Dumfries', the county town of Dumfriesshire, the ' Queen of the South,' stands on the Nith's left bank, and is connected with its Kirkcudbrightshire suburb of Maxwelltown by three bridges, of which the middle one was founded about 1280 by Devorgilla Baliol. By rail it is 90 miles S. by W. of Edinburgh, and 33 WNW. of Carlisle. Corbelly Hill, in Maxwelltown, on which are a Catholic convent (1882) and an observatory, commands a splendid view of the surrounding hills, the Solway Firth, and the Cumberland mountains. Dumfries itself is scattered somewhat irregularly over a gentle elevation. It is built of red sandstone, and among its chief edifices are the Scottish baronial county buildings (1866); the new post-office (1888); the Mid Steeple (1707); Greyfriars' Church (rebuilt 1867), with a spire of 164 feet; the Academy (1802); and, in St Michael's churchyard, the mausoleum (1815) of Robert Burns, whose small house still stands, and a statue of whom was erected in 1882. The Crichton Institution (1835-70) is a lunatic asylum; rather nearer is the infirmary (1871). The manufacture of tweeds, introduced in 1847, is the leading industry. Hosiery ranks next; and there is a busy trade in pork and live-stock. The opening, however, of the railways in 1850-69 has greatly diminished the river traffic, though large sums had been spent in improving the 14 miles of the Nith's channel between the town and the Solway. Dumfries was made a royal burgh by David I., and it unites with Annan, Kirkcudbright, Loch-maben, and Sanquhar in returning one member. Pop. (1851) 13,166; (1901) 17,079. For the town's memories of Bruce and Burns, of Border wars, and of both the '15 and the '45, see W. M'Dowall's History of Dumfries (2d ed. 1873).