Western Departments. Finisterre, Morbihan, Loire-Inférieure, Maine-et-Loire, Vendée, . Deux Sèvres, . Charente, Towns. Laval, Mayenne, Ernée. Charente-Inférieure, La Rochelle, Rochefort, Saintes. PARIS, on the Seine, the capital of France, is the second city of Europe in size, and perhaps the first in splendour. For the number and magnificence of its palaces, public buildings, promenades, and places of amusement, it is unrivalled. It is also distinguished for the number and high character of its literary and scientific institutions. The National Library is the largest in the world. Paris ranks high as a centre of industry and manufactures. Its population, according to the last census (1881), was 2,269,000. Versailles, 10 miles S. W. from Paris, is famous for its magnificent palace and gardens; population 48,000. Lille, capital of the department of the "Nord," is a strongly fortified town, and one of the chief seats of the linen, cotton, and woollen manufactures; population, 178,000. Valenciennes (24,000), and Cambrai (22,000) are noted for the manufacture of lace and cambrics. Dunkerque (37,000) and Douay (24,000) are important towns in the same department. Boulogne (44,000), on the English Channel coast, is a favourite resort for many English families, and is also one of the principal packet stations between Paris and London. Calais (33,000), the nearest port to England, 22 miles distant from Dover, is a well built and strongly fortified town. Amiens (74,000), on the River Somme, is one of the most important centres of French industry. Abbeville (20,000), is strongly fortified, and has considerable manufactures. The famous battle-fields of Crecy and Agincourt are not far distant from Abbeville. Rouen (106,000), on the Seine, is a fine commercial and manufacturing city. It has a magnificent cathedral, and possesses great historical interest. Havre (Le Havre-de-Grâce), (106,000), at the mouth of the Seine, is the port of Paris, and has considerable commerce. It is strongly fortified, and is one of the most thriving seaports in France. Dieppe (20,000), to the north of Havre, is an important packet station. Caen (41,000), on the River Orne, is noted for its lace manufacture. It was one of the ancient capitals of Normandy. Cherbourg (35,500), on the Channel coast, is one of the strongest naval fortresses in the world. Rennes (61,000), on the River Vilaine, is an important town, with a considerable trade in linen and provisions. It was the capital of the province of Bretagne. Brest (66,000), on the western extremity of Finisterre, is a naval station of the first class, and defended by forts of great strength. Nantes (124,000), on the Loire, about 30 miles from the sea, has extensive ship-building docks, and is a town of great commercial import ance. Bordeaux (221,000), on the Garonne, the largest city in the. west of France, is the great emporium of the wine known in this country as "Claret." Its foreign commerce is very important, and ship-building and other industries are carried on to a large extent. Toulouse (140,000), on the Garonne, an ancient city, the former capital of Languedoc, has been the scene of important events in history. A great battle was fought near it in 1814 between the English armies, under Wellington, and the French, under Marshal Soult. Montpellier (56,000), beautifully situated about 4 miles from the Gulf of Lion, in the Mediterranean, is much resorted to by invalids on account of the supposed salubrity of its climate. Nismes (63,000), about 30 miles N. of Montpellier, near the W. bank of the Rhône, is remarkable for its Roman antiquities. It is a great seat of the silk manufacture. Marseilles (360,000), situated on a beautiful bay on the shores of the Mediterranean, was considered an ancient city in the time of Julius Cæsar, having been founded by the Ionic-Phocæans 600 years B.C. It is the great outlet for the produce and manufactures of the southern provinces, and is one of the most flourishing and most important cities in France. It is also the best and most frequented port in the Mediterranean. Toulon (70,000), 30 miles east of Marseilles, is the most important naval port of France. Nice (60,000) is a beautifully situated seaport town, 85 miles N.E. of Toulon. It is the chief place in the department of Alpes Maritimes, ceded to France by Sardinia in 1860. It is much visited by invalids. Monaco (2,800), a few miles distant from Nice, is a sovereign principality independent of France. The Island of Corsica, in the Mediterranean, forms one of the departments of France. Its chief town, Ajaccio (14,000), is interesting as the birth-place of Napoleon Bonaparte. Avignon (37,000), on the Rhône, was long the residence of the Popes in the fourteenth century. Lyons (376,000), situated at the junction of the Rhône and Saône, is the second city in France, and has long being distinguished as the first silk manufacturing city in Europe. It still furnishes more than half of all the silk goods produced in France. Besançon (57,000), on the River Doubs, has an active trade in watchmaking. Nancy (73,000), on the Meurthe, is remarkable for the elegance of its streets. It has considerable manufactures. It was the capital of the ancient province of Lorraine. Rheims (94,000), on the Vesle, a tributary of the Aisne, is a thriving town, and the great emporium of the celebrated wines of Champagne. It was formerly the ecclesiastical metropolis of France. Sedan (57,000), on the Meuse, near the Belgian frontier, is memorable for the capitulation of Napoleon III. and the French army to the King of Prussia, September 2, 1870. Orleans (57,000), named after the Emperor Aurelian, who rebuilt it, is situated on the right bank of the Loire in the centre of France. It is famous in history in connexion with the exploits of Joan of Arc, the "Maid of Orleans." St. Etienne (124,000,), the chief town of the department of the Loire, is a place of immense manufacturing and commercial activity. It is in the centre of one of the principal coal-fields of France. Its manufac tures include velvet, silk, fire-arms, cutlery, and ironmongery of every description. The waters of the River Furens, in the vicinity, have, it is said, a peculiar virtue for tempering iron and steel. MOUNTAINS.-The Pyrenees, separating France and Spain; the Alps, between France and Italy; the Jura Mountains, between France and Switzerland; the Vosges in the N.E.; the Côte d'Or, central; the Auvergne Mountains, south central; and the Cevennes in the south. RIVERS.-The principal rivers of France, are the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, the Rhône, and the Meuse. See page 148. These five rivers, with the Rhine, may be regarded as the principal basins, into some one of which almost all the other rivers of France empty. LAKES.-The lakes are few and small; but extensive lagoons occur both on its south and south-western coasts. CANALS.-Languedoc,a Burgundy, Orleans, &c. There are 8,000 miles of canals in France. ISLANDS. The principal islands are Ushant, Belleisle, Isles of Rhe, Oleron, Hyères, and Corsica. CAPES.-Gris-Nez, La Hogue, De la Hague, Barfleur, Bec du Raz, Cape St. Mathieu. COLONIES.-The principal and most important colony of France is Algeria in the north of Africa. The other colonies and foreign possessions are-In Africa, Senegal, settlements on the Gold Coast and Gaboon, and small portions of Madagascar; the Islands of St. Louis and Goree on the west coast; and Reunion or Bourbon, and St. Marie, Mayotte, and Nossi-Bé, in the Indian Ocean. In Asia, Lower Cochin China, Pondicherry, Chandernagore, Karical, Yanaon, and Mahé; and in the Pacific Ocean, the Marquesas, Tahiti or Otaheite, New Caledonia, and the Loyalty Islands. In South America, French Guiana or Cayenne. In North America, the small islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, fishing stations of great importance, off the south coast of Newfoundland; and in the West Indies, Martinique, Guadaloupe, Marie Galante, St. Bartholomew, (ceded by Sweden, March, 1878), the northern part of St. Martin, and the small isles of Desirade and Saintes. CLIMATE, SOIL, SURFACE.-France enjoys one of the finest climates in Europe; its soil is generally fertile; and its surface is, for the most part, level, or slightly undulating. It abounds in vine a The canal of Languedoc, which connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, is 150 miles long, 60 feet broad, and 6 feet deep. It is one of the great works of the reign of Louis XIV. |