MAZAMET, an industrial town in the department of Tarn, France, stands on the northern slope of the Montagnes Noires (part of the Cevennes), and on the Arnette, a tributary of the Tarn by the Agout. In last century it was an insignificant village, but at present it has 14,000 inhabitants, an increase of prosperity due to the introduction by Μ. Houles (whose statue stands in the public square) of the manufacture of a particular kind of woollen fabric sold almost exclusively in France. The factories, driven by water-power, have a total of 45,000 spindles, and an annual turnover of from 15 to 18 millions of francs. Mazamet is connected by a branch line of railway with the town of Castres.