a city of Bohemia, and capital of the whole kingdom, is situated in 14° 40' of longitude, and 50° 5' of latitude. It stands on both sides the Moldau, over which there is a bridge 700 feet long, built of large freestone. The river, though of great breadth here, is nevertheless shallow, and not navigable. On both sides the bridge are several statues, and among others that of St John of Nepomuck, whom King Wenceslaus caused to be thrown from the bridge into the river, for venturing to reprove him upon some occasion; but in 1720 he was canonized as a saint, and is at present held in such veneration in Bohemia, that all other saints seem on his account to be forgotten. Near the bridge, which stands at the upper part of the city, the number of people is very great, but the further you go from thence the more desolate you find every place. The city is about three miles long and two broad; the number of its Christian inhabitants is said to be 70,000, and of Jews about 12,000. The principal branch of its trade consists in brewing beer. It is divided into the Old and the New Towns, and that called the Small Side; the former lying on the east side of the Moldau, and the latter on the west. The whole is about 12 miles in circumference. The fortifications are not of great importance, as it may be flanked and raked on all sides. However, the king of Prussia was not able to make himself master of it in the late war, though he almost destroyed it with his bombs, &c. See PRUSSIA, No. 24, &c.—It has suffered greatly by sieges, and has been often taken and plundered. The university was founded by Charles IV, in the year 1347. In 1409, when John Hus was rector of the university, there were no less than 44,000 students; and when the emperor Charles V would have retrenched their privileges, 24,000 are said to have left it in one week, and 16,000 in a short time after. The Jews have the trade of this city almost entirely in their own hands. They deal in all sorts of commodities, especially the precious stones found in the Bohemian mines, and, by receiving all old-fashioned things in payment, quite ruin the Christian handicraftsmen. In 1744 they narrowly escaped being expelled the kingdom, having been suspected of corresponding with the Prussians, when they made themselves masters of the city. The grand prior of the order of Malta, for Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, resides here; and the church and hospital of the Holy Ghost is the seat of the general and grandmasters of the holy order of knights of the cross with the red star, residing in the above-mentioned countries, and in Poland and Hungary. The houses of this city are all built of stone, and generally consist of three stories; but there are very few good buildings in it, and almost everything looks dirty. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St Vitus, is an old building, in which there are some pieces of excellent architecture and many magnificent tombs of great men. There are 100 churches and chapels, and about 40 cloisters in the place. On Ratisbon-hill, in Upper Prague, most of the nobility have houses, and the emperor a very magnificent palace, and a summer-house commanding one of the finest prospects in the world. Here the tribunals of the regency meet; and the halls, galleries, and other apartments, are adorned with a multitude of noble pictures. The great hall, where the coronation feast is kept, is said to be the largest of the kind in Europe next to that of Westminster. The castle stands on the above-mentioned

called Ralschin or the White Mountain, and is very strong. From a window of this castle the emperor's councillors were thrown in 1618; but though they fell from a great height, yet they were not killed, nor indeed much hurt. On the same mountain stands also the archiepiscopal palace. In the New Town is an arsenal, and a religious foundation for ladies, called the Free Temporal English Foundation, over which an abbot presides. In the Lesser Side or Town, the counts Colloredo and Wallenstein have very magnificent palaces and gardens. The stables of the latter are very grand; the racks being of steel and the mangers of marble, and a marble pillar betwixt each horse; over each horse also is placed his picture as big as life. Though the inhabitants of Prague in general are poor, and their shops but meanly furnished, yet, it is said, there are few cities where the nobility and gentry are more wealthy, and live in greater state. Here is much gaming, malquarading, feasting, and very splendid public balls, with an Italian opera, and assemblies in the houses of the quality every night. On the White Mountain, near the town, was fought the battle in which the Protestants, with the elector Palatine Frederic their king, were defeated. The lutes and drinking-glasses made here of Bohemian crystal are much esteemed, and vended all over Europe. These crystals are also polished by the Jews, and set in rings, ear-pendants, and shirt-buttons. The chief tribunal consists of twelve landholders, at the head of whom is the great burgrave, governor of the kingdom and city, immediately under the emperor, and the chancery of Bohemia. Though the city of Prague is very ill-built, it is pleasantly situated, and some of the prospects are beautiful, and the gardens and pleasure-houses are excellent. The people, Riebeck informs us, enjoy sensual pleasures more than those of Vienna, because they know better how to connect mental enjoyments with them. The numerous garrison kept in the place (9000 men) contributes much to its safety and livelihood.

PRAM or PRAME, a kind of lighter used in Holland and the ports of the Baltic sea, to carry the cargo of a merchant ship along side, in order to lade or to bring it to shore to be lodged in the storehouses after being discharged out of the vessel.