The canton of the GRAUBUNdten, or GriSONS, is, next to Berne, the largest in Switzerland. The whole territory is one congeries of snow-clad Alps, interspersed with valleys not less remarkable for their beauty and fertility, than for the sublime and magnificent framework in which they are

set.

With the exception of the northern chain of mountains, which consists of immense argillaceous and calcareous masses, all the Alps of the Grisons are of primitive formation, and very rich in minerals, particularly in iron. Mines of lead, copper, silver, and even gold, have been worked in them for many years. The canton consists of three leagues, or federal republics; the Grey League; the League of the House of God; and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions; each of which has different laws and usages, and is in many respects almost quite independent. About two-thirds of the people are Protestants, and the remainder Catholics; and besides the episcopal chapter at Chur, there are in the canton seven convents, among which is the celebrated abbey of Dissentis. The schools are daily attracting more attention on the part of government, and a great public seminary has lately been established in the capital. The principal employment of the people is agriculture and grazing, and they carry on a great trade in horned cattle.

Chur, or Coire, the capital, occupies a picturesque situation on the Plessour, about two miles from its confluence with the Rhine, and on the great road to Italy by the Spulgen. It is the see of a Catholic bishop, who resides alternately here and at St. Gallen; has about 5,000 inhabitants, and carries on a considerable trade.

AARGAU, OF ARGOVIA, extends along the south bank of the Rhine, between Zurich and Basle, and stretches southward to the borders of Lucerne. It is one of the largest and most fertile of the cantons, and includes the lower part of the valleys of the Aar, the Reuss, and the Limmat.

Aargau, the capital, is a fine town with about 4,000 inhabitants, situate upon the Aar, and distinguished for its manufacturing industry, and the activity of its printing presses.

THURGAU, OF THURGOVIA, is situate in the north-eastern part of Switzerland, between the Lake of Constance and the cantons of Zurich and St. Gall. It is composed, like the rest, of plains and hills, and the soil is reckoned the richest and most productive in German Switzerland.

Frauenfeld, the capital, a small town near the right bank of the Murg, has several silk manufactories, and about 1,800 inhabitants.

TESSIN is situate on the south side of the great chain of the Alps, and is chiefly composed of the valleys of the Tessin or Ticino, and some other streams that flow to the Lago Maggiore and the Lake of Lugano, with the lofty mountain ridges which divide them. The climate is mild, and the soil is fertile and well watered; yet in no part of Switzerland is there more poverty, bordering on wretchedness, so much idleness, and so little industry. All the people, except those of the village of Bosco in the Val Maggia, are of Italian extraction; and the Roman Catholic faith is the only religion tolerated in the canton.

Bellinzona, or Bellenz, the capital, is a small town, with about 1,300 inhabitants, situate on the Tessin, in the lower part of the great Val Levantine; and is one of the most important points in Switzerland in a military and commercial view, on account of the great roads which meet there; viz: that of St. Gothard, between Ariolo in this canton, and Andermadt in the canton of Uri, a fine carriage road, which was completed at the expense of

the two cantons in 1830, instead of the old one, which was only passable for mules and horses; that of Lukmanier, between Faido in Tessin, and Santa Maria in the Grisons; that of Bernardin, which connects the Val Misocco with the great road of the Splugen; and that of Monte Cenere, between Bellinzona and Lugano, terminating at Como; and lastly, the road to Milan along the Lago Maggiore by Sesto Calende.

VAUD includes a part of the chain of Jura, and the western extremity of the Bernese Alps. The greater part, however, of the canton, consists of plains intersected by cultivated hills of great beauty and fertility, more particularly along the shores of the Lake of Geneva, which forms its southern boundary. The vines of this canton are considered equal to any in Europe ; and the wine enjoys a considerable reputation. The inhabitants are mostly employed in agriculture, and profess the Protestant faith, though Catholics are allowed the free exercise of their religion.

Lausanne, the capital, a fine city with 12,000 inhabitants, is situate upon three hills near the northern shore of the Lake of Geneva, 432 feet above its level. The streets are narrow, and in some places very steep. The cathedral church of Notre-Dame is a handsome Gothic building, and the view from its tower is very beautiful. The town possesses numerous privileges, and appoints its own magistrates. It possesses likewise a college founded at the Reformation, and several scientific and literary institutions. The environs of Lausanne are renowned for their beauty, and are studded with large and delightful villas, inhabited by opulent Swiss or foreigners.

VALAIS is the largest of all the valleys of Switzerland, and is traversed through its whole length by the Rhone. Besides the main valley, there are 13 inhabited lateral valleys on the south side, and three on the north, with others that are not inhabited. It is surrounded by lofty mountains, and the only place where it can be entered on level ground is at St. Maurice, where, however, the passage is so narrow, that the gate of that town serves every evening to shut up the entrance of the valley; and here it is that the waters of the valley are carried off by the Rhone through a narrow gorge, between the Dent de Midi, and the Dent de Morcles, which rise on each side at least 8,000 feet above its level. This pass is named Die pforte des Wallis; and above it, the bottom of the valley rises gradually to the foot of Mont Furca, where the Rhone has its source at the height of 4,626 feet above the level of the Lake of Geneva. In summer, owing to the narrowness of the valley, and the height of its mountain walls preventing a free passage to the air, the heat in the Lower Valais, from Sion to Fouly, is so excessive, that Reaumer's thermometer rises in the shade to 2410, and from 38° to 40° when exposed to the sun on the tops of the rocks. This part of the valley is quite inaccessible to the north wind; the E., S., and W. winds alternately prevail. The Valais is indeed one of the most remarkable countries, not only of Switzerland, but of Europe; for nowhere else can be found so limited a district, combining the productions and climates of every latitude, from the climate of Iceland to that of Sicily and Northern Africa, and offering so inexhaustible a variety of the most contrary objects, so rapid a transition from barren mountains and frightful precipices, to beautiful plains and luxuriant vegetation. In some parts of Valais the harvest begins in May, but in others the corn is not cut till October. In some places fruit will not ripen, but in others the wild asparagus is seen to grow; the almond, the fig, and the pomegranate, to attain the highest degree of maturity; and, with hardly any labor or particular attention, the soil produces vines from

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which the most excellent wine may be made. In the mountain districts are found chamois, lynxes, dormice, wolves, sometimes hares, bucks, aad many curious wild birds. The greater part of the Valais is inhabited by a population of a mixed descent from Celts, Romans, Gauls, and Burgundians. The people of the Upper Valais speak the old German of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, with little alteration; the language of the Lower Valais is a barbarous jargon of Celtic, Latin, Greek, and Italian-French. The former are a people full of energy, proud of their liberty, and distinguished for their sobriety, and extreme simplicity of manners; the latter, on the contrary, are reproached with idleness, negligence, and slovenliness. Catholic religion is exclusively professed in the canton. of export are cattle, cheese, wine, lead, crystal, and cobalt. Sitton, or Sion, the capital, is a small and very ancient episcopal city, with about 2,500 inhabitants, not far from the right bank of the Rhone, in the Lower Valais. St. Maurice, a small town with 900 inhabitants, is, as already mentioned, the key of the Valais, and is situated on the left bank of the Rhone, 13 miles from its mouth. In its neighborhood are several natural curiosities, particularly the Pissevache, a lofty waterfall of 300 feet. Martinach, or Martigny, near the confluence of the Dranse with the Rhone, is a small town, from which the road commences that leads over the Great St. Bernard by the valley of the Dranse. This famous mountain is crossed every year by more than 10,000 travellers, for whose accommodation and relief there is a Hospice, near the summit of the pass, until lately kept by Benedictine monks; and is noted for the passage effected over it into Italy by the army of Buonaparte, in the year 1800. In the church of the Hospice is a marble monument, erected by Buonaparte to the memory of General Desaix, who was killed at the battle of Marengo. This Hospice was famous for its dogs, which were kept by the monks for the aid and preservation of such travellers as might lose their way among the snow in severe weather.

NEUFCHATEL is a small canton, situate among the ridges of the Jura, between the lake to which it gives its name and the borders of France; and is composed of six or seven valleys, the principal of which are the Val Travers, the Val de Sagne, and the Val de Ruz. The soil affords excellent pasture, but produces few fruit-trees or leguminous plants. The sovereignty of the canton is vested in the King of Prussia, who is bound, however, by the constitution, to maintain it in all its ancient laws, customs, privileges, independence, and religious toleration. His influence, however, is very inconsiderable. He receives only the revenues of some domains, and a very moderate land-tax, which he cannot augment. Every profession and trade. are free, no customs are levied, and no duties imposed on any goods which enter or leave the canton.

Neufchatel, or Neuenburg, the capital, is a well-built and thriving town on the slope of a hill, at the mouth of the Seyon, a torrent that runs through the Val de Ruz into the Lake of Neufchatel. It contains several remarkable buildings particularly the chateau, the ancient residence of the princes of Neufchatel; the cathedral built in the twelfth century; the town-house, and the public hospital. Population, about 5,000,

GENEVA is a very small canton at the south-western corner of Switzerland, almost entirely separated from the other cantons by the territories of Savoy and France. Though not naturally fertile, it has been rendered productive by the industry of its inhabitants. Three-fifths of the population are Calvinists; the remainder are Roman Catholics, under the spiritual jurisdiction

of the Bishop of Fribourg. The sovereignty is vested in a representative. council of 274, elected for nine years by the citizens; and the executive in a council of state, of 24 members, named by the representative council.

Geneva, the capital, is situate on the slopes of two hills divided by the Rhone, where it issues from the lake, forming in its course two islands, on one of which stand part of the town, and the other contains a fine promenade planted with trees, and adorned with a statue of the noted Jean Jacques Rousseau. The two banks of the river, and the island, are now connected by a suspension-bridge; and a handsome quay, lined with fine buildings, has been constructed along the river. The streets are in general wide and commodious, except in the busy part of the town, where they are inconveniently narrow, and darkened by arcades. The churches are of very ordinary description; the principal is that of St. Peter, an ancient edifice, with a modern colonnade. The town-house, the hospital, the museum of the fine arts, the museum of natural history, and that of the botanic garden, and the penitentiary, are the principal public buildings. The academy founded by Calvin may be considered as a university, in respect of the number of its professors, and the variety and importance of the branches of study. The citizens of Geneva are noted for their industry, as well as for their scientific and literary attainments. The most important branches of work are horologerie, or watch and clock making, and jewellery, in which they produce every year about 100,000 watches, and use about 60,000 ounces of gold, 5,000 marks of silver, and $100,000 worth of precious stones. Population, 36,000.

Switzerland was anciently known as Lusitania and Helvetia and occupied by the Suevi and other barbaric tribes, who, in after ages, shared in spreading empire westward. After its conquest by Julius Cæsar, the Romans found within its limits several flourishing cities, as Aventicum, &c., which were afterwards destroyed by the northern barbarians. On the decline of the Roman Empire, it successively formed a part of the kingdom of Burgundy and of the dominions of the Merovingian and Carlovingian kings, while the east part of Switzerland became first subject to the Allemanni, and subsequently it was wholly included in the German Empire under Conrad II., in 1037.

The house of Hapsburg had, from an early period, the supremacy over all the eastern part of Switzerland; and it preserved its ascendancy till about 1307, when Uri, Schweiz and Unterwalden, entered into a confederacy for mutual aid against Austria, which compact was confirmed after the defeat of Leopold, Duke of Austria, at the battle of Morgarten, in 1315. From 1332 to 1352, Lucerne, Zurich, Glarus, Zug and Berne joined the confederation. Aargau was conquered from Austria in 1415; the Abbey and town of St. Gall joined the other cantons in 1451-'54; Thurgau was taken in 1560; Fribourg and Solothurn admitted in 1481; the Grisons in 1497; Basle and Schaffhausen in 1501, and Appenzell in 1513. About this time Tessin was conquered from the Milanese; and Vaud was taken from Savoy by the Bernese in 1560. The remaining cantons were not finally united to the confederation till the time of Napoleon; and the present compact, by which all the cantons are placed on a perfect equality, only dates from the peace of 1815.

Various political alterations have, since that period, taken place in the relative position of the cantons, and many of the old land-marks are broken down. The democratic idea has spread into every corner of the country,

and the cantons which were formerly based on aristocratic or oligarchical institutions, have fallen before the force of enlightened public opinion. The great curse of Switzerland, however, is the antagonism of its two great churches, and in this will ever consist, as it has hitherto proved, the rock destined to split asunder the friendly feelings so intimate a political relation ought to maintain.

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM.

THIS small kingdom lies between the latitudes of 49° 27′ and 51° 31′ north, and between the longitudes of 2° 27′ and 60 east. The greatest length from N. W. to S. E. is about 195 miles, and the greatest breadth from N. E. to S. W. about 127 miles-area, 12,569 square miles, or about the size of the state of Maryland. Fronting on the German Ocean, it has France on the west and south, Rhine Prussia on the east, and Holland on the north.

The borders of Belgium, on the side of France, are rugged and rather mountainous, being traversed by a continuation of the Ardennes, and other ridges occupying the northern districts of that country. To the north, however, the surface is low, scarcely, if at all, raised above the sea, and is intersected in every direction by numerous rivers and canals, diversified by woods, arable lands, and meadows, and thickly studded with towns and villages. No elevation that can properly be termed a mountain occurs in Belgium, though there is a ridge of considerable height extending between the Meuse and the Moselle, and another between the north bank of the Sambre and the Meuse. As in Holland, the country in the north, along the estuaries and rivers, is protected from inundation by dykes, and along the open sea by sandhills or downs, varying in breadth from one to three miles, and in elevation from 50 to 60 feet. The navigation of the sea is rendered intricate by sandy accumulations, and for large ships even dangerous.

Belgium is one of the best watered countries in Europe, and all its waters run to the North Sea. The SCHELDT enters the kingdom near Tournay, on the French line, flows through Hainault and East Flanders, separating the latter from Antwerp, below which it enters the Dutch territory, and flows through Zealand in several large branches, which are indeed rather arms of the sea than rivers. It is navigable for large ships to the city of Antwerp, and to a considerable distance inland for smaller vessels. Its principal affiuents are:-the Dender; the Ruppel, formed by the Dyle, Senne and two Nethes; and the Haine on the right and the Lys on the left. The MEUSE or Maas enters Belgium below Givet, and flows through Namur and Liege, and thence through South Holland to the sea. Its affluents are-the Semoy, Lesse, Ourthe and Roer from the right, and the Sambre from the left.

The climate of Belgium is exceedingly damp-less so, however, than that of Holland. In this respect it varies in accordance with the topography of the country, and in the high regions the country enjoys what may be termed a mild climate. There are several extensive forests in which the oak, the ash, and the beech abound; and from the humidity, the pastures are rich and support luxuriantly the domestic animals of the farms. Some wine is produced, but the vine is not adapted to the soil; fruit trees are rare, and wheat succeeds with difficulty; but great advantage is derived from the cultivation