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sufficient for the manufacturing and domestic
demands of the inhabitants.
The town hall is chiefly remarkable for two an-
cient towers, the erection of one of which is at-
tributed to the Romans ; and for a spacious hall
measuring 102 feet by 60, in which the emperor
dined on the day of his coronation. A picture
representing the congress of 1748 is to be seen in
this building ; the portraits of all the members of
the congress having been painted at the request
of the town magistrates. It contains also sever-
al portraits of Charlemagne, and statues of all
the emperors since his time. Opposite .to this
building is an antique fountain, on the top of
which is a statue of the same emperor, in copper
filt, holding in his right hand a sceptre and in
is left a globe.
The choir of the great church, in which the
ceremonial of the coronation took place, is a high-
ly admired piece of Gothic architecture, enriched
with some exquisitely wrought pieces of tapestry.
In it is also the tomb of the emperor Otho. The
pulpit is richly ornamented with gold and pre-
cious stones. The remains of the great benefac-
tor of the town, so often mentioned already, were
deposited in a tomb covered with a plain black
slab, under the centre of the dome, and marked
with the simple inscription “ Carolo Magno.”
On the tomb being opened by Otho III., the body
of the monarch was found seated in a chair of
marble, dressed in his robes and adorned with the
insignia of royalty. These were taken away, to
oe used in subsequent coronations. The tomb was
again opened by Frederick I., and placed in an
antique sarcophagus, which was carried off by
the French on account of its singular beautv, and
lodged in the Louvre at Paris; but it has’since
been restored. The church is also much frequen-
ted on account of the numerous relics deposited
in it. The person in whose custody they are,
furnishes the curious visitant with a long list of
the particulars connected with each: they are
carefully preserved ; and many of them richly
embellished with precious stones, and enclosed
in costly cabinets. On the advance of the French
army, after the Revolution, all the relics were re-
moved into the interior of Germany, and placed
under the special custody of the emperor. They
have since been restored to their ancient abode,
with the exception of the sword of Charlemagne,
some earth steeped with the blood of Stephen the
first martyr, and a copy of the gospels in golden
letters, which the emperor retained as a recom-
pense for his trouble in taking care of the others.
The church of St. Nicholas has some fine paint-
ings.
Near the town is the hill of Louisburg, which
commands a fine view of it and of the adjacent
country. On its summit was an obelisk, erected
in honour of Napoleon. After his flight from
Russia it was thrown down by the Cossacks, in
hopes of coming at the coins buried beneath. It
has been restored by the king of Prussia ; the in-
scriptions in praise of Napoleon being changed to
others commemorating his reverses and down-
fall. |
But the peculiar characteristics of Aix, which
chiefly attract strangers and secure its prosperity,
are its warm baths, which have been long in the
highest repute for scrofulous and cutaneous dis-
eases, and also for the removal of visceral ob-
structions and diseases arising from a derange-
ment in the organs of digestion. Their analysis
shows that they contain carbonate and muriate of
soda and carbonate of lime : they are extremely
nauseous ; though habit, arising from a conviction
of their utility, renders them a.t length somewhat
palatable. These waters near the sources are
clear and pellucid, with a strong sulphureous
smell resembling the washings of afoul gun ; but
they lose this smell by exposure to the air. Their
taste is saline and bitter. They do not contain
iron. They are also neutral near the fountain ;
but afterwards are manifestly and pretty strongly
alkaline, insomuch that clothes are washed in
them without soap. The accounts of different
writers as to the height of their temperature are
various ; ranging, however, from 136. to 146. of
Fahrenheit. The baths are seven in number,
arising from five springs, called the Imperial, the
Cornelius, the Quirinus, the Small, and the Rose :
the two first named are deemed the most effica-
cious. Besides these, there is a cold spring called
Campasbad : though weaker, and therefore less
efficacious, it is frequented by many, on account
df its- lower temperature and its less disagreeable
taste. The poorer classes also use it. The reve-
nues of the town arise in part from the farming
of these springs.
Like other watering places, Aix is resorted to
for pleasure as well as for health. A suite of
apartments called the Redoubte is laid out as a
place of promenade and refreshment, together
with a saloon for balls and evening entertainments.
The charitable institutions are, an hospital for
the diseased, another for orphans, another for in-
curables, an institution for the maintenance of
the poor who come to the waters, and a school
for the education of the poor, with a house of
refuge for the indigent: both these last were
founded by the empress Josephine.
Aizenay, a town of France, 29 m. S. of Nantes.
Akerman. See Bielgorod.
Akissat, a town of Asiatic Turkey, in Natolia,
the ancient Thyatira, built in a fine plain above
17 miles wide, which produces corn and cotton.
It is seated on the river Hermits, 50 m. S. E. of
Pergamo. Long. 28. 30. E. lat. 38. 48. N.
Akron, p.t. Portage Co. Ohio. 120 m. N. E.
Columbus. It is situated on the Ohio canal.
Akshehr, a town in Caramania, on the confines
of Natolia, about 250 m. E. of Smyrna, to which
place it sends considerable supplies of wool, fine
carpets, wax, gum tragacanth, and galls.
Alabama, one of the United States of America,
lying between 30. 12. and 35. N. lat. and 85. and
88. 30. W. long.; bounded N. by Tennessee, E.
by Georgia, S. by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico,
and W. by Mississippi; having a length of 280
and a breadth of 160 m. and containing an
area of 46.000 sq. m. It is divided into 36
counties, and is watered by the Tennessee, the
Chatahoochee, the Alabama and Tombeckbee,and
has in the south the seaports of Mobile and
Blakeley. Population 308,997, of whom 117,294
are slaves. Tuscaloosa is the seat of government.
Alabama was originally a part of the Mississippi
Territory, but was erected into a separate territo-
rial government in 1817, and into a State in 1819.
The Cherokees and Creeks occupy the northern
parts.
The soil, with the exception of the alluvial
tracts on Mobile river, is generally a pine barren.
The surface is mostly hilly and broken. In the
north it is mountainous, and in this region begins
the great Apalacliian chain. The central part is
undulating. Toward the south, within 50 or 60
miles of Florida, the swamps are for the most part |
