MEAUX, capital of an arrondissement, and an episcopal see, in the department of Seine-et-Marne, France, and formerly chief town of Haute Brie, is situated 28 miles east of Paris, on the Marne, which runs through the town, and on the Paris and Strasburg Railway. The cathedral, dedicated to St Stephen, dates from the 12th century; its restoration was begun thirty years ago. From the top of its western tower (250 feet high), in fine weather, the heights of Montmartre and Mont Valérien, near Paris, can be seen. The building, which is 275 feet long and 105 feet high, consists of a nave, two aisles, a fine transept, a choir, and a sanctuary. The choir contains the statue and the tomb of Bossuet, and the pulpit of the cathedral has been reconstructed with the panels of that from which the “Eagle of Meaux” used to preach. The great window of the south transept contains some magnificent stained glass. The episcopal palace, behind the cathedral, has several very curious old rooms; the buildings of the choir school, which also adjoins the cathedral, are likewise of some architectural and archaeological interest.

Meaux is the centre of a considerable trade in corn, cheese, eggs, and poultry; and its mills, on the Marne, provide a great part of the meal with which Paris is supplied. The Canal de ΓOurcq, which surrounds the town, and the Marne, furnish the means of transport. A starch manufactory, a copper and iron foundry, and manufactories of food-pastes, of preserved vegetables, and of agricultural implements are the other principal industrial establishments. About a mile from the town is the sugar factôry of Villenoy, which is one of the largest in France. The population of Meaux is 11,740....