an arrondissement in the department of the Somme, in the north of France. Its extent is 652 square miles, or about 423,250 English acres. It comprehends thirteen cantons, viz. Amiens, Conti, Corbie, Hornoy, Moliens-Bibance, Oisecourt, Piquigny, Poix, Soins, and Villers-Bocage, with 250 communes or parishes. It contains 161,275 inhabitants.

a city, the capital as well of the department of the Somme as of the circle of its own name. It is a fortified place, with a strong citadel, on the Somme, which receives here the water of the Seille, and passes through the town in three branches. It has access to the sea, but only for small craft. It is a well-built ancient town, containing a cathedral, fourteen churches, two hospitals, 3980 dwelling-houses, and 40,106 inhabitants. The cathedral is a venerable object, both for its beauty and extent. The town-house is a large, handsome stone building, and contains a fine collection of pictures of the French school. Amiens is the seat of the prefect, of a bishop, and of the departmental courts of justice. There is a commercial board, a society of agriculture, a botanic garden, a lyceum, and public library. Amiens was always a manufacturing city. Though it suffered much during the revolution, it has since revived; and at present produces considerable quantities of woollen cloths, cassimeres, and worsted stuffs. There are also some moderate establishments for making cotton goods, the yarn of which, for all but the finer kinds, is spun in the city. It has also trade in tanneries and in making soap. This city is distinguished as the birth-place of Peter the Hermit, the preacher of the first crusade, and of Voiture the poet, as well as for the treaty of peace of 1802. Long. 2. 23. E. Lat. 49. 59. N.