or in German *Aachen*, a district in the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine, with an area of 1600 square miles. It comprehends 10 circles, 15 cities, 12 market-towns, 789 villages, 65,401 dwelling-houses, and in 1849 contained 411,525 inhabitants, of whom 395,416 were Roman Catholics, 2685 Jews and the remainder Protestants. The circle of the same name extends over 124 square miles, and has a population of 63,458.

**Aix-la-Chapelle**, the chief town of the district and circle of the same name, lies between the Rhine and the Meuse, in a pleasant valley surrounded by beautiful hills, about eighteen miles east of Maastricht, and thirty-eight west of Cologne, with which last it is connected by railway. By the census of 1849 it had 3125 houses, 8869 families, and a population of 50,533, of whom 47,489 were Catholics, 2734 Protestants, and 310 Jews. It has a public library, a gymnasium, a school for artisans, a commercial school, a collection of models, and a picture gallery; and is the seat of a bishop, of a district court, a court of justice, and a commercial court. It is celebrated for its woollen manufactures, which give employment to many thousands, as also for its needle and pin works. It has also several tanworks, and a considerable trade, particularly in cloth and wool. Among the public buildings the most remarkable are the townhouse, erected in 1553, on the site of Charlemagne's palace, in which the peace of 1748 was ratified, and in front of which, in the market-place, is a beautiful fountain; the cathedral, founded by Charlemagne, containing the marble seat on which the kings sat at their coronation, and many popish relics, which are only exhibited once in seven years, when great numbers of votaries resort to the city; and there is also an elegant theatre. Aix-la-Chapelle was for a long time the capital of the German empire, and the usual place of coronation. In 1668 and 1748 treaties of peace were concluded here; and from this town the celebrated congress of 1818 derives its name. This was the favourite residence of Charlemagne, and in the cathedral is his tomb. In the latter part of the last century it was opened, and his body, clothed in the imperial robes, was found seated on a throne of state. The whole crumbled into dust on being touched; but the diamond clasp that fastened his mantle is still preserved at Vienna.

Its thermal sulphureous baths are celebrated over Europe for the cure of rheumatic and arthritic pains. These waters have the high temperature of 136° Fahr., and contain 5.5 cubic inches of sulphuretted hydrogen per English pint. Aix-la-Chapelle is the Aqua Sextiae of the Romans.

**AJACCIO**, or Ajaccio, an arrondissement in the island and department of Corsica, in the Mediterranean, containing 12 cantons and 72 communes, with 53,463 inhabitants. Its extent is 736 square miles, or 471,000 English acres. The capital, which bears the same name, and is the best built town in the island, is situated in a fertile territory, which produces excellent wines. It has a small citadel and an excellent harbour, and contains 10,460 inhabitants. It is celebrated as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, to whose memory a column has been here erected.

**AJALON**, in Ancient Geography, a Levitical city of the tribe of Dan, in the valley of which Joshua commanded the moon to stand still. The site of Ajalon is occupied by the modern village of Yalo.