MECHLIN or MALINES, a circle of the province of Antwerp, in the Netherlands, divided into five cantons and thirty-eight communes, containing 87,800 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the same name, situated in a fertile plain, watered by the river Dyle, and connected by a canal with Louvain. It is the seat of an archbishop, for whom there is a magnificent palace, and a cathedral, with a tower 350 feet in length. Some of the other public edifices are on an extended scale. There is an ecclesiastical seminary, and a convent of Beguines, wherein formerly were 800 professed females; and though the number is now reduced, it is both respectable and useful, as it affords visitors to the poor and the sick, and relief to the distressed, in an extensive and gratuitous way. It contains 3000 houses, and about 20,000 inhabitants, who are very industrious. There are numerous hat-makers, and weavers of woollen cloths and blankets. The most distinguished of the fabrics is that of thread lace of the finest description, which bears the name of the city, and is highly esteemed in every part of the world where it is known. Lat. 51. 15. 2. N. Long. 4. 23. 39. E.