8 broad, and being low is subject to inundations,
but has good arable and pasture lands. This isl-
and was taken by the British in July 1809, with
a view to the destruction of the ships and arsenal
at Antwerp ; but a number of untoward circum-
stances first rendered the principal object of the
expedition abortive, and then the pestilential na-
ture of the island, at that particular season of the
year, obliged the British to relinquish every ad-
vantage they had gained. The capital of this
island, and of the whole province, is Middle-
burg.

Walcour, a town of the Netherlands, in the
province of Namur, which was entirely destroyed
by fire in 1615; seated on the Heura, 27 m. S.
W. of Namur.

Waldburg, a castle of Germany, which gives
name to a county, between the Danube and the
Her. It stands on a mountain, 7 m. N. of Wan-
gen and 38 S. by' W. of Ulm.

Waldeck, a principality of Germany, 30 miles
long and 24 broad ; bounded on the E. and S. by
Hesse-Cassel, W. by the Prussian province of
Westphalia, and N. by the principality of Pader-
horn. It consists of two counties, Pyrmont and
Waldeck, the latter containing 424 sq. m. with

40.000 inhabitants, the former 31 sq. m. with

10.000 inhabitants. The country is mountainous
and covered with woods ; and has mines of iron,
copper, qiftbksilver, and alum.

Waldeck, a town of Germany, in the county of
the same name, with a castle, seated on the
Steinbach, 6 m. S. E. of Corbach.

Walden, or Saffron Walden, a town in Essex,
Eng. 42 m. N. by E. of London.

Walden, ph. Caledonia Co. Vt. 74 m. N. E.
Montpelier. Pop. 827. p.v. Orange Co. N. Y.
85 m. S. Albany. Here are large manufactures
of broad-cloth, flannel and cotton.

Waldenburg, a town and castle of Saxony, sit-
uate on the Muldau. The old town, on the op-
posite side of the river, is famous for its brown
and white earthern ware. It is 12 m. N. N. E.
of Zwickau.

Waldenburg, a town of Wurtemberg, in the
principality of Hohenlohe, with an ancient castle
on a mountain, 6 m. E. by N. of Ohringen.

Waldenheim, a town of Saxony, with an ancient
monastery, now converted into an orphan house
and house of correction, in which various manu-,
factures are carried on. It is situate on the
Zschopa, 30 m. S. E. of Leipzig.

Waldmutichen, a town of Bavaria, on the river
Schwarza, 32 m. E. S. E. of Amberg.

Waldo, a county of Maine. Pop. 29,790. Bel-
fast is the capital. A town in Waldo Co. Me.
Pop. 534.

Waldoborough, ph. Lincoln Co. Me. 22 m. E.
Wiscasset. It has a good harbour and is a port
of entry with a considerable coasting trade in
lumber and lime. Pop. 3,113.

Waldassen, a town of Bavaria, near which is a,
rich Cistertian abbey, the abbot of which was
formerly a prince of the empire. It is 44 m. N.
N. E. of Amberg.

Waldshut, a strong town of Baden, in the circle
of Wiesen, one of the four Forest Towns; seated
on the Rhine, at the entrance ofthe Black Forest,
19 m. W. S. W. of Schaffhausen.

Waldstadt, a name given to the Swiss cantons
of Lucern, Uri, Schweitz, and Underwalden. It
signifies Foi jst Towns ; these cantons containing
a great number of forests. For the Waldstadt of
Baden, see Forest Towns.

Waldstadter See, or Lake of the Four Cantons,
one of the finest lakes in Switzerland. It con-
sists of three principal branches, called the Lakes
of Lucern, Schweitz, and Uri. The upper branch,
or lake of Lucern, is in the form of a cross, the
sides of which stretch from Kussnatcht to Dul-
lenwal, a village near Stantz. It is bounded to-
wards the town by cultivated hills, sloping gradu-
ally to the water, contrasted on the opposite side
by an enormous mass of barren and craggy rocks ;
Mount Pilate, one of the highest mountains in
Switzerland, rising boldly from the lake. To-
wards the E. of this branch, the lake contracts
into a narrow creek, scarcely a mile across. Soon
after it again widens, and forms the second branch,
or lake of Schweitz ; on the W. side the canton
of Underwalden, on the E. that of Schweitz.
Here the mountains are more lofty, and infinite-
ly varied; some covered to the very summits
with verdure, others perpendicular and craggy.
Near Brumen commences the third branch, or
lake of Uri, which takes a S. E. direction. It is
deep and narrow, about 9 miles long, and bor-
dered on both sides by rocks uncommonly wild
and romantic, with forests of beech and pine
growing down their sides to the very edge of the
water. The river Reuss flows through this lake.

Wales, a principality in the W. of England,
150 m. long and 80 broad; bounded on the N. by
the Irish Sea, W. by that sea, and "St. George’s
Channel, S. by the Bristol Channel, and E. by
the counties of Chester, Salop, Hereford, and
Monmouth, lt has an area of 5,200,000 acres,
contained in 1821, 717,438 inhabitants, and sends
24 members to parliament. It is divided into N.
and S. Wales, each containing six counties,
namely, Anglesea, Carnarvon, Denbigh, Flint,
Merioneth, and Montgomery, in N. Wales;
Brecknock, Cardigan, Carmarthen, Glamorgan,
Pembroke, and Radnor, in S. Wales. It is the
country to which the ancient Britons fled, when
Great Briton was invaded by the Saxons. They
are now called Welsh, and continue to preserve
their own language. They were long governed
by independent kings, till in the reign of Edward

I., their last prince, Llewellin, being vanquished
and slain in the year 1283, the country was uni-
ted to England. The natives submitted to the
English dominion with extreme reluctance ; and
Edward, as a conciliatory means, promised to
give them for their prince a Welshman by birth,
and one who could speak no other language.
This notice being received with joy, he invested
in the principality his second son, Edward, then
an infant, who had been born at Carnarvon.
The death of his eldest son, Alphonso, happening
soon after, young Edward became heir also of
the English monarchy, and united both nations
under one government; but some ages elapsed
before the animosity which had long subsisted
between them was totally extinguished. From
the time of Edward II. the eldest son of the king
of England has always been created prince of
Wales. The general aspect of the country is
bold, romantic, and mountainous, consisting of
almost continued ranges of lofty mountains and
impending craggs, intersected by numerous deep
ravines, with extensive valleys, and affording
endless views of wild mountain scenery. Agri-
culture is in a backward state, but the soil is by
no means barren, producing all the necessaries
of life; the cattle and sheep are numerous, but
small, and it is particularly famous for goats. It
is watered by many rivers', the principal of which