ARDENNEa 



AI;I.KNM:S. 



mnwnmmr u intense ; but the nighu even in that season are often cold. 

 The monthf of September and October are almost invariably fine. 

 The prevailing wind* range from north-east to north-welt through 

 north. 



The principal manufacture* of the department are ironmongery of 

 all kind*, superfine broadcloth, caihmere shawls and other woollen 

 tuffo, shoe and white leather, hosiery, coarse linen, and hats ; there 

 an akn several glass-works, iron-furnaces, brass-foundries, and lime- 

 kiln*. Coal, iron, slate, porcelain clay, and sand used in the 

 manufacture of plate-glass are found. The navigation of the Meuse, 

 which U much facilitated by the Sedan Canal, contribute* greatly to 

 the activity of the trade of the department, which consists of it* 

 mineral and manufactured products, together with corn, timber, 

 beep, and wool. 



The department contain* 1,293,858 acres, divided into 1,445,501 

 parcel*. Of this area 770,487 acres are arable land ; 119,084 pasture; 

 4263 under vines ; 287,480 are covered with wood* and forests ; 

 25,402 are laid out in orchards, nurseries, gardens, and osier planta- 

 tions ; 2066 in various culture ; 26,738 consist of heaths and moors ; 

 3736 are built upon ; 24,716 are occupied by road* and streets ; and 

 7947 with rivers, canals, &c. 



Uiruiuta and Totem. The department is divided into 6ve arron- 

 dusementx, which, with the cantons, communes, and population of 

 each, are a* follows : 



In the first arrondiaaemeut the chief town is Mtziirti, which is also 

 the capital of the department It stands on the Meuse, which hero 

 make* a considerable bend and washes the city on the north and 

 outh, in 49 45' N. lat, 4" 48' E. long., 144 miles N.E. from Paris, by 

 the road through Spiasons and Rheim*. The town has a population 

 of 4905, and i* strongly fortified ; it contains three churches, an 

 hospital, an arsenal, and a theatre, and has manufacture* of leather and 

 of edgotooU. M%zicres wa* successfully defended by Bayard against 

 an Austrian army of 40,000 men in 1520. Charlevitte, also on the 

 Metue, at a distance of only a mile from Hc'zicres, with which it is 

 connected by an avenue and a suspension-bridge, has a population of 

 9875. The town is well built, with wide, straight, and clean streets, 

 the fyir principal of which abut on a central square, surrounded by 

 arcade* and adorned with a fountain. It is the seat of an assize court, 

 a tribunal of first instance and of commerce ; and contains an eccle- 

 siastical seminary, a college, a public library of 22,000 volumes, and 

 a primary normal school The chief manufacture* are fire-arms, 

 hardware, and nail* ; there are also soaperies, breweries, and copper- 

 foundrie* in the town, which ha* good landing-quays on the Meuse 

 and> is the principal mart for the agricultural produce of the depart- 

 ment itomlltrmt, 6 mile* N. from Charleville, on the left bank of 

 the Mmue, ha* 1976 inhabitant*. Clam, bricks, and pottery are 

 manufactured here, and in the environ* there are extensive slate- 

 quarriea. JbmMte, 8 mile* N.W. from Menere*, has considerable 

 manufacture* of hosiery, and about 1000 inhabitant-. .-,>: ,l Abbayc 

 or SignrteJjrmHt, on the Vaux, 1 4 mile* W. by 8. from Meziere*. baa 

 a population of 3141. There are iron-foundne* and shawl factories 

 in thi* place, and latfrquarrie* and extensive nursery-grounds near 

 H : the town ha* iU distinctive name* from the large Cistercian abbey 

 which it formerly contained. The abbey wa* rebuilt a abort time 

 before the first French revolution ; part of the buildings were then 

 destroyed, and the rest have been since converted into industrial 



In the second arrondisnemenl the chief town is littkd, which stands 



oa the slope of a *toep hill on the right bank of the Aisne, 295 feet 

 bore the aea level, 22 mile* S. W. from M&deres, and ha* a tribunal 

 of first instance, a college, a consultative chamber of manufactures, 

 an agricultural society, and a population of 7413. The town, which 

 was the capital of the former district of RAhMoin, is an ancient place; 

 H i entered by three old gate*, and ban several suburb*, one of which, 

 Lw-Minimw, U on the left bank of the Aiane and i* joined to the 

 ""> by a wooden bridge. The street* are wide, but steep. There 

 n Wpital, a theatre, four churched, two prison*, and two squares, 

 on* of which stand* the corn-market The principal church, which 

 *|*** J 2 tod to * Nicholaa, i* a remarkable structure, formed by the 

 if two church*, built aide by side ; one of these wa* a conventual 

 *b,tbotiMrwM erected by the pariah. The sculpture, ba* . 



a* of Uw central doorway are very beautifully executed. 



*y town i* largely engaged in the woollen manufacture*; it 



rveral Urnm-Ma, breweries, and imn-foiindriw. In the 



tooe-qwrU. and inn-mine.. CMltau-Porcit*. 6 mile* 



.. 



OB an island btr. formed by UM river, ha, a population of 2403, who 



manufacture serge, flannel, merino, cashmere, woollen yarn, oil, and 



In the third arronduiement the chief town is Jiocroy or liocroi, a 

 fortress situated 15 mile* N.N.W. from Mcisicres, and 5 miles W. of the 

 Meuse, 1349 feet above the sea level : population, 3780. The town stand, 

 in a large plain, in which tha great Condi gained the famous victory of 

 Rocroy over the Spaniards, May 19, 1643. Condi*, after his quarrel 

 with Louis XIV., seized the town in 1653, and held it for Spain till 

 the peace of the Pyrenees. In 1815 it was taken by the Prussians. 

 There are a tribunal of first instance and an hospital in the town, 

 has also iron-work* and a foundry for projectile*, fumnii, prettily 

 situated on a holm on the left bank of the Meuae, and overhung by 

 rocks 130 feet high, which are called 'Lea Dames de la Meuae,' 

 8 miles N.E. from Rocroy, has a population of 2903. The district 

 about the town abounds with slates of the best quality, many millions 

 of which ore annually exported by the Meuse to Belgium and Holliuul. 

 Uiret, a fortress of the first class on the Meuse, consists of < J i 

 Hilaire and Charlemont on the left bank of the river, and Uivet-N Atre- 

 Daine on the right ; these are joined by a handsome stone bridge and 

 all lie within the line of the fortifications. The fortress of Charlemont 

 won built by Charles V., and named after him. It was ceded to I. .mis 

 XIV. in 1679. The Prussians took Civet after a short siege in 1 - I :.. 

 but Charlemont defended by Count Bourke dufied all their attempts. 

 The town, the entire population of which is 5689, is well situated for 

 trade, and is famous for its manufacture of leather. White-lead, pipes, 

 sealing-wax, nails, glue, and earthenware are also made her 

 there are several breweries, marble works, and a zinc and < 

 foundry. Kumiyny, a small place of 760 inhabitants, 14 miles S. V\ . 

 from Rocroy, was the birthplace of the astronomer La Caille. Siyny-le- 

 Petit, 12 miles W. from Rocroy, has iron- works, iron-mines, shvte- 

 quarries, and a population of 2286. 



The fourth armndissement is named from ita chief town S<ilan, 

 situated on the right bank of the Meuse, 517 feet above the sea level, 

 100 miles N.E. from Paris, in 49" 42' N. lat, 4 57' E. long : popu- 

 lation, about 15,000. It stands on a very uneven site, surrounded l>y 

 meadows, gardens, and cultivated fields ; and also by fortifications and 

 wet ditches, which render the town of great importance for the defence 

 of France from the side of Luxembourg. The town is further 

 defended by a strong castle or citadel, which stands on an eminence 

 to the south-east of the town and is the birth-place of the great Tun-nne 

 a bronze statue of whom adorns the Place de Turenne. The castle con- 

 tains the arsenal ; below it are large buildings occupied OH stores, stables, 

 and as residences of the principal officers of the fortress. Near the 

 castle also are large barracks. There are besides two other large bar- 

 racks, one of which, situated on the north-west of the town on the left 

 bank of the Mouse, is for cavalry. The military hospital, built on the 

 north side of the town, 130 feet above the Meuse, commands the town 

 on all points ; it is very strongly fortified, and is considered the most 

 important part of the fortress. The hospital, which is reached by a 

 winding and steep road, is surrounded by large gardens, and can moke 

 up 500 beds. The town is very irregularly but well built ; the street* 

 are in general wide and clean ; the houses are built of stone and 

 roofed with slate. It contains several squares, some handsome buildings, 

 a theatre, several churches (one of which is a Protestant Consistorial 

 church), a public library, several pretty public walks, and handsome 

 fountains ; but the water is said to be bad and to cause the goitrous 

 affections with which a portion of the inhabitants are afflicted. 

 Sedan is still more famous as a centre of manufacturing industry than 

 as a fortress ; it i* particularly famous for its woollen manufactures, 

 and especially for its fine black cloths, which are unrivalled, for its 

 scarlets, reds, and trowser-piecea. The total annual value of the 

 woollen manufactures of the town is set down at 18 millions of francs. 

 The environs ore studded with factories and workshops engaged in the 

 woollen trade. Other industrial products of the town are hosiery, 

 muskets and fowling pieces, hardware, beet-root sugar, linen, and 

 leather. The trade in corn, cattle, hemp, flax, and manufV 

 products is very considerable. Sedan has tribunals of first instance 

 and of commerce, a consultative chamber of manufactures, an agri- 

 cultural society, and a college. It was a mere village till Evrord de 

 la Marck, nicknamed the ' Great Boar of the Ardennes,' commenced 

 the erection of the castle in 1446. His successor surrounded the town 

 with walls, and took the title of Sovereign Prince of Sedan. The princi- 

 pality passed into the family of Turenne oy the marriage of Charlotte de 

 la Marck to Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, father of Marshal Tin 

 in 1591. Henri IV. repaired to Sedan to be present at the marriage. 

 The Duke de Bouillon, the elder brother of Marshal Turenne, 

 gave up the principality of Sedan to Louis XIV. in exchange for 

 the counties of Albrct, Chateau-Thierry, Auvergne, and fivreux. 

 A canal hi* been cut from the Meuse above the town, and < 

 through the outer ditch of the fortifications into the same river below 

 the town; it has a small dock for boats and sluices at each end. 

 Carignan, a small town 1 2 miles E. from Sedan near , lias a 



population of 171'-' Ihnchery, 3 miles W. from S.-. right 



bank of the Meuse, is a walled town, of square shape. It contains 

 an hospital and large cavalry barracks, and has manufactures of iron- 

 mongery, serge, linen, and lace : population 2032. Motuon, ! 



'in Sedan, on the right bonk of I lie M>-u, has a population of 

 2C41. The town is ancient, and the parish church is one of the 



