INLAND NAVIGATION.

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spices from the northern provinces of the kingdom, and from Holland.This canal begins at St. Quintin, and is cut to near the town of Hamon the river Somme, whence it crosses the country into the river Oise,near Lafere; from whence vessels proceed down that river to Chauny,where the river is navigable, into the Seine, and so to Paris, and byRouen to the sea.

From the town of Landau a canal is cut into the Rhine, near Spires,which is called the canal of Landau.

The canal of Languedoc, called also the canal of the Two Seas, whichforms a junction between the ocean and the Mediterranean, was firstprojected under Francis I. but begun and finished under Louis XIV.It does honour to the able minister Colbert, and to Riquet, the engineerwho conducted the work.

This amazing undertaking was begun in 1666, and finished in 1681.It has answered every expectation formed from it, and established a readycommunication between the two fertile provinces of Guienne and Lan-guedoc. This canal extends from Narbonne to Thoulouse. It receivesseveral little rivers as feeders in the way, and is provided at proper inter-vals with one hundred and fourteen locks and sluices. In some places itis conveyed by aqueducts over bridges of incredible height and strength,which under them give passage to other rivers.

What appeared most extraordinary at that time was, that near the townof Beziers it was conveyed under a mountain by a tunnel (a methodwhich has now become common) seven hundred and twenty feet inlength, cut into a lofty arcade, and the greatest part of the way lined withfree-stone, excepting towards the ends, where it is only hewn throughthe rock, which is of a soft sulphurous substance. The expence of thiswork was thirteen millions of livres, about five hundred and forty thou-sand