M E U 



177 



M X 



Mcurth*. MF.URTHr, the name of one of the departments 

 * V ' in the north-east region of France, and one of the 

 richest in the kingdom. It is bounded on the north 

 .ie department of the Moselle, on the west by the 

 Netherlands, on the south by that of the Vosges, and 

 on the east by that of the Lower Rhine. It is water- 

 ed by the Mcnrthe, (from which it derive* its name,) 

 which runs into the Moselle below Frouard, and also 

 by the Seille, ti>e Sarre, and the Vezouze, which flows 

 into the Meurthe at Luneville. Its principal productions 

 are corn, wines, tobacco, hemp, madder, saffron, wood of 

 construction, iron mine*, and talc springs. In the ar- 

 rondis*eroent of Luneville there are several glass-works, 

 particularly those of St. (^uirin. Phalibourg, in the 

 arrondiisement of Sarrebourg, is celebrated for its li- 

 queurs. Chateau-Salins derives its name from the salt- 

 springs which prevail there. Uieuze, in the same 

 canton, has likewise Halt-springs. In the middle of a 

 marsh in the neighbourhood of Nanci, an obelisk marks 

 the place where Charles the Bokl perished. In the 



neighbourhood of Toul, earthen ware is manufactured. Meurthe. 

 Thi- following are the principal towns, with their po- '""Y"* 

 pulation. 



Nanci (the capital) 



Luneville 



Toul 



Chateau-Salins 



Sarrebourg 



29,740 

 9,797 

 6,949 

 2,110 

 1,454 



Luneville, situated between the Vezouze and the 

 Meurthe, is celebrated for the treaty signed at it in 

 1801, between France and Austria. It has an acade- 

 my and a good library. 



The department contains 6430 square kilometres, or 

 325 square leagues. The forests amount to about 227 

 sectores, or 445 thousand acres, of which nearly 100 

 thousand belong to the government, 65 thousand to the 

 communes, and the remainder to individuals The 

 contributions iirtheyc.'ir 1801 amounted to 2.,ti81,. r >81 

 francs. Population 342,107. 



M E X T C O. 



Mi <:*, 

 Town of. 



- -^ - 

 Situation. 



(town of,) the capital city of New Spain, 

 is situated in ly', 25', 45' of north latitude, and 99, 

 5', 15'' of west longitude, 7470 feet above the level of 

 the seat. Its name import*, in the Aztec language, the 

 habitation of the god of war ; but, before the year 

 1530, it was more commonly called Tenochtitlan, 

 which Cortex corrupted into TemixtiUn. It* situa- 

 tion on an isthmus, waahed by the South Sea and the 

 Atlantic Ocean, i* peculiarly favourable lor commer- 

 cial communication* ; but ti.e state of the coast, and 

 the want of port* on the Atlantic, oppose great olwta- 

 cle* to it* prosperity. It stands in the midst of a fine 

 valley, about 70 leagues in circumference, and was 

 formerly surroui !>! !>y a tall-water lake, and inter- 

 sected by navigable canal*. It was accessible by 

 means of three dikes, or cau*eways, about 20 I' 

 breadth, which were carried through the lake, for the 

 pace of more than a league, in different directions. 

 But the water of the lake, which seems to have be- 

 gun to decrease long before the arrival of the Spa- 

 niards, i* above two miles distant from the city in it* 

 present state. The city was almost completely de- 

 stroyed at its conquest by Cortex, by whom it was re- 

 built on the same spot, so that the present street* have 

 for the most part the same direction a* the old one*, 

 running nearly from north to outh, and from east to 

 west, forming a great square, of which each side if 

 nearly 90.' extent. In it* ancient state, sur- 



rounded witli water, and founded on island* covered 

 with verdure, the capital of Mexico must have resem- 

 bled some of the cities of China or of Holland. It is 

 still one of the finest cities ever bu.lt by European*, 

 and u surpassed by few towns, even on the old conti- 

 nent, for the uniform level of the ground on which it 

 stands, the regularity and breadth of the streets, and 

 the extent of the public places. The houses, built of 

 hewn stone, (which i* a porous amygdaloid, or a por- 

 phyry of vitreous fcld-f path,) have a great appearance 

 of solidity and magnificence. They are not loaded 

 with ornaments, and have none of those wooden bal- 

 conie* and galleries which so much disfigure the Euro- 

 pean houses in both the Indies. The balustrades and 

 gate* are all of Biscay-iron, ornamented with bronze ; 



VOL. XIV. PART I. 



and, instead of roofs, there are terrace* resembling Mic, 

 those of Italy and other southern countries. The ar- Town of. 

 chitecture in general i* of a very pure style ; and there *~~Y~~~' 

 are several edifices of very beautiful structure Those '' 

 which usually attract the attention of a stranger, are 

 the cathedral, a small part of which is in the Gothic 

 style, and the principal edifice, which is of recent date, 

 and fine proportion, has two towers ornamented with 

 pilaster* and statues ; the treasury, adjoining to the pa- 

 lace of the viceroys ; the commit, particularly that of 

 St Francis ; the hospital, which maintains 1 400 chil- 

 dren and old people ; the acordada, a fine edifice pro- 

 vided with spacious and well-aired prisons, capable of 

 containing more than 1200 individuals; the school of 

 mines, a beautiful new building, which contain* fine 

 collections in physics, mechanics, and mineralogy ; the 

 botanical garden, small, bat rich in the more rare and 

 interesting vegetable productions ; the unnertity public 

 ; the academy of fine arts ; the eauetlrian statue 

 of ( harles IV. in the Plaza Mayor ; and the tepuLliral 

 monument to Cortez, in a chapel of the Hospital de los 

 Saturates. The town has been much embellished since 

 the year 1 76*). Two great palaces or hotels have been 

 recently constructed by Mexican artists from the aca- 

 demy of fine arts in the capital, one of which, in the 

 interior of the court, exhibit* a very beautiful oval 

 peristyle of coupled columns. But it is the extent and 

 uniform regularity of the city, and the breadth and 

 itraightness of the streets, more than the grandeur or Stretu. 

 number of its monuments, which excite admiration ; 

 while the excellence of the police preserve* every thing 

 in proper order and repair. Most of the street* have 

 very broad pavements, and are both clean and well 

 lighted. The supply of water is well regulated ; and, 

 that which is found by digging is of a brackish 

 quality, spring water is conveyed from a considerable 

 distance by means of two aqueduct* of modern con- 

 struction, which are well worthy of notice. One of A 

 them, leading from the insulated hill of Chapoltepec, 

 is carried upon arches for tlie space of 10,826 feet, and 

 the other from the Cordillera, which separates the val- 

 ley of Mexico from that of Lerraa and Toluca, is about 

 33,464 feet in length, but, on account of the declivity 



7. 



