﻿w 



attoL 



OHBMT. 



flsToar, and for • pcouliarly ((raaable aroma, both of which qunliliaa 

 improTa with age, th« Annagnao ia a luperior tpirit 



The tlcpartaieni ia dirided into five arrouduMmenta, which, with 

 tfcoir anbdiTiaioiu and population, arc a< fuUowi : — 





OowBoiwa. 



FopalaUoa la 18SI. 



1. Anch 



t. lifctoatv . . 



1. Mlnade . 



*. Oondaa . . 



*. Laatn . 





ISS 



0I,9» 

 51, lis 

 RS.IIt 

 6»,M1 

 4I,4IS 



TbW I t < 



M 



4«r 



tor,4r( 



1. tn the firat arnmdiaaement the chief town i> AvcR, which is also 

 the capital of the department^ and is described under its proper head. 

 The more important of the other towns are bore given ; the popu- 

 lation in each case being that of the commune. Oimont, E. of Auch 

 on the Qimone, has a college, a good trade in agricultural produce, 

 and 2816 inhabitants ; the parish church and the market-bouse, which 

 is built oTcr the main vtreet, are the most remarkable structures. 

 Jtffun is uot far from tbu right bonk of the Baise, to the north-west 

 of Auch, and has a poptiUtion of 2076. Saramon, a small place on 

 the left bank of the Oimono, has 1276 inhabitant)). Vic-Peientac, 

 whioh stands on the left bank of the Losse, is a well-built town with 

 S865 inhabitants, who carry ou a brisk trade in brandy, wine, com, 

 hoops, kc 



3. In the second arrondissemeut the chief town, Lfcloure, situated 

 on the platform of an isolated rock not far from the right bank of the 

 OecB, has a tribunal of firat instance, a college, and 6U30 inhabitants 

 (in the commune), who manufacture coarse woolleus, serge, and 

 leather, and trade in com, cattle, wine, brandy, hiden, &c. It is an 

 ugly and ill-built town ; the principal buildings are — an hoBpital, which 

 occupies the site iif tlie old castle j a large and handsome gotbic 

 church, built by the English ; and the former episcopal palace, which, 

 punshased by Marshal Lannea, a native of the town, and presented to 

 the oorporation by his widow, now serves for the residence of the 

 mayor, and for the courts of justice. A statue of the marshal in white 

 marble has been reoentlv erected in front of this building. Lectoure 

 is surrounded by several fine promenades : from that of the Bastion 

 the southward view embraces a magnificent scene, with the main ridge 

 of the Pyrenees in the back-ground. Lectoure is nn ancient place. 

 The oastJe was for a long period the residence of the counts of 

 Annagnae, one of whom, Jean V., by his incestuous marriage with his 

 "l»t«r Isabelle, and perhaps still more by his supposed leaning towards 



' ill* Bnaliah, incurred the displeasure of Charles VII., who seized Lec- 

 toure arove the count to take refbge in Aragon, and confiscated his 

 proparty (14fie). He was restored to his esUtes by Louis XI. in 1461, 

 agiuat whom however he subsequently revolted. Lectoure was again 

 taltsa in 1473 aller a capitulation, the terms of which however were 

 not observed ; the count was murdered, the inhabitants of the town 

 tnaiMi' I'sd, and the countesa Jeanne de Foix, his legitimate wife, sent 

 to the oaalleof Buraet and poisoned. The town of Lectoure had hardly 

 reoovered fh>m this terrible disaster when the opposing parties in the 

 •o oalled religious wars of France frequently took and plundered it. 

 The Dnke of Montmorcnci vnui confined in the castle of Lectoure 

 previous to his trial and decapitation at Toulouse in 1632. F/eurance, 

 a well-built town with 3409 inhabitants, stands 6 miles S. from Lec- 

 toar^ on the left bank of the Oera. Mauvenn, on the Arratz, has n 

 popuktion of 2674, and the remains of an ancient castle which 

 befonged to the counts of Fesensac 



8. In the third arrondissement the chief town, ifimndt, stands 

 upon the Balaa, and hns a tribunal of firat instance and 3410 inhabit- 

 «Bt». It k regularly and well built, and surrounded with walls pierced 

 ^frtf t*tssi, from which the principal streets lead to a square in the 

 onto* of the town. Miranda was formerly the chief town of the 

 ooont* of Astarac, which now forms the arrondiasement of Mirande, 



4. In the fourth anrondiasement the chiff town is Condtm, which is 

 situated on the Balwi, S2 miles N.W. from Auch, in 43° 67' 31" N. lat, 

 0' 23' 27' E. long., and has a tribunal of fint instance, an agricultural 

 •ecisAgr, « eoUag^ and 7027 inhabitants in the commune. The town 

 ■MBM to bar* axisted in the Wh century ; it was the capital of Con- 

 *»<*• •»! *•• JP»wn«d by s leiiawdiaL The fortifications were 

 dMBoUsked in 122», but wars afterwards repnireil. The town gave 

 title to a bUhop from 1317 till the French revolution. In 1666 

 Condom rafliRcd much from the (.'alvinista. The town is built on a 

 hill abora tha Baias, thehi^iast part of which is an open square, with 

 ">• I«nah ehnrah, a ha n dsome gothic edifice, on one side of it. Like 

 moat old lowna, Condom b ao ill-boilt plaoa, btit it is imi>roTing every 

 !•«■• Th« »«nparta are pkotad and bid out as promnwulea, and iu 

 the tnvirona are many pralty oountry booaea and niuncrf>us vineyarda 

 The chief tnda ia in wheat and floor ground in the numerous com- 

 milU oa tha Balsa j there is also a considerable commerce in wine and 

 "■■^i ■•* •>»« to leather, wooUan-yaro, oorks, paper, tiles, and 

 ]^mn«tiii, wUdi are ■■oiig tha iadnatrial produt-ts of the town. 



f l*— I " ' . <> O- Mrth-wsat of tha danartnent, has brandy distilleriea 

 and Mtr iababitaata Aaaa^ tha DK^t Sliua, and tha metropoUtan 

 saa of tha Roman diviaioa Morampopnlana, lies N.W. of Condom, and 



has 3340 inhabitants. The ancient city was sacked by the Ootbs in 

 the 6th century, again by the Saracens in 7S2, and finally iu the 9th 

 century by the Northmen, who massacred the population. At this 

 last period the scat of tha archbishop was transferred to Auch. 

 MtnUricU, W. of Condom, bos manufactures of woollen-yam, tiles, and 

 brandy, and a population of 2727. Nogaro, prettily situated near tha 

 Hidou, and once the residence of the counts of ijmagnac, has 2187 

 inhabitants. 



5. In the fifth arrondissement the chief town, Lombtz, situated in 

 a plain of great fertility on the left bank of the Save, has a tribunal of 

 firat instance and 1677 inhabitants. It was formerly the capital of 

 Bas-Comminges, aud the seat of a bishop from 1317 till the first 

 French revolution, when the see was suppressed. Itleen-Jountain, a 

 neat well-built town in a pretty situation on the right bank of tho 

 Save, bos 4933 inhabitants, including the commune ; it was formerly 

 fortified, but in 1799, iu consequence of a royalist insurrection, its 

 castle and ramparts were razed to the ground. 



The department forms the see of the Archbishop of Auch, is 

 included in the jurisdiction of the High Court of Ageu, and belongs 

 to the 13th Military Division, of which Kayonne is head-quarters. Tho 

 department returns 3 members to the Legislative Body of the French 

 empire. 



(Dittionnairt dt la France; Annuairt pour VAn 1853; Official 

 Papert.) 



G£VAUDAN, LE, a dietrict which formed a part of the old pro- 

 vince of Languedoc, and was divided by tho river Lot into Upper and 

 Lower Odvaudan. It derived its name from the Galudi, its auciont 

 inhabitants. It was bounded £. by the rivers Allier and Uonio and 

 the mountains of Loz5re, which separated it from the districts of 

 Vdvay and Vivorais, which witli Q<5vauilan form the couutry of 

 Cdvennes ; S. by the diocese of Alais ; W. by liouergue ; ond N. by 

 Auvergne. It now forms nearly the whole of the department of 

 Lozftre. Mendo was the chief ton-n of tha GiSvaudan, and ia now the 

 capital of the department. 



QKX, a district on the eastern frontier of France, was coded to 

 France by Switzerland iu 1601, and was included iu the military 

 government or province of Boui-gogne. Under the empire it was 

 comprehended in the department of L<!man, but when at tho peace 

 of 1814 France lost tho greater part of that department the district 

 was included in the department of Ain. Tho county of Gex is moun- 

 tainous, being traver.^ed by the ridges of the Jura ; it is bounded on 

 the south-east by the llhoue, which is not here navigable. [Aiif.l 



OICYSKRS. ricEi.AND.1 



GHAUTS. [HiNDCSTAX.] 



QHEEL. [Antweiip, Province of.] 



GHENT (iu Flemish Gtnd, in German G<nf,in French (roiuf), a city 

 in Belgium, the capital of East Flauders, is situated iu 31° 3' 12" 

 N. lat., 8° 43' 51" K. long., at the intersection of tho nailroads that 

 connect Malines with Ostende and Lille with Antwerp, from which 

 towns it ia distant 33, 38, 42, and 32 mile.i respectively. Tho popu- 

 lation in 1850 amounted to 103,729. The city is built at tho con- 

 fluence of the Schelde and the Lys, and is intersected by a gi-eat 

 number of navigable canals which communicate with those rivers, and 

 thus form 26 isTands connected with each other by above 80 bridges. 

 Tho Sas-van-Ghent Caual, which runs northward from Ghent into 

 Zealand (whero it joins the Neuzen Canal) connects Ghent with the 

 We«t Schelde at Temeuse, and allows sea-going vessels, drawing 

 IS feet water, to enter the city, which thus enjoys all the advautogoii 

 of a sea-port. It was opened in December 1828. At Sas-van-Ghent, 

 about 14 miles to the northward of Ghent, ore sluices, by meims of 

 which the whole country hereabouts can bo laid under water. 



The origin of Ghent is ascribed by tradition to the Vandals, who 

 in their irruption iuto Belgium in the 5th century built a fort, named 

 from them ^'audt^ which name was afterwards changed to Ganda, or 

 Qaudavum Castrum. This tradition receives some confirmation from 

 tho existence of a fort on the left bank of the Schelde within the city, 

 still bearing the name of Wamlelaers Kostccl (Castle of the Vandnis). 

 About A.D. 629 King Dagobert sent St. Amand to Ghent to convert its 

 inhabitants from pa^'anism, and he (the saint) founded two mounstcries 

 to tho honour of St. Peter, one on a rising ground called St Peter's 

 Mount, tho other near the Antwerp Gate. Many of the inhabitants, 

 who were converted to Cbristiauity by tho preaching of St. Amand, 

 bequeathed their wealth to the second of these monasteries. One of 

 these benefactors gave his name to the abbey of St Bavon, some 

 parts of the ruins of which buildings are still visible : this quarter of 

 the city for aome time bore tho name of St Bavon. 



In 868 Baldwin Iron-Arm, tho first count of Flanders, built a 

 fortress at Ghent, which was called Count's Castle, and Baldwin and 

 his succeason encouraged weavers and persons skilled in the woollen 

 and linen manufactures to settle in Flanders, About tho end of tliu 

 12th century the Flemish nobles, iu order to equiji thcriiBclves for tho 

 Crusades, sold their domains to their vassals, who by tliat means were 

 enfranchised. At the same time tho inhabitants of the Flemish towns, 

 alreoily become wealthy by Imde and mnnufactures, were enabled to 

 purchofe great commercial and ]>olilical privileges, which laid the 

 foundation for the extraordinary prosperity aud fi-eodom enjoyed ly 

 these communities during tho middle ages. Accordingly tho men of 

 Ghent proceeded to establish a form of mtmicipal government ; they 



