before the Revolution, a province of France, bounded on the east by the Rhine, on the south by Switzerland, on the west by Lorraine, and on the north by the palatinate of the Rhine. It was formerly a part of Germany, but was given to France by the treaty of Munster. It is one of the most fruitful provinces in Europe, abounding in corn, wine, wood, flax, tobacco, pulse, fruits, &c. The mountains which divide it from Lorraine are very high, and generally covered with fir, beech, oak, and hornbeam. Those on the side of Switzerland are lower, and furnished with all sorts of wood, as well for fuel as for building. The country itself is diversified with rising hills and fertile vales, besides large forests; but that between the rivers Ill, Hart, and the Rhine, as far as Strasburg, is inferior to the rest, on ac- count of the frequent overflowing of the Rhine. In High Alsace there are mines of silver, copper, and lead. There are iron works in several parts of Alsace, and particularly at Betford. At Sulzbach, near Munster, in High Alsace, there is a mineral spring, which is in great reputation for the palsy, gravel, and weakness of the nerves. The original inhabitants of Alsace are honest and good-natured, but wedded to their own manners and customs. The fruitfulness of their country renders them indolent and inactive; for the Swiss make their hay and reap their corn, as well as manage the vintage of High Alsace. The common language is the German, but the better sort of people in the towns speak French; and even in the country they speak French well enough to be understood. The number of inhabitants since the peace in 1814 has been computed at 915,191. By the late division of France, this province forms two departments, viz. those of the Upper and Lower Rhine; the capital of the former being Colmar, and that of the latter Strasburg.