or TCHULIMM, a river of Asiatic Russia, which runs through the province of Kolivan, and falls into the Yenisei. Its course is through a poor and desolate country, with scarcely a house or an inhabitant, but only tall pines rising like pyramids, and spreading their branches so wide as to render the woods almost impassable. The only inha- bitants are Tartars, who are sunk in the lowest state of bar- barism.

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. viii. p. 515. U, or u, the twentieth letter and fifth vowel of our alphabet, is formed in the voice by a round configuration of the lips, and a greater extrusion of the under one than in forming the letter o. The sound is short in carat, vast, tan, tub; but is lengthened by a final e, as in tame, tale, &c. In some words it is rather acute than long; as in brute, flute, lute, &c. It is mostly long in polysyllables; as in union, curious, &c.; but in some words it is obscure, as in nature, venture, &c.

UBEDA, a city of Spain, in the province of Andalusia, the division called the kingdom of Jaen. It is situated in a fertile district, on a gentle elevation, but is well protected from the cold north winds by the loftier elevations of the Sierra Nevada. The vegetable products are corn, grapes, vines, and especially figs; but from the want of even passable roads, and of access to any of the great cities, there is little inducement to cultivate beyond the demands of the immediate vicinity. The breed of horses is highly valued, as the only article sold beyond the limits of the district. Being a frontier town between the Moors and the Christians so long as the former maintained themselves in Granada, it was the scene of numerous and sanguinary conflicts. Like the other cities in this part of Spain, it has, perhaps had, a very great number of churches, convents, and monasteries. The inhabitants are stated to be about 3,000, a few of whom are occupied in making coarse woollen stuffs for domestic use. Ubeda is thirty miles from the city of Jaen, and fifty-four miles from Granada. Long. 18° W. Lat. 38° 3' N.

UBIQUITARIANS, a word formed from ubique, everywhere, denotes a sect of Lutherans which arose and spread itself in Germany, and whose distinguishing doctrine was, that the body of Jesus Christ is everywhere, or in every place. Brentius, one of the earliest reformers, is said to have first broached this error in 1560. Luther himself, in his controversy with Zuinglius, had used some unguarded expressions, which seemed to imply a belief of the omnipresence of the body of Christ; but he afterwards became sensible that this opinion was attended with great difficulties, and particularly that it ought not to be made use of as a proof of Christ's corporal presence in the eucharist. After the death of Luther, this absurd hypothesis was exhibited in a vicious and plausible form by Brentius, Chemnitz, and Andreas, who maintained the communication of the properties of Christ's divinity to his human nature. It is indeed obvious, that every Lutheran who believes the doctrine of consubstantiation, whatever he may pretend, must be an Ubiquitarian. See Supper of the Lord.

UBIQUITY, OMNIPRESENCE, an attribute of the Deity, whereby He is always intimately present to all things.

UBRIQUE, a city of Spain, of the province of Andalusia, in the western part of the government of Granada, between the Sierra de Alpujarra and that of Antequera, in a most picturesque country. It is nestled in the bottom of a deep valley, hemmed in by singularly rugged mountains. The valley is pierced by two streams, which are conducted to the town, and form the river Majaceite, and fertilize a belt of ground around the city, of most luxuriant vegetation. The streets are wide, clean, and well paved, the houses lofty and good, but with scarcely any furniture. The population is estimated at 8,000 souls. They have some breweries, and manufacture some hats and coarse cloth. In the neighbourhood are some mines of copper, which were formerly worked, but have for many years been abandoned.

UCKFIELD, a town in the hundred of Loxfield-Dorset and rape of Pevensey, in the county of Sussex. It is situated on the great road to Lewes and Eastbourne, forty-one miles from London. It is well built, clean, and flourishing, chiefly depending on the travelling through it. It is a part of the parish of Buxted. The population amounted in 1821 to 1,099, and in 1831 to 1,261.

UDINE, a city of Austrian Lombardy, the capital of the delegation of Friuli, in the government of Venice. It is surrounded with walls, and stands on the river Roja di Palma, in a hilly country, 350 feet above the level of the sea. It is a well-built city, and kept in good order, but, from the narrowness and crookedness of the streets, has a gloomy appearance. There is however a fine plaza or marketplace, ornamented with a column and statue to commemorate the peace of Campoformio, which was signed in a village near this city in 1797. It is the seat of an archbishop, has a cathedral, twelve churches, and several oratories or chapels. The episcopal palace is a fine building; and so is the opera-house; and some others are worthy of notice, though almost hidden by the meaner buildings that surround them. There are public institutions for charitable and educational purposes, but they are for the most part on a contracted scale. The population in 1830 amounted to 17,560 persons, whose chief occupation arises from the breeding of silk-worms, and from the labour of winding and spinning. There are also some manufactures of linen goods, considerable tanneries, and a few paper-mills. The gloomy appearance of the city is somewhat relieved by several fine promenades in the contiguous suburbs. Long. 13° 8' 57" E. Lat. 46° 3' 14" N.

UDIPU, a town of the south of India, province of Canara, about three miles from the sea, on a small river. It contains 300 houses and three Hindu temples, the roofs of which are covered with copper. Long. 74° 48" E. Lat. 14° 10" N.

UFFCULME, or Uffculm, a market-town and parish in the hundred of Bampton and county of Devon, 160 miles from London. It has a good market on Wednesday, and some fairs. The trade in serge has become extinct. The population amounted in 1821 to 1,779, and in 1831 to 2,082.

UGLITSCH, a circle of the Russian government of Jaroslav. It extends in north latitude from 57° 17' to 58° 11', and in east longitude from 38° 17' to 39° 8'. It comprehends one city and 374 towns and villages, with 68,840 inhabitants. The land is of moderate fertility, watered by the Wolga, the Jugol, and the Ulcima; and it yields tolerable crops of corn, while the meadows afford good pasture for horned cattle. The capital is the city of the same name, situate on the river Wolga. It contains twenty-five churches, 1,100 houses, in narrow and crooked streets, and 7,300 inhabitants, who are chiefly occupied in the manufacture of coarse paper, linen and woollen fabrics, soap, and leather. It is 445 miles from St Petersburg. Long. 38° 19' E. Lat. 57° 27' N.

UGOCSA, a circle of the Austrian kingdom of Hungary, in the province of the Hither Theiss. It extends over 480 square miles, one half of which is covered with woods. It comprehends three market-towns and sixty-three villages, with 5,350 houses, and 36,900 inhabitants, mostly Catholics, with 2000 Protestants and 1500 Jews. The chief town is Nagyszollos, with 2160 inhabitants, whose chief trade is in wine. Long. 22° 44' 34" E. Lat. 48° 7' 10" N.

**UIST, SOUTH AND NORTH,** two of the Hebrides Islands. South Uist is situated in 57° 7' and 57° 25' N. lat., and 7° 12' and 7° 28' W. long. Its extent is twenty-one miles, its greatest breadth about eight miles and a half, and its superficial extent is calculated at 127 square miles. The population in 1831, including small islands attached to it, amounted to 6890. North Uist is separated from South Uist by the island of Benbecula. It is situated between 57° 40' and 57° 48' N. lat., and 7° 1' and 7° 30' W. long. It is of an irregular triangular shape, and has a length of nearly seventeen miles, a breadth of about twelve miles, and contains a superficial extent of 118 square miles. The population in 1831, including the island of Boreray, amounted to 4603. The rocks of both islands are gneiss, and both present nearly the same physical appearance, being broken up by innumerable branches of the sea, and having their surface covered by a multiplicity of fresh-water lakes, a few feet in depth, so as to render it difficult to determine whether water or land prevails. They are also completely destitute of wood, and the land may be said to be rather extensive series of peat-bogs and sand-levels, than of soil. In South Uist there are three distinct groups of hills, which exclusively occupy the eastern side, the highest of which is Heckla, rising to an elevation of 2940 feet; while the western division is a level tract of peat, which terminates, at the extreme west, in sand. Barley, oats, rye, and potatoes, are cultivated here, by the use of seaweed and the ordinary manure. Portions also of the middle tract are cultivated, where the ground is firm, and naturally drained by means of the lakes. North Uist also rises on its eastern side, towards the north, into a low ridge of hills, which gradually increase toward the south, till they rise to an elevation of 2000 feet. Westward from this there is a large brown, peaty, and boggy flat tract, comprising nearly half the area of the island, and producing scanty and wretched herbage. The south-west part however terminates in an uneven tract of good land, the soil of which contains clay; and this being aided by peat and drift seaweed, and mixed with sand, forms an excellent open mould, applicable to the cultivation of barley and potatoes. This forms the principal part of the arable land in North Uist. In both islands, however, the peat is undergoing a gradual amelioration toward mould, by the diffusion of the sand, formed for the most part of various comminuted shells, which is blown by the wind over the surface. The rearing and exporting of cattle, the fisheries, and the manufacture of kelp, which is now in a very depressed state, are the means by which the inhabitants earn their subsistence. There are various remains of military works and barrows found in North Uist. The population of the two islands being 11,493, and their superficial extent 245 square miles, the number of inhabitants for each square mile is forty-seven; while in the rest of Scotland the proportion is eighty-six to each square mile. Even this small number is too great for the unproductive state of the soil. The growing scarcity of fish, and the fearful over-population, have reduced the greater part of the inhabitants to a state of wretchedness. Education is in a very backward condition. In 1831 the number of well-educated persons was thirty-three, and the number of those above six years of age unable to read was 7400. In 1838 the number of schools was 15, and of scholars 590.

**UJ-VIDEK,** a city of the Austrian kingdom of Hungary, in the province of Hither Danube and the circle of Pacs. It is the capital of a district called by the Germans Neusatz, and by the Hungarians Also-Jaras. It stands on the river Danube, is the seat of a Greek bishop, and has five churches belonging to that sect, and one to the Catholics; and to each there are attached establishments for education. It contains 2367 houses, and 13,390 inhabitants, who are mostly of the Armenian race, and carry on extensive trade with the Turkish empire. Long. 19° 59' 26" E. Lat. 45° 16" N.

**UKENSKOI,** a town of Asiatic Russia, in the government of Tobolsk, at the confluence of the Irtysch and the Obi, 196 miles north of Tobolsk.

**UKIKITSCHA,** a small river of Irkoutsk, in Asiatic Russia, which falls into the Olenek.

**UKINSKOI,** a cape of Asiatic Russia, on the eastern coast of Kamtschatka, sixty miles north-east of Oulinsk.

**UKIPEN,** a small island in the North Pacific Ocean, so called by the Russians, probably the same with that called Sledge Island by Captain Cook. Long. 214° E. Lat. 64° 22" N.

**UKRAINE,** a large country of Europe, lying on the borders of Turkey in Europe, Poland, Russia, and Little Tartary. Its name properly signifies a frontier. By a treaty between Russia and Poland in 1693, the latter remained in possession of all that part of the Ukraine lying on the west side of the river Dnieper, which is but indifferently cultivated; while the country on the east side, inhabited by the Cossacks, is in much better condition. The Russian part is comprised in the government of Kief; and the empress of Russia having obtained the Polish patrimony of Kief by the treaty of partition in 1793, the whole of the Ukraine, on both sides of the Dnieper, now belongs to that ambitious and formidable power. The principal town is Kief. See Russia.

**ULEABORG,** the most extensive circle of the Russian province of Finland. It is bounded on the north by Norway, on the east by Archangel, on the south-east by Kuopio, on the south by Wasa, on the south-west by the Gulf of Bothnia, and on the north-west by Sweden. It extends over 46,266 square miles, comprehending three towns, 1302 hamlets or farms, with 80,800 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the same name, situated at the mouth of the river Ulea. It has 360 houses, mostly of wood, and 3500 inhabitants, who build ships, and are employed in the export trade, which consists of tar, pitch, butter, tallow, wax, deals, and cured fish. The harbour is bad, being filled with sand, so that ships must lead and discharge their cargoes four miles below the city. Long. 25° 24' 53" E. Lat. 64° 53' 30" N.

**ULEY,** a town of the hundred of Berkeley, in the county of Gloucester, two miles from Dursley and 105 from London. Near to it, on the side of a hill, are the remains of a Roman encampment. The chief occupation is making broad cloths for the East India market, which are afterwards dyed and finished in London. The population amounted in 1821 to 2655, and in 1831 to 2641.

**ULITEA,** one of the Society Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, wholly surrounded by reefs, and interspersed with small islands, forming several harbours. (For further details, see Society Islands.) The southern extremity is in long. 181° 20' W. and lat. 16° 55' S.

**ULLAPOOL,** a fishing village situate on the north shore of Loch Broom, in Ross-shire. It possesses an excellent harbour and quay; but the buildings, and, it must be added, the population, are quite disproportionate to the present state of its trade and fisheries. In the article Ross-shire, the quantity of fish caught and cured here since 1830 is stated. The population amounts to 500 or 600.

**ULM,** a city of the kingdom of Wurtemburg, the capital of a circle of the same name in the province of the Danube. It stands on the river Danube, at the point where the Iller and the Blau discharge their waters into that river, and the Danube thus becomes navigable. On the western side are some lofty hills, which were once crowned with fortifications, but when attacked, were found insufficient means of defence, and whose capture in 1805 led to the disgraceful surrender of an Austrian army of 30,000 men, under General Mack, to the French, commanded by Napoleon. The town is divided by the rivers, over which are eight bridges. It is an ancient city, contains three Lutheran and two Catholic churches, 1620 houses, and 12,049 inhabitants. Some of the public buildings are remarkable, especially the cathedral, whose interior is very striking, being 417 feet in length and 160 in breadth. It is ornamented with a tower 340 feet in height. The proportions and construction are objects of great admiration. It is furnished with an organ of extraordinary power, having 952 pipes. Some of the ancient paintings in it are fine specimens of the skill of the Germans in that art at a very early period. The stadhous, with its mechanical clock and its paintings, is curious and interesting. The trade of Ulm has much declined from its former state when it was one of the Hanse Towns. There is some trade down the Danube, and some barges are built here for that purpose. There are some linen manufactories and some tanneries; but the chief trade is in flour, which is ground at several mills on the three streams that run through and unite the city. Horticulture is a favourite pursuit of the inhabitants, and furnishes the best of fruits and of culinary vegetables. Long. 9. 53. E. Lat. 48. 23. 45. N.

ULSTER, one of the four provinces into which Ireland is divided. It consists of the northern portion of the island, and embraces the following counties: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan, and Tyrone. This province had anciently petty kings of its own. It was subjected to the English in the reign of Henry II., by John de Courcy, the first who bore the title of earl of Ulster; but it afterwards threw off the yoke, and was never entirely reduced till the reign of James I., when great numbers of Scots, by his encouragement, came and settled in it; and from them the greater part of the present inhabitants of the province are descended.

ULTRAMARINE, in Geography, is applied to some part of country or province which, with regard to the rest of that country, is situated on the farther side of the river, mountain, or other boundary which separates the two countries.

ULTRAMONTANE, something beyond the mountains. The term is principally applied in relation to France and Italy, which are separated by the Alps.

ULUGH-BEIGH, a learned Tartarian prince, was born in 1393. His real name was Mohammed Taragai; Ulugh-beigh being only a descriptive appellation, signifying great lord or prince. His father was the sultan Shah Rok, the son of the celebrated Timur, who, after the death of that conqueror, ruled many years in Iran and Turan, that is, Asia and Tartary. In 1407, while his father was yet living, he entered upon the administration of the government, and notwithstanding his youth, acquitted himself in such a manner as to acquire general esteem. He was a remarkable person for the age in which he lived, and was particularly distinguished by his skill in astronomy. The termination of his life was unhappy. His eldest son having rebelled against him, defeated him in a bloody battle near Samarqand. To this unworthy son he afterwards ventured to present himself, in the hope of recovering his sense of duty; but such a hope was delusive, and his son ordered him to be put to death. This event, according to D'Herbelot, took place in the year 1450. Of his works, some portions have been printed. Greaves published "Biblia Philica Geographica," una Nassir Eddini, altera Ulugh-Beigi." Lond. 1648, 4to. These tables, in Arabic and Latin, were reprinted in Dr Hudson's Geographie Veteris Scriptores Graeci minores, tom. iii. Greaves likewise published, in the same language, "Epochae celebriorum astronomiae, historicae, chronologicae, Chataiorum, Syro-Graecorum, Arabum, Persarum, Chorasmiarum usitatae: ex traditione Ulugh-Beigi." Lond. 1650, 4to. From a collection of three Persian manuscripts, Dr Hyde edited "Tabulae Longitudinis et Latitudinis Stellarum Fixarum, ex observatione Vlugh-beighi." Oxon. 1665, 4to.

ULVERSTONE, a market-town in the hundred of Lonsdale, and county of Lancaster, 273 miles from London. It is pleasantly situate, and consists principally of four spacious and well-built streets. Its trade is considerable, is on the increase, and consists of ore, pig, and bar iron, copper ore, cotton, hats, and other fabrics. The trade has been greatly facilitated by the canal which communicates with the river Leven. There is a yard for ship-building. Besides the parochial church, there are places of worship for various bodies of dissenters. There is a good weekly market, and two fairs are held yearly. The population amounted in 1821 to 4815, and in 1831 to 4876.

ULYSSES, king of Ithaca, the son of Laertes and father of Telemachus, and one of those heroes who contributed most to the taking of Troy. After the destruction of that city, he wandered for ten years, and at last returned to Ithaca, where, with the assistance of Telemachus, he killed Antinous and other princes who intended to marry his wife Penelope and seize his dominions. He at length resigned the government of the kingdom to his son Telemachus, and was killed by Telemonius, his son by Circe, who did not know him. This hero is the subject of the Odyssey.

UMAN, a circle of the Russian government of Kiev, extending in north latitude from 48° 25' to 49° 9', and in east longitude from 29° 40' to 30° 41'. It is separated from Chernigov by the river Seinitska. It has little wood, but extensive steppes, producing, when cultivated, good crops of corn. The capital is of the same name, situated on the river Umanka. It is surrounded with walls, which furnish good promenades, contains a magnificent palace belonging to Count Potocki, one Catholic and three Greek churches, 440 houses, and 3300 inhabitants. It is 1020 miles from St Petersburg. Long. 29. 51. E. Lat. 48. 43. N.

UMBELLIFEROUS Plants are such as have their tops branched and spread out like an umbrella.

UMBRELLA, a moveable canopy, made of silk or other cloth spread out upon ribs of whalebone, and supported by a staff, to protect a person from rain, or the scorching beams of the sun.

UMMERAPOOR, a large city, and the present capital of the Birman empire. It stands on the banks of a romantic lake, seven miles long by one and a half broad, and at a short distance from the Irrawaddy river. When the lake is filled during the periodical rains, it leaves, with the river on the other side, a peninsula, on which the city is built. It is a place of great resort, and of extensive trade; and the lake during the highest floods, when it is covered with numerous boats of every description, presents, with the lofty hills in the neighbourhood, an extraordinary spectacle to a stranger. The town is regularly fortified, and is laid out in an exact square. The streets are wide, and intersect each other at right angles. There are four principal gates, one on each side of the square, and a smaller gate on each side of the great gate. At each angle of the fort there is a large quadrangular bastion, which projects considerably; and there are also eleven smaller bastions on each side, including those over the gateway. Between each of these bastions is a curtain, extending 200 yards in length. The ditch of the fort is wide, and faced with brick. The rampart, faced by a wall of brick, is about twenty feet high exclusively of the parapet, which has embrasures for cannon and apertures for musketry. Small demi-bastions project at regular intervals; and the gates are massive, and guarded by cannon. The southern face of the fort is washed during the rainy season by the waters of the lake; and the houses of the city and suburbs extend along the bank as far as the extreme point of the land. The town is but meanly built. There are few houses of brick and mortar, and these belong to the members of the royal family. The houses of the chief persons are surrounded by a wooden enclosure; and all houses whatever are covered with tiles, and have on the ridge of the roof earthen pots filled with water, as a precaution against fires, which are here very frequent. When a fire takes place, they are immediately broken. In the centre of the town stands the royal palace, which consists of a number of wooden buildings of various forms, the domes of which, being covered with gilt copper, make a splendid appearance. The whole is surrounded with an enclosure of teak plants, having four gates, and may be half a mile in circumference. The splendour of the religious buildings is very striking, owing to their being entirely covered with gilding, the inside of the roofs as well as the outside. The gold leaf that is used, being exceedingly pure, bears exposure to the air for a long time without suffering injury. The royal library is situated at the north-west angle of the fort, in the centre of a court paved with broad flags. The books are kept in wooden chests curiously ornamented. The chests are about 100 in number, and well filled. The contents of each chest are inscribed in gold letters on the lid. The city is divided into four distinct quarters, each of which is governed by its own officer; and no town in Europe can boast of a better police. Ummarapoor was founded by the Birmam monarch Minderajee Praw, so recently as 1783, about four miles east from old Ava, the ancient capital. Buildings in this part of India being mostly composed of wood, and the river presenting a convenient water-carrage, the present capital rose most rapidly, and became in a short time one of the most flourishing and well-built cities in the east. The population was estimated by Captain Cox at 175,000 persons, and the number of houses from 20,000 to 25,000. Long. 96. 7. E. Lat. 21. 55. N.

UMNABAD, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Bejapoor, thirty miles north-east from Poonah. Long. 74. 27. E. Lat. 18. 51. N.

UMRUT, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Aurungabad, forty miles south by east from Surat. Long. 73. 18. E. Lat. 20. 40. N.

UNBIAK, one of the Fox Islands, in the North Pacific Ocean, about seventy-two miles in circumference.

UNCIA, a Latin term, denoting the twelfth part of anything, particularly the twelfth part of a pound, called in English an ounce, or the twelfth part of a foot, called an inch.

UNCTION, the act of anointing or rubbing with oil or other fatty matter.

Unction, in matters of religion, is used for the character conferred on sacred things by anointing them with oil. Unctions are very frequent among the Hebrews. They anointed both their kings and high priests at the ceremony of their inauguration. They also anointed the sacred vessels of the tabernacle and temple, to sanctify and consecrate them to the service of God. The unction of kings is supposed to be a ceremony introduced very late among the Christian princes. It is said that none of the emperors was ever anointed before Justinian or Justin. The emperors of Germany borrowed the practice from those of the eastern empire. King Pepin of France was the first who received the unction. In the ancient Christian church, unction always accompanied the ceremonies of baptism and confirmation. Extreme unction, or the anointing persons in the article of death, was also practised by the ancient Christians, in compliance with the precept of St James, v. 14, 15; and this extreme unction the Romish church has advanced to the dignity of a sacrament. It is administered to none but such as are affected with some mortal disease, or in a decrepit age. It is refused to impenitent persons, as also to criminals. The parts to be anointed are the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the hands, the feet, and the reins. The laity are anointed in the palms of the hands, but priests on the back of them; because the palms of their hands have been already consecrated by ordination. The oil with which the sick person is anointed represents the grace of God, which is poured down into the soul, and the prayer used at the time of anointing expresses the remission of sins thereby granted to the sick person; for the prayer is this: "By this holy unction, and his own most pious mercy, may the Almighty God forgive thee whatever sins thou hast committed by the sight," when the eyes are anointed; "by the hearing," when the ears are anointed; and so of the other senses.

UNDECAGON is a regular polygon of eleven sides.

UNDECEMVIIR, a magistrate among the ancient Athenians, who had ten colleagues or associates joined with him in the same commission. The functions of the undecemviri at Athens were much the same with those of the late prévôts de maréchalsse in France. They took care of the apprehending of criminals; secured them in the hands of justice; and when they were condemned, took them again into custody, that the sentence might be executed on them. They were chosen by the tribes, each tribe naming its own; and as the number of the tribes after Callisthenes was but ten, which made ten members, a scribe or notary was added, which made the number eleven.

UNDES, an extensive district of Northern Hindustan, bordering on Little Tibet, intersected by the river Sattelege. The mountains of the country are composed of granite, and are said to be rich in gold. It is subject to the lama of Tibet.

UNDULATION, in Physics, a kind of tremulous motion or vibration observable in a liquid, by which it alternately rises and falls like the waves of the sea.

UNICORN, an animal famous among the ancients, and thought to be the same with the rhinoceros. Sparman informs us that the figure of the unicorn described by the ancients has been found delineated by the Soese Hottentots on the plain surface of a rock in Caflaria, and therefore conjectures that such an animal either does exist at present in the interior parts of Africa, or at least once did so. Father Lobo affirms that he has seen it. Sir John Barrow, in his Travels in Southern Africa, affords additional reason to believe in the existence of this curious animal.

UNIEH, a seaport of Asia Minor, on the coast of the Black Sea, situated on a bay, with a range of finely wooded mountains behind. It is mostly built of wood, and, like all eastern towns, is extremely filthy; forming a striking contrast with the beauty of the environs. The inhabitants consist of Turks, Greeks, and Armenians, who carry on a considerable trade with Constantinople and the Crimea. Its exports are cotton stuffs from Tocat and Diarbekir, fruits and wine; the imports corn and oil from the Crimea, coffee, sugar, and European manufactures from Constantinople. A number of vessels belongs to the port, though none of them exceeds 200 tons burden. Unieh is forty miles east of Samson.

UNION, a junction, coalition, or assemblage of two or more different things in one.

Union, or The Union, by way of eminence, is more particularly used to express the act by which the two separate kingdoms of Scotland and England were incorporated into one, under the title of the kingdom of Great Britain. This union, in vain attempted by James I., was at length effected in the year 1707, 6 Ann. when twenty-five articles were agreed to by the parliaments of both nations; the purport of the most considerable being as follows:

1. That on the first of May 1707, and for ever after, the kingdoms of England and Scotland shall be united into one kingdom, by the name of Great Britain.

2. The succes... United Brethren. United Brethren. United Brethren.

Though the church of the United Brethren is episcopal, their bishops possess no elevation of rank or pre-eminent authority, their church being governed by synods or consistories from all the congregations, and by subordinate bodies called conferences. The synods are generally held once in seven years. In the first sitting a president is chosen; and the elders appointed by the former synod to superintend the unity lay down their office, though they still form a part of the assembly, as well as the bishops, the lay elders, and those ministers who have the inspection of several congregations in one province. Questions of importance, or of which the consequences cannot be foreseen, are decided by lot, though this is never used till after mature deliberation and fervent prayer. In the synods, the state of the unity, and the concerns of the congregations and missions, are taken into consideration. Towards the conclusion of every synod, a kind of executive board is appointed, called the elders' conference of the unity, consisting of thirteen elders, and divided into four committees or departments, one for superintending missions into heathen countries, a second for watching over the conduct of congregations, a third for managing the economical concerns of the unity, and a fourth for maintaining the discipline of the society. These conferences are however amenable to a higher committee, called the elders' conference, the powers of which are very extensive. It appoints and removes every servant in the unity, authorizes the bishops to ordain presbyters or deacons, and to consecrate other bishops, and, in short, possesses the supreme executive power over the whole society.

A bishop of the United Brethren can discharge no office but by the appointment of the synod or of the elders' conference. Indeed their deacons can perform every office of the bishops except ordination, and appear to confirm young persons when they first become candidates for the communion. Deaconesses are employed for the purpose of privately admonishing their own sex, and visiting them in cases of sickness. There are also lay elders, whose business it is to watch over the constitution and discipline of the unity, to enforce the observance of the laws of the country in which missions are established, and to guard the privileges conferred on the brethren by the government under which they live.

On Sunday, besides the public prayers, one or two sermons are preached in every church; and after the morning service, an exhortation is given to the children. Previously to the holy communion, which is administered on some Sunday once a month, and on Maunday Thursday, each person, before he communicates, must converse on the state of his soul with one of the elders. Love-feasts are frequent; and on Maunday Thursday the society have a solemn footwashing.

Our limits will not permit us to give a systematic view of the doctrinal tenets of the Brethren. Though they acknowledge no other standard of truth than the sacred Scriptures, they adhere to the Augsburg Confession, and speak respectfully of the thirty-nine articles of the church of England. They profess to believe that the kingdom of Christ is not confined to any particular party, community, or church; and they consider themselves as spiritually joined in the bond of Christian love to all who are taught of God, and belong to the universal church of Christ, however much they may differ in forms, which they deem non-essentials. For a fuller account of this society, see Grantz's Ancient and Modern History of the Protestant Church of the United Brethren, London, 1780; and An Exposition of Christian Doctrine, as taught in the Protestant Church of the United Brethren, London, 1784.

UNITED PROVINCES. See HOLLAND and NETHERLANDS.