a town of France, capital of the department of Allier, is situated on a plain on the right bank of the Allier, which is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge, 164 miles S.S.E. of Paris. The town has a cheerful appearance; and the streets, though not very wide or straight, are clean, well paved, and lined on each side with good houses, built chiefly of brick. It was formerly surrounded by fortifications, but the place of these is now occupied by public walks. The principal buildings in the town are,—the cathedral of Notre Dame, a building in the florid style of the fifteenth century, of which only the choir has been completed; the chapel of the college, which formerly belonged to the convent of the Visitation, containing the monument of the last Duke of Montmorency; the castle, formerly the residence of the Dukes of Bourbon, of which all that now remains is a square tower and some buildings erected by Catherine de Medicis, and serving as barracks; and the town-house. There are also in Moulins a court of first resort and one of commerce, a chamber of manufactures and arts, a normal school and school of design, societies of rural economy and of agriculture, a public library of 19,000 volumes, a museum of natural history, two hospitals, and a theatre. The manufactures are extensive, consisting chiefly of hardware, especially of cutlery, woollen and cotton stuffs, hosiery, glass, leather, silk, &c. There is an active trade in cutlery, corn, wine, cattle, timber, coal, charcoal, iron, &c. The history of the town can be traced as far back as the eleventh century; and in 1368 the Bourbon family took up their residence here. Moulins is also noted as the birthplace of Marshal Villars, the opponent of Marlborough at Malplaquet. Pop. (1856) 16,391.

MOLMEIN, in Hindustan, a town in the British district of Amberst, and the principal place of the Tenasserim provinces. It is situated on a small peninsula formed by three rivers, the Salween, the Gyné, and the Attaran, and lies opposite to the town of Martaban, and about 30 miles N. of Amberst. Upon its cession to the British in 1826 by the Burmese, the site was selected for a military station; and the town, which now bears all the marks of civilization, a few years since presented a very different aspect, the accumulation of huts of which it then consisted having been converted into a fine seaport-town, with open streets, quays, markets, churches, and schools. The main street runs parallel to the river, and communicates with different parts of the town by means of smaller streets joining it at right angles. The population of the town is given at 17,042. Vast forests in the vicinity yield an inexhaustible supply of teak timber, which, coupled with other local advantages, has enabled Molmein to supplant Chittagong and other ports on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in ship-building. The East India Company's steamer Tenasserim and Her Majesty's sloop Malacca were built at this port. One of the Indian newspapers, styled the Molmein Guardian, is printed in this town. N. Lat. 16° 30', E. Long. 97° 42'.

MOUNTAINS. See Physical Geography.