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capital, with its million of inhabitants; and in another, Rouen, the Manchester of France. The soil of this region is fertile, and agriculture is in an advanced state. Greater industry and superior resources enable the population to command a larger share of necessaries and luxuries than twice the number of the population enjoy in those parts of France which are less favored by nature and circumstances. The Seine, and its tributaries the Aube, the Yonne, the Marne, the Oise, the Eure, and the Rille, with the Aisne, the Ourcq, and Grand Morin, are navigable for an aggregate length of nearly one thousand miles. Thus the interchange of raw materials and manufactures is rendered easy throughout the whole of this important portion of the country. The two great ports of the basin of the Seine are Rouen and Hâvre. Rouen is about the same distance from the sea as London, and during the middle ages engrossed the maritime commerce of the Seine. Vessels of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred tons can get up to the town. Perhaps, however, the principal cause which, rendered Rouen a place of commercial importance during the unsettled periods of European history was the greater security which it offered, as the ports on the coast were exposed to the attacks of pirates and other rovers of the sea. In the sixteenth century these enemies were no longer dreaded, and Hâvre, then a small place, inhabited by fishermen, from its situation at the mouth of the Seine, was much resorted to by mariners. In 1509, Louis XII. laid the foundations of a town. His successor, Francis I., surrounded it with walls, and in 1618 the Cardinal Richelieu added a strong citadel to the fortifications. Louis XVI. and Napoleon both encouraged the prosperity of Hâvre, and, from about the year 1783, its commercial prosperity has been constantly increasing, and consuls from the principal commercial nations of the world now reside there. Hâvre is the only eligible harbor between this portion of the coast and Cherbourg. It is on the right bank of the Seine, which is here several miles wide. There are two roadsteads, and the harbor consists of three basins in the heart of the town, communicating with each other, and capable of containing five hundred vessels, including the largest merchant ships. The tide rises to a height of from twenty-two to twenty-seven feet, and the vessels are always afloat in the harbor. Cape la Hève, two miles and a half west of the town, is a headland about one hundred and thirty yards high, on which there are two handsome lighthouses about fifty feet high.

A short time before the revolution of 1789, Rouen made an effort to obtain a share of foreign commerce, which its rival at the mouth of the river had engrossed. When ships of a large size began to be employed in distant voyages, the navigation of the Seine up to Rouen was not considered safe for this class of vessels, and Rouen only participated in the coasting-trade. But about the middle of the last century the obstacles which the navigation of the Seine presented were carefully examined, and an enterprising individual, conceiving that they were not of so formidable a nature as had been generally supposed, built a large vessel suitable for the foreign trade. His example was soon followed, and many other vessels were built with a similar object by joint-stock companies. The foreign commerce of Rouen was rapidly increasing when the revolution put an end to its prosperity. Since 1814 it has revived, but Rouen has not obtained the rank which it formerly occupied, probably in consequence of the direction of capital and industry to manufactures, as well as the inferiority of its situation to the port of Hâvre. The foreign trade of Rouen is however respectable, and a direct intercourse is maintained with Portugal, Spain, the Levant, the north of Europe, and with America; the number of vessels engaged in foreign trade exceeding one hundred annually, while nearly the same number of foreign vessels are entered inward. The foreign trade of Havre is more than five times greater then that of Rouen; but the quantity of goods brought to Rouen by coasting vessels, and barges, which navigate the rivers and canals, is as eight to five, compared with the extent of this branch of the trade at Hâvre: one fourth of the coasting trade carried on between the different ports of France situated on the Atlantic seaboard is engrossed by the two ports. In 1836 there arrived inward at the port of Havre six hundred and three vessels belonging to foreign countries, five hundred and one French vessels engaged in the foreign trade, one hundred and eighty-five English packets, one hundred and nine large coasting vessels, besides nearly three thousand small vessels navigating the Seine and its tributaries. Hâvre engrosses the largest share of the trade between France and the United States of America. Packets sail regularly for New York, Vera Cruz, Bahia, Lisbon, Hamburg, and Southampton. The number of packets on the New York station is sixteen; and with Amsterdam,

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Hamburg, Southampton, Rouen, and Paris, the intercourse is maintained by steamboats.

The value of the imports at Hâvre in 1829 amounted to $50,000,000; the imports of raw cotton amounting to $5,500,000; and of sugar to $9,000,000. Hâvre and Marseilles are the only ports of France in which raw cotton is admitted. Other imports of Hâvre consisted of coffee, indigo, dye-woods, hides, iron, tin. The customs' duty amounts to $5,000,000 annually. The usual exports are silk and woollen goods, wines, brandies, lace, gloves, perfumery, trinkets, and articles of Parisian manufacture, perfumery, &c. Soap, starch, vitriol, and earthenware are manufactured in the town, and there are also breweries, sugar-refining-houses, shipyards, and rope mauufactories, which give employment to considerable numbers. Many seamen are employed in the herring, cod, and whale fisheries; and the wives of sailors and artisans obtain work as lace-makers.

The town is divided into the old and new quarters, the houses in the former being ill-built, while those of the new quarter are much superior in appearance, and the streets are better lighted. Ingouville is a populous and pleasant suburb, containing the country-houses of the merchants. The population of the town and suburbs does not exceed 30,000. The customhouse is a large building, but the public buildings are, on the whole, rather of an inferior order. There is a fine public square planted with trees, which forms an agreeable promenade. The principal local institutions are a court for the settlement of commercial disputes, several literary and scientific establishments, a public library, containing above 15,000 volumes, a museum of natural history, a high school and school of navigation, and a school for geometry applied to the arts.

CHAPTER VI.-PORTUGAL.

PORTUGAL is but a small country, in the form of an oblong square, extending from 37° to 42° north latitude. Its greatest length is about three hundred and fifty miles, from north to south, and its breadth averages about one hundred and fifteen miles; consequently, the area of its surface is about forty thousand square miles, and it is therefore not much more than one fifth the size of France. Yet the fleets and commerce of Portugal, at one time, were more extensive than those of any country in Europe; and for two centuries, the Portuguese were equally pre-eminent as adventurous and successful navigators. Madeira, the Azores, and parts of the Gold Coast, were settled by them early in the fourteenth century, and the kings of Portugal placed themselves at the head of that enthusiastic ardor, which, stimulated by the hope of finding a way by sea to the countries from which Europeans received ivory, gold-dust, and other commodities, across the desert, was at length successful in accomplishing its object. The Poruguese led the way from Europe to India, by sea; they planted colonies on the shores of the African continent, from its northern extremities almost to its southern headland; they held possession of extensive territories in India, by the right of conquest, and claimed for themselves the exclusive right of navigating the Indian seas. In the new world, Brazil was one of the earliest European settlements; and Lisbon became the great European mart for the productions of India, Africa, and America. Being the first to open new paths to commercial enterprise, and engrossing the trade with newly-discovered countries, great profits were made. When the trade to India was carried on overland, Venice was better situated as an entrepôt for the productions of the east, than Lisbon ; but when they were brought by sea, Lisbon, situated between the north and south of Europe, was most conveniently placed. The Portuguese endeavored to secure to themselves, if possible, the exclusive advantages which their adventurous spirit had placed in their hands. No other country was allowed to participate in the trade to the Portuguese settlements; and the right to traffic with the natives of newly-discovered countries was permitted only to those who had sufficient interest to obtain a license, and who were often worthless adventurers. Though, for a considerable period, commerce flourished, and profits were great, the system of monopolies, both in the colonies and at home, was sure to undermine the prosperity of the country, at some future period; and many subsequent evils are to be traced to illiberal restrictions, framed in the hope of excluding other countries from the African, Indian, or trans-Atlantic trade. These efforts to maintain a monopoly were fruitless; and when other nations became their competitors, Portugal was in her turn shut out from profitable branches of foreign commerce. Thus she was left to her monopolies. Manufactures declined, though, having such extensive colonies, it might have been expected that the demands on the industry of the mother-country would have greatly increased; and the direct object of their restrictive system had been to promote the interests of Portugal. Political events rapidly hastened the crisis which would, sooner or later, have been occasioned by the unsound commercial policy of the country. In the fifteenth century, Portugal was successfully struggling for maritime and commercial pre-eminence; in the sixteenth century this object had been obtained, and the people were reaping the benefits of their enterprise; but from 1580, when Portugal was annexed to Spain, its long and melancholy decline commenced. The authority of the mother-country being relaxed, its connexion with the colonies was weakened, and it was not powerful enough to defend them against aggressions, so that, one by one, they fell into the hands of the Dutch or English. Of all its possessions in Africa, India, and the new world, only Madeira, Azores, and one or two settlements in Africa and India, now remain.

In 1640, Portugal once more became an independent state under the sovereigns of the house of Braganza. But this revival of its political life failed in quickening industry and commerce, which had gradually sunk into insignificance; and though in fact nominally independent, the principles of vitality which should have rallied and invigorated public spirit were so stagnant, that foreign support was required to sustain the tottering state.