In 1305, it suffered greatly by an earthquake*
It is seated in a fine plain, 18 m. N. E. of Naples.

Averysboro, p.v. Cumberland Co. N. C. on Cape
Fear river, 35 m. S. Raleigh.

Aves, or The Islands of Birds, so called from the
great number of birds that frequent them, though
they have not a tree. They are 7a m. E. of Cu-
racao, and 100 N. of the coast of Terra Firma, in
N. lat. 15. 50. W. long. 63. 43.

Avesnes, a frontier town of France, in the south
of the department of Nord, seated on the high
road from Mons to Paris.

Avestadt, a town of Sweden, in Westmania,
noted for its copper-works, and a mint for copper
money, 35 m. N. N. W of Westeros.

Avezzano, a town of Naples, in Abruzzo Ulteri-
ore, 18 m. S. of Aquilla.

Aviano, a town of Italy, in Friuli, 23 m. W. of
Udina.

Avigliano, a fortified town of Piedmont, on a
hill near the Cotian Alps, 10 m. W. of Turin.

Avignon, a city of the south of France, capital
of the department of Vaucluse, and a bishop’s see.
It was formerly dependent on the pope, and an
archbishop’s see, but became annexed to France
in 1791. It has a university, several handsome
churches and a synagogue, and numerous manu-
facturing establishments. It is seated in the heart
of a very fruitful district, (in which the olive,
vine, and fruits of all kinds are very abundant,)
cn the east bank of the Rhone, near the confluence
of the Durance, about 20 m. N. E. of Nismes.
Pop. 32,000.

Avila, a town of Spain, in Old Castile, and a
bishop’s see, with a university and a manufacture
of fine cloth. It is seated on the Adaga, in a
large plain, surrounded by mountains covered
with fruit-trees and vineyards, 56 m. N. W. of
Madrid. It was formerly one of the most consid-
erable cities of Spain, but does not now contain
more than 4,000 inhabitants.

Aviles, a town of Spain, in Asturias, near the
bay of Biscay, 16 m. N. of Oviedo.

Avis, a town of Portugal, in Alentejo, seated on
an eminence, with a castle, near the river Avis.
Hence the military order of the knights of Avis
have their name. It is 25 m. N. W. of Estremos.

Aviso, a town of Naples, in Terra di Lavoro, 6
m. E of Sora.

Avon, a river of England, celebrated for its as-
sociation with the name of Shakspeare. It rises
from several springs in Naseby Field, in the coun-
tv of Northampton; its most elevated source
springs from under the wall of a farm yard, a few
paces north of the church, in the village of Naseby,
and within a quarter of a mile from the source of
the Nez, which flows east, and in a contrary di-
rection to the Avon, falling into the German
Ocean; whilst the Avon pursues a westerly
course, a short distance from its source, dividing
the county of Northampton from that of Leicester,
until it enters the county of Warwick, in which it
ornaments the fine domain of Stoneleigh Abbey,
afterward washing the rocky foundation of War-
wick castle, from whence it proceeds to Strat-
ford. tiie birth-place of Shakspeare, and where it
becomes navigable for barges of 30 to 50 tons bur-
then, running past Evesham to Tewkesbury in
Gloucestershire, where it falls into the Severn. It
Has numerous com and paper mills on its banks.
There is also another river of the same name in
England, which rises in the north of Wiltshire,
runs past Malmsbury and Chippenham to Bath,
falling into the Bristol Channel, this in contradis-
9

tinction to the other is called the Lower Avon

Avon, another river which rises near Bedwin,
in Wiltshire, running past Salisbury, and skirting
the edge of the New Forest, falling into Christ
Church bay, in the English Channel.

Avon, p.t. Somerset Co. Me. Pop. 745.

Avon, p.t. Livingston Co. N. Y. 236 m. W. Al-
bany. Pop. 2,362.

Avon, p.t. Lorain, Co. Ohio. 146 m. N. E. Co-
lumbus.

Avoyelles, a parish in the western district of
Louisiana, between the Mississippi, Red and At-
chafalaya rivers. It produces great quantities of
cotton. Pop. 3,488. Marksville is the chief town.

Avranehes, a town of France, in the south of
the maritime department of La Manche. It is
situate on an eminence, about 2 miles from the sea,
in a fine agricultural district. It was formerly a
bishop’s see, to which Henry II. of England went
to obtain absolution from the pope’s nuncio, for
the murder of Thomas a Becket in 1172. Al-
though much declined in importance, the cathe-
dral, episcopal palace, and castle, give it some
consequence; and it contains about 6,000 inhab-
itants ; 10 m. E. of St. Malo.

Aw, Loch, a lake of Scotland, in Argyleshire,
30 miles long, and in some parts above 2 broad. It
contains four little islands, tufted with trees, on
one of which are the ruins of an ancient castle;
and on a peninsula of a lake are the noble ruins
of Kilchurn castle. At the north extremity rises
the mountain of Cruachan, elevated 3,390 ft.
above the surface of the lake; and near its top is
the spring which forms this beautiful expanse of
water. The river Aw, the outlet of this lake,
runs into Loch Etive, at the village of Bonaw.

Awatska. See Avatscha.

Aweri, or Orero, a kingdom of Africa, depen-
dent on Benin, with a town of the same name,
on the river Formosa. Long. 5. 10. E. lat. 6.
10. N.

Awen, a town of Suabia, on the river Cop hen,
20 m! W. S. W. of Oeting.

Axbridge, a town in Somersetshire, Eng. seated
on the river Ax, under the Mendip hills, 10 m.
N. W. of Wells, and 130 W. of London.

Axel, a town of the Netherlands, in Flanders,
seated in a morass, 10 m. N. of Ghent.

Axim, a territory of Guinea, on the Gold Coast,
with a river of the same name flowing through it,
and a town on the east side, at its entrance into
the ocean. The country is fertile, and well cul-
tivated, producing palm-oil, cocoas, oranges, pine-
apples, yams, water-melons, and a prodigious
quantity of rice. The Dutch have a fort and fac-
tory here, called St. Anthony. Long. 1. 3. VV.
lat. 4.42. N.

Axminster, a town in Devonshire, Eng. on the
river Ax. King Athelstan established a minster
here to the memory of the princes slain in his
army, when he defeated the Danes in this neigh-
bourhood. Here is a manufacture of leather
gloves, &c. and a famous one of carpets. It is 27
m. E. by N. of Exeter, and 147 W. of London.

Axum, a town, anciently the capital of Abys-
sinia. Its ruins are very extensive, among v hich
are many obelisks of granite, with sculptures, but
no hieroglyphics. It is 70 m. N. W. of Auzen.
Long. 38.45. E. lat. 14. 10. N.

Aylmouth, Alne, or Alemouth, a town in North-
umberland, at the mouth of the Alne, 4 miles east
of Alnwick. It has a good harbour for fishing
vessels. In the reign of queen Elizabeth the
French held it and fortified it, as it was the first
F 2