The department is divided into four arrondissements as follows:— 1. In the first arrondiasement the chief town ia (Maas, Lt.) Among the other towns are—Be/km, population 2200, near the Orne; &annoy, population 3700, near the One, an affluent of the Loir; SUII-GrGralauase, population 3000 for the whole commune; and Le Sure, on the left bank of the Sarthe, over which there is a handsome bridge, population 2200. At Sii16-1*-Ouillaume linens are manure°. tared, and trade in corn, hemp, wool, seeds, poultry, cattle, &c., is carried on : has a well-preserved feudal castle built In the 14th century.
2. In the second arrondissement the chief town, Afeners, population G960, between the Bienne and the Orne, wu anciently fortided, and was taken in the 11th century by the Count of 13eleme, and afterward, by the Normans; but there are now scarcely any traces of fortifica tions. The town consist. of two large squares, with a number of streets adjacent to or terminating in them. The houses are tolerably well built, chiefly of stens. The smaller of the two equaras is occu pied by a handsome covered market ; the other by a large building. formerly a convent, now containing the °Incas of the sub-prefect and the mayor, the college, the public library, the theatre, the prison, and the barrack of the gendarmes. The manufactures are coarse linens, calico, hosiery, beer, leather, &c. Trade is carried on also in corn, wine, brandy, wax, cattle, and sheep. Near the town le an ancient amp. Fre:nay-le- Viconte, or Freany, population 3160, has a linen hall, and a museum of natural history. The town is famous for the manufacture of fine linen. Beausicast, population 2320, on the Sarthe, an abuilt place 15 miles S.W. from Mainers, owes its origin and its distinctive epithet to the viscount,' of La Mans, who had a castle here, of which the remains serve as a prison. The townsmen manufacture drugget, serge, and pruneIls. There are two bridges over the Sarthe here. La-Firic/krstard, population 2583, on the Iluiene, was the scene of a conference In 1189, between Henry II. of England and Philippe-Auguste of France. It was shortly after taken by Philippe: it was taken In 1424 by the English, under the Earl of Salisbury ; and in the reign of Henri IV., in 1590, by the Prince of Conti. The town has a handsome gothic church, and an hospital. The old
walla of the town remain ; and there is a castle with keep and towers in pretty good preservation. The principal manufacture is of coarse checked linens fur the colonies; linen.bleaching is also carried on ; there are tile.works, and tan, flour, and fulling-mills. Bonallable, population 5163 In the commune, is between the Orne and the Humus,.
3. In the third arrondissement the chief town is aucicntly Anille, from the brook on which it stands, not far from the right lank of the Brays ; It received its present name from St-Calais, wbo founded a monastery here In the 6th century. The town lies in a hollow, amid hills covered with scanty crops of corn. 29 miles E.
by S. from Le-Mana. It has an interesting gothic church and manu factures of serge and other woollens, cottons, linens, leather, and glass. The town has a tribunal of first instance and a college : popu lation of the commune, 3804. Vibraye, population 3094, has iron works, tan-yards, and an hospitaL population 2000, where cotton-goods, wax-candles, and paper are made. Loire, situated on the Loire, built on the slope of a hill 22 miles S.W. from St.-Calais, population 3029, gets its name from an ancient castle of the counts of Anjou, erected in the 11th and demolished in the 18th century. The older part of the town is badly laid out, and is composed of steep, narrow, and ill-built streets; but the street, along which the road from Le-Mans to Tours passes, is straight and composed of neat atone houses with gardens; it traverses a handsome and regular square, planted with trees and serving as a public walk, on the site of the ancient castle. The rocks in the neighbourhood of the town are excavated so as to form cellars, and in many instances dwelling places inhabited by linen weavers, vine-dressers, and labourers. There are at Chateau-du-Loir an hospital, a theatre, public, baths, and a college. Linens, leather, and cotton yarn are manufactured; cattle, wood, corn, and wine are sold. (13 miles W. by S. from St.-Calais), on the Veuve, which flows into the Elangaort, population 2354, was rebuilt after a fire in 1786. It consists of four regularly built streets which abut on -a central square. Much trade in corn and cattle is carried on. Bouloire, on the Tortue, which joins a feeder of the Huisne: population, 2100.