934 YEDDO. —Y

called Yarrow Cleugh, and running east a few miles,forms a beautiful expanse of water, called the Lochof the Lows. It ultimately joins its waters to theEtterick, two miles above Selkirk.

Yeddo, or Jeddo. A city of Japan, which mayproperly he considered as the capital of the empire.It is situated at the head of a great hay, and at themouth of a large river of the same name. Meaco,the residence of the spiritual emperor, was the ori-ginal capital, and is still in some degree consideredas such ; but since the Kubo Sama, the civil andmilitary ruler, has fixed his residence at Yeddo, thatcity has far eclipsed the other. It contains many splen-did palaces, which stand by themselves, surroundedby large court-yards and stately gates ; and thoughbuilt only of wood, and one story high, are distin-guished by varnished staircases, as well as large andfinely ornamented apartments. All these are eclipsed,however, by the palace of the emperor, which maymore properly be called a great fortified city, situ-ated in the heart of the general city, said to be fiveleagues in circumference, surrounded with walls andditches, and containing several fortified buildings.The puter part is composed of streets, containingmany palaces, in which reside the princes of the blood,ministers, and other public functionaries. The centreof the enclosure contains the palace or residence ofthe emperor.

Yemen. A country of Arabia, forming the south-eastern division of that part of Asia situated partlyupon the Red Sea, and partly on the Indian Ocean.It was celebrated by the ancients under the flatter-ing title of Arabia the Happy, but is by no meansexempted from that curse of aridity under whichArabia generally suffers; yet its lower declivitiesare covered with trees and aromatic shrubs ; andthe mountain chains are divided by fine valleys,which, being w-atered by numerous streams, can beadvantageously cultivated. This is one of the fewparts of Arabia which have been formed into a con-siderable and monarchical state. It is subject to asovereign, who assumes the modest title of Imam,or doctor, but exercises over his subjects an authoritynearly absolute.

Yeovil. A considerable town in the county ofSomerset, consisting of about twenty streets andlanes. The town is well supplied with water, andthe surrounding country is rich in picturesque scenery.Yeovil was originally celebrated for the excellenceof its woollen goods, but ladies’ gloves are now theprincipal articles of manufacture and sale, of whichvast quantities are sent to London, Liverpool, &c.By the last census this town contained a populationof 5921 persons. It is 122 miles W. S.W. of London,and nine S.S.E. of Somerton.

Yonne. A department in the interior of France,situated nearly halfway between Paris and the fron-tier of Switzerland. Its extent is about 29C0 squaremiles, and its population amounts to nearly 330,000persons. Its surface consists, in general, of undu-lating plains, traversed in the south-west by a chainof hills of no great height. The principal river is theYonne. The climate is temperate, and of sufficientwarmth for the vine: its quality is in general good.Corn, hemp, and flax, are also cultivated.

Yokkshibe. This is a most important county, bothas respects its topographical position and commercialadvantages. Yorkshire is a maritime county, boundedon the east by the German Ocean; on the south by

ORKSHIRE.

the river Humber (which separates it from Lincoln-shire), and by Nottingham and Derbyshire; on thewest by a small part of Cheshire, by Lancashire, andWestmorland; and on the north by Westmorlandand . the county of Durham. This county extends130 miles in length from east to west, and is ninetymiles in breadth from north to south; being not lessthan 460 miles in circumference. Its superficial con-tents are computed at 3,698,380 acres.

In the domesday survey we find Yorkshire as atpresent divided into three ridings, called the North,East, and West; and subdivided in “wapentakes,” adivision peculiar to this county. Riding is a corrup-tion of the Saxon trithing, which was a portion ofa county that contained three or four hundreds.These trithings had their trithingerefas, their gover-nors, or reves ; and what could not be determined inthe hundred or wapentake was ended here ; and whatcould not be completed here was determined in theshire. The name of wapentake is synonymous withhundred ; it is derived from the Saxon vvord weapon,or arms ; and tac, or touch ; as one would say, touch-ing or shaking their arms. For it appears from kingEdward’s laws, when any one came to take upon himthe government of a wapentake, upon a day appointed,all that owed suit and service to that hundred cameto meet their new governor at the usual place of ren-dezvous. “ He, upon his arrival, alighting from hishorse, set up the lance on end (a custom used amongstthe Romans by the praetor at the meetings of thecentumviri), and, according to custom, took fealty ofthem ; the ceremony of which was, that all who werepresent touched the governor’s lance with their lances,in token of confirmation, whereupon the whole meet-ing was called a wapentake, inasmuch as by mutualtouch of each other’s arms they had entered into aconfederacy or agreement to stand by one another.”

The East Riding forms the least of the three granddivisions of the county-. Its name points out therelative situation which it occupies in the county!It is bounded on the north and west by the riversHertford and Derwent, which separate it from theNorth Riding as far as the vicinity of StamfordBridge. An irregular line from the Derwent tothe Ouse, commencing about a mile above StamfordBridge, and joining the latter river about a milebelow York, forms the rest of the boundary betweenthe two ridings. From that place the East Ridingis bounded on the west and south-west by the Ouse,which divides it from the West Riding. On the southit is bounded by the Humber, and on the east by theGerman Ocean.

The climate of this district admits of some varia-tions, being colder on the eastern than on thewestern side of the Wolds, which break the forceof the cold and raw winds from the German Ocean.Near the coast the country is exposed to fogs fromthe sea and the Humber. On the Wolds the airis much sharper, and the snow lies longer, by reasonof their elevation. The levels in the western part ofthe riding enjoy a milder climate, by being shelteredfrom the easterly winds. This riding admits ofalmost every variety of soil, from a deep loam toa blowing sand.

The Wolds are a grand assemblage'of chalky hills,extending, as already observed, nearly from thenorthern to the southern extremity of the EastRiding. The ascent to them is somewhat steep,except on the eastern side, where they rise in gentle