the chief town of the English county of the same name, is situated upon the banks of the river Cam, which is navigable to the sea by means of the river Ouse, falling into the sea at the port of Lynn. It is situated in an extensive and moderately fertile plain, and considered as very salubrious. Like most ancient towns it consists chiefly of narrow and winding streets, the houses in which differ very remarkably in their architecture. Several of the streets have recently been widened and improved by the removal of many ancient but picturesque houses, but some few singular medieval habitations still remain, and it is hoped may be retained in future without interfering with the alterations required for modern convenience and the adoption of the measures for sanitary improvement. The most remarkable of the alterations has been the removal of Cambridge, a long range of old buildings by which King's College was hidden from view, and the destruction of a mass of houses for the enlargement of the market-place. The beauty of the town has also been greatly increased by the numerous additions that have been made to the collegiate buildings during the last thirty years. There was certainly a Roman town upon a part of the site of modern Cambridge, but it is not certain by what name it was then called. The celebrated antiquary Dr Stukeley suggested that its name was Graunt, but he seems to have had no good reason for that opinion, although some have believed it to have been the Caer Graunt of Nennius. It seems more probable that it is the place called Camboritum or Camboricum, in the Antonine Itineraries (Babington's Ancient Cambridgeshire). Some slight remains of its Roman fortifications may still be traced, but the greater part has long since been destroyed. The Roman town was situated on the north side of the river, but after being deserted during some part of the Saxon period the present town sprung up on the south side of the Cam.

Most of the public buildings belong to the university, which is a corporation having separate jurisdiction from the borough, and returns two members of its own to the House of Commons. The constitution of the university and its several colleges will be noticed separately under the head of universities. The principal buildings may, however, be noticed here. A few of them are, King's, Trinity, St John's, and Jesus Colleges, the university library, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the Pitt Press. Of these the chapel of King's College is the most deserving of notice, both from its great beauty, and also as being one of the few perfect buildings in the florid form of the perpendicular style of architecture. A new set of county courts has recently been erected, which, although making considerable pretensions, is not a very successful specimen of architectural skill. The churches are numerous, and a few of them interesting. St Benedict's (or Bennet) church has a tower of true Romanesque architecture; St Sepulchre's, which is one of the few round churches in England, and is in the Norman style, has been very successfully restored; St Mary's, which is used by the university, is a fine building in the perpendicular style.

The town is governed by a mayor, 10 aldermen, and 30 common councillors, under the Municipal Reform act, but was formerly under a very ancient corporation. It has returned two members to parliament from the time of Edward I. There is a grammar-school founded by Dr Perse, in which a number of the sons of burgesses are educated gratuitously. There are several almshouses of ancient foundation. The two fairs, once of much note and use, are now greatly neglected, and might probably be discontinued without any inconvenience. The trade of the town is almost wholly that resulting from its situation in the centre of an agricultural district; and the presence of the great number of students attending the university. It is a chief station upon the Eastern Counties railway, and at the head of the navigation for barges from the port of Lynn. It is the centre of a county court and excise district. The principal market is held on Saturday, and is well attended. There are two weekly newspapers published there. Pop. (1851) 27,815, of whom 13,347 were males, and 14,468 females.

(C. C. B.)

town in the county of Middlesex, state of Massachusetts, North America. It stands on the Charles river, three miles N.W. of Boston, with which it is connected by railway. It is the seat of Harvard University, formerly called Harvard College, the oldest and best endowed institution of the kind in the Union. See Massachusetts. Mount Auburn cemetery here is noticed in the article Boston. The town contains a court-house, jail, state arsenal, and numerous churches. Its observatory is in Lat. 42. 22. 48. N., Long. 71. 8. W. Pop. (1850) 15,215.