province of the kingdom of Hanover, which, together with Verden, was secularized at the treaty of Westphalia in favour of Sweden. In a war between Denmark and Sweden in 1712, it was conquered by the former kingdom, who sold it to the house of Hanover, to whom it was, after much negotiation, confirmed by imperial edict in 1732. It is bounded on the north-east by the Elbe, on the north by the German Ocean, on the east by Luneburg, on the south by the province of Hoya and a part of Brunswick, on the south-west by the republic of Bremen, and on the west by Oldenburg. It extends over about 2696 square miles, or 1,665,440 acres. On the borders of the sea and of the Elbe there is a narrow strip of good marsh and corn land, though the greater part of the interior of the province is a most sterile sandy district; but by the attention which the Duke of Cambridge has devoted to the roads, the interior has been vastly improved within the last twelve years, and the cultivation much extended. The population has also rapidly increased in the same period. In 1816 it amounted to 207,212; and at the end of 1826 to 230,235 individuals. It contains four cities, twenty-three market-towns, 125 parishes, and 924 hamlets. The inhabitants are Lutherans, with the exception of seven churches, which are served by pastors of the reformed confession.