54 
R H I 
part of Europe. From Bale to Strasburg, and even to Ger- 
mersheim, a number of islands succeed each other in the 
river; but it is not until reaching Mentz that the banks of 
the Rhine assume their most beautiful aspect. From that 
city to Cologne, it flows through one of the finest parts of 
Germany: castles, towns, and villages, beautifully situated 
on each side of the river, embellish and vary the prospect. 
Hills, covered with vineyards to their summits, rise from the 
banks; while towers and forts, the remains of the feudal ages, 
frequently overhang the water. Below Cologne, the river 
loses much of its grandeur, its banks becoming flat and sandy, 
with little variety of prospect. 
As a medium of water communication, the Rhine is of 
infinite importance to the countries through which it flows, 
being navigable, with few interruptions, from Coire in the 
Grisons, to the German ocean. It receives likewise a num¬ 
ber of navigable rivers, which, as well as canals cut to join 
it, open a passage into the different countries to the right 
and left. It is by the Rhine that the timber of Suabia 
is conveyed to the Netherlands, and colonial produce trans¬ 
ported from the coast to the interior of Germany and Switz¬ 
erland. The passage boats up and down the Rhine afford 
a commodious conveyance, by which the traveller not only 
avoids bad roads, but enjoys delightful views along the banks. 
The navigation is sometimes difficult, but seldom hazardous. 
At Cologne, the vessels are from 100 to 150 tons burden 5 
they are generally drawn by horses, but use their sails when 
the wind is favourable. In the year 1820 a beginning was 
made in introducing steam navigation. The Rhine gives 
name to several divisions of Germany and France, described 
in the following articles. 
RHINE, Circle of, a province subject to Bavaria, 
though at a considerable distance from the rest of that 
monarchy, being situated to the west of the Rhine, between 
Weissemburg on the south, and Worms in the north. 
It consists of the track of territory on the Upper Rhine 
ceded by France in 1814, assigned by the congress of 
Vienna to Austria, and made over by the latter to Bavaria, in 
their subsequent exchanges. Its form is compact, and 
approaches to a square; its area is about 1800 square miles: 
its population 308,000, of whom the majority are Catholics. 
Being intersected by branches of the Vosges mountains, its 
surface is very uneven, and the scenery often wild and 
beautifully varied. The more favourable aspects exhibit 
vineyards, while the rugged summits are often crowned with 
the ruins of castles. This province contains mines of iron, 
quicksilver, coal, a few hardware manufactures, extensive 
pastures, and in the vallies, wheat, oats, barley, and the 
fruit of similar latitudes. It is divided into four districts, of 
which the chief towns are Frankenthal, Landau, Kaiserslau¬ 
tern and Deux Ponts. The Rhine forms its eastern boundary. 
Of the other rivers, the chief are the Queich and the 
Lauter. 
RHINE, is also the name of a province of the grand 
duchy of Hesse, situated to the north of a Bavarian circle 
of the Rhine. Its area is about 1000 square miles: its po¬ 
pulation 155,000: the majority of these are Catholics, 
though the Protestants and Jews are both numerous. The 
surface is hilly and romantic, being intersected by branches 
of the Vosges mountains, and by MontTonnerre ; while the 
Rhine forms a great semicircle along its east and north 
frontier, and receives all the smaller streams. The vallies 
and small plains are of great fertility, producing corn, flax, 
tobacco, vines. The hills contain in certain parts, mines 
of iron and salt; in others very good pasturage. The 
chief manufactures are of linen, cotton, and leather. These 
various productions give rise to a brisk traffic, to which the 
only material drawback is the high rate of the navigation 
dues on the Rhine. 
RHINE, Confederation of the, the name of a great 
but short lived association, entered into by several German 
princes, in 1806, by which they separated themselves from 
the empire, and formed a new political compact, under the 
protection of France. It was concluded at Paris in July 
R H I 
1806, and remained in force somewhat more than seven 
years. Virtually dissolved after the reverses of the French 
in Russia, it was finally annulled in 1814. The original 
parties to this league were—Bavaria, which supplied 30,000 
troops: Wirtemberg, 12,000: Baden, 8000: Berg, 5000: 
Hesse-Darmstadt, 4000: Nassau and the smaller states col¬ 
lectively, 4000. To these were added, after the overthrow 
of Prussia in 1806, Saxony, Westphalia, Mecklenburg, and 
all the lesser princes of the west and north of Germany. It 
was, in a great measure, by means of the troops thus 
furnished, that Buonaparte vanquished the Austrians in 
1809. 
RHINE, Lower, Grand Duchy of the, a province of 
the Prussian states, composed of territories taken in 1814, 
from France and the grand duchy of Berg, and assigned to 
Prussia by the congress of Vienna. The provincial ad¬ 
ministration is the same as in the rest of the Prussian 
dominions. The grand duchy is bounded on the north 
by the province of Cleves and Berg, on the east by 
Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt, on the south by the French, 
on the west by the Dutch frontier. The grand duchy lies 
between 6 .0. and 80. 37. of east long, and between 49. 20. 
and 51. 8 . north lat. having an area of 5700 square miles, 
and 950,000 inhabitants. It is included in the same 
military division as Westphalia, and is divided into the 
governments of Aix-la-Chapelle, Coblentz, and Treves. 
The capital of the whole is Aix-la-Chapelle. 
This country is in general hilly, and though it has exten¬ 
sive valleys, it has no great extent of fertile soil. The 
lower ranks subsist, in a great measure, on potatoes, corn 
being but partially cultivated. For vines, the climate has 
sufficient warmth in particular situations; but iu the elevated 
tracks, such as those called the Hundsruck, the Eiffel, and 
Westerwald, the cold and humid atmosphere checks the 
growth of every thing but wood. The wine is best along 
the banks of the three principal rivers, the Rhine, the Aar, 
(or Ahr), and the Moselle, particularly the last. The 
other products are hops, tobacco, flax, also potash; and in 
the hilly districts, minerals. Grazing is followed up more 
on the east than on the west of the Rhine. The manufac¬ 
tures are limited to the districts around Aix-la-Chapelle and 
Neuwied. On the east of the Rhine, mining, and the 
preparing of metals, afford considerable employment; but 
in most parts of the province, the manufactures are limited 
to a few articles, chiefly for inland consumption, such as 
coarse woollens, leather, tobacco; and the inhabitants are 
in general poor and ignorant. The great majority are 
Catholics. 
RHINE, Circle of the Lower, was one of the ten 
circles of the German empire, before the establishment of 
the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806. Its figure was 
very irregular. The princes who chiefly had possessions 
here, were the electors of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, and 
the elector palatine. It is now divided among the states of 
Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, Prussia, and 
Hanover. 
RHINE, Circle of the Upper, another division of 
the German empire, abolished in 1806. It was cut in two 
by the circle of the Lower Rhine, and, like it, was very 
irregular in its outline. The area of the two circles exceeded 
20,000 square miles. The members of the imperial body 
who had possessions in the circle of the Upper, were still 
more numerous than those in the Lower Rhine. The 
western half being contiguous to Alsace, was repeatedly in¬ 
vaded by the French, and remained in their hands from 
1794 to 1814. Since then this circle has been divided 
among Bavaria, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, and other 
states. 
RHINE, Lower, BasRhin, a department in the north¬ 
east of France, consisting of the north part of Alsace, and 
forming an oblong tract, extending from north to south. Of 
this oblong, the eastern side is formed by the Rhine, the 
western by the Vosges mountains, which extend in a chain 
nearly parallel to the course of that river. The surface of 
