenna 13 M. Cevennes, 12 13 et quos jam frigore segnes Claudian. in II. Stil. 313. Lucan. I. 435. which separated the South Eastern part of Aquitania from Narbonensis, runs parallel with the Southern course of the Rhone, and divides, as it were, the waters of that river from the Loire and Garonne. The Puy de Dome, M d'Or, and Plomb du Cantal, are high points in a chain of mountains, which detaches itself from the Cevennes to the Westward. Vocesus M., called in different parts Vosges and Mt. des Faucilles, is a continuation of Cebenna Northward, running from the country of the Lingones in the N. of Burgundy, to Bingium Bingen, on the Rhine, crossing which, it causes a little fall in that beautiful river. Jura M. Jura, the Western barrier of Switzerland, is a little to the W. of the L. of Geneva; it is a spur of Vocesus M., and is connected with it by Vocetius M. Batzberg. That part of the great chain of the Alps, which separated Gaul from Italy, had various names, which will be mentioned in the description of the latter country. The three chief promontories of Gaul are, Itium Pr. C. Grisnez, opposite Dover, Gobæum Pr. C. S. Matthew, the Westernmost point, and Citharistes Pr. C. Sicier, where it reaches farthest to the South. 6. Amongst the principal rivers of Gaul we may mention the Rhine Rhenus, one of the noblest and most beautiful rivers of Europe; it rises in Adula M. S. Gothard, and after traversing Venetus Lacus L. of Constance, flows with a Northerly course into the German Ocean; it is 737 miles long. The Mosella 14 Moselle, rises in Vocesus M. Mt. des Faucilles, and runs N. into the Rhine at Coblentz Confluentes it's length is 300 miles. The Mosa 15 Meuse or Maas rises in the same mountain, and joins the Vahalis Whaal, which is a branch of the Rhine; it's length to the sea is 511 miles. The Sequana fl. Seine, rises in the territory of the Lingones in the N. of Burgundy, and after a North Western course of 416 miles, flows into the English Channel. The Matrona Marne, and Isara Oise, are it's two greatest tributaries, and enter it's right bank not far from Lutetia Paris. The Liger 16 Loire, the largest river of France, rises in Cebenna M. Cevennes, and runs first North, and then 14 Haud aliter placidæ subter vada læta Mosellæ, 15 rigidis hunc abluit undis, Auson. Idyl. X. 73. Rhenus, Arar, Rhodanus, Mosa, Matrona, Sequana, Ledus, Excisum per frusta bibit ; Sidon. Apoll. V. 209. 16 Testis Arar, Rhodanusque celer, magnusque Garumna, Carnuti et flavi cærula lympha Liger. Tibull. I. vii. 12. |