into the Rhine. The Tesin, in Italian Tesino, rises partly from two lakes on the mount St. Gotthard, and partly from several other lakes on the mountains, and after passing through the valley of Levis, and the Lago Maggiore, enters the dutchy of Milan, and at length loses itself in the Po. The Rhone, another river which rises in Swisserland, will be spoken of hereafter.

Not far from the rise of the Rhine, at a small distance from the lake Constance, a very singular bridge is thrown over that river at Schaffhausen, which is much admired for the beauty and singularity of its architecture, and was built about the middle of last century. The rapidity of the river had carried away several stone bridges, built upon arches of the strongest construction; at length ̄a common carpenter, named Ulric Grubenham, undertook to throw a wooden one, of a single arch, across the river, although it is more than three hundred feet wide. The magistrates, however, insisted that it should consist of two arches, and that he should make use, for that purpose, of the middle pier of the old bridge, which remained entire. The architect obeyed, but he constructed his bridge in such a manner that it is not at all supported by the middle pier; and it would have been equally safe, and considerably more beautiful, had it consisted solely of one arch. The sides and top of this bridge are covered, and the road over it is nearly level. It is what the Germans call a hängewerk, or hanging bridge; the road not being carried over the top of the arch, but along the middle of it, and there suspended. The middle pier is not quite in a right line with the side piers, which rest on each shore, but forms with them a very obtuse angle, pointing down the stream. The distance of the middle pier from the shore next the town is one hundred and seventy one feet, and from the other side one hundred and sixtyfour, making in appearance two arches of a surprising width, and forming a most beautiful perspective when viewed at some distance. A man of the slightest weight, when walking upon it, feels it tremble under him, yet waggons heavily laden pass over it without danger, and although in the latter case the bridge seems almost to crack with the pressure, it does not appear to have suffered the least damage. What seems almost incredible is, that the architect was totally ignorant of mathematics, and knew nothing of the theory of mechanics, so that this wonderful undertaking was accomplished merely by the force of natural abilities,

The Rhine runs westward to Basil, and then proceeds in a direction due north, along the eastern border of Alsace, till it receives the Maine, a little below Frankfort, then proceeding north-westward, it enters the Netherlands. Its whole course cannot be less than seven hundred miles; the cities of Mentz, Coblentz, Cologue, Dusseldorf, Wesel, and Cleves, are situated on its banks. The circles of the Upper and Lower Rhine are intersected by it. In its course along Alsace, it frequently causes terrible devastations, not only in winter, but in the midst of summer, when the snow melts on the Alps, Its inundations then ruin the fields, by covering them with sand. The violent torrents of the Rhine, which generally happen every year, frequently alter the situation of the islands within it. One singularity of this river is, that in its sand are found particles of gold, which the torrents in their fall wash from the Alps, and bring into it; hence it is only below Basil that the sand contains this precious mixture, which in autumn and winter, when the river is at the lowest, is drawn out with the sand, from which, after passing through several waters, the gold is extracted. The particles of this metal are seldom so large as a grain of millet; the gold is indeed very fine and beautiful; but is so scarce, that the city of Strasburg, which has the privilege of gathering gold for the length of four thousand paces, scarce collects five ounces in a year. The Rhine also contains many crystals, and particularly pebbles, that receive a beautiful polish, and are much used in France under the name of Rhine pebbles.

At Utrecht it divides itself into two branches, which are called the Old and New Rhine, both of which traverse the city through its whole length; one of these branches loses itself in the sands below Leyden, the other takes the name of the Lech, and falls into the Mayne. Thus does this grand and important river, after so long and useful a course, terminate obscurely, without pouring its aggregated waters into the common receptacle, the ocean!

The RHONE or RHODIAN, rises in the Glacier of Furca, near the province of Uri, in Swisserland, but in the north-eastern bor. der of the Valais. At first it precipitates itself with great noise among several rocks, and down to the very plain in the valley has the appearance of a single cataract, with several cascades. It is afterwards joined by the Meyenwang stream, which issues from the

Grimsel mountain, and then directs its course from east to west, till, after a winding northward, it discharges itself with great impetuosity into the lake of Geneva: all the streams and lesser rivers of the Valais issuing from the mountains mingle with it.

The waters of the Rhone rush into the lake with such rapidity, that for the distance of half a league, they continue unmixed with those of the lake, the one being very foul, and the other very clear; but afterwards, says Keysler, there is no visible distinction, though some of the ancient, and some modern writers, affirm the contrary. At its efflux from the lake it forms an island, on which, together with the banks on both sides, the city of Geneva is built, being divided into three unequal parts, which have a communication by four bridges. Onward it forms the boundary between France and Savoy. It then takes a westward direction, and dividing the late province of Burgundy from that of Dauphiny, it flows to Lyons, from which city it proceeds due southward, forming the eastern boundary of Languedoc, and at the city of Avignon begins to divide it from Provence. It discharges its waters into the Mediterranean by several mouths, a little below Arles. On the banks of the Rhone, between Valence and St. Valiere, a peculiar kind of grape is cultivated, from which an agreeable, but roughish, red wine is procured, which bears the name of hermitage, and is considered as very wholesome, as well as excellent in point of taste.

The VISTULA, or WEISEL, in Polish the Wisla, rises among the Carpathian mountains, on the confines of Silesia and Upper Hungary; its course is in a north-west direction through Little Poland, a part of Masovia, of Great Poland, and of Prussia, and falls by three mouths into the Baltic, below Dantzic. Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, and Thorn, once a place of considerable trade, are situated on its banks. Great quantities of grain and timber, the growth of Poland, are sent down this river to Dantzic, and there exported to foreign countries; but this trade has been greatly checked of late by the heavy duties imposed upon it.

The ELBE rises in the Giants' Mountain, in the principality of Jauer, in Silesia, not far from the source of the Vistula. In Saxony it divides the capital city Dresden into what is called the Old and New Town, which are united by a stone bridge, six hundred and eighty-five paces long, and seventeen broad, containing eighteen