REUS, a town of Spain, Catalonia, in the province and 9 miles W. of Tarragona, stands at the foot of a chain of hills in a fertile plain, about 4 miles from the sea. It is a bustling, flourishing town, forming a striking contrast to the decaying grandeur of its neighbour city Tarragona. One portion, however, is as old as 1151; the rest was built about six centuries later. This modern town is regularly laid out, with broad streets and squares; cold in winter, and exposed during the summer to the rays of a glaring sun, from which the more ancient town is sheltered by its narrow and crooked lanes. The houses are generally well built: many of the public squares are adorned with fountains; and the largest of them, which is the chief place of resort for the people, is surrounded with wide colonnades. The large Tuscan town-house, with its spacious halls enriched with paintings and statues, is one of the chief buildings; the plain Gothic parish church lifts high its hexagonal tower; the college and schools are accommodated in the splendid buildings of a former Franciscan convent; a Carmelite convent has likewise given place to the hospital, to which belongs the theatre of the town; and there is also an orphan asylum, and a large new prison. Silk, cotton, and linen are the chief produce of the industry of Reus; dyeing, bleaching, tanning, distilling, and other operations are also carried on. The prosperity of the citizens is attested by their many fine villas scattered round the town. The trade too is very considerable; the weekly markets determine the prices of various articles throughout Spain. There is a railway from this place to Tarragona; and a canal connecting Reus with the port of Salou, which is very exposed, and safe only in summer. By this port the produce of the country and of the manufactories in the town is exported abroad; while in return there is much importation of flour, timber, hides, live-stock, &c. During the peninsular war Reus tamely submitted to the French in 1808, and in consequence was much impoverished by their exactions under Macdonald. Pop. 28,084.