District ol Columbia, on the W. bank of the Po-
tomac, 6 miles below Washington. It is a place
of some business and fashionable resort during
the session of Congress, And -contains some fine
buildings, but the neighbourhood has a poor soil,
and is thinly inhabited. The river here is a mile
wide and the water in the channel 30 feet in depth,
but notwithstanding the commercial advantages
within her reach, Alexandria has not increased
much of late. The city is regularly built, and the
streets are clean and well paved. The trade is
chiefly in flour. The shipping in 1821 amounted
to 25,287 tons. Here is a Theological Semina-
ry. Pop. 8,263.

Alexandria, New, p.t. Westmoreland Co. Pa.
266 m. Wash.

Alexandria, p.t. capital of the Parish of Ra-
pides, Lou. on the Red River, 70 m. above the
Mississippi in a straight line. It is situated in a
beautiful plain. Steamboats ascend the river to
* this place, and vast quantities of cotton are ex-
ported from it. The surrounding country is
very rich.

Alexandria, p.t. Smith Co. Lou. 29 m. N. E.
Murfreesborough.

Alexandria, t. in Washington township, Scioto
Co. Ohio : 90 m. S. Columbus.

Alexandria, a Co. of the district of Columbia.
Pop. 9,608.

Alexandriana, p.v. Mecklenburg Co. N. C. 454
m. Wash.

Alfayates, a town of Portugal, in Beira, defend-
ed by a wail and castle. It is 150 m. N. E. of
Lisbon. Long. 5. 48. W. lat. 40. 9. N.

Alfeizerao, a town of Portugal, on the sea side,
72. m. N. N. E. of Lisbon. Long. 9.15. W. lat. 39.
30. N.

Alfeld, a town of Lower Saxony, 15 m. S. S.
W. ofHildesheim.

Alford, a town in Linconshire, Eng. with a mar-
ket on Tuesday, seated on a brook, 9 m. from the
sea, 25 N. ofBoston, 140 of London. Pop. 1,506.

Alford, a parish of Scotland, in Aberdeenshire.
This parish is rendered memorable by a battle
fought here, wherein the marquis of Montrose de-
feated general Baillie and a party of the Covenant-
ers, on the 2d July 1645 ; and there was lately dis-
covered in one of the mosses a man in armour on
horseback, supposed to have been drowned in at-
temping to escape.

Alfordstown, p.t. capital of Moore Co. N. C. 30
m. N. W. Fayetteville.

Alfordsville, p.t. Roberson Co. N. C. 108 m. S.
W. Raleigh.

Alfred, p.t. York Co. Me. 88 m. N. E. Boston.
Pop. 1,453.

Alfred, p.t. Allegany Co. N. Y. Pop. 1,416.-

Alfred, p.t. Glengary Co. Upper Canada, on
the Ottawp.

Alfreton, a town in Derbyshire, with a market
on Monday. Here are manufactures of stockings
and brown earthenware, and 2 iron works. It is
seated on a hill, 13 m. N. of Derby, and 142 N. N.
W. of London. Pop. in 1821, 4,689.

Algagliola, a small fortified sea-port on the N.
W. coast of Corsica, at the mouth of the Aregno,
28 m. W. by S. ofBastia.

Algarta, or Alsnrres, a province of Portugal.
Its superficies is 232 sq. leagues, and in 1800 con-
tained 127,600 inhabitants. It forms the S. ex-
tremity of Portugal. Lagos, Faro, andTavira, all
on the S. coast are the chief towns. It is fertile
in figs, oranges, almonds, dates, olives, and excel-
lent wine.

Algestras, a fortified town of Andalusia, Spam,
situate on the coast W. of the Bay of Gibraltar
Algiers, a country of Barbary, comprehending
the ancient Numidia, and part of Mauritania.
It is 600 m. from E. to W. and 170 in breadth ,
bounded on the E. by Tunis, N. by the Mediter-
ranean, S. by Mount Atlas, and W. by Morocco.
Mineral springs and waters are met with in many
places, and several of the chains of mountains
contain lead and copper. In the interior of the
country commence the dreary deserts. The princi-
pal rivers ard the Shellif, Mazafran, Malva, and
Zaine. The land toward the north is fertile in corn
and the valleys are full of fruit. The melons have
an exquisite taste, some of which are ripe in sum-
mer, and others in winter. The stems of the vines
are very large, and the bunches of grapes are a
foot and a half long. It is divided into the territo-
ry of the city of Algiers, and the provinces of
Mascara, Titeri, and Constantina. The Turks,

who had the government in their hands before
the French conquest, were not above 7,000 in
number ; and yet the Moors, or natives of Africa,
had no share in it. It was a kind of republic under
the protection of the grand seignor, and governed
by a sovereign called the Dey, who, however,
could do nothing of consequence without the
council of the Janissaries. The Arabs, who live
in tents, are a distinct people, governed by their
own laws and magistrates, though the Turks in-
terpose as often as they please. The Dey was an
absolute monarch, but elected by the Turkish
soldiers and frequently deposed and put to death
by them. The revenues of the government arose
from the tribute paid by the Moors and Arabs, a
detachment of the army being sent into each prov-
ince every year to collect it; and the prizes they
took at sea sometimes equalled the taxes they laid
upon the natives. The Dey had several thousand
Moors in his service, both horse and foot ; and
the beys or viceroys of the provinces had each an
army under his command. Their religion is
Mahometanism and their language a dialect of the
Arabic. They have likewise a jargon, composed
of Italian, French and Spanish, called Lingua
Franca, which is understood by the common peo-
ple and merchants. The complexion of the na-
tives is tawny, and they are strong and well
made.

The dress of the Moors consists of a piece of
woolen cloth, 5 ells in length and an ell and a
half in breadth, threwn over the shoulders and
fastened round the body. This is called a haique
and serves also for a covering by night when
asleep on their mattresses. To this are added on