Project Gutenberg's The Nuttall Encyclopaedia, by Edited by Rev. James Wood
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Title: The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge
Author: Edited by Rev. James Wood
Release Date: May 14, 2004 [EBook #12342]
Language: English
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THE NUTTALL ENCYCLOPÆDIA
BEING
A CONCISE AND COMPREHENSIVE DICTIONARY
OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
CONSISTING OF
OVER 16,000 TERSE AND ORIGINAL ARTICLES ON NEARLY ALL SUBJECTS
DISCUSSED IN LARGER ENCYCLOPÆDIAS, AND SPECIALLY DEALING
WITH SUCH AS COME UNDER THE CATEGORIES
OF
HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION,
SCIENCE, AND ART
EDITED BY THE
REV. JAMES WOOD
EDITOR OF "NUTTALL'S STANDARD DICTIONARY" AND COMPILER OF THE
"DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS"
_THE SIXTY-FIRST THOUSAND_
1907
PREFACE
"The NUTTALL ENCYCLOPÆDIA" is the fruit of a project to provide, in a
concise and condensed form, and at a cheap rate, an epitome of the kind
of information given in the larger Encyclopædias, such as may prove
sufficient for the ordinary requirements, in that particular, of the
generality of people, and especially of such as have not the means for
purchasing or the leisure for studying the larger.
An Encyclopædia is now recognised to be as indispensable a book of
reference as a dictionary; for while the latter explains and defines the
vehicle of _thought_, the former seeks to define the subject-matter. Now
the rapid increase in the vocabulary of a nation, which makes the
possession of an up-to-date dictionary almost one of the necessaries of
life, is evidently due to the vast increase in the number of _facts_
which the language has to describe or interpret; and if it is difficult
to keep pace with the growth in the language, it is obviously more
difficult to attain even a working knowledge of the array of facts which
in this age come before us for discussion. No man can now peruse even a
daily newspaper without being brought face to face with details about
questions of the deepest interest to _him_; and he is often unable to
grasp the meaning of what he reads for want of additional knowledge or
explanation. In short, it becomes more and more a necessity of modern
life to know something of everything. A little knowledge is not dangerous
to those who recognise it to be little, and it may be sufficient to
enable those who possess it to understand and enjoy intelligently what
would otherwise only weigh as a burdensome reflection upon their
ignorance. Even a comparatively exhaustive treatment of the multitudinous
subjects comprehended under the term universal knowledge would demand a
library of large volumes, hence the extent and heavy cost of the great
Encyclopædias. But it is doubtful whether the mass of information
contained in those admirable and bulky works does not either go beyond,
or, more frequently than not, fall short of the requirements of those who
refer to them. For the special student there is too little, for the
general reader too much. Detailed knowledge of any subject in this age of
specialisation can be acquired only by study of the works specifically
devoted to it. What is wanted in a popular Encyclopædia is succinct
information--the more succinct the better, so long as it gives what is
required by the inquiry, leaving it to the authorities in each subject to
supply the information desired by those intent on pursuing it further.
The value of an Encyclopædia of such small scope must depend, therefore,
upon the careful selection of its materials, and in this respect it is
hoped the one now offered to the public will be found adequate to any
reasonable demands made upon it. If the facts given here are the facts
that the great majority are in search of when they refer to its pages, it
may be claimed for "The Nuttall Encyclopædia" that, in one respect at all
events it is more valuable for instant reference than the best
Encyclopædia in many volumes; for "The Nuttall" can lie on the desk for
ready-to-hand reference, and yields at a glance the information wanted.
Within the necessary limits of a single volume the Editor persuades
himself he has succeeded in including a wide range of subjects, and he
trusts that the information he has given on these will meet in some
measure at least the wants of those for whom the book has been compiled.
To the careful Newspaper Reader; to Heads of Families, with children at
school, whose persistent questions have often to go without an answer; to
the Schoolmaster and Tutor; to the student with a shallow purse; to the
Busy Man and Man of Business, it is believed that this volume will prove
a solid help.
The subjects, as hinted, are various, and these the Editor may be
permitted to classify in a general way under something like the following
rubrics:--
1. Noted people, their nationality, the time when they flourished, and
what they are noted for.
2. Epochs, important movements, and events in history, with the dates and
their historical significance.
3. Countries, provinces, and towns, with descriptions of them, their
sizes, populations, etc., and what they are noted for.
4. Heavenly bodies, especially those connected with the solar system,
their sizes, distances, and revolutions.
5. Races and tribes of mankind, with features that characterise them.
6. Mythologies, and the account they severally give of the divine and
demonic powers, supreme and subordinate, that rule the world.
7. Religions of the world, with their respective credos and objects and
forms of worship.
8. Schools of philosophy, with their theories of things and of the
problems of life and human destiny.
9. Sects and parties, under the different systems of belief or polity,
and the specialities of creed and policy that divide them.
10. Books of the world, especially the sacred ones, and the spiritual
import of them; in particular those of the Bible, on each of which a note
or two is given.
11. Legends and fables, especially such as are more or less of world
significance.
12. Characters in fiction and fable, both mediæval and modern.
13. Fraternities, religious and other, with their symbols and
shibboleths.
14. Families of note, especially such as have developed into dynasties.
15. Institutions for behoof of some special interest, secular or sacred,
including universities.
16. Holidays and festivals, with what they commemorate, and the rites and
ceremonies connected with them.
17. Science, literature, and art in general, but these chiefly in
connection with the names of those distinguished in the cultivation of
them.
Such, in a general way, are some of the subjects contained in the book,
while there is a number of others not reducible to the classification
given, and among these the Editor has included certain subjects of which
he was able to give only a brief definition, just as there are doubtless
others which in so wide an area of research have escaped observation and
are not included in the list. In the selection of subjects the Editor
experienced not a little embarrassment, and he was not unfrequently at a
loss to summarise particulars under several of the heads. Such as it is,
the Editor offers the book to the public, and he hopes that with all its
shortcomings it will not be unfavourably received.
NOTES.
(1) The figures in brackets following Geographical names indicate the
number of _thousands of population_.
(2) The figures in brackets given in Biographical references indicate the
_dates_ of birth and death where both are given.
THE NUTTALL ENCYCLOPÆDIA
A
A'ALI PASHA, an eminent reforming Turkish statesman (1815-1871).
AACHEN. See AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.
AALBORG (19), a trading town on the Liimfiord, in the N. of Jutland.
AAR, a large Swiss river about 200 m. long, which falls into the
Rhine as it leaves Switzerland.
AARGAU, a fertile Swiss canton bordering on the Rhine.
AARHUUS (33), a port on the E. of Jutland, with a considerable
export and import trade, and a fine old Gothic cathedral.
AARON, the elder brother of Moses, and the first high-priest of the
Jews, an office he held for forty years.
ABACA, Manila hemp, or the plant, native to the Philippines, which
yield it in quantities.
ABACUS, a tablet crowning a column and its capital.
ABADDON, the bottomless pit, or the angel thereof.
ABARIM, a mountain chain in Palestine, NE. of the Dead Sea, the
highest point being Mount Nebo.
ABATEMENT, a mark of disgrace in a coat of arms.
ABAUZIT, FIRMIN, a French Protestant theologian and a mathematician,
a friend of Newton, and much esteemed for his learning by Rousseau and
Voltaire (1679-1767).
ABBADIE, two brothers of French descent, Abyssinian travellers in
the years 1837-1848; also a French Protestant divine (1658-1727).
ABBAS, uncle of Mahomet, founder of the dynasty of the Abbasides
(566-652).
ABBAS PASHA, the khedive of Egypt, studied five years in Vienna,
ascended the throne at eighteen, accession hailed with enthusiasm; shows
at times an equivocal attitude to Britain; _b_. 1874.
ABBAS THE GREAT, shah of Persia, of the dynasty of the Sophis, great
alike in conquest and administration (1557-1628).
ABBAS-MIRZA, a Persian prince, a reformer of the Persian army, and a
leader of it, unsuccessfully, however, against Russia (1783-1833).
ABBASIDES, a dynasty of 37 caliphs who ruled as such at Bagdad from
750 to 1258.
AB`BATI, NICCOLO DELL', an Italian fresco-painter (1512-1571).
ABBÉ, name of a class of men who in France prior to the Revolution
prepared themselves by study of theology for preferment in the Church,
and who, failing, gave themselves up to letters or science.
ABBEVILLE (19), a thriving old town on the Somme, 12 m. up, with an
interesting house architecture, and a cathedral, unfinished, in the
Flamboyant style.
ABBOT, head of an abbey. There were two classes of abbots: Abbots
Regular, as being such in fact, and Abbots Commendatory, as guardians and
drawing the revenues.
ABBOT, GEORGE, archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns of James I.
and Charles I., and one of the translators of King James's Bible; an
enemy of Laud's, who succeeded him (1562-1633).
ABBOT OF MISRULE, a person elected to superintend the Christmas
revelries.
ABBOTSFORD, the residence of Sir Walter Scott, on the Tweed, near
Melrose, built by him on the site of a farm called Clarty Hole.
ABBOTT, EDWIN, a learned Broad Church theologian and man of letters;
wrote, besides other works, a volume of sermons "Through Nature to
Christ"; esteemed insistence on miracles injurious to faith; _b_. 1838.
ABDAL`LAH, the father of Mahomet, famed for his beauty (545-570);
also a caliph of Mecca (622-692).
ABDALRAH`MAN, the Moorish governor of Spain, defeated by Charles
Martel at Tours in 732.
ABDALS (lit. servants of Allah), a set of Moslem fanatics in
Persia.
ABD-EL-KA`DIR, an Arab emir, who for fifteen years waged war against
the French in N. Africa, but at length surrendered prisoner to them in
1847. On his release in 1852 he became a faithful friend of France
(1807-1883).
ABDE`RA, a town in ancient Thrace, proverbial for the stupidity of
its inhabitants.
ABDICATIONS, of which the most celebrated are those of the Roman
Dictator Sylla, who in 70 B.C. retired to Puteoli; of Diocletian, who in
A.D. 305 retired to Salone; of Charles V., who in 1556 retired to the
monastery St. Yuste; of Christina of Sweden, who in 1654 retired to Rome,
after passing some time in France; of Napoleon, who in 1814 and 1815
retired first to Elba and then died at St. Helena; of Charles X. in 1830,
who died at Goritz, in Austria; and of Louis Philippe, who in 1848
retired to end his days in England.
ABDIEL, one of the seraphim, who withstood Satan in his revolt
against the Most High.
ABDUL-AZIZ, sultan of Turkey from 1861, in succession to
Abdul-Medjid (1830-1876).
ABDUL-AZIZ, sultan of Morocco, was only fourteen at his accession;
_b_. 1880.
ABDUL-HA`MID II., sultan of Turkey in 1876, brother to Abdul-Aziz,
and his successor; under him Turkey has suffered serious dismemberment,
and the Christian subjects in Armenia and Crete been cruelly massacred;
_b_. 1842.
ABD-UL-MED`JID, sultan, father of the two preceding, in whose
defence against Russia England and France undertook the Crimean war
(1823-1861).
ABDUR-RAH`MAN, the ameer of Afghanistan, subsidised by the English;
_b_. 1830.
À'BECKET, GILBERT, an English humourist, who contributed to _Punch_
and other organs; wrote the "Comic Blackstone" and comic histories of
England and Rome (1811-1856).
À'BECKET, A. W., son of the preceding, a littérateur and journalist;
_b_. 1844.
ABEL, the second son of Adam and Eve; slain by his brother. The
death of Abel is the subject of a poem by Gessner and a tragedy by
Legouvé.
ABEL, SIR F. A., a chemist who has made a special study of
explosives; _b_. 1827.
ABEL, HENRY, an able Norwegian mathematician, who died young
(1802-1828).
AB`ELARD, PETER, a theologian and scholastic philosopher of French
birth, renowned for his dialectic ability, his learning, his passion for
Héloïse, and his misfortunes; made conceivability the test of
credibility, and was a great teacher in his day (1079-1142).
ABELLI, a Dominican monk, the confessor of Catharine de Medici
(1603-1691).
ABENCERRA`GES, a powerful Moorish tribe in Grenada, whose fate in
the 15th century has been the subject of interesting romance.
ABEN-EZ`RA, a learned Spanish Jew and commentator on the Hebrew
scriptures (1090-1168).
ABERA`VON (6), a town and seaport in Glamorganshire, with copper and
iron works.
ABERCROMBIE, SIR RALPH, a distinguished British general of Scottish
birth, who fell in Egypt after defeating the French at Aboukir Bay
(1731-1801).
ABERDEEN (124), the fourth city in Scotland, on the E. coast,
between the mouths of the Dee and Don; built of grey granite, with many
fine public edifices, a flourishing university, a large trade, and
thriving manufactures. Old Aberdeen, on the Don, now incorporated in the
municipality, is the seat of a cathedral church, and of King's College,
founded in 1404, united with the university in the new town.
ABERDEEN, EARL OF, a shrewd English statesman, Prime Minister of
England during the Crimean war (1784-1860).--Grandson of the preceding,
Gov.-Gen. of Canada; _b_. 1847.
ABERDEENSHIRE (281), a large county in NE. of Scotland; mountainous
in SW., lowland N. and E.; famed for its granite quarries, its fisheries,
and its breed of cattle.
ABERNETHY, a small burgh in S. Perthshire, with a Pictish round
tower, and once the capital of the Pictish kingdom.
ABERRATION OF LIGHT, an apparent motion in a star due to the earth's
motion and the progressive motion of light.
ABERYST`WITH (16), a town and seaport in Cardiganshire, Wales, with
a university.
AB`GAR XIV., a king of Edessa, one of a dynasty of the name, a
contemporary of Jesus Christ, and said to have corresponded with Him.
ABHORRERS, the Royalist and High Church party in England under
Charles II., so called from their abhorrence of the principles of their
opponents.
ABIGAIL, the widow of Nabal, espoused by David.
ABICH, W. H., a German mineralogist and traveller (1806-1886).
ABINGDON (6), a borough in Berks, 6 m. S. of Oxford.
ABIOGENESIS, the doctrine of spontaneous generation.
ABIPONES, a once powerful warlike race in La Plata, now nearly all
absorbed.
ABLE MAN, man with "a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a
hand to execute" (Gibbon).
ABNER, a Hebrew general under Saul; assassinated by Joab.
ABO, the old capital of Finland and seat of the government, on the
Gulf of Bothnia.
AB`OMEY, the capital of Dahomey, in W. Africa.
ABOU`KIR, village near Alexandria, in Egypt, on the bay near which
Nelson destroyed the French fleet in 1799; where Napoleon beat the Turks,
1799; and where Abercrombie fell, 1801.
ABOUT, EDMOND, spirited French littérateur and journalist
(1828-1885).
ABRAHAM, the Hebrew patriarch, ancestor of the Jews, the very type
of an Eastern pastoral chief at once by his dignified character and
simple faith.
ABRAHAM, THE PLAINS OF, a plain near Quebec.
ABRAHAM-MEN, a class of lunatics allowed out of restraint, at one
time, to roam about and beg; a set of impostors who wandered about the
country affecting lunacy.
ABRAN`TES, a town in Portugal, on the Tagus; taken by Marshal Junot,
1807, and giving the title of Duke to him.
ABRAXAS STONES, stones with cabalistic figures on them used as
talismans.
ABRUZ`ZI, a highland district in the Apennines, with a pop. of
100,000.
ABSALOM, a son of David, who rebelled against his father, and at
whose death David gave vent to a bitter wail of grief. A name given by
Dryden to the Duke of Monmouth, son of Charles II.
ABSOLUTE, THE, the philosophical name for the uncreated Creator, or
creating cause of all things, dependent on nothing external to itself.
ABSYRTUS, a brother of Medea, whom she cut in pieces as she fled
with Jason, pursued by her father, throwing his bones behind her to
detain her father in his pursuit of her by stopping to pick them up.
ABT, FRANZ, a German composer of song-music (1819-1885).
ABU, a mountain (6000 ft.) in Rajputana, with a footprint of Vishnu
on the top, and two marble temples half-way up, held sacred by the Jains.
AB`UBEKR, as the father of Ayesha, the father-in-law of Mahomet, the
first of the caliphs and the founder of the Sunnites; _d_. 634.
AB`U-KLEA, in the Soudan, where the Mahdi's forces were defeated by
Sir H. Stewart in 1885.
A`BUL-FARAJ, a learned Armenian Jew, who became bishop of Aleppo,
and wrote a history of the world from Adam onwards (1226-1286).
ABUL-FAZEL, the vizier of the great Mogul emperor Akbar, and who
wrote an account of his reign and of the Mogul empire; he was
assassinated in 1604.
ABUL-FEDA, a Moslem prince of Hamat in Syria, who in his youth took
part against the Crusaders, and wrote historical works in Arabic
(1273-1331).
ABU-THA`LEB, uncle of Mahomet, and his protector against the plots
of his enemies the Koreish.
ABY`DOS, a town on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont, famous as the
home of Leander, who swam the Hellespont every night to visit Hero in
Sestos, and as the spot where Xerxes built his bridge of boats to cross
into Europe in 480 B.C.; also a place of note in Upper Egypt.
ABYSSIN`IA, a mountainous country SE. of Nubia, with an area of
200,000 sq. m., made up of independent states, and a mixed population of
some four millions, the Abyssinians proper being of the Semite stock. It
is practically under the protectorate of Italy.
ACACIA, a large group of trees with astringent and gum-yielding
properties, natives of tropical Africa and Australia.
ACADEMY, a public shady park or place of groves near Athens, where
Plato taught his philosophy and whence his school derived its name, of
which there are three branches, the _Old_, the _Middle_, and the _New_,
represented respectively by Plato himself, Arcesilaos, and Carneades. The
_French Academy_, of forty members, was founded by Richelieu in 1635,
and is charged with the interests of the French language and literature,
and in particular with the duty of compiling an authoritative dictionary
of the French language. Besides these, there are in France other four
with a like limited membership in the interest of other departments of
science and art, all now associated in the _Institute of France_, which
consists in all of 229 members. There are similar institutions in other
states of Europe, all of greater or less note.
ACADIA, the French name for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
ACANTHUS, a leaf-like ornament on the capitals of the columns of
certain orders of architecture.
ACAPUL`CO, a Mexican port in the Pacific, harbour commodious, but
climate unhealthy.
ACARNA`NIA, a province of Greece N. of Gulf of Corinth; its pop.
once addicted to piracy.
ACCA`DIANS, a dark, thick-lipped, short-statured Mongol race in
Central Asia, displaced by the Babylonians and Assyrians, who were
Semitic.
ACCA-LAURENTIA, the wife of Faustulus, shepherd of Numitor, who
saved the lives of Romulus and Remus.
ACCIAIOLI, a Florentine family of 15th century, illustrious in
scholarship and war.
ACCOLADE, a gentle blow with a sword on the shoulder in conferring
knighthood.
ACCOL`TI, a Tuscan family, of 15th century, famous for their
learning.
ACCOR`SO, the name of a Florentine family, of 12th and 13th
centuries, great in jurisprudence.
ACCRA (16), capital and chief port in British Gold Coast colony.
ACCRINGTON (39), a manufacturing town 22 m. N. of Manchester.
ACCUM, FRIEDRICH, a German chemist, the first promoter of
gas-lighting (1769-1838).
ACCUMULATOR, a hydraulic press for storing up water at a high
pressure; also a device for storing up electric energy.
ACERRA (14), an ancient city 9 m. NE. of Naples; is in an unhealthy
district.
ACETIC ACID, the pure acid of vinegar; the salts are called
_acetates_.
ACETONE, a highly inflammable liquid obtained generally by the dry
distillation of acetates.
ACET`YLENE, a malodorous gaseous substance from the incomplete
combustion of hydro-carbons.
ACHÆAN LEAGUE, a confederation of 12 towns in the Peloponnesus,
formed especially against the influence of the Macedonians.
ACHÆ`ANS, the common name of the Greeks in the heroic or Homeric
period.
ACHAI`A, the N. district of the Peloponnesus, eventually the whole
of it.
ACHARD, a Prussian chemist, one of the first to manufacture sugar
from beetroot (1753-1821).
ACHARD`, LOUIS AMÉDÉE, a prolific French novelist (1814-1876).
ACHA`TES, the attendant of Æneas in his wandering after the fall of
Troy, remarkable for, and a perennial type of, fidelity.
ACHELO`ÜS, a river in Greece, which rises in Mt. Pindus, and falls
into the Ionian Sea; also the god of the river, the oldest of the sons of
Oceanus, and the father of the Sirens.
ACHEN, an eminent German painter (1556-1621).
ACHENWALL, a German economist, the founder of statistic science
(1719-1772).
ACH`ERON, a river in the underworld; the name of several rivers in
Greece more or less suggestive of it.
ACH`ERY, a learned French Benedictine of St. Maur (1609-1685).
ACH`ILL, a rocky, boggy island, sparsely inhabited, off W. coast of
Ireland, co. Mayo, with a bold headland 2222 ft. high.
ACHILLE`ID, an unfinished poem of Statius.
ACHIL`LES, the son of Peleus and Thetis, king of the Myrmidons, the
most famous of the Greek heroes in the Trojan war, and whose wrath with
the consequences of it forms the subject of the Iliad of Homer. He was
invulnerable except in the heel, at the point where his mother held him
as she dipt his body in the Styx to render him invulnerable.
ACHILLES OF GERMANY, Albert, third elector of Brandenburg, "fiery,
tough old gentleman, of formidable talent for fighting in his day; a very
blazing, far-seen character," says Carlyle (1414-1486).
ACHILLES TENDON, the great tendon of the heel, where Achilles was
vulnerable.
ACHMED PASHA, a French adventurer, served in French army, condemned
to death, fled, and served Austria; condemned to death a second time,
pardoned, served under the sultan, was banished to the shores of the
Black Sea (1675-1747).
ACH`MET I., sultan of Turkey from 1603 to 1617; A. II., from
1691 to 1695; A. III., from 1703 to 1730, who gave asylum to Charles
XII. of Sweden after his defeat by the Czar at Pultowa.
ACHIT`OPHEL, name given by Dryden to the Earl of Shaftesbury of his
time.
ACHROMATISM, transmission of light, undecomposed and free from
colour, by means of a combination of dissimilar lenses of crown and flint
glass, or by a single glass carefully prepared.
ACIERAGE, coating a copper-plate with steel by voltaic electricity.
A`CI-REA`LË (38), a seaport town in Sicily, at the foot of Mount
Etna, in NE. of Catania, with mineral waters.
A`CIS, a Sicilian shepherd enamoured of Galatea, whom the Cyclops
Polyphemus, out of jealousy, overwhelmed under a rock, from under which
his blood has since flowed as a river.
ACK`ERMANN, R., an enterprising publisher of illustrated works in
the Strand, a native of Saxony (1764-1834).
ACLAND, SIR HENRY, regius professor of medicine in Oxford,
accompanied the Prince of Wales to America in 1860, the author of several
works on medicine and educational subjects, one of Ruskin's old and tried
friends (1815).
ACLINIC LINE, the magnetic equator, along which the needle always
remains horizontal.
ACNE, a skin disease showing hard reddish pimples; ACNE
ROSACEA, a congestion of the skin of the nose and parts adjoining.
ACOEMETÆ, an order of monks in the 5th century who by turns kept up
a divine service day and night.
ACONCA`GUA, the highest peak of the Andes, about 100 m. NE. of
Valparaiso, 22,867 ft. high; recently ascended by a Swiss and a
Scotchman, attendants of Fitzgerald's party.
ACONITE, monk's-hood, a poisonous plant of the ranunculus order with
a tapering root.
ACONITINE, a most virulent poison from aconite, and owing to the
very small quantity sufficient to cause death, is very difficult of
detection when employed in taking away life.
ACORN-SHELLS, a crustacean attached to rocks on the sea-shore,
described by Huxley as "fixed by its head," and "kicking its food into
its mouth with its legs."
ACOUSTICS, the science of sound as it affects the ear, specially of
the laws to be observed in the construction of halls so that people may
distinctly hear in them.
ACRASIA, an impersonation in Spenser's "Faërie Queen," of
intemperance in the guise of a beautiful sorceress.
ACRE, ST. JEAN D' (7), a strong place and seaport in Syria, at the
foot of Mount Carmel, taken, at an enormous sacrifice of life, by Philip
Augustus and Richard Coeur de Lion in 1191, held out against Bonaparte in
1799; its ancient name Ptolemaïs.
ACRES, BOB, a coward in the "Rivals" whose "courage always oozed out
at his finger ends."
ACROAMATICS, esoteric lectures, i. e. lectures to the initiated.
ACROLEIN, a light volatile limpid liquid obtained by the destructive
distillation of fats.
ACROLITHS, statues of which only the extremities are of stone.
ACROP`OLIS, a fortified citadel commanding a city, and generally the
nucleus of it, specially the rocky eminence dominating Athens.
ACROTE`RIA, pedestals placed at the middle and the extremities of a
pediment to support a statue or other ornament, or the statue or ornament
itself.
ACTA DIURNA, a kind of gazette recording in a summary way daily
events, established at Rome in 131 B.C., and rendered official by Cæsar
in 50 B.C.
ACTA SANCTORUM, the lives of the saints in 62 vols. folio, begun in
the 17th century by the Jesuits, and carried on by the Bollandists.
ACTÆON, a hunter changed into a stag for surprising Diana when
bathing, and afterwards devoured by his own dogs.
ACTINIC RAYS, "non-luminous rays of higher frequency than the
luminous rays."
ACTINISM, the chemical action of sunlight.
ACTINOMYCOSIS, a disease of a fungous nature on the mouth and lower
jaw of cows.
ACTIUM, a town and promontory at the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf
(Arta), in Greece, where Augustus gained his naval victory over Antony
and Cleopatra, Sept. 2, 31 B.C.
ACTON, an adventurer of English birth, who became prime minister of
Naples, but was driven from the helm of affairs on account of his
inveterate antipathy to the French (1737-1808).
ACTON, LORD, a descendant of the former, who became a leader of the
Liberal Catholics in England, M.P. for Carlow, and made a peer in 1869;
a man of wide learning, and the projector of a universal history by
experts in different departments of the field; _b_. 1834.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, a narrative account in the New Testament of
the founding of the Christian Church chiefly through the ministry of
Peter and Paul, written by Luke, commencing with the year 33, and
concluding with the imprisonment of Paul in Rome in 62.
ACUN`HA, TRISTRAM D', a Portuguese navigator, companion of
Albuquerque; NUNA D', his son, viceroy of the Indies from 1528 to
1539; RODRIQUE D', archbishop of Lisbon, who in 1640 freed Portugal
from the Spanish domination, and established the house of Braganza on the
throne.
ACUPRESSURE, checking hemorrhage in arteries during an operation by
compressing their orifices with a needle.
ACUPUNCTURE, the operation of pricking an affected part with a
needle, and leaving it for a short time in it, sometimes for as long as
an hour.
ADAIR, SIR ROBERT, a distinguished English diplomatist, and
frequently employed on the most important diplomatic missions
(1763-1855).
ADAL, a flat barren region between Abyssinia and the Red Sea.
ADALBE`RON, the archbishop of Rheims, chancellor of Lothaire and
Louis V.; consecrated Hugh Capet; _d_. 998.
ADALBERT, a German ecclesiastic, who did much to extend Christianity
over the North (1000-1072).
ADALBERT, ST., bishop of Prague, who, driven from Bohemia, essayed
to preach the gospel in heathen Prussia, where the priests fell upon him,
and "struck him with a death-stroke on the head," April 27, 997, on the
anniversary of which day a festival is held in his honour.
ADA`LIA (30), a seaport on the coast of Asia Minor, on a bay of the
same name.
ADAM (i. e. man), the first father, according to the Bible, of the
human race.
ADAM, ALEX., a distinguished Latin scholar, rector for 40 years of
the Edinburgh High School, Scott having been one of his pupils
(1741-1809).
ADAM, LAMBERT, a distinguished French sculptor (1700-1759).
ADAM, ROBERT, a distinguished architect, born at Kirkcaldy,
architect of the Register House and the University, Edinburgh
(1728-1792).
ADAM BEDE, George Eliot's first novel, published anonymously in
1859, took at once with both critic and public.
ADAM KADMON, primeval man as he at first emanated from the Creator,
or man in his primeval rudimentary potentiality.
ADAM OF BROMEN, distinguished as a Christian missionary in the 11th
century; author of a celebrated Church history of N. Europe from 788 to
1072, entitled _Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum_.
ADAMAS`TOR, the giant spirit of storms, which Camoëns, in his
"Luciad," represents as rising up before Vasco de Gama to warn him off
from the Cape of Storms, henceforth called, in consequence of the
resultant success in despite thereof, the Cape of Good Hope.
ADAMAWA, a region in the Lower Soudan with a healthy climate and a
fertile soil, rich in all tropical products.
ADAMITES, visionaries in Africa in the 2nd century, and in Bohemia
in the 14th and 15th, who affected innocence, rejected marriage, and went
naked.
ADAMNAN, ST., abbot of Iona, of Irish birth, who wrote a life of St.
Columba and a work on the Holy Places, of value as the earliest written
(625-704).
ADAMS, DR. F., a zealous student and translator of Greek medical
works (1797-1861).
ADAMS, JOHN, the second president of the United States, and a chief
promoter of their independence (1739-1826).
ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY, his eldest son, the sixth president (1767-1848).
ADAMS, JOHN COUCH, an English astronomer, the discoverer
simultaneously with Leverrier of the planet Neptune (1819-1892).
ADAMS, PARSON, a country curate in Fielding's "Joseph Andrews," with
a head full of learning and a heart full of love to his fellows, but in
absolute ignorance of the world, which in his simplicity he takes for
what it professes to be.
ADAMS, SAMUEL, a zealous promoter of American independence, who
lived and died poor (1722-1803).
ADAM'S BRIDGE, a chain of coral reefs and sandbanks connecting
Ceylon with India.
ADAM'S PEAK, a conical peak in the centre of Ceylon 7420 ft. high,
with a foot-like depression 5 ft. long and 2½ broad atop, ascribed to
Adam by the Mohammedans, and to Buddha by the Buddhists; it was here, the
Arabs say, that Adam alighted on his expulsion from Eden and stood doing
penance on one foot till God forgave him.
ADA`NA (40), a town SE. corner of Asia Minor, 30 m. from the sea.
ADANSON, MICHEL, a French botanist, born in AIX, the first to
attempt a natural classification of plants (1727-1806).
AD`DA, an affluent of the Po, near Cremona; it flows through Lake
Como; on its banks Bonaparte gained several of his famous victories over
Austria.
ADDINGTON, HENRY, Lord Sidmouth, an English statesman was for a
short time Prime Minister, throughout a supporter of Pitt (1757-1844).
ADDISON, JOSEPH, a celebrated English essayist, studied at Oxford,
became Fellow of Magdalen, was a Whig in politics, held a succession of
Government appointments, resigned the last for a large pension; was
pre-eminent among English writers for the purity and elegance of his
style, had an abiding, refining, and elevating influence on the
literature of the country; his name is associated with the _Tatler,
Spectator_, and _Guardian_, as well as with a number of beautiful hymns
(1672-1749).
A`DELAAR, the name of honour given to Cort Sivertsen, a famous Norse
seaman, who rendered distinguished naval services to Denmark and to
Venice against the Turks (1622-1675).
ADELAIDE (133), the capital of S. Australia, on the river Torrens,
which flows through it into St. Vincent Gulf, 7 m. SE. of Port Adelaide;
a handsome city, with a cathedral, fine public buildings, a university,
and an extensive botanical garden; it is the great emporium for S.
Australia; exports wool, wine, wheat, and copper ore.
ADELAIDE, eldest daughter of Louis XV. of France (1732-1806).
ADELAIDE, PORT, the haven of Adelaide, a port of call, with a
commodious harbour.
ADELAIDE, QUEEN, consort of William IV. of England (1792-1849).
ADELAIDE OF ORLEANS, sister of Louis Philippe, his Egeria
(1771-1841).
ADELBERG, a town of Carniola, 22 m. from Trieste, with a large
stalactite cavern, besides numerous caves near it.
ADELUNG, JOHANN CHRISTOPH, a distinguished German philologist and
lexicographer, born in Pomerania (1732-1806).
A`DEN (42), a fortified town on a peninsula in British territory S.
of Arabia, 105 m. E. of Bab-el-Mandeb; a coaling and military station, in
a climate hot, but healthy.
AD`HERBAL, son of Micipsa, king of Numidia, killed by Jugurtha, 249
B.C.
ADI GRANTH, the sacred book of the Sikhs.
ADIAPH`ORISTS, Lutherans who in 16th century maintained that certain
practices of the Romish Church, obnoxious to others of them, were matters
of indifference, such as having pictures, lighting candles, wearing
surplices, and singing certain hymns in worship.
AD`IGE, a river of Italy, which rises in the Rhetian Alps and falls
into the Adriatic after a course of 250 m.; subject to sudden swellings
and overflowings.
ADIPOCERE, a fatty, spermaceti-like substance, produced by the
decomposition of animal matter in moist places.
ADIPOSE TISSUE, a tissue of small vesicles filled with oily matter,
in which there is no sensation, and a layer of which lies under the skin
and gives smoothness and warmth to the body.
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS, a high-lying, picturesque, granite range in
the State of New York; source of the Hudson.
ADJUTANT, a gigantic Indian stork with an enormous beak, about 5 ft.
in height, which feeds on carrion and offal, and is useful in this way,
as storks are.
ADLER, HERMANN, son and successor of the following, born in Hanover;
a vigorous defender of his co-religionists and their faith, as well as
their sacred Scriptures; was elected Chief Rabbi in 1891; _b_. 1839.
ADLER, NATHAN MARCUS, chief Rabbi in Britain, born in Hanover
(1803-1890).
ADLERCREUTZ, a Swedish general, the chief promoter of the revolution
of 1808, who told Gustavus IV. to his face that he ought to retire
(1759-1815).
ADME`TUS, king of Pheræ in Thessaly, one of the Argonauts, under
whom Apollo served for a time as neat-herd. _See_ ALCESTIS.
ADMIRABLE DOCTOR, a name given to Roger Bacon.
ADMIRAL, the chief commander of a fleet, of which there are in
Britain three grades--admirals, vice-admirals, and rear-admirals, the
first displaying his flag on the main mast, the second on the fore, and
the third on the mizzen.
ADMIRALTY, BOARD OF, board of commissioners appointed for the
management of naval affairs.
ADMIRALTY ISLAND, an island off the coast of Alaska.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, a group NE. of New Guinea, in the Pacific, which
belong to Germany.
ADOLF, FRIEDRICH, king of Sweden, under whose reign the nobles
divided themselves into the two factions of the Caps, or the peace-party,
and the Hats, or the war-party (1710-1771).
ADOLPH, ST., a Spanish martyr: festival, Sept. 27.
ADOLPH OF NASSAU, Kaiser from 1291 to 1298, "a stalwart but
necessitous Herr" Carlyle calls him; seems to have been under the pay of
Edward Longshanks.
ADOLPHUS, JOHN, an able London barrister in criminal cases, and a
voluminous historical writer (1766-1845).
ADONA`I, the name used by the Jews for God instead of Jehovah, too
sacred to be pronounced.
ADONA`IS, Shelley's name for Keats.
ADO`NIS, a beautiful youth beloved by Aphrodité (Venus), but
mortally wounded by a boar and changed by her into a flower the colour of
his blood, by sprinkling nectar on his body.
ADOPTIONISTS, heretics who in the 8th century maintained that Christ
was the son of God, not by birth, but by adoption, and as being one with
Him in character and will.
ADOR`NO, an illustrious plebeian family in Genoa, of the Ghibelline
party, several of whom were Doges of the republic.
ADOUR, a river of France, rising in the Pyrenees and falling into
the Bay of Biscay.
ADOWA`, a highland town in Abyssinia, and chief entrepôt of trade.
ADRAS`TUS, a king of Argos, the one survivor of the first expedition
of the Seven against Thebes, who died of grief when his son fell in the
second.
ADRETS, BARON DES, a Huguenot leader, notorious for his cruelty;
died a Catholic (1513-1587).
A`DRIA, an ancient town between the Po and the Adige; a flourishing
seaport at one time, but now 14 m. from the sea.
A`DRIAN, name of six popes: A. I., from 772 to 795, did much to
embellish Rome; A. II., from 867 to 872, zealous to subject the
sovereigns of Europe to the Popehood; A. III., from 884 to 885;
A. V., from 1054 to 1059, the only Englishman who attained to the
Papal dignity; A. V., in 1276; A. VI., from 1222 to 1223.
See BREAKSPEARE.
ADRIAN, ST., the chief military saint of N. Europe for many ages,
second only to St. George; regarded as the patron of old soldiers, and
protector against the plague.
ADRIANO`PLE (60), a city in European Turkey, the third in
importance, on the high-road between Belgrade and Constantinople.
ADRIA`TIC, THE, a sea 450 m. long separating Italy from Illyria,
Dalmatia, and Albania.
ADULLAM, David's hiding-place (1 Sam. xxii. 1), a royal Canaanitish
city 10 m. NW. of Hebron.
ADULLAMITES, an English political party who in 1866 deserted the
Liberal side in protest against a Liberal Franchise Bill then introduced.
John Bright gave them this name. See 1 Sam. xxii.
ADUMBLA, a cow, in old Norse mythology, that grazes on hoar-frost,
"licking the rime from the rocks--a Hindu cow transported north,"
surmises Carlyle.
ADVOCATE, LORD, chief counsel for the Crown in Scotland, public
prosecutor of crimes, and a member of the administration in power.
ADVOCATES, FACULTY OF, body of lawyers qualified to plead at the
Scottish bar.
ADVOCATES' LIBRARY, a library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates
in Edinburgh, founded in 1632; it alone of Scotch libraries still holds
the privilege of receiving a copy of every book entered at Stationers'
Hall.
ADVOCATUS DIABOLI, the devil's advocate, a functionary in the Roman
Catholic Church appointed to show reason against a proposed canonization.
ÆACUS, a Greek king renowned as an administrator of distributive
justice, after death appointed one of the three judges in Hades. _See_
MINOS and RHADAMANTHUS.
ÆDILES, magistrates of ancient Rome who had charge of the public
buildings and public structures generally.
ÆE`TIS, king of Colchis and father of Medea.
ÆGE`AN SEA, the Archipelago.
ÆGEUS, the father of Theseus, who threw himself into the Ægean Sea,
so called after him, in the mistaken belief that his son, who had been to
slay the Minotaur, had been slain by him.
ÆGI`NA, an island 20 m. SW. of Athens, in a gulf of the same name.
ÆGIR, the god of the sea in the Norse mythology.
ÆGIS (lit. a goat's skin), the shield of Zeus, made of the hide of the
goat AMALTHEA (q. v.), representing originally the storm-cloud in which
the god invested himself when he was angry; it was also the attribute of
Athena, bearing in her case the Gorgon's head.
ÆGIS`THUS. See AGAMEMNON.
ÆL`FRIC, a Saxon writer of the end of the 10th century known as the
"Grammarian."
ÆLIA`NUS, CLAUDIUS, an Italian rhetorician who wrote in Greek, and
whose extant works are valuable for the passages from prior authors which
they have preserved for us.
ÆMI`LIUS PAULUS, the Roman Consul who fell at Cannæ, 216 B.C.; also
his son, surnamed Macedonicus, so called as having defeated Perseus at
Pydna, in Macedonia.
ÆNE`AS, a Trojan, the hero of Virgil's "Æneid," who in his various
wanderings after the fall of Troy settled in Italy, and became, tradition
alleges, the forefather of the Julian Gens in Rome.
ÆNEAS SILVIUS. See PICCOLOMINI.
Æ`NEID, an epic poem by Virgil, of which Æneas is the hero.
ÆNESIDEMUS, a sceptical philosopher, born in Crete, who flourished
shortly after Cicero, and summed up under ten arguments the contention
against dogmatism in philosophy. See "SCHWEGLER," translated by
Dr. Hutchison Stirling.
ÆOLIAN ACTION, action of the wind as causing geologic changes.
ÆOLIAN ISLANDS, the LIPARI ISLANDS (q. v.).
ÆO`LIANS, one of the Greek races who, originating in Thessaly,
spread north and south, and emigrated into Asia Minor, giving rise to the
Æolic dialect of the Greek language.
ÆOLOTROPY, a change in the physical properties of bodies due to a
change of position.
Æ`OLUS, the Greek god of the winds.
ÆON, among the Gnostics, one of a succession of powers conceived as
emanating from God and presiding over successive creations and
transformations of being.
ÆPYOR`NIS, a gigantic fossil bird of Madagascar, of which the egg is
six times larger than that of an ostrich.
Æ`QUI, a tribe on NE. of Latium, troublesome to the Romans until
subdued in 302 B.C.
AERATED BREAD, bread of flour dough charged with carbonic acid gas.
AERATED WATERS, waters aerated with carbonic acid gas.
ÆS`CHINES, a celebrated Athenian orator, rival of Demosthenes, who
in the end prevailed over him by persuading the citizens to believe he
was betraying them to Philip of Macedon, so that he left Athens and
settled in Rhodes, where he founded a school as a rhetorician
(389-314 B.C.).
ÆS`CHYLUS, the father of the Greek tragedy, who distinguished
himself as a soldier both at Marathon and Salamis before he figured as a
poet; wrote, it is said, some seventy dramas, of which only seven are
extant--the "Suppliants," the "Persæ," the "Seven against Thebes," the
"Prometheus Bound," the "Agamemnon," the "Choephori," and the
"Eumenides," his plays being trilogies; born at Eleusis and died in
Sicily (525-456 B.C.).
ÆSCULA`PIUS, a son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis, whom, for
restoring Hippolytus to life, Zeus, at the prayer of Pluto, destroyed
with a thunderbolt, but afterwards admitted among the gods as god of
medicine and the healing art; the cock, the emblem of vigilance, and the
serpent, of prudence, were sacred to him.
AESON, the father of Jason, was restored to youth by Medea.
Æ`SOP, a celebrated Greek fabulist of the 6th century B.C., of
whose history little is known except that he was originally a slave,
manumitted by Iadmon of Samos, and put to death by the Delphians,
probably for some witticism at their expense.
ÆSO`PUS, a celebrated Roman actor, a friend of Pompey and Cicero.
ÆSTHETICS, the science of the beautiful in nature and the fine arts.
AE`TIUS, a Roman general, who withstood the aggressions of the
Barbarians for twenty years, and defeated Attila at Châlons, 451;
assassinated out of jealousy by the Emperor Valentinian III., 454.
ÆTO`LIA, a country of ancient Greece N. of the Gulf of Corinth.
AFFRE, archbishop of Paris, suffered death on the barricades, as,
with a green bough in his hand, he bore a message of peace to the
insurgents (1793-1848).
AFGHAN`ISTAN` (5,000), a country in the centre of Asia, between
India on the east and Persia on the west, its length about 600 m. and its
breadth about 500 m., a plateau of immense mountain masses, and high,
almost inaccessible, valleys, occupying 278,000 sq. m., with extremes of
climate, and a mixed turbulent population, majority Afghans. The country,
though long a bone of contention between England and Russia, is now
wholly under the sphere of British influence.
AF`GHANS, THE, a fine and noble but hot-tempered race of the
Mohammedan faith inhabiting Afghanistan. The Afghans proper are called
PATHANS in India, and call themselves Beni Israel (sons of Israel),
tracing their descent from King Saul.
AFRA`NIUS, a Latin comic poet who flourished 100 B.C.; also a Roman
Consul who played a prominent part in the rivalry between Cæsar and
Pompey, 60 B.C.
AFRICA, one of the five great divisions of the globe, three times
larger than Europe, seven-tenths of it within the torrid zone, and
containing over 200,000,000 inhabitants of more or less dark-skinned
races. It was long a _terra incognita_, but it is now being explored in
all directions, and attempts are everywhere made to bring it within the
circuit of civilisation. It is being parcelled out by European nations,
chiefly Britain, France, and Germany, and with more zeal and appliance of
resource by Britain than any other.
AFRICA`NUS, JULIUS, a Christian historian and chronologist of the
3rd century.
AFRIDIS, a treacherous tribe of eight clans, often at war with each
other, in a mountainous region on the North-Western frontier of India W.
of Peshawar.
AFRIKAN`DER, one born in S. Africa of European parents.
AFRIT`, a powerful evil spirit in the Mohammedan mythology.
AGA`DES, a once important depôt of trade in the S. of the Sahara,
much decayed.
AGAG, a king of the Amalekites, conquered by Saul, and hewn in
pieces by order of Samuel.
AGAMEM`NON, a son of Atreus, king of Mycenæ and general-in-chief of
the Greeks in the Trojan war, represented as a man of stately presence
and a proud spirit. On the advice of the soothsayer Calchas sacrificed
his daughter IPHIGENIA (q. v.) for the success of the enterprise
he conducted. He was assassinated by Ægisthus and Clytæmnestra, his wife,
on his return from the war. His fate and that of his house is the subject
of Æschylus' trilogy "Oresteia."
AGAMOGENESIS, name given to reproduction without sex, by fission,
budding, &c.
AGANIPPE, a fountain in Boeotia, near Helicon, dedicated to the
Muses as a source of poetic inspiration.
AG`APE, love-feasts among the primitive Christians in commemoration
of the Last Supper, and in which they gave each other the kiss of peace
as token of Christian brotherhood.
AGAR-AGAR, a gum extracted from a sea-weed, used in bacteriological
investigations.
AGA`SIAS, a sculptor of Ephesus, famous for his statue of the
"Gladiator."
AGASS`IZ, a celebrated Swiss naturalist, in the department
especially of ichthyology, and in connection with the glaciers; settled
as a professor of zoology and geology in the United States in 1846
(1807-1873).
AG`ATHE, ST., a Sicilian virgin who suffered martyrdom at Palermo
under Decius in 251; represented in art as crowned with a long veil and
bearing a pair of shears, the instruments with which her breast were cut
off. Festival, Feb. 5.
AGA`THIAS, a Byzantine poet and historian (536-582).
AGATH`OCLES, the tyrant of Syracuse, by the massacre of thousands of
the inhabitants, was an enemy of the Carthaginians, and fought against
them; was poisoned in the end (361-289 B.C.).
AG`ATHON, an Athenian tragic poet, a rival of Euripides
(447-400 B.C.).
AG`ATHON, ST., pope from 676 to 682.
AG`DE (6), a French seaport on the Hérault, 3 m. from the
Mediterranean.
A`GEN (21), a town on the Garonne, 84 m. above Bordeaux.
AGES, in the Greek mythology four--the Golden, self-sufficient; the
Silver, self-indulgent; the Brazen, warlike; and the Iron, violent;
together with the Heroic, nobly aspirant, between the third and fourth.
In archeology, three--the Stone Age, the Bronze, and the Iron. In
history, the Middle and Dark, between the Ancient and the Modern. In
Fichte, five--of Instinct, of Law, of Rebellion, of Rationality, of
Conformity to Reason. In Shakespeare, seven--Infancy, Childhood, Boyhood,
Adolescence, Manhood, Age, Old Age.
AGESAN`DER, a sculptor of Rhodes of the first century, who wrought
at the famous group of the Laocoon.
AGESILA`US, a Spartan king, victorious over the Persians in Asia and
over the allied Thebans and Athenians at Coronea, but defeated by
Epaminondas at Mantinea after a campaign in Egypt; _d_. 360 B.C., aged
84.
AGGAS, RALPH, a surveyor and engraver of the 16th century, who first
drew a plan of London as well as of Oxford and Cambridge.
AGGLUTINATE LANGUAGES, languages composed of parts which are words
glued together, so to speak, as cowherd.
AGINCOURT`, a small village in Pas-de-Calais, where Henry V. in a
bloody battle defeated the French, Oct. 25, 1415.
A`GIS, the name of several Spartan kings, of whom the most famous
were Agis III. and IV., the former famous for his resistance to the
Macedonian domination, _d_. 330 B.C.; and the latter for his attempts to
carry a law for the equal division of land, _d_. 240 B.C.
AGLAIA. See GRACES.
AG`NADEL, a Lombard village, near which Louis XII. defeated the
Venetians in 1509, and Vendôme, Prince Eugène in 1705.
AGNA`NO, LAKE OF, a lake near Naples, now drained; occupied the
crater of an extinct volcano, its waters in a state of constant
ebullition.
AGNELLO, COL D', passage by the S. of Monte Viso between France and
Italy.
AGNES, an unsophisticated maiden in Molière's _L'École des Femmes_,
so unsophisticated that she does not know what love means.
AGNES, ST., a virgin who suffered martyrdom, was beheaded because
the flames would not touch her body, under Diocletian in 303; represented
in art as holding a palm-branch in her hand and a lamb at her feet or in
her arms. Festival, Jan. 21.
AGNES DE MÉRANIE, the second wife of Philip Augustus by a marriage
in 1193, declared null by the Church, who, being dismissed in
consequence, died broken-hearted in 1201.
AGNES SOREL, surnamed _Dame de beauté_, mistress of Charles VII. of
France (1409-1450).
AGNE`SI, MARIA GÆTANA, a native of Milan, a woman of extraordinary
ability and attainments, prelected for her father in mathematics in the
University of Bologna under sanction of the Pope; died a nun at her
birthplace (1718-1799).
AG`NI, the god of fire in the Vedic mythology, begets the gods,
organises the world, produces and preserves universal life, and
throughout never ceases to be fire. One of the three terms of the Vedic
trinity, Soma and Indra being the other two.
AGNOLO, a Florentine artist, friend of Michael Angelo and Raphael,
distinguished for his carvings in wood (1460-1543).
AGNOSTICISM, the doctrine which disclaims all knowledge of the
supersensuous, or denies that we know or can know the absolute, the
infinite, or God.
AGNUS DEI, the figure of a lamb bearing a cross as a symbol of
Christ, or a medal with this device; also a prayer in the Mass beginning
with the words, "Lamb of God."
AGONIC LINE, line along which the needle points due north and south.
AGORA, the forum of a Grecian town.
AGOS`TA, a city on east coast of Sicily.
AGOULT, COUNTESS OF, a French authoress under the pseudonym of
Daniel Stern (1805-1876).
AGOUST, CAPT. DE, a "cast-iron" captain of the Swiss Guards, who on
May 4, 1788, by order of the Court of Versailles, marched the Parliament
of Paris out of the Palais de Justice and carried off the key. See
CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION," BK. I. CHAP. VIII.
AGOU`TI, a rodent, native of Brazil, Paraguay, and Guiana; very
destructive to roots and sugar-canes.
A`GRA (168), a handsome city on the Jumna, in NW. Province of India,
famous for, among other monuments, the Taj Mahal, a magnificent mausoleum
erected near it by the Emperor Shah Jehan for himself and his favourite
wife; it is a centre of trade, and seat of manufactures of Indian wares.
AG`RAM, (37), a Hungarian town, the capital of Croatia, with a fine
Gothic cathedral and a university; is subject to earthquakes.
AGRARIAN LAWS, laws among the Romans regulating the division of
lands.
AGRIC`OLA, a Roman general, father-in-law of Tacitus, who conquered
Great Britain in 80, recalled by the Emperor Domitian in 87, and retired
into private life (37-93).
AGRICOLA, JOHANN, a follower and friend of Luther, who became his
antagonist in the matter of the binding obligation of the law on
Christians (1492-1566).
AGRICOLA, RUDOLPHUS, a learned and accomplished Dutchman, much
esteemed by Erasmus, and much in advance of his time; his most important
work, "Dialectics," being an attack on the scholastic system (1442-1485).
AGRIGEN`TUM, an ancient considerable city, now Girgenti, on the S.
of Sicily, of various fortune, and still showing traces of its ancient
grandeur.
AGRIPPA, H. CORNELIUS, a native of Cologne, of noble birth, for some
time in the service of Maximilian, but devoted mainly to the study of the
occult sciences, which exposed him to various persecutions through life
(1486-1535).
AGRIPPA, HEROD. See HEROD.
AGRIP`PA, M. VIPSANIUS, a Roman general, the son-in-law and
favourite of Augustus, who distinguished himself at the battle of Actium,
and built the Pantheon of Rome (63-12 B.C.).
AGRIPPI`NA, the daughter of Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia, and thus
the granddaughter of Augustus; married Germanicus, accompanied him in his
campaigns, and brought his ashes to Rome on his death, but was banished
from Rome by Tiberius, and _d_. in 33.
AGRIPPINA, the daughter of Germanicus and the former, born at
Cologne, and the mother of Nero. Her third husband was her uncle, the
Emperor Claudian, whom she got to adopt her son, and then poisoned him,
in order to place her son on the throne; but the latter, resenting her
intolerable ascendancy, had her put to death in 59.
AGTELEK, a village NE. of Pesth, in Hungary with vast stalactite
caverns, some of them of great height.
AGUA`DO, A. M., an enormously wealthy banker of Spanish-Jewish
descent, born in Seville, and naturalised in France (1784-1842).
AGUAS CALIENTES (31), a high-lying inland trading town in Mexico.
AGUE-CHEEK, SIR ANDREW, a silly squire in "Twelfth Night."
AGUESSEAU`, D', a French magistrate under Louis XIV. and Louis XV.,
of unimpeachable integrity and unselfish devotion, a learned jurist and
law reformer, and held high posts in the administration of justice
(1668-1751).
AGUILAR, GRACE, a Jewess, born at Hackney; authoress of "Magic
Wreath," "Home Influence," "Vale of Cedars"; of a delicate constitution,
died young (1816-1847).
A`GULHAS, CAPE (i. e. the Needles), the most southerly point of
Africa, 100 m. ESE. of the Cape, and along with the bank of the whole
south coast, dangerous to shipping.
A`HAB, a king of Israel fond of splendour, and partial to the
worship of Baal (918-896 B.C.).
AHASUE`RUS, a traditionary figure known as the Wandering Jew; also
the name of several kings of Persia.
AHAZ, a king of Judah who first brought Judea under tribute to
Assyria.
AHLDEN, CASTLE OF, a castle in Lüneburg Heath, the nearly lifelong
prison-house of the wife of George I. and the mother of George II. and of
Sophie Dorothea of Prussia.
AHMADABAD (148), a chief town of Guzerat, in the Bombay Presidency,
a populous city and of great splendour in the last century, of which
gorgeous relics remain.
AHMED, a prince in the "Arabian Nights," noted for a magic tent
which would expand so as to shelter an army, and contract so that it
could go into one's pocket.
AH`MED SHAH, the founder of the Afghan dynasty and the Afghan power
(1724-1773).
AHMEDNUG`AR (41), a considerable Hindu town 122 m. E. of Bombay.
AHOLIBAH, prostitution personified. See EZEK. XXIII.
AHOLIBAMAH, a grand daughter of Cain, beloved by a seraph, who at
the Flood bore her away to another planet.
AH`RIMAN, the Zoroastrian impersonation of the evil principle, to
whom all the evils of the world are ascribed.
AIDAN, ST., the archbishop of Lindisfarne, founder of the monastery,
and the apostle of Northumbria, sent thither from Iona on the invitation
of King Oswald in 635.
AIGNAN, St., the bishop of Orleans, defended it against Attila and
his Huns in 451.
AIGUILLON, DUKE D', corrupt minister of France, previously under
trial for official plunder of money, which was quashed, at the corrupt
court of Louis XV., and the tool of Mme. Du Barry, with whom he rose and
fell (1720-1782).
AIKIN, DR. JOHN, a popular writer, and author, with Mrs. Barbauld,
his sister, of "Evenings at Home" (1747-1822).
AIKMAN, W., an eminent Scotch portrait-painter (1682-1731).
AILLY, PIERRE D', a cardinal of the Romish Church, and eminent as a
theologian, presided at the council of Constance which condemned Huss
(1350-1420).
AILSA CRAIG, a rocky islet of Ayrshire, 10 m. NW. of Girvan, 2 m. in
circumference, which rises abruptly out of the sea at the mouth of the
Firth of Clyde to a height of 1114 ft.
AIMARD, GUSTAVE, a French novelist, born in Paris; died insane
(1818-1883).
AIMÉ, ST., archbishop of Sens, in France; _d_. 690; festival, 13th
Sept.
AIN, a French river, has its source in the Jura Mts., and falls into
the Rhône; also a department of France between the Rhône and Savoy.
AINMILLER, a native of Münich, the reviver of glass-painting in
Germany (1807-1870).
AI`NOS, a primitive thick-set, hairy race, now confined to Yezo and
the islands N. of Japan, aboriginal to that quarter of the globe, and
fast dying out.
AINSWORTH, R., an English Latin lexicographer (1660-1743).
AINSWORTH, W. H., a popular English novelist, the author of
"Rookwood" and "Jack Sheppard," as well as novels of an antiquarian and
historical character (1805-1882).
AIN-TAB (20), a Syrian garrison town 60 m. NE. of Aleppo; trade in
hides, leather, and cotton.
AIRD, THOMAS, a Scottish poet, author of the "Devil's Dream," the
"Old Bachelor," and the "Old Scotch Village"; for nearly 30 years editor
of the _Dumfries Herald_ (1802-1876).
AIRDRIE (19), a town in Lanarkshire, 11 m. E. of Glasgow, in a
district rich in iron and coal; is of rapid growth; has cotton-mills,
foundries, etc.
AIRDS MOSS, a moor in Ayrshire, between the rivers Ayr and Lugar.
AIRE, a Yorkshire river which flows into the Ouse; also a French
river, affluent of the Aisne.
AIRY, SIR G. B., an eminent English astronomer, mathematician, and
man of science, astronomer-royal from 1836 to 1881, retired on a pension;
was the first to enunciate the complete theory of the rainbow.
AISNE, a French river which, after a course of 150 m., falls into
the Oise near Compiègne; also a department in the N. of France.
AÏSSE, MLLE., a Circassienne brought to France about 1700; left
letters on French society in the eighteenth century, sparkling with wit
and full of interest.
AITON, WM., a botanist, born in Lanarkshire, the first director of
the Royal Gardens at Kew (1731-1793).
AITZEMA, LEO, historian of Friesland (1600-1669).
AIX (22), a town, the ancient capital of Provence, 20 m. N. of
Marseilles, the seat of an archbishop and a university; founded by the
Romans 123 B.C.; near it Marius defeated the Teutons.
AIX, ISLE OF, island in the Atlantic, at the mouth of the Charente.
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE` (103), in Rhenish Prussia, one of the oldest cities
in Germany, made capital of the German empire by Charlemagne; derives its
name from its mineral springs; is a centre of manufacturing industries
and an important trade; is celebrated for its octagonal cathedral (in the
middle of which is a stone marking the burial-place of Charlemagne), for
treaties of peace in 1668 and 1748, and for a European congress in 1818.
AIX-LES-BAINS`, a small town near Chambéry, in the dep. of Savoy,
and much frequented by invalids for its waters and baths.
AJAC`CIO (18), the capital of Corsica, the birthplace of the
Bonaparte family, of Cardinal Fesch, and Bacciochi.
AJALON, VALLEY OF, in Palestine, scene of a battle between Joshua
and five Canaanitish kings, during which the sun and moon stood still at
the prayer of Joshua, to enable him to finish his victory.
A`JAN COAST, a district on the E. coast of Africa, from Cape
Guardafui to the mouth of the Juba, under the protectorate of Germany.
A`JAX the name of two Greek heroes in the Trojan war, and the
synonym of a fiery and impetuous warrior: AJAX, the son of Telamon
of Sparta, one of the bravest of the Greeks, who, on the death of
Achilles, contended with Ulysses for his arms, but was defeated, in
consequence of which he lost his reason and put an end to his life; and
AJAX, the son of Oïleus, swift of foot, like Achilles, who suffered
shipwreck on his homeward voyage, as a judgment for an outrage he
perpetrated on the person of Cassandra in the temple of Athena in Troy.
AJMERE` (68), a city in a small territory in the heart of Rajputana,
under the rule of the Viceroy; well built, and contains some famous
edifices.
AJODHYA, an ancient city of Oudh, 77 m. E. of Lucknow, once, on
religious grounds, one of the largest and most magnificent cities of
India, now in ruins; the modern town is an insignificant place, but has
an annual fair, attended by often 600,000 pilgrims.
AK`ABA, a gulf forming the NE. inlet of the Red Sea.
AKAKIA, DOCTOR, a satire of a very biting nature by Voltaire,
directed against pretentious pedants of science in the person of
Maupertuis, the President of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin,
which so excited the anger of Frederick the Great, the patron of the
Academy, that he ordered it to be burnt by the common hangman, after
30,000 copies of it had been sold in Paris!
AKAKIA, MARTIN, physician of Francis I., born at Châlons-sur-Marne,
his real name being Sans-Malice; _d_. 1551.
AK`BAR, the great Mogul emperor of India, who, after a minority of a
few years, assumed the reins of government at the age of eighteen, and in
ten or twelve years, such was his power of conquest, had the whole of
India north of the Vindhya Mts. subject to his rule. He was wise in
government as well as powerful in war, and one of the most large-minded
and largest-hearted rulers recorded in history. He reigned half a century
(1542-1605).
AKENSIDE, MARK, an English physician, who wrote, among other
productions and pieces, the "Hymn to the Naiads," especially a poem
entitled the "Pleasures of Imagination," much quoted from at one time,
and suggested by the study of Addison on the Imagination in the
_Spectator_ (1721-1770).
AKERS, B. P., an able American sculptor (1825-1861).
AKERMAN` (55), a fortified town in Bessarabia, at the mouth of the
Dniester.
AKIBA, BEN JOSEPH, a famous Jewish rabbi of the 2nd century, a great
authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, flayed alive by the Romans
for being concerned in a revolt in 135.
AKKAS, a wandering race of negro dwarfs in Central Africa, with
large heads and slender necks, who live by hunting.
AKRON (27), a town in Ohio, U.S., seat of manufactures and centre
of traffic.
AKSAKOF`, a Russian littérateur and advocate of Panslavism
(1823-1886).
AKSU (20), a trading town in E. Turkestan, 250 m. NE. of Yarkand.
AK`YAB (37), the capital of Aracan, in British Burmah, 90 m. SE. of
Calcutta.
AL RAKIM, the dog that guarded the SEVEN SLEEPERS (q. v.),
and that stood by them all through their long sleep.
ALABA`MA (1,513), one of the United States of N. America, traversed
by a river of the name, a little larger than England, highly fertile and
a great cotton-growing country, and abounding in iron, coal, and marble,
bounded on the W. by the Mississippi, on the N. by Tennessee, and the E.
by Georgia.
ALABAMA, THE, a vessel built in Birkenhead for the Confederates in
the late American Civil War, for the devastation done by which, according
to the decision of a court of arbitration, the English Government had to
pay heavy damages of three millions of money.
ALACOQUE, MARIE, a French nun of a mystic tendency, the founder of
the devotion of the Sacred Heart (1647-1690).
ALAD`DIN, one of the chiefs of the Assassins in the 13th century,
better known by the name of the Old Man of the Mountain.
ALADDIN, a character in the "Arabian Nights," who became possessed
of a wonderful lamp and a wonderful ring, by rubbing which together he
could call two evil genii to do his bidding.
ALADINISTS, free-thinkers among the Mohammedans.
ALAGO`AS (397), a maritime province of Brazil, N. of Pernambuco,
with tropical products as well as fine timber and dye-woods.
ALAIN DE L'ISLE, a professor of theology in the University of Paris,
surnamed the _Doctor universel_ (1114-1203).
ALAINS. See ALANS.
ALAIS` (18), a town at the foot of the Cévennes, in the centre of a
mining district; once the stronghold of French Protestantism.
ALAMAN`NI, LUIGI, an Italian poet and diplomatist, born at Florence
(1495-1556).
ALAND ISLES, a group of 300 small islands in the Gulf of Bothnia, of
which 80 are inhabited; fortified by Russia.
ALANS, a barbarous horde from the East, who invaded W. Europe in the
4th and 5th centuries, but were partly exterminated and partly ousted by
the Visigoths.
ALAR`CON Y MENDO`ZA, JUAN RUIZ DE, a Spanish dramatist born in
Mexico, who, though depreciated by his contemporaries, ranks after 200
years of neglect among the foremost dramatic geniuses of Spain, next even
to Cervantes and Lope de Vega; he was a humpback, had an offensive air of
conceit, and was very unpopular; he wrote at least twenty dramas, some of
which have been translated into French; _d_. in 1639.
AL`ARIC I., the king of the Visigoths, a man of noble birth, who, at
the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th century, ravaged Greece,
invaded Italy, and took and pillaged Rome; died at Cosenza, in Calabria,
in 412, at the early age of thirty-four.
ALARIC II., king of the Visigoths, whose dominions included all Gaul
and most of Spain; defeated by the Franks at Poitiers, and killed by the
hand of Clovis, their king, in 567.
ALARIC COTIN, Voltaire's nickname for Frederick the Great, the
former in recognition of him as a warrior, the latter as a would-be
littérateur, after an indifferent French poet of the name of Cotin.
ALAS`CO, JOHN, the uncle of Sigismund, king of Poland, and a zealous
promoter in Poland of the Reformation, the friend of Erasmus and
Zwinglius (1499-1560).
ALAS`KA (32), an immense territory belonging to the U.S. by
purchase from Russia, extending from British N. America to Behring
Strait; it is poor in resources, and the inhabitants, who are chiefly
Indians and Eskimos, live by hunting and fishing, and by the export of
salmon; seal fishery valuable, however.
ALASNAM, a hero related of in the "Arabian Nights" as having erected
eight statues of gold, and in quest of a statue for a ninth unoccupied
pedestal, finding what he wanted in the person of a beautiful woman for a
wife.
ALAS`TOR, an avenging spirit, given to torment families whose
history has been stained by some crime.
A`LAVA (97), the southernmost of the three Basque provinces of
Spain, largest, but least populous; rich in minerals, and fertile in
soil.
ALAVA, RICARDO DE, a Spanish general, born in Vittoria, joined the
national party, and was aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington, and
became eventually ambassador to London and Paris (1771-1843).
ALBA LONGA, a city of Latium older than Rome.
ALBACETE (229), a province in Spain, with a capital (30) of same
name, 173 m. SE. of Madrid.
ALBAN LAKE, near Alban Mount, 6 m. in circuit, occupying the basin
of an extinct volcano, its surface 961 ft. above the sea-level.
ALBAN MOUNT, a small mountain overlooking Alba Longa.
ALBAN, ST., the first martyr in Britain to the Christian faith in
303; represented in art as carrying his head between his hands, having
been beheaded.
ALBA`NI, an Italian painter, a disciple of Caracci, born at Bologna;
surnamed the Anacreon of painting; his pictures more distinguished for
grace than vigour.
ALBA`NI, an illustrious Roman family, members of which attained the
highest dignities in the Church, one, Clement XI., having been Pope.
ALBANI, MME., _née_ Emma la Jeunesse, a well-known and highly
popular operatic singer of French-Canadian descent; _b_. 1847.
ALBA`NIA, a region in Balkan peninsula, on the Adriatic, extending
from Servia to Greece.
ALBANO, LAKE OF, a small crater-like lake 15 m. SE. of Rome, near
which rises the Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope has a villa.
ALBANY, the old Celtic name for the Scottish highlands.
ALBANY, a town in W. Australia, on King George Sound, 261 m. SE. of
Perth, a port of call for Australian liners; also the capital (94) of the
State of New York, on the Hudson River, a well-appointed city; seat of
justice for the State, with a large trade and numerous manufactures.
ALBANY, COUNTESS OF, wife of English pretender, Prince Charles
Stuart, a dissolute woman (1753-1824).
ALBANY, THE DUKE OF, a title formerly given to a member of the royal
family, and revived in the present reign.
ALBANY, DUCHESS OF, daughter of Prince Waldeck Pyrmont and widow of
Prince Leopold of England; _b_. 1861, widow since 1884.
ALBATEGNI, a distinguished Arabian astronomer, born in Mesopotamia
in the 9th or 10th century of our era; his observations extended over 50
years; he so improved the methods and instruments of observation as to
earn the title of the Ptolemy of the Arabs.
ALBATROSS, the largest and strongest of sea-birds, that ranges over
the southern seas, often seen far from land; it is a superstition among
sailors that it is disastrous to shoot one.
ALBERO`NI, an Italian of humble birth, became a Cardinal of the
Church and Prime Minister to Philip V. of Spain, wrought hard to restore
Spain to its ancient grandeur, was defeated in his project by the
quadruple alliance of England, France, Austria, and Holland, and obliged
to retire (1664-1752).
ALBERT, archbishop of Mainz, a dignity granted him by Pope Leo X. at
the ransom of £15,000, which he was unable to pay, and which, as the
Pope needed it for building St. Peter's, he borrowed, the Pope granting
him the power to sell indulgences in order to repay the loan, in which
traffic Tetzel was his chief salesman, a trade which roused the wrath of
Luther, and provoked the German Reformation (1450-1545).
ALBERT, the last Grandmaster of the Teutonic knights, who being
"religious in an eminent degree and shaken in his belief" took zealously
to Protestantism and came under the influence of Luther, who advised him
to declare himself Duke of Prussia, under the wing of Sigismund of
Poland, in defiance of the Teutonic order as no longer worthy of bed and
board on the earth, and so doing, became founder of the Prussian State
(1490-1568).
ALBERT, markgrave of Brandenburg, defined by Carlyle "a failure of a
Fritz," with "features" of a Frederick the Great in him, "but who burnt
away his splendid qualities as a mere temporary shine for the able
editors, and never came to anything, full of fire, too much of it
wildfire, not in the least like an Alcibiades except in the change of
fortune he underwent" (1522-1557).
ALBERT, PRINCE, second son of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,
born Aug. 26, 1819, an accomplished man with a handsome presence, who
became the consort of Queen Victoria in 1840, and from his prudence and
tact was held in the highest honour by the whole community, but died at
Windsor of typhoid fever, Dec. 14, 1861, to the unspeakable sorrow of
both Queen and country.
ALBERT, ST., bishop of Liège, was assassinated by the emissaries of
the Emperor Henry VI. in 1195. Festival, Nov. 21.
ALBERT EDWARD. See WALES, PRINCE OF.
ALBERT I., emperor of Germany from 1298 to 1308, eldest son of
Rudolf of Hapsburg, "a most clutching, strong-fisted, dreadfully hungry,
tough, and unbeautiful man, whom his nephew at last had to assassinate,
and did assassinate, as he crossed the river Reuss with him in a boat,
May 1, 1308."
ALBERT II., a successor, "who got three crowns--Hungary, Bohemia,
and the Imperial--in one year, and we hope a fourth," says the old
historian, "which was a heavenly and eternal one," for he died the next
year, 1439.
ALBERT III., elector of Brandenburg. See ACHILLES OF GERMANY.
ALBERT MEDAL, a medal of gold and of bronze, instituted in 1866,
awarded to civilians for acts of heroism by sea or land.
ALBERT THE BEAR, markgrave of Brandenburg, called the Bear, "not
from his looks or qualities, for he was a tall handsome man, but from the
cognisance on his shield, an able man, had a quick eye as well as a
strong hand, and could pick what way was straightest among crooked
things, was the shining figure and the great man of the North in his day,
got much in the North and kept it, got Brandenburg for one there, a
conspicuous country ever since," says Carlyle, "and which grows more so
in our late times" (1100-1175).
ALBERT NYAN`ZA, a lake in Equatorial Africa, in the Nile basin,
discovered by Sir Samuel Baker in 1864, 150 m. long by 40 broad, and 2500
feet above sea-level.
ALBER`TA (26), a fertile region with large forests in British
America, on the E. slope of the Rocky Mountains, the south abounding in
cattle ranches, and the mountainous districts in minerals.
ALBERTI, an illustrious Florentine family, rivals of the Medicis and
the Albrizzi.
ALBER`TUS MAGNUS, one of the greatest of the scholastic philosophers
and theologians of the Middle Ages, teacher of Thomas Aquinas, supreme in
knowledge of the arts and sciences of the time, and regarded by his
contemporaries in consequence as a sorcerer (1190-1280).
ALBI, a town of some antiquity and note in S. of France, 22 m. NE.
of Toulouse.
ALBIGEN`SES, a religious sect, odious, as heretical, to the Church,
which sprung up about Albi, in the S. of France, in the 12th century,
against which Pope Innocent III. proclaimed a crusade, which was carried
on by Simon de Montfort in the 13th century, and by the Inquisition
afterwards, to their utter annihilation.
ALBINOS, persons or animals with preternaturally pale skin and fair
hair, also with pupils of a red or pink colour, and eyes too weak to bear
full light.
ALBINUS, an able professor of anatomy and therapeutics at Leyden
(1696-1770).
ALBION, a white cliff, the ancient name of Great Britain.
ALBOIN, king of the Lombards in the 6th century, from 561 to 573;
invaded Italy as far as the Tiber, and set up his capital in Pavia;
incurred the resentment of his wife, who had him assassinated for forcing
her to drink wine out of the skull of her father.
ALBORAK, a wonderful horse of Mahomet, an impersonation of the
lightning as his steed.
ALBOR`NOZ, a Spanish statesman, archbishop of Toledo, a bold
defender of the faith against the Moor and a plain-spoken man in the
interest of Christianity (1310-1367).
ALBRECHT. See ALBERT.
ALBRIZZI, a powerful Florentine family, rivals of the Medicis and
the Alberti.
ALBUE`RA, a Spanish village 12 m. SE. of Badajoz, scene of a victory
(May 16, 1811) of General Beresford over Marshal Soult.
ALBUFE`RA, a lake on the coast of Spain, 7 m. S. of Valencia, near
which Marshal Suchet gained a victory over the English in 1811.
AL`BULA, Swiss mountain pass in the canton of Grisons, 7595 ft.
high.
ALBUMEN, a glairy substance a constituent of plants and animals, and
found nearly pure in the white of an egg or in the serum of the blood.
ALBUQUERQUE`, ALFONSO D', a celebrated Portuguese patriot and
navigator, the founder of the Portuguese power in India, who, after
securing a footing in India for Portugal that he sought for, settled in
Goa, where his recall at the instance of jealous rivals at home gave him
such a shock that he died of a broken heart just as he was leaving. The
Indians long remembered his benign rule, and used to visit his tomb to
pray him to deliver them from the oppression of his successors
(1453-1513).
ALBYN, ancient Celtic name of Scotland.
ALCÆ`US OF MITYLENE, a Greek lyric poet, an aristocrat by birth, a
contemporary and an alleged lover of Sappho, and much admired by Horace;
flourished about 600 B.C.
ALCA`LA DE HENA`RES (14), a town in Spain, the birthplace of
Cervantes, 21 m. E. of Madrid, long the seat of a famous university
founded by Cardinal Ximenes.
ALCAN`TARA, a town of Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal, with a
bridge of six arches, 670 ft. long and 210 ft. high, built in honour of
Trajan in 104. The Order of Alcantara, a religious and military order,
was established in 1176 here, for defence against the Moors, and was
suppressed in 1835.
ALCESTE, the chief character in Molière's _Misanthrope_.
ALCES`TIS, the wife of Admetus, who gave herself up to death to save
her husband. Hercules descended to the lower world and brought her back.
She is the subject of one of the tragedies of Euripides.
ALCHEMY, the early analysis of substances which has in modern times
developed into chemistry, and which aimed chiefly at the discovery of the
philosopher's stone, of a universal solvent, and of the elixir of life;
it has been defined to be "an art without art, which has its beginning in
falsehood, its middle in toil, and its end in poverty."
ALCIBI`ADES, an Athenian of high birth, and related to Pericles,
possessed of a handsome person, brilliant abilities, and great wealth,
but was of a wayward temper and depraved, whom Socrates tried hard to win
over to virtue, but failed. He involved his country in a rash expedition
against Sicily, served and betrayed it by turns in the Peloponnesian war,
and died by assassination in exile (450-404 B.C.).
ALCI`DES, the grandson of Alcæus, a patronymic of Hercules.
ALCIN`OUS, a king of the Phæacians, the father of Nausicaa, who
figures in the Odyssey as the host of Ulysses, who had been shipwrecked
on his shore.
ALCI`RA (18), a walled town in Spain, on an island 22 m. SW. of
Valencia.
ALCMAN, an early Greek lyric poet, born at Sardis.
ALCME`NE, the wife of Amphitryon and the mother of Hercules.
ALCMEONIDÆ, a powerful Athenian family, of which Pericles and
Alcibiades were members, who professed to be descended from Alcmæon, the
grandson of Nestor.
ALCOCK, JOHN, an eminent ecclesiastic of the reign of Edward IV.,
distinguished for his love of learning and learned men; _d_. 1500.
ALCOHOL, pure or highly rectified spirit obtained from fermented
saccharine solutions by distillation, and the intoxicating principle of
all spirituous liquors.
ALCOHOLISM, the results, acute or chronic, of the deleterious action
of alcohol on the human system.
ALCORAN`. See KORÂN.
ALCOTT, LOUISA MARY, a popular American authoress, who acted as a
nurse to the wounded during the Civil War; her works mostly addressed to
the young (1832-1888).
ALCOY (30), a town in Spain, N. of Alicanti; staple manufacture,
paper.
AL`CUIN, a learned Englishman, a disciple of Bede; invited by
Charlemagne to introduce scholarly culture into the empire and establish
libraries and schools of learning; was one of those men whose work lies
more in what they influence others to do than in what they do themselves
(735-804).
ALCY`ONE, daughter of Æolus, who threw herself into the sea after
her husband, who had perished in shipwreck, and was changed into the
kingfisher.
ALDE`BARAN, the bull's-eye, a star of the first magnitude in the eye
of the constellation Taurus; it is the sun in the Arabian mythology.
ALDEHYDE, a limpid, very volatile liquid, of a suffocating odour,
obtained from the oxidation of alcohol.
AL`DERNEY (2), one of the Channel Islands, 3 or 4 m. long by 2
broad, celebrated for its breed of cows; separated from Cape de la Hogue
by the dangerous Race of Alderney.
AL`DERSHOT, a permanent camp, established in 1855, for instruction
in military manoeuvres, on a moorland 35 m. SW. of London.
ALDINE EDITIONS, editions, chiefly of the classics, issued from the
press of Aldus Manutius in Venice in the 16th century, and remarkable for
the correctness of the text and the beauty and clearness of the printing.
ALDINGAR, SIR, legendary character, the steward of Eleanor, wife of
Henry II., who accused her of infidelity, and offered to substantiate the
charge by combat, when an angel in the form of a child appeared and
certified her innocence.
ALDOBRANDINI, a Florentine jurisconsult (1500-1558).
AL`DRED, bishop of Worcester in the reign of Edward the Confessor,
made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, became archbishop of York, and crowned
the last of the Saxon and the first of the Norman kings of England; _d_.
1063.
AL`DRICH, dean of Oxford, an accomplished ecclesiastic; was a
skilful musician, and composed many services for the Church; wrote a
system of logic, long in use in Oxford University (1647-1710).
ALDROVAN`DI, ULYSSES, a famous Italian naturalist of Bologna, who
collected an immense body of interesting facts in natural history,
published partly in his lifetime and partly after his death (1522-1607).
ALDUS MANUTIUS, or ALDO MANUZIO, an Italian printer, born at
Bassano, established a printing-office in Venice in 1488, issued the
celebrated Aldine Editions of the classics, and invented the italic type,
for the exclusive use of which for many years he obtained a patent,
though the honour of the invention is more probably due to his
typefounder, Franciso de Bologna, than to him (1447-1515).
ALEC`TO, one of the three Eumenides or Furies.
ALEMAN`, a Spanish novelist, author of the celebrated romance
_Guzman de Alfarache_, which in 6 years ran through 26 editions, was
translated several times into French; died in Mexico in 1610.
ALEMAN`NI, a confederacy of tribes which appeared on the banks of
the Rhine in the 3rd cent., and for long gave no small trouble to Rome,
but whose incursions were arrested, first by Maximinus, and finally by
Clovis in 496, who made them subject to the Franks, hence the modern
names in French for Germany and the Germans.
ALEMTE`JO (369), a southern province of Portugal; soil fertile to
the east.
ALENÇON (17), a town in the dep. of Orne, 105 m. W. of Paris, once
famous for its lace.
ALENÇON, COUNTS AND DUKES OF, a title borne by several members of
the house of Valois--e. g. CHARLES OF VALOIS, who fell at Crécy
(1346); JEAN IV., who fell at Agincourt (1415).
ALEP`PO (130), a city in Northern Syria, one of the finest in the
East, once one of the greatest trading centres in the world.
ALE`SIA, a strong place in the E. of Gaul, which, as situated on a
hill and garrisoned by 80,000 Gauls, cost Cæsar no small trouble to take.
ALESIUS, or ALANE, a noted Reformer, born in Edinburgh,
converted to Protestantism by Patrick Hamilton; was driven first from
Scotland and then from England, till he settled as a theological
professor in Germany, and took an active part in the Reformation there
(1500-1563).
ALESSANDRIA (78), a strongly fortified and stirring town on the
Tenaro, in Northern Italy, the centre of 8 railways, 55 m. SE. of Turin.
ALESSI, architect, born at Perugia, architect of the monastery and
church of the ESCURIAL, q. v. (1500-1572).
ALETSCH GLACIER, THE, the largest of the glaciers of the Alps, which
descends round the south of the Jungfrau into the valley of the Upper
Rhône.
ALEU`TIAN ISLANDS (2) a chain of volcanic islands, 150 in number,
stretching over the N. Pacific from Alaska in N. America, to Kamchatka,
in Asia.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, the king of Macedonia, son of Philip by
Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epirus; born at Pella,
356 B.C.; had the philosopher Aristotle for tutor, and being instructed
by him in all kinds of serviceable knowledge, ascended the throne on the
death of his father, at the age of 20; after subduing Greece, had himself
proclaimed generalissimo of the Greeks against the Persians, and in 2
years after his accession crossed the Hellespont, followed by 30,000 foot
and 5000 horse; with these conquered the army of Darius the Persian at
Granicus in 334 and at Issus in 333; subdued the principal cities of
Syria, overran Egypt, and crossing the Euphrates and Tigris, routed the
Persians at Arbela; hurrying on farther, he swept everything before him,
till the Macedonians refusing to advance, he returned to Babylon, when he
suddenly fell ill of fever, and in eleven days died at the early age of
32. He is said to have slept every night with his Homer and his sword
under his pillow, and the inspiring idea of his life, all unconsciously
to himself belike, is defined to have been the right of Greek
intelligence to override and rule the merely glittering barbarity of the
East.
ALEXANDER, ST., patriarch of Alexandria from 311 to 326, contributed
to bring about the condemnation of Arius at the Council of Nice;
festival, Feb 26.
ALEXANDER, SOLOMON, first Protestant bishop of Jerusalem, of Jewish
birth, cut off during a journey to Cairo (1799-1845).
ALEXANDER III., pope, successor to Adrian IV., an able man, whose
election Barbarossa at first opposed, but finally assented to; took the
part of Thomas à Becket against Henry II. and canonised him, as also St.
Bernard. Pope from 1159 to 1181.
ALEXANDER VI., called Borgia from his mother, a Spaniard by birth,
obtained the popehood by bribery in 1492 in succession to Innocent VIII.,
lived a licentious life and had several children, among others the
celebrated Lucretia and the infamous Cæsar Borgia; _d_. in 1503, after a
career of crime, not without suspicion of poison. In addition to
Alexanders III. and VI., six of the name were popes: Alexander I., pope
from 108 to 117; Alexander II., pope from 1061 to 1073; Alexander IV.,
pope from 1254 to 1261; Alexander V., pope from 1409 to 1410; Alexander
VII., pope from 1653 to 1667, who was forced to kiss his hand to Louis
XIV.; Alexander VIII., pope from 1689 to 1691.
ALEXANDER I., king of Scotland, son of Malcolm Canmore and Margaret,
sister of Edgar Atheling, a vigorous prince, surnamed on that account
_The Fierce_; subdued a rising in the North, and stood stoutly in defence
of the independent rights of both Crown and Church against the claim of
supremacy over both on the part of England; _d_. 1124.
ALEXANDER II., of Scotland, successor of William the Lion, his
father, a just and wise ruler, aided the English barons against John, and
married Joan, the sister of Henry III.; _d_. 1249.
ALEXANDER III., son of the preceding, married a daughter of Henry
III., sided with him against the barons, successfully resisted the
invasion of Haco, king of Norway, and on the conclusion of peace gave his
daughter in marriage to Haco's successor Eric; accidentally killed by
falling over a cliff near Kinghorn when hunting in 1285.
ALEXANDER I., emperor of Russia, son and successor of Paul I., took
part in the European strife against the encroachments of Napoleon, was
present at the battle of Austerlitz, fought the French at Pultusk and
Eylau, was defeated at Friedland, had an interview with Napoleon at
Tilsit in 1813, entered into a coalition with the other Powers against
France, which ended in the capture of Paris and the abdication of
Napoleon in 1814. Under his reign Russia rose into political importance
in Europe (1777-1825).
ALEXANDER II., emperor of Russia, son and successor of Nicholas I.,
fell heir to the throne while the siege of Sebastopol was going on; on
the conclusion of a peace applied himself to reforms in the state and the
consolidation and extension of the empire. His reign is distinguished by
a ukase decreeing in 1861 the emancipation of the serfs numbering 23
millions, by the extension of the empire in the Caucasus and Central
Asia, and by the war with Turkey in the interest of the Slavs in 1877-78,
which was ended by the peace of San Stephano, revised by the treaty of
Berlin. His later years were clouded with great anxiety, owing to the
spread of Nihilism, and he was killed by a bomb thrown at him by a
Nihilist (1818-1881).
ALEXANDER III., emperor of Russia, son of the preceding, followed in
the footsteps of his father, and showed a marked disposition to live on
terms of peace with the other Powers; his reign not distinguished by any
very remarkable event. The present Czar is his son and successor
(1845-1894).
ALEXANDER I., king of Servia, _b_. 1876.
ALEXANDER NEVSKY, grand-duke of Russia, conquered the Swedes, the
Danes, and the Teutonic Knights on the banks of the Neva, freed Russia
from tribute to the Mongols, is one of the saints of the Russian Church.
ALEXANDER OF HALES, the _Doctor irrefragabilis_ of the Schools, an
English ecclesiastic, a member of the Franciscan order, who in his "Summa
Universæ Theologiæ" formulated, by severe rigour of Aristotelian logic,
the theological principles and ecclesiastical rites of the Romish Church;
_d_. in 1222.
ALEXANDER OF PARIS, a Norman poet of the 16th century, who wrote a
poem on Alexander the Great in twelve-syllabled lines, called after him
Alexandrines.
ALEXANDER OF THE NORTH, Charles XII. of Sweden.
ALEXANDER SEVE`RUS, a Roman emperor, a wise, virtuous, and pious
prince, conquered Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in an expedition against
him, but setting out against the Germans, who were causing trouble on the
frontiers of the empire, fell a victim, along with his mother, to an
insurrection among his troops not far from Mainz (205-235).
ALEXAN`DRIA (230), a world-famous city, the chief port of Egypt,
founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., at one time a great centre
of learning, and in possession of the largest library of antique
literature in the world, which was burned by the Caliph Omar in 640; at
one time a place of great commerce, but that has very materially decayed
since the opening of the Suez Canal. Alexandria, from its intimate
connection with both East and West, gave birth in early times to a
speculative philosophy which drew its principles from eastern as well as
western sources, which was at its height on the first encounter of these
elements.
ALEXANDRIA (14), a town on the Potomac, 7 m. S. of Washington,
accessible to vessels of the largest size; also a thriving town (7) on
the river Leven, 3 m. N. of Dumbarton.
ALEXANDRIAN CODEX, an MS. on parchment of the Septuagint Scriptures
in Greek in uncial letters, which belonged to the library of the
patriarchs of Alexandra.
ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY, the library burned by the Caliph Omar in 642,
said to have contained 700,000 volumes.
ALEXANDRI`NA LAKE, a lake in Australia into which the river Murray
flows.
ALEXANDRINE PHILOSOPHY, a Gnostic philosophy, combining eastern with
western forms of thought.
ALEXANDRINES. See ALEXANDER OF PARIS.
ALEXAN`DROPOL (22), the largest town in the Erivan district of
Russian Armenia, and a fortress of great strength.
ALEXIS, ST., the patron saint of beggars and pilgrims, represented
in art with a staff and in a pilgrim's habit; sometimes lying on a mat,
with a letter in his hand, dying.
ALEXIS MICHAELOVITCH, czar of Russia, the father of Peter the Great,
the first czar who acted on the policy of cultivating friendly relations
with other European states (1630-1677).
ALEXIS PETROVITCH, son of Peter the Great, conspired against his
father as he had broken the heart of his mother, was condemned to death;
after his trial by secret judges he was found dead in prison (1695-1718).
ALEXIUS COMNE`NUS, emperor of the East, began life as a soldier, was
a great favourite with the soldiers, who, in a period of anarchy, raised
him to the throne at the period of the first crusade, when the empire was
infested by Turks on the one hand and Normans on the other, while the
crusaders who passed through his territory proved more troublesome than
either. He managed to hold the empire together in spite of these
troubles, and to stave off the doom that impended all through his reign
of thirty-seven years (1048-1118).
ALFA, an esparto grass valuable for making paper.
AL`FADUR, the All-Father or uncreated supreme in the Norse
mythology.
ALFARA`BI, an Arabian philosopher of the 10th century, had Avicenna
for a disciple, wrote on various subjects, and was the first to attempt
an encyclopedic work.
ALFIE`RI, an Italian dramatist, spent his youth in dissipation
before he devoted himself to the dramatic art; on the success of his
first drama "Cleopatra," met at Florence with the Countess of Albany, the
wife of Charles Edward Stuart, on whose death he married her; was at
Paris when the Revolution broke out, and returned to Florence, where he
died and was buried. Tragedy was his _forte_ as a dramatist (1749-1803).
ALFONSINE TABLES, astronomical tables drawn up at Toledo by order of
Alfonso X. in 1252 to correct the anomalies in the Ptolemaic tables; they
divided the year into 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, 16 seconds.
ALFONSO I., the "Conqueror," founder of the kingdom of Portugal, was
the first king, originally only count, as his father before him; in that
capacity took up arms against the Moors, and defeating them had himself
proclaimed king on the field of battle, a title confirmed to him by the
Pope and made good by his practically subjecting all Portugal to his sway
(1110-1185).
ALFONSO X., the Wise, or the Astronomer, king of Castile and Leon,
celebrated as an astronomer and a philosopher; after various successes
over the Moors, first one son and then another rose against him and drove
him from the throne; died of chagrin at Seville two years later. His fame
connects itself with the preparation of the Alfonsine Tables, and the
remark that "the universe seemed a crank machine, and it was a pity the
Creator had not taken advice." It was a saying of his, "old wood to burn,
old books to read, old wine to drink, and old friends to converse with"
(1226-1284).
ALFONSO III., surnamed the Great, king of Asturias, ascended the
throne in 866, fought against and gained numerous victories over the
Moors; the members of his family rose against him and compelled him to
abdicate, but on a fresh incursion of the Moors he came forth from his
retreat and triumphantly beat them back; died in Zamora, 910.
ALFORD, HENRY, vicar of Wymeswold and afterwards Dean of Canterbury;
his works and writings were numerous, and included poems and hymns. His
great work, however, was an edition of the Greek New Testament, with
notes, various readings, and comments (1810-1871).
ALFORD, MICHAEL, a learned English Jesuit, left two great works,
"Britannia Illustrata" and "Annales Ecclesiastici et Civiles
Britannorum."
ALFRED, DUKE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA, son of Prince Albert and
Queen Victoria; _b_. 1844.
ALFRED THE GREAT, king of the West Saxons, and the most celebrated
and greatest of all the Saxon kings. His troubles were with the Danes,
who at the time of his accession infested the whole country north of the
Thames; with these he fought nine battles with varied success, till after
a lull of some years he was surprised by Gunthrum, then king, in 878, and
driven to seek refuge on the island of Athelney. Not long after this he
left his retreat and engaged Gunthrum at Edington, and after defeating
him formed a treaty with him, which he never showed any disposition to
break. After this Alfred devoted himself to legislation, the
administration of government, and the encouragement of learning, being a
man of letters himself. England owes much to him both as a man and a
ruler, and it was he who in the creation of a fleet laid the first
foundation of her greatness as monarch of the deep. His literary works
were translations of the "General History" of Orosius, the
"Ecclesiastical History" of Bede, Boëthius's "Consolations of
Philosophy," and the "Cura Pastoralis" of Pope Gregory, all executed for
the edification of his subjects (849-901).
ALGÆ, sea-weeds and plants of the same order under fresh water as
well as salt; they are flowerless, stemless, and cellular throughout.
ALGAR`DI, an Italian sculptor of note, born at Bologna; his greatest
work is an alto-relievo, the largest existing, of Pope Leo restraining
Attila from marching on Rome (1602-1654).
ALGARO`TTI, FRANCESCO, a clever Italian author, born at Venice,
whom, for his wit, Frederick the Great was attached to and patronised,
"one of the first _beaux esprits_ of the age," according to Wilhelmina,
Frederick's sister. Except his wit, it does not appear Frederick got much
good out of him, for the want of the due practical faculty, all the
faculty he had having evaporated in talk (1712-1764).
ALGAR`VE (240), the southernmost province of Portugal, hilly, but
traversed with rich valleys, which yield olives, vines, oranges, &c.
ALGEBRA, a universal arithmetic of Arabian origin or Arabian
transmission, in which symbols are employed to denote operations, and
letters to represent number and quantity.
ALGE`RIA, in the N. of Africa, belongs to France, stretches between
Morocco on the W. and Tripoli and Tunis on the E., the country being
divided into the Tell along the sea-coast, which is fertile, the Atlas
Highlands overlooking it on the S., on the southern slopes of which are
marshy lakes called "shotts," on which alfa grows wild, and the Sahara
beyond, rendered habitable here and there by the creation of artesian
wells; its extent nearly equal in area to that of France, and the
population numbers about four millions, of which only a quarter of a
million is French. The country is divided into Departments, of which
Algiers, Oran, and Constantine are the respective capitals. It has been
successively under the sway of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the
Vandals, the Arabs, the Byzantines, and the Berbers, which last were in
the 16th century supplanted by the Turks. At the end of this period it
became a nest of pirates, against whom a succession of expeditions were
sent from several countries of Europe, but it was only with the conquest
of it by the French in 1830 that this state of things was brought to an
end.
ALGESI`RAS (12), a town and port in Spain on the Bay of Gibraltar, 5
m. across the bay; for centuries a stronghold of the Moors, but taken
from them by Alfonso IX. after a siege of twenty months.
ALGIERS` (75), the capital of Algeria, founded by the Arabs in 935,
called the "silver city," from the glistening white of its buildings as
seen sloping up from the sea, presenting a striking appearance, was for
centuries under its Bey the head-quarters of piracy in the Mediterranean,
which only began to cease when Lord Exmouth bombarded the town and
destroyed the fleet in the harbour. Since it fell into the hands of the
French the city has been greatly improved, the fortifications
strengthened, and its neighbourhood has become a frequent resort of
English people in winter.
ALGINE, a viscous gum obtained from certain sea-weeds, used as size
for textile fabrics, and for thickening soups and jellies.
ALGO`A BAY, an inlet at the E. of Cape Colony, 20 m. wide, on which
Port Elizabeth stands, 425 m. E. of the Cape of Good Hope.
AL`GOL, a double star in the constellation Perseus, of changing
brightness.
ALGONQUINS, one of the three aboriginal races of N. American
Indians, originally occupying nearly the whole region from the Churchill
and Hudson Bay southward to N. Carolina, and from the E. of the Rocky
Mts. to Newfoundland; the language they speak has been divided into five
dialects.
ALHAM`BRA (Red Castle), an ancient palace and stronghold of the
Moorish kings of Granada, founded by Muhammed II. in 1213, decorated with
gorgeous arabesques by Usuf I. (1345), erected on the crest of a hill
which overlooks Granada; has suffered from neglect, bad usage, and
earthquake.
A`LI, the cousin of Mahomet, and one of his first followers at the
age of sixteen, "a noble-minded creature, full of affection and fiery
daring. Something chivalrous in him; brave as a lion; yet with a grace, a
truth and affection worthy of Christian knighthood." Became Caliph in
656, died by assassination in the Mosque at Bagdad; the Sheiks yearly
commemorate his death. See Carlyle's "Heroes."
ALI BABA. See BABA, ALI.
A`LI PASHA, pasha of Janina, a bold and crafty Albanian, able man,
and notorious for his cruelty as well as craft; alternately gained the
favour of the Porte and lost it by the alliances he formed with hostile
powers, until the Sultan sentenced him to deposition, and sent Hassan
Pasha to demand his head; he offered violent resistance but being
overpowered at length surrendered, when his head was severed from his
body and sent to Constantinople (1741-1822).
ALICAN`TE (40), the third seaport-town in Spain, with a spacious
harbour and strongly fortified, in a province of the same name on the
Mediterranean.
ALIGARH` (61), a town with a fort between Agra and Delhi, the
garrison of which mutinied in 1857.
ALIGHIE`RI, the family name of Dante.
AL`IMA, an affluent on the right bank of the Congo, in French
territory.
ALIMENTARY CANAL, a passage 5 or 6 times the length of the body,
lined throughout with mucous membrane, extends from the mouth to the
anus, and includes mouth, fauces, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, and small
and large intestines.
ALISON, ARCHIBALD, an Episcopal clergyman in Edinburgh, of which he
was a native, best known for his "Essay on the Nature and Principles of
Taste" (1757-1839).
ALISON, SIR ARCHIBALD, son of the preceding, a lawyer who held
several prominent legal appointments, and a historian, his great work
being a "Modern History of Europe from the French Revolution to the Fall
of Napoleon," afterwards extended to the "Accession of Louis Napoleon"
(1792-1867).
ALISON, W. PULTENEY, brother of the preceding, professor of medicine
in Edinburgh University, and a philanthropist (1790-1859).
ALIWAL`, a village in the Punjab, on the Sutlej, where Sir Harry
Smith gained a brilliant victory over the Sikhs, who were provided with
forces in superior numbers, in 1846.
AL`KAHEST, the presumed universal solvent of the alchemists.
ALKALIES, bodies which, combining with acids form salts, are soluble
in water, and properly four in number, viz., potash, soda, lithia, and
ammonia.
ALKALINE EARTHS, earths not soluble in water, viz., lime, magnesia,
strontia, and baryta.
ALKALOIDS, bodies of vegetable origin, similar in their properties,
as well as toxicologically, to alkalies; contain as a rule carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; many of them are poisonous and invaluable
in medicine.
ALKMAAR` (14), the capital of N. Holland, 25 m. NW. of Amsterdam,
with a large trade in cattle, grain, and cheese.
ALKMER, HENRIK VAN, the reputed author of the first German version
of "Reynard the Fox."
ALL THE TALENTS, ADMINISTRATION OF, a ministry formed by Lord
Grenville on the death of Pitt in 1806.
AL`LAH, the Adorable, the Arab name for God, adopted by the
Mohammedans as the name of the one God.
ALLAHABAD` (175), the City of God, a central city of British India,
on the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, 550 m. from Calcutta, and
on the railway between that city and Bombay.
ALLAN, DAVID, a Scottish portrait and historical painter, born at
Alloa; illustrated Ramsay's "Gentle Shepherd"; his greatest work is the
"Origin of Painting," now in the National Gallery at Edinburgh
(1744-1796).
ALLAN, SIR WILLIAM, a distinguished Scottish historical painter,
born at Edinburgh, many of his paintings being on national subjects; he
was a friend of Scott, who patronised his work, and in succession to
Wilkie, president of the Royal Scottish Academy; painted "Circassian
Captives" and "Slave-Market at Constantinople" (1782-1850).
ALLANTOIS, a membrane enveloping the foetus in mammals, birds, and
reptiles.
ALLARD`, a French general, entered the service of Runjeet Singh at
Lahore, trained his troops in European war tactics, and served him
against the Afghans; died at Peshawar (1785-1839).
ALLEGHA`NY (105), a manufacturing city in Pennsylvania, on the Ohio,
opposite Pittsburg, of which it is a kind of suburb.
ALLEGHA`NY MOUNTAINS, a range in the Appalachian system in U.S.,
extending from Pennsylvania to N. Carolina; do not exceed 2400 ft. in
height, run parallel with the Atlantic coast, and form the watershed
between the Atlantic rivers and the Mississippi.
ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, assigning a higher than a literal
interpretation to the Scripture record of things, in particular the Old
Testament story.
ALLEGORY, a figurative mode of representation, in which a subject of
a higher spiritual order is described in terms of that of a lower which
resembles it in properties and circumstances, the principal subject being
so kept out of view that we are left to construe the drift of it from the
resemblance of the secondary to the primary subject.
ALLEGRI, the family name of Correggio; the name of an Italian
composer, born at Rome, the author of a still celebrated _Miserere_
(1580-1652).
AL`LEINE, JOSEPH, a Puritan writer, author of a book once, and to
some extent still, much in favour among religious people, entitled "Alarm
to the Unconverted" (1632-1674).
ALLEN, BOG OF, a dreary expanse of bogs of peat E. of the Shannon,
in King's Co. and Kildare, Ireland; LOUGH OF, an expansion of the
waters of the Shannon.
ALLEN, ETHAN, one of the early champions of American independence,
taken prisoner in a raid into Canada; wrote a defence of deism and
rational belief (1738-1789).
ALLEN, GRANT, man of letters, born in Kingston, Canada, 1848, and a
prolific writer; an able upholder of the evolution doctrine and an
expounder of Darwinism.
ALLEN, JOHN, an M.D. of Scotch birth, and a contributor to the
_Edinburgh Review_ (1771-1843).
ALLEN, WM., a distinguished chemist and philanthropist, son of a
Spitalfields weaver, a member of the Society of Friends, and a devoted
promoter of its principles (1770-1843).
ALLENTOWN (34), a town on the Lehigh River, 50 m. NW. of
Philadelphia, the great centre of the iron trade in the U.S.
ALLE`RION, in heraldry, an eagle with expanded wings, the points
turned downwards, and without beak or feet.
ALLEYN, EDWARD, a celebrated actor in the reigns of Elizabeth and
James I., the founder of Dulwich College, and was voluntarily along with
his wife one of its first beneficiaries and inmates; was a contemporary
of Shakespeare (1566-1626).
AL`LIA, a stream flowing into the Tiber 11 m. from Rome, where the
Romans were defeated by the Gauls under Brennus, 387 B.C.
ALLIANCE, THE TRIPLE, in 1668, between England, Holland, and Sweden
against Louis XIV.; the QUADRUPLE, in 1718, between France, England,
Holland, and the Empire to maintain the treaty of Utrecht; the HOLY,
in 1815, between Russia, Austria, and Prussia against Liberal ideas; the
TRIPLE, in 1872, between Germany, Austria, and Russia, at the
instigation of Bismarck, from which Russia withdrew in 1886, when Italy
stepped into her place. Under it the signatories in 1887 guarantee the
integrity of their respective territories.
ALLIER, a confluent of the river Loire, in France, near Nevers; also
the department through which it flows.
ALLIES, the name generally given to the confederate Powers who in
1814 and 1815 entered France and restored the Bourbons.
ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM, an English clergyman who turned Roman
Catholic, and wrote, in defence of the step, among others, the "See of
St. Peter, the Rock of the Church."
ALLIGATOR, a N. American fresh-water crocodile, numerous in the
Mississippi and the lakes and rivers of Louisiana and Carolina; subsists
on fish, and though timid, is dangerous when attacked; is slow in
turning, however, and its attacks can be easily evaded.
ALLINGHAM, WILLIAM, a poet and journalist, born in Ireland, of
English origin; his most celebrated works are "Day and Night Songs" and
"Lawerence Bloomfield in Ireland"; was for a time editor of _Fraser's
Magazine_ (1824-1889).
ALLMAN, GEORGE J., M.D., Emeritus Professor of Natural History in
Edinburgh, an eminent naturalist; born in Ireland (1812-1898).
ALLOA (12), a thriving seaport on north bank of the Forth, in
Clackmannan, 6 m. below Stirling, famous for its ale.
ALLOB`ROGES, a Celtic race troublesome to the Romans, who occupied
the country between the Rhône and the Lake of Geneva, corresponding to
Dauphiné and Savoy.
ALLOPATHY, in opposition to homoeopathy, the treatment of disease by
producing a condition of the system different from or opposite to the
condition essential to the disease to be cured.
ALLOTROPY, the capability which certain compounds show of assuming
different properties and qualities, although composed of identical
elements.
ALLOWAY, the birthplace of Burns, on the Doon, 2 m. from Ayr, the
assumed scene of Tam o' Shanter's adventure.
ALLOWAY KIRK, a ruin S. of Ayr, celebrated as the scene of the
witches' dance in "Tam o' Shanter."
ALL-SAINTS' DAY, the 1st of November, a feast dedicated to all the
Saints.
ALL-SOULS' DAY, a festival on the 2nd November to pray for the souls
of the faithful deceased, such as may be presumed to be still suffering
in Purgatory.
ALLSPICE, the berry of the pimento, or Jamaica pepper.
ALLSTON, WASHINGTON, an American painter and poet, whose genius was
much admired by Coleridge (1779-1843).
ALMA, a river in the Crimea, half-way between Eupatoria and
Sebastopol, where the allied English, French, and Turkish armies defeated
the Russians under Prince Menschikoff, Sept. 20, 1854.
ALMACK'S, a suite of assembly rooms, afterwards known as Willis's
Rooms, where select balls used to be given, admission to which was a
certificate of high social standing.
ALMADEN (9), a town on the northern slope of the Sierra Morena, in
Spain, with rich mines of quicksilver.
ALMA`GRO, DIEGO D', a confederate of Pizzaro in the conquest of
Peru, but a quarrel with the brothers of Pizzaro about the division of
the spoil on the capture of Cuzco, the capital of Chile, led to his
imprisonment and death (1475-1538).--DIEGO D', his son, who avenged
his death by killing Pizzaro, but being conquered by Vaca de Castro, was
himself put to death (1520-1542).
AL-MAMOUN, the son of HAROUN-EL-RASCHID, the 7th Abbaside
caliph, a great promoter of science and learning; _b_. 833.
ALMANACH DE GOTHA, a kind of European peerage, published annually by
Perthes at Gotha; of late years extended so as to include statesmen and
military people, as well as statistical information.
ALMANSUR, ABU GIAFAR, the 2nd Abbaside caliph and the first of the
caliphs to patronise learning; founded Bagdad, and made it the seat of
the caliphate; _d_. 775.
ALMANSUR, ABU MOHAMMED, a great Moorish general in the end of the
10th century, had overrun and nearly made himself master of all Spain,
when he was repulsed and totally defeated by the kings of Leon and
Navarre in 948.
AL`MA-TAD`EMA, LAURENCE, a distinguished artist of Dutch descent,
settled in London; famous for his highly-finished treatment of classic
subjects; _b_. 1836.
ALMAVIVA, a character in Beaumarchais' _Marriage de Figaro_,
representative of one of the old noblesse of France, recalling all their
manners and vices, who is duped by his valet Figaro, a personification of
wit, talent, and intrigue.
ALMEIDA, a strong fortress in the province of Beira, on the Spanish
frontier of Portugal.
ALMEIDA, FRANCESCO, the first Portuguese viceroy of India, a firm
and wise governor, superseded by Albuquerque, and killed on his way home
by the Kaffirs at the Cape in 1510.--LORENZO, his son, acting under
him, distinguished himself in the Indian seas, and made Ceylon tributary
to Portugal.
ALMERIA (37), a chief town and seaport in the S. of Spain, an
important and flourishing place, next to Granada, under the Moors, and at
one time a nest of pirates more formidable than those of Algiers.
ALMIGHTY DOLLAR, the Almighty whom the Americans are charged with
worshipping, first applied to them, it would seem, by Washington Irving.
ALMOHADES, a Moslem dynasty which ruled in N. Africa and Spain from
1129 to 1273.
ALMO`RA, a high-lying town at the foot of the Himalayas, 85 m. N. of
Bareilly.
ALMORAVIDES, a Moslem dynasty which subdued first Fez and Morocco,
and then S. Spain, from 1055 to 1147.
ALNWICK, the county town of Northumberland, on the Aln; at the north
entrance is Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland, one
of the most magnificent structures of the kind in England, and during the
Border wars a place of great strength.
ALOE, a genus of succulent plants embracing 200 species, the
majority natives of S. Africa, valuable in medicine, in particular a
purgative from the juice of the leaves of several species.
ALOES WOOD, the heart of certain tropical trees, which yields a
fragrant resinous substance and admits of high polish.
ALOST (25), a Belgian town on the Dender, 19 m. NW. from Brussels,
with a cathedral, one of the grandest in Belgium, which contains a famous
painting by Rubens, "St. Roche beseeching Christ to arrest the Plague at
Alost."
ALOYSIUS, ST., See GONZAGA.
ALOYSIUS, ST., an Italian nobleman, who joined the Society of Jesus;
canonised for his devotion to the sick during the plague in Rome, to
which he himself fell a victim, June 21, 1591.
ALPACA, a gregarious ruminant of the camel family, a native of the
Andes, and particularly the tablelands of Chile and Peru; is covered with
a long soft silky wool, of which textile fabrics are woven; in appearance
resembles a sheep, but is larger in size, and has a long erect neck with
a handsome head.
ALP-ARSLAN (Brave Lion), a sultan of the Seljuk dynasty in Persia,
added Armenia and Georgia to his dominions (1030-1072).
ALPES, three departments in SE. France: the BASSES-A, in NE.
part of Provence, bounded by Hautes-Alpes on the N. and Var on the S.,
sterile in the N., fertile in the S., cap. Digne; HAUTES-A., forming
part of Dauphiné, traversed by the Cottian Alps, climate severe, cap.
Gap; A. MARITIMES, E. of the Basses-A., bordering on Italy and the
Mediterranean, made up of the territory of Nice, ceded by Italy, and of
Monaco and Var; cap. Nice.
ALPHE`US, a river in the Peloponnesus, flowing west, with its source
in Arcadia; also the name of the river-god enamoured of the nymph
Arethusa, and who pursued her under the sea as far as Sicily, where he
overtook her and was wedded to her.
ALPINE CLUB, a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering,
first of all in the Alps, members of which have successfully addressed
themselves to attempts of the kind on loftier mountains.
ALPINE PLANTS, plants whose natural habitat approaches the line of
perpetual snow.
ALPS, THE, the vastest mountain system in Europe; form the boundary
between France, Germany, and Switzerland on the N. and W., and Italy on
the S., their peaks mostly covered with perpetual snow, the highest being
Mont Blanc, within the frontiers of France. According to height, they
have been distributed into _Fore, Middle_, and _High:_ the Fore rising to
the limit of trees; the Middle, to the line of perpetual snow; and the
High, above the snow-line. In respect of range or extent, they have been
distributed into _Western, Middle_, and _Eastern:_ the Western, including
the Maritime, the Cottian, the Dauphiné, and the Graian, extend from the
Mediterranean to Mont Blanc; the Middle, including the Pennine and
Bernese, extend from Mont Blanc to the Brenner Pass; and the Eastern,
including the Dolomite, the Julian, and the Dinaric, extend from the
Brenner and Hungarian plain to the Danube. These giant masses occupy an
area of 90,000 sq. m., and extend from the 44th to the 48th parallel of
latitude.
ALPUJAR`RAS, a rich and lovely valley which stretches S. from the
Sierra Nevada in Spain.
ALRUNA-WIFE, the household goddess of a German family.
ALSACE-LORRAINE` (1,640), a territory originally of the German
empire, ceded to Louis XIV. by the peace of Westphalia in 1648, but
restored to Germany after the Franco-German war in 1870-71, by the peace
of Frankfort; is under a governor general bearing the title of
"Statthalter"; is a great wine-producing country, yields cereals and
tobacco, its cotton manufacture the most important in Germany.
ALSA`TIA, Whitefriars, London, which at one time enjoyed the
privilege of a debtors' sanctuary, and had, till abolished in 1697,
become a haunt of all kinds of nefarious characters.
ALSEN (25), a Danish island adjacent to Sleswig, one of the finest
in the Baltic, now ceded to Germany.
AL-SIRAT, the hair-narrow hell-bridge of the Moslem, which every
Mohammedan must pass to enter Paradise.
ALSTEN, an island off the coast of Northland, Norway, with seven
snow-capped hills, called the Seven Sisters.
ALTAI` MOUNTAINS, in Central Asia, stretching W. from the Desert of
Gobi, and forming the S. boundary of Asiatic Russia, abounding, to the
profit of Russia, in silver and copper, as well as other metals.
ALTDOR`FER, ALBRECHT, a German painter and engraver, a distinguished
pupil of Albert Dürer, and as a painter, inspired with his spirit; his
"Battle of Arbela" adorns the Münich Picture Gallery (1488-1538).
AL`TEN, KARL AUGUST, a distinguished officer, native of Hanover, who
entered the British service, bore arms under Sir John Moore, was chief of
a division, under Wellington, in the Peninsular war, and closed his
military career at the battle of Waterloo (1763-1840).
AL`TENBURG (33), capital of Saxe-Altenburg, and 4 m. S. of Leipsic;
its castle is the scene of the famous "PRINZENRAUB" (q. v.),
related by Carlyle in his "Miscellanies."
ALTHEN, a Persian refugee, who introduced into France the
cultivation of madder, which became one of the most important products of
the S. of France.
ALTON LOCKE, a novel, by Charles Kingsley, written in sympathy with
the Chartist movement, in which Carlyle is introduced as one of the
personages.
ALTO`NA (148), a town and seaport of Sleswig-Holstein, now belonging
to Germany, close to Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe, and
healthier, and as good as forming one city with it.
ALTO-RELIEVO, figures carved out of a tablet so as to project at
least one half from its surface.
AL`TORF, an old town in the canton Uri, at the S. end of the Lake of
Lucerne; associated with the story of William Tell; a place of transit
trade.
ALTRUISM, a Comtist doctrine which inculcates sacrifice of self for
the good of others as the rule of human action.
ALUMBRA`DO, a member of a Spanish sect that laid claim to perfect
enlightenment.
ALURED OF BEVERLEY, an English chronicler of the 12th century; his
annals comprise the history of the Britons, Saxons, and Normans up to his
own time; _d_. 1129.
ALVA, DUKE OF, a general of the armies of Charles V. and Philip of
Spain; his career as a general was uniformly successful, but as a
governor his cruelty was merciless, especially as the viceroy of Philip
in the Low Countries, "very busy cutting off high heads in Brabant, and
stirring up the Dutch to such fury as was needful for exploding Spain and
him" (1508-1582).
ALVARA`DO, PEDRO DE, one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico, and
comrade of Cortez; was appointed Governor of Guatemala by Charles V. as a
reward for his valiant services in the interest of Spain; was a generous
man as well as a brave.
ALVAREZ, FRANCESCO, a Portuguese who, in the 15th century, visited
Abyssinia and wrote an account of it.
ALVAREZ, DON JOSÉ, the most distinguished of Spanish sculptors, born
near Cordova, and patronised by Napoleon, who presented him with a gold
medal, but to whom, for his treatment of his country, he conceived so
great an aversion, that he would never model a bust of him (1768-1827).
ALVIANO, an eminent Venetian general, distinguished himself in the
defence of the republic against the Emperor Maximilian (1455-1515).
AMADEUS, LAKE, a lake in the centre of Australia, subject to an
almost total drying-up at times.
AMADE`US V., count of Savoy, surnamed the Great from his wisdom and
success as a ruler (1249-1323).
AMADEUS VIII., 1st duke of Savoy, increased his dominions, and
retired into a monastery on the death of his wife; he was elected Pope as
Felix V., but was not acknowledged by the Church (1383-1451).
AMADEUS I., of Spain, 2nd son of Victor Emmanuel of Italy, elected
king of Spain in 1870, but abdicated in 1873 (1845-1890).
AM`ADIS DE GAUL, a celebrated romance in prose, written partly in
Spanish and partly in French by different romancers of the 15th century;
the first four books were regarded by Cervantes as a masterpiece. The
hero of the book, Amadis, surnamed the Knight of the Lion, stands for a
type of a constant and deferential lover, as well as a model
knight-errant, of whom Don Quixote is the caricature.
AMADOU, a spongy substance, consisting of slices of certain fungi
beaten together, used as a styptic, and, after being steeped in
saltpetre, used as tinder.
AMAIMON, a devil who could he restrained from working evil from the
third hour till noon and from the ninth till evening.
AMALARIC, king of the Visigoths, married a daughter of Clovis; _d_.
581.
AMALEKITES, a warlike race of the Sinaitic peninsula, which gave
much trouble to the Israelites in the wilderness; were as good as
annihilated by King David.
AMAL`FI, a port on the N. of the Gulf of Salerno, 24 m. SE. of
Naples; of great importance in the Middle Ages, and governed by Doges of
its own.
AMALFIAN LAWS, a code of maritime law compiled at Amalfi.
AMA`LIA, ANNA, the Duchess of Weimar, the mother of the grand-duke;
collected about her court the most illustrious literary men of the time,
headed by Goethe, who was much attached to her (1739-1807).
AMALRIC, one of the leaders in the crusade against the Albigenses,
who, when his followers asked him how they were to distinguish heretics
from Catholics, answered, "Kill them all; God will know His own;" _d_.
1225.
AMALTHE`A, the goat that suckled Zeus, one of whose horns became the
cornucopia--horn of plenty.
AMA`RA SINHA, a Hindu Buddhist, left a valuable thesaurus of
Sanskrit words.
AMA`RI, MICHELE, an Italian patriot, born at Palermo, devoted a
great part of his life to the history of Sicily, and took part in its
emancipation; was an Orientalist as well; he is famous for throwing light
on the true character of the Sicilian Vespers (1806-1889).
AMARYL`LIS, a shepherdess in one of Virgil's pastorals; any young
rustic maiden.
AMA`SIA (25), a town in Asia Minor, once the capital of the kings of
Pontus.
AMA`SIS, king of Egypt, originally a simple soldier, took part in an
insurrection, dethroned the reigning monarch and assumed the crown,
proved an able ruler, and cultivated alliances with Greece; reigned from
570 to 546 B.C.
AMA`TI, a celebrated family of violin-makers; Andrea and Niccolo,
brothers, at Cremona, in the 16th and 17th centuries.
AMATITLAN (10), a town in Guatemala, the inhabitants of which are
mainly engaged in the preparation of cochineal.
AMAUROSIS, a weakness or loss of vision, the cause of which was at
one time unknown.
AMAZON, a river in S. America and the largest on the globe, its
basin nearly equal in extent to the whole of Europe; traverses the
continent at its greatest breadth, rises in the Andes about 50 m. from
the Pacific, and after a course of 4000 m. falls by a delta into the
Atlantic, its waters increased by an immense number of tributaries, 20 of
which are above 1000 m. in length, one 2000 m., its mouth 200 m. wide;
its current affects the ocean 150 m. out; is navigable 3000 m. up, and by
steamers as far as the foot of the Andes.
AMAZONS, a fabulous race of female warriors, who had a queen of
their own, and excluded all men from their community; to perpetuate the
race, they cohabited with men of the neighbouring nations; slew all the
male children they gave birth to, or sent them to their fathers; burnt
off the right breasts of the females, that they might be able to wield
the bow in war.
AMBASSADOR, "an honest man sent to lie abroad for the commonwealth"
(_Wotton_).
AMBER, a fossil resin, generally yellow and semi-transparent,
derived, it is presumed, from certain extinct coniferous trees; becomes
electric by friction, and gives name to electricity, the Greek word for
it being _electron_; has been fished up for centuries in the Baltic, and
is now used in varnishes and for tobacco pipes.
AMBERGER, a painter of Nürnberg in the 16th century, a disciple of
Holbein, his principal work being the history of Joseph in twelve
pictures.
AMBERGRIS, an ashy-coloured odorous substance used in perfumery,
presumed to be a morbid fragment of the intestines of the spermaceti
whale, being often found floating on the ocean which it frequents.
AMBERLEY, LORD, son of Lord John Russell, wrote an "Analysis of
Religious Belief," which, as merely sceptical, his father took steps to
secure the suppression of, without success.
AMBLESIDE, a small market-town near the head of Lake Windermere, in
the Wordsworth or so-called Lake District.
AMBLYOPSIS, a small fish without eyes, found in the Mammoth
Cave, U.S.
AMBOISE (5), a town on the Loire, 14 m. E. of Tours, with a castle,
once the residence of the French kings. The Conspiracy of A., the
conspiracy of Condé and the Huguenots in 1560 against Francis II.,
Catharine de Medici, and the Guises. The Edict of A. (1563) conceded the
free exercise of their worship to the Protestants.
AMBOISE, GEORGE DE, CARDINAL, the popular Prime Minister of Louis
XII., who, as such, reduced the Public burdens, and as the Pope's legate
in France effected a great reform among the religious orders; is said to
have died immensely rich (1460-1510).
AMBOYNA (238), with a chief city of the name, the most important of
the Moluccas, in the Malay Archipelago, and rich before all in spices; it
belongs to the Dutch, who have diligently fostered its capabilities.
AM`BROSE, ST., bishop of Milan, born at Trèves, one of the Fathers
of the Latin Church, and a zealous opponent of the Arian heresy; as a
stern puritan refused to allow Theodosius to enter his church, covered as
his hands were with the blood of an infamous massacre, and only admitted
him to Church privilege after a severe penance of eight months; he
improved the Church service, wrote several hymns, which are reckoned his
most valuable legacy to the Church; his writings fill two vols. folio. He
is the Patron saint of Milan; his attributes are a _scourge_, from his
severity; and a _beehive_, from the tradition that a swarm of bees
settled on his mouth when an Infant without hurting him (340-397).
Festival, Dec. 7.
AMBRO`SIA, the fragrant food of the gods of Olympus, fabled to
preserve in them and confer on others immortal youth and beauty.
AMELIA, a character in one of Fielding's novels, distinguished for
her conjugal affection.
AMENDE HONORABLE, originally a mode of punishment in France which
required the offender, stripped to his shirt, and led into court with a
rope round his neck held by the public executioner, to beg pardon on his
knees of his God, his king, and his country; now used to denote a
satisfactory apology or reparation.
AMERBACH, JOHANN, a celebrated printer in Basel in the 15th century,
the first who used the Roman type instead of Gothic and Italian; spared
no expense in his art, taking, like a true workman, a pride in it; _d_.
1515.
AMERICA, including both North and South, 9000 m. in length, varies
from 3400 m. to 28 m. in breadth, contains 16½ millions of sq. m., is
larger than Europe and Africa together, but is a good deal smaller than
Asia; bounded throughout by the Atlantic on the E. and the Pacific on the
W.
AMERICA, BRITISH N., is bounded on the N. by the Arctic Ocean, on
the E. by the Atlantic, on the S. by the United States, and on the W. by
the Pacific; occupies one-third of the continent, and comprises the
Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland.
AMERICA, CENTRAL, extends from Mexico on the north to Panama on the
south, and is about six times as large as Ireland; is a plateau with
terraces descending to the sea on each side, and rich in all kinds of
tropical vegetation; consists of seven political divisions: Guatemala,
San Salvador, British Honduras, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mosquitia, and Costa
Rica.
AMERICA, NORTH, is 4560 m. in length, contains over 8½ millions sq.
m., is less than half the size of Asia, consists of a plain in the centre
throughout its length, a high range of mountains, the Rocky, on the W.,
and a lower range, the Appalachian, on the E., parallel with the coast,
which is largely indented with gulfs, bays, and seas; has a magnificent
system of rivers, large lakes, the largest in the world, a rich fauna and
flora, and an exhaustless wealth of minerals; was discovered by Columbus
in 1492, and has now a population of 80 millions, of which a fourth are
negroes, aborigines, and half-caste; the divisions are British North
America, United States, Mexico, Central American Republics, British
Honduras, the West Indian Republics, and the Spanish, British, French,
and Dutch West Indies.
AMERICA, RUSSIAN, now called Alaska; belongs by purchase to the
United States.
AMERICA, SOUTH, lies in great part within the Tropics, and consists
of a high mountain range on the west, and a long plain with minor ranges
extending therefrom eastward; the coast is but little indented, but the
Amazon and the Plate Rivers make up for the defect of seaboard; abounds
in extensive plains, which go under the names of Llanos, Selvas, and
Pampas, while the river system is the vastest and most serviceable in the
globe; the vegetable and mineral wealth of the continent is great, and it
can match the world for the rich plumage of its birds and the number and
splendour of its insect tribes.
AMERICA, SPANISH, the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, till lately
belonging to Spain, though the designation is often applied to all the
countries in N. America where Spanish is the spoken language.
AMERICAN FABIUS, George Washington.
AMERICAN INDIANS, a race with a red or copper-coloured skin, coarse
black straight hair, high cheek-bones, black deep-set eyes, and tall
erect figure, limited to America, and seems for most part fast dying out;
to be found still as far south as Patagonia, the Patagonians being of the
race.
AMERI`GO-VESPUC`CI, a Florentine navigator, who, under the auspices
first of Spain, and afterwards of Portugal, four times visited the New
World, just discovered by Columbus, which the first cartographers called
America, after his name; these visits were made between 1499 and 1505,
while Columbus's discovery, as is known, was in 1492 (1451-1512).
AMES, JOSEPH, historian of early British typography, in a work which
must have involved him in much labour (1689-1759).
AMHA`RA, the central and largest division of Abyssinia.
AMHERST, LORD, a British officer who distinguished himself both on
the Continent and America, and particularly along with General Wolfe in
securing for England the superiority in Canada (1717-1797).
AMICE, a flowing cloak formerly worn by pilgrims, also a strip of
linen cloth worn over the shoulder of a priest when officiating at mass.
AM`IEL, a professor of æsthetics, and afterwards of ethics at
Geneva, who is known to the outside world solely by the publication of
selections from his Journal in 1882-84, which teems with suggestive
thoughts bearing on the great vital issues of the day, and which has been
translated into English by Mrs. Humphrey Ward.
AMIENS` (88), the old capital of Picardy, on the Somme, with a
cathedral begun in 1220, described as the "Parthenon of Gothic
architecture," and by Ruskin as "Gothic, clear of Roman tradition and of
Arabian taint, Gothic pure, authoritative, unsurpassable, and
unaccusable"; possesses other buildings of interest; was the birthplace
of Peter the Hermit, and is celebrated for a treaty of peace between
France and England concluded in 1802.
AMIRAN`TES, a group of small coral islands NE. of Madagascar,
belonging to Britain; are wooded, are 11 in number, and only a few feet
above the sea-level.
AMMANA`TI, BARTOLOMEO, a Florentine architect and sculptor of note,
was an admirer of Michael Angelo, and executed several works in Rome,
Venice, and Padua (1511-1592).
AMMIA`NUS MARCELLI`NUS, a Greek who served as a soldier in the Roman
army, and wrote a history of the Roman Empire, specially valuable as a
record of contemporary events; _d_. 390.
AMMIRATO, an Italian historian, author of a history of Florence
(1531-1601).
AM`MON, an Egyptian deity, represented with the head of a ram, who
had a temple at Thebes and in the Lybian Desert; was much resorted to as
an oracle of fate; identified in Greece with Zeus, and in Rome with
Jupiter.
AMMONIA, a pungent volatile gas, of nitrogen and hydrogen, obtained
from sal-ammonia.
AMMONIO, ANDREA, a Latin poet born in Lucca, held in high esteem by
Erasmus; sent to England by the Pope, he became Latin secretary to Henry
and a prebendary of Salisbury; _d_. 1517.
AMMONITES, a Semitic race living E. of the Jordan; at continual feud
with the Jews, and a continual trouble to them, till subdued by Judas
Maccabæus.
AMMONITES, a genus of fossil shells curved into a spiral form like
the ram-horn on the head of the image of Ammon.
AMMO`NIUS SACCAS, a philosopher of Alexandria, and founder of
Neo-Platonism; Longinus, Origen, and Plotinus were among his pupils; _d_.
243, at a great age.
AMNION, name given to the innermost membrane investing the foetus in
the womb.
AMOEBA, a minute animalcule of the simplest structure, being a mere
mass of protoplasm; absorbs its food at every point all over its body by
means of processes protruded therefrom at will, with the effect that it
is constantly changing its shape.
AMOMUM, a genus of plants, such as the cardamom and grains of
paradise, remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties.
AMORITES, a powerful Canaanitish tribe, seemingly of tall stature,
NE. of the Jordan; subdued by Joshua at Gibeon.
AMORY, THOMAS, an eccentric writer of Irish descent, author of the
"Life of John Buncle, Esq.," and other semi-insane productions; he was a
fanatical Unitarian (1691-1789).
AMOS, a poor shepherd of Tekoa, near Bethlehem, in Judah, who in the
8th century B.C. raised his voice in solitary protest against the
iniquity of the northern kingdom of Israel, and denounced the judgment of
God as Lord of Hosts upon one and all for their idolatry, which nothing
could avert.
AMOY` (96), one of the open ports of China, on a small island in the
Strait of Fukien; has one of the finest harbours in the world, and a
large export and import trade; the chief exports are tea, sugar, paper,
gold-leaf, &c.
AMPÈRE`, ANDRÉ MARIE, a French mathematician and physicist, born at
Lyons; distinguished for his discoveries in electro-dynamics and
magnetism, and the influence of these on electro-telegraphy and the
general extension of science (1775-1836).
AMPÈRE, JEAN JACQUES, son of the preceding; eminent as a
littérateur, and a historian and critic of literature; attained to the
rank of a member of the French Academy (1800-1864).
AMPHIC`TYONIC COUNCIL, a council consisting of representatives from
several confederate States of ancient Greece, twelve in number at length,
two from each, that met twice a year, sitting alternately at Thermopylæ
and Delphi, to settle any differences that might arise between them, the
decisions of which were several times enforced by arms, and gave rise to
what were called _sacred wars_, of which there were three; it was
originally instituted for the conservation of religious interests.
AMPHI`ON, a son of Zeus and Antiope, who is said to have invented
the lyre, and built the walls of Thebes by the sound of it, a feat often
alluded to as an instance of the miraculous power of music.
AMPHISBÆNA, a genus of limbless lizards; a serpent fabled to have
two heads and to be able to move backward or forward.
AM`PHITRITE, a daughter of Oceanus or Nereus, the wife of Neptune,
mother of Triton, and goddess of the sea.
AMPHIT`RYON, the king of Tiryns, and husband of Alcmene, who became
by him the mother of Iphicles, and by Zeus the mother of Hercules.
AMPHITRYON THE TRUE, the real host, the man who provides the feast,
as Zeus proved himself to the household to be when he visited Alcmene.
AM`RAN RANGE, pronounced the "scientific frontier" of India towards
Afghanistan.
AMRIT`SAR (136), a sacred city of the Sikhs in the Punjab, and a
great centre of trade, 32 m. E. of Lahore; is second to Delhi in Northern
India; manufactures cashmere shawls.
AM`RU, a Mohammedan general under the Caliph Omar, conquered Egypt
among other military achievements; he is said to have executed the order
of the Caliph Omar for burning the library of Alexandria; _d_. 663.
AMSTERDAM (456), the capital of Holland, a great trading city and
port at the mouth of the Amsel, on the Zuyder Zee, resting on 90 islands
connected by 300 bridges, the houses built on piles of wood driven into
the marshy ground; is a largely manufacturing place, as well as an
emporium of trade, one special industry being the cutting of diamonds and
jewels; birthplace of Spinoza.
AMUR`, a large eastward-flowing river, partly in Siberia and partly
in China, which, after a course of 3060 m., falls into the Sea of
Okhotsk.
AMURNATH, a place of pilgrimage in Cashmere, on account of a cave
believed to be the dwelling-place of Siva.
AMYOT, JACQUES, grand-almoner of France and bishop of Auxerre; was
of humble birth; was tutor of Charles, who appointed him grand-almoner;
he was the translator, among other works, of Plutarch into French, which
remains to-day one of the finest monuments of the old literature of
France, it was much esteemed by Montaigne (1513-1593).
AMYOT, JOSEPH, a French Jesuit missionary to China, and a learned
Orientalist (1713-1794).
ANABAPTISTS, a fanatical sect which arose in Saxony at the time of
the Reformation, and though it spread in various parts of Germany, came
at length to grief by the excesses of its adherents in Münster. See
BAPTISTS.
ANAB`ASIS, an account by Xenophon of the ill-fated expedition of
Cyrus the Younger against his brother Artaxerxes, and of the retreat of
the 10,000 Greeks under Xenophon who accompanied him, after the battle of
Cunaxa in 401 B.C.
ANACHARSIS, a Scythian philosopher of the 6th century B.C., who, in
his roamings in quest of wisdom, arrived at Athens, and became the friend
and disciple of Solon, but was put to death on his return home by his
brother; he stands for a Scythian savant living among a civilised people,
as well as for a wise man living among fools.
ANACHARSIS CLOOTZ. See CLOOTZ.
ANACON`DA, a gigantic serpent of tropical America.
ANAC`REON, a celebrated Greek lyric poet, a native of Teos, in Asia
Minor; lived chiefly at Samos and Athens; his songs are in praise of love
and wine, not many fragments of them are preserved (560-418 B.C.).
ANACREON OF PAINTERS, Francesco Albani; A. OF PERSIA, Häfiz;
A. OF THE GUILLOTINE, Barère.
ANADYOM`ENE, Aphrodité, a name meaning "emerging," given to her in
allusion to her arising out of the sea; the name of a famous painting of
Apelles so representing her.
ANADYR, a river in Siberia, which flows into Behring Sea.
ANAG`NI, a small town 40 m. SE. of Rome, the birthplace of several
Popes.
ANAHUAC`, a plateau in Central Mexico, 7580 ft. of mean elevation;
one of the names of Mexico prior to the conquest of it by the Spaniards.
AN`AKIM, a race of giants that lived in the S. of Palestine, called
also sons of Anak.
ANAM`ALAH MOUNTAINS, a range of the W. Ghâts in Travancore.
ANAMU`DI, the highest point in the Anamalah Mts., 7000 ft.
ANARCHISM, a projected social revolution, the professed aim of which
is that of the emancipation of the individual from the present system of
government which makes him the slave of others, and of the training of
the individual so as to become a law to himself, and in possession,
therefore, of the right to the control of all his vital interests, the
project definable as an insane attempt to realise a social system on the
basis of absolute individual freedom.
ANASTA`SIUS, the name of four popes: A. I., the most eminent,
pope from 398 to 401; A. II., pope from 496 to 498; A. III.,
pope from 911 to 913; A. IV., pope from 1153 to 1154.
ANASTASIUS, ST., a martyr under Nero; festival, April 15.
ANASTASIUS I., emperor of the East, excommunicated for his
severities to the Christians, and the first sovereign to be so treated by
the Pope (430-515).
ANATO`LIA, the Greek name for Asia Minor.
ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY, a "mosaic" work by Burton, described by
Professor Saintsbury as "a wandering of the soul from Dan to Beersheba,
through all employments, desires, pleasures, and finding them barren
except for study, of which in turn the _tædium_ is not obscurely hinted."
ANAXAG`ORAS, a Greek philosopher of Clazomenæ, in Ionia, removed to
Athens and took philosophy along with him, i. e. transplanted it there,
but being banished thence for impiety to the gods, settled in Lampsacus,
was the first to assign to the _nous_, conceived of "as a purely
immaterial principle, a formative power in the origin and organisation of
things"; _d_. 425 B.C.
ANAXAR`CHUS, a Greek philosopher of the school of Democritus and
friend of Alexander the Great.
ANAXIMANDER, a Greek philosopher of Miletus, derived the universe
from a material basis, indeterminate and eternal (611-547 B.C.).
ANAXIM`ENES, also of Miletus, made air the first principle of
things; _d_. 500 B.C.; A., of Lampsacus, preceptor and biographer
of Alexander the Great.
ANCÆUS, a son of Neptune, who, having left a flagon of wine to
pursue a boar, was killed by it.
ANCELOT, a French dramatic poet, distinguished both in tragedy and
comedy; his wife also a distinguished writer (1792-1875).
ANCENIS (4), a town on the Loire, 23 m. NE. of Nantes.
ANCESTOR-WORSHIP, the worship of ancestors that prevails in
primitive nations, due to a belief in ANIMISM (q. v.).
ANCHIETA, a Portuguese Jesuit, born at Teneriffe, called the Apostle
of the New World (1538-1597).
ANCHI`SES, the father of Æneas, whom his son bore out of the flames
of Troy on his shoulders to the ships; was buried in Sicily.
ANCHITHERIUM, a fossil animal with three hoofs, the presumed
original of the horse.
ANCHOVY, a small fish captured for the flavour of its flesh and made
into sauce.
ANCHOVY PEAR, fruit of a W. Indian plant, of the taste of the mango.
ANCIENT MARINER, a mariner doomed to suffer dreadful penalties for
having shot an albatross, and who, when he reaches land, is haunted by
the recollection of them, and feels compelled to relate the tale of them
as a warning to others; the hero of a poem by Coleridge.
ANCILLON, FREDERICK, a Prussian statesman, philosophic man of
letters, and of French descent (1766-1837).
ANCO`NA (56), a port of Italy in the Adriatic, second to that of
Venice; founded by Syracusans.
ANCRE, MARSHAL, a profligate minister of France during the minority
of Louis XIII.
ANCUS MARCIUS, 4th king of Rome, grandson of Numa, extended the city
and founded Ostia.
ANDALUSIA (3,370), a region in the S. of Spain watered by the
Guadalquivir; fertile in grains, fruits, and vines, and rich in minerals.
ANDAMANS, volcanic islands in the Bay of Bengal, surrounded by coral
reefs; since 1858 used as a penal settlement.
ANDELYS, LES, a small town on the Seine, 20 m. NE. of Evreux,
divided into Great and Little.
ANDERMATT, a central Swiss village in Uri, 18 m. S. of Altorf.
ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN, a world-famous story-teller of Danish
birth, son of a poor shoemaker, born at Odense; was some time before he
made his mark, was honoured at length by the esteem and friendship of the
royal family, and by a national festival on his seventieth birthday
(1805-1875).
ANDERSON, JAMES, a Scotch lawyer, famous for his learning and his
antiquarian knowledge (1662-1728).
ANDERSON, JAMES, native of Hermiston, near Edinburgh, a writer on
agriculture and promoter of it in Scotland (1739-1808).
ANDERSON, JOHN, a native of Roseneath, professor of physics in
Glasgow University, and the founder of the Andersonian College in Glasgow
(1726-1796).
ANDERSON, LAWRENCE, one of the chief reformers of religion in Sweden
(1480-1552).
ANDERSON, MARY, a celebrated actress, native of California; in 1890
married M. Navarro de Viano of New York; _b_. 1859.
ANDERSON, SIR EDMUND, Lord Chief-Justice of Common Pleas under
Elizabeth, sat as judge at the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots. Anderson's
Reports is still a book of authority; _d_. 1605.
ANDES, an unbroken range of high mountains, 150 of them actively
volcanic, which extend, often in double and triple chains, along the west
of South America from Cape Horn to Panama, a distance of 4500 m., divided
into the Southern or Chilian as far as 23½° S., the Central as far as 10°
S., and the Northern to their termination.
ANDOCIDES, an orator and leader of the oligarchical faction in
Athens; was four times exiled, the first time for profaning the
Eleusinian Mysteries (467-393 B.C.).
ANDOR`RA (6), a small republic in the E. Pyrenees, enclosed by
mountains, under the protection of France and the Bishop of Urgel, in
Catalonia; cattle-rearing is the chief occupation of the inhabitants, who
are a primitive people and of simple habits.
ANDOVER, an old municipal borough and market-town in Hampshire, 66
m. SW. of London; also a town 23 m. from Boston, U.S., famous for its
theological seminary, founded in 1807.
ANDRAL, GABRIEL, a distinguished French pathologist, professor in
Paris University (1797-1876).
AN`DRASSY, COUNT, a Hungarian statesman, was exiled from 1848 to
1851, became Prime Minister in 1867, played a prominent part in
diplomatic affairs on the Continent to the advantage of Austria
(1823-1890).
ANDRE, JOHN, a brave British officer, tried and hanged as a spy in
the American war in 1780; a monument is erected to him in Westminster
Abbey.
ANDRÉ II., king of Hungary from 1205 to 1235, took part in the fifth
crusade.
ANDREA DEL SARTO. See SARTO.
ANDREA PISANO, a sculptor and architect, born at Pisa, contributed
greatly to free modern art from Byzantine influence (1270-1345).
ANDREOSSY, COUNT, an eminent French general and statesman, served
under Napoleon, ambassador at London, Vienna, and Constantinople,
advocated the recall of the Bourbons on the fall of Napoleon.
ANDREOSSY, FRANÇOIS, an eminent French engineer and mathematician
(1633-1688).
ANDREW, ST., one of the Apostles, suffered martyrdom by crucifixion,
became patron saint of Scotland; represented in art as an old man with
long white hair and a beard, holding the Gospel in his right hand, and
leaning on a transverse cross.
ANDREW, ST., RUSSIAN ORDER OF, the highest Order in Russia.
ANDREW, ST., THE CROSS OF, cross like a X, such having, it is
said, been the form of the cross on which St. Andrew suffered.
ANDREWES, LANCELOT, an English prelate, born in Essex, and zealous
High Churchman in the reign of Elizabeth and James I.; eminent as a
scholar, a theologian, and a preacher; in succession bishop of Ely,
Chichester, and Winchester; was one of the Hampton Court Conference, and
of the translators of the Authorised Version of the Bible; he was fervent
in devotion, but of his sermons the criticism of a Scotch nobleman, when
he preached at Holyrood once, was not inappropriate: "He rather plays
with his subject than preaches on it" (1555-1626).
ANDREWS, JOSEPH, a novel by Fielding, and the name of the hero, who
is a footman, and the brother of Richardson's Pamela.
ANDREWS, THOMAS, an eminent physicist, born and professor in Belfast
(1813-1885).
ANDRIEUX, ST., a French littérateur and dramatist, born at
Strassburg, professor in the College of France, and permanent secretary
to the Academy (1759-1822).
ANDRO`CLUS, a Roman slave condemned to the wild beasts, but saved by
a lion, sent into the arena to attack him, out of whose foot he had long
before sucked a thorn that pained him, and who recognised him as his
benefactor.
ANDROM`ACHE, the wife of Hector and the mother of Astyanax, famous
for her conjugal devotion; fell to Pyrrhus, Achilles' son, at the fall of
Troy, but was given up by him to Hector's brother; is the subject of
tragedies by Euripides and Racine respectively.
ANDROM`EDA, a beautiful Ethiopian princess exposed to a sea monster,
which Perseus slew, receiving as his reward the hand of the maiden; she
had been demanded by Neptune as a sacrifice to appease the Nereids for an
insult offered them by her mother.
ANDRONI`CUS, the name of four Byzantine emperors: A. I.,
COMNENUS, killed his ward, Alexis II., usurped the throne, and was
put to death, 1183; A. II., lived to see the empire devastated by
the Turks (1282-1328); A. III., grandson of the preceding, dethroned
him, fought stoutly against the Turks without staying their advances
(1328-1341); A. IV. dethroned his father, Soter V., and was
immediately stripped of his possessions himself (1377-1378).
ANDRONICUS, LIVIUS, the oldest dramatic poet in the Latin language
(240 B.C.).
ANDRONICUS OF RHODES, a disciple of Aristotle in the time of Cicero,
and to whom we owe the preservation of many of Aristotle's works.
ANDROS (22), the most northern of the Cyclades, fertile soil and
productive of wine and silk.
ANDROUET DU CERCEAU`, an eminent French architect who designed the
Pont Neuf at Paris (1530-1600).
ANDUJAR (11), a town of Andalusia, on the Guadalquivir, noted for
the manufacture of porous clay water-cooling vessels.
ANEMOMETER, an instrument for measuring the force, course, and
velocity of the wind.
ANEROID, a barometer, consisting of a small watch-shaped, air-tight,
air-exhausted metallic box, with internal spring-work and an index,
affected by the pressure of the air on plates exposed to its action.
ANEU`RIN, a British bard at the beginning of the 7th century, who
took part in the battle of Cattraeth, and made it the subject of a poem.
ANEURISM, a tumour, containing blood, on the coat of an artery.
ANGARA, a tributary of the Yenisei, which passes through Lake
Baikal.
ANGEL, an old English coin, with the archangel Michael piercing the
dragon on the obverse of it.
ANGEL-FISH, a hideous, voracious fish of the shark family.
ANGELIC DOCTOR, Thomas Aquinas.
ANGEL`ICA, a faithless lady of romance, for whose sake Orlando lost
his heart and his senses.
ANGELICA DRAUGHT, something which completely changes the affection.
ANGELICO, FRA, an Italian painter, born at Mugello, in Tuscany;
became a Dominican monk at Fiesole, whence he removed to Florence, and
finally to Rome, where he died; devoted his life to religious subjects,
which he treated with great delicacy, beauty, and finish, and conceived
in virgin purity and child-like simplicity of soul; his work in the form
of fresco-painting is to be found all over Italy (1387-1455).
AN`GELUS, a devotional service in honour of the Incarnation.
ANGERS` (77), on the Maine, the ancient capital of Anjou, 160 m. SW.
of Paris, with a fine cathedral, a theological seminary, and a medical
school; birthplace of David the sculptor.
ANGERSTEIN, JOHN, born in St. Petersburg, a distinguished patron of
the fine arts, whose collection of paintings, bought by the British
Government, formed the nucleus of the National Gallery (1735-1822).
ANGI`NA PEC`TORIS, an affection of the heart of an intensely
excruciating nature, the pain of which at times extends to the left
shoulder and down the left arm.
ANGLER, a fish with a broad, big-mouthed head and a tapering body,
both covered with appendages having glittering tips, by which, as it
burrows in the sand, it allures other fishes into its maw.
ANGLES, a German tribe from Sleswig who invaded Britain in the 5th
century and gave name to England.
AN`GLESEA (50), i. e. Island of the Angles, an island forming a
county in Wales, separated from the mainland by the Menai Strait, flat,
fertile, and rich in minerals.
ANGLESEY, MARQUIS OF, eldest son of the first Earl of Uxbridge,
famous as a cavalry officer in Flanders, Holland, the Peninsula, and
especially at Waterloo, at which he lost a leg, and for his services at
which he received his title; was some time viceroy in Ireland, where he
was very popular (1768-1854).
ANGLIA, EAST territory in England occupied in the 6th century by the
Angles, corresponding to counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.
ANG`LICAN CHURCH, the body of Episcopal churches all over the
British Empire and Colonies, as well as America, sprung from the Church
of England, though not subject to her jurisdiction, the term
_Anglo-Catholic_ being applied to the High Church section.
ANGLO-SAXON, the name usually assigned to the early inflected form
of the English language.
ANGO`LA (2,400), a district on the W. coast of Africa, between the
Congo and Benguela, subject to Portugal, the capital of which is St. Paul
de Loando.
ANGO`RA (20), a city in the centre of Anatolia, in a district noted
for its silky, long-haired animals, cats and dogs as well as goats.
ANGOSTU`RA, capital of the province of Guayana, in Venezuela, 240 m.
up the Orinoco; also a medicinal bark exported thence.
ANGOULÊME` (31), an old French city on the Charente, 83 m. NE. of
Bordeaux, with a fine cathedral, the birthplace of Marguerite de Valois
and Balzac.
ANGOULÊME, CHARLES DE VALOIS, DUC D', natural son of Charles IX.,
gained great reputation as a military commander, left Memoirs of his life
(1575-1650).
ANGOULÊME, DUC D', the eldest son of Charles X., after the
Revolution of 1830 gave up his rights to the throne and retired to Goritz
(1778-1844).
ANGOULÊME, DUCHESSE D', daughter of Louis XVI. and wife of the
preceding (1778-1851).
AN`GRA, the capital of the Azores, on the island of Terceira, a
fortified place.
AN`GRA PEQUE`NA, a port in SW. Africa, N. of the Orange River, and
the nucleus of the territory belonging to Germany.
ANG`STROM, a Swedish physicist and professor at Upsala,
distinguished for his studies on the solar spectrum; _b_. 1814.
ANGUIL`LA (2), or Snake Island, one of the Lesser Antilles, E. of
Porto Rico, belonging to Britain.
ANGUIER, the name of two famous French sculptors in the 17th
century.
AN`HALT (293), a duchy of Central Germany, surrounded and split up
by Prussian Saxony, and watered by the Elbe and Saale; rich in minerals.
ANHALT-DESSAU, LEOPOLD, PRINCE OF, a Prussian field-marshal, served
and distinguished himself in the war of the Spanish Succession and in
Italy, was wounded at Cassano; defeated Charles XII. at the Isle of
Rügen, and the Saxons and Austrians at Kesseldorf (1676-1747).
ANICHINI, an Italian medallist of the 16th century; executed a medal
representing the interview of Alexander the Great with the High Priest of
the Jews, which Michael Angelo pronounced the perfection of the art.
ANILINE, a colourless transparent oily liquid, obtained chiefly from
coal-tar, and extensively used in the production of dyes.
ANIMAL HEAT, the heat produced by the chemical changes which go on
in the animal system, the intensity depending on the activity of the
process.
ANIMAL MAGNETISM, a name given to the alleged effects on the animal
system, in certain passive states, of certain presumed magnetic
influences acting upon it.
ANIMISM, a belief that there is a psychical body within the physical
body of a living being, correspondent with it in attributes, and that
when the connection between them is dissolved by death the former lives
on in a ghostly form; in other words, a belief of a ghost-soul existing
conjointly with and subsisting apart from the body, its physical
counterpart.
AN`IO, an affluent of the Tiber, 4 m. above Rome; ancient Rome was
supplied with water from it by means of aqueducts.
ANISE, an umbelliferous plant, the seed of which is used as a
carminative and in the preparation of liqueurs.
ANJOU`, an ancient province in the N. of France, annexed to the
crown of France under Louis XI. in 1480; belonged to England till wrested
from King John by Philip Augustus in 1203.
ANKARSTRÖM, the assassin of Gustavus III. of Sweden, at a masked
ball, March 15, 1792, for which he was executed after being publicly
flogged on three successive days.
ANKLAM (12), an old Hanse town in Pomerania, connected by railway
with Stettin.
ANKOBAR, capital of Shoa, in Abyssinia; stands 8200 ft. above the
sea-level.
ANN ARBOR (10), a city of Michigan, on the Huron, with an
observatory and a flourishing university.
ANNA COMNE`NA, a Byzantine princess, who, having failed in a
political conspiracy, retired into a convent and wrote the life of her
father, Alexius I., under the title of the "Alexiad" (1083-1148).
AN`NA IVANOV`NA, niece of Peter the Great, empress of Russia in
succession to Peter II. from 1730 to 1740; her reign was marred by the
evil influence of her paramour Biren over her, which led to the
perpetration of great cruelties; was famed for her big cheek, "which, as
shown in her portraits," Carlyle says, "was comparable to a Westphalian
ham" (1693-1740).
AN`NAM (6,000), an empire, of the size of Sweden, along the east
coast of Indo-China, under a French protectorate since 1885; it has a
rich well-watered soil, which yields tropical products, and is rich in
minerals.
AN`NAN (3), a burgh in Dumfries, on river Annan; birthplace of
Edward Irving, and where Carlyle was a schoolboy, and at length
mathematical schoolmaster.
ANNAP`OLIS (3), seaport of Nova Scotia, on the Bay of Fundy; also
the capital (7) of Maryland, U.S., 28 m. E. of Washington.
ANNE, QUEEN, daughter of James II.; by the union of Scotland with
England during her reign in 1707 became the first sovereign of the United
Kingdom; her reign distinguished by the part England played in the war of
the Spanish succession and the number of notabilities, literary and
scientific, that flourished under it, though without any patronage on the
part of the Queen (1665-1714).
ANNE, ST., wife of St. Joachim, mother of the Virgin Mary, and the
patron saint of carpentry; festival, July 26.
ANNE OF AUSTRIA, the daughter of Philip III. of Spain, wife of Louis
XIII., and mother of Louis XIV., became regent on the death of her
husband, with Cardinal Mazarin for minister; during the minority of her
son, triumphed over the Fronde; retired to a convent on the death of
Mazarin (1610-1666).
ANNE OF BRITTANY, the daughter of Francis II., Duke of Brittany; by
her marriage, first to Charles VIII. then to Louis XII., the duchy was
added to the crown of France (1476-1514).
ANNE OF CLÈVES, daughter of Duke of Clèves, a wife of Henry VIII.,
who fell in love with the portrait of her by Holbein, but being
disappointed, soon divorced her; _d_. 1577.
ANNECY (11), the capital of Haute-Savoie, in France, on a lake of
the name, 22 m. S. of Geneva, at which the Counts of Geneva had their
residence, and where Francis of Sales was bishop.
ANNOBON, a Spanish isle in the Gulf of Guinea.
ANNONAY (14), a town in Ardèche, France; paper the chief
manufacture.
ANNUNCIATION DAY, a festival on the 25th of March in commemoration
of the salutation of the angel to the Virgin Mary on the Incarnation of
Christ.
ANQUETIL`, LOUIS PIERRE, a French historian in holy orders, wrote
"Précis de l'Histoire Universelle" and a "Histoire de France" in 14
vols.; continued by Bouillet in 6 more (1723-1806).
ANQUETIL`-DUPERRON, brother of the preceding, an enthusiastic
Orientalist, to whom we owe the discovery and first translation of the
Zend-Avesta and Schopenhauer his knowledge of Hindu philosophy, and which
influenced his own system so much (1731-1805).
ANSBACH (14), a manufacturing town in Bavaria, 25 m. SW. of
Nürnberg, the capital of the old margraviate of the name, and the
margraves of which were HOHENZOLLERNS (q. v.).
ANSCHAR or ANSGAR, ST., a Frenchman born, the first to preach
Christianity to the pagans of Scandinavia, was by appointment of the Pope
the first archbishop of Hamburg (801-864).
ANSELM, ST., archbishop of Canterbury, a native of Aosta, in
Piedmont, monk and abbot; visited England frequently, gained the favour
of King Rufus, who appointed him to succeed Lanfranc, quarrelled with
Rufus and left the country, but returned at the request of Henry I., a
quarrel with whom about investiture ended in a compromise; an able,
high-principled, God-fearing man, and a calmly resolute upholder of the
teaching and authority of the Church (1033-1109). See CARLYLE'S "PAST
AND PRESENT."
ANSON, LORD, a celebrated British naval commander, sailed round the
world, during war on the part of England with Spain, on a voyage of
adventure with a fleet of three ships, and after three years and nine
months returned to England, his fleet reduced to one vessel, but with
£500,000 of Spanish treasure on board. Anson's "Voyage Round the World"
contains a highly interesting account of this, "written in brief,
perspicuous terms," witnesses Carlyle, "a real poem in its kind, or
romance all fact; one of the pleasantest little books in the world's
library at this time" (1697-1762).
ANSTRUTHER, EAST AND WEST, two contiguous royal burghs on the Fife
coast, the former the birthplace of Tennant the poet, Thomas Chalmers,
and John Goodsir the anatomist.
ANTÆUS, a mythical giant, a _terræ filius_ or son of the earth, who
was strong only when his foot was on the earth, lifted in air he became
weak as water, a weakness which Hercules discovered to his discomfiture
when wrestling with him. The fable has been used as a symbol of the
spiritual strength which accrues when one rests his faith on the
immediate fact of things.
ANTAL`CIDAS, a Spartan general, celebrated for a treaty which he
concluded with Persia whereby the majority of the cities of Asia Minor
passed under the sway of the Persians, to the loss of the fruit of all
the victories gained over them by Athens (387 B.C.).
ANTANANARI`VO (100), the capital of Madagascar, in the centre of the
island, on a well-nigh inaccessible rocky height 5000 ft. above the
sea-level.
ANTAR, an Arab chief of the 6th century, a subject of romance, and
distinguished as a poet.
ANT-EATERS, a family of edentate mammals, have a tubular mouth with
a small aperture, and a long tongue covered with a viscid secretion,
which they thrust into the ant-hills and then withdraw covered with ants.
ANTELOPE, an animal closely allied to the sheep and the goat, very
like the latter in appearance, with a light and elegant figure, slender,
graceful limbs, small cloven hoofs, and generally a very short tail.
ANTEQUE`RA (27), a town in Andalusia, 22 m. N. of Malaga, a
stronghold of the Moors from 712 to 1410.
ANTHE`LIA, luminous rings witnessed in Alpine and Polar regions,
seen round the shadow of one's head in a fog or cloud opposite the sun.
ANTHE`MIUS, the architect of the church of St. Sophia in
Constantinople; _d_. 534.
ANTHON, CHARLES, a well-known American classical scholar and editor
of the Classics (1797-1867).
ANTHRAX, a disease, especially in cattle, due to the invasion of a
living organism which, under certain conditions, breeds rapidly; called
also splenic fever.
ANTHROPOID APES, a class of apes, including the gorilla, chimpanzee,
orang-outang, and gibbon, without tails, with semi-erect figures and long
arms.
ANTHROPOLOGY, the science of man as he exists or has existed under
different physical and social conditions.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM, the ascription of human attributes to the unseen
author of things.
ANTI`BES (5) a seaport and place of ancient date on a peninsula in
the S. of France, near Cannes and opposite Nice.
ANTICHRIST, a name given in the New Testament to various
incarnations of opposition to Christ in usurpation of His authority, but
is by St. John defined to involve that form of opposition which denies
the doctrine of the Incarnation, or that Christ has come in the flesh.
ANTICOSTI, a barren rocky island in the estuary of St Lawrence,
frequented by fishermen, and with hardly a permanent inhabitant.
ANTIG`ONE`, the daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes, led about her
father when he was blind and in exile, returned to Thebes on his death;
was condemned to be buried alive for covering her brother's exposed body
with earth in defiance of the prohibition of Creon, who had usurped the
throne; Creon's son, out of love for her, killed himself on the spot
where she was buried. She has been immortalised in one of the grandest
tragedies of Sophocles.
ANTIGONE, THE MODERN, the Duchess of Angoulême, daughter of Louis
XV. See THE PARTING SCENE IN CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION."
ANTIG`ONUS, surnamed the Cyclops or One-eyed, one of the generals of
Alexander the Great, made himself master of all Asia Minor, excited the
jealousy of his rivals; was defeated and slain at Ipsus, in Phrygia, 301
B.C.
ANTIGONUS, the last king of the Jews of the Asmonean dynasty; put to
death in 77 B.C.
ANTIGONUS GONATAS, king of Macedonia, grandson of the preceding;
twice deprived of his kingdom, but recovered it; attempted to prevent the
formation of the Achæan League (275-240 B.C.).
ANTIGUA, one of the Leeward Islands, the seat of the government; the
most productive of them belongs to Britain.
ANTILLES, an archipelago curving round from N. America to S.
America, and embracing the Caribbean Sea; the GREATER A., on the N.
of the sea, being Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico; and the LESSER
A., on the E., forming the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands, and
the Venezuelan Islands--the Leeward as far as Dominica, the Windward as
far as Trinidad, and the Venezuelan along the coast of S. America.
ANTIMONY, a brittle white metal, of value both in the arts and
medicine.
ANTINOMIANISM, the doctrine that the law is superseded in some sense
or other by the all-sufficing, all-emancipating free spirit of Christ.
ANTINOMY, in the transcendental philosophy the contradiction which
arises when we carry the categories of the understanding above experience
and apply them to the sphere of that which transcends it.
ANTIN`OUS, a Bithynian youth of extraordinary beauty, a slave of the
Emperor Hadrian; became a great favourite of his and accompanied him on
all his journeys. He was drowned in the Nile, and the grief of the
emperor knew no bounds; he enrolled him among the gods, erected a temple
and founded a city in his honour, while artists vied with each other in
immortalising his beauty.
AN`TIOCH (23), an ancient capital of Syria, on the Orontes, called
the Queen of the East, lying on the high-road between the E. and the W.,
and accordingly a busy centre of trade; once a city of great splendour
and extent, and famous in the early history of the Church as the seat of
several ecclesiastical councils and the birthplace of Chrysostom. There
was an Antioch in Pisidia, afterwards called Cæsarea.
ANTI`OCHUS, name of three Syrian kings of the dynasty of the
Seleucidæ: A. I., SOTER, i. e. Saviour, son of one of Alexander's
generals, fell heir of all Syria; king from 281 to 261 B.C. A. II.,
THEOS, i. e. God, being such to the Milesians in slaying the tyrant
Timarchus; king from 261 to 246. A. III., the Great, extended and
consolidated the empire, gave harbour to Hannibal, declared war against
Rome, was defeated at Thermopylæ and by Scipio at Magnesia, killed in
attempting to pillage the temple at Elymaïs; king from 223 to 187. A.
IV., EPIPHANES, i. e. Illustrious, failed against Egypt, tyrannised
over the Jews, provoked the Maccabæan revolt, and died delirious; king
from 175 to 104. A. V., EUPATOR, king from 164 to 162.
ANTI`OPE, queen of the Amazons and mother of Hippolytus. _The Sleep
of Antiope_, _chef-d'oeuvre_ of Correggio in the Louvre.
ANTIP`AROS (2), one of the Cyclades, W. of Paros, with a stalactite
cavern.
ANTIP`ATER, a Macedonian general, governed Macedonia with great
ability during the absence of Alexander, defeated the confederate Greek
states at Cranon, reigned supreme on the death of Perdiccas
(397-317 B.C.).
ANTIPH`ILUS, a Greek painter, contemporary and rival of Apelles.
AN`TIPHON, an Athenian orator and politician, preceptor of
Thucydides, who speaks of him in terms of honour, was the first to
formulate rules of oratory (479-411 B.C.).
ANTIPOPE, a pope elected by a civil power in opposition to one
elected by the cardinals, or one self-elected and usurped; there were
some 26 of such, first and last.
ANTIPYRETICS, medicines to reduce the temperature in fever, of which
the chief are quinine and salicylate of soda.
ANTIPYRIN, a febrifuge prepared from coal-tar, and used as a
substitute for quinine.
ANTISA`NA, a volcano of the N. Andes, in Ecuador, 19,200 ft. high;
also a village on its flanks, 13,000 ft. high, the highest village in the
world.
ANTISE`MITES, a party in Russia and the E. of Germany opposed to the
Jews on account of the undue influence they exercise in national affairs
to the alleged detriment of the natives.
ANTISEPTICS, substances used, particularly in surgery, to prevent or
arrest putrefaction.
ANTIS`THENES, a Greek philosopher, a disciple of Socrates, the
master of Diogenes, and founder of the Cynic school; affected to disdain
the pride and pomp of the world, and was the first to carry staff and
wallet as the badge of philosophy, but so ostentatiously as to draw from
Socrates the rebuke, "I see your pride looking out through the rent of
your cloak, O Antisthenes."
ANTI-TAURUS, a mountain range running NE. from the Taurus Mts.
ANTIUM, a town of Latium on a promontory jutting into the sea, long
antagonistic to Rome, subdued in 333 B.C.; the beaks of its ships,
captured in a naval engagement, were taken to form a rostrum in the Forum
at Home; it was the birthplace of Caligula and Nero.
ANTIVA`RI, a fortified seaport lately ceded to Montenegro.
ANTOFAGAS`TA (7), a rising port in Chile, taken from Bolivia after
the war of 1879; exports silver ores and nitrate of soda.
ANTOMMAR`CHI, Napoleon's attached physician at St. Helena, wrote
"The Last Moments of Napoleon" (1780-1838).
ANTONELLI, CARDINAL, the chief adviser and Prime Minister of Pope
Pius IX., accompanied the Pope to Gaeta, came back with him to Rome,
acting as his foreign minister there, and offered a determined opposition
to the Revolution; left immense wealth (1806-1876).
ANTONEL`LO, of Messina, Italian painter of the 15th century,
introduced from Holland oil-painting into Italy (1414-1493).
ANTONI`NUS, ITINERARY OF, a valuable geographical work supposed of
date 44 B.C.
ANTONI`NUS, Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, successor to the
following, and who surpassed him in virtue, being also of the Stoic
school and one of its most exemplary disciples, was surnamed the
"philosopher," and has left in his "Meditations" a record of his
religious and moral principles (121-180).
ANTONI`NUS PIUS, a Roman emperor, of Stoic principles, who reigned
with justice and moderation from 138 to 161, during which time the Empire
enjoyed unbroken peace.
ANTONI`NUS, WALL OF, an earthen rampart about 36 m. in length, from
the Forth to the Clyde, in Scotland, as a barrier against invasion from
the north, erected in the year 140 A.D.
ANTO`NIUS, MARCUS, a famous Roman orator and consul, slain in the
civil war between Marius and Sulla, having sided with the latter (143-87
B.C.).
ANTO`NIUS, MARCUS (Mark Antony), grandson of the preceding and warm
partisan of Cæsar; after the murder of the latter defeated Brutus and
Cassius at Philippi, formed a triumvirate with Octavius and Lepidus, fell
in love with the famous Cleopatra, was defeated by Octavius in the naval
battle of Actium, and afterwards killed himself (83-30 B.C.).
AN`TONY, ST., a famous anchorite of the Thebaïd, where from the age
of thirty he spent 20 years of his life, in a lonely ruin by himself,
resisting devils without number; left his retreat for a while to
institute monasteries, and so became the founder of monachism, but
returned to die; festival, Jan. 17 (251-351).
ANTONY OF PADUA, a Minorite missionary to the Moors in Africa;
preached to the fishes, who listened to him when no one else would; the
fishes came in myriads to listen, and shamed the pagans into conversion,
says the fable; festival, June 13 (1195-1234)
ANTRAIGUES, COUNT D', one of the firebrands of the French
Revolution; "rose into furor almost Pythic; highest where many were
high," but veered round to royalism, which he at length intrigued on
behalf of--to death by the stiletto (1765-1812).
ANT`RIM (471), a maritime county in the NE. of Ulster, in Ireland;
soil two-thirds arable, linen the chief manufacture, exports butter,
inhabitants mostly Protestant.
ANTWERP (240), a large fortified trading city in Belgium, on the
Scheldt, 50 m. from the sea, with a beautiful Gothic cathedral, the spire
402 ft. high; the burial-place of Rubens; has a large picture-gallery
full of the works of the Dutch and Flemish artists.
ANU`BIS, an Egyptian deity with the body of a man and the head of a
jackal, whose office, like that of Hermes, it was to see to the disposal
of the souls of the dead in the nether world, on quitting the body.
ANWARI, a Persian lyric poet who flourished in the 12th century.
AN`YTUS, the most vehement accuser of Socrates; banished in
consequence from Athens, after Socrates' death.
AOS`TA (5), a town of Italy, N. of Turin, in a fertile Alpine level
valley, but where goitre and cretinism prevail to a great extent; the
birthplace of Anselm.
APA`CHES, a fierce tribe of American Indians on the S. and W. of the
United States; long a source of trouble to the republic.
APEL`LES, the most celebrated painter of antiquity; bred, if not
born, at Ephesus; lived at the court of Alexander the Great; his great
work "APHRODITÉ ANADYOMENE" (q. v.); a man conscious, like
Dürer, of mastery in his art, as comes out in his advice to the
criticising shoemaker to "stick to his last."
AP`ENNINES, a branch of the Alps extending, with spurs at right
angles, nearly through the whole length of Italy, forming about the
middle of the peninsula a double chain which supports the tableland of
Abruzzi.
APES, DEAD SEA, dwellers by the Dead Sea who, according to the
Moslem tradition, were transformed into apes because they turned a deaf
ear to God's message to them by the lips of Moses, fit symbol, thinks
Carlyle, of many in modern time to whom the universe, with all its
serious voices, seems to have become a weariness and a humbug See
"PAST AND PRESENT," BK. III. CHAP. III.
APH`IDES, a family of insects very destructive to plants by feeding
on them in countless numbers.
APHRODI`TE, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, wife of Hephæstos
and mother of Cupid; sprung from sea-foam; as queen of beauty had the
golden apple awarded her by Paris, and possessed the power of conferring
beauty, by means of her magic girdle, the cestus, on others.
API`CIUS, the name of three famous Roman epicures, the first of whom
was contemporary with Sulla, the second with Augustus, and the third with
Trajan.
A`PION, an Alexandrian grammarian of the 1st century, and an enemy
of the Jews, and hostile to the privileges conceded them in Alexandria.
A`PIS, the sacred live bull of the Egyptians, the incarnation of
Osiris; must be black all over the body, have a white triangular spot on
the forehead, the figure of an eagle on the back, and under the tongue
the image of a scarabæus; was at the end of 25 years drowned in a sacred
fountain, had his body embalmed, and his mummy regarded as an object of
worship.
APOCALYPTIC WRITINGS, writings composed among the Jews in the 2nd
century B.C., and ascribed to one and another of the early prophets of
Israel, forecasting the judgments ordained of God to overtake the nation,
and predicting its final deliverance at the hands of the Messiah.
APOCRYPHA, THE, a literature of sixteen books composed by Jews,
after the close of the Hebrew canon, which though without the unction of
the prophetic books of the canon, are instinct, for most part, with the
wisdom which rests on the fear of God and loyalty to His law. The word
Apocrypha means hidden writing, and it was given to it by the Jews to
distinguish it from the books which they accepted as canonical.
APOL`DA (20), a town in Saxe-Weimar with extensive hosiery
manufactures; has mineral springs.
APOLLINA`RIS, bishop of Laodicea, denied the proper humanity of
Christ, by affirming that the Logos in Him took the place of the human
soul, as well as by maintaining that His body was not composed of
ordinary flesh and blood; _d_. 390.
APOLLO, the god _par excellence_ of the Greeks, identified with the
sun and all that we owe to it in the shape of inspiration, art, poetry,
and medicine; son of Zeus and Leto; twin brother of Artemis; born in the
island of DELOS (q. v.), whither Leto had fled from the jealous
Hera; his favourite oracle at Delphi.
APPLLODO`RUS (1), an Athenian painter, the first to paint figures in
light and shade, 408 B.C.; (2) a celebrated architect of Damascus, _d_.
A.D. 129; and (3), an Athenian who wrote a well-arranged account of the
mythology and heroic age of Greece.
APOLLONIUS OF RHODES, a grammarian and poet, flourished in the 3rd
century B.C., author of the "Argonautica," a rather prosaic account of
the adventures of the Argonauts.
APOLLONIUS OF TYANA, a Pythagorean philosopher, who, having become
acquainted with some sort of Brahminism, professed to have a divine
mission, and, it is said, a power to work miracles; was worshipped after
his death, and has been compared to Christ; _d_. 97.
APOL`LOS, a Jew of Alexandria, who became an eloquent preacher of
Christ, and on account of his eloquence rated above St. Paul.
APOLLYON, the destroying angel, the Greek name for the Hebrew
Abaddon.
APOLOGETICS, a defence of the historical verity of the Christian
religion in opposition to the rationalist and mythical theories.
APOSTATE, an epithet applied to the Emperor Julian, from his having,
conscientiously however, abjured the Christian religion established by
Constantine, in favour of paganism.
APOSTLE OF GERMANY, St. Boniface; A. OF IRELAND, St. Patrick; OF THE
ENGLISH, St. Augustine; OF THE FRENCH, St. Denis; OF THE GAULS, Irenæus;
OF THE GENTILES, St. Paul; OF THE GOTHS, Ulfilas; OF THE INDIAN, John
Eliot; OF THE SCOTS, Columba; OF THE NORTH, Ansgar; OF THE PICTS, St.
Ninian; OF THE INDIES, Francis Xavier; OF TEMPERANCE, Father Mathew.
APOSTLES, THE FOUR, picture of St. John, St. Peter, St. Mark, and
St. Paul, in the museum at Münich, painted by Albert Dürer.
APOSTOLIC FATHERS, Fathers of the Church who lived the same time as
the Apostles: Clemens, Barnabas Polycarp, Ignatius, and Hermas.
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION, the derivation of episcopal power in an
unbroken line from the Apostles, a qualification believed by High
Churchmen to be essential to the discharge of episcopal functions and the
transmission of promised divine grace.
APPALA`CHIANS, a mountainous system of N. America that stretches NE.
from the tablelands of Alabama to the St. Lawrence, and includes the
Alleghanies and the Blue Mountains; their utmost height, under 7000 feet;
do not reach the snow-line; abound in coal and iron.
APPENZELL` (67), a canton in the NE. of Switzerland, enclosed by St.
Gall, divided into Outer Rhoden, which is manufacturing and Protestant,
and Inner Rhoden, which is agricultural and Catholic; also the name of
the capital.
AP`PIAN, an Alexandrian Greek, wrote in 2nd century a history of
Rome in 24 books, of which 11 remain.
AP`PIAN WAY, a magnificent highway begun by Appius Claudius,
312 B.C., and finished by Augustus, from Rome to Brundusium.
APPLE OF DISCORD, a golden apple inscribed with the words, "To the
most Beautiful," thrown in among the gods of Olympus on a particular
occasion, contended for by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodité, and awarded by
Paris of Troy, as referee, to Aphrodité, on promise that he would have
the most beautiful woman of the world for wife.
APPLEBY, the county town of Westmorland, on the Eden; is a health
resort.
APPLEGATH, AUGUSTUS, inventor of the vertical printing-press
(1788-1871).
APPLETON (11), a city of Wisconsin, U.S., on the Fox River.
APPLETON, CH. EDWARD, founder and editor of the _Academy_
(1841-1879).
APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE, a village in Virginia, U.S., where Gen. Lee
surrendered to Gen. Grant in 1865.
APRAXEN, COUNT, a celebrated naval commander under Peter the Great
and his right-hand man in many enterprises (1671-1728).
APRIL, the fourth month of the year, the month of "opening of the
light in the days, and of the life of the leaves, and of the voices of
the birds, and of the hearts of men."
AP`TERYX, a curious New Zealand bird with rudimentary wings, plumage
like hair, and no tail.
APULE`IUS, a student of Plato, of N. African birth, lived in the 2nd
century; having captivated a rich widow, was charged at one time with
sorcery; his most celebrated work was the "Golden Ass," which contains,
among other stories, the exquisite apologue or romance of PSYCHE
and CUPID (q. v.).
APU`LIA (1,797), an ancient province in SE. of Italy, which extends
as far N. as Monte Gargano, and the scene of the last stages in the
second Punic war.
APU`RE, a river in Venezuela, chief tributary of the Orinoco, into
which it falls by six branches.
AQUA TOFA`NA, Tofana's poison, some solution of arsenic with which a
Sicilian woman called Tofana, in 17th century, poisoned, it is alleged,
600 people.
AQUA`RIUS, the Water-bearer, 11th sign of the Zodiac, which the sun
enters Jan. 21.
AQUAVIVA, a general of the Jesuits of high authority (1543-1615).
A`QUILA (20), capital of the province of Abruzzo Ulteriora, on the
Alterno, founded by Barbarossa; a busy place.
A`QUILA, a Judaised Greek of Sinope, in Pontus, executed a literal
translation of the Old Testament into Greek in the interest of Judaism
versus Christianity in the first half of the 2nd century A.D.
A`QUILA, GASPAR, a friend of Luther who aided him in the translation
of the Bible.
AQUILEIA, an Italian village, 22 m. W. of Trieste, once a place of
great importance, where several councils of the Church were held.
AQUI`NAS, THOMAS, the Angelic Doctor, or Doctor of the Schools, an
Italian of noble birth, studied at Naples, became a Dominican monk
despite the opposition of his parents, sat at the feet of Albertus
Magnus, and went with him to Paris, was known among his pupils as the
"Dumb Ox," from his stubborn silence at study, prelected at his Alma
Mater and elsewhere with distinguished success, and being invited to
assist the Council at Lyons, fell sick and died. His "Summa Theologiæ,"
the greatest of his many works, is a masterly production, and to this day
of standard authority in the Romish Church. His writings, which fill 17
folio vols., along with those of Duns Scotus, his rival, constitute the
high-water mark of scholastic philosophy and the watershed of its
divergence into the PHILOSOPHICO-SPECULATIVE THOUGHT on the one
hand, and the ETHICO-PRACTICAL OR REALISM OF MODERN TIMES on the
other, q. v. (1226-1274).
AQUITAINE`, a division of ancient Gaul between the Garonne and the
Pyrenees, was from the time of Henry II. till 1453 an appanage of the
English crown.
ARABELLA STUART, a cousin of King James I., the victim all her days
of jealousy and state policy, suspected of aspiring to the crown on the
death of Queen Elizabeth, was shut up in the Tower of London, where she
died bereft of reason in 1615 at the age of 38.
ARABESQUE, an ornamentation introduced by the Moors, consisting of
imaginary, often fantastic, mathematical or vegetable forms, but
exclusive of the forms of men and animals.
ARA`BI, AHMED PASHA, leader of an insurrectionary movement in Egypt
in 1882; he claimed descent from the Prophet; banished to Ceylon; _b_.
1839.
ARABIA (12,000), the most westerly peninsula of Asia and the largest
in the world, being one-third the size of the whole of Europe, consisting
of (_a_) a central plateau with pastures for cattle, and fertile valleys;
(_b_) a ring of deserts, the Nefud in the N., stony, the Great Arabian, a
perfect Sahara, in the S., sandy, said sometimes to be 600 ft. deep, and
the Dahna between; and (_c_) stretches of coast land, generally fertile
on the W. and S.; is divided into eight territories; has no lakes or
rivers, only wadies, oftenest dry; the climate being hot and arid, has no
forests, and therefore few wild animals; a trading country with no roads
or railways, only caravan routes, yet the birthland of a race that
threatened at one time to sweep the globe, and of a religion that has
been a life-guidance to wide-scattered millions of human beings for over
twelve centuries of time.
ARABIA FELIX, the W. coast of Arabia, contains YEMEN and EL
HEJAZ (q. v.), and is subject to Turkey.
ARABIAN DESERT. See ARABIA.
ARABIAN NIGHTS, or the Thousand and One Nights, a collection of
tales of various origin and date, traceable in their present form to the
middle of the 15th century, and first translated into French by Galland
in 1704. The thread on which they are strung is this: A Persian monarch
having made a vow that he would marry a fresh bride every night and
sacrifice her in the morning, the vizier's daughter obtained permission
to be the first bride, and began a story which broke off at an
interesting part evening after evening for a thousand and one nights, at
the end of which term the king, it is said, released her and spared her
life.
ARABS, THE, "a noble-gifted people, swift-handed, deep-hearted,
something most agile, active, yet most meditative, enthusiastic in their
character; a people of wild, strong feelings, and iron restraint over
these. In words too, as in action, not a loquacious people, taciturn
rather, but eloquent, gifted when they do speak, an earnest, truthful
kind of men, of Jewish kindred indeed, but with that deadly terrible
earnestness of the Jews they seem to combine something graceful,
brilliant, which is not Jewish." Such is Carlyle's opinion of the race
from whom Mahomet sprang, as given in his "Heroes."
ARACAN. See ARAKAN.
ARACH`NE, a Lydian maiden, who excelled in weaving, and whom Athena
changed into a spider because she had proudly challenged her ability to
weave as artistic a work; she had failed in the competition, and
previously hanged herself in her despair.
ARAD (42), a fortified town in Hungary, seat of a bishop, on the
right bank of the Maros; manufactures tobacco, trades in cattle and corn.
ARAF, the Mohammedan sheol or borderland between heaven and hell for
those who are from incapacity either not morally bad or morally good.
ARAFAT`, a granite hill E. of Mecca, a place of pilgrimage as the
spot where Adam received his wife after 200 years separation from her on
account of their disobedience to the Lord in deference to the suggestion
of Satan.
AR`AGO, FRANÇOIS, an eminent physicist and astronomer, born in the
S. of France, entered the Polytechnic School of Paris when seventeen,
elected a member of the Academy of Sciences at the early age of
twenty-three, nominated Director of the Observatory in 1830, was member
of the Provisional Government in 1848, refused to take the oath to Louis
Napoleon after the _coup d'état_, would rather resign his post at the
Observatory, but was retained, and at his death received a public funeral
(1786-1853).
ARAGO, JACQUES, a brother of the preceding, a littérateur and a
traveller, author of a "Voyage Round the World" (1790-1855).
AR`AGON (925), a territory in the NE. of Spain, traversed by the
Ebro, and divided as you proceed southward into the provinces of Huesca,
Saragossa, and Teruel, mountainous in the N.; with beautiful fertile
valleys, rather barren, in the S; was a kingdom till 1469.
ARAGUAY, an affluent of the Tocantins, in Brazil, which it joins
after a course of 1000 m., augmented by subsidiary streams.
ARAKAN (671), a strip of land in British Burmah, on the E. of the
Bay of Bengal, 400 m. long and from 90 to 15 m. broad, a low, marshy
country; produces and exports large quantities of rice, as well as sugar
and hemp. The natives belong to the Burman stock, and are of the Buddhist
faith, though there is a sprinkling of Mohammedans among them.
ARAL, THE SEA OF, a lake in Turkestan, 265 m. long and 145 broad,
larger than the Irish Sea, 150 m. E. of the Caspian; has no outlet,
shallow, and is said to be drying up.
ARAM, EUGENE, an English school-usher of scholarly attainments,
convicted of murder years after the act and executed 1759, to whose fate
a novel of Bulwer Lytton's and a poem of Hood's have lent a romantic and
somewhat fictitious interest.
ARAMÆA, the territories lying to NE. of Palestine, the inhabitants
of which spoke a Semitic dialect called Aramaic, and improperly Chaldee.
ARAMA`IC, the language of Palestine in the days of Christ, a Semitic
dialect that has now almost entirely died out.
ARAMÆ`ANS, a generic name given to the Semitic tribes that dwelt in
the NE. of Palestine, also to those that dwelt at the mouths of the
Euphrates and the Tigris.
ARAN, VAL D', a Pyrenean valley, source of the Garonne, and one of
the highest of the Pyrenees.
ARAN ISLANDS, three islands with antique relics across the mouth of
Galway Bay, to which they form a breakwater.
ARANDA, COUNT OF, an eminent Spanish statesman, banished the
Jesuits, suppressed brigandage, and curtailed the power of the
Inquisition, was Prime Minister of Charles IV., and was succeeded by
Godoy (1719-1798).
ARANJU`EZ (8), a town 28 m. SE. of Madrid, long the spring resort of
the Spanish Court.
AR`ANY, JANOS, a popular Hungarian poet of peasant origin, attained
to eminence as a man of letters (1819-1882).
AR`ARAT, a mountain in Armenia on which Noah's ark is said to have
rested, 17,000 ft. high, is within Russian territory, and borders on both
Turkey and Persia.
ARA`TUS, native of Sicyon, in Greece, promoter of the Achæan League,
in which he was thwarted by Philip of Macedon, was poisoned, it is said,
by his order (271-213 B.C.); also a Greek poet, author of two didactic
poems, born in Cilicia, quoted by St Paul in Acts xvii. 28.
ARAUCA`NIA (88), the country of the Araucos, in Chile, S. of
Concepcion and N. of Valdivia, the Araucos being an Indian race long
resistant but now subject to Chilian authority, and interesting as the
only one that has proved itself able to govern itself and hold its own in
the presence of the white man.
ARAUCA`RIA, tall conifer trees, natives of and confined to the
southern hemisphere.
ARBE`LA, a town near Mosul, where Alexander the Great finally
defeated Darius, 331 B.C.
ARBROATH (22), a thriving seaport and manufacturing town on the
Forfarshire coast, 17 m. N. of Dundee, with the picturesque ruins of an
extensive old abbey, of which Cardinal Beaton was the last abbot. It is
the "Fairport" of the "Antiquary."
ARBUTHNOT, JOHN, a physician and eminent literary man of the age of
Queen Anne and her two successors, born in Kincardineshire, the friend of
Swift and Pope and other lights of the time, much esteemed by them for
his wit and kind-heartedness, joint-author with Swift, it is thought, of
the "Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus" and the "History of John Bull"
(1667-1735).
AR`CACHON (7), a popular watering-place, with a fine beach and a
mild climate, favourable for invalids suffering from pulmonary
complaints, 34 m. SW. of Bordeaux.
ARCA`DIA, a mountain-girt pastoral tableland in the heart of the
Morea, 50 m. long by 40 broad, conceived by the poets as a land of
shepherds and shepherdesses, and rustic simplicity and bliss, and was the
seat of the worship of Artemis and Pan.
ARCA`DIUS, the first emperor of the East, born in Spain, a weak,
luxurious prince, leaving the government in other hands (377-405).
ARCESILA`US, a Greek philosopher, a member of the Platonic School
and founder of the New Academy, who held in opposition to the Stoics that
perception was not knowledge, denied that we had any accurate criterion
of truth, and denounced all dogmatism in opinion.
ARCHÆOLOGY, the study or the science of the monuments of antiquity,
as distinct from palæontology, which has to do with extinct organisms or
fossil remains.
ARCHANGEL (19), the oldest seaport of Russia, on the Dvina, near its
mouth, on the White Sea, is accessible to navigation from July to
October, is connected with the interior by river and canal, and has a
large trade in flax, timber, tallow, and tar.
ARCHANGELS, of these, according to the Korân, there are four:
Gabriel, the angel who reveals; Michael, the angel who fights; Azrael,
the angel of death; Azrafil, the angel of the resurrection.
ARCHELA`US, king of Macedonia, and patron of art and literature,
with whom Euripides found refuge in his exile, _d_. 400 B.C.; a general
of Mithridates, conquered by Sulla twice over; also the Ethnarch of
Judea, son of Herod, deposed by Augustus, died at Vienne.
ARCHER, JAMES, portrait-painter, born in Edinburgh, 1824.
ARCHER, WM., dramatic critic, born in Perth, 1856.
AR`CHES, COURT OF, an ecclesiastical court of appeal connected with
the archbishopric of Canterbury, the judge of which is called the dean.
AR`CHIL, a purple dye obtained from lichens.
ARCHIL`OCHUS, a celebrated lyric poet of Greece; of a satiric and
often bitter vein, the inventor of iambic verse (714-676 B.C.).
ARCHIMA`GO, a sorcerer in Spenser's "Faërie Queene," who in the
disguise of a reverend hermit, and by the help of Duessa or Deceit,
seduces the Red-Cross Knight from Una or Truth.
ARCHIME`DES OF SYRACUSE, the greatest mathematician of antiquity, a
man of superlative inventive power, well skilled in all the mechanical
arts and sciences of the day. When Syracuse was taken by the Romans, he
was unconscious of the fact, and slain, while busy on some problem, by a
Roman soldier, notwithstanding the order of the Roman general that his
life should be spared. He is credited with the boast: "Give me a fulcrum,
and I will move the world." He discovered how to determine the specific
weight of bodies while he was taking a bath, and was so excited over the
discovery that, it is said, he darted off stark naked on the instant
through the streets, shouting "_Eureka! Eureka!_ I have found it! I have
found it!" (287-212 B.C.).
ARCHIMED`ES SCREW, in its original form a hollow spiral placed
slantingly to raise water by revolving it.
ARCHIPEL`AGO, originally the Ægean Sea, now the name of any similar
sea interspersed with islands, or the group of islands included in it.
ARCHITRAVE, the lowest part of an entablature, resting immediately
on the capital.
AR`CHON, a chief magistrate of Athens, of which there were nine at a
time, each over a separate department; the tenure of office was first for
life, then for ten years, and finally for one.
ARCHY`TAS OF TARENTUM, famous as a statesman, a soldier, a
geometrician, a philosopher, and a man; a Pythagorean in philosophy, and
influential in that capacity over the minds of Plato, his contemporary,
and Aristotle; was drowned in the Adriatic Sea, 4th century B.C.; his
body lay unburied on the shore till a sailor humanely cast a handful of
sand on it, otherwise he would have had to wander on this side the Styx
for a hundred years, such the virtue of a little dust, _munera pulveris_,
as Horace calls it.
ARCIS`-SUR-AUBE (3), a town 17 m. N. of Troyes, in France,
birthplace of Danton; scene of a defeat of Napoleon, March 1814.
AR`COT, the name of two districts, N. and S., in the Presidency of
Madras; also chief town (11) in the district, 65 m. SW. of Madras;
captured by Clive in 1787; once the capital of the Carnatic.
ARCTIC OCEAN, a circular ocean round the N. Pole, its diameter 40°,
with low, flat shores, covered with ice-fields, including numerous
islands; the Gulf Stream penetrates it, and a current flows out of it
into the Atlantic.
ARCTU`RUS, star of the first magnitude and the chief in the N.
constellation Boötes.
ARDÈCHE, an affluent of the Rhône, source in the Cévennes; gives
name to a department traversed by the Cévennes Mountains.
ARDEN, a large forest at one time in England, E. of the Severn.
ARDEN, ENOCH, hero of a poem by Tennyson, who finds, on his return
from the sea, after long absence, his wife, who believed him dead,
married happily to another; does not disclose himself, and dies
broken-hearted.
ARDENNES, a forest, a tract of rugged woodland on the confines of
France and Belgium; also department of France (325), on the borders of
Belgium.
AR`DOCH, a place in Perthshire, 7 m. from Crieff, with the remains
of a Roman camp, the most complete in Britain.
ARENDS, LEOPOLD, a Russian of literary ability, inventor of a system
of stenography extensively used on the Continent (1817-1882).
AREOPAGITICA, a prose work of Milton's, described by Prof.
Saintsbury as "a magnificent search for the Dead Truth."
AREOP`AGUS, the hill of Ares in Athens, which gave name to the
celebrated council held there, a tribunal of 31 members, charged with
judgment in criminal offences, and whose sentences were uniformly the
awards of strictest justice.
AREQUI`PA (35), a city in Peru, founded by Pizarro in 1536, in a
fruitful valley of the Andes, 8000 ft. above the sea, 30 m. inland; is
much subject to earthquakes, and was almost destroyed by one in 1868.
A`RÉS, the Greek god of war in its sanguinary aspects; was the son
of Zeus and Hera; identified by the Romans with Mars, was fond of war for
its own sake, and had for sister Eris, the goddess of strife, who used to
pander to his passion.
ARETÆ`US, a Greek physician of 1st century; wrote a treatise on
diseases, their causes, symptoms, and cures, still extant.
ARETHU`SA, a celebrated fountain in the island of Ortygia, near
Syracuse, transformed from a Nereid pursued thither from Elis, in Greece,
by the river-god Alphæus, so that the waters of the river henceforth
mingled with those of the fountain.
ARETI`NO, PIETRO, called the "Scourge of Princes," a licentious
satirical writer, born at Arezzo, in Tuscany, alternately attached to
people and repelled from them by his wit, moved from one centre of
attraction to another; settled in Venice, where he died after an
uncontrollable fit of laughter which seized him at the story of the
adventure of a sister (1492-1557).
AREZZO (44), an ancient Tuscan city, 38 m. SE. of Florence, and
eventually subject to it; the birthplace of Mæcenas, Michael Angelo,
Petrarch, Guido, and Vasari.
AR`GALI, a sheep of Siberia, as large as a moderately-sized ox, with
enormous grooved curving horns, strong-limbed, sure-footed, and swift.
ARGAN`, the hypochondriac rich patient in Molière's "Le Malade
Imaginaire."
ARGAND, a Swiss physician and chemist, born at Geneva; inventor of
the argand lamp, which, as invented by him, introduced a circular wick
(1755-1803).
ARGELAN`DER, a distinguished astronomer, born at Memel, professor at
Bonn; he fixed the position of 22,000 stars, and recorded observations to
prove that the solar system was moving through space (1799-1874).
AR`GENS, MARQUIS D', a French soldier who turned to letters, author
of sceptical writings, of which the best known is entitled "Lettres
Juives" (1704-1771).
ARGENSON, RENÉ-LOUIS, MARQUIS D', French statesman, who left
"Memoirs" of value as affecting the early and middle part of Louis XV.'s
reign (1694-1757).
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, or ARGENTINA (4,000), a confederation like
that of the United States of 14 states and 9 territories, occupying the
eastern slopes of the Andes and the vast level plain extending from them
to the Atlantic, bounded on the N. by Bolivia and Paraguay; its area ten
times that of Great Britain and Ireland; while the population includes
600,000 foreigners, Italians, French, Spaniards, English, and Germans.
AR`GO, the fifty-oared ship of the ARGONAUTS (q. v.).
AR`GOLIS, the north-eastern peninsula of the Morea of Greece, and
one of the 13 provinces of Greece, is 12 m. long by 5 m. broad.
AR`GON, a new element lately discovered to exist in a gaseous form
in the nitrogen of the air.
ARGONAUTICA, the title of a poem on the Argonautic expedition by
Apollonius of Rhodes.
AR`GONAUTS, the Greek heroes, sailors in the _Argo_, who, under the
command of Jason, sailed for Colchis in quest of the golden fleece, which
was guarded by a dragon that never slept, a perilous venture, but it
proved successful with the assistance of Medea, the daughter of the king,
whom, with the fleece, Jason in the end brought away with him to be his
wife.
ARGONNE`, FOREST OF, "a long strip of rocky mountain and wild wood"
in the NE. of France, within the borders of which the Duke of Brunswick
was outwitted by Dumouriez in 1792.
AR`GOS (9), the capital of Argolis, played for long a prominent part
in the history of Greece, but paled before the power of Sparta.
AR`GUS, surnamed the "All-seeing," a fabulous creature with a
hundred eyes, of which one half was always awake, appointed by Hera to
watch over Io, but Hermes killed him after lulling him to sleep by the
sound of his flute, whereupon Hera transferred his eyes to the tail of
the peacock, her favourite bird. Also the dog of Ulysses, immortalised by
Homer; he was the only creature that recognised Ulysses under his rags on
his return to Ithaca after twenty years' absence, under such excitement,
however, that immediately after he dropped down dead.
ARGUS, a pheasant, a beautiful Oriental game-bird, so called from
the eye-like markings on its plumage.
ARGYLL (74), a large county in the W. of Scotland, consisting of
deeply indented mainland and islands, and abounding in mountains,
moorlands, and lochs, with scenery often picturesque as well as wild and
savage.
ARGYLL, a noble family or clan of the name of Campbell, the members
of which have held successively the title of Earl, Marquis, and Duke,
their first patent of nobility dating from 1445, and their earldom from
1453.
ARGYLL, ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, 1ST MARQUIS OF, sided with the
Covenanters, fought against Montrose, disgusted with the execution of
Charles I., crowned Charles II. at Scone, after the Restoration committed
to the Tower, was tried and condemned, met death nobly (1598-1661).
ARGYLL, ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, 9TH EARL OF, son of the preceding,
fought for Charles II., was taken prisoner, released at the Restoration
and restored to his estates, proved rebellious at last, and was condemned
to death; escaped to Holland, made a descent on Scotland, was captured
and executed in 1685.
ARGYLL, GEORGE JOHN DOUGLAS CAMPBELL, 8TH DUKE OF, as Marquis of
Lorne took a great interest in the movement which led to the Disruption
of the Church of Scotland in 1843, a Whig in politics, was a member of
the Cabinets of Aberdeen, Palmerston, and Gladstone; of late has shown
more Conservative tendencies; takes a deep interest in the scientific
theories and questions of the time; wrote, among other works, a book in
1866 entitled "The Reign of Law," in vindication of Theism, and another
in the same interest in 1884 entitled "The Unity of Nature"; _b_. 1824.
ARGYLL, JOHN CAMPBELL, 2ND DUKE OF, favoured the Union, was created
an English peer, fought under Marlborough, opposed the return of the
Stuarts, defeated Mar at Sheriffmuir, ruled Scotland under Walpole
(1678-1743).
ARIAD`NE, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, gave to Theseus a clue
by which to escape out of the labyrinth after he had slain the Minotaur,
for which Theseus promised to marry her; took her with him to Naxos and
left her there, where, according to one tradition, Artemis killed her,
and according to another, Dionysos found her and married her, placing her
at her death among the gods, and hanging her wedding wreath as a
constellation in the sky.
ARIANISM, the heresy of ARIUS (q. v.).
ARIA`NO (12), a city with a fine cathedral, 1500 ft. above the
sea-level, NE. of Naples; has a trade in wine and butter.
ARI`CA, a seaport connected with Tacna, S. of Peru, the chief outlet
for the produce of Bolivia; suffers again and again from earthquakes, and
was almost destroyed in 1832.
ARIÈGE, a department of France, at the foot of the northern slopes
of the Pyrenees; has extensive forests and is rich in minerals.
A`RIEL, in Shakespeare's "Tempest," a spirit of the air whom
Prospero finds imprisoned by Sycorax in the cleft of a pine-tree, and
liberates on condition of her serving him for a season, which she
willingly engages to do, and does.
ARIEL, an idol of the Moabites, an outcast angel.
ARIES, the Ram. the first of the signs of the Zodiac, which the sun
enters on March 21, though the constellation itself, owing to the
precession of the equinoxes, is no longer within the limits of the sign.
ARI`ON, a lyrist of Lesbos, lived chiefly at the court of Periander,
Corinth; returning in a ship from a musical contest in Sicily laden with
prizes, the sailors plotted to kill him, when he begged permission to
play one strain on his lute, which being conceded, dolphins crowded round
the ship, whereupon he leapt over the bulwarks, was received on the back
of one of them, and carried to Corinth, arriving there before the
sailors, who, on their landing, were apprehended and punished.
ARIOS`TO, LUDOVICO, an illustrious Italian poet, born at Reggio, in
Lombardy; spent his life chiefly in Ferrara, mostly in poverty; his great
work "ORLANDO FURIOSO" (q. v.), published the first edition, in
40 cantos, in 1516, and the third in 46 cantos, in 1532; the work is so
called from the chief subject of it, the madness of Roland induced by the
loss of his lady-love through her marriage to another (1474-1532).
ARIOVISTUS, a German chief, invaded Gaul, and threatened to overrun
it, but was forced back over the Rhine by Cæsar.
ARISTÆ`US, a son of Apollo, the guardian divinity of the vine and
olive, of hunters and herdsmen; first taught the management of bees, some
of which stung Eurydice to death, whereupon the nymphs, companions of
Orpheus, her husband, set upon his bees and destroyed them. In this
extremity Aristæus applied to Proteus, who advised him to sacrifice four
bullocks to appease the manes of Eurydice; this done, there issued from
the carcasses of the victims a swarm of bees, which reconciled him to the
loss of the first ones.
ARISTAR`CHUS OF SAMOS, a Greek astronomer, who first conceived the
idea of the rotundity of the earth and its revolution both on its own
axis and round the sun, in promulgating which idea he was accused of
impiously disturbing the serenity of the gods (280 B.C.).
ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOTHRACE, a celebrated Greek grammarian and critic,
who devoted his life to the elucidation and correct transmission of the
text of the Greek poets, and especially Homer (158-88 B.C.).
ARISTE`AS, a sort of Wandering Jew of Greek fable, who turns up here
and there in Greek tradition, and was thought to be endowed with a soul
that could at will leave and enter the body.
ARISTI`DES, an Athenian general and statesman, surnamed The Just;
covered himself with glory at the battle of Marathon; was made archon
next year, in the discharge of the duties of which office he received his
surname; was banished by ostracism at the instance of his rival,
Themistocles; recalled three years after the invasion of Xerxes, was
reconciled to Themistocles, fought bravely at Salamis, and distinguished
himself at Platæa; managed the finances of the State with such probity
that he died poor, was buried at the public charges, and left the State
to provide for his children.
ARISTION, a philosopher, tyrant of Athens, put to death by order of
Sylla, 86 B.C.
ARISTIP`PUS OF CYRENE, founder of the Cyrenaic school of philosophy,
a disciple of Socrates; in his teaching laid too much emphasis on one
principle of Socrates, apart from the rest, in insisting too exclusively
upon pleasure as the supreme good and ultimate aim of life.
ARISTOBU`LUS I., son of John Hyrcanus, first of the Asmonæan dynasty
in Judea to assume the name of king, which he did from 104-102 B.C., a
pronounced Helleniser; A. II., twice carried captive to Rome,
assassinated 50 B.C.; A. III., last of Asmonæan dynasty, drowned by
Herod in the Jordan, 34 B.C.
ARISTODE`MUS, king of Messenia, carried on for 20 years a war with
Sparta, till at length finding resistance hopeless he put an end to his
life on the tomb of his daughter, whom he had sacrificed to ensure the
fulfilment of an oracle to the advantage of his house; _d_. 724 B.C.
Also a Greek sculptor, 4th century B.C.
ARISTOM`ENES, a mythical king of Messenia, celebrated for his
struggle with the Spartans, and his resistance to them on Mount Ira for
11 years, which at length fell to the enemy, while he escaped and was
snatched up by the gods; died at Rhodes.
ARISTOPHANES, the great comic dramatist of Athens, lived in the 5th
century B.C.; directed the shafts of his wit, which were very keen,
against all of whatever rank who sought in any way to alter, and, as it
was presumed, amend, the religious, philosophical, social, political, or
literary creed and practice of the country, and held up to ridicule such
men as Socrates and Euripides, as well as Cleon the tanner; wrote 54
plays, of which 11 have come down to us; of these the "Clouds" aim at
Socrates, the "Acharnians" and the "Frogs" at Euripides, and the
"Knights" at Cleon; _d_. 384 B.C.
AR`ISTOTLE, a native of Stagira, in Thrace, and hence named the
Stagirite; deprived of his parents while yet a youth; came in his 17th
year to Athens, remained in Plato's society there for 20 years; after the
death of Plato, at the request of Philip, king of Macedon, who held him
in high honour, became the preceptor of Alexander the Great, then only 13
years old; on Alexander's expedition into Asia, returned to Athens and
began to teach in the Lyceum, where it was his habit to walk up and down
as he taught, from which circumstance his school got the name of
Peripatetic; after 13 years he left the city and went to Chalcis, in
Euboea, where he died. He was the oracle of the scholastic philosophers
and theologians in the Middle Ages; is the author of a great number of
writings which covered a vast field of speculation, of which the progress
of modern science goes to establish the value; is often referred to as
the incarnation of the philosophic spirit (385-322 B.C.).
ARISTOX`ENUS OF TARENTUM, a Greek philosopher, author of the
"Elements of Harmony," the only one of his many works extant, and one of
the oldest writers on music; contemporary of Aristotle.
A`RIUS, a presbyter of Alexandria in the 4th century, and founder of
Arianism, which denied the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father
in the so-called Trinity, a doctrine which hovered for a time between
acceptance and rejection throughout the Catholic Church; was condemned
first by a local synod which met at Alexandria in 321, and then by a
General Council at Nice in 325, which the Emperor Constantine attended in
person; the author was banished to Illyricum, his writings burned, and
the possession of them voted to be a crime; after three years he was
recalled by Constantine, who ordered him to be restored; was about to be
readmitted into the Church when he died suddenly, by poison, alleged his
friends--by the judgment of God, said his enemies (280-336).
ARIZO`NA (59), a territory of the United States N. of Mexico and W.
of New Mexico, nearly four times as large as Scotland, rich in mines of
gold, silver, and copper, fertile in the lowlands; much of the surface a
barren plateau 11,000 ft. high, through which the cañon of the Colorado
passes. See CAÑON.
ARK OF THE COVENANT, a chest of acacia wood overlaid with gold, 2½
cubits long and 1½ in breadth; contained the two tables of stone
inscribed with the Ten Commandments, the gold pot with the manna, and
Aaron's rod; the lid supported the mercy-seat, with a cherub at each end,
and the shekinah radiance between.
ARKANS`AS (1,128), one of the Southern States of America, N. of
Louisiana and W. of the Mississippi, a little larger than England; rich
in metals, grows cotton and corn.
ARKWRIGHT, SIR RICHARD, born at Preston, Lancashire; bred to the
trade of a barber; took interest in the machinery of cotton-spinning;
with the help of a clockmaker, invented the spinning frame; was mobbed
for threatening thereby to shorten labour and curtail wages, and had to
flee; fell in with Mr. Strutt of Derby, who entered into partnership with
him; prospered in business and died worth half a million. "French
Revolutions were a-brewing; to resist the same in any way, Imperial
Cæsars were impotent without the cotton and cloth of England; and it was
this man," says Carlyle, "that had to give to England the power of
cotton" (1732-1792).
ARLBERG, a mountain mass between the Austrian provinces of
Vorarlberg and Tyrol, pierced by a tunnel, one of the three that
penetrate the Alps, and nearly four miles in length.
ARLES (14), a city, one of the oldest in France, on the Rhône, 46 m.
N. of Marseilles, where Constantine built a palace, with ruins of an
amphitheatre and other Roman works; the seat of several Church Councils.
AR`LINCOURT, VISCOUNT D', a French romancer, born near Versailles
(1789-1856).
AR`LINGTON, HENRY BENNET, EARL OF, served under Charles I., and
accompanied Charles II. in his exile; a prominent member of the famous
Cabal; being impeached when in office, lost favour and retired into
private life (1618-1685).
AR`LON (8), a prosperous town in Belgium, capital of Luxemburg.
ARMA`DA, named the Invincible, an armament fitted out in 1588 by
Philip II. of Spain against England, consisting of 130 war-vessels,
mounted with 2430 cannon, and manned by 20,000 soldiers; was defeated in
the Channel on July 20 by Admiral Howard, seconded by Drake, Hawkins, and
Frobisher; completely dispersed and shattered by a storm in retreat on
the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, the English losing only one ship; of
the whole fleet only 53 ships found their way back to Spain, and these
nearly all _hors de combat_.
ARMAGEDDON, a name given in Apocalypse to the final battlefield
between the powers of good and evil, or Christ and Antichrist.
ARMAGH (143), a county in Ulster, Ireland, 32 m. long by 20 m.
broad; and a town (18) in it, 33 m. SW. of Belfast, from the 5th to the
9th century the capital of Ireland, as it is the ecclesiastical still;
the chief manufacture linen-weaving.
ARMAGNAC, a district, part of Gascony, in France, now in dep. of
Gers, celebrated for its wine and brandy.
ARMAGNACS, a faction in France in time of Charles VI. at mortal feud
with the Bourguignons.
ARMATO`LES, warlike marauding tribes in the mountainous districts of
Northern Greece, played a prominent part in the War of Independence in
1820.
ARMED SOLDIER OF DEMOCRACY, Napoleon Bonaparte.
ARME`NIA, a country in Western Asia, W. of the Caspian Sea and N. of
Kurdistan Mts., anciently independent, now divided between Turkey,
Russia, and Persia, occupying a plateau interspersed with fertile
valleys, which culminates in Mt. Ararat, in which the Euphrates and
Tigris have their sources.
ARMENIANS, a people of the Aryan race occupying Armenia, early
converted to Christianity of the Eutychian type; from early times have
emigrated into adjoining, and even remote, countries, and are, like the
Jews, mainly engaged in commercial pursuits, the wealthier of them
especially in banking.
ARMENTIÈRES (27), a manufacturing and trading town in France, 12 m.
N. of Lille.
ARMI`DA, a beautiful enchantress in Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered,"
who bewitched Rinaldo, one of the Crusaders, by her charms, as Circe did
Ulysses, and who in turn, when the spell was broken, overpowered her by
his love and persuaded her to become a Christian. _The Almida Palace_, in
which she enchanted Rinaldo, has become a synonym for any merely
visionary but enchanting palace of pleasure.
ARMINIANISM. See ARMINIUS.
ARMIN`IUS, or HERMANN, the Deliverer of Germany from the
Romans by the defeat of Varus, the Roman general, in 9 A.D., near
Detmold (where a colossal statue has been erected to his memory); killed
in some family quarrel in his 37th year.
ARMINIUS, JACOBUS, a learned Dutch theologian and founder of
Arminianism, an assertion of the free-will of man in the matter of
salvation against the necessitarianism of Calvin (1560-1609).
ARMOR`ICA, a district of Gaul from the Loire to the Seine.
ARMSTRONG, JOHN, a Scotch doctor and poet, born in Roxburghshire,
practised medicine in London; friend of poet Thomson, as well as of
Wilkes and Smollett, and author of "The Art of Preserving Health"
(1709-1779).
ARMSTRONG, WILLIAM GEORGE, LORD, born at Newcastle, produced the
hydraulic accumulator and the hydraulic crane, established the Elswick
engine works in the suburbs of his native city, devoted his attention to
the improvement of heavy ordnance, invented the Armstrong gun, which he
got the Government to adopt, knighted in 1858, and in 1887 raised to the
peerage; _b_. 1810.
AR`NAUD, HENRI, a pastor of the Vaudois, turned soldier to rescue,
and did rescue, his co-religionists from their dispersion under the
persecution of the Count of Savoy; but when the Vaudois were exiled a
second time, he accompanied them in their exile to Schomberg, and acted
pastor to them till his death (1641-1721).
ARNAULD, ANTOINE, the "great Arnauld," a French theologian, doctor
of the Sorbonne, an inveterate enemy of the Jesuits, defended Jansenism
against the Bull of the Pope, became religious director of the nuns of
Port Royal des Champs, associated here with a circle of kindred spirits,
among others Pascal; expelled from the Sorbonne and banished the country,
died at Brussels (1612-1694).
ARNAULD, MARIE ANGE`LIQUE, _La Mère Angelique_ as she was called,
sister of the preceding and abbess of the Port Royal, a victim of the
persecutions of the Jesuits to very death (1624-1684).
ARNDT, ERNST MORITZ, a German poet and patriot, whose memory is much
revered by the whole German people, one of the first to rouse his
countrymen to shake off the tyranny of Napoleon; his songs and eloquent
appeals went straight to the heart of the nation and contributed
powerfully to its liberation; his "Geist der Zeit" made him flee the
country after the battle of Jena, and his "Was ist des Deutschen
Vaterland?" strikes a chord in the breast of every German all the world
over (1710-1860).
ARNDT, JOHN, a Lutheran theologian, the author of "True
Christianity," a work which, in Germany and elsewhere, has contributed to
infuse a new spirit of life into the profession of the Christian
religion, which seemed withering away under the influence of a lifeless
dogmatism (1553-1621).
ARNE, THOMAS AUGUSTINE, a musical composer of versatile genius,
produced, during over 40 years, a succession of pieces in every style
from songs to sonatas and oratorios, among others the world-famous chorus
"Rule Britannia"; Mrs. Cibber was his sister (1719-1778).
ARN`HEIM (51), the capital of Guelderland, is situated on the right
bank of the Rhine, and has a large transit trade.
ARNIM, BETTINE VON, sister of Clemens Brentano, wife of Ludwig
Arnim, a native of Frankfort; at 22 conceived a passionate love for
Goethe, then in his 60th year, visited him at Weimar, and corresponded
with him afterwards, part of which correspondence appeared subsequently
under the title of "Goethe's Correspondence with a Child" (1785-1859).
ARNIM, COUNT, ambassador of Germany, first at Rome and then at
Paris; accused in the latter capacity of purloining State documents, and
sentenced to imprisonment; died in exile at Nice (1824-1881).
ARNIM, LUDWIG ACHIM VON, a German poet and novelist (1781-1831).
ARNO, a river of Italy, rises in the Apennines, flows westward past
Florence and Pisa into the Mediterranean, subject to destructive
inundations.
ARNOBIUS, an African rhetorician who, in the beginning of the 4th
century, embraced Christianity, and wrote a book in its defence, still
extant, and of great value, entitled "Disputations against the Heathen."
ARNOLD, BENEDICT, an American military general, entered the ranks of
the colonists under Washington during the War of Independence,
distinguished himself in several engagements, promoted to the rank of
general, negotiated with the English general Clinton to surrender an
important post entrusted to him, escaped to the English ranks on the
discovery of the plot, and served in them against his country; _d_. in
England in 1801.
ARNOLD, MATTHEW, poet and critic, eldest son of Thomas Arnold of
Rugby; professor of Poetry in Oxford from 1857 to 1867; inspector of
schools for 35 years from 1851; commissioned twice over to visit France,
Germany, and Holland, to inquire into educational matters there; wrote
two separate reports thereon of great value; author of "Poems," of a
highly finished order and showing a rich poetic gift, "Essays on
Criticism," "Culture and Anarchy," "St. Paul and Protestantism,"
"Literature and Dogma," &c.; a man of culture, and especially literary
culture, of which he is reckoned the apostle; died suddenly at Liverpool.
He was more eminent as a poet than a critic, influential as he was in
that regard. "It is," says Swinburne, "by his verse and not his prose he
must be judged," and is being now judged (1822-1888).
ARNOLD, SIR EDWIN, poet and journalist, familiar with Indian
literature; author of the "Light of Asia," "Light of the World," and
other works in prose and verse; _b_. 1832, at Gravesend.
ARNOLD, THOMAS, head-master of Rugby, and professor of Modern
History at Oxford; by his moral character and governing faculty effected
immense reforms in Rugby School; was liberal in his principles and of a
philanthropic spirit; he wrote a "History of Rome" based on Niebuhr, and
edited Thucydides; his "Life and Correspondence" was edited by Dean
Stanley (1795-1842).
ARNOLD OF BRESCIA, an Italian monk, and disciple of Abelard;
declaimed against the temporal power of the Pope, the corruptions of the
Church, and the avarice of the clergy; headed an insurrection against the
Pope in Rome, which collapsed under the Pope's interdict; at last was
burned alive in 1156, and his ashes thrown into the Tiber.
ARNOLD OF WINKELRIED, the Decius of Switzerland, a peasant of the
canton of Unterwald, who, by the voluntary sacrifice of his life, broke
the lines of the Austrians at Sempach in 1386 and decided the fate of the
battle.
ARNOTT, DR. NEIL, a native of Arbroath, author of the "Elements of
Physics" and of several hygienic inventions (1788-1874).
AROU`ET, the family name of Voltaire; his name formed by an
ingenious transposition he made of the letters of his name, Arouet l. j.
(jeune).
AR`PAD, the national hero of Hungary; established for the Magyars a
firm footing in the country; was founder of the Arpad dynasty, which
became extinct in 1301; _d_. 907.
ARPI`NO (ARPINIUM), an ancient town in Latium, S. of Rome,
birthplace of Cicero and Marius.
ARQUA, a village 12 m. SW. of Padua, where Petrarch died and was
buried.
ARRACK, a spirituous liquor, especially that distilled from the
juice of the cocoa-nut tree and from fermented rice.
AR`RAH, a town in Bengal, 36 m. from Patna; famous for its defence
by a handful of English and Sikhs against thousands during the Mutiny.
ARRAN (4), largest island in the Firth of Clyde, in Buteshire; a
mountainous island, highest summit Goatfell, 2866 ft, with a margin of
lowland round the coast; nearly all the property of the Duke of Hamilton,
whose seat is Brodick Castle.
ARRAS (20), a French town in the dep. of Pas-de-Calais, long
celebrated for its tapestry; the birthplace of Damiens and Robespierre.
AR`RIA, a Roman matron, who, to encourage her husband in meeting
death, to which he had been sentenced, thrust a poniard into her own
breast, and then handed it to him, saying, "It is not painful," whereupon
he followed her example.
AR`RIAN, FLAVIUS, a Bithynian, a friend of Epictetus the Stoic,
edited his "Enchiridion"; wrote a "History of Alexander the Great," and
"Periplus," an account of voyages round the Euxine and round the Red Sea;
_b_. 100, and died at an advanced age.
ARROW-HEADED CHARACTERS, the same as the CUNEIFORM (q. v.).
ARRU ISLANDS (15), a group of 80 coralline islands, belonging to
Holland, W. of New Guinea; export mother-of-pearl, pearls,
tortoise-shell, &c.
AR`SACES I., the founder of the dynasty of the Arsacidæ, by a revolt
which proved successful against the Seleucidæ, 250 B.C.
ARSACIDÆ, a dynasty of 31 Parthian kings, who wrested the throne
from Antiochus II., the last of the Seleucidæ, 250 B.C.
ARSIN`OË, the name of several Egyptian princesses of antiquity; also
a prude in Molière's "Misanthrope."
ARTA, GULF OF, gulf forming the NW. frontier of Greece.
ARTS, THE. There are three classes of these, the Liberal, the Fine,
and the Mechanical: the Liberal, implying scholarship, graduation in
which is granted by universities, entitling the holder to append M.A. to
his name; the Mechanical, implying skill; and the Fine, implying the
possession of a soul, discriminated from the mechanical by the word
spiritual, as holding of the entire, undivided man, heart as well as
brain.
ARTAXER`XES, the name of several Persian monarchs: A. I.,
called the "Long-handed," from his right hand being longer than his left;
son of Xerxes I.; concluded a peace with Greece after a war of 52
years; entertained Themistocles at his court; king from 465 to 424 B.C.
A. II., MNEMON, vanquished and killed his brother Cyrus at Cunaxa in
401, who had revolted against him; imposed in 387 on the Spartans the
shameful treaty of ANTALCIDAS (q. v.); king from 405 to 359
B.C. A. III., OCHUS, son of the preceding, slew all his kindred on
ascending the throne; in Egypt slew the sacred bull Apis and gave the
flesh to his soldiers, for which his eunuch Bagsas poisoned him; king
from 359 to 338 B.C. A. IV., grandson of Sassan, founder of the
dynasty Sassanidæ; restored the old religion of the Magi, amended the
laws, and promoted education; king from A.D. 223 to 232.
ARTE`DI, a Swedish naturalist, assisted Linnæus in his "Systema
Naturæ"; his own great work, "Ichthyologia," published by Linnæus after
his death (1703-1735).
AR`TEGAL, the impersonation and champion of Justice in Spenser's
"Faërie Queene."
AR`TEMIS, in the Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin
sister of Apollo, born in the Isle of Delos, and one of the great
divinities of the Greeks; a virgin goddess, represented as a huntress
armed with bow and arrows; presided over the birth of animals, was
guardian of flocks, the moon the type of her and the laurel her sacred
tree, was the Diana of the Romans, and got mixed up with deities in other
mythologies.
ARTEMI`SIA, queen of Halicarnassus, joined Xerxes in his invasion of
Greece, and fought with valour at Salamis, 440 B.C. A. II., also
queen, raised a tomb over the grave of her husband Mausolus, regarded as
one of the seven wonders of the world, 355 B.C.
ARTEMI`SIUM, a promontory N. of Euboea, near which Xerxes lost part
of his fleet, 480 B.C.
ARTEMUS WARD. See C. F. BROWNE.
ARTESIAN WELLS, wells made by boring for water where it is lower
than its source, so as to obtain a constant supply of it.
AR`TEVELDE, JACOB VAN, a wealthy brewer of Ghent, chosen chief in a
revolt against Count Louis of Flanders, expelled him, made a treaty with
Edward III. as lord-superior of Flanders, was massacred in a popular
tumult (1300-1345).
ARTEVELDE, PHILIP VAN, son of the preceding, defeated Louis II. and
became king; but with the help of France Louis retaliated and defeated
the Flemings, and slew him in 1382.
ARTFUL DODGER, a young thief, an expert in the profession in
Dickens' "Oliver Twist."
AR`THUR, a British prince of wide-spread fame, who is supposed to
have lived at the time of the Saxon invasion in the 6th century, whose
exploits and those of his court have given birth to the tradition of the
Round Table, to the rendering of which Tennyson devoted so much of his
genius.
ARTHUR, CHESTER ALAN, twenty-first president of the United States, a
lawyer by profession, and a prominent member of the Republican party
(1830-1886).
ARTHUR, PRINCE, DUKE OF BRITTANY, heir to the throne of England by
the death of his uncle Richard I.; supplanted by King John.
ARTHUR SEAT, a lion-shaped hill 822 ft., close to Edinburgh on the
E., from the top of which the prospect is unrivalled; "the blue,
majestic, everlasting ocean, with the Fife hills swelling gradually into
the Grampians behind it on the N.; rough crags and rude precipices at our
feet ('where not a hillock rears its head unsung'), with Edinburgh at
their base, clustering proudly over her rugged foundations, and covering
with a vapoury mantle the jagged, black, venerable masses of stone-work,
that stretch far and wide, and show like a city of fairyland"--such the
view Carlyle had in a clear atmosphere of 1826, whatever it may be now.
ARTICLES, THE THIRTY-NINE, originally Forty-Two, a creed framed in
1562, which every clergyman of the Church of England is bound by law to
subscribe to at his ordination, as the accepted faith of the Church.
ARTIST, according to a definition of Ruskin, which he prints in
small caps., "a person who has submitted to a law which it was painful to
obey, that he may bestow a delight which it is gracious to bestow."
ARTISTS, PRINCE OF, Albert Dürer, so called by his countrymen.
AR`TOIS, an ancient province of France, comprising the dep. of
Pas-de-Calais, and parts of the Somme and the Nord; united to the crown
in 1659.
ARTOIS, MONSEIGNEUR D', famed, as described in Carlyle's "French
Revolution," for "breeches of a new kind in this world"; brother of Louis
XVI., and afterwards CHARLES X. (q. v.).
AR`UNDEL (2), a municipal town in Sussex, on the Arun, 9 m. E. of
Chichester, with a castle of great magnificence, the seat of the Earls of
Arundel.
ARUNDEL, THOMAS, successively bishop of Ely, Lord Chancellor,
archbishop of York, and archbishop of Canterbury; a persecutor of the
Wickliffites, but a munificent benefactor of the Church (1353-1414).
ARUNDEL MARBLES, ancient Grecian marbles collected at Smyrna and
elsewhere by the Earl of Arundel in 1624, now in the possession of the
University of Oxford, the most important of which is one from Paros
inscribed with a chronology of events in Grecian history from 1582 to 264
B.C.; the date of the marbles themselves is 263 B.C.
ARUNS, son of Tarquinus Superbus, who fell in single combat with
Brutus.
ARUWI`MI, an affluent of the Congo on the right bank below the
Stanley Falls.
ARVA`TES, FRATRES, a college of twelve priests in ancient Rome whose
duty it was to make annual offerings to the Lares for the increase of the
fruits of the field.
ARVE, a river that flows through the valley of Chamouni and falls
into the Rhône below Geneva.
ARVEYRON, an affluent of the Arve from the Mer de Glace.
AR`YANS, or Indo-Europeans, a race that is presumed to have had its
primitive seat in Central Asia, E. of the Caspian Sea and N. of the
Hindu-Kush, and to have branched off at different periods north-westward
and westward into Europe, and southward into Persia and the valley of the
Ganges, from which sprung the Greeks, Latins, Celts, Teutons, Slavs, on
the one hand, and the Persians and Hindus on the other, a community of
origin that is attested by the comparative study of their respective
languages.
AR`ZEW, a seaport in Algeria, 22 m. from Oran, with Roman remains;
exports grain and salt.
ASAFOE`TIDA, a fetid inspissated sap from an Indian umbelliferous
tree, used in medicine.
ASAPH, a musician of the temple at Jerusalem.
ASAPH, ST., a town in Flintshire, 20 m. from Chester; seat of a
bishopric.
ASBES`TOS, an incombustible mineral of a flax-like fibrous texture,
which has been manufactured into cloth, paper, lamp-wick, steam-pipes,
gas-stoves, &c.
ASBJÖRN`SEN, a Dane, distinguished as a naturalist, and particularly
as a collector of folk-lore, as well as an author of children's stories
(1812-1885).
AS`BURY, FRANCIS, a zealous, assiduous Methodist preacher and
missionary, sent to America, was consecrated the first bishop of the
newly organised Methodist Church there (1745-1816).
AS`CALON, one of the five cities of the Philistines, much contested
for during the Crusades.
ASCA`NIUS, the son of Æneas, who trotted _non passibus æquis_ ("with
unequal steps") by the side of his father as he escaped from burning
Troy; was founder of Alba Longa.
AS`CAPART, a giant conquered by Bevis of Southampton, though so huge
as to carry Bevis, his wife, and horse under his arm.
ASCENSION, a bare volcanic island in the Atlantic, rising to nearly
3000 ft., belonging to Britain, 500 m. NW. of St. Helena, and 900 m. from
the coast of Africa; a coaling and victualling station for the navy.
ASCHAF`FENBURG (14), an ancient town of Bavaria, on the Main, 20 m.
from Frankfort, with an old castle and cathedral.
ASCHAM, ROGER, a Yorkshireman, Fellow of Cambridge, a good
classical, and particularly Greek, scholar; wrote a book on archery,
deemed a classic, entitled "Toxophilus," for which Henry VIII. settled a
pension on him; was tutor and Latin secretary to Queen Elizabeth, and
much esteemed by her; his chief work, the "Schoolmaster," an admirable
treatise on education, held in high regard by Dr. Johnson, the sum of
which is _docendo discas_, "learn by teaching" (1515-1560).
ASCHERSLE`BEN (22), a manufacturing town in the Magdeburg district
of Prussia.
ASCLEPI`ADES, a Bithynian who practised medicine with repute at Rome
in Cicero's time, and was great in hygiene.
AS`COT, a racecourse in Berks, 6 m. SW. of Windsor, the races at
which, instituted by Queen Anne, take place a fortnight after the Derby.
AS`GARD, the garden or heaven of the Asen or gods in the Norse
mythology, in which each had a separate dwelling, and who held
intercourse with the other spheres of existence by the bridge Bifröst,
i. e. the rainbow.
ASGILL, JOHN, an eccentric Englishman, wrote a book to prove that
death was due to want of faith, and to express his belief that he would
be translated, and translated he was, to spend 30 years, apparently quite
happily, writing pamphlets, and end his days in the debtors' prison.
ASH, JOHN, a dissenting divine, author of an English dictionary,
valuable for the number of obsolete and provincial words contained in it
(1724-1779).
ASH`ANTI, or ASHANTEE, a negro inland kingdom in the Upper
Soudan, N. of Gold Coast territory, wooded, well watered, and well
cultivated; natives intelligent, warlike, and skilful; twice over
provoked a war with Great Britain, and finally the despatch of a military
expedition, which led to the submission of the king and the appointment
of a British Resident.
ASHBURNHAM, JOHN, a member of the Long Parliament, a faithful
adherent and attendant of Charles I., and assistant to him in his
troubles (1603-1671).
ASHBURNHAM, 5TH EARL OF, collected a number of valuable MSS. and
rare books known as the Ashburnham Collection; _d_. 1878.
ASHBURTON, ALEXANDER BARING, LORD, second son of Sir Francis Baring,
a Liberal politician, turned Conservative, member of Peel's
administration in 1834-35, sent special ambassador to the United States
in 1842; concluded the boundary treaty of Washington, known as the
Ashburton Treaty; in his retirement "a really good, solid, most cheery,
sagacious, simple-hearted old man" (1774-1848).
ASHBURTON, WILLIAM BINGHAM BARING, son of the preceding, "a very
worthy man," an admirer, and his wife, Lady Harriet, still more, of
Thomas Carlyle (1797-1844).
ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH, a small market-town 17 m. W. of Leicester,
figures in "Ivanhoe," with the ruins of a castle in which Queen Mary was
immured.
ASHDOD, a maritime Philistine city 20 m. S. of Jaffa, seat of the
Dagon worship.
ASHE`RA, an image of ASTARTE (q. v.), and associated with
the worship of that goddess.
ASH`MOLE, ELIAS, a celebrated antiquary and authority on heraldry;
presented to the University of Oxford a collection of rarities bequeathed
to him, which laid the foundation of the Ashmolean Collection there
(1617-1692).
ASHMUN, JEHUDI, an American philanthropist, founder of the Negro
Republic of Liberia, on the W. coast of Africa (1794-1828).
ASH`TAROTH. See ASTARTE.
ASH`TON-UNDER-LYNE (47), a cotton-manufacturing town near
Manchester.
ASIA, the largest of the four quarters of the globe, and as good as
in touch with the other three; contains one-third of all the land, which,
from a centre of high elevations, extensive plains, and deep depressions,
stretches southward into three large peninsulas separated by three
immense arms of the sea, and eastward into three bulging masses and three
pronounced peninsulas forming seas, protected by groups of islands; with
rivers the largest in the whole world, of which four flow N., two SE.,
and eight S.; with a large continental basin, also the largest in the
world, and with lakes which though they do not match those of America and
Africa, strikingly stand at a higher level as we go E.; with every
variety of climate, with a richly varied flora and fauna, with a
population of 840,000,000, being the half of that of the globe, of
chiefly three races, Caucasian, Mongolian, and Malay, at different stages
of civilisation, and as regards religion, by far the majority professing
the faith of Brahma, Buddha, Mahomet, or Christ.
ASIA MINOR, called also ANATOLE`, a peninsular extension
westward of the Armenian and Kurdistan highlands in Asia, bounded on the
N. by the Black Sea, on the W. by the Archipelago, and on the S. by the
Levant; indented all round, mainland as well as adjoining islands, with
bays and harbours, all more or less busy centres of trade; is as large as
France, and consists of a plateau with slopes all round to the coasts;
has a population of over 28,000,000.
ASKEW, ANNE, a lady of good birth, a victim of persecution in the
time of Henry VIII. for denying transubstantiation, tortured on the rack
and burnt at the stake, 1546.
ASKEW, ANTONY, a physician and classical scholar, a collector of
rare and curious books (1722-1774).
ASMODE`US, a mischievous demon or goblin of the Jewish demonology,
who gloats on the vices and follies of mankind, and figures in Le Sage's
"Le Diable Boiteux," or the "Devil on Two Sticks," as lifting off the
roofs of the houses of Madrid and exposing their inmost interiors and the
secret doings of the inhabitants.
ASMONÆ`ANS, a name given to the Maccabees, from Asmon, the place of
their origin.
ASO`KA, a king of Behar, in India; after his accession in 264 B.C.
became an ardent disciple of Buddha; organised Buddhism, as Constantine
did Christianity, into a State religion; convened the third great council
of the Church of that creed at Patna; made a proclamation of this faith
as far as his influence extended, evidence of which is still extant in
pillars and rocks inscribed with his edicts in wide districts of Northern
India; _d_. 223 B.C.
ASP, a poisonous Egyptian viper of uncertain species.
ASPA`SIA, a woman remarkable for her wit, beauty, and culture, a
native of Miletus; being attracted to Athens, came and settled in it;
became the wife of Pericles, and her home the rendezvous of all the
intellectual and wise people of the city, Socrates included; her
character was often both justly and unjustly assailed.
AS`PERN, a village in Austria, on the Danube, 4 m. NE. of Vienna,
where a charge of the Austrians under the Archduke Charles was defeated
by Napoleon, May 21, 1809, and Marshal Lannes killed.
ASPHALT, a mineral pitch of a black or brownish-black colour,
consisting chiefly of carbon; also a limestone impregnated with bitumen,
and more or less in every quarter of the globe.
ASPHALTIC LAKE, the DEAD SEA (q. v.), so called from the
asphalt on its surface and banks.
AS`PHODEL, a lily plant appraised by the Greeks for its almost
perennial flowering, and with which they, in their imagination, covered
the Elysian fields, called hence the Asphodel Meadow.
ASPHYX`IA, suspended respiration in the physical life; a term
frequently employed by Carlyle to denote a much more recondite, but a no
less real, corresponding phenomenon in the spiritual life.
ASPINWALL, a town founded by an American of the name in 1800, at the
Atlantic extremity of the Panama railway; named Colon, since the Empress
Eugenie presented it with a statue of Columbus.
ASPROMON`TE, a mountain close by Reggio, overlooking the Strait of
Messina, near which Garibaldi was defeated and captured in 1862.
ASQUINI, COUNT, a rural economist who did much to promote silk
culture in Italy (1726-1818).
ASSAB BAY, a coaling-station belonging to Italy, on the W. coast of
the Red Sea.
ASSAM` (5,500), a province E. of Bengal, ceded to Britain after the
Burmese war in 1826; being an alluvial plain, with ranges of hills along
the Brahmapootra, 450 m. long and 50 broad; the low lands extremely
fertile and productive, and the hills covered with tea plantations,
yielding at one time, if not still, three-fourths of the tea raised in
India.
ASSAROTTI, an Italian philanthropist, born at Genoa; the first to
open a school for deaf-mutes in Italy, and devoted zealously his fortune
and time to the task (1753-1821).
AS`SAS, NICOLAS, captain of the French regiment of Auvergne, whose
celebrity depends on a single act of defiance: having entered a wood to
reconnoitre it the night before the battle of Kloster Kampen, was
suddenly surrounded by the enemy's (the English) soldiers, and defied
with bayonets at his breast to utter a cry of alarm; "Ho, Auvergne!" he
exclaimed, and fell dead on the instant, pierced with bayonets, to the
saving of his countrymen.
ASSASSINS, a fanatical Moslem sect organised in the 11th century, at
the time of the Crusades, under a chief called the Old Man of the
Mountain, whose stronghold was a rock fortress at Alamut, in Persia,
devoted to the assassination of all enemies of the Moslem faith, and so
called because they braced their nerves for their deeds of blood by
draughts of an intoxicating liquor distilled from hashish (the
hemp-plant). A Tartar force burst upon the horde in their stronghold in
1256, and put them wholesale to the sword.
ASSAYE`, a small town 46 m. NE. of Aurungabad, where Sir Arthur
Wellesley gained a victory over the Mahrattas in 1803.
ASSEGAI, a spear or javelin of wood tipped with iron, used by
certain S. African tribes with deadly effect in war.
ASSEMBLY, GENERAL, the chief court of the Presbyterian Church, a
representative body, half clergymen and half laymen, which sits in
Edinburgh for ten days in May, disposes of the general business of the
Church, and determines appeals.
ASSEMBLY, NATIONAL, the Commons section of the States-General of
France which met on May 5, 1789, constituted itself into a legislative
assembly, and gave a new constitution to the country.
ASSEMBLY, WESTMINSTER, a body composed of 140 members, of which 117
were clergymen, convened at Westminster to determine questions of
doctrine, worship, and discipline in the National Church, and which held
its sittings, over 1100 of them, from July 1, 1643, to Feb. 22, 1649,
with the result that the members of it were unanimous in regard to
doctrine, but were divided in the matter of government.
ASSEMANI, GIUSEPPE, a learned Syrian Maronite, librarian of the
Vatican, wrote an account of Syrian writers (1687-1768); STEPHANO,
nephew, held the same office, wrote "Acta Sanctorum Martyrum"
(1707-1782).
ASSER, JOHN, monk of St. David's, in Wales, tutor, friend, and
biographer of Alfred the Great; is said to have suggested the founding of
Oxford University; _d_. 909.
ASSIEN`TO, a treaty with Spain to supply negroes for her colonies,
concluded in succession with the Flemings, the Genoese, a French company,
the English, and finally the South Sea Company, who relinquished their
rights in 1750 on compensation by Spain.
AS`SIGNATS, bills or notes, to the number of 45 thousand million,
issued as currency by the revolutionary government of France in 1790, and
based on the security of Church and other lands appropriated by it, and
which in course of time sunk in value, to the ruin of millions.
ASSINIBOI`A, a province in Canada between Saskatchewan and the
United States.
ASSINIBOINES, certain aborigines of Canada; the few of whom that
remain do farming on the banks of the Saskatchewan.
ASSI`SI (3), a town in Central Italy, 12 m. SE. of Perugia, the
birthplace and burial-place of St. Francis, and the birthplace of
Metastasio; it was a celebrated place of resort of pilgrims, who
sometimes came in great numbers.
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS, a connection in the mind between two ideas,
such that the consciousness of one tends to recall the other, a fact
employed to explain certain recondite psychological phenomena.
ASSOUAN`, the ancient Syene, the southernmost city of Egypt, on the
right bank of the Nile, near the last cataract.
ASSOUCY, D', a French burlesque poet ridiculed by Boileau
(1604-1679).
ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF THE, festival in honour of the translation of
the Virgin Mary to heaven, celebrated on the 15th of August, the alleged
day of the event.
ASSUR, mythical name of the founder of Assyria.
ASSYR`IA, an ancient kingdom, the origin and early history of which
is uncertain, between the Niphates Mountains of Armenia on the N. and
Babylonia on the S., 280 m. long and 150 broad, with a fertile soil and a
population at a high stage of civilisation; became a province of Media,
which lay to the E., in 606 B.C., and afterwards a satrapy of the
Persian empire, and has been under the Turks since 1638, in whose hands
it is now a desert.
ASSYRIOLOGY, the study of the monuments of Assyria, chiefly in a
Biblical interest.
ASTAR`TE, or ASHTORETH, or IST`AR, the female divinity of
the Phoenicians, as Baal was the male, these two being representative
respectively of the conceptive and generative powers of nature, and
symbolised, the latter, like Apollo, by the sun, and the former, like
Artemis or Diana, by the moon; sometimes identified with Urania and
sometimes with Venus; the rites connected with her worship were of a
lascivious nature.
ASTER, of Amphipolis, an archer who offered his services to Philip
of Macedon, boasting of his skill in bringing down birds on the wing, and
to whom Philip had replied he would accept them when he made war on the
birds. Aster, to be revenged, sped an arrow from the wall of a town
Philip was besieging, inscribed, "To the right eye of Philip," which took
effect; whereupon Philip sped back another with the words, "When Philip
takes the town, Aster will hang for it," and he was true to his word.
AS`TEROIDS, or Planetoids, small planets in orbits between those of
Mars and Jupiter, surmised in 1596, all discovered in the present
century, the first on Jan. 1, 1801, and named Ceres; gradually found to
number more than 200.
AS`TI (33), an ancient city in Piedmont, on the Tanaro, 26 m. SE.
from Turin, with a Gothic cathedral; is noted for its wine; birthplace of
Alfieri.
ASTLEY, PHILIP, a famous equestrian and circus manager, along with
Franconi established the Cirque Olympique in Paris (1742-1814).
ASTOLFO, a knight-errant in mediæval legend who generous-heartedly
is always to do greater feats than he can perform; in "Orlando Furioso"
he brings back Orlando's lost wits in a phial from the moon, and
possesses a horn that with a blast can discomfit armies.
ASTON, LUISE, German authoress, championed the rights of women, and
went about in male attire; _b_. 1820.
ASTON MANOR (54), a suburb of Birmingham.
ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, a millionaire, son of a German peasant, who made
a fortune of four millions in America by trading in furs (1763-1848). His
son doubled his fortune; known as the "landlord of New York" (1792-1875).
ASTOR, WILLIAM WALDORF, son of the preceding, devoted to politics;
came to London, 1891; became proprietor of the _Pall Mall Gazette_ and
_Budget_ in 1893; _b_. 1848.
ASTO`RIA, in Oregon, a fur-trading station, with numerous
salmon-tinning establishments.
ASTRÆ`A, the daughter of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of justice;
dwelt among men during the Golden Age, but left the earth on its decline,
and her sister Pudicitia along with her, the withdrawal explained to mean
the vanishing of the ideal from the life of man on the earth; now placed
among the stars under the name of Virgo.
ASTRÆA REDUX, the name given to an era which piques itself on the
return of the reign of justice to the earth.
AS`TRAKHAN (43), a Russian trading town on the Volga, 40 m. from its
mouth in the Caspian Sea, of which it is the chief port.
ASTRAL BODY, an ethereal body believed by the theosophists to invest
the animal, to correspond to it, and to be capable of BILOCATION
(q. v.)
ASTRAL SPIRITS, spirits believed to animate or to people the
heavenly bodies, to whom worship was paid, and to hover unembodied
through space exercising demonic influence on embodied spirits.
ASTROLOGY, a science founded on a presumed connection between the
heavenly bodies and human destiny as more or less affected by them, a
science at one time believed in by men of such intelligence as Tacitus
and Kepler, and few great families at one time but had an astrologer
attached to them to read the horoscope of any new member of the house.
ASTRUC, JEAN, a French physician and professor of medicine in Paris,
now noted as having discovered that the book of Genesis consists of
Elohistic and Jehovistic portions, and who by this discovery founded the
modern school called of the Higher Criticism (1681-1766).
ASTU`RIAS (579), an ancient province in the N. of Spain, gives title
to the heir to the crown, rich in minerals, and with good fisheries; now
named Oviedo, from the principal town.
ASTY`AGES, last king of the Medes; dethroned by Cyrus, 549 B.C.
ASTY`ANAX, the son of Hector and Andromache; was cast down by the
Greeks from the ramparts after the fall of Troy, lest he should live and
restore the city.
ASUN`CION, or ASSUMPTION (18), the capital of Paraguay, on the
left bank of the Paraguay, so called from having been founded by the
Spaniards on the Feast of the Assumption in 1535.
ASURAS, THE, in the Hindu mythology the demons of the darkness of
night, in overcoming whom the gods asserted their sovereignty in the
universe.
ASYMPTOTE, a line always approaching some curve but never meeting
it.
ATACA`MA, an all but rainless desert in the N. of Chile, abounding
in silver and copper mines, as well as gold in considerable quantities.
ATAHUALPA, the last of the Incas of Peru, who fell into Pizarro's
hands through perfidy, and was strangled by his orders in 1533, that is,
little short of a year after the Spaniards landed in Peru.
ATALAN`TA, a beautiful Grecian princess celebrated for her agility,
the prize of any suitor who could outstrip her on the racecourse, failure
being death; at last one suitor, Hippomenes his name, accepted the risk
and started along with her, but as he neared the goal, kept dropping
first one golden apple, then another, provided him by Venus, stooping to
lift which lost her the race, whereupon Hippomenes claimed the prize.
AT`AVISM, name given to the reappearance in progeny of the features,
and even diseases, of ancestors dead generations before.
ATBA`RA, or Black River, from the Highlands of Abyssinia, the lowest
tributary of the Nile, which it joins near Berber.
ATE`, in the Greek mythology the goddess of strife and mischief,
also of vengeance; was banished by her father Zeus, for the annoyance she
gave him, from heaven to earth, where she has not been idle since.
ATHABA`SCA, a province, a river, and a lake in British N. America.
ATHALIA, the queen of Judah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel,
celebrated for her crimes and impiety, for which she was in the end
massacred by her subjects, 9th century B.C.
ATHANASIAN CREED, a statement, in the form of a confession, of the
orthodox creed of the Church as against the Arians, and damnatory of
every article of the heresy severally; ascribed to Athanasius at one
time, but now believed to be of later date, though embracing his theology
in affirmation of the absolute co-equal divinity of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost in the Trinity.
ATHANASIUS, Christian theologian, a native of Alexandria, and a
deacon of the Church; took a prominent part against Arius in the Council
at Nice, and was his most uncompromising antagonist; was chosen bishop of
Alexandria; driven forth again and again from his bishopric under
persecution of the Arians; retired into the Thebaïd for a time; spent the
last 10 years of his life as bishop at Alexandria, where he died; his
works consist of treatises and orations bearing on the Arian controversy,
and in vindication of the doctrine of the Trinity viewed in the most
absolute sense (296-373).
ATHEISM, disbelief in the existence of God, which may be either
theoretical, in the intellect, or practical, in the life, the latter the
more common and the more fatal form of it.
ATHEISM, MODERN, ascribed by Ruskin to "the unfortunate persistence
of the clergy in teaching children what they cannot understand, and in
employing young consecrate persons to assert in pulpits what they do not
know."
ATHELNEY, ISLE OF, an island in a marsh near the confluence of the
Tone and Parret, Somerset; Alfred's place of refuge from the Danes.
ATHE`NA, the Greek virgin goddess of wisdom, particularly in the
arts, of war as of peace, happily called by Ruskin the "'Queen of the
Air,' in the heavens, in the earth, and in the heart"; is said to have
been the conception of Metis, to have issued full-armed from the brain of
Zeus, and in this way the child of both wisdom and power; wears a helmet,
and bears on her left arm the ægis with the Medusa's head; the olive
among trees, and the owl among animals, were sacred to her.
ATHENÆUM, a school of learning established in Rome about 133 by
Hadrian.
ATHENÆUS, a Greek writer of the 3rd century, wrote a curious
miscellany of a book entitled "Deipnosophistæ, or the Suppers of the
Learned," extant only in an imperfect state.
ATHENAG`ORAS, an able Christian apologist of the 2nd century, was
Athenian and a pagan by birth, but being converted to Christianity, wrote
an apology in its defence, and a treatise on the resurrection of the
dead.
ATH`ENS, the capital of Attica, and the chief city of ancient
Greece, at once the brain and the heart of it; the resort in ancient
times of all the able and wise men, particularly in the domain of
literature and art, from all parts of the country and lands beyond; while
the monuments of temple and statue that still adorn it give evidence of a
culture among the citizens such as the inhabitants of no other city of
the world have had the genius to surpass, though the name Athens has been
adopted by or applied to several cities, Edinburgh in particular, that
have been considered to rival it in this respect, and is the name of over
twenty places in the United States. The two chief monuments of the
architecture of ancient Athens, both erected on the Acropolis, are the
PARTHENON (q. v.), dedicated to Athena, the finest building on
the finest site in the world, and the Erechtheum, a temple dedicated to
Poseidon close by; is the capital (100) of modern Greece, the seat of the
government, and the residence of the king.
ATHLONE (7), a market-town on the Shannon, which divides it, and a
chief military station.
ATHOLE, a district in the N. of Perthshire, which gives name to a
branch of the Murray family.
ATHOLE-BROSE, oatmeal, honey, and whisky mixed.
ATHOLE, SIR JOHN JAMES HUGH STEWART-MURRAY, 7TH DUKE OF, honourably
distinguished for having devoted years of his life to editing the records
of the family and the related history; _b_. 1840
A`THOS, MOUNT, or MONTE SANTO (6), a mountain 6780 ft. high at
the southern extremity of the most northerly peninsula of Salonica, in
Turkey, covered with monasteries, inhabited exclusively by monks of the
Greek Church, and rich in curious manuscripts; the monks devote
themselves to gardening, bee-culture, and other rural occupations, the
more devout among them at one time celebrated for the edification they
derived from the study of their own navels.
ATLANTA (65), the largest city in Georgia, U.S.; a large
manufacturing and railway centre.
ATLANTES, figures of men used in architecture instead of pillars.
ATLANTIC, THE, the most important, best known, most traversed and
best provided for traffic of all the oceans on the globe, connecting,
rather than separating, the Old World and the New; covers nearly
one-fifth of the surface of the earth; length 9000 m., its average
breadth 2700 m.; its average depth 15,000 ft., or from 3 to 5 m., with
waves in consequence of greater height and volume than those of any other
sea.
ATLAN`TIS, an island alleged by tradition to have existed in the
ocean W. of the Pillars of Hercules; Plato has given a beautiful picture
of this island, and an account of its fabulous history. THE NEW, a
Utopia figured as existing somewhere in the Atlantic, which Lord Bacon
began to outline but never finished.
AT`LAS, a Titan who, for his audacity in attempting to dethrone
Zeus, was doomed to bear the heavens on his shoulders; although another
account makes him a king of Mauritania whom Perseus, for his want of
hospitality, changed into a mountain by exposing to view the head of the
Medusa.
ATLAS MOUNTAINS, a range in N. Africa, the highest 11,000 feet, the
GREATER in Morocco, the LESSER extending besides through
Algeria and Tunis, and the whole system extending from Cape Nun, in
Morocco, to Cape Bon, in Tunis.
ATMAN, THE, in the Hindu philosophy, the divine spirit in man,
conceived of as a small being having its seat in the heart, where it may
be felt stirring, travelling whence along the arteries it peers out as a
small image in the eye, the pupil; it is centred in the heart of the
universe, and appears with dazzling effect in the sun, the heart and eye
of the world, and is the same there as in the heart of man.
AT`OLL, the name, a Polynesian one, given to a coral island
consisting of a ring of coral enclosing a lagoon.
ATOMIC THEORY, the theory that all compound bodies are made up of
elementary in fixed proportions.
ATOMIC WEIGHT, the weight of an atom of any body compared with that
of hydrogen, the unit.
ATRA`TO, a river in Colombia which flows N. into the Gulf of Darien;
is navigable for 200 m., proposed, since the failure of the Panama
scheme, to be converted, along with San Juan River, into a canal to
connect the Atlantic and the Pacific.
A`TREUS, a son of Pelops and king of Mycenæ, who, to avenge a wrong
done him by his brother Thyestes, killed his two sons, and served them up
in a banquet to him, for which act, as tradition shows, his descendants
had to pay heavy penalties.
ATRI`DES, descendants of Atreus, particularly Agamemnon and
Menelaus, a family frequently referred to as capable of and doomed to
perpetrating the most atrocious crimes.
AT`ROPOS, one of the three Fates, the one who cut asunder the thread
of life; one of her sisters, Clotho, appointed to spin the thread, and
the other, Lachesis, to direct it.
AT`TALUS, the name of three kings of Pergamos: A. I., founded
the library of Pergamos and joined the Romans against Philip and the
Achæans (241-197 B.C.); A. II., kept up the league with Rome
(157-137); A. III., bequeathed his wealth to the Roman people
(137-132).
ATTERBURY, FRANCIS, an English prelate, in succession dean of Christ
Church, bishop of Rochester, and dean of Westminster; a zealous Churchman
and Jacobite, which last brought him into trouble on the accession of the
House of Hanover and led to his banishment; died in Paris. He was a
scholarly man, an eloquent preacher, and wrote an eloquent style
(1662-1731).
ATTIC BEE, Sophocles, from the sweetness and beauty of his
productions.
ATTIC FAITH, inviolable faith, opposed to Punic.
ATTIC MUSE, Xenophon, from the simplicity and elegance of his style.
ATTIC SALT, pointed and delicate wit.
ATTIC STYLE, a pure, classical, and elegant style.
AT`TICA, a country in ancient Greece, on the NE. of the
Peloponnesus, within an area not larger than that of Lanarkshire, which
has nevertheless had a history of world-wide fame and importance.
ATTICISM, a pure and refined style of expression in any language,
originally the purest and most refined style of the ancient literature of
Greece.
ATTICUS, TITUS P., a wealthy Roman and a great friend of Cicero's,
devoted to study and the society of friends, took no part in politics,
died of voluntary starvation rather than endure the torture of a painful
and incurable disease (110-33 B.C.).
AT`TILA, or Etzel, the king of the Huns, surnamed "the Scourge of
God," from the terror he everywhere inspired; overran the Roman Empire at
the time of its decline, vanquished the emperors of both East and West,
extorting heavy tribute; led his forces into Germany and Gaul, was
defeated in a great battle near Châlons-sur-Marne by the combined armies
of the Romans under Aëtius and the Goths under Theodoric, retreated
across the Alps and ravaged the N. of Italy; died of hemorrhage, it is
alleged, on the day of his marriage, and was buried in a gold coffin
containing immense treasures in 453, the slaves who dug the grave having,
it is said, been killed, lest they should reveal the spot.
AT`TOCK (4), a town and fortress in the Punjab, on the Indus where
the Kabul joins it--a river beyond which no Hindu must pass; it was built
by Akbar in 1581.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL, the name given the first law officer and legal
adviser of the Crown in England and Ireland.
ATTWOOD, GEORGE, a mathematician, invented a machine for
illustrating the law of uniformly accelerated motion, as in falling
bodies (1745-1807).
ATTWOOD, THOMAS, an eminent English musician and composer, wrote a
few anthems (1767-1836).
A`TYS, a beautiful Phrygian youth, beloved by Cybele, who turned him
into a pine, after she had, by her apparition at his marriage to forbid
the banns, driven him mad.
AUBE (255), a dep. in France, formed of Champagne and a small part
of Burgundy, with Troyes for capital.
AU`BER, a popular French composer of operas, born at Caen; his
operas included "La Muette de Portici," "Le Domino Noir," "Fra Diavolo,"
&c. (1782-1871).
AU`BERT, THE ABBÉ, a French fabulist, born at Paris (1731-1814).
AUB`REY, JOHN, an eminent antiquary, a friend of Anthony Wood's;
inherited estates in Wilts, Hereford, and Wales, all of which he lost by
lawsuits and bad management; was intimate with all the literary men of
the day; left a vast number of MSS.; published one work, "Miscellanies,"
being a collection of popular superstitions; preserved a good deal of the
gossip of the period (1624-1697).
AUB`RIOT, a French statesman, born at Dijon, provost of Paris under
Charles V.: built the famous Bastille; was imprisoned in it for heresy,
but released by a mob; died at Dijon, 1382.
AUBRY DE MONTDIDIER, French knight murdered by ROBERT MACAIRE
(q. v.), the sole witness of the crime and the avenger of it being his
dog.
AUBUSSON, a French town on the Creuse, manufactures carpets and
tapestry.
AUBUSSON, PIERRE D', grand-master of the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem, of French descent, who in 1480 gallantly defended Rhodes when
besieged by Mahomet II., and drove the assailants back, amounting to no
fewer than 100,000 men (1423-1503).
AUCH (12), capital of the dep. of Gers, France, 14 m. W. of
Toulouse, with a splendid cathedral perched on a hill, and accessible
only by a flight of 200 steps; has a trade in wine and brandy.
AUCHINLECK, a village 15 m. E. of Ayr, with the mansion of the
Boswell family.
AUCHTERAR`DER, a village in Perthshire, where the forcing of a
presentee by a patron on an unwilling congregation awoke a large section
in the Established Church to a sense of the wrong, and the assertion of
the rights of the people and led to the disruption of the community, and
the creation of the Free Church in 1843.
AUCK`LAND (60), the largest town in New Zealand, in the N. island,
with an excellent harbour in the Gulf of Hauraki, and the capital of a
district of the name, 400 m. long, and 200 m. broad, with a fertile soil
and a fine climate, rich in natural products of all kinds; was the
capital of New Zealand till the seat of government was transferred to
Wellington.
AUCKLAND, BISHOP (11), a town on the Wear, 10 m. SW. of Durham and
in the county of Durham, with the palace of the bishop.
AUCKLAND, GEORGE EDEN, LORD, son of the following, a Whig in
politics, First Lord of the Admiralty, Governor-General of India; gave
name to Auckland; returned afterwards to his post in the Admiralty
(1784-1849).
AUCKLAND, WILLIAM EDEN, LORD, diplomatist, and an authority on
criminal law (1744-1814).
AUCKLAND ISLANDS, a group of small islands 180 m. S. of New Zealand,
with some good harbours, and rich in vegetation.
AUDE (317), a maritime dep. in the S. of France, being a portion of
Languedoc; yields cereals, wine, &c., and is rich in minerals.
AUDEBERT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French artist and naturalist; devoted
himself to the illustration in coloured plates of objects of natural
history, such especially as monkeys and humming-birds, all exquisitely
done (1759-1800).
AUDHUMBLA, the cow, in the Norse mythology, that nourished Hymir,
and lived herself by licking the hoar-frost off the rocks.
AUDLEY, SIR THOMAS, LORD, born in Essex, son of a yeoman; became
Speaker of the House of Commons and Lord Chancellor of England; the
selfish, unscrupulous tool of Henry VIII. (1488-1554).
AU`DOUIN, JEAN VICTOR, an eminent French entomologist; was employed
by the French Government to inquire into and report on the diseases of
the silkworm, and the insects that destroy the vines (1797-1841).
AUDRAN, GERARD, an engraver, the most eminent of a family of
artists, born at Lyons; engraved the works of Lebrun, Mignard, and
Poussin; he did some fine illustrations of the battles of Alexander the
Great (1640-1703).
AU`DUBON, JOHN JAMES, a celebrated American ornithologist of French
Huguenot origin; author of two great works, the "Birds of America" and
the "Quadrupeds of America," drawn and illustrated by himself, the former
characterised by Cuvier as "the most magnificent monument that Art up to
that time had raised to Nature" (1780-1851).
AU`ENBRUGGER, an Austrian physician, discoverer of the method of
investigating diseases of the chest by percussion (1722-1809).
AU`ERBACH, BERTHOLO, a German poet and novelist of Jewish birth,
born in the Black Forest; his novels, which have been widely translated,
are in the main of a somewhat philosophical bent, he having been early
led to the study of Spinoza, and having begun his literary career as
editor of his works; his "Village Tales of the Black Forest" were widely
popular (1812-1882).
AU`ERSPERG, COUNT VON, an Austrian lyrical and satirical poet, of
liberal politics, and a pronounced enemy of the absolutist party headed
by Metternich (1806-1876).
AUF`RECHT, THEODOR, eminent Sanskrit scholar, born in Silesia; was
professor of Sanskrit in Edinburgh University; returning to Germany,
became professor at Bonn; _b_. 1822.
AUFKLÄRUNG, THE, or Illuminationism, a movement, conspicuously of
the present time, the members of which pique themselves on ability to
disperse the darkness of the world, if they could only persuade men to
forego reason, and accept sense, common-sense, as the only test of truth,
and who profess to settle all questions of reason, that is, of faith, by
appeal to private judgment and majorities, or as Dr. Stirling defines it,
"that stripping of us naked of all things in heaven and upon earth, at
the hands of the modern party of unbelief, and under the guidance of
so-called rationalism."
AUGE`AS, a legendary king of Elis, in Greece, and one of the
Argonauts; had a stable with 3000 oxen, that had not been cleaned out for
30 years, but was cleansed by Hercules turning the rivers Peneus and
Alpheus through it; the act a symbol of the worthless lumber a reformer
must sweep away before his work can begin, the work of reformation
proper.
AUGER, a French littérateur, born at Paris, renowned as a critic
(1772-1829).
AU`GEREAU, PIERRE FRANÇOIS CHARLES, marshal of France and duke of
Castiglione, born at Paris; distinguished in the campaigns of the
Republic and Napoleon; executed the _coup d'état_ of the 4th Sept. 1797;
his services were rejected by Napoleon on his return from Elba, on
account of his having supported the Bourbons during his absence. He was
simply a soldier, rude and rough-mannered, and with no great brains for
anything else but military discipline (1757-1816).
AU`GIER, ÉMILE, able French dramatist, produced brilliant comedies
for the French stage through a period of 40 years, all distinctly on the
side of virtue. His only rivals were Dumas _fils_ and M. Sardou
(1820-1889).
AUGS`BURG (75), a busy manufacturing and trading town on the Lech,
in Bavaria, once a city of great importance, where in 1531 the
Protestants presented their Confession to Charles V., and where the peace
of Augsburg was signed in 1555, ensuring religious freedom.
AUGSBURG CONFESSION, a document drawn up by Melanchthon in name of
the Lutheran reformers, headed by the Elector of Saxony in statement of
their own doctrines, and of the doctrines of the Church of Rome, against
which they protested.
AUGURS, a college of priests in Rome appointed to forecast the
future by the behaviour or flight of birds kept for the purpose, and
which were sometimes carried about in a coop to consult on emergencies.
AUGUST, originally called Sextilis, as the sixth month of the Roman
year, which began in March, and named August in honour of Augustus, as
being the month identified with remarkable events in his career.
AUGUSTA (33), a prosperous town in Georgia, U.S., on the Savannah,
231 m. from its mouth; also a town (10) the capital of Maine, U.S.
AUGUSTAN AGE, the time in the history of a nation when its
literature is at its best.
AUGUSTI, a German rationalist theologian of note, born near Gotha
(1771-1841).
AUGUSTIN, or AUSTIN, ST., the apostle of England, sent thither
with a few monks by Pope Gregory in 596 to convert the country to
Christianity; began his labours in Kent; founded the see, or rather
archbishopric, of Canterbury; _d_. 605.
AU`GUSTINE, ST., the bishop of Hippo and the greatest of the Latin
Fathers of the Church; a native of Tagaste, in Numidia; son of a pagan
father and a Christian mother, St. Monica; after a youth of dissipation,
was converted to Christ by a text of St. Paul (Rom. xiii. 13, 14), which
his eyes first lit upon, as on suggestion of a friend he took up the
epistle to read it in answer to an appeal he had made to him to explain a
voice that was ever whispering in his ears, "Take and read"; became
bishop in 396, devoted himself to pastoral duties, and took an active
part in the Church controversies of his age, opposing especially the
Manichæans, the Donatists, and the Pelagians; his principal works are his
"Confessions," his "City of God," and his treatises on Grace and
Free-Will. It is safe to say, no Churchman has ever exercised such
influence as he has done in moulding the creed as well as directing the
destiny of the Christian Church. He was especially imbued with the
theology of St. Paul (354-430).
AUGUSTINIANS, (_a_) Canons, called also Black Cenobites, under a
less severe discipline than monks, had 200 houses in England and Wales at
the Reformation; (_b_) Friars, mendicant, a portion of them barefooted;
(_c_) Nuns, nurses of the sick.
AUGUSTUS, called at first CAIUS OCTAVIUS, ultimately CAIUS
JULIUS CÆSAR OCTAVIANUS, the first of the Roman Emperors or Cæsars,
grand-nephew of Julius Cæsar, and his heir; joined the Republican party
at Cæsar's death, became consul, formed one of a triumvirate with Antony
and Lepidus; along with Antony overthrew the Republican party under
Brutus and Cassius at Philippi; defeated Antony and Cleopatra at Actium,
and became master of the Roman world; was voted the title of "Augustus"
by the Senate in 27 B.C.; proved a wise and beneficent ruler, and
patronised the arts and letters, his reign forming a distinguished epoch
in the history of the ancient literature of Rome (63 B.C.-A.D. 14).
AUGUSTUS, the name of several princes of Saxony and Poland in the
16th and 17th centuries.
AUGUSTUS I., Elector of Saxony, a Lutheran prince, whose reign was
peaceful comparatively, and he was himself both a good man and a good
ruler, a monarch surnamed the "pious" and the "Justinian of Saxony"
(1526-1586).
AUGUSTUS II., Elector of Saxony and King of Poland; forced himself
on Poland; had twice to retire, but was reinstated; is known to history
as "The Strong"; "attained the maximum," says Carlyle, "in several
things,--of physical strength, could break horse-shoes, nay, half-crowns
with finger and thumb; of sumptuosity, no man of his means so regardless
of expense; and of bastards, three hundred and fifty-four of them
(Marshal Saxe one of the lot); baked the biggest bannock on record, a
cake with 5000 eggs and a tun of butter." He was, like many a monarch of
the like loose character, a patron of the fine arts, and founded the
Dresden Picture Gallery (1670-1733).
AUGUSTUS III., son of the preceding; beat Stanislaus Leszcynski in
the struggle for the crown of Poland; proved an incompetent king
(1696-1763).
AULIC COUNCIL, supreme council in the old German Empire, from which
there was no appeal, of date from 1495 to 1654; it had no constitution,
dealt with judicial matters, and lived and died with the emperor.
AULIS, a port in Boeotia, where the fleet of the Greeks assembled
before taking sail for Troy, and where Iphigeneia, to procure a
favourable wind, was sacrificed by her father Agamemnon, an event
commemorated in the "Iphigeneia in Aulis" of Euripides.
AUMALE, DUC D', one of the chiefs of the League, became governor of
Paris, which he held against Henry IV., leagued with the Spaniards, was
convicted of treason, and having escaped, was burned in effigy; died an
exile at Brussels (1556-1631).
AUMALE, DUC D', fourth son of Louis Philippe, distinguished himself
in Algiers, and was governor of Algeria, which he resigned when his
father abdicated; lived in England for twenty years after, acknowledged
the Republic, and left his estate and valuables to the French nation
(1822-1897).
AUNGERVILLE, RICHARD, or RICHARD DE BURY, tutor to Edward III.,
bishop of Durham, sent on embassies to various courts, was a lover and
collector of books, and left a curious work called "Philobiblon"
(1281-1345).
AUNOY, COMTESSE D', a French authoress, known and appreciated for
her fairy tales (1650-1705).
AURELIA`NUS, LUCIUS DOMITIUS, powerful in physique, and an able
Roman emperor; son of a peasant of Pannonia; distinguished as a skilful
and successful general; was elected emperor, 270; drove the barbarians
out of Italy; vanquished Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, carrying her captive
to Rome; subdued a usurper in Gaul, and while on his way to crush a
rebellion in Persia was assassinated by his troops (212-275).
AURE`LIUS, MARCUS. See ANTONI`NUS.
AURE`LIUS, VICTOR SEXTUS, a Roman consul and a Latin historian of
the 4th century.
AUREOLA, a wreath of light represented as encircling the brows of
the saints and martyrs.
AURILLAC (14), capital of the dep. of Cantal, on the Jourdanne,
affluent of the Dordogne, built round the famous abbey of St. Geraud, now
in ruins.
AU`ROCHS, a German wild ox, now extinct.
AURO`RA, the Roman goddess of the dawn, charged with opening for the
sun the gates of the East; had a star on her forehead, and rode in a rosy
chariot drawn by four white horses. See EOS.
AURORA (19), a city in Illinois, U.S., 35 m. SW. of Chicago, said
to have been the first town to light the streets with electricity.
AURORA BOREALIS, or Northern Lights, understood to be an electric
discharge through the atmosphere connected with magnetic disturbance.
AURUN`GABAD` (50), a city in Hyderabad, in the Nizam's dominions;
once the capital, now much decayed, with the ruins of a palace of
Aurungzebe.
AU`RUNGZEBE, Mogul emperor of Hindustan, third son of Shah Jehan;
ascended the throne by the deposition of his father, the murder of two
brothers and of the son of one of these; he governed with skill and
courage; extended his empire by subduing Golconda, the Carnatic, and
Bengal, and though fanatical and intolerant, was a patron of letters; his
rule was far-shining, but the empire was rotten at the core, and when he
died it crumbled to pieces in the hands of his sons, among whom he
beforehand divided it (1615-1707).
AUSCULTATION, discerning by the sound whether there is or is not
disease in the interior organs of the body.
AUSCULTATOR, name in "Sartor Resartus," the hero as a man qualified
for a profession, but as yet only expectant of employment in it.
AUSONIA, an ancient name of Italy.
AUSONIUS, DECIMUS MAGNUS, a Roman poet, a native of Gaul, born in
Bordeaux; tutor to the Emperor Gratian, who, on coming to the throne,
made him prefect of Latium and of Gaul, and consul of Rome. He was a good
versifier and stylist, but no poet (300-394).
AUSTEN, JANE, a gifted English novelist, daughter of a clergyman in
N. Hampshire; member of a quiet family circle, occupied herself in
writing without eye to publication, and only in mature womanhood thought
of writing for the press. Her first novel, "Sense and Sensibility," was
published in 1811, and was followed by "Pride and Prejudice," her
masterpiece, "Persuasion," and others, her interest being throughout in
ordinary quiet cultured life, and the delineation of it, which she
achieved in an inimitably charming manner. "She showed once for all,"
says Professor Saintsbury, "the capabilities of the very commonest and
most ordinary life, if sufficiently observed and selected, and combined
with due art, to furnish forth prose fiction not merely that would pass,
but that should be of the absolutely first quality as literature. She is
the mother of the English 19th-century novel, as Scott is the father of
it" (1775-1816).
AUS`TERLITZ (3), a town in Moravia, near Brünn, where Napoleon
defeated the emperors of Russia and of Austria, at "the battle of the
three emperors," Dec. 2, 1805; one of Napoleon's most brilliant
victories, and thought so by himself.
AUSTIN (14), the capital of Texas, on the Colorado River, named
after Stephen Austin, who was chiefly instrumental in annexing Texas to
the States.
AUSTIN, ALFRED, poet-laureate in succession to Tennyson, born near
Leeds, bred for the bar, but devoted to literature as journalist, writer,
and poet; has written "The Golden Age, a Satire," "Savonarola," "English
Lyrics," and several works in prose; _b_. 1835.
AUSTIN, JOHN, a distinguished English jurist, professor of
Jurisprudence in London University; mastered the science of law by the
study of it in Germany, but being too profound in his philosophy, was
unsuccessful as professor; his great work, "The Province of Jurisprudence
Determined," and his Lectures, were published by his widow after his
death (1790-1859).
AUSTIN, MRS. J., (_née_ Sarah Taylor), wife of the preceding,
executed translations from the German, "Falk's Characteristics of Goethe"
for one; was, like her husband, of the utilitarian school; was introduced
to Carlyle when he first went up to London; he wrote to his wife of her,
"If I 'swear eternal friendship' with any woman here, it will be with
her" (1793-1867)
AUSTIN FRIARS. See AUGUSTINIANS.
AUSTRALASIA (i. e. Southern Asia), a name given to Australia, New
Zealand, and the islands adjoining.
AUSTRALIA, a continent entirely within the Southern Hemisphere,
about one-fourth smaller than Europe, its utmost length from E. to W.
being 2400 m., and breadth 1971; the coast has singularly few inlets,
though many and spacious harbours, only one great gulf, Carpentaria, on
the N., and one bight, the Great Australian Bight, on the S.; the
interior consists of a low desert plateau, depressed in the centre,
bordered with ranges of various elevation, between which and the sea is a
varying breadth of coast-land; the chief mountain range is in the E., and
extends more or less parallel all the way with the E. coast; the rivers
are few, and either in flood or dried up, for the climate is very
parching, only one river, the Murray, 2345 m. long, of any consequence,
while the lakes, which are numerous, are shallow and nearly all salt; the
flora is peculiar, the eucalyptus and the acacia the most characteristic,
grains, fruits, and edible roots being all imported; the fauna is no less
peculiar, including, in the absence of many animals of other countries,
the kangaroo, the dingo, and the duck-bill, the useful animals being
likewise all imported; of birds, the cassowary and the emu, and smaller
ones of great beauty, but songless; minerals abound, both the precious
and the useful; the natives are disappearing, the colonists in 1904
numbering close upon 4,000,000; and the territory divided into Victoria,
New South Wales, Queensland, S. Australia, and W. Australia, which with
Tasmania federated in 1900 and became the Commonwealth.
AUSTRASIA, or the East Kingdom, a kingdom on the E. of the
possessions of the Franks in Gaul, that existed from 511 to 843, capital
of which was Metz; it was celebrated for its rivalry with the kingdom of
Neustria, or the Western Kingdom.
AUSTRIA, or AUSTRO-HUNGARY, is a country of every variety of
surface and scenery; is inhabited by peoples of different races and
nationalities, speaking different languages, as many as 20, and composed
of 50 different states, 5 of them kingdoms; occupies the centre of
Europe, yet has free communication with the seas on all sides of it; is
the third country for size in it; is divided by the Leitha, a tributary
of the Danube, into Cis-Leithan on the W. and Trans-Leithan on the E.;
has next to no coast-line; its chief seaport, Trieste; is watered by
rivers, the Danube in chief, all of which have their mouths in other
countries; has three zones of climate with corresponding zones of
vegetation; is rich in minerals; is largely pastoral and agricultural,
manufacturing chiefly in the W.; the capital Vienna, and the population
over 40,000,000.
AUSTRIAN LIP, a thick under-lip characteristic of the House of
Hapsburg.
AUTEUIL, a village in the dep. of the Seine, now included in Paris.
AUTHORISED VERSION OF THE BIBLE was executed between the years 1604
and 1610 at the instance of James I., so that it is not undeservedly
called King James's Bible, and was the work of 47 men selected with
marked fairness and discretion, divided into three groups of two sections
each, who held their sittings for three years severally at Westminster,
Cambridge, and Oxford, the whole being thereafter revised by a committee
of six, who met for nine months in Stationers' Hall, London, and received
thirty pounds each, the rest being done for nothing. The result was a
translation that at length superseded every other, and that has since
woven itself into the affectionate regard of the whole English-speaking
people. The men who executed it evidently felt something of the
inspiration that breathes in the original, and they have produced a
version that will remain to all time a monument of the simplicity,
dignity, grace, and melody of the English language; its very style has
had a nobly educative effect on the national literature, and has
contributed more than anything else to prevent it from degenerating into
the merely frivolous and formal.
AUTOCHTHONS, Greek for aborigines.
AUTO-DA-FÉ, or Act of Faith, a ceremony held by the court of the
Inquisition in Spain, preliminary to the execution of a heretic, in which
the condemned, dressed in a hideously fantastic robe, called the San
Benito, and a pointed cap, walked in a procession of monks, followed by
carts containing coffins with malefactors' bones, to hear a sermon on the
true faith, prior to being burned alive; the most famous auto-da-fé took
place in Madrid in 1680.
AUTOL`YCUS, in the Greek mythology a son of HERMES (q. v.),
and maternal grandfather of Ulysses by his daughter Anticlea; famed for
his cunning and robberies; synonym for thief.
AUTOM`EDON, the charioteer of Achilles.
AUTONOMY (i. e. Self-law), in the Kantian metaphysics denotes the
sovereign right of the pure reason to be a law to itself.
AUTRAN`, JOSEPH, a French poet and dramatist, born at Marseilles; he
was of the school of Lamartine, and attained distinction by the
production of the tragedy "La Fille d'Eschyle" (1813-1877).
AUTUN` (15), an ancient city in the dep. of Saône-et-Loire, on the
Arroux, 28 m. NW. from Châlons, where Talleyrand was bishop, with a fine
cathedral and rich in antiquities; manufactures serges, carpets, velvet,
&c.
AUVERGNE`, an ancient province of France, united to the crown under
Louis XIII. in 1610, embracing the deps. of Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, and part
of Haute-Loire, the highlands of which separate the basin of the Loire
from that of the Garonne, and contain a hardy and industrious race of
people descended from the original inhabitants of Gaul; they speak a
strange dialect, and supply all the water-carriers and street-sweepers of
Paris.
AUXERRE` (15), an ancient city, capital of the dep. of Yonne, 90 m.
SE. of Paris; has a fine cathedral in the Flamboyant style; drives a
large trade in wine.
AVA, capital of the Burmese empire from 1364 to 1740 and from 1822
to 1835; now in ruins from an earthquake in 1839.
AV`ALON, in the Celtic mythology an island of faërie in the region
where the sun sinks to rest at eventide, and the final home of the heroes
of chivalry when their day's work was ended on earth.
AVARS, a tribe of Huns who, driven from their home in the Altai Mts.
by the Chinese, invaded the E. of Europe about 553, and committed ravages
in it for about three centuries, till they were subdued by Charlemagne,
and all but exterminated in 827.
AVATAR`, or Descent, the incarnation and incarnated manifestation of
a Hindu deity, a theory both characteristic of Vishnuism and marking a
new epoch in the religious development of India.
AVE MARIA, an invocation to the Virgin, so called as forming the
first two words of the salutation of the angel in Luke i. 28.
AVEBURY, or ABERY, a village in Wiltshire, 6 m. W. of
Marlborough, in the middle of a so-called Druidical structure consisting
of 100 monoliths, surmised to have been erected and arranged in memory of
some great victory.
AVELLI`NO (26), chief town in a province of the name in Campania, 59
m. E. of Naples, famous for its trade in hazel-nuts and chestnuts;
manufactures woollens, paper, macaroni, &c.; has been subject to
earthquakes.
AVENTINE HILL, one of the seven hills of Rome, the mount to which
the plebs sullenly retired on their refusal to submit to the patrician
oligarchy, and from which they were enticed back by Menenius Agrippa by
the well-known fable of the members of the body and the stomach.
AVENTI`NUS, a Bavarian historian, author of the "Chronicon Bavariæ"
(Annals of Bavaria), a valuable record of the early history of Germany
(1477-1534).
AVENZO`AR, an Arabian physician, the teacher of Averroës
(1073-1103).
AVERNUS, a deep lake in Italy, near Naples, 1½ m. in circumference,
occupying the crater of an extinct volcano, at one time surrounded by a
dark wood, and conceived, from its gloomy appearance, as well as from the
mephitic vapours it exhaled, to be the entrance to the infernal world,
and identified with it.
AVER`ROËS, an Arabian physician and philosopher, a Moor by birth and
a native of Cordova; devoted himself to the study and the exposition of
Aristotle, earning for himself the title of the "Commentator," though he
appears to have coupled with the philosophy of Aristotle the Oriental
pantheistic doctrine of emanations (1126-1198).
AVERSA (24), an Italian town 8 m. from Naples, amid vineyards and
orange groves; much resorted to by the Neapolitans.
AVEYRON`, a mountainous dep. in the S. of France, with excellent
pastures, where the Roquefort cheese is produced.
AVICEN`NA, an illustrious Arabian physician, surnamed the prince of
physicians, a man of immense learning and extensive practice in his art;
of authority in philosophy as well as in medicine, his philosophy being
of the school of Aristotle with a mixture of Neoplatonism, his "Canon of
Medicine," being the supreme in medical science for centuries (980-1037).
AVIE`NUS, RUFUS FESTUS, a geographer and Latin poet, or versifier
rather, of the 4th century.
AVIGN`ON (37), capital of the dep. of Vaucluse, France; an ancient
city beautifully situated on the left bank of the Rhône, near the
confluence of the Durance, of various fortune from its foundation by the
Phocæans in 539 B.C.; was the seat of the Papacy from 1305 to 1377,
purchased by Pope Clement VI. at that period, and belonged to the Papacy
from that time till 1797, when it was appropriated to France; it contains
a number of interesting buildings, and carries on a large trade in wine,
oil, and fruits; grows and manufactures silk in large quantities.
A`VILA (10), a town in Spain, in a province of the name, in S. of
Old Castile, 3000 ft. above the sea-level, with a Gothic cathedral and a
Moorish castle; birthplace of St. Theresa.
AVILA, JUAN D', a Spanish priest, surnamed the Apostle of Andalusia,
for his zeal in planting the Gospel in its mountains; _d_. 1569.
AVILA Y ZINUGA, a soldier, diplomatist, and historian under Charles
V.
AVLO`NA (6), or VALONA, a port of Albania, on an inlet of the
Adriatic.
AV`OLA (12), a seaport on the E. coast of Sicily, ruined by an
earthquake in 1693, rebuilt since; place of export of the Hybla honey.
A`VON, the name of several English rivers, such as Shakespeare's in
Warwickshire, of Salisbury in Wiltshire, and of Bristol, rising in
Wiltshire.
AVRANCHES` (7), a town in dep. of Manche, Normandy; the place, the
spot marked by a stone, where Henry II. received absolution for the
murder of Thomas à Becket; lace-making the staple industry, and trade in
agricultural products.
AWE, LOCH, in the centre of Argyllshire, overshadowed by mountains,
25 m. in length, the second in size of Scottish lakes, studded with
islands, one with the ruin of a castle; the scenery gloomily picturesque;
its surface is 100 ft. above the sea-level.
AXEL, archbishop of Lund; born in Zealand; a Danish patriot with
Norse blood; subdued tribes of Wends, and compelled them to adopt
Christianity.
AXHOLME, ISLE OF, a tract of land in NW. Lincolnshire, 17 m. long
and 5 m. broad; once a forest, then a marsh; drained in 1632, and now
fertile, producing hemp, flax, rape, &c.
AXIM, a trading settlement on the Gold Coast, Africa, belonging to
Britain; belonged to Holland till 1871.
AX`OLOTL, a batrachian, numerous in Mexico and the Western States,
believed to be in its preliminary or tadpole state of existence.
AX`UM, capital of an Ethiopian kingdom in Abyssinia, now in ruins,
where Christianity was introduced in the 4th century, and which as the
outpost of Christendom fell early before the Mohammedan power.
AYACU`CHO, a thriving town in Peru, founded by Pizarro in 1539,
where the Peruvians and Colombians achieved their independence of Spain
in 1824, and ended the rule of Spain in the S. American continent.
AYA`LA, PEDRO LOPEZ D', a Spanish soldier, statesman, and
diplomatist, born in Murcia; wrote a "History of the Kings of Castile,"
which was more than a chronicle of wars, being also a review of them; and
a book of poems entitled the "Rhymes of the Court" (1332-1407).
AYE-AYE, a lemur found in the woods of Madagascar.
AYESHA, the daughter of Abubekr, and favourite wife of Mahomet, whom
he married soon after the death of Kadijah; as much devoted to Mahomet as
he was to her, for he died in her arms. "A woman who distinguished
herself by all manner of qualities among the Moslems," who is styled by
them the "Mother of the Faithful" (see KADIJAH). She was, it is
said, the only wife of Mahomet that remained a virgin. On Mahomet's death
she opposed the accession of Ali, who defeated her and took her prisoner,
but released her on condition that she should not again interfere in
State matters (610-677).
AYLES`BURY (9), a borough and market-town in Buckinghamshire, 40 m.
NW. of London, in an agricultural district; supplies the London market
with ducks.
AYLMER, JOHN, tutor to Lady Jane Grey, bishop of London, a highly
arbitrary man, and a friend to neither Papist nor Puritan; he is
satirised by Spenser in the "Shepherd's Calendar" (1521-1594).
AYLOFFE, SIR JOSEPH, English antiquary, born in Sussex (1708-1781).
AYMA`RAS, the chief native race of Peru and Bolivia, from which it
would appear sprang the Quinchuas, the dominant people of Peru at the
time of the Spanish conquest; attained a high degree of civilisation, and
number to-day 500,000.
AYMON, THE COUNT OF DORDOGNE, the father of four sons, Renaud,
Guiscard, Alard, and Richard, renowned in the legends of chivalry, and
particularly as paladins of Charlemagne.
AY`MAR-VER`NAY, a peasant of Dauphiné, who in the 17th century
professed to discover springs and treasures hid in the earth by means of
a divining rod.
AYR (23), the county town of Ayrshire, at the mouth of a river of
the same name, a clean, ancient town, its charter, granted by William the
Lion, dating from 1200; well built, with elegant villas in the suburbs, a
good harbour and docks for shipping; famous in early Scottish history,
and doubly so among Scottish towns as the birthplace near it of Robert
Burns.
AYR`ER, JACOB, a German dramatist in the 16th century, of the style
of HANS SACHS (q. v.).
AYRSHIRE (226), a large and wealthy county in the W. of Scotland,
bordered on the W. by the Firth of Clyde, agricultural and pastoral, with
a large coal-field and thriving manufactures; its divisions, Carrick, to
the S. of the Doon; Kyle, between the Doon and the Irvine, and
Cunningham, on the N.; concerning which there is an old rhyme: "Kyle for
a man, Carrick for a coo, Cunningham for butter and cheese, Galloway for
'oo."
AYTON, SIR ROBERT, a poet of considerable merit, a native of Fife,
born at Kinaldie, who made his fortune by a Latin panegyric to King James
I. on his accession; was on friendly terms with the eminent literary men
of his time, Ben Jonson in particular; his poems are written in pure and
even elegant English, some in Latin, and have only recently been
collected together (1571-1638).
AYTOUN, WILLIAM EDMONDSTOUNE, poet and critic, a native of
Edinburgh, professor of Rhetoric and English Literature in Edinburgh
University, author of the "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers"; he was also
editor, along with Sir Theodore Martin, of the "Gaultier Ballads," an
admirable collection of light verse (1813-1865).
AZEGLIO, MARCHESE D', an Italian patriot and statesman, native of
Turin; wounded at Vicenza in 1848, fighting for Italian independence;
entered the Piedmontese Parliament, was Victor Emanuel's right-hand man,
retired in favour of Cavour; he was not altogether engrossed with
politics, being an amateur in art (1798-1866).
AZERBIJAN (2,000), prov. of Armenian Persia, S. of the river Aras,
with fertile plains, cattle-breeding, and rich in minerals.
AZORES, i. e. Hawk Islands (250), a group of nine volcanic islands
in the Atlantic, 800 m. W. of Portugal, and forming a province of it; are
in general mountainous; covered with orange groves, of which the chief
are St. Michael's and Fayal; and 900 m. W. of it, in the latitude of
Lisbon; the climate is mild, and good for pulmonary complaints; they were
known to the Carthaginian mariners, but fell out of the map of Europe
till rediscovered in 1431.
AZOV, SEA OF, an opening from the Black Sea, very shallow, and
gradually silting up with mud from the Don.
AZ`RAEL, the angel of death according to Rabbinical tradition.
AZ`TECS, a civilised race of small stature, of reddish-brown skin,
lean, and broad featured, which occupied the Mexican plateau for some
centuries before the Spaniards visited it, and were overthrown by the
Spaniards in 1520.
AZUNI, DOMINICO ALBERTO, an Italian jurist, born in Sardinia;
president of the Court of Appeal at Genoa; made a special study of
maritime law; author of "Droit Maritime de l'Europe" (1729-1827).
AZYMITES, the name given to a party in the Church who insisted that
only unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, and the
controversy hinged on the question whether the Lord's Supper was
instituted before the Passover season was finished, or after, as in the
former case the bread must have been unleavened, and in the latter
leavened.
B
BAADER, FRANZ XAVIER VON, a German philosopher, born at Münich; was
patronised by the king of Bavaria, and became professor in Münich, who,
revolting alike from the materialism of Hume, which he studied in
England, and the transcendentalism of Kant, with its self-sufficiency of
the reason, fell back upon the mysticism of Jacob Boehme, and taught in
16 vols. what might rather be called a theosophy than a philosophy, which
regarded God in Himself, and God even in life, as incomprehensible
realities. He, however, identified himself with the liberal movement in
politics, and offended the king (1765-1841).
BA`AL (meaning Lord), _PL_. BAALIM, the principal male divinity
of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, identified with the sun as the great
quickening and life-sustaining power in nature, the god who presided over
the labours of the husbandman and granted the increase; his crowning
attribute, strength; worshipped on hill-tops with sacrifices, incense,
and dancing. Baal-worship, being that of the Canaanites, was for a time
mixed up with the worship of Jehovah in Israel, and at one time
threatened to swamp it, but under the zealous preaching of the prophets
it was eventually stamped out.
BAAL`BEK (i. e. City of Baal, or the Sun), an ancient city of
Syria, 35 m. NW. of Damascus; called by the Greeks, Heliopolis; once a
place of great size, wealth, and splendour; now in ruins, the most
conspicuous of which is the Great Temple to Baal, one of the most
magnificent ruins of the East, covering an area of four acres.
BAALISM, the name given to the worship of natural causes, tending to
the obscuration and denial of the worship of God as Spirit.
BABA, ALI, the character in the "Arabian Nights" who discovers and
enters the den of the Forty Thieves by the magic password "SESAMË"
(q. v.), a word which he accidentally overheard.
BABA, CAPE, in Asia Minor, the most western point in Asia, in
Anatolia, with a town of the name.
BABBAGE, CHARLES, a mathematician, born in Devonshire; studied at
Cambridge, and professor there; spent much time and money over the
invention of a calculating machine; wrote on "The Economy of Manufactures
and Machinery," and an autobiography entitled "Passages from the Life of
a Philosopher"; in his later years was famous for his hostility to street
organ-grinders (1791-1871).
BABBINGTON, ANTONY, an English Catholic gentleman; conspired against
Elizabeth on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots, confessed his guilt, and was
executed at Tyburn in 1586.
BAB-EL-MANDEB (i. e. the Gate of Tears), a strait between Asia and
Africa forming the entrance to the Red Sea, so called from the strong
currents which rush through it, and often cause wreckage to vessels
attempting to pass it.
BABER, the founder of the Mogul empire in Hindustan, a descendant of
Tamerlane; thrice invaded India, and became at length master of it in
1526; left memoirs; his dynasty lasted for three centuries.
BABES IN THE WOOD, Irish banditti who infested the Wicklow Mountains
in the 18th century, and were guilty of the greatest atrocities. See
CHILDREN.
BÂBIS, a modern Persian sect founded in 1843, their doctrines a
mixture of pantheistic with Gnostic and Buddhist beliefs; adverse to
polygamy, concubinage, and divorce; insisted on the emancipation of
women; have suffered from persecution, but are increasing in numbers.
BABOEUF, FRANÇOIS NOEL, a violent revolutionary in France,
self-styled Gracchus; headed an insurrection against the Directory,
"which died in the birth, stifled by the soldiery"; convicted of
conspiracy, was guillotined, after attempting to commit suicide
(1764-1797).
BABOO, or BABU, name applied to a native Hindu gentleman who
has some knowledge of English.
BABOON, LEWIS, the name Arbuthnot gives to Louis XIV. in his
"History of John Bull."
BA`BRIUS, or GABRIUS, a Greek poet of uncertain date; turned
the fables of Æsop and of others into verse, with alterations.
BABY-FARMING, a system of nursing new-born infants whose parents may
wish them out of sight.
BABYLON, the capital city of Babylonia, one of the richest and most
magnificent cities of the East, the gigantic walls and hanging gardens of
which were classed among the seven wonders of the world; was taken,
according to tradition, by Cyrus in 538 B.C., by diverting out of their
channel the waters of the Euphrates, which flowed through it and by
Darius in 519 B.C., through the self-sacrifice of Zophyrus. The name was
often metaphorically applied to Rome by the early Christians, and is
to-day to great centres of population, such as London, where the
overcrowding, the accumulation of material wealth, and the so-called
refinements of civilisation, are conceived to have a corrupting effect on
the religion and morals of the inhabitants.
BABYLO`NIA, the name given by the Greeks to that country called in
the Old Testament, Shinar, Babel, and "the land of the Chaldees"; it
occupied the rich, fertile plain through which the lower waters of the
Euphrates and the Tigris flow, now the Turkish province of Irak-Arabi or
Bagdad. From very early times it was the seat of a highly developed
civilisation introduced by the Sumero-Accadians, who descended on the
plain from the mountains in the NW. Semitic tribes subsequently settled
among the Accadians and impressed their characteristics on the language
and institutions of the country. The 8th century B.C. was marked by a
fierce struggle with the northern empire of Assyria, in which Babylonia
eventually succumbed and became an Assyrian province. But Nabopolassar in
625 B.C. asserted his independence, and under his son Nebuchadnezzar,
Babylonia rose to the zenith of its power. Judah was captive in the
country from 599 to 538 B.C. In that year Cyrus conquered it for Persia,
and its history became merged in that of Persia.
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY, the name given to the deportation of Jews from
Judea to Babylon after the capture of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon,
and which continued for 70 years, till they were allowed to return to
their own land by Cyrus, who had conquered Babylon; those who returned
were solely of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.
BACCHANALIA, a festival, originally of a loose and riotous
character, in honour of Bacchus.
BACCHANTES, those who took part in the festival of Bacchus, confined
originally to women, and were called by a number of names, such as
Mænads, Thyads, &c.; they wore their hair dishevelled and thrown back,
and had loose flowing garments.
BAC`CHUS, son of Zeus and Semele, the god of the vine, and promoter
of its culture as well as the civilisation which accompanied it;
represented as riding in a car drawn by tame tigers, and carrying a
THYRSUS (q. v.); he rendered signal service to Zeus in the war
of the gods with the GIANTS (q. v.). See DIONYSUS.
BACCHYL`IDES, a Greek lyric poet, 5th century B.C., nephew of
Simonides and uncle of Eschylus, a rival of Pindar; only a few fragments
of his poems extant.
BACCIO DELLA PORTO. See BARTOLOMEO, FRA.
BACCIO`CHI, a Corsican officer, who married Maria Bonaparte, and was
created by Napoleon Prince of Lucca (1762-1841).
BACH, JOHANN SEBASTIAN, one of the greatest of musical composers,
born in Eisenach, of a family of Hungarian origin, noted--sixty of
them--for musical genius; was in succession a chorister, an organist, a
director of concerts, and finally director of music at the School of St.
Thomas, Leipzig; his works, from their originality and scientific rigour,
difficult of execution (1685-1750).
BACHE, A. DALLAS, an American physicist, born at Philadelphia,
superintended the coast survey (1806-1867).
BACHELOR, a name given to one who has achieved the first grade in
any discipline.
BACIL`LUS (lit. a little rod), a bacterium, distinguished as being
twice as long as it is broad, others being more or less rounded. See
BACTERIA.
BACK, SIR GEORGE, a devoted Arctic explorer, born at Stockport,
entered the navy, was a French captive for five years, associated with
Franklin in three polar expeditions, went in search of Sir John Ross,
discovered instead and traced the Great Fish River in 1839, was knighted
in 1837, and in 1857 made admiral (1796-1878).
BACKHUY`SEN, LUDOLPH, a Dutch painter, famous for his sea-pieces and
skill in depicting sea-waves; was an etcher as well as painter
(1631-1708).
BACON, DELIA, an American authoress, who first broached, though she
did not originate, the theory of the Baconian authorship of Shakespeare's
works, a theory in favour of which she has received small support
(1811-1859).
BACON, FRANCIS, LORD VERULAM, the father of the inductive method of
scientific inquiry; born in the Strand, London; son of Sir Nicholas
Bacon; educated at Cambridge; called to the bar when 21, after study at
Gray's Inn; represented successively Taunton, Liverpool, and Ipswich in
Parliament; was a favourite with the queen; attached himself to Essex,
but witnessed against him at his trial, which served him little; became
at last in succession Attorney-General, Privy Councillor, Lord Keeper,
and Lord Chancellor; was convicted of venality as a judge, deposed, fined
and imprisoned, but pardoned and released; spent his retirement in his
favourite studies; his great works were his "Advancement of Learning,"
"Novum Organum," and "De Augmentis Scientiarum," but is seen to best
advantage by the generality in his "Essays," which are full of practical
wisdom and keen observation of life; indeed, these show such shrewdness
of wit as to embolden some (see _SUPRA_) to maintain that the
plays named of Shakespeare were written by him (1561-1626).
BACON, ROGER, a Franciscan monk, born at Ilchester, Somerset; a
fearless truth-seeker of great scientific attainments; accused of magic,
convicted and condemned to imprisonment, from which he was released only
to die; suggested several scientific inventions, such as the telescope,
the air-pump, the diving-bell, the camera obscura, and gunpowder, and
wrote some eighty treatises (1214-1294).
BACON, SIR NICHOLAS, the father of Francis, Lord Bacon, Privy
Councillor and Keeper of the Great Seal under Queen Elizabeth; a prudent
and honourable man and minister, and much honoured and trusted by the
queen (1510-1579).
BACSANYI, JANOS, a Hungarian poet; he suffered from his liberal
political opinions, like many of his countrymen (1763-1845).
BACTE`RIA, exceedingly minute organisms of the simplest structure,
being merely cells of varied forms, in the shape of spheres, rods, or
intermediate shapes, which develop in infusions of organic matter, and
multiply by fission with great rapidity, fraught, as happens, with life
or death to the higher forms of being; conspicuous by the part they play
in the process of fermentation and in the origin and progress of disease,
and to the knowledge of which, and the purpose they serve in nature, so
much has been contributed by the labours of M. Pasteur.
BAC`TRIA, a province of ancient Persia, now BALKH (q. v.),
the presumed fatherland of the Aryans and the birthplace of the
Zoroastrian religion.
BACTRIAN SAGE, a name given to Zoroaster as a native of Bactria.
BACUP (23), a manufacturing town in Lancashire, about 20 m. NE. of
Manchester.
BADAJOZ` (28), capital of a Spanish province of the name, on the
Guadiana, near the frontier of Portugal; a place of great strength;
surrendered to Soult in 1811, and taken after a violent and bloody
struggle by Wellington in 1812; the scene of fearful outrages after its
capture.
BADAKANS, a Dravidian people of small stature, living on the
Nilghiri Mountains, in S. India.
BADAKHSHAN` (100), a Mohammedan territory NE. of Afghanistan, a
picturesque hill country, rich in minerals; it is 200 m. from E. to W.
and 150 from N. to S.; it has been often visited by travellers, from
Marco Polo onwards; the inhabitants, called Badakhshans, are of the Aryan
family and speak Persian.
BADALO`NA (15), a seaport 5 m. NE. of Barcelona.
BA`DEN (4), a town in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, 14 m. NW.
of Zurich, long a fashionable resort for its mineral springs; also a town
near Vienna.
BAD`EN, THE GRAND-DUCHY OF (1,725), a German duchy, extends along
the left bank of the Rhine from Constance to Mannheim; consists of
valley, mountain, and plain; includes the Black Forest; is rich in
timber, minerals, and mineral springs; cotton fabrics, wood-carving, and
jewellery employ a great proportion of the inhabitants; there are two
university seats, Heidelberg and Freiburg.
BADEN-BADEN (13), a town in the duchy of Baden, 18 m. from Carlsruhe
and 22 from Strassburg, noted for its hot mineral springs, which were
known to the Romans, and is a popular summer resort.
BAD`ENOCH, a forest-covered district of the Highlands of Scotland,
45 m. long by 19 broad, traversed by the Spey, in the SE. of
Inverness-shire; belonged originally to the Comyns, but was forfeited by
them, was bestowed by Bruce on his nephew; became finally the property of
the Earl of Huntly.
BADI`A-Y-LABLICH, a Spaniard, born at Barcelona; travelled in the
East; having acquired a knowledge of Arabic and Arab customs, disguised
himself as a Mohammedan under the name of Ali-Bei; his disguise was so
complete that he passed for a Mussulman, even in Mecca itself; is
believed to be the first Christian admitted to the shrine of Mecca; after
a time settled in Paris, and wrote an account of his travels (1766-1818).
BADRINATH, a shrine of Vishnu, in N.W. India, 10,000 ft. high; much
frequented by pilgrims for the sacred waters near it, which are believed
to be potent to cleanse from all pollution.
BAEDEKER, KARL, a German printer in Coblenz, famed for the
guide-books to almost every country of Europe that he published
(1801-1859).
BAER, KARL ERNST VON, a native of Esthonia; professor of zoology,
first in Königsberg and then in St. Petersburg; the greatest of modern
embryologists, styled the "father of comparative embryology"; the
discoverer of the law, known by his name, that the embryo when developing
resembles those of successively higher types (1792-1876).
BAFFIN, WILLIAM, an early English Arctic explorer, who, when acting
as pilot to an expedition in quest of the N.W. Passage, discovered
Baffin Bay (1584-1622).
BAFFIN BAY, a strait stretching northward between N. America and
Greenland, open four months in summer to whale and seal fishing;
discovered in 1615 by William Baffin.
BAGDAD (185), on the Tigris, 500 m. from its mouth, and connected
with the Euphrates by canal; is the capital of a province, and one of the
most flourishing cities of Asiatic Turkey; dates, wool, grain, and horses
are exported; red and yellow leather, cotton, and silk are manufactured;
and the transit trade, though less than formerly, is still considerable.
It is a station on the Anglo-Indian telegraph route, and is served by a
British-owned fleet of river steamers plying to Basra. Formerly a centre
of Arabic culture, it has belonged to Turkey since 1638. An imposing city
to look at, it suffers from visitations of cholera and famine.
BAGEHOT, WALTER, an English political economist, born in Somerset, a
banker by profession, and an authority on banking and finance; a disciple
of Ricardo; wrote, besides other publications, an important work, "The
English Constitution"; was editor of the _Economist_; wrote in a vigorous
style (1826-1877).
BAGGE`SEN, JENS EMMANUEL, a Danish poet, travelled a good deal,
wrote mostly in German, in which he was quite at home; his chief works, a
pastoral epic, "Parthenais oder die Alpenreise," and a mock epic, "Adam
and Eve"; his minor pieces are numerous and popular, though from his
egotism and irritability he was personally unpopular (1764-1826).
BAGHELKAND, name of five native states in Central India, Rewah the
most prosperous.
BAGHE`RIA, a town in Sicily, 8 m. from Palermo, where citizens of
the latter have more or less stylish villas.
BAGIR`MI, a Mohammedan kingdom in Central Africa, SE. of Lake Tehad,
240 m. from N. to S. and 150 m. from E. to W.
BAGLIO`NI, an Italian fresco-painter of note (1573-1641).
BAGLI`VI, GIORGIO, an illustrious Italian physician, wrote "De Fibra
Motrice" in defence of the "solidist" theory, as it is called, which
traced all diseases to alterations in the solid parts of the body
(1667-1706).
BAGNÈRES, two French towns on the Pyrenees, well-known
watering-places.
BAGNES, name given to convict prisons in France since the abolition
of the galleys.
BAGRA`TION, PRINCE, Russian general, distinguished in many
engagements; commanded the vanguard at Austerlitz, Eylau, and Friedland,
and in 1812, against Napoleon; achieved a brilliant success at Smolensk;
fell at Borodino (1765-1812).
BAGSTOCK, JOE, a "self-absorbed" talking character in "Dombey &
Son."
BAHA`MAS, THE (47), a group of over 500 low, flat coral islands in
the W. Indies, and thousands of rocks, belonging to Britain, of which 20
are inhabited, and on one of which Columbus landed when he discovered
America; yield tropical fruits, sponges, turtle, &c.; Nassau the capital.
BAHAR (263), a town on the Ganges, 34 m. SE. of Patna; after falling
into decay, is again rising in importance.
BAHAWALPUR (650), a feudatory state in the NW. of India, with a
capital of the name; is connected administratively with the Punjab.
BAHI`A, or San Salvador (200), a fine city, one of the chief
seaports of Brazil, in the Bay of All Saints, and originally the capital
in a province of the name stretching along the middle of the coast.
BAHR, an Arabic word meaning "river," prefixed to the name of many
places occupied by Arabs.
BÄHR, FELIX, classical scholar, burn at Darmstadt; wrote a "History
of Roman Literature," in high repute (1798-1872).
BAHREIN` ISLANDS (70), a group of islands in the Persian Gulf, under
the protection of Britain, belonging to Muscat, the largest 27 m. long
and 10 broad, cap. Manamah (20); long famous for their pearl-fisheries,
the richest in the world.
BAHR-EL-GHAZAL, an old Egyptian prov. including the district watered
by the tributaries of the Bahr-el-Arab and the Bahr-el-Ghazal; it was
wrested from Egypt by the Mahdi, 1884; a district of French Congo lies W.
of it, and it was through it Marchand made his way to Fashoda.
BAIÆ, a small town near Naples, now in ruins and nearly all
submerged; famous as a resort of the old Roman nobility, for its climate
and its baths.
BAÏF, a French poet one of a group of seven known in French
literature as the "Pléiade," whose aim was to accommodate the French
language and literature to the models of Greek and Latin.
BAIKAL, a clear fresh-water lake, in S. of Siberia, 397 m. long and
from 13 to 54 wide, in some parts 4500 ft. deep, and at its surface 1560
ft. above the sea-level, the third largest in Asia; on which sledges ply
for six or eight months in winter, and steamboats in summer; it abounds
in fish, especially sturgeon and salmon; it contains several islands, the
largest Olkhin, 32 m. by 10 m.
BAIKIE, W. BALFOUR, an Orcadian, born at Kirkwall, surgeon in the
Royal Navy; was attached to the Niger Expedition in 1854, and ultimately
commanded it, opening the region up and letting light in upon it at the
sacrifice of his life; died at Sierra Leone (1825-1864).
BAILEY, NATHAN, an early English lexicographer, whose dictionary,
very popular in its day, was the basis of Johnson's; _d_. 1742.
BAILEY, PHILIP JAMES, English poet, born in Nottingham; author of
"Festus," a work that on its appearance in 1839 was received with
enthusiasm, passed through 11 editions in England and 30 in America, was
succeeded by "The Angel World," "The Mystic," "The Universal Hymn," and
"The Age"; he has been rated by some extravagantly high; _b_. 1816.
BAILEY, SAMUEL, an English author, born in Sheffield, a
liberal-minded man, a utilitarian in philosophy, who wrote on psychology,
ethics, and political economy, and left a fortune, acquired in business,
to his native town (1787-1870).
BAILLIE, JOANNA, a poetess, born at Bothwell, child of the
Presbyterian manse there; joined a brother in London, stayed afterwards
with a sister at Hampstead; produced a series of dramas entitled "Plays
of the Passions," besides many others, both comedies and tragedies, one
of which, the "Family Legend," was acted in the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh,
under the auspices of Sir Walter Scott; she does not stand high either as
a dramatist or a writer (1762-1851).
BAILLIE, LADY GRIZEL, an heroic Scotch lady, famous for her songs,
"And werena my heart licht I wad dee" is well known (1665-1740).
BAILLIE, MATTHEW, physician, brother of Joanna, wrote on Morbid
Anatomy (1761-1823).
BAILLIE, ROBERT, a Scotch Presbyterian divine, born in Glasgow;
resisted Laud's attempt to thrust Episcopacy on the Scotch nation, and
became a zealous advocate of the national cause, which he was delegated
to represent twice over in London; he was a royalist all the same, and
was made principal of Glasgow University; "His Letters and Journals" were
published by the Bannatyne Club, and are commended by Carlyle as
"veracious," forming, as they do, the subject of one of his critical
essays (1599-1662).
BAILLIE, ROBERT, a zealous Scotch Presbyterian, tried for complicity
in the Rye House Plot, and unfairly condemned to death, and barbarously
executed the same day (in 1683) for fear he should die afterwards and
cheat the gallows of its victim.
BAILLY, JEAN SYLVAIN, an astronomer, born at Paris; wrote the
"History of Astronomy, Ancient and Modern," in five volumes; was
distracted from further study of the science by the occurrence of the
Revolution; elected president of the National Assembly; installed mayor
of Paris; lost favour with the people; was imprisoned as an enemy of the
popular cause and cruelly guillotined. Exposed beforehand "for hours
long, amid curses and bitter frost-rain, 'Bailly, thou tremblest,' said
one; 'Mon ami,' said he meekly, 'it is for cold.' Crueller end," says
Carlyle, "had no mortal."
BAILY, E. H., a sculptor, born in Bristol, studied under Flaxman;
his most popular works were, "Eve Listening to the Voice," "The Sleeping
Girl," and the "Graces Seated" (1788-1867).
BAIN, ALEXANDER, born at Aberdeen, professor of Logic in the
university, and twice Lord Rector, where he was much esteemed by and
exercised a great influence over his pupils; his chief works, "The Senses
and the Intellect," "The Emotions and the Will," and "Mental and Moral
Science"; has written on composition in a very uninteresting style; his
psychology, which he connected with physiology, was based on empiricism
and the inductive method, to the utter exclusion of all _a priori_ or
transcendental speculation, such as hails from Kant and his school; he is
of the school of John Stuart Mill, who endorsed his philosophy; _b_.
1818.
BAIRAM, a Mohammedan festival of three days at the conclusion of the
Ramadan, followed by another of four days, seventy days later, called the
Second Bairam, in commemoration of the offering up of Isaac, and
accompanied with sacrifices.
BAIRD, JAMES, ironmaster, founder of the Baird Lectureship, in
vindication of Scotch orthodoxy; bequeathed £500,000 to support churches
(1802-1876).
BAIRD, SIR DAVID, a distinguished English general of Scotch descent,
born at Newbyth, Aberdeenshire; entered the army at 15; served in India,
Egypt, and at the Cape; was present at the taking of Seringapatam, and
the siege of Pondicherry; in command when the Cape of Good Hope was
wrested from the Dutch, and on the fall of Sir John Moore at Corunna,
wounded; he afterwards retired (1757-1829).
BAIRD, S. FULLERTON, an American naturalist, wrote, along with
others, on the birds and mammals of N. America, as well as contributed to
fish-culture and fisheries (1823-1887).
BAI`REUTH (24), the capital of Upper Franconia, in Bavaria, with a
large theatre erected by the king for the performance of Wagner's musical
compositions, and with a monument, simple but massive, as was fit, to the
memory of Jean Paul, who died there.
BAIREUTH, WILHELMINA, MARGRAVINE OF, sister of Frederick the Great,
left "Memoirs" of her time (1709-1758).
BAJAZET` I., sultan of the Ottoman Turks, surnamed ILDERIM, _i. e_.
Lightning, from the energy and rapidity of his movements; aimed at
Constantinople, pushed everything before him in his advance on Europe,
but was met and defeated on the plain of Angora by Tamerlane, who is said
to have shut him in a cage and carried him about with him in his train
till the day of his death (1347-1403).
BA`JUS, MICHAEL, deputy from the University of Louvain to the
Council of Trent, where he incurred much obloquy at the hands of the
Jesuits by his insistence of the doctrines of Augustine, as the
Jansenists did after him (1513-1580).
BAKER, MOUNT, a volcano in the Cascade range, 11,000 ft.; still
subject to eruptions.
BAKER, SIR RICHARD, a country gentleman, born in Kent, often
referred to by Sir Roger de Coverley; author of "The Chronicle of the
Kings of England," which he wrote in the Fleet prison, where he died
(1603-1645).
BAKER, SIR SAMUEL WHITE, a man of enterprise and travel, born in
London; discovered the Albert Nyanza; commanded an expedition under the
Khedive into the Soudan; wrote an account of it in a book, "Ismailia";
visited Cyprus and travelled over India; left a record of his travels in
five volumes with different titles (1821-1893).
BAKSHISH, a word used all over the East to denote a small fee for
some small service rendered.
BAKU (107), a Russian port on the Caspian Sea, in a district so
impregnated and saturated in parts with petroleum that by digging in the
soil wells are formed, in some cases so gushing as to overflow in
streams, which wells, reckoned by hundreds, are connected by pipes with
refineries in the town; a district which, from the spontaneous ignition
of the petroleum, was long ago a centre of attraction to the Parsees or
fire-worshippers of the East, and resorted to by them as holy ground.
BAKU`NIN, MICHAEL, an extreme and violent anarchist, and a leader of
the movement; native of Moscow; was banished to Siberia, but escaped;
joined the International, but was expelled (1814-1876).
BALA, the county town of Merioneth, in Wales. Bala Lake, the largest
lake in Wales, 4 m. long, and with a depth of 100 ft.
BA`LAAM, a Midianitish soothsayer; for the account of him see Num.
xxii.-xxiv., and Carlyle's essay on the "Corn-Law Rhymes" for its
application to modern State councillors of the same time-serving type,
and their probable fate.
BALACLA`VA, a small port 6 m. SE. of Sebastopol, with a large
land-locked basin; the head-quarters of the British during the Crimean
war, and famous in the war, among other events, for the "Charge of the
Six Hundred."
BALANCE OF POWER, preservation of the equilibrium existing among the
States of Europe as a security of peace, for long an important
consideration with European statesmen.
BALANCE OF TRADE, the difference in value between the exports and
the imports of a country, and said to be in favour of the country whose
exports exceed in value the imports in that respect.
BALANOGLOS`SUS, a worm-like marine animal, regarded by the zoologist
as a possible connecting link between invertebrates and vertebrates.
BALATA, a vegetable gum used as a substitute for gutta-percha, being
at once ductile and elastic; goes under the name of bully.
BAL`ATON, LAKE, the largest lake in Hungary, 48 m. long, and 10 m.
broad, 56 m. SW. of Pesth; slightly saline, and abounds in fish.
BALBI, ADRIANO, a geographer of Italian descent, born at Venice, who
composed in French a number of works bearing on geography (1782-1848).
BALBO, CÆSARE, an Italian statesmen and publicist, born at Turin;
devoted his later years to literature; wrote a life of Dante; works in
advocacy of Italian independence (1789-1853).
BALBO`A. VASCO NUÑEZ DE, a Castilian noble, established a settlement
at Darien; discovered the Pacific; took possession of territory in the
name of Spain; put to death by a new governor, from jealousy of the glory
he had acquired and the consequent influence in the State (1475-1517).
BALDACHINO, a tent-like covering or canopy over portals, altars, or
thrones, either supported on columns, suspended from the roof, or
projecting from the wall.
BALD`ER, the sun-god of the Norse mythology, "the beautiful, the
wise, the benignant," who is fated to die, and dies, in spite of, and to
the grief of, all the gods of the pantheon, a pathetic symbol conceived
in the Norse imagination of how all things in heaven, as on earth, are
subject in the long-run to mortality.
BALDERSTONE, CALEB, the faithful old domestic in Scott's "Bride of
Lammermoor," the family he serves his pride.
BALDRICK, an ornamental belt worn hanging over the shoulder, across
the body diagonally, with a sword, dagger, or horn suspended from it.
BALDUNG, HANS, or HANS GRÜN, a German artist, born in Suabia; a
friend of Dürer's; his greatest work, a masterpiece, a painting of the
"Crucifixion," now in Freiburg Cathedral (1300-1347).
BALDWIN, archbishop of Canterbury; crowned Richard Coeur de Lion;
accompanied him on the crusade; died at Acre in 1191.
BALDWIN, the name of several counts of Flanders, eight in all.
BALDWIN I., king of Jerusalem; succeeded his brother Godfrey de
Bouillon; assuming said title, made himself master of most of the towns
on the coast of Syria; contracted a disease in Egypt; returned to
Jerusalem, and was buried on Mount Calvary; there were five of this name
and title, the last of whom, a child of some eight years old, died in
1186 (1058-1118).
BALDWIN I., the first Latin emperor of Constantinople; by birth,
count of Hainault and Flanders; joined the fourth crusade, led the van in
the capture of Constantinople, and was made emperor; was defeated and
taken prisoner by the Bulgarians (1171-1206). B. II., nephew of
Baldwin I., last king of the Latin dynasty, which lasted only 57 years
(1217-1273).
BALE, JOHN, bishop of Ossory, in Ireland; born in Suffolk; a convert
from Popery, and supported by Cromwell; was made bishop by Edward VI.;
persecuted out of the country as an apostate from Popery; author of a
valuable account of early British writers (1495-1563).
BALEARIC ISLES (312), a group of five islands off the coast of
Valencia, in Spain, Majorca the largest; inhabitants in ancient times
famous as expert slingers, having been one and all systematically trained
to the use of the sling from early childhood; cap. Palma (58).
BALFE, MICHAEL WILLIAM, a musical composer, of Irish birth, born
near Wexford; author of "The Bohemian Girl," his masterpiece, and
world-famous (1808-1870).
BALFOUR, A. J., of Whittinghame, East Lothian; educated at Eton and
Cambridge; nephew of Lord Salisbury, and First Lord of the Treasury and
leader of the House of Commons in Lord Salisbury's ministry; author of a
"Defence of Philosophic Doubt" and a volume of "Essays and Addresses";
_b_. 1848.
BALFOUR, FRANCIS MAITLAND, brother of the preceding; a promising
biologist; career was cut short by death in attempting to ascend the
Wetterhorn (1851-1882).
BALFOUR, SIR JAMES, Lord President of the Court of Session; native
of Fife; an unprincipled man, sided now with this party, now with the
opposite, to his own advantage, and that at the most critical period in
Scottish history; _d_. 1583.
BALFOUR OF BURLEY, leader of the Covenanters in Scott's "Old
Mortality."
BALI, one of the Samoa Islands, 75 m. long by 40 m. broad; produces
cotton, coffee, and tobacco.
BALIOL, EDWARD, son of the following, invaded Scotland; was crowned
king at Scone, supported by Edward III.; was driven from the kingdom, and
obliged to renounce all claim to the crown, on receipt of a pension; died
at Doncaster, 1369.
BALIOL, JOHN DE, son of the following; laid claim to the Scottish
crown on the death of the Maid of Norway in 1290; was supported by Edward
I., and did homage to him for his kingdom, but rebelled, and was forced
publicly to resign the crown; died in 1314 in Normandy, after spending
some three years in the Tower; satirised by the Scotch, in their stinging
humorous style, as King Toom Tabard, i. e. Empty King Cloak.
BALIOL, SIR JOHN DE, of Norman descent; a guardian to the heir to
the Scottish crown on the death of Alexander III.; founder of Baliol
College, Oxford; _d_. 1269.
BALIZE, or BELIZE, the capital of British Honduras, in Central
America; trade in mahogany, rosewood, &c.
BALKAN PENINSULA, the territory between the Adriatic and the Ægean
Sea, bounded on the N. by the Save and the Lower Danube, and on the S. by
Greece.
BALKANS, THE, a mountain range extending from the Adriatic to the
Black Sea; properly the range dividing Bulgaria from Roumania; mean
height, 6500 ft.
BALKASH, LAKE, a lake in Siberia, 780 ft. above sea-level, the
waters clear, but intensely salt, 150 m. long and 73 m. broad.
BALKH, anciently called Bactria, a district of Afghan Turkestan
lying between the Oxus and the Hindu-Kush, 250 m. long and 120 m. broad,
with a capital of the same name, reduced now to a village; birthplace of
Zoroaster.
BALL, JOHN, a priest who had been excommunicated for denouncing the
abuses of the Church; a ringleader in the Wat Tyler rebellion; captured
and executed.
BALL, SIR R. S., mathematician and astronomer, born in Dublin;
Astronomer-Royal for Ireland; author of works on astronomy and mechanics,
the best known of a popular kind on the former science being "The Story
of the Heavens"; _b_. 1840.
BALLAD, a story in verse, composed with spirit, generally of
patriotic interest, and sung originally to the harp.
BALLANCHE, PIERRE SIMON, a mystic writer, born at Lyons, his chief
work "la Palingénésie Sociale," his aim being the regeneration of society
(1814-1847).
BALLANTINE, JAMES, glass-stainer and poet, born in Edinburgh
(1808-1877).
BALLANTINE, SERJEANT, distinguished counsel in celebrated criminal
cases (1812-1887).
BALL`ANTYNE, JAMES, a native of Kelso, became a printer in
Edinburgh, printed all Sir Walter Scott's works; failed in business, a
failure in which Scott was seriously implicated (1772-1833).
BALLANTYNE, JOHN, brother of preceding, a confidant of Sir Walter's
in the matter of the anonymity of the Waverley Novels; an inimitable
story-teller and mimic, very much to the delight of Sir Walter
(1774-1821).
BALLARAT` (40), a town in Victoria, and since 1851 the second city
in the province, about 100 m. NW. of Melbourne; the centre of the chief
gold-fields in the colony, the precious metal being at first washed out
of the soil, and now crushed out of the quartz rocks and dug out of deep
mines; it is the seat of both a Roman Catholic and a Church of England
bishopric.
BALL`ATER, a clean Aberdeenshire village on the Dee, a favourite
summer resort, stands 668 ft. above sea-level.
BALMAT, JACQUES, of Chamounix, a celebrated Alpine guide
(1796-1834).
BALMAWHAPPLE, a prejudiced Scotch clergyman in "Waverley."
BAL`MEZ, an able Spanish Journalist, author of "Protestantism and
Catholicism compared in their Effects on the Civilisation of Europe"
(1810-1848).
BALMOR`AL, a castle on the upper valley of the Dee, at the foot of
Braemar, 52½ m. from Aberdeen, 9 m. from Ballater; the Highland residence
of Queen Victoria, on a site which took the fancy of both the Queen and
the Prince Consort on their first visit to the Highlands.
BALMUNG, the sharp-cutting sword of Siegfried, so sharp that a smith
cut in two by it did not know he was so cut till he began to move, when
he fell in pieces.
BALNAVES, HENRY, coadjutor of John Knox in the Scottish Reformation,
and a fellow-sufferer with him in imprisonment and exile; afterwards
contributed towards formulating the creed of the Scotch Church; born at
Kirkcaldy, and educated in Germany; _d_. 1579.
BALSALL, a thriving suburb of Birmingham, engaged in hardware
manufacture.
BALTIC PROVINCES, Russian provinces bordering on the Baltic.
BALTIC SEA, an inland sea in the N. of Europe, 900 m. long and from
100 to 200 m. broad, about the size of England and Wales; comparatively
shallow; has no tides; waters fresher than those of the ocean, owing to
the number of rivers that flow into it and the slight evaporation that
goes on at the latitude; the navigation of it is practically closed from
the middle of December to April, owing to the inlets being blocked with
ice.
BALTIMORE (550), the metropolis of Maryland, on an arm of Chesapeake
Bay, 250 m. from the Atlantic; is picturesquely situated; not quite so
regular in design as most American cities, but noted for its fine
architecture and its public monuments. It is the seat of the John Hopkins
University. The industries are varied and extensive, including textiles,
flour, tobacco, iron, and steel. The staple trade is in bread-stuffs; the
exports, grain, flour, and tobacco.
BALUE, CARDINAL, minister of Louis XI.; imprisoned, for having
conspired with Charles the Rash, by Louis in an iron cage for eleven
years (1421-1491).
BALUCHISTAN, a country lying to the S. of Afghanistan and extending
to the Persian Gulf. See Beluchistan.
BALZAC, HONORÉ DE, native of Tours, in France; one of the most
brilliant as well as prolific novelwriters of modern times; his
productions remarkable for their sense of reality; they show power of
observation, warmth and fertility of imagination, and subtle and profound
delineation of human passion, his design in producing them being to make
them form part of one great work, the "Comédie Humaine," the whole being
a minute dissection of the different classes of society (1799-1850).
BALZAC, JEAN LOUIS GUEZ DE, born at Angoulême, a French littérateur
and gentleman of rank, who devoted his life to the refinement of the
French language, and contributed by his "Letters" to the classic form it
assumed under Louis XIV.; "he deliberately wrote," says Prof. Saintsbury,
"for the sake of writing, and not because he had anything particular to
say," but in this way did much to improve the language; _d_. 1685.
BAMBAR`RA (2,000), a Soudan state on the banks of the Upper Niger,
opened up to trade; the soil fertile; yields grain, dates, cotton, and
palm-oil; the natives are negroes of the Mohammedan faith, and are good
husbandmen.
BAMBERG (35), a manufacturing town in Upper Franconia, Bavaria; once
the centre of an independent bishopric; with a cathedral, a magnificent
edifice, containing the tomb of its founder, the Emperor Henry II.
BAMBINO, a figure of the infant Christ wrapped in swaddling bands,
the infant in pictures surrounded by a halo and angels.
BAMBOROUGH CASTLE, an ancient fortress E. of Belford, on the coast
of Northumberland, now an alms-house.
BAMBOUK (800), a fertile but unhealthy negro territory, with mineral
wealth and deposits of gold, W. of Bambarra.
BAMIAN`, a high-lying valley in Afghanistan, 8500 ft. above
sea-level; out of the rocks on its N. side, full of caves, are hewn huge
figures of Buddha, one of them 173 ft. high, all of ancient date.
BAMPTON LECTURES, annual lectures on Christian subjects, eight in
number, for the endowment of which John Bampton, canon of Salisbury, left
property which yields a revenue worth £200 a year.
BANBURY, a market-town in Oxfordshire, celebrated for its cross and
its cakes.
BANCA (80), an island in the Eastern Archipelago, belonging to the
Dutch, with an unhealthy climate; rich in tin, worked by Chinese.
BANCROFT, GEORGE, an American statesman, diplomatist, and historian,
born in Massachusetts; his chief work "The History of the United States,"
issued finally in six vols., and a faithful account (1800-1891).
BANCROFT, HUBERT, an American historian, author of a "History of the
Pacific States of N. America"; _b_. 1832.
BANCROFT, RICHARD, archbishop of Canterbury, a zealous Churchman and
an enemy of the Puritans; represented the Church at the Hampton Court
Conference, and was chief overseer of the Authorised Version of the Bible
(1554-1610).
BANCROFT, SIR SQUIRE, English actor, born in London, made his first
appearance in Birmingham in 1861; married Mrs. Wilton, an actress; opened
with her the Haymarket Theatre in 1880; retired in 1885, at which time
both retired, and have appeared since only occasionally.
BANDA ISLES, a group of the Moluccas, some twelve in number,
belonging to Holland; yield nutmegs and mace; are subject to earthquakes.
BANDA ORIENTAL, See URUGUAY.
BANDELLO, an Italian Dominican monk, a writer of tales, some of
which furnished themes and incidents for Shakespeare, Massinger, and
other dramatists of their time (1480-1562).
BANDIE`RA, brothers, born in Venice; martyrs, in 1844, to the cause
of Italian independence.
BANDINELLI, a Florentine sculptor, tried hard to rival Michael
Angelo and Cellini; his work "Hercules and Cacus" is the most ambitious
of his productions; did a "Descent from the Cross" in bas-relief, in
Milan Cathedral (1487-1559).
BANFF (7), county town of Banffshire, on the Moray Firth, at the
mouth of the Deveron; the county itself (64) stretches level along the
coast, though mountainous on the S. and SE.; fishing and agriculture the
great industries.
BANFFY, BARON, Premier of Hungary, born at Klausenburg; became in
1874 provincial prefect of Transylvania; was elected a peer on the
formation of the Upper Hungarian Chamber, and was made Premier in 1893;
he is a strong Liberal; _b_. 1841.
BANGA, the Hindu name for the Delta of the Ganges.
BAN`GALORE (180), the largest town in Mysore, and the capital;
stands high; is manufacturing and trading.
BANGHIS, a low-caste people in the Ganges valley.
BANGK`OK (500), the capital of Siam, on the Menam; a very striking
city; styled, from the canals which intersect it, the "Venice of the
East"; 20 m. from the sea; the centre of the foreign trade, carried on by
Europeans and Chinese; with the royal palace standing on an island, in
the courtyard of which several white elephants are kept.
BANGOR (9), an episcopal city in Carnarvon, N. Wales, with large
slate quarries; a place of summer resort, from the beauty of its
surroundings.
BANGORIAN CONTROVERSY, a controversy in the Church of England
provoked by a sermon which Hoadley, bishop of Bangor, preached before
George I. in 1717, which offended the sticklers for ecclesiastical
authority.
BANGWEO`LO, a lake in Equatorial Africa, discovered by Livingstone,
and on the shore of which he died; 150 m. long, and half as wide; 3690
ft. above sea-level.
BANIAN DAYS, days when no meat is served out to ships' crews.
BANJARI, a non-Aryan race in Central India, the carriers and
caravan-conductors of the region.
BANIM, JOHN, Irish author, a native of Kilkenny, novelist of Irish
peasant life on its dark side, who, along with his brother Michael, wrote
24 vols. of Irish stories, &c.; his health giving way, he fell into
poverty, but was rescued by a public subscription and a pension; Michael
survived him 32 years (1798-1842).
BANKS, SIR JOSEPH, a zealous naturalist, particularly in botany; a
collector, in lands far and wide, of specimens in natural history; left
his collection and a valuable library and herbarium to the British
Museum; president of the Royal Society for 41 years (1744-1820).
BANKS, THOMAS, an eminent English sculptor, born at Lambeth; first
appreciated by the Empress Catharine; his finest works, "Psyche" and
"Achilles Enraged," now in the entrance-hall of Burlington House; he
excelled in imaginative art (1735-1805).
BANNATYNE CLUB, a club founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare
works of Scottish interest, whether in history, poetry, or general
literature, of which it printed 116, all deemed of value, a complete set
having been sold for £235; dissolved in 1861.
BAN`NOCKBURN (2), a manufacturing village 3 m. SE. of Stirling, the
scene of the victory, on June 24, 1314, of Robert the Bruce over Edward
II., which reasserted and secured Scottish independence; it manufactures
carpets and tartans.
BAN`SHEE, among the Irish, and in some parts of the Highlands and
Brittany, a fairy, believed to be attached to a family, who gave warnings
by wailings of an approaching death in it, and kept guard over it.
BANTAM, a chief town in Java, abandoned as unhealthy by the Dutch;
whence the Bantam fowl is thought to have come.
BANTING SYSTEM, a dietary for keeping down fat, recommended by a Mr.
Banting, a London merchant, in a "Letter on Corpulence" in 1863; he
recommended lean meat, and the avoidance of sugar and starchy foods.
BANTRY BAY, a deep inlet on the SW. coast of Ireland; a place of
shelter for ships.
BANTU, the name of most of the races, with their languages, that
occupy Africa from 6° N. lat. to 20° S.; are negroid rather than negro,
being in several respects superior; the name, however, suggests rather a
linguistic than an ethnological distinction, the language differing
radically from all other known forms of speech--the inflection, for one
thing, chiefly initial, not final.
BANVILLE, THEODORE DE, a French poet, born at Moulins; well
characterised as "_Roi des Rimes_," for with him form was everything, and
the matter comparatively insignificant, though, there are touches here
and there of both fine feeling and sharp wit (1823-1891).
BANYAN, the Indian fig; a tree whose branches, bending to the
ground, take root and form new stocks, till they cover a large area and
become a forest.
BA`OBAB, a large African tropical tree, remarkable for the girth of
its trunk, the thickness of its branches, and their expansion; its leaves
and seeds are used in medicine.
BAPHOMET, a mysterious image, presumed represent Mahomet, which the
Templars were accused of worshipping, but which they may rather be
surmised to have invoked to curse them if they failed in their vow;
Carlyle refers to this cult in "Sartor," end of Bk. II. chapter vii.,
where he speaks of the "Baphometic fire-baptism" of his hero, under which
all the spectres that haunted him withered up.
BAPTISM, the Christian rite of initiation into the membership of the
Church, identified by St. Paul (Rom. vi. 4) with that No to the world
which precedes or rather accompanies Yea to God, but a misunderstanding
of the nature of which has led to endless diversity, debate, and
alienation all over the Churches of Christendom.
BAPTISTE, JEAN, a name given to the French Canadians.
BAPTISTRY, a circular building, sometimes detached from a church, in
which the rite of baptism is administered; the most remarkable, that of
Pisa.
BAPTISTS, a denomination of Christians, sometimes called Anabaptists
to distinguish them from Pædobaptists, who, however they may and do
differ on other matters, insist that the rite of initiation is duly
administered only by immersion, and to those who are of age to make an
intelligent profession of faith; they are a numerous body, particularly
in America, and more so in England than in Scotland, and have included in
their membership a number of eminent men.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION, the High Church doctrine that the power of
spiritual life, forfeited by the Fall, is bestowed on the soul in the
sacrament of baptism duly administered.
BARAGUAY D'HILLIERS`, ACHILLE, a French marshal who fought under
Napoleon at Quatre-Bras; distinguished himself under Louis Philippe in
Algeria, as well as under Louis Napoleon; presided at the trial of
Marshal Bazaine (1795-1878).
BARATARIA, the imaginary island of which Sancho Panza was formally
installed governor, and where in most comical situations he learned how
imaginary is the authority of a king, how, instead of governing his
subjects, his subjects govern him.
BARBACAN, or BARBICAN, a fortification to a castle outside the
walls, generally at the end of the drawbridge in front of the gate.
BARBA`DOES (182), one of the Windward Islands, rather larger than
the Isle of Wight; almost encircled by coral reefs; is the most densely
peopled of the Windward Islands; subject to hurricanes; healthy and well
cultivated; it yields sugar, arrowroot, ginger, and aloes.
BARBARA, ST., a Christian martyr of the 3rd century; beheaded by her
own father, a fanatical heathen, who was immediately after the act struck
dead by lightning; she is the patron saint of those who might otherwise
die impenitent, and of Mantua; her attributes are a tower, a sword, and a
crown. Festival, Dec. 4.
BARBARIANS, originally those who could not speak Greek, and
ultimately synonymous with the uncivilised and people without culture,
particularly literary; this is the sense in which Matthew Arnold uses it.
BARBAROSSA, the surname of Frederick I., emperor of Germany, of whom
there is this tradition, that "he is not yet dead; but only sleeping,
till the bad world reach its worst, when he will reappear. He sits within
a cavern near Saltzburg, at a marble table, leaning on his elbow;
winking, only half-asleep, as a peasant once tumbling into the interior
saw him; beard had grown through the table, and streamed out on the
floor. He looked at the peasant one moment, asked something about the
time it was; then drooped his eyelids again: 'Not yet time, but will be
soon.'"
BARBAROSSA (i. e. Red-beard), HORUK, a native of Mitylene;
turned corsair; became sovereign of Algiers by the murder of Selim the
emir, who had adopted him as an ally against Spain; was defeated twice by
the Spanish general Gomarez and slain (1473-1518).
BARBAROSSA, KHAIR-EDDIN, brother and successor of the preceding;
became viceroy of the Porte, made admiral under the sultan, opposed
Andrea Doria, ravaged the coast of Italy, and joined the French against
Spain; died at Constantinople in 1546.
BARBAROUX, CHARLES, advocate, born at Marseilles, of which he became
town-clerk; came to Paris "a young Spartan," and became chief of the
Girondins in the French Revolution; represented Marseilles in the
Constituent Assembly and the Convention; joined the Rolands; sent
"fire-eyed" message to Marseilles for six hundred men "who knew how to
die"; held out against Marat and Robespierre; declared an enemy of the
people, had to flee; mistook a company approaching for Jacobins, drew his
pistol and shot himself, but the shot miscarried; was captured and
guillotined (1767-1794).
BARBARY APE, a tailless monkey of gregarious habits, native of the
mountainous parts of Barbary, and of which there is a colony on the Rock
of Gibraltar, the only one in Europe.
BARBARY STATES, the four states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and
Tripoli, so called from the Berbers who inhabit the region.
BARBAULD, ANNA LÆTITIA, _née_ Aiken, an English popular and
accomplished authoress, wrote "Hymns in Prose for Children," "Evenings at
Home," in which she was assisted by a brother, &c. (1743-1825).
BARBAZAN, a French general under Charles VI. and VII., who
deservedly earned for himself the name of the Irreproachable Knight; _d_.
1432.
BAR`BECUE, a feast in the open air on a large scale, at which the
animals are roasted and dressed whole, formerly common in the SW. States
of N. America.
BARBERI`NI, an illustrious and influential Florentine family,
several of the members of which were cardinals, and one made pope in 1623
under the name Urban VIII.
BARBERTON, a mining town and important centre in the Transvaal, 180
m. E. of Pretoria.
BARBÈS, ARMAND, a French politician, surnamed the Bayard of
Democracy; imprisoned in 1848, liberated in 1854; expatriated himself
voluntarily; died at the Hague (1809-1870).
BARBIER, ANTOINE ALEX., a French bibliographer, author of a
"Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works" (1765-1825).
BARBIER, ED. FR., jurisconsult of the parliament, born in Paris;
author of a journal, historical and anecdotical, of the time of Louis XV.
(1689-1771).
BARBIER, HENRY, a French satirical poet, born in Paris; wrote
vigorous political verses; author of "Iambics" (1805-1882).
BARBOUR, JOHN, a Scotch poet and chronicler, archdeacon of Aberdeen,
a man of learning and sagacity; his only extant work a poem entitled "The
Bruce," being a long history in rhyme of the life and achievements of
Robert the Bruce, a work consisting of 13,000 octosyllabic lines, and
possessing both historical and literary merit; "represents," says
Stopford Brooke, "the whole of the eager struggle for Scottish freedom
against the English, which closed at Bannockburn, and the national spirit
in it full grown into life;" _d_. 1195.
BARCA (500), a Turkish province in the N. of Africa, between Tripoli
and Egypt; produces maize, figs, dates, and olives.
BARCA, name of a Carthaginian family to which Hamilcar, Hasdrubal,
and Hannibal belonged, and determinedly opposed to the ascendency of
Rome; known as the Barcine faction.
BARCELO`NA (280), the largest town in Spain next to Madrid, on the
Mediterranean, and its chief port, with a naval arsenal, and its largest
manufacturing town, called the "Spanish Manchester," the staple
manufacture being cotton; is the seat of a bishopric and a university;
has numerous churches, convents, and theatres.
BARCLAY, ALEX., a poet and prose-writer, of Scotch birth; bred a
monk in England, which he ceased to be on the dissolution of the
monasteries; wrote "The Ship of Fools," partly a translation and partly
an imitation of the German "Narrerschiff" of Brandt. "It has no value,"
says Stopford Brooke; "but it was popular because it attacked the follies
and questions of the time; and its sole interest to us is in its pictures
of familiar manners and popular customs" (1475-1552).
BARCLAY, JOHN, born in France, educated by the Jesuits, a stanch
Catholic; wrote the "Argenis," a Latin romance, much thought of by
Cowper, translated more than once into English (1582-1621).
BARCLAY, JOHN, leader of the sect of the Bereans (1734-1798).
BARCLAY, ROBERT, the celebrated apologist of Quakerism, born in
Morayshire; tempted hard to become a Catholic; joined the Society of
Friends, as his father had done before him; his greatest work, written in
Latin as well as in English, and dedicated to Charles II., "An Apology
for the True Christian Divinity, as the same is held forth and preached
by the People called in scorn Quakers," a great work, the leading thesis
of which is that Divine Truth is not matter of reasoning, but intuition,
and patent to the understanding of every truth-loving soul (1645-1690).
BARCLAY, WILLIAM, father of John (1), an eminent citizen and
professor of Law at Angers; _d_. 1605. All these Barclays were of
Scottish descent.
BARCLAY DE TOLLY, a Russian general and field-marshal, of Scottish
descent, and of the same family as Robert Barclay the Quaker;
distinguished in successive Russian wars; his promotion rapid, in spite
of his unpopularity as German born; on Napoleon's invasion of Russia his
tactic was to retreat till forced to fight at Smolensk; he was defeated,
and superseded in command by Kutusow; on the latter's death was made
commander-in-chief; commanded the Russians at Dresden and Leipzig, and
led them into France in 1815; he was afterwards Minister of War at St.
Petersburg, and elevated to the rank of prince (1761-1818).
BARD OF AVON, Shakespeare; OF AYRSHIRE, Burns; OF HOPE,
Campbell; OF IMAGINATION, Akenside; OF MEMORY, Rogers; OF
OLNEY, Cowper; OF RYDAL MOUNT, Wordsworth; OF TWICKENHAM,
Pope.
BARDELL`, MRS., a widow in the "Pickwick Papers," who sues Pickwick
for breach of promise.
BARDOLPH, a drunken, swaggering, worthless follower of Falstaff's.
BARDON HILL, a hill in Leicestershire, from which one can see right
across England.
BAR-DURANI, the collective name of a number of Afghan tribes between
the Hindu-Kush and the Soliman Mountains.
BAREBONE'S PARLIAMENT, Cromwell's Little Parliament, met 4th July
1653; derisively called Barebone's Parliament, from one Praise-God
Barebone, a member of it. "If not the remarkablest Assembly, yet the
Assembly for the remarkablest purpose," says Carlyle, "that ever met in
the modern world; the business being no less than introducing of the
Christian religion into real practice in the social affairs of this
nation.... In this it failed, could not but fail, with what we call the
Devil and all his angels against it, and the Little Parliament had to go
its ways again," 12th December in the same year.
BARÈGES, a village on the Hautes-Pyrénées, at 4000 ft. above the
sea-level, resorted to for its mineral waters.
BAREILLY (121), a city in NW. India, the chief town in Rohilkhand,
153 m. E. of Delhi, notable as the place where the Mutiny of 1858 first
broke out.
BARENTZ, an Arctic explorer, born in Friesland; discovered
Spitzbergen, and doubled the NE. extremity of Nova Zembla, in 1596, and
died the same year.
BARÈRE, French revolutionary, a member of the States-General, the
National Assembly of France, and the Convention; voted in the Convention
for the execution of the king, uttering the oft-quoted words, "The tree
of Liberty thrives only when watered by the blood of tyrants;" escaped
the fate of his associates; became a spy under Napoleon; was called by
Burke, from his flowery oratory, the Anacreon of the Guillotine, and by
Mercier, "the greatest liar in France;" he was inventor of the famous
fable "his masterpiece," of the "Sinking of the _Vengeur_," "the largest,
most inspiring piece of _blaque_ manufactured, for some centuries, by any
man or nation;" died in beggary (1755-1841). See VENGEUR.
BARETTI, GIUSEPPE, an Italian lexicographer, born in Turin; taught
Italian in London, patronised by Johnson, became secretary of the Royal
Academy (1719-1789).
BARFLEUR, a seaport 15 m. E. of Cherbourg, where William the
Conqueror set out with his fleet to invade England.
BÂRFRÜSH (603), a town S. of the Caspian, famous for its bazaar.
BAR`GUEST, a goblin long an object of terror in the N. of England.
BARI, THE, a small negro nation on the banks of the White Nile.
BARING, SIR FRANCIS, founder of the great banking firm of Baring
Brothers & Co.; amassed property, value of it said to have been nearly
seven millions (1740-1810).
BARING-GOULD, SABINE, rector of Lew-Trenchard, Devonshire,
celebrated in various departments of literature, history, theology, and
romance, especially the latter; a voluminous writer on all manner of
subjects, and a man of wide reading; _b_. 1834.
BARHAM, RICHARD HARRIS, his literary name Thomas Ingoldsby, born at
Canterbury, minor canon of St. Paul's; friend of Sidney Smith; author of
"Ingoldsby Legends," published originally as a series of papers in
_Bentley's Miscellany_ (1788-1879).
BARKIS, a carrier-lad in "David Copperfield," in love with Peggotty.
"Barkis is willin'."
BARKER, E. HENRY, a classical scholar, born in Yorkshire; edited
Stephens' "Thesaurus Linguæ Græcæ," an arduous work; died in poverty
(1788-1839).
BARKING, a market-town in Essex, 7 m. NE. of London, with the
remains of an ancient Benedictine convent.
BARLAAM AND JOSAPHAT, a mediæval legend, being a Christianised
version of an earlier legend relating to Buddha, in which Josaphat, a
prince like Buddha, is converted by Barlaam to a like ascetic life.
BARLEYCORN, JOHN, the exhilarating spirit distilled from barley
personified.
BARLOW, JOEL, an American poet and diplomatist; for his Republican
zeal, was in 1792 accorded the rights of citizenship in France; wrote a
poem "The Vision of Columbus" (1755-1812).
BARLOWE, a French watchmaker, inventor of the repeating watch; _d_.
1690.
BARMACIDE FEAST, an imaginary feast, so called from a story in the
"Arabian Nights" of a hungry beggar invited by a Barmacide prince to a
banquet, which proved a long succession of merely empty dishes, and which
he enjoyed with such seeming gusto and such good-humour as to earn for
himself a sumptuous real one.
BAR`MACIDES, a Persian family celebrated for their magnificence, and
that in the end met with the cruellest fate. Yâhyá, one of them, eminent
for ability and virtue, was chosen by the world-famous Haroun-Al-Raschid
on his accession to the caliphate to be his vizier; and his four sons
rose along with him to such influence in the government, as to excite the
jealousy of the caliph so much, that he had the whole family invited to a
banquet, and every man, woman, and child of them massacred at midnight in
cold blood. The caliph, it is gratifying to learn, never forgave himself
for this cruelty, and was visited with a gnawing remorse to the end of
his days; and it had fatal issues to his kingdom as well as himself.
BAR`MEN (116), a long town, consisting of a series of hamlets, 6 m.
in extent, in Rhenish Prussia; the population consists chiefly of
Protestants; the staple industry, the manufacture of ribbons, and it is
the centre of that industry on the Continent.
BARNABAS, ST., a member of the first Christian brotherhood, a
companion of St. Paul's, and characterised in the Acts as "a good man";
stoned to death at Cyprus, where he was born; an epistle extant bears his
name, but is not believed to be his work; the Epistle to the Hebrews has
by some been ascribed to him; he is usually represented in art as a
venerable man of majestic mien, with the Gospel of St. Matthew in his
hand. Festival, June 11.
BARNABITES, a proselytising order of monks founded at Milan, where
Barnabas was reported to have been bishop, in 1530; bound, as the rest
are, by the three monastic vows, and by a vow in addition, not to sue for
preferment in the Church.
BARNABY RUDGE, one of Dickens' novels, published in 1841.
BARNARD, HENRY, American educationist, born in Connecticut, 1811.
BARNARD, LADY ANNE, daughter of Lindsay, the 5th Earl of Balcarres,
born in Fife; authoress of "Auld Robin Gray," named after a Balcarres
herd; lived several years at the Cape, where her husband held an
appointment, and after his death, in London (1750-1825).
BARNARD CASTLE, an old tower W. of Darlington, in Durham; birthplace
of John Baliol, and the scene of Scott's "Rokeby."
BAR`NARDINE, a reckless character in "Measure for Measure."
BARNAVE, JOSEPH MARIE, French lawyer, born at Grenoble; president of
the French Constitutional Assembly in 1780; one of the trio in the
Assembly of whom it was said, "Whatsoever those three have on hand,
Dupont thinks it, Barnave speaks it, Lameth does it;" a defender of the
monarchy from the day he gained the favour of the queen by his gallant
conduct to her on her way back to Paris from her flight with the king to
Varennes; convicted by documentary evidence of conspiring with the court
against the nation; was guillotined (1761-1793).
BARN-BURNERS, name formerly given to an extreme radical party in the
United States, as imitating the Dutchman who, to get rid of the rats,
burned his barns.
BARNES, THOMAS, editor of the _Times_, under whom the paper first
rose to the pre-eminent place it came to occupy among the journals of the
day (1786-1841).
BARNES, WILLIAM, a local philologist, native of Dorsetshire; author
of "Poems of Rural Life in Dorset," in three vols.; wrote on subjects of
philological interest (1830-1886).
BARNET (5), a town in Hertfordshire, almost a suburb of London; a
favourite resort of Londoners; has a large annual horse and cattle fair;
scene of a battle in 1471, at which Warwick, the king-maker, was slain.
BARNETT, JOHN, composer, born at Bedford; author of operas and a
number of fugitive pieces (1802-1891).
BARNEVELDT, JOHANN VAN OLDEN, Grand Pensionary of Holland, of a
distinguished family; studied law at the Hague, and practised as an
advocate there; fought for the independence of his country against Spain;
concluded a truce with Spain, in spite of the Stadtholder Maurice, whose
ambition for supreme power he courageously opposed; being an Arminian,
took sides against the Gomarist or Calvinist party, to which Maurice
belonged; was arrested, tried, and condemned to death as a traitor and
heretic, and died on the scaffold at 71 years of age, with sanction, too,
of the Synod of Dort, in 1619.
BARNSLEY (35), a manufacturing town in W. Yorkshire, 18 m. N. of
Sheffield; manufactures textile fabrics and glass.
BARNUM, an American showman; began with the exhibition of George
Washington's reputed nurse in 1834; picked up Tom Thumb in 1844; engaged
Jenny Lind for 100 concerts in 1849, and realised a fortune, which he
lost; started in 1871 with his huge travelling show, and realised another
fortune, dying worth five million dollars (1810-1891).
BAROCCI, a celebrated Italian painter, imitator of the style of
Correggio (1528-1612).
BAROCHE, PIERRE-JULES, a French statesman, minister of Napoleon III.
(1802-1870).
BARO`DA (2,415), a native state of Gujerat, in the prov. of Bombay,
with a capital (101) of the same name, the sovereign of which is called
the Guicowar; the third city in the presidency, with Hindu temples and a
considerable trade.
BARO`NIUS, CÆSAR, a great Catholic ecclesiastic, born near Naples,
priest of the Congregation of the Oratory under its founder, and
ultimately Superior; cardinal and librarian of the Vatican; his great
work, "Annales Ecclesiastici," being a history of the first 12 centuries
of the Church, written to prove that the Church of Rome was identical
with the Church of the 1st century, a work of immense research that
occupied him 30 years; failed of the popehood from the intrigues of the
Spaniards, whose political schemes he had frustrated (1538-1607).
BARONS' WAR, a war in England of the barons against Henry III.,
headed by Simon de Montfort, and which lasted from 1258 to 1265.
BAROQUE, ornamentation of a florid and incongruous character, more
lavish and showy rather than true and tasteful; much in vogue from the
16th to the 18th centuries.
BARRA, a small island, one of the Hebrides, 5 m. SW. of S. Uist, the
inhabitants of which are engaged in fisheries.
BAR`RACKPUR (18), a town on the Hooghly, 15 m. above Calcutta, where
the lieutenant-governor of Bengal has a residence; a healthy resort of
the Europeans.
BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS, ballads by Rudyard Kipling, with a fine
martial strain.
BARRAS, PAUL FRANÇOIS, a member of the Jacobin Club, born in
Provence; "a man of heat and haste,... tall, and handsome to the eye;"
voted in the National Convention for the execution of the king; took part
in the siege of Toulon; put an end to the career of Robespierre and the
Reign of Terror; named general-in-chief to oppose the reactionaries;
employed Bonaparte to command the artillery, "he the commandant's cloak,
this artillery officer the commandant;" was a member of the Directory
till Bonaparte swept it away (1755-1829).
BAR`RATRY, the offence of inciting and stirring up riots and
quarrels among the Queen's subjects, also a fraud by a ship captain on
the owners of a ship.
BARRÉ, ISAAC, soldier and statesman, born in Dublin, served under
Wolfe in Canada, entered Parliament, supported Pitt, charged with
authorship of "Junius' Letters"; _d_. 1802.
BARREL MIRABEAU, Viscount de Mirabeau, brother of the great tribune
of the name, so called from his bulk and the liquor he held.
BARRÈRE. See BARÈRE.
BARRETT, WILSON, English actor, born in Essex; made his _début_ at
Halifax; lessee of the Grand Theatre, Leeds, and of the Court and the
Princess's Theatres, London; produced his Hamlet in 1884; _b_. 1846.
BARRIE, JAMES MATTHEW, a writer with a rich vein of humour and
pathos, born at Kirriemuir ("Thrums"), in Forfarshire; began his literary
career as a contributor to journals; produced, among other works, "Auld
Licht Idylls" in 1888, and "A Window in Thrums," in 1889, and recently
"Margaret Ogilvie," deemed by some likely to prove the most enduring
thing he has yet written; _b_. 1860.
BARRIER REEF, THE GREAT, a slightly interrupted succession of coral
reefs off the coast of Queensland, of 1200 m. extent, and 100 m. wide at
the S., and growing narrower as they go N.; are from 70 to 20 m. off the
coast, and protect the intermediate channel from the storms of the
Pacific.
BARRIÈRE, JEAN FRANÇOIS, French historian of the Revolution
(1786-1868).
BARRIÈRE, PIERRE, would-be assassin of Henry IV. of France; broken
on the wheel in 1593.
BARRIERS, BATTLE OF THE, a battle fought within the walls of Paris
in 1814 between Napoleon and the Allies, which ended in the capitulation
of the city and the abdication of Napoleon.
BARRINGTON, JOHN SHUTE, 1st Viscount, gained the favour of the
Nonconformists by his "Rights of Dissenters," and an Irish peerage from
George I. for his "Dissuasive from Jacobitism"; left six sons, all more
or less distinguished, particularly Daines, the fourth, distinguished in
law (1727-1800), and Samuel, the fifth, 1st Lord of the name,
distinguished in the naval service, assisted under Lord Howe at the
relief of Gibraltar, and became an admiral in 1787 (1678-1764).
BARROS, JOÃO DE, a distinguished Portuguese historian; his great
work. "Asia Portugueza," relates, in a pure and simple style, the
discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese in the Indies; he did not
live to complete it (1493-1570).
BARROT, ODILON, famous as an advocate, born at Villefort;
contributed to the Revolutions of both 1830 and 1848; accepted office
under Louis Napoleon; retired after the _coup d'état_, to return to
office in 1872 (1791-1873).
BARROW, a river in Ireland rising in the Slievebloom Mts.; falls
into Waterford harbour, after a course of 114 m.
BARROW, ISAAC, English scholar, mathematician, and divine, born in
London; a graduate of Cambridge, and fellow of Trinity College; appointed
professor of Greek at Cambridge, and soon after Gresham professor of
Geometry; subsequently Lucasian professor of Mathematics (in which he had
Newton for successor), and master of Trinity, and founder of the library;
a man of great intellectual ability and force of character; besides
mathematical works, left a "Treatise on the Pope's Supremacy," and a body
of sermons remarkable for their vigour of thought and nervousness of
expression (1630-1677).
BARROW, SIR JOHN, secretary to the Admiralty for 40 years, and much
esteemed in that department, distinguished also as a man of letters;
wrote the Lives of Macartney, Anson, Howe, and Peter the Great
(1764-1848).
BARROW-IN-FURNESS (51), a town and seaport in N. Lancashire, of
recent rapid growth, owing to the discovery of extensive deposits of iron
in the neighbourhood, which has led to the establishment of smelting
works and the largest manufacture of steel in the kingdom; the principal
landowners in the district being the Dukes of Devonshire and Buccleuch.
BARRY, JAMES, painter, born in Cork; painted the "Death of General
Wolfe"; became professor of Painting at the Royal Academy, but was
deposed; died in poverty; his masterpiece is the "Victors at Olympia"
(1741-1806).
BARRY, SIR CHARLES, architect, born at Westminster; architect of the
new Palace of Westminster, besides other public buildings (1795-1860).
BARRY CORNWALL. See PROCTER.
BART, or BARTH, JEAN, a distinguished French seaman, born at
Dunkirk, son of a fisherman, served under De Ruyter, entered the French
service at 20, purchased a ship of two guns, was subsidised as a
privateer, made numerous prizes; having had other ships placed under his
command, was captured by the English, but escaped; defeated the Dutch
admiral, De Vries; captured his squadron laden with corn, for which he
was ennobled by Louis XIV.; he was one of the bravest of men and the most
independent, unhampered by red-tapism of every kind (1651-1702).
BARTH, HEINRICH, a great African explorer, born at Hamburg; author
of "Travels in the East and Discoveries in Central Africa," in five
volumes (1821-1865).
BARTHÉLEMY, AUGUSTE-MARSEILLE, a poet and politician, born at
Marseilles; author of "Nemesis," and the best French translation of the
"Æneid," in verse; an enemy of the Bourbons, an ardent Imperialist, and
warm supporter of Louis Napoleon (1796-1867).
BARTHÉLEMY, THE ABBÉ, JEAN JACQUES, a French historian and
antiquary, born at Cassis, in Provence; educated by the Jesuits; had
great skill in numismatics; wrote several archæological works, in chief,
"Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis en Grèce;" long treated as an authority in
the history, manners, and customs of Greece (1716-1795).
BARTHÉLEMY SAINT-HILAIRE, JULES, a French baron and politician, born
at Paris; an associate of Odilon Barrot in the Revolutions of 1830 and
1848, and subsequently a zealous supporter of M. Thiers; for a time
professor of Greek and Roman Philosophy in the College of France; an
Oriental as well as Greek scholar; translated the works of Aristotle,
his greatest achievement, and the "Iliad" into verse, as well as wrote on
the Vedas, Buddhism, and Mahomet; _b_. 1805.
BARTHEZ, PAUL JOSEPH, a celebrated physician, physiologist, and
Encyclopædist, born at Montpellier, where he founded a medical school;
suffered greatly during the Revolution; was much esteemed and honoured by
Napoleon; is celebrated among physiologists as the advocate of what he
called the Vital Principle as a physiological force in the functions of
the human organism; his work "Nouveaux Eléments de la Science de l'Homme"
has been translated into all the languages of Europe (1734-1806).
BARTHOLDI, a French sculptor, born at Colmar; his principal works,
"Lion le Belfort," and "Liberté éclairant le Monde," the largest bronze
statue in the world, being 150 ft. high, erected at the entrance of New
York harbour; _b_. 1834.
BARTHOLOMEW, ST., an apostle of Christ, and martyr; represented in
art with a knife in one hand and his skin in the other; sometimes been
painted as being flayed alive, also as headless. Festival, Aug. 24.
BARTHOLOMEW FAIR, an annual market held at Smithfield, London, and
instituted in 1133 by Henry I., to be kept on the saint's day, but
abolished in 1853, when it ceased to be a market and became an occasion
for mere dissipation and riot.
BARTHOLOMEW HOSPITAL, an hospital in Smithfield, London, founded in
1123; has a medical school attached to it, with which the names of a
number of eminent physicians are associated.
BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY, ST., 24th August, day in 1572 memorable for the
wholesale massacre of the Protestants in France at the instance of
Catharine de Medici, then regent of the kingdom for her son, Charles IX.,
an event, cruelly gloried in by the Pope and the Spanish Court, which
kindled a fire in the nation that was not quenched, although it
extinguished Protestantism proper in France, till Charles was coerced to
grant liberty of conscience throughout the realm.
BARTIZAN, an overhanging wall-mounted turret projecting from the
walls of ancient fortifications.
BARTLETT, JOHN H., an American ethnologist and philologist, born at
Rhode Island, U.S.; author of "Dictionary of Americanisms," among other
works particularly on ethnology (1805-1886).
BARTOLI, DANIELE, a learned Italian Jesuit, born at Ferrara
(1635-1685).
BARTOLI, PIETRO, Italian engraver, engraved a great number of
ancient works of art (1635-1700).
BARTOLINI, LORENZO, a Florentine sculptor, patronised by Napoleon;
produced a great number of busts (1777-1850).
BARTOLOMME`O, FRA, a celebrated Florentine painter of sacred
subjects, born at Florence; an adherent of Savonarola, friend of Raphael;
"St. Mark" and "St. Sebastian" among his best productions (1469-1517).
BARTOLOZ`ZI, FRANCESCO, an eminent engraver, born at Florence;
wrought at his art both in England and in Portugal, where he died; his
chief works, "Clytie," after Annibale Caracci, the "Prometheus," after
Michael Angelo, and "Virgin and Child," after Carlo Dolci; he was the
father of Madame Vestris (1725-1815).
BARTON, BERNARD, the "Quaker poet," born in London; a clerk nearly
all his days in a bank; his poems, mostly on homely subjects, but
instinct with poetic feeling and fancy, gained him the friendship of
Southey and Charles Lamb, as well as more substantial patronage in the
shape of a government pension (1784-1849).
BARTON, ELIZABETH, "the Maid of Kent," a poor country servant-girl,
born in Kent, subject from nervous debility to trances, in which she gave
utterances ascribed by Archbishop Warham to divine inspiration, till her
communications were taken advantage of by designing people, and she was
led by them to pronounce sentence against the divorce of Catharine of
Aragon, which involved her and her abettors in a charge of treason, for
which they were all executed at Tyburn (1506-1534).
BARUCH, (1) the friend of the prophet Jeremiah, and his scribe, who
was cast with him into prison, and accompanied him into Egypt; (2) a book
in the Apocrypha, instinct with the spirit of Hebrew prophecy, ascribed
to him; (3) also a book entitled the Apocalypse of Baruch, affecting to
predict the fall of Jerusalem, but obviously written after the event.
BARYE, a French sculptor, distinguished for his groups of statues of
wild animals (1795-1875).
BASAITI, a Venetian painter of the 15th and 16th centuries, a rival
of Bellini; his best works, "Christ in the Garden" and the "Calling of
St. Peter and St. Andrew."
BASEDOW, JOHANN BERNARD, a zealous educational reformer, born at
Hamburg; his method modelled according to the principles of Rousseau;
established a normal school on this method at Dessau, which, however,
failed from his irritability of temper, which led to a rupture with his
colleagues (1723-1790).
BASEL (74), in the NW. of Switzerland, on the Rhine, just before it
enters Germany; has a cathedral, university, library, and museum; was a
centre of influence in Reformation times, and the home for several years
of Erasmus; it is now a great money market, and has manufactures of silks
and chemicals; the people are Protestant and German-speaking.
BASEL, COUNCIL OF, met in 1431, and laboured for 12 years to effect
the reformation of the Church from within. It effected some compromise
with the Hussites, but was hampered at every step by the opposition of
Pope Eugenius IV. Asserting the authority of a general council over the
Pope himself, it cited him on two occasions to appear at its bar, on his
refusal declared him contumacious, and ultimately endeavoured to suspend
him. Failing to effect its purpose, owing to the secession of his
supporters, it elected a rival pope, Felix V., who was, however, but
scantily recognised. The Emperor Frederick III. supported Eugenius, and
the council gradually melted away. At length, in 1449, the pope died,
Felix resigned, and Nicholas V. was recognised by the whole Church. The
decrees of the council were directed against the immorality of the
clergy, the indecorousness of certain festivals, the papal prerogatives
and exactions, and dealt with the election of popes and the procedure of
the College of Cardinals. They were all confirmed by Nicholas V., but are
not recognised by modern Roman canonists.
BA`SHAN, a fertile and pastoral district in NE. Palestine of
considerable extent, and at one time densely peopled; the men of it were
remarkable for their stature.
BASHAHR, a native hill state in the Punjab, traversed by the Sutlej;
tributary to the British Government.
BASHI-BAZOUKS`, irregular, undisciplined troops in the pay of the
Sultan; rendered themselves odious by their brutality in the Bulgarian
atrocities of 1876, as well as, more or less, in the time of the Crimean
war.
BASHKIRS, originally a Finnish nomad race (and still so to some
extent) of E. Russia, professing Mohammedanism; they number some 500,000.
BASHKIRTSEFF, MARIE, a precocious Russian young lady of good family,
but of delicate constitution, who travelled a good deal with her mother,
noted her impressions, and left a journal of her life, which created,
when published after her death, an immense sensation from the confessions
it contains (1860-1884).
BASIL, ST., THE GREAT, bishop of Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, his
birthplace; studied at Athens; had Julian the Apostate for a
fellow-student; the lifelong friend of Gregory Nazianzen; founded a
monastic body, whose rules are followed by different monastic
communities; a conspicuous opponent of the Arian heresy, and defender of
the Nicene Creed; tried in vain to unite the Churches of the East and
West; is represented in Christian art in Greek pontificals, bareheaded,
and with an emaciated appearance (326-380). There were several Basils of
eminence in the history of the Church: Basil, bishop of Ancyra, who
flourished in the 4th century; Basil, the mystic, and Basil, the friend
of St. Ambrose.
BASIL I., the Macedonian, emperor of the East; though he had raised
himself to the throne by a succession of crimes, governed wisely;
compiled, along with his son Leo, surnamed the Philosopher, a code of
laws that were in force till the fall of the empire; fought successfully
against the Saracens; _d_. 886.
BASILICA, the code of laws, in 60 books, compiled by Basil I., and
Leo, his son and successor, first published in 887, and named after the
former.
BASILICA, a spacious hall, twice as long as broad, for public
business and the administration of justice, originally open to the sky,
but eventually covered in, and with the judge's bench at the end opposite
the entrance, in a circular apse added to it. They were first erected by
the Romans, 180 B.C.; afterwards, on the adoption of Christianity, they
were converted into churches, the altar being in the apse.
BASILICON DORON (i. e. Royal Gift), a work written by James I. in
1599, before the union of the crowns, for the instruction of his son,
Prince Henry, containing a defence of the royal prerogative.
BASILI`DES, a Gnostic of Alexandria, flourished at the commencement
of the 2nd century; appears to have taught the Oriental theory of
emanations, to have construed the universe as made up of a series of
worlds, some 365 it is alleged, each a degree lower than the preceding,
till we come to our own world, the lowest and farthest off from the
parent source of the series, of which the God of the Jews was the ruler,
and to have regarded Jesus as sent into it direct from the parent source
to redeem it from the materialism to which the God of the Jews, as
Creator and Lord of the material universe, had subjected it; which
teaching a sect called after his name accepted and propagated in both the
East and the West for more than two centuries afterwards.
BAS`ILISK, an animal fabled to have been hatched by a toad from the
egg of an old cock, before whose breath every living thing withered and
died, and the glance of whose eye so bewitched one to his ruin that the
bravest could confront and overcome it only by looking at the reflection
of it in a mirror, as PERSEUS (q. v.) was advised to do, and
did, when he cut off the head of the Medusa; seeing itself in a mirror,
it burst, it as said, at the sight.
BASKERVILLE, JOHN, a printer and typefounder, originally a
writing-master in Birmingham; native of Sion Hill, Worcestershire;
produced editions of classical works prized for their pre-eminent beauty
by connoisseurs in the art of the printer, and all the more for their
rarity (1706-1756).
BASNAGES, JACQUES, a celebrated Protestant divine, born at Rouen;
distinguished as a linguist and man of affairs; wrote a "History of the
Reformed Churches" and on "Jewish Antiquities" (1653-1723).
BASOCHE, a corporation of lawyers' clerks in Paris. See
BAZOCHE.
BASQUE PROVINCES, a fertile and mineral district in N. of Spain,
embracing the three provinces of Biscaya, Guipuzcoa, and Alava, of which
the chief towns are respectively Bilbao, St. Sebastian, and Vittoria; the
natives differ considerably from the rest of the Spaniards in race,
language, and customs. See BASQUES.
BASQUE ROADS, an anchorage between the Isle of Oléron and the
mainland; famous for a naval victory gained in 1809 over a French fleet
under Vice-Admiral Allemand.
BASQUES, a people of the Western Pyrenees, partly in France and
partly in Spain; distinguished from their neighbours only by their
speech, which is non-Aryan; a superstitious people, conservative,
irascible, ardent, proud, serious in their religious convictions, and
pure in their moral conduct.
BAS-RELIEF (i. e. low relief) a term applied to figures very
slightly projected from the ground.
BASS ROCK, a steep basaltic rock at the mouth of the Firth of Forth,
350 ft. high, tenanted by solan geese; once used as a prison, specially
in Covenanting times.
BASS STRAIT, strait between Australia and Tasmania, about 150 m.
broad.
BASSANIO, the lover of Portia in the "Merchant of Venice."
BASSANO, a town in Italy, on the Brenta, 30 m. NW. of Padua;
printing the chief industry.
BASSANO, DUC DE, an intriguing French diplomatist in the interest of
Bonaparte, and his steadfast auxiliary to the last (1763-1839).
BASSANO, JACOPO DA PONTE, an eminent Italian painter, chiefly of
country scenes, though the "Nativity" at his native town, Bassano, shows
his ability in the treatment of higher themes (1510-1592).
BASSOMPIERRE, FRANÇOIS DE, a marshal of France, born in Lorraine;
entered military life under Henry IV., was a gallant soldier, and one of
the most brilliant wits of his time; took part in the siege of Rochelle;
incurred the displeasure of Richelieu; was imprisoned by his order twelve
years in the Bastille; wrote his Memoirs there; was liberated on the
death of Richelieu; his Memoirs contain a lively description of his
contemporaries, the manners of the time, his own intrigues, no less than
those of his friends and enemies (1579-1646).
BASSORAH (40), a port in Asiatic Turkey, on the Shatt-el-Arab; a
place of great commercial importance when Bagdad was the seat of the
caliphate; for a time sank into insignificance, but has of late revived.
BASTI`A (22), a town in NE. Corsica, the most commercial in the
island, and once the capital; was founded by the Genoese in 1383, and
taken by the French in 1553; exports wine, oil, fruits, &c.
BASTIAN, ADOLF, an eminent ethnologist, born at Bremen; travelled
over and surveyed, in the interest of his science, all quarters of the
globe, and recorded the fruits of his survey in his numerous works, no
fewer than thirty in number, beginning with "Der Mensch in der
Geschichte," in three vols.; conducts, along with Virchow and R. Hartman,
the _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_; _b_. 1826.
BASTIAN, DR. H. C., a physiologist, born at Truro; a materialist in
his theory of life; a zealous advocate of the doctrine of spontaneous
generation; _b_. 1837.
BASTIAT, FRÉDÉRIC, an eminent political economist, born at Bayonne;
a disciple of Cobden's; a great advocate of Free Trade; wrote on behalf
of it and against Protection, "Sophismes Economiques"; a zealous
Anti-Socialist, and wrote against Socialism (1801-1850).
BASTIDE, JULES, French Radical writer, born in Paris; took part in
the Revolution of 1848, and became Minister of Foreign Affairs
(1800-1879).
BASTILLE (lit. the Building), a State prison in Paris, built
originally as a fortress of defence to the city, by order of Charles V.,
between 1369 and 1382, but used as a place of imprisonment from the
first; a square structure, with towers and dungeons for the incarceration
of the prisoners, the whole surrounded by a moat, and accessible only by
drawbridges; "tyranny's stronghold"; attacked by a mob on 14th July 1789;
taken chiefly by noise; overturned, as "the city of Jericho, by
miraculous sound"; demolished, and the key of it sent to Washington; the
taking of it was the first event in the Revolution. See Carlyle's "French
Revolution" for the description of the fall of it.
BASUTOLAND (250), a fertile, healthy, grain-growing territory in S.
Africa, SE. of the Orange Free State, under protection of the British
crown, of the size of Belgium; yields large quantities of maize; the
natives keep large herds of cattle.
BASUTOS, a S. African race of the same stock as the Kaffirs, but
superior to them in intelligence and industry.
BATANGAS, a port in the island of Luzon, one of the Philippine
Islands, which has a considerable trade.
BATAVIA (105), the capital of Java, on the N. coast, and of the
Dutch possessions in the Eastern Archipelago; the emporium, with a large
trade, of the Far East; with a very mixed population. Also the ancient
name of Holland; _insula Batavorum_ it was called--that is, island of the
Batavi, the name of the native tribes inhabiting it.
BATES, HENRY WALTER, a naturalist and traveller, born at Leicester;
friend of, and a fellow-labourer with, Alfred R. Wallace; author of "The
Naturalist on the Amazons"; an advocate of the Darwinian theory, and
author of contributions in defence of it (1825-1892).
BATH (54), the largest town in Somerset, on the Avon; a cathedral
city; a place of fashionable resort from the time of the Romans, on
account of its hot baths and mineral waters, of which there are six
springs; it was from 1704 to 1750 the scene of Beau Nash's triumphs; has
a number of educational and other institutions, and a fine public park.
BATH, MAJOR, a gentleman in Fielding's "Amelia," who stoops from his
dignity to the most menial duties when affection prompts him.
BATH, ORDER OF THE, an English order of knighthood, traceable to the
reign of Henry IV., consisting of three classes: the first, Knights Grand
Cross; the second, Knights Commanders, and the third, Knights Companions,
abbreviated respectively into G.C.B., K.C.B., and C.B.; initiation
into the order originally preceded by immersion in a bath, whence the
name, in token of the purity required of the members by the laws of
chivalry. It was originally a military order, and it is only since 1847
that civil Knights, Knights Commanders, and Companions have been admitted
as Knights. The first class, exclusive of royal personages and
foreigners, is limited to 102 military and 28 civil; the second, to 102
military and 50 civil; and the third, to 525 military and 200 civil. The
motto of the order is _Tria juncta in uno_ (Three united in one); and
Henry VI.'s chapel at Westminster is the chapel of the order, with the
plates of the Knights on their stalls, and their banners suspended over
them.
BATHGATE (5), largest town in Linlithgowshire; a mining centre; the
birthplace of Sir J. Simpson, who was the son of a baker in the place.
BATHILDA, ST., queen of France, wife of Clovis II., who governed
France during the minority of her sons, Clovis III., Childéric II., and
Thierry; died 680, in the monastery of Chelles.
BATH`ORI, ELIZABETH, a Polish princess, a woman of infamous memory,
caused some 650 young girls to be put to death, in order, by bathing in
their blood, to renew her beauty; immersed in a fortress for life on the
discovery of the crime, while her accomplices were burnt alive; _d_.
1614.
BATHOS, an anti-climax, being a sudden descent from the sublime to
the commonplace.
BATH`URST (8), the capital of British Gambia, at the mouth of the
river Gambia, in Western Africa; inhabited chiefly by negroes; exports
palm-oil, ivory, gold dust, &c.
BATHURST (10), the principal town on the western slopes of New South
Wales, second to Sydney, with gold mines in the neighbourhood, and in a
fertile wheat-growing district.
BATHURST, a district in Upper Canada, on the Ottawa, a thriving
place and an agricultural centre.
BATHYB`IUS, (i. e. living matter in the deep), substance of a
slimy nature found at great sea depth, over-hastily presumed to be
organic, proved by recent investigation to be inorganic, and of no avail
to the evolutionist.
BATLEY (28), a manufacturing town in the W. Riding of Yorkshire, 8
m. SW. of Leeds; a busy place.
BATN-EL-HAJAR, a stony tract in the Nubian Desert, near the third
cataract of the Nile.
BATON-ROUGE (10), a city on the E. bank of the Mississippi, 130 m.
above New Orleans, and capital of the state of Louisiana; originally a
French settlement.
BATON-SINISTER, a bend-sinister like a marshal's baton, an
indication of illegitimacy.
BATOUM` (10), a town in Transcaucasia, on the E. of the Black Sea; a
place of some antiquity; recently ceded by Turkey to Russia, but only as
a mere trading port; has an excellent harbour, and has improved under
Russian rule.
BATRACHOMYOMACHIA, a mock-heroic poem, "The Battle of the Frogs and
Mice," falsely ascribed to Homer.
BATTAS, a Malay race, native to Sumatra, now much reduced in
numbers, and driven into the interior.
BATTERSEA, a suburb of London, on the Surrey side of the Thames,
opposite Chelsea, and connected with it by a bridge; with a park 185
acres in extent; of plain and recent growth; till lately a quite rural
spot.
BATTHYA`NI, COUNT, an Hungarian patriot, who fought hard to see his
country reinstated in its ancient administrative independence, but failed
in his efforts; was arrested, tried for high treason by court-martial,
and sentenced to be shot, to the horror, at the time, of the civilised
world (1809-1849).
BATTLE, a market-town in Sussex, near Hastings, so called from the
battle of Senlac, in which William the Conqueror defeated Harold in 1066.
BATTLE OF THE SPURS, (_a_) an engagement at Courtrai in 1302 where the
burghers of the town beat the knighthood of France, and the spurs of 4000
knights were collected after the battle; (_b_) an engagement at
Guinegate, 1513, in which Henry VIII. made the French forces take to
their spurs; OF THE BARRIERS (see BARRIERS); OF THE BOOKS, a satire by
Swift on a literary controversy of the time; OF THE STANDARD, a battle in
1138, in which the English, with a high-mounted crucifix for a standard,
beat the Scots at Northallerton.
BATTUE, method of killing game after crowding them by cries and
beating them towards the sportsmen.
BAUCIS. See PHILEMON.
BAUDELAIRE, CHARLES, French poet of the romantic school, born in
Paris; distinguished among his contemporaries for his originality, and
his influence on others of his class; was a charming writer of prose as
well as verse, as his "Petits Poèmes" in prose bear witness. Victor Hugo
once congratulated him on having "created a new shudder"; and as has been
said, "this side of his genius attracted most popular attention, which,
however, is but one side, and not really the most remarkable, of a
singular combination of morbid but delicate analysis and reproduction of
the remotest phases and moods of human thought and passion" (1821-1867).
BAUDRICOURT, a French courtier whom Joan of Arc pressed to conduct
her into the presence of Charles VII.
BAUDRY, PAUL, French painter, decorated the _foyer_ of the Grand
Opera in Paris; is best known as the author of the "Punishment of a
Vestal Virgin" and the "Assassination of Marat" (1828-1886).
BAUER, BRUNO, a daring Biblical critic, and violent polemic on political
as well as theological subjects; born at Saxe-Altenburg; regarded the
Christian religion as overlaid and obscured by accretions foreign to it;
denied the historical truth of the Gospels, and, like a true disciple of
Hegel, ascribed the troubles of the 19th century to the overmastering
influence of the "ENLIGHTENMENT" or the "AUFKLÄRUNG" (q. v.) that
characterised the 18th. His last work was entitled "Disraeli's Romantic
and Bismarck's Socialistic Imperialism" (1809-1882).
BAUMGARTEN, ALEXANDER GOTTLIEB, professor of Philosophy at
Frankfort-on-the-Oder; disciple of Wolf; born at Berlin; the founder of
Æsthetics as a department of philosophy, and inventor of the name
(1714-1762).
BAUMGARTEN-CRUSIUS, a German theologian of the school of
Schleiermacher; professor of Theology at Jena; born at Merseburg; an
authority on the history of dogma, on which he wrote (1788-1843).
BAUR, FERDINAND CHRISTIAN, head of the Tübingen school of
rationalist divines, born near Stuttgart; distinguished by his
scholarship and his labours in Biblical criticism and dogmatic theology;
his dogmatic treatises were on the Christian Gnosis, the Atonement, the
Trinity, and the Incarnation, while his Biblical were on certain epistles
of Paul and the canonical Gospels, which he regarded as the product of
the 2nd century; regarded Christianity of the Church as Judaic in its
origin, and Paul as distinctively the first apostle of pure Christianity
(1792-1861).
BAUSSET, cardinal, born at Pondicherry, who wrote the Lives of
Bossuet and Fénélon (1748-1824).
BAUTZEN, a town of Saxony, an old town on the Spree, where Napoleon
defeated the Prussians and Russians in 1813; manufactures cotton, linen,
wool, tobacco, paper, etc.
BAVARIA (5,590), next to Prussia the largest of the German States,
about the size of Scotland; is separated by mountain ranges from Bohemia
on the E. and the Tyrol on the S.; Würtemburg lies on the W., Prussia,
Meiningen, and Saxony on the N. The country is a tableland crossed by
mountains and lies chiefly in the basin of the Danube. It is a busy
agricultural state: half the soil is tilled; the other half is under
grass, planted with vineyards and forests. Salt, coal, and iron are
widely distributed and wrought. The chief manufactures are of beer,
coarse linen, and woollen fabrics. There are universities at Münich,
Würzburg, and Erlangen. Münich, on the Isar, is the capital; Nüremberg,
where watches were invented, and Angsburg, a banking centre, the other
chief towns. Formerly a dukedom, the palatinate, on the banks of the
Rhine, was added to it in 1216. Napoleon I. raised the duke to the title
of king in 1805. Bavaria fought on the side of Austria in 1866, but
joined Prussia in 1870-71.
BAVIE`CA, the famous steed of the Cid, held sacred after the hero's
death.
BAVOU, ST., a soldier monk, the patron saint of Ghent.
BAXTER, RICHARD, an eminent Nonconformist divine, native of
Shropshire, at first a conformist, and parish minister of Kidderminster
for 19 years; sympathised with the Puritans, yet stopped short of going
the full length with them; acted as chaplain to one of their regiments,
and returned to Kidderminster; became, at the Restoration one of the
king's chaplains; driven out of the Church by the Act of Uniformity, was
thrown into prison at 70, let out, spent the rest of his days in peace;
his popular works, "The Saint's Everlasting Rest," and his "Call to the
Unconverted" (1615-1691).
BAY CITY (27), place of trade, and of importance as a great railway
centre in Michigan, U.S.; the third city in it.
BAYADERE, a dancing-girl in India, dressed in loose Eastern costume.
BAYARD, a horse of remarkable swiftness belonging to the four sons
of Aymon, and which they sometimes rode all at once; also a horse of
Amadis de Gaul.
BAYARD, CHEVALIER DE, an illustrious French knight, born in the
Château Bayard, near Grenoble; covered himself with glory in the wars of
Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I.; his bravery and generosity
commanded the admiration of his enemies, and procured for him the
thrice-honourable cognomen of "The Knight _sans peur et sans reproche_";
one of his most brilliant feats was his defence, single-handed, of the
bridge over the Garigliano, in the face of a large body of Spaniards; was
mortally wounded defending a pass at Abblategrasso; fell with his face to
the foe, who carried off his body, but restored it straightway afterwards
for due burial by his friends (1476-1524).
BAYEUX (7), an ancient Norman city in the dep. of Calvados, France;
manufactures lace, hosiery, &c.; is a bishop's seat; has a very old
Gothic cathedral.
BAYEUX TAPESTRY, representations in tapestry of events connected
with the Norman invasion of England, commencing with Harold's visit to
the Norman court, and ending with his death at the battle of Hastings;
still preserved in the public library of Bayeux; is so called because
originally found there; it is 214 ft. long by 20 in. wide, divided into
72 scenes, and contains a variety of figures. It is a question whose work
it was.
BAYLE, PIERRE, a native of Languedoc; first Protestant (as the son
of a Calvinist minister), then Catholic, then sceptic; Professor of
Philosophy at Padua, then at Rotterdam, and finally retired to the
Boompjes in the latter city; known chiefly as the author of the famous
_Dictionnaire Historique et Critique_, to the composition of which he
consecrated his energies with a zeal worthy of a religious devotee, and
which became the fountain-head of the sceptical philosophy that flooded
France on the eve of the Revolution; pronounced by a competent judge in
these matters, a mere "imbroglio of historical, philosophical, and
anti-theological marine stores" (1647-1700).
BAYLEN, a town in the province of Jaen, Spain, where General
Castaños defeated Dupont, and compelled him to sign a capitulation, in
1808.
BAYLEY, SIR JOHN, a learned English judge; author of a standard work
"On the Law of Bills of Exchange"; _d_. 1841.
BAYONNE (24), a fortified French town, trading and manufacturing, in
the dep. of Basses-Pyrénées, at the confluence of the Adour and Nive, 4
m. from the Bay of Biscay; noted for its strong citadel, constructed by
Vauban, and one of his _chef-d'oeuvres_, and its 12th-century cathedral
church; it belonged to the English from 1152 to 1451.
BAZAINE, FRANÇOIS ACHILLE, a marshal of France, born at Versailles;
distinguished himself in Algiers, the Crimea, and Mexico; did good
service, as commander of the army of the Rhine, in the Franco-German war,
but after the surrender at Sedan was shut up in Metz, surrounded by the
Germans, and obliged to surrender, with all his generals, officers, and
men; was tried by court-martial, and condemned to death, but was
imprisoned instead; made good his escape one evening to Madrid, where he
lived to write a justification of his conduct, the sale of the book being
prohibited in France (1811-1888).
BAZARD, SAINT-AMAND, a French socialist, founder of the
_Charbonnerie Française_; a zealous but unsuccessful propagator of St.
Simonianism, in association with ENFANTIN (q. v.), from whom he
at last separated (1791-1832).
BAZOCHE, a guild of clerks of the parliament of Paris, under a mock
king, with the privilege of performing religious plays, which they
abused.
BEACHES, RAISED, elevated lands, formerly sea beaches, the result of
upheaval, or left high by the recession of the sea, evidenced to be such
by the shells found in them and the nature of the débris.
BEACHY HEAD, a chalk cliff in Sussex, 575 ft. high, projecting into
the English Channel; famous for a naval engagement between the allied
English and Dutch fleets and those of France, in which the latter were
successful.
BEACONSFIELD, capital of the gold-mining district in Tasmania; also
a town in Buckinghamshire, 10 m. N. of Windsor, from which Benjamin
Disraeli took his title on his elevation to the peerage.
BEACONSFIELD, BENJAMIN DISRAELI, EARL OF, English novelist and
politician, born in London; son of Isaac D'Israeli, littérateur, and thus
of Jewish parentage; was baptized at the age of 12; educated under a
Unitarian minister; studied law, but did not qualify for practice. His
first novel, "Vivian Grey," appeared in 1826, and thereafter, whenever
the business of politics left him leisure, he devoted it to fiction.
"Contarini Fleming," "Coningsby," "Tancred," "Lothair," and "Endymion"
are the most important of a brilliant and witty series, in which many
prominent personages are represented and satirised under thin disguises.
His endeavours to enter Parliament as a Radical failed twice in 1832; in
1835 he was unsuccessful again as a Tory. His first seat was for
Maidstone in 1837; thereafter he represented Shrewsbury and
Buckinghamshire. For 9 years he was a free-lance in the House, hating the
Whigs, and after 1842 leading the Young England party; his onslaught on
the Corn Law repeal policy of 1846 made him leader of the Tory
Protectionists. He was for a short time Chancellor of the Exchequer under
Lord Derby in 1852, and coolly abandoned Protection. Returning to power
with his chief six years later, he introduced a Franchise Bill, the
defeat of which threw out the Government. In office a third time in 1866,
he carried a democratic Reform Bill, giving household suffrage in
boroughs and extending the county franchise. Succeeding Lord Derby in
1868, he was forced to resign soon afterwards. In 1874 he entered his
second premiership. Two years were devoted to home measures, among which
were Plimsoll's Shipping Act and the abolition of Scottish Church
patronage. Then followed a showy foreign policy. The securing of the half
of the Suez Canal shares for Britain; the proclamation of the Queen as
Empress of India; the support of Constantinople against Russia,
afterwards stultified by the Berlin Congress, which he himself attended;
the annexation of Cyprus; the Afghan and Zulu wars, were its salient
features. Defeated at the polls in 1880 he resigned, and died next year.
A master of epigram and a brilliant debater, he really led his party. He
was the opposite in all respects of his protagonist, Mr. Gladstone.
Lacking in zeal, he was yet loyal to England, and a warm personal friend
of the Queen (1804-1881).
BEAR, name given in the Stock Exchange to one who contracts to
deliver stock at a fixed price on a certain day, in contradistinction
from the _bull_, or he who contracts to take it, the interest of the
former being that, in the intervening time, the stocks should fall, and
that of the latter that they should rise.
BEAR, GREAT. See URSA MAJOR.
BEAM, an ancient prov. of France, fell to the crown with the
accession of Henry IV. in 1589; formed a great part of the dep. of
Basses-Pyrénées, capital Pau.
BEATIFICATION, religious honour allowed by the pope to certain who
are not so eminent in sainthood as to entitle them to canonisation.
BEATON, or BETHUNE, DAVID, cardinal, archbishop of St. Andrews,
and primate of the kingdom, born in Fife; an adviser of James V., twice
over ambassador to France; on the death of James secured to himself the
chief power in Church and State as Lord High Chancellor and Papal Legate;
opposed alliance with England; persecuted the Reformers; condemned George
Wishart to the stake, witnessed his sufferings from a window of his
castle in St. Andrews, and was assassinated within its walls shortly
after; with his death ecclesiastical tyranny of that type came to an end
in Scotland (1494-1546).
BEATON, JAMES, archbishop of Glasgow and St. Andrews, uncle of the
preceding, a prominent figure in the reign of James V.; was partial to
affiliation with France, and a persecutor of the Reformers; _d_. 1539.
BEATTIE, JAMES, a poet and essayist, born at Laurencekirk; became
professor of Logic and Moral Philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen;
wrote an "Essay on Truth" against Hume; his most admired poem, "The
Minstrel," a didactic piece, traces the progress of poetic genius,
admitted him to the Johnsonian circle in London, obtained for him the
degree of LL.D. from Oxford, and brought him a pension of £200 per annum
from the king; died at Aberdeen (1735-1803).
BEATRICE, a beautiful Florentine maiden, Portinari, her family name,
for whom Dante conceived an undying affection, and whose image abode with
him to the end of his days. She is his guide through Paradise.
BEAU NASH, a swell notability at Bath; died in beggary (1674-1761).
BEAU TIBBS, a character in Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World," noted
for his finery, vanity, and poverty.
BEAUCAIRE (8), a French town near Avignon, on the Rhône, which it
spans with a magnificent bridge; once a great centre of trade, and
famous, as it still is, for its annual fair, frequented by merchants from
all parts of Europe.
BEAUCHAMP, ALPHONSE DE, a historian, born at Monaco; wrote the
"Conquest of Peru," "History of Brazil," &c. (1769-1832).
BEAUCLERK, Henry I. of England, so called from his superior
learning.
BEAUCLERK, TOPHAM, a young English nobleman, the only son of Lord
Sydney Beauclerk, a special favourite of Johnson's, who, when he died,
lamented over him, as one whose like the world might seldom see again
(1759-1780).
BEAUFORT, DUKE OF, grandson of Henry IV. of France; one of the
chiefs of the Fronde; was surnamed Roi des Halles (King of the
Market-folk); appointed admiral of France; did good execution against the
pirates; passed into the service of Venice; was killed at the siege of
Candia in 1669.
BEAUFORT, HENRY, cardinal, bishop of Winchester, son of John of
Gaunt, learned in canon law, was several times chancellor; took a
prominent part in all the political movements of the time, exerted an
influence for good on the nation, lent immense sums to Henry V. and Henry
VI., also left bequests for charitable uses, and founded the hospital of
St. Cross at Winchester (1377-1447).
BEAUHAR`NAIS, ALEXANDRE, VICOMTE DE, born at Martinique, where he
married a lady who, afterwards as wife of Napoleon, became the Empress
Joséphine; accepted and took part in the Revolution; was secretary of the
National Assembly; coolly remarked, on the news of the flight of the
king, "The king's gone off; let us pass to the next business of the
House"; was convicted of treachery to the cause of the Revolution and put
to death; as the father of Hortense, who married Louis, Napoleon's
brother, he became grandfather of Napoleon III. (1760-1794).
BEAUHARNAIS, EUGENE DE, son of the preceding and of Joséphine, born
at Paris, step-son of Napoleon, therefore was made viceroy of Italy; took
an active part in the wars of the empire; died at Münich, whither he
retired after the fall of Napoleon (1781-1824).
BEAUHARNAIS, HORTENSE EUGENIE, sister of the preceding, ex-queen of
Holland; wife of Louis Bonaparte, an ill-starred union; mother of
Napoleon III., the youngest of three sons (1783-1837).
BEAUMAR`CHAIS, PIERRE AUGUSTIN CARON DE, a dramatist and pleader of
the most versatile, brilliant gifts, and French to the core, born in
Paris, son of a watchmaker at Caen; ranks as a comic dramatist next to
Molière; author of "Le Barbier de Seville" (1775), and "Le Mariage de
Figaro" (1784), his masterpiece; astonished the world by his conduct of a
lawsuit he had, for which "he fought against reporters, parliaments, and
principalities, with light banter, clear logic, adroitly, with an
inexhaustible toughness of resource, like the skilfullest fencer." He was
a zealous supporter of the Revolution, and made sacrifices on its behalf,
but narrowly escaped the guillotine; died in distress and poverty. Of the
two plays he wrote, Saintsbury says, "The wit is indisputable, but his
chansons contain as much wit as the Figaro plays." He made a fortune by
speculations in the American war, and lost by others, one of them being
the preparation of a sumptuous edition of Voltaire. For the culmination
and decline, as well as appreciation, of him, see the "French
Revolution," by Carlyle (1732-1799).
BAUMA`RIS, principal town in Anglesea, Wales, on the Menai Strait,
near Bangor, a favourite watering-place, with remains of a castle erected
by Edward I.
BEAUMONT, CHRISTOPHE DE, archbishop of Paris, born at Périgord,
"spent his life in persecuting hysterical Jansenists and incredulous
non-confessors"; but scrupled to grant, though he fain would have
granted, absolution on his deathbed to the dissolute monarch of France,
Louis XV.; issued a charge condemnatory of Rousseau's "Émile," which
provoked a celebrated letter from Rousseau in reply (1703-1781).
BEAUMONT, FRANCIS, dramatic poet, born in Leicestershire, of a
family of good standing; bred for the bar, but devoted to literature; was
a friend of Ben Jonson; in conjunction with his friend Fletcher, the
composer of a number of plays, about the separate authorship of which
there has been much discussion, the dramatic power of which comes far
short of that so conspicuous in the plays of their great contemporary
Shakespeare, though it is said contemporary criticism gave them the
preference (1585-1615).
BEAUMONT, JEAN BAPTISTE ÉLIE DE, French geologist, born in Calvados;
became secretary to the Academy of Sciences; was joint-editor of a
geological map of France. He had a theory of his own of the formation of
the crust of the earth (1798-1874).
BEAUREGARD, PIERRE GUSTAVE TOUTANT, American Confederate general,
born at New Orleans; adopted the cause of the South, and fought in its
behalf (1818-1893).
BEAUREPAIRE, a French officer, noted for his noble defence of Verdun
against the Prussians; preferred death by suicide to the dishonour of
surrender (1748-1792).
BEAUSOBRE, ISAAC, a Huguenot divine, born at Poitou; fled to Holland
on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled in Berlin, and became a
notability in high quarters there; attracted the notice of the young
Frederick, the Great that was to be, who sought introduction to him, and
the young Frederick "got good conversation out of him"; author of a
"History of Manichæism," praised by Gibbon, and of other books famous in
their day, a translation of the New Testament for one (1659-1738).
BEAUTIFUL PARRICIDE, BEATRICE CENCI (q. v.).
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the hero and heroine of a famous fairy tale.
Beauty falls in love with a being like a monster, who has, however, the
heart of a man, and she marries him, upon which he is instantly
transformed into a prince of handsome presence and noble mien.
BEAUVAIS (19), capital of the dep. of Oise, in France, 34 in. SW. of
Amiens, an ancient town, noted for its cathedral, its tapestry weaving,
and the feat of Jeanne-Hachette and her female following when the town
was besieged by Charles the Bold.
BEAUVAIS, a French prelate, born at Cherbourg, Bishop of Senez,
celebrated as a pulpit orator (1731-1790).
BEAUVILLIER, a statesman, patron of letters, to whom Louis XIV.
committed the governorship of his sons; died of a broken heart due to the
shock the death of the dauphin gave him (1607-1687).
BEBEK BAY, a fashionable resort on the Bosphorus, near
Constantinople, and with a palace of the sultan.
BECCAFUMI, DOMENICO, one of the best painters of the Sienese school,
distinguished also as a sculptor and a worker in mosaic (1486-1550).
BECCA`RIA, CÆSARE BONESANA, MARQUIS OF, an Italian publicist, author
of a celebrated "Treatise on Crimes and Punishments," which has been
widely translated, and contributed much to lessen the severity of
sentences in criminal cases. He was a utilitarian in philosophy and a
disciple of Rousseau in politics.
BECHE-DE-MER, a slug, called also the trepang, procured on the coral
reefs of the Pacific, which is dried and eaten as a dainty by the
Chinese.
BECHER, JOHANN JOACHIM, chemist, born at Spires; distinguished as a
pioneer in the scientific study of chemistry (1635-1682).
BECHSTEIN, a German naturalist, wrote "Natural History of Cage
Birds" (1757-1822).
BECHUANA-LAND, an inland tract in S. Africa, extends from the Orange
River to the Zambesi; has German territory on the W., the Transvaal and
Matabele-land on the E. The whole country is under British protection;
that part which is S. of the river Molopo was made a crown colony in
1885. On a plateau 4000 ft. above sea-level, the climate is suited for
British emigrants. The soil is fertile; extensive tracts are suitable for
corn; sheep and cattle thrive; rains fall in summer; in winter there are
frosts, sometimes snow. The Kalahari Desert in the W. will be habitable
when sufficient wells are dug. Gold is found near Sitlagoli, and diamonds
at Vryburg. The Bechuanas are the most advanced of the black races of S.
Africa.
BECHUA`NAS, a wide-spread S. African race, totemists, rearers of
cattle, and growers of maize; are among the most intelligent of the Bantu
peoples, and show considerable capacity for self-government.
BECKER, KARL, German philologist; bred to medicine; author of a
German grammar (1775-1842).
BECKER, NICOLAUS, author of the "Wacht am Rhein," was an obscure
lawyer's clerk, and unnoted for anything else (1810-1845).
BECKER, WILLIAM ADOLPHE, an archæologist, born at Dresden; was
professor at Leipzig; wrote books in reproductive representation of
ancient Greek and Roman life; author of "Manual of Roman Antiquities"
(1796-1846).
BECKET, THOMAS A, archbishop of Canterbury, born in London, of
Norman parentage; studied at Oxford and Bologna; entered the Church; was
made Lord Chancellor; had a large and splendid retinue, but on becoming
archbishop, cast all pomp aside and became an ascetic, and devoted
himself to the vigorous discharge of the duties of his high office;
declared for the independence of the Church, and refused to sign the
CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON (q. v.); King Henry II. grew restive
under his assumption of authority, and got rid of him by the hands of
four knights who, to please the king, shed his blood on the steps of the
altar of Canterbury Cathedral, for which outrage the king did penance
four years afterwards at his tomb. The struggle was one affecting the
relative rights of Church and king, and the chief combatants in the fray
were both high-minded men, each inflexible in the assertion of his claims
(1119-1170).
BECKFORD, WILLIAM, author of "Vathek," son of a rich alderman of
London, who bequeathed him property to the value of £100,000 per annum;
kept spending his fortune on extravagancies and vagaries; wrote "Vathek,"
an Arabian tale, when a youth of twenty-two, at a sitting of three days
and two nights, a work which established his reputation as one of the
first of the imaginative writers of his country. He wrote two volumes of
travels in Italy, but his fame rests on his "Vathek" alone (1759-1844).
BECKMANN, a professor at Göttingen; wrote "History of Discoveries
and Inventions" (1738-1811).
BECKX, PETER JOHN, general of the Jesuits, born in Belgium
(1790-1887).
BECQUEREL, ANTOINE CÆSAR, a French physicist; served as engineer in
the French army in 1808-14, but retired in 1815, devoting himself to
science, and obtained high distinction in electro-chemistry, working with
Ampère, Biot, and other eminent scientists (1788-1878).
BED OF JUSTICE, a formal session of the Parlement of Paris, under
the presidency of the king, for the compulsory registration of the royal
edicts, the last session being in 1787, under Louis XVI., at Versailles,
whither the whole body, now "refractory, rolled out, in wheeled vehicles,
to receive the order of the king."
BEDCHAMBER, LORDS or LADIES OF, officers or ladies of the royal
household whose duty it is to wait upon the sovereign--the chief of the
former called Groom of the Stole, and of the latter, Mistress of the
Robes.
BEDDOES, THOMAS LOVELL, born at Clifton, son of Thomas Beddoes; an
enthusiastic student of science; a dramatic poet, author of "Bride's
Tragedy"; got into trouble for his Radical opinions; his principal work,
"Death's Jest-Book, or the Fool's Tragedy," highly esteemed by Barry
Cornwall (1803-1849).
BEDE, or BEDA, surnamed "The Venerable," an English monk and
ecclesiastical historian, born at Monkwearmouth, in the abbey of which,
together with that of Jarrow, he spent his life, devoted to quiet study
and learning; his writings numerous, in the shape of commentaries,
biographies, and philosophical treatises; his most important work, the
"Ecclesiastical History" of England, written in Latin, and translated by
Alfred the Great; completed a translation of John's Gospel the day he
died. An old monk, it is said, wrote this epitaph over his grave, _Hac
sunt in fossâ Bedæ ... ossa_, "In this pit are the bones ... of Beda,"
and then fell asleep; but when he awoke he found some invisible hand had
inserted _venerabilis_ in the blank which he had failed to fill up,
whence Bede's epinomen it is alleged.
BEDELL, bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh, born in Essex; studied at
Cambridge; superintended the translation of the Old Testament into Irish;
though his virtues saved him and his family for a time from outrage by
the rebels in 1641, he was imprisoned at the age of 70, and though
released, died soon after (1571-1642).
BEDFORD (160), a midland agricultural county of England, generally
level, with some flat fen-land; also the county town (28), on the Great
Ouse, clean and well paved, with excellent educational institutions,
famous in connection with the life of John Bunyan, where relics of him
are preserved, and where a bronze statue of him by Boehm has been erected
to his memory by the Duke of Bedford in 1871; manufactures agricultural
implements, lace, and straw plaiting; Elstow, Bunyan's birthplace, is not
far off.
BEDFORD, JOHN, DUKE OF, brother of Henry V., protector of the
kingdom and regent of France during the minority of Henry VI., whom, on
the death of the French king, he proclaimed King of France, taking up
arms thereafter and fighting for a time victoriously on his behalf, till
the enthusiasm created by Joan of Arc turned the tide against him and
hastened his death, previous to which, however, though he prevailed over
the dauphin, and burnt Joan at the stake, his power had gone (1389-1435).
BEDFORD LEVEL, a flat marshy district, comprising part of six
counties, to the S. and W. of the Wash, about 40 m. in extent each way,
caused originally by incursions of the sea and the overflowing of rivers;
received its name from the Earl of Bedford, who, in the 17th century,
undertook to drain it.
BEDLAM, originally a lunatic asylum in London, so named from the
priory "Bethlehem" in Bishopsgate, first appropriated to the purpose,
Bedlam being a corruption of the name Bethlehem.
BEDMAR, MARQUIS DE, cardinal and bishop of Oviedo, and a Spanish
diplomatist, notorious for a part he played in a daring conspiracy in
1618 aimed at the destruction of Venice, but which, being betrayed, was
defeated, for concern in which several people were executed, though the
arch-delinquent got off; he is the subject of Otway's "Venice Preserved";
it was after this he was made cardinal, and governor of the Netherlands,
where he was detested and obliged to retire (1572-1655).
BEDOUINS, Arabs who lead a nomadic life in the desert and subsist by
the pasture of cattle and the rearing of horses, the one element that
binds them into a unity being community of language, the Arabic namely,
which they all speak with great purity and without variation of dialect;
they are generally of small stature, of wiry constitution, and dark
complexion, and are divided into tribes, each under an independent chief.
BEE, THE, a periodical started by Goldsmith, in which some of his
best essays appeared, and his "Citizen of the World."
BEECHER, HENRY WARD, a celebrated American preacher, born at
Litchfield, Connecticut; pastor of a large Congregational church,
Brooklyn; a vigorous thinker and eloquent orator, a liberal man both in
theology and politics; wrote "Life Thoughts"; denied the eternity of
punishment, considered a great heresy by some then, and which led to his
secession from the Congregational body (1813-1887).
BEECHER-STOWE, HARRIET ELIZABETH, sister of the above, authoress of
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," of which probably over a million copies have been
sold. Born at Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S.A., in 1812; _d_. 1896.
BEECHY, REAR-ADMIRAL, born in London, son of the following;
accompanied Franklin in 1818 and Parry in 1819 to the Arctic regions;
commanded the _Blossom_ in the third expedition of 1825-1828 to the same
regions; published "Voyage of Discovery towards the North Pole"
(1796-1856).
BEECHY, SIR WILLIAM, portrait-painter, born in Oxfordshire; among
his portraits were those of Lord Nelson, John Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons
(1753-1839).
BEEF-EATERS, yeomen of the royal guard, whose institution dates from
the reign of Henry VII., and whose office it is to wait upon royalty on
high occasions; the name is also given to the warders of the Tower,
though they are a separate body and of more recent origin; the name
simply means (royal) dependant, a corruption of the French word
_buffetier_, one who attends the sideboard.
BEEHIVE HOUSES, small stone structures, of ancient date, remains of
which are found (sometimes in clusters) in Ireland and the W. of
Scotland, with a conical roof formed of stones overlapping one another,
undressed and without mortar; some of them appear to have been monks'
cells.
BEEL`ZEBUB, the god of flies, protector against them, worshipped by
the Phoenicians; as being a heathen deity, transformed by the Jews into a
chief of the devils; sometimes identified with Satan, and sometimes his
aide-de-camp.
BEERBOHM TREE, HERBERT, actor, born in London, son of a grain
merchant; his first appearance was as the timid curate in the "Private
Secretary," and then as the spy Macari in "Called Back"; is lessee of the
Haymarket Theatre, London, and has had many notable successes; he is
accompanied by his wife, who is a refined actress; _b_. 1852.
BEER`SHEBA, a village in the S. of Canaan, and the most southerly,
27 m. from Hebron; associated with Dan, in the N., to denote the limit of
the land and what lies between; lies in a pastoral country abounding in
wells, and is frequently mentioned in patriarchal history; means "the
Well of the Oath."
BEESWING, a gauze-like film which forms on the sides of a bottle of
good port.
BEETHOVEN, LUDWIG VON, one of the greatest musical composers, born
in Bonn, of Dutch extraction; the author of symphonies and sonatas that
are known over all the world; showed early a most precocious genius for
music, commenced his education at five as a musician; trained at first by
a companion named Pfeiffer, to whom he confessed he owed more than all
his teachers; trained at length under the tuition of the most illustrious
of his predecessors, Bach and Händel; revealed the most wonderful musical
talent; quitted Bonn and settled in Vienna; attracted the attention of
Mozart; at the age of 40 was attacked with deafness that became total and
lasted for life; continued to compose all the same, to the admiration of
thousands; during his last days was a prey to melancholy; during a
thunderstorm he died. Goethe pronounced him at his best "an utterly
untamed character, not indeed wrong in finding the world detestable,
though his finding it so did not," he added, "make it more enjoyable to
himself or to others" (1770-1827).
BEETS, NICOLAS, a Dutch theologian and poet, born at Haarlem; came,
as a poet, under the influence of Byronism; _b_. 1814.
BEFA`NA, an Italian female Santa Claus, who on Twelfth Night fills
the stockings of good children with good things, and those of bad with
ashes.
BEGG, JAMES, Scotch ecclesiastic, born at New Monkland, Lanark; was
a stalwart champion of old Scottish orthodoxy, and the last (1808-1883).
BEGHARDS, a religious order that arose in Belgium in the 13th
century, connected with the Beguins, a mystic and socialistic sect.
BEGUINS, a sisterhood confined now to France and Germany, who,
without taking any monastic vow, devote themselves to works of piety and
benevolence.
BEGUM, name given in the E. Indies to a princess, mother, sister, or
wife of a native ruler.
BEHAIM, MARTIN, a geographer and chartographer, born in Nüremberg;
accompanied Diego Cam on a voyage of discovery along W. coast of Africa;
constructed and left behind him a famous terrestrial globe; some would
make him out to be the discoverer of America (1459-1507).
BEHAR (24,393), a province of Bengal, in the valley of the Ganges,
which divides it into two; densely peopled; cradle of Buddhism.
BEHE`MOTH, a large animal mentioned in Job, understood to be the
hippopotamus.
BEHIS`TUN, a mountain in Irak-Ajemi, a prov. of Persia, on which
there are rocks covered with inscriptions, the principal relating to
Darius Hystaspes, of date about 515 B.C., bearing on his genealogy,
domains, and victories.
BEHM, ERNST, a German geographer, born in Gotha (1830-1884).
BEHN, AFRA, a licentious writer, born in Kent, for whom, for her
free and easy ways, Charles II. took a liking; sent by him as a spy to
Holland, and through her discovered the intention of the Dutch to burn
the shipping in the Thames. She wrote plays and novels (1640-1689).
BEHRING STRAIT, a strait about 50 m. wide between Asia and N.
America, which connects the Arctic Ocean with the Pacific; discovered by
the Danish navigator Vitus Behring in 1728, sent out on a voyage of
discovery by Peter the Great.
BEIRA (1,377), a central province of Portugal, mountainous and
pastoral; gives title to the heir-apparent to the Portuguese throne.
BEKE, DR., traveller, born in London; travelled in Abyssinia and
Palestine; author of "Origines Biblicæ," or researches into primeval
history as shown not to be in keeping with the orthodox belief.
BEKKER, IMMANUEL, philologist, born in Berlin, and professor in
Halle; classical textual critic; issued recensions of the Greek and Latin
classics (1780-1871).
BEL AND THE DRAGON, HISTORY OF, one of the books of the Apocrypha, a
spurious addition to the book of Daniel, relates how Daniel persuaded
Cyrus of the vanity of idol-worship, and is intended to show its
absurdity.
BELA I., king of Hungary from 1061 to 1063; an able ruler;
introduced a great many measures for the permanent benefit of the
country, affecting both religion and social organisation.
BELA IV., king of Hungary, son of Andreas II., who had in 1222 been
compelled to sign the Golden Bull, the _Magna Charta_ of Hungarian
liberty; faithfully respected the provisions of this charter, and
incurred the enmity of the nobles by his strenuous efforts to subdue them
to the royal power.
BELCH, SIR TOBY, a reckless, jolly, swaggering character in "Twelfth
Night."
BELCHER, SIR EDWARD, admiral, was engaged in several exploring and
surveying expeditions; sailed round the world, and took part in the
operations in China (1812-1877).
BELFAST (256), county town of Antrim, and largest and most
flourishing city in the N. of Ireland; stands on the Lagan, at the head
of Belfast Lough, 100 m. N. of Dublin; is a bright and pleasant city,
with some fine streets and handsome buildings, Presbyterian, Catholic,
and Methodist colleges. It is the centre of the Irish linen and cotton
manufactures, the most important shipbuilding centre, and has also
rope-making, whisky, and aerated-water industries. Its foreign trade is
larger than even Dublin's. It is the capital of Ulster, and head-quarters
of Presbyterianism in Ireland.
BELFORT (83), a fortified town in dep. of Haut-Rhin, and is its
capital, 35 m. W. by N. of Basel; capitulated to the Germans in 1870;
restored to France; its fortifications now greatly strengthened. The
citadel was by Vauban.
BELGÆ, Cæsar's name for the tribes of the Celtic family in Gaul N.
of the Seine and Marne; mistakenly rated as Germans by Cæsar.
BELGIUM (6,136), a small European State bordering on the North Sea,
with Holland to the N., France to the S., and Rhenish Prussia and
Luxemburg on the E.; is less than a third the size of Ireland, but it is
the most densely populated country on the Continent. The people are of
mixed stock, comprising Flemings, of Teutonic origin; Walloons, of Celtic
origin; Germans, Dutch, and French. Roman Catholicism is the predominant
religion. Education is excellent; there are universities at Ghent, Liège,
Brussels, and Louvain. French is the language of educated circles and of
the State; but the prevalence of dialects hinders the growth of a
national literature. The land is low and level and fertile in the N. and
W., undulating in the middle, rocky and hilly in the S. and E. The Meuse
and Scheldt are the chief rivers, the basin of the latter embracing most
of the country. Climate is similar to the English, with greater extremes.
Rye, wheat, oats, beet, and flax are the principal crops. Agriculture is
the most painstaking and productive of the world. The hilly country is
rich in coal, iron, zinc, and lead. After mining, the chief industries
are textile manufactures and making of machinery: the former at Antwerp,
Ghent, Brussels, and Liège; the latter at Liège, Mons, and Charleroi. The
trade is enormous; France, Germany, and Britain are the best customers.
Exports are coal to France; farm products, eggs, &c., to England; and raw
material imported from across seas, to France and the basin of the Rhine.
It is a small country of large cities. The capital is Brussels (480), in
the centre of the kingdom, but communicating with the ocean by a ship
canal. The railways, canals, and river navigation are very highly
developed. The government is a limited monarchy; the king, senate, and
house of representatives form the constitution. There is a conscript army
of 50,000 men, but no navy. Transferred from Spain to Austria in 1713.
Belgium was under French sway from 1794 till 1814, when it was united
with Holland, but established its independence in 1830.
BELGRADE (54), the capital of Servia, on the confluence of the Save
and Danube; a fortified city in an important strategical position, and
the centre of many conflicts; a commercial centre; once Turkish in
appearance, now European more and more.
BELGRA`VIA, a fashionable quarter in the southern part of the West
End of London.
BELIAL, properly a good-for-nothing, a child of worthlessness; an
incarnation of iniquity and son of perdition, and the name in the Bible
for the children of such.
BELIEF, a word of various application, but properly definable as
that which lies at the heart of a man or a nation's convictions, or is
the heart and soul of all their thoughts and actions, "the thing a man
does practically lay to heart, and know for certain concerning his vital
relations to this mysterious universe, and his duty and destiny there."
BELINDA, ARABELLA FERMOR, the heroine in Pope's "Rape of the Lock."
BELISA`RIUS, a general under the Emperor Justinian, born in Illyria;
defeated the Persians, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths; was falsely
accused of conspiracy, but acquitted, and restored to his dignities by
the emperor; though another tradition, now discredited, alleges that for
the crimes charged against him he had his eyes put out, and was reduced
to beggary (505-565).
BELIZE, British Honduras, a fertile district, and its capital (6);
exports mahogany, rosewood, sugar, india-rubber, &c.
BELL, ACTON. See BRONTË.
BELL, ANDREW, LL.D., educationist, born at St. Andrews; founder of
the Monitorial system of education, which he had adopted, for want of
qualified assistants, when in India as superintendent of an orphanage in
Madras, so that his system was called "the Madras system"; returned from
India with a large fortune, added to it by lucrative preferments, and
bequeathed a large portion of it, some £120,000, for the endowment of
education in Scotland, and the establishment of schools, such as the
Madras College in his native city (1753-1832).
BELL, BESSY, and MARY GRAY, the "twa bonnie lassies" of a
Scotch ballad, daughters of two Perthshire gentlemen, who in 1666 built
themselves a bower in a spot retired from a plague then raging; supplied
with food by a lad in love with both of them, who caught the plague and
gave it to them, of which they all sickened and died.
BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE, a ceremony at one time attending the greater
excommunication in the Romish Church, when after sentence was read from
the "book," a "bell" was rung, and the "candle" extinguished.
BELL, CURRER. See BRONTË.
BELL, ELLIS. See BRONTË.
BELL, GEORGE JOSEPH, a brother of Sir Charles, distinguished in law;
author of "Principles of the Law of Scotland" (1770-1843).
BELL, HENRY, bred a millwright, born in Linlithgowshire; the first
who applied steam to navigation in Europe, applying it in a small
steamboat called the _Comet_, driven by a three horse-power engine
(1767-1830).
BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD, born in Glasgow, a lawyer and literary man,
sheriff of Lanarkshire; wrote a vindication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and
some volumes of poetry (1803-1874).
BELL, JOHN, of Antermony, a physician, born at Campsie; accompanied
Russian embassies to Persia and China; wrote "Travels in Asia," which
were much appreciated for their excellency of style (1690-1780).
BELL, PETER, Wordsworth's simple rustic, to whom the primrose was
but a yellow flower and nothing more.
BELL, ROBERT, journalist and miscellaneous writer, born at Cork;
edited "British Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper," his best-known work,
which he annotated, and accompanied with careful memoirs of each
(1800-1867).
BELL, SIR CHARLES, an eminent surgeon and anatomist, born in
Edinburgh, where he became professor of Surgery; distinguished chiefly
for his discoveries in connection with the nervous system, which he
published in his "Anatomy of the Brain" and his "Nervous System," and
which gained him European fame; edited, along with Lord Brougham, Paley's
"Evidences of Natural Religion" (1774-1842).
BELL, THOMAS, a naturalist, born at Poole; professor of Zoology in
King's College, London; author of "British Quadrupeds" and "British
Reptiles," "British Stalk-eyed Crustacea," and editor of "White's Natural
History of Selborne" (1792-1880).
BELL ROCK, or INCHCAPE ROCK, a dangerous reef of sandstone
rocks in the German Ocean, 12 m. SE. of Arbroath, on which a lighthouse
120 ft. high was erected in 1807-10; so called from a bell rung by the
sway of the waves, which the abbot of Arbroath erected on it at one time
as a warning to seamen.
BELL-THE-CAT, Archibald Douglas, Earl of Arran, so called from his
offer to dispose by main force of an obnoxious favourite of the king,
James III.
BELLA, STEPHANO DELLA, a Florentine engraver of great merit,
engraved over 1000 plates; was patronised by Richelieu in France, and the
Medici in Florence (1610-1664).
BELL`AMY, JACOB, a Dutch poet, born at Flushing; his poems highly
esteemed by his countrymen (1752-1821).
BELLANGE, a celebrated painter of battle-pieces, born at Paris
(1800-1866).
BELLAR`MINE, ROBERT, cardinal, born in Tuscany; a learned Jesuit,
controversial theologian, and in his writings, which are numerous, a
valiant defender at all points of Roman Catholic dogma; the greatest
champion of the Church in his time, and regarded as such by the
Protestant theologians; he was at once a learned man and a doughty
polemic (1542-1621).
BELLAY, JOACHIM DU, French poet; author of sonnets entitled
"Regrets," full of vigour and poetry; wrote the "Antiquités de Rome"; was
called the Apollo of the Pléiade, the best poet and the best prose-writer
among them (1524-1560).
BELLE FRANCE, (i. e. Beautiful France), a name of endearment
applied to France, like that of "Merry" applied to England.
BELLE-ISLE (60), a fortified island on the W. coast of France, near
which Sir Edward Hawke gained a brilliant naval victory over the French,
under M. de Conflans, in 1759.
BELLEISLE, CHARLES LOUIS AUGUSTE FOUQUET, COUNT OF, marshal of
France; distinguished in the war of the Spanish Succession; an ambitious
man, mainly to blame for the Austrian Succession war; had grand schemes
in his head, no less than the supremacy in Europe and the world of
France, warranting the risk; expounded them to Frederick the Great;
concluded a fast and loose treaty with him, which could bind no one;
found himself blocked up in Prague with his forces; had to force his way
out and retreat, but it was a retreat the French boast comparable only to
the retreat of the Ten Thousand; was made War Minister after, and wrought
important reforms in the army (1684-1761). See CARLYLE'S
"FREDERICK" for a graphic account of him and his schemes, specially
in Bk. xii. chap. ix.
BELLENDEN, JOHN, of Moray, a Scottish writer in the 16th century;
translated, at the request of James V., Hector Boece's "History of
Scotland," and the first five books of Livy, which remain the earliest
extant specimens of Scottish prose, and remarkable specimens they are,
for the execution of which he was well rewarded, being made archdeacon of
Moray for one thing, though he died in exile; _d_. 1550.
BELLENDEN, WILLIAM, a Scottish writer, distinguished for diplomatic
services to Queen Mary, and for the purity of his Latin composition; a
professor of belles-lettres in Paris University (1550-1613).
BELLER`OPHON, a mythical hero, son of Glaucus and grandson of
Sisyphus; having unwittingly caused the death of his brother, withdrew
from his country and sought retreat with Proetus, king of Argos, who,
becoming jealous of his guest, but not willing to violate the laws of
hospitality, had him sent to Iobates, his son-in-law, king of Lycia, with
instructions to put him to death. Iobates, in consequence, imposed upon
him the task of slaying the Chimæra, persuaded that this monster would
be the death of him. Bellerophon, mounted on Pegasus, the winged horse
given him by Pallas, slew the monster, and on his return received the
daughter of Iobates to wife.
BELLEROPHON, LETTERS OF, name given to letters fraught with mischief
to the bearer. See SUPRA.
BELLES-LETTRES, that department of literature which implies literary
culture and belongs to the domain of art, whatever the subject may be or
the special form; it includes poetry, the drama, fiction, and criticism.
BELLEVILLE, a low suburb of Paris, included in it since 1860; the
scene of one of the outrages of the Communists.
BELLIARD, COMTE DE, a French general and diplomatist; fought in most
of the Napoleonic wars, but served under the Bourbons on Napoleon's
abdication; was serviceable to Louis Philippe in Belgium by his diplomacy
(1769-1832).
BELLI`NI, the name of an illustrious family of Venetian painters.
BELLINI, GENTILE, the son of Jacopo Bellini, was distinguished as a
portrait-painter; decorated along with his brother the council-chamber of
the ducal palace; his finest picture the "Preaching of St. Mark"
(1421-1508).
BELLINI, GIOVANNI, brother of the preceding, produced a great many
works; the subjects religious, all nobly treated; had Giorgione and
Titian for pupils; among his best works, the "Circumcision," "Feast of
the Gods," "Blood of the Redeemer"; did much to promote painting in oil
(1426-1516).
BELLINI, JACOPO, a painter from Florence who settled in Venice, the
father and founder of the family; _d_. 1470.
BELLINI, VINCENZO, a musical composer, born at Catania, Sicily; his
works operas, more distinguished for their melody than their dramatic
power; the best are "Il Pirati," "La Somnambula," "Norma," and "Il
Puritani" (1802-1835).
BELLMANN, the poet of Sweden, a man of true genius, called the
"Anacreon of Sweden," patronised by Gustavus Adolphus (1741-1795).
BELLO`NA, the goddess of fury in war among the Romans, related by
the poets to Mars as sister, wife, or daughter; inspirer of the
war-spirit, and represented as armed with a bloody scourge in one hand
and a torch in the other.
BELLOT, JOSEPH RENÉ, a naval officer, born in Paris, distinguished
in the expedition of 1845 to Madagascar, and one of those who went in
quest of Sir John Franklin; drowned while crossing the ice (1826-1853).
BELLOY, a French poet, born at St. Flour; author of "Le Siège du
Calais" and numerous other dramatic works (1727-1775).
BELON, PIERRE, a French naturalist, one of the founders of natural
history, and one of the precursors of Cuvier; wrote in different
departments of natural history, the chief, "Natural History of Birds";
murdered by robbers while gathering plants in the Bois de Boulogne
(1518-1564).
BEL`PHEGOR, a Moabite divinity.
BELPHOEBE (i. e. Beautiful Diana), a huntress in the "Faërie
Queene," the impersonation of Queen Elizabeth, conceived of, however, as
a pure, high-spirited maiden, rather than a queen.
BELSHAM, THOMAS, a Unitarian divine, originally Calvinist, born at
Bedford; successor to the celebrated Priestley at Hackney, London; wrote
an elementary work on psychology (1750-1829).
BELSHAZZAR, the last Chaldean king of Babylon, slain, according to
the Scripture account, at the capture of the city by Cyrus in 538 B.C.
BELT, GREAT and LITTLE, gateways of the Baltic: the Great
between Zealand and Fünen, 15 m. broad; the Little, between Fünen and
Jutland, half as broad; both 70 m. long, the former of great depth.
BELT OF CALMS, the region in the Atlantic and Pacific, 4° or 5°
latitude broad, where the trade-winds meet and neutralise each other, in
which, however, torrents of rain and thunder-storms occur almost daily.
BELTANE, or BELTEIN, an ancient Celtic festival connected with
the sun-worship, observed about the 1st of May and the 1st of November,
during which fires were kindled on the tops of hills, and various
ceremonies gone through.
BELTED WILL, name given to Lord William Howard, warden in the 16th
and 17th centuries of the Western Marches of England.
BELU`CHISTAN (200 to 400), a desert plateau lying between Persia and
India, Afghanistan and the Arabian Sea; is crossed by many mountain
ranges, the Suliman, in the N., rising to 12,000 ft. Rivers in the NE.
are subject to great floods. The centre and W. is a sandy desert exposed
to bitter winds in winter and sand-storms in summer. Fierce extremes of
temperature prevail. There are few cattle, but sheep are numerous; the
camel is the draught animal. Where there is water the soil is fertile,
and crops of rice, cotton, indigo, sugar, and tobacco are raised; in the
higher parts, wheat, maize, and pulse. Both precious and useful metals
are found; petroleum wells were discovered in the N. in 1887. The
population comprises Beluchis, robber nomads of Aryan stock, in the E.
and W., and Mongolian Brahuis in the centre. All are Mohammedan. Kelat is
the capital; its position commands all the caravan routes. Quetta, in the
N., is a British stronghold and health resort. The Khan of Kelat is the
ruler of the country and a vassal of the Queen.
BE`LUS, another name for BAAL (q. v.), or the legendary god
of Assyria and Chaldea.
BEL`VEDERE, name given a gallery of the Vatican at Rome, especially
that containing the famous statue of Apollo, and applied to
picture-galleries elsewhere.
BELZO`NI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, a famous traveller and explorer in
Egypt, born at Padua, of poor parents; a man of great stature; figured as
an athlete in Astley's Circus, London, and elsewhere, first of all in
London streets; applied himself to the study of mechanics; visited Egypt
as a mechanician and engineer at the instance of Mehemet Ali; commenced
explorations among its antiquities, sent to the British Museum trophies
of his achievements; published a narrative of his operations; opened an
exhibition of his collection of antiquities in London and Paris;
undertook a journey to Timbuctoo, was attacked with dysentery, and died
at Gato (1778-1823).
BEM, JOSEPH, a Polish general, born in Galicia; served in the French
army against Russia in 1812; took part in the insurrection of 1830;
joined the Hungarians in 1848; gained several successes against Austria
and Russia, but was defeated at Temesvar; turned Mussulman, and was made
pasha; died at Aleppo, where he had gone to suppress an Arab
insurrection; he was a good soldier and a brave man (1791-1850).
BEMBA, a lake in Africa, the highest feeder of the Congo, of an oval
shape, 150 m. long and over 70 m. broad, 3000 ft. above the sea-level.
BEMBO, PIETRO, cardinal, an erudite man of letters and patron of
literature and the arts, born at Venice; secretary to Pope Leo X.;
historiographer of Venice, and librarian of St. Mark's; made cardinal by
Paul III., and bishop of Bergamo; a fastidious stylist and a stickler
for purity in language (1470-1547).
BEN LAWERS, a mountain in Perthshire, 3984 ft. high, on the W. of
Loch Tay.
BEN LEDI, a mountain in Perthshire, 2873 ft. high, 4½ m. NW. of
Callander.
BEN LOMOND, a mountain in Stirlingshire, 3192 ft. high, on the E. of
Loch Lomond.
BEN NEVIS, the highest mountain in Great Britain, in SW.
Inverness-shire, 4406 ft. high, and a sheer precipice on the NE. 1500 ft.
high, and with an observatory on the summit supported by the Scottish
Meteorological Society.
BEN RHYDDING, a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 15 m. NW.
of Leeds, with a thoroughly equipped hydropathic establishment, much
resorted to.
BENARES (219), the most sacred city of the Hindus, and an important
town in the NW. Provinces; is on the Ganges, 420 m. by rail NW. of
Calcutta. It presents an amazing array of 1700 temples and mosques with
towers and domes and minarets innumerable. The bank of the river is laid
with continuous flights of steps whence the pilgrims bathe; but the city
itself is narrow, crocked, crowded, and dirty. Many thousand pilgrims
visit it annually. It is a seat of Hindu learning; there is also a
government college. The river is spanned here by a magnificent railway
bridge. There is a large trade in country produce, English goods,
jewellery, and gems; while its brass-work, "Benares ware," is famous.
BENBOW, JOHN, admiral, born at Shrewsbury; distinguished himself in
an action with a Barbary pirate; rose rapidly to the highest post in the
navy; distinguished himself well in an engagement with a French fleet in
the W. Indies; he lost a leg, and at this crisis some of his captains
proved refractory, so that the enemy escaped, were tried by
court-martial, and two of them shot; the wound he received and his
vexation caused his death. He was a British tar to the backbone, and of a
class extinct now (1653-1702).
BENCOOLEN, a town and a Dutch residency in SW. of Sumatra; exports
pepper and camphor.
BENDER, a town in Bessarabia, remarkable for the siege which Charles
XII. of Sweden sustained there after his defeat at Pultowa.
BENEDEK, LUDWIG VON, an Austrian general, born in Hungary;
distinguished himself in the campaigns of 1848-1849; was defeated by the
Prussians at Sadowa; superseded and tried, but got off; retired to Grätz,
where he died (1804-1871).
BENEDETTI, COUNT VINCENT, French diplomatist, born at Bastia, in
Corsica; is remembered for his draft of a treaty between France and
Prussia, published in 1870, and for his repudiation of all responsibility
for the Franco-German war; _b_. 1817.
BENEDICT, the name of fourteen popes: B. I., from 574 to 575;
B. II., from 684 to 685; B. III., from 855 to 858; B. IV.,
from 900 to 907; B. V., FROM 964 TO 965; B. VI., from 972 to
974; B. VII., from 975 to 984; B. VIII., from 1012 to 1024;
extended the territory of the Church by conquest, and effected certain
clerical reforms; B. IX., from 1033 to 1048, a licentious man, and
deposed; B. X., from 1058 to 1059; B. XI., from 1303 to 1304;
B. XII., from 1334 to 1342; B. XIII., from 1724 to 1730;
B. XIV., from 1740 to 1758. Of all the popes of this name it would
seem there is only one worthy of special mention.
BENEDICT XIV., a native of Bologna, a man of marked scholarship and
ability; a patron of science and literature, who did much to purify the
morals and elevate the character of the clergy, and reform abuses in the
Church.
BENEDICT, BISCOP, an Anglo-Saxon monk, born in Northumbria; made two
pilgrimages to Rome; assumed the tonsure as a Benedictine monk in
Provence; returned to England and founded two monasteries on the Tyne,
one at Wearmouth and another at Jarrow, making them seats of learning;
_b_. 628.
BENEDICT, ST., the founder of Western monachism, born near Spoleto;
left home at 14; passed three years as a hermit, in a cavern near
Subiaco, to prepare himself for God's service; attracted many to his
retreat; appointed to an abbey, but left it; founded 12 monasteries of
his own; though possessed of no scholarship, composed his "Regula
Monachorum," which formed the rule of his order; represented in art as
accompanied by a raven with sometimes a loaf in his bill, or surrounded
by thorns or by howling demons (480-543). See BENEDICTINES.
BENEDICT, SIR JULIUS, musician and composer, native of Stuttgart;
removed to London in 1835; author of, among other pieces, the "Gipsy's
Warning," the "Brides of Venice," and the "Crusaders"; conducted the
performance of "Elijah" in which Jenny Lind made her first appearance
before a London audience, and accompanied her as pianist to America in
1850 (1806-1885).
BENEDICTINES, the order of monks founded by St. Benedict and
following his rule, the cradle of which was the celebrated monastery of
Monte Casino, near Naples, an institution which reckoned among its
members a large body of eminent men, who in their day rendered immense
service to both literature and science, and were, in fact, the only
learned class of the Middle Ages; spent their time in diligently
transcribing manuscripts, and thus preserving for posterity the classic
literature of Greece and Rome.
BENEDICTUS, part of the musical service at Mass in the Roman
Catholic Church; has been introduced into the morning service of the
English Church.
BENEFIT OF CLERGY, exemption of the persons of clergymen from
criminal process before a secular judge.
BE`NEKE, FRIEDRICH EDUARD, a German philosopher and professor in
Berlin of the so-called empirical school, that is, the Baconian; an
opponent of the methods and systems of Kant and Hegel; confined his
studies to psychology and the phenomena of consciousness; was more a
British thinker than a German (1798-1854).
BENENGE`LI, an imaginary Moorish author, whom Cervantes credits with
the story of "Don Quixote."
BÉNETIER, the vessel for holding the holy water in Roman Catholic
churches.
BENEVENTO (20), a town 33 m. NE. of Naples, built out of and amid
the ruins of an ancient one; also the province, of which Talleyrand was
made prince by Napoleon.
BENEVOLENCE, the name of a forced tax exacted from the people by
certain kings of England, and which, under Charles I., became so
obnoxious as to occasion the demand of the PETITION OF RIGHTS (q. v.),
that no tax should be levied without consent of Parliament; first
enforced in 1473, declared illegal in 1689.
BENFEY, THEODOR, Orientalist, born near Göttingen, of Jewish birth;
a great Sanskrit scholar, and professor of Sanskrit and Comparative
Philology at his native place; author of "Lexicon of Greek Roots,"
"Sanskrit Grammar," &c. (1809-1881).
BENGAL (76,643), one of the three Indian presidencies, but more
particularly a province lying in the plain of the Lower Ganges and the
delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra, with the Himalayas on the N. At the base
of the mountains are great forests; along the seaboard dense jungles. The
climate is hot and humid, drier at Behar, and passing through every
gradation up to the snow-line. The people are engaged in agriculture,
raising indigo, jute, opium, rice, tea, cotton, sugar, &c. Coal, iron,
and copper mines are worked in Burdwân. The manufactures are of cotton
and jute. The population is mixed in blood and speech, but Hindus
speaking Bengali predominate. Education is further advanced than
elsewhere; there are fine colleges affiliated to Calcutta University, and
many other scholastic institutions. The capital, Calcutta, is the capital
of India; the next town in size is Patna (165).
BENGA`ZI (7), the capital of Barca, on the Gulf of Sidra, in N.
Africa, and has a considerable trade.
BENGEL, JOHANN ALBRECHT, a distinguished Biblical scholar and
critic, born at Würtemberg; best known by his "Gnomon Novi Testamenti,"
being an invaluable body of short notes on the New Testament; devoted
himself to the critical study of the text of the Greek Testament
(1687-1752).
BENGUE`LA, a fertile Portuguese territory in W. Africa, S. of
Angola, with considerable mineral wealth; has sunk in importance since
the suppression of the slave-trade.
BENICIA, the former capital of California, 30 m. NE. of San
Francisco; has a commodious harbour and a U.S. arsenal.
BENI-HASSAN, a village in Middle Egypt, on the right bank of the
Nile, above Minieh, with remarkable catacombs that have been excavated.
BENI-ISRAEL (i. e. Sons of Israel), a remarkable people, few in
number, of Jewish type and customs, in the Bombay Presidency, and that
have existed there quite isolatedly for at least 1000 years, with a
language of their own, and even some literature; they do not mingle with
the Jews, but they practise similar religious observances.
BENIN`, a densely populated and fertile country in W. Africa,
between the Niger and Dahomey, with a city and river of the name; forms
part of what was once a powerful kingdom; yields palm-oil, rice, maize,
sugar, cotton, and tobacco.
BENI-SOUEF`, a town in Middle Egypt, on the right bank of the Nile,
70 m. above Cairo; a centre of trade, with cotton-mills and quarries of
alabaster.
BENJAMIN, Jacob's youngest son, by Rachel, the head of one of the
twelve tribes, who were settled in a small fertile territory between
Ephraim and Judah; the tribe to which St. Paul belonged.
BENNETT, JAMES GORDON, an American journalist, born at Keith,
Scotland; trained for the Catholic priesthood; emigrated, a poor lad of
19, to America, got employment in a printing-office in Boston as
proof-reader; started the _New York Herald_ in 1835 at a low price as
both proprietor and editor, an enterprise which brought him great wealth
and the success he aimed at (1795-1872).
BENNETT, JAMES GORDON, son of preceding, conductor of the _Herald_;
sent Stanley out to Africa, and supplied the funds.
BENNETT, SIR STERNDALE, an English musical composer and pianist,
born at Sheffield, whose musical genius recommended him to Mendelssohn
and Schumann; became professor of Music in Cambridge, and conductor of
the Philharmonic Concerts; was president of the Royal Academy of Music
(1816-1873).
BENNETT, WM., a High-Churchman, celebrated for having provoked the
decision that the doctrine of the Real Presence is a dogma not
inconsistent with the creed of the Church of England (1804-1886).
BEN`NINGSEN, COUNT, a Russian general, born at Brunswick; entered
the Russian service under Catherine II.; was commander-in-chief at Eylau,
fought at Borodino, and victoriously at Leipzig; he died at Hanover,
whither he had retired on failure of his health (1745-1826).
BENTHAM, GEORGE, botanist, born near Plymouth, nephew of Jeremy and
editor of his works, besides a writer on botany (1800-1884).
BENTHAM, JEREMY, a writer on jurisprudence and ethics, born in
London; bred to the legal profession, but never practised it; spent his
life in the study of the theory of law and government, his leading
principle on both these subjects being utilitarianism, or what is called
the greatest happiness principle, as the advocate of which he is chiefly
remembered; a principle against which Carlyle never ceased to protest as
a philosophy of man's life, but which he hailed as a sign that the crisis
which must precede the regeneration of the world was come; a lower
estimate, he thought, man could not form of his soul than as "a dead
balance for weighing hay and thistles, pains and pleasures, &c.," an
estimate of man's soul which he thinks mankind will, when it wakes up
again to a sense of itself, be sure to resent and repudiate (1748-1832).
BENTINCK, LORD GEORGE, statesman and sportsman, a member of the
Portland family; entered Parliament as a Whig, turned Conservative on the
passing of the Reform Bill of 1832; served under Sir Robert Peel; assumed
the leadership of the party as a Protectionist when Sir Robert Peel
became a Free-trader, towards whom he conceived a strong personal
animosity; died suddenly; the memory of him owes something to the memoir
of his life by Lord Beaconsfield (1802-1848).
BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM HENRY CAVENDISH, Indian statesman, governor
of Madras in 1806, but recalled for an error which led to the mutiny at
Vellore; but was in 1827 appointed governor-general of India, which he
governed wisely, abolishing many evils, such as Thuggism and Suttee, and
effecting many beneficent reforms. Macaulay held office under him. He
returned to England in 1835, became member for Glasgow in 1837, and died
before he made any mark on home politics (1774-1839).
BENTINCK, WILLIAM, a distinguished statesman, first Earl of
Portland, born in Holland; a favourite, friend, and adviser of William
III., whom he accompanied to England, and who bestowed on him for his
services great honours and large domains, which provoked ill-will against
him; retired to Holland, after the king died in his arms, but returned
afterwards (1648-1709).
BENTIVOGLIO, an Italian family of princely rank, long supreme in
Bologna; B., Guido, cardinal, though a disciple of Galileo, was one of
the Inquisitors-General who signed his condemnation (1579-1641).
BENTLEY, RICHARD, scholar and philologist, born in Yorkshire; from
the first devoted to ancient, especially classical, learning; rose to
eminence as an authority on literary criticism, his "Dissertation upon
the Epistles of Phalaris," which he proved to be a forgery, commending
him to the regard and esteem of all the scholars of Europe, a work which
may be said to have inaugurated a new era in literary historical
criticism (1662-1742).
BENUË, an affluent of the Niger, 300 m. long, falling into it 230 m.
up, described by Dr. Barth and explored by Dr. Baikic, and offers great
facilities for the prosecution of commerce.
BENVOLIO, a cantankerous, disputatious gentleman in "Romeo and
Juliet."
BENYOW`SKY, COUNT, a Hungarian, fought with the Poles against
Russia; taken prisoner; was exiled to Kamchatka; escaped with the
governor's daughter; came to France; sent out to Madagascar; was elected
king by the natives over them; fell in battle against the French
(1741-1786).
BENZENE, a substance compounded of carbon and hydrogen, obtained by
destructive distillation from coal-tar and other organic bodies, used as
a substitute for turpentine and for dissolving grease.
BENZOIN, a fragrant concrete resinous juice flowing from a
styrax-tree of Sumatra, used as a cosmetic, and burned as incense.
BEOWULF, a very old Anglo-Saxon romance consisting of 6356 short
alliterative lines, and the oldest extant in the language, recording the
exploits of a mythical hero of the name, who wrestled Hercules-wise, at
the cost of his life, with first a formidable monster, and then a dragon
that had to be exterminated or tamed into submission before the race he
belonged to could live with safety on the soil.
BÉRANGER, PIERRE JEAN DE, a celebrated French song-writer, born at
Paris, of the lower section of the middle class, and the first of his
countrymen who in that department rose to the high level of a true lyric
poet; his first struggles with fortune were a failure, but Lucien
Bonaparte took him up, and under his patronage a career was opened up for
him; in 1815 appeared as an author, and the sensation created was
immense, for the songs were not mere personal effusions, but in stirring
accord with, and contributed to influence, the great passion of the
nation at the time; was, as a Republican--which brought him into trouble
with the Bourbons--a great admirer of Napoleon as an incarnation of the
national spirit, and contributed not a little to the elevation of his
nephew to the throne, though he declined all patronage at his hands,
refusing all honours and appointments; has been compared to Burns, but he
lacked both the fire and the humour of the Scottish poet. "His poetical
works," says Professor Saintsbury, "consist entirely of chansons
political, amatory, bacchanalian, satirical, philosophical after a
fashion, and of almost every other complexion that the song can possibly
take" (1780-1859).
BERAR` (896), one of the central provinces of India, E. of Bombay;
it occupies a fertile, well-watered valley, and yields large quantities
of grain, and especially cotton.
BERAT, FRÉDÉRIC, a French poet and composer, author of a great
number of popular songs (1800-1853).
BERBER, native language spoken in the mountainous parts of Barbary.
BERBER (8), a town in Nubia, on the Nile, occupied by the English;
starting-point of caravans for the Red Sea; railway was begun to Suakim,
but abandoned.
BER`BERAH, the seaport of Somaliland, under Britain, with an annual
fair that brings together at times as many as 30,000 people.
BERBERS (3,000), a race aboriginal to Barbary and N. Africa, of a
proud and unruly temper; though different from the Arab race, are of the
same religion.
BERBICE, the eastern division of British Guiana; produces sugar,
cocoa, and timber.
BERBRUGGER, a French archæologist and philologist; wrote on Algiers,
its history and monuments (1801-1869).
BERCHTA, a German Hulda, but of severer type. See BERTHA.
BERCY, a commune on the right bank of the Seine, outside Paris,
included in it since 1860; is the great mart for wines and brandies.
BERE`ANS, a sect formed by John Barclay in 1778, who regard the
Bible as the one exclusive revelation of God.
BERENGER, or BERENGA`RIUS, OF TOURS, a distinguished
theologian, born at Tours; held an ecclesiastical office there, and was
made afterwards archdeacon of Angers; ventured to deny the doctrine of
transubstantiation, a denial for which he was condemned by successive
councils of the Church, and which he was compelled more than once
publicly to retract, though he so often and openly recalled his
retractation that the pope, notwithstanding the opposition of the
orthodox, deemed it prudent at length to let him alone. After this he
ceased to trouble the Church, and retired to an island on the Loire,
where he gave himself up to quiet meditation and prayer (998-1088).
BERENGER I., king of Italy, grandson of Louis the Débonnaire, an
able general; provoked the jealousy of the nobles, who dreaded the
abridgment of their rights, which led to his assassination at their hands
in 934. B. II., king of Italy, grandson of the preceding, was
dethroned twice by the Emperor Otho, who sent him a prisoner to Bamberg,
where he died, 966.
BERENGER, THOMAS, a French criminalist and magistrate (1785-1866).
BERENI`CE, a Jewish widow, daughter of Herod Agrippa, with whom
Titus was fascinated, and whom he would have taken to wife, had not the
Roman populace protested, from their Anti-Jewish prejudice, against it.
The name was a common one among Egyptian as well as Jewish princesses.
BERESFORD, WILLIAM CARR, VISCOUNT, an English general, natural son
of the first Marquis of Waterford; distinguished himself in many a
military enterprise, and particularly in the Peninsular war, for which he
was made a peer; he was a member of the Wellington administration, and
master-general of the ordnance (1770-1854).
BERESI`NA, a Russian river, affluent of the Dnieper, into which it
falls after a course of 350 m.; it is serviceable as a water conveyance
for large rafts of timber to the open sea, and is memorable for the
disastrous passage of the French in their retreat from Moscow in 1812.
BEREZOV`, a town in Siberia, in the government of Tobolsk; a place
of banishment.
BERG, DUCHY OF, on right bank of the Rhine, between Düsseldorf and
Cologne, now part of Prussia; Murat was grand-duke of it by Napoleon's
appointment.
BER`GAMO (42), a Lombard town, in a province of the same name, and
34 m. NE. of Milan, with a large annual fair in August, the largest in
Italy; has grindstone quarries in the neighbourhood.
BERGASSE, French jurisconsult, born at Lyons; celebrated for his
quarrel with Beaumarchais; author of an "Essay on Property" (1750-1832).
BERGEN (52), the old capital of Norway, on a fjord of the name, open
to the Gulf Stream, and never frozen; the town, consisting of wooden
houses, is built on a slope on which the streets reach down to the sea,
and has a picturesque appearance; the trade, which is considerable, is in
fish and fish products; manufactures gloves, porcelain, leather, etc.;
the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral.
BERGEN-OP-ZOOM (11), a town in N. Brabant, once a strong place, and
much coveted and frequently contested for by reason of its commanding
situation; has a large trade in anchovies.
BER`GENROTH, GUSTAV ADOLPH, historian, born in Prussia; held a State
office, but was dismissed and exiled because of his sympathy with the
revolutionary movement of 1848; came to England to collect materials for
a history of the Tudors; examined in Simancas, in Spain, under great
privations, papers on the period in the public archives; made of these a
collection and published it in 1862-68, under the title of "Calendar of
Letters, Despatches, &c., relating to Negotiations between England and
Spain" (1813-1869).
BERGERAC (11), a manufacturing town in France, 60 m. E. of Bordeaux,
celebrated for its wines; it was a Huguenot centre, and suffered greatly
in consequence.
BERGERAC, SAVINIEN CYRANO DE, an eccentric man with comic power, a
Gascon by birth; wrote a tragedy and a comedy; his best work a fiction
entitled "Histoire Comique des États et Empires de la Lune et du Soleil";
fought no end of duels in vindication, it is said, of his preposterously
large nose (1619-1655).
BERGHAUS, HEINRICH, a geographer of note, born at Clèves; served in
both the French and Prussian armies as an engineer, and was professor of
mathematics at Berlin; his "Physical Atlas" is well known (1797-1884).
BERGHEM, a celebrated landscape-painter of the Dutch school, born at
Haarlem (1624-1683).
BERGMAN, TORBERN OLOF, a Swedish chemist, studied under Linnæus, and
became professor of Chemistry at Upsala; discovered oxalic acid; was the
first to arrange and classify minerals on a chemical basis (1735-1784).
BERI, a town in the Punjab, 40 m. NW. of Delhi, in a trading centre.
BERKELEY, a town in Gloucestershire, famous for its cattle.
BERKELEY, GEORGE, bishop of Cloyne, born in Kilkenny; a
philanthropic man, who conducted in a self-sacrificing spirit practical
schemes for the good of humanity, which failed, but the interest in whom
has for long centred, and still centres, in his philosophic teaching, his
own interest in which was that it contributed to clear up our idea of God
and consolidate our faith in Him, and it is known in philosophy as
Idealism; only it must be understood, his idealism is not, as it was
absurdly conceived to be, a denial of the existence of matter, but is an
assertion of the doctrine that the universe, with every particular in it,
_as man sees it and knows it_, is not the creation of matter but the
creation of mind, and a reflex of the Eternal Reason that creates and
dwells in both it and him; for as Dr. Stirling says, "the object can only
be known in the subject, and therefore is subjective, and if subjective,
ideal." The outer, as regards our knowledge of it, is within; such is
Berkeley's fundamental philosophical principle, and it is a principle
radical to the whole recent philosophy of Europe (1684-1753).
BERKSHIRE (238), a midland county of England, with a fertile,
well-cultivated soil on a chalk bottom, in the upper valley of the
Thames, one of the smallest but most beautiful counties in the country.
In the E. part of it is Windsor Forest, and in the SE. Bagshot Heath. It
is famous for its breed of pigs.
BERLICHINGEN, GOETZ VON, surnamed "The Iron Hand," a brave but
turbulent noble of Germany, of the 15th and 16th centuries, the story of
whose life was dramatised by Goethe, "to save," as he said, "the memory
of a brave man from darkness," and which was translated from the German
by Sir Walter Scott.
BERLIN` (1,579), capital of Prussia and of the German empire; stands
on the Spree, in a flat sandy plain, 177 m. by rail SE. of Hamburg. The
royal and imperial palaces, the great library, the university, national
gallery and museums, and the arsenal are all near the centre of the city.
There are schools of science, art, agriculture, and mining; technical and
military academies; a cathedral and some old churches; zoological and
botanical gardens. Its position between the Baltic and North Seas, the
Spree, the numerous canals and railways which converge on it, render it a
most important commercial centre; its staple trade is in grain, cattle,
spirits, and wool. Manufactures are extensive and very varied; the chief
are woollens, machinery, bronze ware, drapery goods, and beer.
BERLIN DECREE, a decree of Napoleon of Nov. 21, 1806, declaring
Britain in a state of blockade, and vessels trading with it liable to
capture.
BERLIOZ, HECTOR, a celebrated musical composer and critic, born near
Grenoble, in the dep. of Isère, France; sent to study medicine in Paris;
abandoned it for music, to which he devoted his life. His best known
works are the "Symphonie Fantastique," "Romeo and Juliet," and the
"Damnation of Faust"; with the "Symphonie," which he produced while he
was yet but a student at the Conservatoire in Paris, Paganini was so
struck that he presented him with 20,000 francs (1803-1869).
BER`MONDSEY, a busy SE. suburb of London, on the S. bank of the
Thames.
BERMOO`THES, the Bermudas.
BERMU`DAS (15), a group of 400 coral islands (five inhabited) in
mid-Atlantic, 677 m. SE. of New York; have a delightful, temperate
climate, and are a popular health resort for Americans. They produce a
fine arrowroot, and export onions. They are held by Britain as a valuable
naval station, and are provided with docks and fortifications.
BERNADOTTE, JEAN BAPTISTE JULES, a marshal of France, born at Pau;
rose from the ranks; distinguished himself in the wars of the Revolution
and the Empire, though between him and Napoleon there was constant
distrust; adopted by Charles XIII., king of Sweden; joined the Allies as
a naturalised Swede in the war against France in alliance with Russia;
became king of Sweden himself under the title of Charles XIV., to the
material welfare, as it proved, of his adopted country (1764-1844).
BERNARD, CLAUDE, a distinguished French physiologist, born at St.
Julien; he studied at Paris; was Majendie's assistant and successor in
the College of France; discovered that the function of the pancreas is
the digestion of ingested fats, that of the liver the transformation into
sugar of certain elements in the blood, and that there are nervous
centres in the body which act independently of the great cerebro-spinal
centre (1813-1878).
BERNARD, ST., abbot of Clairvaux, born at Fontaines, in Burgundy;
pronounced one of the grandest figures in the church militant; studied in
Paris, entered the monastery of Citeaux, founded in 1115 a monastery at
Clairvaux, in Champagne; drew around him disciples who rose to eminence
as soldiers of the cross; prepared the statutes for the Knights-Templar;
defeated Abelard in public debate, and procured his condemnation; founded
160 monasteries; awoke Europe to a second crusade; dealt death-blows all
round to no end of heretics, and declined all honours to himself, content
if he could only awake some divine passion in other men; represented in
art as accompanied by a white dog, or as contemplating an apparition of
the Virgin and the Child, or as bearing the implements of Christ's
passion (1091-1174). Festival, Aug. 20.
BERNARD, SIMON, a French engineer, born at Dôle; distinguished as
such in the service of Napoleon, and for vast engineering works executed
in the United States, in the construction of canals and forts
(1779-1839).
BERNARD OF MENTHON, an ecclesiastic, founder of the monasteries of
the Great and the Little St. Bernard, in the passage of the Alps
(923-1008). Festival, June 15.
BERNARD OF MORLAIX, a monk of Cluny, of the 11th century; wrote a
poem entitled "De Contemptu Mundi," translated by Dr. Neale, including
"Jerusalem the Golden."
BERNARDIN DE SAINT-PIERRE, commonly called Saint-Pierre simply, a
celebrated French writer, born at Havre; author of "Paul and Virginia,"
written on the eve of the Revolution, called by Carlyle "the swan-song of
old dying France," (1739-1814).
BERNARDINE, ST., OF SIENA, born at Massa Carrara, in Italy, of noble
family; founder of the Observantines, a branch, and restoration on strict
lines, of the Franciscan order; established 300 monasteries of the said
branch; his works, written in a mystical vein, fill five folio vols.
(1380-1444).
BERNAUER, AGNES, wife of Duke Albrecht of Bavaria, whom his father,
displeased at the marriage, had convicted of sorcery and drowned in the
Danube.
BERNE (47), a fine Swiss town on the Aar, which almost surrounds it,
in a populous canton of the same name; since 1848 the capital of the
Swiss Confederation; commands a magnificent view of the Bernese Alps; a
busy trading and manufacturing city.
BERNERS, JOHN BOUCHIER, LORD, writer or translator of romance; was
Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1516, and governor of Calais from 1520;
translated Froissart's "Huon of Bordeaux," &c.
BERNERS, JULIANA, writer on hunting and hawking; lived in the 14th
century; said to have been prioress of a nunnery.
BERNESE ALPS, a chain in the Middle Alps, of which the eastern half
is called the Bernese Oberland; form the watershed between the Aar and
the Rhône.
BERNHARD, DUKE OF WEIMAR, a great German general; distinguished
himself on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years' war; fought under the
standard of Gustavus Adolphus; held command of the left wing at the
battle of Lützen, and completed the victory after the fall of Gustavus;
died at Neuburg, as alleged, without sufficient proof, by poison
(1604-1639).
BERNHARDT, SARAH, a dramatic artiste, born in Paris; of Jewish
descent, but baptized as a Christian; distinguished specially as a
tragédienne; of abilities qualifying her to shine in other departments of
the profession and of art, of which she has given proof; _b_. 1844.
BERNI, FRANCESCO, an Italian poet, born in Tuscany, who excelled in
the burlesque, to whom the Italian as a literary language owes much;
remodelled Boiardo's "Orlando Innamorato" in a style surpassing that of
the original.
BERNIER, a French physician and traveller, born at Angers; physician
for 12 years to Aurungzebe, the Great Mogul; published "Travels," a work
full of interest, and a model of exactitude (1625-1688).
BERNIER, THE ABBÉ, born in Mayenne, France; one of the principal
authors of the Concordat; promoted afterwards to be Bishop of Orleans
(1762-1806).
BERNI`NA, a mountain in the Swiss canton of Grisons, 13,290 ft.
high, remarkable for its extensive glaciers.
BERNINI, GIOVANNI LORENZO, an Italian painter, sculptor, and
architect, born at Naples; produced his "Apollo and Daphne" at eighteen,
his masterpiece; was architect to the Pope, and designed the colonnade of
St. Peter's; he died wealthy (1598-1680).
BERNOUIL`LI, name of a Swiss family of mathematicians, born at
Basel, though of Dutch origin--JAMES, JOHN, and DANIEL, of
whom John is the most celebrated; was professor first at St. Petersburg
and then at Basel; discovered the exponential calculus and the method of
integrating rational fractions, as well as the line of swiftest descent
(1667-1748).
BERNSTORFF, COUNT, a celebrated statesman, diplomatist, and
philanthropist of Denmark; called the Danish Oracle by Frederick the
Great; founded an Agricultural Society and an hospital at Copenhagen, and
obtained the emancipation of the serfs (1711-1772).
BERNSTORFF, COUNT, a nephew of the preceding; also statesman and
diplomatist (1712-1772).
BERNSTORFF, PIERRE, Danish minister, son of the preceding, a
guardian of civil and political liberty (1735-1797).
BERO`SUS, a priest of the temple of Belus in Babylon, who, 3rd
century B.C., translated into Greek certain records of Babylonish
history, valuable fragments of which are preserved by Josephus and
Eusebius; these have been collected and published by W. Richter, in
Germany.
BERRI, an ancient province of France, forms dep. of Indre and Cher,
which became crown property in 1100 under Philippe I., and a duchy in
1630, giving title to a succession of French princes.
BERRI, DUC DE, second son of Charles X. and father of Count de
Chambord, a benevolent man; assassinated by a fanatic, Louvel, as he was
leaving the Opera House (1778-1820).
BERRI, DUCHESSE DE, dowager of preceding, distinguished herself by
her futile efforts to restore the Bourbon dynasty in the reign of Louis
Philippe (1798-1890).
BERRYER, PIERRE ANTOINE, an eminent French barrister, born at Paris;
a red-hot Legitimist, which brought him into trouble; was member of the
National Assembly of 1848; inimical to the Second Empire, and openly
protested against the _coup d'état_ (1790-1868).
BER`SERKER, a Norse warrior who went into battle unharnessed, whence
his name (which means bare of sark or shirt of mail), and is said to have
been inspired with such fury as to render him invulnerable and
irresistible.
BERT, PAUL, a French physiologist and statesman, born at Auxerre;
was professor of Physiology at Paris; took to politics after the fall of
the Empire; Minister of Public Instruction under Gambetta; sent governor
to Tonquin; died of fever soon after; wrote a science primer for children
entitled "La Première Année d'Enseignement Scientifique" (1833-1886).
BERTHA, goddess in the S. German mythology, of the spinning-wheel
principally, and of the household as dependent on it, in behalf of which
and its economical management she is often harsh to idle spinners; at her
festival thrift is the rule.
BERTHA, ST., a British princess, wife of Ethelbert, king of Kent;
converted him to Christianity.
BERTHE "au Grand Pied" (i. e. Long Foot), wife of Pepin the Short,
and mother of Charlemagne, so called from her club foot.
BERTHELIER, a Swiss patriot, an uncompromising enemy of the Duke of
Savoy in his ambition to lord it over Geneva.
BERTHELOT, PIERRE EUGÈNE, a French chemist, born at Paris; professor
in the College of France; distinguished for his researches in organic
chemistry, and his attempt to produce organic compounds; the dyeing trade
owes much to his discoveries in the extraction of dyes from coal-tar; he
laid the foundation of thermo-chemistry; _b_. 1827.
BERTHIER, ALEXANDRE, prince of Wagram and marshal of France, born at
Versailles; served with Lafayette in the American war, and rose to
distinction in the Revolution; became head of Napoleon's staff, and his
companion in all his expeditions; swore fealty to the Bourbons at the
restoration of 1814; on Napoleon's return retired with his family to
Bamberg; threw himself from a window, maddened at the sight of Russian
troops marching past to the French frontier (1753-1815).
BERTHOLLET, COUNT, a famous chemist, native of Savoy, to whom we owe
the discovery of the bleaching properties of chlorine, the employment of
carbon in purifying water, &c., and many improvements in the
manufactures; became a senator and officer of the Legion of Honour under
Napoleon; attached himself to the Bourbons on their return, and was
created a peer (1744-1822).
BERTHOUD, a celebrated clockmaker, native of Switzerland; settled in
Paris; invented the marine chronometer to determine the longitude at sea
(1727-1807).
BERTIN "l'Ainé," or the Elder, a French journalist, born at Paris;
founder and editor of the _Journal des Débats_, which he started in 1799;
friend of Châteaubriand (1766-1841).
BERTIN, PIERRE, introduced stenography into France, invented by
Taylor in England (1751-1819).
BERTIN, ROSE, milliner to Marie Antoinette, famed for her devotion
to her.
BERTINAZZI, a celebrated actor, born at Turin, long a favourite in
Paris (1710-1788).
BERTRAND and RATON, two personages in La Fontaine's fable of
the Monkey and the Cat, of whom R. cracks the nut and B. eats it.
BER`TRAND, HENRI GRATIEN, COMTE, a French general, and faithful
adherent of Napoleon, accompanied him in all his campaigns, to and from
Elba, as well as in his exile at St. Helena; conducted his remains back
to France in 1840 (1770-1844).
BERTRAND DE MOLLEVILLE, Minister of Marine under Louis XVI.; a fiery
partisan of royalty, surnamed the _enfant terrible_ of the monarchy
(1744-1818).
BERTON, PIERRE, French composer of operas (1726-1780). Henri, his
son, composed operas; wrote a treatise on harmony (1761-1844).
BÉRULLE, CARDINAL, born at Troyes; founder of the order of
Carmelites, and of the Congregation of the Oratory (1576-1629).
BERWICK, JAMES FITZ-JAMES, DUKE OF, a natural son of James II., a
naturalised Frenchman; defended the rights of his father; was present
with him at the battle of the Boyne; distinguished himself in Spain,
where he gained the victory of Almanza; was made marshal of France; fell
at the siege of Philippsburg; left "Memoirs" (1670-1734).
BERWICK, NORTH, a place on the S. shore of the Forth, in
Haddingtonshire; a summer resort, specially for the golfing links.
BERWICK-ON-TWEED (13), a town on the Scotch side of the Tweed, at
its mouth, reckoned since 1835 in Northumberland, though at one time
treated as a separate county; of interest from its connection with the
Border wars, during which it frequently changed hands, till in 1482 the
English became masters of it.
BERWICKSHIRE (32), a fertile Scottish county between the
Lammermoors, inclusive, and the Tweed; is divided into the Merse, a
richly fertile plain in the S., the Lammermoors, hilly and pastoral,
dividing the Merse from Mid and East Lothian, and Lauderdale, of hill and
dale, along the banks of the Leader; Greenlaw the county town.
BERZE`LIUS, JOHAN JAKOB, Baron, a celebrated Swedish chemist, one of
the creators of modern chemistry; instituted the chemical notation by
symbols based on the notion of equivalents; determined the equivalents of
a great number of simple bodies, such as cerium and silenium; discovered
silenium, and shared with Davy the honour of propounding the
electro-chemical theory; he ranks next to Linnæus as a man of science in
Sweden (1779-1848).
BESANÇON (57), capital of the dep. of Doubs, in France; a very
strong place; fortified by Vauban; abounds in relics of Roman and
mediæval times; watchmaking a staple industry, employing some 15,000 of
the inhabitants; manufactures also porcelain and carpets.
BESANT, MRS. ANNIE, _née_ WOOD, born in London; of Irish
descent; married to an English clergyman, from whom she was legally
separated; took a keen interest in social questions and secularism;
drifted into theosophy, of which she is now an active propagandist; is an
interesting woman, and has an interesting address as a lecturer; _b_.
1847.
BESANT, SIR WALTER, a man of letters, born at Portsmouth; eminent
chiefly as a novelist of a healthily realistic type; wrote a number of
novels jointly with James Rice, and is the author of "French Humourists,"
as well as short stories; champion of the cause of Authors _versus_
Publishers, and is chairman of the committee; _b_. 1838.
BESENVAL, BARON, a Swiss, commandant of Paris under Louis XVI.; a
royalist stunned into a state of helpless dismay at the first outbreak of
the Revolution in Paris; could do nothing in the face of it but run for
his life (1722-1791).
BESIKA BAY, a bay on the Asiatic coast, near the mouth of the
Dardanelles.
BESME, a Bohemian in the pay of the Duke of Guise; assassinated
Coligny, and was himself killed by Berteauville, a Protestant gentleman,
in 1571.
BESS, GOOD QUEEN, a familiar name of Queen Elizabeth.
BESSARA`BIA (1,688), a government in the SW. of Russia, between the
Dniester and the Pruth; a cattle-breeding province; exports cattle, wool,
and tallow.
BESSAR`ION, JOHN, cardinal, native of Trebizond; contributed by his
zeal in Greek literature to the fall of scholasticism and the revival of
letters; tried hard to unite the Churches of the East and the West;
joined the latter, and was made cardinal; too much of a Grecian to
recommend himself to the popehood, to which he was twice over nearly
elevated (1395-1472).
BESSEL, FRIEDRICH WILHELM, a Prussian astronomer of prominent
ability, born at Minden; professor of Mathematics at Königsberg, and
director of the Observatory; discovered--what was a great
achievement--the parallax of the fixed star 61 Cygne; his greatest work,
"Fundamenta Astronomiæ," on which he spent 10 years, a marvel, like all
he did, of patient toil and painstaking accuracy (1784-1846).
BESSEMER, SIR HENRY, civil engineer and inventor, born at Charlton,
Herts; of his many inventions the chief is the process, named after him,
of converting pig-iron into steel at once by blowing a blast of air
through the iron while in fusion till everything extraneous is expelled,
and only a definite quantity of carbon is left in combination, a process
which has revolutionised the iron and steel trade all over the world,
leading, as has been calculated, to the production of thirty times as
much steel as before and at one-fifth of the cost per ton (1813-1898).
BESSEMER PROCESS. See BESSEMER.
BESSIÈRES, JEAN BAPTISTE, DUKE OF ISTRIA, marshal of France,
born at Languedoc, of humble parentage; rose from the ranks; a friend and
one of the ablest officers of Napoleon, and much esteemed by him;
distinguished himself in the Italian campaign, in Egypt, and at Marengo;
was shot at Lützen the day before the battle (1768-1813).
BESSUS, a satrap of Bactria under Darius, who assassinated his
master after the battle of Arbela, but was delivered over by Alexander to
Darius's brother, by whom he was put to death, 328 B.C.
BESTIARY, a name given to a class of books treating of animals,
viewed allegorically.
BETHANY, village on E. of the Mount of Olives, abode of Lazarus and
his sisters.
BETHEL (i. e. house of God), a place 11 m. N. of Jerusalem, scene
of Jacob's dream, and famous in the history of the patriarchs.
BETHENCOURT, a Norman baron, in 1425 discovered and conquered the
Canaries, and held them as a fief of the crown of Castile.
BETHLEHEM (3), a village 6 m. S. of Jerusalem, the birthplace of
Jesus Christ and King David, with a convent containing the Church of the
Nativity; near it is the grotto where St. Jerome translated the Bible
into Latin.
BETHLEN-GABOR, prince of Transylvania, assumed the title of king of
Hungary; assisted Bohemia in the Thirty Years' war (1580-1629).
BETHNAL GREEN (129), an eastern suburb of London, a parliamentary
borough, a poor district, and scene of benevolent enterprises.
BETTERTON, THOMAS, born at Westminster, a tragic actor, and as such
an interpreter of Shakespeare on, it is believed, the traditional lines.
BETTINA, the Countess of Arnim, a passionate admirer of Goethe.
BETTY, W. HENRY, a boy actor, known as the Infant Roscius; amassed a
fortune; lived afterwards retired (1791-1874).
BEULE, a French statesman and archæologist; superintended
excavations on the Acropolis of Athens; held office under Macmahon
(1826-1874).
BEUST, COUNT VON, a German statesman, born at Dresden; Minister for
Foreign Affairs in Saxony; of strong conservative leanings, friendly to
Austria; became Chancellor of the Austro-Hungarian empire; adopted a
liberal policy; sympathised with France in the Franco-German war;
resigned office in 1871; left "Memoirs" (1809-1886).
BEUTHEN (36), a manufacturing town in Prussian Silesia, in the
centre of a mining district.
BEVERLEY (12), a Yorkshire manufacturing town, 8 m. NW. of Hull,
with a Gothic minster, which contains the tombs of the Percys.
BEVERLEY, JOHN, a learned man, tutor to the Venerable Bede,
archbishop of York, and founder of a college for secular priests at
Beverley; was one of the most learned men of his time; _d_. 721.
BEVIS OF SOUTHAMPTON, or HAMPTON, SIR, a famous knight of
English mediæval romance, a man of gigantic stature, whose marvellous
feats are recorded in Drayton's "Polyolbion."
BEWICK, THOMAS, a distinguished wood-engraver, born in
Northumberland, apprenticed to the trade in Newcastle; showed his art
first in woodcuts for his "History of Quadrupeds," the success of which
led to the publication of his "History of British Birds," in which he
established his reputation both as a naturalist, in the truest sense, and
an artist (1753-1828).
BEWICK, WILLIAM, a great wood-engraver; did a cartoon from the Elgin
Marbles for Goethe (1795-1866).
BEYLE, MARIE HENRI, French critic and novelist, usually known by his
pseudonym "De Stendal," born at Grenoble; wrote in criticism "De
l'Amour," and in fiction "La Chartreuse de Parme" and "Le Rouge et le
Noir"; an ambitious writer and a cynical (1788-1842).
BEYPUR, a port in the Madras presidency, a railway terminus, with
coal and iron in the neighbourhood.
BEYROUT (200), the most nourishing commercial city on the coast of
Syria, and the port of Damascus, from which it is distant 55 m.; a very
ancient place.
BEZA, THEODORE, a French Protestant theologian, born in Burgundy, of
good birth; professor of Greek at Lausanne; deputed from Germany to
intercede for the Huguenots in France, persuaded the king of Navarre to
favour the Protestants; settled in Geneva, became the friend and
successor of Calvin; wrote a book, "De Hereticis a Civili Magistratu
Puniendis," in which he justified the burning of Servetus, and a "History
of the Reformed Churches" in France; died at 86 (1519-1605).
BEZANTS, Byzantine gold coins of varying weight and value,
introduced by the Crusaders into England, where they were current till
the time of Edward III.
BÉZIERS (42), a manufacturing town in the dep. of Hérault, 49 m. SW.
of Montpellier; manufactures silk fabrics and confectionary.
BHAGALPUR` (69), a town in Bengal, on the right bank of the Ganges,
265 m. NW. of Calcutta.
BHAGAVAD GÎTÂ, (i. e. Song of Krishna), a poem introduced into the
Mahâbhârata, divided into three sections, and each section into six
chapters, called Upanishads; being a series of mystical lectures
addressed by Krishna to his royal pupil Arjuna on the eve of a battle,
from which he shrunk, as it was with his own kindred; the whole conceived
from the point of view or belief, calculated to allay the scruples of
Arjuna, which regards the extinction of existence as absorption in the
Deity.
BHAMO` (6), a town in Burmah, the chief centre of trade with China,
conducted mainly by Chinese, and a military station, only 40 m. from the
Chinese frontier.
BHARTPUR` (68), a town in Rajputana, in a native state of the name;
yielding wheat, maize, cotton, sugar, with quarries of building stone; 30
m. W. of Agra; carries on an industry in the manufacture of chowries.
BHARTRIHARI, Indian author of apothegms, who appears to have lived
in the 11th century B.C., and to have been of royal rank.
BHILS, a rude pro-Aryan race of Central India, still untrained to
settled life; number 750,000.
BHOD-PA, name given to the aborigines of Thibet, and applied by the
Hindus to all the Thibetan peoples.
BHOPAL` (952), a well-governed native state in Central India, under
British protection, with a capital city (70) of the same name; under a
government that has been always friendly to Britain.
BHUTAN (20), an independent state in the Eastern Himalayas, with
magnificent scenery; subsidised by Britain; has a government like that of
Thibet; religion the same, though the people are at a low stage of
civilisation; the country exports horses, musk, and salt.
BIAF`RA, BIGHT OF, a large bay in the Gulf of Guinea, in W. Africa;
includes several islands, and receives into it the waters of the Calabar
rivers.
BIARD, AUGUSTE FRANÇOIS, French _genre_ painter, born at Lyons;
journeyed round the world, sketching by the way; was successful in
rendering burlesque groups (1800-1882).
BIARRITZ, a bathing-place on the Bay of Biscay, 6 m. SW. of Bayonne;
became a place of fashionable resort by the visits of the Empress
Eugenie.
BIAS, one of the seven wise men of Greece, born at Priene, in Ionia;
lived in the 6th century B.C.; many wise sayings are ascribed to him;
was distinguished for his indifference to possessions, which moth and
rust can corrupt, and thieves break through and steal.
BIBLE, THE (i. e. the Book _par excellence_, and not so much a
book as a library of books), a collection of sacred writings divided into
two parts, the Old Testament and the New; the Old, written in Hebrew,
comprehending three groups of books, the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and
the Hagiographa, bearing on the religion, the history, the institutions,
and the manners of the Jews; and the New, written in Greek, comprehending
the Four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles. The Old
Testament was translated into Greek at Alexandria by 72 Jews, 280 B.C.,
and is known as the Septuagint; and the whole book, Old and New, was
translated into Latin in a grotto near Bethlehem by St. Jerome, A.D.
385-404, and is known as the Vulgate, after which the two came to be
regarded by the Church as of equal divine authority and as sections of
one book. It may be permitted to note that the Bible is written
throughout, not in a speculative or a scientific, but a spiritual
interest, and that its final aim is to guide men in the way of life. The
spirit in which it is composed is the spirit of conviction; its essence,
both in the root of it and the fruit of it, is faith, and that primarily
in a moral power above, and ultimately a moral principle within, both
equally divine. The one principle of the book is that loyalty to the
divine commands is the one foundation of all well-being, individual and
social.
BIBLIA PAUPERUM (i. e. Bible of the Poor), a book consisting of
some 50 leaves, with pictures of scenes in the Life of Christ, and
explanatory inscriptions, printed, from wooden blocks, in the 15th
century, and before the invention of printing by movable types.
BIBULUS, a colleague of Julius Cæsar; a mere cipher, a _fainéant_.
BICÊTRE, a hospital, originally a Carthusian monastery, in the S.
side of Paris, with a commanding view of the Seine and the city; since
used for old soldiers, and now for confirmed lunatics.
BICHÂT, MARIE FRANÇOIS XAVIER, an eminent French anatomist and
physiologist; physician to the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris; one of the first to
resolve the structure of the human body into, as "Sartor" has it,
"cellular, vascular, and muscular tissues;" his great work "Anatomie
Générale appliquée à la Physiologie et à la Medecine"; died at 31
(1771-1802).
BICKERSTAFF, ISAAC, an Irish dramatist of 18th century, whose name
was adopted as a _nom de plume_ by Swift and Steele.
BICKERSTETH, EDWARD, English clergyman; author of several
evangelical works, and one of the founders of the Evangelical Alliance
(1786-1850).
BICKERTON, SIR RICHARD, vice-admiral, served in several naval
engagements, and died commander-in-chief at Plymouth in 1792.
BIDDERY WARE, ware of tin, copper, lead, and zinc, made at Bidar, in
India.
BIDDING PRAYER, an exhortation to prayer in some special reference,
followed by the Lord's Prayer, in which the congregation joins.
BIDDLE, JOHN, a Socinian writer in the time of Charles I. and the
Commonwealth; much persecuted for his belief, and was imprisoned, but
released by Cromwell; regarded as the founder of English Unitarianism;
author of a "Confession of Faith concerning the Holy Trinity"
(1615-1662).
BIDPAÏ, or PILPAÏ, the presumed author of a collection of Hindu
fables of ancient date, in extensive circulation over the East, and
widely translated.
BIELA'S COMET, a comet discovered by Biela, an Austrian officer, in
1826; appears, sometimes unobserved, every six years.
BIELEFELD (39), a manufacturing town in Westphalia, with a large
trade in linen, and the centre of the trade.
BIELU`KA, with its twin peaks, highest of the Altai Mountains,
11,100 ft.
BIENNE, LAKE OF, in the Swiss canton of Berne; the Aar is led into
it when in flood, so as to prevent inundation below; on the shores of it
are remains of lake-dwellings, and an island in it, St. Pierre, the
retreat of Rousseau in 1765.
BIFRÖST, a bridge in the Norse mythology stretching from heaven to
earth, of firm solidity and exquisite workmanship, represented in the
rainbow, of which the colours are the reflections of the precious stones.
BIGELOW, ERASTUS BRIGHAM, American inventor of weaving machines,
born in Massachusetts (1814-1879).
BIG-ENDIANS, a name given to the Catholics, as Little-endians is the
name given to the Protestants, in the imaginary kingdom of Lilliput, of
which the former are regarded as heretics by the latter because they
break their eggs at the big end.
BIGGAR, a town in Lanarkshire, birthplace of Dr. John Brown and of
the Gladstone ancestry.
BIGLOW, imaginary author of poems in the Yankee dialect, written by
James Russell Lowell.
BIJAPUR`, city in the presidency of Bombay, once the capital of an
extensive kingdom, now deserted, but with remains of its former
greatness.
BILBA`O (50), capital of the Basque prov. of Biscay, in Spain; a
commercial city of ancient date, famous at one time for its steel,
specially in Queen Elizabeth's time, when a rapier was called a "bilbo."
BILDERDIJK, WILLEM, Dutch poet, born at Amsterdam (1756-1831).
BILE, a fluid secreted from the blood by the liver to aid in
digestion, the secretion of which is most active after food.
BILLAUD-VARENNES, JEAN NICOLAS, "a grim, resolute, unrepentant"
member of the Jacobin Club; egged on the mob during the September
massacres in the name of liberty; was president of the Convention;
assisted at the fall of Robespierre, but could not avert his own; was
deported to Surinam, and content to die there rather than return to
France, which Bonaparte made him free to do; died at Port-au-Prince
(1756-1819).
BILLAUT, ADAM, the carpenter poet, called "Maître Adam," born at
Nevers, and designated "Virgile au Rabot" (a carpenter's plane); _d_.
1662.
BILLINGS, ROBERT WILLIAM, architect, born in London; delineator of
old historical buildings; his great work "Baronial and Ecclesiastical
Antiquities of Scotland," richly illustrated; was engaged in the
restoration of old buildings, as well as delineating them (1813-1874).
BILLINGSGATE, a fish-market in London, below London Bridge; also a
name given to low, coarse language indulged in there.
BILLINGTON, ELIZABETH, _née_ WEICHSEL, a celebrated singer,
born in London, of German descent; kept up her celebrity to the last;
died at Venice in 1817.
BILNEY, THOMAS, martyr, born in Norfolk, a priest who adopted the
reformed doctrine; was twice arraigned, and released on promise not to
preach, but could not refrain, and was at last burned as a heretic in
1531.
BILOCATION, the power or state, ascribed to certain of the saints,
of appearing in two places at the same time.
BIMETALLISM, the employment of two metals (gold and silver) in the
currency of a country as legal tender at a fixed relative value, the
ratio usually proposed being 1 to 15½.
BIMINI, a fabulous island with a fountain possessed of the virtue of
restoring youth.
BINET, a French littérateur, translator of Horace and Virgil
(1732-1812).
BINGEN, a manufacturing and trading town on the left bank of the
Rhine, in Grand-Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, opposite which is the tower
associated with the myth of Bishop Hatto.
BINGHAM, JOSEPH, an English divine, born at Wakefield; author of
"Origines Ecclesiasticæ," a laborious and learned work; lost his all in
the South-Sea Scheme and died (1668-1723).
BIOGENESIS, name of the theory that derives life from life, and
opposed to ABIOGENESIS (q. v.).
BIOLOGY, the science of animal life in a purely physical reference,
or of life in organised bodies generally, including that of plants, in
its varied forms and through its successive stages.
BION, a Greek pastoral poet of 3rd century B.C., born at Smyrna; a
contemporary of Theocritus; settled in Sicily; was poisoned, it is said,
by a rival; little of his poetry survives.
BIOT, JEAN BAPTISTE, an eminent French mathematician, astronomer,
and physicist, born at Paris; professor of Physics in the College of
France; took part in measuring an arc of the meridian along with Arago;
made observations on the polarisation of light, and contributed numerous
memoirs to scientific journals; wrote works on astronomy (1774-1862).
BIRAGUE, RENÉ DE, cardinal and chancellor of France, born at Milan;
charged, especially by contemporary historians, as the chief instigator
of the St. Bartholomew Massacre (1507-1583).
BIRCH, SAMUEL, archæologist and Egyptologist, born in London; keeper
of Oriental antiquities in the British Museum; had an extensive knowledge
of Egyptology, wrote largely, and contributed articles on that and
kindred archæological subjects (1813-1885).
BIRCH, THOMAS, antiquary, born in London; wrote a history of the
Royal Society (1705-1765).
BIRCH-PFEIFFER, CHARLOTTE, actress, born in Stuttgart; acted in
Berlin; wrote dramas (1800-1868).
BIRD, EDWARD, an English _genre_ painter, born in Wolverhampton,
settled in Bristol; among his works are the "Choristers Rehearsing," the
"Field of Chevy Chase," and the "Day after the Battle," pronounced his
masterpiece (1772-1819).
BIRD, GOLDING, M.D., a great authority in kidney disease, of which
he himself died (1815-1854).
BIRD, WILLIAM, a musician in the time of Elizabeth, composed
madrigals; "Non Nobis, Domine," is ascribed to him (1563-1623).
BIRD'S NEST, the nest of a species of swift, formed from a marine
plant that has been first digested by a bird, and esteemed a great luxury
by the Chinese.
BIREN, DUKE OF COURLAND, son of a peasant, favourite of the Russian
Empress Anne; held the reins of government even after her death; ruled
with great cruelty; was banished to Siberia, but recalled, and had his
honours restored to him, which in six years after he relinquished in
favour of his eldest son (1687-1772).
BIRKBECK, GEORGE, M.D., a Yorkshireman, a zealous promoter all over
the country of mechanics' institutes, was founder of the London
Institute, in consociation with Brougham and others interested in the
diffusion of useful knowledge (1776-1841).
BIRKENHEAD (100), in Cheshire, on the Mersey, opposite Liverpool and
a suburb of it; a town of rapid growth, due to the vicinity of Liverpool;
has large shipbuilding-yards and docks.
BIRKENHEAD, SIR JOHN, a political writer, several times imprisoned
during the Commonwealth for his obtrusive royalism (1615-1679).
BIRMINGHAM (478), in the NW. of Warwickshire, 112 m. NW. of London
by rail; is the chief town of the Midlands, and celebrated all over the
world for its metal ware. All kinds of engines and machinery, fine gold,
silver, copper, and brass ware, cutlery and ammunition are made here;
steel pens, buttons, nails, and screws are specialties. It is a
picturesque town with many fine buildings, libraries, art gallery and
museums, educational institutions, a cathedral, and a great town-hall,
where the triennial musical festival is held. Of this town Burne-Jones
was a native, and Priestley, George Dawson, and Dale were dissenting
ministers.
BIRNAM, a hill near Dunkeld, in Perthshire; contains part of a
forest mentioned in "Macbeth."
BIRON, a madcap lord in "Love's Labour's Lost."
BIRON, BARON DE, marshal of France, born at Périgord; served bravely
under Henry IV.; though a Catholic, favoured the Huguenots; narrowly
escaped at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew; was killed at the siege of
Épernay; carried a note-book with him everywhere, and so observant was he
that it passed into proverb, "You will find it in Biron's note-book"
(1524-1592).
BIRON, DUC DE, son of the preceding; served also bravely under Henry
IV.; but being a man of no principle and discontented with the reward he
got for his services, intrigued with the Duke of Savoy and with Spain
against Henry; was arrested and sent to the Bastille, where, after trial,
he was beheaded (1562-1602).
BISCAY, BAY OF, a bay in the Atlantic, extending from Cape Ortegal,
in Spain, to Cape Finisterre, in France, and 400 m. broad, of depth
varying from 20 to 200 fathoms, and, under SW. winds particularly, one of
the stormiest of seas.
BISCHOF, KARL GUSTAV, chemist, born at Nüremberg, professor at Bonn;
experimented on the inflammable power of gas (1792-1870).
BISCHOFF, THEODOR LUDWIG WILHELM, distinguished biologist, born at
Hanover; made a special study of embryology; was professor of Anatomy at
Heidelberg, of Physiology at Giessen, and of both at Münich (1807-1882).
BISHOP, originally an overseer of souls, eventually an overseer of
churches, especially of a district, and conceived of by High-Churchmen as
representing the apostles and deriving his powers by transmission from
them.
BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY, an English composer, born in London,
composer and director of music in Covent Garden Theatre for 14 years;
produced 60 pieces, of which "Guy Mannering," "The Miller and his Men,"
are still in favour; was for a brief space professor of Music in
Edinburgh University, and eventually held a similar chair in Oxford
(1786-1855).
BISHOP OF HIPPO, St. Augustine, as once in office there.
BISHOP-AUCKLAND (10), a market-town 9 m. SW. of Durham, where the
bishop of Durham has his residence, a palatial structure; it has
coal-mines close by; manufactures machinery and cotton goods.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO (188), an archipelago formerly called New
Britain, NE. of New Guinea; under the protectorate of Germany.
BISMARCK-SCHÖNHAUSEN, EDUARD LEOPOLD, PRINCE VON, born at
Schönhausen; woke up into civil life by the events of 1848; took a bold
stand against revolutionary ideas and measures; conceived the idea of
freeing the several States of Germany from foreign control, and welding
them into one under the crown of Prussia. Summoned in 1862 by King
William to be his political adviser, his influence was at first
distrusted, but the annexation of Sleswig-Holstein by force of arms in
1863 raised him into general favour. His next feat, the humiliation of
Austria at Königgrätz in 1866, and the consequent erection of a German
Confederation, with Prussia at its head, made him the idol of the nation.
His treatment of Napoleon III. provoked the latter into a declaration of
war, and to an advance on the part of the French against Berlin. To the
surprise of nearly all Europe, the Germans proved to be a nation of
soldiers, marshalled as army never was before, and beat the French
ignominiously back from the Rhine. Count Bismarck had the satisfaction of
seeing the power of France, that still threatened, as well as that of
Austria, helpless at his feet, the German empire restored under a
Hohenzollern king, and himself installed as chancellor of the monarch he
had served so well. Nothing he did after this--though he reformed the
coinage, codified the law, established protection, increased the army,
and repressed Socialism--equalled this great feat, and for this a
grateful nation must ever honour his name. If he ceased to be chancellor
of Germany on the accession of William II., it was because the young king
felt he would have a freer hand with a minister more likely to be under
his control (1815-1898).
BISSA`GOS, a group of some 20 volcanic islands off the coast of
Senegambia, with a large negro population; yield tropical products, and
belong now to Portugal.
BISSEN, a Danish sculptor, born in Sleswig; a pupil of Thorwaldsen;
intrusted by him to finish a statue he left unfinished at his death; he
produced some fine works, but his best known are his "Cupid Sharpening
his Arrow" and "Atalanta Hunting" (1798-1868).
BITHUR, a town on the right bank of the Ganges, 12 m. above
Cawnpore, where Nana Sahib lived, and concocted the conspiracy which
developed into the mutiny of 1857.
BITHYNIA, a country in the NW. of Asia Minor, anciently so called;
the people of it were of Thracian origin.
BITLIS (25), a high-lying town in Asiatic Turkey, 62 m. W. of Van;
stands in a valley 8470 ft. above, the sea-level, with a population of
Mohammedans and Armenians.
BITUMEN, an inflammable mineral substance, presumably of vegetable
origin, called Naphtha when liquid and light-coloured, Petroleum when
less fluid and darker, Maltha when viscid, and Asphalt when solid.
BITZIUS, a Swiss author, composed stories of Swiss life under the
_nom de plume_ of Jeremias Gotthelf, fascinating from their charming
simplicity and truth; he is much admired by Ruskin; was by profession a
Protestant pastor, the duties of which he continued to discharge till his
death (1797-1854).
BIZERTA (10), a seaport of Tunis, northernmost town in Africa, 38 m.
NW. of the capital, with an excellent harbour.
BIZET, GEORGES, an operatic composer, born at Paris; his greatest
work "Carmen"; died of heart-disease shortly after its appearance
(1838-1875).
BJÖRNSEN, a Norwegian author, born at Kvikne; composed tales,
dramas, and lyrics, all of distinguished merit and imbued with a
patriotic spirit; his best play "Sigurd the Bastard"; an active and
zealous promoter of liberalism, sometimes extreme, both in religion and
politics; his writings are numerous, and they rank high; his songs being
highly appreciated by his countrymen; _b_. 1832.
BLACK, JOSEPH, a celebrated chemist, born at Bordeaux, of Scotch
parents; the discoverer of what has been called latent heat, but what is
really transformed energy; professor of Chemistry, first in Glasgow, then
in Edinburgh, where his lectures were very popular; his discoveries in
chemistry were fruitful in results (1728-1799).
BLACK, WILLIAM, novelist, born in Glasgow; started life as a
journalist in connection with the _Morning Star_; has written several
novels, over 30 in number, about the West Highlands of Scotland, rich in
picturesque description; the best known and most admired, "A Daughter of
Heth," the "Madcap Violet," "Macleod of Dare," "The Strange Adventures of
a Phæton," and "A Princess of Thule." "But when are you going to write a
book, Mr. Black?" said Carlyle to him one day (1841-1898).
BLACK ART, name given to the presumed power of evoking evil spirits.
BLACK ASSIZE, a plague at Oxford in 1557, which carried off 300
victims; caught at the assize from the prisoners under trial.
BLACK DEATH, a name given to a succession of fatal epidemics that
devastated the world from China to Ireland in the 14th century, believed
to be the same as the Oriental plague, though attended with peculiar
symptoms; the most serious was that of 1348, which, as is reckoned,
stripped England alone of one-third of its inhabitants.
BLACK FOREST (488), a wooded mountain chain 4000 ft. high (so called
from the black pines that cover it), which runs parallel with the Rhine,
and E. of it, through Würtemberg and Baden, from the Swiss frontier to
Carlsruhe; is remarkable for its picturesque scenery and its mineral
wealth; it possesses many health resorts, as Baden-Baden and Wildbad,
where are mineral springs; silver, copper, cobalt, lead, and iron are
wrought in many places; the women and children of the region make
articles of woodwork, such as wooden clocks, &c.
BLACK FRIARS, monks of the Dominican order; name of a district in
London where they had a monastery.
BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA, a confined apartment 13 ft. square, into
which 146 English prisoners were crammed by the orders of Surajah Dowia
on the 19th June 1756; their sufferings were excruciating, and only 23
survived till morning.
BLACK LANDS, lands in the heart of Russia, extending between the
Carpathians and the Urals, constituting one-third of the soil, and
consisting of a layer of black earth or vegetable mould, of from 3 to 20
ft. in thickness, and a chief source, from its exhaustless fertility, of
the wealth of the country.
BLACK MONDAY, Easter Monday in 1351, remarkable for the extreme
darkness that prevailed, and an intense cold, under which many died.
BLACK PRINCE, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III., so called, it is
said, from the colour of his armour; distinguished himself at Crécy,
gained the battle of Poitiers, but involved his country in further
hostilities with France; returned to England, broken in health, to die
(1330-1376).
BLACK ROD, GENTLEMAN USHER OF, an official of the House of Lords,
whose badge of office is a black rod surmounted by a gold lion; summons
the Commons to the House, guards the privileges of the House, &c.
BLACK SATURDAY, name given in Scotland to Saturday, 4th August 1621;
a stormy day of great darkness, regarded as a judgment of Heaven against
Acts then passed in the Scottish Parliament tending to establish
Episcopacy.
BLACK SEA, or EUXINE, an inland sea, lying between Europe and
Asia, twice the size of Britain, being 700 m. in greatest length and 400
m. in greatest breadth; communicates in the N. with the Sea of Azov, and
in the SW., through the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora, and the
Dardanelles, with the Mediterranean. It washes the shores of Turkey,
Rumelia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Asia Minor; receives the waters of the
Danube, Dneister, Bug, and Don, from Europe, and the Kizil-Irmak and
Sakaria from Asia--three times as much as is received by the
Mediterranean. It has but one island, Adassi, off the mouths of the
Danube; no reefs or shoals; hence in summer navigation is very safe. In
winter it is harassed by severe storms. Among the chief ports are Odessa,
Kherson, Batoum, Trebizond, and Sinope; the first two are ice-bound in
January and February. For three centuries the Turks excluded all other
nations from its waters; but the Russians (1774), Austrians (1784),
French and English (1802) secured trading rights. Russia and Turkey keep
fleets in it, but other warships are excluded. Its waters are fresher
than those of the ocean, and it has no noticeable tides.
BLACK WATCH, two Highland regiments, the 42nd and 73rd, so called
from the dark colour of the tartan; raised originally for the
preservation of the peace in the Highlands.
BLACKBURN (120), a manufacturing town in Lancashire, 21 m. NW. of
Manchester, a centre of the cotton industry, and the greatest in the
world; is the birthplace of Hargreaves, the inventor of the
spinning-jenny.
BLACKHEATH, a common 7 m. SE. of London, once a favourite haunt of
highwaymen, now a place of holiday resort for Londoners; for long
provided the only golfing-course in England.
BLACKIE, JOHN STUART, a man of versatile gifts and warm human
sympathies, born in Glasgow; bred to the bar, but devoted to literary
pursuits; studied German; executed a metrical translation of Goethe's
"Faust," Part I.; filled the chair of Humanity in Aberdeen, and
afterwards that of Greek in Edinburgh; was a zealous educational
reformer; took an active interest in everything affecting the welfare and
honour of Scotland; founded a Celtic Chair in Edinburgh University; spoke
much and wrote much in his day on manifold subjects; Æschylus, and
Homer's "Iliad" in verse; among his works, which are numerous,
"Self-Culture" is the most likely to survive him longest (1809-1895).
BLACKLOCK, THOMAS, a clergyman, born in Annan, blind from early
infancy; after occupying a charge for two years, set up as a teacher in
Edinburgh; was influential in inducing Burns to abandon his intention to
emigrate, and may be credited, therefore, with saving for his country and
humanity at large one of the most gifted of his country's sons
(1721-1791).
BLACKMORE, RICHARD DODDRIDGE, novelist, born in Berks; bred to the
bar; has written several novels, the best known "Lorna Doone," which,
though coldly received at first, became highly popular; he is pronounced
unrivalled in his day as a writer of rustic comedy; _b_. 1825.
BLACKMORE, SIR RICHARD, physician, born in Wilts; the most
voluminous of poetasters, published four long worthless poems, besides
essays and psalms, &c., and made himself the butt of all the wits of the
period; _d_. 1729.
BLACKPOOL (23), a watering-place on the coast of Lancashire, 18 m.
NW. of Preston, sometimes called the "Brighton of the North."
BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM, an eminent jurist and judge, born in
London, the son of a silk-mercer; was fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford,
and in 1746 called to the bar; became first Vinerian professor of Law at
Oxford; had Jeremy Bentham for one of his pupils; author of the
well-known "Commentaries on the Laws of England," an authority on the
subject and a work that has appeared in many editions (1723-1780).
BLACKWELL, ALEXANDER, adventurer, born in Aberdeen; studied
medicine; took to printing; thrown into prison for debt; was supported by
his wife; on his release went to Sweden, was patronised by the king;
convicted of conspiracy, and beheaded in 1747.
BLACKWELL, ELIZABETH, a lady doctor, born in Bristol, and the first
to hold a medical diploma in the United States; graduated in 1849; was
admitted into the Maternity Hospital in Paris, and to St. Bartholomew's
in London, and has since distinguished herself as a social reformer; _b_.
1821.
BLACKWOOD, SIR HENRY, British admiral, much trusted by Nelson;
distinguished at Aboukir Bay and Trafalgar; was present at Nelson's
death; held subsequently high naval positions (1770-1832).
BLACKWOOD, WILLIAM, born in Edinburgh, originator of _Blackwood's
Magazine_; originally a bookseller; started _Maga_, as it was called, in
1817, his principal literary advisers being Professor Wilson and
Lockhart; conducted it as editor till his death (1776-1834). JOHN,
his third son, his successor, no less distinguished in the cause of
literature (1818-1879).
BLAEU, WILLEM JANZSOON, Dutch cartographer, born at Alkmaar; his
terrestrial and celestial globes have been admired for their excellence
and accuracy (1571-1638). His son JAN edited a valuable atlas called
"Atlas Major," in 11 volumes; _d_. 1673.
BLAINVILLE, HENRI MARIE, a French naturalist; devoted himself to
medicine; became assistant to Cuvier; succeeded him as professor of
Comparative Anatomy; wrote largely on natural science, and particularly
on subjects connected with his appointment as a professor (1777-1850).
BLAIR, HUGH, clergyman, born in Edinburgh; held in succession
several charges in Scotland, and became professor of Rhetoric in
Edinburgh University; author of "Lectures on Rhetoric" and "Sermons,"
which latter are of the nature of moral essays rather than sermons, were
much esteemed at one time for their polished style, and procured him a
pension of £200 from the king; he was a man of great critical acumen, and
the celebrated Schleiermacher did not think it beneath him to translate
some of them into German (1718-1800).
BLAIR, ROBERT, author of "The Grave," a thoughtful and cultured man,
born in Edinburgh; minister of Athelstaneford, where he was succeeded by
Home, the author of "Douglas." His poem has the merit of having been
illustrated by William Blake (1699-1743).
BLAKE, ROBERT, the great English admiral and "Sea King," born at
Bridgewater; successful as a soldier under the Commonwealth, before he
tried seamanship; took first to sea in pursuit of Prince Rupert and the
royalist fleet, which he destroyed; beat the Dutch under Van Tromp de
Ruyter and De Witt; sailed under the great guns of Tunis into the
harbour, where he fired a fleet of Turkish pirates; and finally, his
greatest feat, annihilated a Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay under the
shadow of the Peak of Teneriffe, "one of the fiercest actions ever fought
on land or water" (1598-1657).
BLAKE, WILLIAM, poet, painter, and engraver, born in London, where,
with rare intervals, he spent his life a mystic from his very boyhood;
apprenticed to an engraver, whom he assisted with his drawings; started
on original lines of his own as illustrator of books and a painter;
devoted his leisure to poetry; wrote "Songs of Innocence," "Marriage of
Heaven and Hell," "Gates of Paradise," and "Songs of Experience"; was an
intensely religious man of deep spiritual insight, most vivid feeling and
imagination; illustrated Young's "Night Thoughts," Blair's "Grave," and
the "Book of Job." He was a man of stainless character but eccentric
habits, and had for wife an angel, Catherine Boucher (1757-1828).
BLANC, CHARLES, a French art critic, brother of Louis Blanc
(1813-1882).
BLANC, JEAN JOSEPH LOUIS, a French Socialist, born at Madrid;
started as a journalist, founded the _Revue du Progrès_, and published
separately in 1840 "Organisation of Labour," which had already appeared
in the _Revue_, a work which gained the favour of the working-classes;
was member of the Provisional Government of 1848, and eventually of the
National Assembly; threatened with impeachment, fled to England; returned
to France on the fall of the Empire, and was elected to the Chamber of
Deputies in 1871; wrote an "elaborate and well-written" "History of the
French Revolution"; died at Cannes (1811-1882).
BLANC, MONT, the highest mountain in Europe, 15,780 ft., almost
entirely within France; sends numerous glaciers down its slopes, the Mer
de Glace the chief.
BLANCHARD, FRANÇOIS, a celebrated French aëronaut, inventor of the
parachute; he fell from his balloon and was killed at the Hague
(1738-1809).
BLANCHARD, LAMAN, a prolific periodical and play writer, born at
Yarmouth; a man of a singularly buoyant spirit, crushed by calamities;
died by suicide (1803-1845).
BLANCHE OF CASTILE, wife of Louis VIII. of France and mother of St.
Louis; regent of France during the minority of her son and during his
absence in crusade; governed with great discretion and firmness; died of
grief over the long absence of her son and his rumoured intention to stay
in the Holy Land (1186-1252).
BLANCHET, THE ABBÉ, French littérateur; author of "Apologues and
Tales," much esteemed (1707-1784).
BLANDRATA, GIORGIO, Piedmontese physician, who for his religious
opinions was compelled to take refuge, first in Poland, then in
Transylvania, where he sowed the seeds of Unitarianism (1515-1590).
BLANQUI, ADOLPHE, a celebrated French publicist and economist, born
at Nice; a disciple of J. B. Say, and a free-trader; his principal work,
"History of Political Economy in Europe" (1798-1854).
BLANQUI, LOUIS AUGUSTE, a brother of the preceding, a French
republican of extreme views and violent procedure; would appear to have
posed as a martyr; spent nearly half his life in prison (1805-1881).
BLARNEY-STONE, a stone in Castle Blarney, Cork, of difficult access,
which is said to endow whoso kisses it with a fair-spoken tongue, hence
the application of the word.
BLASIUS, ST., bishop of Sebaste, in Armenia; the patron of
wool-combers; suffered martyrdom in 316.
BLASPHEMY, defined by Ruskin as the opposite of euphemy, and as
wishing ill to anything, culminating in wishing ill to God, as the height
of "ill-manners."
BLATANT BEAST, Spenser's name for the ignorant, slanderous, clamour
of the mob.
BLAVATSKY, MME., a theosophist, born in Russia; a great authority on
theosophy, the doctrines of which she professed she derived from the
fountain-head in Thibet (1813-1891).
BLEEK, FRIEDRICH, eminent German Biblical exegete and critic of the
Schleiermacher school, born in Holstein; professor at Bonn; his chief
work, "Commentary on the Hebrews," a great work; others are Introductions
to the Old and to the New Testaments (1793-1859).
BLEEK, WM., son of preceding, a philologist; accompanied Colenso to
Natal; author of "Comparative Grammar of the S. African Languages"
(1827-1875).
BLEFUSCU, an island separated from Lilliput by a strait 800 yards
wide, inhabited by pigmies; understood to represent France.
BLENHEIM, a village in Bavaria, near Augsburg; famous for
Marlborough's victory in 1704, and giving name to it.
BLENHEIM PARK, near Woodstock, Oxford, the gift, with the Woodstock
estate, of the country to the Duke of Marlborough, for his military
services in the Spanish Succession war.
BLESSINGTON, COUNTESS OF, an Irish lady celebrated for her beauty
and wit; figured much in intellectual circles in London; had her salon at
Kensington; was on intimate terms with Byron, and published
"Conversations with Byron," and wrote several novels; being extravagant,
fell into debt, and had to flee the country (1789-1849).
BLICHER, STEEN STEENSEN, Danish poet of rural life (1782-1848).
BLIGH, WM., a naval officer; served under Captain Cook; commanded
the _Bounty_ at Tahiti, when his crew mutinied under his harsh treatment,
and set him adrift, with 18 others, in an open boat, in which, after
incredible privations, he arrived in England; was afterwards governor of
N.S. Wales, but dismissed for his rigorous and arbitrary conduct
(1753-1817).
BLIMBER, MRS. CORNELIA, a prim school-matron in "Dombey & Son."
BLIND, KARL, revolutionist and journalist, born at Mannheim; took
part in the risings of 1848, and sentenced to prison in consequence of a
pamphlet he wrote entitled "German Hunger and German Princes," but
rescued by the mob; found refuge in England, where he interested himself
in democratic movements, and cultivated his literary as well as his
political proclivities by contributing to magazines, and otherwise; _b_.
1826.
BLIND HARRY, a wandering Scottish minstrel of the 15th century;
composed in verse "The Life of that Noble Champion of Scotland, Sir
William Wallace."
BLINKERT DUNE, a dune near Haarlem, 197 ft. above the sea-level.
BLOCH, MARCUS ELIESER, a naturalist, born at Anspach, of Jewish
descent; his "Ichthyology" is a magnificent national work, produced at
the expense of the wealthiest princes of Germany (1723-1799).
BLOEMÆRT, a family of Flemish painters and engravers in 16th and
17th centuries.
BLOIS, capital of the deps. of Loire and Cher, France, on the Loire,
35 m. S. of Orleans; a favourite residence of Francis I. and Charles IX.,
and the scene of events of interest in the history of France.
BLOMEFLELD, FRANCIS, a clergyman, born at Norfolk; author of
"Topographical History of the County of Norfolk" (1705-1751).
BLOMFIELD, bishop of London, born at Bury St. Edmunds; Greek
scholar; active in the Church extension of his diocese (1785-1857).
BLONDEL, a troubadour of the 12th century; a favourite of Richard
Coeur de Lion, who, it is said, discovered the place of Richard's
imprisonment in Austria by singing the first part of a love-song which
Richard and he had composed together, and by the voice of Richard in
responding to the strain.
BLONDIN, CHARLES, an acrobat and rope-dancer, born at St. Omer,
France; celebrated for his feats in crossing Niagara Falls on the
tight-rope; _b_. 1824.
BLOOD, THOMAS, COLONEL, an Irish desperado, noted for his daring
attempts against the life of the Duke of Ormonde, and for carrying off
the regalia in the Tower; unaccountably pardoned by Charles II., and
received afterwards into royal favour with a pension of £500 per annum.
He was afterwards charged with conspiracy, and committed to the King's
Bench, and released.
BLOODY ASSIZES, the judicial massacres and cruel injustices
perpetrated by Judge Jeffreys during Circuit in 1685.
BLOODY BONES, a hobgoblin feared by children.
BLOODY STATUTE, statute of Henry VIII. making it a crime involving
the heaviest penalties to question any of the fundamental doctrines of
the Romish Church.
BLOOMFLELD, ROBERT, an English poet, born in Suffolk, by trade a
shoemaker; author of the "Farmer's Boy," a highly popular production,
translated into French and Italian; spent his last days in ill-health
struggling with poverty, which brought on dejection of mind (1766-1823).
BLOUNT, CHARLES, a deist, born in London; assailant of revealed
religion; was involved in all the controversies of the time; died by his
own hand (1654-1693).
BLOWPIPE, a contrivance by which a current of air is driven through
a flame, and the flame directed upon some fusible substance to fuse or
vitrify it.
BLÜCHER, Prussian field-marshal, familiarly named "Marshal
Forwards," born at Rostock; served first in the Swedish army, then in the
Prussian; distinguished as a leader of cavalry, and met with varying
fortune; at the age of 70 commanded the centre of the Allied Army in
1813; distinguished himself at Lützen and Leipzig; pursued the French
across the Rhine; pressed forward to Paris at the time of Napoleon's
abdication; defeated by Napoleon at Ligny, 16th June 1815; arrived on the
field of Waterloo just as the French were preparing to make their last
charge, and contributed to decide the fate of the day (1742-1819).
BLUE MOUNTAINS, a range of thickly wooded mountains traversing
Jamaica from E. to W., from 5000 to 7000 ft. in height; also a chain of
mountains in New South Wales of two parallel ranges, with a deep chasm
between, and full of gloomy ravines and beetling precipices, the highest
4100 ft.
BLUE NOSE, a nickname given to an inhabitant of Nova Scotia or New
Brunswick.
BLUEBEARD, a wealthy seigneur, the owner of a castle; marries a
beautiful woman, and leaves her in charge of the keys of the apartments
in his absence, with injunctions not to unlock any of the doors, an
injunction which she fails to respect, and finds to her horror the
remains of his former wives locked up in one of them; her disobedience is
discovered, and she is to prepare for death, but is rescued, as she lies
with her head on the block, by the timely arrival of her brothers, who at
once despatch the husband to his merited doom.
BLUE-BOOKS, Parliamentary documents bound in _blue_ paper, as the
corresponding documents in France are in _yellow_; they have been
published regularly since the beginning of the 18th century, those of a
single session now forming a collection of some 60 folio volumes.
BLUE-COAT SCHOOL, a name given to Christ's Hospital, London, founded
in the reign of Edward VI., from the blue coats worn by the boys.
BLUE-GOWN, in Scotland a beggar, a bedesman of the king, who wore a
blue gown, the gift of the king, and had his license to beg.
BLUE-STOCKING, a female pedant or _femme savante_, a name derived
from a learned coterie, formed in the 15th century, at Venice, who wore
blue stockings as a badge.
BLUFF HAL, or HARRY, Henry VIII. of England.
BLUM, a German politician, born at Cologne; tried by court-martial
and shot for abetting a political movement in Vienna in 1848, a
proceeding which created a wide-spread sensation at the time all over
Europe; _b_. 1807.
BLUMENBACH, JOHANN FRIEDRICH, a distinguished German naturalist and
ethnologist, born at Gotha; studied at Jena; became professor at
Göttingen, an office he filled for 60 years; his works gave a great
impulse to scientific research in all directions; the chief were
"Institutiones Physiologicæ," "Manual of Natural History," "Manual of
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology"; he made craniology a special study;
was a great advocate for religious liberty (1752-1840).
BLUMENTHAL, LEONARD VON, field-marshal in the Prussian army;
distinguished in the wars with Denmark, Austria, and France; an eminent
strategist; _b_. 1810.
BLUMI`NE, the siren that Calypsowise in "Sartor" seduced
Teufelsdröckh at the commencement of his career, but who opened his eyes
to see that it is not in sentiment, however fine, that the soul's
cravings can find satisfaction.
BLUNT, JOHN HENRY, D.D., born at Chelsea; wrote largely on
theological and ecclesiastical subjects (1823-1884).
BLUNTSCHLI, JOHANN KASPAR, a distinguished jurist, born at Zurich;
an authority in international law; a liberal conservative both in Church
and State; founder and president of the Protestant Union called the
_Protestantenverein_ (1808-1881).
BOABDIL, or ABU-ABDALLAH, surnamed "The Unfortunate," the last
Moorish king of Granada, from 1481 to 1492; expelled from his throne by
Ferdinand of Castile and Aragon; as he rode off he halted on a hill
called "The Last Sigh of the Moor," and wept as he looked back on the
Alhambra, while his mother added to his bitterness with the cutting
sarcasm, "Weep as a woman for a throne you have not been able to defend
as a man"; died shortly after in Africa, recklessly throwing away his
life on a field of battle.
BOADICE`A, a British heroine, queen of the Iceni, who occupied
Norfolk and Suffolk; roused by indignity done to her and her people by
the Romans, gathered round her an army, who, with a murderous onslaught,
attacked their settlements and destroyed them; but being attacked and
defeated in turn by Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman governor, she put, in
her despair, an end to her life by poison, A.D. 61. Cowper made her the
theme of one of his poems.
BOANERGES (i. e. Sons of Thunder), applied by Christ to the sons
of Zebedee for the vehemence of their zeal.
BOAZ and JACHIN, two pillars of brass at the entrance of
Solomon's Temple, signifying respectively strength and stability.
BOB`ADIL, CAPTAIN, a braggadocio in Ben Jonson's "Every Man in his
Humour."
BOBÈCHE, a French theatrical clown, under the Empire and the
Restoration, son of an upholsterer of the St. Antoine faubourg, the type
of the merry-andrew at country fairs.
BOCCACCIO, GIOVANNI, the celebrated Italian _raconteur_, born near
Florence; showed early a passion for literature; sent by his father to
Naples to pursue a mercantile career; gave himself up to story-telling in
prose and verse; fell in love with Maria, a beautiful woman, daughter of
the king, styled by him Fiammetta, for whom he wrote several of his
works, and his great work, the "Decameron"; early formed a lifelong
friendship with Petrarch, along with whom he contributed to the revival
and study of classic literature; lectured on Dante in Florence;
Petrarch's death deeply affected him, and he died the year after
(1313-1375).
BOCCHERINI, LUIGI, a celebrated Italian musical composer, born at
Lucca; was associated with Manfredi, the violinist; his works were
numerous; appears to have lived in poverty and obscurity (1740-1805).
BOCHART, SAMUEL, a Protestant divine, born at Rouen; pastor at Caen;
a geographer and an Orientalist; wrote a treatise on sacred geography;
celebrated for a nine-days' discussion with the Jesuit Verin (1599-1667).
BODE, JOHANN ELERT, an astronomer, born at Hamburg; was professor of
Astronomy and director of Observatory at Berlin; produced a number of
astronomical works, one of his best, "An Introduction to the Knowledge of
the Starry Heavens;" gave name to the law of the planetary distances,
called Bode's Law, although it was observed by Kepler long before his day
(1747-1826).
BODEL, a celebrated troubadour of the 13th century, born at Arras.
BODENSEE, another name for the Lake of Constance, well called the
filter of the Rhine.
BODIN, JEAN, a publicist and diplomatist, born at Angers; author of
"The Republic," in six books, published at first in French and then in
Latin, which summed up all the political philosophy of his time, and
contributed to prepare the way for subsequent speculations; was the
precursor of Hobbes and Montesquieu (1530-1596).
BODLEIAN LIBRARY, the university library of Oxford, founded, or
rather restored, by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1593; enlarged from time to time
by bequests, often munificent. It possesses 400,000 printed volumes and
30,000 MSS.
BODLEY, SIR THOMAS, born at Exeter; employed on embassies by
Elizabeth on the Continent, where he collected a number of valuable
books; bequeathed them and his fortune to the university library of
Oxford, named after him (1545-1613).
BODMER, JOHANN JACOB, a distinguished Swiss critic, born near
Zurich; the first, by study of the masters in literature of Greece and
Rome, France, England, and Italy, to wake up Germany to a sense of its
poverty in that line, and who aided, along with others, in the
inauguration of a new era, which he did more by his republication of the
Minnesingers and part of the "Nibelungen Lied" than by his advocacy
(1698-1783).
BODMIN (5), the county town of Cornwall, supersedes Truro as
capital; an important agricultural centre; has large annual fairs for
cattle, horses, and sheep.
BODONI, an Italian printer; settled at Parma, where his press was
set up in the ducal palace, whence issued magnificent editions of the
classics, Horace, Virgil, Tacitus, Tasso, and, last of all, Homer. He was
often tempted to Rome, but he refused to quit Parma and the patronage of
the ducal house there (1740-1813).
BÖDTCHER, LUDWIG, a Danish lyric poet, born at Copenhagen; lived
chiefly in Italy (1793-1874).
BOECE, HECTOR, a humanist and Scottish historian, born at Dundee;
professor of Philosophy at Paris; friend of Erasmus; was principal of
university at Aberdeen; wrote "History of Bishops of Mortlach and
Aberdeen," and "History of Scotland" in excellent Latin (1465-1536).
BOECKH, PHILIP AUGUST, classical antiquary, born at Carlsruhe;
professor of Ancient Literature in Berlin; a classic of the first rank,
and a contributor on a large scale to all departments of Greek classical
learning; was an eminently learned man, and an authority in different
departments of learning (1785-1867).
BOEHM, SIR JOSEPH EDGAR, sculptor, born in Vienna, of Hungarian
parentage; settled in England; executed a colossal statue of the Queen at
Windsor, a seated statue of Carlyle on the Thames Embankment, a statue of
Bunyan at Bedford, &c.; patronised by the Queen and royal family; buried
in St. Paul's by the Queen's desire (1785-1869).
BOEHME, JACOB, a celebrated German mystic, born at Görlitz; of an
imaginatively meditative turn from boyhood as a neat-herd, and afterwards
in his stall as a shoemaker; spent his whole life in meditation on divine
things; saw in the Bible a revelation of these as in no other book;
seemed to have eyes given him to see visions of these things himself, for
which he felt he had no organ to express, and which he conveyed to others
in mystical, apocalyptical speech; a thinker very fascinating to all
minds of the seer class. He was subject to persecution, as all of his
stamp are, by the men of the letter, and bore up with the meekness which
all men of his elevation of character ever do--"quiet, gentle, and
modest," as they all are to the very core, in his way of thinking; and
his philosophy would seem to have anticipated the secret of Hegel, who
acknowledges him as one of the fathers of German philosophy. He left
writings which embody a scheme of mystical theology, setting forth the
trinity in unity of the Hegelian system, that is, viewing the divine as
it is in itself, as it comes out in nature, and as it returns to itself
in the human soul (1575-1624).
BOEHMER, a German historian, born at Frankfort; author of works on
the Carlovingian period of history (1795-1863).
BOEO`TIA, a country of ancient Greece, N. of the Gulf of Corinth;
the natives, though brave, were mere tillers of the soil under a heavy
atmosphere, innocent of culture, and regarded as boors and dullards by
the educated classes of Greece, and particularly of Athens, and yet
Hesiod, Pindar, and Plutarch were natives of Boeotia.
BOERHAAVE, a great physician, born near Leyden, and son of a pastor;
ultimately professor of Medicine and Botany there, as well as of
Chemistry; chairs of which he filled and adorned with the greatest
distinction; his reputation spread over Europe, and even as far as
China--a letter from which bore the simple address, "To M. Boerhaave,
Europe," and found him; his system was adopted by the profession, and
patients from far and wide came to consult him--among others, Pope
Benedict VIII. and Peter the Great; his character was as noble as his
abilities were great; his principal works were "Institutiones Medicæ,"
"Aphorismi de Cognoscendis et Curandis Morbis," "Libellus de Materia
Medica," and "Institutiones Chemicæ" (1668-1738).
BOERS (i. e. peasants engaged in tillage), Dutch colonists of an
independent republican temper, who in the 17th century squatted in S.
Africa; gave themselves to agriculture and cattle-rearing; settled at
length in the Transvaal in a self-governed community by themselves.
BOËTHIUS, ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS, a Roman statesman, born at
Rome, of Consular rank, a profoundly learned man, held the highest
offices, Consul among others, under Theodoric the Goth; his integrity and
opposition to injustice procured him enemies, who accused him of treason;
he was cast into prison, and finally put to death; wrote in prison his
"De Consolatione Philosophiæ," in five parts, employing verse and prose
alternately, which King Alfred translated into Anglo-Saxon; he was
canonised as a martyr, and his influence was great during the Middle Ages
(470-524).
BOEUF, FRONT DE, a character in "Ivanhoe."
BOGATZKY, KARL HEINRICH VON, religious writer; wrote hymns and an
autobiography; is best known as the author of the "Golden Treasury"
(1690-1744).
BOGDANOVITCH, a Russian poet, called by his countrymen the "Russian
Anacreon"; his best-known poem "Psyche" (1743-1803).
BOGERMANN, JOHANN, Dutch divine, translated the Bible into Dutch,
and was President of the Synod of Dort (1576-1633).
BOGOTA` (100), capital of the United State of Colombia, situated on
a remarkable, almost mountain-encircled, plateau, on the river Bogotá, 65
m. SE. of its port, Honda, the highest navigable point of the Magdalena,
is 8600 ft. above sea-level, and has a spring-like climate. It is
regularly built, with innumerable churches, a mint, university, library,
and observatory, and several schools. Though the country is fertile and
the mountains rich in coal, iron, salt, and precious metals, its
situation and the want of a railway hinder trade.
BOG-TROTTER, a name given to the Scottish moss-troopers, now to
certain Irish for their agility in escaping over bogs.
BOGUE, DAVID, born in Berwickshire, a Congregational minister; one
of the founders of the London Foreign Missionary, the Foreign Bible, and
the Religious Tract Societies (1750-1825).
BOHEMIA (5,843), the most northerly province in Austria, two-thirds
the size of Scotland; is encircled by mountains, and drained by the upper
Elbe and its tributaries. The Erzgebirge separate it from Saxony; the
Riesengebirge, from Prussia; the Böhmerwald, from Bavaria; and the
Moravian Mountains, from Moravia. The mineral wealth is varied and great,
including coal, the most useful metals, silver, sulphur, and porcelain
clay. The climate is mild in the valleys, the soil fertile; flax and hops
the chief products; forests are extensive. Dyeing, calico-printing, linen
and woollen manufactures, are the chief industries. The glassware is
widely celebrated; there are iron-works and sugar-refineries. The transit
trade is very valuable. The people are mostly Czechs, of the Slavonic
race, Roman Catholics in religion; there is a large and influential
German minority of about two millions, with whom the Czechs, who are
twice as numerous, do not amalgamate; the former being riled at the
official use of the Czech language, and the latter agitating for the
elevation of the province to the same status as that of Hungary.
Education is better than elsewhere in Austria; there is a university at
Prague, the capital. In the 16th century the crown was united with the
Austrian, but in 1608 religious questions led to the election of the
Protestant Frederick V. This was followed by the Thirty Years' War, the
extermination of the Protestants, and the restoration of the Austrian
House.
BOHEMIAN, name given to one who lives by his wits and shuns
conventionality.
BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, a fraternity of an extreme sect of the Hussites,
organised as United Brethren in 1455; broken up in the Thirty Years' War,
met in secret, and were invited, under the name of Moravians or
Herrnhuters, by Count Zinzendorf to settle on his estate.
BOHEMOND, first prince of Antioch, son of Robert Guiscard; set out
on the first crusade; besieged and took Antioch; was besieged in turn by
the Saracens, and imprisoned for two years; liberated, he collected
troops and recaptured the city (1056-1111).
BOHLEN, VON, a German Orientalist, professor at Königsberg
(1796-1840).
BONN, HENRY GEORGE, an enterprising publisher, a German, born in
London; issued a series of works identified with his name (1796-1884).
BÖHTLINGK, OTTO, Sanskrit scholar, a German, born in St. Petersburg;
author, among other works, of a Sanskrit dictionary in 7 vols.; _b_.1815.
BOIARDO, MATTEO MARIA, Count of Scandiano, surnamed the "Flower of
Chivalry"; an Italian poet, courtier, diplomatist, and statesman; author
of "Orlando Innamorato" (1456), the model of Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso,"
which eclipsed it (1434-1494).
BOIELDIEU, ADRIEN FRANÇOIS, a distinguished French musical composer
of operas; author of the "Calife de Bagdad," "Télémaque," and "La Dame
Blanche," reckoned his masterpiece; called the French Mozart (1775-1834).
BOIGNE, COUNT DE, a French soldier of fortune, born at Chambéry;
served under France, Russia, East India Company, and the prince of the
Mahrattas, to whom he rendered signal service; amassed wealth, which he
dealt out generously and for the benefit of his country (1751-1830).
BOII, an ancient people of Gaul, occupying territory between the
Allier and the Loire.
BOILEAU, NICOLAS (surnamed Despréaux, to distinguish him from his
brother), poet and critic, born in Paris; brought up to the law, but
devoted to letters, associating himself with La Fontaine, Racine, and
Molière; author of "Satires" and "Epistles," "L'Art Poétique," "Le
Lutrin," &c., in which he attached and employed his wit against the bad
taste of his time; did much to reform French poetry, as Pascal did to
reform the prose, and was for long the law-giver of Parnassus; was an
imitator of Pope, but especially of Horace (1636-1711).
BOISARD, a French fabulist of remarkable fecundity (1743-1831).
BOIS-GUILLEBERT, a French economist, cousin of Vauban; advocate of
free trade; _d_. 1714.
BOIS-LE-DUC (27), capital of North Brabant, 45 m. SE. of Amsterdam,
and with a fine cathedral; seat of an archbishop.
BOISMONT, THE ABBÉ, one of the best French pulpit orators of the
18th century (1715-1786).
BOISROBERT, THE ABBÉ, a French poet, one of the first members of the
French Academy; patronised by Richelieu (1592-1662).
BOISSONADE, JEAN FRANÇOIS, a French Greek scholar; for a time
carried away by the revolutionary movement, but abandoned politics for
letters (1774-1857).
BOISSIERE, a French lexicographer (1806-1885).
BOISSY D'ANGLAS, COUNT, a member and president of the Convention in
Paris, noted for his firmness and coolness during the frenzy of the
Revolution: one day the Parisian mob burst in upon the Convention, shot
dead a young deputy, Féraud, "sweeping the members of it before them to
the upper-bench ... covered, the president sat unyielding, like a rock in
the beating of seas; they menaced him, levelled muskets at him, he
yielded not; they held up Féraud's bloody head to him; with grave, stern
air he bowed to it, and yielded not"; became a senator and commander of
the Legion of Honour under Napoleon; was made a peer by Louis XVIII.
(1756-1826).
BOISTE, a French lexicographer (1765-1824).
BOKHA`RA (1,800), a Mohammedan State in Central Asia, N. of
Afghanistan, nominally independent; but the Khan is a vassal of the Czar.
The surface is arid, and cultivation possible only near the rivers-the
Oxus, Zarafshan, and Karshi. In the sands of the Oxus, gold and salt are
found. Rice, cotton, and cereals are grown; silk, cotton-thread,
jewellery, cutlery, and firearms are manufactured. The people are of Turk
and Persian origin. The capital, Bokhara (70), is on the plain of the
Zarafshan, a walled, mud-built city, 8 or 9 m. in circumference, with
numerous colleges and mosques, the centre of learning and religious life
in Central Asia. It has important trade and large slave markets.
BOLAN` PASS, a high-lying, deep, narrow gorge, extending between
Quetta (Beluchistan) and Kandahar (Afghanistan), sloping upwards at an
inclination of 90 ft. a mile; is traversed by a torrent.
BOLESLAUS, the name of several dukes of Poland, of whom the most
famous is Boleslaus I. the Great, who ruled from 992 to 1025.
BOLEYN, ANNE, or BULLEN, second wife of Henry VIII. and mother
of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thoman Bullen (afterwards Earl of
Wiltshire); after a three years' residence at the French Court became
maid of honour to Queen Katherine; attracted the admiration of Henry; was
married to him, and became queen; charged with adultery and conspiracy,
was found guilty and beheaded; was of the Reformed faith; her marriage
with Henry had important bearings on the English Reformation (1507-1536).
BOLINGBROKE, HENRY ST. JOHN, VISCOUNT, English statesman, orator,
and political writer, born at Battersea; Prime Minister of Queen Anne in
the Tory interest, after her dismissal of the Whigs; on the accession of
George I. fled to France and joined the Pretender; was impeached and
attainted; returned in 1723 to his estates, but denied a seat in the
House of Lords, an indignity which he resented by working the overthrow
of Walpole; was the friend of Pope and Swift, and the author of "Letters"
bearing upon politics and literature. "Bolingbroke," says Prof.
Saintsbury, "is a rhetorician pure and simple, but the subjects of his
rhetoric were not the great and perennial subjects, but puny ephemeral
forms of them--the partisan and personal politics of his day, the
singularly shallow form of infidelity called Deism and the like; and his
time deprived him of many, if not most, of the rhetorician's most telling
weapons. The 'Letter to Windham,' a sort of apologia, and the 'Ideal of a
Patriot King,' exhibit him at his best." It was he who suggested to Pope
his "Essay on Man" (1678-1751).
BOLIVAR, SIMON, surnamed the Liberator, general and statesman, born
at Caracas; a man of good birth and liberal education; seized with the
passion for freedom during a visit to Madrid and Paris, devoted himself
to the cause of S. American independence; freed from the yoke of Spain
Venezuela and New Grenada, which, in 1819, he erected into a republic
under the name of Colombia; achieved in 1824 the same for Upper Peru,
henceforth called Bolivia, after his name; accused of aspiring to the
Dictatorship, he abdicated, and was preparing to leave the country when
he died of fever, with the sage reflection on his lips, "The presence of
a soldier, however disinterested he may be, is always dangerous in a
State that is new to freedom"; he has been called the Washington of S.
America (1783-1830).
BOLIVIA (1,500), an inland republic of S. America, occupying lofty
tablelands E. of the Andes, and surrounded by Peru, Brazil, Paraguay,
Argentina, and Chili. The S. is chiefly desert; in the N. are Lake
Titicaca and many well-watered valleys. The very varied heights afford
all kinds of vegetation, from wheat and maize to tropical fruits. In the
lower plains coffee, tobacco, cotton, and cinchona are cultivated. The
most important industry is mining: gold, silver, copper, and tin. Trade
is hampered by want of navigable rivers, but helped by railways from
Chili, Peru, and Argentina. Silver is the chief export; manufactured
goods are imported. The country has been independent since 1825; it lost
its sea provinces in the war with Chili, 1879-83. The capital is Sucre
(12), but La Pay (45) and Cochabamba (14) are larger towns.
BOLLAND, JOHN, a Jesuit of Antwerp, born in Belgium; compiled five
vols. of the Lives of the Saints called "Acta Sanctorum," which was
continued by others, called after him "Bollandists."
BOLLANDISTS, a succession of Jesuits who produced the Lives of the
Saints, now extended to sixty vols.
BOLOGNA (147), an ancient walled city of Italy, on a fertile plain,
at the foot of the Lower Apennines, 83 m. N. of Florence; has many fine
buildings, a university, one of the oldest in Europe, schools of music
and art, libraries, and art collections. There are some silk and other
industries, and considerable trade.
BOLOGNA, JOHN OF, one of the most celebrated sculptors of art in his
time, born at Douai, settled at Florence (1524-1608).
BOLOR-TAGH, a high tableland in Central Asia, stretching from the
Hindu Kush mountains northwards to the Tian Shan.
BOLSE`NA, a small town in Italy, on the E. shore of Lake Bolsena.
BOLSENA, a lake with clear water in a hollow crater of a volcano,
and abounding with fish, but with an unwholesome atmosphere.
BOLTON (115), manufacturing town of Lancashire.
BOLTON ABBEY, an old abbey in Yorkshire, 6 m. E. of Skipton; was
founded by the Augustinian canons.
BOMA, a station on the Lower Congo, in the Congo Independent State;
once a great slave mart.
BOMARSUND, a fortress of the island of Aland occupied by Russia,
destroyed by the Anglo-French fleet in 1854; the Russians bound not to
restore it.
BOMBA, nickname of Ferdinand II., late king of the Two Sicilies,
given him, it is alleged, from his calling upon his soldiers to bombard
his people during an insurrection.
BOMBASTES FURIOSO, an opera by Thomas Rhodes in ridicule of the
bombastic style of certain tragedies in vogue.
BOMBAY (26,960), the western Presidency of India, embraces 26
British districts and 19 feudatory states. N. of the Nerbudda River the
country is flat and fertile; S. of it are mountain ranges and tablelands.
In the fertile N. cotton, opium, and wheat are the staple products. In
the S., salt, iron, and gold are mined; but coal is wanting. The climate
is hot and moist on the coast and in the plains, but pleasant on the
plateaux. Cotton manufacture has developed extensively and cotton cloths,
with sugar, tea, wool, and drugs are exported. Machinery, oil, coal, and
liquors are imported. BOMBAY (822), the chief city, stands on an
island, connected with the coast by a causeway, and has a magnificent
harbour and noble docks. It is rapidly surpassing Calcutta in trade, and
is one of the greatest of seaports; its position promises to make it the
most important commercial centre in the East, as it already is in the
cotton trade of the world. It swarms with people of every clime, and its
merchandise is mainly in the hands of the Parsees, the descendants of the
ancient fire-worshippers. It is the most English town in India. It came
to England from Portugal as dowry with Catherine of Braganza, wife of
Charles II., who leased it to the East India Company for £10 a year. Its
prosperity began when the Civil War in America afforded it an opening for
its cotton.
BON GAULTIER, _nom de plume_ assumed by Professor Aytoun and Sir
Theodore Martin.
BONA (30), a seaport in Algeria, in the province of Constantine, on
a bay of the Mediterranean, with an excellent harbour and a growing
trade; is much improved since its occupation by the French in 1832. Near
it are the ruins of Hippo, the episcopal city of Augustine.
BONA, an ascetic writer, surnamed the Fénélon of Italy, one of
feuillant order of monks (1609-1674).
BONA DEA (the good goddess), a Roman goddess of fertility,
worshipped by women; her priests vestals and her worship by rites from
which men were excluded. Her symbol was a serpent, but the name under
which she was worshipped is not known.
BONALD, VICOMTE DE, a French publicist, a violent royalist and
ultramontanist; looked upon the Catholic religion and the royal authority
as fundamental to the stability of the social fabric, and was opposed to
the law of divorce, which led to its alteration. He denied that language
was innate, but revealed, and that causation was inherent in matter
(1758-1840).
BONAPARTE, name of a celebrated family of Italian origin settled in
Corsica; the principal members of it were: CHARLES MARIE, born at
Ajaccio, 1744; died at Montpellier, 1785; married, 1767. MARIE-LÆTITIA
RAMOLINO, born at Ajaccio, 1750; died at Rome, 1836; of this union were
born eight children: JOSEPH, became king of Naples, 1806; king of Spain
from 1808 to 1813; retired to United States after Waterloo; returned to
Europe, and died at Florence, 1844. NAPOLEON I. (q. v.). LUCIEN, _b_.
1775; became president of the Council of the Five Hundred, and prince of
Canino; died in Viterbo, 1840. MARIE-ANNE-ELIZA, _b_. 1777; married Felix
Bacciochi, who became prince of Lucca; died at Trieste, 1826. LOUIS, _b_.
1778; married Hortense de Beauharnais; father of Napoleon III.; king of
Holland (from 1806 to 1810); died at Leghorn, 1846. MARIE PAULINE, _b_.
1780; married General Leclerc, 1801; afterwards, in 1803, Prince Camille
Borghese; became Duchess of Guastalla; died at Florence, 1825.
CAROLINE-MARIE, _b_. 1782; married Marat in 1800; became Grand-duchess of
Berg and Clèves, then queen of Naples; died at Florence, 1839. Jerome,
_b_. 1784, king of Westphalia (from 1807 to 1813); marshal of France in
1850; married, by second marriage, Princess Catherine of Würtemburg; died
in 1860; his daughter, the Princess Mathilde, _b_. 1820, and his son,
Prince Napoleon, called Jerome, _b_. 1822, married Princess Clothilde,
daughter of Victor Emmanuel, of which marriage was born Prince Victor
Napoleon in 1862.
BONAR, HORATIUS, a clergyman of the Free Church of Scotland, and a
celebrated hymn writer, born at Edinburgh (1808-1889).
BONAVENTURA, ST., cardinal, surnamed the Seraphic Doctor, his real
name John Fidenza, born in Tuscany; entered the Franciscan Order; was
chosen general of the Order and papal legate at the Council of Lyons in
1274, during the session of which he died; was a mystic in theology;
ascribed knowledge of the truth to union with God, such as existed
between man and his Maker prior to the Fall, a state which could be
recovered only by a life of purity and prayer; his writings were admired
by Luther (1221-1274).
BONCHAMP, CHARLES, MARQUIS DE, French general, born in Anjou, served
in the American war; became one of the chiefs of the Vendéan army; fell
at the battle of Cholet, and when dying, relented over the blood already
shed; ordered the release of 5000 prisoners which his party, in their
revenge, was about to massacre; _d_. 1793.
BOND, WILLIAM, a distinguished American astronomer (1789-1815), who
with his son, GEORGE PHILLIPS, discovered a satellite of Neptune and
an eighth satellite of Saturn (1826-1865).
BONDU (30), a country of Senegambia, a dependency of France; yields
maize, cotton, fruits.
BONE, HENRY, a celebrated enamel painter, especially in miniature on
ivory; born at Truro (1755-1834).
BONER, ULRICH, a German fabulist and Dominican monk of the 14th
century, author of "Der Edelstein" (The Jewel), a book of fables.
BONHEUR, ROSA, a celebrated French animal painter, born at Bordeaux;
brought up in poverty from ill-fortune; taught by her father; exhibited
when she was 19; her best-known works are the "Horse Fair" and the "Hay
Harvest in Auvergne," "Ploughing with Oxen," considered her masterpiece;
through the Empress Eugenie she received the Cross of the Legion of
Honour; during the siege of Paris her studio was spared by order of the
Crown Prince; _b_. 1822.
BONHOMME, JACQUES, a name of contempt given by the nobility of
France to the peasants in the 14th century.
BONIFACE, the name of nine popes. B. I., pope from 418 to 422, assumed
the title of First Bishop of Christendom; B. II., pope from 530 to 532;
B. III., pope for 10 months, from 607 to 608; B. IV., pope from 608 to
614; B. V., pope from 617 to 625; B. VI., pope in 896; B. VII., pope from
974 to 985; B. VIII., pope from 1294 to 1303, a strenuous assertor of the
papal supremacy over all princes, and a cause of much turmoil in Europe,
provoked a war with Philip the Fair of France, who arrested him at
Anagni, and though liberated by the citizens died on his way to Rome; B.
IX., pope from 1389 to 1405, the first pope to wear the Triple Crown.
BONIFACE, ST., the Apostle of Germany, born in Devonshire, his real
name Winfried; consecrated Pepin le Bref; was made Primate of Germany;
was, with 53 companions, massacred by the barbarians of Friesland, whom
he sought to convert (680-755).
BONIN`, a group of rocky islands SE. of Japan, and since 1878
subject to it.
BONINGTON, RICHARD, an eminent English landscape painter of
exceptional precocity, born near Nottingham; painted the "Ducal Palace"
and "Grand Canal" at Venice, his masterpieces (1801-1828).
BONIVARD, FRANÇOIS DE, a Genevese patriot and historian, twice
imprisoned by Charles III., a Duke of Savoy, for his sympathy with the
struggles of the Genevese against his tyranny, the second time for six
years in the Castle of Chillon; immortalised by Lord Byron in his
"Prisoner of Chillon"; he was released at the Reformation, and adopted
Protestantism (1496-1571).
BONN (38), a Prussian town on the Rhine, SE. of Cologne, an old
Roman station, with a famous university; the birthplace of Beethoven,
with a monument to his memory; it is a stronghold of the old Catholics.
BONNAT, JOSEPH LEON, a French painter, born at Bayonne; imitated for
a time the religious paintings of the old masters, but since 1862 has
followed a style of his own; "Christ at the Cross" in the Palais de
Justice, Paris, is his work; _b_. 1833.
BONNER, EDMUND, bishop of London, born at Worcester; was chaplain to
Wolsey; sided with Henry VIII. against the Pope; fell into disgrace under
Edward VI.; was restored by Mary, whom he served in her Anti-Protestant
zeal; affected to welcome Elizabeth to the throne; was again deposed and
imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of supremacy under Elizabeth;
died in the Marshalsea Prison: he does not deserve all the odium that has
been heaped on his memory; he was faithful as a bishop, consistent in his
conduct, and bore the indignities done him with manly fortitude
(1495-1569).
BONNET, CHARLES DE, Swiss naturalist and philosopher, born at
Geneva; his studies as a naturalist gave a materialistic cast to his
philosophy; though he did not deny the existence of mind, still less that
of its sovereign Author, he gave to material impressions a dominant
influence in determining its manifestations (1720-1793).
BONNET-PIECE, a gold coin of James V. of Scotland, so called from
the king being represented on it as wearing a bonnet instead of a crown.
BONNEVAL, CLAUDE-ALEXANDRE, COMTE DE. See ACHMED PASHA.
BONNIE DUNDEE, Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee.
BONPLAND, AIMÉ, a French botanist and traveller, born at Rochelle;
companion of Alexander von Humboldt in his S. American scientific
explorations; brought home a large collection of plants, thousands of
species of them new to Europe; went out again to America, arrested by Dr.
Francia in Paraguay as a spy, kept prisoner there for about nine years;
released, settled in the prov. of Corrientes, where he died; wrote
several works bearing on plants (1773-1858).
BONSTETTEN, CHARLES VICTOR DE, a Swiss publicist and judge, born at
Berne; wrote on anthropology, psychology, &c. (1745-1832).
BONTEMPS, ROGER, a French personification of a state of leisure and
freedom from care.
BONZE, a Buddhist priest in China, Japan, Burmah, &c.
BOOLE, English mathematician, born at Lincoln; mathematical
professor at Cork; author of "Laws of Thought," an original work, and
"Differential Equations" (1815-1864).
BOOMERANG, a missile of hard curved wood used by the Australian
aborigines of 2½ ft. long; a deadly weapon, so constructed that, though
thrown forward, it takes a whirling course upwards till it stops, when it
returns with a swoop and falls in the rear of the thrower.
BOONE, DANIEL, a famous American backwoodsman; _d_. 1822, aged 84.
BOÖTES (the ox-driver or waggoner), a son of Ceres; inventor of the
plough in the Greek mythology; translated along with his ox to become a
constellation in the northern sky, the brightest star in which is
Arcturus.
BOOTH, BARTON, English actor, acted Shakespearean, characters and
Hamlet's ghost (1681-1733).
BOOTH, JOHN WILKES, son of an actor, assassinated Lincoln, and was
shot by his captors (1839-1865).
BOOTH, WILLIAM, founder and general of the Salvation Army, born in
Nottingham; published "In Darkest England"; a man of singular
self-devotion to the religious and social welfare of the race; _b_. 1839.
BOOTHIA, a peninsula of British N. America, W. of the Gulf of
Boothia, and in which the N. magnetic pole of the earth is situated;
discovered by Sir John Boss in 1830.
BOOTON, an island in the Malay Archipelago, SE. of Celebes; subject
to the Dutch.
BOPP, FRANZ, a celebrated German philologist and Sanskrit scholar,
born at Mayence; was professor of Oriental Literature and General
Philology at Berlin; his greatest work, "A Comparative Grammar of
Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Old Slave, Gothic, and German";
translated portions of the "MAHÂBHÂRATA," q. v. (1791-1867).
BORA, KATHARINA, the wife of Luther, born in Meissen, originally a
nun, who, with eight others, was at Luther's instance released from her
convent; proved "a pious and faithful wife" to Luther, as he says of her,
and became the mother to him of six children, three sons and three
daughters (1499-1552).
BORDA, a French mathematician and physicist, born at Dax, in the
dep. of Landes, served in both army and navy; one of those employed in
measuring an arc of the meridian to establish the metric system in France
(1733-1799).
BORDEAUX (256), a great industrial and commercial city, and chief
seat of the wine trade in France and the third seaport on the Garonne;
cap. of the dep. of Gironde; the birthplace of Rosa Bonheur and Richard
II., his father, the Black Prince, having had his seat here as governor
of Aquitaine. There are sugar-refineries, potteries, foundries, glass and
chemical works. The cod-fishing industry has its base here. A cathedral
dates from the 11th century. There are schools of science, art, theology,
medicine, and navigation, a library, museum, and rich picture-gallery.
BORDER MINSTREL, Sir Walter Scott.
BORDERS, THE, the shifting boundary between Scotland and England
before the Union, a centre of endless fighting and marauding on the
opposite sides for centuries.
BORDONE, an Italian painter, born at Treviso, a pupil of Titian and
Giorgione; his most celebrated picture, "The Gondolier presenting the
Ring of St. Mark to the Doge" (1500-1570).
BORE, a watery ridge rushing violently up an estuary, due to a
strong tidal wave travelling up a gradually narrowing channel. Bores are
common in the estuary of the Ganges and other Asiatic rivers, in those of
Brazil, and at the mouth of the Severn, in England.
BOREAS, the god of the north wind, and son of the Titan Astræus and
of Aurora.
BORGHESE, name of a family of high position and great wealth in
Rome: Camillo, having become Pope in 1605 under the title of Paul V.; and
Prince Borghese having married Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, who
separated himself from her on the fall of her brother (1775-1832); the
palace of the family one of the finest in Rome, and has a rich collection
of paintings.
BORGHESI, COUNT, an Italian savant skilled in numismatics
(1781-1860).
BORGIA, CÆSAR, fourth son of Pope Alexander VI.; was made cardinal
at the age of 17, an honour he relinquished to become a soldier, in which
capacity it is alleged he gave himself up to deeds of inhumanity, which
have made his name a synonym for every action that is most crafty,
revolting, and cruel; a portrait of him by Raphael, in the Borghese
gallery, is a masterpiece. Notwithstanding the execration in which his
memory is held, he is reputed to have been just as a ruler in his own
domain, and a patron of art and literature; _d_. 1507.
BORGIA, FRANCESO, third general of the Order of the Jesuits, a post
he filled with great zeal as well as prudent management; was beatified by
Urban VIII., and canonised by Clement IX., 1671 (1510-1572).
BORGIA, LUCRETIA, sister of Cæsar Borgia, born at Rome; her father
annulled her first marriage, and gave her to a nephew of the king of
Naples, who was murdered by her brother's assassins, when she married the
Duke of Ferrara; was celebrated for her beauty and her patronage of
letters, though she has been accused of enormities as well as her brother
(1480-1523).
BORGU, fertile and densely-peopled state in Africa, traversed by the
Niger, subject to the Royal Niger Company, in one of the chief towns of
which Mungo Park lost his life.
BORLASE, WILLIAM, antiquary and naturalist, born in St. Just,
Cornwall; author of "Observations on the Antiquities of Cornwall" and
"Natural History of Cornwall"; was vicar in his native parish
(1696-1772).
BORN, BERTRAND, one of the most celebrated troubadours of the 12th
century, born in Périgord; aggravated the quarrel between Henry II. of
England and his sons; is placed by Dante in the "Inferno."
BORNE, LUDWIG, a political writer, born at Frankfort, of Jewish
parentage; disgusted with the state of things in Germany, went to Paris
after the Revolution there of 1830; was disappointed with the result, and
turned Radical; he and Heine were at deadly feud (1787-1837).
BORNEO (1,800), an island in the Malay Archipelago, the third
largest in the globe, Australia and New Guinea being larger; its length
800 m., and its breadth 700, covered with mountains in the interior,
Kinabalu the highest (13,000 ft.); has no volcanoes; bordered all round
with wide plains and low marshy ground; rich in vegetation and in
minerals, in gold and precious stones; its forests abound with valuable
timber, teak, ebony, &c.; all tropical crops and spices are cultivated;
the population is Dyak, Malay, and Chinese; possessed in great part by
the Dutch, and in the north part by the British.
BORNHOLM (35), an island belonging to Denmark, in the Baltic; has no
good harbour; agriculture, cattle-breeding, and fishing the occupation of
the inhabitants.
BORNU (5,000), a Mohammedan State in the Central Soudan, W. and S.
of Lake Tehad; famed for a breed of horses; population mostly negroes;
the ruling race of Arab descent, called Shuwas; climate hot and unhealthy
in the low ground, but temperate in the high.
BORO BUDOR, the ruin of a magnificent Buddhist temple in Java,
ornamented with figures of Buddha and scenes in his life, with
representations of battles, processions, chariot races, &c.
BORODINO, a village 70 m. W. of Moscow; the scene of a bloody battle
between Napoleon and the Russians, Sept. 7, 1812.
BORORO, a large Brazilian nation between Cuyaba and Goyaz.
BOROUGH, in Scotland BURGH, is in its modern sense primarily a
town that sends a representative to Parliament; but it is further an area
of local government, exercising police, sanitary, and sometimes
educational, supervision, and deriving its income from rates levied on
property within its bounds, and in Scotland sometimes from "common good"
and petty customs. Its charter may be held from the Crown or granted by
Parliament.
BOROUGH ENGLISH, descent of lands to a youngest son.
BOROWLASKI, COUNT, a Polish dwarf, of perfect symmetry, though only
three feet in height; attained the age of 98.
BORROME`AN ISLANDS, four islands in Lago Maggiore, of which three
were converted into gardens by Count Borromeo in 1671, on one of which
stands a palace of the Borromeos, enriched with fine paintings and other
works of art.
BORROME`O, ST. CARLO, cardinal and archbishop of Milan, a prominent
member of the Council of Trent, and contributed to the Tridentine
Catechism; conspicuous by his self-sacrificing offices during a plague in
the city of which he was the archbishop (1538-1584).
BORROMEO, FREDERIGO, nephew and successor of the preceding, of equal
status in the Church, and similar character (1584-1631).
BORROW, GEORGE HENRY, traveller and philologist, born in Norfolk;
showed early a passion for adventure and a facility in languages; was
appointed agent for the Bible Society in Russia and Spain; in his
fondness for open-air life, associated much with the gipsies; wrote an
account of those in Spain, and a famous book, entitled "The Bible In
Spain"; wrote "Lavengro," his masterpiece (a gipsy designation applied to
him, meaning "word-master," which he was), which is chiefly
autobiography (1803-1831).
BORROWDALE, a valley in the Lake District, W. Cumberland, celebrated
for its beautiful scenery.
BORTHWICK CASTLE, a ruined peel tower, 13 m. SE. of Edinburgh, where
Queen Mary and Bothwell spent four days together in June 1567.
BORY DE SAINT-VINCENT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French traveller and
naturalist (1780-1846).
BOSCAWEN, EDWARD, a British admiral, known from his fearlessness as
"Old Dreadnought"; distinguished himself in engagements at Puerto Bello,
Cathagena, Cape Finisterre, and the Bay of Lagos, where, after a "sea
hunt" of 24 hours, he wrecked and ruined a fine French fleet, eager to
elude his grasp (1711-1761).
BOSCOVICH, ROGER JOSEPH, an Italian mathematician and astronomer,
born at Ragusa; entered the Order of the Jesuits; was professor in Pavia,
and afterwards at Milan; discovered the equator of the sun and the period
of its rotation; advocated the molecular theory of physics, with which
his name is associated; died insane (1701-1787).
BOSIO, BARON, a celebrated Italian sculptor; patronised in France
(1769-1845).
BOSNA-SERAI (38), capital of Bosnia, and seat of authority.
BOSNIA (1,200), a province in NW. of the Balkan Peninsula, under
Austria-Hungary; the inhabitants of Servian nationality.
BOS`PHORUS (Ox-ford), a channel 17 m. long and from 3 to ½ m. broad,
and about 30 fathoms deep, strongly defended by forts, extending from the
Sea of Marmora to the Black Sea; subject to Turkey. It derives its name
from the channel which, according to the Greek myth, Zeus, in the form of
an ox, crossed into Europe with Europa on his back.
BOS`QUET, PIERRE FRANÇOIS JOSEPH, a marshal of France, distinguished
in Algiers and the Crimea; was wounded at the storming of the Malakoff
(1810-1861).
BOS`SUET, JACQUES BÉNIGNE, bishop of Meaux, born at Dijon, surnamed
the "Eagle of Meaux," of the see of which he became bishop; one of the
greatest of French pulpit orators, and one of the ablest defenders of the
doctrines of the Catholic Church; the great aim of his life the
conversion of Protestants back to the Catholic faith; took a leading part
in establishing the rights of the Gallican clergy, or rather of the
Crown, as against the claims of the Pope; proved himself more a
time-server than a bold, outspoken champion of the truth; conceived a
violent dislike to Madame Guyon, and to Fénélon for his defence of her
and her Quietists; and he is not clear of the guilt of the Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes; wrote largely; his "Discourse on Universal History"
is on approved lines, and the first attempt at a philosophy of history;
his Funeral Orations are monuments of the most sublime eloquence; while
his "Politique founded on Holy Scripture" is a defence of the divine
right of kings. "Bossuet," says Professor Saintsbury, "was more of a
speaker than a writer. His excellence lies in his wonderful survey and
grasp of the subject, in the contagious enthusiasm and energy with which
he attacks his point, and in his inexhaustible metaphors and
comparisons.... Though he is always aiming at the sublime, he scarcely
ever oversteps it, or falls into the bombastic or ridiculous.... The most
unfortunate incident of his life was his controversy with Fénélon"
(1627-1704).
BOSSUT, CHARLES, French mathematician, born near Lyons, _confrère_
of the Encyclopaedists; his chief work "L'Histoire Générale des
Mathématiques"; edited Pascal's works (1730-1814).
BOSTON (19), a Lincolnshire seaport, on the Witham, 30 m. SE. of
Lincoln; exports coal, machinery, corn, and wool, and imports timber and
general goods. There is a large cattle and sheep market, also canvas and
sail-cloth works. Fox, the martyrologist, was a native. It has a spacious
church, which is a conspicuous landmark and beacon at sea.
BOSTON (561), on Massachusetts Bay, is the capital of Massachusetts
and the chief city of New England, one of the best-built and
best-appointed cities of the Union. With an excellent harbour and eight
converging railways it is an emporium of trade, and very wealthy. Sugar,
wool, hides, and chemicals are imported; farm produce, cattle, cotton,
and tobacco exported; boot and shoe making is one of many varied
industries. The many educational institutions and its interest in
literature and art have won for it the title of American Athens. Among
famous natives were Franklin, Poe, and Emerson; while most American men
of letters have been associated with it. The Boston riots of 1770 and
1773 were the heralds of the revolution, and the first battle was fought
at Bunker Hill, not far off, now included in it.
BOSTON, THOMAS, a Scottish divine, born at Duns, educated at
Edinburgh, became minister of Ettrick; author of the "Fourfold State," a
popular exposition of Calvinism, and "The Crook in the Lot," both at one
time much read and studied by the pious Presbyterian burghers and
peasantry of Scotland; the former an account of the state of man, first
in innocence, second as fallen, third as redeemed, and fourth as in
glory. He was a shrewd man and a quaint writer; exercised a great
influence on the religious views of the most pious-minded of his
countrymen (1676-1732).
BOSTON TEA-PARTY, the insurgent American colonists who, disguised as
Indians, boarded, on Dec. 16, 1773, three English ships laden with tea,
and hurled several hundred chests of it into Boston harbour, "making it
black with unexpected tea."
BOSWELL, JAMES, the biographer of Johnson, born at Edinburgh, showed
early a penchant for writing and an admiration for literary men; fell in
with Johnson on a visit to London in 1763, and conceived for him the most
devoted regard; made a tour with him to the Hebrides in 1773, the
"Journal" of which he afterwards published; settled in London, and was
called to the English bar; succeeded, in 1782, to his father's estate,
Auchinleck, in Ayrshire, with an income of £1600 a year. Johnson dying in
1784, Boswell's "Life" of him appeared five years after, a work unique in
biography, and such as no man could have written who was not a
hero-worshipper to the backbone. He succumbed in the end to intemperate
habits, aggravated by the death of his wife (1740-1795).
BOSWELL, SIR ALEXANDER, son and heir of the preceding, an antiquary;
mortally wounded in a duel with James Stuart of Dunearn, who had impugned
his character, for which the latter was tried, but acquitted (1775-1822).
BOSWORTH, a town in Leicestershire, near which Richard III. lost
both crown and life in 1485, an event which terminated the Wars of the
Roses and led to the accession of the Tudor dynasty to the throne of
England in the person of Henry VII.
BOSWORTH, JOSEPH, an Anglo-Saxon scholar, born in Derbyshire; became
professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford; was the author of an Anglo-Saxon
Grammar and Dictionary (1789-1876).
BOTANY BAY, an inlet in New South Wales, 5 m. S. of Sydney;
discovered by Captain Cook in 1770; so called, by Sir Joseph Banks, from
the variety and beauty of its flora; was once an English convict
settlement.
BOTH, JOHN AND ANDREW, Flemish painters of the 17th century, the
former a landscape and the latter a figure painter; worked frequently on
the same canvas.
BOTHNIA, a prov. of Sweden, divided into E. and W. by a gulf of the
name.
BOTHWELL, a village in Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 8 m. SE. of
Glasgow; scene of a battle between Monmouth and the Covenanters in 1679.
BOTHWELL, JAMES HEPBURN, Earl of, one of the envoys sent in 1560 to
convey Mary, Queen of Scots, from France home; was made Privy Councillor
the year after; had to flee to France for an act of conspiracy; was
recalled by Mary on her marriage with Darnley; was a great favourite with
the queen; was believed to have murdered Darnley, though when tried, was
acquitted; carried off Mary to Dunbar Castle; pardoned; was made Duke of
Orkney, and married to her at Holyrood; parted with her at Carberry Hill;
fled to Norway, and was kept captive there at Malmöe; after ten years of
misery he died, insane, as is believed (1525-1577).
BOTOCUDOS, a wandering wild tribe in the forests of Brazil, near the
coast; a very low type of men, and at a very low stage of civilisation;
are demon-worshippers, and are said to have no numerals beyond _one_.
BO-TREE, a species of Ficus, sacred to the Buddhists as the tree
under which Buddha sat when the light of life first dawned on him. See
BUDDHA.
BOTTA, CARLO GIUSEPPE, an Italian political historian, born in
Piedmont; his most important work is his "History of Italy from 1789 to
1814"; was the author of some poems (1766-1837).
BOTTA, PAUL ÉMILE, Assyriologist, born at Turin, son of the
preceding; when consul at Mosul, in 1843, discovered the ruins of
Nineveh; made further explorations, published in the "Memoire de
l'Ecriture Cunéiform Assyrienne" and "Monuments de Ninive" (1802-1870).
BÖTTGER, an alchemist who, in his experiments on porcelain, invented
the celebrated Meissen porcelain (1682-1719).
BOTTICELLI, SANDRO, or ALESSANDRO, a celebrated painter of the
Florentine school; began as a goldsmith's apprentice; a pupil of Fra
Lippo Lippi; the best-known examples of his art are on religious
subjects, though he was no less fascinated with classical--mythological
conceptions; is distinguished for his attention to details and for
delicacy, particularly in the drawing of flowers; and it is a rose on the
petticoat of one of his figures, the figure of Spring, which Ruskin has
reproduced on the title-page of his recent books, remarking that "no one
has ever yet drawn, or is likely to draw, roses as he has done;... he
understood," he adds, "the thoughts of heathens and Christians equally,
and could in a measure paint both Aphrodité and the Madonna" (1447-1515).
BÖTTIGER, KARL AUGUSTE, German archæologist, was a voluminous writer
on antiquities, especially classical (1760-1835).
BOTTOM, a weaver in the interlude in "Midsummer-Night's Dream,"
whom, with his ass's head, Titania falls in love with under the influence
of a love-potion.
BOTZARIS, one of the heroes of the war of Greek independence
(1789-1823).
BOUCHARDON, a celebrated French sculptor (1698-1762).
BOUCHER, a French painter, born at Paris (1703-1770).
BOUCHER DE PERTHES, French naturalist and anthropologist, born in
Ardennes (1783-1868).
BOUCICAULT, DION, a dramatic writer, author of popular Irish pieces,
as "The Colleen Bawn" and "The Shaughraun" (1822-1890).
BOUCICAUT, MARSHAL DE, one of the bravest and noblest of French
soldiers, born at Tours; distinguished in several famous battles; was
taken captive by the English at Agincourt; died in England (1364-1421).
BOUFFLERS, CHEVALIER DE, field-marshal of France, courtier and
author (1737-1815).
BOUFFLERS, MARQUIS DE, marshal of France, distinguished for his
defence of Namur (1695) and of Lille (1708), and his masterly retreat
from Malplaquet (1645-1711).
BOUGAINVILLE, LOUIS ANTOINE DE, a French navigator, born in Paris;
voyaged round the world, which occupied him two years and a half; his
"Travels" had a remarkably stimulating effect on the imaginations of the
"philosophies," as described by him in "Un Voyage autour du Monde"
(1729-1811).
BOUGH, SAM, landscape painter, born at Carlisle, and settled in
Edinburgh for 20 years (1822-1878).
BOUGUER, PIERRE, French physicist, born in Brittany; wrote on optics
and the figure of the earth (1698-1758).
BOUGUEREAU, ADOLPHE, a distinguished French painter, born at
Rochelle in 1825; his subjects both classical and religious, as well as
portraits.
BOUHOUR, LE PÈRE, French littérateur, born at Paris (1628-1702).
BOUILLÉ, MARQUIS DE, a French general, born in Auvergne, distinguished in
the Seven Years' War, in the West Indies and during the Revolution; "last
refuge of royalty in all straits"; favoured the flight of Louis XVI.; a
"quick, choleric, sharp-discerning, stubbornly-endeavouring man, with
suppressed-explosive resolution, with valour, nay, headlong audacity;
muzzled and fettered by diplomatic pack-threads,... an intrepid,
adamantine man"; did his utmost for royalty, failed, and quitted France;
died in London, and left "Memoirs of the French Revolution" (1759-1800).
See for the part he played in it, CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION."
BOUILLON, district in Belgium, originally a German duchy; belonged
to Godfrey, the crusader, who pledged it to raise funds for the crusade.
BOUILLY, JEAN NICOLAS, a French dramatist, born near Tours,
nicknamed, from his sentimentality "poète lacrymal" (1763-1842).
BOULAINVILLIERS, a French historian, author of a "History of
Mahomet" (1658-1722).
BOULAK (20), the port of Cairo, on the Nile.
BOULAN`GER, JEAN MARIE, a French general, born at Rennes; of note
for the political intrigues with which he was mixed up during the last
years of his life, and the dangerous popular enthusiasm which he excited;
accused of peculation; fled the country, and committed suicide at
Brussels (1837-1891).
BOULAY DE LA MEURTHE, a French statesman, distinguished as an
orator; took part in the redaction of the Civil Code; was a faithful
adherent of Napoleon (1761-1840). Henri, a son, vice-president of the
Republic from 1849 to 1851 (1797-1858).
BOULDER, a large mass or block of rock found in localities often far
removed from the place of its formation, and transported thither on the
ice of the Glacial Age.
BOULEVARD, the rampart of a fortified city converted into a
promenade flanked by rows of trees and a feature of Paris in particular,
though the boulevard is not always on the line of a rampart.
BOULOGNE, BOIS DE, a promenade between Paris and St. Cloud, much
frequented by people of fashion, and a favourite place of recreation; it
rivals that of the Champs Elysées.
BOULOGNE-SUR-MER (46), a fortified seaport in France, on the English
Channel, in the dep. of Pas-de-Calais, 27 m. SW. of Calais, one of the
principal ports for debarkation from England; where Napoleon collected in
1803 a flotilla to invade England; is connected by steamer with
Folkestone, and a favourite watering-place; the chief station of the
North Sea fisheries; is the centre of an important coasting trade, and
likely to become a naval station.
BOULOGNE-SUR-SEINE (32), a town on the right bank of the Seine, 5 m.
SW. of Paris, from which it is separated by the Bois-de-Boulogne.
BOULTON, MATTHEW, an eminent engineer, born at Birmingham; entered
into partnership with James Watt, and established with him a manufactory
of steam-engines at Soho, on a barren heath near his native place;
contributed to the improvement of the coinage (1728-1809).
"BOUNTY," MUTINY OF THE, a mutiny which took place on the ship
_Bounty_, on the 28th April 1789, bound from Otaheite to the West Indies,
on the part of 25 of the crew, who returned to Otaheite after setting the
captain (Bligh) adrift with others in an open boat. Bligh reached England
after a time, reported the crime, to the seizure at length of certain of
the offenders and the execution of others. Those who escaped founded a
colony on Pitcairn Island.
BOURBAKI, CHARLES DENIS SOTER, a French general, born at Pau, served
in the Crimean War and in Italy, suffered disastrously in the
Franco-German War, and attempted suicide; served for a time under
Gambetta, afterwards retired; _b_. 1816.
BOURBON, a family of French origin, hailing from Bourbonnais,
members of which occupied for generations the thrones of France, Naples,
and Spain, and who severally ruled their territories under a more or less
overweening sense of their rights as born to reign. Two branches, both of
which trace back to Henry IV., held sway in France, one beginning with
Louis XIV., eldest son of Louis XIII., and the other, called the Orleans,
with Philip of Orleans, second son of Louis XIII., the former ending with
Charles X. and his family, and the latter ending with Louis Philippe and
his line. The branches of the family ruling in Spain and Naples began
with Philip VI., grandson of Louis XIV., the former branch still (1899)
in power, the latter ending with Francis II. in 1860.
BOURBON, CHARLES DE, styled the Constable de Bourbon, acquired
immense wealth by the death of an elder brother and by his marriage, and
lived in royal state; was for his daring in the field named Constable of
France by Francis I.; offended at some, perhaps imaginary, injustice
Francis did him, he clandestinely entered the service of the Emperor
Charles V., defeated the French at Pavia, and took Francis captive;
parted from Charles, laid siege to Rome, and fell in the assault,
mortally wounded, it is said, by Benvenuto Cellini (1489-1527).
BOURBONNAIS, ancient province in the centre of France, being the
duchy of Bourbon; united to the crown in 1531; cap. Moulins.
BOURDALOUE, LOUIS, a French Jesuit, born at Bourges, called the
"king of preachers, and preacher of kings"; one of the most eloquent
pulpit orators of France; did not suffer by comparison with Bossuet, his
contemporary, though junior; one of the most earnest and powerful of his
sermons, the one entitled "The Passion," is deemed the greatest. His
sermons are ethical in their matter from a Christian standpoint,
carefully reasoned, and free from ornament, but fearless and
uncompromising (1632-1704).
BOURDON, SEBASTIAN, a French painter, born at Montpellier; his
_chef-d'oeuvre_ "The Crucifixion of St. Peter," executed for the church
of Notre Dame (1616-1671).
BOURDON DE L'OISE, a French revolutionist, member of the Convention;
banished to Guiana, where he died in 1791.
BOURGELAT, a famous French veterinary surgeon, born at Lyons, and
founder of veterinary colleges at Lyons in 1762; was an authority on
horse management, and often consulted on the matter (1712-1779).
BOURGEOIS, SIR FRANCIS, painter to George III.; left his collection
to Dulwich College, and £10,000 to build a gallery for them (1756-1811).
BOURGEOISIE, the name given in France to the middle class,
professional people, and merchants, as distinguished from the nobles and
the peasants, but applied by the Socialists to the capitalists as
distinct from the workers.
BOURGES (43), a French town in the dep. of Cher; birthplace of Louis
XI. and Bourdaloue.
BOURGET, PAUL, an eminent French novelist and essayist, born at
Amiens; a subtle analyst of character, with a clear and elegant style, on
which he bestows great pains; his novels are what he calls
"psychological," and distinct from the romantist and naturalistic; _b_.
1852.
BOURIGNON, ANTOINETTE, a Flemish visionary and fanatic; resolved
religion into emotion; brought herself into trouble by the wild fancies
she promulgated, to the derangement of others as well as herself
(1615-1680).
BOURMONT, LOUIS AUGUSTE VICTOR, COMTE DE, a French marshal; at the
Revolution joined the Bourbons on the frontiers; served the royal cause
in La Vendée; held high commands under Napoleon; commanded under Ney on
Napoleon's return from Elba; deserted on the eve of Waterloo to Louis
XVIII.; gave evidence against Ney to his execution; commanded the
expedition against Algiers; refused allegiance to Louis Philippe on his
accession, and was dismissed the service (1773-1846).
BOURNE, HUGH, founder of the Primitive Methodists, and a zealous
propagator of their principles; he was a carpenter by trade, and he
appears to have wrought at his trade while prosecuting his mission, which
he did extensively both in Britain and America (1772-1852).
BOURNEMOUTH (38), a town in Hants, on Poole Bay, 37 m. SW. of
Southampton, with a fine sandy beach; a great health resort; is of
recent, and has been of rapid, growth.
BOURRIENNE, LOUIS ANTOINE FAUVELET, secretary of Napoleon, and a
school friend, born at Sens; held the post for five years, but dismissed
for being implicated in disgraceful money transactions; joined the
Bourbons at the Restoration; the Revolution of 1830 and the loss of his
fortune affected his mind, and he died a lunatic at Caen; wrote "Memoirs"
disparaging to Napoleon (1769-1834).
BOUSSA, a town in Central Africa, capital of a State of the same
name, where Mungo Park lost his life as he was going up the Niger.
BOUSTROPHE`DON, an ancient mode of writing from right to left, and
then from left to right, as in ploughing a field.
BOUTERWEK, FRIEDRICH, a German philosopher and professor of
Philosophy at Göttingen; a disciple of Kant, then of Jacobi, and
expounder of their doctrines; wrote "History of Poetry and Eloquence
among the Modern Races" (1766-1828).
BOWDICH, THOMAS EDWARD, an English traveller, born at Bristol; sent
on a mission to Guinea, and penetrated as far as Coomassie; wrote an
interesting account of it in his "Mission to Ashanti" (1791-1824).
BOWDITCH, NATHANIEL, American mathematician, born at Salem,
Massachusetts; a practical scientist; published "Practical Navigation,"
translated the "Mécanique Céleste" of Laplace, accompanied with an
elaborate commentary (1773-1838).
BOWDLER, THOMAS, an English physician; edited expurgated editions of
Shakespeare and Gibbon in the interest of moral purity; added in
consequence a new term to the English language, Bowdlerism (1754-1825).
BOWDOIN, JAMES, an American statesman, born in Boston, of French
extraction; a zealous advocate of American independence; author of
"Discourse on the Constitution of the United States" (1727-1790).
BOWEN, RICHARD, a gallant British naval commander, distinguished
himself in several engagements, and by his captures of the enemy's ships;
killed by grape-shot at the storming of Santa Cruz, at the moment when
Nelson was wounded (1761-1797).
BOWER, WALTER, abbot of Inchcolm, Scottish chronicler; continued
Fordun's History down to the death of James I. in 1437 from 1153
(1385-1449).
BOWLES, WILLIAM LISLE, a poet, born in Northamptonshire; his
sonnets, by their "linking," as Professor Saintsbury has it, "of nature's
aspect to human feeling," were much admired by Coleridge, and their
appearance is believed to have inaugurated a new era in English poetry,
as developed in the Lake School (1762-1850).
BOWLING, TOM, a typical British sailor in "Roderick Random."
BOWLING, SIR JOHN, linguist and political writer, born at Exeter;
friend and disciple of Bentham as well as editor of his works; first
editor of _Westminster Review_; at the instance of the English Government
visited the Continental States to report on their commercial relations;
became governor of Hong-Kong; ordered the bombardment of Canton, which
caused dissatisfaction at home (1792-1872).
BOWYER, WILLIAM, printer and scholar, born in London; wrote on the
origin of printing, and published an edition of the Greek New Testament
with notes (1699-1777).
"BOX AND COX," a farce by J. M. Morton, remarkable for a successful
run such as is said to have brought the author £7000.
BOY BISHOP, a boy chosen on 6th December, St. Nicholas' Day,
generally out of the choir, to act as bishop and do all his episcopal
duties, except celebrate mass. For the term of his office, which varied,
he was treated as bishop, and if he died during his tenure of it was
buried with episcopal honours. The term of office was limited in 1279 to
24 hours.
BOYARS, the old nobility of Russia, whose undue influence in the
State was broken by Peter the Great; also the landed aristocracy of
Roumania.
BOYCE, WILLIAM, composer, chiefly of church music, born in London;
published a collection of the "Cathedral Music of the Old English
Masters"; composed "Hearts of Oak," a naval song sung by ships' crews at
one time before going into action (1710-1779).
BOYCOTT, CAPTAIN, an Irish landlord's agent in Connemara, with whom
the population of the district in 1880 refused to have any dealings on
account of disagreements with the tenantry.
BOYD, ANDREW KENNEDY HUTCHISON, a Scottish clergyman and writer;
bred for the bar, but entered the Church; known to fame as A. K. H. B.;
author of "Recreations of a Country Parson," which was widely read, and
of Reminiscences of his life; died at Bournemouth by mischance of
swallowing a lotion instead of a sleeping-draught (1825-1899).
BOYD, ZACHARY, a Scottish divine; regent of a Protestant college at
Samur, in France; returned to Scotland in consequence of the persecution
of the Huguenots; became minister of Barony Parish, Glasgow, and rector
of the University; preached before Cromwell after the battle of Dunbar;
author of the "Last Battell of the Soule in Death" and "Zion's Flowers,"
being mainly metrical versions of Scripture, called "Boyd's Bible"
(1585-1653).
BOYDELL, JOHN, an English engraver and print-seller, famous for his
"Shakespeare Gallery," with 96 plates in illustration of Shakespeare, and
the encouragement he gave to native artists; he issued also Hume's
"History of England," with 196 plates in illustration (1719-1804).
BOYER, BARON, French anatomist and surgeon; attendant on Napoleon,
afterwards professor in the University of Paris; wrote works on anatomy
and surgical diseases, which continued for long text-books on those
subjects; was a man of very conservative opinions (1757-1833).
BOYER, JEAN PIERRE, president of Hayti, born at Port-au-Prince of a
negress and a Creole father; secured the independence of the country;
held the presidency for 25 years from 1818, but suspected of consulting
his own advantage more than that of the country, was driven from power by
a revolution in 1843; retired to Paris, where he spent the rest of his
life and died (1776-1850).
BOYLE, CHARLES, fourth Earl of Orrery, distinguished for the
connection of his name with the Bentley controversy, and for its
connection with an astronomical contrivance by one Graham to illustrate
the planetary system (1676-1731).
BOYLE, RICHARD, first and great Earl of Cork, distinguished among
Irish patriots and landlords for what he did to improve his estates and
develop manufactures and the mechanical arts in Ireland, also for the
honours conferred upon him for his patriotism; when Cromwell saw how his
estates were managed he remarked, that had there been one like him in
every province in Ireland rebellion would have been impossible
(1566-1643).
BOYLE, THE HON. ROBERT, a distinguished natural philosopher, born at
Lismore, of the Orrery family; devoted his life and contributed greatly
to science, especially chemistry, as well as pneumatics; was one of the
originators of the "Royal Society"; being a student of theology, founded
by his will an endowment for the "Boyle Lectures" in defence of
Christianity against its opponents and rivals; refused the presidentship
of the Royal Society, and declined a peerage (1626-1691).
BOYLE LECTURES, the lectureship founded by the Hon. Robert Boyle in
1691, and held for a tenure of three years, the endowment being £50 per
annum; the lecturer must deliver eight lectures in defence of
Christianity, and some of the most eminent men have held the post.
BOYLE'S LAW, that the volume of a gas is inversely as the pressure.
BOYNE, a river in Ireland, which flows through Meath into the Irish
Sea; gives name to the battle in which William III. defeated the forces
of James II. on 30th July 1690.
BOZ, a _nom de plume_ under which Dickens wrote at first, being his
nickname when a boy for a little brother.
BOZZY, Johnson's familiar name for Boswell.
BRABANT, in mediæval times was an important prov. of the Low
Countries, inhabitants Dutch, cap. Breda; is now divided between Holland
and Belgium. It comprises three provs., the N. or Dutch Brabant; Antwerp,
a Belgian prov., inhabitants Flemings, cap. Antwerp; and S. Brabant, also
Belgian, inhabitants Walloons, cap. Brussels; the whole mostly a plain.
BRACTON, HENRY DE, an English "justice itinerant," a writer on
English law of the 13th century; author of "De Legibus et Consuetudinibus
Angliæ," a "Treatise on the Laws and Customs of England," and the first
attempt of the kind; _d_. 1268.
BRADAMANTE, sister to Rinaldo, and one of the heroines in "Orlando
Furioso"; had a lance which unhorsed every one it touched.
BRADDOCK, EDWARD, British general, born in Perthshire; entered the
Coldstream Guards, and became major-general in 1754; commanded a body of
troops against the French in America, fell in an attempt to invest Fort
Duquesue, and lost nearly all his men (1695-1755).
BRADDON, MISS (Mrs. John Maxwell), a popular novelist, born in
London; authoress of "Lady Audley's Secret," "Aurora Floyd," and some 50
other novels; contributed largely to magazines; _b_. 1837.
BRADFORD (216), a Yorkshire manufacturing town, on a tributary of
the Aire, 9 m. W. of Leeds; it is the chief seat of worsted spinning and
weaving in England, and has an important wool market; coal and iron mines
are at hand, and iron-works and machinery-making are its other industries.
Also the name of a manufacturing town on the Avon, in Wilts.
BRADLAUGH, CHARLES, a social reformer on secularist lines, born in
London; had a chequered career; had for associate in the advocacy of his
views Mrs. Annie Besant; elected M.P. for Northampton thrice over, but
not allowed to sit till he took the oath, which he did in 1886; died
respected by all parties in the House of Commons; wrote the "Impeachment
of the House of Brunswick" (1833-1891).
BRADLEY, JAMES, astronomer, born in Gloucestershire; professor of
Astronomy at Oxford, and astronomer-royal at Greenwich; discovered the
aberration of light and the nutation of the earth's axis; made 60,000
astronomical observations (1693-1762).
BRADSHAW, GEORGE, an engraver of maps in Manchester; published maps
illustrative of certain canal systems, and did the same service for
railways, which developed into the well-known "Railway Guide"
(1830-1863).
BRADSHAW, JOHN, president of the High Court of Justice for trial of
Charles I., born at Stockport; bred for the bar; a friend of Milton; a
thorough republican, and opposed to the Protectorate; became president of
the Council on Cromwell's death; was buried in Westminster; his body was
exhumed and hung in chains at the Restoration (1586-1659).
BRADWARDIN, THOMAS, archbishop of Canterbury, surnamed "Doctor
Profundus" from his treatise "De Causa Dei" against Pelagianism; chaplain
to Edward III.; was present at Crécy and at the taking of Calais; died of
the black death shortly after his consecration (1290-1348).
BRADWARDINE, the name of a baron and his daughter, the heroine of
"Waverley."
BRAEMAR`, a Scottish Highland district SW. of Aberdeenshire; much
frequented by tourists, and resorted to for summer country quarters.
BRAG, JACK, a pretender who ingratiates himself with people above
him.
BRAGA (23), a city, 34 m. NE. of Oporto, Portugal; the residence of
the Primate; the capital of Minho.
BRAGANZA, capital of Traz-os-Montes, in Portugal; gives name to the
ruling dynasty of Portugal, called the House of Braganza, the eighth duke
of Braganza having ascended the throne in 1640, on the liberation of
Portugal from the yoke of Spain.
BRAGI, the Norse god of poetry and eloquence, son of Odin and
Frigga; represented as an old man with a long flowing beard and
unwrinkled brow, with a mild expression of face; received in Valhalla the
heroes who fell in battle.
BRAHAM, JOHN, a celebrated tenor singer, the most so in Europe of
his day, and known all over Europe; was particularly effective in
rendering the national songs; born in London, of Jewish parents; composed
operas, which, however, were only dramas interspersed with songs. Scott
described him as "a beast of an actor, but an angel of a singer"
(1774-1856).
BRAHÉ, TYCHO, a Swedish astronomer, of noble birth; spent his life
in the study of the stars; discovered a new star in Cassiopeia; had an
observatory provided for him on an island in the Sound by the king, where
he made observations for 20 years; he was, on the king's death, compelled
to retire under persecution at the hand of the nobles; accepted an
invitation of the Kaiser Rudolf II. to Prague, where he continued his
work and had Kepler for assistant and pupil (1546-1601).
BRAHMA, in the Hindu religion and philosophy at one time the formless
spirit of the Universe, from which all beings issue and into which they
all merge, and as such is not an object of worship, but a subject of
meditation; and at another the creator of all things, of which VISHNU (q.
v.) is the preserver AND SIVA (q. v.) the destroyer, killing that he may
make alive. See TRIMURTI.
BRAHMAN, or BRAHMIN, one of the sacred caste of the Hindus that
boasts of direct descent from, or immediate relationship with, Brahma,
the custodians and mediators of religion, and therefore of high-priestly
rank.
BRAHMANAS, treatises on the ceremonial system of Brahminism, with
prescriptions bearing upon ritual, and abounding in legends and
speculations.
BRAHMAPUTRA (i. e. son of Brahma), a river which rises in Tibet,
circles round the E. of the Himalayas, and, after a course of some 1800
m., joins the Ganges, called the Sampo in Tibet, the Dihong in Assam, and
the Brahmaputra in British India; it has numerous tributaries, brings
down twice as much mud as the Ganges, and in the lower part of its course
overflows the land, particularly Assam, like an inland sea.
BRAHMINISM, the creed and ritual of the Brahmans, or that social,
political, and religious organisation which developed among the Aryans in
the valley of the Ganges under the influence of the Brahmans. According
to the religious conception of this class, Brahma, or the universal
spirit, takes form or incarnates himself successively as Brahma, Vishnu,
and Siva, which triple incarnation constitutes a trimurti or trinity. In
this way Brahma, the first incarnation of the universal spirit, had four
sons, from whom issued the four castes of India--Brahmans, Kshatriyas,
Vaisyas, and Sudras--all the rest being outcasts or pariahs. See
CASTE.
BRAHMO-SOMAJ (i. e. church of God), a secession from traditional
Hinduism, originated in 1830 by Rammohun Roy, and developed by Chunder
Sen; founded on theistic, or rather monotheistic, i. e. unitarian,
principles, and the rational ideas and philosophy of Europe, as well as a
profession of a sense of the brotherhood of man no less than the unity of
God.
BRAHMS, JOHANNES, a distinguished composer, born at Hamburg; of
great promise from a boy; settled in Vienna; has no living rival; the
appearance of compositions of his an event in the musical world;
approaches Beethoven as no other does; distinguished as a performer as
well as a composer; _b_. 1833.
BRAIDWOOD, JAMES, born in Edinburgh; director of the London fire
brigade; distinguished for his heroism on the occasion of great fires
both in Edinburgh and London (1790-1861).
BRAILLE, a blind Frenchman, invented printing in relief for the
blind (1809-1852).
BRAINERD, American missionary to the Red Indians, born in
Connecticut; his Life was written by Jonathan Edwards, in whose house he
died (1718-1747).
BRAMAH, JOSEPH, an engineer, born in Barnsley, Yorkshire; author of
many mechanical inventions, 18 of which were patented, among others the
hydraulic press, named after him (1748-1814).
BRAMANTE, DONATO, architect; laid the foundation of St. Peter's at
Rome, which he did not live to complete (1444-1514).
BRAMBLE, MATTHEW, a gouty humorist in "Humphrey Clinker"; of a
fretful temper, yet generous and kind, who has a sister, MISS
TABITHA, an ungainly maiden at forty-five, and of anything but a
sweet temper.
BRAMHALL, JOHN, archbishop of Armagh, born in Yorkshire, a
high-handed Churchman and imitator of Laud; was foolhardy enough once to
engage, nowise to his credit, in public debate with such a dialectician
as Thomas Hobbes on the questions of necessity and free-will (1594-1663).
BRAMWELL, SIR FREDERICK, civil engineer, president of the British
Association in 1888, and previously of Association of Engineers; _b_.
1818.
BRAN, name given to Fingal's dog.
BRAND, JOHN, antiquary, born in Durham, wrote a "Popular
Antiquities" (1744-1784).
BRANDAN, ST., ISLAND OF, an island reported of by St. Brandan as
lying W. of the Canary Islands, and that figured on charts as late as
1755, in quest of which voyages of discovery were undertaken as recently
as the beginning of the 18th century, up to which time it was believed to
exist.
BRANDE, chemist, born in London; author of "Manual of Chemistry" and
other works (1788-1866).
BRANDENBURG (2,542), in the great northern plain of Germany, is a
central Prussian province, and the nucleus of the Prussian kingdom; most
of it a sandy plain, with fertile districts and woodlands here and there.
BRANDENBURG, THE HOUSE OF, an illustrious German family dating from
the 10th century, from which descended the kings of Prussia.
BRANDES, GEORGE, a literary critic, born at Copenhagen, of Jewish
parents; his views of the present tendency of literature in Europe
provoked at first much opposition in Denmark, though they were received
with more favour afterwards; the opposition to his views were such that
he was forced to leave Copenhagen, but, after a stay in Berlin, he
returned to it in 1862, with the support of a strong party in his favour.
BRANDT, a Swedish chemist; chanced on the discovery in 1669 of
phosphorus while in quest of a solvent to transmute metals, such as
silver, into gold; _d_. 1692.
BRANDT, SEBASTIAN, a satirical writer, born at Strassburg; author of
the "Narrenschiff" or "Ship of Fools," of which there have been many
translations and not a few imitations (1458-1521).
BRANDY NAN, a nickname for Queen Anne, from her fondness for brandy.
BRANDYWINE CREEK, a small river in Delaware; scene of a victory of
the British over the Americans in 1777.
BRANGTONS, THE, a vulgar, evil-spoken family in Miss Burney's
"Evelina."
BRANT, JOSEPH, Indian chief who sided with the British in the
American war; a brave and good man; _d_. 1807.
BRANTÔME, PIERRE DE BOURDEILLES, a French chronicler, contemporary
of Montaigne, born in Périgord; led the life of a knight-errant, and
wrote Memoirs remarkable for the free-and-easy, faithful, and vivid
delineations of the characters of the most celebrated of his
contemporaries (1527-1614).
BRASIDAS, a Spartan general, distinguished in the Peloponnesian war;
his most celebrated action, the defeat at the expense of his life, in 422
B.C., of the flower of the Athenian army at Amphipolis, with a small
body of helots and mercenaries.
BRASS, SAMPSON, a knavish attorney in "Old Curiosity Shop"; affected
feeling for his clients, whom he fleeced.
BRASSES, sepulchral tablets of a mixed metal, called latten, inlaid
in a slab of stone, and insculpt with figures and inscriptions of a
monumental character; the oldest in England is at Stoke d'Abernon, in
Surrey.
BRASSEY, THOMAS, a great railway contractor, born in Cheshire;
contracted for the construction of railways in all parts of the world
(1805-1870).
BRAUN, AUGUSTE EMIL, German archæologist, born at Gotha; works
numerous, and of value (1809-1856).
BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE, Marshal Ney, so called from his fearlessness
in battle; Napoleon had on one occasion said, "That man is a lion."
BRAXY, an inflammatory disease in sheep, due to a change in food
from succulent to dry; and the name given to the mutton of sheep affected
with it.
BRAY, a Berkshire village, famous for Simon Aleyn, its vicar from
1540 to 1588, who, to retain his living, never scrupled to change his
principles; he lived in the reigns of Charles II., James II., William
III., Queen Anne, and George I.
BRAZEN AGE, in the Greek mythology the age of violence, that
succeeded the weak Silver Age. See AGES.
BRAZIL (14,000), the largest South American State, almost equal to
Europe, occupies the eastern angle of the continent, and comprises the
Amazon basin, the tablelands of Matto Grosso, the upper basin of the
Paraguay, and the maritime highlands, with the valleys of the Paraná and
San Francisco. Great stretches of the interior are uninhabitable swamp
and forest lands; forests tenanted by an endless variety of
brilliant-plumed birds and insects; the coasts are often humid and
unhealthy, but the upper levels have a fine climate. Almost all the
country is within the tropics. The population at the seaports is mostly
white; inland it is negro, mulatto, and Indian. Vegetable products are
indescribably rich and varied; timber of all kinds, rubber, cotton, and
fruit are exported; coffee and sugar are the chief crops. The vast
mineral wealth includes diamonds, gold, mercury, and copper. Most of the
trade is with Britain and America. The language is Portuguese; the
religion, Roman Catholic; education is very backward, and government
unsettled. Discovered in 1500, and annexed by Portugal; the Portuguese
king, expelled by the French in 1808, fled to his colony, which was made
a kingdom 1815, and an empire in 1822. The emperor, Pedro II., was driven
out in 1889, and a republic established on the federal system, which has
been harassed ever since by desultory civil war. The capital is Rio
Janeiro; Bahia and Pernambuco, the other seaports.
BRAZIL-WOOD, a wood found in Brazil, of great value for dyeing red,
the colouring principle being named Brasilin.
BRAZZA (22), an island in the Adriatic, belonging to Austria; is
richly wooded; noted for its wines; yields marble.
BRAZZA, PIERRE SAVORGNAN DE, explorer, born in Rome; acquired land
N. of the Congo for France, and obtained a governorship; _b_. 1852.
BREADFRUIT-TREE, a South Sea island tree producing a fruit which,
when roasted, is used as bread.
BRÉAL, MICHEL, a French philologist, born at Landau; translator into
French of Bopp's "Comparative Grammar"; _b_. 1832.
BRÈCHE-DE-ROLAND, a gorge in the dep. of the Haute-Pyrénées, which,
according to tradition, Charlemagne's Paladin of the name of Roland cleft
with one stroke of his sword when he was beset by the Gascons.
BRECHIN, a town in Forfarshire, W. of Montrose, on the S. Esk, with
a cathedral and an old round tower near it, 85 ft. high, the only one of
the kind in Scotland besides being at Abernethy.
BREDA (23), fortified town, the capital of N. Brabant; a place of
historical interest; Charles II. resided here for a time during his
exile, and issued hence his declaration prior to his restoration.
BREECHES BIBLE, the Geneva Bible, so called from its rendering in
Gen. iii. 7, in which "aprons" is rendered "breeches."
BREECHES REVIEW, the _Westminster_, so called at one time, from one
Place, an authority in it, who had been a leather-breeches maker at
Charing Cross.
BRÉGNET, a French chronometer-maker, born at Neuchâtel; a famous
inventor of astronomical instruments (1747-1823).
BREHM, ALFRED EDMUND, German naturalist; his chief work
"Illustrirtes Thierleben" (1829-1884).
BREHON LAWS, a body of judge-created laws that for long formed the
common law of Ireland, existed from prehistoric times till Cromwell's
conquest. The origin of the code is unknown, and whether it was at first
traditional; many manuscript redactions of portions exist still.
BREMEN (126), the chief seaport of Germany, after Hamburg; is on the
Weser, 50 m. from its mouth, and is a free city, with a territory less
than Rutlandshire. Its export and import trade is very varied; half the
total of emigrants sail from its docks; it is the head-quarters of the
North German Lloyd Steamship Company. Textiles, tobacco, and paper
industries add to its prosperity; was one of the principal cities of the
Hanseatic League.
BREMER, FREDRIKA, a highly popular Swedish novelist, born in
Finland; "The Neighbours," "The President's Daughter," and "Strife and
Peace," are perhaps her best stories; has been called the Jane Austen of
Sweden.
BREMER, SIR JAMES, rear-admiral; distinguished in the Burmese and
Chinese wars (1786-1850).
BREMERHAVEN, the port of Bremen, on the estuary of the Weser,
founded for the accommodation of large vessels in 1830, with a large
hospice for emigrants.
BRENDAN, ST., an Irish saint, born at Tralee, celebrated for his
voyages in quest of "a land beyond human ken" and his discovery of "a
paradise amid the waves of the sea"; founded a monastery at Clonfert;
died in 577, in his ninety-fourth year.
BRENNER PASS, pass on the central Tyrolese Alps, 6853 ft. high,
between Innsbruck and Botzen, crossed by a railway, which facilitates
trade between Venice, Germany, and Austria.
BRENNUS, a Gallic chief, who, 300 B.C., after taking and pillaging
Rome, invested the Capitol for so long that the Romans offered him a
thousand pounds' weight of gold to retire; as the gold was being weighed
out he threw his sword and helmet into the opposite scale, adding _Væ
victis_, "Woe to the conquered," an insolence which so roused Camillus,
that he turned his back and offered battle to him and to his army, and
totally routed the whole host.
BRENTA, an Italian river; rises in the Tyrol, waters Bassano, and
debouches near Venice.
BRENTANO, CLEMENS, poet of the romanticist school, born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, brother of Goethe's Bettina von Arnim; was a
roving genius (1778-1849).
BRENTFORD, market-town in Middlesex, on the Brent, 10 m. W. of
London, that figures in history and literature.
BRENZ, JOHANN, the reformer of Würtemberg, and one of the authors of
the Würtemberg Confession, as well as a catechism extensively used
(1499-1570).
BRESCIA (43), a city of Lombardy, on the Mella and Garza, 50 m. E.
of Milan; has two cathedrals, an art gallery and library, a Roman temple
excavated in 1822, and now a classical museum; its manufactures are
woollens, silks, leather, and wine.
BRESLAU (335), the capital of Silesia, second city in Prussia; an
important commercial and manufacturing centre, and has a first-class
fortress; is on the Oder, 150 m. by rail SE. of Frankfort; it stands in
the centre of the Baltic, North Sea, and Danube trade, and has a large
woollen industry and grain market; there are a cathedral, university, and
library.
BRESSAY, one of the Shetland Isles, near Lerwick, with one of the
best natural harbours in the world.
BREST (76), a strongly-fortified naval station in the extreme NW. of
France; one of the chief naval stations in France, with a magnificent
harbour, and one of the safest, first made a marine arsenal by Richelieu;
has large shipbuilding yards and arsenal; its industries are chiefly
related to naval equipment, with leather, waxcloth, and paper
manufactures.
BRÉTON, JULES ADOLPHE, a French _genre_ and landscape painter, born
at Courrières, in Pas-de-Calais, 1827.
BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, Spanish poet and dramatist; wrote comedies
and satires in an easy, flowing style (1800-1873).
BRETEUIL, BARON DE, an ex-secretary of Louis XVI. (1733-1807).
BRETHREN OF THE COMMON LIFE, a Dutch branch of the "Friends of God,"
founded at Deventer by Gerard Groote.
BRETSCHNEIDER, HENRY GOTTFRIED VON, a German satirical writer, born
at Gera; led a bohemian life; served in the army; held political posts;
composed, besides satirical writings, "Almanach der Heiligen auf das
Jahr, 1788," "Wallers Leben und Sitten," and the comic epic, "Graf Esau"
(1739-1810).
BRETSCHNEIDER, KARL GOTTLIEB, a German rationalistic theologian;
much regarded for his sound judgment in critical matters; his theological
writings are of permanent value; his chief works, "Handbuch der
Dogmatik," and an edition of Melanchthon's works.
BRETWALDA, a title apparently of some kind of acknowledged supremacy
among the Anglo-Saxon kings, and the leader in war.
BREUGHEL, a family of Butch painters, a father and two sons, the
father, Peter, called "OLD" B. (1510-1570); a son, John, "VELVET"
B., either from his dress or from the vivid freshness of his colours
(1560-1625); and the other, Peter, "HELLISH" B., from his fondness
for horrible subjects (1559-1637).
BREVET`, a commission entitling an officer in the army to a nominal
rank above his real rank.
BREVIARY, a book containing the daily services in the Roman Catholic
Church and corresponding to the English Prayer-Book; differs from the
"Missal," which gives the services connected with the celebration of the
Eucharist, and the "Pontifical," which gives those for special occasions.
BREWER, JOHN SHERREN, historian, professor of English Literature in
King's College, London; author of "Calendar of Letters and Papers of
Henry VIII.'s Reign," his work the sole authority on Henry's early reign
(1810-1879).
BREWER OF GHENT, Jacob Arteveld.
BREWSTER, SIR DAVID, an eminent Scottish natural philosopher, born
at Jedburgh; edited the "Edinburgh Encyclopædia," in the pages of which
Carlyle served his apprenticeship; specially distinguished for his
discoveries in light, his studies in optics, and for his optical
inventions, such as the kaleidoscope and the stereoscope; connected with
most scientific associations of his time; wrote largely on scientific and
other subjects, e. g., a Life of Newton, as well as Lives of Euler,
Kepler, and others of the class; Principal of the United Colleges of St.
Andrews, and afterwards of Edinburgh, being succeeded at St. Andrews by
James David Forbes, who years before defeated him as candidate for the
Natural Philosophy chair in Edinburgh; bred originally for the Church,
and for a time a probationer (1781-1868).
BREWSTER, WILLIAM, leader of the Pilgrim Fathers in the _Mayflower_,
who conveyed them to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620; had been a
clergyman of the Church of England.
BRIAN BOROIHME, an Irish chief, who early in the 10th century
established his rule over a great part of Ireland, and made great efforts
for the civilisation of the country; died defeating the Danes at
Clontarf, being, it is said, the twenty-fifth battle in which he defeated
them.
BRIANÇON, the highest town in France, 4300 ft. above sea-level, 42
m. SE. from Grenoble, with a trade in cutlery.
BRIAREUS, a Uranid with 50 heads and 100 arms, son of Ouranos and
Gaia, i. e. Heaven and Earth, whom Poseidon cast into the sea and
buried under Etna, but whom Zeus delivered to aid him against the Titans;
according to another account, one of THE GIANTS (q. v.).
BRICE, ST., bishop of Tours in the beginning of the 5th century, and
disciple of St. Martin. Festival, Nov. 19.
BRICE'S, ST., a day in 1002 on which a desperate attempt was made to
massacre all the Danes in England and stamp them wholly out, an attempt
which was avenged by the Danish king, Sweyn.
BRICK, JEFFERSON, an American politician in "Martin Chuzzlewit."
BRIDE OF THE SEA, Venice, so called from a ceremony in which her
espousals were celebrated by the Doge casting a ring into the Adriatic.
BRIDEWELL, a house of correction in Blackfriars, London, so called
from St. Bridget's well, near it.
BRIDGE OF ALLAN, a village on Allan water, 3 m. N. of Stirling, with
a mild climate and mineral waters.
BRIDGE OF SIGHS, a covered way in Venice leading from the Ducal
Palace to the State prison, and over which culprits under capital
sentence were transported to their doom, whence the name.
BRIDGENORTH, MAJOR RALPH, a Roundhead in "Peveril of the Peak."
BRIDGEPORT (48), a thriving manufacturing town and seaport of
Connecticut, U.S., 58 m. NE. from New York.
BRIDGET, MRS., a character in "Tristram Shandy."
BRIDGET, ST., an Irish saint, born at Dundalk; entered a monastery
at 14; founded monasteries; takes rank in Ireland with St. Patrick and
St. Columba. Festival, Feb. 1 (453-523). Also the name of a Swedish saint
in the 14th century; founded a new Order, and 72 monasteries of the
Order.
BRIDGETON, a manufacturing town in New Jersey, 38 m. S. of
Philadelphia.
BRIDGETOWN (21), capital of Barbadoes, seat of the government, the
bishop, a college, &c.; it has suffered frequently from hurricane and
fever.
BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS EGERTON, 3RD DUKE OF, celebrated for his
self-sacrificing devotion to the improvement and extension of canal
navigation in England, embarking in it all his wealth, in which he was
aided by the skill of Brindley; he did not take part in politics, though
he was a supporter of Pitt; died unmarried (1736-1803).
BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS HENRY EGERTON, 8TH EARL OF, educated for the
Church, bequeathed £8000 for the best work on natural theology, which his
trustees expended in the production of eight works by different eminent
men, called "Bridgewater Treatises," all to be found in Bohn's Scientific
Library (1758-1829).
BRIDGMAN, LAURA, a deaf, dumb, and blind child, born in New
Hampshire, U.S.; noted for the surprising development of intellectual
faculty notwithstanding these drawbacks; Dickens gives an account of her
in his "American Notes" (1829-1889).
BRIDGWATER, a seaport town in Somersetshire, 29 m. SW. of Bristol.
BRIDLEGOOSE, JUDGE, a judge in Rabelais' "Pantagruel," who decided
cases by the throw of dice.
BRIDLINGTON, a watering-place in Yorkshire, 6 m. SW. of Flamborough
Head, with a chalybeate spring.
BRIDPORT, VISCOUNT, a British admiral, distinguished in several
engagements (1797-1814).
BRIEG (20), a thriving, third, commercially speaking, town in
Prussian Silesia, 25 m. SE. of Breslau.
BRIENNE, JEAN DE, descendant of an old French family; elected king
of Jerusalem, then emperor of Constantinople; _d_. 1237.
BRIENZ, LAKE OF, lake in the Swiss canton of Bern, 8 m. long, 2 m.
broad, over 800 ft. above sea-level, and of great depth in certain parts,
abounding in fish. Town of, a favourite resort for tourists.
BRIEUC, ST., (19), a seaport and an episcopal city in the dep. of
Côtes-du-Nord, France.
BRIGADE, a body of troops under a general officer, called brigadier,
consisting of a number of regiments, squadrons, or battalions.
BRIGANTES, a powerful British tribe that occupied the country
between the Humber and the Roman Wall.
BRIGGS, HENRY, a distinguished English mathematician; first Savilian
professor at Oxford; made an important improvement on the system of
logarithms, which was accepted by Napier, the inventor, and is the system
now in use (1561-1631).
BRIGHAM YOUNG, the chief of the Mormons (1801-1877).
BRIGHT, JAMES FRANCK, historian, Master of University College,
Oxford; author of "English History for the Use of Public Schools," a book
of superior literary merit; _b_. 1832.
BRIGHT, JOHN, English statesman, son of a Lancashire cotton spinner,
born near Rochdale; of Quaker birth and profession; engaged in
manufacture; took an early interest in political reform; he joined the
Anti-Corn-Law League on its formation in 1839, and soon was associated
with Cobden in its great agitation; entering Parliament in 1843, he was a
strong opponent of protection, the game laws, and later of the Crimean
war; he advocated financial reform and the reform of Indian
administration; and on the outbreak of the American Civil War supported
the North, though his business interests suffered severely; he was
closely associated with the 1867 Reform Act, Irish Church
Disestablishment 1869, and the 1870 Irish Land Act; his Ministerial
career began in 1868, but was interrupted by illness; in 1873, and again
in 1881, he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; he seceded from
Gladstone's Government on the Egyptian policy in 1882, and strenuously
opposed Home Rule in 1886; in 1880 he was Lord Rector of Glasgow
University; he was a man of lofty and unblemished character, an animated
and eloquent orator; at his death Mr. Gladstone pronounced one of the
noblest eulogiums one public man has ever paid to another (1811-1889).
BRIGHTON (128), a much-frequented watering-place in Sussex, 50 m. S.
of London, of which it is virtually a suburb; a place of fashionable
resort ever since George IV. took a fancy to it; a fine parade extends
along the whole length of the sea front; has many handsome edifices, a
splendid aquarium, a museum, schools of science and art, public library
and public gallery; the principal building is the Pavilion or Marine
Palace, originally built for George IV. Also the name of a suburb of
Melbourne.
BLIGHT'S DISEASE, a disease in the kidneys, due to several diseased
conditions of the organ, so called from Dr. Richard Bright, who first
investigated its nature.
BRIL BROTHERS, MATTHEW AND PAUL, landscape painters, born at
Antwerp; employed in the 16th century by successive Popes to decorate the
Vatican at Rome; of whom Paul, the younger, was the greater artist; his
best pictures are in Rome.
BRILLAT-SAVARIN, a French gastronomist, author of "Physiologie du
Goût," a book full of wit and learning, published posthumously; was
professionally a lawyer and some time a judge (1755-1825).
BRIN`DISI (15), a seaport of Southern Italy, on the Adriatic coast;
has risen in importance since the opening of the Overland Route as a
point of departure for the East; it is 60 hours by rail from London, and
three days by steam from Alexandria; it was the port of embarkation for
Greece in ancient times, and for Palestine in mediæval.
BRINDLEY, JAMES, a mechanician and engineer, born in Derbyshire;
bred a millwright; devoted his skill and genius to the construction of
canals, under the patronage of the Duke of Bridgewater, as the greatest
service he could render to his country; regarded rivers as mere "feeders
to canals" (1716-1772).
BRINK, JAN TEN, a Dutch writer, distinguished as a critic in the
department of belles-lettres; _b_. 1834.
BRINVILLIERS, MARQUISE DE, notorious for her gallantries and for
poisoning her father, brother, and two sisters for the sake of their
property; was tortured and beheaded; the poison she used appears to have
been the Tofana poison, an art which one of her paramours taught her
(1630-1676). See AQUA TOFANA.
BRISBANE (49), capital of Queensland, on the Brisbane River, 25 m.
from the sea, 500 m. N. of Sydney, is the chief trading centre and
seaport of the Colony; it has steam communication with Australian ports
and London, and railway communication with Sydney, Melbourne, and
Adelaide; prosperity began when the colony was opened to free settlement
in 1842; it was dissociated from New South Wales and the city
incorporated in 1859.
BRISBANE, ADMIRAL SIR CHARLES, a naval officer of distinction under
Lords Hood and Nelson; captured in 1796 Dutch warships, three ships of
the line among them, in Saldanha Bay, and in 1807 the island of Curaçoa;
was made governor of St. Vincent (1769-1829).
BRISBANE, SIR JAMES, naval officer, brother of the preceding, served
under Lord Howe and under Nelson at Copenhagen (1774-1829).
BRISBANE, SIR THOMAS MACDOUGALL, British general, a man of science
and an astronomer, born near Largs, Ayrshire; saw service as a soldier;
was appointed governor of New South Wales to the profit of the colony;
gave name to the capital of Queensland; catalogued over 7000 stars;
succeeded Scott as president of the Royal Society (1773-1860).
BRISE`IS, a young virgin priestess, who fell to the lot of Achilles
among the spoil of a victory, but whom Agamemnon carried off from him,
whereupon he retired to his tent and sullenly refused to take any further
part in the war, to its prolongation, in consequence, as Homer relates,
for ten long years; the theme of the "Iliad" being the "wrath of
Achilles" on this account, and what it led to.
BRISSAC, the name of a noble family which supplied several marshals
to France.
BRISSON, HENRI, French publicist and journalist; after holding
presidentships in the Chamber became premier in 1885, but resigned after
a few months; formed a Radical administration in 1898, which was
short-lived; _b_. 1835.
BRISSOT DE WARVILLE, JEAN PIERRE, a French revolutionary, born at
Chartres, son of a pastry-cook; bred to the bar, took to letters; became
an outspoken disciple of Rousseau; spent some time in the Bastille;
liberated, he went to America; returned on the outbreak of the
Revolution, sat in the National Assembly, joined the Girondists; became
one of the leaders, or rather of a party of his own, named after him
Brissotins, midway between the Jacobins and them; fell under suspicion
like the rest of the party, was arrested, tried and guillotined
(1754-1793).
BRISTOL (286), on the Avon, 6 m. from its mouth, and 118 m. W. of
London, is the largest town in Gloucestershire, the seventh in England,
and a great seaport, with Irish, W. Indian, and S. American trade; it
manufactures tobacco, boots and shoes; it has a cathedral, two colleges,
a library and many educational institutions; by a charter of Edward III.
it forms a county in itself.
BRISTOL CHANNEL, an inlet in SW. of England, between S. Wales and
Devon and Cornwall, 8 m. in length, from 5 to 43 in breadth, and with a
depth of from 5 to 40 fathoms; is subject to very high tides, and as such
dangerous to shipping; numerous rivers flow into it.
BRITANNIA, a name for Britain as old as the days of Cæsar, and
inhabited by Celts, as Gaul also was.
BRITANNIA TUBULAR BRIDGE, a railway bridge spanning the Menai
Strait, designed by Robert Stephenson, and completed in 1850; consists of
hollow tubes of wrought-iron plates riveted together, and took five years
in erecting.
BRITANNICUS, the son of Claudius and Messalina, poisoned by Nero.
BRITISH ARISTIDES, name applied to Andrew Marvell from his
corresponding incorruptible integrity in life and poverty at death.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION, an association, of Sir David Brewster's
suggestion, of men of all departments of science for the encouragement of
scientific research and the diffusion of scientific knowledge, which
holds its meetings annually under the presidency of some distinguished
scientist, now in this, now in that selected central city of the country;
it is divided into eight sections--mathematical, chemical, geological,
biological, geographical, economic, mechanical, and anthropological.
BRITISH COLUMBIA (98), a western fertile prov. of British America,
extending between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, and from the
United States on the S. to Alaska on the N., being 800 m. long and four
times the size of Great Britain; rich in timber and minerals; rain is
abundant, and cereals do well.
BRITISH LION, the name given to John Bull when roused by opposition.
BRITISH MUSEUM, a national institution in London for the collection
of MSS., books, prints and drawings, antiquities, and objects of natural
history, ethnology, &c.; founded as far back as 1700, though not opened,
in Montagu House as it happened, for the public benefit till 1759.
BRITOMART, is a lady knight in the "Faërie Queene," representing
chastity with a resistless magic spear.
BRITTANY (3,162), an old French prov., land of the Bretons,
comprising the peninsula opposite Devon and Cornwall, stretching westward
between the Bays of Cancale and Biscay, was in former times a duchy; a
third of its inhabitants still retain their Breton language.
BRITTON, JOHN, topographer and antiquary, born in Wiltshire in
humble position; author of "Beauties of Wiltshire," instalment of a work
embracing all the counties of England and Wales; his principal works, and
works of value, are "Antiquities of Great Britain" and "Cathedral
Antiquities of England"; his chief work is 14 volumes; the "Antiquities
in Normandy" did much to create an interest in antiquarian subjects
(1771-1857).
BRIXTON, a southern suburb of London, on the Surrey side, a district
of the city that has of late years extended immensely.
BROAD ARROW, a stamp like an arrow-head to indicate government
property.
BROAD BOTTOM MINISTRY, a coalition of great weight under Mr. Pelham,
from Nov. 1744 to Mar. 1755, so called from the powerful parties
represented in it.
BROAD CHURCH, that section of the Church which inclines to liberal
opinions in theology, and is opposed to the narrowing of either spirit or
form, perhaps to an undue degree and to the elimination of elements
distinctive of the Christian system.
BROADS, THE NORFOLK, are a series of inland lakes in the E. of
Norfolkshire, which look like expansions of the rivers; they are
favourite holiday resorts on account of the expanse of strange scenery,
abundant vegetation, keen air, fishing and boating attractions.
BROB`DINGNAG, an imaginary country in "Gulliver's Travels,"
inhabited by giants, each as tall "as an ordinary spire-steeple";
properly a native of the country, in comparison with whom Gulliver was a
pigmy "not half so big as a round little worm plucked from the lazy
finger of a maid."
BROCA, PAUL, an eminent French surgeon, anthropologist, and one of
the chief French evolutionists; held a succession of important
appointments, and was the author of a number of medical works
(1824-1880).
BROCHANT DE VILLIERS, a mineralogist and geologist, born in Paris;
director of the St. Gobin manufactory (1773-1810).
BROCHS, dry-stone circular towers, called also Picts' towers and
Duns, with thick Cyclopean walls, a single doorway, and open to the sky,
found on the edge of straths or lochs in the N. and W. of Scotland.
BROCKEN, or BLOCKSBERG, the highest peak (3740 ft.) of the Harz
Mts., cultivated to the summit; famous for a "SPECTRE" so called,
long an object of superstition, but which is only the beholder's shadow
projected through, and magnified by, the mists.
BROCKHAUS, FRIEDRICH ARNOLD, a German publisher, born at Dortmund; a
man of scholarly parts; began business in Amsterdam, but settled in
Leipzig; publisher of the famous "Conversations Lexikon," and a great
many other important works (1772-1823).
BROCOLIANDO, a forest in Brittany famous in Arthurian legend.
BRODIE, SIR BENJAMIN, surgeon, born in Wiltshire; professor of
surgery; for 30 years surgeon in St. George's Hospital; was medical
adviser to three sovereigns; president of the Royal Society (1783-1862).
BRODIE, WILLIAM, a Scottish sculptor, born in Banff; did numerous
busts and statues (1815-1881).
BROGLIE, ALBERT, son of the following, a Conservative politician and
littérateur, author of "The Church and the Roman Empire in the 4th
century"; _b_. 1821
BROGLIE, CHARLES VICTOR, DUC DE, a French statesman, born at Paris;
a Liberal politician; was of the party of Guizot and Royer-Collard; held
office under Louis Philippe; negotiated a treaty with England for the
abolition of slavery; was an Orleanist, and an enemy of the Second
Empire; retired after the _coup d'état_ (1785-1870).
BROGLIE, VICTOR FRANÇOIS, DUC DE, marshal of France, distinguished
in the Seven Years' War, being "a firm disciplinarian"; was summoned by
royalty to the rescue as "war god" at the outbreak of the Revolution;
could not persuade his troops to fire on the rioters; had to "mount and
ride"; took command of the Emigrants in 1792, and died at Münster
(1718-1804).
BROKE, SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE, rear-admiral, born at Ipswich,
celebrated for the action between his ship _Shannon_, 38 guns, and the
American ship _Chesapeake_, 49 guns, in June 1813, in which he boarded
the latter and ran up the British flag; one of the most brilliant naval
actions on record, and likely to be long remembered in the naval annals
of the country (1776-1841).
BROMBERG (41), a busy town on the Brahe, in Prussian Posen; being a
frontier town, it suffered much in times of war.
BROME, ALEXANDER, a cavalier, writer of songs and lampoons instinct
with wit, whim, and spirit; and of his songs some are amatory, some
festive, and some political (1626-1666).
BROME, RICHARD, an English comic playwright, contemporary with Ben
Jonson, and a rival; originally his servant; his plays are numerous, and
were characterised by his enemies as the sweepings of Jonson's study;
_d_. 1652.
BROMINE, an elementary fluid of a dark colour and a disagreeable
smell, extracted from bittern, a liquid which remains after the
separation of salt.
BROMLEY (21), a market-town in Kent, 10 m. SE. of London, where the
bishops of Rochester had their palace, and where there is a home called
Warner's College for clergymen's widows.
BROMPTON, SW. district of London, in Kensington, now called S.
Kensington; once a rustic locality, now a fashionable district, with
several public buildings and the Oratory.
BRÖNDSTED, PETER OLAF, a Danish archæologist; author of "Travels and
Researches in Greece," where by excavations he made important
discoveries; his great work "Travels and Archæological Researches in
Greece" (1780-1842).
BRONGNIART, ADOLPHE, French botanist, son of the succeeding, the
first to discover and explain the function of the pollen in plants
(1801-1876).
BRONGNIART, ALEXANDRE, a French chemist and zoologist, collaborateur
with Cuvier, born at Paris; director of the porcelain works at Sèvres;
revived painting on glass; introduced a new classification of reptiles;
author of treatises on mineralogy and the ceramic arts (1770-1847).
BRONTE (16), a town in Sicily, on the western slope of Etna, which
gave title of duke to Nelson.
BRONTË, the name of three ladies, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne,
daughters of a Yorkshire clergyman of Irish extraction: CHARLOTTE,
born at Thornton, Yorkshire; removed with her father, at the age of four,
to Haworth, a moorland parish, in the same county, where she lived most
of her days; spent two years at Brussels as a pupil-teacher; on her
return, in conjunction with her sisters, prepared and published a volume
of poems under the pseudonyms respectively of "Currer, Ellis, and Acton
Bell," which proved a failure. Nothing daunted, she set to novel writing,
and her success was instant; first, "Jane Eyre," then "Shirley," and then
"Villette," appeared, and her fame was established. In 1854 she married
her father's curate, Mr. Nicholls, but her constitution gave way, and she
died (1816-1855). EMILY (Ellis), two years younger, poet rather than
novelist; wrote "Wuthering Heights," a remarkable production, showing
still greater genius, which she did not live to develop. ANNE
(Acton), four years younger, also wrote two novels, but very ephemeral
productions.
BRONZE AGE, the age in the history of a race intermediate between
the Stone Age and the Iron, and in some cases overlapping these two, when
weapons and tools were made of bronze.
BRONZI`NO, a Florentine painter, painted both in oil and fresco; a
great admirer of Michael Angelo; his famous picture, "Descent of Christ
into Hell" (1502-1572).
BROOK FARM, an abortive literary community organised on Fourier's
principles, 8 m. from Boston, U.S., by George Ripley in 1840; Nathaniel
Hawthorne was one of the community, and wrote an account of it.
BROOKE, HENRY, Irish dramatist and novelist, born in co. Cavan;
author of the "Fool of Quality," a book commended by John Wesley and much
lauded by Charles Kingsley, and the only one of his works that survives;
wrote, among other things, a poem called "Universal Beauty," and a play
called "Gustavus Vasa" (1703-1783).
BROOKE, SIR JAMES, rajah of Sarawak, born at Benares, educated in
England; entered the Indian army; was wounded in the Burmese war,
returned in consequence to England; conceived the idea of suppressing
piracy and establishing civilisation in the Indian Archipelago; sailed in
a well-manned and well-equipped yacht from the Thames with that object;
arrived at Sarawak, in Borneo; assisted the governor in suppressing an
insurrection, and was made rajah, the former rajah being deposed in his
favour; brought the province under good laws, swept the seas of pirates,
for which he was rewarded by the English government; was appointed
governor of Labuan; finally returned to England and died, being succeeded
in Sarawak by a nephew (1803-1868).
BROOKE, STOPFORD, preacher and writer, born in Donegal; after other
clerical appointments became incumbent of Bedford Chapel, Bloomsbury, and
Queen's chaplain; from conscientious motives seceded from the Church, but
continued to preach in Bloomsbury; wrote the "Life of Robertson of
Brighton," a "Primer of English Literature," "History of English Poetry,"
"Theology in the English Poets," and "Life of Milton," all works in
evidence of critical ability of a high order; _b_. 1832.
BROOKLYN (806), a suburb of New York, on Long Island, though ranking
as a city, and the fourth in the Union; separated from New York by the
East River, a mile broad, and connected with it by a magnificent
suspension bridge, the largest in the world, as well as by some 12 lines
of ferry boats plied by steam; it is now incorporated in Greater New
York; has 10 m. of water front, extensive docks and warehouses, and does
an enormous shipping trade; manufactures include glass, clothing,
chemicals, metallic wares, and tobacco; there is a naval yard, dock, and
storehouse; the city is really a part of New York; has many fine
buildings, parks, and pleasure grounds.
BROOKS, CHARLES WILLIAM SHIRLEY, novelist and journalist, born in
London; was on the staff of the _Morning Chronicle_; sent to Russia to
inquire into and report on the condition of the peasantry and labouring
classes there, as well as in Syria and Egypt; his report published in his
"Russians of the South"; formed a connection with _Punch_ in 1851,
writing the "Essence of Parliament," and succeeded Mark Lemon as editor
in 1870; he was the author of several works (1816-1874).
BROSSES, CHARLES DE, a French archæologist, born at Dijon; wrote
among other subjects on the manners and customs of primitive and
prehistoric man (1709-1777).
BROSSETTE, a French littérateur, born at Lyons; friend of Boileau,
and his editor and commentator (1671-1743).
BROTHERS, RICHARD, a fanatic, born in Newfoundland, who believed and
persuaded others to believe that the English people were the ten lost
tribes of Israel (1757-1824).
BROUGHAM, HENRY, LORD BROUGHAM AND VAUX, born in Edinburgh, and
educated at the High School and University of that city; was admitted to
the Scotch bar in 1800; excluded from promotion in Scotland by his
liberal principles, he joined the English bar in 1808, speedily acquired
a reputation as a lawyer for the defence in Crown libel actions, and, by
his eloquence in the cause of Queen Caroline, 1820, won universal popular
favour; entering Parliament in 1810, he associated with the Whig
opposition, threw himself into the agitation for the abolition of
slavery, the cause of education, and law reform; became Lord Chancellor
in 1830, but four years afterwards his political career closed; he was a
supporter of many popular institutions; a man of versatile ability and
untiring energy; along with Horner, Jeffrey, and Sidney Smith, one of the
founders of the _Edinburgh Review_, also of London University, and the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge; a writer on scientific,
historical, political, and philosophical themes, but his violence and
eccentricity hurt his influence; spent his last days at Cannes, where he
died (1778-1868).
BROUGHTON, LORD. See HOBHOUSE.
BROUGHTON, RHODA, novelist, her best work "Not Wisely but Too Well";
wrote also "Cometh Up as a Flower," "Red as a Rose is She," &c.; _b_.
1840.
BROUGHTON, WILLIAM ROBERT, an English seaman, companion of
Vancouver; discovered a portion of Oceania (1763-1822).
BROUGHTY FERRY (9), a watering-place, with villas, near Dundee, and
a favourite place of residence of Dundee merchants.
BROUSSA (37), a city in the extreme NW. of Asiatic Turkey, at the
foot of Mt. Olympus, 12 m. from the Sea of Marmora; the capital of the
Turkish empire till the taking of Constantinople in 1453; abounds in
mosques, and is celebrated for its baths.
BROUSSAIS, JOSEPH VICTOR, a French materialist, founder of the
"physiological school" of medicine; resolved life into excitation, and
disease into too much or too little (1772-1838).
BROUSSEL, a member of the Parlement of Paris, whose arrest, in 1648,
was the cause of, or pretext for, the organisation of the Fronde.
BROUSSON, a French Huguenot who returned to France after the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and was broken on the wheel, 1698.
BROUWER, a Dutch painter, mostly of low, vulgar life, which, as
familiar with it, he depicted with great spirit (1605-1638).
BROWN, AMY, the first wife of the Duc de Berri, born in England,
died in France; the Pope, in 1816, annulled her marriage, but declared
her two daughters legitimate (1783-1876).
BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN, an American novelist, born in Philadelphia,
of Quaker connection; his best-known fictions are "Wieland," "Edgar
Huntly," &c. (1771-1810).
BROWN, FORD MADOX, an English painter, born at Calais; his subjects
nearly all of a historical character, one of which is "Chaucer reciting
his Poetry at the Court of Edward III."; anticipated Pre-Raphaelitism
(1821-1893).
BROWN, SIR GEORGE, British general, born near Elgin, distinguished
both in the Peninsular and in the Crimean war, was severely wounded at
Inkerman, when in command of the Light Division (1790-1863).
BROWN, HENRY KIRKE, an American sculptor, did a number of statues, a
colossal one of Washington among them (1814-1886).
BROWN, JOHN, American slavery abolitionist; settled in Kansas, and
resolutely opposed the project of making it a slave state; in the
interest of emancipation, with six others, seized on the State armoury at
Harper's Ferry in hope of a rising, entrenched himself armed in it, was
surrounded, seized, tried, and hanged (1800-1859).
BROWN, JOHN, of Haddington, a self-educated Scotch divine, born at
Carpow, near Abernethy, Perthshire, son of a poor weaver, left an orphan
at 11, became a minister of a Dissenting church in Haddington; a man of
considerable learning, and deep piety; author of "Dictionary of the
Bible," and "Self-interpreting Bible" (1722-1787).
BROWN, JOHN, M.D., great-grandson of the preceding, born at Biggar,
educated in Edinburgh High School and at Edinburgh University, was a
pupil of James Syme, the eminent surgeon, and commenced quiet practice in
Edinburgh; author of "Horæ Subsecivæ," "Rab and his Friends," "Pet
Marjorie," "John Leech," and other works; was a fine and finely-cultured
man, much beloved by all who knew him, and by none more than by John
Ruskin, who says of him, he was "the best and truest friend of all my
life.... Nothing can tell the loss to me in his death, nor the grief to
how many greater souls than mine that had been possessed in patience
through his love" (1810-1882).
BROWN, JOHN, M.D., founder of the Brunonian system of medicine,
born at Bunkle, Berwickshire; reduced diseases into two classes, those
resulting from redundancy of excitation, and those due to deficiency of
excitation; author of "Elements of Medicine" and "Observations on the Old
and New Systems of Physic" (1735-1788). See BROUSSAIS.
BROWN, JONES, AND ROBINSON, three middle-class Englishmen on their
travels abroad, as figured in the pages of _Punch_, and drawn by Richard
Doyle.
BROWN, MOUNT (16,000 ft.), the highest of the Rocky Mts., in N.
America.
BROWN, OLIVER MADOX, son of Ford Madox, a youth of great promise
both as an artist and poet; died of blood-poisoning (1855-1874).
BROWN, RAWDON, historical scholar, spent his life at Venice in the
study of Italian history, especially in its relation to English history,
which he prosecuted with unwearied industry; his great work, work of 20
years' hard labour, "Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts relating to
English Affairs existing in the Archives of Venice and Northern Italy,"
left unfinished at his death; died at Venice, where he spent a great part
of his life, where Ruskin found him and conceived a warm friendship for
him (1803-1883).
BROWN, ROBERT, a distinguished botanist, born at Montrose, son of an
Episcopal clergyman; accompanied an expedition to survey the coast of
Australia in 1801, returned after four years' exploration, with 4000
plants mostly new to science, which he classified and described in his
"Prodromus Floræ Novæ Hollandiæ"; became librarian to, and finally
president of, the Linnean Society; styled by Humboldt _botanicorum facile
princeps_; he was a man of most minute and accurate observation, and of a
wide range of knowledge, much of which died along with him, out of the
fear of committing himself to mistakes (1773-1858).
BROWN, SAMUEL, M.D., chemist, born in Haddington, grandson of John
Brown of Haddington, whose life was devoted, with the zeal of a mediæval
alchemist, to a reconstruction of the science of atomics, which he did
not live to see realised: a man of genius, a brilliant conversationist
and an associate of the most intellectual men of his time, among the
number De Quincey, Carlyle, and Emerson; wrote "Lay Sermons on the Theory
of Christianity," "Lectures on the Atomic Theory," and two volumes of
"Essays, Scientific and Literary" (1817-1856).
BROWN, THOMAS, Scottish psychologist, born in Kirkcudbrightshire,
bred to medicine; professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of
Edinburgh, colleague and successor to Dugald Stewart; his lectures, all
improvised on the spur of the moment, were published posthumously;
"Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind" established a sixth sense,
which he called the "muscular." He was a man of precocious talent, and a
devoted student, to the injury of his health and the shortening of his
life; he was obliged from ill-health to resign his professorship after 10
years (1778-1820).
BROWN WILLY, the highest peak (1368 ft.) in Cornwall.
BROWNE, CHARLES FARRAR, a humorist and satirist, known by the
pseudonym of "Artemus Ward," born in Maine, U.S.; his first literary
effort was as "showman" to an imaginary travelling menagerie; travelled
over America lecturing, carrying with him a whimsical panorama as
affording texts for his numerous jokes, which he brought with him to
London, and exhibited with the same accompaniment with unbounded success;
he spent some time among the Mormons, and defined their religion as
singular, but their wives plural (1834-1867).
BROWNE, HABLOT KNIGHT, artist, born in London; illustrated Dickens's
works, "Pickwick" to begin with, under the pseudonym of "Phiz," as well
as the works of Lever, Ainsworth, Fielding, and Smollett, and the
Abbotsford edition of Scott; he was skilful as an etcher and an
architectural draughtsman (1815-1882).
BROWNE, ROBERT, founder of the Brownists, born in Rutland; the first
seceder from the Church of England, and the first to found a Church of
his own on Congregational principles, which he did at Norwich, though his
project of secession proved a failure, and he returned to the English
Church; died in jail at Northampton, where he was imprisoned for
assaulting a constable; he may be accounted the father of the
Congregational body in England (1540-1630).
BROWNE, SIR THOMAS, physician and religious thinker, born in London;
resided at Norwich for nearly half a century, and died there; was
knighted by Charles II.; "was," Professor Saintsbury says, "the greatest
prose writer perhaps, when all things are taken together, in the whole
range of English"; his principal works are "Religio Medici," "Inquiries
into Vulgar Errors," and "Hydriotaphia, or Urn-Burial, a Discourse of the
Sepulchral Urns found in Norfolk"; "all of the very first importance in
English literature,..." adds the professor, "the 'Religio Medici' the
greatest favourite, and a sort of key to the others;" "a man," says
Coleridge, "rich in various knowledge, exuberant in conceptions and
conceits, contemplative, imaginative, often truly great, and magnificent
in his style and diction.... He is a quiet and sublime enthusiast, with a
strong tinge of the fantastic. He meditated much on death and the
hereafter, and on the former in its relation to, or leading on to, the
latter" (1605-1682).
BROWNE WILLIAM, English pastoral poet, born at Tavistock; author of
"Britannia's Pastorals" and "The Shepherd's Pipe," a collection of
eclogues and "The Inner Temple and Masque," on the story of Ulysses and
Circe, with some opening exquisitely beautiful verses, "Steer hither,
steer," among them; was an imitator of Spenser, and a parallel has been
instituted between him and Keats (1590-1645).
BROWNIE, a good-natured household elf, believed in Scotland to
render obliging services to good housewives, and his presence an evidence
that the internal economies were approved of, as he favoured good
husbandry, and was partial to houses where it was observed.
BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT, _née_ BARRETT, poetess, born at
Carlton Hall, Durham; a woman of great natural abilities, which developed
early; suffered from injury to her spine; went to Torquay for her health;
witnessed the death by drowning of a brother, that gave her a shock the
effect of which never left her; published in 1838 "The Seraphim," and in
1844 "The Cry of the Children"; fell in with and married Robert Browning
in 1846, who immediately took her abroad, settling in Florence; wrote in
1850 "Sonnets from the Portuguese," in 1851 "Casa Guidi Windows," and in
1856 "Aurora Leigh," "a novel in verse," and in 1860 "Poems before
Congress"; ranks high, if not highest, among the poetesses of England;
she took an interest all through life in public affairs; her work is
marked by musical diction, sensibility, knowledge, and imagination, which
no poetess has rivalled (1806-1861).
BROWNING, ROBERT, poet, one of the two greatest in the Victorian
era, born in Camberwell; early given to write verses; prepared himself
for his literary career by reading through Johnson's Dictionary; his
first poem "PAULINE" (q. v.) published in 1833, which was
followed by "Paracelsus" in 1835, "Sordello" in 1840; after a time, in
which he was not idle, appeared, with some of his "Dramatic Romances and
Lyrics," in 1855 his "Men and Women," and in 1868 "THE RING AND THE
BOOK" (q. v.), his longest poem, and more analytic than poetic;
this was succeeded by a succession of others, finishing up with
"Asolando," which appeared the day he died at Venice; was a poet of great
subtlety, deep insight, creative power, and strong faith, of a genius and
learning which there are few able to compass the length and breadth of;
lies buried in Westminster Abbey; of Browning it has been said by
Professor Saintsbury, "Timor mortis non conturbabat, 'the fear of death
did not trouble him.' In the browner shades of age as well as in the
spring of youth he sang, not like most poets, Love and Death, but Love
and Life.... 'James Lee,' 'Rabbi Ben Ezra,' and 'Prospice' are among the
greatest poems of the century." His creed was an optimism of the
brightest, and his restful faith "it is all right with the world"
(1812-1889).
BROWN-SÉQUARD, physiologist, born in Mauritius, of American
parentage; studied in Paris; practised in New York, and became a
professor in the Collège de France; made a special study of the nervous
system and nervous diseases, and published works on the subject; _b_.
1818.
BRUANT, a French architect, born in Paris; architect of the
Invalides and the Salpétrière; _d_. 1697.
BRUAT, a French admiral, commanded the French fleet at the Crimea
(1796-1885).
BRUCE, a family illustrious in Scottish history, descended from a
Norman knight, Robert de Bruis, who came over with the Conqueror, and who
acquired lands first in Northumberland and then in Annandale.
BRUCE, JAMES, traveller, called the "Abyssinian," born at Kinnaird
House, Stirlingshire, set out from Cairo in 1768 in quest of the source
of the Nile: believed he had discovered it; stayed two years in
Abyssinia, and returned home by way of France, elated with his success;
felt hurt that no honor was conferred on him, and for relief from the
chagrin wrote an account of his travels in five quarto vols., the general
accuracy of which, as far as it goes, has been attested by subsequent
explorers (1730-1794).
BRUCE, MICHAEL, a Scotch poet, born near Loch Leven, in poor
circumstances, in the parish of Portmoak; studied for the Church; died of
consumption; his poems singularly plaintive and pathetic; his title to
the authorship of the "Ode to the Cuckoo" has been matter of contention
(1746-1767).
BRUCE, ROBERT, rival with John Baliol for the crown of Scotland on
the death of Margaret, the Maiden of Norway, against whose claim Edward
I. decided in favour of Baliol (1210-1295).
BRUCE, ROBERT, son of the preceding, earl of Carrick, through
Marjory his wife; served under Edward at the battle of Dunbar for one
instance; sued for the Scottish crown in vain (1269-1304).
BRUCE, ROBERT, king of Scotland, son of the preceding, did homage
for a time to Edward, but joined the national party and became one of a
regency of four, with Comyn for rival; stabbed Comyn in a quarrel at
Dumfries, 1306, and was that same year crowned king at Scone; was
defeated by an army sent against him, and obliged to flee to Rathlin,
Ireland; returned and landed in Carrick; cleared the English out of all
the fortresses except Stirling, and on 24th June 1314 defeated the
English under Edward II. at Bannockburn, after which, in 1328, the
independence of Scotland was acknowledged as well as Bruce's right to the
crown; suffering from leprosy, spent his last two years at Cardross
Castle, on the Clyde, where he died in the thirty-third year of his reign
(1274-1329).
BRUCIN, an alkaloid, allied in action to strychnine, though much
weaker, being only a twenty-fifth of the strength.
BRÜCKENAU, small town in Bavaria, 17 m. NW. of Kissingen, with
mineral springs good for nervous and skin diseases.
BRUCKER, historian of philosophy, born at Augsburg, and a pastor
there; author of "Historia Critica Philosophiæ" (1696-1770).
BRUEYS, DAVID AUGUSTIN DE, French dramatist, born at Aix, an abbé
converted by Bossuet, and actively engaged in propagating the faith;
managed to be joint editor with Palaprat in the production of plays
(1650-1725).
BRUGES (49), cap. of W. Flanders, in Belgium, intersected by canals
crossed by some 50 bridges, whence its name "Bridges"; one of these
canals, of considerable depth, connecting it with Ostend; though many of
them are now, as well as some of the streets, little disturbed by
traffic, in a decayed and a decaying place, having once had a population
of 200,000; has a number of fine churches, one specially noteworthy, the
church of Notre Dame; it has several manufactures, textile and chemical,
as well as distilleries, sugar-refineries, and shipbuilding yards.
BRUGSCH, HEINRICH KARL, a German Egyptologist, born at Berlin; was
associated with Mariette in his excavations at Memphis; became director
of the School of Egyptology at Cairo; his works on the subject are
numerous, and of great value; _b_. 1827.
BRÜHL, HEINRICH, COUNT VON, minister of Augustus III., king of
Poland, an unprincipled man, who encouraged his master, and indulged
himself, in silly foppery and wasteful extravagance, so that when the
Seven Years' War broke out he and his master had to flee from Dresden and
seek refuge in Warsaw (1700-1763).
BRUIN, the bear personified in the German epic of "Reynard the Fox."
BRUMAIRE, the 18th (i. e. the 9th November 1799, the foggy month),
the day when Napoleon, on his return from Egypt, overthrew the Directory
and established himself in power.
BRUMMELL, BEAU, born in London, in his day the prince of dandies;
patronised by the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV.; quarrelled with
the prince; fled from his creditors to Calais, where, reduced to
destitution, he lived some years in the same reckless fashion; settled at
length in Caen, where he died insane (1778-1805).
BRUNCK, an able French Hellenist, classical scholar, and critic,
born at Strassburg; edited several classical works, played a perilous
part in the French Revolution; was imprisoned, and, on his release, had
to sell his library in order to live (1729-1803).
BRUNE, G. MARIE, French marshal, saw service in the Vendéan war and
in Italy, distinguished himself under Napoleon in Italy and Holland;
submitted to Bourbons in 1814; joined Napoleon on his return from Elba;
was appointed to a post of command in the S. of France, but had to
surrender after Waterloo, and was attacked by a mob of Royalists at
Avignon as he was setting out for Paris, and brutally murdered and his
body thrown into the Rhône (1763-1815).
BRUNEL, SIR ISAMBARD, engineer, born in Rouen, entered the French
navy, emigrated to the United States; was chief engineer of New York;
settled in England, became block-maker to the Royal Navy; constructed the
Thames tunnel, begun in 1825 and finished in 1843 (1759-1849).
BRUNEL, ISAMBARD KINGDOM, son of the preceding, assisted his father
in his engineering operations, in particular the Thames tunnel; was
engineer of the Great Western Railway; designed the _Great Western_
steamship, the first to cross the Atlantic; was the first to apply the
screw propeller to steam navigation; designed and constructed the _Great
Eastern_; constructed bridges and naval docks (1806-1859).
BRUNELLESCHI, Italian architect, born in Florence, bred a goldsmith,
studied at Rome; returned to his native city, built the Duomo of the
Cathedral, the Pitti Palace, and the churches of San Lorenzo and Spirito
Santo (1377-1444).
BRUNETIÈRE, French critic, connected with the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_ and now editor; a very sound and sensible critic; his chief work,
begun in the form of lectures in 1890, entitled "L'Évolution des Genres
de l'Histoire de la Littérature Française"; according to Prof.
Saintsbury, promises to be one of the chief monuments that the really
"higher" criticism has yet furnished; _b_. 1849.
BRUNETTO-LATINI, an Italian writer, who played an important part
among the Guelfs, and was obliged to flee to Paris, where he had Dante
for a pupil (1220-1294).
BRUNHILDA, a masculine queen in the "Nibelungen Lied" who offered to
marry the man that could beat her in feats of strength, was deceived by
Siegfried into marrying Gunther, and meditated the death of Siegfried,
who had married her rival Chriemhilda, which she accomplished by the hand
of Hagen. Also a queen of Austrasia, who, about the 7th century, had a
lifelong quarrel with Fredegunde, queen of Neustria, the other division
of the Frankish world, which at her death she seized possession of for a
time, but was overthrown by Clothaire II., Fredegunde's son, and dragged
to death at the heels of an infuriated wild horse.
BRUNI, LEONARDO, Italian humanist, born at Arezzo, hence called
Aretino; was papal secretary; settled in Florence, and wrote a history of
it; did much by his translations of Greek authors to promote the study of
Greek (1369-1444).
BRÜNN (95), Austrian city, capital of Moravia, beautifully situated,
93 m. N. of Vienna, with large manufactures; woollens the staple of the
country; about one-half of the population Czechs.
BRUNNOW, COUNT VON, a Russian diplomatist, born at Dresden;
represented Russia in several conferences, and was twice ambassador at
the English Court (1797-1875).
BRUNO, GIORDANO, a bold and fervid original thinker, born at Nola,
in Italy; a Dominican monk, quitted his monastery, in fact, was for
heterodoxy obliged to flee from it; attached himself to Calvin for a
time, went for more freedom to Paris, attacked the scholastic philosophy,
had to leave France as well; spent two years in England in friendship
with Sir Philip Sidney, propagated his views in Germany and Italy, was
arrested by the Inquisition, and after seven years spent in prison was
burned as a heretic; he was a pantheist, and regarded God as the living
omnipresent soul of the universe, and Nature as the living garment of
God, as the Earth-Spirit does in Goethe's "Faust"--a definition of Nature
in relation to God which finds favour in the pages of "Sartor Resartus";
_d_. 1600.
BRUNO, ST., born at Cologne, retired to a lonely spot near Grenoble
with six others, where each lived in cells apart, and they met only on
Sundays; founder of the Carthusian Order of Monks, the first house of
which was established in the desert of Chartreuse (1030-1101). Festival,
Oct. 6.
BRUNO THE GREAT, third son of Henry the Fowler; archbishop of
Cologne, chancellor of the Empire, a great lover of learning, and
promoter of it among the clergy, who he thought should, before all,
represent and encourage it (928-965).
BRUNONIAN SYSTEM, a system which regards and treats diseases as due
to defective or excessive excitation, as sthenic or asthenic. See
BROWN, JOHN.
BRUNSWICK (404), a N. German duchy, made up of eight detached parts,
mostly in the upper basin of the Weser; is mountainous, and contains part
of the Harz Mts.; climate and crops are those of N. Germany generally.
BRUNSWICK (101), the capital, a busy commercial town, once a member
of the Hanseatic League, and fell into comparative decay after the decay
of the League, on the Oker, 140 m. SW. of Berlin; an irregularly built
city, it has a cathedral, and manufactures textiles, leather, and
sewing-machines.
BRUNSWICK, CHARLES WILLIAM, DUKE OF, Prussian general, commanded the
Prussian and Austrian forces levied to put down the French Revolution;
emitted a violent, blustering manifesto, but a Revolutionary army under
Dumouriez and Kellermann met him at Valmy, and compelled him to retreat
in 1792; was beaten by Davout at Auerstädt, and mortally wounded
(1735-1806).
BRUNSWICK, FREDERICK WILLIAM, DUKE OF, brother of Queen Caroline;
raised troops against France, which, being embarked for England, took
part in the Peninsular war; fell fighting at Ligny, two days before the
battle of Waterloo (1771-1815).
BRUSSELS (477), on the Senne, 27 m. S. of Antwerp, is the capital of
Belgium, in the heart of the country. The old town is narrow and crooked,
but picturesque; the town-hall a magnificent building. The new town is
well built, and one of the finest in Europe. There are many parks,
boulevards, and squares; a cathedral, art-gallery, museum and library,
university and art schools. It is Paris in miniature. The manufactures
include linen, ribbons, and paper; a ship-canal and numerous railways
foster commerce.
BRUTUS, LUCIUS JUNIUS, the founder of Republican Rome, in the 6th
century B.C.; affected idiocy (whence his name, meaning stupid); it
saved his life when Tarquin the Proud put his brother to death; but when
Tarquin's son committed an outrage on Lucretia, he threw off his
disguise, headed a revolt, and expelled the tyrant; was elected one of
the two first Consuls of Rome; sentenced his two sons to death for
conspiring to restore the monarchy; fell repelling an attempt to restore
the Tarquins in a hand-to-hand combat with Aruns, one of the sons of the
banished king.
BRUTUS, MARCUS JUNIUS, a descendant of the preceding, and son of
Cato Uticensis's sister; much beloved by Cæsar and Cæsar's friend, but
persuaded by Cassius and others to believe that Cæsar aimed at the
overthrow of the republic; joined the conspirators, and was recognised by
Cæsar among the conspirators as party to his death; forced to flee from
Rome after the event, was defeated at Philippi by Antony and Augustus,
but escaped capture by falling on a sword held out to him by one of his
friends, exclaiming as he did so, "O Virtue, thou art but a name!" (85-42
B.C.).
BRUYÈRE, a French writer, author of "Charactères de Théophraste," a
satire on various characters and manners of his time (1644-1696).
BRYAN, WILLIAM JENNINGS, American statesman, born in Salem,
Illinois; bred to the bar and practised at it; entered Congress in 1890
as an extreme Free Silver man; lost his seat from his uncompromising
views on that question; was twice nominated for the Presidency in
opposition to Mr McKinley, but defeated; _b_. 1860.
BRYANT, WILLIAM CULLEN, American poet; his poems were popular in
America, the chief, "The Age," published in 1821; was 50 years editor of
the _New York Evening Post_; wrote short poems all through his life, some
of the later his best (1794-1878).
BRYCE, JAMES, historian and politician, born at Belfast; Fellow of
Oriel College, Oxford; bred to the bar; for a time professor of Civil Law
at Oxford; entered Parliament in 1880; was member of Mr. Gladstone's last
cabinet; his chief literary work, "The Holy Roman Empire," a work of high
literary merit; _b_. 1838.
BRYDGES, SIR SAMUEL EGERTON, English antiquary, born at Wootton
House, in Kent; called to the bar, but devoted to literature; was M.P.
for Maidstone for six years; lived afterwards and died at Geneva; wrote
novels and poems, and edited old English writings of interest
(1762-1837).
BUBASTIS, an Egyptian goddess, the Egyptian Diana, the wife of Ptah;
and a city in Lower Egypt, on the eastern branch of the Nile.
BUCCANEERS, an association, chiefly English and French, of piratical
adventurers in the 16th and 17th centuries, with their head-quarters in
the Caribbean Sea, organised to plunder the ships of the Spaniards in
resentment of the exclusive right they claimed to the wealth of the S.
American continent, which they were carrying home across the sea.
BUCCLEUCH, a glen 18 m. SW. of Selkirk, with a stronghold of the
Scott family, giving the head the title of earl or duke.
BUCEN`TAUR, the state galley, worked by oars and manned by 168
rowers, in which the Doge of Venice used to sail on the occasion of the
annual ceremony of wedding anew the Adriatic Sea by sinking a ring in
it.
BUCEPH`ALUS (i. e. ox-head), the horse which Alexander the Great,
while yet a youth, broke in when no one else could, and on which he rode
through all his campaigns; it died in India from a wound. The town,
Bucephala, on the Hydaspes, was built near its grave.
BUCER MARTIN, a German Reformer, born at Strassburg; originally a
Dominican, adopted the Reformed faith, ministered as pastor and professor
in his native place, differed in certain matters from both Luther and
Zwingli, while he tried to reconcile them; invited by Cranmer to England,
he accepted the invitation, and became professor of Divinity at
Cambridge, where he died, but his bones were exhumed and burned a few
years later (1491-1551).
BUCH, LEOPOLD VON, a German geologist, a pupil of Werner and
fellow-student of Alexander von Humboldt, who esteemed him highly;
adopted the volcanic theory of the earth; wrote no end of scientific
memoirs (1774-1853).
BUCHAN, a district in the NE. of Aberdeenshire, between the rivers
Deveron and Ythan; abounds in magnificent rock scenery. The Comyns were
earls of it till they forfeited the title in 1309.
BUCHANAN, CLAUDIUS, born at Cambuslang, near Glasgow, chaplain in
Barrackpur under the East India Company, vice-provost of the College at
Fort William, Calcutta; one of the first to awaken an interest in India
as a missionary field; wrote "Christian Researches in Asia" (1756-1815).
BUCHANAN, GEORGE, a most distinguished scholar and humanist, born at
Killearn, Stirlingshire; educated at St. Andrews and Paris; professor for
three years in the College at St. Barbe; returned to Scotland, became
tutor to James V.'s illegitimate sons; imprisoned by Cardinal Beaton for
satires against the monks, escaped to France; driven from one place to
another, imprisoned in a monastery in Portugal at the instance of the
Inquisition, where he commenced his celebrated Latin version of the
Psalms; came back to Scotland, was appointed in 1562 tutor to Queen Mary,
in 1566 principal of St. Leonard's College, in St. Andrews, in 1567
moderator of the General Assembly in 1570 tutor to James VI., and had
several offices of State conferred on him; wrote a "History of Scotland,"
and his book "De Jure Regni," against the tyranny of peoples by kings;
died in Edinburgh without enough to bury him; was buried at the public
expense in Greyfriars' churchyard; when dying, it is said he asked his
housekeeper to examine his money-box and see if there was enough to bury
him, and when he found there was not, he ordered her to distribute what
there was among his poor neighbours and left it to the city to bury him
or not as they saw good (1506-1582).
BUCHANAN, JAMES, statesman of the United States, was ambassador in
London in 1853, made President in 1856, the fifteenth in order, at the
time when the troubles between the North and South came to a head,
favoured the South, retired after his Presidentship into private life
(1791-1868).
BUCHANAN, ROBERT, a writer in prose and verse, born in Warwickshire,
educated at Glasgow University; his first work, "Undertones," a volume of
verse published by him in 1863, and he has since written a goodly number
of poems, some of them of very high merit, the last "The Wandering Jew,"
which attacks the Christian religion; besides novels, has written
magazine articles, and one in particular, which involved him in some
trouble; _b_.1841.
BUCHANITES, a fanatical sect who appeared in the W. of Scotland in
1783, named after a Mrs. Buchan, who claimed to be the woman mentioned in
Rev. xii.
BUCHAREST (220), capital of Roumania, picturesquely situated on the
Dambovitza, a tributary of the Danube, in a fertile plain, 180 m. from
the Black Sea; is a meanly built but well-fortified town, with the
reputation of the most dissolute capital in Europe; there is a Catholic
cathedral and a university; it is the emporium of trade between the
Balkan and Austria; textiles, grain, hides, metal, and coal are the chief
articles in its markets.
BUCHEZ, JOSEPH, a French historian, politician, and Socialist;
joined the St. Simonian Society, became a Christian Socialist, and a
collaborateur in an important historical work, the "Parliamentary History
of the French Revolution"; figured in political life after the Revolution
of 1848, but retired to private life after the establishment of the
Empire (1796-1865).
BÜCHNER, LUDWIG, physician and materialist, born at Darmstadt;
lectured at Tübingen University; wrote a book entitled "Kraft und Stoff,"
i. e. Force and Matter, and had to retire into private practice as a
physician on account of its materialistic philosophy, which he insisted
on teaching (1824-1899).
BUCHON, a learned Frenchman; wrote chronologies of French history
(1791-1846).
BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, DUKE OF, favourite of James I. and
Charles I., born in Leicestershire; rose under favour of the former to
the highest offices and dignities of the State; provoked by his conduct
wars with Spain and France; fell into disfavour with the people; was
assassinated at Portsmouth by Lieutenant Felton, on the eve of his
embarking for Rochelle (1592-1628).
BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, DUKE OF, son of the preceding; served
under Charles I. in the Civil War, was at the battle of Worcester; became
minister of Charles II.; a profligate courtier and an unprincipled man
(1627-1688).
BUCKINGHAM, JAMES SILK, traveller and journalist, born in Falmouth;
conducted a journal in Calcutta, and gave offence to the East India
Company by his outspokenness; had to return to England, where his cause
was warmly taken up; by his writings and speeches paved the way for the
abolition of the Company's charter (1784-1855).
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (185), English S. midland county, lying E. of
Oxford, W. of Bedford and Hertford, is full of beautiful and varied
scenery; hill, dale, wood, and water. The Thames forms the southern
boundary, the Ouse flows through the N., and the Thame through the
centre. The Chiltern Hills cross the county. Agriculture is the
prevailing industry; dairy produce, cattle and poultry feeding, and sheep
rearing the sources of wealth. The county town is BUCKINGHAM (3), on
the Ouse, 60 m. NW. of London.
BUCKLAND, FRANCIS (FRANK), naturalist, son of the succeeding, bred
to medicine; devoted to the study of animal life; was inspector of salmon
fisheries; wrote "Curiosities of Natural History," "Familiar History of
British Fishes," &c.; contributed largely to the journals, such as the
_Field_, and edited _Land and Water_, which he started in 1866
(1826-1880).
BUCKLAND, WILLIAM, a distinguished geologist, born at Tiverton; had
a predilection from boyhood for natural science; awoke in Oxford
University an interest in it by his lectures on mineralogy and geology;
his pen was unceasingly occupied with geological subjects; exerted
himself to reconcile the teachings of science with the accounts in
Genesis; was made Dean of Westminster by Sir Robert Peel; his intellect
gave way in 1850, and he remained in mental weakness till his death
(1784-1856).
BUCKLE, GEORGE EARLE, editor of the _Times_, born near Bath; studied
at Oxford, where he distinguished himself; is a Fellow of All Souls'
College; became editor in 1884, having previously belonged to the
editorial staff; _b_. 1854.
BUCKLE, HENRY THOMAS, an advanced thinker, born in Lee, in Kent; in
delicate health from his infancy, too ambitious for his powers, thought
himself equal to write the "History of Civilisation in England," in
connection with that of Europe, tried it, but failed; visited the East
for his health, and died at Damascus; his theory as regards the
development of civilisation is, that national character depends on
material environment, and that progress depends upon the emancipation of
rationality, an extremely imperfect reading and rendering of the elements
at work, and indeed a total omission of nearly all the more vital ones;
he was distinguished as a chess-player (1822-1862).
BUCKSTONE, JOHN BALDWIN, an able comic actor and popular dramatist,
born in London; for a long period the lessee of the Haymarket Theatre,
London (1802-1870).
BUDA-PESTH (506), a twin city, the capital of Hungary, on the
Danube; Buda (Ger. Ofen) on the right bank and Pesth on the left, the two
cities being connected by a suspension bridge, the former on a rocky
elevation and the latter on level ground; a great commercial centre.
BUDASTIS, an ancient town in Lower Egypt, where festivals in honour
of Bacchus used to be held every year.
BUDDHA, GAUTAMA, or SAKYA-MUNI, the founder of Buddhism about
the 5th century B.C., born a Hindu, of an intensely contemplative
nature, the son of a king, who did everything in his power to tempt him
from a religious life, from which, however, in his contemplation of the
vanity of existence, nothing could detain him; retired into solitude at
the age of 30, as Sakyamuni, i. e. solitary of the Sakyas, his tribe;
consulted religious books, could get no good out of them, till,
by-and-by, he abstracted himself more and more from everything external,
when at the end of ten years, as he sat brooding under the Bo-tree alone
with the universe, soul with soul, the light of truth rose full-orbed
upon him, and he called himself henceforth and gave himself out as
Buddha, i. e. the Enlightened; now he said to himself, "I know it all,"
as Mahomet in his way did after him, and became a preacher to others of
what had proved salvation to himself, which he continued to do for 40
years, leaving behind him disciples, who went forth without sword, like
Christ's, to preach what they, like Christ's, believed was a gospel to
every creature.
BUDDHISM, the religion of Buddha, a religion which, eschewing all
speculation about God and the universe, set itself solely to the work of
salvation, the end of which was the merging of the individual in the
unity of being, and the "way" to which was the mortification of all
private passion and desire which mortification, when finished, was the
Buddhist Nirvâna. This is the primary doctrine of the Buddhist faith,
which erelong became a formality, as all faiths of the kind, or of this
high order, ever tend to do. Buddha is not answerable for this, but his
followers, who in three successive councils resolved it into a system of
formulæ, which Buddha, knowing belike how the letter killeth and only the
spirit giveth life, never attempted to do. Buddha wrote none himself, but
in some 300 years after his death his teachings assumed a canonical form,
under the name of Tripitaka, or triple basket, as it is called. Buddhism
from the first was a proselytising religion; it at one time overran the
whole of India, and though it is now in small favour there, it is, in
such form as it has assumed, often a highly beggarly one, understood to
be the religion of 340 millions of the human race.
BUDE-LIGHT, a very brilliant light produced by introducing oxygen
into the centre of an Argand burner, so called from the place of the
inventor's abode.
BUDWEIS (28), a Bohemian trading town on the Moldau, 133 m. NW. of
Vienna.
BUENOS AYRES (543), capital of the Argentine Republic, stands on the
right bank of the broad but shallow river Plate, 150 m. from the
Atlantic; it is a progressing city, improving in appearance, with a
cathedral, several Protestant churches, a university and military school,
libraries and hospitals; printing, cigar-making, cloth and boot
manufacture are the leading industries; it is the principal Argentine
port, and the centre of export and import trade; the climate does not
correspond with the name it bears; a great deal of the foreign trade is
conducted through Monte Video, but it monopolises all the inland trade.
BUFFALO (256), a city of New York State, at the E. end of Lake Erie,
300 m. due NW. of New York; is a well-built, handsome, and healthy city;
the railways and the Erie Canal are channels of extensive commerce in
grain, cattle, and coal; while immense iron-works, tanneries, breweries,
and flour-mills represent the industries; electric power for lighting,
traction, &c., is supplied from Niagara.
BUFFON, GEORGE LOUIS LECLERC, COMTE DE, a great French naturalist,
born at Montbard, in Burgundy; his father one of the _noblesse de robe_;
studied law at Dijon; spent some time in England, studying the English
language; devoted from early years to science, though more to the display
of it, and to natural science for life on being appointed intendant of
the Jardin du Roi; assisted, and more than assisted, by Daubenton and
others, produced 15 vols. of his world-famous "Histoire Naturelle"
between the years 1749 and 1767. The saying "Style is the man" is
ascribed to him, and he has been measured by some according to his own
standard. Neither his style nor his science is rated of any high value
now: "Buffon was as pompous and inflated as his style" (1707-1780).
BUGEAUD, THOMAS, marshal of France, born at Limoges; served under
Napoleon; retired from service till 1830; served under Louis Philippe;
contributed to the conquest of Algiers; was made governor, and created
duke for his victory over the forces of the emperor of Morocco at the
battle of Isly in 1844; his motto was _Ense et aratro_, "By sword and
plough" (1784-1849).
BUGENHAGEN, JOHANN, a German Reformer, a convert of Luther's and
coadjutor; helpful to the cause as an organiser of churches and schools
(1485-1558).
BUGGE, Norwegian philologist, professor at Christiania; _b_. 1833.
BUHL, ornamental work for furniture, which takes its name from the
inventor (see INFRA), consisted in piercing or inlaying metal with
tortoise-shell or enamel, or with metals of another colour; much in
fashion in Louis XIV.'s reign.
BUHL, CHARLES ANDRÉ, an Italian cabinet-maker, inventor of the work
which bears his name (1642-1732).
BUKOWINA (640), a small prov. and duchy in the E. of
Austria-Hungary; rich in minerals, breeds cattle and horses.
BULGARIA, with Eastern Roumelia (3,154), constitutes a Balkan
principality larger than Ireland, with hills and fertile plains in the
N., mountains and forests in the S.; Turkey is the southern boundary,
Servia the western, the Danube the northern, while the Black Sea washes
the eastern shores. The climate is mild, the people industrious; the
chief export is cereals; manufactures of woollens, attar of roses, wine
and tobacco, are staple industries; the chief import is live stock.
SOFIA (50), the capital, is the seat of a university. VARNA
(28), on the Black Sea, is the principal port. Bulgaria was cut out of
Turkey and made independent in 1878, and Eastern Roumelia incorporated
with it in 1885.
BULL, an edict of the Pope, so called from a leaden seal attached to
it.
BULL, GEORGE, bishop of St. Davids, born at Wells; a stanch
Churchman; wrote "Harmonia Apostolica" in reconciliation of the teachings
of Paul and James on the matter of justification, and "Defensio Fidei
Nicenæ," in vindication of the Trinity as enunciated in the ATHANASIAN
CREED (q. v.), and denied or modified by Arians, Socinians, and
Sabellians (1634-1709).
BULL, JOHN, a humorous impersonation of the collective English
people, conceived of as well-fed, good-natured, honest-hearted,
justice-loving, and plain-spoken; the designation is derived from
Arbuthnot's satire, "The History of John Bull," in which the Church of
England figures as his mother.
BULL, OLE BORNEMANN, a celebrated violinist, born in Bergen, Norway,
pupil of Paganini; was a wise man at making money, but a fool in spending
it (1810-1880).
BULL RUN, a stream in Virginia, U.S., 25 m. from Washington, where
the Union army was twice defeated by the Confederate, July 1861 and
August 1862.
BULLANT, a French architect and sculptor; built the tombs of
Montmorency, Henry II., and Catherine de Medicis, as well as wrought at
the Tuileries and the Louvre (1510-1578).
BULLER, CHARLES, a politician, born in Calcutta, pupil of Thomas
Carlyle; entered Parliament at 24, a Liberal in politics; held
distinguished State appointments; died in his prime, universally beloved
and respected (1806-1848).
BULLER, GENERAL SIR REDVERS HENRY, served in China, Ashanti, South
Africa, Egypt, and the Soudan, with marked distinction in the 60th King's
Royal Rifles; has held staff appointments, and was for a short time
Under-Secretary for Ireland; _b_. 1839.
BULLINGER, HEINRICH, a Swiss Reformer, born in Aargau; friend and
successor of Zwingli; assisted in drawing up the Helvetic Confession; was
a correspondent of Lady Jane Grey (1504-1575).
BULLS AND BEARS, in the Stock Exchange, the bull being one who buys
in the hope that the value may rise, and the bear one who sells in the
hope that it may fall. See BEAR.
BÜLOW, BERNARD VON, Foreign Secretary of the German empire; early
entered the Foreign Office, and has done important diplomatic work in
connection with it, having been secretary to several embassies and chargé
d'affaires to Greece during the Russo-Turkish war; _b_. 1850.
BÜLOW, FRIEDRICH WILHELM, BARON VON, a Prussian general; served his
country in the war with Revolutionary France; defeated the French under
the Empire in several engagements, and contributed to the victory at
Waterloo, heading the column that first came to Wellington's aid at the
decisive moment (1755-1816).
BÜLOW, GUIDO VON, a famous pianist, pupil of Liszt (1830-1894).
BULOZ, a French littérateur, born near Geneva; originator of the
_Revue des Deux Mondes_ (1803-1877).
BULWER, HENRY LYTTON, an experienced and successful diplomatist,
served the Liberal interest; was party to the conclusion of several
important treaties; wrote several works, "An Autumn in Greece," a "Life
of Byron," &c. (1801-1872).
BUMBLE, MR., a beadle in "Oliver Twist."
BUNAU, a German historian, author of a "History of the Seven Years'
War" (1697-1762).
BUNCOMBE, a district in N. Carolina, for the ears of the
constituency of which a dull speech was some years ago delivered in the
U.S. Congress, whence the phrase to "talk Buncombe," i. e. to please
one's constituency.
BUNDELKHAND (2,000), a territory in NW. Provinces, India, between
the Chambal and the Jumna; has been extensively irrigated at great labour
and expense.
BUNKER HILL, an eminence 112 ft., now included in Boston, the scene
on 19th June 1775 of the first great battle in the American War of
Independence.
BUNSBY, JACK, commander of a ship in "Dombey & Son," regarded as an
oracle by Captain Cuttle.
BUNSEN, BARON VON, a diplomatist and man of letters, born at
Korbach; in Waldeck; studied at Marburg and Göttingen; became acquainted
with Niebuhr at Berlin; studied Oriental languages under Silvestre de
Sacy at Paris; became secretary, under Niebuhr, to the Prussian embassy
at Rome; recommended himself to the king, and succeeded Niebuhr; became
ambassador in Switzerland and then in England; was partial to English
institutions, and much esteemed in England; wrote the "Church of the
Future," "Hippolytus and his Age," &c. (1791-1860).
BUNSEN, ROBERT WILLIAM, a distinguished German chemist, born at
Göttingen, settled as professor of Chemistry at Heidelberg; invented the
charcoal pile, the magnesian light, and the burner called after him;
discovered the antidote to arsenic, with hydrate of iron and the
SPECTRUM ANALYSIS (q. v.); _b_. 1811.
BUNSEN BURNER, a small gas-jet above which is screwed a brass tube
with holes at the bottom of it to let in air, which burns with the gas,
and causes at the top a non-luminous flame; largely used in chemical
operations.
BUNYAN, JOHN, author of the "Pilgrim's Progress," born in Elstow,
near Bedford, the son of a tinker, and bred himself to that humble craft;
he was early visited with religious convictions, and brought, after a
time of resistance to them, to an earnest faith in the gospel of Christ,
his witness for which to his poor neighbours led to his imprisonment, an
imprisonment which extended first and last over twelve and a half years,
and it was towards the close of it, and in the precincts of Bedford jail,
in the spring of 1676, that he dreamed his world-famous dream; here
two-thirds of it were written, the whole finished the year after, and
published at the end of it; extended, it came out eventually in two
parts, but it is the first part that is the Pilgrim's Progress, and
ensures it the place it holds in the religious literature of the world;
encouraged by the success of it--for it leapt into popularity at a
bound--Bunyan wrote some sixty other books, but except this, his
masterpiece, not more than two of these, "Grace Abounding" and the "Holy
War," continue to be read (1628-1688).
BUONTALENTI, an Italian artist, born at Florence, one of the
greatest, being, like Michael Angelo, at once architect, painter, and
sculptor (1536-1608).
BURBAGE, RICHARD, English tragedian, born in London, associate of
Shakespeare, took the chief rôle in "Hamlet," "King Lear," "Richard
III.," &c. (1562-1618).
BURCHELL, MR., a character in the "Vicar of Wakefield," noted for
his habit of applying "fudge" to everything his neighbours affected to
believe.
BURCKHARDT, Swiss historian and archæologist, born at Bâle, author
of "Civilisation in Italy during the Renaissance"; _b_. 1818.
BURCKHARDT, JOHN LUDVIG, traveller, born at Lausanne, sent out from
England by the African Association to explore Africa; travelled by way of
Syria; acquired a proficiency in Arabic, and assumed Arabic customs;
pushed on to Mecca as a Mussulman pilgrim--the first Christian to risk
such a venture; returned to Egypt, and died at Cairo just as he was
preparing for his African exploration; his travels were published after
his death, and are distinguished for the veracious reports of things they
contain (1784-1817).
BURDER, GEORGE, Congregational minister, became secretary to the
London Missionary Society, author of "Village Sermons," which were once
widely popular (1752-1832).
BURDETT, SIR FRANCIS, a popular member of Parliament, married
Sophia, the youngest daughter of Thomas Coutts, a wealthy London banker,
and acquired through her a large fortune; becoming M.P., he resolutely
opposed the government measures of the day, and got himself into serious
trouble; advocated radical measures of reform, many of which have since
been adopted; was prosecuted for a libel; fined £1000 for condemning the
Peterloo massacre, and imprisoned three months; joined the Conservative
party in 1835, and died a member of it (1770-1844).
BURDETT-COUTTS, THE RIGHT HONOURABLE ANGELA GEORGINA, BARONESS,
daughter of Sir Francis, inherited the wealth of Thomas Coutts, her
grandfather, which she has devoted to all manner of philanthropic as well
as patriotic objects; was made a peeress in 1871; received the freedom of
the city of London in 1874, and in 1881 married Mr. William Lehman
Ashmead-Bartlett, an American, who obtained the royal license to assume
the name of Burdett-Coutts; _b_. 1804.
BUREAU, a name given to a department of public administration, hence
bureaucracy, a name for government by bureaux.
BÜRGER, GOTTFRIED AUGUST, a German lyric poet, author of the ballads
"Lenore," which was translated by Sir Walter Scott, and "The Wild
Huntsman," as well as songs; led a wild life in youth, and a very unhappy
one in later years; died in poverty (1747-1794).
BURGKMAIR, HANS, painter and engraver, born at Augsburg; celebrated
for his woodcuts, amounting to nearly 700 (1473-1531).
BURGOS (34), ancient cap. of Old Castile, on the Arlanzon, 225 m. N.
of Madrid by rail; boasts a magnificent cathedral of the Early Pointed
period, and an old castle; was the birthplace of the Cid, and once a
university seat; it has linen and woollen industries.
BURGOYNE, JOHN, English general, and distinguished as the last sent
out to subdue the revolt in the American colonies, and, after a victory
or two, being obliged to capitulate to General Gates at Saratoga, fell
into disfavour; defended his conduct with ability and successfully
afterwards; devoted his leisure to poetry and the drama, the "Heiress" in
the latter his best (1723-1792).
BURGOYNE, SIR JOHN, field-marshal, joined the Royal Engineers,
served under Abercromby in Egypt, and under Sir John Moore and Wellington
in Spain; was present at the battles of Alma, Balaclava, and Inkerman in
the Crimea; was governor of the Tower (1782-1871).
BURGUNDY was, prior to the 16th century, a Teutonic duchy of varying
extent in the SE. and E. of France; annexed to France as a province in
the 6th century; the country is still noted for its wines.
BURHANPUR (32), a town in the Central Provinces of India, in the
Nimar district, 280 m. NE. of Bombay; was at one time a centre of the
Mogul power in the Deccan, and a place of great extent; is now in
comparative decay, but still famous, as formerly, for its muslins, silks,
and brocades.
BURIDAN, JEAN, a scholastic doctor of the 14th century, born in
Artois, and famous as the reputed author, though there is no evidence of
it in his works, of the puzzle of the hungry and thirsty ass, called
after him Buridan's Ass, between a bottle of hay and a pail of water, a
favourite illustration of his in discussing the freedom of the will.
BURKE, EDMUND, orator and philosophic writer, born at Dublin, and
educated at Dublin University; entered Parliament in 1765; distinguished
himself by his eloquence on the Liberal side, in particular by his
speeches on the American war, Catholic emancipation, and economical
reform; his greatest oratorical efforts were his orations in support of
the impeachment of Warren Hastings; he was a resolute enemy of the French
Revolution, and eloquently denounced it in his "Reflections," a weighty
appeal; wrote in early life two small but notable treatises, "A
Vindication of Natural Society," and another on our ideas of the "Sublime
and Beautiful," which brought him into contact with the philosophic
intellects of the time, and sometime after planned the "Annual Register,"
to which he was to the last chief contributor. "He was," says Professor
Saintsbury, "a rhetorician (i. e. an expert in applying the art of
prose literature to the purpose of suasion), and probably the greatest
that modern times has ever produced" (1730-1797).
BURKE, SIR JOHN BERNARD, genealogist, born in London, of Irish
descent, author of the "Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom";
produced, besides editing successive editions of it, a number of works on
aristocratic genealogies (1815-1892).
BURKE, ROBERT O'HARA, Australian explorer, born in Galway; conducted
an expedition across Australia, but on the way back both he and his
companion Wells perished, after terrible sufferings from privation and
drought (1820-1861).
BURKE, WILLIAM, a notorious murderer, native of Ireland; executed in
1828 for wholesale murders of people in Edinburgh by suffocation, after
intoxicating them with drink, whose bodies he sold for dissection to an
Edinburgh anatomist of the name of Knox, whom the citizens mobbed; he had
an accomplice as bad as himself, who, becoming informer, got off.
BURKITT, WILLIAM, Biblical expositor, born in Suffolk; author of
"Expository Notes on the New Testament," once held in high esteem
(1650-1703).
BURLEIGH, WILLIAM CECIL, LORD, a great statesman, born in
Lincolnshire; bred to the legal profession, and patronised and promoted
by the Protector Somerset; managed to escape the Marian persecution;
Queen Elizabeth recognised his statesman-like qualities, and appointed
him chief-secretary of state, an office which, to the glory of the queen
and the good of the country, he held for forty years, till his death. His
administration was conducted in the interest of the commonweal without
respect of persons, and nearly all his subordinates were men of honour as
well as himself (1520-1598).
BURLINGAME, ANSON, American diplomatist; sent ambassador to China,
and returned as Chinese envoy to the American and European courts;
concluded treaties between them and China (1820-1870).
BURMA (9,606), a vast province of British India, lying E. of the Bay
of Bengal, and bounded landward by Bengal, Tibet, China, and Siam; the
country is mountainous, drained by the Irawadi, Salween, and Sittang
Rivers, whose deltas are flat fertile plains; the heights on the Chinese
frontier reach 15,000 ft; the climate varies with the elevation, but is
mostly hot and trying; rice is the chief crop; the forests yield teak,
gum, and bamboo; the mines, iron, copper, lead, silver, and rubies. Lower
Burma is the coast-land from Bengal to Siam, cap. Rangoon, and was seized
by Britain in 1826 and 1854. Upper Burma, cap. Mandalay, an empire nearly
as large as Spain, was annexed in 1886.
BURN, RICHARD, English vicar, born in Westmoreland; compiled several
law digests, the best known his "Justice of the Peace" and
"Ecclesiastical Law" (1709-1785).
BURNABY, COLONEL, a traveller of daring adventure, born at Bedford,
a tall, powerful man; Colonel of the Horse Guards Blue; travelled in
South and Central America, and with Gordon in the Soudan; was chiefly
distinguished for his ride to Khiva in 1875 across the steppes of
Tartary, of which he published a spirited account, and for his travels
next year in Asia Minor and Persia, and his account of them in "On
Horseback through Asia Minor"; killed, pierced by an Arab spear, at Abu
Klea as he was rallying a broken column to the charge; he was a daring
aëronaut, having in 1882 crossed the Channel to Normandy in a balloon
(1842-1885).
BURNAND, FRANCIS COWLEY, editor of _Punch_; studied for the Church,
and became a Roman Catholic; an expert at the burlesque, and author of a
series of papers, entitled "Happy Thoughts," which give evidence of a
most keen, observant wit: _b_. 1836.
BURNE-JONES, SIR EDWARD, artist, born at Birmingham, of Welsh
descent; came early under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelite movement,
and all along produced works imbued with the spirit of it, which is at
once mystical in conception and realistic in execution; he was one of the
foremost, if not the foremost, of the artists of his day; imbued with
ideas that were specially capable of art-treatment; William Morris and he
were bosom friends from early college days at Oxford, and used to spend
their Sunday mornings together (1831-1898).
BURNES, SIR ALEXANDER, born at Montrose, his father a cousin of
Robert Burns; was an officer in the Indian army; distinguished for the
services he rendered to the Indian Government through his knowledge of
the native languages; appointed Resident at Cabul; was murdered, along
with his brother and others, by an Afghan mob during an Insurrection
(1805-1841).
BURNET, GILBERT, bishop of Salisbury, born at Edinburgh, of an old
Aberdeen family; professor of Divinity in Glasgow; afterwards preacher at
the Rolls Chapel, London; took an active part in supporting the claims of
the Prince of Orange to the English throne; was rewarded with a
bishopric, that of Salisbury; wrote the "History of the Reformation," an
"Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles," the "History of His Own Times";
he was a Whig in politics, a broad Churchman in creed, and a man of
strict moral principle as well as Christian charity; the most famous of
his works is his "History of His Own Times," a work which Pope, Swift,
and others made the butt of their satire (1643-1715).
BURNET, JOHN, engraver and author, born at Fisherrow; engraved
Wilkie's works, and wrote on art (1784-1868).
BURNET, THOMAS, master of the Charterhouse, born in Yorkshire,
author of the "Sacred Theory of the Earth," eloquent in descriptive
parts, but written wholly in ignorance of the facts (1635-1715).
BURNETT, FRANCES HODGSON, novelist, born in Manchester, resident for
a time in America; wrote "That Lass o' Lowrie's," and other stories of
Lancashire manufacturing life, characterised by shrewd observation,
pathos, and descriptive power; _b_. 1849.
BURNEY, CHARLES, musical composer and organist, born at Shrewsbury;
a friend of Johnson's; author of "The History of Music," and the father
of Madame d'Arblay; settled in London as a teacher of music (1726-1814).
BURNEY, CHARLES, son of preceding, a great classical scholar; left a
fine library, purchased by the British Museum for £13,500 (1757-1817).
BURNEY, JAMES, brother of preceding, rear-admiral, accompanied Cook
in his last two voyages; wrote "History of Voyages of Discovery"
(1750-1821).
BURNLEY (87), a manufacturing town in Lancashire, 27 m. N. of
Manchester; with cotton mills, foundries, breweries, &c.
BURNOUF, EUGENE, an illustrious Orientalist, born in Paris;
professor of Sanskrit in the College of France; an authority on Zend or
Zoroastrian literature; edited the text of and translated the "Bhâgavata
Purána," a book embodying Hindu mythology; made a special study of
Buddhism; wrote an introduction to the history of the system (1801-1852).
BURNS, JOHN, politician and Socialist, born at Vauxhall, of humble
parentage; bred to be an engineer; imbibed socialistic ideas from a
fellow-workman, a Frenchman, a refugee of the Commune from Paris; became
a platform orator in the interest of Socialism, and popular among the
working class; got into trouble in consequence; was four times elected
member of the London County Council for Battersea; and has been twice
over chosen to represent that constituency in Parliament; _b_. 1858.
BURNS, ROBERT, celebrated Scottish poet, born at Alloway, near Ayr,
in 1759, son of an honest, intelligent peasant, who tried farming in a
small way, but did not prosper; tried farming himself on his father's
decease in 1784, but took to rhyming by preference; driven desperate in
his circumstances, meditated emigrating to Jamaica, and published a few
poems he had composed to raise money for that end; realised a few pounds
thereby, and was about to set sail, when friends and admirers rallied
round him and persuaded him to stay; he was invited to Edinburgh; his
poems were reprinted, and money came in; soon after he married, and took
a farm, but failing, accepted the post of exciseman in Dumfries; fell
into bad health, and died in 1796, aged 37. "His sun shone as through a
tropical tornado, and the pale shadow of death eclipsed it at noon.... To
the ill-starred Burns was given the power of making man's life more
venerable, but that of wisely guiding his own life was not given.... And
that spirit, which might have soared could it but have walked, soon sank
to the dust, its glorious faculties trodden under foot in the blossom;
and died, we may almost say, without ever having lived." See Carlyle's
"Miscellanies" for by far the justest and wisest estimate of both the man
and the poet that has yet by any one been said or sung. He is at his best
in his "Songs," he says, which he thinks "by far the best that Britain
has yet produced.... In them," he adds, "he has found a tune and words
for every mood of man's heart; in hut and hall, as the heart unfolds
itself in many-coloured joy and woe of existence, the _name_, the _voice_
of that joy and that woe, is the name and voice which Burns has given
them."
BURRA-BURRA, a copper-mine in S. Australia, about 103 m. NE. of
Adelaide.
BURRARD INLET, an inlet of river Fraser, in British Columbia,
forming one of the best harbours on the Pacific coast.
BURRITT, ELIHU, a blacksmith, born in Connecticut; devoted to the
study of languages, of which he knew many, both ancient and modern; best
known as the unwearied Advocate of Peace all over America and a great
part of Europe, on behalf of which he ruined his voice (1810-1879).
BURROUGHS, JOHN, popular author, born in New York; a farmer, a
cultured man, with a great liking for country life and natural objects,
on which he has written largely and _con amore_; _b_. 1837.
BURRUS, a Roman general, who with Seneca had the conduct of Nero's
education, and opposed his tyrannical acts, till Nero, weary of his
expostulations, got rid of him by poison.
BURSCHENSCHAFT, an association of students in the interest of German
liberation and unity; formed in 1813, and broken up by the Government in
1819.
BURSLEM (31), a pottery-manufacturing town in Staffordshire, and the
"mother of the potteries"; manufactures porcelain and glass.
BURTON, JOHN HILL, historian and miscellaneous writer, born at
Aberdeen; an able man, bred for the bar; wrote articles for the leading
reviews and journals, "Life of Hume," "History of Scotland," "The
Book-Hunter," "The Scot Abroad," &c.; characterised by Lord Rosebery as a
"dispassionate historian"; was Historiographer-Royal for Scotland
(1809-1881).
BURTON, SIR RICHARD FRANCIS, traveller, born in Hertfordshire;
served first as a soldier in Scind under Sir C. Napier; visited Mecca and
Medina as an Afghan pilgrim; wrote an account of his visit in his
"Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage, &c."; penetrated Central Africa
along with Captain Speke, and discovered Lake Tanganyika; visited Utah,
and wrote "The City of the Saints"; travelled in Brazil, Palestine, and
Western Africa, accompanied through many a hardship by his devoted wife;
translated the "Arabian Nights"; his works on his travels numerous, and
show him to have been of daring adventure (1821-1890).
BURTON, ROBERT, an English clergyman, born in Leicestershire;
Scholar of Christ Church, Oxford; lived chiefly in Oxford, spending his
time in it for some 50 years in study; author of "The Anatomy of
Melancholy," which he wrote to alleviate his own depression of mind, a
book which is a perfect mosaic of quotations on every conceivable topic,
familiar and unfamiliar, from every manner of source (1576-1640). See
ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY.
BURTON-ON-TRENT (46), a town in Staffordshire; brews and exports
large quantities of ale, the water of the place being peculiarly suitable
for brewing purposes.
BURY (56), a manufacturing town in Lancashire, 10 m. NW. of
Manchester; originally but a small place engaged in woollen manufacture,
but cotton is now the staple manufacture in addition to paper-works,
dye-works, &c.
BURY ST. EDMUNDS, or ST. EDMUNDSBURY (16), a market-town in
Suffolk, 26 m. NW. of Ipswich, named from Edmund, king of East Anglia,
martyred by the Danes in 870, in whose honour it was built; famous for
its abbey, of the interior life of which in the 12th century there is a
matchlessly graphic account in CARLYLE'S "PAST AND PRESENT."
BUSA`CO, a mountain ridge in the prov. of Beira, Portugal, where
Wellington with 40,000 troops beat Masséna with 65,000.
BUSBY, RICHARD, distinguished English schoolmaster, born at Lutton,
Lincolnshire; was head-master of Winchester School; had a number of
eminent men for his pupils, among others Dryden, Locke, and South
(1606-1695).
BÜSCHING, ANTON FRIEDRICH, a celebrated German geographer; his
"Erdbeschreibung," the first geographical work of any scientific merit;
gives only the geography of Europe (1724-1793).
BUSHIRE (27), the chief port of Persia on the Persian Gulf, and a
great trading centre.
BUSHMEN, or BOSJESMANS, aborigines of South-west Africa; a
rude, nomadic race, at one time numerous, but now fast becoming extinct.
BUSHRANGERS, in Australia a gang made up of convicts who escaped to
the "bush," and there associated with other desperadoes; at one time
caused a great deal of trouble in the colony by their maraudings.
BUSIRIS, a king of Egypt who used to offer human beings in
sacrifice; seized Hercules and bound him to the altar, but Hercules
snapped the bonds he was bound with, and sacrificed him.
BUSK, HANS, one of the originators of the Volunteer movement, born
in Wales; author of "The Rifle, and How to Use it" (1815-1882).
BUSKIN, a kind of half-boot worn after the custom of hunters as part
of the costume of actors in tragedy on the ancient Roman stage, and a
synonym for tragedy.
BUTE, an island in the Firth of Clyde, about 16 m. long and from 3
to 5 broad, N. of Arran, nearly all the Marquis of Bute's property, with
his seat at Mount Stuart, and separated from the mainland on the N. by a
winding romantic arm of the sea called the "Kyles of Bute."
BUTE, JOHN STUART, THIRD EARL OF, statesman, born of an old Scotch
family; Secretary of State, and from May 1762 to April 1763 Prime
Minister under George III., over whom he had a great influence; was very
unpopular as a statesman, his leading idea being the supremacy of the
king; spent the last 24 years of his life in retirement, devoting himself
to literature and science (1712-1792).
BUTE, MARQUIS OF, son of the second marquis, born in Bute; admitted
to the Roman Catholic Church in 1868; devoted to archæological studies,
and interested in university education; _b_. 1849.
BUTLER, ALBAN, hagiographer, born in Northampton; head of the
college at St. Omer; wrote "Lives of the Saints" (1710-1773).
BUTLER, CHARLES, an English barrister, born in London; wrote
"Historical Account of the Laws against the Catholics" (1750-1832).
BUTLER, JOSEPH, an eminent English divine, born at Wantage, in
Berks; born a Dissenter; conformed to the Church of England; became
preacher at the Rolls, where he delivered his celebrated "Sermons," the
first three of which contributed so much to the stability of moral
science; was raised, in virtue of his merits alone, to the see of
Bristol; made dean of St. Paul's, and finally bishop of Durham; his great
work, "The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution
and Course of Nature," the aim of which is twofold--first, to show that
the objections to revealed religion are equally valid against the
constitution of nature; and second, to establish a conformity between the
divine order in revelation and the order of nature; his style is far from
interesting, and is often obscure (1692-1752).
BUTLER, SAMUEL, a master of burlesque, born at Strensham, in
Worcestershire, the son of a small farmer; the author of "Hudibras," a
poem of about 10,000 octosyllabic lines, in which he subjects to ridicule
the ideas and manners of the English Puritans of the Civil War and the
Commonwealth; it appeared in three parts, the first in 1663, the second
soon after, and the third in 1678; it is sparkling with wit, yet is hard
reading, and few who take it up read it through; was an especial
favourite with Charles II., who was never weary of quoting from it. "It
represents," says Stopford Brooke, "the fierce reaction that (at the
Restoration) had set in against Puritanism. It is justly famed," he adds,
"for wit, learning, good sense, and ingenious drollery, and, in
accordance with the new criticism, is absolutely without obscurity. It is
often as terse as Pope's best work; but it is too long; its wit wearies
us at last, and it undoes the force of its attacks on the Puritans by its
exaggeration" (1612-1680).
BUTLER, WILLIAM ARCHER, a philosophical writer, born near Clonmel,
Ireland; professor of Moral Philosophy at Dublin; author of "Lectures on
the History of Ancient Philosophy" (1814-1848).
BUTT, CLARA, operatic singer, born in Sussex; made her _début_ in
London at the Albert Hall in the "Golden Legend," and in "Orfeo" at the
Lyceum, ever since which appearances she has been much in demand as a
singer; _b_. 1872.
BUTT, ISAAC, Irish patriot, distinguished for his scholarship at
Dublin University; became editor of the _Dublin University Magazine_;
entered Parliament, and at length took the lead of the "Home Rule" party,
but could not control it, and retired (1813-1879).
BUTTMANN, PHILIPP, a German philologist, born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main; professor of Philology in Berlin; best known by
his "Greek Grammar" (1764-1829).
BUXTON, a high-lying town in Derbyshire, noted for its calcareous
and chalybeate springs, and a resort for invalids; is also famous for its
rock crystals, stalactite cavern, and fine scenery.
BUXTON, SIR THOMAS FOWELL, a philanthropist, born in Essex, a tall
man of energetic character; entered life as a brewer, and made his
fortune; was conspicuous for his interest in benevolent movements, such
as the amelioration of criminal law and the abolition of slavery;
represented Weymouth in Parliament from 1818 to 1837; was made a baronet
in 1840; he was Wilberforce's successor (1786-1845).
BUXTON, SIR THOMAS FOWELL, once governor of S. Australia, grandson
of the preceding; educated at Harrow and Cambridge; a Liberal in
politics, and member for King's Lynn from 1865 to 1868; a philanthropist
and Evangelical Churchman; _b_. 1837.
BUXTORF, a celebrated Hebraist, born in Westphalia, member of a
family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for 39 years at Basle; was
known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis" (1564-1629).
BYBLIS, in the Greek mythology a daughter of Miletus, in love with
her brother Caunus, whom she pursued into far lands, till, worn out with
sorrow, she was changed into a fountain.
BYNG, GEORGE, VISCOUNT TORRINGTON, admiral, favoured the Prince of
Orange, and won the navy over to his interest; commanded the squadron
that took Gibraltar in 1704: conquered the Spaniards off Cape Passaro;
was made First Lord of the Admiralty in 1727, an office he held till his
death (1663-1733).
BYNG, JOHN, admiral, fourth son of the preceding; having failed to
compel the French to raise the blockade of Minorca, was recalled, in
deference to popular clamour, and being tried and condemned as guilty of
treason, was shot at Portsmouth, a fate it is now believed he did not
deserve, and which he bore like a man and a Christian (1704-1757).
BYROM, JOHN, poet and stenographer, born near Manchester; invented a
system of shorthand, now superseded, and which he had the sole right of
teaching for 21 years; contributed as "John Shadow" to the _Spectator_;
author of the pastoral, "My Time, O ye Muses, was Happily Spent"; his
poetry satirical and genial (1692-1763).
BYRON, GEORGE GORDON, SIXTH LORD, an English poet, born in London,
son of Captain Byron of the Guards, and Catherine Gordon of Gight,
Aberdeenshire; spent his boyhood at Aberdeen under his mother, now a
widow, and was educated at Harrow and Cambridge, spending, when at the
latter, his vacations in London, where his mother had taken a house;
wrote "Hours of Idleness," a poor first attempt, which called forth a
severe criticism in the _Edinburgh Review_, and which he satirised in
"English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," and soon afterwards left England
and spent two years in foreign travel; wrote first part of "Childe
Harold," "awoke one morning and found himself famous"; produced the
"Giaour," "Bride of Abydos," "Hebrew Melodies," and other work. In his
school days he had fallen in love with Mary Chaworth, but she had not
returned his affection, and in 1815 he married Miss Millbank, an heiress,
who in a year left him never to return, when a storm raised against him
on account of his private life drove him from England, and he never came
back; on the Continent, moved from place to place, finished "Childe
Harold," completed several short poems, and wrote "Don Juan"; threw
himself into revolutionary movements in Italy and Greece, risked his all
in the emancipation of the latter, and embarking in it, died at
Missolonghi in a fit, at the age of 36. His poems, from the character of
the passion that breathed in them, made a great impression on his age,
but the like interest in them is happily now passing away, if not already
past; the earth is looking green again once more, under the breath, it is
believed, of a new spring-time, or anyhow, the promise of such. See
"Organic Filaments" in "Sartor Resartus" (1788-1824).
BYRON, HENRY JAMES, dramatist, born in Manchester, wrote "Our Boys"
(1834-1884).
BYRON, JOHN, naval officer, grandfather of the poet, nicknamed from
his misfortunes "Foul-weather Jack"; accompanied Anson in his voyage
round the world, but was wrecked in his ship the _Wager_; suffered almost
unexampled hardships, of which he wrote a classical account on his safe
return home; he rose to the rank of admiral, and commanded the squadron
in the West Indies during the American war; died in England (1723-1786).
BYRSA, a celebrated citadel of Carthage.
BYZANTINE ART, a decorative style of art patronised by the Romans
after the seat of empire was removed to the East; it has been described
by Mr. Fairholt as "an engraftment of Oriental elaboration of detail upon
classic forms, ending in their debasement."
BYZANTINE EMPIRE, called also the Eastern, the Lower, or the Greek
Empire; dates from 395 A.D., when, by the death of Theodosius, the Roman
empire was divided between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, the
Eastern section falling to the share of the former, who established the
seat of his government at Byzantium; the empire included Syria, Asia
Minor, Pontus, Egypt in Africa, and Ancient Greece, and it lasted with
varied fortune for ten centuries after the accession of Arcadius, till
Constantinople was taken by the Turks in 1453.
BYZANTIUM, the ancient name of Constantinople; founded by Greek
colonists in 667 B.C.
C
CAABA, an ancient Arab temple, a small square structure in the grand
mosque of Mecca, with a mysterious black stone, probably an aerolite,
built in it, on which all pilgrims who visit the shrine imprint a kiss;
"the Keblah of all Moslem, the eyes of innumerable praying men being
turned towards it from all the quarters of the compass five times a day."
CABAL`, a secret intriguing faction in a State, a name applied to a
junto of five ministers of Charles II. in power from 1668 to 1673, the
initials of whose names go to make up the word; their names were
Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale; derived from
CABALA (q. v.).
CAB`ALA, a secret science alleged to have been divinely imparted to
Moses and preserved by tradition, by means of which the Rabbis affected
to interpret the pretended mystic sense of the words, letters, and very
accents of the Hebrew Scriptures, a science which really owes its
existence to a dissatisfaction in the rabbinical mind with the
traditional literal interpretation, and a sense that there is more in
Scripture than meets the ear. The name comes from a Hebrew word
suggesting "to receive," and denotes "that which is received" or
tradition.
CABALLERO, FERNAN, the _nom de plume_ of Cecilia Boehl, a popular
Spanish authoress, born in Switzerland, of German descent; a collector of
folk tales; wrote charmingly; told stories of Spanish, particularly
Andalusian, peasant life (1797-1877).
CABANEL, ALEXANDRE, a French painter, born at Montpellier
(1828-1889).
CABANIS, PIERRE JEAN GEORGE, a celebrated French medical man, born
in Cosnac, in the dep. of Charente Inférieure, a pronounced materialist
in philosophy, and friend of Mirabeau; attended him in his last illness,
and published an account of it; his materialism was of the grossest;
treated the soul as a nonentity; and held that the brain secretes thought
just as the liver secretes bile (1757-1808).
CABEL, a celebrated painter of the Dutch school, born at Ryswick
(1631-1698).
CABET, ÉTIENNE, a French communist, born in Dijon; a leader of the
Carbonari; provoked prosecution, and fled to England; wrote a history of
the First Revolution, in which he defended the Jacobins; author of the
"Voyage en Icarie," in description of a communistic Utopia, which became
the text-book of a communistic sect called "Icarians," a body of whom he
headed to carry out his schemes in America, first in Texas and then at
Nauvoo, but failed; died at St. Louis broken-hearted (1788-1856).
CABI`RI, certain mysterious demonic beings to whom mystic honours
were paid in Lemnos and elsewhere in Greece, in connection with
nature-worship, and especially with that of DEMETER and
DIONYSUS (q. v.).
CABLE, GEORGE WASHINGTON, a journalist, born at New Orleans, has
written interestingly on, and created an interest in, Creole life in
America; _b_. 1844.
CABOT, GIOVANNI, a Venetian pilot, born at Genoa, settled in
Bristol, entered the service of Henry VII., and discovered part of the
mainland of N. America, at Labrador, about 1497: _d_. 1498.
CABOT, SEBASTIAN, son of the preceding, born either in Venice or
Bristol; accompanied his father to N. America; sought service as a
navigator, first in Spain then in England, but failed; returned to Spain;
attempted under Charles V. to plant colonies in Brazil with no success,
for which he was imprisoned and banished; was the first to notice the
variation of the magnetic needle, and to open up to England trade with
Russia (1474-1557).
CABRAL, PEDRO ALVAREZ, a Portuguese navigator, sailing for the
Indies, drifted on the coast of Brazil, on which he planted the
Portuguese flag, 1500, and of which he is accounted by some the
discoverer, continued his course, and established a factory at Calicut in
1501 (1460-1526).
CABRE`RA, one of the Balearic Isles, used as a penal settlement by
Spain, produces wild olives.
CABRERA, a Spanish general, born at Tortosa, Catalonia, a zealous
supporter of the claims of Don Carlos, took up arms in his behalf; died
in England; he was an unscrupulous adversary (1810-1877).
CABUL`, or KABUL (50), cap. of a province of the name in
Afghanistan, in a mild climate, on an elevated plateau of great
fertility, 6000 ft. in height, on the high route between Central Asia and
the Punjab, a great highway of trade, and a depôt for European goods.
CACCIA, Italian fresco-painter, did altar-pieces; his best work,
"Deposition from the Cross," at Novara; _d_. 1625.
CACERAS (350), a Spanish province in the N. of Estremadura; the name
also of its capital (14), famous for its bacon and sausages, as the
province is for cattle-rearing.
CACHAR (313), a great tea-growing district in Assam.
CACHE, name given in Canada to a hole in the ground for hiding
provisions when they prove cumbersome to carry.
CACHET, LETTRE DE, a warrant issued in France before the Revolution,
under the royal seal, for the arrest and imprisonment of a person, often
obtained to gratify private ends; abolished in 1790.
CA`CUS, a mythological brigand of gigantic stature who occupied a
cave in Mount Aventine, represented by Virgil as breathing smoke and
flames of fire; stole the oxen of Hercules as he was asleep, dragging
them to his cave tail foremost to deceive the owner; strangled by
Hercules in his rage at the deception quite as much as the theft.
CADASTRE, a register of the landed proprietors of a district, and
the extent of their estates, with maps illustrative called Cadastral
Maps.
CADE, JACK, an Irish adventurer, headed an insurrection in Kent, in
1450, in the reign of Henry VI.; encamped with his following on
Blackheath; demanded of the king redress of grievances; was answered by
an armed force, which he defeated; entered the city, could not prevent
his followers from plundering; the citizens retaliating, he had to flee,
but was overtaken and slain.
CADEMOSTO, a Venetian in the service of Portugal, discovered the
Cape de Verde Islands in 1457; wrote the first book giving an account of
modern voyages, published posthumously (1432-1480).
CADIZ (62), one of the chief commercial ports in Spain, in
Andalusia; founded by the Phoenicians about 1100 B.C.; called Gades by
the Romans; at the NW. extremity of the Isle of Leon, and separated from
the rest of the island by a channel crossed by bridges; it is 7 m. from
Xeres and 50 m. from Gibraltar, and carries on a large export trade.
CAD`MUS, a semi-mythological personage, founder of Thebes, in
Boeotia, to whom is ascribed the introduction of the Greek alphabet from
Phoenicia and the invention of writing; in the quest of his sister
Europa, was told by the oracle at Delphi to follow a cow and build a city
where she lay down; arrived at the spot where the cow lay down, he sent,
with a view to its sacrifice, his companions to a well guarded by a
dragon, which devoured them; slew the dragon; sowed its teeth, which
sprang up into a body of armed men, who speared each other to death, all
but five, who, the story goes, became the forefathers of Thebes.
CADOUDAL, GEORGES, a brave man, chief of the CHOUANS (q. v.),
born in Brittany, the son of a farmer; tried hard and took up arms
to restore the Bourbons in the teeth of the Republic, but was defeated;
refused to serve under Bonaparte, who would fain have enlisted him,
having seen in him "a mind cast in the true mould"; came over from
London, whither he had retired, on a secret mission from Charles X.; was
suspected of evil designs against the person of Bonaparte; arrested, and,
after a short trial, condemned and executed, having confessed his
intention to overthrow the Republic and establish Louis XVIII. on the
throne (1769-1804).
CADUCEUS, the winged rod of Hermes, entwined with two serpents;
originally a simple olive branch; was in the hands of the god possessed
of magical virtues; it was the symbol of peace.
CÆDMON, an English poet of the 7th century, the fragment of a hymn
by whom, preserved by Bede, is the oldest specimen extant of English
poetry; wrote a poem on the beginning of things at the call of a voice
from heaven, saying as he slept, "Cædmon, come sing me some song"; and
thereupon he began to sing, as Stopford Brooke reports, the story of
Genesis and Exodus, many other tales in the sacred Scriptures, and the
story of Christ and the Apostles, and of heaven and hell to come.
CAEN (45), a fine old Norman town, capital of Calvados, about 80 m.
SE. of Cherbourg; lace the chief manufacture; the burial-place of William
the Conqueror, and the native place of Charlotte Corday; it is a
well-built town, and has fine old public buildings, a large library, and
a noble collection of pictures.
CAER`LEON, a small old town in Monmouthshire, on the Usk, 2½ m. NE.
of Newport; celebrated by Tennyson in connection with Arthurian legend;
it is a very ancient place, and contains relics of Roman times.
CÆSALPINUS, Italian natural philosopher, born at Arezzo; was
professor of botany at Pisa; was forerunner of Harvey and Linnæus;
discovered sex in plants, and gave hints on their classification
(1519-1603).
CÆSAR, name of an old Roman family claiming descent from the Trojan
Æneas, which the emperors of Rome from Augustus to Nero of right
inherited, though the title was applied to succeeding emperors and to the
heirs-apparent of the Western and the Eastern Empires; it survives in the
titles of the Kaiser of Germany and the Czar of Russia.
CÆSAR, CAIUS JULIUS, pronounced the greatest man of antiquity, by
birth and marriage connected with the democratic party; early provoked
the jealousy of Sulla, then dictator, and was by an edict of proscription
against him obliged to quit the city; on the death of Sulla returned to
Rome; was elected to one civic office after another, and finally to the
consulship. United with Pompey and Crassus in the First Triumvirate (60
B.C.); was appointed to the government of Gaul, which he subdued after
nine years to the dominion of Rome; his successes awoke the jealousy of
Pompey, who had gone over to the aristocratic side, and he was recalled;
this roused Cæsar, and crossing the Rubicon with his victorious troops,
he soon saw all Italy lying at his feet (49 B.C.); pursued Pompey, who
had fled to Greece, and defeated him at Pharsalia (48 B.C.); was
thereupon elected dictator and consul for five years, distinguishing
himself in Egypt and elsewhere; returned to Rome (47 B.C.); conceived
and executed vast schemes for the benefit of the city, and became the
idol of its citizens; when he was assassinated on the Ides (the 15th) of
March, 44 B.C., in the fifty-sixth year of his age; _b_.100 B.C.
CÆSAREA, a Syrian seaport, 30 m. N. of Joppa, built in honour of
Augustus Cæsar by Herod the Great, now in ruins, though a place of note
in the days of the Crusades. Also C. PHILIPPI, at the source of the
Jordan, whence Christ, on assuring Himself that His disciples were
persuaded of His divine sonship, turned to go up to Jerusalem, and so by
His sacrifice perfect their faith in Him.
CAGLIARI (44), the cap of Sardinia, and the chief port, on the S.
coast, was a colony of Jews from the time of Tiberius till 1492, whence
they were expelled by the Spaniards; lies on the slopes of a hill, the
summit of which is 300 ft. high, and is on the site of an ancient
Carthaginian town.
CAGLIARI, PAOLO, proper name of PAUL VERONESE (q. v.).
CAGLIOSTRO, COUNT ALESSANDRO DI, assumed name of an arch-impostor,
his real name being Giuseppe Balsamo, born in Palermo, of poor parents;
early acquired a smattering of chemistry and medicine, by means of which
he perpetrated the most audacious frauds, which, when detected in one
place were repeated with even more brazen effrontery in another; married
a pretty woman named Lorenza Feliciani, who became an accomplice;
professed supernatural powers, and wrung large sums from his dupes
wherever they went, after which they absconded to Paris and lived in
extravagance; here he was thrown into the Bastille for complicity in the
DIAMOND NECKLACE AFFAIR (q. v.); on his wife turning informer,
he was consigned to the tender mercies of the Inquisition, and committed
to the fortress of San Leone, where he died at 52, his wife having
retired into a convent (1743-1795). See CARLYLE'S "MISCELLANIES"
for an account of his character and career.
CAGNOLA, LUIGI, MARQUIS OF, Italian architect, born at Milan; his
greatest work, the "Arco della Pace," of white marble, in his native
city, the execution of which occupied him over 30 years (1762-1833).
CAGOTS, a race in the SW. of France of uncertain origin; treated as
outcasts in the Middle Ages, owing, it has been supposed, to some taint
of leprosy, from which, it is argued, they were by their manner of life
in course of time freed.
CAHORS (13), a town in the dep. of Lot, in the S. of France, 71 m.
N. of Toulouse, with interesting Roman and other relics of antiquity.
CAIAPHAS, the High-Priest of the Jews who condemned Christ to death
as a violator of the law of Moses.
CAIAPOS, a wild savage race in the woods of Brazil, hard to persuade
to reconcile themselves to a settled life.
CAICOS, a group of small islands connected with the Bahamas, but
annexed to Jamaica since 1874.
CAILLE, LOUIS DE LA, astronomer, studied at the Cape of Good Hope,
registered stars of the Southern Hemisphere, numbering 9000, before
unknown; calculated the table of eclipses for 1800 years (1713-1762).
CAILLET, a chief of the Jacquerie, a peasant insurrection in France
in 1358, taken prisoner and tortured to death.
CAILLIAUD, French mineralogist, born in Nantes, travelled in Egypt,
Nubia, and Ethiopia, collecting minerals and making observations
(1787-1869).
CAILLIÉ, RENÉ, French traveller in Africa, born in Poitou, the first
European to penetrate as far as Timbuctoo, in Central Africa, which he
did in 1828; the temptation was a prize of 10,000 marks offered by the
Geographical Society of Paris, which he received with a pension of 1000
besides (1799-1839).
CAIN, according to Genesis, the first-born of Adam and Eve, and
therefore of the race, and the murderer of his brother Abel.
CAIN, THOMAS HENRY HALL, eminent novelist, born in Cheshire, of Manx
blood; began life as architect and took to journalism; author of a number
of novels bearing on Manx life, such as the "Deemster" and the "Manxman";
his most recent novel, the "Christian," his greatest but most ambiguous
work, and much challenged in England, though less so in America; it has
been translated into most of the languages of Europe, where the verdict
is divided; _b_. 1853.
ÇA IRA, "It will go on," a popular song in France during the
Revolution, said to have been a phrase of Benjamin Franklin's, which he
was in the habit of using in answering inquirers about the progress of
the American revolution by his friends in France.
CAIRD, EDWARD, brother of the following, interpreter of Kant and
Hegel; succeeded Jowett as master of Balliol; has written on the
"Evolution of Religion," and edited the lectures and sermons of his
brother; _b_. 1825.
CAIRD, JOHN, an eloquent Scotch preacher, born at Greenock,
Principal of Glasgow University, famous for a sermon entitled "The
Religion of Common Life" preached before the Queen at Crathie in 1855;
made a special study of the philosophy of religion, and wrote eloquently
on it, more especially the Christian version of it (1820-1898).
CAIRN, a heap of stones often, though not always, loosely thrown
together, generally by way of a sepulchral monument, and it would seem
sometimes in execration of some foul deed.
CAIRNES, JOHN ELLIOT, a political economist of the school of John
Stuart Mill with modifications, born in co. Louth, Ireland; professor
successively in Dublin, Galway, and London; author of works on political
economy (1823-1875).
CAIRNGORM, a yellowish-brown variety of rock-crystal, so called from
being found, among other places, on one of the Scottish Grampians, in
Aberdeenshire, so named.
CAIRNS, HUGH MACCALMONT, EARL, lawyer and politician, born in co.
Down, Ireland; called to the English bar; entered Parliament,
representing Belfast; became Lord Chancellor under Disraeli's government
in 1868, and again in 1874; took an active interest in philanthropic
movements (1819-1885).
CAIRO (400), cap. of Egypt, and largest city in Africa, on the right
bank of the Nile, just above the Delta, 120 m. SE. of Alexandria, covers
an extensive area on a broad sandy plain, and presents a strange
agglomeration of ancient and modern elements. The modern city is the
fourth founded in succession on the same site, and remains of the former
cities are included in it, old walls, gateways, narrow streets, and
latticed houses, palaces, and 400 mosques. These, though much spoiled by
time and tourists, still represent the brightest period of Saracenic art.
The most modern part of the city consists of broad boulevards, with
European-built villas, hotels, &c., and has all the advantages of modern
civic appliances. There is a rich museum, and university with 2000
students. Extensive railway communication and the Nile waterway induce a
large transport trade, but there is little industry. The population is
mixed; the townsfolk are half Arab, half Egyptian, while Copts, Turks,
Jews, Italians, and Greeks are numerous; it is a centre of Mohammedan
learning, and since 1882 the centre of British influence in Egypt.
CAITHNESS (37), a level, except in the W. and S., bare, and somewhat
barren, county in the NE. of Scotland, 43 m. by 28 m., with a bold and
rocky coast; has flagstone quarries; fishing the chief industry, of which
Wick is the chief seat; the inhabitants are to a great extent of
Scandinavian origin, and English, not Gaelic, is the language spoken.
CAJETAN, CARDINAL, general of the Dominicans, born in Gaeta;
represented the Pope at the Diet of Augsburg, and tried in vain to
persuade Luther to recant; wrote a Commentary on the Bible, and on the
"Summa Theologiæ" of Aquinas.
CALABAR`, a district under British protection on the coast of Upper
Guinea, the country flat and the climate unhealthy.
CALABAR BEAN, seed of an African bean, employed in medicine, known
as the Ordeal Bean, as, being poisonous, having been used to test the
innocence of people charged with witchcraft.
CALABRIA (1,500), a fertile prov. embraced in the SW. peninsula of
Italy, and traversed by the Apennines, with tunny and anchovy fisheries;
yields grains and fruits, and a variety of minerals; is inhabited by a
race of somewhat fiery temper; is much subject to earthquakes.
CALAIS (56), a fortified seaport in France, on the Strait of Dover,
where it is 21 m. across; was in possession of the English from 1347 to
1558, and the last town held by them on French soil; is the chief
landing-place for travellers from England to the Continent, and has
considerable export trade, as well as cotton and tulle manufactures.
CALAMY, EDMUND, a Presbyterian divine, born in London; favourable to
Royalty, but zealously opposed to Episcopacy, against which he
vigorously protested with his pen; opposed the execution of Charles I.
and the protectorate of Cromwell; made chaplain to Charles II. after the
Restoration; refused a bishopric, which he could not, on conscientious
grounds, accept (1600-1666).
CALAMY, EDMUND, a grandson of the preceding, an eminent
Nonconformist minister in London, on whom, for the high esteem in which
he was held, honorary degrees were conferred by the Edinburgh, Glasgow,
and Aberdeen universities (1671-1732).
CALAS, JEAN, a tradesman of Toulouse, whose son committed suicide,
and who was charged with murdering him to prevent his going over to the
Catholic Church; was tried, convicted, and sentenced to torture and death
on the wheel (1762); after which his property was confiscated, and his
children compelled to embrace the Catholic faith, while the widow escaped
into Switzerland. Voltaire, to his immortal honour, took up her case,
proved to the satisfaction of the legal authorities in France the
innocence of the victims, got the process revised, and Louis XV. to grant
a sum of money out of the royal bounty for the benefit of the family.
CALAVE`RAS, an inland county of California, E. of San Francisco,
rich in minerals, with copper and gold mines.
CALCHAS, the soothsayer who accompanied Agamemnon to the siege of
Troy; enjoined the sacrifice of Iphigenia to propitiate the gods,
foretold the length or the war, and advised the construction of the
wooden horses, a device by means of which Troy was surprised and taken.
CALCULUS, DIFFERENTIAL AND INTEGRAL, in mathematics, is the method
by which we discuss the properties of continuously varying quantities.
The nature of the method and the necessity for it may be indicated by a
simple example; e. g. the motion of a train in a track, or the motion
of a planet in its orbit. If we know the successive positions of the
moving body at successive short intervals of time, the rules of the
differential calculus enable us to calculate the speed, the change of
speed, the change of direction of motion (i. e. the curvature of the
path), and the effective force acting on the body. Conversely, given the
force at every point, and the initial position and velocity, the rules of
the integral calculus assist us in calculating the position and velocity
of the body at any future time. Expressed somewhat crudely, the
differential calculus has to do with the _differentials_ (increments or
decrements) of varying quantities; while the integral calculus is a
process of summation or _integration_ of these differentials.
CALCUTTA (900), on the left bank of the Hooghly, the largest and
westernmost branch of the Ganges delta, about 80 m. from the sea; is the
capital of Bengal and the Indian Empire, and the residence of the
Governor-General; the Government buildings, Bishop's College (now an
engineering school) High Court, town hall, bank, museum, university, St.
Paul's cathedral, and many other English Buildings have earned for it the
name "city of palaces"; but the native quarters, though being improved,
are still squalid, the houses of mud or bamboo; an esplanade, numerous
quays, an excellent water-supply, gas, and tramway services, add to the
amenities; there are extensive dockyards, warehouses, iron-works, timber
yards, and jute mills; extensive railway and steamboat communications
make it the chief emporium of commerce in Asia; ships of 5000 tons enter
the docks; founded in 1686, Calcutta was captured by Surajah Dowlah, and
the "Black Hole" massacre perpetrated in 1756; became the capital of
India in 1772, and has suffered frequently from cyclones; the population
are two-thirds Hindus, less than a third Mohammedan, and 4½ per cent.
Christian.
CALDECOTT, RANDOLPH, artist, born in Chester; exercised his art
chiefly in book illustrations, which were full of life, and instinct with
a kindly, graceful humour; though professionally untrained, his abilities
as an artist were promptly and generously recognised by the Academy; he
suffered from ill-health, and died in Florida, whither he had gone to
recruit (1846-1886).
CALDER, SIR ROBERT, British naval officer; served bravely in several
naval engagements; was tried by court-martial, and reprimanded for not
following up a victory which he had gained, a sentence which was
afterwards found to be unjust; attained afterwards the rank of admiral
(1745-1818).
CALDERON DE LA BARCA, the great Spanish dramatist, born at Madrid;
entered the army, and served in Italy and Flanders, producing the while
dramas which were received with great enthusiasm; took holy orders, and
became a canon of Toledo, but to the last continued to write poems and
plays; he was a dramatist of the first order, and has been ranked by the
more competent critics among the foremost of the class in both ancient
and modern times (1600-1681).
CALDERWOOD, DAVID, a Scotch ecclesiastic, born at Dalkeith; became
minister of Crailing; first imprisoned, and then banished for resisting
the attempts of James VI. to establish Episcopacy in Scotland; wrote a
book, "Altare Damascenum," in Holland, whither he had retired, being a
searching criticism of the claims of the Episcopacy; returned on the
death of the king, and wrote a "History of the Kirk" (1575-1650).
CALEDONIA, the Roman name for Scotland N. of the Wall of Antoninus,
since applied poetically to the whole of Scotland.
CALEDONIAN CANAL, a canal across the NW. of Scotland, executed by
Telford, for the passage of ships between the Atlantic and the North Sea,
60 m. long, 40 m. of which consist of natural lakes; begun 1803, finished
1823; cost £1,300,000; has 28 locks; was constructed for the benefit of
coasting vessels to save the risks they encountered in the Pentland
Firth.
CALENDS, the first day of the Roman month, so called as the day on
which the feast days and unlucky days of the month were announced.
CAL`GARY, the capital of Alberta, in NW. territory of Canada.
CALHOUN, JOHN CALDWELL, an American statesman, born in S. Carolina,
of Irish descent; all through his public life in high civic position;
leader of "the States rights" movement, in vindication of the doctrine
that the Union was a mere compact, and any State had a right to withdraw
from its conditions; and champion of the slave-holding States, regarding
slavery as an institution fraught with blessing to all concerned. His
chief work is a treatise on the "Nature of Government" (1789-1850).
CALIBAN, a slave in Shakespeare's "Tempest," of the grossest
animality of nature.
CALICUT (66), chief town on the Malabar coast, in the Madras
Presidency of India, the first port at which Vasco da Gama landed in
1498, whence the cotton cloth first imported from the place got the name
"calico."
CALIFORNIA (1,208), the most south-westerly State in the American
Union; occupies the Pacific seaboard between Oregon and Mexico, and is
bounded landward by Nevada and Arizona. It is the second largest State,
larger by a quarter than the United Kingdom. In the N. the rainfall is
excessive, and winters severe; in the S. there is little rain, and a
delightful climate. Wheat is the most important product; the grape and
all manner of fruits grow luxuriantly. Mineral wealth is great: it is the
foremost State for gold and quicksilver; lead, silver, copper, iron,
sulphur, coal, and many other minerals abound. The industries include
brandy and sugar manufactures, silk-growing, shipbuilding, and fishing.
All products are exported, eastward by the great Central, Union, and
Southern Pacific railroads; and seaward, the chief port being San
Francisco, the largest city, as Sacramento is the capital of the State.
The Yosemite Valley, in the Sierra Nevada, through which falls the Merced
River, is the most wonderful gorge in the world. Captured from Mexico in
1847, the discovery of gold next year raised great excitement, and
brought thousands of adventurers from all over the world. Constituted a
State in 1850, the original lawlessness gradually gave way to regular
administration, and progress has since been steady and rapid.
CALIFORNIA, LOWER (30), an extensive, mountainous, dry, and scarcely
habitable peninsula, stretching southward from the State, in Mexican
territory; agriculture is carried on in some of the valleys, and pearl
and whale fisheries support some coast towns.
CALIGULA, Roman emperor from A.D. 37 to 41, youngest son of
Germanicus and Agrippina, born at Antium; having ingratiated himself with
Tiberius, was named his successor; ruled with wisdom and magnanimity at
first, while he lived in the unbridled indulgence of every lust, but
after an illness due to his dissipation, gave way to the most atrocious
acts of cruelty and impiety; would entertain people at a banquet and then
throw them into the sea; wished Rome had only one head, that he might
shear it off at a blow; had his horse installed as consul in mockery of
the office; declared himself a god, and had divine honours paid to him,
till a conspiracy was formed against him on his return from an expedition
into Gaul, when he was assassinated (12-41).
CALIPH, the title adopted by the successors of Mahomet, as supreme
in both civil and religious matters. The principal caliphates are: (1)
the Caliphate of the East, established by Abubekr at Mecca, transferred
to Bagdad by the Abassides (632-1258); (2) the Caliphate of Cordova,
established at Cordova by Abderrahman (756-1031); (3) the Caliphate of
Egypt, established by the Fatimites (909-1171). It was at Bagdad that
Moslem civilisation achieved its final development.
CALISTO, daughter of Lycaon, king of Arcadia; changed by Juno into a
she-bear, and placed by Jupiter among the stars.
CALIXTUS, the name of three popes: C. I., Pope from 218 to 222;
C. II., pope from 1119 to 1124; C. III., Pope from 1455 to
1458.
CALIXTUS, GEORGE, a Lutheran theologian of an eminently tolerant
type, born at Sleswick; travelled for four years in Germany, Belgium,
England, and France; accused of heresy, or rather apostasy, for the
liberal spirit in which he had learned in consequence to treat both
Catholics and Calvinists, and for considering the Apostles' Creed a broad
enough basis for Christian union and communion, which might embrace both;
his friends, however, stood by him, and he retained the position he held
in the Lutheran Church (1586-1656).
CALLA`O (32), a port in Peru, 7 m. from Lima, with a fine harbour
the safest on the coast, if not in the world; its prosperity depends on
trade, which is less than it was before the annexation of the nitrate
fields to Chile.
CALLCOTT, JOHN WALL, an eminent musical composer, born at
Kensington; was a pupil of Händel's, and is celebrated for his glee
compositions (1766-1821). SIR AUGUSTUS WALL, landscape painter,
brother; was knighted for his eminent skill as an artist (1779-1841).
LADY MARIA, wife of Sir Augustus, author of "Little Arthur's History
of England" (1779-1842).
CALLERNISH, a district in the W. of the island of Lewis, 10 m. from
Stornoway; noted for its circles of standing stones, from 10 to 17 ft. in
height, the whole in cruciform arrangement.
CALLIC`RATES, along with Ictinos, architect of the Parthenon in
Athens.
CALLIM`ACHUS, Greek architect, inventor of the Corinthian order, 4th
century B.C.
CALLIMACHUS, Greek poet, born in Cyrena; taught grammar and
belles-lettres at Alexandria; was keeper of the library there; of his
writings, which are said to have been on a variety of subjects and very
numerous, only a few epigrams and hymns remain; was admired by Catullus,
Ovid, and Propertius, and flourished in the 3rd century B.C.
CALLI`OPE, the muse of epic poetry and eloquence, is represented
with a tablet and stylus, and sometimes with a paper roll. See
MUSES.
CALLIS`THENES, a disciple of Aristotle, who accompanied Alexander
the Great to India, and was put to death by his order for remonstrating
with him on his adoption of the manners and style of the potentates of
the East, but professedly on a charge of treason.
CALLIS`TRATUS, an Athenian orator, who kindled in Demosthenes a
passion for his art; his Spartan sympathies brought him to grief, and led
to his execution as a traitor.
CALLOT, JACQUES, engraver and etcher, born at Nancy; his etchings,
executed many of them at the instance of the Grand-duke of Tuscany and
Louis XIII. of France, amounted to 1600 pieces, such as those of the
sieges of Breda and Rochelle, which are much admired, as also those of
the gipsies with whom he associated in his youth (1593-1633).
CALMET, AUGUSTINE, a learned Benedictine and biblical scholar, born
in Lorraine, but known in England by his "Historical, Critical, and
Chronological Dictionary of the Bible," the first published book of its
kind of any note, and much referred to at one time as an authority; he
wrote also a "Commentary on the Bible" in 23 vols., and a "Universal
History" in 17 vols. (1672-1757).
CALMS, THE, tracts of calm in the ocean, on the confines of the
trade winds, and which lasts for weeks at a time.
CALOMAR`DE, DUKE, a Spanish statesman; minister of Ferdinand VII.; a
violent enemy of liberal principles and measures, and a reactionary;
obnoxious to the people; arrested for treachery, escaped into France by
bribing his captors (1773-1842).
CALONNE, CHARLES ALEXANDRE DE, French financier under Louis XVI.,
born at Douay; a man of "fiscal genius; genius for persuading, before all
things for borrowing"; succeeded Necker in 1783 as comptroller-general of
the finances in France; after four years of desperate attempts at
financial adjustment, could do nothing but convoke the Notables in 1787;
could give no account of his administration that would satisfy them; was
dismissed, and had to quit Paris and France; "his task to raise the wind
and the winds," says Carlyle, "and he did it," referring to the
Revolution he provoked; was permitted by Napoleon to return to France,
where he died in embarrassed circumstances (1734-1802).
CALORIC, the name given by physicists to the presumed subtle element
which causes heat.
CALORIUS, ABRAHAM, a fiery Lutheran polemic, a bitter enemy of
George Calixtus (1612-1686).
CALOTYPE, a process of photography invented by Fox Talbot in 1840,
by means of the action of light on nitrate of silver.
CALPË, Gibraltar, one of the PILLARS OF HERCULES (q. v.).
CALPURNIA, the last wife of Julius Cæsar, daughter of the consul
Piso, who, alive to the danger of conspiracy, urged Cæsar to stay at home
the day he was assassinated.
CALTAGIRONE (28), a city 38 m. SW. of Catania; the staple industry
is pottery and terra-cotta ware.
CAL`UMET, among the American Indians a pipe for smoking, which if
accepted when offered, was an emblem of peace, and if rejected, a
declaration of war.
CALVADOS (428), a maritime dep. in N. of France, skirted by
dangerous rocks of the same name, with a fertile soil and a moist
climate.
CALVAERT, DENIS, a painter, born at Antwerp; settled at Bologna,
where he founded a school, from whence issued many eminent artists, among
others Guidi Reni, Domenichino, and Albani; his masterpiece, "St.
Michael" in St. Peter's, Bologna (1555-1619).
CALVARY, the place of the crucifixion, identified with a hill on the
N. of Jerusalem, looked down upon from the city, with a cliff on which
criminals were cast down prior to being stoned; also name given to
effigies of the crucifixion in Catholic countries, erected for devotion.
CALVERLEY, CHARLES STUART, a clever English parodist, Fellow of
Christ's Church, Oxford; wrote "Fly-Leaves" and "Verses and
Translations"; his parodies among the most amusing of the century,
flavoured by the author's scholarship (1831-1884).
CALVERT, GEORGE and CECIL, father and son, Lords Baltimore;
founders, under charter from James I., of Maryland, U.S.
CALVIN, JOHN, or CAUVIN, the great Reformer, born at Noyon, in
Picardy; devoted for a time to the law, was sent to study at the
university of Orleans, after having mastered Latin as a boy at Paris;
became acquainted with the Scriptures, and acquired a permanently
theological bent; professed the Protestant faith; proceeded to Paris;
became the centre of a dangerous religious excitement; had to flee for
his life from France; retired to Basel, where he studied Hebrew and wrote
his great epoch-making book, the "Institutes of the Christian Religion";
making after this for Strassburg, he chanced to pass through Geneva, was
arrested as by the hand of God to stay and help on God's work in the
place, but proceeded with such rigour that he was expelled, though
recalled after three years; on his return he proposed and established his
system of Church government, which allowed of no license in faith any
more than conduct, as witness the burning of Servetus for denying the
doctrine of the Trinity; for twenty years he held sway in Geneva, and for
so long he was regarded as the head of the Reformed Churches in Scotland,
Switzerland, Holland, and France. Besides his "Institutes," he found time
to write Commentaries on nearly all the books of the Bible; was a man of
masculine intellect and single-hearted devotion to duty, as ever in the
"Great Taskmaster's" eye. His greatest work was his "Institutes,"
published in Basel in 1535-36. It was written in Latin, and four years
after translated by himself into French. "In the translated form," says
Prof. Saintsbury, "it is beyond all question the first serious work of
great literary merit not historical in the history of French prose....
Considering that the whole of it was written before the author of it was
seven-and-twenty, it is perhaps the most remarkable work of its
particular kind to be anywhere found; the merits of it being those of
full maturity and elaborate preparation rather than of youthful
exuberance" (1509-1564).
CALVINISM, the theological system of Calvin, the chief
characteristic of which is that it assigns all in salvation to the
sovereign action and persistent operation of Divine grace.
CALVO, CHARLES, an Argentine publicist, born at Buenos Ayres in
1824; author of "International Law, Theoretical and Practical."
CALYPSO, in the Greek mythology a nymph, daughter of Atlas, queen of
the island of Ogygia, who by her fascinating charms detained Ulysses
beside her for 7 of the 10 years of his wanderings home from Troy; she
died of grief on his departure.
CAMARILLA, a name of recent origin in Spain for a clique of private
counsellors at court, who interpose between the legitimate ministers and
the crown.
CAMBACÉRÈS, JEAN JACQUES RÉGIS DE, Duke of Parma, born at
Montpellier; bred to the legal profession, took a prominent part as a
lawyer in the national Convention; after the Revolution of the 18th
Brumaire, was chosen second consul; was sincerely attached to Napoleon;
was made by him High Chancellor of the Empire as well as Duke of Parma;
his "Projet de Code" formed the basis of the _Code Napoléon_ (1753-1824).
CAMBAY (31), a town and seaport N. of Bombay, on a gulf of the same
name, which is fast silting up, in consequence of which the place, once a
flourishing port, has fallen into decay.
CAMBO`DIA (1,500), a small kingdom in Indo-China, occupying an area
as large as Scotland in the plains of the Lower Mekong. The coast-line is
washed by the Gulf of Siam; the landward boundaries touch Siam, Annam,
and French Cochin-China; in the N. are stretches of forest and hills in
which iron and copper are wrought; a branch of the Mekong flows backward
and forms the Great Lake; most of the country is inundated in the rainy
season, and rice, tobacco, cotton, and maize are grown in the tracts thus
irrigated; spices, gutta-percha, and timber are also produced; there are
iron-works at Kompong Soai; foreign trade is done through the port
Kampot. The capital is Pnom-Penh (35), on the Mekong. The kingdom was
formerly much more extensive; remarkable ruins of ancient grandeur are
numerous; it has been under French protection since 1863.
CAMBRAI (17), a city in the dep. of Nord, in France, on the Scheldt;
famous for its fine linen fabrics, hence called _cambrics_. Fénélon was
archbishop here, in the cathedral of which is a monument to his memory.
CAMBRIA, the ancient name of Wales, country of the Kymry, a Celtic
race, to which the Welsh belong.
CAMBRIDGE (44), county town of Cambridgeshire, stands in flat
country, on the Cam, 28 m. NE. of London; an ancient city, with
interesting archæological remains; there are some fine buildings, the
oldest round church in England, Holy Sepulchre, and a Roman Catholic
church. The glory of the city is the University, founded in the 12th
century, with its colleges housed in stately buildings, chapels,
libraries, museums, &c., which shares with Oxford the academic prestige
of England. It lays emphasis on mathematical, as Oxford on classical,
culture. Among its eminent men have been Bacon, Newton, Cromwell, Pitt,
Thackeray, Spenser, Milton, Dryden, Wordsworth, and Tennyson.
CAMBRIDGE (70), a suburb of Boston, U.S., one of the oldest towns
in New England; seat of Harvard University; the centre of the book-making
trade; here Longfellow resided for many years.
CAMBRIDGE, FIRST DUKE OF, seventh and youngest son of George III.;
served as volunteer under the Duke of York, and carried a marshal's
baton; was made viceroy of Hanover, which he continued to be till, in
1837, the crown fell to the Duke of Cumberland (1774-1850).
CAMBRIDGE, SECOND DUKE OF, son of the preceding and cousin to the
Queen, born in Hanover; served in the army; became commander-in-chief in
1856 on the resignation of Viscount Hardinge; retired in 1895, and was
succeeded by Lord Wolseley; _b_. 1819.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY contains 17 colleges: Peterhouse, founded 1257;
Clare College, 1326; Pembroke, 1347; Gonville and Caius, 1348; Trinity
Hall, 1350; Corpus Christi, 1352; King's, 1441; Queens', 1448; St.
Catherine's, 1473; Jesus, 1496; Christ's, 1505; St John's, 1511;
Magdalene, 1519; Trinity, 1546; Emmanuel, 1584; Sidney Sussex, 1598; and
Downing, 1800. Each college is a corporation by itself, governed by
statutes sanctioned by the crown, and capable of holding landed or other
property.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE (188), an inland agricultural county, nine-tenths of
its surface under cultivation; famed for its butter and cheese; very
flat, marshy in the N., with a range of chalk-hills, the Gog-Magog in the
S.; is rich in Roman remains.
CAMBRONNE, French general, born at Nantes; served under the Republic
and the Empire; accompanied Napoleon to Elba in 1814; commanded a
division of the Old Guard at Waterloo; fought to the last; though
surrounded by the enemy and summoned to surrender, refused, and was taken
prisoner; is credited with the saying, _La Garde meurt, et ne se rend
pas_, "The Guard dies, but does not surrender" (1770-1842).
CAMBUS`CAN, king of Tartary, identified with Genghis Khan, who had a
wonderful steed of brass, magically obedient to the wish of the rider,
together with a magical mirror, sword, and ring.
CAMBY`SES, king of Persia, succeeded his father, the great Cyrus;
invaded and subdued Egypt, but afterwards suffered serious reverses, and
in the end gave himself up to dissipation and vindictive acts of cruelty,
from which not only his subjects suffered, but the members of his own
family; _d_. 54 B.C.
CAMBYSES, KING, a ranting character in a play called "The Lamentable
Tragedy"; referred to by Falstaff in I Henry IV., Act ii. sc. 4.
CAMDEN (58), a busy town in New Jersey, U.S., on the left bank of
the Delaware, opposite Philadelphia; the terminus of six railways.
CAMDEN, CHARLES PRATT, FIRST EARL OF, a distinguished British lawyer
and statesman, chief-justice of the King's Bench in George I.'s reign,
and ultimately Lord Chancellor of England; opposed, as judge in the case,
the prosecution of Wilkes as illegal, and as a statesman the policy and
action of the government towards the American colonies; he was created
earl in 1786 (1713-1794).
CAMDEN, WILLIAM, a learned English antiquary, the first and most
famous born in London; second master, and eventually head-master in
Westminster School, during which time he gave proof of his antiquarian
knowledge, which led to his appointment as Clarencieux king-at-arms;
author of "Britannia," a historical and topographical account of the
British Isles, his most widely known work, and "Annals of Elizabeth's
Reign," both, as all the rest of his works, written in Latin; he has been
surnamed the Strabo and the Pausanias of England (1551-1623).
CAMELOT, a place in Somerset, where, it is presumed, King Arthur
held his court, and where entrenchments of an old town are still to be
seen.
CAMENÆ, in the Roman mythology a set of nymphs endowed with
semi-prophetic powers, and sometimes identified with the Muses.
CAMEO, a precious stone cut in relief; consists generally of two or
three different colours, the upper cut in relief and the under forming
the ground.
CAMERA LUCIDA, an optical instrument or contrivance, by means of
which the image of an object may be made to appear on a light or white
surface.
CAMERA OBSCURA, an optical contrivance, by means of which the images
of external objects are exhibited distinctly on a surface in the focus of
the lens.
CAMERARIUS, a distinguished scholar, born at Bamberg; active as a
German Reformer; played a prominent part in the religious struggles of
his time; friend and biographer of Melanchthon; collaborated with him in
drawing up the Augsburg Confession (1500-1574).
CAMERON, JOHN, a learned divine, born in Glasgow, who held several
professorial appointments on the Continent; was for a time Principal of
Glasgow University; his knowledge was so extensive that he was styled a
"walking library," but he fell in disfavour with the people for his
doctrine of passive obedience, and he died of a wound inflicted by an
opponent of his views (1579-1625).
CAMERON, RICHARD, a Scotch Covenanter of the 17th century, born in
Falkland, Fife; a ringleader of the persecuted Presbyterians, took to
arms along with sixty others in defence of his rights; was surprised by a
body of dragoons at AIRDS MOSS (q. v.), and after a brave fight
slain, his head and hands cut off, and fixed on the Netherbow Port, at
the head of the Canongate, Edinburgh, in 1680.
CAMERON, VERNEY LOVETT, African explorer, born near Weymouth;
traversed Africa all the way from east to west (1873-75); he was on the
track of important discoveries, but his explorations were cut short by
the natives; wrote "Across Africa" (1844-1894).
CAMERONIANS (1), a Presbyterian body in Scotland who derived their
name from Richard Cameron, contended like him for the faith to which the
nation by covenant had bound itself, and even declined to take the oath
of allegiance to sovereigns such as William III. and his successors, who
did not explicitly concede to the nation this right. (2) Also a British
regiment, originally raised in defence of Scottish religious rights; for
long the 26th Regiment of the British line, now the Scottish Rifles.
CAMEROON, (1) a river in W. Africa, falling by a wide estuary into
the Bight of Biafra, known as the oil river, from the quantities of
palm-oil exported; (2) a mountain range, a volcanic group, the highest
peak nearly 14,000 ft., NW. of the estuary; (3) also a German colony,
extending 199 m. along the coast.
CAMILLA, (1) a virgin queen of the Volsci, one of the heroines in
the "Æneid," noted for her preternatural fleetness on the racecourse,
and her grace; (2) also a sister of the HORATII (q. v.), killed
by her brother because she wept at the death of her affiancé, one of the
CURIATII (q. v.), whom the Horatii slew.
CAMILLUS, MARCUS FURIUS, a famous patrician of early Rome; took
Veii, a rival town, after a ten years' siege; retired into voluntary
exile at Ardea on account of the envy of his enemies in Rome; recalled
from exile, saved Rome from destruction by the Gauls under Brennus, was
five times elected dictator, and gained a succession of victories over
rival Italian tribes; died at eighty of the plague, in 365 B.C.,
lamented by the whole nation, and remembered for generations after as one
of the noblest heroic figures in Roman history.
CAMISARDS, Huguenots of the Cévennes, who took up arms by thousands
in serious revolt against Louis XIV., in which others joined, under Jean
Cavalier their chief, after, and in consequence of, the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes (1685); so called because they wore a _camiso_ (Fr. a
_chemise_), a blouse over their armour; were partly persuaded and partly
compelled into submission by Marshal Villars in 1704.
CAMOËNS, the poet of Portugal, born at Lisbon, studied at Coimbra;
fell in passionate love with a lady of high rank in Lisbon, as she with
him, but whom he was not allowed to marry; left Lisbon, joined the army,
and fought against the Moors; volunteered service in India, arrived at
Goa, and got into trouble with the Portuguese authorities; was banished
to Macao, and consoled himself by writing his "Lusiad"; coming home he
lost everything but his poem; died neglected and in poverty; the title of
the poem is properly "The Lusiads," or the Lusitanians, i. e. the
Portuguese, and is their national epic, called, not inaptly, the "Epos of
Commerce"; it has been translated into most European languages, and into
English alone no fewer than six times (1524-1580).
CAMORRA, a secret society in Naples with wide ramifications, which
at one time had by sheer terrorism considerable political influence in
the country; when steps were taken by Francis II. to suppress it, the
members of it joined the revolutionary party, and had their revenge in
the expulsion eventually of the Bourbons from Italy.
CAMPAGNA, (1) an unhealthy flat district round Rome, co-extensive
with ancient Latium, infested with malaria; (2) a town in Italy, in
Salerno, with a cathedral, and a trade in wine, oil, and fruit.
CAMPAIGN, THE, poem by Addison in celebration of Marlborough's
victory at Blenheim.
CAMPAN, MME. DE, born at Paris, faithful friend and confidante of
Marie Antoinette; after the Revolution opened a boarding-school at St.
Germain; became under Napoleon matron of an institution for daughters of
officers of the Legion of Honour; wrote the "Private Life of Marie
Antoinette" (1752-1822).
CAMPANELLA, TOMMASO, an Italian philosopher of the transition
period, originally a Dominican monk, born in Calabria; contemporary of
Bacon; aimed, like him, at the reform of philosophy; opposed
scholasticism, fell back upon the ancient systems, and devoted himself to
the study of nature; was persecuted all along by the Church, and spent 27
years of his life in a Neapolitan dungeon; released, he retired to
France, and enjoyed the protection of Richelieu; he was the author of
sonnets as well as philosophical works (1568-1639).
CAMPANIA, an ancient prov. in the W. of Italy, of great fertility,
and yields corn, wine, and oil in great abundance; Capua was the capital,
the chief towns of which now are Naples, Salerno, and Gaeta; it was a
favourite resort of the wealthy families of ancient Rome.
CAMPANILE, a tower for bells constructed beside a church, but not
attached to it; very common in Italian cities, the leaning tower of Pisa
being one, and that of Florence one of the most famous.
CAMPBELL, a celebrated Scottish Highland clan, the members of which
have played an important role in English and Scottish history.
CAMPBELL, ALEXANDER, an Anti-Calvinistic Baptist, born in Antrim;
emigrated to America in 1807, and founded a sect called the "Disciples of
Christ"; disowned creeds, and owned no authority in religion but the
Bible; the sect has upwards of 5000 meeting-houses in America, and over
half a million members. Campbell executed a translation of the New
Testament, in which he employed the words "immercer" and "immersion" for
"baptist" and "baptism" (1788-1866).
CAMPBELL, SIR COLIN, LORD CLYDE, born in Glasgow, son of a carpenter
named Macliver; entered the army, and rose rapidly; served in China and
the Punjab; commanded the Highland Brigade in the Crimea; won the day at
Alma and Balaclava; commanded in India during the Mutiny; relieved
Lucknow, and quelled the rebellion; was made field-marshal, with a
pension of £2000, and created Lord Clyde; he was one of the bravest
soldiers of England (1792-1863).
CAMPBELL, GEORGE, a Scotch divine, Principal of Aberdeen University;
wrote "Philosophy of Rhetoric," and an able reply to Hume's argument
against miracles, entitled "Dissertation on Miracles" (1709-1796).
CAMPBELL, JOHN, Lord Chancellor of England, born at Cupar-Fife; a
son of the manse; destined for the Church, but took the study of law; was
called to the bar; did journalistic work and law reports; was a Whig in
politics; held a succession of offices both on the Bench and in the
Cabinet; wrote the "Lives of the Chancellors" and the "Lives of the Chief
Justices" (1779-1861).
CAMPBELL, JOHN FRANCIS, born at Islay, author of, among other works,
"Popular Tales of the West Highlands, orally collected," a collection all
his own, and a remarkable one for the enthusiasm and the patriotic
devotion it displays (1822-1885).
CAMPBELL, JOHN MACLEOD, a Scotch clergyman, born in Argyll; deposed
from the ministry of the Scotch Church in 1831 for his liberal
theological sentiments; a saintly man, whose character alone should have
protected him from such an indignity; his favourite theme was the
self-evidencing character of revelation, while the doctrine for which he
was deposed, the Fatherhood of God, is being now adopted as the central
principle of Scotch theology; he continued afterwards to ply his vocation
as a minister of Christ in a quiet way to some quiet people like himself,
and before his death a testimonial and address in recognition of his
worth was presented to him by representatives of nearly every religious
community in Scotland (1801-1872).
CAMPBELL, THOMAS, poet, born in Glasgow; studied with distinction at
the University; when a student of law in Edinburgh wrote "The Pleasures
of Hope"; the success of the work, which was great, enabled him to travel
on the Continent, where he wrote the well-known lines, "Ye Mariners of
England," "Hohenlinden," and "The Exile of Erin"; married, and settled in
London, where he did writing, lecturing, and some more poetry, in
particular "The Last Man"; after settling in London a pension of £200 was
awarded him through the influence of Fox; he wrote in prose as well as
verse; he was elected Rector of Glasgow University in 1827, and again in
the following year: buried in Westminster (1777-1844).
CAMPBELTOWN, a town in Kintyre, Argyllshire, with a fine harbour; is
a great fishing centre; and has over 20 whisky distilleries.
CAMPE, JOACHIM HEINRICH, German educationist; disciple of Basedow,
and author of educational works (1746-1818).
CAMPEACHY (12), a Mexican seaport on a bay of the same name;
manufactures cigars.
CAMPEGGIO, LORENZO, cardinal; twice visited England as legate, the
last time in connection with the divorce between Henry VIII. and
Catherine, with the effect of mortally offending the former and being of
no real benefit to the latter, whom he would fain have befriended; his
mission served only to embitter the relations of Henry with the see of
Rome (1474-1539).
CAMPER, PETER, a Dutch anatomist, born at Leyden; held sundry
professorships; made a special study of the facial angle in connection
with intelligence; he was an artist as well as a scientist, and a patron
of art (1722-1789).
CAMPERDOWN, a tract of sandy hills on the coast of N. Holland, near
which Admiral Duncan defeated the Dutch fleet under Van Winter in 1797.
CAMPHUYSEN, a Dutch landscape painter of the 17th century, famous
for his moonlight pieces.
CAMPI, a family of painters, distinguished in the annals of Italian
art at Cremona in the 16th century.
CAMPINE, a vast moor of swamp and peat to the E. of Antwerp, being
now rendered fertile by irrigation.
CAMPION, EDMUND, a Jesuit, born in London; a renegade from the
Church of England; became a keen Catholic propagandist in England; was
arrested for sedition, of which he was innocent, and executed; was in
1886 beatified by Pope Leo XIII. (1540-1581).
CAMPO-FORMIO, a village near Udine, in Venetia, where a treaty was
concluded between France and Austria in 1797, by which the Belgian
provinces and part of Lombardy were ceded to France, and certain Venetian
States to Austria in return.
CAMPO SANTO (_Holy Ground_), Italian and Spanish name for a
burial-place.
CAMPOS (13), a trading city of Brazil, in the prov. of Rio Janeiro.
CAMPVERE, now called VERE, on the NE. of the island of
Walcheren; had a Scotch factory under Scotch law, civil and
ecclesiastical.
CAMUS, bishop of Belley, born at Paris; a violent enemy of the
mendicant monks (1582-1663).
CAMUS, a learned French jurisconsult, member of the National
Convention; a determined enemy of the Court party in France; voted for
the execution of the king as a traitor and conspirator; was conservator
of the national records, and did good service in preserving them
(1740-1804).
CANAAN, originally the coast land, but eventually the whole, of
Palestine W. of the Jordan.
CANAANITES, a civilised race with towns for defence; dependent on
agriculture; worshippers of the fertilising powers of nature; and the
original inhabitants of Palestine, from which they were never wholly
rooted out.
CANADA (5,000), which with Newfoundland forms British North America,
occupies the northern third of the continent, stretches from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, from the United States to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean;
nearly as large as Europe, it comprises a lofty and a lower tableland W.
and E. of the Rocky Mountains, the peninsulas of Labrador and Nova
Scotia, and between these a vast extent of prairie and undulating land,
with rivers and lakes innumerable, many of them of enormous size and
navigable, constituting the finest system of inland waterways in the
world; the Rocky Mountains rise to 16,000 ft., but there are several
gorges, through one of which the Canadian Pacific railroad runs; the
chief rivers are the Fraser, Mackenzie, Saskatchewan, and St. Lawrence;
Great Slave, Great Bear, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Superior, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario are the largest lakes; the climate is varied, very cold
in the north, very wet west of the Rockies, elsewhere drier than in
Europe, with hot summers, long, cold, but bracing and exhilarating
winters; the corn-growing land is practically inexhaustible; the finest
wheat is grown without manure, year after year, in the rich soil of
Manitoba, Athabasca, and the western prairie; the forests yield maple,
oak, elm, pine, ash, and poplar in immense quantities, and steps are
taken to prevent the wealth of timber ever being exhausted; gold, coal,
iron, and copper are widely distributed, but as yet not much wrought;
fisheries, both on the coasts and inland, are of great value; agriculture
and forestry are the most important industries; the chief trade is done
with England and the United States; the twelve provinces, Quebec,
Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, British
Columbia, Manitoba, Keewatin, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and
Athabasca, each with its own Parliament, are united under the Dominion
Government; the Governor-General is the Viceroy of the Queen; the
Dominion Parliament meets at Ottawa, the federal capital; nearly every
province has its university, that of Toronto being the most important;
the largest town is Montreal; Toronto, Quebec, Hamilton, and Halifax are
all larger than the capital; taken possession of by France in 1534,
settlement began at Quebec in 1608; by the treaty of Utrecht, 1703,
Hudson Bay, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland passed to England; the rest of
French territory was ceded to England in 1763; constituted at different
times, the various provinces, except Newfoundland, were finally
confederated in 1871.
CANALETTO, ANTONIO, a Venetian painter, famous for his pictures of
Venice and handling of light and shade (1697-1768).
CANALETTO, BERNARDO BELLOTTO, nephew and pupil of preceding;
distinguished for his perspective and light and shade (1720-1780).
CANARIS, CONSTANTINE, a Greek statesman, did much to free and
consolidate Greece, more than any other statesman (1790-1877).
CANARY ISLANDS (288), a group of mountainous islands in the
Atlantic, off the NW. African coast, belonging to Spain, with rocky
coasts, and wild, picturesque scenery; on the lower levels the climate is
delightful, and sugar, bananas, and dates grow; farther up there are
zones where wheat and cereals are cultivated; the rainfall is low, and
water often scarce; sugar, wine, and tobacco are exported; the islands
are a health resort of growing favour.
CANCAN, the name of an ungraceful and indecent dance practised in
the Paris dancing saloons.
CANDIA (12), the ancient name of Crete, now the name of the capital,
in the centre of the N. coast.
CANDIDE, a philosophic romance by Voltaire, and written in ridicule
of the famous maxim of Leibnitz, "All for the best in the best of all
possible worlds"; it is a sweeping satire, and "religion, political
government, national manners, human weakness, ambition, love, loyalty,
all come in for a sneer."
CANDLEMAS, a festival in commemoration of the purification of the
Virgin, held on February 2, celebrated with lighted candles; an old Roman
custom in honour of the goddess Februa.
CANDLISH, ROBERT SMITH, a Scottish ecclesiastic, born in Edinburgh;
distinguished, next to Chalmers, for his services in organising the Free
Church of Scotland; was an able debater and an eloquent preacher
(1806-1873).
CANDOLLE. See DE CANDOLLE.
CANDOUR, MRS., a slanderess in Sheridan's "Rivals."
CANEA (12), chief commercial town in Crete, on NW. coast; trades in
wax, oil, fruit, wool, and silk.
CANINA, LUIGI, Italian architect; wrote on the antiquities of Rome,
Etruria, &c. (1795-1856).
CANNÆ, ancient town in Apulia, near the mouth of the Aufidus, where
Hannibal, in a great battle, defeated the Romans in 216 B.C., but
failing to follow up his success by a march on Rome, was twitted by
Maherbal, one of his officers, who addressing him said, "You know how to
conquer, Hannibal, but not how to profit by your victory."
CANNES (15), a French watering-place and health resort on the
Mediterranean, in the SE. of France, where Napoleon landed on his return
from Elba.
CANNING, CHARLES JOHN, EARL, grandson of the succeeding; after
service in cabinet offices, was made Governor-General of India, 1856, in
succession to Lord Dalhousie; held this post at the time of the Mutiny in
1857; distinguished himself during this trying crisis by his discretion,
firmness, and moderation; became viceroy on the transfer of the
government to the crown in 1858; died in London without issue, and the
title became extinct (1812-1862).
CANNING, GEORGE, a distinguished British statesman and orator, born
in London; studied for the bar; entered Parliament as a protégé of Pitt,
whom he strenuously supported; was rewarded by an under-secretaryship;
married a lady of high rank, with a fortune; satirised the Whigs by his
pen in his "Anti-Jacobin"; on the death of Pitt became minister of
Foreign Affairs; under Portland distinguished himself by defeating the
schemes of Napoleon; became a member of the Liverpool ministry, and once
more minister of Foreign Affairs; on the death of Liverpool was made
Prime Minister, and after a period of unpopularity became popular by
adopting, to the disgust of his old colleagues, a liberal policy; was not
equal to the opposition he provoked, and died at the age of 57
(1770-1827).
CANO, ALONZO, a celebrated artist, born at Granada; surnamed the
Michael Angelo of Spain, having been painter, sculptor, and architect
(1601-1667).
CANO, SEBASTIAN DEL, a Spanish navigator, the first to sail round
the world; perished on his second voyage to India (1460-1526).
CANON, the name given to the body of Scripture accepted by the
Church as of divine authority.
CAÑON OF COLORADO, a gorge in Arizona through which the Colorado
River flows, the largest and deepest in the world, being 300 m. long,
with a wall from 3000 to 6000 ft. in perpendicular height.
CANONISATION, in the Romish Church, is the solemn declaration by the
Pope that a servant of God, renowned for his virtue and for miracles he
has wrought, is to be publicly venerated by the whole Church, termed
Saint, and honoured by a special festival. A preparatory stage is
beatification, and the beatification and canonisation of a saint are
promoted by a long, tedious, and costly process, much resembling a suit
at law.
CANOPUS, the blue vault of heaven with its stars, revered and
worshipped by the son of the sandy desert as a friend and guide to him,
as he wanders over the waste at night alone.
CANOSA (18), a town in Apulia, abounding in Roman remains, on the
site of ancient Canusium.
CANOSSA, a town NW. of Bologna, in the courtyard of the castle of
which the Emperor Henry IV. stood three days in the cold, in January
1077, bareheaded and barefooted, waiting for Pope Gregory VII. to remove
from him the sentence of excommunication.
CANOVA, ANTONIO, a great Italian sculptor, born in Venetia; gave
early proof of his genius; his first great work, and which established
his fame, was the group of "Theseus and the Minotaur," which was
by-and-by succeeded by his "Cupid and Psyche," distinguished by a
tenderness and grace quite peculiar to him, and erelong by "Perseus with
the Head of Medusa," perhaps the triumph of his art; his works were
numerous, and brought him a large fortune, which he made a generous use
of (1757-1822).
CANROBERT, FRANÇOIS, marshal of France; served for some 20 years in
Algeria; was a supporter of Napoleon III., and a tool; commanded in the
Crimea, first under, and then in succession to St. Arnaud; fought in
Italy against Austria; was shut up in Metz with Bazaine, and made
prisoner; became a member of the senate under the Republic (1809-1895).
CANT, affectation of thinking, believing, and feeling what one in
his heart and reality does not, of which there are two degrees, insincere
and sincere; insincere when one cants knowing it, and sincere when one
cants without knowing it, the latter being of the darker and deeper dye.
CANT, ANDREW, a Scotch Presbyterian minister, who had an equal zeal
for the Scotch covenant and the cause of Charles Stuart (1610-1664). A
son of his was Principal of Edinburgh University from 1675 to 1685.
CANTABRI, the original inhabitants of the N. of Spain; presumed to
be the ancestors of the Basques.
CANTACUZE`NUS, JOHN, emperor of the East; an able statesman, who
acting as regent for the heir, had himself crowned king, but was driven
to resign at length; retired to a monastery on Mount Athos, where he
wrote a history of his time; died in 1411, 100 years old.
CANTARINI, SIMONE, an Italian painter, born at Pesaro; a pupil of
Guido and a rival, but only an imitator from afar (1612-1648).
CANTERBURY (23), in E. Kent, on the Stour, by rail 62 m. SE. of
London; is the ecclesiastical capital of England; the cathedral was
founded A.D. 597 by St. Augustin; the present building belongs to
various epochs, dating as far back as the 11th century; it contains many
interesting monuments, statues, and tombs, among the latter that of
Thomas à Becket, murdered in the north transept, 1170; the cloisters,
chapter-house, and other buildings occupy the site of the old monastic
houses; the city is rich in old churches and ecclesiastical monuments;
there is an art gallery; trade is chiefly in hops and grain. Kit Marlowe
was a native.
CANTERBURY (128), a district in New Zealand, in the centre of the
South Island, on the east side of which are the Canterbury Plains or
Downs, a great pasture-land for sheep of over three million acres.
CANTERBURY TALES, a body of tales by Chaucer, conceived of as
related by a small company of pilgrims from London to the shrine of
Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. They started from the Tabard Inn at
Southwark, and agreed to tell each a tale going and each another coming
back, the author of the best tale to be treated with a supper. None of
the tales on the homeward journey are given.
CANTICLES, a book in the Bible erroneously ascribed to Solomon, and
called in Hebrew the Song of Songs, about the canonicity and
interpretation of which there has been much debate, though, as regards
the latter, recent criticism inclines, if there is any unity in it at
all, to the conclusion that it represents a young maiden seduced into the
harem of Solomon, who cannot be persuaded to transfer to the king the
affection she has for a shepherd in the northern hills of Galilee, her
sole beloved; the aim of the author presumed by some to present a
contrast between the morals of the south and those of the north, in
justification possibly of the secession. It was for long, and is by some
still, believed to be an allegory in which the Bridegroom represents
Christ and the Bride His Church.
CANTON (1,800), chief commercial city and port of Southern China;
stands on a river almost on the seaboard, 90 m. NW. of Hong-Kong, and is
a healthy town, but with a heavy rainfall; it is surrounded by walls, has
narrow crooked streets, 125 temples, mostly Buddhist, and two pagodas, 10
and 13 centuries old respectively; great part of the population live in
boats on the river; the fancy goods, silk, porcelain, ivory, and metal
work are famous; its river communication with the interior has fostered
an extensive commerce; exports, tea, silk, sugar, cassia, &c.
CANTON, JOHN, an ingenious experimentalist in physics, and
particularly in electricity, born at Stroud; discovered the means of
making artificial magnets and the compressibility of water (1718-1772).
CANTÙ, CÆSARE, an Italian historian, born in Lombardy; imprisoned by
the Austrian government for his bold advocacy of liberal views, but at
length liberated; wrote, among a number of other works, literary as well
as historical, a "Universal History" in 35 vols. (1807-1895).
CANUTE, or CNUT, THE DANE, called the Great, son of Sweyn, king
of Denmark; invaded England, and after a success or two was elected king
by his fleet; the claim was repudiated by the Saxons, and he had to flee;
returned in 1015, and next year, though London held out for a time,
carried all before him; on the death of his sole rival became undisputed
king of England, and ruled it as an Englishman born, wisely, equitably,
and well, though the care of governing Denmark and Norway lay on his
shoulders as well; died in England, and was buried in Winchester Minster;
every one is familiar with the story of the rebuke he administered to the
courtiers by showing how regardless the waves of the sea were of the
authority of a king (994-1035).
CAPE BRETON (92), the insular portion of the prov. of Nova Scotia at
its eastern extremity, 100 m. long and 85 broad; is covered with forests
of pine, oak, &c., and exports timber and fish.
CAPE COAST CASTLE (11), capital of the Gold Coast colony.
CAPE COLONY (1,527), comprises the extremity of the African
continent south of the Orange River and Natal, and is nearly twice the
size of the United Kingdom; the Nieuwveld Berge, running E. and W.,
divides the country into two slopes, the northern slope long and gradual
to the Orange River, the southern shorter and terraced to the sea;
two-thirds of the country is arid plain, which, however, only requires
irrigation to render it very fertile; the climate is dry and healthy, but
hot in summer; the prevalent vegetation is heath and bulbous plants.
Sheep and ostrich farming are the chief industries; wool, goats' hair,
ostrich feathers, hides, diamonds from Kimberley and copper from
Namaqualand are the chief exports; two-thirds of the people are of
African race, chiefly Kaffirs, who flourish under British rule; the
remainder are of Dutch, English, French, and German origin; Cape Town is
the capital, Kimberley and Port Elizabeth the only other large towns, but
there are many small towns; roads are good; railway and telegraph
communication is rapidly developing. The government is in the hands of a
governor, appointed by the crown, assisted by an executive council of
five and a parliament of two houses; local government is in vogue all
over the country; education is well cared for; the university of the Cape
of Good Hope was founded in 1873. Discovered by the Portuguese Diaz in
1486, the Cape was taken possession of by the Dutch in 1652, from whom it
was captured by Great Britain in 1805. Various steps towards
self-government culminated in 1872. In recent years great tracts to the
N. have been formally taken under British protection, and the policy of
extending British sway from the Cape to Cairo is explicitly avowed.
CAPE HORN, a black, steep, frowning rock at the SE. extremity of the
Fuegean Islands; much dreaded at one time by sailors.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, a cape in South Africa, discovered by Diaz in
1486; called at first "Cape of Storms," from the experience of the first
navigators; altered in consideration of the promised land reached beyond.
CAPE TOWN (84), capital of Cape Colony, situated at the head of
Table Bay, on the SW. coast, with Table Mountain rising behind it; is a
regularly built, flat-roofed, imposing town, with handsome buildings and
extensive Government gardens; well drained, paved, and lit, and with a
good water supply. The Government buildings and law courts, museum and
art gallery, bank and exchange, are its chief architectural features. It
has docks, and a graving dock, and is a port of call for vessels of all
nations, with a thriving commerce.
CAPE VERDE ISLANDS (110), a group of mountainous, volcanic islands,
belonging to Portugal, 350 m. from Cape Verde, on the W. of Africa, of
which 10 are inhabited, the largest and most productive Santiago and St.
Vincent, with an excellent harbour, oftenest visited. These islands are
unhealthy, and cattle-breeding is the chief industry.
CAPELL, EDWARD, an inspector of plays, born at Bury St. Edmunds;
spent 20 years in editing the text of Shakespeare, in three vols., with
notes and various readings (1713-1781).
CAPELLA, a reddish star of the first magnitude in the northern
constellation of Auriga.
CAPELLA, an encyclopædist, born in North Africa in the 5th century;
author of a work called the "Satiricon," a strange medley of curious
learning.
CAPERCAILZIE, the wood-grouse, a large game-bird found in fir woods
in mountainous districts, and highly esteemed for table.
CAPERNAUM, a town on the N. side of the Sea of Galilee, the centre
of Christ's labours, the exact site of which is uncertain.
CAPET, the surname of Hugh, the founder, in 987, of the third
dynasty of French kings, which continued to rule France till 1328, though
the name is applied both to the Valois dynasty, which ruled till 1589,
and the Bourbon, which ruled till 1848, Louis XVI. having been officially
designated as a Capet at his trial, and under that name sentenced to the
guillotine.
CAPGRAVE, JOHN, Augustine friar, wrote "Chronicle of England," and
voluminously both in French and English (1393-1464).
CAPISTRANO, GIOVANNI DA, an Italian Franciscan, a rabid adversary of
the Hussites, aided John Hunniades in 1456 in defending Belgrade against
the Turks (1385-1456).
CAPITOL, a temple and citadel erected by Tarquin on the Capitoline
Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, and where victors who were voted a
triumph were crowned; terminated at its southern extremity by Tarpeian
Rock, from which criminals guilty of treason were precipitated; hence the
saying, "The Tarpeian Rock is near the Capitol," to denote the close
connection between glory and disgrace.
CAPITULARIES, collections of royal edicts issued by the Frankish
kings of the Carlovingian dynasty, with sanction of the nobles, for the
whole Frankish empire, as distinct from the laws for the separate peoples
comprising it, the most famous being those issued or begun by Charlemagne
and St. Louis.
CAPO D'ISTRIA, COUNT OF, born in Corfu; entered the Russian
diplomatic service; played a prominent part in the insurrection of the
Greeks against Turkey; made President of the Greek Republic; assassinated
at Nauplia from distrust of his fidelity (1776-1831).
CAPO D'ISTRIA, a port of a small island in the government of
Trieste, connected with the mainland by a causeway half a mile in length.
CAPPADOCIA, an ancient country in the heart of Asia Minor, of varied
political fortune; a plateau with pastures for immense flocks.
CAPRARA, CARDINAL, born at Bologna, legate of Pius VII. in France,
concluded the "Concordat" of 1801 (1733-1810).
CAPRE`RA, a small, barren island off the N. coast of Sardinia, the
home of Garibaldi, where he died, and his burial-place.
CAPRI, a small island at the entrance from the S. of the bay of
Naples, with a capital of the same name on the eastern side; a favourite
retreat of the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius, and noted for its fine air
and picturesque scenery.
CAPRIVI, COUNT, born in Berlin, entered the army in 1849; held chief
posts in the Austrian and Franco-German wars; in 1890 succeeded Bismarck
as Imperial Chancellor; resigned in 1894 (1831-1899).
CAPUA (11), a fortified city in Campania, on the Volturno, 27 m. N.
of Naples, where, or rather near which, in a place of the same name,
Hannibal, at the invitation of the citizens, retired with his army to
spend the winter after the battle of Cannæ, 216 B.C., and where, from
the luxurious life they led, his soldiers were enervated, after which it
was taken by the Romans, destroyed by the Saracens in 840, and the modern
city built in its stead.
CAPUCHINS, monks of the Franciscan Order, founded in 1526, so called
from a cowl they wear; they were a mendicant order, and were twice over
suppressed by the Pope, though they exist still in Austria and
Switzerland.
CAPULETS, a celebrated Ghibelline family of Verona at mortal feud
with that of the Montagues, familiar to us through Shakespeare's "Romeo
and Juliet," Romeo being of the latter and Juliet of the former.
CAPYBA`RA, the water-hog, the largest rodent extant, in appearance
like a small pig.
CARACALLA, a Roman emperor, son of Septimius Severus, born at Lyons;
his reign (211-217) was a series of crimes, follies, and extravagances;
he put to death 20,000 persons, among others the jurist Papinianus, and
was assassinated himself by one of his guards.
CARACAS or CARRACAS (72), the cap. of Venezuela, stands at an
altitude 3000 ft. above the level of the sea; subject to earthquakes, in
one of which (1812) 12,000 perished, and great part of the city was
destroyed; it contains the tomb of Bolivar.
CARACCI or CARRACCI, a family of painters, born at Bologna:
LUDOVICO, the founder of a new school of painting, the principle of
which was eclecticism, in consequence of which it is known as the
Eclectic School, or imitation of the styles of the best masters
(1555-1619); ANNIBALE, cousin and pupil, did "St. Roche distributing
Alms," and his chief, "Three Marys weeping over Christ"; went to Rome and
painted the celebrated Farnese gallery, a work which occupied him four
years (1560-1609); AGOSTINO, brother of above, assisted him in the
frescoes of the gallery, the "Communion of St. Jerome" his greatest work
(1557-1602).
CARACTACUS, a British chief, king of the Silures, maintained a
gallant struggle against the Romans for nine years, but was overthrown by
Ostorius, 50 A.D., taken captive, and led in triumphal procession
through Rome, when the Emperor Claudius was so struck with his dignified
demeanour, that he set him and all his companions at liberty.
CARADOC, a knight of the Round Table, famous for his valour and the
chastity and constancy of his wife.
CARAFFA, a distinguished Neapolitan family, which gave birth to a
number of distinguished ecclesiastics, Paul IV. one of them.
CARAGLIO, an eminent Italian engraver, born at Verona, engraved on
gems and medals as well as copper-plate, after the works of the great
masters (1500-1570).
CARAVAGGIO, an Italian painter, disdained the ideal and the ideal
style of art, and kept generally to crass reality, often in its grossest
forms; a man of a violent temper, which hastened his end; a painting by
him of "Christ and the Disciples at Emmaus" is in the National Gallery,
London (1569-1609).
CARAVANSERAI, a large unfurnished inn, with a court in the middle
for the accommodation of caravans and other travellers at night in the
East.
CARBOHYDRATES, a class of substances such as the sugars, starch,
&c., consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the latter in the
proportion in which they exist in water.
CARBONARI (lit. _charcoal burners_), a secret society that, in the
beginning of the 19th century, originated in Italy and extended itself
into France, numbering hundreds of thousands, included Lord Byron, Silvio
Pellico, and Mazzini among them, the object of which was the overthrow of
despotic governments; they were broken up by Austria, and absorbed by the
Young Italy party.
CARDAN, JEROME, Italian physician and mathematician, born at Pavia;
was far-famed as a physician; studied and wrote on all manner of known
subjects, made discoveries in algebra, believed in astrology, left a
candid account of himself entitled "De Vita Propria"; was the author of
"Cardan's Formula" a formula for the solution of cubic equations; he is
said to have starved himself to death so as to fulfil a prophecy he had
made as to the term of his life (1501-1576).
CARDIFF (129), county town of Glamorganshire, S. Wales, on the river
Taff, the sea outlet for the mineral wealth and products of the district,
a town that has risen more rapidly than any other in the kingdom, having
had at the beginning of the century only 2000 inhabitants; it has a
university, a number of churches, few of them belonging to the Church of
England, and has also three daily papers.
CARDIGAN, EARL OF, a British officer; commanded the Light Cavalry
Brigade in the Crimean war, and distinguished himself in the famous
charge of the Six Hundred, which he led; his favourite regiment, the 11th
Hussars, on the equipment of which he lavished large sums of money
(1797-1868).
CARDIGANSHIRE (62), a county in S. Wales, low-lying on the coast,
level towards the coast, and mountainous in the interior, but with
fertile valleys.
CARDINAL VIRTUES, these have been "arranged by the wisest men of all
time, under four general heads," and are defined by Ruskin as "Prudence
or Discretion (the spirit which discerns and adopts rightly), Justice
(the spirit which rules and divides rightly), Fortitude (the spirit that
persists and endures rightly), and Temperance (the spirit which stops and
refuses rightly). These cardinal and sentinel virtues," he adds, "are not
only the means of protecting and prolonging life itself, but are the
chief guards or sources of the material means of life, and the governing
powers and princes of economy."
CARDINALISTS, name given to the partisans in France of Richelieu and
Mazarin.
CARDUCCI, Florentine artists, brothers, of the 17th century; did
their chief work in Spain.
CARDUCCI, GIOSUE, an Italian poet and critic; author of "Hymn to
Satan," "Odi Barbari," "Commentaries on Petrarch," &c.; _b_. 1837.
CAREW, THOMAS, English courtier poet; his poems, chiefly masks and
lyrics (1589-1639).
CAREY, HENRY, English poet and musician, excelled in ballads;
composed "Sally in Our Alley"; _d_. 1743.
CAREY, SIR ROBERT, warden of the Border Marches under Elizabeth;
present at her deathbed rode off post-haste on the occurrence of the
death with the news to Edinburgh to announce it to King James
(1560-1639).
CAREY, WILLIAM, celebrated Baptist missionary, born in
Northamptonshire; founder of the Baptist Missionary Society, and its
first missionary; founded the mission at Serampore and directed its
operations, distributing Bibles and tracts by thousands in native
languages, as well as preparing grammars and dictionaries; was 29 years
Oriental professor in the College of Fort William. Calcutta (1761-1834).
CARGILL, DONALD, a Scotch Covenanter, born in Perthshire; was
minister of the Barony Parish, Glasgow; fought at Bothwell Brig; suffered
at the Cross of Edinburgh for daring to excommunicate the king; died with
the faith and courage of a martyr (1619-1681).
CARIA, a SW. country in Asia Minor, bordering on the Archipelago, of
which the Mæander is the chief river.
CARIBBEAN SEA, an inland sea of the Atlantic, lying between the
Great Antilles and South America, subject to hurricanes; it corresponds
to the Mediterranean in Europe, and is the turning-point of the Gulf
Stream.
CARIBS, a race of American Indians, originally inhabiting the West
Indies, now confined to the southern shores of the Caribbean Sea, as far
as the mouth of the Amazon; they are a fine race, tall, and of
ruddy-brown complexion, but have lost their distinctive physique by
amalgamation with other tribes; they give name to the Caribbean Sea.
CARINTHIA (361), since 1849 crownland of Austria, near Italy; is a
mountainous and a mineral country; rears cattle and horses; manufactures
hardware and textile fabrics; the principal river is the Drave; capital,
Klagenfurt.
CARISBROOKE, a village in the Isle of Wight, in the castle of which,
now in ruins, Charles I. was imprisoned 13 months before his trial; it
was at one time a Roman station.
CARLÉN, EMILIA, Swedish novelist; her novels, some 30 in number,
treat of the everyday life of the lower and middle classes (1807-1883).
CARLETON, WILLIAM, Irish novelist; his first work, and the
foundation of his reputation, "Traits and Stories of the Irish
Peasantry," followed by others of a like class (1794-1860).
CARLI, Italian archæologist, numismatist, and economist, born at
Capo d'Istria; wrote as his chief work on political economy; president of
the Council of Commerce at Milan (1720-1795).
CARLILE, RICHARD, English Radical and Freethinker, born in
Devonshire; a disciple of Tom Paine's, and propagandist of his views with
a zeal which no prosecution could subdue, although he time after time
suffered imprisonment for it, as well as those who associated themselves
with him, his wife included; his principal organ was "The Republican,"
the first twelve volumes of which are dated from his prison; he was a
martyr for the freedom of the press, and in that interest did not suffer
in vain (1790-1843).
CARLISLE (39), county town of Cumberland, on the Eden; a great
railway centre; with an old castle of historical interest, and a
cathedral founded by William Rufus and dedicated to Henry I.
CARLISLE, GEORGE FREDERICK WILLIAM HOWARD, EARL OF, a Whig in
politics; supported the successive Whig administrations of his time, and
became eventually Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland under Palmerston
(1802-1864).
CARLISTS, a name given in France to the partisans of Charles X.
(1830), and especially in Spain to those of Don Carlos (1833), and those
of his grandson (1873-1874).
CARLOMAN, son of Charles Martel, and brother of Pepin le Bref, king
of Austrasia from 741 to 747; abdicated, and retired into a monastery,
where he died.
CARLOMAN, son of Pepin le Bref, and brother of Charlemagne, king of
Austrasia, Burgundy, and Provence in 768; _d_. 771.
CARLOMAN, king of France conjointly with his brother Louis III.;
_d_. 884.
CARLOS, DON, son of Philip II. of Spain, born at Valladolid, and
heir to the throne, but from incapacity, or worse, excluded by his father
from all share in the government; confessed to a priest a design to
assassinate some one, believed to be his father; was seized, tried, and
convicted, though sentence against him was never pronounced; died shortly
after; the story of Don Carlos has formed the subject of tragedies,
especially one by Schiller, the German poet (1545-1568).
CARLOS, DON, the brother of Ferdinand VII. of Spain, on whose death
he laid claim to the crown as heir, against Isabella, Ferdinand's
daughter who by the Salic law, though set aside in her favour by her
father, had, he urged, no right to the throne; his cause was taken up by
a large party, and the struggle kept up for years; defeated at length he
retired from the contest, and abdicated in favour of his son
(1785-1855).
CARLOS, DON, grandson of the preceding, and heir to his rights;
revived the struggle in 1870, but fared no better than his grandfather;
took refuge in London; _b_. 1848.
CARLOVINGIANS, or KARLINGS, the name of the second dynasty of
Frankish kings, in succession to the Merovingian, which had become
_fainéant_; bore sway from 762 to 987, Pepin le Bref the first, and Louis
V. the last; Charlemagne was the greatest of the race, and gave name to
the dynasty.
CALLOW (40), an inland county in Leinster, Ireland; also the county
town.
CARLOWITZ, a town on the Danube, 30 m. NW. of Belgrade, where a
treaty was concluded in 1699 between Turkey and other European powers,
very much to the curtailment of the territories of the former.
CARLSBAD (10), a celebrated watering-place in Bohemia, of
aristocratic resort, the springs being the hottest in Europe, the water
varying from 117° to 165°; population nearly trebled in the season; the
inhabitants are engaged in industries which minister to the tastes of the
visitors and their own profit.
CARLSCRONA (21), a Swedish town, strongly fortified, on the Baltic,
with a spacious harbour, naval station, and arsenal; it is built on five
rocky islands united by dykes and bridges.
CARLSRUHE (73), the capital of the Grand-Duchy of Baden, a great
railway centre; built in the form of a fan, its streets, 32 in number,
radiating so from the duke's palace in the centre.
CARLSTADT, a German Reformer, associated for a time with Luther, but
parted from him both on practical and dogmatical grounds; succeeded
Zwingli as professor at Basel (1483-1541).
CARLTON CLUB, the Conservative club in London, so called, as erected
on the site of Carlton House, demolished in 1828, and occupied by George
IV. when he was Prince of Wales.
CARLYLE, ALEXANDER, surnamed Jupiter Carlyle, from his noble head
and imposing person, born in Dumfriesshire; minister of Inveresk,
Musselburgh, from 1747 to his death; friend of David Hume, Adam Smith,
and Home, the author of "Douglas"; a leader of the Moderate party in the
Church of Scotland; left an "Autobiography," which was not published till
1860, which shows its author to have been a man who took things as he
found them, and enjoyed them to the full as any easy-going, cultured
pagan (1722-1805).
CARLYLE, THOMAS, born in the village of Ecclefechan, Annandale,
Dumfriesshire; son of James Carlyle, a stone-mason, and afterwards a
small farmer, a man of great force, penetration, and integrity of
character, and of Margaret Aitken, a woman of deep piety and warm
affection; educated at the parish school and Annan Academy; entered the
University of Edinburgh at the age of 14, in the Arts classes;
distinguished himself early in mathematics; enrolled as a student in the
theological department; became a teacher first in Annan Academy, then at
Kirkcaldy; formed there an intimate friendship with Edward Irving; threw
up both school-mastering and the church; removed to Edinburgh, and took
to tutoring and working for an encyclopedia, and by-and-by to translating
from the German and writing criticisms for the Reviews, the latter of
which collected afterwards in the "Miscellanies," proved "epoch-making"
in British literature, wrote a "Life of Schiller"; married Jane Welsh, a
descendant of John Knox; removed to Craigenputtock, in Dumfriesshire,
"the loneliest nook in Britain," where his original work began with
"Sartor Resartus," written in 1831, a radically spiritual book, and a
symbolical, though all too exclusively treated as a speculative, and an
autobiographical; removed to London in 1834, where he wrote his "French
Revolution" (1837), a book instinct with the all-consuming fire of the
event which it pictures, and revealing "a new moral force" in the
literary life of the country and century; delivered three courses of
lectures to the _élite_ of London Society (1837-1840), the last of them
"Heroes and Hero-Worship," afterwards printed in 1840; in 1840 appeared
"Chartism," in 1843 "Past and Present," and in 1850 "Latter-Day
Pamphlets"; all on what he called the "Condition-of-England-Question,"
which to the last he regarded, as a subject of the realm, the most
serious question of the time, seeing, as he all along taught and felt,
the social life affects the individual life to the very core; in 1845 he
dug up a hero literally from the grave in his "Letters and Speeches of
Oliver Cromwell," and after writing in 1851 a brief biography of his
misrepresented friend, John Sterling, concluded (1858-1865) his life's
task, prosecuted from first to last, in "sore travail" of body and soul,
with "The History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, called Frederick the
Great," "the last and grandest of his works," says Froude; "a book," says
Emerson, "that is a Judgment Day, for its moral verdict on men and
nations, and the manners of modern times"; lies buried beside his own
kindred in the place where he was born, as he had left instructions to
be. "The man," according to Ruskin, his greatest disciple, and at
present, as would seem, the last, "who alone of all our masters of
literature, has written, without thought of himself, what he knew to be
needful for the people of his time to hear, if the will to hear had been
in them ... the solitary Teacher who has asked them to be (before all)
brave for the help of Man, and just for the love of God" (1795-1881).
CARMAGNOLE, a Red-republican song and dance.
CARMARTHENSHIRE (30), a county in S. Wales, and the largest in the
Principality; contains part of the coal-fields in the district; capital
Carmarthen, on the right bank of the Towy, a river which traverses the
county.
CARMEL, a NW. extension of the limestone ridge that bounds on the S.
the Plain of Esdraëlon, in Palestine, and terminates in a rocky
promontory 500 ft. high; forms the southern boundary of the Bay of Acre;
its highest point is 1742 ft. above the sea-level.
CARMELITES, a monastic order, originally an association of hermits
on Mount Carmel, at length mendicant, called the Order of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel, i. e. the Virgin, in consecration to whom it was founded
by a pilgrim of the name Berthold, a Calabrian, in 1156. The Order is
said to have existed from the days of Elijah.
CARMEN SYLVA, the _nom-de-plume_ of Elizabeth, queen of Roumania;
lost an only child, and took to literature for consolation; has taken an
active interest in the elevation and welfare of her sex; _b_. 1843.
CARMONTEL, a French dramatist; author of little pieces under the
name of "Proverbes" (1717-1806).
CARNAC, a seaside fishing-village in the Bay of Quibéron, in the
dep. of Morbihan, France, with interesting historical records,
particularly Celtic, many of them undecipherable by the antiquary.
CARNARVON, a maritime county in N. Wales, with the highest mountains
and grandest scenery in the Principality, and a capital of the same name
on the Menai Strait, with the noble ruins of a castle, in which Edward
II., the first Prince of Wales, was born.
CARNARVON, HENRY HOWARD, Earl of, Conservative statesman; held
office under Lord Derby and Disraeli; was a good classical scholar; wrote
the "Druses of Mount Lebanon" (1831-1890).
CARNATIC, an old prov. in the Madras Presidency of India that
extended along the Coromandel coast from Cape Comorin, 600 m. N.
CARNEADES, a Greek philosopher, born at Cyrene; his whole philosophy
a polemic against the dogmatism of the Stoics, on the alleged ground of
the absence of any criterion of certainty in matters of either science or
morality; conceded that truth and virtue were admirable qualities, but he
denied the reality of them; sent once on an embassy to Rome, he
propounded this doctrine in the ears of the Conscript Fathers, upon which
Cato moved he should be expelled from the senate-house and sent back to
Athens, where he came from (213-129 B.C.).
CARNEGIE, ANDREW, ironmaster, born in Dunfermline, the son of a
weaver; made a large fortune by his iron and steel works at Pittsburg,
U.S., out of which he has liberally endowed institutions and libraries,
both in America and his native country; _b_. 1835.
CARNIOLA (500), a crownland of the Austrian empire, SW. of Austria,
on the Adriatic, S. of Carinthia; contains quicksilver mines, second only
to those of Almaden, in Spain; the surface is mountainous, and the soil
is not grain productive, though in some parts it yields wine and fine
fruit.
CARNIVAL, in Roman Catholic countries the name given to a season of
feasting and revelry immediately preceding Lent, akin to the Saturnalia
of the Romans.
CARNOT, LEONARD SADI, son of Nicolas, founder of thermo-dynamics; in
his "Reflexions sur la Puissance du Feu" enunciates the principle of
Reversibility, considered the most important contribution to physical
science since the time of Newton (1796-1832). See DR. KNOTT'S
"PHYSICS."
CARNOT, MARIE FRANÇOIS, civil engineer and statesman, born at
Limoges, nephew of the preceding; Finance Minister in 1879 and 1887;
became President in 1887; was assassinated at Lyons by an anarchist in
1894.
CARNOT, NICOLAS, French mathematician and engineer, born at Nolay,
in Burgundy; a member of the National Convention; voted for the death of
the king; became member of the Committee of Public Safety, and organiser
of the armies of the Republic, whence his name, the "organiser of
victory"; Minister of War under Napoleon; defender of Antwerp in 1814;
and afterwards Minister of the Interior (1753-1823).
CARO, ANNIBALE, an Italian author and poet, notable for his classic
style (1507-1566).
CARO, MARIE, a French philosopher, born at Poitiers; a popular
lecturer on philosophy, surnamed _le philosophe des dames_; wrote on
mysticism, materialism, and pessimism (1826-1887).
CAROLINA, NORTH, one of the original 13 States of N. America, on the
Atlantic, about the size of England, S. of Virginia, 480 m. from E. to W.
and 180 m. from N. to S.; has a fertile, well-watered subsoil in the high
lands; is rich in minerals and natural products; the mountains are
covered with forests, and the manufactures are numerous.
CAROLINA, SOUTH, S. of N. Carolina, is alluvial with swamps, 100 m.
inland from the coast, is well watered; produces rice and cotton in large
quantities and of a fine quality.
CAROLINE ISLANDS (36), a stretch of lagoon islands, 2000 m. from E.
to W., belonging to Spain, N. of New Guinea and E. of the Philippine
Islands; once divided into eastern, western, and central; the soil of the
western is fertile, and there is plenty of fish and turtle in the
lagoons.
CAROLINE OF BRUNSWICK, queen of George IV. and daughter of the Duke
of Brunswick; married George, then Prince of Wales, in 1795; gave birth
to the Princess Charlotte the year following, but almost immediately
after her husband abandoned her; she retired to a mansion at Blackheath;
was allowed to go abroad after a time; on the accession of her husband
she was offered a pension of £50,000 if she stayed out of the country,
but rejected it and claimed her rights as queen; was charged with
adultery, but after a long trial acquitted; on the day of the coronation
sought admission to Westminster Abbey, but the door was shut against her;
she died a fortnight after (1768-1821).
CARON, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, under the first Empire; head of the
Belford conspiracy in 1820 under the Restoration; executed 1822.
CARPACCIO, VITTORE, a Venetian painter of great celebrity,
particularly in his early pieces, for his truth of delineation, his
fertile imagination, and his rich colouring; his works are numerous, and
have nearly all of them sacred subjects; an Italian critic says of him,
"He had truth in his heart" (1450-1522).
CARPATHIANS, a range of wooded mountains in Central Europe, 880 m.
long, which, in two great masses, extend from Presburg to Orsova, both on
the Danube, in a semicircle round the greater part of Hungary,
particularly the whole of the N. and E., the highest of them Negoi, 8517
ft., they are rich in minerals, and their sides clothed with forests,
principally of beech and pine.
CARPEAUX, JEAN BAPTISTE, sculptor, born at Valenciennes; adorned by
his art, reckoned highly imaginative, several of the public monuments of
Paris, and the façade of the Opera House (1827-1875).
CARPENTARIA, GULF OF, a broad, deep gulf in the N. of Australia;
contains several islands, and receives several rivers.
CARPENTER, MARY, a philanthropist, born at Exeter, daughter of Dr.
Lant Carpenter, Unitarian minister; took an active part in the
establishment of reformatory and ragged schools, and a chief promoter of
the Industrial Schools Act; her philanthropic efforts extended to India,
which, in her zeal, she visited four times, and she was the founder of
the National Indian Association (1807-1877).
CARPENTER, WILLIAM BENJAMIN, biologist, brother of the preceding;
author, among other numerous works, of the "Principles of General and
Comparative Physiology" (1838); contributed to mental physiology; held
several high professional appointments in London; inaugurated deep-sea
soundings, and advocated the theory of a vertical circulation in the
ocean (1813-1877).
CARPI, GIROLAMO DA, Italian painter and architect, born at Ferrara;
successful imitator of Correggio (1501-1556).
CARPI, UGO DA, Italian painter and wood engraver; is said to have
invented engraving in chiaroscuro (1486-1530).
CARPINI, a Franciscan monk, born in Umbria; headed an embassy from
Pope Innocent IV. to the Emperor of the Mogul Tartars to persuade him out
of Europe, which he threatened; was a corpulent man of 60; travelled from
Lyons to beyond Lake Baikal and back; wrote a report of his journey in
Latin, which had a quieting effect on the panic in Europe (1182-1252).
CARPIO, a legendary hero of the Moors of Spain; is said to have
slain Roland at Roncesvalles.
CARPOC`RATES, a Gnostic of Alexandria of the 2nd century, who
believed in the transmigration of the soul and its final emancipation
from all external bonds and obligations, by means of concentrated
meditation on the divine unity, and a life in conformity therewith; was
the founder of a sect called after his name.
CARRARA (11), a town in N. Italy, 30 m. NW. of Leghorn; famous for
its quarries of white statuary marble, the working of which is its staple
industry; these quarries have been worked for 2000 years, are 400 in
number, and employ as quarrymen alone regularly over 3000 men.
CARREL, ARMAND, French publicist, born at Rouen; a man of high
character, and highly esteemed; editor of the _National_, which he
conducted with great ability, and courage; died of a wound in a duel with
Émile de Girardin (1800-1836).
CARRICK, the southern division of Ayrshire. See AYRSHIRE.
CARRICKFERGUS (9), a town and seaport N. of Belfast Lough, 9½ m.
from Belfast, with a picturesque castle.
CARRIER, JEAN BAPTISTE, one of the most blood-thirsty of the French
Revolutionists, born near Aurillac; an attorney by profession; sent on a
mission to La Vendée; caused thousands of victims to be drowned,
beheaded, or shot; was guillotined himself after trial by a Revolutionary
tribunal (1756-1794). See NOYADES.
CARRIÈRE, MORITZ, a German philosopher and man of letters, born in
Hesse, author of works on æsthetics and art in its relation to culture
and the ideal; advocated the compatibility of the pantheistic with the
deistic view of the world (1817-1893).
CARROL, LEWIS, pseudonym of C. L. DODGSON (q. v.), the
author of "Alice in Wonderland," with its sequel, "Through the
Looking-Glass."
CARSE, the name given in Scotland to alluvial lands bordering on a
river.
CARSON, KIT, American trapper, born in Kentucky; was of service to
the States in expeditions in Indian territories from his knowledge of the
habits of the Indians (1809-1878).
CARSTAIRS, WILLIAM, a Scotch ecclesiastic, born at Cathcart, near
Glasgow; sent to Utrecht to study theology; recommended himself to the
regard of the Prince of Orange, and became his political adviser;
accompanied him to England as chaplain in 1688, and had no small share in
bringing about the Revolution; controlled Church affairs in Scotland; was
made Principal of Edinburgh University; was chief promoter of the Treaty
of Union; was held in high esteem by his countrymen for his personal
character as well as his public services; was a most sagacious man
(1649-1715).
CARSTENS, ASMUS JAKOB, Danish artist, born in Sleswig; on the
appearance of his great picture, "The Fall of the Angels," rose at once
into fame; was admitted to the Berlin Academy; afterwards studied the
masters at Rome; brought back to Germany a taste for art; was the means
of reviving it; treated classical subjects; quarrelled the Academy; died
in poverty at Rome (1754-1798).
CARTAGENA (86), a naval port of Spain, on the Mediterranean, with a
capacious harbour; one of the oldest towns in it, founded by the
Carthaginians; was once the largest naval arsenal in Europe. Also capital
(12) of the Bolivar State in Colombia.
CARTE, THOMAS, historian, a devoted Jacobite, born near Rugby; wrote
a "History of England," which has proved a rich quarry of facts for
subsequent historians (1686-1754).
CARTE-BLANCHE, a blank paper with a signature to be filled up with
such terms of an agreement as the holder is authorised to accept in name
of the person whose signature it bears.
CARTER, ELIZABETH, an accomplished lady, born at Deal, friend of Dr.
Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and others; a great Greek and Italian
scholar; translated Epictetus and Algarotti's exposition of Newton's
philosophy; some of her papers appear in the _Rambler_ (1717-1806).
CARTERET, JOHN, EARL GRANVILLE, eminent British statesman, orator,
and diplomatist, entered Parliament in the Whig interest; his first
speech was in favour of the Protestant succession; after service as
diplomatist abroad, was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, in which
capacity he was brought into contact with Swift, first as an enemy but at
length as a friend, and proved a successful viceroy; in Parliament was
head of the party opposed to Sir Robert Walpole and of the subsequent
administration; his foreign policy has been in general approved of; had
the satisfaction of seeing, which he was instrumental in securing, the
elder Pitt installed in office before he retired; was a "fiery, emphatic
man" (1690-1763).
CARTERET, PHILIP, English sailor and explorer, explored in the
Southern Seas, and discovered several islands, Pitcairn's Island among
the number; _d_. 1796.
CARTHAGE, an ancient maritime city, on a peninsula in the N. of
Africa, near the site of Tunis, and founded by Phoenicians in 850 B.C.;
originally the centre of a colony, it became the capital of a wide-spread
trading community, which even ventured to compete with, and at one time
threatened, under Hannibal, to overthrow, the power of Rome, in a series
of protracted struggles known as the Punic Wars, in the last of which it
was taken and destroyed by Publius Cornelius Scipio in 146 B.C., after a
siege of two years, though it rose again as a Roman city under the
Cæsars, and became a place of great importance till burned in A.D. 698
by Hassan, the Arab; the struggle during the early part of its history
was virtually a struggle for the ascendency of the Semitic people over
the Aryan race in Europe.
CARTHUSIANS, a monastic order of a very severe type, founded by St.
Bruno in 1086, each member of which had originally a single cell,
eventually one consisting of two or three rooms with a garden, all of
them opening into one corridor; they amassed considerable wealth, but
were given to deeds of benefaction, and spent their time in study and
contemplation, in consequence of which they figure not so much in the
outside world as many other orders do.
CARTIER, a French navigator, born at St. Malo, made three voyages to
N. America in quest of a North-West passage, at the instance of Francis
I.; took possession of Canada in the name of France, by planting the
French flag on the soil (1494-1554).
CARTOONS, drawings or designs made on stiff paper for a fresco or
other paintings, transferred by tracing or pouncing to the surface to be
painted, the most famous of which are those of Raphael.
CARTOUCHE, a notorious captain of a band of thieves, born in Paris,
who was broken on the wheel alive in the Place de Grève (1698-1721).
CARTWRIGHT, EDMUND, inventor of the powerloom and the carding
machine, born in Nottinghamshire; bred for the Church; his invention, at
first violently opposed, to his ruin for the time being, is now
universally adopted; a grant of £10,000 was made him by Parliament in
consideration of his services and in compensation for his losses; he had
a turn for versifying as well as mechanical invention (1743-1823).
CARTWRIGHT, JOHN, brother of the preceding; served in the navy and
the militia, but left both services for political reasons; took to the
study of agriculture, and the advocacy of radical political reform much
in advance of his time (1740-1824).
CARUS, KARL GUSTAV, a celebrated German physiologist, born at
Leipzig; a many-sided man; advocate of the theory that health of body and
mind depends on the equipoise of antagonistic principles (1789-1869).
CARY, HENRY FRANCIS, translator of Dante, born at Gibraltar; his
translation is admired for its fidelity as well as for its force and
felicity (1772-1844).
CARYATIDES, draped female figures surmounting columns and supporting
entablatures; the corresponding male figures are called Atlantes.
CASA, Italian statesman, Secretary of State under Pope Paul IV.;
wrote "Galateo; or, the Art of Living in the World" (1503-1556).
CASABIANCA, LOUIS, a French naval officer, born in Corsica, who, at
the battle of Aboukir, after securing the safety of his crew, blew up his
ship and perished along with his son, who would not leave him
(1755-1798).
CASA`LE (17), a town on the Po; manufactures silk twist.
CASANOVA, painter, born in London, of Venetian origin; painted
landscapes and battle-pieces (1727-1806).
CASANOVA DE SEINGALT, a clever Venetian adventurer and scandalous
impostor, of the Cagliostro type, who insinuated himself into the good
graces for a time of all the distinguished people of the period,
including even Frederick the Great, Voltaire, and others; died in Bohemia
after endless roamings and wrigglings, leaving, as Carlyle would say,
"the smell of brimstone behind him"; wrote a long detailed, brazen-faced
account of his career of scoundrelism (1725-1798).
CASAS, BARTOLOMEO DE LAS, a Spanish prelate, distinguished for his
exertions in behalf of the Christianisation and civilisation of the
Indians of S. America (1474-1566).
CASAUBON, ISAAC, an eminent classical scholar and commentator, born
in Geneva; professor of Greek at Geneva and Montpellier, and afterwards
of belles-lettres at Paris, invited thither by Henry IV., who pensioned
him; being a Protestant he removed to London on Henry's death, where
James I. gave him two prebends; has been ranked with Lepsius and Scaliger
as a scholar (1559-1614).
CASAUBON, MERIC, son of preceding; accompanied his father to
England; held a church living under the Charleses; became professor of
Theology at Oxford, and edited his father's works (1599-1671).
CASCADE MOUNTAINS, a range in Columbia that slopes down toward the
Pacific from the Western Plateau, of which the Rocky Mountains form the
eastern boundary; they are nearly parallel with the coast, and above 100
m. inland.
CASERTA (35), a town in Italy, 20 m. from Naples, noted for a
magnificent palace, built after plans supplied by Vanvitelli, one of the
architects of St. Peter's at Rome.
CASHEL, a town in Tipperary, Ireland, 49 m. NE. of Cork; a bishop's
see, with a "Rock" 300 ft. high, occupied by interesting ruins; it was
formerly the seat of the kings of Munster.
CASHMERE or KASHMIR (2,543), a native Indian State, bordering
upon Tibet, 120 m. long and 80 m. wide, with beautiful scenery and a
delicious climate, in a valley of the Himalayas, forming the basin of the
Upper Indus, hemmed in by deep-gorged woods and snow-peaked mountains,
and watered by the Jhelum, which spreads out here and there near it into
lovely lakes; shawl weaving and lacquer-work are the chief occupations of
the inhabitants.
CASIMIR, the name of five kings of Poland; the most eminent, Casimir
III., called the Great, after distinguishing himself in wars against the
Teutonic Knights, was elected king in 1333; recovered Silesia from
Bohemia in two victories; defeated the Tartars on the Vistula, and
annexed part of Lithuania; formed a code of laws, limiting both the royal
authority and that of the nobles (1309-1370).
CASIMIR-PERIER, president of the French Republic, born in Paris; a
man of moderate views and firm character; was premier in 1893; succeeded
Carnot in 1894; resigned 1895, because, owing to misrepresentation, the
office had become irksome to him; _b_. 1847.
CASINO, a club-house or public building in Continental towns
provided with rooms for social gatherings, music, dancing, billiards, &c.
CASIRI, a Syro-Maronite religious, and a learned Orientalist
(1710-1791).
CASPARI, KARL PAUL, German theologian, born at Dessau; professor at
Christiania (1814-1892).
CASPIAN SEA, an inland sea, partly in Europe and partly in Asia, the
largest in the world, being 600 m. from N. to S. and from 270 to 130 m.
in breadth, with the Caucasus Mts. on the W. and the Elburz on the S., is
the fragment of a larger sea which extended to the Arctic Ocean; shallow
in the N., deep in the S.; the waters, which are not so salt as the
ocean, abound in fish, especially salmon and sturgeon.
CASS, LEWIS, an eminent American statesman, a member of the
Democratic party, and openly hostile to Great Britain; though in favour
of slave-holding, a friend of Union; wrote a "History of the U.S.
Indians" (1782-1867).
CASSAGNAC, GRANIER DE, a French journalist; at first an Orleanist,
became a supporter of the Empire; started several journals, which all
died a natural death; edited _Le Pays_, a semi-official organ; embroiled
himself in duels and lawsuits without number (1806-1880).
CASSAGNAC, PAUL, son of preceding; editor of _Le Pays_ and the
journal _L'Autorité_; an obstinate Imperialist; _b_. 1843.
CASSANDER, king of Macedonia, passed over in the succession by his
father Antipater; allied himself with the Greek cities; invaded Macedonia
and ascended the throne; married Thessalonica, the sister of Alexander
the Great, but put Alexander's mother to death, thus securing himself
against all rival claimants; left his son Philip as successor
(354-297 B.C.).
CASSANDRA, a beautiful Trojan princess, daughter of Priam and
Hecuba, whom Apollo endowed with the gift of prophecy, but, as she had
rejected his suit, doomed to utter prophecies which no one would believe,
as happened with her warnings of the fate and the fall of Troy, which
were treated by her countrymen as the ravings of a lunatic; her name is
applied to any one who entertains gloomy forebodings.
CASSANO, a town in the S. of Italy; also a town near Milan, scene of
a French victory under Vendôme in 1705, and a French defeat under Moreau
in 1799.
CASSATION, COURT OF, a court of highest and last appeal in France,
appointed in the case of appeal to revise the forms of a procedure in an
inferior court; it consists of a president and vice-president, 49 judges,
a public prosecutor called the _procureur-général_, and six
advocates-general; it consists of three sections: first, one to determine
if the appeal should be received; second, one to decide in civil cases;
and third, one to decide in criminal cases.
CASSEL (72), capital of Hesse-Cassel, an interesting town, 120 m.
from Frankfort-on-Main; it is the birthplace of Bunsen.
CASSELL, JOHN, the publisher, born in Manchester; a self-made man,
who knew the value of knowledge and did much to extend it (1817-1865).
CASSIANUS, JOANNUS, an Eastern ascetic; came to Constantinople, and
became a pupil of Chrysostom, who ordained him; founded two monasteries
in Marseilles; opposed the extreme views of Augustine in regard to grace
and free-will, and human depravity; and not being able to go the length
of Pelaganism, adopted SEMI-PELAGIANISM, q. v. (360-448).
CASSINI, name of a family of astronomers of the 17th and 18th
centuries, of Italian origin; distinguished for their observations and
discoveries affecting the comets, the planets, and the moon; they
settled, father and son and grandson, in Paris, and became in succession
directors of the observatory of Paris, the last of whom died in 1864,
after completing in 1793 a great topographical map of France begun by his
father.
CASSIODO`RUS, a Latin statesman and historian, born in Calabria;
prime minister of Theodoric the Great and his successor; retired into a
monastery about 70, and lived there nearly 30 years; wrote a history of
the Goths, and left letters of great historical value (468-568).
CASSIOPE`IA, queen of Ethiopia, mother of Andromeda, placed after
death among the constellations; a constellation well north in the
northern sky of five stars in the figure of a W.
CASSIQUIA`RI, a remarkable river in Venezuela, which, like a canal,
connects the Rio Negro, an affluent of the Amazon, with the Orinoco.
CASSITER`IDES, islands in the Atlantic, which the Phoenician sailors
visited to procure tin; presumed to have been the Scilly Islands or
Cornwall, which they adjoin.
CASSIUS, CAIUS, chief conspirator against Cæsar; won over Brutus to
join in the foul plot; soon after the deed was done fled to Syria, made
himself master of it; joined his forces with those of Brutus at Philippi;
repulsed on the right, thought all was lost; withdrew into his tent, and
called his freedmen to kill him; Brutus, in his lamentation over him,
called him the "last of the Romans"; _d_. 42 B.C.
CASSIUS, SPURIUS, a Roman, thrice chosen consul, first time 502
B.C.; subdued the Sabines, made a league with the Latins, promoted an
agrarian law, the first passed, which conceded to the plebs a share in
the public lands.
CASSIVELLAUNUS, a British warlike chief, who unsuccessfully opposed
Cæsar on his second invasion of Britain, 52 B.C.; surrendered after
defeat, and became tributary to Rome.
CASTALIA, a fountain at the foot of Parnassus sacred to the Muses;
named after a nymph, who drowned herself in it to escape Apollo.
CASTANET, bishop of Albi; procured the canonisation of St. Louis
(1256-1317).
CASTAÑOS, a Spanish general; distinguished for his victory over the
French under Dupont, whom he compelled to surrender and sign the
capitulation of Baylen, in 1808; after this he served under Wellington in
several engagements, and was commander of the Spanish army, ready, if
required, to invade France in 1815 (1758-1852).
CASTE, rank in society of an exclusive nature due to birth or
origin, such as prevails among the Hindus especially. Among them there
are originally two great classes, the twice-born and the once-born, _i.
e_. those who have passed through a second birth, and those who have not;
of the former there are three grades, Brahmans, or the priestly caste,
from the mouth of Brahma; Kshatriyas, or the soldier caste, from the
hands of Brahma; and Vaisyas, or the agricultural caste, from the feet of
Brahma; while the latter are of one rank and are menial to the other,
called Sudras, earth-born all; notwithstanding which distinction often
members of the highest class sink socially to the lowest level, and
members of the lowest rise socially to the highest.
CASTEL, RENÉ-RICHARD, French poet and naturalist (1758-1832).
CASTELAR, EMILIO, a Spanish republican, born in Cadiz; an eloquent
man and a literary; appointed dictator of Spain in 1873, but not being
equal to the exigency in the affairs of the State, resigned, and made way
for the return of monarchy, though under protest; wrote a history of the
"Republican Movement in Europe" among other works of political interest;
_b_. 1832.
CASTELLAMARE (15), a port on the coast of Italy, 115 m. SE. of
Naples, the scene of Pliny's death from the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D.
79. It takes its name from a castle built on it by the Emperor Frederick
II.; has a cathedral, arsenal, and manufactures.
CASTELLIO, Protestant theologian, a protégé of Calvin's for a time,
till he gave expression to some heretical views, which led to a rupture;
he ventured to pronounce the Song of Solomon a mere erotic poem
(1515-1563).
CASTIGLIONE, a town of Sicily, on N. slope of Etna, 35 m. SW. of
Messina; famed for hazel nuts.
CASTIGLIONE, COUNT, an accomplished Italian, born in Mantua; author
of "II Cortegiano," a manual for courtiers, called by the Italians in
admiration of it "The Golden Book"; had spent much of his time in courts
in England and Spain, as well as Rome, and was a courtly man (1478-1529).
CASTILE, a central district of Spain, divided by the mountains of
Castile into Old Castile (1,800) in the N., and New Castile (3,500) in
the S.: the former consisting of a high bare plateau, bounded by
mountains on the N. and on the S., with a variable climate, yields wheat
and good pasturage, and is rich in minerals; the latter, also tableland,
has a richer soil, and yields richer produce, breeds horses and cattle,
and contains besides the quicksilver mines of Almaden. Both were at one
time occupied by the Moors, and were created into a kingdom in the 11th
century, and united to the crown of Spain in 1469 by the marriage of
Ferdinand and Isabella.
CASTLE GARDEN, the immigration depôt of New York where immigrants
land, report themselves, and are advised where to settle or find work.
CASTLE OF INDOLENCE, a poem of Thomson's, a place in which the
dwellers live amid luxurious delights, to the enervation of soul and
body.
CASTLEFORD (14), a town 10 m. SE. of Leeds, with extensive
glass-works, especially bottles.
CASTLEREAGH, LORD, entered political life as a member of the Irish
Parliament, co-operated with Pitt in securing the Union, after which he
entered the Imperial Parliament, became War Minister (1805), till the
ill-fated Walcheren expedition and a duel with Canning obliged him to
resign; became Foreign Secretary in 1812, and the soul of the coalition
against Napoleon; represented the country in a congress after Napoleon's
fall; succeeded his father as Marquis of Londonderry in 1821, and
committed suicide the year following; his name has been unduly defamed,
and his services to the country as a diplomatist have been entirely
overlooked (1769-1822).
CASTLES IN SPAIN, visionary projects.
CASTLETOWN, a seaport in the Isle of Man, 11 m. SW. of Douglas, and
the former capital.
CASTLEWOOD, the heroine in Thackeray's "Esmond."
CASTOR AND POLLUX, the Dioscuri, the twin sons of Zeus by Leda;
great, the former in horsemanship, and the latter in boxing; famed for
their mutual affection, so that when the former was slain the latter
begged to be allowed to die with him, whereupon it was agreed they should
spend a day in Hades time about; were raised eventually to become stars
in the sky, the Gemini, twin signs in the zodiac, rising and setting
together; this name is also given to the electric phenomenon called
ST. ELMO'S FIRE (q. v.).
CASTREN, MATHIAS ALEXANDER, an eminent philologist, born in Finland,
professor of the Finnish Language and Literature in Helsingfors;
travelled all over Northern Europe and Asia, and left accounts of the
races he visited and their languages; translated the "KALEVALA"
(q. v.) the epic of the Finns; died prematurely, worn out with his
labours (1813-1852).
CASTRES (22), a town in the dep. of Tarn, 46 m. E. of Toulouse; was
a Roman station, and one of the first places in France to embrace
Calvinism.
CASTRO, GUILLEN DE, a Spanish dramatist, author of the play of "The
Cid," which gained him European fame; he began life as a soldier, got
acquainted with Lope de Vega, and took to dramatic composition
(1569-1631).
CASTRO, INEZ DE, a royal heiress of the Spanish throne in the 14th
century, the beloved wife of Don Pedro, heir of the Portuguese throne;
put to death out of jealousy of Spain by the latter's father, but on his
accession dug out of her grave, arrayed in her royal robes, and crowned
along with him, after which she was entombed again, and a magnificent
monument erected over her remains.
CASTRO, JUAN DE, a Portuguese soldier, born at Lisbon, distinguished
for his exploits in behalf of Portugal; made viceroy of the Portuguese
Indies, but died soon after in the arms of Francis Xavier (1500-1548).
CASTRO, VACA DE, a Spaniard, sent out by Charles V. as governor of
Peru, but addressing himself to the welfare of the natives rather than
the enrichment of Spain, was recalled, to pine and die in prison in 1558.
CASTROGIOVANNI (18), a town in a strong position in the heart of
Sicily, 3270 ft. above the sea-level; at one time a centre of the worship
of Ceres, and with a temple to her.
CASTRUCCIO-CASTRACANI, Duke of Lucca, and chief of the Ghibelline
party in that town, the greatest war-captain in Europe in his day; lord
of hundreds of strongholds; wore on a high occasion across his breast a
scroll, inscribed, "He is what God made him," and across his back
another, inscribed, "He shall be what God will make"; _d_. 1328, "crushed
before the moth."
CATACOMBS, originally underground quarries, afterwards used as
burial-places for the dead, found beneath Paris and in the neighbourhood
of Rome, as well as elsewhere; those around Rome, some 40 in number, are
the most famous, as having been used by the early Christians, not merely
for burial but for purposes of worship, and are rich In monuments of art
and memorials of history.
CATALANI, ANGELICA, a celebrated Italian singer and prima donna,
born near Ancona; began her career in Rome with such success that it led
to engagements over all the chief cities of Europe, the enthusiasm which
followed her reaching its climax when she came to England, where, on her
first visit, she stayed eight years; by the failure of an enterprise in
Paris she lost her fortune, but soon repaired it by revisiting the
capitals of Europe; died of cholera in Paris (1779-1840).
CATALONIA (1,900), old prov. of Spain, on the NE.; has a most
fertile soil, which yields a luxuriant vegetation; chief seat of
manufacture in the country, called hence the "Lancashire of Spain"; the
people are specially distinguished from other Spaniards for their
intelligence and energy.
CATAMAR`CA (ISO), NW. prov. of the Argentine Republic; rich in
minerals, especially copper.
CATA`NIA (123), an ancient city at the foot of Etna, to the S., on a
plain called the Granary of Sicily; has been several times devastated by
the eruptions of Etna, particularly in 1169, 1669, and 1693; manufactures
silk, linen, and articles of amber, &c., and exports sulphur, grain, and
fruits.
CATANZA`RO (20), a city in Calabria, 6 m. from the Gulf of
Squillace, with an old castle of Robert Guiscard.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE, Kant's name for the self-derived moral law,
"universal and binding on every rational will, a commandment of the
autonomous, one and universal reason."
CATEGORIES are either classes under which all our Notions of things
may be grouped, or classes under which all our Thoughts of things may be
grouped; the former called Logical, we owe to Aristotle, and the latter
called Metaphysical, we owe to Kant. The Logical, so derived, that group
our notions, are ten in number: Substance or Being, Quantity, Quality,
Relation, Place, Time, Position, Possession, Action, Passion. The
Metaphysical, so derived, that group our thoughts, are twelve in number:
(1) as regards _quantity_, Totality, Plurality, Unity; (2) as regards
_quality_, Reality, Negation, Limitation; (3) as regards _relation_,
Substance, Accident, Cause and Effect, Action and Reaction; (4) as
regards _modality_, Possibility and Impossibility, Existence and
Nonexistence, Necessity and Contingency. John Stuart Mill resolves the
categories into five, Existence, Co-existence, Succession, Causation, and
Resemblance.
CATESBY, MARK, an English naturalist and traveller, wrote a natural
history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas (1680-1750).
CATESBY, ROBERT, born in Northamptonshire, a Catholic of good birth;
concerned in the famous Gunpowder Plot; shot dead three days after its
discovery by officers sent to arrest him (1573-1605).
CATH`ARI, OR CATHARISTS, i. e. purists or puritans, a sect of
presumably Gnostic derivation, scattered here and there under different
names over the S. and W. of Europe during the Middle Ages, who held the
Manichæan doctrine of the radically sinful nature of the flesh, and the
necessity of mortifying all its desires and affections to attain purity
of soul.
CATHARINE, ST., OF ALEXANDRIA, a virgin who, in 307, suffered
martyrdom after torture on the wheel, which has since borne her name; is
represented in art as in a vision presented to Christ by His Mother as
her sole husband, who gives her a ring. Festival, Nov. 25.
CATHARINE I., wife of Peter the Great and empress of Russia,
daughter of a Livonian peasant; "a little stumpy body, very brown,...
strangely chased about from the bottom to the top of the world,... had
once been a kitchen wench"; married first to a Swedish dragoon, became
afterwards the mistress of Prince Menschikoff, and then of Peter the
Great, who eventually married her; succeeded him as empress, with
Menschikoff as minister; for a time ruled well, but in the end gave
herself up to dissipation, and died (1682-1727).
CATHARINE II. THE GREAT, empress of Russia, born at Stettin,
daughter of Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst; "a most-clever, clear-eyed,
stout-hearted woman"; became the wife of Peter III., a scandalous mortal,
who was dethroned and then murdered, leaving her empress; ruled well for
the country, and though her character was immoral and her reign despotic
and often cruel, her efforts at reform, the patronage she accorded to
literature, science, and philosophy, and her diplomatic successes,
entitle her to a high rank among the sovereigns of Russia; she reigned
from 1763 to 1796, and it was during the course of her reign, and under
the sanction of it, that Europe witnessed the three partitions of Poland
(1729-1796).
CATHARINE DE' MEDICI, daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, wife of Henry
II. of France, and mother of his three successors; on the accession of
her second son, Charles IX.--for the reign of her first, Francis II., was
very brief--acted as regent during his minority; joined heart and soul
with the Catholics in persecuting the Huguenots, and persuaded her son to
issue the order which resulted in the massacre of St. Bartholomew; on his
death, which occurred soon after, she acted as regent during the minority
of her third son, Henry III., and lived to see both herself and him
detested by the whole French people, and this although she was during her
ascendency the patroness of the arts and of literature (1519-1589).
CATHARINE OF ARAGON, fourth daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of
Spain, and wife of Henry VIII., her brother-in-law as widow of Arthur,
from whom, and at whose instance, after 18 years of married life, and
after giving birth to five children, she was divorced on the plea that,
as she had been his brother's wife before, it was not lawful for him to
have her; after her divorce she remained in the country, led an austere
religious life, and died broken-hearted. The refusal of the Pope to
sanction this divorce led to the final rupture of the English Church from
the Church of Rome, and the emancipation of the nation from priestly
tyranny (1483-1536).
CATHARINE OF BRAGANZA, the wife of Charles II. of England, of the
royal house of Portugal; was unpopular in the country as a Catholic and
neglected by her husband, on whose death, however, she returned to
Portugal, and did the duties ably of regent for her brother Don Pedro
(1638-1705).
CATHARINE OF SIENNA, born at Sienna, a sister of the Order of St.
Dominic, and patron saint of the Order; celebrated for her ecstasies and
visions, and the marks which by favour of Christ she bore on her body of
His sufferings on the Cross (1347-1380). Festival, April 30. Besides her,
are other saints of the same name.
CATHARINE OF VALOIS, daughter of Charles VI. of France, and wife of
Henry V. of England, who, on his marriage to her, was declared heir to
the throne of France, with the result that their son was afterwards,
while but an infant, crowned king of both countries; becoming a widow,
she married Owen Tudor, a Welsh gentleman, whereby a grandson of his
succeeded to the English throne as Henry VII., and the first of the
Tudors (1401-1438).
CATHARINE PARR, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. and the daughter of a
Westmoreland knight; was of the Protestant faith and obnoxious to the
Catholic faction, who trumped up a charge against her of heresy and
treason, from which, however, she cleared herself to the satisfaction of
the king, over whom she retained her ascendency till his death; _d_.
1548.
CATHARINE THEOT, a religious fanatic, born in Avranches; gave
herself out as the Mother of God; appeared in Paris in 1794, and declared
Robespierre a second John the Baptist and forerunner of the Word; the
Committee of Public Safety had her arrested and guillotined.
CATHAY, the name given to China by mediæval writers, which it still
bears in Central Asia.
CATHCART, EARL, a British general and diplomatist, born in
Renfrewshire; saw service in America and Flanders; distinguished himself
at the bombardment of Copenhagen; represented England at the court of
Russia and the Congress of Vienna (1755-1843).
CATHCART, SIR GEORGE, a lieutenant-general, son of the preceding;
enlisted in the army; served in the later Napoleonic wars; was present at
Quatre-Bras and Waterloo; was governor of the Cape; brought the Kaffir
war to a successful conclusion; served in the Crimea, and fell at
Inkerman (1794-1854).
CATHEDRAL, the principal church in a diocese, and which contains the
throne of the bishop as his seat of authority; is of a rank corresponding
to the dignity of the bishop; the governing body consists of the dean and
chapter.
CATHELINEAU, JACQUES, a famous leader of the Vendéans in their
revolt against the French Republic on account of a conscription in its
behalf; a peasant by birth; mortally wounded in attacking Nantes; he is
remembered by the peasants of La Vendée as the "Saint of Anjou"
(1759-1793).
CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION, the name given to the emancipation in 1829 of
the Roman Catholics of the United Kingdom from disabilities which
precluded their election to office in the State, so that they are
eligible now to any save the Lord Chancellorship of England and offices
representative of royalty.
CATHOLIC EPISTLES, the name, equivalent to encyclical, given to
certain epistles in the New Testament not addressed to any community in
particular, but to several, and given eventually to all not written by
St. Paul.
CATHOLIC MAJESTY, a title given by the Pope to several Spanish
monarchs for their zeal in the defence of the Catholic faith.
CATILINE, or LUCIUS SERGIUS CATILINA, a Roman patrician, an
able man, but unscrupulously ambitious; frustrated in his ambitious
designs, he formed a conspiracy against the State, which was discovered
and exposed by Cicero, a discovery which obliged him to leave the city;
he tried to stir up hostility outside; this too being discovered by
Cicero, an army was sent against him, when an engagement ensued, in
which, fighting desperately, he was slain, 62 B.C.
CATINAT, NICOLAS, a marshal of France, born in Paris; one of the
greatest military captains under Louis XIV.; defeated the Duke of Savoy
twice over, though defeated by Prince Eugene and compelled to retreat;
was an able diplomatist as well as military strategist (1637-1712).
CATLIN, GEORGE, a traveller among the North American Indians, and
author of an illustrated work on their life and manners; spent eight
years among them (1796-1872).
CATO DIONYSIUS, name of a book of maxims in verse, held in high
favour during the Middle Ages; of unknown authorship.
CATO, MARCUS PORTIUS, or CATO MAJOR, surnamed Censor, Priscus,
and Sapiens, born at Tusculum, of a good old family, and trained to
rustic, frugal life; after serving occasionally in the army, removed to
Rome; became in succession censor, ædile, prætor, and consul; served in
the second Punic war, towards the end of it, and subjugated Spain; was a
Roman of the old school; disliked and denounced all innovations, as
censor dealt sharply with them; sent on an embassy to Africa, was so
struck with the increasing power and the threateningly evil ascendency of
Carthage, that on his return he urged its demolition, and in every speech
which he delivered afterwards he ended with the words, _Ceterum censeo
Carthaginem esse delendam_, "But, be that as it may, my opinion is
Carthage must be destroyed" (234-149 B.C.).
CATO, MARCUS PORTIUS, or CATO THE YOUNGER, or UTICENSIS,
great-grandson of the former, and a somewhat pedantic second edition of
him; fortified himself by study of the Stoic philosophy; conceived a
distrust of the public men of the day, Cæsar among the number; preferred
Pompey to him, and sided with him; after Pompey's defeat retired to
Utica, whence his surname, and stabbed himself to death rather than fall
into the hands of Cæsar (95-46 B.C.).
CATO-STREET CONSPIRACY, an insignificant, abortive plot, headed by
one Thistlewood, to assassinate Castlereagh and other ministers of the
crown in 1820; so called from their place of meeting off the Edgeware
Road, London.
CATRAIL, an old Roman earthwork, 50 m. long, passing S. from near
Galashiels, through Selkirk and Roxburgh, or from the Cheviots; it is
known by the name of the "Devil's Dyke."
CATS, JACOB, a Dutch poet and statesman, venerated in Holland as
"Father Cats"; his works are written in a simple, natural style, and
abound in wise maxims; he did service as a statesman; twice visited
England as an envoy, and was knighted by Charles I. (1577-1660).
CATSKILL MOUNTAINS, a group of mountains, of steep ascent, and with
rocky summits, in New York State, W. of the Hudson, none of them
exceeding 4000 feet; celebrated as the scene of Rip Van Winkle's long
slumber; belong to the Appalachians.
CATTEGAT, an arm of the sea, 150 m. in length and 84 of greatest
width, between Sweden and Jutland; a highway into the Baltic, all but
blocked up with islands; is dangerous to shipping on account of the
storms that infest it at times.
CATTERMOLE, GEORGE, artist, born in Norfolk; illustrated Britton's
"English Cathedrals," "Waverley Novels," and the "Historical Annual" by
his brother; painted mostly in water-colour; his subjects chiefly from
English history (1800-1868).
CATTLE PLAGUE, or RINDERPEST, a disease which affects
ruminants, but especially bovine cattle; indigenous to the East, Russia,
Persia, India, and China, and imported into Britain only by contagion of
some kind; the most serious outbreaks were in 1865 and 1872.
CATULLUS, CAIUS VALERIUS, the great Latin lyric poet, born at
Verona, a man of wealth and good standing, being, it would seem, of the
equestrian order; associated with the best wits in Rome; fell in love
with Clodia, a patrician lady, who was the inspiration, both in peace and
war, of many of his effusions, and whom he addresses as Lesbia; the death
of a brother affected him deeply, and was the occasion of the production
of one of the most pathetic elegies ever penned; in the civic strife of
the time he sided with the senate, and opposed Cæsar to the length of
directing against him a coarse lampoon (84-54 B.C.).
CAUCA, a river in Colombia, S. America, which falls into the
Magdalena after a northward course of 600 m.
CAUCASIA, a prov. of Russia, geographically divided into
Cis-Caucasia on the European side, and Trans-Caucasia on the Asiatic side
of the Caucasus, with an area about four times as large as England.
CAUCASIAN RACE, a name adopted by Blumenbach to denote the
Indo-European race, from the fine type of a skull of one of the race
found in Georgia.
CAUCASUS, an enormous mountain range, 750 m. in length, extending
from the Black Sea ESE. to the Caspian, in two parallel chains, with
tablelands between, bounded on the S. by the valley of the Kur, which
separates it from the tableland of Armenia; snow-line higher than that of
the Alps; has fewer and smaller glaciers; has no active volcanoes, though
abundant evidence of volcanic action.
CAUCHON, bishop of Beauvais, infamous for the iniquitous part he
played in the trial and condemnation of Joan of Arc; _d_. 1443.
CAUCHY, AUGUSTIN LOUIS, mathematician, born in Paris; wrote largely
on physical subjects; his "Memoir" on the theory of the waves suggested
the undulatory theory of light; professor of Astronomy at Paris; declined
to take the oath of allegiance to Napoleon III., and retired (1789-1857).
CAUCUS, a preliminary private meeting to arrange and agree on some
measure or course to propose at a general meeting of a political party.
CAUDINE FORKS, a narrow mountain gorge in Samnium, in which, during
the second Samnite war, a Roman army was entrapped and caught by the
Samnites, who obliged them to pass under the yoke in token of
subjugation, 321 B.C.
CAUDLE, MRS., an imaginary dame, a conception of Douglas Jerrold,
famous for her "Curtain Lectures" all through the night for 30 years to
her husband Mr. Job Caudle.
CAUL, a membrane covering the head of some children at birth, to
which a magical virtue was at one time ascribed, and which, on that
account, was rated high and sold often at a high price.
CAULAINCOURT, ARMAND DE, a French general and statesman of the
Empire, a faithful supporter of Napoleon, who conferred on him a peerage,
with the title of Duke of Vicenza, of which he was deprived at the
Restoration; represented Napoleon at the Congress of Châtillon
(1772-1827).
CAUS, SALOMON DE, a French engineer, born at Dieppe; discovered the
properties of steam as a motive force towards 1638; claimed by Arago as
the inventor of the steam-engine in consequence.
CAUSALITY, the philosophic name for the nature of the relation
between cause and effect, in regard to which there has been much
diversity of opinion among philosophers.
CAUTERETS, a fashionable watering-place in the dep. of the
Hautes-Pyrénées, 3250 ft. above the sea, with sulphurous springs of very
ancient repute, 25 in number, and of varying temperature.
CAVAIGNAC, LOUIS EUGÈNE, a distinguished French general, born in
Paris; appointed governor of Algeria in 1849, but recalled to be head of
the executive power in Paris same year; appointed dictator, suppressed
the insurrection in June, after the most obstinate and bloody struggle
the streets of Paris had witnessed since the first Revolution; stood
candidate for the Presidency, to which Louis Napoleon was elected; was
arrested after the _coup d'état_, but soon released; never gave in his
adherence to the Empire (1802-1857).
CAVALCASELLE, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, Italian writer on art; joint-author
with J. A. Crowe of works on the "Early Flemish Painters" and the
"History of Painting in Italy"; chief of the art department under the
Minister of Public Instruction in Rome; _b_. 1820.
CAVALIER, JEAN, leader of the CAMISARDS (q. v.), born at
Ribaute, in the dep. of Gard; bred a baker; held his own against
Montreval and Villars; in 1704 concluded peace with the latter on
honourable terms; haughtily received by Louis XIV., passed over to
England; served against France, and died governor of Jersey (1679-1740).
CAVALIERS, the royalist partisans of Charles I. in England in
opposition to the parliamentary party, or the Roundheads, as they were
called.
CAVALLO, a distinguished Italian physicist, born at Naples
(1749-1809).
CAVAN (111), inland county S. of Ulster, Ireland, with a poor soil;
has minerals and mineral springs.
CAVE, EDWARD, a London bookseller, born in Warwickshire; projected
the Gentleman's Magazine, to which Dr. Johnson contributed; was the first
to give Johnson literary work, employing him as parliamentary reporter,
and Johnson was much attached to him; he died with his hand in Johnson's
(1691-1754).
CAVE, WILLIAM, an English divine; author of works on the Fathers of
the Church and on primitive Christianity, of high repute at one time
(1637-1713).
CAVENDISH, the surname of the Devonshire ducal family, traceable
back to the 14th century.
CAVENDISH, GEORGE, the biographer of Wolsey; never left him while he
lived, and never forgot him or the lesson of his life after he was dead;
this appears from the vivid picture he gives of him, though written 30
years after his death (1500-1561).
CAVENDISH, LORD FREDERICK, brother of the ninth Duke of Devonshire,
educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a Liberal; was made
Chief-Secretary for Ireland in 1882, but chancing to walk home one
evening through the Phoenix Park, he fell a victim, stabbed to the heart,
of a conspiracy that was aimed at Mr. Burke, an unpopular subordinate,
who was walking along with him, and came to the same fate. Eight months
after, 20 men were arrested as concerned in the murder, when one of the
20 informed; five of them were hanged; the informer Carey was afterwards
murdered, and his murderer, O'Donnel, hanged (1836-1882).
CAVENDISH, HENRY, natural philosopher and chemist, born at Nice, of
the Devonshire family; devoted his entire life to scientific
investigations; the first to analyse the air of the atmosphere, determine
the mean density of the earth, discover the composition of water, and
ascertain the properties of hydrogen; was an extremely shy, retiring man;
born rich and died rich, leaving over a million sterling (1731-1810).
CAVENDISH, SPENCER COMPTON, ninth Duke of Devonshire, for long known
in public life as Marquis of Hartington; also educated at Trinity
College, and a leader of the Liberal party; served under Gladstone till
he adopted Home Rule for Ireland, but joined Lord Salisbury in the
interest of Union, and one of the leaders of what is called the
Liberal-Unionist party; _b_. 1833.
CAVENDISH, THOMAS, an English navigator, fitted out three vessels to
cruise against the Spaniards; extended his cruise into the Pacific;
succeeded in taking valuable prizes, with which he landed in England,
after circumnavigating the globe; he set out on a second cruise, which
ended in disaster, and he died in the island of Ascension broken-hearted
(1555-1592).
CAVENDISH, WILLIAM, English courtier and cavalier in the reigns of
James I. and Charles I.; joined Charles II. in exile; returned at the
Restoration; was made Duke of Newcastle; wrote on horsemanship
(1592-1676).
CAVENDISH, WILLIAM, first Duke of Devonshire; friend and protector
of Lord William Russell; became a great favourite at court, and was
raised to the dukedom (1640-1707).
CAVIARE, the roe (the immature ovaries) of the common sturgeon and
other kindred fishes, caught chiefly in the Black and Caspian Seas, and
prepared and salted; deemed a great luxury by those who have acquired the
taste for it; largely imported from Astrakhan.
CAVOUR, COUNT CAMILLO BENSO DE, one of the greatest of modern
statesmen, born the younger son of a Piedmontese family at Turin; entered
the army, but was precluded from a military career by his liberal
opinions; retired, and for 16 years laboured as a private gentleman to
improve the social and economic condition of Piedmont; in 1847 he threw
himself into the great movement which resulted in the independence and
unification of Italy; for the next 14 years, as editor of _Il
Risorgimento_, member of the chamber of deputies, holder of various
portfolios in the government, and ultimately as prime minister of the
kingdom of Sardinia, he obtained a constitution and representative
government for his country, improved its fiscal and financial condition,
and raised it to a place of influence in Europe; he co-operated with the
allies in the Crimean war; negotiated with Napoleon III. for the
expulsion of the Austrians from Italy, and so precipitated the successful
war of 1859; he encouraged Garibaldi in the expedition of 1860, which
liberated Sicily and Southern Italy, and saw the parliament of 1861
summoned, and Victor Emmanuel declared king of Italy; but the strain of
his labours broke his health, and he died a few months later (1810-1861).
CAWNPORE (188), a city on the right bank of the Ganges, in the
North-Western Provinces of India, 40 m. SW. of Lucknow, and 628 NW. of
Calcutta; the scene of one of the most fearful atrocities, perpetrated by
Nana Sahib, in the Indian Mutiny in 1857.
CAXTON, WILLIAM, the first English printer, born in Kent, bred a
mercer, settled for a time in Bruges, learned the art of printing there,
where he printed a translation of the "Recuyell of the Historyes of
Troyes," and "The Game and Playe of Chesse"; returning to England, set up
a press in Westminster Abbey, and in 1477 issued "Dictes and Sayings of
the Philosophers," the first book printed in England, which was soon
followed by many others; he was a good linguist, as well as a devoted
workman (1422-1491).
CAYENNE (10), cap. and port of French Guiana, a swampy, unhealthy
place, rank with tropical vegetation; a French penal settlement since
1852.
CAYLA, COUNTESS OF, friend and confidante of Louis XVIII.
(1784-1850).
CAYLEY, ARTHUR, an eminent English mathematician, professor at
Cambridge, and president of the British Association in 1883 (1821-1895).
CAYLEY, CHARLES BAGOT, a linguist, translated Dante into the metre
of the original, with annotations, besides metrical versions of the
"Iliad," the "Prometheus" of Æschylus, the "Canzoniere" of Petrarch, &c.
(1823-1883).
CAYLUS, COUNT, a distinguished archæologist, born in Paris; author
of a "Collection of Antiquities of Egypt, Etruria," &c., with excellent
engravings (1692-1765).
CAYLUS, MARQUISE DE, born in Poitou, related to Mme. de Maintenon;
left piquant souvenirs of the court of Louis XIV. and the house of St.
Cyr (1672-1729).
CAZALÈS, a member of French Constituent Assembly, a dragoon captain,
a fervid, eloquent orator of royalism, who "earned thereby," says
Carlyle, "the shadow of a name" (1758-1805).
CAZOTTE, author of the "Diable Amoureux"; victim as an enemy of the
French Revolution; spared for his daughter's sake for a time, but
guillotined at last; left her a "lock of his old grey hair" (1720-1792).
CEAN-BERMUDEZ, a Spanish writer on art; author of a biographical
dictionary of the principal artists of Spain (1749-1834).
CEARA (35), cap. of the prov. (900) of the name, in N. of Brazil.
CE`BES, a Greek philosopher, disciple and friend of Socrates,
reputed author of the "Pinax" or Tablet, a once popular book on the
secret of life, being an allegorical representation of the temptations
that beset it.
CECIL, ROBERT, EARL OF SALISBURY, succeeded his father, Lord
Burleigh, as first Minister under Elizabeth, and continued in office
under James I., whose friendship he sedulously cultivated before his
accession, and who created him earl (1565-1612). See BURLEIGH,
LORD.
CECILIA, ST., a Roman virgin and martyr, A.D. 230, patron saint of
music, especially church music, and reputed inventor of the organ;
sometimes represented as holding a small organ, with her head turned
heavenwards as if listening to the music of the spheres, and sometimes as
playing on an organ and with a heavenly expression of face. Festival,
Nov. 22.
CECROPS, the mythical first king and civiliser of Attica and founder
of Athens with its citadel, dedicated by him to Athena, whence the name
of the city.
CEDAR RAPIDS (25), a manufacturing town in Iowa, U.S.; a great
railway centre.
CELADON, poetical name for a languid swain, all sighs and longings.
CELÆNO, name of one of the HARPIES (q. v.).
CELEBES (1,000), an island in the centre of the Eastern Archipelago,
third in size, in the shape of a body with four long limbs, traversed by
mountain chains, and the greater part of it a Dutch possession, though it
contains a number of small native states; it yields among its mineral
products gold, copper, tin, &c.; and among its vegetable, tea, coffee,
rice, sugar, pepper, &c.; capital. Macassar.
CÉLESTE, MME., a dancer, born in Paris; made her _début_ in New
York; in great repute in England, and particularly in the States, where
she in her second visit realised £40,000 (1814-1882).
CELESTIAL EMPIRE, China, as ruled over by a dynasty appointed by
Heaven.
CELESTINE, the name of five Popes: C. I., Pope from 422 to 432; C.
II., Pope from 1143 to 1144; C. III., Pope from 1191 to 1198; C. IV.,
Pope for 18 days in 1241; C. V., Pope in 1294, a hermit for 60 years;
nearly 80 when elected against his wish; abdicated in five months;
imprisoned by order of Boniface VIII.; _d_. 1296; canonised 1313.
CELESTINES, an order of monks founded by Celestine V. before he was
elected Pope in 1354; they followed the rule of the Benedictine Order,
and led a contemplative life.
CELLINI, BENVENUTO, a celebrated engraver, sculptor, and goldsmith,
a most versatile and erratic genius, born at Florence; had to leave
Florence for a bloody fray he was involved in, and went to Rome; wrought
as a goldsmith there for 20 years, patronised by the nobles; killed the
Constable de Bourbon at the sack of the city, and for this received
plenary indulgence from the Pope; Francis I. attracted him to his court
and kept him in his service five years, after which he returned to
Florence and executed his famous bronze "Perseus with the Head of
Medusa," which occupied him four years; was a man of a quarrelsome
temper, which involved him in no end of scrapes with sword as well as
tongue; left an autobiography, from its self-dissection of the deepest
interest to all students of human nature (1500-1571).
CELSIUS, a distinguished Swedish astronomer, born at Upsala, and
professor of Astronomy there; inventor of the Centigrade thermometer
(1701-1744).
CELSUS, a celebrated Roman physician of the age of Augustus, and
perhaps later; famed as the author of "De Medicina," a work often
referred to, and valuable as one of the sources of our knowledge of the
medicine of the ancients.
CELSUS, a philosopher of the 2nd century, and notable as the first
assailant on philosophic grounds of the Christian religion, particularly
as regards the power it claims to deliver from the evil that is inherent
in human nature, inseparable from it, and implanted in it not by God, but
some inferior being remote from Him; the book in which he attacked
Christianity is no longer extant, only quotations from it scattered over
the pages of the defence of Origen in reply.
CELTIBE`RI, an ancient Spanish race occupying the centre of the
peninsula, sprung from a blending of the aborigines and the Celts, who
invaded the country; a brave race, divided into four tribes;
distinguished in war both as cavalry and infantry, and whom the Romans
had much trouble in subduing.
CELTS. The W. of Europe was in prehistoric times subjected to two
invasions of Aryan tribes, all of whom are now referred to as Celts. The
earlier invaders were Goidels or Gaels; they conquered the Ivernian and
Iberian peoples of ancient Gaul, Britain, and Ireland; their successors,
the Brythons or Britons pouring from the E., drove them to the
westernmost borders of these countries, and there compelled them to make
common cause with the surviving Iberians in resistance; in the eastern
parts of the conquered territories they formed the bulk of the
population, in the W. they were in a dominant minority; study of
languages in the British Isles leads to the conclusion that the Irish,
Manx, and Scottish Celts belonged chiefly to the earlier immigration,
while the Welsh and Cornish represent the latter; the true Celtic type is
tall, red or fair, and blue-eyed, while the short, swarthy type, so long
considered Celtic, is now held to represent the original Iberian races.
CENCI, THE, a Roman family celebrated for their crimes and
misfortunes as well as their wealth. FRANCESCO CENCI was twice
married, had had twelve children by his first wife, whom he treated
cruelly; after his second marriage cruelly treated the children of his
first wife, but conceived a criminal passion for the youngest of them, a
beautiful girl named BEATRICE, whom he outraged, upon which, being
unable to bring him to justice, she, along with her stepmother and a
brother, hired two assassins to murder him; the crime was found out, and
all three were beheaded (1599); this is the story on which Shelley
founded his tragedy, but it is now discredited.
CENIS, MONT, one of the Cottian Alps, over which Napoleon
constructed a pass 6884 ft. high in 1802-10, through which a tunnel 7½ m.
long passes from Modane to Bardonnêche, connecting France with Italy; the
construction of this tunnel cost £3,000,000, and Napoleon's pass a tenth
of the sum.
CENSORS, two magistrates of ancient Rome, who held office at first
for five years and then eighteen months, whose duty it was to keep a
register of the citizens, guard the public morals, collect the public
revenue, and superintend the public property.
CEN`TAURS, a savage race living between Pelion and Ossa, in
Thessaly, and conceived of at length by Pindar as half men and half
horses, treated as embodying the relation between the spiritual and the
animal in man and nature, in all of whom the animal prevails over the
spiritual except in Chiron, who therefore figures as the trainer of the
heroes of Greece; in the mythology they figure as the progeny of
Centaurus, son of IXION (q. v.) and the cloud, their mothers
being mares.
CENTRAL AMERICA (3,000), territory of fertile tableland sloping
gradually to both oceans, occupied chiefly by a number of small
republics, lying between Tehuantepec and Panama in N. America; it
includes the republics of Guatemala, Honduras, St. Salvador, Nicaragua,
and Costa Rica, and a few adjoining fractions of territory.
CENTRAL INDIA (10,000), includes a group of feudatory States lying
between Rajputana in the N. and Central Provinces in the S.
CENTRAL PROVINCES (12,944), States partly British and partly native,
occupying the N. of the Deccan, and lying between the Nerbudda and the
Godavary.
CEOS, one of the Cyclades, a small island 13 m. by 8 m., yields
fruits; was the birthplace of Simonides and Bacchylides.
CEPHALONIA (80), the largest of the Ionian Islands, 30 m. long, the
ancient Samos; yields grapes and olive oil.
CEPHALUS, king of Thessaly, who having involuntarily killed his wife
Procris, in despair put himself to death with the same weapon.
CERAM` (195), the largest of S. Moluccas; yields sago, which is
chiefly cultivated and largely exported.
CERBERUS, the three-headed or three-throated monster that guarded
the entrance to the nether world of Pluto, could be soothed by music, and
tempted by honey, only Hercules overcame him by sheer strength, dragging
him by neck and crop to the upper world.
CERES, the Latin name for DEMETER (q. v.); also the name of
one of the asteroids, the first discovered, by Piazzi, in 1801.
CERI`GO (14), an Ionian island, the southernmost, the ancient
Cythera; yields wine and fruits.
CERINTHUS, a heresiarch of the first century, whom, according to
tradition, St. John held in special detestation, presumably as denying
the Father and the Son.
CERRO DE PASCO, a town in Peru, 14,200 ft. above the sea-level, with
the richest silver mine in S. America.
CERUTTI, a Jesuit, born at Turin; became a Revolutionary in France;
pronounced the funeral oration at the grave of Mirabeau in 1789.
CERVANTES-SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL DE, the author of "Don Quixote," born at
Alcalá de Henares; was distinguished in arms before he became
distinguished in letters; fought in the battle of Lepanto like a very
hero, and bore away with him as a "maimed soldier" marks of his share in
the struggle; sent on a risky embassy, was captured by pirates and
remained in their hands five years; was ransomed by his family at a cost
which beggared them, and it was only when his career as a soldier closed
that he took himself to literature; began as a dramatist before he
devoted himself to prose romance; wrote no fewer than 30 dramas; the
first part of the work which has immortalised his name appeared in 1605,
and the second in 1615; it took the world by storm, was translated into
all the languages of Europe, but the fortune which was extended to his
book did not extend to himself, for he died poor, some ten days before
his great contemporary, William Shakespeare; though carelessly written,
"Don Quixote" is one of the few books of all time, and is as fresh to-day
as when it was first written (1547-1616).
CERVIN, MONT, the French name for the Matterhorn, 705 ft., the
summit of the Pennine Alps, between Valais and Piedmont.
CESAREWITCH, the eldest son and heir of the Czar of Russia.
CE`SARI, GIUSEPPE, sometimes called ARPINO, an eminent Italian
painter; painted a series of frescoes in the Conservatorio of the
Capitol, illustrative of events in the history of Rome (1568-1640).
CESAROTTI, an Italian poet, translator of the "Iliad" and "Ossian"
into Italian (1730-1808).
CESTUS, a girdle worn by Greek and Roman women, specially the girdle
of Aphrodité, so emblazoned with symbols of the joys of love that no
susceptible soul could resist the power of it; it was borrowed by Hera to
captivate Zeus.
CETINJE, the capital of Montenegro, in a valley 2000 ft. high;
smallest of capital cities, with a population under 2000.
CETTE (36), a seaport, trading, and manufacturing town, on a tongue
of land between the lagoon of Thau and the Mediterranean, 23 m. SW. of
Montpellier, with a large safe harbourage.
CE`UTA (12), a port opposite Gibraltar belonging to Spain, on the
coast of Morocco, guarded by a fort on one of the Pillars of Hercules,
overlooking it; of importance as a military and convict station.
CÉVENNES, a range of low mountains on the eastern edge of the
central plateau of France, separating the basin of the Rhône from those
of the Loire and Garonne; average height from 3000 to 4000 ft.; the chief
scene of the dragonnades against the Huguenots under Louis XIV.
CEYLON (3,008), a pear-shaped island about the size of Scotland,
separated from India, to which it geographically belongs, and SE. of
which it lies, by Palk Strait, 32 m. broad; comprises a lofty, central
tableland with numerous peaks, the highest Tallagalla, 8000 ft., and a
broad border of well-watered plains. It was an ancient centre of
civilisation; the soil is everywhere fertile; the climate is hot, but
more equitable than on the mainland; the chief products are tea,
cinnamon, and tobacco; the forests yield satin-wood, ebony, &c.; the
cocoa-nut palm abounds; there are extensive deposits of iron, anthracite,
and plumbago; precious stones, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, &c., are in
considerable quantities; the pearl fisheries are a valuable government
monopoly. The chief exports are tea, rice, cotton goods, and coals.
Two-thirds of the people are Singhalese and Buddhists, there are 6000
Europeans. The island is a crown colony, the largest in the British
Empire, administered by a governor with executive and legislative
councils; the capital and chief port is Colombo (127).
CHABAS, FRANÇOIS, a French Egyptologist, born in Briançon; his works
have contributed much to elucidate the history of the invasion and
repulsion of the Hyksos in Egypt (1817-1882).
CHABOT, a member of the National Convention of France, a "disfrocked
Capuchin," adjured "Heaven," amid enthusiasm, "that at least they may
have done with kings"; guillotined (1759-1794).
CHACKTAW INDIANS. See CHOCKTAW.
CHAD, LAKE, a shallow lake in the Sahara, of varied extent,
according as the season is dry or rainy, at its largest covering an area
as large as England, and abounding in hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, &c.,
as well as waterfowl and fish.
CHADBAND, REV. MR., a character in "Bleak House."
CHADWICK, SIR EDWIN, an English social reformer, born in Manchester,
associated with measures bearing upon sanitation and the improvement of
the poor-laws, and connected with the administration of them (1801-1890).
CHÆRONEA, a town in Boeotia, where Philip of Macedon defeated the
Athenians, and extinguished the liberties of Greece.
CHALAIS, COUNT DE, a favourite of Louis XIII., accused of conspiracy
against Richelieu, arrested at Nantes, and beheaded (1599-1626).
CHALAZA, one of the two filaments attached to the ends of the yoke
of an egg to steady it in the albumen.
CHALCEDON, a city of Bithynia, at the entrance of the Thracian
Bosphorus, where the fourth Council of the Church was held in 451, which
defined the orthodox conception of Christ as God-man.
CHALCIDICÉ, the 3-fingered peninsula of the Balkan territory
stretching into the Ægean Sea.
CHALCIS, the ancient capital of Euboea or Negropont.
CHALDEA, ancient name for Babylonia.
CHALIER, a Piedmontese, head of the party of the Mountain at Lyons;
his execution the signal for an insurrection at Lyons against the
Convention (1747-1793).
CHALLENGER EXPEDITION, a scientific expedition sent out by the
British Government in the _Challenger_ in 1872 in the interest of
science, and under the management of scientific experts, to various
stations over the globe, to explore the ocean, and ascertain all manner
of facts regarding it open to observation, an expedition which concluded
its operations in 1876, of which as many as 50 volumes of reports have
been compiled.
CHALLIS, JAMES, an astronomer, born in Essex, noted the position of
the planet Neptune before its actual discovery (1803-1882).
CHALLONER, RICHARD, a Roman Catholic bishop, born at Lewes; a
zealous Catholic, author of "Garden of the Soul," a popular devotional
book, as well as several controversial books (1691-1781).
CHALMERS, ALEXANDER, a miscellaneous writer, born at Aberdeen;
settled in London; edited the "British Essayists" in 45 vols., and author
of "A General Biographical Dictionary."
CHALMERS, GEORGE, an English publicist, born at Fochabers, author of
"An Account, Historical and Topographical, of North Britain" (1742-1825).
CHALMERS, THOMAS, a celebrated Scotch ecclesiastic and pulpit
orator, born at Anstruther, Fife; studied for the Church, and entered the
ministry; after he did so was for some years more engrossed with physical
studies and material interests than spiritual, but he by-and-by woke up
to see and feel that the spiritual interest was the sovereign one, and to
the promotion of that he henceforth devoted himself body and soul; it was
for the sake of the spiritual he took the interest he did in the
ecclesiastical affairs of the nation, and that the Church might have
scope and freedom to discharge its spiritual functions was one chief
ruling passion of his life, and it is no wonder he bent all his energies
on a movement in the Church to secure this object; he was not much of a
scholar or even a theologian, but a great man, and a great force in the
religious life of his country; though the first pulpit-orator of his day,
and though he wrote largely, as well as eloquently, he left no writings
worthy of him except the "Astronomical Discourses" perhaps, to perpetuate
his memory; he was distinguished for his practical sagacity, and was an
expert at organisation; in his old age he was a most benignant,
venerable-looking man: "It is a long time," wrote Carlyle to his mother,
just after a visit he had paid him a few days before he died--"it is a
long time since I have spoken to so _good_ and really pious-hearted and
beautiful old man" (1780-1847).
CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE (25), capital of the French dep. of Marne, 100 m.
E. of Paris, where Attila was defeated by the Romans and Goths in 451;
Napoleon III. formed a camp near it for the training of troops.
CHÂLONS-SUR-SAÔNE (24), a trading centre some 80 m. N. of Lyons;
manufactures machinery, glass, paper, and chemicals.
CHAINS, chief town of the French dep. of Haute Vienne, where Richard
Coeur de Lion was mortally wounded in 1199 by a shot with an arrow.
CHAM, the pseudonym of the French caricaturist Amédee de Noé, famous
for his humorous delineations of Parisian life (1819-1884).
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, an association of merchants to promote and
protect the interests of trade, particularly of the town or the district
to which they belong.
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, a French legislative assembly, elected now by
universal suffrage.
CHAMBERLAIN, RIGHT HON. JOSEPH, born in London, connected as a
business man with Birmingham; after serving the latter city in a
municipal capacity, was elected the parliamentary representative in 1876;
became President of the Board of Trade under Mr. Gladstone in 1880, and
chief promoter of the Bankruptcy Bill; broke with Mr. Gladstone on his
Home Rule measure for Ireland, and joined the Liberal-Unionists;
distinguished himself under Lord Salisbury as Colonial Secretary; _b_.
1836.
CHAMBERS, EPHRAIM, an English writer, born in Kendal, author of a
cyclopædia which bears his name, and which formed the basis of subsequent
ones, as Johnson confessed it did of his Dictionary (1680-1750).
CHAMBERS, GEORGE, an English marine painter, born at Whitby; _d_.
1840.
CHAMBERS, ROBERT, brother of the succeeding and in the same line of
life, but of superior accomplishments, especially literary and
scientific, which served him well in editing the publications issued by
the firm; was the author of a great many works of a historical,
biographical, and scientific, as well as literary interest; wrote the
"Vestiges of Creation," a book on evolutionary lines, which made no small
stir at the time of publication, 1844, and for a time afterwards, the
authorship of which he was slow to own (1802-1871).
CHAMBERS, SIR WILLIAM, born at Peebles; apprenticed to a bookseller
in Edinburgh, and commenced business on his own account in a small way;
edited with his brother the "Gazetteer of Scotland"; started, in 1832,
_Chambers's Edinburgh Journal_ to meet a demand of the time for popular
instruction in company with his brother founded a great printing and
publishing establishment, from which there has issued a number of
valuable works in the interest especially of the propagation of useful
knowledge of all kinds; was a distinguished Edinburgh citizen, and did
much for the expansion and improvement of the city (1800-1883)
CHAMBERS, SIR WILLIAM, architect, born at Stockholm, of Scotch
origin; architect of Somerset House; was of the Johnson circle of wits
(1726-1796)
CHAMBÉRY (19), chief town of dep. of Savoy, in a beautiful district;
is the ancient capital, and contains the castle, of the dukes of Savoy;
manufactures cloth, wines, soap, and textile fabrics; is also a summer
resort.
CHAMBEZE, a head-stream of the Congo, N. of lake Nyassa.
CHAMBORD, spacious château in the dep. of Loire-et-Cher, France,
built by Francis I.; after being long a residence for royalty and people
of distinction, was presented in 1821 to the Duc de Bordeaux, the Comte
de Chambord.
CHAMBORD, COMTE DE, Duc de Bordeaux, son of the Duc de Berri and
grandson of Charles X., born at Paris; exiled in 1830, he retired to the
château of Frohsdorf, in Austria, where he died without issue; his father
and grandfather being dead, the monarchical party resolved to attempt a
restoration in his behalf in 1872, but he refused to adopt the tricolor
flag of the Revolution, and the scheme was abandoned, a like opportunity
offering itself twice before being let slip (1820-1883).
CHAMBRE ARDENTE, a name given to certain courts of justice
established to try certain cases that required to be sharply dealt with;
they were held at night, and even when held in the daytime with lighted
torches; a court of the kind was instituted for trial of the Huguenots in
1530, and again in 1680 and 1716.
CHAMFORT, a French wit and littérateur, born in Auvergne; took to
the Revolution, but offended the leaders, and being threatened with
arrest committed suicide, "cutting and slashing with frantic, uncertain
hand, gaining, not without difficulty, the refuge of death"; he was a
born cynic, and was famous for his keen insight into human nature and his
sharp criticisms of it, summed up in a collection of maxims he left, as
well as for his anecdotes in incisive portraiture of character. "He was a
man," says Professor Saintsbury, "soured by his want of birth, health,
and position, and spoilt by hanging on to the great persons of his time.
But for a kind of tragi-comic satire, a _soeva indignatio_, taking the
form of contempt for all that is exalted and noble, he has no equal in
literature except Swift" (1741-1794).
CHAMILLARD, Minister of Finance and of War under Louis XIV.;
"distinguished himself by his incapacity" (1651-1721).
CHAMISSO, ADALBERT VON, a German naturalist and littérateur born in
France, but educated in Berlin; is famous for his poetical productions,
but especially as the author of "Peter Schlemihl," the man who lost his
shadow, which has been translated into nearly every European language; he
wrote several works on natural history (1781-1838).
CHAMOUNI, OR CHAMONIX, a village in the dep. of Haute-Savoie, 33 m.
SE. of Geneva, in a valley forming the upper basin of the Arve, famous
for its beauty and for its glaciers; it is from this point that the
ascent of Mont Blanc is usually made.
CHAMOUSSET, a French philanthropist, born in Paris; the originator
of mutual benefit societies (1717-1773).
CHAMPAGNE, an ancient province of France, 180 m. long by 150 broad,
annexed to the Crown 1286, and including the deps. of Aube, Haute-Marne,
Marne, and Ardennes; the province where the wine of the name is
principally manufactured.
CHAMP-DE-MARS, a large space, of ground in Paris, between the front
of the École Militaire and the left bank of the Seine; the site of recent
Expositions, and the scene of the Federation Féte, 14th July 1790.
CHAMPLAIN`, a beautiful lake between the States of New York and
Vermont; it is 100 m. in length, and from 1 m. at its S. end to 14 m. at
its N. end broad.
CHAMPLAIN, SAMUEL DE, a French navigator, born at Brouage, in
Saintonge, was founder of Quebec, and French Governor of Canada; wrote an
account of his voyages (1570-1635).
CHAMPOLLION, JEAN FRANÇOIS, a celebrated French Egyptologist, born
in Figeac, dep. of Lot; early gave himself to the study of Coptic and
Egyptian antiquities; was the first to decipher the hieroglyphics of
ancient Egypt, a great discovery; conducted a scientific expedition to
Egypt in 1828, and returned in 1830 with the fruits of his researches; a
chair of Egyptology was in consequence instituted in the College of
France, and he was installed as the first professor; his writings on the
science, of which he laid the foundation, are numerous (1790-1832).
CHAMPS-ELYSÉES, a Parisian promenade between the Place de la
Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe.
CHANCELLOR, RICHARD, an English seaman, voyaging in northern parts,
arrived in the White Sea, and travelled to Moscow, where he concluded a
commercial treaty with Russia on behalf of an English company; wrote an
interesting account of his visit; after a second visit, in which he
visited Moscow, was wrecked on the coast of Aberdeenshire in 1556.
CHANDERNAGORE (25), a small town and territory on the Hooghly, 22 m.
N. of Calcutta, belonging to France.
CHANDLER, RICHARD, a learned Hellenistic archæologist, born in
Hants; travelled in Asia Minor and Greece, along with two artists, to
examine and describe the antiquities; the materials collected were
published in his "Ionian Antiquities," "Travels in Asia Minor," &c.
(1738-1810).
CHANDOS, an English title inherited by the Grenville family, of
Norman origin.
CHANDOS, JOHN, a celebrated English general in the 14th century; was
present at Crécy, governor of English provinces in France ceded by treaty
of Bretigny; defeated and took prisoner Du Guesclin of Auray; served
under the Black Prince, and was killed near Poitiers, 1369.
CHANGARNIER, NICOLAS, French general, born at Autun; distinguished
himself in Algeria, was exiled after the _coup-d'état_, returned in 1870,
served in the Franco-German war; surrendered at Metz, at the close of the
war came back, and assisted in reorganising the army (1793-1877).
CHANNEL, THE ENGLISH, an arm of the Atlantic between France and
England, 280 m. long and 100 m. wide at the mouth; the French call it _La
Manche_ (the sleeve) from its shape.
CHANNEL ISLANDS (92), a group of small islands off the NW. coast of
France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark;
formerly part of the Duchy of Normandy, and now all that remains to
Britain of her French dominions, being subject to it since 1066; have a
delightful climate mild and bright, and varied and beautiful scenery;
the soil is fertile; flowers and fruit are grown for export to Britain,
also early potatoes for the London market; Guernsey pears and Jersey cows
are famous; valuable quarries of granite are wrought; the language is
Norman-French.
CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY, a Unitarian preacher and miscellaneous
writer, born at Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.; a man of the most liberal
sentiments, who shrank from being classed with any sect; ranked high in
point of moral character; was a vigorous thinker, and eloquent with the
pen; "a man of faithful, long-continued striving towards what is Best"
(1780-1842).
CHANSON DE GESTES (i. e. Songs of Deeds), poems of a narrative
kind much in favour in the Middle Ages, relating in a legendary style the
history and exploits of some famous hero, such as the "Chanson de
Roland," ascribed to Théroulde, a trouvère of the 9th century.
CHANTREY, SIR FRANCIS, an English sculptor, born in Derbyshire; was
apprenticed to a carver and gilder in Sheffield; displayed a talent for
drawing and modelling; received a commission to execute a marble bust for
the parish, church, which was so successful as to procure him further and
further commissions; executed four colossal busts of admirals for
Greenwich Hospital; being expert at portraiture, his busts were
likenesses; executed busts of many of the most illustrious men of the
time, among them of Sir Walter Scott, Wordsworth, Southey, and
Wellington, as well as of royal heads; made a large fortune, and left it
for the encouragement of art (1781-1841).
CHANZY, a French general, born at Nouart, Ardennes; served in
Algeria; commanded the army of the Loire in 1870-71; distinguished
himself by his brilliant retreat from Mans to Laval; was afterwards
Governor-General in Algeria; died suddenly, to the regret of his country
(1823-1883).
CHAOS, a name in the ancient cosmogomy for the formless void out of
which everything at first sprang into existence, or the wide-spread
confusion that prevailed before it shaped itself into order under the
breath of the spirit of life.
CHAPELAIN, a French poet, protégé of Richelieu, born at Paris;
composed a pretentious poem on Joan of Arc, entitled "Pucelle," which was
laughed out of existence on the appearance of the first half, consisting
of only 12 of the 24 books promised, the rest having never passed beyond
the MS. stage (1595-1674).
CHAPMAN, GEORGE, English dramatic poet, born at Hitchin,
Hertfordshire; wrote numerous plays, both in tragedy and comedy, as well
as poems, of unequal merit, but his great achievement, and the one on
which his fame rests, is his translation into verse of the works of
Homer, which, though not always true to the letter, is instinct with
somewhat of the freshness and fire of the original; his translation is
reckoned the best yet done into English verse, and the best rendering
into verse of any classic, ancient or modern (1559-1634).
CHAPPELL, musical amateur, collector and editor of old English airs,
and contributor to the history of English national music; was one of the
founders of the Musical Hungarian Society, and the Percy Society
(1809-1888).
CHAPTAL, a distinguished French chemist and statesman, born at
Nogaret, Lozère; author of inventions in connection with the manufacture
of alum and saltpetre, the bleaching and the dyeing of cotton; held
office under Napoleon, and rendered great service to the arts and
manufactures of his country (1756-1832).
CHARCOT, JEAN MARTIN, a French pathologist; made a special study of
nervous diseases, including hypnotism, and was eminent for his works in
connection therewith (1823-1893).
CHARDIN, SIR JOHN, traveller, born in Paris; author of "Travels in
India and Persia," valuable for their accuracy (1643-1713).
CHARENTE (360), a dep. of France, W. of the Gironde, capital
Angoulême; with vast chestnut forests; produces wines, mostly distilled
into brandy.
CHARENTE-INFÉRIEURE (456), a maritime dep. of France, W. of the
former; includes the islands of Rhé, Oléron, Aix, and Madame; capital, La
Rochelle.
CHARIVA`RI, a satirical journal, such as the English _Punch_;
originally a discordant mock serenade.
CHARLEMAGNE i. e. Charles or Karl the Great, the first
Carlovingian king of the Franks, son and successor of Pepin le Bref (the
Short); became sole ruler on the death of his brother Carloman in 771; he
subjugated by his arms the southern Gauls, the Lombards, the Saxons, and
the Avares, and conducted a successful expedition against the Moors in
Spain, with the result that his kingdom extended from the Ebro to the
Elbe; having passed over into Italy in support of the Pope, he was on
Christmas Day 800 crowned Emperor of the West, after which he devoted
himself to the welfare of his subjects, and proved himself as great in
legislation as in arms; enacted laws for the empire called capitularies,
reformed the judicial administration, patronised letters, and established
schools; kept himself in touch and _au courant_ with everything over his
vast domain; he died and was buried at Aix-la-Chapelle (742-814).
CHARLEROI (21), a manufacturing town in Hainault, Belgium, 35 m. SE.
of Brussels.
CHARLES II., surnamed THE BALD, son of Louis "le Débonnaire";
after conquering his brother Lothaire at Fontenoy in 841, became by the
treaty of Verdun king of France, 843; was unable to defend his kingdom
against the Normans; went to Italy, and had himself crowned emperor at
Rome: _d_. 877.
CHARLES III., surnamed THE SIMPLE, became king of France in
893; his reign one long struggle against the Normans, which ended by
conceding Normandy to Rollo; was conquered by Hugh Capet, a rival for the
crown, at Soissons, and dethroned in 922; died in captivity, 929.
CHARLES IV., THE FAIR, third son of Philip the Fair, king of France
from 1322 to 1328; lost to France Guienne, which was taken from him by
the English; was the last of the Capetians; _d_. 1328.
CHARLES V., THE WISE, son of John II., king of France from 1361 to
1380; recovered from the English almost all the provinces they had
conquered, successes due to his own prudent policy, and especially the
heroism of Du Guesclin, De Clisson, and De Boucicaut; France owed to him
important financial reforms, the extension of privileges to the
universities, and the establishment of the first national library, into
which were gathered together thousands of MSS.; the Bastille was founded
in his reign.
CHARLES VI., THE WELL-BELOVED, king of France from 1380 to 1422, was
son and successor of Charles V.; began his reign under the guardianship
of his uncles, who rifled the public treasury and provoked rebellion by
their exactions; gained a victory at Rossbach over the Flemings, then in
revolt, and a little after dismissed his uncles and installed in their
stead the wise councillors of his father, whose sage, upright, and
beneficent administration procured for him the title of "Well-Beloved," a
state of things, however, which did not last long, for the harassments he
had been subjected to drove him insane, and his kingdom, torn in pieces
by rival factions, was given over to anarchy, and fell by treaty of
Troyes almost entirely into the hands of the English conquerors at
Agincourt (1368-1422).
CHARLES VII., THE VICTORIOUS, son of Charles VI., became king of
France in 1422; at his accession the English held possession of almost
the whole country, and he indolently made no attempt to expel them, but
gave himself up to effeminate indulgences; was about to lose his whole
patrimony when the patriotism of the nation woke up at the enthusiastic
summons of Joan of Arc; her triumphs and those of her associates weakened
the English domination, and even after her death the impulse she gave
continued to work, till at the end of 20 years the English were driven
out of France, and lost all they held in it except the town of Calais,
along with Havre, and Guines Castle (1403-1461).
CHARLES VIII., king of France, son and successor of Louis XI.;
during his minority the kingdom suffered from the turbulence and revolts
of the nobles; married Anne of Brittany, heiress of the rich duchy of
that name, by which it was added to the crown of France; sacrificed the
interests of his kingdom by war with Italy to support the claims of
French princes to the throne of Naples, which, though successful in a
military point of view, proved politically unfruitful (1470-1498).
CHARLES IX., second son of Henry II. and Catharine de' Medici,
became king of France in 1560; the civil wars of the Huguenots and
Catholics fill up this reign; the first war concluded by the peace of
Amboise, during which Francis of Guise was assassinated; the second
concluded by the peace of Longjumeau, during which Montmorency fell; the
third concluded by the peace of St. Germain, in which Condé and
Moncontour fell, which peace was broken by the massacre of St.
Bartholomew, into the perpetration of which Charles was inveigled by his
mother and the Guises; incensed at this outrage the Huguenots commenced a
fourth war, and were undertaking a fifth when Charles died, haunted by
remorse and in dread of the infinite terror (1550-1574).
CHARLES X., brother of Louis XVI. and Louis XVIII., the latter of
whom he succeeded on the throne of France in 1824; was unpopular in
France as Duc d'Artois in the time of the Revolution, and had to flee the
country at the outbreak of it, and stayed for some time as an exile in
Holyrood, Edinburgh; on his accession he became no less unpopular from
his adherence to the old régime; at an evil hour in 1830 he issued
ordinances in defiance of all freedom, and after an insurrection of three
days in the July of that year had again to flee; abdicating in favour of
his son, found refuge for a time again in Holyrood, and died at Görtz in
his eightieth year (1757-1837).
CHARLES V., (I. of Spain), emperor of Germany, son of Philip,
Archduke of Austria, born at Ghent; became king of Spain in 1516, on the
death of his maternal grandfather Ferdinand, and emperor of Germany in
1519 on the death of his paternal grandfather Maximilian I., being
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1520; reigned during one of the most
important periods in the history of Europe; the events of the reign are
too numerous to detail; enough to mention his rivalry with Francis I. of
France, his contention as a Catholic with the Protestants of Germany, the
inroads of the Turks, revolts in Spain, and expeditions against the
pirates of the Mediterranean; the ambition of his life was the
suppression of the Protestant Reformation and the succession of his son
Philip to the Imperial crown; he failed in both; resigned in favour of
his son, and retired into the monastery of St. Yuste, in Estremadura,
near which he built a magnificent retreat, where, it is understood,
notwithstanding his apparent retirement, he continued to take interest in
political affairs, and to advise in the management of them (1500-1558).
CHARLES VI., emperor of Germany from 1711 to 1740, as well as king
of Spain from 1703, was son of the Emperor Leopold I., and father of
Maria Theresa.
CHARLES XII., king of Sweden, son of Charles XI., a warlike prince;
ascended the throne at the age of 15; had to cope with Denmark, Russia,
and Poland combined against him; foiled the Danes at Copenhagen, the
Russians at Narva, and Augustus II. of Poland at Riga; trapped in Russia,
and cooped up to spend a winter there, he was, in spring 1709, attacked
by Peter the Great at Pultowa and defeated, so that he had to take refuge
with the Turks at Bender; here he was attacked, captured, and conveyed to
Demotica, but escaping, he found his way miraculously back to Sweden, and
making peace with the Czar, commenced an attack on Norway, but was killed
by a musket-shot at the siege of Friedrickshall; "the last of the Swedish
kings"; "his appearance, among the luxurious kings and knights of the
North" at the time, Carlyle compares to "the bursting of a cataract of
bombshells in a dull ballroom" (1697-1718).
CHARLES I., king of England, third son of James I., born at
Dunfermline; failing in his suit for the Infanta of Spain, married
Henrietta Maria, a French princess, a devoted Catholic, who had great
influence over him, but not for good; had for public advisers Strafford
and Laud, who cherished in him ideas of absolute power adverse to the
liberty of the subject; acting on these ideas brought him into collision
with the Parliament, and provoked a civil war; himself the first to throw
down the gauntlet by raising the royal standard at Nottingham; in the end
of which he surrendered himself to the Scots army at Newark, who
delivered him to the Parliament; was tried as a traitor to his country,
condemned to death, and beheaded, 30th January, at Whitehall (1600-1649).
CHARLES II., king of England, son of Charles I., horn at St. James's
Palace, London; was at The Hague, in Holland, when his father was
beheaded; assumed the royal title; was proclaimed King by the Scots;
landed in Scotland, and was crowned at Scone; marching into England, was
defeated by Cromwell at Worcester, 3rd September 1651; fled to France; by
the policy of General Monk, after Cromwell's death, was restored to his
crown and kingdom in 1660, an event known as the Restoration; he was an
easy-going man, and is known in history as the "Merry Monarch"; his reign
was an inglorious one for England, though it is distinguished by the
passing of the Habeas Corpus Act, one of the great bulwarks of English
liberty next to the Magna Charta (1630-1685).
CHARLES, a French physicist, born at Beaugency; was the first to
apply hydrogen to the inflation of balloons (1746-1823).
CHARLES, ARCHDUKE, of Austria, son of the Emperor Leopold II. and
younger brother of Francis II., one of the ablest generals of Austria in
the wars against the French Republic and the Empire; lost the battle of
Wagram, after which, being wounded, he retired into private life
(1771-1847).
CHARLES ALBERT, king of Sardinia, succeeded Charles Felix in 1831;
conceived a design to emancipate and unite Italy; in the pursuit of this
object he declared war against Austria; though at first successful, was
defeated at Novara, and to save his kingdom was compelled to resign in
favour of his son Victor Emmanuel; retired to Oporto, and died of a
broken heart (1798-1849).
CHARLES EDWARD, the Young Pretender, grandson of James II. of
England, born at Rome, landed in Scotland (1745); issued a manifesto in
assertion of his father's claims; had his father proclaimed king at
Edinburgh; attacked and defeated General Cope at Prestonpans; marched at
the head of his adherents into England as far as Derby; returned, and
defeated the king's force at Falkirk, but retired before the Duke of
Cumberland, who dispersed his army at Culloden; wandered about thereafter
in disguise; escaped to France, and died at Florence (1721-1789).
CHARLES MARTEL (i. e. "Charles the Hammer"), son of Pépin
d'Héristal and grandfather of Charlemagne; became mayor of the Palace,
and as such ruler of the Franks; notable chiefly for his signal victory
over the Saracens at Poitiers in 732, whereby the tide of Mussulman
invasion was once for all rolled back and the Christianisation of Europe
assured; no greater service was ever rendered to Europe by any other
fighting man (689-741).
CHARLES OF ANJOU, brother of St. Louis, king of Naples; lost Sicily
after the Sicilian Vespers (1220-1285).
CHARLES OF VALOIS, third son of Philip the Bold, one of the greatest
captains of his age (1270-1324).
CHARLES THE RASH, last Duke of Burgundy, son of Philip the Good,
born at Dijon; enemy of Louis XI. of France, his feudal superior; was
ambitious to free the duchy from dependence on France, and to restore it
as a kingdom, and by daring enterprises tried hard to achieve this; on
the failure of the last effort was found lying dead on the field
(1433-1477).
CHARLES'S WAIN, the constellation of Ursa Major, a wagon without a
wagoner.
CHARLESTON (56), the largest city in S. Carolina, and the chief
commercial city; also a town in Western Virginia, U.S., with a spacious
land-locked harbour; is the chief outlet for the cotton and rice of the
district, and has a large coasting trade.
CHARLET, NICOLAS TOUSSAINT, a designer and painter, born in Paris;
famous for his sketches of military subjects and country life, in which
he displayed not a little humour (1792-1845).
CHARLEVILLE (17), a manufacturing and trading town in the dep. of
Ardennes, France; exports iron, coal, wines, and manufactures hardware
and beer.
CHARLEVOIX, a Jesuit and traveller, born at St. Quentin, explored
the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi (1682-1761).
CHARLOTTE, PRINCESS, daughter and only child of George IV. of
England, married to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, afterwards king of
Belgium; died after giving birth to a still-born boy, to the great grief
of the whole nation (1796-1817).
CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH OF BAVARIA, second wife of the Duke of Orleans,
brother of Louis XIV., called the Princess Palatine (1652-1722).
CHARLOTTENBURG (76), a town on the Spree, 3 m. W. of Berlin, with a
palace, the favourite residence of Sophie Charlotte, the grandmother of
Frederick the Great, and so named by her husband Frederick I. after her
death; contains the burial-place of William I., emperor of Germany.
CHARLOTTETOWN (13), the capital of Prince Edward Island.
CHARMETTES, a picturesque hamlet near Chambéry, a favourite retreat
of Rousseau's.
CHARNAY, a French traveller; a writer on the ancient civilisation of
Mexico, which he has made a special study; _b_. 1828.
CHARON, in the Greek mythology the ferryman of the ghosts of the
dead over the Styx into Hades, a grim old figure with a mean dress and a
dirty beard, peremptory in exacting from the ghosts he ferried over the
obolus allowed him for passage-money.
CHARONDAS, a Sicilian law-giver, disciple of Pythagoras; is said to
have killed himself when he found he had involuntarily broken one of his
own laws (600 B.C.).
CHARRON, PIERRE, a French moralist and theologian, as well as pulpit
orator, born in Paris; author of "Les Trois Vérités," the unity of God,
Christianity the sole religion, and Catholicism the only Christianity;
and of a sceptical treatise "De la Sagesse"; a friend and disciple of
Montaigne, but bolder as more dogmatic, with less _bonhommie_ and
originality, and much of a cynic withal (1541-1603).
CHARTERHOUSE, a large London school, originally a Carthusian
monastery, and for a time a residence of the dukes of Norfolk.
CHARTIER, ALAIN, an early scholarly French poet and prose writer of
note, born at Bayeux; secretary to Charleses V., VI., and VII. of France,
whom Margaret, daughter of James I. of Scotland and wife of Louis XI.,
herself a poetess, once kissed as he lay asleep for the pleasure his
poems gave her; was a patriot, and wrote as one (1390-1458).
CHARTISM, a movement of the working-classes of Great Britain for
greater political power than was conceded to them by the Reform Bill of
1832, and which found expression in a document called the "People's
Charter," drawn up in 1838, embracing six "points," as they were called,
viz., Manhood Suffrage, Equal Electoral Districts, Vote by Ballot, Annual
Parliaments, Abolition of a Property Qualification in the Parliamentary
Representation, and Payment of Members of Parliament, all which took the
form of a petition presented to the House of Commons in 1839, and signed
by 1,380,000 persons. The refusal of the petition gave rise to great
agitation over the country, which gradually died out in 1848.
CHARTRES (23), the capital of the French dep. of Eure-et-Lois, 55 m.
SW. of Paris; gave title of Duke to the eldest of the Orleanist Bourbons.
CHARTREUSE, LA GRANDE, a monastery founded by St. Bruno in 1084 in
the dep. of Isère, 14 m. NE. of Grenoble; famous as the original place of
the manufacture of the Chartreuse liqueur, held in much repute; it was
honoured by a visit of Queen Victoria in 1887; Ruskin was disappointed
with both monks and monastery.
CHARYBDIS. See SCYLLA.
CHASE, SALMON PORTLAND, Chief-Justice of the United States; a great
anti-slavery advocate and leader of the Free-Soil party; aimed at the
Presidency, but failed (1773-1808).
CHASI`DIM, a party among the Jews identified with the Pharisees,
their supreme concern the observance of their religion in its purity.
CHASLES, MICHEL, an eminent French mathematician, and held one of
the first in the century; on the faith of certain autographs, which were
afterwards proved to be forgeries, he in 1867 astonished the world by
ascribing to Pascal the great discoveries of Newton, but had to admit he
was deceived (1793-1880).
CHASLES, PHILARÈTE, a French littérateur, born near Chartres, a
disciple of Rousseau; lived several years in England, and wrote
extensively on English subjects, Shakespeare, Mary Stuart, Charles I.,
and Cromwell among the chief (1799-1873).
CHASSÉ, DAVID HENDRIK, BARON, a Dutch soldier; served France under
Napoleon, who called him "General Baïonnette," from his zealous use of
the bayonet; fought at Waterloo on the opposite side; as governor of
Antwerp, gallantly defended its citadel in 1832 against a French and
Belgian force twelve times larger than his own (1765-1849).
CHASSEPOT, a French breech-loading rifle named from the inventor.
CHASSEURS, picked bodies of light cavalry and infantry in the French
service, called respectively _Chasseurs-à-cheval_ and _Chasseurs-à-pied_.
CHASTELARD, PIERRE DE BOSCOSEL DE, grandson of Bayard; conceived an
insane passion for Queen Mary, whom he accompanied to Scotland; was
surprised in her bedchamber, under her bed, and condemned to death, it
being his second offence (1540-1562).
CHAT MOSS, a large bog in Lancashire, 7 m. W. of Manchester, which
is partly reclaimed and partly, through the ingenuity of George
Stephenson, traversed by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
CHÂTEAUBRIAND, FRANÇOIS RENÉ DE, eminent French littérateur, born in
St. Malo, younger son of a noble family of Brittany; travelled to N.
America in 1791; returned to France on the arrest of Louis XVI., and
joined the EMIGRANTS (q. v.) at Coblenz; was wounded at the
siege of Thionville, and escaped to England; wrote an "Essay on
Revolutions Ancient and Modern," conceived on liberal lines; was tempted
back again to France in 1800; wrote "Atala," a story of life in the wilds
of America, which was in 1802 followed by his most famous work, "Génie du
Christianisme"; entered the service of Napoleon, but withdrew on the
murder of the Duc d'Enghien; though not obliged to leave France, made a
journey to the East, the fruit of which was his "Itinéraire de Paris à
Jerusalem"; hailed with enthusiasm the restoration of the Bourbons in
1814; supported the Bourbon dynasty all through, though he wavered
sometimes in the interest of liberty; withdrew from public life on the
elevation of Louis Philippe to the throne; he was no thinker, but he was
a fascinating writer, and as such exercised no small influence on the
French literature of his day; he lived in a transition period, and
hovered between legitimism and liberty, the revolution and reaction, and
belonged to the Romantic school of literature--was perhaps the father of
it in France (1766-1848).
CHÂTEAUX EN ESPAGNE, castles in Spain, visionary projects.
CHÂTELET, MARQUISE DE, a learned Frenchwoman, born at Paris, with
whom Voltaire kept up an intimate acquaintanceship (1706-1749).
CHÂTELLERAULT (18), a town in the dep. of Vienne, 24 m. NE. of
Poitiers; gave title to the Scottish regent, the Earl of Arran;
manufactures cutlery and small-arms for the Government.
CHATHAM (59), a town in Kent, on the estuary of the Medway, a
fortified naval arsenal; is connected with Rochester.
CHATHAM, WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF, a great British statesman and
orator, born in Cornwall; determined opponent of Sir Robert Walpole;
succeeded in driving him from power, and at length installing himself in
his place; had an eye to the greatness and glory of England, summoned the
English nation to look to its laurels; saw the French, the rivals of
England, beaten back in the four quarters of the globe; driven at length
from power himself, he still maintained a single regard for the honour of
his country, and the last time his voice was heard in the Parliament of
England was to protest against her degradation by an ignoble alliance
with savages in the war with America; on this occasion he fell back in a
faint into the arms of his friends around, and died little more than a
month after; "for four years" (of his life), says Carlyle, "king of
England; never again he; never again one resembling him, nor indeed can
ever be." See SMELFUNGUS on his character and position in
Carlyle's "Frederick," Book xxi. chap. i. (1708-1775).
CHATHAM ISLANDS, a group of islands 360 m. E. of New Zealand, and
politically connected with it; the chief industry is the rearing of
cattle.
CHATSWORTH, the palatial seat of the Duke of Devonshire, in
Derbyshire, 8 m. W. of Chesterfield, enclosed in a park, with gardens, 10
m. in circumference.
CHATTERTON, THOMAS, a poet of great promise, had a tragic fate, born
at Bristol, passed off while but a boy as copies of ancient MSS., and
particularly of poems which he ascribed to one Rowley, a monk of the 17th
century, what were compositions of his own, exhibiting a genius of no
small literary, not to say lyric, power; having vainly endeavoured to
persuade any one of their genuineness, though he had hopes of the
patronage of Sir Robert Walpole, he left Bristol for London, and made
vehement efforts with his pen to bespeak regard, but failed; grew
desperate, and committed suicide at the early age of 18 (1752-1770).
CHAUCER, GEOFFREY, the great early English poet, and father of
English poetry, the son of a vintner and taverner, born probably in
London, where he lived almost all his days; when a lad, served as page in
the royal household; won the favour and patronage of the king, Edward
III. and his son, John of Gaunt, who pensioned him; served in an
expedition to France; was made prisoner, but ransomed by the king; was
often employed on royal embassies, in particular to Italy; held
responsible posts at home; was thus a man of the world as well as a man
of letters; he comes first before us as a poet in 1369; his poetic powers
developed gradually, and his best and ripest work, which occupied him at
intervals from 1373 to 1400, is his "CANTERBURY TALES" (q. v.),
characterised by Stopford Brooke as "the best example of English
story-telling we possess"; besides which he wrote, among other
compositions, "The Life of St. Cecilia," "Troilus and Cressida," the
"House of Fame," and the "Legend of Good Women"; his influence on English
literature has been compared to that of Dante on Italian, and his
literary life has been divided into three periods--the French, the
Italian, and the English, according as the spirit of it was derived from
a foreign or a native source (1340-1400).
CHAUMETTE, PIERRE GASPARD, a violent member of the extreme party in
the French Revolution, could "recognise the suspect from the very face of
them"; provoked the disgust of even Robespierre, and was arrested amid
jeers and guillotined (1763-1794).
CHAUTAUQUA, a summer resort on a lake of the name in the W. of New
York State, centre of a novel institution, which prescribes a four years'
course of private readings, and grants diplomas to those who anywhere
achieve it.
CHAUVINISM, a name among the French for what is known as Jingoism
among the English, i. e. an extravagant zeal for the glory of one's
country or party, from one _Chauvin_, who made threatening displays of
his devotion to Napoleon after his fall in 1815.
CHEDDAR, a village in Somersetshire, on the Mendip Hills, famous for
its cheese.
CHEKE, SIR JOHN, a zealous Greek scholar, born at Cambridge, and
first regius professor of Greek there; did much to revive in England an
interest in Greek and Greek literature; was tutor to Edward VI., who
granted him landed estates; favouring the cause of Lady Jane Grey on the
accession of Mary, left the country, was seized, and sent back; for fear
of the stake abjured Protestantism, but never forgave himself, and died
soon after; he introduced the mode of pronouncing Greek prevalent in
England (1514-1557).
CHELMSFORD (11), the county town of Essex, on the Chelmer.
CHELSEA (96), a western suburb of London, on the N. of the Thames;
famous for its hospital for old and disabled soldiers, and the place of
residence of sundry literary celebrities, among others Sir Thomas More,
Swift, Steele, and Carlyle.
CHELTENHAM (49), a healthy watering-place and educational centre in
Gloucestershire; first brought into repute as a place of fashionable
resort by the visits of George III. to it; contains a well-equipped
college, where a number of eminent men have been educated.
CHELYUSKIN, CAPE, in Siberia, the most northerly point in the
Eastern hemisphere.
CHEMICAL AFFINITY, the tendency elementary bodies have to combine
and remain in combination.
CHEMISM, in the Hegelian philosophy "the mutual attraction,
interpenetration, and neutralisation of independent individuals which
unite to form a whole."
CHEMISTRY, the science that treats of elementary bodies and their
combinations: _inorganic_, relating to physical compounds; _organic_,
relating to vegetable and animal compounds.
CHEMNITZ (160), a manufacturing town in Saxony, called the "Saxon
Manchester," at the foot of the Erzgebirge, in a rich mineral district;
manufactures cottons, woollens, silks, machinery, &c.
CHEMNITZ, MARTIN, an eminent Lutheran theologian, born in
Brandenburg, a disciple of Melanchthon; author of "Loci Theologici," a
system of theology; took a leading part in procuring the adoption of the
"Formula of Concord"; his chief work "Examen Concilii Tridentini"
(1522-1586).
CHEMOSH, the national god of the Moabites, akin to Moloch, and their
stay in battle, but an abomination to the children of Jehovah.
CHEMULPO, a town on the W. coast of Corea; a thriving town since it
became a treaty-port in 1883.
CHENAB`, an affluent on the left bank of the Indus, and one of the
five rivers, and the largest, which give name to the Punjab; is 750 m.
long.
CHENERY, THOMAS, a journalist; became editor of the _Times_; was
distinguished for his knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew, and was one of the
Old Testament revisers (1826-1884).
CHÉNIER, MARIE-ANDRÉ, French poet, greatest in the 18th century,
born at Constantinople; author of odes, idylls, and elegies, which place
him high among French poets; took part in the Revolution as a lover of
order as well as of liberty; offended Robespierre, and was guillotined
two days before the fall of Robespierre; as a poet he was distinguished
for the purity of his style and his originality (1762-1794).
CHENONCEAUX, a magnificent château near Amboise, in, France; built
by Francis I. for the Duchesse d'Etampes, afterwards the property of the
Condés, and afterwards of Madame Dupont.
CHENU, a French naturalist; author of an "Encyclopædia of Natural
History" (1808-1879).
CHEOPHREN, king of Egypt, brother and successor of Cheops; built the
second great pyramid.
CHEOPS, king of Memphis, in Egypt, of the 4th dynasty; builder of
the largest of the pyramids about 3000 B.C.
CHEPSTOW (4), a port on the Wye, Monmouthshire, 17 m. N. of Newport;
with a tubular suspension bridge, and where the tides are higher than
anywhere else in Britain.
CHER, an affluent of the Loire below Tours; also the dep. in France
(359) to which it gives name; an agricultural and pastoral district;
capital Bourges.
CHERBOURG (40), a French port and arsenal in the dep. of Manche,
opposite the Isle of Wight, 70 m. distant, on the construction and
fortifications of which immense sums were expended, as much as eight
millions; the fortifications were begun by Vauban.
CHERBULIEZ, VICTOR, novelist, critic, and publicist, born at Geneva,
of a distinguished family; professor of Greek at Geneva; holds a high
place, and is widely known, as a writer of a series of works of fiction;
_b_. 1826.
CHER`IBON (11), a seaport of Java, on the N. of the island.
CHERITH, a brook E. of the Jordan, Elijah's hiding-place.
CHEROKEES, a tribe of American Indians, numbering some 20,000, in
the NW. of the Indian Territory, U.S.; civilised, self-governing, and
increasing; formerly occupied the region about the Tennessee River.
CHERONE`A, a town in Boeotia, where Philip of Macedon conquered the
Athenians and Thebans, 338 B.C., and Sulla defeated Mithridates, 86 B.C.;
the birthplace of Plutarch, who is hence called the Cheronean Sage.
CHERRA PUNJI (5), a village in the Khasi Hills, Assam, with the
heaviest rainfall of any place on the globe.
CHERSONE`SUS (i. e. continent island), a name which the Greeks
gave to several peninsulas, viz., the Tauric C., the Crimea, the Thracian
C., Gallipoli; the Cimbric C., Jutland; the Golden C., the Malay
Peninsula.
CHERTSEY (11), a very old town of Surrey, 21 m. SW. of London, on
the right bank of the Thames.
CHERUBIM, an order of angelic beings conceived of as accompanying
the manifestations of Jehovah, supporting His throne and protecting His
glory, guarding it from profane intrusion; winged effigies of them
overshadowed the MERCY SEAT (q. v.).
CHERUBIM, a character in the "Mariage de Figaro"; also the 11th
Hussars, from their trousers being of a cherry colour.
CHERUBINI, a celebrated musical composer, born at Florence;
naturalised in France; settled in Paris, the scene of his greatest
triumphs; composed operas, of which the chief were "Iphigenia in Aulis,"
and "Les deux Journeés; or, The Water-Carrier," his masterpiece; also a
number of sacred pieces and requiems, all of the highest merit; there is
a portrait of him by Ingres (1842) in the Louvre, representing the Muse
of his art extending her protecting hand over his head (1760-1842).
CHÉRUEL, ADOLPHE, French historian, born at Rouen; author of
"History of France during the Minority of Louis XIV."; published the
"Memoirs of Saint-Simon" (1809-1891).
CHERUSCI, an ancient people of Germany, whose leader was Arminius,
and under whom they defeated the Romans, commanded by Varus, in 9 A.D.
CHESAPEAKE BAY, a northward-extending inlet on the Atlantic coast of
the United States, 200 m. long and from 10 to 40 m. broad, cutting
Maryland in two.
CHESELDEN, WILLIAM, an English anatomist and surgeon, whose work,
"Anatomy of the Human Body," was long used as a text-book on that science
(1688-1752).
CHESHIRE (730), a western county of England, between the Mersey and
the Dee, the chief mineral products of which are coal and rock-salt, and
the agricultural, butter and cheese; has numerous manufacturing towns,
with every facility for inter-communication, and the finest pasture-land
in England.
CHESHUNT (9), a large village in Hertfordshire, 14 m. N. of London,
with rose gardens, and a college founded by the Countess of Huntingdon.
CHESIL BEACH, a neck of land on the Devonshire coast, 15 m. long,
being a ridge of loose pebbles and shingle.
CHESNEY, C. CORNWALLIS, professor of Military History, nephew of the
succeeding, author of "Waterloo Lectures" (1826-1876).
CHESNEY, FRANCIS RAWDON, explorer, born in co. Down, Ireland;
explored with much labour the route to India by way of the Euphrates,
though his labours were rendered futile by the opposition of Russia;
proved, by survey of the isthmus, the practicability of the Suez Canal
(1798-1872).
CHESTER (41), the county town of Cheshire, on the Dee, 16 m. SE. of
Liverpool; an ancient city founded by the Romans; surrounded by walls
nearly 2 m. long, and from 7 to 8 ft. thick, forming a promenade with
parapets; the streets are peculiar; along the roofs of the lower storeys
of the houses there stretch piazzas called "Rows," at the original level
of the place, 16 ft. wide for foot-passengers, approached by steps; it
abounds in Roman remains, and is altogether a unique town.
CHESTERFIELD (22), a town in Derbyshire, 21 m. N. of Derby; in a
mineral district; manufactures cotton, woollen, and silk; has a canal
connecting it with the Trent.
CHESTERFIELD, PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, EARL OF, statesman, orator,
and man of letters, eldest son of the third earl, born in London; sat in
the House of Commons from 1716 to 1726; was an opponent of Walpole; held
office under the Pelhams; in 1748 retired from deafness, or perhaps
disgust, into private life; celebrated for his "Letters to his Son,"
models of elegance, though of questionable morality, which it appears he
never intended to publish, and for the scorn with which Dr. Johnson
treated him when he offered to help him, after he no longer needed any,
in a letter which gave the death-blow to the patronage of literature; is
credited by Carlyle with having predicted the French Revolution; it
should be added, the "Letters" were printed by his son's widow
(1694-1773).
CHEVALIER, MICHEL, a celebrated French economist, born at Limoges;
originally a Socialist of the St. Simonian school; for defending
Socialism was imprisoned, but recanted, and wrote ably against Socialism;
was a free-trader and coadjutor of Cobden (1806-1879).
CHEVALIER, SULPICE. See GAVARNI.
CHEVALIER D'INDUSTRIE, one who lives by his wits, specially by
swindling.
CHEVALIER ST. GEORGE, the Pretender.
CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE, a military fence composed of a beam or a bar armed
with long spikes, literally Friesland horses, having been first used in
Friesland.
CHEVERT, a French general, born at Verdun; "a bit of right soldier
stuff"; distinguished himself in many engagements, and especially at the
siege of Prague in 1757 (1696-1773).
CHEVIOT HILLS, a range on the borders of England and Scotland,
extending 35 m. south-westwards, the highest in Northumberland 2676 ft.,
the Carter Fell being 2020 ft.; famous for its breed of sheep.
CHEVREUL, MICHEL EUGÈNE, a French chemist, born at Angers; an expert
in the department of dyeing, and an authority on colours, as well as the
chemistry of fats; was director in the dyeing department in the Gobelins
manufactory; he lived to witness the centenary of his birth (1786-1889).
CHEVREUSE, DUCHESSE DE, played an important part in the Fronde and
in the plots against Richelieu and Mazarin; her Life has been written by
Victor Cousin (1600-1679).
CHEVRON, in heraldry an ordinary of two bands forming an angle
descending to the extremities of the shield; representing the two rafters
of a house, meeting at the top.
CHEVY CHASE, the subject and title of a highly popular old English
ballad, presumed to refer to an event in connection with the battle of
Otterburn; there were strains in it which Sir Philip Sidney said moved
his heart more than with a trumpet.
CHEYENNE INDIANS, a warlike tribe of Red Indians, now much reduced,
and partially settled in the Indian Territory, U.S.; noted for their
horsemanship.
CHEYNE, GEORGE, a physician and medical writer, born in
Aberdeenshire, in practice in London; suffered from corpulency, being 32
stone in weight, but kept it down by vegetable and milk diet, which he
recommended to others in the like case; wrote on fevers, nervous
disorders, and hygiene; wrote also on fluxions (1671-1743).
CHEYNE, THOMAS KELLY, an eminent Biblical scholar, born in London;
Oriel Professor of Scripture Exegesis, Oxford, and canon of Rochester;
author of numerous works on the Old Testament, particularly on "Isaiah"
and the "Psalms," in which he advocates conclusions in accord with modern
critical results; _b_. 1841.
CHÉZY, DE, a French Orientalist, born at Neuilly; the first to
create in France an interest in the study of Sanskrit (1773-1832).
CHIABRERA, GABRIELLO, an Italian lyric poet, born at Savona;
distinguished, especially for his lyrics; surnamed the "Pindar of Italy,"
Pindar being a Greek poet whom it was his ambition to imitate
(1552-1637).
CHIA`NA, a small, stagnant, pestilential affluent of the Tiber, now
deepened into a healthful and serviceable stream, connecting the Tiber
with the Arno.
CHIAPAS, LAS (270), a Pacific State of Mexico, covered with forests;
yields maize, sugar, cacao, and cotton.
CHIAROSCURO, the reproduction in art of the effects of light and
shade on nature as they mutually affect each other.
CHIBCHAS or MUYSCAS, a civilised people, though on a lower
stage than the Peruvians, whom the Spaniards found established in New
Granada in the 16th century, now merged in the Spanish population; they
worship the sun.
CHICA, an orange-red colouring matter obtained from boiling the
leaves of the _Bignonia chica_, and used as a dye.
CHICAGO (1,700), the metropolis of Illinois, in the NE. of the
State, on the SW. shore of Lake Michigan, is the second city in the
Union; its unparalleled growth, dating only from 1837--in 1832 a mere
log-fort, and now covering an area of 180 sq. m., being 21 m. in length
and 10 m. in breadth--is due to its matchless facilities for
communication. Situated in the heart of the continent, a third of the
United States railway system centres in it, and it communicates with all
Canada, and with the ocean by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River;
laid out with absolute regularity, it has many magnificent buildings,
enormously tall office "sky-scrapers," and an unrivalled system of parks
and avenues; there are a university, medical, commercial, and theological
colleges, an art institute, libraries, and observatory; it suffered
severely from fire in 1871 and 1874; it is the greatest grain and pork
market in the world, and its manufactures include almost every variety of
production; the population is a mixture of all European peoples;
native-born Americans are a small minority, outnumbered by the Germans
and almost equalled by the Irish.
CHICARD, the harlequin of the modern French carnival, grotesquely
dressed up.
CHICHELEY, HENRY, archbishop of Canterbury, a scholar and statesman,
often employed on embassies, a moderate churchman; accompanied Henry V.
to Agincourt (1362-1442).
CHICHESTER (9), a cathedral city in the W. of Sussex, 17 m. NE. of
Portsmouth, with a port on the Channel 2 m. SW. of it; chief trade in
agricultural produce.
CHICHEVACHE, a monster fabled to feed on good women, and starved,
from the scarcity of them, to skin and bone, in contrast with another
called Bicorn, that fed on good men, who are more plentiful, and was fat
and plump.
CHICKASAWS, N. American Indians, allied to the Chocktaws, settled in
a civilised state in the Indian Territory like the Cherokees.
CHICLANA (12), a watering-place 12 m. SB. of Cadiz, with mineral
baths.
CHIEF, the upper part of an escutcheon cut off by a horizontal line.
CHIEM-SEE, a high-lying lake in Upper Bavaria, 48 m. from Münich,
adorned with three islands; famous for its fish.
CHIEN DE JEAN DE NIVELLE, the dog that never came when it was
called. See NIVELLE.
CHIË`TI (22), a city in Central Italy, 78 m. NE. of Rome, with a
fine Gothic cathedral.
CHIGI, a distinguished Italian family, eminent in the Church.
CHIGOE, an insect which infests the skin of the feet, multiplies
incredibly, and is a great annoyance to the negro, who, however, is
pretty expert in getting rid of it.
CHIHUA`HUA (25), a town in Mexico; capital of a State (298), the
largest in Mexico, of the same name, with famous silver and also copper
mines.
CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES, an American scholar, born in Boston; professor
of Anglo-Saxon and Early English Literature at Harvard; distinguished as
the editor of Spenser and of "English and Scottish Ballads," "a
monumental collection"; _b_. 1825.
CHILD, LYDIA MARIA, an American novelist and anti-slavery advocate
(1802-1880).
CHILD, SIR JOSHUA, a wealthy London merchant, author of "Discourse
on Trade," with an appendix against usury; advocated the compulsory
transportation of paupers to the Colonies (1630-1699).
CHILDE, the eldest son of a nobleman who has not yet attained to
knighthood, or has not yet won his spurs.
CHILDE HAROLD, a poem of Byron's, written between 1812 and 1819,
representing the author himself as wandering over the world in quest of
satisfaction and returning sated to disgust; it abounds in striking
thoughts and vivid descriptions; in his "Dernier Chant of C. H."
Lamartine takes up the hero where Byron leaves him.
CHILDERBERT I., son of Clovis, king of Paris, reigned from 511 to
558. C. II., son of Siegbert and Brunhilda, king of Austrasia,
reigned from 575 to 596. C. III., son of Thierri III., reigned over
all France from 695 to 711, under the mayor of the palace, Pépin
d'Héristal.
CHILDERBRAND, a Frank warrior, who figures in old chronicles as the
brother of Charles Martel, signalised himself in the expulsion of the
Saracens from France.
CHILDÉRIC I., the son of Merovig and father of Clovis, king of the
Franks; _d_. 481. C. II., son of Clovis II., king of Austrasia in
660, and of all France in 670; assassinated 673. C. III., son of the
preceding, last of the Merovingian kings, from 743 to 752; was deposed by
Pepin le Bref; died in the monastery of St. Omer in 755.
CHILDERMAS, a festival to commemorate the massacre of the children
by Herod.
CHILDERS, ROBERT C., professor of Pâli and Buddhistic Literature in
University College, and author of Pâli Dictionary (1809-1876).
CHILDREN OF THE WOOD, two children, a boy and girl, left to the care
of an uncle, who hired two ruffians to murder them, that he might inherit
their wealth; one of the ruffians relented, killed his companion, and
left the children in a wood, who were found dead in the morning, a
redbreast having covered their bodies with strawberry leaves; the uncle
was thereafter goaded to death by the furies.
CHILE (2,867), the most advanced and stable of the S. American
States, occupies a strip of country, 100 m. broad, between the Andes and
the Pacific Ocean, and stretching from Cape Horn northward 2200 m. to
Peru, with Argentine and Bolivia on its eastern borders. The climate is
naturally various. In the N. are rainless tracts of mountains rich in
copper, manganese, silver, and other metals, and deserts with wonderful
deposits of nitrate. In the S. are stretches of pastoral land and virgin
forest, with excessive rains, and cold, raw climate. The central portion
enjoys a temperate climate with moderate rainfall, and produces excellent
wheat, grapes, and fruits of all kinds. The Andes tower above the
snow-line, Aconcagua reaching 23,500 ft. The rivers are short and rapid,
of little use for navigation. The coast-line is even in the N., but
excessively rugged and broken in the S., the most southerly regions being
weird and desolate. The people are descendants of Spaniards, mingled with
Araucanian Indians; but there is a large European element in all the
coast towns. Mining and agriculture are the chief industries;
manufactures of various kinds are fostered with foreign capital. The
chief trade is with Britain: exports nitre, wheat, copper, and iodine;
imports, textiles, machinery, sugar, and cattle. Santiago (250) is the
capital; Valparaiso (150) and Iquique the principal ports. The government
is republican; Roman Catholicism the State religion; education is fairly
well fostered; there is a university at Santiago. The country was first
visited by Magellan in 1520. In 1540 Pedro Valdivia entered it from Peru
and founded Santiago. During colonial days it was an annex of Peru. In
1810 the revolt against Spain broke out. Independence was gained in 1826.
Settled government was established in 1847. Since then a revolution in
1851, successful wars with Spain 1864-66, with Bolivia and Peru 1879-81,
and a revolution in 1891, have been the most stirring events in its
history.
CHILLIANWALLA, a village in the Punjab, 80 m. NW. of Lahore, the
scene in 1849 of a bloody battle in the second Sikh War, in which the
Sikhs were defeated by Gen. Gough; it was also the scene of a battle
between Alexander the Great and Porus.
CHILLINGHAM, a village in Northumberland, 8 m. SW. of Belford, with
a park attached to the castle, the seat of the Earl of Tankerville,
containing a herd of native wild cattle.
CHILLINGWORTH, WILLIAM, an able English controversial divine, who
thought forcibly and wrote simply, born at Oxford; championed the cause
of Protestantism against the claims of Popery in a long-famous work, "The
Religion of Protestants the Safe Way to Salvation," summing up his
conclusion in the oft-quoted words, "The Bible, the Bible alone, is the
religion of Protestants"; though a Protestant, he was not a Puritan or a
man of narrow views, and he suffered at the hands of the Puritans as an
adherent of the Royalist cause (1602-1643).
CHILLON, CASTLE OF, a castle and state prison built on a rock, 62
ft. from the shore, at the eastern end of the Lake of Geneva; surnamed
the Bastille of Switzerland, in which Bonivard, the Genevese patriot,
was, as celebrated by Byron, incarcerated for six years; it is now an
arsenal.
CHILOË (77), a thickly wooded island off the coast, and forming a
province, of Chile, 115 m. long from N. to S., and 43 m. broad; inhabited
chiefly by Indians; exports timber; is said to contain vast deposits of
coal.
CHILTERN HILLS, a range of chalk hills extending about 70 m. NE.
from the Thames in Oxfordshire through Bucks, from 15 to 20 m. broad, the
highest Wendover, 950 ft.
CHILTERN HUNDREDS, a wardship of beech forests on the Chiltern Hills
against robbers, that at one time infested them; now a sinecure office,
the acceptance of which enables a member of Parliament to resign his seat
if he wishes to retire, the office being regarded as a Government one.
CHIMÆRA, a fire-breathing monster of the Greek mythology, with a
goat's body, a lion's head, and a dragon's tail; slain by Bellerophon,
and a symbol of any impossible monstrosity.
CHIMBORA`ZO, one of the loftiest peaks of the Andes, in Ecuador,
20,700 ft.; is an extinct volcano, and covered with perpetual snow.
CHIMPANZEE, a large African ape, from 3 to 4 ft. in height, and more
allied in several respects to man than any other ape: it is found chiefly
in W. Africa.
CHINA (300,000 to 400,000), which, with Tibet, Mongolia (from which
it is separated by the Great Wall), and parts of Turkestan, forms the
Chinese Empire; is a vast, compact, and densely peopled country in
Eastern Asia; bounded on the N. by Mongolia; W. by Tibet and Burmah; S.
by Siam, Annam, and the China Sea; and E. by the Pacific. In the W. are
lofty mountain ranges running N. and S., from which parallel ranges run
E. and W., rising to greatest height in the S. Two great rivers traverse
the country, the Hoang-ho and the Yangtse-kiang, the latter with many
large lakes in its course, and bearing on its waters an innumerable fleet
of boats and barges. Between the lower courses of these rivers lies the
Great Plain, one of the vastest and richest in the world, whose yellow
soil produces great crops with little labour and no manure. The
coast-line is long and much indented, and out of it are bitten the gulfs
of Pe-che-lee, the Yellow Sea, and Hang-chou. There are many small
islands off the coast; the mountainous Hainau is the only large one still
Chinese. The climate in the N. has a clear frosty winter, and warm rainy
summer; in the S. it is hot. The country is rich in evergreens and
flowering plants. In the N. wheat, millet, and cotton are grown; in the
S. rice, tea, sugar, silk, and opium. Agriculture is the chief industry,
and though primitive, it is remarkably painstaking and skilful. Forests
have everywhere been cleared away, and the whole country is marvellously
fertile. Its mineral wealth is enormous. Iron, copper, and coal abound in
vast quantities; has coal-fields that, it is said, if they were worked,
"would revolutionise the trade of the world." The most important
manufactures are of silk, cotton, and china. Commerce is as yet chiefly
internal; its inter-provincial trade is the largest and oldest in the
world. Foreign trade is growing, almost all as yet done with Britain and
her Colonies. Tea and silk are exported; cotton goods and opium imported.
About twenty-five ports are open to British vessels, of which the largest
are Shanghai and Canton. There are no railways; communication inland is
by road, river, and canals. The people are a mixed race of Mongol type,
kindly, courteous, peaceful, and extremely industrious, and in their own
way well educated. Buddhism is the prevailing faith of the masses,
Confucianism of the upper classes. The Government is in theory a
patriarchal autocracy, the Emperor being at once father and high-priest
of all the people, and vicegerent of heaven. The capital is Pekin (500),
in the NE. Chinese history goes back to 2300 B.C. English intercourse
with the Chinese began in 1635 A.D., and diplomatic relations between
London and Pekin were established this century. The Anglo-Chinese wars of
1840, 1857, and 1860 broke down the barrier of exclusion previously
maintained against the outside world. The Japanese war of 1894-95
betrayed the weakness of the national organisation; and the seizure of
Formosa by Japan, the Russo-Japanese protectorate over Manchuria and
Corea, the French demand for Kwang-si and Kwang-tung, enforced lease of
Kiao-chau to Germany, and of Wei-hai-wei to Britain (1898), seem to
forebode the partition of the ancient empire among the more energetic
Western nations.
CHINA, THE GREAT WALL OF, a wall, with towers and forts at
intervals, about 2000 m. long, from 20 to 30 ft. high, and 25 ft. broad,
which separates China from Mongolia on the N., and traverses high hills
and deep valleys in its winding course.
CHINAMPAS, floating gardens.
CHINCHA ISLANDS, islands off the coast of Peru that had beds of
guano, often 100 ft. thick, due to the droppings of penguins and other
sea birds, now all but, if not quite, exhausted.
CHINCHILLA, a rodent of S. America, hunted for its fur, which is
soft and of a grey colour; found chiefly in the mountainous districts of
Peru and Chile.
CHINESE GORDON, General Gordon, killed at Khartoum; so called for
having, in 1851, suppressed a rebellion in China which had lasted 15
years.
CHINOOK, a tribe of Indians in Washington Territory, noted for
flattening their skulls.
CHINSURA, a Dutch-built town on the right bank of the Hoogly, 20 m.
N. of Calcutta, with a college; is famous for cheroots.
CHINZ, a calico printed with flowers and other devices in different
colours; originally of Eastern manufacture.
CHIOGGIA (25), a seaport of Venetia, built on piles, on a lagoon
island at the mouth of the Brenta, connected with the mainland by a
bridge with 43 arches.
CHIOS, or SCIO (25), a small island belonging to Turkey, in the
Grecian Archipelago; subject to earthquakes; yields oranges and lemons in
great quantities; claims to have been the birthplace of Homer.
CHIPPENDALE, THOMAS, a cabinet-maker, born in Worcestershire; famous
in the last century for the quality and style of his workmanship; his
work still much in request.
CHIPPEWAYS, a Red Indian tribe, some 12,000 strong, located in
Michigan, U.S., and in Canada adjoining; originally occupied the N. and
W. of Lake Superior.
CHIQUITOS, Indians of a low but lively type in Bolivia and Brazil.
CHIRIQUI, an archipelago and a lagoon as well as province in Costa
Rica.
CHIRON, a celebrated Centaur, in whose nature the animal element was
subject to the human, and who was intrusted with the education of certain
heroes of Greece, among others Peleus and Achilles; was endowed with the
gift of prophecy, and skilled in athletics as well as music and the
healing art. See CENTAURS.
CHISLEHURST (6), a village in Kent, 10 m. SE. of London, where
Napoleon III. died in exile in 1873.
CHISWICK (21), a suburb of London, 7 m. SW. of St. Paul's; the
Church of St. Nicholas has monuments to several people of distinction.
CHITIN, a white horny substance found in the exoskeleton of several
invertebrate animals.
CHITRAL, a State on the frontier of India, NW. of Cashmere; since
1895 occupied by the British; a place of great strategical importance.
CHITTAGONG (24), a seaport in the Bay of Bengal, 220 m. E. of
Calcutta; exports rice, gum, tobacco, and jute.
CHITTIM, the Bible name for Cyprus.
CHIVALRY, a system of knighthood, for the profession of which the
qualifications required were dignity, courtesy, bravery, generosity; the
aim of which was the defence of right against wrong, of the weak against
the strong, and especially of the honour and the purity of women, and the
spirit of which was of Christian derivation; originally a military
organisation in defence of Christianity against the infidel.
CHIVALRY, COURT OF, a court established by Edward III., which took
cognisance of questions of honour and heraldry, as well as military
offences.
CHLADNI, FRIEDRICH, a physicist, born at Wittenberg; one of the
earliest investigators of the phenomena of sound; wrote also on aërolites
(1756-1827).
CHLOPICKI, JOSEPH, a Polish hero, born in Galicia; fought against
Russia under Napoleon; was chosen Dictator in 1830, but was forced to
resign; fought afterwards in the ranks, and was severely wounded
(1771-1854).
CHLORAL, a colourless narcotic liquid, obtained at first by the
action of chlorine on alcohol; treated with water it produces _chloral
hydrate_.
CHLORINE, elementary, greenish-yellow gas obtained from common salt;
powerful as a disinfectant, and a bleaching agent.
CHLORIS, the wife of Zephyrus, the goddess of flowers.
CHLOROFORM, a limpid, volatile liquid, in extensive use as an
anæsthetic; produced by treating alcohol with chloride of lime.
CHLOROPHYLL, the green colouring matter in plants, especially the
leaves; due to the presence and action of light.
CHLOROSIS, green sickness, a disease incident to young females at a
critical period of life, causing a pale-greenish complexion.
CHOCOLATE, a paste made by grinding the kernels of cocoa-nuts.
CHOCKTAWS, or CHACTAWS, a tribe of American Indians, settled to
civilised life in the Indian Territory, U.S.; the Chactaw Indian, with
his proud array of scalps hung up in his wigwam, is, with Carlyle, the
symbol of the pride of wealth acquired at the price of the lives of men
in body and soul.
CHOISEUL, DUC DE, minister of Louis XV.; served his master in
various capacities; was rewarded with a peerage; effected many reforms in
the army, strengthened the navy, and aided in bringing about the family
compact of the Bourbons; exercised a great influence on the politics of
Europe; was nicknamed by Catharine of Russia _Le Cocher de l'Europe_,
"the Driver of Europe"; but becoming obnoxious to Mme. du Barry, "in whom
he would discern nothing but a wonderfully dizened scarlet woman," was
dismissed from the helm of affairs, Louis's "last substantial man"
(1719-1795).
CHOISY, ABBÉ, a French writer, born in Paris; author of a "History
of the Church" (1644-1724).
CHOLERA MORBUS, an epidemic disease characterised by violent
vomiting and purging, accompanied with spasms, great pain, and debility;
originated in India, and has during the present century frequently spread
itself by way of Asia into populous centres of both Europe and America.
CHOLET (15), a French manufacturing town, 32 m. SW. of Angers.
CHOLULA, an ancient city, 60 m. SE. of Mexico; the largest city of
the Aztecs, with a pyramidal temple, now a Catholic church.
CHOPIN, a musical composer, born near Warsaw, of Polish origin; his
genius for music early developed itself; distinguished himself as a
pianist first at Vienna and then in Paris, where he introduced the
mazurkas; became the idol of the _salons_; visited England twice, in 1837
and 1848, and performed to admiration in London and three of the
principal cities; died of consumption in Paris; he suffered much from
great depression of spirits (1809-1849).
CHORLEY (23), a manufacturing town in N. Lancashire, 25 m. NE. of
Liverpool, with mines and quarries near it.
CHORUS, in the ancient drama a group of persons introduced on the
stage representing witnesses of what is being acted, and giving
expression to their thoughts and feelings regarding it; originally a band
of singers and dancers on festive occasions, in connection particularly
with the Bacchus worship.
CHOSROËS I., surnamed the Great, king of Persia from 531 to 579, a
wise and beneficent ruler; waged war with the Roman armies successfully
for 20 years. CH. II., his grandson, king from 590 to 625; made
extensive inroads on the Byzantine empire, but was defeated and driven
back by Heraclius; was eventually deposed and put to death.
CHOUANS, insurrectionary royalists in France, in particular
Brittany, during the French Revolution, and even for a time under the
Empire, when their head-quarters were in London; so named from their
muster by night at the sound of the _chat-huant_, the screech-owl, a
nocturnal bird of prey which has a weird cry.
CHRÉTIEN, or CHRESTIEN, DE TROYES, a French poet or trouvère
of the last half of the 12th century; author of a number of vigorously
written romances connected with chivalry and the Round Table.
CHRIEMHILDE, a heroine in the "Niebelungen" and sister of Gunther,
who on the treacherous murder of her husband is changed from a gentle
woman into a relentless fury.
CHRISAOR, the sword of Sir Artegal in the "Faërie Queene"; it
excelled every other.
CHRIST CHURCH, a college in Oxford, founded by Wolsey 1525; was
Gladstone's college and John Ruskin's, as well as John Locke's.
CHRISTABEL, a fragmentary poem of Coleridge's; characterised by
Stopford Brooke as, for "exquisite metrical movement and for imaginative
phrasing," along with "Kubla Khan," without a rival in the language.
CHRISTADELPHIANS, an American sect, called also Thomasites, whose
chief distinctive article of faith is conditional immortality, that is,
immortality only to those who believe in Christ, and die believing in
him.
CHRISTCHURCH (16), capital of the province of Canterbury, New
Zealand, 5 m. from the sea; Littleton the port.
CHRISTIAN, the name of nine kings of Denmark, of whom the first
began to reign in 1448 and the last in 1863, and the following deserve
notice: CHRISTIAN II., conquered Sweden, but proving a tyrant, was
driven from the throne by Gustavus Vasa in 1522, upon which his own
subjects deposed him, an act which he resented by force of arms, in which
he was defeated in 1531, his person seized, and imprisoned for life;
characterised by Carlyle as a "rash, unwise, explosive man" (1481-1559).
CHRISTIAN IV., king from 1588 to 1648; took part on the Protestant
side in the Thirty Years' War, and was defeated by Tilly; he was a good
ruler, and was much beloved by his subjects; was rather unsteady in his
habits, it is said (1577-1648). CHRISTIAN IX., king from 1863; son
of Duke William of Sleswick-Holstein, father of the Princess of Wales,
George I., king of Greece, and the dowager Empress of Russia; _b_. 1818.
CHRISTIAN CONNECTION, a sect in the United States which acknowledges
the Bible alone as the rule of faith and manners.
CHRISTIAN KING, THE MOST, a title of the king of France conferred by
two different Popes.
CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING (S. P. C. K.), a religious
association in connection with the Church of England, under the patronage
of the Queen and the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
established 1698, the object of which is to disseminate a knowledge of
Christian doctrine both at home and abroad by means of churches, schools,
and libraries, and by the circulation of Bibles and Christian literature.
CHRISTIANIA (130), the capital of Norway, romantically situated at
the head of Christiania Fiord; the residence of the king and the seat of
government; a manufacturing and trading city, but it is blocked up
against traffic for four months in the year.
CHRISTIANITY, BELIEF (q. v.) that there is in Christ, as in
no other, from first to last a living incarnation, a flesh and blood
embodiment, for salvation of the ever-living spirit of the ever-living
God and Father of man, and except that by eating His flesh and drinking
His blood, that is, except by participating in His divine-human life, or
except in His spirit, there is no assurance of life everlasting to any
man; but perhaps it has never been defined all round with greater brevity
and precision than it is by Ruskin in his "Præterita," under the
impression that the time is come when one should say a firm word
concerning it: "The total meaning of it," he says, "was, and is, that the
God who made earth and its creatures, took, at a certain time upon the
earth, the flesh and form of man; in that flesh sustained the pain and
died the death of the creature He had made; rose again after death into
glorious human life, and when the date of the human race is ended, will
return in visible human form, and render to every mail according to his
work. _Christianity is the belief in, and love of, God thus manifested_.
Anything _less_ than this," he adds, "the mere acceptance of the sayings
of Christ, or assertion of any less than divine power in His Being, may
be, for aught I know, enough for virtue, peace, and safety; but they do
not make people Christians, or enable them to understand the heart of the
simplest believer in the old doctrine."
CHRISTIANSAND (12), a town and seaport in the extreme S. of Norway,
with a considerable trade.
CHRISTIE, WILLIAM HENRY MAHONEY, astronomer-royal, born at Woolwich,
of Trinity College, Cambridge; author of "Manual of Elementary
Astronomy"; _b_. 1845.
CHRISTINA, queen of Sweden, daughter and only child of Gustavus
Adolphus; received a masculine education, and was trained in manly
exercises; governed the country well, and filled her court with learned
men, but by-and-by her royal duties becoming irksome to her, she declared
her cousin as her successor, resigned the throne, and turned Catholic;
her cousin dying, she claimed back her crown, but her subjects would not
now have her; she stayed for a time in France, but was obliged to leave;
retired to Rome, where she spent 20 years of her life engaged in
scientific and artistic studies, and died (1628-1689).
CHRISTINA, MARIA, daughter of Francis I. of Naples, and wife of
Ferdinand VII. of Spain, on whose death she acted for four years as
regent, during the infancy of her daughter Isabella (1806-1878).
CHRISTISON, SIR ROBERT, toxicologist, born at Edinburgh, and
professor, first of Medical Jurisprudence and then of Materia Medica, in
his native city; wrote a "Treatise on Poison," a standard work
(1797-1882).
CHRISTMAS, the festival in celebration of the birth of Christ now
celebrated all over Christendom on 25th December, as coinciding with an
old heathen festival celebrated at the winter solstice, the day of the
return of the sun northward, and in jubilation of the prospect of the
renewal of life in the spring.
CHRISTOLOGY, the department of theology which treats of the person
of Christ.
CHRISTOPHE, HENRI, a negro, born in Grenada; one of the leaders of
the insurgent slaves in Hayti, who, proving successful in arms against
the French, became king under the title of Henry I., but ruling
despotically provoked revolt, and shot himself through the heart; he was
a man of powerful physique; _b_. 1820.
CHRISTOPHER, ST., (the Christ-Bearer), according to Christian legend
a giant of great stature and strength, who, after serving the devil for a
time, gave himself up to the service of Christ by carrying pilgrims
across a bridgeless river, when one day a little child, who happened to
be none else than Christ Himself, appeared to be carried over, but,
strange to say, as he bore Him across, the child grew heavier and
heavier, till he was nearly baffled in landing Him on the opposite shore.
The giant represented the Church, and the increasing weight of the child
the increasing sin and misery which the Church has from age to age to
bear in carrying its Christ across the Time-river; the giant is
represented in art as carrying the infant on his shoulder, and as having
for staff the stem of a large tree.
CHRISTOPHER NORTH, the name assumed by JOHN WILSON (q. v.)
in _Blackwood's Magazine_.
CHRISTOPHER'S, ST., (30), popularly called _St. Kitts_, one of the
Leeward Islands, discovered by Columbus (1493), who named it after
himself; belongs to England; has sugar plantations.
CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, the Blue-Coat School, London, was founded in
1547, a large institution, on the foundation of which there are now 2170
pupils instead of 1200 as formerly; entrance to it is gained partly by
presentation and partly by competition, and attached are numerous
exhibitions and prizes; among the _alumni_ have been several noted men,
such as Bishop Stillingfleet, Coleridge, Leigh Hunt, and Charles Lamb.
CHROMATICS, that department of optics which treats of colours, and
resolves the primary colours into three--red, yellow, and blue.
CHRONICLERS, THE RHYMING, a series of writers who flourished in
England in the 13th century, and related histories of the country in
rhyme, in which the fabulous occupies a conspicuous place, among which
Layamon's "Brut" (1205) takes the lead.
CHRONICLES I. and II., two historical books of the Old
Testament, the narratives of which, with additions and omissions, run
parallel with those of Samuel and Kings, but written from a priestly
standpoint, give the chief prominence to the history of Judah as the
support in Jerusalem of the ritual of which the priests were the
custodians; Ezra and Nehemiah are continuations.
CHRYSËIS, the daughter of Chryses, priest of Apollo, a beautiful
maiden who fell among the spoils of a victory to Agamemnon, and became
his slave, and whom he refused to restore to her father until a deadly
plague among the Greeks, at the hands of Apollo, whose priest her father
was, compelled him to give her up.
CHRYSIPPUS, a Greek philosopher, born at Soli, in Cilicia, and lived
in Athens; specially skilled in dialectic; the last and greatest
expounder and defender of the philosophy of the Stoa, so pre-eminent,
that it was said of him, "If Chrysippus were not, the Stoa were not"; is
said to have written 705 books, not one of which, however, has come down
to us save a few fragments (280-208 B.C.). See STOICISM.
CHRYSOLO`RAS, a Grecian scholar, born at Constantinople, left his
native country and lived in Florence, where he, in the 14th century,
became a teacher of Greek literature, and contributed thereby to the
revival of letters in Italy; _d_. 1415.
CHRYSOSTOM, ST. JOHN, that is, Mouth of Gold, so called from his
eloquence, born at Antioch; converted to Christianity from a mild
paganism; became one of the Fathers of the Church, and Patriarch of
Constantinople; he was zealous in suppressing heresy, as well as
corruption in the Church, and was for that reason thrice over subjected
to banishment; in the course of the third of which and while on the way,
he died, though his remains was brought to Constantinople and there
deposited with great solemnity; he left many writings behind
him--sermons, homilies, commentaries, and epistles, of which his
"Homilies" are most studied and prized (347-407). Festival, Jan. 27.
CHUBB, THOMAS, an English Deist, born near Salisbury; he regarded
Christ as a divine teacher, but held reason to be sovereign in matters of
religion, yet was on rational grounds a defender of Christianity; had no
learning, but was well up in the religious controversies of the time, and
bore his part in them creditably (1679-1746).
CHUNDER SEN, one of the founders of the BRAHMO-SOMAJ (q. v.);
he visited Europe in 1870, and was welcomed with open arms by the
rationalist class of Churchmen and Dissenters.
CHUQUISA`CA (20), (i. e. Bridge of Gold), the capital of Bolivia,
in a sheltered plain 9000 ft. above the sea-level; is a cathedral city;
has a mild climate; it was founded in 1538 by the Spaniards on the site
of an old Peruvian town.
CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM, dean of St. Paul's, born in Lisbon; a
scholarly man; distinguished himself first as such by his "Essays and
Reviews," wrote thoughtful sermons, and "A Life of Anselm," also essays
on eminent men of letters, such as Dante, Spenser, and Bacon (1815-1890).
CHURCH, STATES OF THE, the Papal States, extending irregularly from
the Po to Naples, of which the Pope was the temporal sovereign, now part
of the kingdom of Italy.
CHURCHILL, CHARLES, an English poet, born at Westminster; began life
as a curate, an office which he was compelled to resign from his unseemly
ways; took himself to the satire, first of the actors of the time in his
"Rosciad," then of his critics in his "Apology," and then of Dr. Johnson
in the "Ghost"; he wrote numerous satires, all vigorous, his happiest
being deemed that against the Scotch, entitled "The Prophecy of Famine";
his life was a short one, and not wisely regulated (1731-1764).
CHURCHILL, LORD RANDOLPH, an English Conservative politician, third
son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, who, though a man of mark, and more
than once in office, could never heart and soul join any party and settle
down to steady statesmanship; set out on travel, took ill on the journey,
and came home in a state of collapse to die (1849-1895).
CHUZZLEWIT, MARTIN, the hero of a novel by Dickens of the name.
JAMES, a character in the same novel, a man distinguished for his
mean and tyrannical character.
CHUSAN (30 or 40), principal island in the Chusan Archipelago, 18 m.
long and 10 broad; near the estuary of the Yangtse-kiang, has been called
"the Key of China."
CHYLE, a fluid of a milky colour, separated from the chyme by the
action of the pancreatic juice and the bile, and which, being absorbed by
the lacteal vessels, is gradually assimilated into blood.
CHYME, the pulpy mass into which the food is converted in the
stomach prior to the separation in the small intestines of the chyle.
CIALDINI, ENRICO, an Italian general and politician, born at Modena;
distinguished himself in Spain against the Carlists, and both as a
soldier and diplomatist in connection with the unification of Italy
(1811-1892).
CIBBER, COLLEY, actor and dramatist, of German descent; was manager
and part-proprietor of Drury Lane; wrote plays, one in particular, which
procured for him the post of poet-laureate, which he held till his death;
was much depreciated by Pope; wrote an "Apology for his Life," the most
amusing autobiography in the language (1671-1757).
CIBRARIO, LUIGI, an Italian historian and statesman, born at Turin;
he held office under Charles Albert of Sardinia (1802-1870).
CICERO, MARCUS TULLIUS, a Roman orator, statesman, and man of
letters, born near Arpinum, in Latium; trained for political life partly
at Rome and partly at Athens; distinguished himself as the first orator
at the Roman bar when he was 30, and afterwards rose through the
successive grades of civic rank till he attained the consulship in 63
B.C.; during this period he acquired great popularity by his exposure and
defeat of the conspiracy of Catiline, by which he earned the title of
_Father of his Country_, though there were those who condemned his action
and procured his banishment for a time; on his recall, which was
unanimous, he took sides first with Pompey, then with Cæsar after
Pharsalia, on whose death he delivered a Philippic against Antony; was
proscribed by the second triumvirate, and put to death by Antony's
soldiers; he was the foremost of Roman orators, the most elegant writer
of the Latin language, and has left behind him orations, letters, and
treatises, very models of their kind; he was not a deep thinker, and his
philosophy was more eclectic than original (100-43 B.C.).
CICERO OF GERMANY, John III., Elector of Brandenburg, "could speak
'four hours at a stretch, in elegantly flowing Latin,' with a fair share
of meaning in it too" (1455-1499).
CICOGNARA, COUNT, an Italian writer, born at Ferrara; author of a
"History of Sculpture" (1767-1834).
CID CAMPEADOR, a famed Castilian warrior of the 11th century, born
at Burgos; much celebrated in Spanish romance; being banished from
Castile, in the interest of which he had fought valiantly, he became a
free-lance, fighting now with the Christians and now with the Moors, till
he made himself master of Valencia, where he set up his throne and
reigned, with his faithful wife Ximena by his side, till the news of a
defeat by the Moors took all spirit out of him, and he died of grief.
Faithful after death, his wife had his body embalmed and carried to his
native place, on the high altar of which it lay enthroned for 10 years;
his real name was Don Rodrigo Diaz of Bivar, and the story of his love
for Ximena is the subject of Corneille's masterpiece, "The Cid."
CIGOLI, a Florentine painter, called the Florentine Correggio, whom
he specially studied in the practice of his art; "The Apostle Healing the
Lame," in St. Peter's, is by him, as also the "Martyrdom of St. Stephen,"
in Florence (1559-1613).
CILICIA, an ancient province in S. of Asia Minor.
CILICIAN GATES, the pass across Mount Taurus by which Alexander the
Great entered Cilicia.
CIMABU`E, a Florentine painter, and founder of the Florentine
school, which ranked among its members such artists as Michael Angelo,
Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci; was the first to leave the stiff
traditional Byzantine forms of art and copy from nature and the living
model, though it was only with the advent of his great disciple Giotto
that art found beauty in reality, and Florence was made to see the divine
significance of lowly human worth, at sight of which, says Ruskin, "all
Italy threw up its cap"; his "Madonna," in the Church of Santa Maria, has
been long regarded as a marvel of art, and of all the "Mater Dolorosas"
of Christianity, Ruskin does not hesitate to pronounce his at Assisi the
noblest; "he was the first," says Ruskin, "of the Florentines, first of
European men, to see the face of her who was blessed among women, and
with his following hand to make visible the Magnificat of his heart"
(1240-1302).
CIMAROSA, DOMENICO, a celebrated Italian composer; composed between
20 and 30 operas, mostly comic, his masterpiece being "II Matrimoneo
Segreto"; he was imprisoned for sympathising with the principles of the
French Revolution, and treated with a severity which shortened his life;
said by some to have been poisoned by order of Queen Caroline of Naples
(1754-1801).
CIMBER, a friend of Cæsar's who turned traitor, whose act of
presenting a petition to him was the signal to the conspirators to take
his life.
CIMBRI, a barbarian horde who, with the Teutons, invaded Gaul in the
2nd century B.C.; gave the Romans no small trouble, and were all but
exterminated by Marius in 101 B.C.; believed to have been a Celtic race,
who descended on Southern Europe from the N.
CIMERIANS, an ancient people N. of the shores of the Black Sea,
fabled to inhabit a region unvisited by a single ray of the sun.
CIMON, an Athenian general, son of Miltiades; distinguished himself
in the struggle of Athens against Persia in 466 B.C.; gained two
victories over the Persians in one day, one by land and another by sea,
was banished by the democratic party, and after four years recalled to
continue his victories over his old foes, and died at Cyprus
(510-449 B.C.).
CINCINNATI (326), the metropolis of Ohio, stands on the Ohio River,
opposite Covington and Newport, by rail 270 m. SE. of Chicago; the city
stands on hilly ground, and is broken and irregular; there are many fine
buildings, among them a Roman Catholic cathedral, and large parks; there
is a university, the Lane Theological Seminary (Presbyterian), schools of
medicine, law, music, and art, an observatory, zoological garden, and
large libraries; it is a centre of culture in the arts; manufactures
include clothing, tobacco, leather, moulding and machine shops; there is
some boat-building and printing; but the most noted trade is in pork and
grain; is the greatest pork market in the world; a third of the
population is of German origin.
CINCINNATUS, LUCIUS QUINCTIUS, an old hero of the Roman republic,
distinguished for the simplicity and austerity of his manners; was consul
in 460 B.C., and on the defeat of a Roman army by the Æqui, called to
the dictatorship from the plough, to which he returned on the defeat of
the Æqui; he was summoned to fill the same post a second time, when he
was 80, on the occasion of the conspiracy of Mælius, with the like
success.
CINCINNATUS, THE ORDER OF, an American order founded by officers of
the revolutionary army at its dissolution in 1753; was denounced by
Franklin as anti-republican in its spirit and tendency; it still survives
in a feeble way; the order is hereditary.
CINCINNATUS OF THE AMERICANS, George Washington.
CINDERELLA (the little cinder-girl), the youngest member of a family
who must drudge at home while her elder sisters go to balls, till one day
a fairy befriends her and conveys her to a ball, where she shines as the
centre of attraction, and wins the regard of a prince. On quitting the
hall she leaves a slipper behind her, by means of which she is identified
by the prince, who finds that hers is the only foot that the slipper will
fit, and marries her. The story in one version or another is a very
ancient and wide-spread one.
CINEAS, the minister of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus; was the ablest
orator of his time, and his master was in the habit of saying of him,
that his eloquence had gained him more cities than his own arms; sent on
a mission to Rome, the senate refused to hear him, lest his eloquence
should prove too fascinating.
CINGALESE, a native of Ceylon.
CINNA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS, a Roman patrician, a friend and supporter
of Marius; drove Sulla from Rome and recalled Marius from exile;
participated in the murders which followed his recall, and after the
death of Marius was assassinated when organising an expedition against
Sulla, 84 B.C.
CINNABAR, a sulphide of mercury from which the mercury of commerce
is obtained.
CINQ-MARS, HENRI, MARQUIS DE, a French courtier, a favourite of
Louis XIII.; a man of handsome figure and fascinating manners; died on
the scaffold for conspiring with his friend De Thou against Richelieu
(1620-1642).
CINQUÉ CENTO (lit. five hundred), the Renaissance in literature
and art in the 16th century, the expression 5 hundred standing for 15
hundred.
CINQUE PORTS, the five ports of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and
Sandwich, to which were added Winchelsea and Rye, which possessed certain
privileges in return for supplying the royal power with a navy; the Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports is only an honorary dignity.
CINTRA, a Portuguese town, 17 m. NW. of Lisbon, where a much
reprobated convention between the French under Marshal Junot and the
English under Sir Hew Dalrymple was signed in 1808, whereby the former
were let off with all their arms and baggage on condition of evacuating
Portugal.
CIPANGO, an island on the Eastern Ocean, described by Marco Polo as
a sort of El Dorado, an object of search to subsequent navigators, and an
attraction among the number to Columbus, it is said.
CIPRIANI, an Italian painter and etcher, born in Florence; settled
in London; was an original member of the Royal Academy, and designed the
diploma (1727-1785).
CIRCARS, THE, a territory in India along the coast of the Bay of
Bengal, from 18 to 100 m. wide; ceded first to the French and in 1766 to
the East India Company, now of course under the Crown, and forming part
of the Madras Presidency.
CIRCASSIA, a territory on the Western Caucasus, now subject to
Russia; celebrated for the sturdy spirit of the men and the beauty of the
women; the nobles professing Mohammedanism and the lower classes a
certain impure form of Christianity; they are of the Semite race, and
resemble the Arabs in their manners.
CIRCE, a sorceress who figures in the "Odyssey." Ulysses having
landed on her isle, she administered a potion to him and his companions,
which turned them into swine, while the effect of it on himself was
counteracted by the use of the herb moly, provided for him by Hermes
against sorcery; she detained him with her for years, and disenchanted
his companions on his departure.
CIRCEAN POISON, a draught of any kind that is magically and fatally
infatuating, such as the effect often of popular applause.
CIRCUITS, districts outside of London into which England is divided
for judicial purposes, for the trial of civil as well as criminal cases
connected with them; are seven in number--the Midland, the Oxford, the
North-Eastern, the South-Eastern, the Northern, the Western, and North
Wales and South Wales; the courts are presided over by a judge sent from
London, or by two, and are held twice a year, or oftener if the number of
cases require it.
CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD, the course of the blood from the heart
through the arteries to the minute vessels of the body, and from these
last through the veins back to the heart again.
CIRCUMCISION, the practice of cutting away the foreskin, chiefly of
males, as observed by the Jews and the Mohammedans, as well as other
nations of remote antiquity; regarded by some as a mark of belonging to
the tribe, and by others as a sacrifice in propitiation by blood.
CIRCUMLOCUTION OFFICE, a name employed by Dickens in "Little Dorrit"
to designate the wearisome routine of public business.
CISALPINE GAUL, territory occupied by Gauls on the Italian or south
side of the Alps.
CISALPINE REPUBLIC, a republic so called on both sides of the Po,
formed out of his conquests by Napoleon, 1797; became the Italian
Republic in 1802, with Milan for capital, and ceased to exist after the
fall of Napoleon.
CISLEITHANIA, Austria proper as distinguished from Hungary, which is
called Transleithania, on account of the boundary between them being
formed by the river Leitha.
CISTERCIANS, a monastic order founded by Abbot Robert in 1098 at
Citeaux, near Dijon; they followed the rule of St. Benedict, who reformed
the Order after it had lapsed; became an ecclesiastical republic, and
were exempt from ecclesiastical control; contributed considerably to the
progress of the arts, if little to the sciences.
CITHÆRON, a wood-covered mountain on the borders of Boeotia and
Attica; famous in Greek legend.
CITIES OF REFUGE, among the Jews; three on the E. and three on the
W. of the Jordan, in which the manslayer might find refuge from the
avenger of blood.
CITIES OF THE PLAIN, Sodom and Gomorrah, with adjoining cities under
the like doom.
CITIZEN KING, Louis Philippe of France, so called as elected by the
citizens of Paris.
CITY OF BELLS, Strasburg.
CITY OF CHURCHES, Brooklyn, now incorporated with New York.
CITY OF DESTRUCTION, Bunyan's name for the world as under divine
judgment.
CITY OF GOD, Augustine's name for the Church as distinct from the
cities of the world, and the title of a book of his defining it.
CITY OF PALACES, Calcutta and Rome.
CITY OF THE PROPHET, Medina, where Mahomet found refuge when driven
out of Mecca by the Koreish and their adherents.
CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS, Rome, as built on seven hills--viz., the
Aventine, Coelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and
Viminal.
CITY OF THE SUN, BAALBEK (q. v.); and a work by Campanella,
describing an ideal republic, after the manner of Plato and Sir Thomas
More.
CITY OF THE VIOLET CROWN, Athens.
CIUDAD REAL (royal city) (13), a Spanish town in a province of the
same name, 105 m. S. of Madrid, where Sebastian defeated the Spaniards in
1809.
CIUDAD RODRIGO (8), a Spanish town near the Portuguese frontier, 50
m. SW. of Salamanca; stormed by Wellington, after a siege of 11 days, in
1812, for which brilliant achievement he earned the title of Earl in
England, and Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo in Spain.
ÇIVA, or SIVA, the third member of the Hindu Trinity, the
destroyer of what Vishnu is the preserver and Brahma is the creator, is
properly Brahma undoing what he has made with a view to reincarnation.
CIVIL LAW, a system of laws for the regulation of civilised
communities formed on Roman laws, digested in the pandects of Justinian.
CIVIL LIST, the yearly sum granted by the Parliament of England at
the commencement of each reign for the support of the royal household,
and to maintain the dignity of the Crown: it amounts now to £385,000.
CIVIL SERVICE, the paid service done to the State, exclusive of that
of the army and navy.
CIVILIS, CLAUDIUS, a Batavian chief who revolted against Vespasian,
but on defeat was able to conclude an honourable peace.
CIVITA VECCHIA (11), a fortified port on the W. coast of Italy, 40
m. NW. of Rome, with a good harbour, founded by Trajan; exports wheat,
alum, cheese, &c.
CLACKMANNANSHIRE (28), the smallest county in Scotland, lies between
the Ochils and the Forth; rich in minerals, especially coal.
CLAIR, ST., a lake 30 m. long by 12 broad, connecting Lake Erie with
Lake Huron.
CLAIRAUT, ALEXIS CLAUDE, a French mathematician and astronomer, born
at Paris, of so precocious a genius, that he was admitted to the Academy
of Sciences at the age of 18; published a theory of the figure of the
earth, and computed the orbit of Halley's comet (1713-1765).
CLAIRVAUX, a village of France, on the Aube, where St. Bernard
founded a Cistercian monastery in 1115, and where he lived and was
buried; now used as a prison or reformatory.
CLAIRVOYANCE, the power ascribed to certain persons in a mesmeric
state of seeing and describing events at a distance or otherwise
invisible.
CLAN, a tribe of blood relations descended from a common ancestor,
ranged under a chief in direct descent from him, and having a common
surname, as in the Highlands of Scotland; at bottom a military
organisation for defensive and predatory purposes.
CLAN-NA-GAEL, a Fenian organisation founded at Philadelphia in 1870,
to secure by violence the complete emancipation of Ireland from British
control.
CLAPHAM, a SW. suburb of London, in the county of Surrey, 4 m. from
St. Paul's, and inhabited by a well-to-do middle-class community,
originally of evangelical principles, and characterised as the _Clapham
Set_.
CLAPPERTON, CAPTAIN HUGH, an African explorer, born at Annan; bred
in the navy, joined two expeditions into Central Africa to ascertain the
length and course of the Niger, but got no farther than Sokoto, where he
was attacked with dysentery and died (1788-1827).
CLÄRCHEN, a female character in Goethe's "Egmont."
CLARE (124), a county in Munster, Ireland; also an island at the
mouth of Clew Bay, county Mayo.
CLARE, JOHN, the peasant poet of Northamptonshire, born near
Peterborough; wrote "Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery," which
attracted attention, and even admiration, and at length with others
brought him a small annuity, which he wasted in speculation; fell into
despondency, and died in a lunatic asylum (1793-1864).
CLARE, ST., a virgin and abbess, born at Assisi; the founder of the
Order of Poor Clares (1193-1253). Festival, Aug. 12.
CLAREMONT, a mansion in Surrey, 14 m. SW. of London, built by Lord
Clive, where Princess Charlotte lived and died, as also Louis Philippe
after his flight from France; is now the property of the Queen, and the
residence of the Duchess of Albany.
CLARENCE, DUKE OF, brother of Edward IV.; convicted of treason, he
was condemned to death, and being allowed to choose the manner of his
death, is said to have elected to die by drowning in a butt of Malmsey
wine (1459-1478).
CLARENCEUX, or CLARENCIEUX, the provincial king-at-arms, whose
jurisdiction extends from and includes all England S. of the Trent.
CLARENDON, a place 2 m. SE. of Salisbury, where the magnates of
England, both lay and clerical, met in 1164 under Henry II. and issued a
set of ordinances, called the _Constitutions of Clarendon_, 16 in number,
to limit the power of the Church and assert the rights of the crown in
ecclesiastical affairs.
CLARENDON, EDWARD HYDE, Earl of, sat in the Short Parliament and the
Long on the popular side, but during the Civil War became a devoted
Royalist; was from 1641 one of the chief advisers of the king; on the
failure of the royal cause, took refuge first in Jersey, and then in
Holland with the Prince of Wales; contributed to the Restoration; came
back with Charles, and became Lord Chancellor; fell into disfavour, and
quitted England in 1667; died at Rouen; wrote, among other works, a
"History of the Great Rebellion," dignifiedly written, though often
carelessly, but full of graphic touches and characterisations especially
of contemporaries; it has been called an "epical composition," as showing
a sense of the central story and its unfolding. "Few historians," adds
Prof. Saintsbury, "can describe a given event with more vividness. Not
one in all the long list of the great practitioners of the art has such
skill in the personal character" (1608-1674).
CLARENDON, GEORGE VILLIERS, EARL OF, a Whig statesman; served as a
cabinet minister under Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell twice, Lord
Aberdeen, Lord Palmerston, and Mr. Gladstone; held the office of Foreign
Secretary under the three preceding; was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland at
the time of the potato failure, and represented Britain at the Congress
of Paris; died in harness, deeply lamented both at home and abroad
(1800-1870).
CLARÉTIE, JULES, a French journalist, novelist, dramatic author, and
critic, born at Limoges; has published some 40 volumes of _causeries_,
history, and fiction; appointed Director of the Theatre Français in 1893;
_b_. 1840.
CLARISSA HARLOWE, the heroine of one of Richardson's novels,
exhibiting a female character which, as described by him, is pronounced
to be "one of the brightest triumphs in the whole range of imaginative
literature," is described by Stopford Brooke "as the pure and ideal star
of womanhood."
CLARK, SIR ANDREW, an eminent London physician, born near Cargill,
in Perthshire, much beloved, and skilful in the treatment of diseases
affecting the respiratory and digestive organs (1826-1893).
CLARK, SIR JAMES, physician to the Queen, born in Cullen; an
authority on the influence of climate on chronic and pulmonary disease
(1788-1870).
CLARK, THOMAS, chemist, born in Ayr; discovered the phosphate of
soda, and the process of softening hard water (1801-1867).
CLARKE, ADAM, a Wesleyan divine, of Irish birth; a man of
considerable scholarship, best known by his "Commentary" on the Bible;
author also of a "Bibliographical Dictionary" (1762-1832).
CLARKE, CHARLES COWDEN, a friend of Lamb, Keats, and Leigh Hunt;
celebrated for his Shakespearian learning; brought out an annotated
Shakespeare, assisted by his wife; lectured on Shakespeare characters
(1787-1877).
CLARKE, DR. SAMUEL, an English divine, scholar and disciple of
Newton, born at Norwich; author, as Boyle lecturer, of a famous
"Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God," as also independently
of "The Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion"; as a theologian he
inclined to Arianism, and his doctrine of morality was that it was
congruity with the "eternal fitness of things" (1675-1729).
CLARKE, EDWARD DANIEL, a celebrated English traveller, born in
Sussex; visited Scandinavia, Russia, Circassia, Asia Minor, Syria,
Palestine, Egypt, and Greece; brought home 100 MSS. to enrich the library
of Cambridge, the colossal statue of the Eleusinian Ceres, and the
sarcophagus of Alexander, now in the British Museum; his "Travels" were
published in six volumes (1769-1822).
CLARKE, HENRI, Duc de Feltre, of Irish origin, French marshal, and
minister of war under Napoleon; instituted the prevotal court, a _pro re
nata_ court without appeal (1767-1818).
CLARKE, MARY COWDEN, _née_ Novello, of Italian descent, wife of
Charles Cowden, assisted her husband in his Shakespeare studies, and
produced amid other works "Concordance to Shakespeare," a work which
occupied her 16 years (1809-1898).
CLARKE, WILLIAM GEORGE, English man of letters; Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge; edited the "Cambridge Shakespeare," along with Mr.
Aldis Wright (1821-1867).
CLARKSON, THOMAS, philanthropist, born in Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire;
the great English anti-slavery advocate, and who lived to see in 1833 the
final abolition in the British empire of the slavery he denounced, in
which achievement he was assisted by the powerful advocacy in Parliament
of Wilberforce (1760-1846).
CLASSIC RACES, the English horse-races at Newmarket--Derby, the
Oaks, and the St. Leger.
CLASSICS, originally, and often still, the standard authors in the
literature of Greece or Rome, now authors in any literature that
represent it at its best, when, as Goethe has it, it is "vigorous, fresh,
joyous, and healthy," as in the "Nibelungen," no less than in the
"Iliad."
CLAUDE, JEAN, a French Protestant controversial divine, a powerful
antagonist of Bossuet and other Catholic writers, allowed only 24 hours
to escape on the eve of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, though
other Protestant ministers were allowed 15 days (1619-1687).
CLAUDE LORRAINE, a great landscape painter, born in Lorraine, of
poor parents, and apprenticed to a pastry-cook; went as such to Rome;
became servant and colour-grinder to Tassi, who instructed him in his
art; by assiduous study of nature in all her aspects attained to fame;
was eminent in his treatment of aërial perspective, and an artist whom it
was Turner's ambition to rival; he was eminent as an etcher as well as a
painter; Turner left one of his finest works to the English nation on
condition that it should hang side by side of a masterpiece of Claude,
which it now does; his pictures are found in every gallery in Europe, and
a goodly number of them are to be met with in England; there are in the
St. Petersburg gallery four pieces of exquisite workmanship, entitled
"Morning," "Noon," "Evening," and "Twilight" (1600-1682).
CLAUDIAN, a Latin epic poet of the 4th century, born in Alexandria,
panegyrist of Stilicho on his victory over Alaric; a not unworthy
successor of Catullus and Propertius, though his native tongue was Greek.
CLAUDIUS, APPIUS, a Roman decemvir and patrician in 451 B.C.;
outraged Virginia, a beautiful plebeian damsel, whom her father, on
discovering of the crime, killed with a knife snatched from a butcher's
stall, rousing thereby the popular rage against the decemvir, who was
cast into prison, where he put an end to himself, 449 B.C.
CLAUDIUS, APPIUS, censor in 312-307 B.C.; wrought important changes
in the Roman constitution; set on foot the construction of the Appian Way
and the Appian Aqueduct, named after him.
CLAUDIUS I, TIBERIUS DRUSUS, surnamed GERMANICUS, brother of
Tiberius, emperor of Rome from 41 to 54, born at Lyons; after spending 50
years of his life in private, occupying himself in literary study, was,
on the death of Caligula, raised very much against his wish by the
soldiers to the imperial throne, a post which he filled with honour to
himself and benefit to the State; but he was too much controlled by his
wives, of whom he had in succession four, till the last of them,
Agrippina, had him poisoned to make way for her son Nero.
CLAUDIUS II., surnamed GOTHICUS, Roman emperor from 268 to 270;
an excellent prince and a good general; distinguished himself by his
ability and courage against the Goths and other hordes of barbarians.
CLAUSEL, BERTRAND, marshal of France, born at Mirepoix; served under
Napoleon in Holland, Italy, Austria, and Spain; was defeated at
Salamanca, executing thereafter a masterly retreat; left France for
America in 1815 on the fall of Napoleon, to whom he was devoted; returned
in 1830, became commander-in-chief in Algeria, and ultimately governor
(1772-1842).
CLAUSEWITZ, KARL VON, a Prussian general, born at Burg;
distinguished himself against Napoleon in Russia in 1812; an authority on
the art of war, on which he wrote a treatise in three volumes, entitled
"Vom Krieg" (1780-1831).
CLAUSIUS, RUDOLF, an eminent German physicist, born at Köslin, in
Pomerania; professor of Natural Philosophy at Bonn; specially
distinguished for his contributions to the science of thermo-dynamics,
and the application of mathematical methods to the study, as also to
electricity and the expansion of gases (1822-1888).
CLAVERHOUSE, JOHN GRAHAM OF, VISCOUNT DUNDEE, commenced life as a
soldier in France and Holland; on his return to Scotland in 1677 was
appointed by Charles II. to the command of a troop to suppress the
Covenanters; was defeated at Drumclog 1679, but by the help of Monmouth
had his revenge at Bothwell Brig; affected to support the Revolution, but
intrigued in favour of the Stuarts; raised in Scotland a force in their
behalf; was met at Killiecrankie by General Mackay, where he fell
(1643-1689).
CLAVIÈRE, Minister of Finance in France after Necker, born at
Geneva; projector of the _Moniteur_; friend of Mirabeau; committed
suicide in prison (1735-1793).
CLAVIJE`RO, a Jesuit missionary, born in Vera Cruz; laboured for 40
years as missionary in Mexico; on the suppression of his Order went to
Italy, and wrote a valuable work on Mexico (1718-1793).
CLAVIGO, a drama by Goethe in five acts, the first work to which he
put his name; was received with disfavour.
CLAVILEÑO, Don Quixote's wooden horse.
CLAY, HENRY, an American statesman, born in Virginia; bred for the
bar, and distinguished for his oratory; was for many years Speaker of the
House of Representatives; was a supporter of war with Britain in 1812-15,
and party to the treaty which ended it; was an advocate of protection;
aspired three times unsuccessfully to the Presidency; his public career
was a long one, and an honourable (1777-1852).
CLEAR THE CAUSEWAY RIOTS, bickerings in the streets of Edinburgh in
1515 between the rival factions of Angus and Arran, to the utter rout of
the former, or the Douglas party.
CLEANTHES, a Stoic philosopher, born at Assos, in Troas, of the 3rd
century B.C.; wrought as a drawer of water by night that he might earn
his fee as pupil of Zeno's by day; became Zeno's successor and the head
of his school; regarded "pleasure as a remission of that moral energy of
the soul, which alone is happiness, as an interruption to life, and as an
evil, which was not in accordance with nature, and no end of nature."
CLEAR, CAPE, a headland S. of Clear Island, most southerly point of
Ireland, and the first land sighted coming from America.
CLEARCHUS, a Spartan general who accompanied Cyrus on his expedition
against Artaxerxes; commanded the retreat of the Ten Thousand; was put to
death by Tissaphernes in 401 B.C., and replaced by Xenophon.
CLEARING-HOUSE, a house for interchanging the respective claims of
banks and of railway companies.
CLEISHBOTHAM, JEDEDIAH, an imaginary editor in Scott's "Tales of My
Landlord."
CLELIA, a Roman heroine, who swam the Tiber to escape from Porsenna,
whose hostage she was; sent back by the Romans, she was set at liberty,
and other hostages along with her, out of admiration on Porsenna's part
of both her and her people.
CLEMENCEAUX, GEORGES BENJAMIN, French politician, born in La Vendée;
bred to medicine; political adversary of Gambetta; proprietor of _La
Justice_, a Paris journal; an expert swordsman; _b_. 1841.
CLEMENCET, CHARLES, a French Benedictine, born near Autun; one of
the authors of the great chronological work, "Art de Vérifier les Dates,"
and wrote the history of the Port Royal (1703-1778).
CLEMENCIN, DIEGO, a Spanish statesman and littérateur; his most
important work a commentary on "Don Quixote."
CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE, an American humorist with the pseudonym
of "Mark Twain," born at Florida, Missouri, U.S.; began his literary
career as a newspaper reporter and a lecturer; his first book "The
Jumping Frog"; visited Europe, described in the "Innocents Abroad";
married a lady of fortune; wrote largely in his peculiar humorous vein,
such as the "Tramp Abroad"; produced a drama entitled the "Gilded Age,"
and compiled the "Memoirs of General Grant"; _b_. 1835.
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS, one of the Greek Fathers of the Church, of the
2nd and 3rd centuries; had Origen for pupil; brought up in Greek
philosophy; converted in manhood to Christianity from finding in his
appreciation of knowledge over faith confirmations of it in his
philosophy, which he still adhered to; his "Stromata" or "Miscellanies"
contain facts and quotations found nowhere else.
CLEMENT, the name of 14 popes: C. I., Pope from 91 to 100; one
of the Apostolic Fathers; wrote an Epistle to the Church of Corinth, with
references to the Canonical books. C. II., Pope from 1046 to 1047.
C. III., pope from 1187 to 1191. C. IV., Pope from 1265 to
1268. C. V., Bertrand de Goth, Pope from 1305 to 1314; transferred
the seat of the Papacy to Avignon, and abolished the Order of the Knights
Templars. C. VI. Pope from 1342 to 1352; resided at Avignon. C.
VII., Giulio de Medici, Pope from 1523 to 1534; celebrated for his
quarrels with Charles V. and Henry VIII., was made prisoner in Rome by
the Constable of Bourbon; refused to sanction the divorce of Henry VIII.,
and brought about the schism of England from the Holy See. C. VIII., Pope
from 1592 to 1605; a patron of Tasso's; readmitted Henry IV. to the
Church and the Jesuits to France. C. IX., Pope from 1667 to 1669. C. X.,
pope from 1670 to 1676. C. XI., Pope from 1700 to 1721; as Francesco
Albani opposed the Jansenists; issued the bull _Unigenitus_ against them;
supported the Pretender and the claims of the Stuarts. C. XII., Pope from
1738 to 1740. C. XIII., Pope from 1758 to 1769. C. XIV., Pope from 1769
to 1774, Ganganelli, an able, liberal-minded, kind-hearted, and upright
man; abolished the Order of the Jesuits out of regard to the peace of the
Church; his death occurred not without suspicions of foul-play.
CLEMENT, French critic, born at Dijon, surnamed by Voltaire from his
severity the "Inclement" (1742-1812).
CLEMENT, a French manufacturer and savant, born near Dijon; author
of a memoir on the specific heat of the gases (1779-1841).
CLEMENT, JACQUES, a Dominican monk; assassinated Henry III. of
France in 1589.
CLEMENT, ST., St. Paul's coadjutor, the patron saint of tanners; his
symbol an anchor.
CLEMENTI, MUZIO, a musical composer, especially of pieces for the
pianoforte, born in Rome; was the father of pianoforte music; one of the
foremost pianists of his day; was buried in Westminster (1752-1832).
CLEMENTINE, THE LADY, a lady, accomplished and beautiful, in
Richardson's novel, "Sir Charles Grandison," in love with Sir Charles,
who marries another he has no partiality for.
CLEOBULUS, one of the seven sages of Greece; friend of Plato; wrote
lyrics and riddles in verse, 530 B.C.
CLEOM`BROTUS, a philosopher of Epirus, so fascinated with Plato's
"Phædon" that he leapt into the sea in the expectation that he would
thereby exchange this life for a better.
CLEOME`DES, a Greek astronomer of the 1st or 2nd century; author of
a treatise which regards the sun as the centre of the solar system and
the earth as a globe.
CLEOMENES, the name of three Spartan kings.
CLEOMENES, an Athenian sculptor, who, as appears from an inscription
on the pedestal, executed the statue of the Venus de Medici towards 220
B.C.
CLEON, an Athenian demagogue, surnamed the Tanner, from his
profession, which he forsook that he might champion the rights of the
people; rose in popular esteem by his victory over the Spartans, but
being sent against Brasidas, the Spartan general, was defeated and fell
in the battle, 422 B.C.; is regarded by Thucydides with disfavour, and
by Aristophanes with contempt, but both these writers were of the
aristocracy, and possibly prejudiced, though the object of their
disfavour had many of the marks of the vulgar agitator, and stands for
the type of one.
CLEOPA`TRA, Queen of Egypt, a woman distinguished for her beauty,
her charms, and her amours; first fascinated Cæsar, to whom she bore a
son, and whom she accompanied to Rome, and after Cæsar's death took Mark
Antony captive, on whose fall and suicide at Actium she killed herself by
applying an asp to her arm, to escape the shame of being taken to Rome to
grace the triumph of the victor (69-30 B.C.).
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE, an obelisk of 186 tons weight and 68½ ft. high,
brought from Alexandria to London in 1878, and erected on the Thames
Embankment, London.
CLERC, or LECLERC, JEAN, a French theologian of the Arminian
school, born at Geneva; a prolific author; wrote commentaries on all the
books of the Old Testament, on lines since followed by the Rationalist
school or Neologians of Germany (1657-1736).
CLERFAYT, COMTE DE, an Austrian general, distinguished in the Seven
Years' War; commanded with less success the Austrian army against the
French armies of the Revolution (1733-1798).
CLERK, JOHN, OF ELDIN, of the Penicuik family, an Edinburgh
merchant, first suggested the naval manoeuvre of "breaking the enemy's
lines," which was first successfully adopted against the French in 1782
(1728-1812).
CLERK, JOHN, son of preceding, a Scottish judge, under the title of
Lord Eldin, long remembered in Edinburgh for his wit (1757-1832).
CLERKENWELL (66), a parish in Finsbury, London, originally an
aristocratic quarter, now the centre of the manufacture of jewellery and
watches.
CLERMONT, ROBERT, COMTE DE, sixth son of St. Louis, head of the
house of Bourbon.
CLERMONT FERRAND (45), the ancient capital of Auvergne and chief
town of the dep. Puy-de-Dôme; the birthplace of Pascal, Gregory of Tours,
and Dessaix, and where, in 1095, Pope Urban II. convoked a council and
decided on the first Crusade; it has been the scene of seven Church
Councils.
CLERMONT-TONNERRE, Marquis, minister of France under the Restoration
of the Bourbons (1779-1865).
CLERY, Louis XVI.'s valet, who waited on him in his last hours, and
has left an account of what he saw of his touching farewell with his
family.
CLEVELAND, a hilly district in the North Riding of Yorkshire, rich
in iron-stone.
CLEVELAND (381), the second city of Ohio, on the shores of Lake
Erie, 230 m. NE. of Cincinnati; is built on a plain considerably above
the level of the lake; the winding Cuyahoga River divides it into two
parts, and the industrial quarters are on the lower level of its banks;
the city is noted for its wealth of trees in the streets and parks, hence
called "The Forest City," and for the absence of tenement houses; it has
a university, several colleges, and two libraries; it is the terminus of
the Ohio Canal and of seven railways, and the iron ore of Lake Superior
shores, the limestone of Lake Erie Islands, and the Ohio coal are brought
together here, and every variety of iron manufacture carried on; there is
a great lumber market, and an extensive general trade.
CLEVELAND, GROVER, President of the United States, born in New
Jersey, son of a Presbyterian minister; bred for the bar; became
President in the Democratic interest in 1885; unseated for his free-trade
leaning by Senator Harrison, 1889; became the President a second time in
1893; retired in 1897.
CLEVELAND, JOHN, partisan of Charles I.; imprisoned for abetting the
Royalist cause against the Parliament, but after some time set at liberty
in consequence of a letter he wrote to Cromwell pleading that he was a
poor man, and that in his poverty he suffered enough; he was a poet, and
used his satirical faculty in a political interest, one of his satires
being an onslaught on the Scots for betraying Charles I.; _d_. 1650.
CLÈVES (10), a Prussian town 46 m. NW. of Düsseldorf, once the
capital of a duchy connected by a canal with the Rhine; manufactures
textile fabrics and tobacco.
CLICHY (30), a manufacturing suburb of Paris, on the NW. and right
bank of the Seine.
CLIFFORD, GEORGE, Earl of Cumberland, a distinguished naval
commander under Queen Elizabeth, and one of her favourites (1558-1605).
CLIFFORD, JOHN, D.D., Baptist minister in London, author of "Is
Life Worth Living?" _b_. 1836.
CLIFFORD, PAUL, a highwayman, the subject of a novel by Bulwer
Lytton, who was subdued and reformed by the power of love.
CLIFTON (13), a fashionable suburb of Bristol, resorted to as a
watering-place; romantically situated on the sides and crest of high
cliffs, whence it name.
CLIMACTERIC, THE GRAND, the 63rd year of a man's life, and the
average limit of it; a climacteric being every seven years of one's life,
and reckoned critical.
CLINKER, HUMPHRY, the hero of Smollett's novel, a poor waif, reduced
to want, who attracts the notice of Mr. Bramble, marries Mrs. Bramble's
maid, and proves a natural son of Mr. Bramble.
CLINTON, GEORGE, American general and statesman; was governor of New
York; became Vice-President in 1804 (1739-1812).
CLINTON, SIR HENRY, an English general; commanded in the American
war; censured for failure in the war; wrote an exculpation, which was
accepted (1738-1795).
CLINTON, HENRY FYNES, a distinguished chronologist, author of "Fasti
Hellenici" and "Fasti Romani" (1781-1852).
CLIO, the muse of history and epic poetry, represented as seated
with a half-opened scroll in her hand.
CLISSON, OLIVIER DE, constable of France under Charles VI.;
companion in arms of Du Gueselin, and victor at Roosebeke (1326-1407).
CLISTHENES, an Athenian, uncle of Pericles, procured the expulsion
of Hippias the tyrant, 510 B.C., and the establishment of
OSTRACISM (q. v.).
CLITUS, a general of Alexander, and his friend, who saved his life
at the battle of Granicus, but whom, at a banquet, he killed when heated
with wine, to his inconsolable grief ever afterwards.
CLIVE, ROBERT, LORD CLIVE AND BARON PLASSEY, the founder of the
dominion of Britain in India, born in Shropshire; at 19 went out a clerk
in the East India Company's service, but quitted his employment in that
capacity for the army; distinguishing himself against the rajah of
Tanjore, was appointed commissary; advised an attack on Arcot, in the
Carnatic, in 1751; took it from and held it against the French, after
which, and other brilliant successes, he returned to England, and was
made lieutenant-colonel in the king's service; went out again, and
marched against the nabob Surajah Dowlah, and overthrew him at the battle
of Plassey, 1757; established the British power in Calcutta, and was
raised to the peerage; finally returned to England possessed of great
wealth, which exposed him to the accusation of having abused his power;
the accusation failed; in his grief he took to opium, and committed
suicide (1725-1774).
CLODIUS, a profligate Roman patrician; notorious as the enemy of
Cicero, whose banishment he procured; was killed by the tribune Milo, 52
B.C.
CLODOMIR, the second son of Clovis, king of Orleans from 511 to 524;
fell fighting with his rivals; his children, all but one, were put to
death by their uncles, Clotaire and Childebert.
CLOOTZ, ANACHARSIS, Baron Jean Baptiste de Clootz, a French
Revolutionary, born at Clèves; "world-citizen"; his faith that "a world
federation is possible, under all manner of customs, provided they hold
men"; his pronomen Anacharsis suggested by his resemblance to an ancient
Scythian prince who had like him a cosmopolitan spirit; was one of the
founders of the worship of Reason, and styled himself the "orator of the
human race"; distinguished himself at the great Federation, celebrated
on the Champ de Mars, by entering the hall on the great Federation Day,
June 19, 1790, "with the human species at his heels"; was guillotined
under protest in the name of the human race (1755-1794).
CLORINDA, a female Saracen knight sent against the Crusaders, whom
Tancred fell in love with, but slew on an encounter at night; before
expiring she received Christian baptism at his hands.
CLOTAIRE I., son and successor of Clovis, king of the Franks from
558; cruel and sanguinary; along with Childebert murdered the sons of his
brother Clodomir. C. II., son of Chilpéric and Fredigonda, king of
the Franks from 613 to 628; caused Brunhilda to be torn in pieces. C.
III., son of Clovis II., King of Neustria and Burgundy from 656 to
670. C. IV., king of ditto from 717 to 720.
CLOTHES, Carlyle's name in "Sartor Resartus" for the guises which
the spirit, especially of man, weaves for itself and wears, and by which
it both conceals itself in shame and reveals itself in grace.
CLOTHO, that one of the three Fates which spins the thread of human
destiny.
CLOTILDA, ST., the wife of Clovis I.; persuaded her husband to
profess Christianity; retired into a monastery at Tours when he died
(475-545). Festival, June 3.
CLOUD, ST., the patron saint of smiths.
CLOUD, ST., or CLODOALD, third son of Clodomir, who escaped the
fate of his brothers, and retired from the world to a spot on the left
bank of the Seine, 6 m. SW. of Paris, named St. Cloud after him.
CLOUDS, THE, the play in which Aristophanes exposes Socrates to
ridicule.
CLOUGH, ARTHUR HUGH, a lyric poet, born at Liverpool; son of a
cotton merchant; educated at Rugby under Dr. Arnold, whom he held in the
highest regard; was at Oxford, as a Fellow of Oriel, at the time of the
Tractarian movement, which he arrayed himself against, and at length
turned his back upon and tore himself away from by foreign travel; on his
return he was appointed examiner in the Education Office; falling ill
from overwork he went abroad again, and died at Florence; he was all
alive to the tendencies of the time, and his lyrics show his sense of
these, and how he fronted them; in the speculative scepticism of the time
his only refuge and safety-anchor was duty; Matthew Arnold has written in
his "Thyrsis" a tribute to his memory such as has been written over few;
his best-known poem is "The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich" (1819-1861).
CLOVIS I., king of the Franks, son of Childéric I.; conquered
the Romans at Soissons 486, which he made his centre; married
CLOTILDA (q. v.) 493; beat the Germans near Cologne 496, by
assistance, as he believed, of the God of Clotilda, after which he was
baptized by St. Remi at Rheims; and overthrew the Visigoths under Alaric
II. near Poitiers in 507, after which victories he made Paris his
capital. C. II., son of Dagobert; was king of Neustria and Burgundy
from 638 to 656. C. ILL, son of Thierry III., and king of ditto from
691 to 695, and had Pépin d'Héristal for mayor of the palace.
CLUNY (3), a town in the dep. of Saône-et-Loire, on an affluent of
the Saône; renowned in the Middle Ages for its Benedictine abbey, founded
in 910, and the most celebrated in Europe, having been the mother
establishment of 2000 others of the like elsewhere; in ecclesiastical
importance it stood second to Rome, and its abbey church second to none
prior to the erection of St. Peter's; a great normal school was
established here in 1865.
CLUSIUM, the ancient capital of Etruria and Porsenna's.
CLUTHA, the largest river in New Zealand, in Otago, very deep and
rapid, and 200 m. long.
CLUTTERBUCK, the imaginary author of the "Fortunes of Nigel," and
the patron to whom the "Abbot" is dedicated.
CLYDE, a river in the W. of Scotland which falls into a large inlet
or firth, as it is called, the commerce on which extends over the world,
and on the banks of which are shipbuilding yards second to none in any
other country; it is deepened as far as Glasgow for ships of a heavy
tonnage.
CLYDE, LORD. See CAMPBELL, COLIN.
CLYTEMNESTRA, the wife of Agamemnon, and the mother of Iphigenia,
Electra, and Orestes; killed her husband, and was killed by her son,
Orestes, seven years after.
CLYTIE, a nymph in love with Apollo, god of the sun, who did not
respond to her; but, with all the passion he durst show to her, turned
her into a sunflower.
COANZA, a W. African river, which rises in the Mossamba Mountains,
falling into the sea after a course of 600 m.; owing to falls is
navigable for only 140 m. from its mouth.
COAST RANGE, a range in the U.S., W. of the Sierra Nevada, parallel
to it, with the Sacramento Valley between.
COBBETT, WILLIAM, a political and miscellaneous writer, born at
Farnham, Sussex; commenced life as a farm labourer, and then as copying
clerk; enlisted, and saw seven years' service in Nova Scotia; being
discharged, travelled in France and America; on his return started the
_Weekly Register_, at first Tory, then Radical; published a libel against
the Government, for which he was imprisoned; on his release issued his
_Register_ at a low price, to the immense increase of its circulation;
vain attempts were made to crush him, against which he never ceased to
protest; after the passing of the Reform Bill he got into Parliament, but
made no mark; his writings were numerous, and include his "Grammar," his
"Cottage Economy," his "Rural Rides," and his "Advice to Young Men"; his
political opinions were extreme, but his English was admirable
(1762-1835).
COBBLER POET, HANS SACHS (q. v.).
COBDEN, RICHARD, a great political economist and the Apostle of Free
Trade, born near Midhurst, Sussex; became partner in a cotton-trading
firm in Manchester; made a tour on the Continent and America in the
interest of political economy; on the formation of the Corn-Law League in
1838, gave himself heart and soul to the abolition of the Corn Laws;
became Member of Parliament for Stockport in 1841; on the conversion of
Sir Robert Peel to Free-Trade principles saw these laws abolished in
1846; for his services in this cause he received the homage of his
country as well as of Continental nations, but refused all civic honours,
and finished his political career by negotiating a commercial treaty with
France (1804-1865).
COBENTZELL, COMTE DE, an Austrian diplomatist, born at Brussels;
negotiated the treaties of Campo Formio and Lunéville; founded the
Academy of Sciences at Brussels (1753-1808).
COBLENZ (32), a fortified city, manufacturing and trading town, in
Prussia, at the junction of the Rhine and the Moselle, so called as at
the confluence of the two; opposite it is Ehrenbreitstein.
COBURG (18), capital of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, on the Itz,
the old castle on a height 500 ft. above the town; gave shelter to
Luther in 1530, and was besieged by Wallenstein.
COBURG, field-marshal of Austria; vanquished Dumouriez at
Neerwinden; was conquered by Moreau and Jourdan (1737-1815).
COCAINE, an alkaloid from the leaf of the coca plant, used as an
anæsthetic.
COCCEIUS, or KOCH, JOHANN, a Dutch divine, professor at Leyden;
held that the Old Testament was a type or foreshadow of the New, and was
the founder of the federal theology, or the doctrine that God entered
into a threefold compact with man, first prior to the law, second under
the law, and third under grace (1603-1669).
COCCEJI, HENRY, learned German jurist, born at Bremen; an authority
on civil law; was professor of law at Frankfurt (1644-1719).
COCCEJI, SAMUEL, son of the preceding; Minister of Justice and
Chancellor of Prussia under Frederick the Great; a prince of lawyers, and
"a very Hercules in cleansing law stables" as law-reformer (1679-1755).
COCHABAMBA (14), a high-lying city of Bolivia, capital of a
department of the name; has a trade in grain and fruits.
COCHIN (722), a native state in India N. of Travancore, cooped up
between W. Ghâts and the Arabian Sea, with a capital of the same name,
where Vasco da Gama died; the first Christian church in India was built
here, and there is here a colony of black Jews.
COCHIN-CHINA (2,034), the region E. of the Mekong, or Annam proper,
called HIGH COCHIN-CHINA (capital Hué), and LOW COCHIN-CHINA, a
State S. of Indo-China, and S. of Cambodia and Annam; belonging to
France, with an unhealthy climate; rice the chief crop; grows also teak,
cotton, &c.; capital Saigon.
COCHLÆUS, JOHANN, an able and bitter antagonist of Luther's; _d_.
1592.
COCHRANE, the name of several English naval officers of the
Dundonald family; SIR ALEXANDER FORRESTER INGLIS (1758-1832); SIR
THOMAS JOHN, his son (1798-1872); and THOMAS, LORD. See
DUNDONALD.
COCK LANE GHOST, a ghost which was reported in a lane of the name in
Smithfield, London, in 1762, to the excitement of the public, due to a
girl rapping on a board in bed.
COCKAIGNE, an imaginary land of idleness and luxury, from a
satirical poem of that name (_coquina_, a kitchen), where the monks live
in an abbey built of pasties, the rivers run with wine, and the geese fly
through the air ready roasted. The name has been applied to London and
Paris.
COCKATRICE, a monster with the wings of a fowl, the tail of a
dragon, and the head of a cock; alleged to have been hatched by a serpent
from a cock's egg; its breath and its fatal look are in mediæval art the
emblem of sin.
COCKBURN, SIR ALEXANDER, Lord Chief-Justice of England from 1859;
called to the bar in 1829; became Liberal member for Southampton in 1847,
and Solicitor-General in 1850; was prosecutor in the Palmer case, judge
in the Tichborne, and an arbitrator in the _Alabama_ (1802-1880).
COCKBURN, ALISON, author of "Flowers of the Forest"; in her day the
leader of Edinburgh society; was acquainted with Burns, and recognised in
his boyhood the genius of Scott (1713-1795).
COCKBURN, SIR GEORGE, an English admiral, born in London; rose by
rapid stages to be captain of a frigate; took an active part in the
expedition to the Scheldt, in the defence of Cadiz, and of the coast of
Spain; was second in command of the expedition against the United States;
returned to England in 1815, and was selected to convey Napoleon to St.
Helena (1771-1853).
COCKBURN, HENRY, LORD, an eminent Scotch judge, born in Edinburgh;
called to the bar in 1800; one of the first contributors to the
_Edinburgh Review_; was Solicitor-General for Scotland in 1830, and
appointed a judge four years after; was a friend and colleague of Lord
Jeffrey; wrote Jeffrey's Life, and left "Memorials of His Own Time" and
"Journals"; he was a man of refined tastes, shrewd common-sense, quiet
humour, and a great lover of his native city and its memories; described
by Carlyle as "a bright, cheery-voiced, hazel-eyed man; a Scotch dialect
with plenty of good logic in it, and of practical sagacity; a gentleman,
and perfectly in the Scotch type, perhaps the very last of that peculiar
species" (1779-1854).
COCKER, EDWARD, an arithmetician, and a schoolmaster by profession;
wrote an arithmetic, published after his death, long the text-book on the
subject, and a model of its kind; gave rise to the phrase "according to
Cocker" (1631-1672).
COCKNEY, a word of uncertain derivation, but meaning one born and
bred in London, and knowing little or nothing beyond it, and betraying
his limits by his ideas, manners, and accent.
COCKNEY SCHOOL, a literary school, so called by Lockhart, as
inspired with the idea that London is the centre of civilisation, and
including Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt, and others.
COCKPIT OF EUROPE, Belgium, as the scene of so many battles between
the Powers of Europe.
COCKTON, HENRY, a novelist, born in London, author of "Valentine
Vox" (1807-1853).
COCLES, HORATIUS, a Roman who defended a bridge against the army of
Porsenna till the bridge was cut down behind him, when he leapt into the
river and swam across scatheless amid the darts of the enemy.
COCOS ISLANDS, a group of 20 small coral islands about 700 m. SW. of
Sumatra.
COCYTUS, a dark river which environed Tartarus with bitter and muddy
waters.
CODRINGTON, SIR EDWARD, a British admiral; entered the navy at 13;
served under Howe at Brest, in the capacity of captain of the _Orion_ at
Trafalgar, in the Walcheren expedition, in North America, and at Navarino
in 1827, when the Turkish fleet was destroyed; served also in Parliament
from 1832 to 1839, when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth
(1770-1851).
CODRINGTON, SIR WILLIAM JOHN, a British general; served in the
Crimean war, and Commander-in-Chief after the death of General Simpson
(1800-1884).
CODRUS, the last king of Athens; sacrificed his life to fulfil an
oracle, which promised victory to the side whose king fell in an
engagement between the Athenians and Dorians in 1132 B.C.
COEHOORN, BARON VAN, a Dutch military engineer; fortified Namur, and
defended it against Vauban; was successful in besieging many towns during
the war of the Spanish Succession; author of a treatise on fortification
(1641-1704).
COELEBS (a bachelor), the title of a novel by Hannah More.
COELE-SYRIA (the Howe of Syria), or EL BUKA'A, a valley between
the Lebanons, about 100 m. long by 10 m. broad.
COELIAN, one of the seven hills of Rome, S. of the Capitoline.
COELLO, the name of two Spanish painters in the 16th and 17th
centuries, whose works are in the Escurial.
COEUR, JACQUES, a rich merchant of Bourges, financier to Charles
VII., for whom he provided the sinews of war against the English, but who
banished him at the instigation of detractors; he was reinstated under
Louis XI. (1400-1456).
COEUR DE LION (lion-hearted), a surname on account of their courage
given to Richard I. of England (1151), Louis VIII. of France (1181), and
Boselas I. of Poland (960).
COGITO, ERGO SUM, "I think, therefore I am." Descartes' principle of
certainty, and on which, as on a stable basis, he reared his whole
philosophy. See DESCARTES. "Alas, poor cogitator," Carlyle
exclaims, "this takes us but a little way. Sure enough, I am; and lately
was not; but Whence? How? Whereto?"
COGNAC (17), a French town in the dep. of Charente, birthplace of
Francis I.; famous for its vines and the manufacture of brandy.
COGNIET, a French painter, author of "Tintoret painting his Dead
Daughter" (1794-1880).
COILA, a poetic name for Kyle, the central district of Ayrshire.
COIMBATORE (46), a town of strategic importance in the Madras
Presidency, 30 m. SW. of Madras, situated in a gorge of the Ghâts, 1437
ft. above the sea-level, in a district (2,004) of the same name.
COIMBRA (14), a rainy town in Portugal, of historical interest, 110
m. NNE. of Lisbon, with a celebrated university, in which George Buchanan
was a professor, where he was accused of heresy and thrown into prison,
and where he translated the Psalms into Latin.
COKE, coal with a residue of carbon and earthy matter after the
volatile constituents are driven off by heat in closed spaces.
COKE, SIR EDWARD, Lord Chief-Justice of England, born at Milcham,
Norfolk; being a learned lawyer, rose rapidly at the bar and in offices
connected therewith; became Lord Chief-Justice in 1613; was deposed in
1617 for opposing the king's wishes; sat in his first and third
Parliaments, and took a leading part in drawing up the Petition of
Rights; spent the last three years of his life in revising his works, his
"Institutes," known as "Coke upon Littleton," and his valuable "Reports"
(1549-1634).
COLBERT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French statesman, of Scotch descent, born
in Rheims, the son of a clothier; introduced to Louis XIV. by Mazarin,
then first minister; he was appointed Controller-General of the Finances
after the fall of Fouquet, and by degrees made his influence felt in all
the departments of State affairs; he favoured, by protectionist
measures--free trade not yet being heard of--French industry and
commerce; was to the French marine what Louvois was to the army, and
encouraged both arts and letters; from 1671 his influence began to
decline; he was held responsible for increased taxation due to Louis
XIV.'s wars, while the jealousy of Louvois weakened his credit at Court;
he became so unpopular that on his death his body was buried at night,
but a grateful posterity has recognised his services, and done homage to
his memory as one of the greatest ministers France ever had (1619-1683).
COLBURN, ZERAH, an American youth, with an astonishing power of
calculation, born in Vermont, and exhibited as such, a faculty which he
lost when he grew up to manhood (1804-1840).
COLCHESTER (35), the largest town in Essex, 51 m. from London, on
the right bank of the Colne, of great antiquity, and with Roman remains;
has been long famous for its oyster fishery; has silk manufactures; is
the port of outlet of a large corn-growing district.
COLCHESTER, CHARLES ABBOT, LORD, English statesman; sometime Chief
Secretary of Ireland, and Speaker of the House of Commons; raised to the
peerage in response to an address of the House of Commons (1757-1829).
COLCHIS, a district on the E. of the Black Sea, and S. of Caucasus,
where the Argonauts, according to Greek tradition, found and conquered
the Golden Fleece; the natives had a reputation for witchcraft and
sorcery.
COLDSTREAM GUARDS, one of the three regiments of Foot Guards; was
raised by General Monk in Scotland in 1660, and marched under him from
Coldstream to place Charles II. on the throne; originally called Monk's
regiment.
COLE, HENRY an English ecclesiastical zealot, who held handsome
preferments under Henry VIII. and Mary, but was stripped of them under
Edward VI. and Elizabeth.
COLE, KING, a legendary jovial British king, celebrated in song.
COLEBROOKE, HENRY THOMAS, a celebrated Indianist, born in London;
served under the East India Company, and devoted his spare time to Indian
literature; studied the Sanskrit language, wrote on the Vedas, translated
the "Digest of Hindu Law" compiled by Sir William Jones, compiled a
Sanskrit Dictionary, and wrote various treatises on the law and
philosophy of the Hindus; he was one of the first scholars in Europe to
reveal the treasures that lay hid in the literature of the East
(1765-1837).
COLENSO, DR., an English clergyman and mathematician; was appointed
bishop of Natal in 1845; applied himself to the study of the Zulu
language, and translated parts of the Bible and Prayer-book into it;
calling in question the accuracy and Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch,
was deposed by his metropolitan, which deposition was declared null and
void by the Privy Council; besides his theological work, produced
text-books on arithmetic and algebra; died at Durban, Natal; he favoured
the cause of the Zulus against the Boers, and did his utmost to avert the
Zulu war (1814-1883).
COLERIDGE, HARTLEY, an English man of letters, eldest son of Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, born at Clevedon, Somerset; lived with his father in
the Lake District, and grew up in the society of Wordsworth, De Quincey,
and others; gained a Fellowship at Oxford, but forfeited it through
intemperance; tried school-mastering at Ambleside, but failed, and took
to literature, in which he did some excellent work, both in prose and
poetry, though he led all along a very irregular life; had his father's
weaknesses, and not a little of his ability; his best memorials as a poet
are his sonnets, of which two have been especially admired, "The Soul of
Man is Larger than the Sky," and "When I Survey the Course I have Run"
(1796-1849).
COLERIDGE, HENRY NELSON, nephew of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and a
great admirer; editor of many of his works, his "Table Talk" in especial
(1800-1843).
COLERIDGE, JOHN DUKE, LORD, an English lawyer, cousin of Hartley
Coleridge; after serving in inferior appointments, appointed Lord
Chief-Justice of England in 1880; when at the bar he was prominent in
connection with Tichborne case.
COLERIDGE, SIR JOHN TAYLOR, an English judge, nephew of Samuel
Taylor Coleridge; was editor of the _Quarterly_, edited "Blackstone,"
&c.; wrote a "Memoir of the Rev. John Keble" (1790-1876).
COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR, poet, philosopher, and critic, born in
Devonshire; passionately devoted to classical and metaphysical studies;
educated at Christ's Hospital; had Charles Lamb for schoolmate; at
Cambridge devoted himself to classics; falling into debt enlisted as a
soldier, and was, after four months, bought off by his friends; gave
himself up to a literary life; married, and took up house near
Wordsworth, in Somersetshire, where he produced the "Ancient Mariner,"
"Christabel," and "Remorse"; preached occasionally in Unitarian pulpits;
visited Germany and other parts of the Continent; lectured in London in
1808; when there took to opium, broke off the habit in 1816, and went to
stay with the Gillmans at Highgate as their guest, under whose roof,
after four years' confinement to a sick-room, he died; among his works
were "The Friend," his "Biographia Literaria," "Aids to Reflection," &c.,
published in his lifetime, and "Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit,"
"Literary Remains," and "Table Talk" after his death; he was a man of
subtle and large intellect, and exercised a great influence on the
thinkers of his time, though in no case was the influence a decisive one,
as it had the most opposite effects on different minds; his philosophy
was hazy, and his life was without aim, "once more the tragic story of a
high endowment with an insufficient will" (1772-1834). See Carlyle's
estimate of him in the "Life of Sterling."
COLERIDGE, SARAH, poetess, only daughter of preceding; her sole
poem, "Phantasmion"; left "Letters" of interest (1803-1852).
COLES, COWPER PHIPPS, an English naval captain and architect;
entered the navy at 11; distinguished himself at Sebastopol; designer of
the turret-ship the _Captain_, which capsized off Finisterre, himself on
board, and drowned with a crew of 500 men (1819-1870).
COLET, JOHN, dean of St. Paul's, a patron of learning, a friend and
scholar of Erasmus, a liberal and much persecuted man; far in advance of
his time; founded and endowed St. Paul's School; wrote a number of works,
chiefly theological, and "Letters to Erasmus"' (1466-1519).
COLET, LOUISE, a French literary lady, born at Aix; wrote numerous
works for the young (1808-1876).
COLIGNY, GASPARD DE, French admiral, born at Châtillon; a leader of
the Huguenots; began his life and distinguished himself as a soldier;
when the Guises came into power he busied himself in procuring toleration
for the Huguenots, and succeeded in securing in their behalf what is
known as the Pacification of Amboise, but on St. Bartholomew's Eve he
fell the first victim to the conspiracy in his bed; was thrown out of the
window, and exposed to every manner of indignity in the streets, though
it is hard to believe that the Duke of Guise, as is said, demeaned
himself to kick the still living body (1517-1572).
COLIMA (25), capital of a State of the same name in Mexico.
COLIN CLOUT, the name Spenser assumes in the "Shepherd's Calendar."
COLIN TAMPON, the nickname of a Swiss, as John Bull of an
Englishman.
COLISE`UM, a magnificent amphitheatre in Rome, begun under Vespasian
and finished under Titus; it rose from the area by 80 tiers of seats, and
could contain 80,000 spectators; it was here the gladiators fought with
wild beasts, and also the early Christians.
COLLATINUS, the nephew of Tarquinius Priscus, the husband of
Lucretia, and with Brutus, her avenger, the first consul of Rome.
COLLECTIVISM, the Socialistic doctrine that industry should be
carried on by capital as the joint property of the community.
COLLÈGE DE FRANCE, an institution founded at Paris by Francis I. in
1530, where instruction is given to advanced students in several
departments of knowledge.
COLLIER, ARTHUR, an English metaphysician, born in Wilts; studied
Descartes and Malebranche, and who, anticipating Berkeley, published a
"Demonstration of the Non-Existence and the Impossibility of an External
World" (1680-1732). See BERKELEY.
COLLIER, JEREMY, an English non-juring divine, refused to take oath
at the Revolution; was imprisoned for advocating the rights of the
Stuarts; had to flee the country at length, and was outlawed; wrote with
effect against "The Profaneness and Immorality of the Stage," as well as
an "Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain," and a translation of the
"Meditations of Marcus Aurelius" (1650-1726).
COLLIER, JOHN PAYNE, a Shakespearian commentator and critic; wrote a
great deal on various subjects, but got into trouble by his emendations
of Shakespeare (1789-1883).
COLLINGWOOD, CUTHBERT, LORD, a celebrated English admiral, entered
the navy at 13; his career was intimately connected all along with that
of Nelson; succeeded in command when Nelson fell at Trafalgar, and when
he died himself, which happened at sea, his body was brought home and
buried beside Nelson's in St. Paul's Cathedral (1740-1810).
COLLINS, ANTHONY, an English deist, an intimate friend of Locke; his
principal works were "Discourse on Freethinking," "Philosophical Inquiry
into Liberty and Necessity," and "Grounds and Reasons of the Christian
Religion," which gave rise to much controversy; he was a necessitarian,
and argued against revelation (1676-1729).
COLLINS, MORTIMER, a versatile genius, born at Plymouth; wrote
poems, novels, and essays; was the author of "Who was the Heir?" and
"Sweet Anne Page"; was a tall, handsome man, fond of athletics, a
delightful companion, and dear to his friends (1827-1876).
COLLINS, WILKIE, English novelist, son of the succeeding, born in
London; tried business, then law, and finally settled to literature; his
novel "The Woman in White" was the first to take with the public, and was
preceded and succeeded by others which have ensured for him a high place
among the writers of fiction (1824-1889).
COLLINS, WILLIAM, a gifted and ill-fated English poet, born at
Chichester; settled in London; fell into dissipated habits and straitened
circumstances; had £2000 left him by an uncle, but both health and
spirits were broken, and he died in mental imbecility; his "Odes" have
not been surpassed, among which the most celebrated are the "Odes to the
Passions," to "Simplicity," and to "Evening" (1720-1756).
COLLINS, WILLIAM, R.A., a distinguished English painter, born in
London; he made his reputation by his treatment of coast and cottage
scenes, and though he tried his skill in other subjects, it was in the
subjects he started with that he achieved his greatest triumphs; among
his best-known works are "The Blackberry Gatherers," "As Happy as a
King," "The Fisherman's Daughter," and "The Bird-Catchers" (1788-1847).
COLLINSON, PETER, an English horticulturist, to whom we are indebted
for the introduction into the country of many ornamental shrubs
(1694-1768).
COLLOT D'HERBOIS, JEAN MARIE, a violent French Revolutionary,
originally a tragic actor, once hissed off the Lyons stage, "tearing a
passion to rags"; had his revenge by a wholesale butchery there; marched
209 men across the Rhône to be shot; by-and-by was banished beyond seas
to Cayenne, and soon died there (1750-1790).
COLLYER, JOSEPH, an eminent stipple engraver, born in London
(1768-1827).
COLMAN, GEORGE, an English dramatist, born at Florence; bred for and
called to the bar; author of a comedy entitled "The Jealous Wife," also
of "The Clandestine Marriage"; became manager of Drury Lane, then of the
Haymarket (1733-1794).
COLMAN, GEORGE, son of the preceding, and his successor in the
Haymarket; author of "The Iron Chest," "John Bull," "The Heir at Law,"
&c. (1762-1836).
COLMAR (30), the chief town of Upper Alsace, on the Lauch, on a
plain near the Vosges, 42 m. SW. of Strasburg; passed into the hands of
the French by treaty of Ryswick in 1697, was ceded to Germany in 1871.
COLOCETRONIS, a Greek patriot, born in Messina, distinguished
himself in the War of Independence, which he chiefly contributed to carry
through to a successful issue (1770-1843).
COLOGNE (282), in German KÖLN, capital of Rhenish Prussia, and
a fortress of first rank, on the left bank of the Rhine, 175 m. SE. of
Rotterdam; is a busy commercial city, and is engaged in eau-de-Cologne,
sugar, tobacco, and other manufactures. It has some fine old buildings,
and a picture gallery; but its glory is its great cathedral, founded in
the 9th century, burnt in 1248, since which time the rebuilding was
carried on at intervals, and only completed in 1880; it is one of the
masterpieces of Gothic architecture.
COLOGNE, THE THREE KINGS OF, the three Magi who paid homage to the
infant Christ, and whose bones were consigned to the archbishop in 1164;
they were called Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.
COLOMBIA (4,000), a federal republic of nine States, occupying the
isthmus of Panama and the NW. corner of S. America, between Venezuela and
Ecuador. The country, nearly three times the size of France, though it
has only a ninth of the population, comprises in the W. three chains of
the Andes and the plateaus between them, in the E. plains well watered by
tributaries of the Orinoco. The upper valleys of the Magdalena and Cauca
are the centres of population, where the climate is delightful, and grain
grows. Every climate is found in Colombia, from the tropical heats of the
plains to the Arctic cold of the mountains. Natural productions are as
various: the exports include valuable timbers and dye-woods, cinchona
bark, coffee, cacao, cotton, and silver ore. Most of the trade is with
Britain and the United States. Manufactures are inconsiderable. The
mineral wealth is very great, but little wrought. The Panama Railway,
from Colon to Panama, connects the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, and
is a most important highway of commerce. The people are descendants of
Spaniards and Indians; education is meagre, but compulsory; the State
Church is Roman Catholic. The capital is Bogotá. Panama and Cartagena the
chief ports.
COLOMBO (126), the capital of Ceylon, and the chief port on the W.
coast; it is surrounded on three sides by the sea, and on the other by a
lake and moat; is supplied with water and gas; has many fine buildings;
has a very mixed population, and has belonged to Britain since 1796;
communicates with Kandy by railway.
COLON, a town at the Atlantic terminus of the Panama Railway. See
ASPINWALL.
COLONNA, an illustrious Italian family, to which belonged popes,
cardinals, and generals.
COLONNA, VICTORIA, a poetess, married to a member of the above
family, who consoled herself for his early death by cultivating her
poetic gift; one of her most devoted friends was Michael Angelo
(1490-1547).
COLONNE, EDOUARD, musical conductor, born at Bordeaux, conductor of
what are known as "Colonne Concerts"; _b_. 1838.
COLONUS, a demos of Attica, a mile NW. of Athens, the birthplace of
Sophocles.
COLOPHON, an Ionian city in Asia Minor, N. of Ephesus, is supposed
to give name to the device at the end of books, the cavalry of the place
being famous for giving the finishing stroke to a battle.
COLORA`DO (412), an inland State of the American Union, traversed by
the Rocky Mountains, and watered by the upper reaches of the S. Platte
and Arkansas Rivers, is twice as large as England. The mountains are the
highest in the States (13,000 to 14,000 ft.), are traversed by lofty
passes through which the railways run, have rich spacious valleys or
parks among them, and have great deposits of gold, silver, lead, and
iron. There are also extensive coal-beds; hence the leading industries
are mining and iron working. The eastern portion is a level, treeless
plain, adapted for grazing. Agriculture, carried on with irrigation,
suffers from insect plagues like the Colorado potato beetle. The climate
is dry and clear, and attracts invalids. Acquired partly from France in
1804, and the rest from Mexico in 1848; the territory was organised in
1861, and admitted to the Union in 1876. The capital is Denver (107).
There is a small Spanish-speaking population in the S.
COLOSSÆ, a city in the S. of Phrygia, in Asia Minor, and the site of
one of the earliest Christian churches.
COLOSSIANS, THE EPISTLE TO THE, by St. Paul, directed mainly against
two errors of that early date, that the fleshly nature of man is no
adequate vehicle for the reception and revelation of the divine nature,
and that for redemption recourse must be had to direct mortification of
the flesh.
COLOSSUS, any gigantic statue, specially one of Apollo in bronze,
120 ft. high, astride over the mouth of the harbour at Rhodes, reckoned
one of the seven wonders of the world, erected in 280 B.C., destroyed by
an earthquake 56 years after, and sold to a Jew centuries later for old
metal; besides this are celebrated the statue of Memnon at Thebes, the
Colossi of Athene in the Parthenon at Athens, and of Zeus at Olympia and
at Tarentum, as well as others of modern date; for instance, Germania,
112 ft. high, in the Niederwald, and Liberty enlightening the World, 160
ft. high, in New York harbour.
COLOT, the name of a family of French surgeons in the 16th and 17th
century, distinguished for their skill in operating in the case of stone.
COLOUR-BLINDNESS, inability, still unaccounted for, to distinguish
between colours, and especially between red and green, more common among
men than women; a serious disqualification for several occupations, such
as those connected with the study of signals.
COLOUR-SERGEANT, a sergeant whose duty is to guard the colours and
those who carry them.
COLQUHOUN, JOHN, a noted sportsman and writer on sport in Scotland,
born in Edinburgh (1805-1885).
COLSTON, EDWARD, an English philanthropist, founded and endowed a
school in Bristol for the education of 100 boys, as well as almshouses
elsewhere (1636-1721).
COLT, SAMUEL, the inventor of the revolver, born in Hartford,
Connecticut, U.S.; having difficulty in raising money to carry out his
invention it proved a commercial failure, but being adopted by the
Government in the Mexican war it proved a success, since which time it
has been everywhere in use (1814-1862).
COLUMBA, ST., the apostle of Christianity to the Scots, born in
Donegal; coming to Scotland about 563, in his forty-second year, founded
a monastery in Iona, and made it the centre of his evangelistic
operations, in which work he was occupied incessantly till 596, when his
health began to fail, and he breathed his last kneeling before the altar,
June 9, 597.
COLUMBAN, ST., an Irish missionary, who, with twelve companions,
settled in Gaul in 585; founded two monasteries, but was banished for the
offence of rebuking the king; went to Italy, founded a monastery at
Bobbio, where he died 616.
COLUMBIA, a district of 70 sq. m. in the State of Maryland, U.S.,
in which Washington, the capital of the Union, stands.
COLUMBIA, BRITISH (100), the most westerly province in Canada, lies
between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, the United States and
Alaska, and is four times the size of Great Britain. It is a mountainous
country, rugged and picturesque, containing the highest peaks on the
continent, Mount Hooker, 15,700 ft., and Mount Brown, 16,000 ft, with a
richly indented coast-line, off which lie Queen Charlotte Islands and
Vancouver. The chief river is the Frazer, which flows from the Lake
region southwards through the centre and then westward to the Gulf of
Georgia; the upper waters of the Columbia flow southward through the E.
of the State. The climate resembles that of northern England, but is in
some parts very rainy. The chief industries are lumbering--the forests
are among the finest in the world, fishing--the rivers abound in salmon
and sturgeon, and mining--rich deposits of gold, silver, iron, copper,
mercury, antimony, and many other valuable minerals are found; there are
great coal-fields in Vancouver. In Vancouver and in the river valleys of
the mainland are extensive tracts of arable and grazing land; but neither
agriculture nor manufactures are much developed. Made a Crown colony in
1858, it joined the Dominion as a province in 1871. The completion of the
Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 joined it to the eastern provinces. The
capital is Victoria (17), in the S. of Vancouver.
COLUMBUS (125), capital of Ohio, U.S., a manufacturing town.
COLUMBUS, BARTHOLOMEW, cosmographer, brother of Christopher
Columbus; accompanied him to St. Domingo, and became governor; _d_. 1514.
COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER, discoverer of America, on Oct. 12, 1492,
after two months of great peril and, in the end, mutiny of his men, born
in Genoa; went to sea at 14; cherished, if he did not conceive, the idea
of reaching India by sailing westward; applied in many quarters for
furtherance; after seven years of waiting, was provided with three small
vessels and a crew of 120 men; first touched land at the Bahamas, visited
Cuba and Hayti, and returned home with spoils of the land; was hailed and
honoured as King of the Sea; he made three subsequent visits, and on the
third had the satisfaction of landing on the mainland, which Sebastian
Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci had reached before him; he became at last the
victim of jealousy, and charges were made against him, which so cut him
to the heart that he never rallied from the attack, and he died at
Valladolid, broken in body and in soul; Carlyle, in a famous passage,
salutes him across the centuries: "Brave sea-captain, Norse sea-king,
Columbus my hero, royalist sea-king of all" (1438-1506).
COLUMELLA, JUNIUS, a Latin writer of the 1st century, born at Cadiz;
author of "De Re Rustica," in 12 books, on the same theme as Virgil's
"Georgics," viz., agriculture and gardening; he wrote also "De
Arboribus," on trees.
COLU`THUS, a Greek epic poet of 6th century, born in Egypt; wrote
the "Rape of Helen."
COLVIN, SIDNEY, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Slade
Professor of Art at Cambridge, born at Norwood; contributor to the
journals on art and literature; has written Lives of Keats and Landor;
friend of Robert Louis Stevenson, and his literary executor; _b_. 1845.
COMACCHIO (10), a walled town, 30 m. SE. of Ferrara; famous for
fish, specially eel-culture in a large lagoon adjoining, 90 in. in
circumference.
COMBE, ANDREW, M.D., a physician and physiologist, born in
Edinburgh; studied under Spurzheim in Edinburgh and Paris, but on his
return to his native city was seized with pulmonary consumption, which
rendered him a confirmed invalid, so that he had to spend his winters
abroad; was eminent as a physician; was a believer in phrenology;
produced three excellent popular works on Physiology, Digestion, and the
Management of Infancy (1797-1847).
COMBE, GEORGE, brother of the preceding, born in Edinburgh; trained
to the legal profession; like his brother, he became, under Spurzheim, a
stanch phrenologist and advocate of phrenology; but his ablest and
best-known work was "The Constitution of Man," to the advocacy of the
principles of which and their application, especially to education, he
devoted his life; he married a daughter of the celebrated Mrs. Siddons
(1788-1858).
COMBE, WILLIAM, born in Bristol; author of the "Three Tours of Dr.
Syntax"; inherited a small fortune, which he squandered by an irregular
life; wrote some 86 works (1741-1823).
COMBERMERE, VISCOUNT, a British field-marshal, born in Denbighshire;
served in Flanders, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in India; was present
at the siege of Seringapatam; was sent to Spain in 1808; distinguished
himself in the Peninsula, and particularly at Talavera; received a
peerage in 1827; was made commander-in-chief in India, and Constable of
the Tower in succession to Wellington in 1832 (1773-1865).
COMENIUS, JOHN AMOS, a Moravian educational reformer, particularly
as regards the acquisition of languages in their connection with the
things they denote; his two most famous books are his "Janua Linguarum"
and his "Orbis Sensualium Pictus"; his principle at bottom was, words
must answer to and be associated with things and ideas of things, a
principle still only very partially adopted in education, and that only
at the most elementary stages.
COMET, a member of the solar system under control of the sun,
consisting of a bright nucleus within a nebulous envelope, generally
extended into a tail on the rear of its orbit, which is extremely
eccentric, pursuing its course with a velocity which increases as it
approaches the sun, and which diminishes as it withdraws from it; these
bodies are very numerous, have their respective periods of revolution,
which have been in many cases determined by observation.
COMINES, a French town in the dep. of Nord, France, 15 m. SW. of
Courtrai.
COMINES, PHILIPPE DE, a French chronicler, born at Comines; was of
Flemish origin; served under Charles the Bold, then under Louis XI. and
Charles VIII.; author of "Memoires," in seven vols., of the reigns of
these two monarchs, which give a clear and faithful picture of the time
and the chief actors in it, but with the coolest indifference as to the
moral elements at work, with him the end justifying the means, and
success the measure of morality (1443-1509).
COMITIA, constitutional assemblies of the Roman citizens for
electing magistrates, putting some question to the vote of the people,
the declaration of war, &c.
COMITY OF NATIONS, the name given for the effect given in one
country to the laws and institutions of another in dealing with a native
of it.
COMMANDITE, SOCIÉTÉ EN, partnership in a business by a supply of
funds, but without a share in the management or incurring further
liability.
COMMELIN, ISAAC, Dutch historian; wrote the "Lives of the
Stadtholders William I. and Maurice" (1598-1676).
COMMENTARIES OF JULIUS CÆSAR, his memoirs of the Gallic and Civil
Wars, reckoned the most perfect model of narration that in such
circumstances was ever written, and a masterpiece.
COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY, a committee of nine created by the
French Convention, April 6, 1793, to concentrate the power of the
executive, "the conscience of Marat, who could see salvation in one thing
only, in the fall of 260,000 aristocrats' heads"; notable, therefore, for
its excesses in that line; was not suppressed till Oct. 19, 1796, on the
advent of the Directory to power.
COM`MODUS, LUCIUS AURELIUS, Roman emperor, son and successor of
Marcus Aurelius; carefully trained, but on his father's death threw up
the reins and gave himself over to every form of licentiousness; poison
administered by his mistress Marcia being slow in operating, he was
strangled to death by a hired athlete in 162.
COMMON LAW is law established by usage and confirmed by judicial
decision.
COMMON-SENSE, PHILOSOPHY OF, the philosophy which rests on the
principle that the perceptions of the senses reflect things as they
actually are irrespectively of them.
COMMUNE, THE, a revolutionary power installed in Paris after the
"admonitory" insurrection of March 18, 1871, and overthrown in the end of
May.
COMMUNISM, community of property in a State.
COMNE`NUS, name of a dynasty of six emperors of Constantinople.
COMO, LAKE OF, one of the chief lakes of Lombardy and the third in
size, at the foot of the Pennine Alps, 80 m. long and 2½ at greatest
breadth; is traversed by the Adda, and is famed for the beauty and rich
variety of its scenery.
COMORIN, CAPE, a low sandy point, the most southerly of India, from
which the seaman is beckoned off by a peak 18 m. inland.
COMORO ISLES (63), an archipelago of four volcanic islands at the N.
of the channel of Mozambique; under the protectorate of France since
1886; the people are Mohammedans, and speak Arabic.
COMPARETTI, an Italian philologist; his writings are numerous; _b_.
1835.
COMPIÈGNE (14), a quiet old town in the dep. of Oise, 50 m. NE. of
Paris; has some fine old churches, but the chief edifice is the palace,
built by St. Louis and rebuilt by Louis XIV., where the marriage of
Napoleon to Maria Louisa was celebrated; here Joan of Arc was made
prisoner in 1430, and Louis Napoleon had hunting ground.
COMPTON, HENRY, bishop of London, son of the Earl of Northampton;
fought bravely for Charles I.; was colonel of dragoons at the
Restoration; left the army for the Church; was made bishop; crowned
William and Mary when the archbishop, Sancroft, refused; _d_. 1713.
COMRIE (8), a village in Perthshire, on the Earn, 20 m. W. of Perth,
in a beautiful district of country; subject to earthquakes from time to
time; birthplace of George Gilfillan.
COMTE, AUGUSTE, a French philosopher, born at Montpellier, the
founder of POSITIVISM (q. v.); enough to say here, it consisted
of a new arrangement of the sciences into Abstract and Concrete, and a
new law of historical evolution in science from a theological through a
metaphysical to a positive stage, which last is the ultimate and crowning
and alone legitimate method, that is, observation of phenomena and their
sequence; Comte was first a disciple of St. Simon, but he quarrelled with
him; commenced a "Cours de Philosophie Positive" of his own, in six
vols.; but finding it defective on the moral side, he instituted a
worship of humanity, and gave himself out as the chief priest of a new
religion, a very different thing from Carlyle's hero-worship (1795-1857).
COMUS, the Roman deity who presided over festive revelries; the
title of a poem by Milton, "the most exquisite of English or any masks."
COMYN, JOHN (the Black Comyn), Lord of Badenoch, a Scottish noble of
French descent, his ancestor, born at Comines, having come over with the
Conqueror and got lands given him; was one of the competitors for the
Scottish crown in 1291, and lost it.
COMYN, JOHN (the Red Comyn), son of the preceding; as one of the
three Wardens of Scotland defended it against the English, whom he
defeated at Roslin; but in 1304 submitted to Edward I., and falling under
suspicion of Bruce, was stabbed by him in a monastery at Dumfries in
1306.
CONCEPCION (24), a town in Chile, S. of Valparaiso, with its port,
Talcahuano, 7 m. off, one of the safest and most commodious in the
country, and ranks next to Valparaiso as a trading centre.
CONCEPTION OF OUR LADY, an order of nuns founded in Portugal in
1484; at first followed the rule of the Cistercians, but afterwards that
of St. Clare.
CONCIERGERIE, a prison in the Palais de Justice, Paris.
CONCLAVE, properly the room, generally in the Vatican, where the
cardinals are confined under lock and key while electing a Pope.
CONCORD, a town in U.S., 23 m. NW. of Boston; was the residence of
Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne; here the first engagement took place in
the American war in 1775.
CONCORD (17), capital of New Hampshire, U.S., a thriving trading
place.
CONCORDAT, THE, a convention of July 15, 1801, between Bonaparte and
Pius V., regulative of the relations of France with the Holy See.
CONCORDE, PLACE DE LA, a celebrated public place, formed by Louis
XV. in 1748, adorned by a statue of him; at the Revolution it was called
Place de la Revolution; here Louis XVI. and his queen were guillotined.
CONCORDIA, the Roman goddess of peace, to whom Camillus the dictator
in 367 B.C. dedicated a temple on the conclusion of the strife between
the patricians and plebeians.
CONDÉ, HENRY I., PRINCE OF, fought in the ranks of the Huguenots,
but escaped the massacre of St. Bartholomew by an oath of abjuration
(1552-1588).
CONDÉ, HOUSE OF, a collateral branch of the house of Bourbon, the
members of which played all along a conspicuous rôle in the history of
France.
CONDÉ, LOUIS I., PRINCE OF, founder of the house of Condé, a brave,
gallant man, though deformed; distinguished himself in the wars between
Henry II. and Charles V., particularly in the defence of Metz; affronted
at court, and obnoxious to the Guises, he became a Protestant, and joined
his brother the king of Navarre; became the head of the party, and was
treacherously killed after the battle of Jarnac; he had been party,
however, to the conspiracy of Amboise, which aimed a death-blow at the
Guises (1530-1569).
CONDÉ, LOUIS II., PRINCE OF, named "the Great Condé," born at Paris;
was carefully educated; acquired a taste for literature, which stood him
in good stead at the end of his career; made his reputation by his
victory over the Spaniards at Recroi; distinguished himself at Fribourg,
Nordlingen, and Lens; the settlement of the troubles of the Fronde
alienated him, so that he entered the service of Spain, and served
against his country, but was by-and-by reconciled; led the French army to
success in Franche-Comté and Holland, and soon after retired to
Chantilly, where he enjoyed the society of such men as Molière, Boileau,
and La Bruyère, and when he died Bossuet pronounced a funeral oration
over his grave (1621-1686).
CONDÉ, LOUIS JOSEPH, PRINCE DE, born at Chantilly; served in the
Seven Years' War; attended in the antechamber in the palace when Louis
XV. lay dying; was one of the first to emigrate on the fall of the
Bastille; seized every opportunity to save the monarchy; was declared a
traitor to the country, and had his estates confiscated for threatening
to restore Louis XVI.; organised troops to aid in the Restoration;
settled at Malmesbury, in England, during the Empire; returned to France
with Louis XVIII. (1736-1818).
CONDILLAC, ÉTIENNE BONNOT, a French philosopher, born at Grenoble,
of good birth; commenced as a disciple of Locke, but went further, for
whereas Locke was content to deduce empirical knowledge from sensation
and reflection, he deduced reflection from sensation, and laid the
foundation of a sensationalism which, in the hands of his successors,
went further still, and swamped the internal in the external, and which
is now approaching the stage of self-cancelling zero; he lived as a
recluse, and had Rousseau and Diderot for intimate friends (1715-1780).
CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY, the doctrine that only believers in Christ
have any future existence, a dogma founded on certain isolated passages
of Scripture.
CONDORCET, MARQUIS DE, a French mathematician and philosopher, born
near St. Quentin; contributed to the "Encyclopédie"; was of the
Encyclopedist school; took sides with the Revolutionary party in the
interest of progress; voted with the Girondists usually; suspected by the
extreme party; was not safe even under concealment; "skulked round Paris
in thickets and stone-quarries; entered a tavern one bleared May morning,
ragged, rough-bearded, hunger-stricken, and asked for breakfast; having a
Latin Horace about him was suspected and haled to prison, breakfast
unfinished; fainted by the way with exhaustion; was flung into a damp
cell, and found next morning lying dead on the floor"; his works are
voluminous, and the best known is his "Exquisse du Progrès de l'Esprit
Humain"; he was not an original thinker, but a clear expositor
(1743-1794).
CONDOTTIE`RI, leaders of Italian free-lances, who in the 14th and
15th centuries lived by plunder or hired themselves to others for a share
in the spoils.
CONFEDERATE STATES, 11 Southern States of the American Union, which
seceded in 1861 on the question of slavery, and which occasioned a civil
war that lasted till 1865.
CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE, a confederation of 16 German States,
which in 1806 dissolved their connection with Germany and leagued with
France, and which lasted till disaster overtook Napoleon in Russia, and
then broke up; the Germanic Confederation, or union of all the States,
took its place, till it too was dissolved by the defeat of Austria in
1866, and which gave ascendency to Prussia and ensured the erection of
the German empire on its ruins.
CONFERENCE, a stated meeting of Wesleyan ministers for the
transaction of the business of their Church.
CONFESSIONS OF FAITH, are statements of doctrine very similar to
Creeds, but usually longer and polemical, as well as didactic; they are
in the main, though not exclusively, associated with Protestantism; the
16th century produced many, including the _Sixty-seven Articles_ of the
Swiss reformers, drawn up by Zwingli in 1523; the _Augsburg Confession_
of 1530, the work of Luther and Melanchthon, which marked the breach with
Rome; the _Tetrapolitan Confession_ of the German Reformed Church, 1530;
the _Gallican Confession_, 1559; and the _Belgic Confession_ of 1561. In
Britain the _Scots Confession_, drawn up by John Knox in 1560; the
_Thirty-nine Articles_ of the Church of England in 1562; the _Irish
Articles_ in 1615; and the _Westminster Confession of Faith_ in 1647;
this last, the work of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, has by its
force of language, logical statement, comprehensiveness, and dependence
on Scripture, commended itself to the Presbyterian Churches of all
English-speaking peoples, and is the most widely recognised Protestant
statement of doctrine; it has as yet been modified only by the United
Presbyterian Church of Scotland, which adopted a Declaratory Statement
regarding certain of its doctrines in 1879, and by the Free Church of
Scotland, which adopted a similar statement in 1890.
CONFESSIONS OF ROUSSEAU, memoirs published after his death in 1788,
in which that writer makes confession of much that was good in him and
much that was bad.
CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE, an account which that Father of the
Church gives of the errors of his youth and his subsequent conversion.
CONFUCIUS, the Latin form of the name of the great sage of China,
Kung Futsze, and the founder of a religion which is based on the worship
and practice of morality as exemplified in the lives and teachings of the
wise men who have gone before, and who, as he conceived, have made the
world what it is, and have left it to posterity to build upon the same
basis; while he lived he was held in greater and greater honour by
multitudes of disciples, till on his death he became an object of
worship, and even his descendants came to be regarded as a kind of sacred
caste; he flourished about 550 B.C.
CONGÉ D'ÉLIRE, a warrant granted by the Crown to the dean and
chapter of a cathedral to elect a particular bishop to a vacant see.
CONGO, the second in length and largest in volume of the African
rivers, rises NE. of the Muchinga Mountains in Rhodesia, flows SW.
through Lake Bangueola, then N. to the equator; curving in a great
semicircle it continues SW., passes in a series of rapids through the
coast range, and enters the S. Atlantic by an estuary 6 m. broad. It
brings down more water than the other African rivers put together. The
largest affluents are the Kassai on the left, and the Mobangi on the
right bank; 110 m. are navigable to ocean steamers, then the cataracts
intervene, and 250 m. of railway promote transit; the upper river is 2 to
4 m. broad, and navigable for small craft up to Stanley Falls, 1068 m.
The name most associated with its exploration is H. M. Stanley; during
its course of 3000 m. it bears several names.
CONGO, FRENCH (5,000), a continuous and connected territory
extending westward along the right bank of the Congo from Brazzaville to
the mouth of the Mobangi, and as far as 4° N. run N. behind the
Cameroons, and along the E. of Shari to Lake Tchad.
CONGO FREE STATE embraces most of the basin of the Congo, touching
British territory in Uganda and Rhodesia, with a very narrow outlet to
the Atlantic at the river mouth. It is under the sovereignty of Leopold
II. of Belgium, who, in 1890, made over his rights to Belgium with power
to annex the State in 1900. It is nine times the size of Great Britain,
and continual native unrest gives great trouble to its administrators.
Its waters are open to all nations, and traders exchange manufactured
goods for ivory, palm-oil, coffee and caoutchouc, bees-wax and fruits.
The climate is tropical, on the lower levels malarial. The population is
from 20 to 40 millions. The centre of administration is Boma, 80 m. from
the sea.
CONGREGATIONALISM, the ecclesiastical system which regards each
congregation of believers in Christ a church complete in itself, and free
from the control of the other Christian communities, and which extends to
each member equal privileges as a member of Christ's body. It took its
rise in England about 1571, and the most prominent name connected with
its establishment is that of ROBERT BROWN (q. v.), who seceded
from the Church of England and formed a church in Norwich in 1580. The
body was called Brownists after him, and Separatists, as well as
"Independents." The several congregations are now united in what is
called "The Congregational Union of England and Wales."
CONGRESS is a diplomatic conference at which the representatives of
sovereign States discuss matters of importance to their several
countries, the most celebrated of which are those of Münster and
Osnabrück, which issued in the treaty of Westphalia in 1648, at the end
of the Thirty Years' War; of Rastadt, at the end of Spanish Succession
War, in 1797; of Vienna, at the end of Napoleon's wars, in 1815; of
Paris, in 1856, at the end of Russian War; and of Berlin, in 1878, at the
end of Russo-Turkish war; but the name has come to be applied in federal
republics to the legislative assembly which directs national as distinct
from State concerns. In the United States, Congress consists of the
Senate, elected by the State legislatures and the House of
Representatives, elected directly by the people. It meets on the first
Monday in December, and receives the President's message for the year. It
imposes taxes, contracts loans, provides for national defence, declares
war, looks after the general welfare, establishes postal communication,
coins money, fixes weights and measures, &c. &c., but it is prohibited
from preferential treatment of the several States, establishing or
interfering with religion, curtailing freedom of speech, or pursuing
towards any citizen, even under legal forms, a course of conduct which is
unjust or even oppressive.
CONGRESS, the Belgian Constituent Assembly, 1830-1831.
CONGREVE, RICHARD, author of political tracts, was a pupil of Dr.
Arnold's, and a disciple of Comte in philosophy; _b_. 1818.
CONGREVE, WILLIAM, English comic dramatist, born near Leeds; entered
a student of the Middle Temple, but soon abandoned law for literature;
the "Old Bachelor" first brought him into repute, and a commissionership
of substantial value; the production of "Love for Love" and the "Mourning
Bride," a stilted tragedy, added immensely to his popularity, but his
comedy "The Way of the World" being coldly received, he gave up writing
plays, and only wrote a few verses afterwards; he was held in great
esteem by his contemporaries, among others Dryden, Pope, and Steele
(1670-1729).
CONGREVE, SIR WILLIAM, an English artillery officer, inventor of the
rocket which bears his name (1772-1828).
CONINGSBY, a novel by Disraeli.
CONINGTON, JOHN, classical scholar and professor of Latin at Oxford,
born at Boston, translator of the "Æneid" of Virgil, "Odes, Satires, and
Epistles" of Horace, and 12 books of the "Iliad" into verse, as well as
of other classics; his greatest work is his edition of "Virgil"
(1823-1869).
CONISBURGH CASTLE, an old round castle referred to in "Ivanhoe," 5
in. SW. of Doncaster.
CONISTON WATER, a lake 5 m. long and ½ m. broad, at the foot of
Coniston Fells, in Lancashire, with Brantwood on the E. side of it, the
residence of John Ruskin.
CONKLING, ROSCOE, an American politician, a leading man on the
Republican side; was a member of the House of Representatives, and also
of the Senate; retired from politics, and practised law at New York
(1828-1888).
CONNAUGHT (724), a western province of Ireland, 105 m. long and 92
m. broad, divided into five counties; is the smallest and most barren of
the provinces, but abounds in picturesque scenery; the people are pure
Celts.
CONNAUGHT, DUKE OF, the third son of Queen Victoria, bred for the
army, has held several military appointments; was promoted to the rank of
general in 1893, and made commander-in-chief at Aldershot; _b_. 1850.
CONNECTICUT (746), southernmost of the New England States, is washed
by Long Island Sound, has New York on the W., Rhode Island on the E., and
Massachusetts on the N. It is the third smallest State, rocky and uneven
in surface, unfertile except in the Connecticut River valley. Streams
abound, and supply motive-power for very extensive manufactures of
clocks, hardware, india-rubber goods, smallwares, textiles, and firearms.
There are iron-mines in the NW., stone-quarries, lead, copper, and cobalt
mines. Climate is healthy, changeable, and in winter severe. Education is
excellently provided for. Yale University, at New Haven, is thoroughly
equipped; there are several divinity schools, Trinity College at
Hartford, and the Wesleyan University at Middleton. The capital is
Hartford (53); New Haven (81) is the largest town and chief port. The
original colony was a democratic secession from Massachusetts in 1634.
The constitution of 1639 was the first written democratic constitution on
record. Its present constitution as a State dates from 1818.
CONNECTICUT, a river in the United States which rises on the
confines of Canada, and, after a course of 450 m., falls into the
Atlantic at Long Island.
CONNEMARA, a wild district with picturesque scenery in W. of co.
Galway, Ireland.
CONOLLY, JOHN, physician, born in Lincolnshire, studied at
Edinburgh, settled in London, distinguished for having introduced and
advocated a more rational and humane treatment of the insane (1794-1866).
CONRAD, CADET OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN, served under the
illustrious Barbarossa; proved a capable young fellow under him; married
the heiress of the Vohburgs; was appointed Burggraf of Nürnberg, 1170,
and prince of the empire; "he is the lineal ancestor of Frederick the
Great, twentieth in direct ascent, let him wait till nineteen
generations, valiantly like Conrad, have done their part, Conrad will
find he has come to this," that was realised in Frederick and his time.
CONRAD, MARQUIS OF TYRE, threw himself into Tyre when beset by
Saladin, and held it till Richard Coeur de Lion and Philip Augustus
arrived; was assassinated by emissaries of the Old Man of the Mountain in
1192.
CONRAD I., count of Franconia, elected on the extinction of the
Carlovingian line Emperor of the Germans, which he continued to be from
911 to 915; fell wounded in battle with the Huns, egged on by a rival.
CONRAD II., the Salic, of the same family as the preceding; elected
Emperor of Germany in 1024; reigned 15 years, extending the empire,
suppressing disorders, and effecting reforms.
CONRAD III., founder of the Hohenstaufen dynasty; elected Emperor of
Germany in 1138; had Henry the Proud, as head of the German Guelfs, for
rival; crushed him at Weinsberg; joined Louis VII. of France on a third
crusade, and returning, overthrew the Guelfs again, leaving Barbarossa as
his heir; _d_. 1152.
CONRAD OF THÜRINGIA, a proud, quick, fiery-tempered magnate, seized
the archbishop of Mainz once, swung him round, and threatened to cut him
in two; stormed, plundered, and set fire to an imperial free town for an
affront offered him; but admonished of his sins became penitent, and
reconciled himself by monastic vow to the Pope and mankind about 1234.
CONRADIN THE BOY, or CONRAD V., the last representative of the
Hohenstaufen dynasty of Romish Kaisers, had fallen into the Pope's
clutches, who was at mortal feud with the empire, and was put to death by
him on the scaffold at Naples, October 25, 1265, the "bright and brave"
lad, only 16, "throwing out his glove (in symbolic protest) amid the dark
mute Neapolitan multitudes" that idly looked on. See CARLYLE'S
"FREDERICK THE GREAT" FOR THE CONRADS.
CONSALVI, Italian cardinal and statesman, born at Rome, secretary of
Pius VII.; concluded the Concordat with Napoleon in 1801; represented the
Pope at the Congress of Vienna; was a liberal patron of literature,
science, and arts; continued minister of the Pope till his death
(1757-1824).
CONSCIENCE, HENDRIK, a brilliant Flemish novelist, born at Antwerp;
rose to popularity among his countrymen by his great national romance the
"Lion of Flanders," a popularity which soon extended all over Europe; his
writings display great descriptive power and perfect purity of sentiment
(1812-1883).
CONSCRIPT FATHERS, the collective name of members of the Roman
Senate, and addressed as such, fathers as seniors and conscripts as
enrolled.
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, the doctrine that, however it may be
transformed or dissipated, no fraction of energy is ever lost, that the
amount of force, as of matter, in the universe, under all mutation
remains the same.
CONSERVATISM, indisposition to change established laws and customs
that have wrought beneficially in the past and contributed to the welfare
of the country; in practical politics often a very different thing, and
regarded by Carlyle in his time "a portentous enbodied sham; accursed of
God, and doomed to destruction, as all lies are."
CONSIDÉRANT, VICTOR PROSPER, a French Socialist and disciple of
Fourier; founded a colony in Texas on Fourier's principles, which proved
a failure; wrote much in advocacy of his principles, of which the most
important is "La Destinée Sociale"; _b_. 1808.
CONSOLS, the Consolidated Fund, loans to Government made at
different times and at different rates of interest, consolidated for
convenience into one common loan, bearing interest at 3 per cent.,
reduced in 1830 to 2¾, and in 1893 to 2½.
CONSTABLE, a high officer of State in the Roman empire, in France,
and in England, charged at one time with military, judicial, and
regulative functions.
CONSTABLE, ARCHIBALD, Edinburgh publisher, born in Carnbee, Fife;
started as a bookseller near the Cross in Edinburgh; published the _Scots
Magazine_, the _Edinburgh Review_, and the "Encyclopædia Britannica," and
from 1802 to 1826 the works of Sir Walter Scott, when the bankruptcy
connected with the publication of these so affected him that it ruined
his health, though he lived after the crash came to start the
"Miscellany" which bears his name (1774-1827).
CONSTABLE, HENRY, English poet, author of sonnets, 28 in number,
under the title of "Diana" (1560-1612).
CONSTABLE, JOHN, an eminent landscape-painter, born in Suffolk; his
works were more generously appreciated in France than in his own country,
as they well might be, where they had not, as in England, to stand
comparison with those of Turner; but he is now, despite the depreciation
of Ruskin, becoming recognised among us as one of our foremost
landscapists, and enormous prices have been given of late for his best
pictures; some of his best works adorn the walls of the National Gallery;
Ruskin allows his art is original, honest, free from affectation, and
manly (1776-1837).
CONSTABLE DE BOURBON, Charles, Duc de Bourbon, a brilliant military
leader, and a powerful enemy of Francis I.; killed when leading the
assault on Rome (1489-1527).
CONSTANCE (16), a city of the Grand-Duchy of Baden, on the S. bank
of the Rhine, at its exit from the lake; famous for the seat of the
council (1414-1418) which condemned John Huss and Jerome of Prague to
death; long famous for its linen manufacture.
CONSTANCE, LAKE, or BODENSEE, partly in Germany and partly in
Switzerland; is about 44 m. long and 9 m. broad at most; is traversed by
the Rhine from W. to E., is 1306 ft. above sea-level; is surrounded by
vineyards, cornfields, and wooded slopes; its waters are hardly ever
frozen, and often rise and fall suddenly.
CONSTANT, BENJAMIN, a highly popular French painter of the Realistic
school, born at Paris; his first picture was "Hamlet and the King";
afterwards he took chiefly to Oriental subjects, which afforded the best
scope for his talent; occupies a high place in the modern French school,
and has been promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour;
_b_. 1845.
CONSTANT DE REBECQUE, HENRY BENJAMIN DE, a French politician, of
liberal constitutional principles, born at Lausanne, of Huguenot parents;
settled in Paris at the commencement of the Revolution, where he
distinguished himself by his political writings and speeches; was
expelled from France in 1802, along with Mme. de Staël, for denouncing
the military ascendency of Napoleon; lived for a time at Weimar in the
society of Goethe and Schiller; translated Schiller's "Wallenstein";
returned to France in 1814; declared for the Bourbons, and pled in favour
of constitutional liberty; he was a supporter of Louis Philippe, and a
rationalist in religion, and declared himself opposed to the supernatural
element in all religions (1760-1830).
CONSTANTIA, a wine district of Cape Colony under E. flank of Table
Mountain.
CONSTANTINE (50), inland city of Algeria, on a rocky height;
leather-working its staple industry.
CONSTANTINE, the name of 13 emperors who reigned at Rome or
Byzantium between 306 and 1453.
CONSTANTINE I., called the Great, born in Moesia, son of Constantius
Chlorus by Helena; on the death of his father at York, where he
accompanied him, was proclaimed Emperor by the troops; this title being
challenged by Maximian, his father-in-law, and Maxentius, his
brother-in-law, he took up arms against first the one and then the other,
and defeated them; when one day he saw a cross in the sky with the words
_By this Conquer_ in Greek, under this sign, known as the _labarum_,
which he adopted as his standard, he accordingly marched straight to
Rome, where he was acknowledged Emperor by the Senate in 312; and
thereafter an edict was issued named of Milan, granting toleration to the
Christians; he had still to extend his empire over the East, and having
done so by the removal of Lucinius, he transferred the seat of his empire
to Byzantium, which hence got the name of Constantinople, i. e.
Constantine's city; had himself baptized in 337 as a Christian, after
having three years before proclaimed Christianity the State religion
(274-337).
CONSTANTINE NICOLAIEVITCH, second son of the Czar Nicholas I.; was
appointed grand-admiral while but a boy; had command of the Baltic fleet
during the Crimean war; came under suspicion of sinister intriguing;
became insane, and died in seclusion (1827-1892).
CONSTANTINE PAULOVITCH, Grand-duke of Russia, son of Paul I.;
distinguished himself at Austerlitz; was commander-in-chief in Poland,
where he ruled as despot; waived his right to the throne in favour of his
brother Nicholas (1779-1831).
CONSTANTINE XIII., Palæologus, the last of the Greek emperors; had
to defend Constantinople against a besieging force of 300,000 under
Mahomet II., and though he defended it bravely, the city was taken by
storm, and the Eastern empire ended in 1543.
CONSTANTINOPLE (1,000), capital of the Turkish empire, on the
Bosphorus, situated on a peninsula washed by the Sea of Marmora on the S.
and by the Golden Horn on the N., on the opposite side of which creek lie
the quarters of Galata and Pera, one of the finest commercial sites in
the world; it became the capital of the Roman empire under Constantine
the Great, who gave name to it; was capital of the Eastern empire from
the days of Theodosius; was taken by the crusaders in 1204, and by
Mahomet II. in 1452, at which time the Greek and Latin scholars fled the
city, carrying the learning of Greece and Rome with them, an event which
led to the revival of learning in Europe, and the establishment of a new
era--the Modern--in European history.
CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS, or THE PALE, Roman emperor; after a
struggle of three years reunited Britain with the empire, which had been
torn from it by Allectus; was equally successful against the Alemanni,
defeating them with great loss; died at York, on an expedition against
the Picts; was succeeded by Constantine, his son (250-305).
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY, the legislative body which the National
Assembly of France resolved itself into in 1789, a name it assumed from
the task it imposed on itself, viz., of making a constitution, a task
which, from the nature of it proved impossible, as a constitution is an
entity which grows, and is not made, _nascitur, non fit_.
CONSUELO, the heroine of George Sand's novel of the name, her
masterpiece; the impersonation of the triumph of moral purity over
manifold temptations.
CONSUL, (1) one of the two magistrates of Rome elected annually
after the expulsion of the kings, and invested with regal power; (2) a
chief magistrate of the French Republic from 1799 to 1804; (3) one
commissioned to protect, especially the mercantile rights of the subjects
of a State in foreign country.
CONSULATE, name given to the French Government from the fall of the
Directory till the establishment of the Empire. At first there were three
provisional consuls, Bonaparte, Siéyès, and Roger Ducos; then three
consuls for ten years, Bonaparte, Cambacérès, and Lebrun, which was
dissolved with the establishment of the Empire on the 20th May 1804.
CONTARI`NI, an illustrious Venetian family, which furnished eight
Doges to the Republic, as well as an array of men eminent in the Church,
statecraft, generalship, art, and letters.
CONTE, NICOLAS JACQUES, a French painter; distinguished for his
mechanical genius, which was of great avail to the French army in Egypt
(1755-1805).
CONTI, an illustrious French family, a younger branch of the house
of Bourbon-Condé, all more or less distinguished as soldiers; FRANÇOIS
LOUIS especially, who was a man of supreme ability both in war and
science, and had the merit to be elected king of Poland (1664-1709).
CONTINENTAL SYSTEM, Napoleon's scheme for interdicting all commerce
between the Continent and Great Britain, carried out with various issues
till the fall of Napoleon. See BERLIN and MILAN DECREES.
CONTRAT, SOCIAL, Rousseau's theory of society that it is based on
mere contract, each individual member of it surrendering his will to the
will of all, under protection of all concerned, a theory which led to the
conclusion that the rule of kings is an usurpation of the rights of the
community, and which bore fruit as an explosive in the Revolution at the
end of the century.
CONVENTION, NATIONAL, a revolutionary convention in France which, on
September 20, 1792, succeeded the Legislative Assembly, proclaimed the
Republic, condemned the king to death, succeeded in crushing the
royalists of La Vendée and the south, in defeating all Europe leagued
against France, and in founding institutions of benefit to France to this
day; it was dissolved on October 26, 1795, to make way for the Directory.
CONVERSATIONS LEXICON, a popular German encyclopædia of 16 vols.,
started in 1796, and since 1808 published by Brockhaus, in Leipzig.
CONVERSION, "the grand epoch for a man," says Carlyle, "properly the
one epoch; the turning-point, which guides upwards, or guides downwards,
him and his activities for evermore."
CONVOCATION, an assemblage of the English clergy, with little or no
legislative power, summoned and prorogued by an archbishop under
authority of the Crown; one under the Archbishop of Canterbury, held at
Canterbury, and one under the Archbishop of York, held at York,
consisting each of two bodies, an Upper of bishops, and an Under of
lesser dignitaries and inferior clergy, in separate chambers, though they
originally met in one.
CONWAY, a port in Carnarvon, on the river Conway, with a massive
castle, one of those built by Edward I. to keep Wales in check; is a
favourite summer resort, and is amid beautiful scenery.
CONWAY, HUGH, the _nom de plume_ of Frederick Fargus, born in
Bristol; bred to the auctioneer business; author of "Called Back," a
highly sensational novel, and a success; gave up his business and settled
in London, where he devoted himself to literature, and the production of
similar works of much promise, but caught malarial fever at Monte Carlo
and died (1847-1885).
CONWAY, MONCURE, an American writer, born in Virginia; began life as
a Unitarian preacher; came to England as a lecturer on war; became leader
of the advanced school of thought, so called; was a great admirer of
Emerson, and wrote, among other works, "Emerson at Home and Abroad"; _b_.
1832.
CONYBEARE, WILLIAM DANIEL, an English clergyman, devoted to the
study of geology and palæontology, and a Bampton lecturer (1787-1857).
CONYBEARE, WILLIAM JOHN, son of the preceding; author, along with
Dean Howson, of the "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," and of an "Essay on
Church Parties" (1815-1857).
COOK, DUTTON, novelist, dramatic author, and critic; born in London,
and bred a solicitor; contributed to several periodicals, and the
"Dictionary of National Biography" (1822-1883).
COOK, EDWARD T., journalist, born at Brighton; educated at Oxford;
had been on the editorial staff of the _Pall Mall Gazette_ and the
_Westminster Gazette_, became, in 1893, editor of the _Daily News_; is an
enthusiastic disciple of Ruskin; wrote "Studies on Ruskin"; _b_. 1857.
COOK, ELIZA, a writer of tales, verses, and magazine articles; born
in Southwark; daughter of a merchant; conducted, from 1849 to 1854, a
journal called by her name, but gave it up from failing health; enjoyed a
pension of £100 on the Civil List till her death; was the authoress of
"The Old Arm-Chair" and "Home in the Heart," both of which were great
favourites with the public, and did something for literature and
philanthropy by her _Journal_ (1818-1889).
COOK, JAMES, the distinguished English navigator, born at Marton,
Yorkshire; was the son of a farm labourer; began sea-faring on board a
merchantman; entered the navy in 1755, and in four years became a master;
spent some nine years in survey of the St. Lawrence and the coasts of
Newfoundland; in 1768, in command of the _Endeavour_, was sent out with
an expedition to observe the transit of Venus, and in 1772 as commander
of two vessels on a voyage of discovery to the South Seas; on his return,
receiving further promotion, he set out on a third voyage of farther
exploration in the Pacific, making many discoveries as far N. as Behring
Strait; lost his life, on his way home, in a dispute with the natives, at
Owhyhee, in the Sandwich Islands, being savagely murdered, a fate which
befell him owing to a certain quickness of temper he had displayed,
otherwise he was a man of great kindness of heart, and his men were
warmly attached to him (1728-1779).
COOK, JOSEPH, a popular lecturer, born near New York; delivered
Monday Lectures at Boston in the discussion of social questions, and the
alleged discrepancy between science and religion or revelation; _b_.
1838.
COOK, MOUNT, the highest point, 12,350 ft., in the Southern Alps,
Canterbury Island, New Zealand.
COOK STRAIT, strait between the North and the South Island, New
Zealand.
COOKE, SIR ANTONY, an eminent scholar, tutor to Edward VI.; of his
daughters, one was married to Lord Burleigh and another to Sir Nicholas
Bacon, who became the mother of Lord Bacon (1506-1576).
COOKE, BENJAMIN, composer, born in London; organist in Westminster
Abbey; author of "How Sleep the Brave," "Hark! the Lark," and other
glees, as well as some excellent church music (1739-1793).
COOKE, GEORGE FREDERICK, an actor, famous for his representation of
Richard III.; stood in his day next to Kemble in spite of his intemperate
habits (1756-1811).
COOKE, T. P., an actor in melodrama; began life at sea; took to the
stage; his most popular representations were William in "Black-eyed
Susan" and Long Tom Coffin in the "Pilot" (1786-1864).
COOLGARDIE, a mining district and head-quarters of rich gold-fields
in W. Australia.
COOLIES, labourers from India and China, who now emigrate in large
numbers, especially from China, often to where they are not wanted, and
where they, as in the British Colonies and the United States, are much
disliked, as they bring down the wages of native labourers.
COOMASSIE, the capital of the negro kingdom of Ashanti, 130 m. NNW.
of Cape Coast Castle; once a large populous place; was much reduced after
its capture by Wolseley in 1874, though it is being rebuilt.
COOPER, ANTHONY ASHLEY. See SHAFTESBURY.
COOPER, SIR ASTLEY, English surgeon, born in Norfolk; was great in
anatomy and a skilful operator, stood high in the medical profession;
contributed much by his writings to raise surgery to the rank of a
science; was eminent as a lecturer as well as a practitioner (1768-1841).
COOPER, JAMES FENIMORE, an American novelist, born in Burlington,
New Jersey; having a passion for the sea, he entered the navy as a
midshipman in 1808, but in three years resigned his commission, married,
and settled to literature; his novels, which are well known, achieved
instant popularity, made him a great favourite with boys, in which he
showed himself an expert in the narration of events, the description of
scenes, as well as in the delineation of character; he came to
loggerheads with the newspaper press, had recourse to actions for libel,
conducted his own cases himself, and was always successful (1789-1851).
COOPER, THOMAS, a self-taught man, born in Leicester; bred a
shoemaker; became a schoolmaster, a Methodist preacher, and then a
journalist; converted to Chartism; was charged with sedition, and
committed to prison for two years; wrote here "Purgatory of Suicides";
after liberation went about lecturing on politics and preaching
scepticism; returning to his first faith, he lectured on the Christian
evidences, and wrote an autobiography (1805-1892).
COOPER, THOMAS SIDNEY, a distinguished animal-painter, born in
Canterbury; struggled with adversity in early life: rose to be supreme in
his own department of art; he has written an account of his career; _b_.
1803.
COOPERAGE, a system of barter which has for some time gone on in the
North Seas, consisting of exchange of spirits and tobacco for other goods
or money, a demoralising traffic, which endeavours are now being made to
suppress.
COOPER'S HILL, a hill of slight elevation near Runnymede, with a
Government civil engineering college, originally for the training for the
service in India, now for education in other departments of the
Government service, forestry especially.
COORG (173), an inland high-lying province, about the size of Kent,
on the eastern slope of the W. Ghâts, on the SW. border of Mysore, under
the Indian Government; it is covered with forests, infested with wild
animals; the natives, a fine race, are distinguished for their loyalty to
the British.
COOTE, SIR EYRE, a general, born in co. Limerick, Ireland;
distinguished himself at Plassey; gained victories over the French in
India; afterwards routed Hyder Ali at Porto Novo; died at Madras
(1726-1783).
COPE, CHARLES WEST, a painter, born at Leeds; his pictures have for
subjects historical or dramatic scenes, and were very numerous; executed
the frescoes that adorn the Peers' corridor at Westminster; was professor
of Painting to the Royal Academy (1811-1890).
COPE, SIR JOHN, a British general; was in command at Prestonpans,
and defeated by the Pretender there in 1745, in connection with which his
name is remembered in Scotland as not having been ready when the
Highlanders attacked him, by the song "Heigh! Johnnie Cowp, are ye wauken
yet?" _d_. 1760.
COPENHAGEN (380), the capital of Denmark, and the only large town in
it; lies low, and is built partly on the island of Seeland and partly on
the island of Amager, the channel between which forms a commodious
harbour; is a thriving place of manufacture and of trade, as its name
"Merchants' Haven" implies; has also a university, an arsenal, and
numerous public buildings.
COPERNICUS, NICOLAS, founder of modern astronomy, born at Thorn, in
Poland, and educated at Cracow and Bologna; became canon of Frauenburg,
on the Frisches Haff; studied medicine; was doctor to a wealthy uncle,
with whom he lived, and became his heir when he died; his chief interest
lay in the heavenly bodies, and his demonstrations regarding their
movements, which yet he deferred publishing till he was near his end; and
indeed it was only when he was unconscious and dying that the first
printed copy of the work was put into his hands; it was entitled "De
Orbium Revolutionibus," and was written in proof of the great first
principle of astronomy, that the sun is the centre of the solar system,
and that the earth and planets circle round it; the work was dedicated to
Pope Paul III., and was received with favour by the Catholic Church,
though, strange to say, it was denounced by Luther and Melanchthon as
contrary to the Scriptures of truth (1473-1543).
COPIAPÓ, a river, a village, a city, and a district in Chile.
COPLEY, JOHN SINGLETON, portrait and historical painter, born in
Boston, U.S.; painted Washington's portrait at the age of eighteen; came
to England in 1776, having previously sent over for exhibition sundry of
his works; painted portraits of the king and the queen; began the
historical works on which his fame chiefly rests, the most widely known
perhaps of which is the "Death of Chatham," now in the National Gallery
(1737-1815).
COPPÉE, FRANÇOIS, a poet, born in Paris; has produced several
volumes of poetry, excellent dramas in verse, and tales in prose; his
poetry is the poetry of humble life, and "has given poetic pleasure," as
Professor Saintsbury says, "to many who are not capable of receiving it
otherwise, while he has never sought to give that pleasure by unworthy
means"; _b_. 1842.
COPPER CAPTAIN, a Brummagem captain; the name given to Percy in
Beaumont and Fletcher's play, "Rule a Wife and Have a Wife."
COPPER NOSE, name given to Oliver Cromwell, from a brownish tinge on
his nose.
COPPERHEADS, secret foes in one's own camp, so called from a set of
serpents which conceal their purpose to attack.
COPPERMINE, a river in NW. Canada which falls into the Arctic Ocean
after a broken course of 250 m.
COPPET, a Swiss village in the Canton de Vaud, on the Lake of
Geneva; celebrated as the abode of Mme. de Staël, her burial-place and
that of Necker, her father.
COPTS, the Christian descendants of the ancient Egyptians, who are
Monophysites in belief, some regarding the Patriarch of Alexandria and
some the Pope as their head; they adhere to the ancient ritual, are
prelatic, sacramentarian, and exclusive; they speak Arabic, their
original Coptic being as good as dead, though the grammar is taught in
the schools.
COPYRIGHT, the sole right of an author or his heirs to publish a
work for a term of years fixed by statute, a book for 42 years, or the
author's lifetime and 7 years after, whichever is longer; copyright
covers literary, artistic, and musical property. By the Act an author
must present one copy of his work, if published, to the British Museum,
and one copy, if demanded, to the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the
University Library, Cambridge; the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; and
Trinity College Library, Dublin.
COQUELIN, BENOIT CONSTANT, a noted French actor, born at Boulogne;
played in classical pieces and others, composed for himself in the
Théâtre Français from 1860 to 1886; since then in London, S. America, and
the United States; without a rival in the broader aspects of comedy; _b_.
1841.
COQUEREL, ATHANASE, a pastor of the French Reformed Church, born in
Paris, where he preached eloquently from 1830 till his death; was elected
in 1848 deputy for the Seine to the national Assembly, but retired from
political life after the _coup d'état_; wrote a reply to Strauss
(1795-1858).
COQUEREL, ATHANASE, a Protestant pastor, son of preceding, born at
Amsterdam; celebrated for his liberal and tolerant views, too much so for
M. Guizot; edited Voltaire's letters on toleration; his chief work, "Jean
Calas et sa Famille" (1820-1875).
COQUIMBO (14), capital of a mining province of Chile (176) of the
name; exports minerals and cattle.
CORAÏS, a distinguished Hellenist, born in Smyrna, of the mercantile
class; settled in Paris, where he devoted himself to awakening an
interest in Greek literature and the cause of the Greeks (1748-1833).
CORAM, THOMAS, English philanthropist, the founder of the Foundling
Hospital, born at Lyme Regis; a man of varied ventures by sea and land;
settled in London; was touched by the sufferings of the poor, where, with
warm support from Hogarth, he founded the said institution; his charity
so impoverished him that he ended his days as an object of charity
himself, being dependent on a small annuity raised by subscription
(1667-1751).
CORATO (30), a town in a fertile region in S. Italy, 25 m. W. of
Bari.
CORBLE-STEPS, or CROW-STEPS, steps ascending the gable of a
house, common in old Scotch gables as well as in the Netherlands and
elsewhere in old towns.
COR`BULO, a distinguished general under Claudius and Nero, who
conquered the Parthians; Nero, being jealous of him, invited him to
Corinth, where he found a death-warrant awaiting him, upon which he
plunged his sword into his breast and exclaimed, "Well deserved!" in 72
A.D.
CORCY`RA, an Ionian island, now CORFU (q. v.).
CORDAY, CHARLOTTE, a French heroine, born at St. Saturnin, of good
birth, granddaughter of Corneille; well read in Voltaire and Plutarch;
favoured the Revolution, but was shocked at the atrocities of the
Jacobins; started from Caen for Paris as an avenging angel; sought out
Marat, with difficulty got access to him, stabbed him to the heart as he
sat "stewing in slipper-bath," and "his life with a groan gushed out,
indignant, to the shades below"; when arrested, she "quietly
surrendered"; when questioned as to her motive, she answered, "I killed
one man to save a hundred thousand"; she was guillotined next day
(1763-1793).
CORDELIA, the youngest and favourite daughter of King Lear.
CORDELIERS, (1) the strictest branch of the Franciscan Order of
Monks, so called from wearing a girdle of knotted cord; (2) also a club
during the French Revolution, founded in 1789, its prominent members,
Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Marat; was a secession from the Jacobin
Club, which was thought lukewarm, and met in what had been a convent of
the Cordeliers monks; it expired with Danton.
CORDERIUS, a grammarian, born in Normandy; being a Protestant
settled in Geneva and taught; author of Latin "Colloquies," once very
famous (1478-1567).
CORDILLERAS, the name of several chains of mountains in S. America.
CORDITE, a smokeless powder, invented by Sir F. A. Abel, being
composed principally of gun-cotton and glycerine.
CORDON BLUE, formerly the badge of the Order of the Holy Ghost, now
the badge of highest excellence in a cook.
CORDOUAN, a lighthouse at the mouth of the Gironde.
COR`DOVA (70), a city on the Paraná, in the Argentine; also a town
(48) in Andalusia, Spain, on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, in a
province of the name, 80 m. NE. of Seville; once a Moorish capital, and
famous for its manufacture of goat leather; has a cathedral, once a
magnificent mosque.
COREA (6,511), an Eastern Asiatic kingdom occupying the mountainous
peninsula between the Yellow and Japan Seas, in the latitude of Italy,
with Manchuria on its northern border, a country as large as Great
Britain. The people, an intelligent and industrious race, are Mongols,
followers of Confucius and Buddha. After being for 300 years tributary to
China, it passed under Japanese influence, and by the Chinese defeat in
the war with Japan, 1894-95, was left independent. The climate is
healthy, but subject to extremes; rivers are ice-bound for four months.
Wheat, rice, and beans are grown. There are gold, silver, iron, and coal
mines, and great mineral wealth. There are extensive manufactures of
paper, and some silk industry. Three ports are open to foreigners; but
most of the trade is with Japan; exports hides, beans, and paper; imports
cotton goods. The capital is Seoul (193).
CORELLI, ARCANGELO, an Italian musical composer, celebrated for his
skill on the violin; his compositions mark a new musical epoch; he has
been called the father of instrumental music (1653-1713).
CORELLI, MARIE, a novelist, a prolific authoress, and very popular;
her first work "The Romance of Two Worlds," one of her latest "The
Sorrows of Satan"; _b_. 1864.
CORFE CASTLE, a village in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorsetshire, round a
castle now in ruins, and the scene of martyrdoms and murders not a few in
its day.
CORFU (78), the most northerly of the Ionian Islands and the
largest, 40 m. long, from 4 to 18 broad; was under the protection of
Britain, 1815-64; has since belonged to Greece; has a capital (79) of the
same name.
CORIN`NA, a poetess of ancient Greece, born in Boeotia; friend and
rival of Pindar; only a few fragments of her poetry remain.
CORINNE, the heroine and title of a novel of Mme. de Staël's, her
principal novel, in which she celebrates the praises of the great men and
great masterpieces of Italy; her heroine is the type of a woman inspired
with poetic ideas and the most generous sentiments.
CORINTH, an ancient city of Greece, and one of the most flourishing,
on an isthmus of the name connecting the Peloponnesus with the mainland;
a great centre of trade and of material wealth, and as a centre of luxury
a centre of vice; the seat of the worship of Aphrodité, a very different
goddess from Athene, to whom Athens was dedicated.
CORINTHIANS, EPISTLES TO THE, two epistles of St. Paul to the Church
he had established in Corinth, the chief object of which was to cleanse
it of certain schisms and impurities that had arisen, and to protest
against the disposition of many in it to depart from simple gospel which
they had been taught.
CORIOLA`NUS, a celebrated Roman general of patrician rank, who
rallied his countrymen when, in besieging Corioli, they were being driven
back, so that he took the city, and was in consequence called Coriolanus;
having afterwards offended the plebs, he was banished from the city; took
refuge among the people he had formerly defeated; joined cause with them,
and threatened to destroy the city, regardless of every entreaty to spare
it, till his mother, his wife, and the matrons of Rome overcame him by
their tears, upon which he withdrew and led back his army to Corioli,
prepared to suffer any penalty his treachery to them might expose him.
CORIOLI, a town of ancient Latium, capital of the Volsci.
CORK (73), a fine city, capital of a county (436) of the same name
in Munster, Ireland, on the Lee, 11 m. from its mouth; with a magnificent
harbour, an extensive foreign trade, and manufactures of various kinds.
CORMENIN, a French statesman and jurist, born at Paris; had great
influence under Louis Philippe; his pamphlets, signed _Timon_, made no
small stir; left a work on administrative law in France (1788-1886).
CORMONTAIGNE, a celebrated French engineer, born at Strasburg;
successor of Vauban (1696-1752).
CORNARO, an illustrious patrician family in Venice, from which for
centuries several Doges sprung.
CORN-CRACKER, the nickname of a Kentucky man.
CORNEILLE, PIERRE, the father of French tragedy, born at Rouen, the
son of a government legal official; was bred for the bar, but he neither
took to the profession nor prospered in the practice of it, so gave it up
for literature; threw himself at once into the drama; began by
dramatising an incident in his own life, and became the creator of the
dramatic art in France; his first tragedies are "The Cid," which indeed
is his masterpiece, "Horace," "Cinna," "Polyeucte," "Rodogune," and "Le
Menteur"; in his verses, which are instinct with vigour of conception as
well as sublimity of feeling, he paints men as they should be, virtuous
in character, brave in spirit, and animated by the most exalted
sentiments. Goethe contrasts him with Racine: "Corneille," he says,
"delineated great men; Racine, men of eminent rank." "He rarely provokes
an interest," says Professor Saintsbury, "in the fortunes of his
characters; it is rather in the way that they bear their fortune, and
particularly in a kind of haughty disdain for fortune itself... He shows
an excellent comic faculty at times, and the strokes of irony in his
serious plays have more of true humour in them than appears in almost any
other French dramatist" (1606-1684).
CORNEILLE, THOMAS, younger brother of the preceding, a dramatist,
whose merits were superior, but outshone by those of his brother
(1625-1709).
CORNELIA, the daughter of Scipio Africanus and the mother of the
GRACCHI (q. v.), the Roman matron who, when challenged by a
rival lady to outshine her in wealth of gems, proudly led forth her sons
saying, "These are my jewels"; true to this sentiment, it was as the
mother of the Gracchi she wished to be remembered, and is remembered, in
the annals of Rome.
CORNELIUS, PETER VON, a distinguished German painter, born at
Düsseldorf; early gave proof of artistic genius, which was carefully
fostered by his father; spent much time as a youth in studying and
copying Raphael; before he was 20 he decorated a church at Neuss with
colossal figures in chiaroscuro; in 1810 executed designs for Goethe's
"Faust"; in the year after went to Rome, where, along with others, he
revived the old art of fresco painting, in which he excelled his rivals;
the subjects of these were drawn from Greek pagan as well as Christian
sources, his "Judgment" being the largest fresco in the world; the
thought which inspires his cartoons, critics say, surpasses his power of
execution; it should be added, he prepared a set of designs to illustrate
the "Nibelungen" (1787-1867).
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, a university in Ithaca, New York State, founded
in 1868 at a cost of £152,000, named after its founder, Ezra Cornell; it
supports a large staff of teachers, and gives instruction in all
departments of science, literature, and philosophy; it provides education
to sundry specified classes free of all fees, as well as means of earning
the benefits of the institution to any who may wish to enjoy them.
CORN-LAWS, laws in force in Great Britain regulating the import and
export of corn for the protection of the home-producer at the expense of
the home-consumer, and which after a long and bitter struggle between
these two classes were abolished in 1846.
CORN-LAW RHYMER, THE, EBENEZER ELLIOTT (q. v.) who, in a
volume of poems, denounced the corn-laws and contributed to their
abolition.
CORNO, MONTE, the highest peak of the Apennines, 9545 ft.
CORNWALL (322), a county in the SW. extremity of England, forming a
peninsula between the English and the Bristol Channels, with a rugged
surface and a rocky coast, indented all round with more or less deep bays
inclosed between high headlands; its wealth lies not in the soil, but
under it in its mines, and in the pilchard, mackerel, and other fisheries
along its stormy shores; the county town is Bodmin (5), the largest
Penzance (12), and the mining centre Truro (11).
CORNWALL, BARRY, the _nom de plume_ of B. W. PROCTER (q. v.).
CORNWALLIS, LORD, an English general and statesman; saw service in
the Seven Years' and the American Wars; besieged in the latter at York
Town, was obliged to capitulate; became Governor-General of India, and
forced Tippoo Sahib to submit to humiliating terms; as Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland crushed the rebellion of '98; re-appointed Governor-General of
India; died there (1738-1805).
COROMANDEL COAST, E. coast of Hindustan, extending from the Krishna
to Cape Comorin.
CORONATION CHAIR, a chair inclosing a stone carried off by Edward I.
from Scone in 1296, on which the sovereigns of England are crowned.
COROT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a celebrated French landscape-painter, born at
Paris; was 26 years of age before he began to apply himself to art, which
he did by study in Italy and Rome, returning to Paris in 1827, where he
began to exhibit, and continued to exhibit for nearly 50 years; it was
long before his pieces revealed what was in him and the secret of his
art; he appeared also as a poet as well as a painter, giving free play to
his emotions and moving those of others (1796-1875).
CORPS LÉGISLATIF, the lower house of the French legislature,
consisting of deputies.
CORPUSCULAR PHILOSOPHY, the philosophy which accounts for physical
phenomena by the position and the motions of corpuscles.
CORR, ERIN, an eminent engraver, born in Brussels, of Irish descent;
spent 10 years in engraving on copper-plate Rubens's "Descent from the
Cross" (1793-1862).
CORRECTOR, ALEXANDER THE, Alexander Cruden, who believed he had a
divine mission to correct the manners of the world.
CORREGGIO, ANTONIO ALLEGRI DA, an illustrious Italian painter, born
at Correggio, in Modena; founder of the Lombard school, and distinguished
among his contemporaries for the grace of his figures and the harmony of
his colouring; he has been ranked next to Raphael, and it has been said
of him he perfected his art by adding elegance to truth and grandeur; he
is unrivalled in chiaroscuro, and he chose his subjects from pagan as
well as Christian legend (1494-1534).
CORRIB, LOUGH, an irregularly shaped lake in Galway and Mayo, 25 m.
long and from 1 to 6 m. broad, with stone circles near it.
CORRIENTES (300), a province of the Argentine Republic, between the
Paraná and the Uruguay; also its capital (18), surrounded by
orange-groves; so called from the currents that prevail in the river,
along which steamers ply between it and Buenos Ayres.
CORRUGATED IRON, in general, sheet-iron coated with zinc.
CORSAIR, THE, a poem of Byron's, in which the author paints himself
in heroic colours as an adventurer who drowns reflection in the
intoxication of battle.
CORSICA (288), an island belonging to France, in the Mediterranean,
ceded to her by Genoa in 1768, but by position, race, and language
belongs to Italy; has been subject by turns to the powers that in
succession dominated that inland sea; is 116 m. long and 52 broad; it
abounds in mountains, attaining 9000 ft.; covered with forests and
thickets, which often serve as shelter for brigands; it affords good
pasturage, and yields olive-oil and wine, as well as chesnuts, honey, and
wax.
CORSICA PAOLI, a native of Corsica, who vainly struggled to achieve
the independence of his country, and took refuge in England, where he
enjoyed the society of the Johnson circle, and was much esteemed. See
PAOLI.
CORSSEN, WILLIAM PAUL, a learned German philologist, born at Bremen;
made a special study of the Latin languages, and especially the Etruscan,
which he laboured to prove was cognate with that of the Romans and of the
races that spoke it (1820-1875).
CORT, an eminent Dutch engraver, went to Venice, lived with Titian;
engraved some of his pictures; went to Rome and engraved Raphael's
"Transfiguration"; executed over 150 plates, all displaying great
accuracy and refinement (1536-1578).
CORTES, the name given in Spain and Portugal to the National
Assembly, consisting of nobles and representatives of the nation.
CORTES, a Spanish soldier and conqueror of Mexico, born in
Estremadura; went with Velasquez to Cuba; commanded the expedition to
conquer Mexico, and by burning all his ships that conveyed his men, cut
off all possibility of retreat; having conquered the tribes that he met
on landing, he marched on to the capital, which, after a desperate
struggle, he reduced, and laid waste and then swept the country, by all
which he added to the wealth of Spain, but by his cruelty did dishonour
to the chivalry of which Spain was once so proud (1485-1547).
CORTONA, PIETRO DA, an Italian painter, born at Cortona, in Tuscany,
and eminent as an architect also; decorated many of the finest buildings
in Rome (1596-1669).
CORUÑA (34), a fortified town on NW. of Spain, with a commodious
harbour, where Sir John Moore fell in 1809 while defending the
embarkation of his army against Soult, and where his tomb is.
CORVÉE, obligation as at one time enforced in France to render
certain services to Seigneurs, such as repairing of roads, abolished by
the Contituent Assembly.
CORYAT, THOMAS, an English traveller and wit, who, in his
"Crudities," quaintly describes his travels through France and Italy
(1577-1617).
CORYBANTES, priests of CYBELE (q. v.), whose religious
rites were accompanied with wild dances and the clashing of cymbals.
CORYDON, a shepherd in Virgil, name for a lovesick swain.
CORYPHÆUS, originally the leader of the chorus in a Greek drama, now
a leader in any dramatic company, or indeed in any art.
COS (10), an island in the Ægean Sea, birthplace of Hippocrates and
Apelles.
COSENZA (18), a town in Calabria, in a deep valley, where Alaric
died.
COSIN, JOHN, a learned English prelate, Dean of Peterborough,
deposed by the Puritans for his ritualistic tendencies; exiled for 10
years in Paris; returned at the Restoration, and was made Bishop of
Durham, where he proved himself a Bishop indeed, and a devoted supporter
of the Church which he adorned by his piety (1594-1672).
COSMAS, ST., Arabian physician and patron of surgeons, brother of
St. Damian; suffered martyrdom in 303. Festival, Sept. 27.
COSMAS INDICOPLEUSTES (i. e. voyager to India), an Egyptian monk
of the 6th century, born in Alexandria, singular for his theory of the
system of the world, which, in opposition to the Ptolemaic system, he
viewed as in shape like that of the Jewish Tabernacle, with Eden outside,
and encircled by the ocean, a theory he advanced as in conformity with
Scripture.
COSMO I., Grand-duke of Tuscany, head of the Republic of Florence,
of which he made himself absolute master, a post he held in defiance of
all opposition, in order to secure the independence of the state he
governed, as well as its internal prosperity (1519-1574).
COSMOGRAPHY, any theory which attempts to trace the system of things
back to its first principle or primordial element or elements.
COSQUIN, EMMANUEL, a French folk-lorist, and author of "Popular
Tales of Lorraine," in the introduction to which he argues for the theory
that the development as well as the origin of such tales is historically
traceable to India; _b_. 1841.
COSSACKS, a military people of mixed origin, chiefly Tartar and
Slav, who fought on horseback, in their own interest as well as that of
Russia, defending its interests in particular for centuries past in many
a struggle, and forming an important division of the Russian army.
COSTA RICA (262), a small republic of Central America; it is mostly
tableland; contains many volcanoes; is chiefly agricultural, though rich
in minerals.
COSTARD, a clown in "Love's Labour Lost," who apes the affected
court-wits of the time in a misappropriate style.
COSTELLO, LOUISA STUART, an English authoress; her descriptive
powers were considerable, and her novels had a historical groundwork
(1799-1870).
COSTER, _alias_ LAURENS JANSZOON, born at Haarlem, to whom his
countrymen, as against the claims of Gutenberg, ascribe the invention of
printing (1370-1440).
COSWAY, RICHARD, a distinguished miniature portrait-painter, born at
Tiverton; Correggio his model (1740-1821).
CÔTE D'OR, a range of hills in the NE. of France, connecting the
Cévennes with the Vosges, which gives name to a department (376) famed
for its wines.
COTENTIN, a peninsula NW. of Normandy, France, jutting into the
English Channel, now forms the northern part of the dep. La Manche, the
fatherland of many of the Norman conquerors of England.
COTES, ROGER, an English mathematician of such promise, that Newton
said of him, "If he had lived, we should have known something"
(1682-1716).
CÔTES DU NORD (618), a dep. forming part of Brittany; the chief
manufacture is linen.
COTIN, THE ABBÉ, a French preacher, born in Paris; a butt of the
sarcasm of Molière and Boileau (1604-1682)
COTMAN, JOHN SELL, an English painter, born at Norwich; made
Turner's acquaintance; produced water-colour landscapes, growing in
repute; has been pronounced "the most gifted of the Norwich School"
(1782-1842).
COTOPAXI, a volcano of the Andes, in Ecuador, the highest and most
active in the world, nearly 20,000 ft., 35 m. SE. of Quito; it rises in a
perfect cone, 4400 ft. above the plateau of Quito.
COTSWOLD HILLS, in Gloucestershire, separating the Lower Severn from
the sources of the Thames; they are of limestone rock, 50 m. long, and
extend N. and S.
COTTA, CAIUS, a distinguished Roman orator, 1st century B.C.;
mentioned with honour by Cicero.
COTTA, German publisher, born at Stuttgart; established in Tübingen;
published the works of Goethe, Schiller, Jean Paul, Herder, and others of
note among their contemporaries (1764-1832).
COTTIAN ALPS, the range N. of the Maritime between France and Italy.
COTTIN, SOPHIE, a celebrated French authoress; wrote, among other
romances, the well-known and extensively translated "Elizabeth; or, the
Exiles of Siberia," a wildly romantic but irreproachably moral tale
(1773-1807).
COTTLE, JOSEPH, a publisher and author; started business in Bristol;
published the works of Coleridge and Southey on generous terms; wrote in
his "Early Recollections" an exposure of Coleridge that has been severely
criticised and generally condemned (1770-1853).
COTTON, BISHOP, born at Chester; eminent as a master at Rugby under
Dr. Arnold, and as head-master at Marlborough College; was appointed
Bishop of Calcutta, an office he fulfilled zealously; was drowned in the
Ganges; he figures as "the young master" in "Tom Brown's School-days"
(1813-1866).
COTTON, CHARLES, a poet, born in Staffordshire; his poetry was of
the burlesque order, and somewhat gross; chiefly famous for his
translation of "Montaigne's Essays"; was friend and admirer of Isaak
Walton, and wrote a supplement to his "Angler" (1630-1687).
COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE, a distinguished antiquary, and founder of
the Cottonian Library, now in the British Museum, born at Denton; was a
friend of Camden, and assisted him in his great work; was a great
book-collector; was exposed to persecution for his presumed share in the
publication of an obnoxious book, of which the original was found in his
collection; had his books, in which he prided himself, taken from him, in
consequence of which he pined and died (1571-1631).
COUCY, an old noble family of Picardy, who had for device, "Roi ne
suis, ne duc, ne comte aussi; je suis le sire de Coucy." RAOUL, a
court-poet of the family in the 12th century, lost his life at the siege
of Acre in the third crusade.
COULOMB, a learned French physicist and engineer, born at Angoulême;
the inventor of the torsion balance, and to whose labours many
discoveries in electricity and magnetism are due; lived through the
French Revolution retired from the strife (1736-1806).
COUNCILS, CHURCH, assemblies of bishops to decide questions of
doctrine and ecclesiastical discipline. They are oecumenical, national,
or provincial, according as the bishops assembled represented the whole
Church, a merely national one, or a provincial section of it. Eastern:
Nice, 325 (at which Arius was condemned), 787; Constantinople, 381 (at
which Apollinaris was condemned), 553, 680, 869; Ephesus, 431 (at which
Nestorius was condemned); Chalcedon, 451 (at which Eutyches was
condemned). Western: Lateran, 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215, 1274; Synod of
Vienne, 1311; Constance, 1414; Basel, 1431-1443; Trent, 1545-1563;
Vatican, 1869.
COURAYES, a French Roman Catholic ecclesiastic who pled on behalf of
Anglican orders; was censured; fled to England, where he was welcomed,
and received academic honours (1681-1777).
COURBET, a French vice-admiral, born at Abbeville; distinguished
himself by his rapid movements and brilliant successes in the East
(1827-1885).
COURBET, GUSTAVE, French painter, born at Ornans; took to
landscape-painting; was head of the Realistic school; joined the Commune
in 1871; his property and pictures were sold to pay the damage done, and
especially to restore the Vendôme Column; died an exile in Switzerland
(1819-1877).
COURIER, PAUL LOUIS, a French writer, born at Paris; began life as a
soldier, but being wounded at Wagram, retired from the army, and gave
himself to letters; distinguished himself as the author of political
pamphlets, written with a scathing irony such as has hardly been
surpassed, which brought him into trouble; was assassinated on his estate
by his gamekeeper (1772-1825).
COURLAND (637), a partly wooded and partly marshy province of
Russia, S. of the Gulf of Riga; the population chiefly German, and
Protestants; agriculture their chief pursuit.
COURT DE GÉBELIN, a French writer, born at Nîmes, author of a work
entitled "The Primitive World analysed and compared with the Modern
World" (1725-1784).
COURTNEY, WILLIAM, archbishop of Canterbury, no match for Wickliffe
in debate, but had his revenge in persecuting his followers (1341-1396).
COURTOIS, JACQUES, a French painter of battle-pieces; became a
Jesuit, died a monk (1621-1676).
COURTRAIS (29), a Belgian town on the Lys.
COUSIN, VICTOR, a French philosopher, born in Paris; founder of an
eclectic school, which derived its doctrines partly from the Scottish
philosophy and partly from the German, and which Dr. Chalmers in his
class-room one day characterised jocularly as neither Scotch nor German,
but just half seas over; he was a lucid expounder, an attractive
lecturer, and exerted no small influence on public opinion in France; had
a considerable following; retired from public life in 1848, and died at
Cannes; he left a number of philosophic works behind him, the best known
among us "Discourses on the True, the Beautiful, and the Good"
(1792-1867).
COUSIN MICHAEL, a disparaging designation of our German kindred, as
slow, heavy, unpolished, and ungainly.
COUSIN-MONTAUBAN, a French general, commanded the Chinese expedition
of 1860, and, after a victory over the Chinese, took possession of Pekin
(1796-1878).
COUSINS, SAMUEL, a mezzotint engraver, born at Exeter; engraved
"Bolton Abbey," "Marie Antoinette in the Temple," and a number of plates
after eminent painters; left a fund to aid poor artists (1801-1880).
COUSTON, the name of three eminent French sculptors: NICOLAS
(1658-1733); GUILLAUME, father (1678-1746); and GUILLAUME, son
(1716-1777).
COUTHON, GEORGES, a violent revolutionary, one of a triumvirate with
Robespierre and St. Just, who would expel every one from the Jacobin Club
who could not give evidence of having done something to merit hanging,
should a counter-revolution arrive; was paralysed in his limbs from
having had to spend a night "sunk to the middle in a cold peat bog" to
escape detection as a seducer; trapped for the guillotine; tried to make
away with himself under a table, but could not (1756-1794).
COUTTS, THOMAS, a banker, born in Edinburgh, his father having been
Lord Provost of that city; joint-founder and eventually sole manager of
the London banking house, Coutts & Co.; left a fortune of £900,000
(1735-1822).
COUVADE, a custom among certain races of low culture in which a
father before and after childbirth takes upon himself the duties and
cares of the mother.
COUZA, PRINCE, born at Galatz, hereditary prince of Moldavia and
Wallachia; reigned from 1858 to 1860; died in exile, 1873.
COVENANT, SOLEMN LEAGUE AND, an engagement, with representatives
from Scotland, on the part of the English Parliament to secure to the
Scotch the terms of their National Covenant, and signed by honourable
members in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, September 25, 1643, on the
condition of assistance from the Scotch in their great struggle with the
king.
COVENANT, THE NATIONAL, a solemn engagement on the part of the
Scottish nation subscribed to by all ranks of the community, the first
signature being appended to it in the Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh,
on February 28, 1638, to maintain the Presbyterian Church and to resist
all attempts on the part of Charles I. to foist Episcopacy upon it; it
was ratified by the Scottish Parliament in 1640, and subscribed by
Charles II. in 1650 and 1651.
COVENANTERS, a body of strict Presbyterians who held out against the
breach of the Solemn League and Covenant.
COVENT GARDEN, properly Convent Garden, as originally the garden of
Westminster Abbey, the great fruit, flower, and vegetable market of
London; is one of the sights of London early on a summer morning.
COVENTRY (55), a town in Warwickshire, 18½ m. SE. of Birmingham;
famous for the manufacture of ribbons and watches, and recently the chief
seat of the manufacture of bicycles and tricycles; in the old streets are
some quaint old houses; there are some very fine churches and a number of
charitable institutions.
COVENTRY, SIR JOHN, a member of the Long Parliament; when, as a
member of Parliament in Charles II.'s reign, he made reflections on the
profligate conduct of the king, he was set upon by bullies, who slit his
nose to the bone; a deed which led to the passing of the Coventry Act,
which makes cutting and maiming a capital offence (1640-1682).
COVERDALE, MILES, translator of the English Bible, born in
Yorkshire; his translation was the first issued under royal sanction,
being dedicated to Henry VIII.; done at the instance of Thomas Cromwell,
and brought out in 1535, and executed with a view to secure the favour of
the authorities in Church and State, displaying a timid hesitancy
unworthy of a manly faith in the truth; both he and his translation
nevertheless were subjected to persecution, 2500 copies of the latter,
printed in Paris, having been seized by the Inquisition and committed to
the flames (1487-1568).
COVERLEY, SIR ROGER DE, member of the club under whose auspices the
_Spectator_ is professedly edited; represents an English squire of Queen
Anne's reign.
COWELL, JOHN, an English lawyer, author of "Institutes of the Laws
of England" and of a law dictionary burnt by the common hangman for
matter in it derogatory to the royal authority; _d_. 1611.
COWEN, FREDERICK HYMEN, a popular English composer, born in
Kingston, Jamaica; his works consist of symphonies, cantatas, oratories,
as well as songs, duets, &c.; is conductor of the Manchester Subscription
Concerts in succession to Sir Charles Hallé; _b_. 1852.
COWES, a watering-place in the N. of the Isle of Wight, separated by
the estuary of Medina into E. and W.; engaged in yacht-building, and the
head-quarters of the Royal Yacht Club.
COWLEY, ABRAHAM, poet and essayist, born in London; a contemporary
of Milton, whom he at one time outshone, but has now fallen into neglect;
he was an ardent royalist, and catered to the taste of the court, which,
however, brought him no preferment at the Restoration; he was a master of
prose, and specially excelled in letter-writing; he does not seem to have
added much to the literature of England, except as an essayist, and in
this capacity has been placed at the head of those who cultivated that
clear, easy, and natural style which culminated in Addison (1618-1667).
COWLEY, HENRY WELLESLEY, EARL, an eminent diplomatist, brother of
the Duke of Wellington; served as a diplomatist in Vienna,
Constantinople, and Switzerland, and was ambassador to France from 1852
to 1867 (1804-1884).
COWPER, WILLIAM, a popular English poet, born at Great
Berkhampstead, Hertford, of noble lineage; lost his mother at six, and
cherished the memory of her all his days; of a timid, sensitive nature,
suffered acutely from harsh usage at school; read extensively in the
classics; trained for and called to the bar; was appointed at 32 a clerk
to the House of Lords; qualifying for the duties of the appointment
proved too much for him, and he became insane; when he recovered, he
retired from the world to Huntingdon beside a brother, where he formed an
intimacy with a family of the name of Unwin, a clergyman in the place; on
Mr. Unwin's death he removed with the family to Olney, in
Buckinghamshire, where he lived as a recluse and associated with the Rev.
John Newton and Mrs. Unwin; shortly after he fell insane again, and
continued so for two years; on his recovery he took to gardening and
composing poems, his first the "Olney Hymns," the melancholy being
charmed away by the conversation of a Lady Austin, who came to live in
the neighbourhood; it was she who suggested his greatest poem, the
"Task"; then followed other works, change of scene and associates, the
death of Mrs. Unwin, and the gathering of a darker and darker cloud, till
he passed away peacefully; it is interesting to note that it is to this
period his "Lines to Mary Unwin" and his "Mother's Picture" belong
(1731-1800).
COX, DAVID, an eminent landscape painter, rated by some next to
Turner, born at Birmingham; began his art as a scene-painter; painted as
a landscapist first in water-colour, then in oil; many of his best works
are scenes in N. Wales; his works have risen in esteem and value; an
ambition of his was to get £100 for a picture, and one he got only £20
for brought £3602 (1793-1830).
COX, SIR GEORGE, an English mythologist, specially distinguished for
resolving the several myths of Greece and the world into idealisations of
solar phenomena; he has written on other subjects, all of interest, and
is engaged with W. T. Brande on a "Dictionary of Science, Literature, and
Art"; _b_. 1827.
COXCIE, MICHAEL, a celebrated Flemish painter, born at Mechlin
(1497-1592).
COXE, HENRY OCTAVIUS, librarian, became assistant-librarian of the
Bodleian Library, Oxford, in 1838, and ultimately head-librarian in 1860;
under his direction the catalogue, consisting of 720 folio volumes, was
completed; held this post till his death; has edited several works of
value; is one of Dean Burgon's "Twelve Good Men" (1811-1881).
COXE, WILLIAM, a historical writer, heavy but painstaking, born in
London; wrote "History of the House of Austria" and the "Memoirs of
Marlborough," and on "Sir Robert Walpole and the Pelham Administrations"
(1747-1828).
COXWELL, a celebrated English aëronaut; bred a dentist; took to
ballooning; made 700 ascents; reached with Glaisher an elevation of 7 m.;
_b_. 1819.
COZENS, JOHN ROBERT, a landscape painter, a natural son of Peter the
Great; pronounced by Constable the greatest genius that ever touched
landscape, and from him Turner confessed he had learned more than from
any other landscapist; his mind gave way at last, and he died insane
(1752-1801).
CRABBE, GEORGE, an English poet, born at Aldborough, in Suffolk;
began life as apprentice to an apothecary with a view to the practice of
medicine, but having poetic tastes, he gave up medicine for literature,
and started for London with a capital of three pounds; his first
productions in this line not meeting with acceptance, he was plunged in
want; appealing in vain for assistance in his distress, he fell in with
Burke, who liberally helped him and procured him high patronage, under
which he took orders and obtained the living of Trowbridge, which he held
for life, and he was now in circumstances to pursue his bent; his
principal poems are "The Library," "The Village," "The Parish Register,"
"The Borough," and the "Tales of the Hall," all, particularly the earlier
ones, instinct with interest in the lives of the poor, "the sacrifices,
temptations, loves, and crimes of humble life," described with the most
"unrelenting" realism; the author in Byron's esteem, "though Nature's
sternest painter, yet the best" (1754-1832).
CRACOW (75), a city in Galicia, the old capital of Poland; where the
old Polish kings were buried, and the cathedral of which contains the
graves of the most illustrious of the heroes of the country and
Thorwaldsen's statue of Christ; a large proportion of the inhabitants are
Jews.
CRADLE MOUNTAIN, a mountain in the W. of Tasmania.
CRAIG, JOHN, a Scottish Reformer, educated at St. Andrews, and
originally a Dominican monk; had been converted to Protestantism by study
of Calvin's "Institutes," been doomed to the stake by the Inquisition,
but had escaped; the coadjutor in Edinburgh of Knox, and his successor in
his work, and left a confession and catechism (1512-1580).
CRAIG, SIR THOMAS, an eminent Scottish lawyer, author of a treatise
on the "Jus Feudale," which has often been reprinted, as well as three
others in Latin of less note; wrote in Latin verse a poem on Queen Mary's
marriage to Darnley (1538-1608).
CRAIGENPUTTOCK, a craig or whinstone hill of the puttocks (small
hawks), "a high moorland farm on the watershed between Dumfriesshire and
Galloway, 10 m. from Dumfries," the property for generations of a family
of Welshes, and eventually that of their heiress, Jane Welsh Carlyle,
"the loneliest spot in all the British dominions," which the Carlyles
made their dwelling-house in 1828, where they remained for seven years,
and where "Sartor" was written. "It is certain," Carlyle says of it long
after, "that for living and thinking in I have never since found in the
world a place so favourable.... How blessed," he exclaims, "might poor
mortals be in the straitest circumstances if their wisdom and fidelity to
heaven and to one another were adequately great!"
CRAIK, GEORGE LITTLE, an English author, born in Fife, educated at
St. Andrews; settled early in London as a littérateur; was associated
with Charles Knight in his popular literary undertakings; was author of
the "Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties," and the "History of
English Literature and Learning"; edited "Pictorial History of England,"
contributed to "Penny Cyclopædia," and became professor of English
Literature, Queen's College, Belfast (1799-1866).
CRAIK, MRS., _née_ MULOCK, born at Stoke-upon-Trent; authoress
of "John Halifax, Gentleman," her chief work, which has had, and
maintains, a wide popularity; married in 1865 a nephew and namesake of
the preceding, a partner of the publishing house of Macmillan & Co.;
wrote for the magazines, besides some 14 more novels (1826-1887).
CRAIL, a little old-fashioned town near the East Neuk of Fife, where
James Sharp was minister; a decayed fishing-place, now a summer resort.
CRAMER, JOHANN BAPTIST, a distinguished German composer and pianist
(1771-1858).
CRANACH, LUCAS, a celebrated German painter, born at Kronach, in the
bishopric of Bamberg; was patronised by Frederick the Wise, Elector of
Saxony, whom he accompanied in 1493 to the Holy Land; was engraver as
well as painter, skilled in portraiture as well as in historical scenes;
was intimately associated with the German reformers Luther and
Melanchthon, whose portraits he painted among others; the works of his
that remain are chiefly altar-pieces; his chief work is the "Crucifixion"
in Weimar, where he died (1472-1553).
CRANE, ICHABOD, a tall, lean, lank, Yankee schoolmaster in Irving's
"Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
CRANE, WALTER, poet and painter; has published various illustrated
books and poems illustrated by himself, and is an authority on decorative
art; _b_. 1845.
CRANMER, THOMAS, archbishop of Canterbury, born in Nottinghamshire;
educated at Jesus College, Cambridge; recommended himself to Henry VIII.
by favouring his divorce, writing in defence of it, and pleading for it
before the Pope, the latter in vain, as it proved; on his return was
elevated to the archbishopric, in which capacity he proved a zealous
promoter of the Reformation, by having the Bible translated and
circulated, and by the suppression of monasteries; pronounced sentence of
divorce of Catharine, and confirmed the king's marriage with Anne Boleyn;
by these and other compliances he kept the favour of Henry, but on the
accession of Mary he was committed to the Tower and persuaded to recant,
and even signed a recantation, but on being called to recant in public,
and refusing to do so, he was dragged to the stake, thrust his right hand
into the flames, and exclaimed, "Oh, this unworthy hand" (1489-1566).
CRANNOGE, a species of lake-dwelling and stronghold, of which
remains are found in Scotland and Ireland.
CRAPAUD, JEAN, a nickname of the Frenchmen.
CRASHAW, RICHARD, a minor poet, born in London; bred for the English
Church; went to Paris, where he became a Roman Catholic; fell into
pecuniary difficulties, but was befriended by Cowley and recommended to a
post; was an imitator of George Herbert, and his poems were of the same
class, but more fantastical; his principal poems were "Steps to the
Temple" and the "Delights of the Muses"; both Milton and Pope are
indebted to him (1616-1650).
CRASSUS, LUCIUS LICINIUS, the greatest Roman orator of his day,
became consul 55 B.C.; during his consulship a law was passed requiring
all but citizens to leave Rome, an edict which provoked the Social War
(140-91 B.C.).
CRASSUS, MARCUS LICINIUS, the triumvir with Pompey and Cæsar; was
avaricious, and amassed great wealth; appointed to the province of Syria,
provoked out of cupidity war with the Parthians, in which he was
treacherously slain; Orodes, the king, cut off his head, and poured
melted gold into his mouth, saying as he did so, "Now sate thyself with
the metal of which thou wert so greedy when alive" (115-53 B.C.).
CRATES, a Greek cynic philosopher, disciple of Diogenes; 4th century
B.C.
CRATINUS, a Greek comic poet, born at Athens; limited the actors in
a piece to three, and the first to introduce into the drama attacks on
public men, wrote also satires on vice (519-424 B.C.).
CRATIPPUS, a Peripatetic philosopher of Mytilene, contemporary of
Pompey and Cicero; soothed the sunken spirit of the former after the
defeat at Pharsalia with the consolations of philosophy.
CRATYLUS, a dialogue of Plato's on the connection between language
and thought.
CRAWFORD, MARION, a novelist, born in Tuscany, of American origin,
son of the succeeding; spent a good deal of his early years in India, and
now lives partly in New York and partly in Italy; his works, which are
numerous, are chiefly novels, his first "Mr. Isaacs" (1882), original and
striking; an able writer, and a scholarly; _b_. 1854.
CRAWFORD, THOMAS, an American sculptor, studied at Rome under
Thorwaldsen; his "Orpheus in Search of Eurydice" brought him into notice,
and was followed by an array of works of eminent merit; died in London
from a tumour on the brain, after being struck with blindness
(1814-1857).
CRAWFORD AND BALCARRES, EARL OF, better known as Lord Lindsay, and
as the author of "Letters from the Holy Land," "Progression by
Antagonism," and "Sketches of the History of Christian Art"; died at
Florence, and was entombed at Dunecht, whence his body was abstracted and
found again in a wood near by after a seven months' search (1812-1880).
CRAYER, CASPAR DE, a celebrated Flemish painter, born at Antwerp;
pictures and altar-pieces by him are to be seen in Brussels and Ghent
(1582-1669).
CREAKLE, MR., a bullying schoolmaster in "David Copperfield."
CREASY, SIR EDWARD, chief-justice of Ceylon, author of "The Fifteen
Decisive Battles of the World," "Rise and Progress of the British
Constitution," &c. (1812-1878).
CREATIN, a substance found in the muscles of vertebrate animals, but
never in invertebrate.
CRÉBILLON, a French dramatist, born at Dijon, bred to the law,
devoted to literature and the composition of tragedies, of which he
produced several, mostly on classical subjects, such as "Atreus and
Thyestes," "Electra," of unequal merit, though at times of great power;
he ranked next Voltaire among the dramatists of the time (1674-1762).
CRÉCY, a French village, 12 m. NE. of Abbeville, where Edward III.,
with 30,000, defeated the French with 68,000, and destroyed the flower of
the chivalry of France, Aug. 26, 1346.
CRÉDIT FONCIER, a system of credit originating in France on the
security of land, whereby the loan is repayable so that principal and
interest are extinguished at the same time.
CREECH, WILLIAM, an Edinburgh bookseller, for 40 years the chief
publisher in the city; published the first Edinburgh edition of Burns's
poems (1745-1815).
CREEKS, a tribe of American Indians settled in Indian territory.
CREIGHTON, MANDELL, bishop of London, born at Carlisle; previously
bishop of Peterborough; has written on Simon de Montfort, on Wolsey, and
on the Tudors and the Reformation, but his great work is the "History of
the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome," a work of great
value; _b_. 1843.
CRÉMIEUX, a French advocate and politician, born at Nîmes, of Jewish
birth; a member of the Provisional Government of 1848, and of the
National Defence in 1870; took a deep interest in the destiny of his race
(1796-1880).
CREMONA, old town on the Po, in Lombardy, 46 m. SE. of Milan;
interesting for its churches, with their paintings and frescoes; noted at
one time for the manufacture of violins.
CREMORNE (37), gardens in Chelsea; a popular place of amusement, now
closed.
CREOLE STATE, Louisiana, U.S.
CRESCENT CITY, New Orleans, U.S., as originally occupying a convex
bend of the Mississippi.
CRESCENTINI, a celebrated Italian soprano (1769-1846).
CRESCENTIUS, a patrician of Rome who, in the 10th century, sought to
destroy the imperial power and restore the republic; on this he was
defeated by Otho III., to whom he surrendered on promise of safety, but
who hanged and beheaded him; Stephano, his widow, avenged this treachery
by accepting Otho as her lover, and then poisoning him.
CRESPI, GIUSEPPE, an Italian painter; copied the works of Correggio,
Caracci, and other masters (1665-1747).
CRESWELL, SIR CRESWELL, judge, born in Newcastle; represented
Liverpool in Parliament; was raised to the bench by Peel, and, on the
establishment of the Divorce Court, was in 1858 named first judge
(1794-1863).
CRESWICK, THOMAS, an English landscape painter, born in Sheffield;
simple, pleasantly-suggestive, and faithfully-painted scenes from nature
were the subjects of his art; was employed a good deal in book
illustrations (1811-1869).
CRETE or CANDIA (295), a mountainous island in the
Mediterranean, 160 m. long and from 7 to 30 m. broad; in nominal
subjection to Turkey after 1669, it was in perpetual revolt. The rising
of 1895 led to the intervention of the great powers of Europe, and the
Turkish troops having been withdrawn in 1898 under pressure from Great
Britain, Russia, France, and Italy, Prince George of Greece was appointed
High Commissioner, ruling on behalf of these powers. Turkey still retains
the nominal suzerainty.
CRETINISM, a disease prevalent in valleys as those of the Alps,
characterised by mental imbecility, and associated with abnormal and
arrested physical development.
CREUSA, a wife of Æneas, fell behind her husband, lost her way in
escaping from Troy, and perished.
CREUSOT, LE (18), a town in the dep. Saône-et-Loire, near Autun,
which owes its importance to the large iron-works established there; is a
district rich in coal and iron.
CREUZER, a learned German philologist, born at Marburg; became
professor of Ancient History and Philology at Heidelberg; his chief work,
and one by which he is most widely known, "Symbolik und Mythologie der
Alten Völker, besonders der Griechen," "Symbolism and Mythology of
Ancient Peoples, especially the Greeks"; left an autobiography
(1771-1858).
CREWE (29), a town in Cheshire, 43 m. SE. of Liverpool, a great
railway junction, and where the London and North-Western Railway Company
have their works.
CRICHTON, JAMES, surnamed The Admirable, a Scotchman of gentle, even
noble birth, educated at St. Andrews, had George Buchanan for tutor;
early developed the most extraordinary gifts of both body and mind;
travelled to Paris, Rome, Venice, Milan, and Mantua; astonished every one
by his strength and skill as an athlete, and his dexterity and agility in
debate; at Mantua he became tutor to the son of the Duke, when one night
he was attacked in the streets by a band of masked men, whom he overcame
by his skill, recognised his pupil among them, and presented to him his
sword, upon which, it is said, the young man immediately ran him through
with it (1560-1585).
CRIEFF (5), a town in Perthshire, at the foot of the Grampians, 18
m. W. of Perth, amid exquisite scenery; has a climate favourable for
invalids.
CRILLON, a French military captain, born at Mars, in Provence;
distinguished himself through five reigns, those of Henry II., Francis
II., Charles IX., Henry III., and Henry IV., of the last of whom he
became companion in arms, who designated him _Le brave des braves_, and
who wrote to him this famous note after the victory of Arques: "Where
were you, brave Crillon? we have conquered, and you were not there."
(1541-1615).
CRIMEA (250), a peninsula in the S. of Russia, almost surrounded by
the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, being connected with the mainland by
the narrow isthmus of Perekop; has a bold and precipitous coast 650 m. in
length; is barren in the N., but fertile and fruitful in the S.;
population chiefly Russians and Tartars.
CRIMEAN WAR, a war carried on chiefly in the Crimea, on the part of
Turkey aided by Britain and France, in which Sardinia eventually joined
them, against the encroachments of Russia in the E., and which was
proclaimed against Russia, March 24, 1854, and ended by the fall of
Sebastopol, September 8, 1855, the treaty of peace following having been
signed at Paris, March 1856.
CRINAN CANAL, a canal for vessels of light burden, 9 m. long, from
Loch Fyne, in Argyllshire, constructed to avoid sailing round the Mull of
Kintyre, thereby saving a distance of 115 m.
CRISPI, FRANCESCO, an Italian statesman, born in Sicily; co-operated
with Garibaldi in the Sicilian Revolution, and since active as a member
of the Government in the kingdom of Italy; _b_. 1819.
CRISPIN, the patron saint of shoemakers, of noble birth, who with
his brother had to flee from persecution in Rome to Gaul, where they
settled at Soissons; preached to the people and supported themselves by
shoemaking; they finally suffered martyrdom in 287. Festival, Oct. 25.
CRITIAS, a pupil of Socrates, who profited so little by his master's
teaching that he became the most conspicuous for his cruelty and rapacity
of all the thirty tyrants set up in Athens by the Spartans
(450-402 B.C.).
CRITON, a rich Athenian, friend and disciple of Socrates; supported
him by his fortune, but could not persuade him to leave the prison,
though he had procured the means of escape.
CROA`TIA AND SLAVONIA (2,201), a Hungarian crownland, lying between
the Drave and Save, tributaries of the Danube, and stretching westward to
the Adriatic. It is half as large as Ireland, wooded and mountainous,
with marshy districts along the river courses. The soil is fertile,
growing cereals, fibres, tobacco, and grapes; silkworms and bees are a
source of wealth; horses, cattle, and swine are raised in large numbers.
The province is poor in minerals, and lacks a harbour. The people are
Slavs, of Roman Catholic faith; backward in education, but showing signs
of progress.
CROCKETT, SAMUEL RUTHERFORD, novelist, born near New Galloway,
Kirkcudbright; bred for the Church, and for some time Free Church
minister at Penicuik, Midlothian, a charge he resigned in 1895, having
previously published a volume of sketches entitled "The Stickit
Minister," which was so received as to induce him to devote himself to
literature, as he has since done with more or less success; _b_. 1859.
CROESUS, the last of the kings of Lydia, in the 6th century B.C.;
celebrated for his wealth, so that his name became a synonym for a man
overwhelmed by the favours of fortune; being visited by Solon, he asked
him one day if he knew any one happier than he was, when the sage
answered, "No man can be counted happy till after death." Of the truth of
this Croesus had ere long experience; being condemned to death by Cyrus,
who had defeated him and condemned him to be burnt, and about to be led
to the burning pile, he called out thrice over the name of Solon; when
Cyrus, having learned the reason, moved with pity, ordered his release,
retained him among his counsellors, and commended him when dying to the
care of his son.
CROKER, JOHN WILSON, a politician and man of letters, born in
Galway, though of English descent; bred for the bar; wrote in advocacy of
Catholic emancipation; represented Downpatrick in Parliament; was in 1809
appointed Secretary to the Admiralty, a post he held for 20 years; was
one of the founders of the _Quarterly Review_, to which, it is said, he
contributed 200 articles; edited Boswell's "Life of Johnson" with Notes;
was an obstinate Tory, satirised by Disraeli and severely handled by
Macaulay; founded the Athenæum Club (1780-1857).
CROKER, T. CROFTON, Irish folk-lorist, born in Cork; held a
well-paid clerkship in the Admiralty; collected and published stories,
legends, and traditions of the S. of Ireland; he wrote with a humour
which was heartily Irish; his most original work being "The Adventures of
Barney Mahoney"; he was a zealous antiquary; he was a brilliant
conversationalist (1798-1854).
CROLL, JAMES, a geologist, born near Coupar-Angus; contributed
materially to geology by his study of the connection between alterations
of climate and geological changes (1821-1890).
CROLY, GEORGE, a versatile author; designed for the Church; took to
literature, and wrote in all kinds, poetry, biography, and romance; his
best romance "Salathiel"; died rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook
(1780-1860).
CROMARTY, a county in the N. of Scotland, consisting of ten
fragments scattered up and down Ross-shire; the county town, the
birthplace of Hugh Miller, being on the N. side of Cromarty Firth, which
opens eastward into the Moray Firth, and forms a large harbour 1 m. long
and 7 broad, protected at the mouth by two beetling rocks called Sutors,
one on each side, 400 and 463 ft. high.
CROME, JOHN, usually called Old Crome, a landscape-painter, born in
Norwich, of poor parents; began as a house-painter and then a
drawing-master; one of the founders of the Norwich Society of Artists;
took his subjects from his native county, and treated them with fidelity
to nature; his pictures have risen in value since his death (1768-1821).
CROMPTON, SAMUEL, inventor of the spinning-mule, born near Bolton;
for five years he worked at his project, and after he got it into shape
was tormented by people prying about him and trying to find out his
secret; at last a sum was raised by subscription to buy it, and he got
some £60 for it, by which others became wealthy, while he had to spend,
and end, his days in comparative poverty, all he had to subsist on being
a life annuity of £63 which some friends bought him (1753-1827).
CROMWELL, OLIVER, Lord-Protector of the commonwealth of England,
born at Huntingdon, the son of Robert Cromwell, the younger son of Sir
Henry Cromwell, and of Elizabeth Steward, descended from the royal family
of Scotland, their third child and second boy; educated at Huntingdon and
afterwards at Cambridge; left college at his father's death, and occupied
himself in the management of his paternal property; entered Parliament in
1629, and represented Cambridge in 1640, where to oppose the king he, by
commission in 1642 from Essex, raised a troop of horse, famous afterwards
as his "Ironsides"; with these he distinguished himself, first at Marston
Moor in 1644, and next year at Naseby; crushed the Scots at Preston in
1648, who had invaded the country in favour of the king, now in the hands
of the Parliament, and took Berwick; sat at trial of the king and signed
his death-warrant, 1649; sent that same year to subdue rebellion in
Ireland, he sternly yet humanely stamped it out; recalled from Ireland,
he set out for Scotland, which had risen up in favour of Charles II., and
totally defeated the Scots at Dunbar, Sept. 3, 1650, after which Charles
invaded England and the Royalists were finally beaten at Worcester, Sept.
3, 1651, upon which his attention was drawn to affairs of government;
taking up his residence at Hampton Court, his first step was to dissolve
the Rump, which he did by military authority in 1653; a new Parliament
was summoned, which also he was obliged to dismiss, after being declared
Lord-Protector; from this time he ruled mainly alone, and wherever his
power was exercised, beyond seas even, it was respected; at last his
cares and anxieties proved too much for him and wore him out, he fell ill
and died, Sept. 3, 1658, the anniversary of his two great victories at
Dunbar and Worcester; they buried him in Westminster, but his body was
dug up at the Restoration, hanged at Tyburn, and buried under the
gallows; such treatment his body was subjected to after he was gone, and
for long after he was no less ignobly treated by several succeeding
generations as a hypocrite, a fanatic, or a tyrant; but now, thanks to
Carlyle, he is come to be regarded as one of the best and wisest rulers
that ever sat on the English throne (1599-1658). See "Cromwell's Letters
and Speeches," edited by Carlyle.
CROMWELL, RICHARD, son of the Protector; appointed to succeed him;
was unequal to the task, and compelled to abdicate, April 26, 1659;
retired into private life; went after the Restoration for a time abroad;
returned under a feigned name, and lived and died at Cheshunt
(1626-1712).
CROMWELL, THOMAS, minister of Henry VIII., and _malleus monachorum_,
the "mauler of the monks," born at Putney; the son of a blacksmith; led a
life of adventure for eight or nine years on the Continent; settled in
England about the beginning of Henry's reign; came under notice of
Wolsey, whose confidant he became, and subordinate agent in suppressing
the smaller monasteries; on his master's fall rose into favour with Henry
by suggesting he should discard the supremacy of the Pope, and assume the
supremacy of the Church himself; attained, in consequence, the highest
rank and authority in the State, for the proposal was adopted, with the
result that the Crown remains the head of ecclesiastical authority in
England to this day; the authority he thus acquired he employed in so
high-handed a fashion that he lost the favour of both king and people,
till on a sudden he was arrested on charges of treason, was condemned to
death, and beheaded on Tower Hill (1485-1540).
CRONSTADT (42), the port of St. Petersburg, at the mouth of the
Neva; a strongly fortified place, and the greatest naval station in the
country; it is absolutely impregnable.
CROOKES, WILLIAM, an eminent chemist and physicist, born in London;
distinguished for researches in both capacities; discovered the metal
thallium, and invented the radiometer; _b_. 1832.
CROSS, MRS., George Eliot's married name.
CROSS, SOUTHERN, a bright constellation in the southern hemisphere,
consisting of four stars.
CROSS, VICTORIA, a naval and military decoration instituted in 1854;
awarded for eminent personal valour in the face of the enemy.
CROSS FELL, one of the Pennine range of mountains in the N. of
England, 2892 ft., on the top of which five counties meet.
CROSSE, ANDREW, electrician, born at Somersetshire; made several
discoveries in the application of electricity; he was a zealous
scientist, and apt to be over-zealous (1784-1855).
CROSSRAGUEL, an abbey, now in ruins, 2 m. SW. of Maybole, Ayrshire,
where John Knox held disputation with the abbot, and of which in his
"History of the Reformation" he gives a humorous account (1562).
CROTCH, WILLIAM, musical composer of precocious gifts, and writer in
music, born in Norwich; became, in 1797, professor of Music in Oxford,
and in 1822 Principal of the Royal Academy; his anthems are well known
(1775-1847).
CROTONA, an ancient large and flourishing Greek city, Magna Græcia,
in Italy; the residence of the philosopher Pythagoras and the athlete
Milo.
CROWE, EYRE EVANS, historian and miscellaneous writer, born in
Hants; editor of the _Daily News_; author of the "History of France" and
"Lives of Eminent Foreign Statesmen" (1799-1868).
CROWE, SIR JAMES ARCHER, writer on art and a journalist, born in
London, son of the preceding; is associated with Cavalcaselle in several
works on art and famous artists; _b_. 1825.
CROWNE, JOHN, playwright, born in Nova Scotia, a contemporary and
rival of Dryden; supplied the stage with plays for nearly 30 years
(1640-1705).
CROWTHER, SAMUEL ADJAI, bishop of the Niger Territory; an African by
birth; was captured to be sold as a slave, but released by an English
cruiser; baptized a Christian in 1825; joined the first Niger Expedition
in 1841; sent out as a missionary in 1843; appointed bishop in 1864, the
duties of which he discharged faithfully, zealously, and well
(1810-1891).
CROYDON (103), the largest town in Surrey, on the Wandle, 10 m. SW.
of London Bridge, and practically now a suburb of London.
CRUDEN, ALEXANDER, author of a "Complete Concordance of the Holy
Scriptures," with which alone his name is now associated; born in
Aberdeen; intended for the Church, but from unsteadiness of intellect
not qualified to enter it; was placed frequently in restraint; appears to
have been a good deal employed as a press corrector; gave himself out as
"Alexander the Corrector," commissioned to correct moral abuses
(1701-1770).
CRUIKSHANK, GEORGE, a richly gifted English artist, born in London,
of Scotch descent; the first exhibition of his talent was in the
illustration of books for children, but it was in the line of humorous
satire he chiefly distinguished himself; and he first found scope for his
gifts in this direction in the political squibs of William Hone, a
faculty he exercised at length over a wide area; the works illustrated by
him include, among hundreds of others, "Grimm's Stories," "Peter
Schlemihl," Scott's "Demonology," Dickens's "Oliver Twist," and
Ainsworth's "Jack Shepherd"; like Hogarth, he was a moralist as well as
an artist, and as a total abstainer he consecrated his art at length to
dramatise the fearful downward career of the drunkard; his greatest work,
done in oil, is in the National Gallery, the "Worship of Bacchus," which
is a vigorous protestation against this vice (1792-1878).
CRUSADES, THE, military expeditions, organised from the 11th century
to the 13th, under the banner of the Cross for the recovery of the Holy
Land from the hands of the Saracens, to the number of eight. _The First_
(1096-1099), preached by Peter the Hermit, and sanctioned by the Council
of Clermont (1095), consisted of two divisions: one, broken into two
hordes, under Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless respectively,
arrived decimated in Syria, and was cut to pieces at Nicæa by the sultan;
while the other, better equipped and more efficiently organised, laid
siege to and captured in succession Nicæa, Antioch, and Jerusalem, where
Godfrey of Bouillon was proclaimed king. _The Second_ (1147-1149),
preached by St. Bernard, consisting of two armies under Conrad III. of
Germany and Louis VII. of France, laid siege in a shattered state to
Damascus, and was compelled to raise the siege and return a mere remnant
to Europe. _The Third_ (1189-1193), preached by William, archbishop of
Tyre, and provoked by Saladin's capture of Jerusalem, of which one
division was headed by Barbarossa, who, after taking Iconium, was drowned
while bathing in the Orontes, and the other, headed by Philippe Augustus
and Richard Coeur de Lion, who jointly captured Acre and made peace with
Saladin. _The Fourth_ (1202-1204), under sanction of Pope Innocent III.,
and undertaken by Baldwin, count of Flanders, having got the length of
Venice, was preparing to start for Asia, when it was called aside to
Constantinople to restore the emperor to his throne, when, upon his death
immediately afterwards, the Crusaders elected Baldwin in his place,
pillaged the city, and left, having added it to the domain of the Pope.
_The Fifth_ (1217-1221), on the part of John of Brienne, king of
Jerusalem, and Andrew II., king of Hungary, who made a raid upon Egypt
against the Saracens there, but without any result. _The Sixth_
(1228-1229), under conduct of Frederick II. of Germany, as heir through
John of Brienne to the throne of Jerusalem, who made a treaty with the
sultan of Egypt, whereby the holy city, with the exception of the Mosque
of Omar, was made over to him as king of Jerusalem. _The Seventh_
(1248-1254), conducted by St. Louis in the fulfilment of a vow, in which
Louis was defeated and taken prisoner, and only recovered his liberty by
payment of a heavy ransom. _The Eighth_ (1270), also undertaken by St.
Louis, who lay dying at Tunis as the towns of Palestine fell one after
another into the hands of the Saracens. The Crusades terminated with the
fall of Ptolemaïs in 1291.
CRUSOE, ROBINSON, the hero of Defoe's fiction of the name, a
shipwrecked sailor who spent years on an uninhabited island, and is
credited with no end of original devices in providing for his wants. See
SELKIRK.
CSOMA DE KÖRÖS, ALEXANDER, a Hungarian traveller and philologist,
born in Körös, Transylvania; in the hope of tracing the origin of the
Magyar race, set out for the East in 1820, and after much hardship by the
way arrived in Thibet, where, under great privations, though aided by the
English Government, he devoted himself to the study of the Thibetan
language; in 1831 settled in Calcutta, where he compiled his Thibetan
Grammar and Dictionary, and catalogued the Thibetan works in the library
of the Asiatic Society; died at Darjeeling just as he was setting out for
fresh discoveries (1784-1836).
CTESIAS, Greek physician and historian of Persia; was present with
Artaxerxes Mnemon at the battle of Cunaxa, 401 B.C., and stayed
afterwards at the Persian court, where he got the materials for his
history, of which only a few fragments are extant.
CTESIPHON, an Athenian who, having proposed that the city should
confer a crown of gold on Demosthenes, was accused by Æschines of
violating the law in so doing, but was acquitted after an eloquent
oration by Demosthenes in his defence.
CUBA (1,500), the largest of the West India Islands, 700 m. long and
from 27 m. to 290 m. in breadth; belonged to Spain, but is now under the
protection of the United States; is traversed from E. to W. by a range of
mountains wooded to the summit; abounds in forests--ebony, cedar,
mahogany, &c.; soil very fertile; exports sugar and tobacco; principal
town, Havana.
CUBBIT, SIR WILLIAM, an eminent English engineer, born in Norfolk;
more or less employed in most of the great engineering undertakings of
his time (1785-1861).
CUDWORTH, RALPH, an eminent English divine and philosopher, born in
Somerset; his chief work, a vast and discursive one, and to which he owes
his fame, "The True Intellectual System of the Universe," in which he
teaches a philosophy of the Platonic type, which ascribes more to the
abiding inner than the fugitive outer of things; he defends revealed
religion on grounds of reason against both the atheist and the
materialist; his candour and liberality exposed him to much
misconstruction, and on that account was deemed a latitudinarian. "He
stands high among our early philosophers for his style, which, if not
exactly elegant and never splendid, is solid and clear" (1617-1688).
CUENCA, a fine old city in Spain, 83 m. E. of Madrid; also a
high-lying city of Ecuador, over 100 m. S. of Quito, with a delightful
climate; both in provinces of the same name.
CUJAS, or CUJACIUS, a celebrated French jurist, born at
Toulouse; devoted to the study of Roman law in its historical
development, and the true founder of the Historical school in that
department (1522-1590).
CULDEES, fraternities of uncertain origin and character scattered up
and down Ireland, and especially Scotland, hardly at all in England, from
the 9th or 10th to the 14th century; instituted, as would appear, to keep
alive a religious spirit among themselves and disseminate it among their
neighbours, until on the establishment of monastic orders in the country
they ceased to have a separate existence and lost their individuality in
the new communities, as well as their original character; they appear to
have been originally, whatever they became at length, something like
those fraternities we find later on at Deventer, in Holland, with which
Thomas à Kempis was connected, only whereas the former sought to plant
Christianity, the latter sought to purify it. The name disappears after
1332, but traces of them are found at Dunkeld, St. Andrews, Brechin, and
elsewhere in Scotland; in Ireland they continued in Armagh to the
Reformation, and were resuscitated for a few years in the 17th century.
CULLEN, PAUL, Cardinal, Catholic primate of Ireland, born in
Kildare; was an extreme Ultramontanist; vigorously opposed all secret
societies in the country with revolutionary aims, as well as the system
of mixed education then in force (1803-1878).
CULLEN, WILLIAM, physician, born at Hamilton; studied in Glasgow;
held successively the chairs of Chemistry, the Institutes of Medicine,
and Medicine in Edinburgh University; author of several medical works;
did much to advance the science of medicine; the celebrated Dr. Black was
one of his pupils in chemistry (1710-1790).
CULLODEN, a moor, 5 m. NE. of Inverness, where the Duke of
Cumberland defeated Prince Charles in 1746, and finally wrecked the
Stuart cause in the country.
CULPEPER, NICHOLAS, a herbalist, born in London, who practised
medicine and associated therewith the art of the astrologer as well as
the faith of a Puritan; was a character and a phenomenon of his time
(1616-1654).
CULVERWEL, NATHANIEL, an English author, born in Middlesex; educated
at Cambridge, and one of the Platonist school there; wrote "Light of
Nature," "Spiritual Optics," "Worth of Souls," &c., works which evince
vigour of thinking as well as literary power (1633-1651).
CUMÆ, a considerable maritime city of Campania, now in ruins;
alleged to be the earliest Greek settlement in Italy; famous as the
residence of the SIBYL (q. v.), and a place of luxurious resort
for wealthy Romans.
CUMBERLAND (250), a county in N. of England, of mountain and dale,
with good agricultural and pasture land, and a rich coal-field on the
coast, as well as other minerals in the interior.
CUMBERLAND, DR. RICHARD, bishop of Peterborough, born in London,
educated at Cambridge, wrote several works, the chief "An Inquiry into
the Laws of Nature," in reply to Hobbes, in which he elevates the
tendency to produce happiness into something like a moral principle;
wrought hard, lived to a great age, and is credited with the saying,
"Better wear out than rust out" (1631-1718).
CUMBERLAND, RICHARD, dramatist, great-grandson of the preceding; was
a prolific writer for the stage; the play "The West Indian," which
established his reputation, was his best (1732-1811).
CUMBERLAND, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, DUKE OF, second son of George II., was
defeated at Fontenoy by the French in 1745; defeated the Pretender next
year at Culloden; earned the title of "The Butcher" by his cruelties
afterwards; was beaten in all his battles except this one (1721-1765).
CUMBRIA, a country of the Northern Britons which, in the 6th
century, extended from the Clyde to the Dee, in Cheshire.
CUMMING, GORDON, the African lion-hunter, of Celtic origin; served
for a time in the army; wrote an account of his hunting exploits in his
"Five Years of a Hunter's Life" (1820-1866).
CUMMING, JOHN, a Scotch clergyman, popular in London, born at
Fintray, in Aberdeenshire; of a highly combative turn, and rather
foolhardy in his interpretations of prophecy (1807-1881).
CUNARD, SIR SAMUEL, founder of Cunard Line of Steamships, born in
Halifax, Nova Scotia (1787-1865).
CUNAXA, a town in Babylonia, on the Euphrates, 60 m. N. of Babylon.
CUNCTATOR, a name given to Fabius Maximus on account of the
tantalising tactics he adopted to wear out his adversary Hannibal.
CUNE`IFORM, an epithet applied to the wedge-shaped characters in
which the Assyrian and other ancient monumental inscriptions are written.
CUNNINGHAM, ALLAN, poet and man of letters, born in the parish of
Keir, Dumfriesshire; bred to the mason craft, but devoted his leisure
hours to study and the composition of Scottish ballads, which, when
published, gained him the notice of Sir Walter Scott; in 1810 he went to
London, where he wrote for periodicals, and obtained employment as
assistant to Chantrey the sculptor, in which post he found leisure to
cultivate his literary proclivities, collating and editing tales and
songs, editing Burns with a Life, and writing the Lives of famous
artists, and died in London; "a pliant, _Naturmensch_," Carlyle found him
to be, "with no principles or _creed_ that he could see, but excellent
old _habits_ of character" (1784-1842).
CUNNINGHAM, PETER, son of the preceding, author of the "Life of
Drummond of Hawthornden," "Handbook of London," &c. (1816-1867).
CUNNINGHAM, WILLIAM, a Scotch divine, born in Hamilton, well read in
the Reformation and Puritan theology, a vigorous defender of Scottish
orthodoxy, and a stanch upholder of the independence of the Church of
State control; was a powerful debater, and a host in any controversy in
which he embarked (1805-1861).
CUPID, or AMOR, the god of love, viewed as a chubby little boy,
armed with bow and arrows, and often with eyes bandaged.
CUPID AND PSYCHE, an allegorical representation of the trials of the
soul on its way to the perfection of bliss, being an episode in the
"Golden Ass" of Apuleius. See PSYCHE.
CURAÇA`O (26), one of Antilles, in the West Indies, belonging to the
Dutch, 36 m. long by about 8 broad; yields, along with other West Indian
products, an orange from the peel of which a liqueur is made in Holland.
CURÉ OF MEUDON, Rabelais.
CURE`TES, priests of Cybele, in Crete, whose rites were celebrated
with clashing of cymbals.
CURETON, WILLIAM, Syriac scholar, born in Shropshire,
assistant-keeper of MSS. at the British Museum; applied himself to the
study and collation of Syriac MSS., and discovered, among other relics, a
version of the Epistle of Ignatius; was appointed canon of Westminster
(1808-1864).
CURIATII, three Alban brothers who fought with the three Horatii
Roman brothers, and were beaten, to the subjection of Alba to Rome.
CURLE, EDMUND, a London bookseller, notorious for the issue of
libellous and of obscene publications, and for prosecutions he was
subjected to in consequence (1675-1747).
CURLING, a Scottish game played between rival clubs, belonging
generally to different districts, by means of cheese-shaped stones hurled
along smooth ice, the rules of which are pretty much the same as those in
bowling.
CURRAN, JOHN PHILPOT, an Irish orator and wit, born in co. Cork;
became member of Parliament in 1784; though a Protestant, employed all
his eloquence to oppose the policy of the Government towards Ireland,
together with the Union; retired on the death of Pitt; was Master of the
Rolls for a time; was Irish to the core (1750-1817).
CURRIE, JAMES, a Liverpool physician, born in Kirkpatrick-Fleming,
Dumfriesshire; was the earliest biographer and editor of Burns, in 4
vols., a work he undertook for behoof of his widow and family, and which
realised £1400, involved no small labour, was done _con amore_, and done
well (1756-1805).
CURRIE, SIR PHILIP, her Majesty's ambassador at Constantinople since
1893; has been connected with the Foreign Office since 1854; had been
attaché at St. Petersburg, and was secretary to Lord Salisbury; _b_.
1834.
CURTIS, GEORGE WILLIAM, an American writer, born in Rhode Island,
distinguished as contributor or editor in connection with several
American journals and magazines; _b_. 1824.
CURTIUS, a noble youth of Roman legend who leapt on horseback
full-armed into a chasm in the Forum, which the soothsayers declared
would not close unless at the sacrifice of what Rome held dearest, and
which he did, judging that the wealth of Rome lay in its citizens, and
tradition says the chasm thereupon immediately closed.
CURTIUS, ERNST, a German archæologist and philosopher, born at
Lübeck; travelled in Greece and Asia Minor; contributed much by his
researches to the history of Greece, and of its legends and works of art;
his jubilee as a professor was celebrated in 1891, when he received the
congratulations of the Emperor William II., to whose father he at one
time had acted as tutor; _b_. 1814.
CURTIUS, GEORG, German philologist, born at Lübeck, brother of the
preceding; held professorial appointments in Prague, Kiel, and Berlin;
one of the best Greek scholars in Germany, and contributed largely to the
etymology and grammar of the Greek language (1820-1885).
CURTIUS, QUINTUS RUFUS, a Roman historian of uncertain date; wrote a
history of Alexander the Great in ten books, two of which have been lost,
the rest surviving in a very fragmentary state.
CURTMANTLE, a surname of Henry II., from a robe he wore shorter than
that of his predecessors.
CURULE CHAIR, a kind of ivory camp-stool, mounted on a chariot, on
which a Roman magistrate, if consul, prætor, censor, or chief edile, sat
as he was conveyed in state to the senate-house or some public function.
CURWEN, JOHN, an Independent clergyman, born in Yorkshire; the
founder of the Tonic Sol-fa system in music; from 1864 gave himself up to
the advocacy and advancement of his system (1816-1880).
CURZON, GEORGE NATHANIEL, LORD, English statesman, son of a
clergyman, educated at Eton and Oxford; became Fellow of All Souls;
became Under-Secretary for India in 1891; travelled in the East, and
wrote on Eastern topics, on which he became an authority; was appointed
Viceroy of India in 1899; _b_. 1859.
CUSHING, an American jurist and diplomatist (1800-1879).
CUSHMAN, CHARLOTTE, an American actress, born in Boston;
represented, among other characters, Lady Macbeth, Rosalind, Meg
Merilees, and Romeo (1810-1876).
CUSTINE, COUNT DE, a French general, born at Metz; seized and
occupied Mayence, 1792; was forced out of it by the Prussians and obliged
to retreat; was called to account and sent to the guillotine;
"unsuccessfulness," his crime; "had fought in America; was a proud, brave
man, and his fortune led him _hither_" (1746-1793)
CÜSTRIN, a strong little town, 68 or 70 m. E. of Berlin, where young
Frederick the Great was kept in close confinement by his father.
CUTCH, a native State in the Bombay Presidency, in the country
called Gujarat.
CUTCH, RANN OF, a salt-water morass between Gujarat and Scinde,
which becomes a lake during the SW. monsoon.
CUTHBERT, a monk of Jarrow, a disciple of Bede; was with him when he
died, and wrote in a letter a graphic and touching account of his death.
CUTHBERT, ST., born in Northumbria; originally a shepherd; saw a
vision in the night-watches of the soul of St. Aidan ascending to heaven,
which determined his destiny, and he became a monk; entered the monastery
of Melrose, and eventually became prior, but devoted most of his time to
mission-work in the surrounding districts; left Melrose to be prior of
Lindisfarne, but longing for an austerer life, he retired to, and led the
life of a hermit on, an island by himself; being persuaded to come back,
he acted as bishop of Lindisfarne, and continued to act as such for two
years, but his previous longings for solitude returned, and he went back
to a hermit life, to spend a short season, as it happened, in prayer and
meditation; when he died; what he did, and the memory of what he did,
left an imperishable impression for good in the whole N. of England and
the Scottish borders; his remains were conveyed to Lindisfarne, and ere
long to Durham (635-687).
CUTTACK (47), capital of a district in S. of Bengal, at the apex of
the delta formed by the Mahanuddy; noted for its gold and silver filigree
work.
CUVIER, GEORGES, a celebrated naturalist, born at Montebéliard, of
Huguenot ancestry; the creator of comparative anatomy and palæontology;
was educated at Stuttgart, where he studied natural science; but the
observation of marine animals on the coast of Normandy, where he held a
tutorship, first led him to the systematic study of anatomy, and brought
him into correspondence with Geoffroy St. Hilaire and others, who invited
him to Paris, where he prosecuted his investigations, matured his views,
and became professor of Comparative Anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes, a
member of the French Institute, and Permanent Secretary of the Academy of
Sciences, and eventually a peer of France; his labours in the science to
which he devoted his life were immense, but he continued to the last a
determined opponent of the theory, then being broached and now in vogue,
of a common descent (1769-1832).
CUXHAVEN, a German watering-place at the mouth of the Elbe, on the
southern bank.
CUYP, ALBERT, a celebrated Dutch landscape-painter, son of Jacob
Cuyp, commonly called Old Cuyp, also a landscapist, born at Dort; painted
scenes from the banks of the Meuse and the Rhine; is now reckoned a rival
of Claude, though he was not so in his lifetime, his pictures selling now
for a high price; he has been praised for his sunlights, but these, along
with Claude's, have been pronounced depreciatively by Ruskin as
"colourless" (1605-1691).
CUZCO (20), a town in Peru, about 11,440 ft. above the sea-level,
the ancient capital of the Incas; still retains traces of its former
extent and greatness, the inhabitants reckoned as then numbering 200,000,
and the civilisation advanced.
CYBELE, a nature-goddess worshipped in Phrygia and W. Asia, whose
worship, like that of the nature divinities generally, was accompanied
with noisy, more or less licentious, revelry; identified by the Greeks
with RHEA (q. v.), their nature-goddess.
CYCLADES, islands belonging to Greece, on the East or the Ægean
Sea, so called as forming a circle round Delos, the most famous of the
group.
CYCLIC POETS, poets who after Homer's death caught the contagion of
his great poem and wrote continuations, additions, &c.
CYCLOPEAN WALLS, a name given to structures found in Greece, Asia
Minor, Italy, and Sicily, built of large masses of unhewn stone and
without cement, such as it is presumed a race of gigantic strength like
the Cyclops (3) must have reared.
CYCLOPS, a name given to three distinct classes of mythological
beings: (1) a set of one-eyed savage giants infesting the coasts of
Sicily and preying upon human flesh; (2) a set of Titans, also one-eyed,
belonging to the race of the gods, three in number, viz., Brontes,
Steropes, and Arges--three great elemental powers of nature, subjected by
and subject to Zeus; and (3) a people of Thrace, famed for their skill in
building.
CYMBELINE, a legendary British king, and the hero of Shakespeare's
romance play of the name.
CYNÆGIRUS, a brother of Æschylus; distinguished himself at Marathon;
is famed for his desperate attempt to seize a retreating ship.
CYNEWULF, a Saxon poet, flourished at the second half of the 8th
century; seems to have passed through two phases, first as a glad-hearted
child of nature, and then as a devout believer in Christ; at the former
stage wrote "Riddles" and "Ode to the West Wind," at the latter his
themes were the lives of Christ and certain Saints.
CYNICS, a sect of Greek philosophers, disciples of Antisthenes, who
was a disciple of Socrates, but carried away with him only part of
Socrates' teaching and enforced that as if it were the whole, dropped all
regard for humanity and the universal reason, and taught that "virtue lay
wholly in the avoidance of evil, and those desires and greeds that bind
us to enjoyments," so that his disciples were called the "Capuchins of
the Old World." These in time went further than their master, and
conceived a contempt for everything that was not self-derived; they
derived their name from the gymnasium in Athens, where their master
taught.
CYPRIAN, ST., one of the Fathers of the Church, born at Carthage,
about the year 200, converted to Christianity in 245; devoted himself
thereafter to the study of the Bible, with the help of Tertullian his
favourite author; became bishop of Carthage in 248; on the outbreak of
the Decian persecution had to flee for his life, ministering to his flock
the while by substitutes; on his return, after two years, he was involved
in the discussion about the reception of the lapsed; under the Valerian
persecution was banished; being recalled, he refused to sacrifice to the
gods, and suffered martyrdom in 258; he was a zealous bishop of the High
Church type, and the father of such, only on broader lines. Festival,
Sept. 16.
CYPRUS (21), a fertile, mountainous island in the Levant, capital
Nicosia (12); geographically connected with Asia, and the third largest
in the Mediterranean, being 140 m. long and 60 m. broad; government ceded
to Great Britain in 1878 by the Sultan, on condition of an annual
tribute; is a British colony under a colonial governor or High
Commissioner; is of considerable strategic importance to Britain; yields
cereals, wines, cotton, &c., and has 400 m. of good road, and a large
transit trade.
CYRENAICS, a sect of Greek philosophers, disciples of Aristippus,
who was a disciple of Socrates, but who broke away from his master by
divorcing virtue from happiness, and making "pleasure, moderated by
reason, the ultimate aim of life, and the supreme good."
CYRE`NE, a town and Greek colony in Africa, E. of Egypt, extensive
ruins of which still exist, and which was the capital of the State,
called Cyrenaica after it, and the birthland of several illustrious
Greeks.
CYRIL, ST., surnamed the PHILOSOPHER, along with his brother
Methodius, the "Apostle of the Slavs," born in Thessalonica; invented the
Slavonic alphabet, and, with his brother's help, translated the Bible
into the language of the Slavs; _d_. 868. Festival, March 9.
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, ST., born at Alexandria, and bishop there; an
ecclesiastic of a violent, militant order; persecuted the Novatians,
expelled the Jews from Alexandria, quarrelled with the governor, excited
a fanaticism which led to the seizure and shameful murder of Hypatia; had
a lifelong controversy with Nestorius, and got him condemned by the
Council of Ephesus, while he himself was condemned by the Council at
Antioch (608), and both cast into prison; after release lived at peace
(376-444). Festival, Jan. 28.
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, ST., patriarch of Jerusalem, elected 351, and a
Father of the Greek Church; in the Arian controversy then raging was a
Semi-Arian, and was persecuted by the strict Arians; joined the Nicene
party at the Council of Constantinople in 381; was an instructor in
church doctrine to the common people by his catechisms (315-386).
Festival, March 18.
CYROPÆDIA, a work by Xenophon, being an idealistic account of the
"education of Cyrus the Great."
CYRUS, surnamed the GREAT, or the ELDER, the founder of
the Persian empire; began his conquests by overthrowing his grandfather
Astyages, king of the Medes; subdued Croesus, king of Lydia; laid siege
to Babylon and took it, and finished by being master of all Western Asia;
was a prince of great energy and generosity, and left the nations he
subjected and rendered tributary free in the observances of their
religions and the maintenance of their institutions; this is the story of
the historians, but it has since been considerably modified by study of
the ancient monuments (560-529 B.C.).
CYRUS, surnamed the YOUNGER, second son of Darius II.;
conspired against his brother Artaxerxes Mnemon, was sentenced to death,
pardoned, and restored to his satrapy in Asia Minor; conspired anew,
raised a large army, including Greek mercenaries, marched against his
brother, and was slain at Cunaxa, of which last enterprise and its fate
an account is given in the "Anabasis" of Xenophon; _d_. 401 B.C.
CYTHERA, the ancient name of Cerigo; had a magnificent temple to
Venus, who was hence called Cytheræa.
CZARTORYSKI, a Polish prince, born at Warsaw; passed his early years
in England; studied at Edinburgh University; fought under Kosciusko
against the Russians, and was for some time a hostage in Russia; gained
favour at the Court there, and even a high post in the State; in 1830
threw himself into the revolutionary movement, and devoted all his
energies to the service of his country, becoming head of the government;
on the suppression of the revolution his estates were confiscated; he
escaped to Paris, and spent his old age there, dying at 90 (1770-1861).
CZECHS, a branch of the Slavonic family that in the later half of
the 6th century settled in Bohemia; have a language of their own, spoken
also in Moravia and part of Hungary.
CZERNO`WITZ (54), the capital of the Austrian province of Bukowina,
on the Pruth.
CZERNY, CHARLES, a musical composer and pianist, born at Vienna;
had Liszt and Thalberg for pupils (1791-1857).
CZERNY, GEORGE, leader of the Servians in their insurrection against
the Turks; assisted by Russia carried all before him; when that help was
withdrawn the Turks gained the advantage, and he had to flee; returning
after the independence of Servia was secured, he was murdered at the
instigation of Prince Milosch (1766-1817).
D
DACCA (82), a city 150 m. NE. of Calcutta, on a branch of the
Brahmaputra, once the capital of Bengal, and a centre of Mohammedanism;
famous at one time for its muslins; the remains of its former grandeur
are found scattered up and down the environs and half buried in the
jungle; it is also the name of a district (2,420), well watered, both for
cultivation and commerce.
DACIA, a Roman province, N. of the Danube and S. of the Carpathians.
DACIER, ANDRÉ, a French scholar and critic, born at Castres, in
Languedoc; assisted by his wife, executed translations of various
classics, and produced an edition of them known as the "Delphin Edition"
(1651-1722).
DACIER, MADAME, distinguished Hellenist and Latinist, wife of the
preceding, born in Saumur (1651-1720).
DACOITS, gangs of semi-savage Indian brigands and robbers, often 40
or 50 in a gang.
DA COSTA, ISAAC, a Dutch poet, born at Amsterdam, of Jewish parents;
turned Christian, and after the death of Bilderdijk was chief poet of
Holland (1798-1860).
DÆDALUS, an architect and mechanician in the Greek mythology;
inventor and constructor of the Labyrinth of Crete, in which the Minotaur
was confined, and in which he was also imprisoned himself by order of
Minos, a confinement from which he escaped by means of wings fastened on
with wax; was regarded as the inventor of the mechanic arts.
DAGHESTAN (529), a Russian province W. of the Caspian Sea, traversed
by spurs of the Caucasus Mountains; chief town Derbend.
DAGO, a marshy Russian island, N. of the Gulf of Riga, near the
entrance of the Gulf of Finland.
DAGOBERT I., king of the Franks, son of Clotaire II., reformed the
laws of the Franks; was the last of the Merovingian kings who knew how to
rule with a firm hand; the sovereign power as it passed from his hands
was seized by the mayor of the palace; _d_. 638.
DAGON, the national god of the Philistines, represented as half-man,
sometimes half-woman, and half-fish; appears to have been a symbol to his
worshippers of the fertilising power of nature, familiar to them in the
fruitfulness of the sea.
DAGUERREOTYPE, a process named after its inventor, Louis Daguerre, a
Frenchman, of producing pictures by means of the camera on a surface
sensitive to light and shade, and interesting as the first step in
photography.
DAHL, a Norwegian landscape-painter, born at Bergen; died professor
of Painting at Dresden (1788-1857).
DAHLGREN, JOHN ADOLPH, a U.S. naval officer and commander; invented
a small heavy gun named after him; commanded the blockading squadron at
Charleston (1809-1870).
DAHLMANN, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH, a German historian and politician,
born at Wismar; was in favour of constitutional government; wrote a
"History of Denmark," "Histories of the French Revolution and of the
English Revolution"; left an unfinished "History of Frederick the Great"
(1785-1860).
DAHN, FELIX, a German jurist, historian, novelist, and poet, born in
Hamburg; a man of versatile ability and extensive learning; became
professor of German jurisprudence at Königsberg; _b_. 1834.
DAHNA DESERT, the central division of the Arabian Desert.
DAHOMEY (150), a negro kingdom of undefined limits, and under French
protectorate, in W. Africa, N. of the Slave Coast; the religious rites of
the natives are sanguinary, they offer human victims in sacrifice; is an
agricultural country, yields palm-oil and gold dust, and once a great
centre of the slave-trade.
DAÏRI, the Mikado's palace or his court, and sometimes the Mikado
himself.
DAKO`TA, NORTH and SOUTH (400), three times as large as
England, forming two States of the American Union; consist of prairie
land, and extend N. from Nebraska as far as Canada, traversed by the
Missouri; yield cereals, especially wheat, and raise cattle.
DALAI-LAMA, chief priest of Lamaism, reverenced as a living
incarnation of deity, always present on earth in him. See LAMAISM.
DALAYRAC, celebrated French composer; author of a number of comic
operas (1753-1809).
DALBERG, BARON DE, an eminent member of a noble German family;
trained for the Church; was a prince-bishop; a highly cultured man, held
in high esteem in the Weimar Court circles, and a friend of Goethe and
Schiller; an ecclesiastic, as one might suppose, only in name
(1744-1817).
DALBERG, DUC DE, nephew of the preceding; contributed to political
changes in France in 1814, and accompanied Talleyrand to the Congress of
Vienna (1773-1833).
D'ALBRET, JEANNE, queen of Navarre, and mother of Henry IV. of
France; came to Paris to treat about the marriage of her son to Charles
IX.'s sister; died suddenly, not without suspicion of foul-play, after
signing the treaty; she was a Protestant (1528-1572).
D'ALEMBERT, a French philosopher, devoted to science, and especially
to mathematics; along with Diderot established the celebrated
"Encyclopédie," wrote the Preliminary Discourse, and contributed largely
to its columns, editing the mathematical portion of it; trained to quiet
and frugality, was indifferent to wealth and honour, and a very saint of
science; no earthly bribe could tear him away from his chosen path of
life (1717-1783).
DALGARNO, LORD, a heartless profligate in the "Fortunes of Nigel."
DALGETTY, DUGALD, a swaggering soldier of fortune in the "Legend of
Montrose," who let out his services to the highest bidder.
DALHOUSIE, JAMES ANDREW BROUN-RAMSAY, MARQUIS OF, Governor-General
of India, third son of the ninth Earl; as Lord Ramsay served in
Parliament as member for Haddingtonshire; on his father's death in 1838
entered the House of Lords; held office under Sir Robert Peel and Lord
Russell; went to India as Governor-General in 1848; ruled vigorously,
annexed territory, developed the resources of the country, projected and
carried out important measures for its welfare; his health, however, gave
way at the end of eight years, and he came home to receive the thanks of
the Parliament, elevation in the peerage, and other honours, but really
to end his days in pain and prostration; dying without male issue, he was
succeeded in the earldom by Fox Maule, Lord Panmure (1812-1860).
DALKEITH (7), a grain-market town in Midlothian, 6 m. SE. of
Edinburgh, with a palace adjoining, a seat of the Duke of Buccleuch.
DALLAS, GEORGE MIFFLIN, an American diplomatist, born in
Philadelphia; represented the United States as ambassador at St.
Petersburg and at London, and was from 1844 to 1849 Vice-President
(1792-1864).
DALMATIA (527), a crownland of Austria, lying along the NE. coast of
the Adriatic, and bounded on the land side by Croatia, Bosnia, and
Herzegovina; half the land is pasture, only one-ninth of it arable, which
yields cereals, wine, oil, honey, and fruit.
DALRI`ADS, a Celtic race who came over from Ireland to Argyllshire,
and established a kingdom in the SW. of Scotland, till King Kenneth
Macalpin succeeded in 843, who obtained rule both over it and the
northern kingdom of the Picts, and became the first king of Scotland.
DALRYMPLE, ALEXANDER, hydrographer to the Admiralty and the East
India Company, born at New Hailes, and brother of Lord Hailes; produced
many good maps (1737-1808).
DALTON, JOHN, chemist and physicist, born near Cockermouth, of a
Quaker family; took early an interest in meteorology, and kept through
life a record of meteorological observations; taught mathematics and
physics in Manchester; made his first appearance as an author in 1793 in
a volume of his observations and essays, and in 1808 published "A New
System of Chemical Philosophy," which he finished in 1810; famous for his
experiments on the elastic force of steam, for his researches on the
proportional weights of simple bodies, for his discovery of the atomic
theory, as also for his investigations on colour-blindness by
experimenting on himself and his brother, who along with himself was
colour-blind (1766-1844).
DALTONISM, COLOUR-BLINDNESS (q. v.). See DALTON, JOHN.
DALZIEL, THOMAS, general, born in Linlithgowshire; being hand-idle
at home, entered the Russian service against the Turks; returning at the
request of Charles II., was appointed commander-in-chief in Scotland;
suppressed a rising of the Covenanters at Pentland in 1666; never once
shaved his beard after the execution of Charles I. (1599-1685).
DAMAN, a Portuguese settlement with a port of the same name in
Gujarat, India, 100 m. N. of Bombay.
DAM`ARALAND, a territory on the W. coast of South Africa, N. of
Namaqualand; the chief industry is pastoral; the mountain districts,
which are rich in minerals, particularly copper, are inhabited by
Damaras, who are nomads and cattle-rearers; it is a German protectorate
since 1890.
DAMAS, COLONEL COMTE DE, a devoted adherent of Louis XVI., and one
of his convoys on his attempt at flight.
DAMASCUS (220), the capital of Syria, one of the oldest cities in
the world; stands 2260 ft. above the sea-level; is a great centre of the
caravan trade; is embosomed in the midst of gardens and orchards, hence
its appearance as the traveller approaches it is most striking; its
history goes as far back as the days of Abraham; it was the scene of two
great events in human destiny--the conversion of St. Paul, and, according
to Moslem tradition, a great decisive moment in the life of Mahomet, when
he resolutely turned his back once for all on the pleasures of the world.
DAMASUS, ST., Pope from 366 to 384, a Spaniard; a zealous opponent
of the Arians and a friend of St. Jerome, who, under his sanction,
executed his translation of the Bible into the Vulgate; there was a
Damasus II., Pope in 1048.
DAME AUX CAMÉLIAS, LA, a romance and a drama by Alexander Dumas
_fils_, one of his best creations.
DAMIEN, FATHER, a French priest, born at Louvain; devoted his life
to nurse and instruct the lepers in an island of the Hawaian group, and,
though after 12 years infected with the disease himself, continued to
minister to them till his death (1841-1889).
DAMIENS, ROBERT FRANÇOIS, the would-be assassin of Louis XV., born
near Arras; aimed at the king as he was entering his carriage at Trianon,
but failed to wound him mortally; was mercilessly tortured to death; was
known before as _Robert le Diable_; his motive for the act was never
known (1715-1757).
DAMIETTA (36), a town, the third largest, in Egypt, on an eastern
branch of the Nile, 8 m. from its mouth; has a trade in grain, rice,
hides, fish, &c.; was taken by St. Louis in 1249, and restored on payment
of his ransom from captivity.
DAMOCLES, a flatterer at the court of the elder Dionysius, tyrant of
Syracuse, whom, after one day extravagantly extolling the happiness of
kings, Dionysius set down to a magnificent banquet, but who, when seated
at it, looked up and saw a sword hanging over his head suspended by a
single hair; a lesson this which admonished him, and led him to change
his views of the happiness of kings.
DAMON AND PYTHIAS, two Pythagoreans of Syracuse of the days of
Dionysius I., celebrated for their friendship; upon the latter having
been condemned to death, and having got leave to go home to arrange his
affairs beforehand, the former pledged his life for his return, when just
as, according to his promise, he presented himself at the place of
execution, Pythias turned up and prepared to put his head on the block;
this behaviour struck the tyrant with such admiration, that he not only
extended pardon to the offender, but took them both into his friendship.
DAMPIER, WILLIAM, an English navigator and buccaneer; led a roving
and adventurous life, and parting company with his comrades, set off on a
cruise in the South Seas; came home and published a "Voyage Round the
World"; this led to his employment in further adventures, in one of which
Alexander Selkirk accompanied him, but was wrecked on Juan Fernandez; in
his last adventure, it is said, he rescued Selkirk and brought him home
(1652-1715).
DANA, CHARLES ANDERSON, American journalist, member of BROOK
FARM (q. v.), and became editor of the _New York Tribune_, the
_Sun_, and a cyclopædia: _b_. 1829.
DANA, JAMES DWIGHT, American mineralogist and geologist, born at
Utica, New York State; was associated as scientific observer with
Commodore Wilkes on his Arctic and Antarctic exploring expeditions, on
the results of which he reported; became geological professor in Yale
College; author of works on mineralogy and geology, as also on South Sea
volcanoes (1813-1895).
DANA, RICHARD HENRY, an American poet and critic; editor of the
_North American Review_, author of the "Dying Raven," the "Buccaneer,"
and other poems (1787-1879).
DANA, RICHARD HENRY, a son of the preceding, lawyer; author of "Two
Years before the Mast" (1815-1882).
DANAË, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, confined by her father
in an inaccessible tower of brass to prevent the fulfilment of an oracle
that she should be the mother of a son who would kill him, but Zeus found
access to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother
of Perseus, by whose hand Acrisius met his fate. See PERSEUS.
DANA`IDES, daughters of Danaüs, who, for murdering their husbands on
the night after marriage, were doomed in the nether world to the
impossible task of filling with water a vessel pierced with holes. See
DANAÜS.
DANAÜS, son of Belus, and twin-brother of Ægyptus, whom fearing, he
fled from with his fifty daughters to Argos, where he was chosen king;
by-and-by the fifty sons of Ægyptus, his brother, came to Argos to woo,
and were wedded to, their cousins, whom their father provided each with a
dagger to murder her husband, which they did, all except Hypermnestra,
whose husband, Lynceus, escaping, succeeded her father as king, to the
defeat of the old man's purpose in the crime.
DANBY, FRANCIS, painter, born near Wexford; settled for a time in
Bristol, then in Switzerland, and finally at Exmouth; his works are
mostly landscape, instinct with feeling, but some of them are historical,
the subjects being taken from Scripture, as the "Passage of the Red Sea,"
or from pagan sources, as "Marius among the Ruins of Carthage"
(1793-1861).
DANCE, GEORGE, English architect; was architect to the City of
London, and designed the Mansion House, his chief work (1700-1768).
GEORGE, his son, built Newgate Prison (1740-1825).
DANCE OF DEATH, an allegorical representation in a dramatic or
pictorial form of Death, figuring, originally as a skeleton, and
performing his part as a chief actor all through the drama of life, and
often amid the gayest scenes of it; a succession of woodcuts by Holbein
in representation of this dance is well known.
DANCING MANIA, an epidemic of frequent occurrence, especially in
German towns, during the Middle Ages, of the nature of hysteria, showing
itself in convulsive movements beyond the control of the will, and in
delirious acts, sometimes violently suicidal; the most signal occurrence
of the mania was at Aix-la-Chapelle in July 1374.
DANCOURT, FLORENT CARTON, French dramatist, a prolific author; a
favourite of Louis XIV.; wrote comedies, chiefly on the follies of the
middle classes of the time (1661-1725).
DANDIE DINMONT, a humorous, jovial store-farmer in "Guy Mannering."
DANDIN, GEORGE, one of Molière's comedies, illustrative of the folly
a man commits when he marries a woman of higher rank than his own, George
being his impersonation of a husband who has patiently to endure all the
extravagant whims and fancies of his dame of a wife.
DANDIN, PERRIN, a simple citizen in the "Pantagruel" of Rabelais,
who seats himself judge-wise on the first stump that offers, and passes
offhand a sentence in any matter of litigation; a character who figures
similarly in a comedy of Racine's, and in a fable of La Fontaine's.
DAN`DOLO, a Venetian family that furnished four Doges to the
Republic, ENRICO being the most illustrious; chosen Doge in his
eighty-fourth year, assisted the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade with
ships; joined them, when blind and aged 90, in laying siege to
Constantinople; led the attack by sea, and was the first to leap ashore;
was offered the imperial crown, but declined it; died instead "despot" of
Roumania in 1205, at 97.
DANEGELT, originally a tax imposed on land to buy off the Danes from
the shores of England, and subsequently for other objects, such as the
defence of the coast; abolished by Henry II., though re-imposed
subsequently under other names.
DANELAGH, a district in the E. of England, N. of the Thames;
dominated at one time more or less by the Danes; of vague extent.
DANGEAU, MARQUIS, author of "Memoirs" affecting the court of Louis
XIV. and its manners (1638-1720).
D'ANGOULÊME, DUCHESSE, daughter of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette;
was released from restraint after the execution of her parents in
exchange for prisoners in the Royalist's hands; fled to Vienna, where she
was driven forth; married her cousin, to whom she was early betrothed;
could find no place of safe refuge but in England; returned to France on
Napoleon's exile to Elba, and headed a body of troops against him on his
return; after Waterloo, returned to France and stayed till July 1830, and
lived to see Louis Philippe, in 1848, driven from the throne; Napoleon
called her "the only man of her family"; left "Memoirs" (1778-1851).
DANGS, THE, a forest district in the N. of the Presidency of Bombay,
occupied by fifteen wild tribes, each under a chief.
DANIEL, a Hebrew of fine physique and rare endowment, who was, while
but a youth, carried captive to Babylon, and trained for office in the
court of the king; was found, after three years' discipline, to excel "in
wisdom and understanding" all the magicians and enchanters of the realm,
of which he gave such proof that he rose step by step to the highest
official positions, first in the Babylonian and then in the Persian
empire. He was a Hebrew prophet of a new type, for whereas the old
prophet had, for the most part, more regard to the immediate present and
its outlooks, his eye reached forth into the future and foresaw in
vision, as his book has foretold in symbol, the fulfilment of the hope
for which the fathers of his race had lived and died.
DANIEL, SAMUEL, English poet, born near Taunton; wrote dramas and
sonnets; his principal production a "History of the Civil Wars" of York
and Lancaster, a poem in seven books; is called the "Well-Englished
Daniel," and is much admired for his style; in prose he wrote a "History
of England," and a "Defence of Rhyme," which Swinburne pronounces to be
"one of the most perfect examples of sound sense, of pure style, and of
just judgment in the literature of criticism"; he is associated with
Warner and Drayton as having given birth to "a poetry which has devoted
itself to extol the glory of England" (1562-1619).
DANIELL, JOHN FREDERICK, a distinguished chemist, born in London;
professor of Chemistry in King's College, London; wrote "Meteorological
Essays," and "Introduction to Chemical Philosophy"; invented a hygrometer
and an electric battery (1790-1845).
DANIELL, WILLIAM, an eminent draughtsman; spent his early life in
India; author of "Oriental Scenery," in six folio vols. (1769-1837).
DANITES, or Destroying Angels, a band of Mormons organised to
prevent the entrance into Mormon territory of other than Mormon
immigrants, but whose leader, for a massacre they perpetrated, was in
1827 convicted and shot.
DANNECKER, JOHANN HEINRICH VON, a distinguished German sculptor,
born near Stuttgart, and educated by the Duke of Würtemberg, who had
become his patron; became professor of Sculpture in the Academy at
Stuttgart; his earlier subjects were from the Greek mythology, and his
later Christian, the principal of the latter being a colossal "Christ,"
which he took eight years to complete; he executed besides busts of
contemporaries, which are wonderful in expression, such as those of
Schiller, Lavater, and Glück; "Ariadne on the Panther" is regarded as his
masterpiece (1758-1841).
DANTE ALIGHIERI, the great poet of Italy, "the voice of ten silent
centuries," born in Florence; was of noble birth; showed early a great
passion for learning; learned all that the schools and universities of
the time could teach him "better than most"; fought as a soldier; did
service as a citizen; at thirty-five filled the office of chief
magistrate of Florence; had, while but a boy of ten, "met a certain
Beatrice Portinari, a beautiful girl of his own age and rank, and had
grown up in partial sight of her, in some distant intercourse with her,"
who became to him the ideal of all that was pure and noble and good;
"made a great figure in his poem and a great figure in his life"; she
died in 1290; he married another, "not happily, far from happily; in some
civic Guelf-Ghibelline strife he was expelled the city, and his property
confiscated; tried hard to recover it, even 'with arms in his hand,' but
could not, and was doomed, 'whenever caught, to be burned alive'; invited
to confess his guilt and return, he sternly answered: 'If I cannot return
without calling myself guilty, I will never return.'" From this moment he
was without home in this world; and "the great soul of Dante, homeless on
earth, made its home more and more in that awful other world ... over
which, this time-world, with its Florences and banishments, flutters as
an unreal shadow." Dante's heart, long filled with this, brooding over it
in speechless thought and awe, bursts forth at length into "mystic
unfathomable song," and this, his "DIVINE COMEDY" (q. v.), the
most remarkable of all modern Books, is the result. He died after
finishing it, not yet very old, at the age of 56. He lies buried in his
death-city Ravenna, "shutout from my native shores." The Florentines
begged back his body in a century after; the Ravenna people would not
give it (1265-1321). See CARLYLE'S "HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP," and
Dean Plumptre's "LIFE OF DANTE."
DANTON, GEORGES JACQUES, "The Titan of the Forlorn Hope" of the
French Revolution, born at Arcis-sur-Aube, "of good farmer people ... a
huge, brawny, black-browed man, with a waste energy as of a Hercules"; an
advocate by profession, "esurient, but with nothing to do; found Paris
and his country in revolt, rose to the front of the strife; resolved to
do or die"; the cause threatened, he threw himself again and again into
the breach defiant, his motto "to dare, and to dare, and again to dare,"
so as to put and keep the enemy in fear; "Let my name be blighted," he
said, "what am I? The cause alone is great, and will live and not
perish"; but the "SEA-GREEN" (q. v.) viewed him with jealousy,
held him suspect, had him arrested, brought before the Revolutionary
Tribunal, the severity of whose proceedings under him he had condemned,
and sentenced to the guillotine; a reflection of his in prison has been
recorded: "Oh, it were better to be a poor fisherman than to meddle with
governing of men." "No weakness, Danton," he said to himself on the
scaffold, as his heart began to sink within him as he thought of his
wife. His last words were to Samson the headsman: "Thou wilt show my head
to the people, it is worth showing"; words worthy of the brother of
Mirabeau, who died saying, "I wish I could leave my head behind me,
France needs it just now"; a man fiery-real, as has been said, genuine to
the core, with many sins, yet lacking that greatest of sins, cant. "He
was," says Mr. Belloc, "the most French, the most national, the nearest
to the mother of all the Revolutionary group. He summed up France ...
when we study him, we see France" (1759-1794). See CARLYLE'S "FRENCH
REVOLUTION."
DANTZIG (116), the capital of W. Prussia, once a Hanse town, on the
Vistula, 4 m. from the mouth; one of the great ports and trading centres
of Germany and in the N. of Europe; it is traversed by canals, and many
of the houses are built on piles of wood; exports grain brought down the
river on timber rafts from the great grain country in the S.; it is one
of the chief stations of the German navy.
DANUBE, THE, the great south-eastward-flowing river of Europe, 1750
m. in length, rises in the Black Forest, and is divided into Upper,
Middle, and Lower; the Upper extends as far as Pressburg, begins to be
navigable to Ulm, flows NE. as far as Ratisbon, and then bends SE. past
Vienna; the Middle extends from Pressburg to the Iron Gate, enclosing
between its gorges a series of rapids, below Orsova; and the Lower
extends from the Iron Gate to the Black Sea. It receives numerous
tributary rivers, 60 of them navigable, in its course; forms with them
the great water highway of the SE. of Europe, and is of avail for traffic
to all the races and nations whose territories it traverses; the
navigation of the river is free indeed to all nations.
DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES, Moldavia and Wallachia.
DANVILLE, the name of several towns in the United States.
D'ANVILLE, geographer to the king of France; left numerous valuable
maps and geographical works (1697-1782).
DAPHNE (lit. a laurel), a nymph chased by Apollo, transformed into
a laurel as he attempts to seize her; henceforth sacred to the god.
DAPHNIS, a Sicilian shepherd, the mythical inventor of pastoral
poetry.
DAPSANG, the highest of the Karakorum Mountains.
D'ARBLAY, MADAME, a distinguished novelist, daughter of Dr. Burney,
the historian of music; authoress of "Evelina" and "Cecilia," the first
novels of the time, which brought her into connection with all her
literary contemporaries, Johnson in chief; left "Diary and Letters"
(1752-1840).
DARBOY, GEORGES, archbishop of Paris: was a defender of the Gallican
liberties of the Church; had been assiduous in offices of benevolence
during the siege of Paris; was arrested as a hostage by the Communists,
and shot (1813-1871).
DARBY AND JOAN, a married couple celebrated for their mutual
attachment.
DARBYITES, the PLYMOUTH BRETHREN (q. v.), from the name of
one of their founders, a man of scholarly ability and culture, and the
chief expounder of their views (1800-1852).
DARDANELLES, a strait extending between the Archipelago and the Sea
of Marmora, anciently called the Hellespont, 40 m. long, from 1 to 4
broad; commanded by Turkey, both sides of the strait being strongly
fortified.
DARDANUS, a son of Zeus and Electra, mythical ancestor of the
Trojans; originally a king in Greece.
DARFUR (500), a district in the Egyptian Soudan, in which vegetation
is for the most part dormant all the year round, except from June to
September, when it is rank and rich; was snatched from Egypt by the
Mahdi, but is now restored.
D'ARGENS, MARQUIS, born at Aix; disinherited owing to his
misconduct; turned author, and became a protégé of Frederick the Great,
but lost caste with him too, and was deprived of his all once more
(1704-1771).
D'ARGENSON, COMTE, an eminent French statesman, head of the police
in Paris; introduced _lettres de cachet_, and was a patron of the French
philosophes; had the "Encyclopédie" dedicated to him; fell out of favour
at Court, and had to leave Paris, but returned to die there (1696-1764).
DARIC, a gold coin current in ancient Persia, stamped with an archer
kneeling, and weighing little over a sovereign.
DARIEN, GULF OF, an inlet of the Caribbean Sea, NW. of S. America.
For isthmus of, see PANAMA.
DARIEN SCHEME, a project to plant a colony on the Atlantic side of
the Isthmus, which was so far carried out that some 1200 left Scotland in
1698 to establish it, but which ended in disaster, and created among the
Scotch, who were the chief sufferers, an animus against the English, whom
they blamed for the disaster, an animus which did not for long die out.
DARIUS I., eldest son of Hystaspes, king of the Persians; subdued
subject places that had revolted, reorganised the empire, carried his
conquests as far as India, subdued Thrace and Macedonia, declared war
against the Athenians; in 492 B.C. sent an expedition against Greece,
which was wrecked in a storm off Athos; sent a second, which succeeded in
crossing over, but was defeated in a famous battle at Marathon, 490 B.C.
DARIUS II., called OCHUS or NOTHUS, king of the Persians;
subject to his eunuchs and his wife Parysatis; his reign was a succession
of insurrections; he supported the Spartans against the Athenians, to the
ascendency of the former in the Peloponnesus; _d_. 405 B.C.
DARIUS III., surnamed CODOMANNUS, king of the Persians, a
handsome man and a virtuous; could not cope with Alexander of Macedon,
but was defeated by him in successive engagements at Granicus, Issus, and
Arbela; was assassinated on his flight by BESSUS (q. v.), one of
his satraps, in 330 B.C.; with him the Persian empire came to an end.
DARJEELING (14), a sanitary station and health resort in the Lower
Himalayas, and the administrative head-quarters of the district, 7167 ft.
above the level of the sea; it has greatly increased of late years.
DARLEY, GEORGE, poet and critic, born in Dublin; author of "Sylvia"
and "Nepenthe"; wrote some good songs, among them "I've been Roaming,"
once very popular; much belauded by Coleridge; contributed to the
_Athenæum_ (1795-1846).
DARLING, a tributary of the Murray River, in Australia, now
stagnant, now flooded.
DARLING, GRACE, a young maiden, daughter of the lighthouse keeper of
one of the Farne Islands, who with her father, amid great peril, saved
the lives of nine people from the wreck of the _Forfarshire_, on Sept. 7,
1838; died of consumption (1815-1842).
DARLINGTON (38), a town in S. of Durham, on the Tees, with large
iron and other works; a considerable number of the inhabitants belong to
the Society of Friends.
DARMESTETER, JAMES, Orientalist, born in Lorraine, of Jewish
descent; a distinguished Zend scholar and authority in Zend literature;
in the interpretation of the Zend and other ancient literatures was of
the modern critical school (1849-1894).
DARMSTADT (55), the capital of the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt,
on the Darm, an affluent of the Rhine, 15 m. S. of Frankfort; is divided
into an old and a new town; manufactures tobacco, paper, carpets,
chemicals, &c.
DARNLEY, HENRY STUART, LORD, eldest son of the Earl of Lennox and
grand-nephew of Henry VIII.; husband of Queen Mary; was murdered on Feb.
5, 1567, in Kirk-o'-Field, which stood on the site of the present
University of Edinburgh.
DARTMOOR, moor in Devonshire, a tableland of an average height of
1200 ft. above the sea-level, and of upwards of 120,000 acres in extent,
incapable of cultivation, but affording pasturage for sheep, of which it
breeds a small hardy race; it has rich veins of minerals; abounds in
British remains, and contains a large convict prison.
DARU, COMTE, a French administrator and littérateur, born at
Montpellier; translated Horace when in prison during the Reign of Terror;
served as administrator under Napoleon; on the return of the Bourbons
devoted himself to letters, and wrote the "History of the Republic of
Venice" (1767-1829).
DARWIN, CHARLES ROBERT, great English naturalist and biologist, born
at Shrewsbury, grandson of Erasmus Darwin on his father's side, and of
Josiah Wedgwood on his mother's; studied at Edinburgh and Cambridge; in
1831 accompanied as naturalist without salary the _Beagle_ in her voyage
of exploration in the Southern Seas, on the condition that he should have
the entire disposal of his collections, all of which he got, and which he
ultimately distributed among various public institutions; he was absent
from England for five years, and on his return published in 1836 his
"Naturalist's Voyage Round the World," in 1839-43 accounts of the fruits
of his researches and observations in the departments of geology and
natural history during that voyage, in 1842 his treatise on the
"Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs," and in 1859 his work on the
"Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection," a work which has
proved epoch-making and gone far to revolutionise thought in the
scientific study of, especially, animated nature, and is being applied to
higher spheres of being; this work was followed by others more or less
confirmatory, finishing off with "The Descent of Man" in 1871, in which
he traces the human race to an extinct quadrumanous animal related to
that which produced the orang-outang, the chimpanzee, and the gorilla. He
may be said to have taken evolution out of the region of pure
imagination, and by giving it a basis of fact, to have set it up as a
reasonable working hypothesis. Prof. A. R. Wallace claims for Darwin
"that he is the Newton of natural history, and has ... by his discovery
of the law of natural selection and his demonstration of the great
principles of the preservation of useful variations in the struggle for
life, not only thrown a flood of light on the process of development of
the whole organic world, but also established a firm foundation for the
future study of nature." He was buried in Westminster Abbey (1809-1882).
DARWIN, ERASMUS, physician and natural philosopher, born in
Nottinghamshire; studied at Cambridge and Edinburgh; practised medicine
in Lichfield, and finally settled in Derby; occupied his mind with the
study of fanciful analogies in the different spheres of nature, and
committed his views, often not without genuine poetic sentiment and
melody of expression, to verse, while in the views themselves there have
been recognised occasional glimpses of true insight, and at times a
foreshadow of the doctrine developed on strict scientific lines by his
illustrious grandson. His chief poetic works were the "Botanic Garden"
and the "Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life," deemed, in the
philosophy of them, not unworthy of criticism by such sane thinkers as
Paley and Dugald Stewart (1731-1802).
DARWINIAN THEORY, the theory established by Darwin that the several
species of plants and animals now in existence were not created in their
present form, but have been evolved by natural law of descent, with
modifications of structure, from cruder forms. See DARWIN, C. R.
DASENT, SIR GEORGE WEBBE, Icelandic scholar, born at St. Vincent,
West Indies; studied at Oxford; from 1845 to 1870 was assistant-editor of
the _Times_; has translated "The Prose, or Younger, Edda" and Norse tales
and sagas; written also novels, and contributed to reviews and magazines;
_b_. 1817.
DASH, COUNTESS, the _nom de plume_ of the Viscountess de Saint-Mars,
a French novelist, born at Poitiers; in straits for a living, took
desperately to writing; treated of aristocratic life and its hollow
artificialities and immoralities (1804-1872).
DASHKOFF, a Russian princess of note; played a part in the
conspiracy which ended in the elevation of Catharine II. to the throne;
was a woman of culture; founded the Russian Academy; projected and
assisted in the compilation of a Russian dictionary; died at Moscow
(1744-1810).
DATES OF EPOCH-MAKING EVENTS, the Ascendency in Athens of Pericles
(445 B.C.); the Fall of the Persian Empire (330 B.C.); the Death of
Alexander the Great (323 B.C.); the Reduction of Greece to a Roman
province, and the Ruin of Carthage (146 B.C.); the Battle of Actium (31
B.C.); Birth of Christ, 14th year of Augustus; Commencement of the
Middle Ages (395); Ruin of the Roman Empire by the Barbarians (476);
Clovis, ruler of Gaul (509); the Flight of Mahomet (622); Charlemagne,
Emperor of the West (800); Treaty of Verdun (843); the Crusades
(1096-1291); Employment of Cannon at Crécy (1346); Invention of Printing
(1436); Taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II. (1453); Discovery of
America by Columbus (1492); Copernican System published (1500); Accession
of Leo X. as Pope (1513); the Reformation of Luther (1517); Publication
of Bacon's "Novum Organon" (1620); Publication of Descartes's "Discourse
on Method" (1637); the Peace of Westphalia (1648); Reign of Louis XIV. at
its Height, and Peace of Nimeguen (1678); Publication of Newton's Theory
of Gravitation (1682); Watt's Invention of the Steam-Engine (1769);
Independence of the United States (1776); _Coup d'état_ of 10th Brumaire
(1799); Waterloo, and Congress of Vienna (1815); Introduction of
Railroads into England (1830); First Attempt at Electric Telegraphy in
France (1837); Africa traversed by Livingstone (1852-1854); Publication
of Darwin's "Origin of Species" (1859); Opening of the Suez Canal (1869);
Proclamation of the German Empire (1871); Congress of Berlin (1878).
DAUBENTON, LOUIS JEAN MARIE, a French naturalist, born at Montbard;
associated with Buffon in the preparation of the first 15 vols. of his
"Histoire Naturelle," and helped him materially by the accuracy of his
knowledge, as well as his literary qualifications; contributed largely to
the "Encyclopédie," and was 50 years curator of the Cabinet of Natural
History at Paris (1716-1799).
DAUBENY, CHARLES, English chemist and botanist, author of "A
Description of Active and Extinct Volcanoes," an "Introduction to the
Atomic Theory," and other works, all like the latter more or less related
to chemistry (1795-1867).
D'AUBIGNÉ, MERLE, a popular Church historian, born near Geneva;
studied under Neander at Berlin; became pastor at Hamburg, court-preacher
at Brussels, and professor of Church History at Geneva; his reputation
rests chiefly on his "History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth
Century" (1794-1872).
D'AUBIGNÉ, THEODORE AGRIPPA, a historian, bred to the military
profession; held appointments under Henry IV., on whose assassination he
returned to Geneva, where he wrote his "Histoire Universelle," which had
the honour to be burned by the common hangman in Paris; was a satirical
writer; grandfather to Mme. de Maintenon (1550-1630).
DAUBIGNY, CHARLES FRANÇOIS, a French landscape painter and skilful
etcher, born in Paris, attained distinction as an artist late in life
(1817-1878).
D'AUBUSSON, PIERRE, grand-master of the order of St. John of
Jerusalem, of French origin; served under the Emperor Sigismund against
the Turks; went to Rhodes; became a knight of St. John, and was chosen
grand-master; defended Rhodes against 100,000 Turks, and thus stayed the
career of Mahomet II., who, after establishing himself in Constantinople,
was threatening to overrun Europe (1423-1503).
DAUDET, ALPHONSE, a noted French novelist of great versatility, born
at Nîmes, of poor parents; early selected literature as his career in
life; wrote poems and plays, and contributed to the _Figaro_ and other
journals; worked up into his novels characters and situations that had
come under his own observation, often in too satirical a vein to become
universally popular; has been likened to Dickens in his choice of
subjects and style of treatment; died suddenly (1840-1897).
D'AULNOY, THE COUNTESS, authoress of charmingly-written "Contes des
Fées" (Fairy Tales), and on which her reputation rests (1650-1705).
DAUMIER, HENRI, a French caricaturist of great fertility and
playfulness of genius, born at Marseilles; became blind in his old age
(1808-1879).
DAUN, KARL, German theologian, born at Cassel, professor at
Heidelberg, sought to ground theology on a philosophic basis, and found
what he sought in the philosophy of Hegel (1765-1836).
DAUN, LEOPOLD, GRAF VON, an able Austrian general, born at Vienna;
distinguished himself by his prudence and valour in the Seven Years' War,
gained a victory over Frederick the Great at Kolin in 1757, and another
at Hochkirch in 1758; could prevail little or not at all against
Frederick afterwards as soon as Frederick saw through his tactics, which
he was not long in doing (1705-1766).
DAUPHIN, a name originally given to the _Seigneurs_ of the province
of Dauphiné, in allusion to the dolphin which several members of the
family wore as a badge, but in 1349 given to the heir-presumptive to the
crown of France, when Humbert II., dauphin of Vienne, ceded Dauphiné to
Philippe of Valois, on condition that the eldest son of the king of
France should assume the title, a title which was abolished after the
Revolution of 1830. The word signifies dolphin in French.
DAUPHINÉ, a SW. province of France, of which the capital was
Grenoble; annexed to the French crown under Philippe II. in 1349.
DAURAT, JEAN, French scholar, a member of the Pléiade (q. v.), and
who figures as one of the leading spirits in the fraternity (1507-1588).
DAVENANT, SIR WILLIAM, an English playwright, born at Oxford, who
succeeded Ben Jonson as poet-laureate, and was for a time manager of
Drury Lane; was knighted by Charles I. for his zeal in the Royalist
cause; his theatrical enterprise had small success during the
Commonwealth, but interest in it revived with the Restoration, at which
time "the drama broke loose from the prison of Puritanism to indulge in a
shameless license" (1606-1668).
DAVID, FÉLICIEN, a French composer, born at Vaucluse; author, among
other compositions, of the "Desert," a production which achieved an
instant and complete triumph; was in his youth an ardent disciple of St.
Simon (1810-1876).
DAVID, GERHARD, a Flemish painter; painted religious subjects,
several from the life of Christ (1450-1525).
DAVID, KING OF ISRAEL, 11th century B.C., born in Bethlehem; tended
the flocks of his father; slew Goliath with a stone and a sling; was
anointed by Samuel, succeeded Saul as king; conquered the Philistines;
set up his throne in Jerusalem, and reigned thirty-three years; suffered
much from his sons, and was succeeded by Solomon; the book of Psalms was
till recently accepted as wholly his by the Church, but that hypothesis
no longer stands the test of criticism.
DAVID, LOUIS, a French historical painter, born in Paris; studied in
Rome and settled in Paris; was carried away with the Revolution; joined
the Jacobin Club, swore eternal friendship with Robespierre; designed "a
statue of Nature with two _mammelles_ spouting out water" for the deputes
to drink to, and another of the sovereign people, "high as Salisbury
steeple"; was sentenced to the guillotine, but escaped out of regard for
his merit as an artist; appointed first painter by Napoleon, but on the
Restoration was banished and went to Brussels, where he died; among his
paintings are "The Oath of the Horatii," "The Rape of the Sabines," "The
Death of Socrates," and "The Coronation of Napoleon" (1748-1825).
DAVID D'ANGERS, a French sculptor, born at Angers; came to Paris and
became a pupil of the preceding, afterwards proceeded to Rome and
associated with Canova; executed in Paris a statue of the Great Condé,
and thereafter the pediment of the Pantheon, his greatest work, as well
as numerous medallions of great men; on a visit to Weimar he modelled a
bust of Goethe (1788-1856).
DAVID I., king of Scotland, youngest son of Malcolm Canmore and
Queen Margaret; was brought up at the English court; was prince of
Cumbria under the reign of his brother Alexander, on whose decease he
succeeded to the throne in 1124; on making a raid in England to avenge an
insult offered to his son Henry, was defeated at Northallerton in the
Battle of the Standard; addressed himself after this to the unification
of the country and civilisation of his subjects; founded and endowed
bishoprics and abbeys at the expense of the crown, on account of which he
was called St. David, and characterised by James VI., a successor of his,
as a "sair saunt to the croon"; the death of his son Henry was a great
grief to him, and shortened his days (1084-1153).
DAVID II., king of Scotland, son of King Robert the Bruce, born at
Dunfermline; succeeded his father when a boy of four; spent from 1334 to
1341 in France; was taken prisoner by the English at the battle of
Neville's Cross, and was afterwards, till his death, dependent on England
(1326-1371).
DAVID, ST., or DEWI, the patron saint of Wales, lived about the
5th century; archbishop of Caerleon; transferred his see to St. David's;
founded churches, opposed Pelagianism, and influenced many by the odour
of his good name.
DAVIDS, RHYS, professor of Pâli and Buddhist literature, born in
Colchester; author of "Buddhism: a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of
Gautama, the Buddha," and of other works in that department of
literature; _b_. 1843.
DAVIDSON, ANDREW BRUCE, Hebrew scholar and professor, born in
Aberdeenshire; a most faithful, clear, and effective interpreter of the
spirit of Hebrew literature, and influential for good as few men of the
time have been in matters of biblical criticism; _b_. 1831.
DAVIDSON, JOHN, poet and journalist, born at Barrhead, Renfrewshire;
has written novels and plays as well as poems; _b_. 1859.
DAVIDSON, SAMUEL, biblical scholar and exegete, born near Ballymena;
wrote Introductions to the Old and the New Testaments; was pioneer in the
higher criticism (1807-1898).
DAVIES, BEN, a popular tenor vocalist, born near Swansea in 1858.
DAVIES, SIR JOHN, poet and statesman, born in Wiltshire; wrote two
philosophic poems, "The Orchestra," a poem in which the world is
exhibited as a dance, and "Nosce Teipsum" (Know Thyself), a poem on human
learning and the immortality of the soul; became a favourite with James
I., and was sent Attorney-General to Ireland (1569-1626).
DAVILA, a celebrated historian, born near Padua, brought up in
France; served in the French army under Henry IV.; did military and other
service in Venice; was assassinated; his great work "The History of the
Civil War in France" (1576-1631).
DAVIS, JEFFERSON, President of the Confederate States, born in
Kentucky; entered the army; fought against the Indians; turned
cotton-planter; entered Congress as a Democrat; distinguished himself in
the Mexican war; defended slave-holding and the interests of
slave-holding States; was chosen President of the Confederate States;
headed the conflict with the North; fled on defeat, which he was the last
to admit; was arrested and imprisoned; released after two years; retired
into private life, and wrote a "History of the Rise and Fall of the
Confederate Government" (1808-1889).
DAVIS, JOHN, an English navigator, born near Dartmouth; took early
to the sea; conducted (1585-1587) three expeditions to the Arctic Seas in
quest of a NW. passage to India and China, as far N. as 73°; discovered
the strait which bears his name; sailed as pilot in two South Sea
expeditions, and was killed by Japanese pirates near Malacca; wrote the
"Seaman's Secret" (1550-1605).
DAVIS, THOMAS, an Irish patriot, born at Mallow; educated at Trinity
College, Dublin, and called to the Irish bar; took to journalism in the
interest of Irish nationality; founded the _Nation_ newspaper, and by his
contributions to it did much to wake up the intelligence of the country
to national interests; died young; was the author of "Songs of Ireland"
and "Essays on Irish Songs" (1814-1845).
DAVIS STRAIT, strait connecting Baffin's Bay with the Atlantic,
discovered by JOHN DAVIS (q. v.).
DAVITT, MICHAEL, a noted Irish patriot, born in co. Mayo, son of a
peasant, who, being evicted, settled in Lancashire; joined the Fenian
movement, and was sentenced to 15 years' penal servitude; released on
ticket-of-leave after seven years; founded the Land League; was for over
a year imprisoned again for breaking his ticket-of-leave; published in
1885 "Leaves from a Prison Diary"; entered Parliament in 1895 for co.
Mayo; _b_. 1846.
DAVOS-PLATZ, a village 5105 ft. above the sea-level, in a valley of
the East Grisons; a place frequented in winter by invalids suffering from
chest disease, the dry air and sunshine that prevail being favourable for
patients of that class.
DAVOUT, Duke of Auerstädt, Prince of Eckmühl, marshal of France,
born at Annoux, in Burgundy; was fellow-student with Napoleon at the
military school in Brienne; entered the army in 1788, served in the
Revolutionary wars under Dumouriez and Desaix, and became general; served
under Bonaparte in Egypt; distinguished himself at Austerlitz, Auerstädt,
Eckmühl, and Wagram; was made governor of Hamburg; accompanied Napoleon
to Moscow; returned to Hamburg, and defended it during a siege; was made
Minister of War in 1815, and assisted Napoleon in his preparations for
the final struggle at Waterloo; commanded the remains of the French army
which capitulated under the walls of Paris; adhered to the Bourbon
dynasty on its return, and was made a peer; was famous before all the
generals of Napoleon for his rigour in discipline (1770-1823).
DAVY, SIR HUMPHRY, a great English chemist, born at Penzance;
conceived early in life a passion for the science in which he made so
many discoveries; made experiments on gases and the respiration of them,
particularly nitrous oxide and carbonic acid; discovered the function of
plants in decomposing the latter in the atmosphere, and the metallic
bases of alkalies and earths; proved chlorine to be a simple substance
and its affinity with iodine, which he discovered; invented the
safety-lamp, his best-known achievement; he held appointments and
lectured in connection with all these discoveries and their applications,
and received knighthood and numerous other honours for his services; died
at Geneva (1778-1829).
DAVY JONES'S LOCKER, the sailors' familiar name for the sea as a
place of safe-keeping, though why called of Davy Jones is uncertain.
DAVY-LAMP, a lamp encased in gauze wire which, while it admits
oxygen to feed the flame, prevents communication between the flame and
any combustible or explosive gas outside.
DAWKINS, WILLIAM BOYD, geologist and palæontologist, born in
Montgomeryshire; has written "Cave Hunting," "Early Man in Britain," &c.;
_b_. 1838.
DAWSON, GEORGE, a popular lecturer, born in London; educated in
Aberdeen and Glasgow; bred for the ministry by the Baptist body, and
pastor of a Baptist church in Birmingham, but resigned the post for
ministry in a freer atmosphere; took to lecturing on a purely secular
platform, and was for thirty years the most popular lecturer of the day;
no course of lectures in any institute was deemed complete if his name
was not in the programme; did much to popularise the views of Carlyle and
Emerson (1821-1876).
DAWSON, SIR JOHN WILLIAM, geologist and naturalist, born in Pictou,
Nova Scotia; studied in Edinburgh; distinguished himself as a
palæontologist; published in 1872, "Story of the Earth and Man"; in 1877,
"Origin of the World"; and recently, "Geology and History"; called in
question the Darwinian theory as to the origin of species; _b_. 1820.
DAY, JOHN, an English dramatist, contemporary of Ben Jonson; author
of the "Parliament of Bees," a comedy in which all the characters are
bees.
DAY, THOMAS, an eccentric philanthropist, born in London; author of
"Sandford and Merton"; he was a disciple of Rousseau; had many a
ludicrous adventure in quest of a model wife, and happily fell in with
one to his mind at last; was a slave-abolitionist and a parliamentary
reformer (1748-1789).
DAYAKS. See DYAKS.
DAYTON (85), a prosperous town in Ohio, U.S.; a great railway
centre, with a court-house of marble, after the Parthenon in Athens.
D'AZARA, a Spanish naturalist, born in Aragon; spent 20 years in
South America; wrote a "Natural History of the Quadrupeds in Paraguay"
(1781-1811).
DEAD SEA, called also the Salt Sea and 'the Asphalt Lake, a sea in
Palestine, formed by the waters of the Jordan, 46 m. long, 10 m. broad,
and in some parts 1300 ft. deep, while its surface is 1312 ft. below the
level of the Mediterranean, just as much as Jerusalem is above it; has no
outlet; its waters, owing to the great heat, evaporate rapidly, and are
intensely salt; it is enclosed E. and W. by steep mountains, which often
rise to a height of 6000 ft.
DEÁK, FRANCIS, an eminent Hungarian statesman, born at Kehida, of an
ancient noble Magyar family; his aim for Hungary was the same as that of
CAVOUR (q. v.) for Italy, the establishment of constitutional
government, and he succeeded; standing all along as he did from Hungarian
republicanism on the one hand, and Austrian tyranny on the other, he
urged on the Emperor of Austria the demand of the Diet, of which he had
become leader, at first without effect, but after the humiliation of
Austria in 1866, all that he asked for was conceded, and the Austrian
Emperor received the Hungarian crown (1803-1876).
DEAL (9), a town, one of the old Cinque ports, oil the E. of Kent,
opposite the Goodwin Sands, 89 m. from London, with a fine sea-beach;
much resorted to for sea-bathing quarters.
DEAN, FOREST OF, a forest of 22,000 acres in the W. of
Gloucestershire, between the Severn and the Wye; the property of the
Crown for the most part; the inhabitants are chiefly miners, who at one
time enjoyed special privileges.
DEAN OF GUILD, a burgh magistrate in Scotland who has the care of
buildings, originally the head of the Guild brethren of the town.
DEAN OF ST. PATRICK'S, Jonathan Swift, who held that post from 1713
till his death.
DEANS, DAVIE, EFFIE, AND JEANIE, characters in the "Heart of
Midlothian."
DÉBATS, JOURNAL DES, a daily paper, established in 1789; it defends
at present the Conservative Republican policy, and publishes often
remarkable literary articles.
DEBENTURE, a deed acknowledging a debt on a specified security.
DEBO`RAH, a Hebrew prophetess; reckoned one of the judges of Israel
by her enthusiasm to free her people from the yoke of the Canaanites;
celebrated for her song of exultation over their defeat, instinct at once
with pious devotion and with revengeful feeling; Coleridge calls her
"this Hebrew Boadicea."
DEBRECZEN (56), a Hungarian town, 130 m. E. of Buda-Pesth; is the
head-quarters of Protestantism in the country, and has an amply equipped
and a largely attended Protestant College; is a seat of manufactures and
a large trade.
DECAMERON, a collection of a hundred tales, conceived of as
rehearsed in ten days at a country-house during the plague at Florence;
are of a licentious character, but exquisitely told; were written by
Boccaccio; published in 1352; the name comes from _deka_, ten, and
_hemera_, a day.
DECAMPS, ALEXANDRA GABRIEL, a distinguished French painter, born in
Paris; brought up as a boy among the peasants of Picardy; represented
nature as he in his own way saw it himself, and visited Switzerland and
the East, where he found materials for original and powerful pictures;
his pictures since his death have brought great prices (1803-1860).
DE CANDOLLE, AUGUSTIN PYRAME, an eminent botanist, born at Geneva,
of Huguenot descent; studied in Paris; attracted the attention of Cuvier
and Lamarck, whom he assisted in their researches; published his "Flore
Française," in six vols.; became professor at Montpellier, and then at
Geneva; is the historical successor of Jussieu; his great contribution to
botanical science is connected with the classification of plants
(1778-1841).
DECA`TUR, STEPHEN, an American naval commodore; distinguished for
his feats of valour displayed in the war with Tripoli and with England
(1779-1820).
DECCAN, a triangular plateau of from 2000 to 3000 ft. of elevation
in the Indian peninsula, extending S. of the Vindhya Mountains; is
densely peopled, and contains some of the richest soil in the globe.
DECEMBER, the twelfth month of the year, so called, i. e. tenth,
by the Romans, as their year began with March.
DEC`EMVIRS, the patricians of Rome, with Consular powers, appointed
in 450 B.C. to prepare a code of laws for the Republic, which, after
being agreed upon, were committed first to ten, then to twelve tables,
and set up in the Forum that all might read and know the law they lived
under.
DECIUS, Roman emperor from 249 to 251; was a cruel persecutor of the
Christians; perished in a morass fighting with the Goths, who were a
constant thorn in his side all through his reign.
DECIUS MUS, the name of three Romans, father, son, and grandson, who
on separate critical emergencies (340, 295, 279 B.C.) devoted themselves
in sacrifice to the infernal gods in order to secure victory to the Roman
arms; the name is mostly employed ironically.
DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, the immortal work of Gibbon,
of which the first volume was published in 1776.
DECRETALS, THE, a collection of laws added to the canon law of the
Church of Rome, being judicial replies of the Popes to cases submitted to
them from time to time for adjudication.
DEE, JOHN, an alchemist, born in London; a man of curious learning;
earned the reputation of being a sorcerer; was imprisoned at one time,
and mobbed at another, under this imputation; died in poverty; left 79
works, the majority of which were never printed, though still extant in
MS. in the British Museum and other places of safe-keeping (1527-1608).
DEFAUCONPRET, French littérateur; translator of the novels of Sir
Walter Scott and Fenimore Cooper (1767-1843).
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, a title conferred by Pope Leo X. in 1521 upon
Henry VIII. for his defence of the Catholic faith in a treatise against
Luther, and retained ever since by the sovereigns of England, though
revoked by Pope Paul III. in 1535 in consequence of Henry's apostasy.
DEFFAND, MARIE, MARQUISE DU, a woman of society, famed for her wit
and gallantry; corresponded with the eminent philosophes of the time, in
particular Voltaire, as well as with Horace Walpole; her letters are
specially brilliant, and display great shrewdness; she is characterised
by Prof. Saintsbury as "the typical French lady of the eighteenth
century"; she became blind in 1753, but retained her relish for society,
though at length she entered a monastery, where she died (1697-1780).
DEFOE, DANIEL, author of "Robinson Crusoe," born in London; bred for
the Dissenting ministry; turned to business, but took chiefly to
politics; was a zealous supporter of William III.; his ironical treatise,
"The Shortest Way with Dissenters" (1703), which, treated seriously, was
burned by order of the House of Commons, led to his imprisonment and
exposed him for three days to the pillory, amidst the cheers, however,
not the jeers, of the mob; in prison wrote a "Hymn to the Pillory," and
started his _Review_; on his release he was employed on political
missions, and wrote a "History of the Union," which he contributed to
promote. The closing years of his life were occupied mainly with literary
work, and it was then, in 1719, he produced his world-famous "Robinson
Crusoe"; has been described as "master of the art of forging a story and
imposing it on the world for truth." "His circumstantial invention," as
Stopford Brooke remarks, "combined with a style which exactly fits it by
its simplicity, is the root of the charm of his great story" (1661-1731).
DEGE`RANDO, BARON, a French philanthropist and philosopher, born at
Lyons, of Italian descent; wrote "History of Philosophy," long in repute
as the best French work on the subject (1772-1842).
DEIANEIRA, the wife of Hercules, whose death she had been the
unwitting cause of by giving him the poisoned robe which NESSUS
(q. v.) had sent her as potent to preserve her husband's love; on
hearing the fatal result she killed herself in remorse and despair.
DEIPHOBUS, a son of Priam and Hecuba, second in bravery to Hector;
married Helen after the death of Paris, and was betrayed by her to the
Greeks.
DEIR-AL-KAMAR, a town in Syria, once the capital of the Druses, on a
terrace in the heart of the Lebanon Mountains.
DEISM, belief on purely rational grounds in the existence of God,
and distinguished from theism as denying His providence.
DEISTS, a set of free-thinkers of various shades, who in England, in
the 17th and 18th centuries, discarded revelation and the supernatural
generally, and sought to found religion on a purely rational basis.
DÉJAZET, VIRGINIE, a celebrated French actress, born in Paris; made
her _début_ at five years of age (1797-1875).
DEKKER, THOMAS, a dramatist, born in London; was contemporary of Ben
Jonson, between whom and him, though they formerly worked together, a
bitter animosity arose; wrote lyrics as well as dramas, which are light
comedies, and prose as well as poetry; the most famous among his prose
works, "The Gull's Hornbook," a pamphlet, in which he depicts the life of
a young gallant; his pamphlets are valuable (1570-1641).
DE LA BECHE, SIR HENRY THOMAS, geologist, born in London; wrote the
"Depth and Temperature of the Lake of Geneva," and published a "Manual of
Geology" and the "Geological Observer"; was appointed head of the
Geological Survey in England (1796-1855).
DELACROIX, EUGÈNE, a French painter, born at Charenton, dep. of
Seine; one of the greatest French painters of the 19th century; was the
head of the French Romantic school, a brilliant colourist and a daring
innovator; his very first success, "Dante crossing Acheron in Charon's
Boat," forms an epoch in the history of contemporary art; besides his
pictures, which were numerous, he executed decorations and produced
lithographic illustrations of "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and Goethe's "Faust"
(1799-1863).
DELAGOA BAY, an inlet in the SE. of Africa, E. of the Transvaal,
subject to Portugal; stretches from 25° 30' to 26° 20' S.; extends 52 m.
inland, where the Transvaal frontier begins, and between which and it a
railway of 52 m., constructed by an English company, extends.
DELAISTRE, a French statuary, born in Paris (1836-1891).
DELAMBRE, JEAN JOSEPH, an eminent French astronomer, born at Amiens,
a pupil of Lalande; measured with Méchain the arc of the meridian between
Dunkirk and Barcelona towards the establishment of the metric system;
produced numerous works of great value, among others "Theoretical and
Practical Astronomy" and the "History of Astronomy" (1749-1822).
DELANE, JOHN THADEUS, editor of the _Times_, born in London; studied
at Oxford; after some experience as a reporter was put on the staff of
the _Times_, and in 1841 became editor, a post he continued to hold for
36 years; was the inspiring and guiding spirit of the paper, but wrote
none of the articles (1817-1879).
DELAROCHE, PAUL, a French historical painter and one of the
greatest, born in Paris; was the head of the modern Eclectic school, so
called as holding a middle place between the Classical and Romantic
schools of art; among his early works were "St. Vincent de Paul preaching
before Louis XIII." and "Joan of Arc before Cardinal Beaufort"; the
subjects of his latest pictures are from history, English and French,
such as "The Princes in the Tower" and "Cromwell contemplating the corpse
of Charles I.," a great work; but the grandest monument of his art is the
group of paintings with which he adorned the wall of the semicircle of
the Palais des Beaux Arts in Paris, which he completed in 1841
(1797-1856).
DELAUNAY, LE VICOMTE, the _nom de plume_ of Mme. Delphine, under
which she published her "Parisian Letters."
DELAUNAY, LOUIS ARSÈNE, a great French actor, born in Paris; made
his _début_ in 1846, retired 1887.
DELAVIGNE, CASIMIR, a popular French lyric poet and dramatist, born
at Havre; his verse was conventional and without originality (1793-1843).
DELAWARE (168), one of the Atlantic and original States of the
American Union, as well as the smallest of them; the soil is rather poor,
but porcelain clay abounds.
DELCASSÉ, THÉOPHILE, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, born at
Pamiers; began life as a journalist; was elected to the Chamber in 1889;
became Colonial Minister; advocated colonial expansion; dealt skilfully
with the Fashoda affair as Foreign Minister; _b_. 1852.
DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS, mountains covered with sheep in the "Pilgrim's
Progress," from which the pilgrim obtains a view of the Celestial City.
DELESCLUZE, a French Communist, born at Dreux; was imprisoned and
transported for his extreme opinions; started a journal, the _Rèveil_, in
1868, to advocate the doctrines of the International; was mainly
answerable for the atrocities of the Paris Commune; was killed in the
barricades (1809-1871).
DELFT (27), a Dutch town, S m. NW. of Rotterdam, once famous for its
pottery; is intersected by canals; has an important polytechnic school.
DELGADO, a cape of E. Africa, on the border between Zanzibar and
Mozambique.
DELHI (192), on the right bank of the Jumna, once the capital of the
Mogul empire and the centre of the Mohammedan power in India; it is a
great centre of trade, and is situated in the heart of India; it contains
the famous palace of Shah Jahan, and the Jama Masjid, which occupies the
heart of the city, and is the largest and finest mosque in India, which
owes its origin to Shah Jahan; it is walled, is 51 m. in circumference,
and divided into Hindu, Mohammedan, and European quarters; it was
captured by Lord Lake in 1803, and during the Mutiny by the Sepoys, but
after a siege of seven days retaken in 1857.
DELIGHT OF MANKIND, the Roman Emperor Trajan.
DELILAH, the Philistine woman who beguiled and betrayed Samson.
DELILLE, JACQUES, a French poet, born at Aigues Perse, in Auvergne;
translator of the "Georgics" of Virgil into verse, afterwards the "Æneid"
and "Paradise Lost," besides producing also certain didactic and
descriptive works; was a good versifier, but properly no poet, and much
overrated; died blind (1738-1813).
DELITZSCH, FRANZ, a learned biblical scholar and exegete, born at
Leipzig; his commentaries, which are numerous, were of a conservative
tendency; he wrote on Jewish antiquities, biblical psychology, and
Christian apologetics; was professor at Erlangen and Leipzig
successively, where his influence on the students was distinctly marked
(1813-1899).
DELIUS, NICOLAUS, a German philologist, born at Bremen;
distinguished especially as a student of Shakespeare and for his edition
of Shakespeare's works, which is of transcendent merit (1813-1888).
DELIA CRUSCANS, a set of English sentimental poetasters, the leaders
of them hailing from Florence, that appeared in England towards the close
of the 18th century, and that for a time imposed on many by their
extravagant panegyrics of one another, the founder of the set being one
Robert Merry, who signed himself _Della Crusca_; he first announced
himself by a sonnet to Love, in praise of which Anne Matilda wrote an
incomparable piece of nonsense; "this epidemic spread for a term from
fool to fool," but was soon exposed and laughed out of existence.
DELLYS (3), a seaport in Algeria, 49 m. E. of Algiers.
DELOLME, JOHN LOUIS, a writer on State polity, born at Geneva, bred
to the legal profession; spent some six years in England as a refugee;
wrote a book on the "Constitution of England," and in praise of it, which
was received for a time with high favour in the country, but is now no
longer regarded as an authority; wrote a "History of the Flagellants,"
and on "The Union of Scotland with England" (1740-1806).
DELORME, a French architect, born at Lyons; studied in Rome; was
patronised by Catherine de Medici; built the palace of the Tuileries, and
contributed to the art of building (1518-1577).
DELORME, MARION, a Frenchwoman celebrated for her wit and
fascination, born at Châlons-sur-Marne; came to Paris in the reign of
Louis XIII., where her drawing-room became the rendezvous of all the
celebrities of the time, many of whom were bewitched by her charms; she
gave harbour to the chiefs of the Fronde, and was about to be arrested
when she died; the story that her death was a feint, and that she had
subsequent adventures, is distrusted; she is the subject of a drama by
Victor Hugo (1612-1650).
DELOS, the smallest and central island of the Cyclades, the
birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and where the former had a famous
oracle; it was, according to the Greek mythology, a floating island, and
was first fixed to the spot by Zeus to provide Leda with a place, denied
her elsewhere by Hera, in which to bring forth her twin offspring; it was
at one time a centre of Apollo worship, but is now uninhabited, and only
frequented at times by shepherds with their flocks.
DELPHI, a town of ancient Greece in Phocis, at the foot of
Parnassus, where Apollo had a temple, and whence he was wont to issue his
oracles by the mouth of his priestess the Pythia, who when receiving the
oracle used to sit on a tripod over an opening in the ground through
which an intoxicating vapour exhaled, deemed the breath of the god, and
that proved the vehicle of her inspiration; the Pythian games were
celebrated here.
DELPHIN CLASSICS, an edition of the Greek and Roman classics, edited
by Bossuet and Huet, assisted by thirty-nine scholars, for the use of the
dauphin of Louis XIV.; of little use now.
DELPHINE, a novel by Mme. de Staël; presumed to be an idealised
picture of herself.
DELTA, the signature of D. Macbeth Moir in _Blackwood's Magazine_.
DELUC, JEAN ANDRÉ, geologist, born in Geneva; lived in England; was
reader to Queen Charlotte, and author of several works (1727-1817).
DELUGE, name given to the tradition, common to several races, of a
flood of such universality as to sweep the land, if not the earth, of all
its inhabitants, except the pair by whom the land of the earth was
repeopled.
DEM`ADES, an Athenian orator, a bitter enemy of Demosthenes, in the
interest of Philip of Macedon; put to death for treason by Antipater, 318
B.C.; was a man of no principle, but a great orator.
DEMARA`TUS, king of Sparta from 510 to 491 B.C.; dispossessed of
his crown, fled to Persia and accompanied Xerxes into Greece.
DEMAVEND, MOUNT, an extinct volcano, the highest peak (18,600 ft.)
of the Elburz chain, in Persia.
DEMBEA, a lake, the largest in Abyssinia, being 60 m. long and 6000
ft. above the sea-level, from which the Blue Nile issues.
DEMBINSKI, HENRY, a Polish general, born near Cracow; served under
Napoleon against Russia, under Kossuth against Austria; fled to Turkey on
the resignation of Kossuth; died in Paris (1791-1864).
DEMERARA, a division of British Guiana; takes its name from the
river, which is 200 m. long, and falls into the Atlantic at Georgetown.
DEMETER (lit. Earth-mother), the great Greek goddess of the earth,
daughter of Kronos and Rhea and sister of Zeus, and ranks with him as one
of the twelve great gods of Olympus; is specially the goddess of
agriculture, and the giver of all the earth's fruits; the Latins call her
Ceres.
DEMETRIUS, the name of two kings of Macedonia who ruled over the
country, the first from 290 to 289 B.C., and the second from 240 to 229
B.C.
DEMETRIUS, or DIMITRI, the name of several sovereigns of
Russia, and of four adventurers called the four false Dimitri.
DEMETRIUS I., Soter (i. e. saviour), king of Syria from 162 to 150
B.C.; was grandson of Antiochus the Great. D. II., Nicator (i. e.
conqueror), king of Syria from 143 to 125 B.C. D. III., Eucæros
(i. e. the happy), king of Syria in 95, died in 84 B.C.
DEMETRIUS PHALEREUS, an eminent Athenian orator, statesman, and
historian, born at Phalerus, a seaport of Athens; was held in high honour
in Athens for a time as its political head, but fell into dishonour,
after which he lived retired and gave himself up to literary pursuits;
died from the bite of an asp; left a number of works (345-283 B.C.).
DEMIDOFF, a Russian family distinguished for their wealth, descended
from a serf of Peter the Great, and who amassed a large fortune by
manufacturing firearms for him, and were raised by him to the rank of
nobility; they were distinguished in the arts, in arms, and even
literature; ANATOL in particular, who travelled over the SE. of
Europe, and wrote an account of his travels, a work magnificently
illustrated.
DEMIGOD, a hero elevated in the imagination to the rank of a
divinity in consequence of the display of virtues and the achievement of
feats superior to those of ordinary men.
DEMI-MONDE, a class in Parisian society dressing in a fashionable
style, but of questionable morals.
DEMIURGUS, a name employed by Plato to denote the world-soul, the
medium by which the idea is made real, the spiritual made material, the
many made one, and it was adopted by the Gnostics to denote the
world-maker as a being derived from God, but estranged from God, being
environed in matter, which they regarded as evil, and so incapable as
such of redeeming the soul from matter, from evil, such as the God of the
Jews, and the Son of that God, conceived of as manifest in flesh.
DEMOCRACY has been defined to be government of the people by the
people and for the people, or as a State in which the government rests
directly with the majority of the citizens, but this under the protest of
some that it is not an end but a means "to the attainment of a truer and
truer aristocracy, or government again by the Best."
DEMOCRATS, a political party in the United States that contends for
the rights of the several States to self-government as against undue
centralisation.
DEMOCRITUS, a Greek philosopher, born in Abdera, Thrace, of wealthy
parents; spent his patrimony in travel, gathered knowledge from far and
near, and gave the fruits of it in a series of writings to his
contemporary compatriots, only fragments of which remain, though they
must have come down comparatively entire to Cicero's time, who compares
them for splendour and music of eloquence to Plato's; his philosophy was
called the _Atomic_, as he traced the universe to its ultimate roots in
combinations of atoms, in quality the same but in quantity different, and
referred all life and sensation to movements in them, while he regarded
quiescence as the _summum bonum_; he has been called the Laughing
Philosopher from, it is alleged, his habit of laughing at the follies of
mankind; _b_. 460 B.C.
DEMOCRITUS JUNIOR, a pseudonym under which Burton published his
"Anatomy of Melancholy."
DEMOGEOT, French littérateur, born at Paris; wrote a history of
literature, chiefly French (1808-1894).
DEMOGORGON, a terrible deity, the tyrant of the elves and fairies,
who must all appear before him once every five years to give an account
of their doings.
DEMOIVRE, ABRAHAM, a mathematician, born in Champagne; lived most of
his life in England to escape, as a Protestant, from persecution in
France; became a friend of Newton, and a Fellow of the Royal Society, and
was of such eminence as a mathematician that he was asked to arbitrate
between the claims of Newton and Leibnitz to the invention of fluxions
(1667-1754).
DEMON, or DAIMON, a name which Socrates gave to an inner divine
instinct which corresponds to one's destiny, and guides him in the way he
should go to fulfil it, and is more or less potent in a man according to
his purity of soul.
DE MORGAN, AUGUSTUS, an eminent mathematician, born in Madura, S.
India; was professor of Mathematics in London University from 1828 till
his death, though he resigned the appointment for a time in consequence
of the rejection of a candidate, James Martineau, for the chair of logic,
on account of his religious opinions; wrote treatises on almost every
department of mathematics, on arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry,
differential and integral calculus, the last pronounced to be "the most
complete treatise on the subject ever produced in England"; wrote also
"Formal Logic" (1806-1871).
DEMOSTHENES, the great Athenian orator, born in Athens; had many
impediments to overcome to succeed in the profession, but by ingenious
methods and indomitable perseverance he subdued them all, and became the
first orator not of Greece only, but of all antiquity; a stammer in his
speech he overcame by practising with pebbles in his mouth, and a natural
diffidence by declaiming on the sea-beach amid the noise of the waves;
while he acquired a perfect mastery of the Greek language by binding
himself down to copy five times over in succession Thucydides' "History
of the Peloponnesian War"; he employed 15 years of his life in
denunciation of Philip of Macedon, who was bent on subjugating his
country; pronounced against him his immortal "Philippics" and
"Olynthiacs"; took part in the battle of Cheronea, and continued the
struggle even after Philip's death; on the death of Alexander he gave his
services as an orator to the confederated Greeks, and in the end made
away with himself by poison so as not to fall into the hands of Autipater
(385-322 B.C.). See CTESIPHON.
DEMPSTER, THOMAS, a learned Scotchman, born in Aberdeenshire; held
several professorships on the Continent; was the author of "Historia
Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," a work of great learning, but of
questionable veracity; has been reprinted by the Bannatyne Club; his last
days were embittered by the infidelity of his wife (1579-1625).
DENARIUS, a silver coin among the Romans, first coined in 269 B.C.,
and worth 8½ d.
DENBIGH (6), the county town of Denbighshire, in the Vale of the
Clwyd, 30 m. W. of Chester; manufactures shoes and leather.
DENBIGHSHIRE (117), a county in North Wales, of rugged hills and
fertile vales, 40 m. long and 17 m. on an average broad, with a
coal-field in the NE., and with mines of iron, lead, and slate.
DENDERA, a village in Upper Egypt, on the left bank of the Nile, 28
m. N. of Thebes, on the site of ancient Tentyra, with the ruins of a
temple in almost perfect preservation; on the ceiling of a portico of
which there was found a zodiac, now in the museum of the Louvre in Paris,
and dates from the period of Cleopatra and the early Roman emperors, and
has sculptured portraits of that queen and her son Cæsarion.
DENGUE, a disease peculiar to the tropics, occurs in hot weather,
and attacks one suddenly with high fever and violent pains, and after a
relapse returns in a milder form and leaves the patient very weak.
DENHAM, DIXON, an English traveller, companion of Clapperton;
visited Bornu and Lake Tchad (1785-1828).
DENHAM, SIR JOHN, an English poet, born at Dublin, the son of an
Irish judge; took to gambling and squandered his patrimony; was unhappy
in his marriage, and his mind gave way; is best known as the author of
"Cooper's Hill," a descriptive poem, interspersed with reflections, and
written in smooth flowing verse (1615-1669).
DENINA, CARLO, an Italian historian, born in Piedmont; banished from
Italy for a cynical remark injurious to the monks; paid court to
Frederick the Great in Berlin, where he lived a good while, and became
eventually imperial librarian in Paris under Napoleon (1731-1813).
DENIS, a king of Portugal from 1279 to 1325; the founder of the
University of Coimbra and the Order of Christ.
DENIS, ST., the apostle of the Gauls, the first bishop of Paris, and
the patron saint of France; suffered martyrdom in 270.
DENIS, ST., a town 6 m. N. of Paris, within the line of the
fortifications, with an abbey which contains the remains of St. Denis,
and became the mausoleum of the kings of France.
DENISON, EDWARD, philanthropist; distinguished by his self-denying
benevolent labours in the East End of London (1840-1870).
DENISON, GEORGE ANTHONY, archdeacon of Taunton, born in Notts; was
charged with holding views on the eucharist inconsistent with the
teaching of the Church of England, first condemned and then acquitted on
appeal; a stanch High Churchman, and equally opposed to Broad Church and
Low; _b_. 1805.
DENISON, JOHN EVELYN, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1858 to
1872, brother of the above (1800-1873).
DENMAN, LORD, Lord Chief-Justice of England from 1832 to 1850, born
in London; was along with Brougham counsel for Queen Caroline
(1779-1854).
DENMARK (2,182), the smallest of the three Scandinavian kingdoms,
consisting of Jutland and an archipelago of islands in the Baltic Sea,
divided into 18 counties, and is less than half the size of Scotland; is
a low-lying country, no place in it more above the sea-level than 500
ft., and as a consequence has no river to speak of, only meres or lakes;
the land is laid out in cornfields and grazing pastures; there are as
good as no minerals, but abundance of clay for porcelain; while the
exports consist chiefly of horses, cattle, swine, hams, and butter; it
has 1407 m. of railway, and 8686 of telegraph wires; the government is
constitutional, and the established religion Lutheran.
DENNEWITZ, a village in Brandenburg, 40 m. SW. of Berlin, where
Marshal Ney with 70,000 was defeated by Marshal Bülow with 50,000.
DENNIS, JOHN, a would-be dramatist and critic, born in London, in
constant broils with the wits of his time; his productions were worth
little, and he is chiefly remembered for his attacks on Addison and Pope,
and for the ridicule these attacks brought down at their hands on his own
head, from Pope in "Narrative of the Frenzy of John Dennis," and
"damnation to everlasting fame" in "Dunciad"; he became blind, and was
sunk in poverty, when Pope wrote a prologue to a play produced for his
benefit (1657-1734).
DENS, PETER, a Catholic theologian, born at Boom near Antwerp;
author of a work entitled "Theologia Moralis et Dogmatica," a minute and
casuistic vindication in catechetical form of the tenets of the Catholic
Church, and in use as a text-book in Catholic colleges (1690-1775).
DENTATUS, M. CURIUS, a Roman of the old stamp; as consul gained two
victories over rival States and two triumphs in one year; drove Pyrrhus
out of Italy (275 B.C.), and brought to Rome immense booty, of which he
would take nothing to himself; in his retirement took to tilling a small
farm with his own hand.
DENVER (134), the capital of Colorado, U.S., on a plain 5196 ft.
above the sea-level; originally founded as a mining station in 1858, now
a large and flourishing and well-appointed town; is the centre of a great
trade, and a great mining district.
DEODAR (25), a small protected independent State in the NW. of
Gujarat, India.
DEODORAKI, a glacier in the Caucasus Mountains.
DEPARCIEUX, French mathematician, born at Cessoux, dep. of Gard;
known for the "Tables" which bear his name, containing a reckoning of the
chances of longevity for different ages (1703-1768).
DEPARTMENT, a territorial division in France instituted in 1790,
under which the old division into provinces was broken up; each
department, of which there are now 87, is broken up into arrondissements.
DEPPING, a learned French historian, born at Münster; wrote a
"History of Normandy," and on "Trade of Europe with the Levant"
(1784-1853).
DEPTFORD (101), a town on the S. bank of the Thames, partly in Kent
and partly in Surrey, now forming part of London; once with an extensive
Government dockyard and arsenal, the site of it purchased by the
Corporation of London as a market for foreign cattle; is now the central
station for the Electric Light Company.
DE QUINCEY, THOMAS, a great English prose writer, born in
Manchester; son of a merchant called Quincey; his father dying, he was
under a guardian, who put him to school, from which in the end he ran
away, wandered about in Wales for a time, and by-and-by found his way to
London; in 1803 was sent to Oxford, which in 1807 he left in disgust; it
was here as an anodyne he took to opium, and acquired that habit which
was the bane of his life; on leaving Oxford he went to Bath beside his
mother, where he formed a connection by which he was introduced to
Wordsworth and Southey, and led to settle to literary work at Grasmere,
in the Lake District; here he wrote for the reviews and magazines,
particularly _Blackwood's_, till in 1821 he went up to London and
published his "Confessions" under the _nom de plume_ of "The English
Opium-Eater"; leaving Grasmere in 1828 he settled in Edinburgh, and at
Polton, near Lasswade, where he died; is characterised by Stopford Brooke
as "owing to the overlapping and involved melody of his style one of our
best, as he is one of our most various miscellaneous writers"; he was a
writer of very miscellaneous ability and acquirement (1785-1859).
DERBEND (14), capital of Russian Daghestan, on the W. of the Caspian
Sea, 140 m. NW. of Baku.
DERBY (94), county town of Derbyshire, on the Derwent, with
manufactures of silk, cotton hosiery, lace, porcelain, &c.; it is the
centre of a great railway system.
DERBY, CHARLOTTE COUNTESS OF, wife of the 7th Earl who was taken
prisoner at Worcester in 1651, and was beheaded at Bolton; famous for her
gallant defence of Lathom House against the Parliamentary forces, which
she was obliged to surrender; lived to see the Restoration; _d_. 1663.
DERBY, 14TH EARL OF, British statesman, born at Knowsley Hall,
Lancashire; entered Parliament in 1820 in the Whig interest, and was
hailed as an accession to their ranks by the Whigs; supported the cause
of reform; in 1830 became Chief Secretary for Ireland under Earl Grey's
administration; introduced a coercive measure against the Repeal
agitation of O'Connell; contributed to the passing of the Reform Bill in
1832; seceded from the Whigs in 1834, and became Colonial Secretary in
1845 under a Conservative administration, but when Sir Robert Peel
brought in a bill to repeal the Corn Laws, he retired from the Cabinet,
and in 1848 became the head of the Protectionist party as Earl of Derby,
to which title he succeeded in 1851; was after that Prime Minister three
times over, and it was with his sanction Disraeli carried his Reform Act
of 1867, though he spoke of it as "a leap in the dark"; he resigned his
Premiership in 1868, and the last speech he made was against the Irish
Disestablishment Bill; was distinguished for his scholarship as well as
his oratory, and gave proof of this by his scholarly translation of the
"Iliad" of Homer (1797-1869).
DERBY, 15TH EARL OF, eldest son of the preceding; entered Parliament
as Lord Stanley in 1848; was a member of the three Derby administrations,
in the first and third in connection with foreign affairs, and in the
second as Secretary for India, at the time when the government of India
passed from the Company to the Crown; became Earl in 1869; was Foreign
Secretary under Mr. Disraeli in 1874, but retired in 1878; in 1885 joined
the Liberal party, and held office under Mr. Gladstone, but declined to
follow him in the matter of Home Rule, and joined the Unionist ranks; was
a man of sound and cool judgment, and took a deep interest in economical
questions (1826-1893).
DERBY DAY, the last Wednesday in May, or, as may happen, the 1st of
June, being the second day of the Summer Meeting at Epsom, on which the
Derby Stakes for colts and fillies three years old are run for, so called
as having been started by the 12th Earl of Derby in 1780; the day is held
as a great London holiday, and the scene is one to which all London turns
out. The stakes run for are £6000, of which the winner gets £5000.
DERBYSHIRE (520), a northern midland county of England, hilly in the
N., undulating and pastoral in the S., and with coal-fields in the E.;
abounds in minerals, and is more a manufacturing and mining county than
an agricultural.
DERG, LOUGH, an expansion of the waters of the Shannon, Ireland, 24
m. long, from 2 to 6 broad; also a small lake in the S. of Donegal, with
small islands, one of which, Station Island, was, as the reputed entrance
to St. Patrick's Purgatory, a place of pilgrimage to thousands at one
time.
DERVISHES, a name given to members of certain mendicant orders
connected with the Mohammedan faith in the East. Of these there are
various classes, under different regulations, and wearing distinctive
costumes, with their special observances of devotion, and all presumed to
lead an austere life, some of whom live in monasteries, and others go
wandering about, some of them showing their religious fervour in excited
whirling dances, and others in howlings; all are religious fanatics in
their way, and held sacred by the Moslems.
DERWENTWATER, one of the most beautiful of the Cumberland lakes, in
the S. of the county; extends S. from Keswick; is over 3 m. long, and
over 1 m. broad; is dotted with wooded islands, and is overlooked by
Skiddaw; it abounds with perch.
DERWENTWATER, EARL OF, a Jacobite leader; was 3rd Earl and the last;
several warrants were issued for his apprehension in 1714; he joined the
Jacobite rising in 1715; was taken prisoner at Preston, and beheaded on
Tower Hill, London, next year, after trial in Westminster Hall,
confession of guilt, and pleadings on his behalf with the king.
DERZHAVEN, GABRIEL, a Russian lyric poet, born at Kasan; rose from
the ranks as a common soldier to the highest offices in the State under
the Empress Catharine II. and her successors; retired into private life,
and gave himself up to poetry; the ode by which he is best known is his
"Address to the Deity" (1743-1816).
DESAIX, LOUIS CHARLES ANTOINE, a distinguished French general, born
at the Château d'Ayat, Auvergne, of a noble family; entered the army at
15; commanded a division of the Army of the Rhine in 1796, and after the
retreat of Moreau defended Kehl against the Austrians for two months;
accompanied Bonaparte to the East, and in 1799 conquered Upper Egypt;
contributed effectively to the success at Marengo, and fell dead at the
moment of victory, shot by a musket-ball; he was an upright and a
chivalrous man, known in Egypt as "the just Sultan," and in Germany as
"the good general" (1768-1800).
DESAUGIERS, MARC, a celebrated French composer of songs and
vaudevilles; "stands second to Béranger as a light song-writer," and is
by some preferred to him (1772-1827).
DESAULT, a French surgeon, born in dep. of Haute-Saône; his works
contributed largely to the progress of surgery (1714-1795).
DESBARRES, JOSEPH FREDERICK, military engineer and hydrographer,
aide-de-camp of General Wolfe at Quebec; fortified Quebec; surveyed the
St. Lawrence; revised the maps of the American coast at the outbreak of
the American war; died at Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 102 (1722-1824).
DESCAMPS, a French painter, born at Dunkirk; painted village scenes
(1714-1791).
DESCARTES, RENÉ, the father of modern philosophy, born at La Haye,
in Touraine; was educated at the Jesuit College of La Flèche, where he
made rapid progress in all that his masters could teach him, but soon
grew sceptical as to their methods of inquiry; "resolved, on the
completion of his studies, to bid adieu to all school and book learning,
and henceforth to gain knowledge only from himself, and from the great
book of the world, from nature and the observation of man"; in 1616 he
entered the army of the Prince of Orange, and after a service of five
years quitted it to visit various centres of interest on the Continent;
made a considerable stay in Paris; finally abandoned his native land in
1629, and betook himself to seclusion in Holland in order to live there,
unknown and undisturbed, wholly for philosophy and the prosecution of his
scientific projects; here, though not without vexatious opposition from
the theologians, he lived twenty years, till in 1649, at the invitation
of Christina of Sweden, he left for Stockholm, where, the severe climate
proving too much for him, he was carried off by pneumonia next year;
Descartes' philosophy starts with Doubt, and by one single step it
arrives at Certainty; "if I doubt, it is plain I exist," and from this
certainty, that is, the existence of the thinking subject, he deduces his
whole system; it all comes from the formula _Cogito, ergo sum_, "I think,
therefore I exist," that is, the thinking _ego_ exists; in which thinking
philosophy ere long sums the universe up, regarding it as a void, without
thought; Descartes' philosophy is all comprehended in two works, his
"Discourse on Method," and his "Meditations" (1596-1650).
DESCHAMPS, ÉMILE, a French poet, born at Bourges, one of the chiefs
of the Romantic school (1795-1871).
DESCHAMPS, EUSTACHE, a French poet, born at Vertus, in Champagne;
studied in Orleans University; travelled over Europe; had his estate
pillaged by the English, whom, in consequence, he is never weary of
abusing; his poems are numerous, and, except one, all short, consisting
of ballads, as many as 1175 of them, a form of composition which he is
said to have invented; he deals extensively in satire, and if he wields
the shafts of it against the plunderers of his country, he does no less
against the oppressors of the poor (1328-1415).
DESDEMONA, the wife of Othello the Moor, who, in Shakespeare's play
of that name, kills her on a groundless insinuation of infidelity, to his
bitter remorse.
DESÈZE, a French advocate, had the courage, along with advocate
Tronchet, to defend Louis XVI. when dragged to judgment by the
Convention, and who, honourably fulfilling his perilous office, pled for
the space of three hours, an honourable pleading "composed almost
overnight; courageous, yet discreet; not without ingenuity, and soft
pathetic eloquence"; he was imprisoned for a time, but escaped the
scaffold; on the return of the Bourbons he was made a peer (1750-1828).
DESMOND, EARLDOM OF, an Irish title long extinct by the death of the
last earl in 1583; he had rebelled against Elizabeth's government, been
proclaimed, and had taken refuge in a peasant's cabin, and been betrayed.
DES MOINES (62), the largest city in Iowa, U.S., and the capital,
founded in 1846.
DESMOULINS, CAMILLE, one of the most striking figures in the French
Revolution, born at Guise, in Picardy; studied for the bar in the same
college with Robespierre, but never practised, owing to a stutter in his
speech; was early seized with the revolutionary fever, and was the first
to excite the same fever in the Parisian mob, by his famous call "To
arms, and, for some rallying sign, cockades--green ones--the colour of
Hope, when," as we read in Carlyle, "as with the flight of locusts, the
green tree-leaves, green ribbons from the neighbouring shops, all green
things, were snatched to make cockades of"; was one of the ablest
advocates of the levelling principles of the Revolution; associated
himself first with Mirabeau and then with Danton in carrying them out,
and even supported Robespierre in the extreme course he took; but his
heart was moved to relent when he thought of the misery the guillotine
was working among the innocent families, the wives and the children, of
its victims, would, along with Danton, fain have brought the Reign of
Terror to a close; for this he was treated as a renegade, put under
arrest at the instance of Robespierre, subjected to trial, sentenced to
death, and led off to the place of execution; while his young wife, for
interfering in his behalf, was arraigned and condemned, and sent to the
guillotine a fortnight after him (1762-1794).
DE SOTO, a Spanish voyager, was sent to conquer Florida, penetrated
as far as the Mississippi; worn out with fatigue in quest of gold, died
of fever, and was buried in the river (1496-1542).
DES PERIERS, BONAVENTURE, a French humanist and story-teller, born
at Autun, in Burgundy; valet-de-chamber of Margaret of Valois; wrote
"Cymbalum Mundi," a satirical production, in which, as a disciple of
Lucian, he holds up to ridicule the religious beliefs of his day; also
"Novelles Recréations et Joyeux Devis," a collection of some 129 short
stories admirably told; was one of the first prose-writers of the
century, and is presumed to be the author of the "Heptameron," ascribed
to Margaret of Valois; _d_. 1544.
DESPRE`AUX. See BOILEAU.
DESSALINES, JEAN JACQUES, emperor of Hayti, born in Guinea, W.
Africa, a negro imported into Hayti as a slave; on the emancipation of
the slaves there he acquired great influence among the insurgents, and by
his cruelties compelled the French to quit the island, upon which he was
raised to the governorship, and by-and-by was able to declare himself
emperor, but his tyranny provoked a revolt, in which he perished
(1760-1806).
DESSAU (34), a North German town, the capital of the Duchy of
Anhalt, on the Mulde, affluent of the Elbe, some 70 m. SW. of Berlin; it
is at once manufacturing and trading.
DESSAUER, THE OLD. See LEOPOLD OF DESSAU.
DESTOUCHES, a French dramatist, born at Tours; his plays were
comedies, and he wrote 17, all excellent (1680-1754); also a French
painter (1790-1884).
DETMOLD (9), capital of Lippe, 47 m. SW. of Hanover, with a bronze
colossal statue of ARMINIUS (q. v.) near by.
DETROIT (285), the largest city in Michigan, U.S., a great
manufacturing and commercial centre, situated on a river of the same
name, which connects Lake St. Clair with Lake Erie; is one of the oldest
places in the States, and dates from 1670, at which time it came into the
possession of the French; is a well-built city, with varied manufactures
and a large trade, particularly in grain and other natural products.
DETTINGEN, a village in Bavaria, where an army of English,
Hanoverians, and Austrians under George II., in 1743 defeated the French
under Duc de Noailles.
DEUCALION, son of Prometheus, who, with his wife Pyrrha, by means of
an ark which he built, was saved from a flood which for nine days
overwhelmed the land of Hellas. On the subsidence of the flood they
consulted the oracle at Delphi as to re-peopling the land with
inhabitants, when they were told by Themis, the Pythia at the time, to
throw the bones of their mother over their heads behind them. For a time
the meaning of the oracle was a puzzle, but the readier wit of the wife
found it out; upon which they took stones and threw them over their
heads, when the stones he threw were changed into men and those she threw
were changed into women.
DEUS EX MACHINA, the introduction in high matters of a merely
external, material, or mechanical explanation instead of an internal,
rational, or spiritual one, which is all a theologian does when he simply
names God, and all a scientist does when he simply says EVOLUTION
(q. v.).
DEUTERONOMY (i. e. the Second Law), the fifth book of the
Pentateuch, and so called as the re-statement and re-enforcement, as it
were, by Moses of the Divine law proclaimed in the wilderness. The Mosaic
authorship of this book is now called in question, though it is allowed
to be instinct with the spirit of the religion instituted by Moses, and
it is considered to have been conceived at a time when that religion with
its ritual was established in Jerusalem, in order to confirm faith in the
Divine origin and sanction of observances there.
DEUTSCH, EMANUEL, a distinguished Hebrew scholar, born at Neisse, in
Silesia, of Jewish descent; was trained from his boyhood to familiarity
with the Hebrew and Chaldea languages; studied under Boeckh at the
university of Berlin; came to England, and in 1855 obtained a post in the
library of the British Museum; had made a special study of the "Talmud,"
on which he wrote a brilliant article for the _Quarterly Review_, to the
great interest of many; his ambition was to write an exhaustive treatise
on the subject, but he did not live to accomplish it; died at Alexandria,
whither he had gone in the hope of prolonging his days (1829-1873).
DEUTZ (17), a Prussian town on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite
Cologne.
DEUX PONTS, French name for ZWEIBRÜCKEN (q. v.).
DEVA, the original Hindu name for the deity, meaning the shining
one, whence _deus_, god, in Latin.
DEVANAG`ARI, the character in which Sanskrit works are printed.
DEVELOPMENT, the biological doctrine which ascribes an innate
expansive power to the organised universe, and affirms the deviation of
the most complex forms through intermediate links from the simplest,
without the intervention of special acts of creation. See
EVOLUTION.
DEV`ENTER (25), a town in Holland, in the province of Overyssel, 55
m. SE. of Amsterdam; has carpet manufactures; is celebrated for its
gingerbread; was the locality of the Brotherhood of Common Life, with
which the life and work of Thomas à Kempis are associated.
DE VERE, THOMAS AUBREY, poet and prose writer, born in co. Limerick,
Ireland; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; wrote poetical dramas of
"Alexander the Great" and "St. Thomas of Canterbury"; his first poem "The
Waldenses"; also critical essays; _b_. 1814.
DEVIL, THE, a being regarded in Scripture as having a personal
existence, and, so far as this world is concerned, a universal spiritual
presence, as everywhere thwarting the purposes of God and marring the
destiny of man; only since the introduction of Christianity, which
derives all evil as well as good from within, he has come to be regarded
less as an external than an internal reality, and is identified with the
ascendency in the human heart of passions native to it, which when
subject ennoble it, but when supreme debase it. He is properly the spirit
that deceives man, and decoys him to his eternal ruin from truth and
righteousness.
DEVIL, THE, IS AN ASS, a farce by Ben Jonson, full of vigour, but
very coarse.
DEVIL-WORSHIP, a homage paid by primitive tribes to the devil or
spirit of evil in the simple-hearted belief that he could be bribed from
doing them evil.
DEVONPORT (70), a town in Devonshire, adjoining Plymouth to the W.,
and the seat of the military and naval government of the three towns,
originally called Plymouth Dock, and established as a naval arsenal by
William III.
DEVONSHIRE, a county in the S. of England, with Exmoor in the N. and
Dartmoor in the S.; is fertile in the low country, and enjoys a climate
favourable to vegetation; it has rich pasture-grounds, and abounds in
orchards.
DEVONSHIRE, DUKE OF. See CAVENDISH.
DEVRIENT, LUDWIG, a popular German actor, born in Berlin, of
exceptional dramatic ability, the ablest of a family with similar gifts
(1784-1832).
D'EWES, SIR SIMONDS, antiquary, born in Dorsetshire; bred for the
bar; was a member of the Long Parliament; left notes on its transactions;
took the Puritan side in the Civil War; his "Journal of all the
Parliaments of Elizabeth" is of value; left an "Autobiography and
Correspondence" (1602-1656).
DE WETTE, WILHELM MARTIN LEBERECHT, a German theologian, born near
Weimar; studied at Jena, professor of Theology ultimately at Basel; was
held in high repute as a biblical critic and exegete; contributed largely
to theological literature; counted a rationalist by the orthodox, and a
mystic by the rationalists; his chief works "A Critical Introduction to
the Bible" and a "Manual to the New Testament" (1780-1849).
DE WITT, JAN, a Dutch statesman, born at Dort; elected grand
pensionary in 1652; like his father, Jacob de Witt, before him, was a
declared enemy of the House of Orange, and opposed the Stadtholdership,
and for a time he carried the country along with him, but during a war
with England his influence declined, the Orange party prevailed, and
elected the young Prince of Orange, our William III., Stadtholder. He and
his brother Cornelius were murdered at last by the populace (1625-1672).
DEWSBURY (73), a town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 8 m. SW. of
Leeds; engaged in the manufacture of woollens, blankets, carpets, and
yarns.
DEXTRINE, a soluble matter into which the interior substance of
starch globules is converted by acids or diastase, so called because when
viewed by polarised light it has the property of turning the plane of
polarisation to the right.
DEYSTER, LOUIS DE, a Flemish painter, born at Bruges; was of a
deeply religious temper, and his character was reflected in his choice of
subjects, such as the "Death of the Virgin," "The Resurrection of
Christ," &c.; he was a recluse (1656-1711).
DEZOBRY, CHARLES, a French writer, born at St. Denis; author of
"Rome in the Time of Augustus" (1798-1871).
DHAGOBA, a mound with a dome-shaped top, found to contain Buddhist
relics.
DHARMA, the name given to the law of Buddha, as distinct from the
Sangha, which is the Church.
DHARWAR (32), a town in the S. of the Bombay Presidency, a place of
considerable trade in a district noted for its cotton growing.
DHWALAGIRI, one of the peaks of the Himalayas, the third highest,
26,826 ft. high.
DIABETES, a disease characterised by an excessive discharge of
urine, and accompanied with great thirst; there are two forms of this
disease.
DIAB`LERETS, a mountain of the Bernese Alps, between the Cantons de
Vaud and de Valois.
DIAFOIRUS, THOMAS, the name of two pedantic doctors, father and son,
who figure in Molière's "Malade Imaginaire."
DIAGORAS, a Greek philosopher, born in Melos, one of the Cyclades,
5th century B.C., surnamed the Atheist, on account of the scorn with
which he treated the gods of the popular faith, from the rage of whose
devotees he was obliged to seek safety by flight; died in Corinth.
DIALECTIC, in the Hegelian philosophy the logic of thought, and, if
of thought, the logic of being, of essential being.
DIALOGUES OF PLATO, philosophical dialogues, in which Socrates
figures as the principal interlocutor, although the doctrine expounded is
rather Plato's than his master's; they discuss theology, psychology,
ethics, æsthetics, politics, physics, and related subjects.
DIALYSIS, the process of separating the crystalloid or poisonous
ingredients in a substance from the colloid or harmless ingredients.
DIAMANTE, a Spanish dramatic poet, who plagiarised Corneille's "Cid"
and passed it off as original; _b_. 1826.
DIAMANTINA (13), a district in Brazil, in the province of Minas
Geraes, rich in diamonds.
DIAMOND, the name of Newton's favourite dog that, by upsetting a
lamp, set fire to MSS. containing notes of experiments made over a course
of years, an irreparable loss.
DIAMOND NECKLACE, a necklace consisting of 500 diamonds, and worth
£80,000, which one Madame de la Motte induced the jeweller who "made" it
to part with for Marie Antoinette, on security of Cardinal de Rohan, and
which madame made away with, taking it to pieces and disposing of the
jewels in London; the swindle was first discovered when the jeweller
presented his bill to the queen, who denied all knowledge of the matter;
this led to a trial which extended over nine months, gave rise to great
scandal, and ended in the punishment of the swindler and her husband, and
the disgrace of the unhappy, and it is believed innocent, queen. See
CARLYLE'S "MISCELLANIES."
DIAMOND NET, a name given in the Hegelian philosophy to "the
_connective tissue_, so to speak, that not only supports, but even in a
measure constitutes, the various organs" of the universe. See
HEGELIANISM.
DIAMOND STATE, Delaware, U.S., from its small size and great
wealth.
DIANA, originally an Italian deity, dispenser of light, identified
at length with the Greek goddess Artemis, and from the first with the
moon; she was a virgin goddess, and spent her time in the chase, attended
by her maidens; her temple at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the
world. See ARTEMIS.
DIANA DE POITIERS, the mistress of Henry II. of France, for whom he
built the magnificent Château d'Anet, in Eure-et-Loir; she had a great
influence over him, and the cruel persecutions of the Huguenots in his
reign were due to her instigation (1490-1566).
DIANA OF FRANCE, the Duchess of Angoulême, the natural daughter of
Henry II. and the Duchess de Castro (1538-1619).
DIARBEKIR (42), the largest town in the Kurdistan Highlands, on the
Tigris, 194 m. NE. of Aleppo, and on the highway between Bagdad and
Constantinople, with a large and busy bazaar.
DIASTASE, a nitrogenous substance developed during the germination
of grain, and having the property of converting starch first into
dextrine and then into sugar.
DIAVOLO, FRA (lit. Brother Devil), Michele Porsa, a Calabrian,
originally a monk, who left his monastery and joined a set of bandits,
who lent themselves to and conducted insurrectionary movements in Italy;
taken prisoner, was hanged at Naples; Auber's opera, "Fra Diavolo," has
no connection with him except the name (1760-1806).
DIAZ, BARTHÉLEMY, a Portuguese navigator, sent on a voyage of
discovery by John II., in the command of two ships; sailed down the W.
coast of Africa and doubled the Cape of Good Hope, which, from the storm
that drove him past it, he called the Cape of Storms; returning to Lisbon
he was superseded by Vasco da Gama, or rather subordinated to him;
subsequently accompanied Cabral on his voyage to Brazil, and was lost in
a storm in 1500.
DIAZ MIGUEL, governor of Porto Rico, born in Aragon; friend and
companion of Columbus; suffered from the usual Jealousies in enterprises
of the kind, but prevailed in the end; _d_. 1514.
DIAZ DE LA PEÑA, a French painter, born at Bordeaux, of Spanish
descent; a landscapist of the Romantic school, eminent as a colourist
(1809-1876).
DIAZ DEL CASTELLO, historian; accompanied Cortes to Mexico; took
part in the conquest, and left a graphic, trustworthy account of it; died
in Mexico, 1560.
DIBDIN, CHARLES, musician, dramatist, and song-writer, born in
Southampton; began life as an actor; invented a dramatic entertainment
consisting of music, songs, and recitations, in which he was the sole
performer, and of which he was for the most part the author; wrote some
30 dramatic pieces, and it is said 1400 songs; his celebrity is wholly
due to his sea songs, which proved of the most inspiring quality, and did
much to man the navy during the war with France; was the author of "Tom
Bowling"; left an account of his "Professional Life" (1745-1814).
DIBDIN, THOMAS, dramatic author and song-writer, son of the
preceding; was an actor as well as an author, and a most versatile one;
performed in all kinds of characters, and wrote all kinds of plays, as
well as numerous songs (1771-1841).
DIBDIN, THOMAS FROGNALL, bibliographer, nephew of Charles Dibdin,
born in Calcutta; took orders in the Church of England; held several
preferments; wrote several works all more or less of a bibliographical
character, which give proof of extensive research, but are lacking often
in accuracy and critical judgment; was one of the founders of the
Roxburghe Club (1775-1847).
DICÆARCHUS, an ancient geographer, born at Messina, 4th century
B.C.; a disciple of Aristotle.
DICK, JAMES, a West Indian and London merchant, born in Forres;
bequeathed £113,787 to encourage learning and efficient teaching among
the parish schoolmasters of Elgin, Banff, and Aberdeen shires; it is
known as the Dick Bequest, and the property is vested in a governing body
of thirteen duly elected (1743-1828).
DICKENS, CHARLES, celebrated English novelist, born at Landport,
Portsmouth; son of a navy clerk, latterly in great straits; was brought
up amid hardships; was sent to a solicitor's office as a clerk, learned
shorthand, and became a reporter, a post in which he learned much of what
afterwards served him as an author; wrote sketches for the _Monthly
Magazine_ under the name of "Boz" in 1834, and the "Pickwick Papers" in
1836-37, which established his popularity; these were succeeded by
"Oliver Twist" in 1838, "Nicholas Nickleby" in 1839, and others which it
is needless to enumerate, as they are all known wherever the English
language is spoken; they were all written with an aim, and as Ruskin
witnesses, "he was entirely right in his main drift and purpose in every
book he has written," though he thinks we are apt "to lose sight of his
wit and insight, because he chooses to speak in a circle of stage
fire.... Allowing for his manner of telling them, the things he tells us
are always true"; being a born actor, and fain in his youth to become
one, he latterly gave public readings from his works, which were
immensely popular; "acted better," says Carlyle, who witnessed one of
these performances, "than any Macready in the world; a whole tragic,
comic, heroic _theatre_ visible, performing under one _hat_, and keeping
us laughing--in a sorry way some of us thought--the whole night"; the
strain proved too much for him; he was seized with a fit at his
residence, Gad's Hill, near Rochester, on June 8, 1870, and died the
following morning; he was a little man, with clear blue intelligent eyes,
a face of most extreme mobility, and a quiet shrewdness of expression
(1812-1870).
DICTATOR, a magistrate invested with absolute authority in ancient
republican Rome in times of exigence and danger; the constitution obliged
him to resign his authority at the end of six months, till which time he
was free without challenge afterwards to do whatever the interest of the
commonwealth seemed to him to require; the most famous dictators were
Cincinnatus, Camillus, Sulla, and Cæsar, who was the last to be invested
with this power; the office ceased with the fall of the republic, or
rather, was merged in the perpetual dictatorship of the emperor.
DICTATOR OF LETTERS, Voltaire.
DICTYS CRETENSIS (i. e. of Crete), the reputed author of a
narrative of the Trojan war from the birth of Paris to the death of
Ulysses, extant only in a Latin translation; the importance attached to
this narrative and others ascribed to the same author is, that they are
the source of many of the Greek legends we find inwoven from time to time
in the mediæval literature that has come down to us.
DIDDLER, JEREMY, a needy, artful swindler in Kenny's farce of
"Raising the Wind."
DIDEROT, DENIS, a French philosopher, born at Langres, the son of a
cutler there; a zealous propagator of the philosophic ideas of the 18th
century, and the projector of the famous "Encyclopédie," which he edited
along with D'Alembert, and which made a great noise in its day, but did
not enrich its founder, who was in the end driven to offer his library
for sale to get out of the pecuniary difficulties it involved him in, and
he would have been ruined had not Catharine of Russia bought it, which
she not only did, but left it with him, and paid him a salary as
librarian. Diderot fought hard to obtain a hearing for his philosophical
opinions; his first book was burnt by order of the parlement of Paris,
while for his second he was clapped in jail; and all along he had to
front the most formidable opposition, so formidable that all his
fellow-workers were ready to yield, and were only held to their task by
his indomitable resolution and unquenchable ardour. "A deist in his
earlier writings," says SCHWEGLER, "the drift of his subsequent
writings amounts to the belief that all is God. At first a believer in
the immateriality and immortality of the soul, he peremptorily declares
at last that only the race endures, that individuals pass, and that
immortality is nothing but life in the remembrance of posterity; he was
kept back, however, from the materialism his doctrines issued in by his
moral earnestness"; that Diderot was at heart no sceptic is evident, as
Dr. Stirling suggests, from his "indignation at the _darkness_, the
miserable _ignorance_ of those around him, and his resolution to dispel
it" (1713-1784).
DIDIUS, JULIANUS, a Roman emperor who in 193 purchased the imperial
purple from the prætorian guards, and was after two months murdered by
the soldiers when Severus was approaching the city.
DIDO, the daughter of Belus, king of Tyre, and the sister of
Pygmalion, who, having succeeded to the throne on the death of his
father, put Sichæus, her husband, to death for the sake of his wealth,
whereupon she secretly took ship, sailed away from the city with the
treasure, accompanied by a body of disaffected citizens, and founded
Carthage, having picked up by the way 80 virgins from Cyprus to make
wives for her male attendants; a neighbouring chief made suit for her
hand, encouraged by her subjects, upon which, being bound by an oath of
eternal fidelity to Sichæus, she erected a funeral pile and stabbed
herself in presence of her subjects; Virgil makes her ascend the funeral
pile out of grief for the departure of Æneas, of whom she was
passionately in love.
DIDOT, the name of a French family of paper-makers, printers, and
publishers, of which the most celebrated is Ambroise Firmin, born in
Paris, a learned Hellenist (1790-1876).
DIDYMUS (twin), a surname of St. Thomas; also the name of a
grammarian of Alexandria, a contemporary of Cicero, and who wrote
commentaries on Homer.
DIEBITSCH, COUNT, a Russian general, born in Silesia;
commander-in-chief in 1829 of the Russian army against Turkey, over the
forces of which he gained a victory in the Balkans; commissioned to
suppress a Polish insurrection, he was baffled in his efforts, and fell a
victim to cholera in 1831.
DIEFFENBACH, JOHANN FRIEDRICH, an eminent German surgeon, born at
Königsberg; studied for the Church; took part in the war of liberation,
and began the study of medicine after the fall of Napoleon; was appointed
to the chair of Surgery in Berlin; his fame rests on his skill as an
operator (1792-1847).
DIEFFENBACH, LORENZ, a distinguished philologist and ethnologist,
born at Ostheim, in the grand-duchy of Hesse; was for 11 years a pastor;
in the end, until his death, librarian at Frankfort-on-the-Main; his
literary works were numerous and varied; his chief were on philological
and ethnological subjects, and are monuments of learning (1806-1883).
DIEGO SUAREZ, BAY OF, is situated on the NE. of Madagascar, and has
been ceded to France.
DIEMEN, ANTONY VAN, governor of the Dutch possessions in India, born
in Holland; was a zealous coloniser; at his instance Abel Tasman was sent
to explore the South Seas, when he discovered the island which he named
after him Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania after the discoverer
(1593-1645).
DIEPENBECK, ABRAHAM VAN, a Flemish painter and engraver (1599-1675).
DIEPPE (22), a French seaport on the English Channel, at the mouth
of the river Arques, 93 m. NW. of Paris; a watering and bathing place,
with fisheries and a good foreign trade.
DIES IRAE (lit. the Day of Wrath), a Latin hymn on the Last
Judgment, so called from first words, and based on Zeph. i. 14-18; it is
ascribed to a monk of the name of Thomas de Celano, who died in 1255, and
there are several translations of it in English, besides a paraphrastic
rendering in the "Lay of the Last Minstrel" by Scott, and it is also the
subject of a number of musical compositions.
DIET, a convention of the princes, dignitaries, and delegates of the
German empire, for legislative or administrative purposes, of which the
most important in a historical point of view are diets held at Augsburg
in 1518, at Worms in 1521, at Nüremberg in 1523, 1524, at Spires in 1526,
1529, at Augsburg in 1530, at Cologne in 1530, at Worms in 1536, at
Frankfort in 1539, at Ratisbon in 1541, at Spires in 1544, at Augsburg in
1547, 1548, 1550, and at Ratisbon in 1622.
DIETRICH, mayor of Strasburg, at whose request Rouget de Lisle
composed the "Marseillaise"; was guillotined (1748-1793).
DIETRICH OF BERN, a favourite hero of German legend, who in the
"Nibelungen" avenges the death of Siegfried, and in the "Heldenbuch"
figures as a knight-errant of invulnerable prowess, from whose challenge
even Siegfried shrinks, hiding himself behind Chriemhilda's veil; has
been identified with Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths.
DIEZ, FRIEDRICH CHRISTIAN, a German philologist, born at Giessen;
after service as a volunteer against Napoleon, and a tutorship at
Utrecht, went to Bonn, where, advised by Goethe, he commenced the study
of the Romance languages, and in 1830 became professor of them, the
philology of which he is the founder; he left two great works bearing on
the grammar and etymology of these languages (1794-1876).
DIEZ, JUAN MARTIN, a Spanish brigadier-general of cavalry, born at
Valladolid, the son of a peasant; had, as head of guerilla bands, done
good service to his country during the Peninsular war and been promoted;
offending the ruling powers, was charged with conspiracy, tried, and
executed (1775-1825).
DIGBY, a seaport on the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia; noted for the
curing of pilchards, called from it digbies.
DIGBY, SIR EVERARD, member of a Roman Catholic family; concerned in
the Gunpowder Plot, and executed (1581-1606).
DIGBY, SIR KENELM, a son of the preceding; was knighted by James I.;
served under Charles I.; as a privateer defeated a squadron of Venetians,
and fought against the Algerines; was imprisoned for a time as a
Royalist; paid court afterwards to the Protector; was well received at
the Restoration; was one of the first members of the Royal Society, and a
man of some learning; wrote treatises on the Nature of Bodies and Man's
Soul, on the corpuscular theory (1603-1665).
DIHONG, the name given to the Brahmaputra as it traverses Assam; in
the rainy season it overflows its channel and floods the whole lowlands
of the country.
DIJON (61), the ancient capital of Burgundy, and the principal town
in the dep. of Côte d'Or, 195 m. SE. of Paris, on the canal of Bourgogne;
one of the finest towns in France, at once for its buildings,
particularly its churches, and its situation; is a centre of manufacture
and trade, and a seat of learning; the birthplace of many illustrious
men.
DIKË (i. e. Justice), a Greek goddess, the daughter of Zeus and
Themis; the guardian of justice and judgment, the foe of deceit and
violence, and the accuser before Zeus of the unjust judge.
DIKTYS, the fisherman of Seriphus; saved Perseus and his mother from
the perils of the deep.
DILETTANTE SOCIETY, THE, a society of noblemen and gentlemen founded
in England in 1734, and which contributed to correct and purify the
public taste of the country; their labours were devoted chiefly to the
study of the relics of ancient Greek art, and resulted in the production
of works in illustration.
DILETTANTISM, an idle, often affected, almost always barren
admiration and study of the fine arts, "in earnest about nothing."
DILKE, CHARLES WENTWORTH, English critic and journalist; served for
20 years in the Navy Pay-Office; contributed to the _Westminister_ and
other reviews; was proprietor and editor of the _Athenæum_; started the
_Daily News_; left literary Papers, edited by his grandson (1789-1864).
DILKE, SIR CHARLES WENTWORTH, English publicist and politician,
grandson of the preceding, born at Chelsea; called to the bar; travelled
in America and the English colonies, and wrote a record of his travels in
his "Greater Britain"; entered Parliament as an extreme Liberal; held
office under Mr. Gladstone; from exposures in a divorce case had to
retire from public life, but returned after a time; _b_. 1843.
DILLMANN, a great German Orientalist, born at Illingen, a village of
Würtemberg; studied under Ewald at Tübingen; became professor at Kiel, at
Giessen, and finally at Berlin; as professor of Old Testament exegesis
made a special study of the Ethiopic languages, and is the great
authority in their regard; wrote a grammar and a lexicon of these, as
well as works on theology; _b_. 1823.
DILLON, a general in the service of France, born in Dublin; was
butchered by his troops near Lille (1745-1792).
DILLON, JOHN, an Irish patriot, born in New York; entered Parliament
in 1880 as a Parnellite; was once suspended, and four times imprisoned,
for his over-zeal; sat at first for Tipperary, and since for East Mayo;
in 1891 threw in his lot with the M'Carthyites; _b_. 1851.
DIMANCHE, M. (Mr. Sunday), a character in Molière's "Don Juan," the
type of an honest merchant, whom, on presenting his bill, his creditor
appeases by his politeness.
DIME, a U.S. silver coin, worth the tenth part of a dollar, or
about fivepence.
DINAN (10), an old town in the dep. of Côtes du Nord, France, 14 m.
S. of St. Malo; most picturesquely situated on the top of a steep hill,
amid romantic scenery, of great archæological interest; the birthplace of
Duclos.
DINANT, an old town on the Meuse, 14 m. S. of Namur, Belgium; noted
for its gingerbread, and formerly for its copper wares, called
Dinanderie.
DINAPUR (44), a town and military station on the right bank of the
Ganges, 12 m. NW. of Patna.
DINARCHUS, an orator of the Phocion party in Athens, born at
Corinth.
DINARIC ALPS, a range of the Eastern Alps in Austria, runs SE. and
parallel with the Adriatic, connecting the Julian Alps with the Balkans.
DINDORF, WILHELM, a German philologist, born at Leipzig; devoted his
life to the study of the ancient Greek classics, particularly the
dramatists, and edited the chief of them, as well as the "Iliad" and
"Odyssey" of Homer, with notes; was joint-editor with his brothers Ludwig
and Hase of the "Thesaurus Græcæ Linguæ" of Stephanus (1802-1883).
DINGELSTEDT, a German poet, novelist, and essayist, born near
Marburg; was the Duke of Würtemberg's librarian at Stuttgart, and theatre
superintendent at Münich, Weimar, and Vienna successively; his poems show
delicacy of sentiment and graphic power (1814-1881).
DINGWALL, the county town of Ross-shire, at the head of the Cromarty
Firth.
DINKAS, an African pastoral people occupying a flat country
traversed by the White Nile; of good stature, clean habits; of
semi-civilised manners, and ferocious in war.
DINMONT, DANDIE, a jovial, honest-hearted store-farmer in Scott's
"Guy Mannering."
DINOCRATES, a Macedonian architect, who, in the time of Alexander
the Great, rebuilt the Temple of Ephesus destroyed by the torch of
Erostratus; was employed by Alexander in the building of Alexandria.
DIOCLETIAN, Roman emperor from 284 to 308, born at Salona, in
Dalmatia, of obscure parentage; having entered the Roman army, served
with distinction, rose rapidly to the highest rank, and was at Chalcedon,
after the death of Numerianus, invested by the troops with the imperial
purple; in 286 he associated Maximianus with himself as joint-emperor,
with the title of Augustus, and in 292 resigned the Empire of the West to
Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, so that the Roman world was divided
between two emperors in the E. and two in the W.; in 303, at the instance
of Galerius, he commenced and carried on a fierce persecution of the
Christians, the tenth and fiercest; but in 305, weary of ruling, he
abdicated and retired to Salona, where he spent his remaining eight years
in rustic simplicity of life, cultivating his garden; bating his
persecution of the Christians, he ruled the Roman world wisely and well
(245-313).
DIODATI, a Calvinistic theologian, born at Lucca; was taken while a
child with his family to Geneva; distinguished himself there in the
course of the Reformation as a pastor, a preacher, professor of Hebrew,
and a professor of Theology; translated the Bible into Italian and into
French; a nephew of his was a school-fellow and friend of Milton, who
wrote an elegy on his untimely death (1576-1614).
DIODORUS SICULUS, historian, born in Sicily, of the age of Augustus;
conceived the idea of writing a universal history; spent 30 years at the
work; produced what he called "The Historical Library," which embraced
the period from the earliest ages to the end of Cæsar's Gallic war, and
was divided into 40 books, of which only a few survive entire, and some
fragments of the rest.
DIOGENES LAËRTIUS, a Greek historian, born at Laerte, in Cilicia;
flourished in the 2nd century A.D.; author of "Lives of the
Philosophers," a work written in 10 books; is full of interesting
information regarding the men, but is destitute of critical insight into
their systems.
DIOGENES OF APOLLONIA, a Greek philosopher of the Ionic school, and
an adherent of ANAXIMENES (q. v.), if of any one, being more of
an eclectic than anything else; took more to physics than philosophy;
contributed nothing to the philosophic movement of the time.
DIOGENES THE CYNIC, born in Sinope, in Pontus, came to Athens, was
attracted to ANTISTHENES (q. v.) and became a disciple, and a
sansculotte of the first water; dressed himself in the coarsest, lived on
the plainest, slept in the porches of the temples, and finally took up
his dwelling in a tub; stood on his naked manhood; would not have
anything to do with what did not contribute to its enhancement; despised
every one who sought satisfaction in anything else; went through the
highways and byways of the city at noontide with a lit lantern in quest
of a man; a man himself not to be laughed at or despised; visiting
Corinth, he was accosted by Alexander the Great: "I am Alexander," said
the king, and "I am Diogenes" was the prompt reply; "Can I do anything to
serve you?" continued the king; "Yes, stand out of the sunlight,"
rejoined the cynic; upon which Alexander turned away saying, "If I were
not Alexander, I would be Diogenes." D'Alembert declared Diogenes the
greatest man of antiquity, only that he wanted decency. "Great truly,"
says Carlyle, but adds with a much more serious drawback than that
(412-323 B.C.). See "SARTOR RESARTUS," BK. III. CHAP. 1.
DIOGENES THE STOIC, born in Seleucia; a successor of Zeno, and head
of the school at Athens, 2nd century B.C.
DIOMEDES, king of Argos, called Tydides, from his father; was, next
to Achilles, the bravest of the Greeks at the Trojan war; fought under
the protection of Athene against both Hector and Æneas, and even wounded
both Aphrodité and Ares; dared along with Ulysses to carry off the
Palladium from Troy; was first in the chariot race in honour of
Patroclus, and overcame Ajax with the spear.
DIOMEDES, king of Thrace; fed his horses with human flesh, and was
killed by Hercules for his inhumanity.
DION CASSIUS, a Greek historian, born at Nicæa, in Bithynia, about
A.D. 155; went to Rome, and served under a succession of emperors; wrote
a "History of Rome" from Æneas to Alexander Severus in 80 books, of which
only 18 survive entire; took years to prepare for and compose it; it is
of great value, and often referred to.
DION CHRYSOSTOMUS (Dion with the golden, or eloquent, mouth), a
celebrated Greek rhetorician, born at Prusa, in Bithynia, about the
middle of the 1st century; inclined to the Platonic and Stoic
philosophies; came to Rome, and was received with honour by Nerva and
Trajan; is famous as an orator and as a writer of pure Attic Greek.
DION OF SYRACUSE, a pupil of Plato, and an austere man; was from his
austerity obnoxious to his pleasure-loving nephew, Dionysius the Younger;
subjected to banishment; went to Athens; learned his estates had been
confiscated, and his wife given to another; took up arms, drove his
nephew from the throne, usurped his place, and was assassinated in 353
B.C., the citizens finding that in getting rid of one tyrant they had but
saddled themselves with another, and greater.
DIONE, a Greek goddess of the earlier mythology; figures as the wife
of the Dodonian Zeus; drops into subordinate place after his nuptials
with Hera.
DIONYSIUS THE ELDER, tyrant of Syracuse from 406 to 367 B.C.; at
first a private citizen; early took interest in public affairs, and
played a part in them; entered the army, and rose to be head of the
State; subdued the other cities of Sicily, and declared war against
Carthage; was attacked by the Carthaginians, and defeated them three
times over; concluded a treaty of peace with them, and spent the rest of
his reign, some 20 years, in maintaining and extending his territory; was
distinguished, it is said, as he might well be, both as a poet and a
philosopher; tradition represents him as in perpetual terror of his life,
and taking every precaution to guard it from attack.
DIONYSIUS THE YOUNGER, tyrant of Syracuse, son of the preceding,
succeeded him in 367 B.C. at the age of thirty; had never taken part in
public affairs; was given over to vicious indulgences, and proved
incapable of amendment, though DION (q. v.) tried hard to reform
him; was unpopular with the citizens, who with the help of Dion, whom he
had banished, drove him from the throne; returning after 10 years, was
once more expelled by Timoleon; betook himself to Corinth, where he
associated himself with low people, and supported himself by keeping a
school.
DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, patriarch from 348, a disciple of Origen,
and his most illustrious pupil; a firm but judicious defender of the
faith against the heretics of the time, in particular the Sabellians and
the Chiliasts; _d_. 264.
DIONYSIUS, ST., THE AREOPAGITE (i. e. judge of the Areopagus),
according to Acts xvii. 34, a convert of St. Paul's; became bishop of
Athens, and died a martyr in 95; was long regarded as the father of
mysticism in the Christian Church, on the false assumption that he was
the author of writings of a much later date imbued with a pantheistic
idea of God and the universe.
DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS, a Greek historian and rhetorician of the
age of Augustus; came to Italy in 29 B.C., and spent 27 years in Rome,
where he died; devoted himself to the study of the Roman republic, its
history and its people, and recorded the result in his "Archæologia,"
written in Greek, which brings down the narrative to 264 B.C.; it
consisted of 20 books, of which only 9 have come down to us entire; he is
the author of works in criticism of the orators, poets, and historians of
Greece.
DIONYSIUS PERIEGETES, a Greek geographer who lived about the 4th
century, and wrote a description of the whole earth in hexameters and in
a terse and elegant style.
DIONYSUS, the god of the vine or wine; the son of ZEUS AND
SEMELE (q. v.), the "twice born," as plucked first from the womb of
his dead mother and afterwards brought forth from the thigh of Zeus,
which served to him as his "incubator." See BACCHUS.
DIOPHANTUS, a Greek mathematician, born in Alexandria; lived
presumably about the 4th century; left works in which algebraic methods
are employed, and is therefore credited with being the inventor of
algebra.
DIOSCOR`IDES, a Greek physician, born in Cilicia, lived in the 1st
century; left a treatise in 5 books on materia medica, a work of great
research, and long the standard authority on the subject.
DIOSCURI, twin sons of Zeus, Castor and Pollux, a stalwart pair of
youths, of the Doric stock, great the former as a horse-breaker and the
latter as a boxer; were worshipped at Sparta as guardians of the State,
and pre-eminently as patrons of gymnastics; protected the hearth, led the
army in war, and were the convoy of the traveller by land and the voyager
by sea, which as constellations they are still held to be.
DIPHILUS, a Greek comic poet, born at Sinope; contemporary of
Menander; was the forerunner of Terence and Plautus, the Roman poets.
DIPHTHERIA, a contagious disease characterised by the formation of a
false membrane on the back of the throat.
DIPPEL, JOHANN KONRAD, a celebrated German alchemist; professed to
have discovered the philosopher's stone; did discover Prussian blue, and
an animal oil that bears his name (1672-1734).
DIPPEL'S OIL, an oil obtained from the distinctive distillation of
horn bones.
DIRCÆAN SWAN, Pindar, so called from the fountain Dirce, near
Thebes, his birthplace.
DIRCE, the wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who for her cruelty to
Antiope, her divorced predecessor, was, by Antiope's two sons, Zethos and
Amphion, tied to a wild bull and dragged to death, after which her
carcass was flung by them into a well; the subject is represented in a
famous antique group by Apollonius and Tauriscus.
DIRECTORY, THE, the name given to the government of France,
consisting of a legislative body of two chambers, the Council of the
Ancients and the Council of Five Hundred, which succeeded the fall of the
Convention, and ruled France from October 27, 1795, till its overthrow by
Bonaparte on the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799). The Directors proper
were five in number, and were elected by the latter council from a list
presented by the former, and the chief members of it were Barras and
Carnot.
DIRSCHAU (11), a Prussian town on the Vistula, 21 m. SE. of Danzig,
with iron-works and a timber trade.
DIS, a name given to Pluto and the nether world over which he rules.
DISCIPLINE, THE TWO BOOKS OF, books of dates 1561 and 1581,
regulative of ecclesiastical order in the Presbyterian churches of
Scotland, of which the ground-plan was drawn up by Knox on the Geneva
model.
DISCOBOLUS, THE, an antique statue representing the thrower of the
discus, in the Louvre, and executed by the sculptor Myron.
DISCORD, APPLE OF. See _infra_.
DISCORD, THE GODDESS OF, a mischief-making divinity, daughter of
Night and sister of Mars, who on the occasion of the wedding of Thetis
with Peleus, threw into the hall where all the gods and goddesses were
assembled a golden apple inscribed "To the most Beautiful," and which
gave rise to dissensions that both disturbed the peace of Olympus and the
impartial administration of justice on earth. See PARIS.
DISMAL SCIENCE, Carlyle's name for the political economy that with
self-complacency leaves everything to settle itself by the law of supply
and demand, as if that were all the law and the prophets. The name is
applied to every science that affects to dispense with the spiritual as a
ruling factor in human affairs.
DISMAS, ST., the good thief to whom Christ promised Paradise as he
hung on the cross beside Him.
DISRAELI, BENJAMIN. See BEACONSFIELD.
D'ISRAELI, ISAAC, a man of letters, born at Enfield, Middlesex; only
son of a Spanish Jew settled in England, who left him a fortune, which
enabled him to cultivate his taste for literature; was the author of
several works, but is best known by his "Curiosities of Literature," a
work published in six vols., full of anecdotes on the quarrels and
calamities of authors; was never a strict Jew; finally cut the
connection, and had his children baptized as Christians (1766-1848).
DITHYRAMB, a hymn in a lofty and vehement style, originally in
honour of Bacchus, in celebration of his sorrows and joys, and
accompanied with flute music.
DITMARSH (77), a low-lying fertile district in West Holstein,
between the estuaries of the Elbe and the Eider; defended by dykes; it
had a legal code of its own known as the "Ditmarisches Landbuch."
DITTON, HUMPHRY, author of a book on fluxions (1675-1715).
DIU (12), a small Portuguese island, with a port of the same name,
in the Gulf of Cambay, S. of the peninsula of Gujarat, India; was a
flourishing place once, and contained a famous Hindu temple; inhabited
now chiefly by fishermen.
DIVAN, THE, a collection of poems by Häfiz, containing nearly 600
odes; also a collection of lyrics in imitation of Goethe, entitled
"Westöstlicher Divan."
DIVES, the name given, originally in the Vulgate, to the rich man in
the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
DIVIDING RANGE, a range of mountains running E. from Melbourne, and
then N., dividing the basin of the Murray from the plain extending to the
coast.
DIVINE COMEDY, THE, the great poem of Dante, consisting of three
compartments, "Inferno," "Purgatorio," and "Paradiso"; "three
kingdoms ... Dante's World of Souls...; all three making up the true
Unseen World, as it figured in the Christianity of the Middle Ages; a
thing for ever memorable, for ever true in the essence of it, to all
men ... but delineated in no human soul with such depth of veracity as
in this of Dante's ... to the earnest soul of Dante it is all one visible
fact--Hell, Purgatory, Paradise, with him not mere emblems, but
indubitable awful realities." See DANTE, and CARLYLE'S "HEROES
AND HERO-WORSHIP."
DIVINE DOCTOR, Jean de Ruysbroek, the mystic (1294-1381).
DIVINE PAGAN, HYPATIA (q. v.).
DIVINE RIGHT, a claim on the part of kings, now all but extinct,
though matter of keen debate at one time, that they derive their
authority to rule direct from the Almighty, and are responsible to no
inferior power, a right claimed especially on the part of and in behalf
of the Bourbons in France and the Stuart dynasty in England, and the
denial of which was regarded by them and their partisans as an outrage
against the ordinance of very Heaven.
DIXIE LAND, nigger land in U.S.
DIXON, W. HEPWORTH, an English writer and journalist, born in
Manchester; called to the bar, but devoted himself to literary work;
wrote Lives of Howard, Penn, Robert Blake, and Lord Bacon, "New America,"
"Spiritual Wives," &c.; was editor of the _Athenoeum_ from 1853 to 1869;
died suddenly (1821-1879).
DIZIER, ST. (13), a flourishing French town, 30 m. from
Châlons-sur-Marne.
DIZZY, a nickname given to Benjamin Disraeli.
DJEZZAR (i. e. Butcher), the surname of Achmed Pasha, pacha of
Acre; was born at Bosnia; sold as a slave, and raised himself by his
servility to his master to the length of executing his cruellest wishes;
in 1799 withstood a long siege of Acre by Bonaparte, and obliged him to
retire (1735-1804).
DJINNESTAN, the region of the Jinns.
DNIEPER, a river of Russia, anciently called the Borysthenes, the
third largest for volume of water in Europe, surpassed only by the Danube
and the Volga; rises in the province of Smolensk, and flowing in a
generally southerly direction, falls into the Black Sea below Kherson
after a course of 1330 m.; it traverses some of the finest provinces of
the empire, and is navigable nearly its entire length.
DNIESTER, a river which takes its rise in Austria, in the
Carpathians, enters Russia, flows generally in a SE. direction past
Bender, and after a rapid course of 650 m. falls into the Black Sea at
Akjerman.
DOAB, THE, a richly fertile, densely peopled territory in the
Punjab, between the Jumna and Ganges, and extending 500 m. N., that is,
as far as the Himalayas; it is the granary of Upper India.
DOBELL, SIDNEY, poet, born at Cranbrook, in Kent; wrote, under the
pseudonym of Sidney Yendys, the "Roman," a drama, "Balder," and, along
with Alexander Smith, sonnets on the war (the Crimean); suffered much
from weak health (1824-1874).
DÖBEREINER, a German chemist, professor at Jena; inventor of a lamp
called after him; Goethe was much interested in his discoveries
(1780-1849).
DÖBEREINER'S LAMP, a light caused by a jet of hydrogen passing over
spongy platinum.
DOBROVSKI, JOSEPH, a philologist, born in Gyarmet, in Hungary;
devoted his life to the study of the Bohemian language and literature;
wrote a history of them, the fruit of immense labour, under which his
brain gave way more than once; was trained among the Jesuits (1753-1829).
DOBRENTER, Hungarian archæologist; devoted 30 years of his life to
the study of the Magyar language; author of "Ancient Monuments of the
Magyar Language" (1786-1851).
DOBRUDJA (196), the part of Roumania between the Danube and the
Black Sea, a barren, unwholesome district; rears herds of cattle.
DOBSON, AUSTIN, poet and prose writer, born at Plymouth, is in a
department of the Civil Service; wrote "Vignettes in Rhyme," "Proverbs in
Porcelain," "Old World Idylls," in verse, and in prose Lives of Fielding,
Hogarth, Steele, and Goldsmith; contributed extensively to the magazines;
_b_. 1840.
DOBSON, WILLIAM, portrait-painter, born in London; succeeded Vandyck
as king's serjeant-painter to Charles I.; painted the king and members of
his family and court; supreme in his art prior to Sir Joshua Reynolds;
died in poverty (1610-1646).
DOCETÆ, a sect of heretics in the early Church who held that the
humanity of Christ was only seeming, not real, on the Gnostic or
Manichæan theory of the essential impurity and defiling nature of matter
or the flesh.
DOCTOR (lit. teacher), a title implying that the possessor of it
is such a master of his art that he can teach it as well as practise it.
DOCTOR MIRABILIS, Roger Bacon.
DOCTOR MY-BOOK, John Abernethy, from his saying to his patients,
"Read my book."
DOCTOR OF THE INCARNATION, Cyril of Alexandria, from his controversy
with the Nestorians.
DOCTOR SLOP, a doctor in "Tristram Shandy," fanatical about a
forceps he invented.
DOCTOR SQUINTUM, George Whitfield.
DOCTOR SYNTAX. See COMBE, WILLIAM.
DOCTORS' COMMONS, a college of doctors of the civil law in London,
where they used to eat in common, and where eventually a number of the
courts of law were held.
DOCTRINAIRES, mere theorisers, particularly on social and political
questions; applied originally to a political party that arose in France
in 1815, headed by Roger-Collard and represented by Guizot, which stood
up for a constitutional government that should steer clear of
acknowledging the divine right of kinghood on the one hand and the divine
right of democracy on the other.
DODABETTA, the highest peak, 8700 ft., in the Nilgherries.
DODD, DR. WILLIAM, an English divine, born at Bourne, Lincolnshire;
was one of the royal chaplains; attracted fashionable audiences as a
preacher in London, but lived extravagantly, and fell hopelessly into
debt, and into disgrace for the nefarious devices he adopted to get out
of it; forged a bond for £4500 on the Earl of Chesterfield, who had been
a pupil of his; was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, a
sentence which was carried out notwithstanding the great exertions made
to procure a pardon; wrote a "Commentary on the Bible," and compiled "The
Beauties of Shakespeare" (1729-1777).
DODDRIDGE, PHILIP, a Nonconformist divine, born in London; was
minister at Kebworth, Market Harborough, and Northampton successively,
and much esteemed both as a man and a teacher; suffered from pulmonary
complaint; went to Lisbon for a change, and died there; was the author of
"The Family Expositor," but is best known by his "Rise and Progress of
Religion in the Soul," and perhaps also by his "Life of Colonel Gardiner"
(1702-1751).
DÖDERLEIN, LUDWIG, a German philologist, born at Jena; became
professor of Philology at Erlangen; edited Tacitus, Horace, and other
classic authors, but his principal works were on the etymology of the
Latin language (1791-1863).
DODGER, THE ARTFUL, a young expert in theft and other villanies in
Dickens's "Oliver Twist."
DODGSON, CHARLES LUTWIDGE, English writer and man of genius, with
the _nom de plume_ of Lewis Carroll; distinguished himself at Oxford in
mathematics; author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," with its
sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass," besides other works, mathematical,
poetic, and humorous; mingled humour and science together (1833-1898).
DODINGTON, GEORGE BUBB, an English politician, notorious for his
fickleness, siding now with this party, now with that; worked for and won
a peerage before he died; with all his pretensions, and they were many, a
mere flunkey at bottom (1691-1762).
DODO, an ungainly bird larger than a turkey, with short scaly legs,
a big head and bill, short wings and tail, and a greyish down plumage,
now extinct, though it is known to have existed in the Mauritius some 200
years ago.
DODO`NA, an ancient oracle of Zeus, in Epirus, close by a grove of
oak trees, from the agitation of the branches of which the mind of the
god was construed, the interpreters being at length three old women; it
was more or less a local oracle, and was ere long superseded by the more
widely known oracle of DELPHI (q. v.).
DODS, MEG, an old landlady of consistently inconsistent qualities in
"St. Ronan's Well"; also the pseudonym of the authoress of a book on
cookery.
DODSLEY, ROBERT, an English poet, dramatist, and publisher; wrote a
drama called "The Toyshop," which, through Pope's influence, was acted in
Drury Lane with such success as to enable the author to commence business
as a bookseller in Pall Mall; projected and published the _Miscellany_,
and continued to write plays, the most popular "Cleone"; is best known in
connection with his "Collection of Old Plays"; he was a patron of
Johnson, and much esteemed by him (1703-1764).
DOEG, a herdsman of Saul (1 Sam. xxi. 7); a name applied by Dryden
to Elkanah Settle in "Absalom and Achitophel."
DOGBERRY, a self-satisfied night constable in "Much Ado about
Nothing."
DOG-DAYS, 20 days before and 20 after the rising of the dog-star
Sirius, at present from 3rd July to 11th August.
DOGE, the name of the chief magistrate of Venice and Genoa, elected
at first annually and then for life in Venice, with, in course of time,
powers more and more limited, and at length little more than a
figure-head; the office ceased with the fall of the republic in 1797, as
it did in Genoa in 1804.
DOGGER BANK, a sandbank in the North Sea; a great fishing-field,
extending between Jutland in Denmark and Yorkshire in England, though
distant from both shores, 170 m. long, over 60 m. broad, and from 8 to 10
fathoms deep.
DOGS, ISLE OF, a low-lying projection of a square mile in extent
from the left bank of the Thames, opposite Greenwich, and 3½ m. E. of St.
Paul's.
DOG-STAR, SIRIUS (q. v.).
DOLABELLA, son-in-law of Cicero, a profligate man, joined Cæsar, and
was raised by him to the consulship; joined Cæsar's murderers after his
death; was declared from his profligacy a public enemy; driven to bay by
a force sent against him, ordered one of his soldiers to kill him.
DOLCI, CARLO, a Florentine painter, came of a race of artists;
produced many fine works, the subjects of them chiefly madonnas, saints.
&c. (1616-1686).
DOLCINO, a heresiarch and martyr of the 14th century, of the
Apostolic Brethren, a sect which rose in Piedmont who made themselves
obnoxious to the Church; was driven to bay by his persecutors, and at
last caught and tortured and burnt to death; a similar fate overtook
others of the sect, to its extermination.
DOLDRUMS, a zone of the tropics where calms, squalls, and baffling
winds prevail.
DÔLE (12), a town in the dep. of Jura, on the Doubs, and the Rhône
and Rhine Canal, 28 m. SE. of Dijon, with iron-works, and a trade in
wine, grain, &c.
DOLET, ÉTIENNE, a learned French humanist, born at Orleans, became,
by the study of the classics, one of the lights of the Renaissance, and
one of its most zealous propagandists; suffered persecution after
persecution at the hands of the Church, and was burned in the Place
Maubert, Paris, a martyr to his philosophic zeal and opinions
(1509-1546).
DOLGELLY, capital of Merioneth, Wales, with manufactures of flannel.
DOLGOROUKI, the name of a noble and illustrious Russian family.
DOLLART ZEE, a gulf in Holland into which the Ems flows, 8 m. long
by 7 broad, and formed by inundation of the North Sea.
DÖLLINGER, a Catholic theologian, born in Bamberg, Bavaria,
professor of Church History in the University of Münich; head of the old
Catholic party in Germany; was at first a zealous Ultramontanist, but
changed his opinions and became quite as zealous in opposing, first, the
temporal sovereignty, and then the infallibility of the Pope, to his
excommunication from the Church; he was a polemic, and as such wrote
extensively on theological and ecclesiastical topics; lived to a great
age, and was much honoured to the last (1799-1890).
DOLLOND, JOHN, a mathematical instrument-maker, born in
Spitalfields, London, of Dutch descent; began life as a silk-weaver; made
good use of his leisure hours in studies bearing mainly on physics; went
into partnership with his son, who was an optician; made a study of the
telescope, suggested improvements which commended themselves to the Royal
Society, and in especial how, by means of a combination of lenses, to get
rid of the coloured fringe in the image (1706-1761).
DOLMEN, a rude structure of prehistoric date, consisting of upright
unhewn stones supporting one or more heavy slabs; long regarded as altars
of sacrifice, but now believed to be sepulchral monuments; found in great
numbers in Bretagne especially.
DOLOMITE ALPS, a limestone mountain range forming the S. of the
Eastern Alps, in the Tyrol and N. Italy, famous for the remarkable and
fantastic shapes they assume; named after Dolomieu, a French
mineralogist, who studied the geology of them.
DOMAT, JEAN, a learned French jurist and friend of Pascal, regarded
laws and customs as the reflex of political history (1625-1696).
DOMBASLE, an eminent French agriculturist, born at Nancy
(1771-1818).
DOM-BOKE (i. e. Doom-book), a code of laws compiled by King Alfred
from two prior Saxon codes, to which he prefixed the Ten Commandments of
Moses, and rules of life from the Christian code of ethics.
DOMBROWSKI, JOHN HENRY, a Polish general, served in the Polish
campaigns against Russia and Prussia in 1792-1794; organised a Polish
legion which did good service in the wars of Napoleon; covered the
retreat of the French at the Beresina in 1812 (1755-1818).
DOMDANIEL, a hall under the ocean where the evil spirits and
magicians hold council under their chief and pay him homage.
DOMENICHI`NO, a celebrated Italian painter, born at Bologna; studied
under Calvaert and Caracci; was of the Bolognese school, and reckoned one
of the first of them; his principal works are his "Communion of St.
Jerome," now in the Vatican, and the "Martyrdom of St. Agnes," at
Bologna, the former being regarded as his masterpiece; he was the victim
of persecution at the hands of rivals; died at Naples, not without
suspicion of having been poisoned (1581-1641).
DOMESDAY BOOK, the record, in 2 vols., of the survey of all the
lands of England made in 1081-1086 at the instance of William the
Conqueror for purposes of taxation; the survey included the whole of
England, except the four northern counties and part of Lancashire, and
was made by commissioners appointed by the king, and sent to the
different districts of the country, where they held courts, and
registered everything on evidence; it is a valuable document.
DOMINIC DE GUZMAN, ST., saint of the Catholic Church, born in Old
Castile; distinguished for his zeal in the conversion of the heretic;
essayed the task by simple preaching of the Word; sanctioned persecution
when persuasion was of no avail; countenanced the crusade of Simon de
Montfort against the Albigenses for their obstinate unbelief, and thus
established a precedent which was all too relentlessly followed by the
agents of the Spanish Inquisition, the chiefs of which were of the
Dominican order, so that he is ignominiously remembered as the "burner
and slayer of heretics" (1170-1221). Festival, Aug. 4.
DOMINICA, or DOMINIQUE (26), the largest and most southerly of
the Leeward Islands, and belongs to Britain; one-half of the island is
forest, and parts of it have never been explored; was discovered by
Columbus on Sunday, November 3, 1493, whence its name.
DOMINICAL LETTER, one of seven letters, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, used to
mark the Sundays throughout the year, so that if A denote the first
Sunday, it will denote all the rest, and so on with B, C, &c., till at
the end of seven years A becomes the dominical letter again.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, or ST. DOMINGO (610), a republic forming
the E. part of the island of Haiti, and consisting of two-thirds of it;
it belonged alternately to France and Spain till 1865, when, on revolt,
the Spaniards were expelled, and a republic established; the capital is
St. Domingo (15), and the chief port Puerto Plata.
DOMINICANS, a religious order of preaching friars, founded at
Toulouse in 1215 by St. Dominic, to aid in the conversion of the heretic
Albigenses to the faith, and finally established as the order whose
special charge it was to guard the orthodoxy of the Church. The order was
known by the name Black Friars in England, from their dress; and Jacobins
in France, from the street of Paris in which they had their
head-quarters.
DOMINIE, SAMPSON, a schoolmaster in "Guy Mannering," "a poor,
modest, humble scholar, who had won his way through the classics, but
fallen to the leeward in the voyage of life."
DOMINIS, MARCO ANTONIO DE, a vacillating ecclesiastic, born in
Dalmatia; was educated by the Jesuits; taught mathematics in Padua; wrote
a treatise in which an explanation was for the first time given of the
phenomenon of the rainbow; became archbishop of Spalatro; falling under
suspicion he passed over to England, professed Protestantism, and was
made dean of Windsor; reconciled to the Papacy, returned to the Church of
Rome, and left the country; his sincerity being distrusted, was cast into
prison, where he died, his body being afterwards disinterred and burned
(1566-1624).
DOMITIAN, Roman emperor, son of Vespasian, brother of Titus, whom he
succeeded in 81, the last of the twelve Cæsars; exceeded the expectations
of every one in the beginning of his reign, as he had given proof of a
licentious and sanguinary character beforehand, but soon his conduct
changed, and fulfilled the worst fears of his subjects; his vanity was
wounded by the non-success of his arms, and his vengeful spirit showed
itself in a wholesale murder of the citizens; many conspiracies were
formed against his life, and he was at length murdered by an assassin,
who had been hired by his courtiers and abetted by his wife Domitia, in
96.
DOMRÉMY, a small village on the Meuse, in the dep. of Vosges; the
birthplace of Joan of Arc.
DON, a Russian river, the ancient Tanaïs; flows southward from its
source in the province of Tula, and after a course of 1153 m. falls into
the Sea of Azov; also the name of a river in Aberdeenshire, and another
in Yorkshire.
DON JUAN, the member of a distinguished family of Seville, who
seduces the daughter of a noble, and when confronted by her father stabs
him to death in a duel; he afterwards prepares a feast and invites the
stone statue of his victim to partake of it; the stone statue turns up at
the least, compels Don Juan to follow him, and delivers him over to the
abyss of hell, the depths of which he had qualified himself for by his
utter and absolute depravity.
DON QUIXOTE, the title of a world-famous book written by Miguel
Cervantes, in satire of the romances of chivalry with which his
countrymen were so fascinated; the chief character of which gives title
to it, a worthy gentleman of La Mancha, whose head is so turned by
reading tales of knight-errantry, that he fancies he is a knight-errant
himself, sallies forth in quest of adventures, and encounters them in the
most commonplace incidents, one of his most ridiculous extravagancies
being his tilting with the windmills, and the overweening regard he has
for his Dulcinea del Tobosa.
DONALDSON, JOHN WILLIAM, a philologist, born in London; Fellow of
Cambridge and tutor of Trinity College; author of "New Cratylus; or
Contributions towards a more Accurate Knowledge of the Greek Language," a
work of great erudition and of value to scholars; contributed also to the
philological study of Latin, and wrote a grammar of both languages; he
failed when he intruded into the field of biblical criticism (1811-1861).
DONATELLO, a great Italian sculptor, born at Florence, where he was
apprenticed to a goldsmith; tried his hand at carving in leisure hours;
went to Rome and studied the monuments of ancient art; returned to
Florence and executed an "Annunciation," still preserved in a chapel in
Santa Croce, which was followed by marble statues of St. Peter, St. Mark,
and St. George, before one of which, that of St. Mark, Michael Angelo
exclaimed, "Why do you not speak to me?"; he executed tombs and figures,
or groups in bronze as well as marble; his schoolmasters were the
sculptors of Greece, and the real was his ultimate model (1383-1460).
DONATI, an Italian astronomer, born at Pisa; discoverer of the comet
of 1858, called Donati's comet (1826-1873).
DONATISTS, a sect in N. Africa, founded by Donatus, bishop of
Carthage, in the 4th century, that separated from the rest of the Church
and formed itself into an exclusive community, with bishops and
congregations of its own, on the ground that no one was entitled to be a
member of Christ's body, or an overseer of Christ's flock, who was not of
divine election, and that in the face of an attempt, backed by the
Emperor Constantine, to thrust a bishop on the Church at Carthage,
consecrated by an authority that had betrayed and sold the Church to the
world; the members of it were subject to cruel persecutions in which they
gloried, and were annihilated by the Saracens in the 7th century.
DONATUS, a Latin grammarian and rhetorician of the 4th century, the
teacher of St. Jerome; the author of treatises in grammar known as
Donats, and, along with the sacred Scriptures, the earliest examples of
printing by means of letters cut on wooden blocks, and so appreciated as
elementary treatises that they gave name to treatises of the kind on any
subject; he wrote also _scholia_ to the plays of Terence.
DONAU, the German name for the Danube.
DONCASTER (26), a market and manufacturing town in the West Riding
of Yorkshire, well built, in a pleasant country, on the right bank of the
Don, 33 m. S. of York; famous for its races, the St. Leger in particular,
called after Colonel St. Leger, who instituted them in 1776.
DONDRA HEAD, the southern extremity of Ceylon, once the site of the
capital.
DONEGAL (185), a county in the NW. of Ireland, in the province of
Ulster, the most mountainous in the country; is mossy and boggy, and is
indented along the coast with bays, and fringed with islands.
DONETZ, a tributary of the Russian Don, the basin of which forms one
large coal-field, reckoned to be as large as all Yorkshire, and is
reckoned one of the largest of any in the world.
DONGOLA, NEW, a town in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile, above
the third cataract, 20° N. and over 700 m. from Cairo; was founded by the
Mamelukes.
DONIZETTI, a celebrated Italian composer, born at Bergamo, Lombardy,
and studied at Bologna; devoted himself to dramatic music; produced over
60 operas, among the number "Lucia di Lammermoor," the "Daughter of the
Regiment," "Lucrezia Borgia," and "La Favorita," all well known, and all
possessing a melodious quality of the first order (1797-1848).
DONNE, JOHN, English poet and divine, born in London; a man of good
degree; brought up in the Catholic faith; after weighing the claims of
the Romish and Anglican communions, joined the latter; married a young
lady of sixteen without consent of her father, which involved him in
trouble for a time; was induced to take holy orders by King James; was
made his chaplain, and finally became Dean of St. Paul's; wrote sermons,
some 200 letters and essays, as well as poems, the latter, amid many
defects, revealing a soul instinct with true poetic fire (1573-1631). See
"Professor Saintsbury on Donne."
DONNYBROOK, a village now included in Dublin, long celebrated for
its fairs and the fights it was the scene of on such occasions.
DONON, the highest peak of the Vosges Mountains.
DOO, GEORGE THOMAS, a celebrated English line-engraver, and one of
the best in his day (1800-1886).
DOON, a river rendered classic by the muse of Burns, which after a
course of 30 m. joins the Clyde 2 m. S. of Ayr.
DORA, the child-wife of "David Copperfield," Dickens's novel.
DORA D'ISTRIA, the pseudonym of Helena Ghika, born in Wallachia, of
noble birth; distinguished for her beauty and accomplishments; was
eminent as a linguist; translated the "Iliad" into German; wrote works,
the fruits of travels (1829-1888).
DORAN, JOHN, an English man of letters, born In London, of Irish
descent; wrote on miscellaneous subjects; became editor of the _Athenæum_
and _Notes and Queries_ (1807-1878).
DORAT, JEAN, a French poet, born at Limoges; a Greek scholar;
contributed much to the revival of classical literature in France, and
was one of the FRENCH PLÉIADE (q. v.); _d_. 1588.
DORCAS SOCIETY, a society for making clothing for the poor. See Acts
ix. 39.
DORCHESTER (7), the county town of Dorset, on the Frome; was a Roman
town, and contains the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.
DORDOGNE, a river in the S. of France, which, after a course of 300
m., falls into the estuary of Garonne; also a dep. (478) through which it
flows.
DORÉ, GUSTAVE, a French painter and designer, born in Strasburg;
evinced great power and fertility of invention, having, it is alleged,
produced more than 50,000 designs; had a wonderful faculty for seizing
likenesses, and would draw from memory groups of faces he had seen only
once; among the books he illustrated are the "Contes Drolatiques" of
Balzac, the works of Rabelais and Montaigne, Dante's "Inferno," also his
"Purgatorio" and "Paradiso," "Don Quixote," Tennyson's "Idylls," Milton's
works, and Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner"; among his paintings were
"Christ Leaving the Prætorium," and "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem"; he
has left behind him works of sculpture as well as drawings and pictures;
his art has been severely handled by the critics, and most of all by
Ruskin, who treats it with unmitigated scorn (1832-1883).
DORIA, ANDREA, a naval commander, born in Genoa, of noble descent,
though his parents were poor; a man of patriotic instincts; adopted the
profession of arms at the age of 19; became commander of the fleet in
1513; attacked with signal success the Turkish corsairs that infested the
Mediterranean; served under Francis I. to free his country from a faction
that threatened its independence, and, by his help, succeeded in
expelling it; next, in fear of the French supremacy, served, under
Charles V., and entering Genoa, was hailed as its liberator, and received
the title of "Father and Defender of his country"; the rest of his life,
and it was a long one, was one incessant wrestle with his great rival
Barbarossa, the chief of the corsairs, and which ended in his defeat
(1466-1560).
DORIANS, one of the four divisions of the Hellenic race, the other
three being the Achæans, the Æolians, and the Ionians; at an early period
overran the whole Peloponnesus; they were a hardy people, of staid habits
and earnest character.
DORIC, the oldest, strongest, and simplest of the four Grecian
orders of architecture.
DORINE, a petulant domestic in Molière's "Tartuffe."
DORIS, a small mountainous country of ancient Greece, S. of
Thessaly, and embracing the valley of the Pindus.
DORIS, the wife of Nereus, and mother of the Nereids.
DORISLAUS, ISAAC, a lawyer, born at Alkmaar, in Holland; came to
England, and was appointed Judge-Advocate; acted as such at King
Charles's trial, and was for that latter offence assassinated at the
Hague one evening by certain high-flying Royalist cut-throats, Scotch
several of them; "his portrait represents him as a man of heavy,
deep-wrinkled, elephantine countenance, pressed down by the labours of
life and law" (1595-1649).
DORKING (7), a market-town picturesquely situated in the heart of
Surrey, 24 m. SW. of London; gives name to a breed of fowls; contains a
number of fashionable villas.
DORN, a distinguished German orientalist; wrote a History of the
Afghans, and on their language (1805-1881).
DORNER, ISAAK AUGUST, a German theologian, born at Würtemberg;
studied at Tübingen; became professor of Theology in Berlin, after having
held a similar post in several other German universities; his principal
works were the "History of the Development of the Doctrine of the Person
of Christ," and the "History of Protestant Theology" (1809-1884).
DORNOCH, the county town of Sutherland, a small place, but a royal
burgh; has a good golf course.
DOROS, a son of Helen and grandson of Deucalion, the father of the
Dorians, as his brother Æolis was of the Æolians.
DOROTHEA, ST., a virgin of Alexandria, suffered martyrdom by being
beheaded in 311. Festival, Feb. 6.
DORPAT (38), a town on the Embach, in Livonia, Russia, 150 m. NE. of
Riga, with a celebrated university founded by Gustavus Adolphus in 1632;
it has a well-equipped staff, and is well attended; the majority of the
population is German.
D'ORSAY, COUNT, a man of fashion, born in Paris; entered the French
army; forsook it for the society of Lord and Lady Blessington; married
Lady B.'s daughter by a former marriage; came to England with her
ladyship on her husband's death; started a joint establishment in London,
which became a rendezvous for all the literary people and artists about
town; was "Phoebus Apollo of Dandyism"; paid homage to Carlyle at Chelsea
one day in 1839; "came whirling hither in a chariot that struck all
Chelsea into mute amazement with splendour," says Carlyle, who thus
describes him, "a tall fellow of six feet three, built like a tower, with
floods of dark auburn hair, with a beauty, with an adornment
unsurpassable on this planet: withal a rather substantial fellow at
bottom, by no means without insight, without fun, and a sort of rough
sarcasm, rather striking out of such a porcelain figure"; having shown
kindness to Louis Napoleon when in London, the Prince did not forget him,
and after the _coup d'état_ appointed him to a well-salaried post, but he
did not live to enjoy it (1798-1852).
DORSET (194), maritime county in the S. of England, with a deeply
indented coast; it consists of a plain between two eastward and westward
reaching belts of downs; is mainly a pastoral county; rears sheep and
cattle, and produces butter and cheese.
DORT, or DORDRECHT (34), a town on an island in the Maas, in
the province of South Holland, 12 m. SE. of Rotterdam; admirably situated
for trade, connected as it is with the Rhine as well, on which rafts of
wood are sent floating down to it; is famous for a Synod held here in
1618-19, at which the tenets of Arminius were condemned, and the
doctrines of Calvin approved of and endorsed as the doctrines of the
Reformed Church.
DORTMUND (89), a town in Westphalia; a great mineral and railway
centre, with large iron and steel forges, and a number of breweries.
DORY, JOHN, the hero of an old ballad.
DO-THE-BOYS'-HALL, a scholastic establishment in "Nicholas
Nickleby."
DOUAY (31), a town on the Scarpe, in the dep. of Nord, France, 20 m.
S. of Lille, and one of the chief military towns of the country; has a
college founded in 1568 for the education of Catholic priests intended
for England, and is where a version of the Bible in English for the use
of Catholics was issued.
DOUBS, a tributary of the Saône, which it falls into below Dôle;
gives name to the dep. (303), which it traverses.
DOUBTING CASTLE, a castle belonging to Giant Despair in the
"Pilgrim's Progress," which only one key could open, the key Promise.
DOUCE, FRANCIS, a learned antiquary, born in London; for a time
keeper of MSS. in the British Museum; author of "Illustrations of
Shakespeare," and an illustrated volume, "The Dance of Death"; left in
the Museum a chest of books and MSS. not to be opened till 1900; was a
man of independent means, and a devoted archæologist (1757-1834).
DOUGLAS (19), the largest town and capital as well as chief port of
the Isle of Man, 74 m. from Liverpool; much frequented as a
bathing-place; contains an old residence of the Dukes of Atholl, entitled
Castle Mona, now a hotel. See MAN, ISLE OF.
DOUGLAS, the name of an old Scotch family, believed to be of Celtic
origin, and that played a conspicuous part at one time in the internal
and external struggles of the country; they figure in Scottish history in
two branches, the elder called the Black and the later the Red Douglases
or the Angus branch, now represented by the houses of Hamilton and Home.
The eldest of the Douglases, William, was a kinsman of the house of
Murray, and appears to have lived about the end of the 12th century. One
of the most illustrious of the family was the Good Sir James,
distinguished specially as the "Black" Douglas, the pink of knighthood
and the associate of Bruce, who carried the Bruce's heart in a casket to
bury it in Palestine, but died fighting in Spain, 1330.
DOUGLAS, GAWIN or GAVIN, a Scottish poet and bishop of Dunkeld,
third son of Archibald, Earl of Angus, surnamed "Bell-the-Cat"; political
troubles obliged him to leave the country and take refuge at the Court of
Henry VII., where he was held in high regard; died here of the plague,
and was buried by his own wish in the Savoy; besides Ovid's "Art of
Love," now lost, he translated (1512-1513) the "Æneid" of Virgil into
English verse, to each book of which he prefixed a prologue, in certain
of which there are descriptions that evince a poet's love of nature
combined with his love as a Scotchman for the scenery of his native land;
besides this translation, which is his chief work, he indited two
allegorical poems, entitled the "Palace of Honour," addressed to James
IV., and "King Hart" (1474-1522).
DOUGLAS, SIR HOWARD, an English general and writer on military
subjects, born at Gosport; saw service in the Peninsula; was Governor of
New Brunswick and Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands
(1776-1861).
DOUGLAS, JOHN, bishop of Salisbury, born at Pittenweem, Fife; wrote
"The Criterion of, or a Discourse on, Miracles" against Hume; was a
friend of Samuel Johnson's (1721-1807).
DOUGLAS, STEPHEN ARNOLD, an American statesman, born in Brandon,
Vermont; a lawyer by profession, and a judge; a member of Congress and
the Senate; was a Democrat; stood for the Presidency when Lincoln was
elected; was a leader in the Western States; a splendid monument is
erected to his memory in Chicago (1813-1861).
DOUGLASS, FREDERICK, American orator, born a slave in Maryland;
wrought as a slave in a Baltimore shipbuilder's yard; escaped at the age
of 21 to New York; attended an anti-slavery meeting, where he spoke so
eloquently that he was appointed by the Anti-Slavery Society to lecture
in its behalf, which he did with success and much appreciation in England
as well as America; published an Autobiography, which gives a thrilling
account of his life (1817-1895).
DOULTON, SIR HENRY, the reviver of art pottery, born in Lambeth;
knighted in the Jubilee year for his eminence in that department; _b_.
1820.
DOURO, a river, and the largest, of the Spanish Peninsula, which
rises in the Cantabrian Mountains; forms for 40 m. the northern boundary
of Portugal, and after a course of 500 m. falls into the Atlantic at
Oporto; is navigable only where it traverses Portugal.
DOUSTER-SWIVEL, a German swindling schemer in the "Antiquary."
DOVE, in Christian art the symbol of the Holy Ghost, or of a pure,
or a purified soul, and with an olive branch, the symbol of peace and the
gospel of peace.
DOVE, HEINRICH WILHELM, a German physicist, born at Liegnitz,
Silesia; professor of Natural Philosophy in Berlin; was eminent chiefly
in the departments of meteorology and optics; he discovered how by the
stereoscope to detect forged bank-notes (1803-1879).
DOVER (33), a seaport on the E. coast of Kent, and the nearest in
England to the coast of France, 60 m. SE. of London, and with a mail
service to Calais and Ostend; is strongly fortified, and the chief
station in the SE. military district of England; was the chief of the
Cinque Ports.
DOVER, STRAIT OF, divides France from England and connects the
English Channel with the North Sea, and at the narrowest 20 m. across;
forms a busy sea highway; is called by the French _Pas de Calais_.
DOVREFELD, a range of mountains in Norway, stretching NE. and
extending between 62° and 63° N. lat., average height 3000 ft.
DOW or DOUW, GERARD, a distinguished Dutch genre-painter, born
at Leyden; a pupil of Rembrandt; his works, which are very numerous, are
the fruit of a devoted study of nature, and are remarkable for their
delicacy and perfection of finish; examples of his works are found in all
the great galleries of Europe (1613-1675).
DOWDEN, EDWARD, literary critic, professor of English Literature in
Dublin University, born in Cork; is distinguished specially as a
Shakesperian; is author of "Shakespeare: a Study of his Mind and Art,"
"Introduction to Shakespeare," and "Shakesperian Sonnets, with Notes";
has written "Studies in Literature," and a "Life of Shelley"; is well
read in German as well as English literature; has written with no less
ability on Goethe than on Shakespeare; _b_. 1843.
DOWN (266), a maritime county in the SE. of the province of Ulster,
Ireland, with a mostly level and fairly fertile soil, and manufactures of
linen.
DOWNS, THE, a safe place of anchorage, 8 m. long by 6 m. broad, for
ships between Goodwin Sands and the coast of Kent.
DOWNS, THE NORTH AND SOUTH, two parallel ranges of low broad hills
covered with a light soil and with a valley between, called the Weald,
that extend eastward from Hampshire to the sea-coast, the North
terminating in Dover cliffs, Kent, and the South in Beachy Head, Sussex;
the South famous for the breed of sheep that pastures on them.
DOYLE, DR. CONAN, novelist, nephew of Richard and grandson of John,
born in Edinburgh; studied and practised medicine, but gave it up after a
time for literature, in which he had already achieved no small success;
several of his productions have attracted universal attention, especially
his "Adventures" and his "Memoir of Sherlock Holmes"; wrote a short play
"A Story of Waterloo," produced with success by Sir Henry Irving; _b_.
1859.
DOYLE, SIR FRANCIS HASTINGS, an English poet, born near Tadcaster;
bred to the bar, but devoted to poetry and horse-racing; became professor
of Poetry at Oxford; author of "Miscellaneous Verses," "Two Destinies,"
"Retreat of the Guards," "The Thread of Honour," and "The Private of the
Buffs" (1810-1858).
DOYLE, JOHN, an eminent caricaturist, of Irish origin, under the
initials H. B. (1797-1868).
DOYLE, RICHARD, eminent caricaturist, born in London, son of the
preceding; contributed to _Punch_, of which he designed the cover, but
left the staff, in 1850 owing to the criticisms in the journal adverse to
the Catholic Church; devoted himself after that chiefly to book
illustration and water-colour painting (1824-1883).
DOZY, REINHART, an Orientalist and linguist, born at Leyden, where
he became professor of History; devoted himself to the study of the
history of the Arabs or Moors in North-Western Africa and Spain, his
chief work being "The History of the Mussulmans of Spain"; wrote also a
"Detailed Dictionary of the Names of the Dress of the Arabs" (1820-1883).
DRACHENFELS (Dragon's Rock), one of the Siebengebirge, 8 m. SE. of
Bonn, 1056 ft. above the Rhine, and crowned by a castle with a commanding
view; the legendary abode of the dragon killed by Siegfried in the "Lay
of the Nibelungen."
DRACO, a celebrated Athenian law-giver, who first gave stability to
the State by committing the laws to writing, and establishing the Ephetæ,
or court of appeal, 621 B.C.; only he punished every transgressor of his
laws with death, so that his code became unbearable, and was superseded
ere long by a milder, instituted by Solon, who affixed the penalty of
death to murder alone; he is said to have justified the severity of his
code by maintaining that the smallest crime deserved death, and he knew
no severer punishment for greater; it is said he was smothered to death
in the theatre by the hats and cloaks showered on him as a popular mark
of honour; he was archon of Athens.
DRAGON, a fabulous monster, being a hideous impersonation of some
form of deadly evil, which only preternatural heroic strength and courage
can subdue, and on the subdual and slaying of which depends the
achievement of some conquest of vital moment to the human race or some
members of it; is represented in mediæval art as a large, lizard-like
animal, with the claws of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of
a serpent, with open jaws ready and eager to devour, which some knight
high-mounted thrusts at to pierce to death with a spear; in the Greek
mythology it is represented with eyes ever on the watch, in symbol of the
evil that waylays us to kill us if we don't kill it, as in guarding the
"Apples of the Hesperides" and the "Golden Fleece," because these are
prizes that fall only to those who are as watchful of him as he is of
them; and it is consecrated to Minerva to signify that true wisdom, as
sensible of the ever-wakeful dragon, never goes to sleep, but is equally
ever on the watch.
DRAGONNADES, the name given to the persecution at the instance of
Louis XIV. to force the Huguenots of France back into the bosom of the
Catholic Church by employment of dragoons.
DRAGON'S TEETH, the teeth of the dragon that Cadmus slew, and which
when sown by him sprang up as a host of armed men, who killed each other
all to the five who became the ancestors of the Thebans, hence the phrase
to "sow dragon's teeth," to breed and foster strife.
DRAKE, SIR FRANCIS, a great English seaman of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, born near Tavistock, in Devon; served in the Royal Navy under
his relative, Sir John Hawkins, and distinguished himself with signal
success by his valour and daring against the pride of Spain, towards
which, as the great Catholic persecuting power, he had been taught to
cherish an invincible hatred; came swoop down like a hawk on its ports
across seas, and bore himself out of them laden with spoil; in 1577
sailed for America with five ships, passed through the Strait of
Magellan, the first Englishman to do it; plundered the W. coast as far as
Peru; lost all his ships save one; crossed the Pacific, and came home by
way of the Cape--the first to sail round the world--with spoil to the
value of £300,000, his successes contributing much to embolden his
countrymen against the arrogance of the Catholic king; and he was
vice-admiral in the fleet that drove back the Armada from our shores
(1540-1596).
DRAKE, FRIEDRICH, a German sculptor, born at Pyrmont; studied under
Rauch; executed numerous statues and busts, among others busts of Oken
and Ranke, Bismarck and Moltke; his chief works are the "Eight Provinces
of Prussia," represented by large allegorical figures, and the "Warrior
crowned by Victory" (1805-1882).
DRAKE, NATHAN, a physician, born at York; author of "Shakespeare and
his Times" (1766-1836).
DRAKENBERG MOUNTAINS, a range of mountains in S. Africa, 6500 ft.
high, between Natal and the Orange Free State.
DRAMATIC UNITIES, three rules of dramatic construction prescribed by
Aristotle, observed by the French dramatists, but ignored by Shakespeare,
that (1) a play should represent what takes place within eight hours, (2)
there must be no change of locality, and (3) there must be no minor plot.
DRAMMEN (20), a Norwegian seaport on a river which falls into
Christiania Bay, 30 m. SW. of Christiania; trade chiefly in timber.
DRAPER, JOHN WILLIAM, a chemist, scientist, and man of letters, born
at Liverpool; settled in the United States; wrote on chemistry,
physiology, and physics generally, as well as works of a historical
character, such as the "History of the Intellectual Development of
Europe" and the "History of the Conflict between Science and Religion,"
an able book (1811-1882).
DRAPIER, a pseudonym adopted by Swift in his letters to the people
of Ireland anent Wood's pence, and which led to the cancelling of the
patent.
DRAVE, a river from the Eastern Alps which flows eastward, and after
a course of 380 miles falls into the Danube 10 m. below Essek.
DRAVIDIANS, races of people who occupied India before the arrival of
Aryans, and being driven S. by them came to settle chiefly in the S. of
the Dekkan; they are divided into numerous tribes, each with a language
of its own, but of a common type or group, some of them literary and
some of them not, the chief the Tamil; the tribes together number over
20 millions.
DRAWCANSIR, a blustering, bullying boaster in Buckingham's play the
"Rehearsal"; he kills every one of the combatants, "sparing neither
friend nor foe."
DRAYTON, MICHAEL, an English poet, born In Warwickshire, like
Shakespeare; was one of the three chief patriotic poets, Warner and
Daniel being the other two, which arose in England after her humiliation
of the pride of Spain, although he was no less distinguished as a love
poet; his great work is his "Polyolbion," in glorification of England,
consisting of 30 books and 100,000 lines; it gives in Alexandrines "the
tracts, mountains, forests, and other parts of this renowned isle of
Britain, with intermixture of the most remarkable stories, antiquities,
wonders, pleasures, and commodities of the same digested in a poem"; this
was preceded by other works, and succeeded by a poem entitled "The Ballad
of Agincourt," pronounced one of the most spirited martial lyrics in the
language (1563-1631).
DRELINCOURT, a French Protestant divine, born at Sedan; author of
"Consolations against the Fear of Death" (1595-1669).
DRENTHE (137), a province of Holland lying between Hanover and the
Zuyder Zee; the soil is poor, and the population sparse.
DRESDEN (250), the capital of Saxony, on the Elbe, 116 m. SE. of
Berlin; a fine city, with a museum rich in all kinds of works of art, and
called in consequence the "Florence of Germany"; here the Allies were
defeated by Napoleon in 1813, when he entered the city, leaving behind
him 30,000 men, who were besieged by the Russians and compelled to
surrender as prisoners of war the same year.
DREYFUS, L'AFFAIRE. On 23rd December 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, an
Alsatian Jew, captain of French Artillery; was by court-martial found
guilty of revealing to a foreign power secrets of national defence, and
sentenced to degradation and perpetual imprisonment; he constantly
maintained his innocence, and, in time, the belief that he had been
unjustly condemned became prevalent, and a revision of the trial being at
length ordered, principally through the exertions of Colonel Picquart and
Zola, the well-known author, Dreyfus was brought back from Cayenne, where
he had been kept a close prisoner and cruelly treated, and a fresh trial
at Rennes began on 6th August 1899, and lasted till 9th September; the
proceedings, marked by scandalous "scenes," and by an attempt to
assassinate one of prisoner's counsel--disclosed an alarmingly corrupt
condition of affairs in some lines of French public life under the
Republic of the time, and terminated in a majority verdict of "guilty";
M. Dreyfus was set at liberty on 20th September, the sentence of ten
years' imprisonment being remitted; _b_. 1860.
DREYSE, NICHOLAUS VON, inventor of the needle-gun, born at Sömmerda,
near Erfurt, the son of a locksmith, and bred to his father's craft;
established a large factory at Sömmerda for a manufactory of firearms;
was ennobled 1864 (1787-1867).
DROGHEDA (11), a seaport in co. Louth, near the mouth of the Boyne,
32 m. N. of Dublin, with manufactures and a considerable export trade;
was stormed by Cromwell in 1649 "after a stout resistance," and the
garrison put to the sword; surrendered to William III. after the battle
of the Boyne in 1690.
DROMORE, a cathedral town in co. Down, Ireland, 17 m. SW. of
Belfast, of which Jeremy Taylor was bishop.
DROOGS, steep rocks which dot the surface of Mysore, in India, and
resemble hay-ricks, some of these 1500 ft. high, some with springs on the
top, and scalable only by steps cut in them.
DROSTE-HÜLSHOFF, FRAULEIN VON, a German poetess, born near Münster;
was of delicate constitution; wrote tales as well as lyrics in record of
deep and tender experiences (1797-1848).
DROUET, JEAN BAPTISTE, notable king-taker, a violent Jacobin and
member of the Council of the Five Hundred; had been a dragoon soldier;
was postmaster at St. Menehould when Louis XVI., attempting flight,
passed through the place, and by whisper of surmise had the progress of
Louis and his party arrested at Varennes, June 21, 1791, for which
service he received honourable mention and due reward in money; was taken
captive by the Austrians at last; perched on a rock 100 ft. high,
descended one night by means of a paper kite he had constructed, but was
found at the foot helpless with leg broken (1763-1824).
DROUET, JEAN BAPTISTE, COMTE D'ERLON, marshal of France, born at
Rheims; distinguished in the wars of the Republic and the Empire; on
Napoleon's return from Elba seized on the citadel of Lille, and held it
for the emperor; commanded the first _corps d'armée_ at Waterloo; left
France at the Restoration; returned after the July Revolution; became
governor of Algiers, and was created marshal (1765-1844).
DROUOT, a French general, son of a baker at Nancy; Napoleon, whom,
as commander of artillery, he accompanied over all his battlefields in
Europe and to Elba, used to call him the _Sage of the Grande Armée_
(1774-1847).
DROUYN DE LHUYS, French statesman and diplomatist, born in Paris;
was ambassador at the Hague and Madrid; distinguished himself by his
opposition to Guizot; served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Louis
Napoleon; withdrew into private life after the collapse at Sedan
(1805-1881).
DROYSEN, a German historian, born in Pomerania; professor in Berlin;
author of the "History of Prussian Policy," "History of Alexander the
Great," and "History of Hellenism" (1808-1884).
DROZ, the name of a Swiss family of mechanicians, one of them, Jean
Pierre, an engraver of medals (1746-1833); also of a French moralist and
historian, author of "History of Louis XVI." (1773-1850).
DROZ, GUSTAV, a highly popular and brilliant novelist, born in
Paris; author of "Monsieur, Madam, et Bébé," "Entre Nous," and "Cahier
bleu de Mlle. Cibot" (1832-1895).
DRUIDS, a sacred order of learned men under a chief called the
Archdruid, among the ancient Celtic nations, particularly of Gaul and
Britain, who, from their knowledge of the arts and sciences of the day,
were the ministers of religion and justice, as well as the teachers of
youth to the whole community, and exercised an absolute control over the
unlearned people whom they governed; they worshipped in oak groves, and
the oak tree and the mistletoe were sacred to them; the heavenly bodies
appear to have been also objects of their worship, and they appear to
have believed in the immortality and transmigration of the soul; but they
committed nothing to writing, and for our knowledge of them we have to
depend on the reports of outsiders.
DRUMCLOG MOSS, a flat wilderness of broken bog and quagmire in
Lanarkshire, where the Covenanters defeated Claverhouse's dragoons in
1679.
DRUMMOND, HENRY, popular scientist and Christian teacher, born in
Stirling; was educated at Edinburgh and Tübingen; studied for the Free
Church; lectured on natural science; became famous by the publication of
"Natural Law in the Spiritual World," a book which took with the
Christian public at once, and had an enormous sale, which was succeeded
by "Tropical Africa," a charmingly-written book of travel, and by a
series of booklets, commencing with "The Greatest Thing in the World,"
intended to expound and commend the first principles of the Christian
faith; his last work except one, published posthumously, entitled the
"Ideal Life," was the "Ascent of Man," in which he posits an altruistic
element in the process of evolution, and makes the goal of it a higher
and higher life (1851-1897).
DRUMMOND, CAPTAIN THOMAS, civil engineer, born in Edinburgh;
inventor of the Drummond Light; was employed in the trigonometrical
survey of Great Britain and Ireland; became Under-Secretary for Ireland,
and was held in high favour by the Irish (1797-1840).
DRUMMOND, WILLIAM, of Hawthornden, a Scottish poet, named the
"Petrarch of Scotland," born in Hawthornden; studied civil law at
Bourges, but poetry had more attractions for him than law, and on the
death of his father he returned to his paternal estate, and devoted
himself to the study of it and the indulgence of his poetic tastes. "His
work was done," as Stopford Brooke remarks, "in the reign of James I.,
but is the result of the Elizabethan influence extending to Scotland.
Drummond's sonnets and madrigals have some of the grace of Sidney, and he
rose at intervals into grave and noble verse, as in his sonnet on John
the Baptist." He was a devoted Royalist; his first poem was "Tears" on
the death of James I.'s eldest son Henry, and the fate of Charles I. is
said to have cut short his days; the visit of Ben Jonson to him at
Hawthornden is well known (1585-1649).
DRUMMOND LIGHT, an intensely-brilliant and pure white light produced
by the play of an oxyhydrogen flame upon a ball of lime, so called from
the inventor, Captain Thomas Drummond.
DRURY, DRU, a naturalist, born in London; bred a silversmith; took
to entomology; published "Illustrations of Natural History"; his
principal work "Illustrations of Exotic Entomology" (1725-1803).
DRURY LANE, a celebrated London theatre founded in 1663, in what was
a fashionable quarter of the city then; has since that time been thrice
burnt down; was the scene of Garrick's triumphs, and of those of many of
his illustrious successors, though it is now given up chiefly to
pantomimes and spectacular exhibitions.
DRUSES, a peculiar people, numbering some 80,000, inhabiting the S.
of Lebanon and Anti-lebanon, with the Maronites on the N., whose origin
is very uncertain, only it is evident, though they speak the Arab
language, they belong to the Aryan race; their religion, a mixture of
Christian, Jewish, and Mohammedan beliefs, is grounded on faith in the
unity and the incarnation of God; their form of government is half
hierarchical and half feudalistic; in early times they were under emirs
of their own, but in consequence of the sanguinary, deadly, and mutually
exterminating strife between them and the Christian Maronites in 1860,
they were put under a Christian governor appointed by the Porte.
DRUSUS, M. LIVIUS, a tribune of the people at Rome in 122 B.C., but
a stanch supporter of the aristocracy; after passing a veto on a popular
measure proposed by Gracchus his democratic colleague, proposed the same
measure himself in order to show and prove to the people that the
patricians were their best friends; the success of this policy gained him
the name of "patron of the senate."
DRUSUS, M. LIVIUS, tribune of the people, 91 B.C., son of the
preceding, and an aristocrat; pursued the same course as his father, but
was baffled in the execution of his purpose, which was to broaden the
constitution, in consequence of which he formed a conspiracy, and was
assassinated, an event which led to the SOCIAL WAR (q. v.).
DRUSUS, NERO CLAUDIUS, surnamed "Germanicus," younger brother of
Tiberius and son-in-law of Marc Antony; distinguished himself in four
successive campaigns against the tribes of Germany, but stopped short at
the Elbe, scared by the apparition of a woman of colossal stature who
defied him to cross, so that he had to "content himself with erecting
some triumphal pillars on his own safe side of the river and say that the
tribes across were conquered"; falling ill of a mortal malady, his
brother the emperor hastened across the Alps to close his eyes, and
brought home his body, which was burned and the ashes buried in the tomb
of Augustus.
DRYADS, nymphs of forest trees, which were conceived of as born with
the tree they were attached to and dying along with it; they had their
abode in wooded mountains away from men; held their revels among
themselves, but broke them off at the approach of a human footstep.
DRYAS, the father of Lycurgus, a Thracian king, and slain by him,
who, in a fit of frenzy against the Bacchus worshippers, mistook him for
a vine and cut him down. See LYCURGUS.
DRYASDUST, a name of Sir Walter Scott's invention, and employed by
him to denote an imaginary character who supplied him with dry
preliminary historical details, and since used to denote a writer who
treats a historical subject with all due diligence and research, but
without any appreciation of the human interest in it, still less the soul
of it.
DRYBURGH, an abbey, now a ruin, founded by David I., on the Tweed,
in Berwickshire, 3 m. SE. of Melrose; the burial-place of Sir Walter
Scott.
DRYDEN, JOHN, a celebrated English poet, "glorious John," born in
Northamptonshire, of a good family of Puritan principles; educated at
Westminster School and Cambridge; his first poetic production of any
merit was a set of "heroic stanzas" on the death of Cromwell; at the
Restoration he changed sides and wrote a poem which he called "Astræa
Redux" in praise of the event, which was ere long followed by his "Annus
Mirabilis," in commemoration of the year 1666, which revealed at once the
poet and the royalist, and gained him the appointment of poet-laureate,
prior to which and afterwards he produced a succession of plays for the
stage, which won him great popularity, after which he turned his mind to
political affairs and assumed the role of political satirist by
production of his "Absalom and Achitophel," intended to expose the
schemes of Shaftesbury, represented as Achitophel and Monmouth as
Absalom, to oust the Duke of York from the succession to the throne; on
the accession of James II. he became a Roman Catholic, and wrote "The
Hind and the Panther," characterised by Stopford Brooke as "a model of
melodious reasoning in behalf of the milk-white hind of the Church of
Rome," and really the most powerful thing of the kind in the language; at
the Revolution he was deprived of his posts, but it was after that event
he executed his translation of Virgil, and produced his celebrated odes
and "Fables" (1631-1700).
DUALISM, or MANICHÆISM, the doctrine that there are two
opposite and independently existing principles which go to constitute
every concrete thing throughout the universe, such as a principle of good
and a principle of evil, light and darkness, life and death, spirit and
matter, ideal and real, yea and nay, God and Devil, Christ and
Antichrist, Ormuzd and Ahriman.
DU BARRY, COUNTESS, mistress of Louis XV., born at Vaucouleurs,
daughter of a dressmaker; came to Paris, professing millinery; had
fascinating attractions, and was introduced to the king; governed France
to its ruin and the dismissal of all Louis' able and honourable advisers;
fled from Paris on the death of Louis, put on mourning for his death; was
arrested, brought before the Revolutionary tribunal, condemned for
wasting the finances of the State, and guillotined (1746-1793).
DU BELLAY, a French general, born at Montmirail; served under
Francis I. (1541-1590).
DUBLIN (360), the capital of Ireland, at the mouth of the Liffey,
which divides it in two, and is crossed by 12 bridges; the principal and
finest street is Sackville Street, which is about 700 yards long and 40
wide; it has a famous university and two cathedrals, besides a castle,
the residence of the Lord-Lieutenant; and a park, the Phoenix, one of the
finest in Europe; manufactures porter, whisky, and poplin.
DUBOIS, GUILLAUME, cardinal and prime minister of France; notorious
for his ambition and his debauchery; appointed tutor to the Duke of
Orleans; encouraged him in vice, and secured his attachment and patronage
in promotion, so that in the end he rose to the highest honours, and even
influence, in both Church and state; notwithstanding his debauchery he
was an able man and an able minister (1656-1723).
DUBOIS, REYMOND, a German physiologist, born in Berlin, of French
descent; professor of Physiology at Berlin; distinguished for his
researches in animal electricity; _b_. 1818.
DUBOIS DE CRANCÉ, a violent French revolutionary, born at
Charleville; besieged and captured Lyons, giving no quarter; was Minister
of War under the Directory; secured the adoption of the principle of
conscription in recruiting the army (1747-1814).
DUBOURG, a French magistrate, member of the parlement of Paris;
burnt as a heretic for recommending clemency in the treatment of the
Huguenots (1521-1559).
DUBUFE, a distinguished French portrait-painter (1820-1883).
DUBUQUE (36), a town in Iowa, U.S., on the Mississippi, with
lead-mines and a trade in grain, timber, &c.
DUCAMP, MAXIME, a French littérateur, born in Paris; has written
"Travels in the East"; is the author of "Paris," its civic life, as also
an account of its "Convulsions"; _b_. 1822.
DU CANGE, CHARLES, one of the most erudite of French scholars, born
at Amiens, and educated among the Jesuits; wrote on language, law,
archæology, and history; devoted himself much to the study of the Middle
Ages; contributed to the rediscovery of old French literature, and wrote
a history of the Latin empire; his greatest works are his Glossaries of
the Latin and Greek of the Middle Ages (1614-1688).
DUCAT, a coin, generally in gold, that circulated in Venice, and was
current in Germany at one time, of varied value.
DU CHAILLU, PAUL BELLONI, an African traveller, born in Louisiana;
his principal explorations confined to the equatorial region of West
Africa, and the result an extension of our knowledge of its geography,
ethnology, and zoology, and particularly of the character and habits of
the ape tribes, and above all the gorilla; _b_. 1837.
DU CHÂTELET, MARQUISE DE, a scientific lady and friend of
Voltaire's, born in Paris; "a too fascinating shrew," as he at length
found to his cost (1706-1749).
DUCHESNE, ANDRÉ, French historian and geographer, born in Touraine;
styled the "Father of French History"; famous for his researches in it
and in French antiquities, and for histories of England, Scotland, and
Ireland respectively; his industry was unwearied; he left more than 100
folios in MS. (1584-1640).
DUCHOBORTZI, a religious community in Russia of Quaker principles,
and of a creed that denied the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity
of Christ; they became a cause of trouble to the empire by their
fanaticism, and were removed to a high plateau in Transcaucasia, where
they live by cattle-rearing.
DUCIS, JEAN, a French dramatist, born at Versailles; took
Shakespeare for his model; declined Napoleon's patronage, thinking it
better, as he said, to wear rags than wear chains (1733-1816).
DUCKING STOOL, a stool or chair in which a scolding woman was
confined, and set before her own door to be pelted at, or borne in a
tumbrel through the town to be jeered at, or placed at the end of a
see-saw and _ducked_ in a pool.
DUCLOS, CHARLES, a witty and satirical French writer, born at Dinan;
author of "Observations," and "A History of the Manners of the Eighteenth
Century," and "Mémoires of the Reigns of Louis XIV. and Louis XV."; he
mingled much in French society of the period, and took studious note of
its passing whims (1704-1772).
DUCORNET, a French historical-painter, born at Lille; being born
without arms, painted with his foot (1805-1856).
DUCOS, ROGER, French politician, born at Bordeaux, member of the
National Convention and of the Directory (1754-1816).
DUCROT, a French general, born at Nivers; served in Algeria, in the
Italian campaign of 1859, and as head of a division in the German War;
was imprisoned for refusing to sign the capitulation treaty of Sedan, but
escaped and took part in the defence of Paris when besieged by the
Germans (1817-1882).
DU DEFFAND, MARQUISE. See DEFFAND.
DUDLEY (90), the largest town in Worcestershire, 8½ m. NW. of
Birmingham, in the heart of the "Black Country," with coal-mines,
iron-works, and hardware manufactures.
DUDLEY, EDMUND, an English lawyer and privy-councillor; was
associated with Empson as an agent in carrying on the obnoxious policy of
Henry VII., and beheaded along with him at the instance of Henry VIII. on
a charge of high treason in 1510.
DUDLEY, JOHN, grand-marshal of England, son of the preceding,
father-in-law of Lady Jane Grey; beheaded in 1558 for his part in an
insurrection in her favour.
DUFF, ALEXANDER, an eminent Indian missionary, born at Moulin, near
Pitlochry, Perthshire; a man of Celtic blood, apostolic zeal, and fervid
eloquence; was the first missionary sent out to India by the Church of
Scotland; sailed in 1830, returned in 1840, in 1849, and finally in 1863,
stirring up each time the missionary spirit in the Church; he was the
originator of a new method of missionary operations in the East by the
introduction of English as the vehicle of instruction in the Christian
faith, which met at first with much opposition, but was finally crowned
with conspicuous success; died in Edinburgh (1806-1873).
DUFF, JAMES GRANT, Indian soldier and statesman, born at Banff;
conspicuous as a soldier for his services in subduing the Mahratta
chiefs, and as a statesman for establishing friendly relations between
the Mahrattas and the East India Company (1789-1858).
DUFFERIN, MARQUIS OF, and EARL OF AVA, statesman and
diplomatist; held office under Lord John Russell and Mr. Gladstone; was
in succession Governor-General of Canada, ambassador first at St.
Petersburg, then at Constantinople, and finally Governor-General of
India; has since acted as ambassador at Rome and Paris; is a man of
literary as well as administrative ability; _b_. 1826.
DUFFY, SIR CHARLES GAVAN, an Irish patriot, born in co. Monaghan;
bred for the bar; took to journalism in the interest of his country's
emancipation; was one of the founders of the _Nation_ newspaper; was
twice over tried for sedition, but acquitted; emigrated at length to
Australia, where he soon plunged into Colonial politics, and in his
political capacity rendered distinguished services to the Australian
colonies, especially in obtaining important concessions from the
mother-country; he is the author of the "Ballad Poetry of Ireland," and
an interesting record of his early experiences in "Young Ireland"; _b_.
1816.
DUFOUR, a Swiss general, born at Constance; commanded the army
directed against the SONDERBUND (q. v.), and brought the war
there to a close (1787-1875).
DUFRESNE, CHARLES. See DU CANGE.
DUFRESNY, French painter and poet, born at Paris (1765-1825).
DUFRESNY, CHARLES RIVIÈRE, French dramatist, a universal genius,
devoted to both literature and the arts; held in high esteem by Louis
XIV.; wrote a number of comedies, revealing a man of the world, instinct
with wit, and careless of style (1648-1724).
DUGDALE, SIR WILLIAM, antiquary, born in Warwickshire; was made
Chester herald, accompanied Charles I. throughout the Civil War; his
chief work was the "Monasticum Anglicanum," which he executed conjointly
with Roger Duckworth; wrote also on the antiquities of Warwickshire and
heraldry; left 27 folio MSS. now in the Bodleian Library (1605-1686).
DUGOMMIER, French general, pupil of Washington, born at Guadeloupe;
distinguished himself in Italy; commanded at the siege of Toulon, which
he took; fell at the battle of Sierra-Negra, in Spain, which he had
invaded (1736-1794).
DUGUAY-TROUIN, RENÉ, a celebrated French sea-captain, born at St.
Malo; distinguished at first in privateer warfare during the reign of
Louis XIV., and afterwards as a frigate captain in the royal navy, to
which the royal favour promoted him; was much beloved by the sailors and
subordinate officers; died poor (1673-1736).
DU GUESCLIN, BERTRAND, constable of France, born in Côtes du Nord;
one of the most illustrious of French war-captains, and distinguished as
one or the chief instruments in expelling the English from Normandy,
Guienne, and Poitou; was taken prisoner at the battle of Auray in 1364,
but ransomed for 100,000 francs, and again by the Black Prince, but soon
liberated; he was esteemed for his valour by foe and friend alike, and he
was buried at St. Denis in the tomb of the kings of France (1314-1380).
DUHESME, a French general; covered with wounds at Waterloo, he was
cruelly massacred by the Brunswick hussars in the house to which he had
fled for refuge (1760-1815).
DUILIUS, CAIUS, a Roman consul; distinguished for having on the
coast of Sicily gained the first naval victory recorded in the annals of
Rome, 260 B.C.
DULCE DOMUM (for Sweet Home), a song sung by the pupils at
Winchester College on the approach of and at the break-up of the school
for the summer holidays.
DULCINEA DEL TOBOSA, the name Don Quixote gave to his beloved
Aldonza Lorenzo, a coarse peasant-girl of Tobosa, conceived by him as a
model of all feminine perfection, and as such adored by him.
DULIA, an inferior kind of worship paid to angels and saints, in
contradistinction to LATRIA (q. v.).
DULONG, a French chemist, born at Rouen; discoverer, by accidental
explosion, of the chloride of nitrogen (1785-1838).
DULUTH (52), a port on Lake Superior, with a fine harbour, and a
great centre of commerce.
DULWICH, a southern Surrey suburb of London, with a flourishing
college founded in 1619, and a picture gallery attached, rich especially
in Dutch paintings. See ALLEYN, EDWARD.
DUMACHUS, the impenitent thief, figures in Longfellow's "Golden
Legend" as one of a band of robbers who attacked St. Joseph on his flight
into Egypt.
DUMAS, ALEXANDRE, THE ELDER, a celebrated French author, born at
Villers-Cotterets, son of General Dumas, a Creole; lost his father at
four, and led for a time a miscellaneous life, till, driven by poverty,
he came to Paris to seek his fortune; here he soon made his mark, and
became by-and-by the most popular dramatist and romancier of his time;
his romances are numerous, and he reached the climax of his fame by the
production of "Monte Cristo" in 1844, and the "Three Musketeers" the year
after; he was unhappy in his marriage and with his wife, as afterwards,
he squandered his fortune in reckless extravagance; before the end it was
all spent, and he died at Dieppe, broken in health and impaired in
intellect, ministered to by his son and daughter (1806-1876).
DUMAS, ALEXANDRE, THE YOUNGER or _fils_, dramatist and novelist,
born in Paris, son of the preceding; he made his _début_ as a novelist
with "La Dame aux Camélias" in 1848, which was succeeded by a number of
other novels; he eventually gave himself up to the production of dramas,
in which he was more successful than in romance (1824-1895).
DUMAS, JEAN BAPTISTE ANDRÉ, a distinguished French chemist, born at
Alais; was admitted to the Académie française at the age of 25; at the
Revolution of 1848 he became a member of the National Assembly; was
created a senator under the Empire, but retired into private life after
Sedan; he was distinguished for his studies in chemistry, both
theoretical and practical, and ranks among the foremost in the science
(1800-1884).
DU MAURIER, artist, born in Paris; started in London as a designer
of wood engravings; did illustrations for _Once a Week_, the _Cornhill
Magazine, &c._., and finally joined the staff of _Punch_, to which he
contributed numerous clever sketches; he published a novel, "Peter
Ibbetson," in 1891, which was succeeded in 1895 by "Trilby," which had
such a phenomenal success in both England and America (1834-1897).
DUMB OX, THOMAS AQUINAS (q. v.), so called from his
taciturnity before he opened his mouth and began, as predicted, to fill
the world with his lowing.
DUMBARTON (17), the county town of Dumbartonshire, and a royal
burgh, at the mouth of the Leven, on the Clyde, 15 m. from Glasgow;
shipbuilding the chief industry; it was the capital of the kingdom of
Strathclyde; adjoining is a castle of historic interest, 250 ft. high,
kept up as a military fortress; the county, which is fertile, and was
originally part of Lennox, is traversed by the Leven, with its
bleach-fields and factories.
DUMBDRUDGE, an imaginary village referred to in "Sartor," where the
natives toil and _drudge_ away and _say nothing_ about it, as villagers
all over the world used contentedly to do, and did for most part, at the
time "Sartor" was written, though less so now.
DUMBIEDIKES, a Scotch laird who figures in the "Heart of
Midlothian," in love with Jeanie Deans.
DUMESNIL, MARIE FRANÇOISE, a celebrated French tragédienne, born
near Alençon; like Mrs. Siddons, surpassed all others at the time in the
representation of dignity, pathos, and strong emotion; made her first
appearance in 1737, retired in 1775 (1711-1803).
DUMFRIES (18), an agricultural market-town, county town of
Dumfriesshire and a seaport, stands on the left bank of the Nith, with
Maxwelltown as suburb on the right, 90 m. SW. of Edinburgh; manufactures
tweeds and hosiery, and trades in cattle; here Robert Burns spent the
last five years of his life, and his remains lie buried.
DUMFRIESSHIRE (74), a south-western Border county of Scotland; an
agricultural district, which slopes from a northern pastoral region to
the Solway, and is traversed by the fertile valleys of Nithsdale and
Annandale.
DUMNORIX, a chief of the Æduan nation in Gaul, who gave some trouble
to Cæsar in his conquest of Gaul.
DUMONT, AUGUSTIN-ALEXANDRE, a sculptor, born in Paris (1801-1884).
DUMONT, JEAN, an eminent French publicist, who settled in Austria
and served the emperor; wrote on international law (1660-1726).
DUMONT, LOUIS, a French publicist, born at Geneva, a friend of
Mirabeau, memoirs of whom he wrote, and who, coming to England, formed a
close intimacy with Jeremy Bentham, and became his disciple and expounder
(1759-1829).
DUMONT D'URVILLE, JULES, a celebrated French navigator, born at
Condé-sur-Noireau; made a three years' voyage round the world, and
visited the Antarctic regions, of which he made a survey; he was
distinguished as a scientist no less than a sea-captain; lost his life in
a railway accident at Versailles (1790-1842).
DUMOULIN, a celebrated French jurist, born at Paris; did for French
law what Cujas (q. v.) did for Roman (1500-1560).
DUMOURIEZ, a French general, born at Cambrai, "a wiry, elastic,
unwearied man ... creature," as he boasted in his old age, "of God and
his own sword ... on the whole, one of Heaven's Swiss"; took when already
grey to the Revolution and fought on its behalf; gained the battles of
Valmy and Jemmapes; conquered Belgium, but being distrusted, passed over
to the ranks of the enemies of France; a man really "without faith;
wanted above all things work, work on any side"; died an exile in England
(1739-1824). See Carlyle's "French Revolution."
DÜNA, a river of Russia, which rises near the source of the Volga,
and after a W. and NW. course of 650 m. falls into the Gulf of Riga; it
is connected with the Dnieper by the Beresina Canal.
DUNBAR, an ancient seaport and town of Haddingtonshire, on the coast
of the Forth, 29 m. E. of Edinburgh; is a fishing station, and
manufactures agricultural implements and paper; was, with its castle,
which has stood many a siege, a place of importance in early Scottish
history; near it Cromwell beat the Scots under Leslie on September 3,
1650.
DUNBAR, William, a Scottish poet, entered the Franciscan order and
became an itinerant preaching friar, in which capacity he wandered over
the length and breadth of the land, enjoying good cheer by the way; was
some time in the service of James IV., and wrote a poem, his most famous
piece, entitled "The Thistle and the Rose," on the occasion of the King's
marriage with the Princess Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII. His
poems were of three classes--allegoric, moral, and comic, the most
remarkable being "The Dance," in which he describes the procession of the
seven deadly sins in the infernal regions. Scott says he "was a poet
unrivalled by any that Scotland has produced" (1480-1520).
DUNBLANE, a town in Perthshire, 5 m. N. of Stirling, with a
beautiful cathedral, which dates back as far as 1240; of the diocese the
saintly Leighton was bishop.
DUNCAN, ADAM, VISCOUNT, a British admiral, born at Dundee; entered
the navy in 1746; steadily rose in rank till, in 1795, he became admiral
of the Blue and commander of the North Sea fleet in 1795; kept watching
the movements of the Dutch squadron for two years, till, at the end of
that term, it put to sea, and came up with it off Camperdown, and totally
defeated it, June 11, 1797 (1731-1804).
DUNCAN, THOMAS, a Scotch artist, born at Kinclaven, Perthshire;
painted fancy and Scoto-historical subjects, and a number of excellent
portraits; his career, which was full of promise, was cut short by an
early death (1807-1845).
DUNCIAD, THE, a satire of Pope's in four books, the "fiercest" as
well as the best of his satires, in which, with merciless severity, he
applies the lash to his critics, and in which Colley Cibber figures as
the King of Dunces.
DUNCKER, MAX, a historical writer, born in Berlin; held a
professorship at Halle and Tübingen, and became a minister of State;
wrote among other works a work of great learning, in seven vols.,
entitled the "History of Antiquity" (1811-1886).
DUNCOMBE, T. S., an English politician, M.P. for Finsbury, one of
the extreme Liberal party of the time, presented to the House of Commons
the Chartist petition in 1842; denounced Sir James Graham, the Home
Secretary of the day, for opening Mazzini's letter, and advocated Jewish
emancipation (1796-1861).
DUNDALK (12), capital of co. Louth, Ireland, 50 m. N. of Dublin; a
place of considerable trade and manufactures; is an ancient city; Edward
Bruce, the last king of all Ireland, was crowned and resided here; it was
besieged and taken more than once, by Cromwell for one.
DUNDAS (of Arniston), the name of a Scottish family, many of the
members of which have distinguished themselves at the bar and on the
bench.
DUNDAS, HENRY, VISCOUNT MELVILLE, a junior member of the above
family; trained for the bar; rose to be Lord Advocate for Scotland and
M.P. for the county of Edinburgh; opposed at first to Pitt, he became at
last his ablest coadjutor in Parliament, and did important services in
connection with the military and naval defences of the country; his
power was sovereign in Scotland; his statue, mounted on a lofty column,
adorns one of the principal squares of the New Town of Edinburgh
(1741-1811).
DUNDEE (153), the third largest city in Scotland, stands on the
Firth of Tay, 10 m. from the mouth; has a large seaport; is a place of
considerable commercial enterprise; among its numerous manufactures the
chief is the jute; it has a number of valuable institutions, and sends
two members to Parliament.
DUNDONALD, THOMAS COCHRANE, EARL OF, entered the navy at the age of
17; became captain of the _Speedy_, a sloop-of-war of 14 guns and 54 men;
captured in ten months 33 vessels; was captured by a French squadron, but
had his sword returned to him; signalised himself afterwards in a
succession of daring feats; selected to burn the French fleet lying at
anchor in the Basque Roads, he was successful by means of fire-ships in
destroying several vessels, but complained he was not supported by Lord
Gambier, the admiral, a complaint which was fatal to his promotion in the
service; disgraced otherwise, he went abroad and served in foreign
navies, and materially contributed to the establishment of the republic
of Chile and the empire of Brazil; in 1830 he was restored by his party,
the Whigs, to his naval rank, as a man who had been the victim of the
opposite party, and made a vice-admiral of the Blue in 1841; he
afterwards vindicated himself in his "Autobiography of a Seaman"
(1775-1860).
DUNDREARY, LORD, a character of the play "Our American Cousin"; the
personification of a good-natured, brainless swell; represented uniquely
on the stage by Mr. Sothern.
DUNEDIN (47), the capital of Otago, in New Zealand, situated well
south on the E. side of the South Isle, at the head of a spacious bay,
and the largest commercial city in the colony; founded by Scotch
emigrants in 1848, one of the leaders a nephew of Robert Burns.
DUNES, low hills of sand extending along the coast of the
Netherlands and the N. of France.
DUNFERMLINE (19), an ancient burgh in the W. of Fife; a place of
interest as a residence of the early kings of Scotland, and as the
birthplace of David II., James I., and Charles I., and for its abbey; it
stands in the middle of a coal-field, and is the seat of extensive linen
manufactures.
DUNKELD, a town in Perthshire, 15 m. NW. of Perth, with a fine
14th-century cathedral.
DUNKERS, a sect of Quakerist Baptists in the United States.
DUNKIRK (40), the most northern seaport and fortified town of
France, on the Strait of Dover; has manufactures and considerable trade.
DUNNET HEAD, a rocky peninsula, the most northerly point in
Scotland, the rocks from 100 to 600 ft. high.
DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, an old castle of the Keiths now in ruins, on the
flat summit of a precipitous rock 1½ m. S. of Stonehaven,
Kincardineshire, Scotland, and connected with the mainland by a neck of
land called the "Fiddle Head"; famous in Scottish history as a State
prison, and as the place of safe-keeping at a troubled period for the
Scottish regalia, now in Edinburgh Castle.
DUNOIS, JEAN, a French patriot, called the Bastard of Orleans, born
in Paris, natural son of Louis of Orleans, brother of Charles VI.; one of
the national heroes of France; along with Joan of Arc, compelled the
English to raise the siege of Orleans, and contributed powerfully, by his
sword, to all but expel the English from France after the death of that
heroine (1402-1468).
DUNS SCOTUS, JOHANNES, one of the most celebrated of the scholastics
of the 14th century, whether he was native of England, Scotland, or
Ireland is uncertain; entered the Franciscan order, and from his
acuteness got the name of "Doctor Subtilis"; lectured at Oxford to crowds
of auditors, and also at Paris; was the contemporary of Thomas Aquinas,
and the head of an opposing school of Scotists, as against Thomists, as
they were called; whereas Aquinas "proclaimed the Understanding as
principle, he proclaimed the Will, from whose spontaneous exercise he
derived all morality; with this separation of theory from practice and
thought from thing (which accompanied it) philosophy became divided from
theology, reason from faith; reason took a position above faith, above
authority (in modern philosophy), and the religious consciousness broke
with the traditional dogma (at the Reformation)."
DUNSTAN, ST., an English ecclesiastic, born at Glastonbury; a man of
high birth and connection as well as varied accomplishments; began a
religious life as a monk living in a cell by himself, and prevailed in
single combat on one occasion with the devil; became abbot of
Glastonbury, in which capacity he adopted the rôle of statesman, and
arose to great authority during the reign of Edgar, becoming archbishop
of Canterbury, ruling the nation with vigour and success, but with the
death of Edgar his power declined, and he retired to Canterbury, where he
died of grief and vexation; he is the patron saint of goldsmiths
(924-988).
DUNTON, WATTS. See WATTS, THEODORE.
DUPANLOUP, a French prelate, bishop of Orleans, born at St. Felix,
in Savoy; a singularly able and eloquent man; devoted himself to
educational emancipation and reform; protested vigorously against papal
infallibility; yielded at length, and stood up in defence of the Church
(1802-1878).
DUPERRÉ, a French admiral, born at La Rochelle; contributed along
with Marshal Bourmont to the taking of Algiers (1775-1846).
DUPERRON, cardinal, a Swiss by birth and a Calvinist by religious
profession; went to Paris, turned papist, and rose to ecclesiastical
eminence in France under Henry IV. (1556-1618).
DUPIN, ANDRÉ, French jurist and statesman; distinguished at the time
of the revolution of the three days as a supporter of Louis Philippe, and
of the house of Orleans after him (1783-1865).
DUPLEIX, JOSEPH, a French merchant, head of a factory at
Chandernagore, who rose to be governor of the French settlements in
India, and in the management of which he displayed conspicuous ability,
defending them against the English and receiving the dignity of marquis;
jealousy at home, however, led to his recall, and he was left to end his
days in neglect and poverty, though he pled hard with the cabinet at
Versailles to have respect to the sacrifices he made for his country
(1697-1763).
DUPLESSIS, MORNAY, a soldier, diplomatist, and man of letters; a
leader of the Huguenots, who, after the massacre of St. Bartholomew,
visited England, where he was received with favour by Elizabeth in 1575;
entered the service of the King of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV. of
France, but on Henry's reconciliation with the Church of Rome, retired
into private life and devoted himself to literary pursuits; he was called
the "Pope of the Huguenots"; _d_. 1623.
DUPONT, PIERRE, French song-writer; his songs, "Le Chant des
Ouvriers" and "Les Boeufs," the delight of the young generation of 1848
(1820-1872).
DUPONT DE L'EURE, a French politician, born at Neubourg; filled
several important offices in the successive periods of revolution in
France; was distinguished for his integrity and patriotism, and made
President of the Provisional Government in 1848 (1767-1855).
DUPONT DE NEMOURS, French political economist; took part in the
Revolution; was opposed to the excesses of the Jacobin party, but escaped
with his life; wrote a book entitled "Philosophie de l'Universe"
(1739-1817).
DUPUIS, CHARLES FRANÇOIS, a French savant; was a member of the
Convention of the Council of the Five Hundred, and President of the
Legislative Body during the Revolution period; devoted himself to the
study of astronomy in connection with mythology, the result of which was
published in his work in 12 vols., entitled "Origine de tous les Cultes,
ou la Religion Universelle"; he advocated the unity of the astronomical
and religious myths of all nations (1742-1809).
DUPUY, M. CHARLES, French statesman, born at Puy; elected to the
Chamber in 1885; became Premier in 1893 and in 1894; was in office when
Dreyfus was condemned and degraded, and resigned in 1895; _b_. 1851.
DUPUYTREN, BARON, a celebrated French surgeon, born at
Pierre-Buffière; he was a man of firm nerve, signally sure and skilful as
an operator, and contributed greatly, both by his inventions and
discoveries, to the progress of surgery; a museum of pathological
anatomy, in which he made important discoveries, bears his name
(1777-1835).
DUQUESNE, ABRAHAM, MARQUIS, an illustrious naval officer of France,
born at Dieppe; distinguished himself in many a naval engagement, and did
much to enhance the naval glory of the country; among other achievements
plucked the laurels from the brow of his great rival, De Ruyter, by, in
1676, defeating the combined fleets of Spain and Holland under his
command; Louis XIV. offered him a marshal's baton if he would abjure
Calvinism, but he declined; he was the only one of the Huguenots excepted
from proscription in the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, but his last
days were saddened by the banishment of his children (1610-1688).
DURA DEN, a glen near Cupar-Fife, famous for the number of ganoid
fossil fishes entombed in its sandstone.
DURANCE, a tributary of the Rhône, which, after a rapid course of
180 m., falls into that river by its left bank 3 m. below Avignon.
DURAND, an Indian officer; served in the Afghan and Sikh Wars, and
became Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab (1828-1871).
DURANDAL, the miraculous sword of Orlando, with which he could
cleave mountains at a blow.
DURBAN (27), the port of Natal, largest town in the colony, with a
land-locked harbour.
DURBAR, a ceremonious State reception in India.
DÜRER, ALBERT, the great early German painter and engraver, born at
Nürnberg, son of a goldsmith, a good man, who brought him up to his own
profession, but he preferred painting, for which he early exhibited a
special aptitude, and his father bound him apprentice for three years to
the chief artist in the place, at the expiry of which he travelled in
Germany and other parts; in 1506 he visited Venice, where he met Bellini,
and painted several pictures; proceeded thence to Bologna, and was
introduced to Raphael; his fame spread widely, and on his return he was
appointed court-painter by the Emperor Maximilian, an office he held
under Charles V.; he was of the Reformed faith, and a friend of
Melanchthon as well as an admirer of Luther, on whose incarceration in
Wartburg he uttered a long lament; he was a prince of painters, his
drawing and colouring perfect, and the inventor of etching, in which he
was matchless; he carved in wood, ivory, stone, and metal; was an author
as well as an artist, and wrote, among other works, an epoch-making
treatise on proportion in the human figure; "it could not be better done"
was his quiet, confident reply as a sure workman to a carper on one
occasion (1471-1528).
D'URFEY, TOM, a facetious poet; author of comedies and songs; a
great favourite of Charles II. and his court; of comedies he wrote some
30, which are all now discarded for their licentiousness, and a curious
book of sonnets, entitled "Pills to Purge Melancholy"; came to poverty in
the end of his days; Addison pled on his behalf, and hoped that "as he
had made the world merry, the world would make him easy" (1628-1723).
DURGÂ, in the Hindu mythology the consort of Siva.
DURHAM (15), an ancient city on the Wear, with a noble cathedral and
a castle, once the residence of the bishop, now a university seat, in the
heart of a county of the same name (1,106), rich in coal-fields, and with
numerous busy manufacturing towns.
DURHAM, ADMIRAL, entered the navy in 1777; was officer on the watch
when the _Royal George_ went down off Spithead, and the only one with
Captain Waghorn who escaped; served as acting-lieutenant of a ship under
Lord Howe at the relief of Gibraltar, and commanded the _Defence_, a ship
of 74 guns, at the battle of Trafalgar (1763-1815).
DURHAM, JOHN G. L., EARL OF, an English statesman, born in Durham
Co.; a zealous Liberal and reformer, and a member of the Reform
Government under Earl Grey, which he contributed much to inaugurate; was
ambassador in St. Petersburg, and was sent governor-general to Canada in
1839, but owing to some misunderstanding took the extraordinary step of
ultroneously returning within the year (1792-1840).
DURWARD, QUENTIN, a Scottish archer in the service of Louis XI., the
hero of a novel of Scott's of the name.
DÜSSELDORF (176), a well-built town of Rhenish Prussia, on the right
bank of the Rhine; it is a place of manufactures, and has a fine
picture-gallery with a famous school of art associated.
DUTENS, JOSEPH, a French engineer and political economist
(1763-1848).
DUTENS, LOUIS, a French savant, born at Tours; after being chaplain
to the British minister at Turin, settled in England, and became
historiographer-royal; was a man of varied learning, and well read in
historical subjects and antiquities (1730-1812).
DUTROCHET, a French physiologist and physicist, known for his
researches on the passage of fluids through membranous tissues
(1776-1847).
DUUMVIRS, the name of two Roman magistrates who exercised the same
public functions.
DUVAL, CLAUDE, a French numismatist, and writer on numismatics;
keeper of the imperial cabinet of Vienna; was originally a shepherd boy
(1695-1775).
DWIGHT, TIMOTHY, an American theologian, grandson of Jonathan
Edwards, and much esteemed in his day both as a preacher and a writer;
his "Theology Explained and Defended," in 5 vols., was very popular at
one time, and was frequently reprinted (1752-1817).
DWINA, a Russian river, distinguished from the DÜNA (q. v.),
also called Duna, and an important, which flows N. to the White
Sea.
DYAKS, the native name of tribes of Malays of a superior class
aboriginal to Borneo.
DYCE, ALEXANDER, an English literary editor and historian, born in
Edinburgh; edited several of the old English poets and authors, some of
them little known before; also the poems of Shakespeare, Pope, &c.; was
one of the founders of the Percy Society, for the publication of old
English works (1798-1869).
DYCE, WILLIAM, a distinguished Scottish artist, born in Aberdeen,
studied in Rome; settled for a time in Edinburgh, and finally removed to
London; painted portraits at first, but soon took to higher subjects of
art; his work was such as to commend itself to both German and French
artists; he gave himself to fresco-painting, and as a fresco-painter was
selected to adorn the walls of the Palace of Westminster and the House of
Lords; his "Baptism of Ethelbert," in the latter, is considered his best
work (1806-1864).
DYCK, VAN. See VANDYCK.
DYER, JOHN, English poet; was a great lover and student of landscape
scenery, and his poems, "Grongar Hill" and the "Fleece," abound in
descriptions of these, the scenery of the former lying in S. Wales
(1700-1758).
DYNAM, the unit of work, or the force required to raise one pound
one foot in one second.
DYNAMITE, a powerful explosive substance, intensely local in its
action; formed by impregnating a porous siliceous earth or other
substance with some 70 per cent. of nitro-glycerine.
DYNAMO, a machine by which mechanical work is transformed into
powerful electric currents by the inductive action of magnets on coils of
copper wire in motion.
E
EACUS. See ÆACUS.
EADMER, a celebrated monk of Canterbury; flourished in the 12th
century; friend and biographer of St. Anselm, author of a History of His
Own Times, as also of many of the Lives of the Saints; elected to the
bishopric of St. Andrews in 1120; resigned on account of Alexander I.
refusing to admit the right of the English Archbishop of Canterbury to
perform the ceremony of consecration.
EADRIC, a Saxon, notorious for his treachery, fighting now with his
countrymen against the Danes and now with the Danes against them, till
put to death by order of Canute in 1017.
EADS, JAMES BUCHANAN, an American engineer, born in Laurenceburg,
Indiana; designed ingenious boats for floating submerged ships; built
with remarkable speed warships for the Federalists in 1861; constructed a
steel bridge spanning the Mississippi at St. Louis, noteworthy for its
central span of 520 ft. (1820-1887).
EAGLE, the king of birds, and bird of Jove; was adopted by various
nations as the emblem of dominant power, as well as of nobility and
generosity; in Christian art it is the symbol of meditation, and the
attribute of St. John; is represented now as fighting with a serpent, and
now as drinking out of a chalice or a communion cup, to strengthen it for
the fight.
EAGLE, ORDER OF THE BLACK, an order of knighthood founded by the
Elector of Brandenburg in 1701; with this order was ultimately
incorporated the ORDER OF THE RED EAGLE, founded in 1734 by the
Markgraf of Bayreuth.
EAGLE OF BRITTANY, DU GUESCLIN (q. v.).
EAGLE OF MEAUX, BOSSUET (q. v.).
EAGRE, a name given in England to a tidal wave rushing up a river or
estuary on the top of another, called also a BORE (q. v.).
EARL, a title of nobility, ranking third in the British peerage;
originally election to the dignity of earl carried with it a grant of
land held in feudal tenure, the discharge of judicial and administrative
duties connected therewith, and was the occasion of a solemn service of
investiture. In course of time the title lost its official character, and
since the reign of Queen Anne all ceremony of investiture has been
dispensed with, the title being conferred by letters-patent. The word is
derived from the Anglo-Saxon _eorls_ which signified the "gentle folk,"
as distinguished from the _ceorls_, the "churls" or "simple folk."
EARL MARSHAL, a high officer of State, an office of very ancient
institution, now the head of the college of arms, and hereditary in the
family of the Dukes of Norfolk; formerly one of the chief officers in the
court of chivalry, a court which had to do with all matters of high
ceremonial, such as coronations.
EARLOM, RICHARD, a mezzotint engraver, born in London; celebrated
for his series of 200 prints after the original designs of Claude de
Lorraine (1743-1822).
EARLSTON or ERCILDOUNE, a village in Berwickshire, with
manufactures of ginghams and other textiles. In its vicinity stand the
ruins of the "Rhymer's Tower," alleged to have been the residence of
Thomas the Rhymer.
EARLY ENGLISH, a term in architecture used to designate that
particular form of Gothic architecture in vogue in England in the 13th
century, whose chief characteristic was the pointed arch.
EARTH HOUSES, known also as Yird Houses, Weems and Picts' Houses,
underground dwellings in use in Scotland, extant even after the Roman
evacuation of Britain. Entrance was effected by a passage not much wider
than a fox burrow, which sloped downwards 10 or 12 ft. to the floor of
the house; the inside was oval in shape, and was walled with overlapping
rough stone slabs; the roof frequently reached to within a foot of the
earth's surface; they probably served as store-houses, winter-quarters,
and as places of refuge in times of war. Similar dwellings are found in
Ireland.
EARTHLY PARADISE, poem by William Morris, his greatest effort,
considered his masterpiece; consists of 24 tales by 24 travellers in
quest of an earthly paradise.
EAST INDIA COMPANY, founded in 1600; erected its first factories on
the mainland in 1612 at Surat, but its most profitable trade in these
early years was with the Spice Islands, Java, Sumatra, &c.; driven from
these islands by the Dutch in 1622, the Company established itself
altogether on the mainland; although originally created under royal
charter for purely commercial purposes, it in 1689 entered upon a career
of territorial acquisition, which culminated in the establishment of
British power in India; gradually, as from time to time fresh renewals of
its charter were granted, it was stripped of its privileges and
monopolies, till in 1858, after the Mutiny, all its powers were vested in
the British Crown.
EAST RIVER, the strait which separates Brooklyn and New York cities,
lying between Long Island Sound and New York Bay, about 10 m. long; is
spanned by a bridge.
EASTBOURNE (35), a fashionable watering-place and health resort on
the Sussex coast, between Brighton and Hastings, and 66 m. S. of London;
has Roman remains, and is described in "Domesday Book."
EASTER, an important festival of the Church commemorating the
resurrection of Christ; held on the first Sunday after the first full
moon of the calendar which happens on or next after 21st of March, and
constituting the beginning of the ecclesiastical year; the date of it
determines the dates of other movable festivals; derives its name from
Eastre, a Saxon goddess, whose festival was celebrated about the same
time, and to which many of the Easter customs owe their origin.
EASTERN STATES, the six New England States in N. America--Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
EASTLAKE, SIR CHARLES LOCK, artist and author, born at Plymouth;
studied painting in London and in Paris; produced the last portrait of
Napoleon, which he executed from a series of sketches of the emperor on
board the _Bellerophon_ in Plymouth harbour; he travelled in Greece, and
from 1816 to 1830 made his home at Rome; "Christ Weeping over Jerusalem,"
his greatest work, appeared in 1841; was President of the Royal Academy;
wrote several works on subjects relating to his art, and translated
Goethe's "Farbenlehre" (1793-1865).
EASTWICK, EDWARD BACKHOUSE, Orientalist and diplomatist, born at
Warfield, in Berkshire; went to India as a cadet, acquired an extensive
knowledge of Indian dialects and Eastern languages, and passed an
interpretership examination, gaining the high proficiency reward of 1000
rupees; carried through peace negotiations with China in 1842; invalided
home, he became professor of Hindustani at Haileybury College; afterwards
studied law and was called to the bar; entered Parliament, and held
various political appointments, including a three years' embassy in
Persia; was a fellow of many antiquarian and philological societies;
amongst his numerous philological productions and translations his
"Gulistan" and "Life of Zoroaster" from the Persian are noted
(1814-1883).
EAU CREOLE, a liqueur from the distillation of the flowers of the
mammee apple with spirits of wine.
EAU-DE-COLOGNE, a perfume originally manufactured at Cologne by
distillation from certain essential oils with rectified spirit.
EBAL, MOUNT, a mountain with a level summit, which rises to the
height of 3077 ft. on the N. side of the narrow Vale of Shechem, in
Palestine, and from the slopes of which the people of Israel responded to
the curses which were pronounced by the Levites in the valley.
EBERHARD, JOHANN AUGUST, German philosophical writer, born at
Halberstadt; professor at Halle; rationalistic in his theology, and
opposed to the Kantian metaphysics; was a disciple of Leibnitz; wrote a
"New Apology of Socrates," in defence of rationalism in theology, as well
as a "Universal History of Philosophy," and a work on German synonyms
(1739-1809).
EBERS, GEORGE MORITZ, German Egyptologist, born at Berlin;
discovered an important papyrus; was professor successively at Jena and
Leipzig; laid aside by ill-health, betook himself to novel-writing as a
pastime; was the author of "Aarda, a Romance of Ancient Egypt,"
translated by Clara Bell (1837-1898).
EBERT, KARL EGON, a Bohemian poet, born at Prague; his poems,
dramatic and lyric, are collected in 7 vols., and enjoy a wide popularity
in his country (1801-1882).
EBIONITES, a sect that in the 2nd century sought to combine Judaism
and the hopes of Judaism with Christianity, and rejected the authority of
St. Paul and of the Pauline writings; they denied the divinity of Christ,
and maintained that only the poor as such were the objects of salvation.
EBLIS, in Mohammedan tradition the chief of the fallen angels,
consigned to perdition for refusing to worship Adam at the command of his
Creator, and who gratified his revenge by seducing Adam and Eve from
innocency.
EBONY, a name given to Blackwood by James Hogg, and eventually
applied to his magazine.
EBRO, a river of Spain, rises in the Cantabrian Mountains, flows SE.
into the Mediterranean 80 m. SW. of Barcelona, after a course of 422 m.
ECBATANA, the ancient capital of Media, situated near Mount Orontes
(now Elvend); was surrounded by seven walls of different colours that
increased in elevation towards the central citadel; was a summer
residence of the Persian and Parthian kings. The modern town of Hamadan
now occupies the site of it.
ECCE HOMO (i. e. Behold the Man), a representation of Christ as He
appeared before Pilate crowned with thorns and bound with ropes, as in
the painting of Correggio, a subject which has been treated by many of
the other masters, such as Titian and Vandyck.
ECCHYMOSIS, a discolouration of the skin produced by extravasated
blood under or in the texture of the skin, the result of a blow or of
disease.
ECCLEFECHAN, a market-town of Dumfriesshire, consisting for the most
part of the High Street, 5 m. S. of Lockerbie, on the main road to
Carlisle, 16 m. to the S.; noted as the birth and burial place of Thomas
Carlyle.
ECCLESIASTES (i. e. the Preacher), a book of the Old Testament,
questionably ascribed to Solomon, and now deemed of more recent date as
belonging to a period when the reflective spirit prevailed; and it is
written apparently in depreciation of mere reflection as a stepping-stone
to wisdom. The standpoint of the author is a religious one; the data on
which he rests is given in experience, and his object is to expose the
vanity of every source of satisfaction which is not founded on the fear,
and has not supreme regard for the commandments, of God, a doctrine which
is the very ground-principle of the Jewish faith; but if vanity is
written over the whole field of human experience, he argues, this is not
the fault of the system of things, but due, according to the author, to
the folly of man (chap. vii. 29).
ECCLESIASTICAL POLITY, THE LAW OF, a vindication of the Anglican
Church against the Puritans, written by Richard Hooker; the most splendid
and stately piece of literary prose that exists in the language.
ECCLESIASTICAL STATES, territories in Italy once subject to the Pope
as a temporal prince as well as ecclesiastically.
ECCLESIASTICUS, one of the books of the Apocrypha, ascribed to
Jesus, the son of Sirach, admitted to the sacred canon by the Council of
Trent, though excluded by the Jews. It contains a body of wise maxims, in
imitation, as regards matter as well as form, of the Proverbs of Solomon,
and an appendix on the men who were the disciples of wisdom. Its general
aim, as has been said, is "to represent wisdom as the source of all
virtue and blessedness, and by warnings, admonitions, and promises to
encourage in the pursuit of it." It was originally written in Hebrew, but
is now extant only in a Greek translation executed in Egypt, professedly
by the author's grandson.
ECCLESIOLOGY, the name given in England to the study of church
architecture and all that concerns the ground-plan and the internal
arrangements of the parts of the edifice.
ECGBERHT, archbishop of York; was a pupil of Bede, and the heir to
his learning; founded a far-famed school at York, which developed into a
university; flourished in 766.
ECHIDNA, a fabulous monster that figures in the Greek mythology,
half-woman, half-serpent, the mother of Cerberus, the Lernean Hydra, the
Chimæra, the Sphinx, the Gorgons, the Nemean Lion, the vulture that
gnawed the liver of Prometheus, &c.
ECHO, a wood-nymph in love with Narcissus, who did not return her
love, in consequence of which she pined away till all that remained of
her was only her voice.
ECK, JOHN, properly MAÍER, a German theologian, of Swabian
birth, professor at Ingolstadt; a violent, blustering antagonist of
Luther and Luther's doctrines; in his zeal went to Rome, and procured a
papal bull against both; undertook at the Augsburg Diet to controvert
Luther's doctrine from the Fathers, but not from the Scriptures; was
present at the conferences of Worms and Regensburg (1486-1543).
ECKERMANN, JOHANN PETER, a German writer, born at Winsen, in
Hanover; friend of Goethe, and editor of his works; the author of
"Conversations with Goethe in the Last Years of his Life, 1823-32," a
record of wise reflections and of Goethe's opinions on all subjects, of
the utmost interest to all students of the German sage (1792-1854).
ECKHART, MEISTER, a German philosopher and divine, profoundly
speculative and mystical; entered the Dominican Order, and rapidly
attained to a high position in the Church; arraigned for heresy in 1325,
and was acquitted, but two years after his death his writings were
condemned as heretical by a papal bull; died in 1327.
ECKMÜHL, a village in Bavaria where Napoleon defeated the Austrians
in 1809, and which gave the title of Duke to DAVOUT (q. v.), one
of Napoleon's generals.
ECLECTICS, so-called philosophers who attach themselves to no
system, but select what, in their judgment, is true out of others. In
antiquity the Eclectic philosophy is that which sought to unite into a
coherent whole the doctrines of Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, such as
that of Plotinus and Proclus was. There is an eclecticism in art as well
as philosophy, and the term is applied to an Italian school which aimed
at uniting the excellencies of individual great masters.
ECLIPTIC, the name given to the circular path in the heavens round
which the sun appears to move in the course of the year, an illusion
caused by the earth's annual circuit round the sun, with its axis
inclined at an angle to the equator of 23½ degrees; is the central line
of the ZODIAC (q. v.), so called because it was observed that
eclipses occurred only when the earth was on or close upon this path.
ECONOMY, "the right arrangement of things," and distinct from
Frugality, which is "the careful and fitting use of things."
ECORCHEURS (lit. flayers properly of dead bodies), armed bands who
desolated France in the reign of Charles VII., stripping their victims of
everything, often to their very clothes.
ECSTATIC DOCTOR, Jean Ruysbroek, a schoolman given to mysticism
(1294-1381).
ECUADOR (1,271), a republic of S. America, of Spanish origin,
created in 1822; derives its name from its position on the equator; lies
between Columbia and Peru; is traversed by the Andes, several of the
peaks of which are actively volcanic; the population consists of Peruvian
Indians, negroes, Spanish Creoles; exports cocoa, coffee, hides, and
medicinal plants; the administration is vested in a president, a
vice-president, two ministers, a senate of 18, and a house of deputies of
30, elected by universal suffrage.
ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, an ecclesiastical council representative, or
accepted as representative, of the Church universal or Catholic. See
COUNCILS.
ECZEMA, a common skin disease, which may be either chronic or acute;
develops in a red rash of tiny vesicles, which usually burst and produce
a characteristic scab; is not contagious, and leaves no scar.
EDDA (lit. grandmother), the name given to two collections of
legends illustrative of the Scandinavian mythology: the Elder, or Poetic,
Edda, collected in the 11th century by Sæmund Sigfusson, an early
Christian priest, "with perhaps a lingering fondness for paganism," and
the Younger, or Prose, Edda, collected in the next century by Snorri
Sturleson, an Icelandic gentleman (1178-1241), "educated by Sæmund's
grandson, the latter a work constructed with great ingenuity and native
talent, what one might call unconscious art, altogether a perspicuous,
clear work, pleasant reading still."
EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE, situated on a low reef of rocks submerged at
high tide, 14 m. SW. of Plymouth; first built of wood by Winstanley,
1696; destroyed by a storm in 1703; rebuilt of wood on a stone base by
Rudyard; burnt in 1755, and reconstructed by Smeaton of solid stone; the
present edifice, on a different site, was completed by Sir James Douglas
in 1882, is 133 ft. in height, and has a light visible 17½ m. off.
EDELINCK, GERARD, a Flemish copper-plate engraver, born at Antwerp;
invited to France by Colbert, and patronised by Louis XIV.; executed in a
masterly manner many works from historical subjects (1640-1707).
EDEN (i. e. place of delight), Paradise, the original spot
referred to by tradition wholly uncertain, though believed to have been
in the Far East, identified in Moslem tradition with the moon.
EDESSA (40), an ancient city in Mesopotamia; figures in early Church
history, and is reputed to have contained at one time 300 monasteries; it
fell into the hands of the Turks in 1515; is regarded as the sacred city
of Abraham by Orientals.
EDFU, a town in Upper Egypt, on the left bank of the Nile; has
unique ruins of two temples, the larger founded by Ptolemy IV. Philopater
before 200 B.C.
EDGAR, a king of Saxon England from 959 to 975, surnamed the
Peaceful; promoted the union and consolidation of the Danish and Saxon
elements within his realm; cleared Wales of wolves by exacting of its
inhabitants a levy of 300 wolves' heads yearly; eight kings are said to
have done him homage by rowing him on the Dee; St. Dunstan, the
archbishop of Canterbury, was the most prominent figure of the reign.
EDGAR THE ATHELING, a Saxon prince, the grandson of Edmund Ironside;
was hurriedly proclaimed king of England after the death of Harold in the
battle of Hastings, but was amongst the first to offer submission on the
approach of the Conqueror; spent his life in a series of feeble attempts
at rebellion, and lived into the reign of Henry I.
EDGEHILL, in the S. of Warwickshire, the scene of the first battle
in the Civil War, in 1642, between the royal forces under Charles I. and
the Parliamentary under Essex; though the Royalists had the worst of it,
no real advantage was gained by either side.
EDGEWORTH, HENRY ESSEX, known as the "Abbé" Edgeworth, born in
Ireland, son of a Protestant clergyman; educated at the Sorbonne, in
Paris; entered the priesthood, and became the confessor of Louis XVI.,
whom he attended on the scaffold; exclaimed as the guillotine came down,
"Son of St. Louis, ascend to heaven!" left France soon after; was
subsequently chaplain to Louis XVIII. (1745-1807).
EDGEWORTH, MARIA, novelist, born at Blackbourton, Berks; from her
fifteenth year her home was in Ireland; she declined the suit of a
Swedish count, and remained till the close of her life unmarried; amongst
the best known of her works are "Moral Tales," "Tales from Fashionable
Life," "Castle Rackrent," "The Absentee," and "Ormond"; her novels are
noted for their animated pictures of Irish life, and were acknowledged by
Scott to have given him the first suggestion of the Waverley series; the
Russian novelist, Turgenief, acknowledges a similar indebtedness; "in her
Irish stories she gave," says Stopford Brooke, "the first impulse to the
novel of national character, and in her other tales to the novel with a
moral purpose" (1766-1849).
EDGEWORTH, RICHARD LOVELL, an Irish landlord, father of Maria
Edgeworth, with a genius for mechanics, in which he displayed a
remarkable talent for invention; was member of the last Irish Parliament;
educated his son in accordance with the notions of Rousseau; wrote some
works on mechanical subjects in collaboration with his daughter
(1744-1817).
EDICT OF NANTES, an edict issued in 1598 by Henry IV. of France,
granting toleration to the Protestants; revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685.
EDIE OCHILTREE, a character in Scott's "Antiquary."
EDINA, poetic name for Edinburgh.
EDINBURGH (263), the capital of Scotland, on the Firth of Forth,
picturesquely situated amid surrounding hills; derives its name from
Edwin, king of Northumbria in the 7th century; was created a burgh in
1329 by Robert the Bruce, and recognised as the capital in the 15th
century, under the Stuarts; it has absorbed in its growth adjoining
municipalities; is noted as an educational centre; is the seat of the
Supreme Courts; has a university, castle, and royal palace, and the old
Scotch Parliament House, now utilised by the Law Courts; brewing and
printing are the chief industries, but the upper classes of the citizens
are for the most part either professional people or living in retirement.
EDINBURGH REVIEW, a celebrated quarterly review started in October
1802 in Edinburgh to further the Whig interest; amongst its founders and
contributors were Horner, Brougham, Jeffrey, and Sidney Smith, the latter
being editor of the first three numbers; Jeffrey assumed the editorship
in 1803, and in his hands it became famous for its incisive literary
critiques, Carlyle and Macaulay contributing some of their finest essays
to it.
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY, founded in 1583; was the last of the Scotch
Universities to receive its charter; was raised to an equal status with
the others in 1621; its site was the famous Kirk o'Field, the scene of
the Darnley tragedy; now consists of two separate buildings, one entirely
devoted to medicine, and the other to arts and training in other
departments; has an average matriculation roll of about 3000.
EDISON, THOMAS ALVA, a celebrated American inventor, born at Milan,
Ohio; started life as a newsboy; early displayed his genius and
enterprise by producing the first newspaper printed in a railway train;
turning his attention to telegraphy, he revolutionised the whole system
by a series of inventions, to which he has since added others, to the
number of 500, the most notable being the megaphone, phonograph,
kinetoscope, a carbon telegraph transmitter, and improvements in electric
lighting; _b_. 1847.
EDITH, the alleged name of Lot's wife.
EDITHE, ST., an English princess, the natural daughter of Edgar,
king of England (961-984). Festival, Sept. 16.
EDMUND, ST., king or "landlord" of East Anglia from 855 to 870;
refused to renounce Christianity and accept heathenism at the hands of a
set of "mere physical force" invading Danes, and suffered martyrdom
rather; was made a saint of and had a monastery called "Bury St.
Edmunds," in Norfolk, raised to his memory over his grave.
EDMUND, ST., Edmund Rich, archbishop of Canterbury, born at
Abingdon; while still at school made a vow of celibacy and wedded the
Virgin Mary; sided as archbishop with the popular party against the
tyranny of both Pope and king; coming into disfavour with the papal court
retired to France, where, on his arrival, the mother of St. Louis with
her sons met him to receive his blessing, and where he spent his last
days in a monastery; died in 1240, and was canonised six years after by
Innocent IV., somewhat reluctantly it is said.
EDMUND IRONSIDE, succeeded to the throne of England on the death of
his father Ethelred the Unready in 1016, but reigned only seven months;
he struggled bravely, and at first successfully, against Canute the Dane,
but being defeated, the kingdom ultimately was divided between them
(981-1016).
EDOM, or IDUMÆA, a mountainous but not unfertile country,
comprising the S. of Judæa and part of the N. of Arabia Petræa, 100 m.
long by 20 m. broad, peopled originally by the descendants of Esau, who
were ruled by "dukes," and were bitterly hostile to the Jews.
EDRED, king of the Anglo-Saxons, son of Edward the Elder; subdued
Northumbria; had in the end of his reign St. Dunstan for chief adviser;
_d_. 955.
EDRISI, an Arabian geographer, born at Ceuta, in Spain; by request
of Roger II. of Sicily wrote an elaborate description of the earth, which
held a foremost place amongst mediæval geographers (1099-1180).
EDUCATION, as conceived of by Ruskin, and alone worthy of the name,
"the leading human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of
them"; and attained, "not by telling a man what he knew not, but by
making him what he was not."
EDUI, an ancient Gallic tribe, whose capital was Bibracte (Autun).
EDWARD, THOMAS, naturalist, born at Gosport; bred a shoemaker;
settled in Banff, where he devoted his leisure to the study of animal
nature, and collected numerous specimens of animals, which he stuffed and
exhibited, but with pecuniary loss; the Queen's attention being called to
his case, settled on him an annual pension of £50, while the citizens of
Aberdeen presented him in March 1877 with a gift of 130 sovereigns, on
which occasion he made a characteristic speech (1814-1886).
EDWARD I., surnamed Longshanks, king of England, born at
Westminster, son of Henry III., married ELEANOR (q. v.) of
Castile; came first into prominence in the Barons' War; defeated the
nobles at Evesham, and liberated his father; joined the last Crusade in
1270, and distinguished himself at Acre; returned to England in 1274 to
assume the crown, having been two years previously proclaimed king;
during his reign the ascendency of the Church and the nobles received a
check, the growing aspiration of the people for a larger share in the
affairs of the nation was met by an extended franchise, while the right
of Parliament to regulate taxation was recognised; under his reign Wales
was finally subdued and annexed to England, and a temporary conquest of
Scotland was achieved (1239-1307).
EDWARD II., king of England (1307-1327), son of the preceding; was
first Prince of Wales, being born at Carnarvon; being a weakling was
governed by favourites, Gaveston and the Spencers, whose influence, as
foreigners and unpatriotic, offended the barons, who rose against him; in
1314 Scotland rose in arms under Bruce, and an ill-fated expedition under
him ended in the crushing defeat at Bannockburn; in 1327 he was deposed,
and was brutally murdered in Berkeley Castle (1284-1327).
EDWARD III., king of England (1327-1377), son of the preceding,
married Philippa of Hainault; during his boyhood the government was
carried on by a council of regency; in 1328 the independence of Scotland
was recognised, and nine years later began the Hundred Years' War with
France, memorable in this reign for the heroic achievements of EDWARD
THE BLACK PRINCE (q. v.), the king's eldest son; associated with
this reign are the glorious victories of Crécy and Poitiers, and the
great naval battle at Sluys, one of the earliest victories of English
arms at sea; these successes were not maintained in the later stages of
the war, and the treaty of Bretigny involved the withdrawal of Edward's
claim to the French crown; in 1376 the Black Prince died.
EDWARD IV., king of England (1461-1483), son of Richard, Duke of
York, and successor to the Lancastrian Henry VI., whom he defeated at
Towton; throughout his reign the country was torn by the Wars of the
Roses, in which victory rested with the Yorkists at Hedgeley Moor,
Hexham, Barnet, and Tewkesbury; in this reign little social progress was
made, but a great step towards it was made by the introduction of
printing by Caxton (1442-1483)
EDWARD V., king of England for three months in 1483, son of the
preceding; deposed by his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester; was
ultimately murdered in the Tower, along with his young brother
(1470-1483).
EDWARD VI., king of England (1547-1553), son of Henry VIII. and Jane
Seymour; his reign, which was a brief one, was marked by a victory over
the Scots at Pinkie (1547), Catholic and agrarian risings, and certain
ecclesiastical reforms (1537-1553).
EDWARD VII., king of Great Britain and Ireland and "all the British
Dominions beyond the Seas," born 9th November 1841, succeeded his mother,
Queen Victoria, 22nd Jan. 1901. On 10th March 1863 he married Princess
Alexandra, eldest daughter of Christian IX. of Denmark, and has four
surviving children: George, Prince of Wales, _b_. 1865; Louise, Duchess
of Fife, _b_. 1867; Victoria, _b_. 1868; and Maud, _b_. 1869, who married
Prince Charles of Denmark. The king's eldest son, Albert Victor, _b_.
1864, died January 14, 1892.
EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, king of England, married Edith, daughter of
the great EARL GODWIN (q. v.); was a feeble monarch of ascetic
proclivities; his appeal to the Duke of Normandy precipitated the Norman
invasion, and in him perished the royal Saxon line; was canonised for his
piety (1004-1066).
EDWARD THE ELDER, king of the Anglo-Saxons from 901 to 925; was the
son and successor of Alfred the Great; extended the Anglo-Saxon
dominions.
EDWARDES, SIR HERBERT BENJAMIN, soldier and administrator in India,
born at Frodesley, Shropshire; was actively engaged in the first Sikh War
and in the Mutiny; served under Sir Henry Lawrence, whose Life he partly
wrote (1819-1868).
EDWARDS, BRYAN, historian, born at Westbury; traded in Jamaica;
wrote a "History of British Colonies in the West Indies" (1743-1800).
EDWARDS, JONATHAN, a celebrated divine, born at E. Windsor,
Connecticut; graduated at Yale; minister at Northampton, Mass.;
missionary to Housatonnuck Indians; was elected to the Presidency of
Princeton College; wrote an acute and original work, "The Freedom of the
Will," a masterpiece of cogent reasoning; has been called the "Spinoza of
Calvinism" (1703-1758).
EDWIN, king of Northumbria in the 6th century; through the influence
of his wife Ethelburga Christianity was introduced into England by St.
Augustine; founded Edinburgh; was defeated and slain by the Mercian King
Penda in 634.
EDWY, king of the Anglo-Saxons from 955 to 957; offended the
clerical party headed by Dunstan and Odo, who put his wife Elgiva to
death, after which he soon died himself at the early age of 19.
EECKHOUT, a Dutch portrait and historical painter, born at Antwerp;
the most eminent disciple of Rembrandt, whose style he successfully
imitated (1621-1674).
EFFEN, VAN, a Dutch author, who wrote chiefly in French; imitated
the _Spectator_ of Addison, and translated into French Swift's "Tale of a
Tub" and Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" (1684-1735).
EFFENDI, a title of honour among the Turks, applied to State and
civil officials, frequently associated with the name of the office, as
well as to men of learning or high position.
EGALITÉ, PHILIPPE, Duke of Orleans, born April 13th, 1787, father of
Louis Philippe; so called because he sided with the Republican party in
the French Revolution, and whose motto was "Liberté, Fraternité, et
Egalité." See ORLEANS, DUKE OF.
EGATES, three islands on the W. coast of Sicily.
EGBERT, king of Wessex, a descendant of Cedric the founder; after an
exile of 13 years at the court of Charlemagne ascended the throne in 800;
reigned till 809, governing his people in tranquillity, when, by
successful wars with the other Saxon tribes, he in two years became
virtual king of all England, and received the revived title of Bretwalda;
_d_. 837.
EGEDE, HANS, a Norwegian priest, founder of the Danish mission in
Greenland, whither he embarked with his family and a small colony of
traders in 1721; leaving his son to carry on the mission, and returning
to Denmark, he became head of a training school for young missionaries to
Greenland (1686-1758).
EGEDE, PAUL, son of Hans; assisted his father in the Greenland
mission, and published a history of the mission; translated part of the
Bible into the language of the country, and composed a grammar and a
dictionary of it; _d_. 1789.
EGER (17), a town in Bohemia, on the river Eger, 91 m. W. of Prague,
a centre of railway traffic; Wallenstein was murdered here in 1634; the
river flows into the Elbe after a NE. course of 190 m.
EGERIA, a nymph who inhabited a grotto in a grove in Latium,
dedicated to the Camenæ, some 16 m. from Rome, and whom, according to
tradition, Numa was in the habit of consulting when engaged in framing
forms of religious worship for the Roman community; she figures as his
spiritual adviser, and has become the symbol of one of her sex, conceived
of as discharging the same function in other the like cases.
EGERTON, FRANCIS. See BRIDGEWATER, EARL OF.
EGGER, ÉMILE, a French Hellenist and philologist (1813-1885).
EGHAM (10), a small town in Surrey, on the Thames, 20 m. W. of
London; has in its vicinity Runnymede, where King John signed _Magna
Charta_ in 1215.
EGINHARD, or EINHARD, a Frankish historian, born in Mainyan, in
East Franconia; a collection of his letters and his Annals of the Franks,
as well as his famous "Life of Charlemagne," are extant; was a favourite
of the latter, who appointed him superintendent of public buildings, and
took him with him on all his expeditions; after the death of Charlemagne
he continued at the Court as tutor to the Emperor Louis's son; died in
retirement (770-840).
EGLANTINE, MADAME, the prioress in the "Canterbury Tales" of
Chaucer.
EGLINTON AND WINTON, EARL OF, Archibald William Montgomerie, born at
Palermo; became Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Rector of Glasgow University;
was a noted sportsman and patron of the turf; is chiefly remembered in
connection with a brilliant tournament given by him at Eglinton Castle in
1839, in which all the splendour and detail of a mediæval tourney were
spectacularly reproduced (1812-1861).
EGMONT, LAMORAL, COUNT OF, born in Hainault; became attached to the
Court of Charles V., by whom, for distinguished military and diplomatic
services, he was appointed governor of Flanders; fell into disfavour for
espousing the cause of the Protestants of the Netherlands, and was
beheaded in Brussels by the Duke of Alva; his career and fate form the
theme of Goethe's tragedy "Egmont," a play nothing as a drama, but
charming as a picture of the two chief characters in the piece, Egmont
and Clärchen.
EGMONT, MOUNT, the loftiest peak in the North Island, New Zealand,
is 8270 ft. in height, and of volcanic origin.
EGO and NON-EGO (i. e. I and Not-I, or Self and Not-Self),
are terms used in philosophy to denote respectively the subjective and
the objective in cognition, what is from self and what is from the
external to self, what is merely individual and what is universal.
EGOISM, the philosophy of those who, uncertain of everything but the
existence of the Ego or I, resolve all existence as known into forms or
modifications of its self-consciousness.
EGOIST, a novel by George Meredith, much admired by R. L. Stevenson,
who read and re-read it at least five times over.
EGYPT (8,000), a country occupying the NE. corner of Africa, lies
along the W. shore of the Red Sea, has a northern coast-line on the
Mediterranean, and stretches S. as far as Wady Halfa; the area is nearly
400,000 sq. m.; its chief natural features are uninhabitable desert on
the E. and W., and the populous and fertile valley of the Nile. Cereals,
sugar, cotton, and tobacco are important products. Mohammedan Arabs
constitute the bulk of the people, but there is also a remnant of the
ancient Coptic race. The country is nominally a dependency of Turkey
under a native government, but is in reality controlled by the British,
who exercise a veto on its financial policy, and who, since 1882, have
occupied the country with soldiers. The noble monuments and relics of her
ancient civilisation, chief amongst which are the Pyramids, as well as
the philosophies and religions she inherited, together with the arts she
practised, and her close connection with Jewish history, give her a
peculiar claim on the interested regard of mankind. Nothing, perhaps, has
excited more wonder in connection with Egypt than the advanced state of
her civilisation when she first comes to play a part in the history of
the world. There is evidence that 4000 years before the Christian era the
arts of building, pottery, sculpture, literature, even music and
painting, were highly developed, her social institutions well organised,
and that considerable advance had been made in astronomy, chemistry,
medicine, and anatomy. Already the Egyptians had divided the year into
365 days and 12 months, and had invented an elaborate system of weights
and measures, based on the decimal notation.
EGYPTIAN NIGHT, such as in Egypt when, by judgment of God, a thick
darkness of three days settled down on the land. See Exodus x. 22.
EGYPTIANS, THE, of antiquity were partly of Asiatic and partly of
African origin, with a probable infusion of Semitic blood, and formed
both positively and negatively a no inconsiderable link in the chain of
world-history, positively by their sense of the divinity of nature-life
as seen in their nature-worship, and negatively by the absence of all
sense of the divinity of a higher life as it has come to light in the
self-consciousness or moral sense and destiny of man.
EGYPTOLOGY, the science, in the interest of ancient history, of
Egyptian antiquities, such as the monuments and their inscriptions, and
one in which of late years great interest has been taken, and much
progress made.
EGYPTUS, the brother of Danaüs, whose 50 sons, all but one, were
murdered by the daughters of the latter. See DANAÜS.
EHKILI, a dialect of S. Arabia, interesting to philologists as one
of the oldest of Semitic tongues.
EHRENBERG, a German naturalist, born in Delitsch; intended for the
Church; devoted himself to medical studies, and graduated in medicine in
1818; acquired great skill in the use of the microscope, and by means of
it made important discoveries, particularly in the department of infusory
animals; contributed largely to the literature of science (1795-1878).
EHRENBREITSTEIN (5) (i. e. broad stone of honour), a strongly
fortified town in Prussia, on the Rhine, opposite Coblentz, with which it
has communication by a bridge of boats and a railway viaduct; the
fortress occupies the summit of the rock, which is precipitous; is about
500 ft. high, and has large garrison accommodation.
EICHHORN, JOHANN GOTTFRIED, a German theologian and Orientalist,
born at Dorrenzimmern, Franconia; a man of extensive scholarship; held
the chair of Oriental languages in Jena, and afterwards at Göttingen; was
the first to apply a bold rationalism to the critical treatment of the
Scriptures; he was of the old school of rationalists, now superseded by
the historico-critical; his chief works are a Universal Library of
Biblical Literature, in 10 vols., Introductions to the Old and to the New
Testament, each in 5 vols., and an Introduction to the Apocrypha
(1752-1827).
EICHTHAL, GUSTAVE D', a French publicist, born at Nancy; an adherent
of St. Simonianism; wrote "Les Evangiles"; Mrs. Carlyle describes him as
"a gentle soul, trustful, and earnest-looking, ready to do and suffer all
for his faith" (1804-1886).
EICHWALD, CHARLES EDWARD, an eminent Russian naturalist, born in
Mitau, Russia; studied science at Berlin and Vienna; held the chairs of
Zoology and Midwifery at Kasan and Wilna, and of Palæontology at St.
Petersburg; his explorations, which led him through most of Europe,
Persia, and Algeria, and included a survey of the Baltic shores, as well
as expeditions into the Caucasus, are described in his various works, and
their valuable results noted (1795-1876).
EIFFEL, GUSTAVE, an eminent French engineer, born at Dijon; early
obtained a reputation for bridge construction; designed the great Garabit
Viaduct, and also the enormous locks for the Panama Canal; his most noted
work is the gigantic iron tower which bears his name; in 1893 became
involved in the Panama scandals, and was fined, and sentenced to two
years' imprisonment; _b_. 1832.
EIFFEL TOWER, a structure erected on the banks of the Seine in
Paris, the loftiest in the world, being 985 ft. in height, and visible
from all parts of the city; it consists of three platforms, of which the
first is as high as the towers of Notre Dame; the second as high as
Strasburg Cathedral spire, and the third 863 ft; it was designed by
Gustave Eiffel, and erected in 1887-1889; there are cafés and restaurants
on the first landing, and the ascent is by powerful lifts.
EIGG or EGG, a rocky islet among the Hebrides, 5 m. SW. of
Skye; St. Donnan and 50 monks from Iona were massacred here in 617 by the
queen, notwithstanding a remonstrance on the part of the islanders that
it would be an irreligious act; here also the Macleods of the 10th
century suffocated in a cave 200 of the Macdonalds, including women and
children.
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, "a sceptical century and a godless," according
to Carlyle's deliberate estimate, "opulent in accumulated falsities, as
never century before was; which had no longer the consciousness of being
false, so false has it grown; so steeped in falsity, and impregnated with
it to the very bone, that, in fact, the measure of the thing was full,
and a French Revolution had to end it"; which it did only symbolically,
however, as he afterwards admitted, and but admonitorily of a doomsday
still to come. See "FREDERICK THE GREAT," BK. I. CHAP, II., and
"HEROES."
EIKON BASILIKË (i. e. the Royal Likeness), a book containing an
account of Charles I. during his imprisonment, and ascribed to him as
author, but really written by Bishop Gauden, though the MS. may have been
perused and corrected by the king; it gives a true picture of his
character and possible state of mind.
EILDONS, THE, a "triple-crested eminence" near Melrose, 1385 ft.,
and overlooking Teviotdale to the S., associated with Sir Walter Scott
and Thomas the Rhymer; they are of volcanic origin, and are said to have
been cleft in three by the wizard Michael Scott, when he was out of
employment.
EIMEO, one of the French Society Islands; is hilly and woody, but
well cultivated in the valleys; missionary enterprise in Polynesia first
found a footing here.
EINSIEDELN (8), a town in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland; has a
Benedictine abbey, containing a famous black image of the Virgin,
credited with miraculous powers, which attracts, it is said, 200,000
pilgrims annually.
EISENACH (21), a flourishing manufacturing town in Saxe-Weimar,
close to the Thuringian Forest and 48 m. W. of Weimar; is the birthplace
of Sebastian Bach; in the vicinity stands the castle of Wartburg, the
hiding-place for 10 months of Luther after the Diet of Worms.
EISLEBEN (23), a mining town in Prussian Saxony, 24 m. NW. of Halle;
the birthplace and burial-place of Luther.
EISTEDDFOD, a gathering of Welsh bards and others, now annual, at
which, out of a patriotic motive, prizes are awarded for the
encouragement of Welsh literature and music and the preservation of the
Welsh language and ancient national customs.
EKATERINBURG (37), a Russian town on the Isset, on the E. side of
the Ural Mountains, of the mining industry in which it is the chief
centre; has various manufactures, and a trade in the cutting and sorting
of precious stones.
EKRON, a town in N. Palestine, 30 m. N. from Gaza and 9 m. from the
sea.
ELAINE, a lady of the court of King Arthur in love with Lancelot,
and whose story is related by Malory in his "History" and by Tennyson in
his "Idylls of the King."
ELATERIUM, a drug obtained from the mucus of the fruit of the
squirting cucumber; is a most powerful purgative, and was known to the
ancients.
ELBA, a small and rocky island in the Mediterranean between Corsica
and Tuscany, with a bold precipitous coast; belongs to Italy; has trade
in fish, fruits, and iron ore; famous as Napoleon's place of exile from
May 1814 to February 1815.
ELBE, the most important river in N. Germany; rises in the
Riesengebirge, in Austria, flows NW. through Germany, and enters the
North Sea at Cuxhaven, 725 m. long, navigable 520 m.; abounds in fish.
ELBERFELD (126), an important manufacturing commercial centre, 16 m.
NE. of Düsseldorf; noted for its textiles and dye-works.
ELBOEUF (21), a town on the Seine, 75 m. NW. of Paris; has
flourishing manufactures in cloths, woollens, &c.
ELBURZ, a lofty mountain range in N. Persia, S. of the Caspian; also
the name of the highest peak in the Caucasus (18,571 ft.).
ELDER, a name given to certain office-bearers in the Presbyterian
Church, associated with the minister in certain spiritual functions short
of teaching and administering sacraments; their duties embrace the
general oversight of the congregation, and are of a wider nature than
those of the deacons, whose functions are confined strictly to the
secular interests of the church; they are generally elected by the church
members, and ordained in the presence of the congregation; their term of
office is in some cases for a stated number of years, but more generally
for life.
ELDON, JOHN SCOTT, LORD, a celebrated English lawyer, born at
Newcastle, of humble parentage; educated at Oxford for the Church, but
got into difficulties through a runaway marriage; he betook himself to
law, rose rapidly in his profession, and, entering Parliament, held
important legal offices under Pitt; was made a Baron and Lord Chancellor,
1801, an office which he held for 26 years; retired from public life in
1835, and left a large fortune at his death; was noted for the shrewd
equity of his judgments and his delay in delivering them (1751-1838).
EL DORADO (lit. the Land of Gold), a country which Orellana, the
lieutenant of Pizzaro, pretended to have discovered in S. America,
between the Amazon and Orinoco, and which he represented as abounding in
gold and precious gems; now a region of purely imaginary wealth.
ELEANOR, queen of Edward I. of England and sister of ALFONSO
X. (q. v.) of Castile, surnamed the Wise, accompanied her husband
to the Crusade in 1269, and is said to have saved him by sucking the
poison from a wound inflicted by a poisoned arrow; was buried at
Westminster (1244-1290).
ELEATICS, a school of philosophy in Greece, founded by Xenophanes of
Elia, and of which Parmenides and Zeno, both of Elia, were the leading
adherents and advocates, the former developing the system and the latter
completing it, the ground-principle of which was twofold--the affirmation
of the unity, and the negative of the diversity, of being--in other
words, the affirmation of pure being as alone real, to the exclusion of
everything finite and merely phenomenal. See "SARTOR," BK. I. CHAP.
8.
ELECTION, THE DOCTRINE OF, the doctrine that the salvation of a man
depends on the election of God for that end, of which there are two chief
phases--the one is election _to be_ Christ's, or unconditional election,
and the other that it is election _in_ Christ, or conditional election.
ELECTORS, THE, or KURFÜRSTS, OF GERMANY, German princes who
enjoyed the privilege of disposing of the imperial crown, ranked next the
emperor, and were originally six in number, but grew to eight and finally
nine; three were ecclesiastical--the Archbishops of Mayence, Cologne, and
Trèves, and three secular--the Electors of Saxony, the Palatinate, and
Bohemia, to which were added at successive periods the Electors of
Brandenburg, of Bavaria, and Hanover. "There never was a tenth; and the
Holy Roman Empire, as it was called, which was a grand object once, but
had gone about in a superannuated and plainly crazy state some centuries,
was at last put out of pain by Napoleon, August 6, 1806, and allowed to
cease from the world."
ELECTRA (i. e. the Bright One), an ocean nymph, the mother of
ISIS (q. v.).
ELECTRA, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who, with her
brother Orestes, avenged the death of her father on his murderers.
ELECTRIC LIGHT, a brilliant white light due to positive and negative
currents rushing together between two points of carbon or (the
"incandescent" light) to the intense heat in a solid body, caused by an
electric current passing through it.
ELECTRICITY, the name given to a subtle agent called the electric
fluid, latent in all bodies, and first evolved by friction, and which may
manifest itself, under certain conditions, in brilliant flashes of light,
or, when in contact with animals, in nervous shocks more or less violent.
It is of two kinds, negative and positive, and as such exhibits itself in
the polarity of the magnet, when it is called MAGNETIC (q. v.),
and is excited by chemical action, when it is called VOLTAIC (q. v.).
ELEGY, a song expressive of sustained earnest yearning, or mild
sorrow after loss.
ELEMENTAL SPIRITS, a general name given in the Middle Ages to
salamanders, undines, sylphs, and gnomes, spirits superstitiously
believed to have dominion respectively over, as well as to have had their
dwelling in, the four elements--fire, water, air, and earth.
ELEMENTS, originally the four forms of matter so deemed--fire, air,
earth, and water, and afterwards the name for those substances that
cannot be resolved by chemical analysis, and which are now found to
amount to sixty-seven.
ELEPHANT, a genus of mammals, of which there are two species, the
Indian and the African; the latter attains a greater size, and is hunted
for the sake of its tusks, which may weigh as much as 70 lbs.; the former
is more intelligent, and easily capable of being domesticated; the white
elephant is a variety of this species.
ELEPHANT, ORDER OF THE WHITE, a Danish order of knighthood,
restricted to 30 knights, the decoration of which is an elephant
supporting a tower; it was instituted by Canute IV., king of Denmark, at
the end of the 12th century.
ELEPHANTA, an island 6 m. in circuit in Bombay harbour, so called
from its colossal figure of an elephant which stood near the
landing-place; it contains three temples cut out of solid rock, and
covered with sculptures, which, along with the figure at the landing, are
rapidly decaying.
ELEPHANTIASIS, a peculiar skin disease, accompanied with abnormal
swelling; so called because the skin becomes hard and stiff like an
elephant's hide; attacks the lower limbs and scrotum; is chiefly confined
to India and other tropical countries.
ELEPHANTINE, a small island below the first cataract of the Nile;
contains interesting monuments and ruins of the ancient Roman and
Egyptian civilisations.
ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES, rites, initiation into which, as religiously
conducive to the making of good men and good citizens, was compulsory on
every free-born Athenian, celebrated annually at Eleusis in honour of
Demeter and Persephone, and which lasted nine days.
ELEUSIS, a town in ancient Attica, NW. of Athens, with a temple for
the worship of Demeter, the largest in Greece; designed by the architect
of the PARTHENON (q. v.).
ELEUTHERIA, the goddess of liberty, as worshipped in ancient Greece.
ELF-ARROWS, arrow-heads of flint used in hunting and war by the
aborigines of the British Isles and of Europe generally, as they still
are among savages elsewhere; derived their name from the superstitious
belief that they were used by the fairies to kill cattle and sometimes
human beings in their mischief-joy; they were sometimes worn as
talismans, occasionally set in silver, as a charm against witchcraft.
ELGIN or MORAY (43), a northern Scottish county, fronting the
Moray Firth and lying between Banff and Nairn, mountainous in the S. but
flat to the N., watered by the Spey, Lossie, and Findhorn; agriculture,
stone-quarrying, distilling, and fishing are the staple industries; has
some imposing ruins and interesting antiquities.
ELGIN (8), the county town of above, on the Lossie; created a royal
burgh by David I.; has ruins of a fine Gothic cathedral and royal castle.
ELGIN (17), a city in Illinois, on the Fox, 35 m. NW. of Chicago;
watchmaking the chief industry.
ELGIN, JAMES BRUCE, 8TH EARL OF, statesman and diplomatist, born in
London; governor of Jamaica and Canada; negotiated important treaties
with China and Japan; rendered opportune assistance at the Indian Mutiny
by diverting to the succour of Lord Canning an expedition that was
proceeding to China under his command; after holding office as
Postmaster-General he became Viceroy of India (1861), where he died; his
Journal and Letters are published (1811-1863).
ELGIN MARBLES, a collection of ancient sculptured marbles brought
from Athens by the Earl of Elgin in 1812, and now deposited in the
British Museum, after purchase of them by the Government for £35,000;
these sculptures adorned certain public buildings in the Acropolis, and
consist of portions of statues, of which that of Theseus is the chief, of
alto-reliefs representing the struggle of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, and
of a large section of a frieze.
ELIA, the _nom de plume_ adopted by Charles Lamb in connection with
his Essays.
ELIAS, MOUNT, a mountain in NW. coast of N. America; conspicuous far
off at sea, being about 18,000 ft. or 3½ m. above it.
ELIJAH, a Jewish prophet, born at Tishbe, in Gilead, near the
desert; prophesied in the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, in the 10th
century B.C.; revealed himself as the deadly enemy of the worship of
Baal, 400 of whose priests he is said to have slain with his own hand;
his zeal provoked persecution at the hands of the king and his consort
Jezebel, but the Lord protected him, and he was translated from the earth
in a chariot of fire, "went up by a whirlwind into heaven." See
PROPHETS, THE.
ELIOT, GEORGE, the _nom de plume_ of Mary Ann Evans, distinguished
English novelist, born at Arbury, in Warwickshire; was bred on
evangelical lines, but by-and-by lost faith in supernatural Christianity;
began her literary career by a translation of Strauss's "Life of Jesus";
became in 1851 a contributor to the _Westminster Review_, and formed
acquaintance with George Henry Lewes, whom she ere long lived with as his
wife, though unmarried, and who it would seem discovered to her her
latent faculty for fictional work; her first work in that line was
"Scenes from Clerical Life," contributed to _Blackwood_ in 1856; the
stories proved a signal success, and they were followed by a series of
seven novels, beginning in 1858 with "Adam Bede," "the finest thing since
Shakespeare," Charles Reade in his enthusiasm said, the whole winding up
with the "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" in 1879; these, with two
volumes of poems, make up her works; Lewes died in 1878, and two years
after she formally married an old friend, Mr. John Cross, and after a few
months of wedded life died of inflammation of the heart; "she paints,"
says Edmond Scherer, "only ordinary life, but under these externals she
makes us assist at the eternal tragedy of the human heart... with so much
sympathy," he adds, "the smile on her face so near tears, that we cannot
read her pages without feeling ourselves won to that lofty toleration of
hers" (1819-1880).
ELIOT, JOHN, the apostle of the Indians, born in Hertfordshire;
entered the Church of England, but seceded and emigrated to New England;
became celebrated for his successful evangelistic expeditions amongst the
Indians during his lifelong occupancy of the pastorate at Roxbury
(1604-1690).
ELIS, a district of Greece, on the W. coast of the Peloponnesus,
sacred to all Hellas as the seat of the greatest of the Greek festivals
in connection with the Olympian Games, a circumstance which imparted a
prestige to the inhabitants.
ELISA or ELISSA, Dido, queen of Carthage, in love with Æneas.
ELISHA, a Jewish prophet, the successor of Elijah, who found him at
the plough, and consecrated him to his office by throwing his mantle over
him, and which he again let fall on him as he ascended to heaven. He
exercised his office for 55 years, but showed none of the zeal of his
predecessor against the worship of Baal; was, however, accredited as a
prophet of the Lord by the miracles he wrought in the Lord's name.
ELIZABETH, sister of Louis XVI.; was guillotined (1764-1794).
ELIZABETH FARNESE, queen of Spain, a daughter of Odoardo II. of
Parma; in 1714 she married Philip V. of Spain, when her bold and
energetic nature soon made itself felt in the councils of Europe, where
she carried on schemes for territorial and political aggrandisement; was
an accomplished linguist; is called by Carlyle "the Termagant of Spain";
her Memoirs are published in four volumes (1692-1766).
ELIZABETH, EMPRESS OF RUSSIA, daughter of Peter the Great and
Catharine I.; assisted Maria Theresa in the war of the Austrian
Succession; opposed Frederick the Great in the Seven Years' War; indolent
and licentious, she left the affairs of the State mainly in the hands of
favourites (1709-1762).
ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF BOHEMIA, daughter of James VI. of Scotland and
I. of England; married Frederick V., Elector Palatine, who for a brief
time held the throne of Bohemia; her daughter Sophia, by marrying the
Elector of Hanover, formed a tie which ultimately brought the crown of
England to the House of Brunswick (1596-1662).
ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF ENGLAND (1658-1603), daughter of Henry VIII. and
Anne Boleyn, born in Greenwich Palace; was an indefatigable student in
her youth; acquired Greek and Latin, and a conversational knowledge of
German and French; the Pope's opposition to her succession on the ground
of being judged illegitimate by the Church strengthened her attachment to
the Protestant faith, which was her mother's, and contributed to its firm
establishment during the reign; during it the power of Spain was crushed
by the defeat of the Armada; maritime enterprise flourished under Drake,
Raleigh, and Frobisher; commerce was extended, and literature carried to
a pitch of perfection never before or since reached; masterful and
adroit, Elizabeth yet displayed the weakness of vanity and
vindictiveness; the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, is a blot upon her
fame, and her intrigues with Seymour, Leicester, and Essex detract from
her dignity; her wisdom was manifested in her wise choice of counsellors
and leaders, and her patriotism won her a secure place in the hearts of
her people (1533-1608).
ELIZABETH, ST., "a very pious, but also a very fanciful young woman;
her husband, a Thuringian landgraf, going to the Crusade, where he died
straightway," Carlyle guesses, "partly the fruit of the life she led him;
lodging beggars, sometimes in her very bed; continually breaking his
night's rest for prayer and devotional exercises of undue length,
'weeping one moment, then smiling in joy the next'; meandering about,
capricious, melodious, weak, at the will of devout whim mainly; went to
live at Marburg after her husband's death, and soon died there in a most
melodiously pious sort" in 1231, aged 24.
ELIZABETHAN ARCHITECTURE, a term applied to the style of
architecture which flourished in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I.,
and which was characterised by a revival of classic designs wrought into
the decadent Gothic style. Lord Salisbury's house at Hatfield is a good
specimen of this mixed style.
ELIZABETHAN ERA, according to Carlyle, "the outcome and flowerage of
all which had preceded it... in that old age lies the _only_ true
_poetical_ literature of England. The poets of the last ago took to
pedagogy (Pope and his school), and shrewd men they were; those of the
present age to ground-and-lofty tumbling; and it will do your heart
good," he adds, "to see how they vault."
ELKARGEH (4), a town in the great oasis in the Libyan Desert; has
ancient remains, and is an important resting stage in crossing the
desert.
ELLENBOROUGH, EDWARD LAW, EARL OF, an English Conservative
statesman, son of Baron Ellenborough, Lord Chief-Justice of England;
entered Parliament in 1813; held office under the Duke of Wellington and
Sir Robert Peel; appointed Governor-General of India (1841); recalled in
1844; subsequently First Lord of the Admiralty and Indian Minister under
Lord Derby (1790-1871).
ELLENRIEDER, MARIE, a painter of great excellence, born at
Constance; studied in Rome; devoted herself to religious subjects, such
as "Christ Blessing Little Children," "Mary and the Infant Jesus," &c.
(1771-1863).
ELLESMERE, FRANCIS EGERTON, EARL OF, statesman and author, born in
London, second son of the Duke of Sutherland; was Secretary for Ireland
and War Secretary; author of some books of travel, and a translation of
"Faust" (1800-1857).
ELLIOT, GEORGE AUGUSTUS. See HEATHFIELD.
ELLIOTSON, JOHN, an English physician, born in London; lost his
professorship in London University on account of employing mesmerism for
medical purposes; promoted clinical instruction and the use of the
stethoscope; founded the Phrenological Society (1791-1868).
ELLIOTT, EBENEZER, poet, known popularly as the "Corn-Law Rhymer,"
born in Rotherham parish, Yorkshire; an active worker in iron; devoted
his leisure to poetic composition; proved a man that could handle both
pen and hammer like a man; wrote the "Corn-Law Rhymes" and other pieces;
his works have been "likened to some little fraction of a rainbow, hues
of joy and harmony, painted out of troublous tears; no full round bow
shone on by the full sun, and yet, in very truth, a little prismatic
blush, glowing genuine among the wet clouds, ... proceeds from a sun
cloud-hidden, yet indicates that a sun does shine...; a voice from the
deep Cyclopean forges where Labour, in real soot and sweat, beats with
his thousand hammers, doing personal battle with Necessity and her brute
dark powers to make _them_ reasonable and serviceable" (1781-1849).
ELLIS, ALEXANDER J., an eminent English philologist, born at
Horeton; published many papers on phonetics and early English
pronunciation; was President of the Philological Society; his name,
originally Sharpe, changed by royal license (1814-1890).
ELLIS, GEORGE, literary critic, born in London; did much to promote
the study of early English literature; contributed to the _Anti-Jacobin_,
and was joint-author of the "Rolliad," a satire on Pitt, and of
"Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances"; Scott declared him to be
the best conversationalist he had ever met (1753-1815).
ELLIS, SIR HENRY, chief librarian of the British Museum from 1827 to
1856, born in London; edited various works on antiques; wrote an
"Introduction to Domesday Book"; knighted in 1833 (1777-1869).
ELLIS, WILLIAM, a missionary and author, born in London; laboured in
the South Sea Islands, and afterwards in Madagascar; wrote various works
descriptive of these islands; he married Sarah Stickney, who is the
authoress of a number of popular works, including "The Women of England,"
"The Daughters of England," &c. (1794-1872).
ELLISTON, ROBERT WILLIAM, a celebrated actor, born in London; ran
away from home and joined the stage, rose to the front rank both as
comedian and tragedian (1774-1831).
ELLORA, an Indian village in Hyderabad, 12 m. NW. of Aurungabad,
famed for its Buddhist and Hindu cave and monolithic temples, the most
magnificent of which is hewn out of a solid hill of red stone, the most
beautiful being the Hindu temple of Kailás.
ELLWOOD, THOMAS, a celebrated Quaker, born at Crowell, Oxfordshire;
the intimate friend of Milton, to whom he suggested the idea of "Paradise
Regained" by remarking to him, "Thou hast said much of Paradise Lost, but
what hast thou to say of Paradise Found?" his Autobiography is still read
(1639-1713).
ELMO'S FIRE, ST., a popular name for the display of electric fire
which sometimes plays about the masts of ships, steeples, &c.,
accompanied at times with a hissing noise; commoner in southern climates,
known by other names, e. g. Fire of St. Clara, of St. Elias.
ELOGE, a discourse in panegyric of some illustrious person deceased,
in which composition Fontenelle took the lead, and in which he was
followed by D'Alembert, Condorcet, Flourens, and others.
ELOHIM, a Hebrew word in the plural number, signifying God or one as
God, but with a verb in the singular, signifying generally the one true
God; according to the Talmud it denotes God as just in judgment to all in
contradistinction to Jehovah, which denotes God as merciful to His
people.
ELOHIST, a name given by the critics to the presumed author of the
earlier part of the Pentateuch, whose work in it they allege is
distinguished by the use of the word Elohim for God; he is to be
distinguished from the Jehovist, the presumed author of the later
portions, from his use, on the other hand, of the word Jehovah for God.
ELPHINSTONE, GEORGE KEITH, ADMIRAL. See KEITH.
ELPHINSTONE, MOUNTSTUART, a noted Indian civil servant and
historian; co-operated with Wellesley in firmly establishing British rule
in India; was governor of Bombay, where he accomplished many useful
reforms, and issued the Elphinstone Code of Laws; wrote a "History of
India," which earned for him the title of the "Tacitus of India"
(1779-1859).
ELPHINSTONE, WILLIAM, an erudite and patriotic Scottish ecclesiastic
and statesman, born in Glasgow; took holy orders; went to Paris to study
law, and became a professor in Law there, and afterwards at Orleans;
returned to Scotland; held several high State appointments under James
III. and James IV.; continued a zealous servant of the Church, holding
the bishoprics of Ross and of Aberdeen, where he founded the university
(1431-1514).
ELSASS (French ALSACE), a German territory on the left bank of
the Rhine, traversed by the Vosges Mountains; taken from the French in
1870-71.
ELSINORE, a seaport on the island of Zeeland, in Denmark, 20 m. N.
of Copenhagen; has a good harbour; the scene of Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
ELSWICK (53), a town in the vicinity of Newcastle, noted for the
great engineering and ordnance works of Sir W. G. (now Lord) Armstrong.
ELTON, a salt lake of SE. Russia, in the government of Astrakhan;
has an area of about 65 sq. m., but is very shallow; yields annually some
90,000 or 95,000 tons of salt, which is shipped off _viâ_ the Volga.
ELTON, CHARLES ISAAC, jurist and ethnologist, born in Somerset; held
a Fellowship in Queen's College, Oxford; called to the bar in 1865, and
in 1884 was returned to Parliament as a Conservative; his first works
were juridical treatises on the tenure of land, but in 1882 he produced a
learned book on the origins of English history; _b_. 1839.
ELVAS, a strongly fortified town in Portugal, in the province of
Alemtejo, 12 m. W. of Badajoz; is a bishop's see; has a Moorish aqueduct
3½ m. long and 250 ft. high.
ELY (8), a celebrated cathedral city, in the fen-land of
Cambridgeshire, on the Ouse, 30 m. SE. of Peterborough; noted as the
scene of Hereward's heroic stand against William the Conqueror in 1071;
the cathedral, founded in 1083, is unique as containing specimens of the
various Gothic styles incorporated during the course of 400 years.
ELY, ISLE OF, a name given to the N. portion of Cambridgeshire on
account of its having been at one time insulated by marshes; being
included in the region of the Fens, has been drained, and is now fertile
land.
ELYOT, SIR THOMAS, author and ambassador, born in Wiltshire;
ambassador to the court of Charles V.; celebrated as the author of "The
Governour," the first English work on moral philosophy, and also of the
first Latin-English dictionary (1490-1546).
ELYSIUM the abode of the shades of the virtuous dead in the nether
world as conceived of by the poets of Greece and Rome, where the
inhabitants live a life of passive blessedness, which, however, is to
such a man as Achilles a place of woe rather and unrest, where he would
fain exchange places with the meanest hind that breathes in the upper
world.
ELZE, FREDERICK CARL, a German Shakespearian scholar, born at
Dessau; early devoted himself to the study of English literature; lived
some time in England and Scotland; in 1875 became professor of English
Literature at Halle; his various publications on Shakespeare and the
Elizabethan dramatists are full of excellent criticisms; also wrote Lives
of Scott and Byron (1821-1889).
ELZEVIR, the name of an eminent family of printers residing in
Amsterdam and Leyden, Louis the first of them, who started in Leyden;
their publications date from 1594 to 1680.
ELZEVIR EDITIONS, editions of the classics printed at Amsterdam and
Leyden during the 16th and 17th centuries by a family of the Elzevirs,
and considered to be immaculate.
EMANATION, THE DOCTRINE OF, a doctrine of Eastern origin, which
derives everything that exists from the divine nature by necessary
process of emanation, as light from the sun, and ascribes all evil and
the degrees of it to a greater and greater distance from the pure ether
of this parent source, or to the extent in consequence to which the being
gets immersed in and clogged with matter.
EMANCIPATION, originally a term in Roman law and name given to the
process of the manumission of a son by his father; the son was sold to a
third party and after the sale became _sui juris_; it is now applied to
the remission of old laws in the interest of freedom, which Carlyle
regards in his "Shooting Niagara," as the sum of nearly all modern recent
attempts at Reform.
EMANUEL I., king of Portugal from 1495 to 1521; his reign
inaugurated the golden period of Portuguese history, during which
Portugal became the first maritime and commercial power in Europe; was
the patron of Vasco da Gama and Albuquerque; issued an edict for the
expulsion of the Jews from his kingdom, and wrote to the Elector of
Saxony begging him to get rid of Luther (1469-1521).
EMBALMING, the art of preserving dead bodies from decay by means of
antiseptic agents applied both externally and internally; although known
to other people, e. g. the Peruvians, the art was chiefly practised
among the Egyptians, and the practice of it dates back to 4000 B.C.; the
thoroughness of the process depended on the money expended, but it
usually involved the removal of the viscera, save the heart and kidneys,
the extraction of the brain, the introduction of drugs to the cavities,
and the pickling of the body in native carbonate of soda, and the
wrapping of it in linen; experiments in embalming, more or less
successful, have been made in recent times, and even still are.
EMBER DAYS, four annually recurring periods of three days each,
appointed by the Romish and English Churches to be devoted to fasting and
praying; they are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first
Sunday in Lent, after Pentecost, after the 14th September, and after the
13th December.
EMBRYO, the scientific term for the young of an animal while yet in
the initial stage of development in the womb; also applied to the plant
in its rudimentary stage within the seed.
EMBRYOLOGY, the section of biology which treats of the development
of the embryo.
EMDEN (14), the chief part of the province of Hanover, in Prussia,
situated at the outlet of the river Ems; is intersected by canals;
shipbuilding and brewing are the chief industries.
EMERALD, a precious stone of great value, allied in composition to
the beryl; is of a beautiful transparent green colour; the finest
specimens are found in Colombia and Venezuela.
EMERALD ISLE, Ireland, from the fresh verdure of its herbage.
EMERSON, RALPH WALDO, an American philosophic thinker and poet, of
English Puritan descent, born at Boston, where he started in life as a
Unitarian preacher and pastor, an office he resigned in 1832 for
literature, in which he found he would have freer and fuller scope to
carry out his purpose as a spiritual teacher; in 1833 he paid a visit to
England, and in particular a notable one to CRAIGENPUTTOCK (q. v.),
with the inmates of which he formed a lifelong friendship; on his
return the year after, he married, a second time as it happened, and,
settling down in Concord, began his career as a lecturer and man of
letters; by his "Essays," of which he published two series, one in 1841
and a second in 1844, he commended himself to the regard of all thinking
men in both hemispheres, and began to exercise an influence for good on
all the ingenuous youth of the generation; they were recognised by
Carlyle, and commended as "the voice of a man"; these embraced subjects
one and all of spiritual interest, and revealed transcendent intellectual
power; they were followed by "Representative Men," lectures delivered in
Manchester on a second visit to England in 1847, and thereafter, at
successive periods, by "Society and Solitude," "English Traits," "The
Conduct of Life," "Letters and Social Aims," besides a long array of
poems, as well as sundry remarkable Addresses and Lectures, which he
published; he was a man of exceptional endowment and great speculative
power, and is to this day the acknowledged head of the literary men of
America; speculatively, Carlyle and he were of the same school, but while
Carlyle had "descended" from the first "into the angry, noisy Forum with
an argument that could not but exasperate and divide," he continued
pretty much all his days engaged in little more than in a quiet survey
and criticism of the strife; Carlyle tried hard to persuade him to
"descend," but it would appear Emerson never to his dying day understood
what Carlyle meant by the appeal, an appeal to take the devil by the
throat and cease to merely speculate and dream (1803-1882).
EMERSON TENNENT, SIR JAMES, bred for the bar; was from 1845 to 1852
colonial secretary and lieutenant-governor of Ceylon, and became on his
return joint-secretary to the Board of Trade; wrote "Christianity in
Ceylon" and "Ceylon: an Account of the Island" (1804-1869).
EMERY, a dull, blue-black mineral, allied in composition to the
sapphire, but containing a varying quantity of iron oxide; is found in
large masses; is exceedingly hard, and largely used in polishing metals,
plate-glass, and precious stones.
EMIGRANTS, THE (_Les Emigrés_), the members of the French
aristocracy and of the partisans of the ancient régime who at the time of
the Revolution, after the fall of the Bastille, fled for safety to
foreign lands, congregating particularly in Coblenz, where they plotted
for its overthrow, to the extent of leaguing with the foreigner against
their country, with the issue of confiscation of their lands and
properties by the republic that was set up.
ÉMILE, the hero of a philosophic romance by Rousseau of the same
name, in which the author expounds his views on education, and presents
his reasons, with his ideal of what, according to him, a good education
is, a theory practically adopted by many would-be educationists with
indifferent fruit.
EMIR, a title bestowed on the descendants of Mahomet's daughter
Fatima, the word denoting a "prince" or "ruler"; has lost this its
primary meaning; the emirs, of whom there are large numbers in Turkey,
enjoying no privileges save the sole right to wear a green turban, the
supposed favourite colour of Mahomet, though they hold a high social
position; the title is also given to chieftains of N. Africa.
EMMET, ROBERT, a patriotic Irishman, born in Dublin; bred for the
bar; took part in the Irish rebellion; was hanged for his share in
attempting to seize Dublin Castle (1778-1803).
EMPE`DOCLES, a philosopher of Agrigentum, in Sicily; "extolled in
antiquity as a statesman and orator, as physicist, physician, and poet,
and even as prophet and worker of miracles," who flourished about the
year 440 B.C.; he conceived the universe as made up of "four eternal,
self-subsistent, mutually underivative, but divisible, primal material
bodies, mingled and moulded by two moving forces, the uniting one of
friendship and the disuniting one of strife"; of him it is fabled that,
to persuade his fellow-citizens, with whom he had been in high favour as
their deliverer from the tyranny of the aristocracy, of his bodily
translation from earth to heaven, he threw himself unseen into the crater
of Etna, but that at the next eruption of the mountain his slipper was
cast up and revealed the fraud.
EMPIRES: the ROMAN, capital Rome, dates from the reign of
Augustus, 25 B.C., to that of Theodosius, A.D. 395; OF THE EAST,
or Low Empire, capital Constantinople, being part of the Roman empire,
dates from 295 to 1453; OF THE WEST, capital Rome, dates from 295 to
476; the HOLY, or Second Empire of the West, founded by Charlemagne,
dates from 800 to 911; the LATIN, capital Constantinople, founded by
the Crusaders, dates from 1204 to 1261; the GERMAN, founded by Otho
the Great in 962, ended by abdication of Francis II. of Austria in 1806,
and restored under William I. in 1870; the FRENCH, founded by
Napoleon I., dates from 1804 to 1815, and as established by Napoleon III.
dates from 1852 to 1870; OF THE INDIES, founded in 1876 under the
crown of England.
EMPIRIC, the name given to any who practises an art from the mere
experience of results, apart from all reference to or knowledge of the
scientific explanation.
EMPIRICISM, a philosophical term applied to the theory that all
knowledge is derived from the senses and experience alone, to the
rejection of the theory of innate ideas; Locke, in modern times, is the
great representative of the school that advocates this doctrine supported
by Aristotle.
EMPSON, SIR RICHARD, a lawyer in the reign of Henry VII.; was
Speaker of the House of Commons; incurred the hatred of the populace by
acting as the king's agent in forcing payment of taxes and penalties; was
convicted of tyranny and treason, and beheaded in 1510.
EMPYEMA, a medical term signifying a diseased condition of the
chest, in which pus accumulates in the pleura, cures of which are
sometimes effected by drawing off the pus by means of tubes.
EMPYREAN, the highest heaven, or region of pure elemental fire,
whence everything of the nature of fire has been conceived to emanate,
whether in the phenomena of nature or the life of man.
EMS, 1, a river of NW. Germany, rises in Westphalia, and after a
course of 205 m. discharges into Dollart Bay, an inlet of the North Sea;
is navigable, and is joined to the Lippe by means of a canal, and also
similarly to Dortmund. 2, A celebrated German watering-place, on the
Lahn, near Coblenz; its mineral springs, known to the Romans, vary in
warmth from 80° to 135° F.
ENAMEL, a vitreous compound, easily fusible, and coloured in various
tints by the admixture of different metallic oxides; is fused to the
surface of metals for utility and ornament; was known to the European and
Asiatic ancients, and has maintained its popularity to the present day.
Various schools have been formed, of which the Byzantine, Rhenish, and
Limoges are the most noted.
ENCAUSTIC PAINTING, an ancient style of decorative art somewhat
similar to enamelling, which consisted in overlaying the surface (e. g.
of walls) with wax, then inlaying a coloured design, the whole being
subsequently polished.
ENCELADUS, one of the chief giants that revolted against Zeus, and
who, as he fled and took refuge in Sicily, was transfixed by a
thunderbolt, and buried under Etna. The fiery eruptions of the mountain
are his breath, and the shaking of it ascribed to his shifting from one
side to another. In the latter regard he serves in literature as the
symbol of a blind, often impotent, struggle to throw off some oppressive
incubus.
ENCELADUS, MANUEL BLANCO, a distinguished Chilian statesman and
soldier, born in Buenos Ayres; trained for the navy in Spain, but joined
the Chilian revolutionaries; served with distinction under Lord Cochrane,
and rose to high rank both in the army and navy; was commander of the
Chilian forces in 1825, and for two months in the following year
President of the Republic; was subsequently Governor of Valparaiso, and
minister to France (1790-1876).
ENCHIRIDION OF EPICTETUS. See EPICTETUS.
ENCINA or ENZINA, JUAN DE LA, a Spanish dramatist, whose works
mark the rise of the Spanish drama, born at Salamanca; was at one time
secretary to the Duke of Alva, and afterwards conductor of music in the
chapel of Leo X. at Rome (1469-1534).
ENCKE, JOHANN FRANZ, a celebrated German astronomer, born at
Hamburg; determined the sun's distance, and the orbit of the comet of
1680; calculated the time of the revolution of the comet which now bears
his name, and which appeared in 1818; determined also the distance of the
sun by the two transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769 (1791-1865).
ENCYCLICAL LETTER, a letter addressed by the Pope to the bishops of
the Church, condemnatory of prevailing errors or counselling them how to
act in connection with public questions of the day.
ENCYCLOPÆDIA, a name of Greek derivation, given to works which
embrace within their pages a more or less complete account, in
alphabetical order, of the whole round of human knowledge, or of some
particular section of it. Attempts in this direction were made as far
back as Aristotle's day, and various others have since been made from
time to time, according as the circle of knowledge widened. Amongst
famous encyclopædias which have appeared, mention may be made of the
French "ENCYCLOPÉDIE" (q. v.); the "Encyclopædia Britannica,"
Edinburgh (1708-1771), now in its ninth edition (1889); the German
"Encyclopedie," begun in 1818 by Ersch and Gruber, and not yet completed,
although 170 volumes have appeared; while the largest of all is the
Chinese encyclopædia, in 5020 vols., printed in Pekin in 1726.
ENCYCLOPÉDIE, a French encyclopædia consisting of 28 vols., to which
a supplement of 5 vols. was added; edited by D'Alembert and Diderot;
contributed to by a number of the eminent savants of France, and issued
in 1751-1777, and which contributed to feed, but did nothing to allay, or
even moderate, the fire of the Revolution.
ENCYCLOPEDIST, generally a man of encyclopedic knowledge, or who
conducts or contributes to an encyclopædia; specially one who has, as the
French encyclopedists, an overweening, false, and illusory estimate of
the moral worth and civilising power of such knowledge. See CARLYLE'S
"SARTOR," BK. I. CHAP. 10, ON THE "ENCYCLOPEDIC HEAD."
ENDEMIC, a term applied to diseases which affect the inhabitants of
certain countries and localities, and which arise from strictly local
causes, _e. g_. neighbouring swamps, bad sanitation, impure water,
climate, &c.
ENDOGENS, those plants in which the new fibrous matter is developed
in the centre of the stem, and which is pushed outward by the formation
of new tissue within, thus developing the stem outwards from the inside.
See EXOGENS.
ENDOR, a place on the S. of Mount Tabor, in Palestine, where the
sorceress lived who was consulted by Saul before the battle of Gilboa,
and who professed communication with the ghost of Samuel (1 Sam, xxviii.
7).
ENDOSMOSE, a word used in physics to describe the intermingling of
two liquids of different densities, in close juxtaposition, but separated
by a thin membranous tissue. The liquid of lesser density passes more
rapidly through the dividing tissue, and raises the level of the liquid
in the other vessel, this action is named endosmose; while the flowing of
the liquid of greater density into the vessel whose level is falling, is
called exosmose.
ENDYMION, a beautiful shepherd, son of Zeus, whom SELENE (q. v.)
carried off to Mount Lemnos, in Caria, where, as she kissed him, he
sank into eternal sleep. This is one version of the story.
ENEID, an epic poem of Virgil, the hero of which is Æneas of Troy.
ENERGY, CONSERVATION OF, the doctrine that, however it may change in
form and character, or be dissipated, no smallest quantity of force in
the universe is ever lost.
ENFANTIN, BARTHÉLEMY PROSPER, a Socialist and journalist, born in
Paris, adopted the views of SAINT-SIMON (q. v.); held subversive
views on the marriage laws, which involved him in some trouble; wrote a
useful and sensible book on Algerian colonisation, and several works,
mainly interpretative of the theories of Saint-Simon (1796-1864).
ENFIELD (32), a town in Middlesex, 10 m. NE. of London, has a
celebrated Government rifle factory; was for six years the dwelling-place
of Charles Lamb.
ENGADINE, a noted Swiss valley in the canton of the Grisons,
stretches about 65 m. between the Lepontine or Rhætian Alps; is divided
into the Lower Engadine, wild and desolate, and the Upper Engadine,
fertile and populous, and a favourite health resort; the river Inn flows
through it, its waters collected here and there into lakes.
ENGEDI, an oasis, a spot of rare beauty, once a place of palm-trees,
23 m. W. of the N. end of the Dead Sea.
ENGHIEN, LOUIS DE BOURBON, DUC D', an ill-fated French Royalist,
born at Chantilly; joined the Royalists under his grandfather, Prince of
Condé, and took part in the Rhine campaign against the Republicans; was
suspected of being concerned in a Bourbon plot to assassinate the Emperor
Napoleon; was seized in the neutral territory of Baden, brought to
Vincennes, and, after an inconclusive and illegal trial, shot by
Napoleon's orders, a proceeding which gave rise to Fouché's remark, "It
is worse than a crime--it is a blunder" (1772-1804).
ENGINEERS, ROYAL NAVAL, since 1848 have ranked as commissioned
officers; salaries vary from £110 to £639 a year; admission is by
examination; duties include the entire oversight and management of the
ship-machinery; there are three ranks--inspectors of machinery, chief
engineers, and assistants, the latter being of three grades; in 1888
engineer studentships were created.
ENGINEERS, THE CORPS OF ROYAL, in the British army, instituted in
1763, consists of about 900 officers and 5000 non-commissioned officers
and men, usually recruited from skilled artisans; their duties comprise
the undertaking of all engineering operations necessary in the conduct of
war, e. g. bridging and mining, road and railway and telegraph
construction, building of fortifications, &c.; their term of service is 7
years in the active army and 5 in the reserve, or maybe 3 in the former
and 9 in the latter.
ENGLAND (27,000), the "predominant partner" of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, comprises along with Wales the southern, and
by far the greater, portion of Great Britain, the largest of the European
islands; it is separated from the Continent on the E. and S. by the North
Sea and English Channel, and from Ireland on the W. by St. George's
Channel, while Scotland forms its N. boundary; its greatest length N. and
S. is 430 m., and greatest breadth (including Wales) 370. It is of an
irregular triangular shape; has a long and highly-developed coast-line
(1800 m.); is divided into 40 counties (with Wales 52); has numerous
rivers with navigable estuaries, while transit is facilitated by a
network of railways and canals; save the highlands in the N., and the
Pennine Range running into Derby, England is composed (if we except the
mountainland of Wales) of undulating plains, 80 per cent, of which is
arable; while coal and iron are found in abundance, and copper, lead,
zinc, and tin in lesser quantities; in the extent and variety of its
textile factories, and in the production of machinery and other hardware
goods, England is without an equal; the climate is mild and moist, and
affected by draughts; but for the Gulf Stream, whose waters wash its
western shores, it would probably resemble that of Labrador. Under a
limited monarchy and a widely embracing franchise, the people of England
enjoy an unrivalled political freedom. Since Henry VIII.'s time, the
national religion has been an established Protestantism, but all forms
are tolerated. In 1896 education was made free. The name England is
derived from Engle-land, or land of the Angles, a Teutonic people who,
with kindred Saxons and Jutes, came over from the mainland in the 5th
century, and took possession of the island, driving Britons and Celts
before them. Admixtures to the stock took place during the 11th century
through the Danish and Norman conquests. E. annexed Wales in 1284, and
was united with Scotland under one crown in 1603, and under one
Parliament in 1707.
ENGLAND, THE WANT OF, "England needs," says Ruskin, "examples of
people who, leaving Heaven to decide whether they are to rise in the
world, decide for themselves that they will be happy in it, and have
resolved to seek, not greater wealth, but simpler pleasures; not higher
fortune, but deeper felicity; making the first of possessions
self-possession, and honouring themselves in the harmless pride and calm
pursuits of peace."
ENGLES, FRIEDRICH, a Socialist, the friend of Karl Marx; an active
propagandist of socialistic theories; author of several works on
Socialism (1820-1895).
ENID, the daughter of Yniol and the wife of Geraint; one of the
ladies of the court of King Arthur; celebrated for her steadfast conjugal
affection, the story regarding whom is given in Tennyson's "Idylls of the
King."
ENNISKILLEN (5), the county town of Fermanagh, Ireland, on an isle
in the river which joins Lower and Upper Loughs Erne; the scene of the
defeat of James II.'s troops by those of William of Orange; gives its
name to a well-known dragoon regiment.
ENNIUS, an early Roman poet, the father of Roman epic poetry, born
in Rudiæ, Calabria; promoted the study of Greek literature in Rome; of
his poems, dramatic and epic, only a few fragments are extant
(239-169 B.C.).
ENOCH, a godly man, who lived in antediluvian times among a race
gone godless, and whom the Lord in judgment removed from the earth to
return Himself by-and-by with a flood in order to clear the world of the
ungodly.
ENOCH, THE BOOK OF, an apocryphal book, quoted from by Jude,
discovered over a century ago, composed presumably about the 2nd century,
though subsequently enlarged and ascribed to Enoch; it professes to be a
series of revelations made to the patriarch bearing upon the secrets of
the material and spiritual universe and the course of Providence, and
written down by him for the benefit of posterity.
ENOCH ARDEN, a poem of Tennyson, and one of his happiest efforts to
translate an incident of common life into the domain of poetry; the story
is: A sailor, presumed to be lost, and whose wife marries another,
returns, finds her happily wedded, and bears the sorrow rather than
disturb her felicity by revealing himself.
ENTABLATURE, a term in classic architecture applied to the
ornamented portion of a building which rests in horizontal position upon
supporting columns; is subdivided into three parts, the lower portion
being called the _architrave_, the middle portion the _frieze_, and the
uppermost the _cornice_; the depth assigned to these parts varies in the
different schools, but the whole entablature generally measures twice the
diameter of the column.
ENTAIL, a term in law which came to be used in connection with the
practice of limiting the inheritance of estates to a certain restricted
line of heirs. Attempts of the kind, which arise naturally out of the
deeply-seated desire which men have to preserve property--especially
landed estates--in their own families, are of ancient date; but the
system as understood now, involving the principle of primogeniture, owes
its origin to the feudal system. Sometimes the succession was limited to
the male issue, but this was by no means an invariable practice; in
modern times the system has been, by a succession of Acts of Parliaments
(notably the Cairns Act of 1882), greatly modified, and greater powers
given to the actual owner of alienating the estates to which he has
succeeded, a process which is called "breaking the entail."
ENTSAGEN, the renunciation with which, according to Goethe, life,
strictly speaking, begins, briefly explained by Froude as "a resolution,
fixedly and clearly made, to do without pleasant things--wealth,
promotion, fame, honour, and the other rewards with which the world
recompenses the services it appreciates," or, still more briefly, the
renunciation of the flesh symbolised in the Christian baptism by water.
ENVIRONMENT, a term of extensive use in biological science,
especially employed to denote the external conditions which go to
determine modifications in the development of organic life to the extent
often of producing new species.
EOLUS. See ÆOLUS.
EON. See ÆON.
EON DE BEAUMONT, CHARLES D', the "Chevalier d'Eon," a noted French
diplomatist, born at Tonnerre, Burgundy; notorious as having, while on
secret missions, adopted a woman's dress for purposes of disguise; was
ambassador at the English Court, but degraded and recalled by Louis XVI.,
and condemned to wear feminine garb till the close of his life; died in
destitution, when the popular doubt as to his real sex was set at rest
(1728-1810).
EOS, the goddess of the dawn, the daughter of Hyperion, and the
sister of Helios and Selene. See AURORA.
EÖTVÖS, JOZSEF, Hungarian statesman and author, born at Buda;
adopted law as a profession, but devoted himself to literature, and
eventually politics; Minister of Public Instruction, and then of Worship
and Education; published some powerful dramas and novels, notably "The
Village Notary," a work pronounced equal in many respects to the best of
Scott's novels; also vigorous political essays (1813-1871).
EPACT, a name given to the excess of the solar month over the lunar,
amounting to 1 day 11 hours 11 minutes and 57 seconds, and of the solar
year over the lunar amounting to 11 days.
EPAMINONDAS, a famous Theban statesman and soldier, defeated Sparta
in the great victory of Leuctra, and during his lifetime raised Thebes to
a position of dominant power; was slain in the battle of Mantinea when
again successfully engaging the Spartans; blameless in his private life
as he was heroic in the field, he figures as the great hero of Theban
history; born about the close of the 5th century B.C.
EPÉE, CHARLES MICHEL, ABBÉ DE L', a noted philanthropist, born at
Versailles; took holy orders, but was divested of them on account of
Jansenist views; devoted his life to the instruction of deaf-mutes, for
whom he founded an institute, and invented a language of signs
(1712-1789).
EPEIUS, the contriver of the wooden horse, by means of which the
Greeks entered and took possession of Troy, and who was assisted by
Athena in the building of it.
ÉPERNAY (18), a French town on the Marne, 20 m. NW. of Châlons; the
chief emporium of the champagne district.
EPHESIANS, THE EPISTLE TO, a presumably circular letter of St. Paul
to the Church at Ephesus, among other Churches in the East, written to
show that the Gentile had a standing in Christ as well as the Jew, and
that it was agreeable to the eternal purpose of God that the two should
form one body in Him; it contains Paul's doctrine of the Church, and
appears to have been written during his first imprisonment in Rome
(61-63); it appears from the spirit that breathes in it and the similar
thoughts and exhortations, contained to have been written at the same
time as the Epistle to the Colossians.
EPHIALTES, one of the giants who revolted against Zeus and
threatened to storm heaven; he appears to have been maimed by Apollo and
Hercules.
EPHIALTES, a Malian Greek who led the Persians across a pass in the
mountains, whereby they were able to surround and overcome Leonidas and
his Spartans at Thermopylæ.
EPHOD, a richly and emblematically embroidered vestment worn by the
high-priest of the Jews, and consisting of two parts, one covering the
breast and supporting the breastplate, and the other covering the back,
these being clasped to the shoulders by two onyx stones, with names
inscribed on them, six on each, of the 12 tribes, and the whole bound
round the waist with a girdle of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and
fine-twined linen.
EPH`ORI (i. e. overseers), the name of five magistrates annually
elected in ancient Sparta from among the people as a countercheck to the
authority of the kings and the senate; had originally to see to the
execution of justice and the education of youth; their authority, which
resembled that of the tribunes in Rome, was at last destroyed in 225 B.C.
EPHRAEM SYRUS, the most famous of the Church Fathers in Syria, and
called "prophet of the Syrians," also "Pillar of the Church" and "Help of
the Holy Ghost," born at Nisibis, Mesopotamia; lived a hermit's life in a
cave near Edessa; left exegetical writings, homilies, and poems, and so
great was his piety and self-denial, that he was looked upon as a saint,
and is still so reverenced in several Churches (320-370).
EPHRAIM, one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the one to which Joshua
belonged, located in the centre of the land; powerful in the days of the
Judges, the chief of the 10 tribes that revolted under Jeroboam after the
death of Solomon, and is found often to give name to the whole body of
them.
EPIC, a poem that treats of the events in the life of a nation or a
race or the founder of one, agreeably to the passion inspiring it and in
such form as to kindle and keep alive the heroism thereof in the
generations thereafter; or a poem in celebration of the thoughts,
feelings, and feats of a whole nation or race; its proper function is to
_disimprison_ the soul of the related facts and give a noble rendering of
them; of compositions of this kind the "Iliad" of Homer, the "Æneid" of
Virgil, and the "Divine Comedy" of Dante take the lead.
EPIC MELODY, melody in accord with the feeling of the whole race or
the subject as a whole.
EPICHARIS, a Roman lady who conspired against Nero and strangled
herself rather than reveal her accomplices after undergoing the cruellest
tortures.
EPICHARMUS, a Greek philosopher and poet in the island of Cos;
studied philosophy under Pythagoras; conceived a taste for comedy; gave
himself up to that branch of the drama, and received the name of the
"Father of Comedy"; lived eventually at the court of Hiero of Syracuse
(540-430 B.C.).
EPICTETUS, a celebrated Stoic philosopher of the 1st century,
originally a slave; lived and taught at Rome, but after the expulsion of
the philosophers retired to Nicopolis, in Epirus; was lame, and lived in
poverty; his conversations were collected by Arrian, and his philosophy
in a short manual under the Greek name of "Enchiridion of Epictetus,"
written, as is alleged, in utter obliviousness of the fact that "the end
of man is an action, not a thought."
EPICUREANS, a sect of philosophers who derived their name from
Epicurus, and who divided the empire of philosophy with the STOICS
(q. v.), at the birth of Christ; they held that the chief end of man
was happiness, that the business of philosophy was to guide him in the
pursuit of it, and that it was only by experience that one could learn
what would lead to it and what would not; they scouted the idea of reason
as regulative of thought, and conscience as regulative of conduct, and
maintained that our senses were our only guides in both; in a word, they
denied that God had implanted in man an absolute rational and moral
principle, and maintained that he had no other clue to the goal of his
being but his experience in life, while the distinction of right and
wrong was only a distinction of what was found conducive to happiness and
what was not; they had no faith in or fear of a divine Being above man
any more than of a divine principle within man, and they scorned the idea
of another world with its awards, and concerned themselves only with
this, which, however, in their hands was no longer a cosmos but a chaos,
out of which the quickening and ordinative spirit had fled.
EPICURUS, a Greek philosopher, born at Samos, of Athenian origin;
settled at Athens in his thirty-sixth year, and founded a philosophical
school there, where he taught a philosophy in opposition to that of the
Stoics; philosophy he defined as "an activity which realises a happy life
through ideas and arguments," summing itself up "in ethics, which are to
teach us how to attain a life of felicity"; his system comprised "the
three branches included in philosophy, viz., logic, physics, and ethics,"
but he arranges them in reverse order, logic and physics being regarded
only as the handmaids of ethics; for he "limited logic to the
investigation of the criterion of truth," and physics he valued as
disillusioning the mind of "the superstitious fear that went to disturb
happiness"; he was a man of a temperate and blameless life, and it is a
foul calumny on him to charge him with summing up happiness as mere
self-indulgence, though it is true he regarded "virtue as having no value
in itself, but only in so far as it offered us something--an agreeable
life."
EPICYCLE, an expression used in the PTOLEMAIC (q. v.)
system of astronomy; the old belief that the celestial bodies moved in
perfect circles round the earth was found to be inadequate to explain the
varying position of the planets, a difficulty which led Ptolemy to invent
his theory of epicycles, which was to the effect that each planet
revolved round a centre of its own, greater or less, but that all these
centres themselves moved in procession round the earth, a theory which
fell to pieces before the investigations of Kepler and Newton.
EPIDAURUS, a town of ancient Greece, in Argolis, on the eastern
shore of the Peloponnesus; was at one time an independent State and an
active centre of trade, but was chiefly noted for its famous temple of
Æsculapius, to which people flocked to be cured of their diseases, and
which bore the inscription "Open only to pure souls"; ruins of a
magnificent theatre are still extant here.
EPIDEMIC, a name given to contagious diseases which, arising
suddenly in a community, rapidly spread through its members, often
travelling from district to district, until often a whole country is
affected; the theory of the transmission of disease by microbes has
largely explained the spread of such scourges, but the part which
atmospheric and other physical, and perhaps psychic, causes play in these
disorders is still matter of debate, especially as regards epidemic
mental diseases. See ENDEMIC.
EPIGONI (the Descendants), the name given to the sons of the Seven
who perished before Thebes; they avenged the death of their fathers by
razing Thebes to the ground; the war first and last has been made the
subject of epic and tragic poems.
EPIGRAM, in modern usage, is a neat, witty, and pointed utterance
briefly couched in verse form, usually satiric, and reserving its sting
to the last line; sometimes made the vehicle of a quaintly-turned
compliment, as, for example, in Pope's couplet to Chesterfield, when
asked to write something with that nobleman's pencil;--
"Accept a miracle; instead of wit,
See two dull lines by Stanhope's pencil writ."
The Latin epigrammatists, especially Martial and Catullus, were the first
to give a satirical turn to the epigram, their predecessors the Greeks
having employed it merely for purposes of epitaph and monumental
inscriptions of a laudatory nature.
EPILEPSY, a violent nervous affection, manifesting itself usually in
sudden convulsive seizures and unconsciousness, followed by temporary
stoppage of the breath and rigidity of the body, popularly known as
"falling sickness"; origin as yet undecided; attributed by the ancients
to demoniacal possession.
EPIMENIDES, a philosopher of Crete of the 7th century B.C., of whom
it is fabled that he fell asleep in a cave when a boy, and that he did
not awake for 57 years, but it was to find himself endowed with all
knowledge and wisdom. He was invited to Athens during a plague to purify
the city, on which occasion he performed certain mysterious rites with
the effect that the plague ceased. The story afforded Goethe a subject
for a drama entitled "Das Epimenides Erwachen," "in which he symbolises
his own aloofness from the great cause of the Fatherland, the result of
want of faith in the miraculous power that resides in an enthusiastic
outbreak of patriotic feeling."
EPIMETHEUS (i. e. Afterthought), the brother of Prometheus
(Forethought), who in spite of the warnings of the latter opened
Pandora's box, and let loose a flood of evils on the earth, which oppress
it to this day.
EPINAL (21), the capital of the dep. of Vosges, in France,
charmingly situated at the foot of the Vosges Mountains, on the Moselle;
is elegantly built, and has ruins of an old castle, surrounded by fine
gardens, a 10th-century church, and a fine library, &c.; a suspension
bridge spans the Moselle; there is industry in cotton, paper, &c.
EPINAY, MADAME D', a French writer, unhappily married in her youth;
became notorious for her illicit intimacy with Rousseau and Grimm; her
"Mémoires et Correspondence" give a lively picture of her times
(1725-1783).
EPIPHANIUS, ST., one of the Fathers of the Greek Church; of Jewish
descent; flourished in the 4th century; led a monastic life, and founded
a monastery in Eleutheropolis; was bishop of Constantia in 367; bigoted
and tyrannical, he became notorious for his ecclesiastical zeal, and for
his indictments of Origen and St. Chrysostom; left writings that show
great but indiscriminate learning (330-402).
EPIPHANY, as observed in the Christian Church, is a festival held on
the 12th day after Christmas, in commemoration of the manifestation of
Christ to the Magi of the East; but up to the close of the 4th century
the festival also commemorated the incarnation of Christ as well as the
divine manifestation at His baptism.
EPI`RUS, was the NW. portion of ancient Hellas, Dodona its capital,
and Acheron one of its rivers; in 1466 became part of the Ottoman empire,
but in 1881 a portion was ceded to Greece.
EPISCOPACY, the name given to the form of Church government in which
there are superior and inferior orders among the clergy, as between that
of bishop and that of a presbyter; called also Prelacy.
EPISCOPIUS, SIMON, a Dutch theologian, born at Amsterdam; the head
of the Arminian party after the death of Arminius; was unjustly
misrepresented, and tyrannically, even cruelly, treated by the opposite
party; he was a man of great ability, enlightened views, and admirable
temper, and set more store by integrity and purity of character than
orthodoxy of belief (1583-1643).
EPISTOLÆ OBSCURORUM VIRORUM (i. e. letters of obscure men), a
celebrated collection of Latin letters which appeared in the 16th century
in Germany, attacking with merciless severity the doctrines and modes of
living of the scholastics and monks, credited with hastening the
Reformation.
EPITAPH, an inscription placed on a tombstone in commemoration of
the dead interred below. The natural feeling which prompts such
inscriptions has manifested itself among all civilised peoples, and not a
little of a nation's character may be read in them. The Greeks reserved
epitaphs for their heroes, but amongst the Romans grew up the modern
custom of marking the tombs of relatives with some simple inscription,
many of their sepulchres being placed on the side of the public roads, a
circumstance which explains the phrase, _Siste, viator_--Stay,
traveller--found in old graveyards.
EPITHALAMIUM, a nuptial song, sung before the bridal chamber in
honour of the newly-wedded couple, particularly among the Greeks and
Romans, of whom Theocritus and Catullus have left notable examples; but
the epithalamium of Edmund Spenser is probably the finest specimen extant
of this poetic form.
EPPING FOREST, as it now exists in the SE. of Essex, is a
remnant--5600 acres--of the famous Epping or Waltham Forest, which once
extended over all Essex, and which then served as a royal hunting-ground,
is now a favourite pleasure-ground and valuable field for explorations of
botanical and entomological collectors.
EPSOM, a market-town in Surrey, skirting Banstead Downs, 15 m. SW.
of London; formerly noted for its mineral springs, now associated with
the famous Derby races.
EQUINOCTIAL POINTS are the two points at which the celestial equator
intersects the ECLIPTIC (q. v.), so called because the days and
nights are of equal duration when the sun is at these points.
EQUINOXES, the two annually recurring times at which the sun arrives
at the EQUINOCTIAL POINTS (q. v.), viz., 21st March and 22nd
September, called respectively the vernal and the autumnal equinoxes in
the northern hemisphere, but vice versa in the southern; at these times
the sun is directly over the equator, and day and night is then of equal
length over the whole globe.
EQUITES, THE, a celebrated equestrian order in ancient Rome,
supposed to have been instituted by Romulus; at first purely military, it
was at length invested with the judicial functions of the Senate, and the
power of farming out the public revenues; gradually lost these privileges
and became defunct.
ERASMUS, DESIDERIUS, a famous scholar and man of letters, born at
Rotterdam; illegitimate son of one Gerhard; conceived a disgust for
monkish life during six years' residence in a monastery at Steyn;
wandered through Europe and amassed stores of learning at various
universities; visited Oxford in 1489, and formed a lifelong friendship
with Sir Thomas More; was for some years professor of Divinity and Greek
at Cambridge; edited the first Greek Testament; settled finally at Basel,
whence he exercised a remarkable influence over European thought by the
wit and tone of his writings, notably the "Praise of Folly," the
"Colloquia" and "Adagia"; he has been regarded as the precursor of the
Reformation; is said to have laid the egg which Luther hatched; aided the
Reformation by his scholarship, though he kept aloof as a scholar from
the popular movement of Luther (1467-1536).
ERASTIANISM, the right of the State to override and overrule the
decisions of the Church that happen to involve civil penalties. See
ERASTUS.
ERASTUS, an eminent physician, born at Baden, in Switzerland, whose
fame rests mainly on the attitude he assumed in the theological and
ecclesiastical questions of the day; he defended Zwingli's view of the
Eucharist as a merely symbolical ordinance, and denied the right of the
Church to inflict civil penalties, or to exercise discipline--the power
of the keys--that belonging, he maintained, to the province of the civil
magistrate and not to the Church (1534-1583).
ERATO (i. e. the Lovely), the muse of erotic poetry and elegy,
represented with a lyre in her left hand.
ERATOSTHENES, surnamed the Philologist, a philosopher of Alexandria,
born at Cyrene, 276 B.C.; becoming blind and tired of life, he starved
himself to death at the age of 80; he ranks high among ancient
astronomers; measured the obliquity of the ecliptic, and estimated the
size of the earth (276-194 B.C.).
ERCILLA Y ZUÑIGA, a Spanish poet, born at Madrid; took part in the
war of the Spaniards with the Araucos in Chile, which he celebrated in an
epic of no small merit called "La Araucana"; he ended his days in poverty
(1553-1595).
ERDGEIST, the Spirit of the Earth, represented in Goethe's "Faust"
as assiduously weaving, at the Time-Loom, night and day, in death as well
as life, the earthly vesture of the Eternal, and thereby revealing the
Invisible to mortal eyes.
ERDMANN, a German philosopher, born at Wolmar, professor at Halle;
was of the school of Hegel, an authority on the history of philosophy
(1805-1892).
EREBUS, a region of utter darkness in the depths of Hades, into
which no mortal ever penetrated, the proper abode of Pluto and his Queen
with their train of attendants, such as the Erinnyes, through which the
spirits of the dead must pass on their way to Hades; equivalent to the
valley of the shadow of death.
ERECTHEUS or ERICHTHONIUS, the mythical first king of Athens;
favoured and protected from infancy by Athena, to whom accordingly he
dedicated the city; he was buried in the temple of Athena, and worshipped
afterwards as a god; it is fabled of him that when an infant he was
committed by Athena in a chest to the care of Agraulos and Herse, under a
strict charge not to pry into it; they could not restrain their
curiosity, opened the chest, saw the child entwined with serpents, were
seized with madness, and threw themselves down from the height of the
Acropolis to perish at the foot.
ERFURT (72), a town in Saxony, on the Gera, 14 m. W. of Weimar,
formerly capital of Thüringia, and has many interesting buildings,
amongst the number the 14th-century Gothic cathedral with its great bell,
weighing 13½ tons, and cast in 1497; the monastery of St. Augustine
(changed into an orphanage in 1819), in which Luther was a monk; the
Academy of Sciences, and the library with 60,000 vols. and 1000 MSS.;
various textile factories flourish.
ERGOT, a diseased state of grasses, &c., but a disease chiefly
attacking rye, produced by a fungus developing on the seeds; the drug
"ergot of rye" is obtained from a species of this fungus.
ERIC, the name of several of the kings of Denmark, and Sweden, and
Norway, the most notorious being the son of the noble Swedish king
GUSTAVUS VASA (q. v.), who aspired to the hand of Elizabeth of
England and challenged his rival Leicester to a duel; afterwards sought
Mary of Scotland, but eventually married a peasant girl who had nursed
him out of madness brought on by dissipation; was deposed after a State
trial instigated by his own brothers, and ultimately poisoned himself in
prison eight years later (1533-1577).
ERIC THE RED, a Norwegian chief who discovered Greenland in the 10th
century, and sent out expeditions to the coast of North America.
ERICSSON, JOHN, a distinguished Swedish engineer, born at
Langbanshyttan; went to England in 1826 and to United States of America
in 1839, where he died; invented the screw propeller of steamships; built
warships for the American navy, and amongst them the famous _Monitor_;
his numerous inventions mark a new era in naval and steamship
construction (1802-1889).
ERIE, LAKE, the fourth in size among the giant lakes of North
America, lies between Lakes Huron and Ontario, on the Canadian border, is
240 m. long and varies from 30 to 60 m. in breadth; is very shallow, and
difficult to navigate; ice-bound from December till about April.
ERIGENA, JOHANNES SCOTUS, a rationalistic mystic, the most
distinguished scholar and thinker of the 9th century, of Irish birth;
taught at the court of Charles the Bald in France, and was summoned by
Alfred to Oxford in 877; died abbot of Malmesbury; held that "damnation
was simply the consciousness of having failed to fulfil the divine
purpose"; he derived all authority from reason, and not reason from
authority, maintaining that authority unfounded on reason was of no
value; _d_. 882.
ERIN, the ancient Celtic name of Ireland, used still in poetry.
ERINNA, a Greek poetess, the friend of Sappho, died at 19; wrote
epic poetry, all but a few lines of which has perished; born about
612 B.C.
ERINNYES, THE (i. e. the roused-to-anger, in Latin, the Furies),
the Greek goddesses of vengeance, were the daughters of Gaia, begotten of
the blood of the wounded Uranus, and at length reckoned three in number,
Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megara; they were conceived of as haunting the
wicked on earth and scourging them in hell; they were of the court of
Pluto, and the executioners of his wrath.
ERIS, the Greek goddess of strife or discord, sowing the seeds
thereof among the gods to begin with, which she has since continued to do
among men.
ERIVAN (15), a fortified town in Transcaucasia, situated 30 m. NE.
of Mount Ararat on an elevated plateau; was ceded to Russia in 1828 by
Persia.
ERLANGEN (13), a Bavarian town on the Regnitz, has a celebrated
Protestant university, founded by Wilhelmina, sister of Frederick the
Great, who was the Electress; was a place of refuge for the Huguenots in
1685; manufactures in gloves, mirrors, and tobacco are carried on, and
brewing.
ERLAU (22), an ecclesiastical city of Hungary, on the Erlau, 89 m.
NE. of Pesth; is the seat of an archbishop; has a fine cruciform
cathedral, built since 1837, several monasteries, a lyceum with a large
library and an observatory; is noted for its red wine.
ERL-KING, a Norse impersonation of the spirit of superstitious fear
which haunts and kills us even in the guardian embrace of paternal
affection.
ERMINIA, a Syrian, the heroine of Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered," in
love with the Christian prince Tancred.
ERNESTI, JOHANN AUGUST, a celebrated German classicist and
theologian, called the "German Cicero," born at Tennstädt, Thüringia;
professor of Philology in Leipzig, and afterwards of Theology; edited
various classical works, his edition of Cicero specially noted; was the
first to apply impartial textual criticism to the Bible, and to him, in
consequence, we owe the application of a more correct exegesis to the
biblical writings (1707-1781).
ERNST, ELECTOR OF SAXONY, founder of the Ernestine line of Saxon
princes, ancestor of Prince Consort, born at Altenburg; was kidnapped
along with his brother Albert in 1455, an episode famous in German
history as the "Prinzenraub" (i. e. the stealing of the prince);
succeeded his father in 1464; annexed Thüringia in 1482, and three years
later shared his territory with his brother Albert (1441-1486).
ERNST I., Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg; served in the Thirty
Years' War under Gustavus Adolphus, and shared in the victory of Lützen;
was an able and wise ruler, and gained for himself the surname of "the
Pious" (1601-1675).
EROS (in Latin, Cupido), the Greek god of love, the son of
Aphrodité, and the youngest of the gods, though he figures in the
cosmogony as one of the oldest of the gods, and as the uniting power in
the life of the gods and the life of the universe, was represented at
last as a wanton boy from whose wiles neither gods nor men were safe.
EROSTRATUS, an obscure Ephesian, who, to immortalise his name, set
fire to the temple of Ephesus on the night, as it happened, when
Alexander the Great was born; the Ephesians thought to defeat his purpose
by making it death to any one who named his name, but in vain, the decree
itself giving wider and wider publicity to the act.
ERPENIUS (Thomas van Erpen), Arabic scholar, born at Gorkum, in
Holland; after completing his studies at Leyden and Paris, became
professor of Oriental Languages there; famed for his Arabic grammar and
rudiments, which served as text-books for upwards of 200 years
(1585-1624).
ERSCH, JOHANN SAMUEL, a bibliographer, born at Grossglogau; after a
college career at Halle devoted himself to journalism, and in 1800 became
librarian of the University of Jena; subsequently filled the chair of
Geography and Statistics at Halle; his "Handbook of German Literature"
marks the beginning of German bibliography; began in 1818, along with
Gruber, the publication of an encyclopædia which is still unfinished
(1766-1828).
ERSKINE, EBENEZER, founder of the Secession Church of Scotland, born
at Chirnside, Berwickshire; minister at Portmoak for 28 years; took part
in the patronage dispute, and was deposed (1733), when he formed a church
at Gairney Bridge, near Kinross, the nucleus of the Secession Church
(1703-1754).
ERSKINE, HENRY, a famous Scotch lawyer, second son of the Earl of
Buchan, born at Edinburgh; called to the bar and became Lord Advocate; a
Whig in politics; brought about useful legal reforms; noted as a
brilliant wit and orator (1746-1817).
ERSKINE, JOHN, a Scottish jurist; called to the bar in 1719; became
professor of Scots Law in Edinburgh University in 1837, resigned 1763;
author of two important works on Scots Law, "The Institutes" and
"Principles" (1695-1768).
ERSKINE, JOHN, D.D., son of the preceding; a celebrated Scotch
preacher and author of various essays and pamphlets; a prominent leader
on the Evangelical side in the General Assemblies; was minister of the
Old Greyfriars, Edinburgh, and the colleague of Principal Robertson; is
remembered for a retort in the pulpit and for another in the General
Assembly; the former was to a remark of his colleague, Principal
Robertson, "If perfect virtue were to appear on earth we would adore
it." ... "Perfect virtue did appear on earth and we crucified it"; and that
other in the General Assembly was "Rax (reach) me that Bible," as certain
Moderates in the court began derisively to scoff at the proposal to send
missions to the heathen (1721-1803).
ERSKINE, JOHN, OF DUN, a Scotch Reformer, supported Knox and
Wishart; was several times Moderator of the General Assembly, and
assisted in the formation of "The Second Book of Discipline" (1509-1591).
ERSKINE, RALPH, a Scotch divine, brother of EBENEZER (q. v.),
with whom he co-operated in founding the Secession Church; his
sermons and religious poems, called "Gospel Sonnets," were widely read;
one of the first of the Scotch seceders, strange to contemplate, "a long,
soft, poke-shaped face, with busy anxious black eyes, looking as if he
could not help it; and then such a character and form of human existence,
conscience living to the finger ends of him, in a strange, venerable,
though highly questionable manner ... his formulas casing him all round
like the shell of a beetle"; his fame rests chiefly on his "Gospel
Sonnets," much appreciated at one time (1685-1752).
ERSKINE, THOMAS, LORD, a famous lawyer, youngest son of the Earl of
Buchan, born in Edinburgh; spent his early years in the navy, and
afterwards joined the army; resigned in 1775 to enter upon the study of
law; called to the bar in 1778; a king's counsel in 1783; created a baron
and Lord Chancellor in 1806; was engaged in all the famous trials of his
time; an unrivalled orator in the law courts; his speeches rank as
masterpieces of forensic eloquence (1750-1823).
ERSKINE, THOMAS, OF LINLATHEN, member of the Scottish bar, but
devoted in an intensely human spirit to theological interests, "one of
the gentlest, kindliest, best bred of men," says Carlyle, who was greatly
attached to him; "I like him," he says, "as one would do a draught of
sweet rustic mead served in cut glasses and a silver tray ... talks
greatly of symbols, seems not disinclined to let the Christian religion
pass for a kind of mythus, provided one can retain the spirit of it"; he
wrote a book, much prized at one time, on the "Internal Evidences of
Revealed Religion," also on Faith; besides being the constant friend of
Carlyle, he corresponded on intimate terms with such men as Maurice and
Dean Stanley (1788-1870).
ERWIN, a German architect, born at Steinbach, Baden; the builder of
the western façade of the cathedral of Strasburg (1240-1318).
ERYMANTHUS, a mountain in Arcadia that was the haunt of the boar
killed by Hercules.
ERYSIPELAS, known popularly as St. Anthony's Fire and Rose, a
febrile disease, manifesting itself in acute inflammation of the skin,
which becomes vividly scarlet and ultimately peels; confined chiefly to
the head; is contagious, and recurrent.
ERYTHEMA, a medical term used loosely to designate a diseased
condition of the skin; characterised by a scarlet or dark-red rash or
eruption, distinct from erysipelas.
ERYTHREA (220), a colony belonging to Italy, extending from Cape
Kasar 670 m. along the western shore of the Red Sea to a point in the
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb; Massowah the capital.
ERYTHREAN SEA, a name of the Red Sea.
ERZERUM (60), a city in Turkish Armenia, capital of the province of
the same name, 125 m. SE. of Trebizond; situated on a fertile plain 6300
ft. above sea-level; is an important entrepôt for commerce between Europe
and Asia; is irregularly built, but contains imposing ruins; has a
fortress, and in the suburbs a number of mosques and bazaars; is famed
for its iron and copper ware; fell into the hands of the Turks in 1517;
figured as a military centre in many Turkish wars; was reduced by the
Russians in 1878; was a scene of Armenian massacres by the Turks in 1895.
ERZGEBIRGE, a range of mountains lying between Saxony and Bohemia;
the highest peak is the Keilberg, 4052 ft.; is rich in various metallic
ores, especially silver and lead.
ERYX, an ancient town in the NW. of Sicily, at the foot of a
mountain of the same name, with a temple to Venus, who was hence called
Erycina.
ESAU, the eldest son of Isaac, who sold his birthright to Jacob for
a mess of lentils; led a predatory life, and was the forefather of the
Edomites.
ESCHATOLOGY, the department of theology which treats of the
so-called last things, such as death, the intermediate state, the
millennium, the return of Christ, the resurrection, the judgment, and the
end of the world.
ESCHENBACH, WOLFRAM VON, a famous minnesinger, born at Eschenbach,
in Bavaria, at about the close of the 12th century; was of good birth,
and lived some time at the Thuringian Court; enjoyed a wide reputation in
his time as a poet; of his poems the epic "Parzival" is the most
celebrated, and records the history of the "Grail."
ESCHER, JOHANN HEINRICH ALFRED. Swiss statesman, born at Zurich;
bred for the law, and lectured for a while in his native town; became
President of the Council of Zurich; co-operated with Farrer in expelling
the Jesuits; became member of the Diet; supported Federal union, and did
much to promote and establish State education in Switzerland; _b_. 1819.
ESCHINES. See ÆSCHINES; as also ESCULAPIUS,
ESCHYLUS, ESOP, &c., under Æ.
ESCOBAR, MENDOZA ANTONIO, a Spanish Jesuit and casuist, born at
Valladolid, a preacher and voluminous writer (1589-1669).
ESCURIAL, a huge granite pile, built in the form of a gridiron, 30
m. NW. from Madrid, and deemed at one time the eighth wonder of the
world; was built in 1563-1584; was originally dedicated as a monastery to
St. Lorenzo in recognition of the services which the Saint had rendered
to Philip II. at the battle of St. Quentin, and used at length as a
palace and burial-place of kings. It is a mere shadow of what it was, and
is preserved from ruin by occasional grants of money to keep it in
repair.
ESDRAËLON, a flat and fertile valley in Galilee, called also the
valley of Jezreel, which, with a maximum breadth of 9 m., extends in a
NW. direction from the Jordan at Bathshean to the Bay of Acre.
ESDRAS, the name of two books of the Apocrypha, the first, written
2nd century B.C., containing the history of the rebuilding of the Temple
and the restoration of its cultus, with a discussion on the strangest of
all things, ending in assigning the palm to truth; and the second,
written between 97 and 81 B.C., a forecast of the deliverance of the
Jews from oppression and the establishment of the Messianic kingdom.
ESK, the name of several Scottish streams: (1) in Dumfriesshire, the
Esk of young Lochinvar, has a course of 31 m. after its formation by the
junction of the North and South Esks, and flows into the Solway; (2) in
Edinburgh, formed by the junction of the North and South Esks, joins the
Firth of Forth at Musselburgh; (3) in Forfarshire, the South Esk
discharges into the North Sea at Montrose, and the North Esk also flows
into the North Sea 4 m. N. of Montrose.
ESKIMO or ESQUIMAUX, an aboriginal people of the Mongolian or
American Indian stock, in all not amounting to 40,000, thinly scattered
along the northern seaboard of America and Asia and in many of the Arctic
islands; their physique, mode of living, religion, and language are of
peculiar ethnological interest; they are divided into tribes, each having
its own territory, and these tribes in turn are subdivided into small
communities, over each of which a chief presides; the social organisation
is a simple tribal communism; Christianity has been introduced amongst
the Eskimo of South Alaska and in the greater part of Labrador; in other
parts the old religion still obtains, called Shamanism, a kind of fetish
worship; much of their folk-lore has been gathered and printed; fishing
and seal-hunting are their chief employments; they are of good physique,
but deplorably unclean in their habits; their name is supposed to be an
Indian derivative signifying "eaters of raw meat."
ESKIMO DOG, a dog found among the Eskimo, about the size of a
pointer, hair thick, and of a dark grey or black and white; half tamed,
but strong and sagacious; invaluable for sledging.
ESMOND, HENRY, the title of one of Thackeray's novels, deemed by the
most competent critics his best, and the name of its hero, a chivalrous
cavalier of the time of Queen Anne. "Esmond" is pronounced by Prof.
Saintsbury to be "among the very summits of English prose fiction,
exquisitely written in a marvellous resurrection of eighteenth-century
style, touched somehow with a strange modernity and life which make it no
_pastiche_, containing the most brilliant passages of mere incident, and,
above all, enshrining such studies of character ... as not four other
makers of English prose and verse can show."
ESNÉ, a town in Upper Egypt, on the left bank of the Nile, and 25 m.
S. of Thebes; famous for the ruins of a temple.
ESOTERIC, a term used to denote teaching intended only for the
initiated, and intelligible only to them.
ESPARTERO, a celebrated Spanish general and statesman, born at
Granatula; supported, against the Carlist faction, the claims of Isabella
to the throne of Spain; was for his services made Duke of Vittoria, and
in 1841 elected regent; compelled to abdicate, he fled to England, but
afterwards returned for a time to the head of affairs; an able man, but
wanting in the requisite astuteness and tact for such a post (1793-1879).
ESPINASSE, CLARE FRANÇOISE, a wit and beauty, born at Lyons,
illegitimate child of the Countess d'Albon; went to Paris as companion to
Madame du Deffand, with whom she quarrelled; set up a salon of her own,
and became celebrated for her many attractions; D'Alembert was devoted to
her; many of her letters to her lovers, the Marquis de Mora and M. de
Guilbert in particular, have been published, and display a charming
personality (1732-1776).
ESPINEL, VINCENT DE, a Spanish poet and musician, born at Ronda,
Granada; first a soldier and then a priest, the friend of Lope de Vega,
and author of a work which Le Sage made free use of in writing "Gil
Blas"; was an expert musician; played on the guitar, and added a fifth
string (1551-1634).
ESPIRITU SANTO, (1) a small and swampy maritime province of Brazil
(121), lying on the N. border of Rio de Janeiro; does some trade in
timber, cotton, coffee, and sugar; Victoria is the capital; (2) a town
(32) in central Cuba; (3) the largest of the NEW HEBRIDES (q. v.)
(20); the climate is unhealthy, but the soil fertile.
ESPRIT DES LOIS (i. e. the Spirit of Laws), the title of
Montesquieu's great work, at once speculative and historical, published
in 1748, characterised in "Sartor" as the work, like many others, of "a
clever infant spelling letters from a hieroglyphic book the lexicon of
which lies in Eternity, in Heaven."
ESPY, JAMES POLLARD, a meteorologist, born in Pennsylvania; did
notable work in investigating the causes of storms, and in 1841 published
"The Philosophy of Storms"; was appointed to the Washington observatory,
where he carried on experiments in the cooling of gases and atmospheric
expansion (1785-1860).
ESQUIRE, originally meant a shield-bearer, and was bestowed upon the
two attendants of a knight, who were distinguished by silver spurs, and
whose especial duty it was to look after their master's armour; now used
widely as a courtesy title.
ESQUIROS, HENRY ALPHONSE, poet and physician, born at Paris; his
early writings, poems and romances, are socialistic in bias; member of
the Legislative Assembly in 1848; retired to England after the _coup
d'état_; returned to France and rose to be a member of the Senate (1875);
wrote three works descriptive of the social and religious life of England
(1814-1876).
ESSEN (79), a town in the Rhine province of Prussia, 20 m. NE. of
Düsseldorf, the seat of the famous "Krupp" steel-works.
ESSENES, a religious communistic fraternity, never very numerous,
that grew up on the soil of Judea about the time of the Maccabees, and
had establishments in Judea when Christ was on earth, as well as
afterwards in the time of Josephus; they led an ascetic life, practised
the utmost ceremonial cleanness, were rigorous in their observance of the
Jewish law, and differed from the Pharisees in that they gave to the
Pharisaic spirit a monastic expression; they represented Judaism in its
purest essence, and in the spirit of their teaching came nearer
Christianity than any other sect of the time; "Essenism," says Schürer,
"is first and mainly of Jewish formation, and in its non-Jewish features
it had most affinity with the Pythagorean tendency of the Greeks."
ESSEQUIBO, an important river in British Guiana, 620 m. long, rises
in the Sierra Acaray, navigable for 50 m. to small craft, flows northward
into the Atlantic.
ESSEX (785), a county in the SE. of England, between Suffolk on the
N. and Kent in the S., faces the German Ocean on the E.; is well watered
with streams; has an undulating surface; is chiefly agricultural; brewing
is an important industry, and the oyster fisheries of the Colne are
noted; Chelmsford is the county town.
ESSEX, ROBERT DEVEREUX, EARL OF, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth,
born at Netherwood, Hereford; served in the Netherlands under Leicester,
his stepfather; won the capricious fancy of Elizabeth; lost favour by
marrying clandestinely the widow of Sir Philip Sidney, but was restored,
and led a life of varying fortune, filling various important offices,
till his final quarrel with the Queen and execution (1567-1601).
ESSEX, ROBERT DEVEREUX, EARL OF, son of preceding; commander of the
Parliamentary forces against Charles I.; the title died with him, but was
conferred again upon the present family in 1661 (1591-1646).
ESSLING, a village near Vienna, where the French gained a bloody
victory over the Austrians in 1809, and which gave the title of prince to
Masséna.
ESSLINGEN (22), an old historic and important manufacturing town in
Würtemberg, on the Neckar, 9 m. SE. of Stuttgart; has a citadel and the
Liebfrauen Church, which is a fine Gothic structure with a spire 246 ft.;
is a noted hardware centre, and celebrated for its machinery; a good
trade is done in textiles, fruit, and sparkling champagne.
ESTAING, COMTE D', a French admiral, "one of the bravest of men,"
fought against the English in the Indies and in America; winced as a
Royalist at the outbreak of the French Revolution; his loyalty to royalty
outweighed, it was thought, his loyalty to his country, and he was
guillotined (1729-1794).
ESTE, an ancient and illustrious Italian family from which, by an
offshoot founded by Welf IV., who became Duke of Bavaria in the 11th
century, the Guelph Houses of Brunswick and Hanover, also called the
Este-Guelphs, trace their descent. Of the Italian branch the most noted
descendant was Alphonso I., a distinguished soldier and statesman and
patron of art, whose second wife was the famous Lucrezia Borgia. His son,
Alphonso II., is remembered for his cruel treatment of Tasso, placing him
in prison for seven years as a madman who dared to make love to one of
the princesses.
ESTE (6), an Italian town, 18 m. SW. of Padua, on the S. side of the
Euganean Hills; has a castle and church with a leaning campanile.
ESTERHAZY, the town of a noble Austrian family of ancient date, and
that gave birth to a number of illustrious men.
ESTERHAZY DE GALANTHA, the name of a powerful and famous Hungarian
family holding the rank of Princes of the Empire since the 17th century.
Their estates include upwards of 4000 villages, 60 market-towns, many
castles and lordships, but they are heavily mortgaged.
ESTHER, THE BOOK OF, a book of the Old Testament, which takes its
name from the chief figure in the story related, an orphan Jewess and
ward of her cousin Mordecai, who, from her beauty, was chosen into the
royal harem and raised to be consort to the king. It is read through in
the Jewish synagogues at the feast of PURIM (q. v.). It is
observed that the name of God does not occur once in the book, but the
story implies the presence of an overruling Providence, responding to the
cry of His oppressed ones for help.
ESTHONIA (393), one of the Russian Baltic provinces, has a northern
foreshore on the Gulf of Finland, and on the W. abuts on the Baltic; what
of the country that is free from forest and marsh is chiefly
agricultural, but fishing is also an important industry; the people are a
composite of Finns and immigrant Germans, with latterly Russians
superimposed.
ESTIENNE, the name of a family of French painters. See
STEPHENS.
EST-IL-POSSIBLE? the name given by James II. to Prince George of
Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, from his invariable exclamation on
hearing how one after another had deserted the Stuart cause; he ended
with deserting it himself.
ESTRADES, COUNT D', a French diplomatist (1579-1680).
ESTREMADURA (1,111), a coast province of Portugal, between Beira and
Alemtejo, watered by the Tagus; richly fertile in many parts, but sparely
cultivated; silk is an important industry, and an increasing; Lisbon is
the chief city, and with Setubal monopolises the trade; salt, fruits,
wine, and oil are exported; also name of a district in Spain between
Portugal and New Castile, now divided into the provinces of Badajoz and
Cácéres.
ETÉOCLES, a son of Oedipus, king of Thebes, agreed on the banishment
of his father to govern the state alternately with his brother Polynices,
but failing to keep his engagement, the latter appealed to his guardian,
out of which there arose the War of the Seven against Thebes, which ended
in the slaughter of the whole seven, upon which the brothers thought to
end the strife in single combat, when each fell by the sword of the
other.
ETERNAL CITY, ancient Rome in the esteem of its inhabitants, in
accordance with the promise, as Virgil feigns, of Jupiter to Venus, the
goddess-mother of the race.
ETERNITIES, THE CONFLUX OF, Carlyle's expressive phrase for Time, as
in every moment of it a centre in which all the forces to and from
Eternity meet and unite, so that by no past and no future can we be
brought nearer to Eternity than where we at any moment of Time are; the
Present Time, the youngest born of Eternity, being the child and heir of
all the Past times with their good and evil, and the parent of all the
Future, the import of which (see Matt. xvi. 27) it is accordingly the
first and most sacred duty of every successive age, and especially the
leaders of it, to know and lay to heart as the only link by which
Eternity lays hold of it and it of Eternity.
ETHELBERT, a king of Kent, in whose reign Christianity was
introduced by St. Augustin and a band of missionaries in 597; drew up the
first Saxon law code (552-616).
ETHELDREDA, a Saxon princess, whose name, shortened into St. Audrey,
was given to a certain kind of lace, whence "tawdry"; she took refuge
from the married state in the monastery of St. Abb's Head, and afterwards
founded a monastery in the Isle of Ely (630-679).
ETHELRED I., king of Saxon England (866-871), predecessor and
brother of Alfred; his reign was a long and unsuccessful struggle with
the Danes.
ETHELRED II., the Unready, a worthless king of Saxon England
(979-1016), married Emma, daughter of Richard, Duke of Normandy, a step
which led in the end to the claim which issued in the Norman Conquest
(968-1016).
ETHER, a volatic liquid prepared from the distillation of alcohol
and sulphuric acid at high temperature; is colourless, and emits a sweet,
penetrating odour; is highly combustible; a useful solvent, and an
important anæsthetic.
ETHER, a subtle element presumed to pervade all interstellar space,
vibrations in which are assumed to account for the transmission of light
and all radiant energy.
ETHEREDGE, SIR GEORGE, the originator of the kind of comedy
"containing a vein of lively humour and witty dialogue which were
afterwards displayed by Congreve and Farquhar"; has been called the
"founder of the comedy of intrigue"; he was the author of three clever
plays, entitled "Love in a Tub," "She Would if She Could," and "Sir
Fopling Flutter" (1636-1694).
ETHICS, the science which treats of the distinction between right
and wrong and of the moral sense by which they are discriminated.
ETHICS OF DUST, THE, "a book by Ruskin about crystallography, but it
twists symbolically in the strangest way all its geology into morality,
theology, Egyptian mythology, with fiery cuts at political economy,
pretending not to know whether the forces and destinies and behaviour of
crystals are not very like those of a man."
ETHIOPIA, a term loosely used in ancient times to indicate the
territory inhabited by black or dark-coloured people; latterly applied to
an undefined tract of land stretching S. of Egypt to the Gulf of Aden,
which constituted the kingdom of the Ethiopians, a people of Semitic
origin and speaking a Semitic language called Ge'ez, who were
successively conquered by the Egyptians, Persians, and Romans; are known
in the Bible; their first king is supposed to have been Menilehek, son of
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; their literature consists mostly of
translations and collections of saws and riddles; the language is no
longer spoken.
ETHNOLOGY, a science which treats of the human race as grouped in
tribes or nations, but limits itself to tracing the origin and
distribution of races, and investigating the physical and mental
peculiarities and differences exhibited by men over all parts of the
globe; the chief problem of the science is to decide between the
monogenous and polygenous theories of the origin of the race, and
investigation inclines to favour the former view. The polygenous
argument, based on the diversity of languages, has been discarded, as, if
valid, necessitating about a thousand different origins, while the
monogenous position is strengthened by the ascertained facts that the
different racial groups are fruitful amongst themselves, and present
points of mental and physical similarity which accord well with this
theory. Ethnologists now divide the human race into three main groups:
the _Ethiopian or negro_, the _Mongolic or yellow_, and the _Caucasic or
white_.
ÉTIENNE, ST., (133), an important French town, capital of the dep.
of the Loire, on the Furens, 35 m. SW. of Lyons; chief seat of the
iron-works of France; also has noted ribbon factories.
ETIVE, a sea-loch in Argyllshire, Scotland, is an inland extension
of the Firth of Lorne, about 20 m. in length, and varying in breadth from
2 to ¼ m.; the mountain scenery along the shores grandly picturesque; the
river which bears the same name rises in Rannoch Moor, and joins the loch
after a SW. course of 15 m.; both loch and river afford salmon-fishing.
ETNA, a volcanic mountain on the E. coast of Sicily, 10,840 ft.
high; a striking feature is the immense ravine, the Val del Bove,
splitting the eastern side of the mountain, and about 5 m. in diameter;
on the flanks are many smaller cones. Etna is celebrated for its many and
destructive eruptions; was active in 1892; its observatory, built in
1880, at an elevation of 9075 ft. above sea-level, is the highest
inhabited dwelling in Europe.
ETON, a town in Buckinghamshire, on the Thames, 22 m. SW. of London;
celebrated for its public school, Eton College, founded in 1440 by Henry
VI., which has now upwards of 1000 scholars.
ÊTRE SUPRÊME, the Supreme Being agreeably to the hollow and vacant
conception of the boasted, beggarly 18th-century Enlightenment of
Revolutionary France.
ETRURIA, the ancient Roman name of a region in Italy, W. of the
Apennines from the Tiber to the Macra in the N.; inhabited by the
Etruscans, a primitive people of Italy; at one time united in a
confederation of twelve States; gradually absorbed by the growing Roman
power, and who were famous for their artistic work in iron and bronze.
Many of the Etruscan cities contain interesting remains of their early
civilised state; but their entire literature, supposed to have been
extensive, has perished, and their language is only known through
monumental inscriptions. Their religion was polytheistic, but embraced a
belief in a future life. There is abundant evidence that they had
attained to a high degree of civilisation; the status of women was high,
the wife ranking with the husband; their buildings still extant attest
their skill as engineers and builders; vases, mirrors, and coins of fine
workmanship have been found in their tombs, and jewellery which is
scarcely rivalled; while the tombs themselves are remarkable for their
furnishings of chairs, ornaments, decorations, &c., showing that they
regarded these sanctuaries more as dwellings of departed spirits than as
sepulchres of the dead.
ETTMÜLLER, ERNST MORITZ LUDWIG, a German philologist, born at
Gerfsdorf, Saxony, professor of German literature in Zurich in 1863; did
notable work in connection with Anglo-Saxon and in Middle German dialects
(1802-1877).
ETTRICK, a Scottish river that rises in Selkirkshire and joins the
Tweed, 3 m. below Selkirk; the Yarrow is its chief tributary; a forest of
the same name once spread over all Selkirkshire and into the adjoining
counties; the district is associated with some of the finest ballad and
pastoral poetry of Scotland.
ETTRICK SHEPHERD, JAMES HOGG (q. v.).
ETTY, WILLIAM, a celebrated painter, born at York; rose from being a
printer's apprentice to the position of a Royal Academician; considered
by Ruskin to have wasted his great powers as a colourist on inadequate
and hackneyed subjects (1787-1849).
EUBOEA (82), the largest of the Grecian Isles, skirts the mainland
on the SE., to which it is connected by a bridge spanning the Talanta
Channel, 40 yards broad; it is about 100 m. in length; has fine quarries
of marble, and mines of iron and copper are found in the mountains;
Chalcis is the chief town.
EUCLID OF ALEXANDRIA, a famous geometrican, whose book of
"Elements," revised and improved, still holds its place as an English
school-book, although superseded as such in America and the Continent;
founded a school of Mathematics in Alexandria; flourished about 300 B.C.
EUCLID OF MEGARA, a Greek philosopher, a disciple of Socrates, was
influenced by the ELEATICS (q. v.); founded the Megaric school
of Philosophy, whose chief tenet is that the "good," or that which is one
with itself, alone is the only real existence.
EUDÆMONISM, the doctrine that the production of happiness is the aim
and measure of virtue.
EUDOCIA, the ill-fated daughter of an Athenian Sophist, wife of
Theodosius II., embraced Christianity, her name Athenais previously; was
banished by her husband on an ill-founded charge of infidelity, and spent
the closing years of her life in Jerusalem, where she became a convert to
the views of EUTYCHES (q. v.) (394-400).
EUDOXUS OF CNIDUS, a Grecian astronomer, was a pupil of Plato, and
afterwards studied in Egypt; said to have introduced a 365½ day year into
Greece; flourished in the 4th century B.C.
EUGENE, FRANÇOIS, PRINCE OF SAVOY, a renowned general, born at
Paris, and related by his mother to Cardinal Mazarin; he renounced his
native land, and entered the service of the Austrian Emperor Leopold;
first gained distinction against the Turks, whose power in Hungary he
crushed in the great victory of Pieterwardein (1697); co-operated with
Marlborough in the war of the Spanish Succession, and shared the glories
of his great victories, and again opposed the French in the cause of
Poland (1663-1736).
EUGÉNIE, EX-EMPRESS OF THE FRENCH, born at Granada, second daughter
of Count Manuel Fernandez of Montigos and Marie Manuela Kirkpatrick of
Closeburn, Dumfriesshire; married to Napoleon III. in 1853; had to leave
France in 1870, and has since January 1873 lived as his widow at
Chiselhurst, Kent; _b_. 1826.
EUGENIUS, the name of four Popes. E., St., I., Pope from 654 to 658
(festival, August 27); E. II., Pope from 824 to 827; E. III., Pope from
1145 to 1153; E. IV., Pope from 1431 to 1447.
EUGENIUS IV., Pope, born at Venice; his pontificate was marked by a
schism created by proceedings in the Council of Basel towards the reform
of the Church and the limitation of the papal authority, the issue of
which was that he excommunicated the Council and the Council deposed him;
he had an unhappy time of it, and in his old age regretted he had ever
left his monastery to assume the papal crown.
EUGUBINE TABLES, seven bronze tablets discovered in 1441 near
Eugubium, in Italy, containing inscriptions which supply a key to the
original tongues of Italy prior to Latin.
EUHEMERISM, the theory that the gods of antiquity are merely deified
men, so called from Euhemeros, the Greek who first propounded the theory,
and who lived 316 B.C.
EULENSPIEGEL (i. e. Owl-glass), the hero of a popular German tale,
which relates no end of pranks, fortunes, and misfortunes of a wandering
mechanic born in a village in Brunswick; buried in 1350 at Mölln, in
Lauenburg, where they still show his tombstone sculptured with an owl
and a glass.
EULER, LEONHARD, a celebrated mathematician, born at Basel;
professor in St. Petersburg successively of Physics and Mathematics; came
to reside in Berlin in 1741 at the express invitation of Frederick the
Great; returned to St. Petersburg in 1746, where he died; besides many
works issued in his lifetime, he left 200 MSS., which were published
after his death (1707-1783).
EUMENIDES (i. e. the Well-meaning), a name given to the
ERINNYES (q. v.) or Furies, from a wholesome and prudent dread
of calling them by their true name.
EUMOLPUS, the founder of the Eleusinian Mysteries, alleged to have
been a priest of Demeter or Ceres.
EUNOMIANS, an ultra-Arian sect of the 4th century, which soon
dwindled away after breaking from the orthodox Church; called after
EUNOMIUS (q. v.).
EUNOMIUS, an Arian divine, born in Cappadocia; head of a sect who
maintained that the Father alone was God, that the Son was generated from
Him, and the Spirit from the Son; was bishop of Cyzicum, a post he
by-and-by resigned; _d_. 394.
EUPATORIA (13), a Russian town on the Crimean coast, in the
government of Taurida, 40 m. NW. of Simferopol; has a fine Tartar mosque,
and does a large export trade in hides and cereals; during the Crimean
War was an important military centre of the Allies.
EUPHEMISM, is in speech or writing the avoiding of an unpleasant or
indelicate word or expression by the use of one which is less direct, and
which calls up a less disagreeable image in the mind. Thus for "he died"
is substituted "he fell asleep," or "he is gathered to his fathers"; thus
the Greeks called the "Furies" the "Eumenides," "the benign goddesses,"
just as country people used to call elves and fairies "the good folk
neighbours."
EUPHRATES, a river in West Asia, formed by the junction of two
Armenian streams; flows SE. to Kurnah, where it is joined by the Tigris.
The combined waters--named the Shat-el-Arab--flow into the Persian Gulf;
is 1700 m. long, and navigable for 1100 m.
EUPHROSYNE, the cheerful one, or life in the exuberance of joy, one
of the three Graces. See GRACES.
EUPHUISM, an affected bombastic style of language, so called from
"Euphues," a work of Sir John Lyly's written in that style.
EURE (349), a dep. of France, in Normandy, so called from the river
Eure which traverses it.
EURE-ET-LOIR (285), a dep. of France lying directly S. of the
preceding; chief rivers the Eure in the N. and the Loir in the S.
EUREKA (i. e. I have found it), the exclamation of Archimedes on
discovering how to test the purity of the gold in the crown of
HIERO (q. v.); he discovered it, tradition says, when taking a
bath.
EURIPIDES, a famous Greek tragic dramatist, born at Salamis, of
wealthy parents; first trained as an athlete, and then devoted himself to
painting, and eventually to poetry; he brought out his first play at the
age of 25, and is reported to have written 80 plays, of which only 18 are
extant, besides fragment of others; of these plays the "Alcestes,"
"Bacchæ," "Iphigenia at Aulis," "Electra," and "Medea" may be mentioned;
he won the tragic prize five times; tinged with pessimism, he is
nevertheless less severe than his great predecessors Sophocles and
Æschylus, surpassing them in tenderness and artistic expression, but
falling short of them in strength and loftiness of dramatic conception;
Sophocles, it is said, represented men as they ought to be, and Euripides
as they are; he has been called the Sophist of tragic poets
(480-406 B.C.).
EUROPA, a maiden, daughter of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, whom Zeus,
disguised as a white bull, carried off to Crete, where she became by him
the mother of MINOS, RHADAMANTHUS, and SARPEDON (q. v.).
EUROPE (361,000), the most important, although the second smallest,
of the five great land divisions of the globe; is, from a geographical
point of view, a peninsula of Asia; the Caspian Sea, Ural River and
mountains, form its Asiatic boundary, while on the other three sides it
is washed by the Mediterranean on the S., Atlantic on the W., and Arctic
Ocean on the N.; its coast-line is so highly developed that to every 190
sq. m. of surface there is 1 m. of coast; this advantage, combined with
the varied adaptability of its land, rivers, and inland seas, and its
central position, has made it the centre of civilisation and the theatre
of the main events of the world's history. Its greatest length is 3370 m.
from Cape St. Vincent to the Urals, and its greatest breadth 2400 m. from
Cape Matapan to Nordkyn, while its area is about 3,800,000 sq. m.; it is
singularly free from wild animals, has a fruitful soil richly cultivated,
and possesses in supreme abundance the more useful metals. Its peoples
belong to the two great ethnological divisions, the Caucasian and
Mongolian groups; to the former belong the Germanic, Romanic, Slavonic,
and Celtic races, and to the latter the Finns, Magyars, and Turks.
Christianity is professed throughout, except amongst the Jews, of whom
there are about six millions, and in Turkey, where Mohammedanism claims
about seven millions; of Catholics there are about 155 millions, of
Protestants 85, and of the Greek Church 80. Amongst the 18 countries the
form of government most prevailing is the hereditary monarchy, resting
more and more on a wide representation of the people.
EUROTAS, the classic name of the Iri, a river of Greece, which flows
past Sparta and discharges into the Gulf of Laconia, 30 m. long.
EURUS, the god of the withering east wind.
EURYDICE. See ORPHEUS.
EURYSTHEUS, the king of Mycenæ, at whose command, as subject to him
by fate, Hercules was required to perform his 12 labours, on the
achievement of which depended his admission to the rank of an immortal.
EUSEBIUS PAMPHILI, a distinguished early Christian writer, born in
Palestine, bishop of Cæsarea in 313; headed the moderate Arians at the
Council of Nice, who shrank from disputing about a subject so sacred as
the nature of the Trinity; wrote a history of the world to A.D. 328; his
"Ecclesiastical History" is the first record of the Christian Church up
to 324; also wrote a Life of Constantine, who held him in high favour;
many extracts of ancient writers no longer extant are found in the works
of Eusebius (about 264-340).
EUSTACHIO, BARTOLOMMEO, an Italian physician of the 16th century;
settled at Rome, made several anatomical discoveries, among others those
of the _tube_ from the middle ear to the mouth, and a _valve_ on the wall
of the right auricle of the heart, both called _Eustachian_ after him.
EUSTATHIUS, archbishop of Thessalonica, a Greek commentator of
Homer, born in Constantinople; a man of wide classical learning, and his
work on Homer of value for the extracts of writings that no longer exist;
_d_. 1198.
EUTERPË, the Muse of lyric poetry, represented in ancient works of
art with a flute in her hand.
EUTROPIUS, FLAVIUS, a Roman historian, secretary to the Emperor
Constantine; wrote an epitome of Roman history, which from its simplicity
and accuracy still retains its position as a school-book; _d_. about 370.
EUTYCHES, a Byzantine heresiarch, who, in combating
NESTORIANISM (q. v.), fell into the opposite extreme, and
maintained that in the incarnation the human nature of Christ was
absorbed in the divine, a doctrine which was condemned by the Council of
Chalcedon in 448 (378-454).
EUTYCHIANISM. See SUPRA.
EUXINE, a Greek name for the BLACK SEA (q. v.).
EVANDER, an Arcadian, who is said to have come from Greece with a
colony to Latium and settled in it 60 years before the Trojan war, and
with whom Æneas formed an alliance when he landed in Italy; he is
credited with having introduced the civilising arts of Greece.
EVANGELICAL, a term applied to all those forms of Christianity which
regard the atonement of Christ, or His sacrifice on the Cross for sin, as
the ground and central principle of the Christian faith.
EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE, an alliance of Christians of all countries and
denominations holding what are called evangelical principles, and founded
in 1845.
EVANGELICAL UNION, a religious body in Scotland which originated in
1843 under the leadership of James Morison of Kilmarnock, and professed a
creed which allowed them greater freedom as preachers of the gospel of
Christ. See MORISONIANISM.
EVANGELINE, the heroine of a poem by Longfellow of the same name,
founded on an incident connected with the expulsion of the natives of
Acadia from their homes by order of George II.
EVANGELIST, a name given in the early Church to one whose office it
was to persuade the ignorant and unbelieving into the fold of the Church.
EVANS, SIR DE LACY, an English general, born at Moeg, Ireland;
served in the Peninsular war; was present at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo;
commanded the British Legion sent to assist Queen Isabella in Spain, and
the second division of the army in the Crimea and the East; was for many
years a member of Parliament (1787-1870).
EVANS, MARY ANN, the real name of GEORGE ELIOT (q. v.).
EVELYN, JOHN, an English writer, born at Wotton, Surrey; travelled
in France and Italy during the Civil War, where he devoted much time to
gardening and the study of trees; was author of a celebrated work,
entitled "Sylva; or, A Discourse of Forest Trees," &c.; did much to
improve horticulture and introduce exotics into this country; his
"Memoirs," written as a diary, are full of interest, "is justly famous
for the fulness, variety, and fidelity of its records" (1620-1706).
EVEREST, MOUNT, the highest mountain in the world; is one of the
Himalayan peaks in Nepal, India; is 29,002 ft. above sea-level.
EVERETT, ALEXANDER HILL, an American diplomatist and author, born at
Boston; was U.S. ambassador at The Hague and Madrid, and commissioner to
China; wrote on a variety of subjects, including both politics and
belles-lettres, and a collection of critical and miscellaneous essays
(1792-1847).
EVERETT, EDWARD, American scholar, statesman, and orator, brother of
the preceding; was a Unitarian preacher of great eloquence; distinguished
as a Greek scholar and professor; for a time editor of the _North
American Review_; was a member of Congress, and unsuccessful candidate
for the Vice-Presidency of the Republic; his reputation rests on his
"orations," which are on all subjects, and show great vigour and
versatility of genius (1794-1865).
EVERLASTING NO, THE, Carlyle's name for the spirit of unbelief in
God, especially as it manifested itself in his own, or rather
Teufelsdröckh's, warfare against it; the spirit, which, as embodied in
the MEPHISTOPHELES (q. v.) of Goethe, is for ever denying,--_der
stets verneint_--the reality of the divine in the thoughts, the
character, and the life of humanity, and has a malicious pleasure in
scoffing at everything high and noble as hollow and void. See SARTOR
RESARTUS.
EVERLASTING YEA, THE, Carlyle's name for the spirit of faith in God
in an express attitude of clear, resolute, steady, and uncompromising
antagonism to the Everlasting No, an the principle that there is no such
thing as faith in God except in such antagonism, no faith except in such
antagonism against the spirit opposed to God.
EVERSLEY, a village in Hampshire, 13 m. NE. of Basingstoke; the
burial-place of Charles Kingsley, who for 35 years was rector of the
parish.
EVERSLEY, CHARLES SHAW LEFEVRE, VISCOUNT, politician; graduated at
Cambridge; called to the bar; entered Parliament, and in 1839 became
Speaker of the House of Commons, a post he held with great acceptance for
18 years; retired, and was created a peer (1794-1888).
EVIL EYE, a superstitious belief that certain people have the power
of exercising a baneful influence on others, and even animals, by the
glance of the eyes. The superstition is of ancient date, and is met with
among almost all races, as it is among illiterate people and savages
still. It was customary to wear amulets toward the evil off.
EVOLUTION, the theory that the several species of plants and animals
on the globe were not created in their present form, but have all been
evolved by modifications of structure from cruder forms under or
coincident with change of environment, an idea which is being applied to
everything organic in the spiritual as well as the natural world. See
DARWINIAN THEORY.
EV`ORA, a city of Portugal, beautifully situated in a fertile plain
80 m. E. of Lisbon, once a strong place, and the seat of an archbishop;
it abounds in Roman antiquities.
EVREMOND, SAINT, a lively and witty Frenchman; got into trouble in
France from the unbridled indulgence of his wit, and fled to England,
where he became a great favourite at the court of Charles II., and
enjoyed himself to the top of his bent; his letters are written in a most
graceful style (1613-1703).
EVREUX (14), capital of the dep. of Eure, on the Iton, 67 m. NW. of
Paris; is an elegant town; has a fine 11th-century cathedral, an
episcopal palace with an old clock tower; interesting ruins have been
excavated in the old town; is the seat of a bishop; paper, cotton, and
linen are manufactured, and a trade is carried on in cereals, timber, and
liqueurs.
EWALD, GEORG HEINRICH AUGUST VON, a distinguished Orientalist and
biblical scholar, born at Göttingen, and professor both there and at
Tübingen; his works were numerous, and the principal were "The Poetic
Books of the Old Testament," "The Prophets," and "The History of the
People of Israel"; he was a student and interpreter of the concrete, and
belonged to no party (1803-1875).
EWALD, JOHANNES, a Danish dramatist and lyrist, born at Copenhagen;
served as a soldier in the German and Austrian armies; studied theology
at Copenhagen; disappointed in love, he devoted himself to poetical
composition; ranks as the founder of Danish tragedy, and is the author of
some of the finest lyrics in the language (1743-1781).
EWIGE JUDE, the Everlasting Jew, the German name for the Wandering
Jew.
EXCALIBUR, the magic sword of King Arthur, which only he could
unsheathe and wield. When he was about to die he requested a knight to
throw it into a lake close by, who with some reluctance threw it, when a
hand reached out to seize it, flourished it round three times, and then
drew it under the water for good.
EXCOMMUNICATION, an ecclesiastical punishment inflicted upon
heretics and offenders against the Church laws and violators of the moral
code; was formulated in the Christian Church in the 2nd and 3rd
centuries. It varied in severity according to the degree of
transgression, but in its severest application involved exclusion from
the Eucharist, Christian burial, and the rights and privileges of the
Church; formerly it had the support of the civil authority, but is now a
purely spiritual penalty.
EXELMANS, REMY JOSEPH ISODORE, COMTE, a distinguished French
marshal, born at Bar-le-Duc; entered the army at 16; won distinction in
the Naples campaign, and for his services at Eylau in 1807 was made a
Brigadier-General; was taken prisoner in Spain while serving under Murat,
and sent to England, where he was kept prisoner three years; liberated,
took part in Napoleon's Russian campaign, for his conduct in which he was
appointed a General of Division; after Napoleon's fall lived in exile
till 1830; received honours from Louis Philippe, and was created a
Marshal of France by Louis Napoleon in 1851 (1775-1852).
EXETER (50), the capital of Devonshire, on the Exe, 75 m. SW. of
Bristol, a quaint old town; contains a celebrated cathedral founded in
1112.
EXETER HALL, a hall in the Strand, London; head-quarters of the
Y.M.C.A.; erected in 1831 for holding religious and philanthropic meetings.
EXMOOR, an elevated stretch of vale and moorland in the SW. of
Somerset, NE. of Devonshire; has an area of over 100 sq. m., 25 of which
are covered with forest.
EXMOUTH (8), a noted seaside resort on the Devonshire coast, at the
mouth of the Exe, 11 m. SE. of Exeter; has a fine beach and promenade.
EXODUS (i. e. the Going out), the book of the Old Testament which
records the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage,
and the institution of the moral and ceremonial laws for the nation;
consists partly of history and partly of legislation.
"EXODUS FROM HOUNDSDITCH," the contemplated title of a work which
Carlyle would fain have written, but found it impossible in his time.
"Out of Houndsditch indeed!" he exclaims. "Ah, were we but out, and had
our own along with us" (our inheritance from the past, he means). "But
they that have come hitherto have come in a state of brutal nakedness,
scandalous mutilation" (having cast their inheritance from the past
away), "and impartial bystanders say sorrowfully, 'Return rather; it is
better even to return!'" Houndsditch was a Jew's quarter, and old
clothesmarket in London, and was to Carlyle the symbol of the alarming
traffic at the time in spiritualities fallen extinct. Had he given a list
of these, as he has already in part done, without labelling them so, he
would only, he believed, have given offence both to the old-rag
worshippers and those that had cast the rags off, and were all,
unwittingly to themselves, going about naked; considerate he in this of
preserving what of worth was in the past.
EXOGENS, the name for the order of plants whose stem is formed by
successive accretions to the outside of the wood under the bark.
EXORCISM, conjuration by God or Christ or some holy name, of some
evil spirit to come out of a person; it was performed on a heathen as an
idolater, and eventually on a child as born in sin prior to baptism.
EXOTERIC, a term applied to teaching which the uninitiated may be
expected to comprehend, and which is openly professed, as in a public
confession of faith.
EXTERNALITY, the name for what is _ab extra_ as apart from what is
_ab intra_ in determining the substance as well as form of things, and
which in the Hegelian philosophy is regarded as working conjointly with
the latter.
EXTREME UNCTION, one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church;
an anointing of consecrated or holy oil administered by a priest in the
form of a cross to a sick person upon the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands,
and face at the point of death, which is presumed to impart grace and
strength against the last struggle.
EYCK, JAN VAN, a famous Flemish painter, born at Mass-Eyck; was
instructed by his eldest brother Hubert (1370-1426), with whom he
laboured at Bruges and Ghent; reputed to have been the first to employ
oil colours (1389-1440).
EYLAU, a small town, 23 m. S. of Königsberg, the scene of a great
battle between Napoleon and the Russian and Prussian allies in February
8, 1807; the fight was interrupted by darkness, under cover of which the
allies retreated, having had the worst of it.
EYRE, EDWARD JOHN, explorer and colonial governor, born in
Yorkshire; emigrated to Australia in 1832; successfully explored the
interior of SW. Australia in 1841; governor of New Zealand in 1846, of
St. Vincent in 1852, and of Jamaica in 1862; recalled in 1865, and
prosecuted for harsh treatment of the natives, but was acquitted; his
defence was championed by Carlyle, Ruskin, and Kingsley, while J. S. Mill
supported the prosecution; _b_. 1815.
EYRE, JANE, the heroine of a novel of Charlotte Brontë's so called,
a governess who, in her struggles with adverse fortune, wins the
admiration and melts the heart of a man who had lived wholly for the
world.
EZEKIEL, a Hebrew prophet, born in Jerusalem; a man of priestly
descent, who was carried captive to Babylon 599 B.C., and was banished
to Tel-abib, on the banks of the Chebar, 201 m. from the city, where,
with his family about him, he became the prophet of the captivity, and
the rallying centre of the Dispersion. Here he foretold the destruction
of Jerusalem as a judgment on the nation, and comforted them with the
promise of a new Jerusalem and a new Temple on their repentance, man by
man, and their return to the Lord. His prophecies arrange themselves in
three groups--those denouncing judgment on Jerusalem, those denouncing
judgment on the heathen, and those announcing the future glory of the
nation.
EZRA, a Jewish scribe of priestly rank, and full of zeal for the law
of the Lord and the restoration of Israel; author of a book of the Old
Testament, which records two successive returns of the people from
captivity, and embraces a period of 79 years, from 576 to 457 B.C.,
being a continuation of the book of Chronicles, its purpose being to
relate the progress of the restored theocracy in Judah and Jerusalem,
particularly as regards the restoration of the Temple and the
re-institution of the priesthood.
F
FABER, FREDERICK WILLIAM, a Catholic divine and hymn-writer, born at
Calverley, Yorkshire; at Oxford he won the Newdigate Prize in 1836; for
three years was rector of Elton, but under the influence of Newman joined
the Church of Rome (1845), and after founding a brotherhood of converts
at Birmingham in 1849, took under his charge a London branch of the
Oratory of St. Philip Neri; wrote several meritorious theological works,
but his fame chiefly rests on his fine hymns, the "Pilgrims of the Night"
one of the most famous (1814-1863).
FABER, GEORGE STANLEY, an Anglican divine, born in Holland; a
voluminous writer on theological subjects and prophecy (1773-1854).
FABIAN, ST., Pope from 236 to 251; martyred along with St. Sebastian
during the persecution of Decius.
FABIAN SOCIETY, a middle-class socialist propaganda, founded in
1883, which "aims at the reorganisation of society by the emancipation of
land and industrial capital from individual and class ownership, and
vesting of them in the community for the general benefit"; has
lectureships, and issues "Essays" and "Tracts"; it watches and seizes its
opportunities to achieve Socialist results, and hence the name. See
FABIUS QUINTUS (1).
FABII, a family of ancient Rome of 307 members, all of whom perished
in combat with the Veii, 477 B.C., all save one boy left behind in Rome,
from whom descended subsequent generations of the name.
FABIUS PICTOR, the oldest annalist of Rome; his annals of great
value; 216 B.C.
FABIUS QUINTUS, (Maximus Verrucosus), a renowned Roman general, five
times consul, twice censor and dictator in 221 B.C.; famous for his
cautious generalship against Hannibal in the Second Punic War, harassing
to the enemy, which won him the surname of "Cunctator" or delayer; _d_.
203 B.C.
FABIUS QUINTUS (Rullianus), a noted Roman general, five times consul
and twice dictator; waged successful war against the Samnites in 323 B.C.
FABIUS, THE AMERICAN, General Washington, so called from his Fabian
tactics. See FABIUS QUINTUS (1).
FABLE OF THE BEES, a work by Mandeville, a fable showing how vice
makes some people happy and virtue miserable, conceived as bees.
FABLIAUX, a species of metrical tales of a light and satirical
nature in vogue widely in France during the 12th and 13th centuries; many
of the stories were of Oriental origin, but were infused with the French
spirit of the times; La Fontaine, Boccaccio, and Chaucer drew freely on
them; they are marked by all the vivacity and perspicuity, if also
lubricity, of their modern successors in the French novel and comic
drama.
FABRE, JEAN, a French Protestant, celebrated for his filial piety;
he took the place of his father in the galleys, who had been condemned to
toil in them on account of his religious opinions (1727-1797).
FABRE D'EGLANTINE, a French dramatic poet, born at Carcassonne;
wrote comedies; was a member of the Convention and of the Committee of
Public Safety, of the extreme party of the Revolution; falling under
suspicion, was guillotined along with Danton (1752-1794).
FABRICIUS, CAIUS, a Roman of the old school, distinguished for the
simplicity of his manners and his incorruptible integrity; his name has
become the synonym for a poor man who in public life deals honourably and
does not enrich himself; was consul 282 B.C.
FABRICIUS or FABRIZIO, GIROLAMO, a famous Italian anatomist,
born at Aquapendente; became professor at Padua in 1565, where he gained
a world-wide reputation as a teacher; Harvey declares that he got his
first idea of the circulation of the blood from attending his lectures
(1537-1619).
FABRONI, ANGELO, a learned Italian, born in Tuscany; wrote the Lives
of the illustrious literati of Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and
earned for himself the name of the "Plutarch" of his country (1732-1803).
FACCIOLATI, JACOPO, lexicographer, born at Torreglia; became a
professor of Theology and Logic at Padua; chiefly interested in classical
literature; he, in collaboration with an old pupil, Egidio Forcellini
(1688-1768), began the compilation of a new Latin dictionary, which was
completed and published two years after his death by his colleague; this
work has been the basis of all subsequent lexicons of the Latin language
(1682-1769).
FACIAL ANGLE, an angle formed by drawing two lines, one horizontally
from the nostril to the ear, and the other perpendicularly from the
advancing part of the upper jawbone to the most prominent part of the
forehead, an angle by which the degree of intelligence and sagacity in
the several members of the animal kingdom is by some measured.
FAËRIE QUEENE, the name of an allegorical poem by Edmund Spenser, in
which 12 knights were, in twelve books, to represent as many virtues,
described as issuing forth from the castle of Gloriana, queen of England,
against certain impersonations of the vices and errors of the world. Such
was the plan of the poem, but only six of the books were finished, and
these contain the adventures of only six of the knights, representing
severally Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and
Courtesy.
FAED, JOHN, a Scottish artist, son of a millwright, born at Barley
Mill, Kirkcudbright; was elected an A.R.S.A. in 1847, and R.S.A. in
1851; his paintings are chiefly of humble Scottish life, the "Cottar's
Saturday Night" among others; _b_. 1820.
FAED, THOMAS, brother of the preceding, born at Barley Mill;
distinguished himself in his art studies at Edinburgh; went to London,
where his pictures of Scottish life won him a foremost place among those
of his contemporaries; was elected R.A. in 1864 and honorary member of
the Vienna Royal Academy; _b_. 1826.
FAENZA (14), an old Italian cathedral town, 31 m. SE. of Bologna;
noted for its manufacture of majolica ware, known from the name of the
town as "faience."
FAGEL, GASPAR, a Dutch statesman, distinguished for his integrity
and the firmness with which he repelled the attempts of Louis XIV.
against his country, and for his zeal in supporting the claims of the
Prince of Orange to the English throne (1629-1688).
FAGOT VOTE, a vote created by the partitioning of a property into as
many tenements as will entitle the holders to vote.
FAHRENHEIT, GABRIEL DANIEL, a celebrated physicist, born at Danzig;
spent much of his life in England, but finally settled in Holland;
devoted himself to physical research; is famed for his improvement of the
thermometer by substituting quicksilver for spirits of wine and inventing
a new scale, the freezing-point being 32° above zero and the boiling 212°
(1686-1736).
FAINEANT, LE NOIR, Richard Coeur-de-Lion in "Ivanhoe."
FAINEANTS (i. e. the Do-nothings), the name given to the kings of
France of the Merovingian line from 670 to 752, from Thierry III. to
Childéric III., who were subject to their ministers, the mayors of the
palace, who discharged all their functions.
FAIR CITY, Perth, from the beauty of its surroundings.
FAIR MAID OF KENT, the Countess of Salisbury, eventually wife of the
Black Prince, so called from her beauty.
FAIR MAID OF NORWAY, daughter of Eric II. of Norway, and
granddaughter of Alexander III. of Scotland; died on her way from Norway
to succeed her grandfather on the throne of Scotland, an event which gave
rise to the famous struggle for the crown by rival competitors.
FAIR MAID OF PERTH, a beauty of the name of Kate Glover, the heroine
of Scott's novel of the name.
FAIR ROSAMOND, the mistress of Henry II.; kept in a secret bower at
Woodstock, in the heart of a labyrinth which only he could thread.
FAIRBAIRN, ANDREW M., able and thoughtful theologian, born in
Edinburgh where he also graduated (1839); received the charge of the
Evangelical Church at Bathgate, and subsequently studied in Berlin. In
1878 became Principal of the Airedale Congregational College at Bradford;
was Muir Lecturer on Comparative Religions in Edinburgh University in
1881-83, and five years later was elected Principal of Mansfield College
at Oxford; author of "The Place of Christ in Modern Theology," and
several other scholarly works; _b_. 1838.
FAIRBAIRN, SIR WILLIAM, an eminent engineer, born at Kelso; served
an apprenticeship in N. Shields, and in 1817 started business in
Manchester, where he came to the front as a builder of iron ships;
improved upon Robert Stephenson's idea of a tubular bridge, and built
upwards of 1000 of these; introduced iron shafts into cotton mills, and
was employed by Government to test the suitability of iron for purposes
of defence; created a baronet in 1869 (1789-1874).
FAIRFAX, EDWARD, translator of Tasso, born at Denton, Yorkshire,
where he spent a quiet and studious life; his stately translation of
Tasso's "Gerusalemme Liberata" was published in 1600, and holds rank as
one of the best poetical translations in the language; he wrote also a
"Discourse" on witchcraft (about 1572-1632).
FAIRFAX, THOMAS, LORD, a distinguished Parliamentary general, nephew
of the preceding, born at Denton, Yorkshire; served in Holland, but in
1642 joined the Parliamentarians, of whose forces he became general
(1645); after distinguishing himself at Marston Moor and Naseby, was
superseded by Cromwell (1650), and retired into private life until
Cromwell's death, when he supported the restoration of Charles II. to the
English throne (1612-1671).
FAIRIES, imaginary supernatural beings conceived of as of diminutive
size but in human shape, who play a conspicuous part in the traditions of
Europe during the Middle Ages, and are animated more or less by a spirit
of mischief out of a certain loving regard for, or humorous interest in,
the affairs of mankind, whether in the way of thwarting or helping.
FAIRSERVICE, ANDREW, a shrewd gardener in "Rob Roy."
FAIRY RINGS, circles of seemingly withered grass often seen in lawns
and meadows, caused by some fungi below the surface, but popularly
ascribed in superstitious times to fairies dancing in a ring.
FAITH, in its proper spiritual sense and meaning is a deep-rooted
belief affecting the whole life, that the visible universe in every
section of it, particularly here and now, rests on and is the
manifestation of an eternal and an unchangeable Unseen Power, whose name
is Good, or God.
FAITH, ST., a virgin martyr who, in the 4th century, was tortured on
an iron bed and afterwards beheaded.
FAKIR (lit. poor), a member of an order of monkish mendicants in
India and adjoining countries who, from presumed religious motives,
practise or affect lives of severe self-mortification, but who in many
cases cultivate filthiness of person to a disgusting degree.
FALAISE (8), a French town in the dep. of Calvados, 22 m. SW. of
Caen; the birthplace of William the Conqueror.
FALCONER, HUGH, botanist and palæontologist, born at Forres,
Elginshire; studied at Aberdeen and Edinburgh; joined the East India
Company's medical service; made large collections of fossils and plants;
became professor of Botany in Calcutta; introduced the tea-plant into
India, and discovered the asafoetida plant; died in London (1808-1865).
FALCONER, ION KEITH, missionary and Arabic scholar, the third son of
the Earl of Kintore; after passing through Harrow and Cambridge, his
ardent temperament carried him into successful evangelistic work in
London; was appointed Arabic professor at Cambridge, but his promising
career was cut short near Aden while engaged in missionary work;
translated the Fables of Bidpaï; a noted athlete, and champion cyclist of
the world in 1878 (1856-1887).
FALCONER, WILLIAM, poet, born in Edinburgh; a barber's son; spent
most of his life at sea; perished in the wreck of the frigate _Aurora_,
of which he was purser; author of the well-known poem "The Shipwreck"
(1732-1769).
FALCONRY, the art and practice of employing trained hawks in the
pursuit and capture on the wing of other birds, a sport largely indulged
in by the upper classes in early times in Europe.
FALK, ADALBERT, Prussian statesman, born at Metschkau, Silesia; as
Minister of Public Worship and Education he was instrumental in passing
laws designed to diminish the influence of the clergy in State affairs;
retired in 1879; _b_. 1827.
FALKIRK (20), a town in Stirlingshire, 26 m. NW. of Edinburgh, noted
for its cattle-markets and the iron-works in its neighbourhood; Wallace
was defeated here in 1298 by Edward I.
FALKLAND (2), a royal burgh in Fifeshire, 10 m. SW. of Cupar; has
ruins of a famous palace, a royal residence of the Stuart sovereigns,
which was restored by the Marquis of Bute in 1888.
FALKLAND, LUCIUS GARY, VISCOUNT, soldier, scholar, and statesman,
son of Sir Henry Cary, Viscount Falkland; was lord-deputy of Ireland
under James I.; entered the service of the new Dutch Republic, but soon
returned to England and settled at Tew, Oxfordshire, where he indulged
his studious tastes, and entertained his scholarly friends Clarendon,
Chillingworth, and others; after joining Essex's expedition into Scotland
he sat in Parliament, and in 1642 became Secretary of State; suspicious
of Charles's weakness and duplicity, he as much distrusted the
Parliamentary movement, and fell at Newbury fighting for the king
(1610-1643).
FALKLAND ISLANDS (2), a group of islands in the S. Atlantic, 240 m.
E. of Tierra del Fuego; discovered in 1592 by Davis; purchased from the
French in 1764 by Spain, but afterwards ceded to Britain, by whom they
were occupied in 1833 and used as a convict settlement until 1852;
besides E. and W. Falkland there are upwards of 100 small islands, mostly
barren; wheat and flax are raised, but sheep-farming is the main
industry.
FALL, THE, the first transgression of divine law on the part of man,
conceived of as involving the whole human race in the guilt of it, and
represented as consisting in the wilful partaking of the fruit of the
forbidden tree of the _knowledge_ of both good and evil. The story of the
Fall in Genesis has in later times been regarded as a spiritual allegory,
and simply the Hebrew attempt, one amongst many, to explain the origin of
evil. It is worthy of note that a narrative, similar even to detail,
exists in the ancient religious writings of the Hindus and Persians.
FALLOPIUS, GABRIELLO, anatomist, born at Modena; professor of
Anatomy at Pisa and at Padua; the Fallopian tubes which connect the
ovaries with the uterus, first accurately described by him, are called
after his name, as also the duct which transmits the facial nerve after
it leaves the auditory nerve (1523-1562).
FALLOUX, FRÉDÉRIC ALFRED PIERRE, VICOMTE DE, author and statesman,
born at Angers; member of the House of Deputies; favoured the
revolutionaries of 1848, and under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon
became Minister of Public Instruction; retired in 1849, and became a
member of the French Academy (1857); author of a "History of Louis XVI."
and a "History of Pius V.," both characterised by a strong Legitimist
bias (1811-1886).
FALMOUTH (13), a seaport on the Cornish coast, on the estuary of the
Fal, 18 m. NE. of the Lizard; its harbour, one of the finest in England,
is defended E. and W. by St. Mawes Castle and Pendennis Castle; pilchard
fishing is actively engaged in, and there are exports of tin and copper.
FALSTAFF, SIR JOHN, a character in Shakespeare's "Henry IV." and the
"Merry Wives of Windsor"; a boon companion of Henry, Prince of Wales; a
cowardly braggart, of sensual habits and great corpulency. See
FASTOLF.
FAMILIAR SPIRITS, certain supernatural beings presumed, agreeably to
a very old belief (Lev. xix. 31), to attend magicians or sorcerers, and
to be at their beck and call on any emergency.
FAMILISTS, or the Brotherhood of Love, a fanatical sect which arose
in Holland in 1556, and affected to love all men as brothers.
FAMILY COMPACT, a compact concluded in 1761 between the Bourbons of
France, Spain, and Italy to resist the naval power of England.
FAN, a light hand implement used to cause a draught of cool air to
play upon the face; there are two kinds, the folding and non-folding; the
latter, sometimes large and fixed on a pole, were known to the ancients,
the former were invented by the Japanese in the 7th century, and became
popular in Italy and Spain in the 16th century; but Paris soon took a
lead in their manufacture, carrying them to their highest pitch of
artistic perfection in the reign of Louis XIV.
FANARIOTS, the descendants of the Greeks of noble birth who remained
in Constantinople after its capture by Mahomet II. in 1453, so called
from Fanar, the quarter of the city which they inhabited; they rose at
one time to great influence in Turkish affairs, though they have none
now.
FANDANGO, a popular Spanish dance, specially in favour among the
Andalusians; is in ¾ time, and is danced to the accompaniment of guitars
and castanets.
FANS, an aboriginal tribe dwelling between the Gaboon and Ogoway
Rivers, in western equatorial Africa; are brave and intelligent, and of
good physique, but are addicted to cannibalism.
FANSHAWE, SIR RICHARD, diplomatist and poet, born at Ware Park,
Hertford; studied at the Inner Temple, and after a Continental tour
became attached to the English embassy at Madrid; sided with the
Royalists at the outbreak of the Civil War; was captured at the battle of
Worcester, but escaped and shared the exile of Charles II.; on the
Restoration negotiated Charles's marriage with Catharine, and became
ambassador at the court of Philip IV. of Spain; translated Camoëns's
"Lusiad" and various classical pieces (1608-1666).
FANTINE, one of the most heart-affecting characters in "Les
Misérables" of Victor Hugo.
FANTIS, an African tribe on the Gold Coast, enemies of their
conquerors the Ashantis; fought as allies of the British in the Ashanti
War (1873-74), but, although of strong physique, proved cowardly allies.
FARAD, the unit of electrical energy, so called from Faraday.
FARADAY, MICHAEL, a highly distinguished chemist and natural
philosopher, born at Newington Butts, near London, of poor parents;
received a meagre education, and at 13 was apprenticed to a bookseller,
but devoted his evenings to chemical and electrical studies, and became a
student under Sir H. Davy, who, quick to detect his ability, installed
him as his assistant; in 1827 he succeeded Davy as lecturer at the Royal
Institution, and became professor of Chemistry in 1833; was pensioned in
1835, and in 1858 was allotted a residence in Hampton Court; in chemistry
he made many notable discoveries, e. g. the liquefaction of chlorine,
while in electricity and magnetism his achievements cover the entire
field of these sciences, and are of the first importance (1791-1867).
FARAIZI, a Mohammedan sect formed in 1827, and met with chiefly in
Eastern Bengal; they discard _tradition_, and accept the Korân as their
sole guide in religious and spiritual concerns, in this respect differing
from the Sunnites, with whom they have much else in common; although of a
purer morality than the main body of Mohammedans, they are narrow and
intolerant.
FAREL, WILLIAM, a Swiss reformer, born at Dauphiné; introduced, in
1534, after two futile attempts, the reformed faith into Geneva, where he
was succeeded in the management of affairs by John Calvin; he has been
called the "pioneer of the Reformation in Switzerland and France"
(1489-1565).
FARIA Y SOUSA, MANUEL DE, a Portuguese poet and historian; entered
the diplomatic service, and was for many years secretary to the Spanish
embassy at Rome; was a voluminous writer of history and poetry, and did
much to develop the literature of his country (1590-1649).
FARINATA, a Florentine nobleman of the Ghibelline faction, whom for
his infidelity and sensuality Dante has placed till the day of judgment
in a red-hot coffin in hell.
FARINELLI, CARLO, a celebrated singer, born in Naples; his singing
created great enthusiasm in London, which he visited in 1734 (1705-1782).
FARINI, LUIGO CARLO, an Italian statesman and author, born at Russi;
practised as a doctor in his native town; in 1841 was forced, on account
of his liberal sympathies, to withdraw from the Papal States, but
returned in 1846 on the proclamation of the Papal amnesty, and afterwards
held various offices of State; was Premier for a few months in 1863;
author of "Il Stato Romano," of which there is an English translation by
Mr. Gladstone (1812-1866).
FARMER, RICHARD, an eminent scholar, born at Leicester;
distinguished himself at Cambridge, where he became classical tutor of
his college, and in the end master (1775); three years later he was
appointed chief-librarian to the university, and afterwards was
successively canon of Lichfield, Canterbury, and St. Paul's; wrote an
erudite essay on "The Learning of Shakespeare" (1735-1797).
FARMER GEORGE, George III., a name given to him from his plain,
homely, thrifty manners and tastes.
FARMERS-GENERAL, a name given in France prior to the Revolution to a
privileged syndicate which farmed certain branches of the public revenue,
that is, obtained the right of collecting certain taxes on payment of an
annual sum into the public treasury; the system gave rise to corruption
and illegal extortion, and was at best an unproductive method of raising
the national revenue; it was swept away at the Revolution.
FARNE or FERNE ISLES, THE, also called the Staples, a group of
17 isles 2 m. off the NE. coast of Northumberland, many of which are mere
rocks visible only at low-water; are marked by two lighthouses, and are
associated with a heroic rescue by GRACE DARLING (q. v.) in
1838; on House Isle are the ruins of a Benedictine priory; about 50
people have their homes upon the larger isles.
FARNESE, the surname of a noble Italian family dating its rise from
the 13th century.
FARNESE, ALESSANDRO, attained the papal chair as Paul III. in 1534;
the excommunication of Henry VIII. of England, the founding of the Order
of the Jesuits (1540), the convocation of the Council of Trent (1542),
mark his term of office (1468-1549).
FARNESE, ALESSANDRO, grandson of the following, and 3rd duke of
Parma, a famous general; distinguished himself at the battle of Lepanto;
was governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and fought successfully against
France, defeating Henry IV. before the walls of Paris, and again two
years later at Rouen, where he was mortally wounded (1546-1592).
FARNESE, PIETRO LUIGI, a natural son of Pope Paul III., who figures
in Benvenuto Cellini's Life; received in fief from the Papal See various
estates, including the dukedom of Parma; he ill requited his father's
trust and affection by a life of debauchery and finally suffered
assassination in 1549.
FAROE ISLANDS (13), a group of 22 islands of basaltic formation,
about 200 m. NW. of the Shetlands; originally Norwegian, they now belong
to Denmark; agriculture is limited, and fishing and sheep-farming chiefly
engage the natives; there is an export trade in wool, fish, and wild-fowl
leathers. The people, who still speak their old Norse dialect, although
Danish is the language of the schools and law courts, are Lutherans, and
enjoy a measure of self-government, and send representatives to the
Danish _Rigsdag_.
FARQUHAR, GEORGE, comic dramatist, born at Londonderry; early famous
for his wit, of which he has given abundant proof in his dramas, "Love
and a Bottle" being his first, and "The Beaux' Stratagem" his last,
written on his deathbed; died young; he commenced life on the stage, but
threw the profession up in consequence of having accidentally wounded a
brother actor while fencing (1678-1707).
FARR, WILLIAM, statistician, born at Kenley, Shropshire; studied
medicine, and practised in London; obtained a post in the
Registrar-General's office, and rose to be head of the statistical
department; issued various statistical compilations of great value for
purposes of insurance (1807-1883).
FARRAGUT, DAVID GLASGOW, a famous American admiral, of Spanish
extraction, born at Knoxville, Tennessee; entered the navy as a boy; rose
to be captain in 1855, and at the outbreak of the Civil War attached
himself to the Union; distinguished himself by his daring capture of New
Orleans; in 1862 was created rear-admiral, and two years later gained a
signal victory over the Confederate fleet at Mobile Bay; was raised to
the rank of admiral in 1866, being the first man to hold this position in
the American navy (1801-1870).
FARRAR, FREDERICK WILLIAM, a celebrated divine and educationalist,
born at Bombay; graduated with distinction at King's College, London, and
at Cambridge; was ordained in 1854, and became head-master of Marlborough
College; was for some years a select preacher to Cambridge University,
and held successively the offices of honorary chaplain and
chaplain-in-ordinary to the Queen; became canon of Westminster, rector of
St. Margaret's, archdeacon, chaplain to the House of Commons, and dean of
Canterbury; his many works include the widely-read school-tales, "Eric"
and "St. Winifred's," philological essays, and his vastly popular Lives
of Christ and St. Paul, besides the "Early Days of Christianity,"
"Eternal Hope," and several volumes of sermons; in recent years have
appeared "Darkness and Dawn" (1892) and "Gathering Clouds" (1895); _b_.
1831.
FASCES, a bundle of rods bound round the helve of an axe, and borne
by the lictors before the Roman magistrates in symbol of their authority
at once to scourge and decapitate.
FASCINATION, the power, originally ascribed to serpents, of
spell-binding by the eye.
FASTI, the name given to days among the Romans on which it was
lawful to transact business before the prætor; also the name of books
among the Romans containing calendars of times, seasons, and events.
FASTOLF, SIR JOHN, a distinguished soldier of Henry V.'s reign, who
with Sir John Oldcastle shares the doubtful honour of being the prototype
of Shakespeare's Falstaff, but unlike the dramatist's creation was a
courageous soldier, and won distinction at Agincourt and at the "Battle
of the Herrings"; after engaging with less success in the struggle
against Joan of Arc, he returned to England and spent his closing years
in honoured retirement at Norfolk, his birthplace; he figures in the
"Paston Letters" (1378-1459).
FATA MORGANA, a mirage occasionally observed in the Strait of
Messina, in which, from refraction in the atmosphere, images of objects,
such as men, houses, trees, etc., are seen from the coast under or over
the surface of the water.
FATALISM, the doctrine that all which takes place in life and
history is subject to fate, that is is to say, takes place by inevitable
necessity, that things being as they are, events cannot fall out
otherwise than they do.
FATES, THE, in the Greek mythology the three goddesses who presided
over the destinies of individuals--CLOTHO, LACHESIS, and
ATROPOS (Q. V.). See PARCÆ.
FATHER OF COMEDY, ARISTOPHANES (q. v.).
FATHER OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, EUSEBIUS (q. v.).
FATHER OF FRENCH HISTORY, DUCHESNE (q. v.).
FATHER OF GERMAN LITERATURE, LESSING (q. v.).
FATHER OF HISTORY, HERODOTUS (q. v.).
FATHER OF TRAGEDY, ESCHYLUS (q. v.).
FATHER PAUL, PAUL SARPI (q. v.).
FATHERS OF THE CHURCH, the early teachers of Christianity and
founders of the Christian Church, consisting of live _Apostolic
Fathers_--Clement of Home, Barnabas, Hermes, Ignatius, and Polycarp, and
of nine in addition called _Primitive Fathers_--Justin, Theophilus of
Antioch, Irenæus, Clemens of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthage, Origen,
Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Tertullian. The
distinctive title of _Apostolic Fathers_ was bestowed upon the immediate
friends and disciples of the Apostles, while the _patristic_ period
proper may be said to commence with the 2nd century, but no definite date
can be assigned as marking its termination, some closing it with the
deaths of Gregory the Great (601) and John of Damascus (756), while
Catholic writers bring it down as far as the Council of Trent (1542);
discarded among Protestants, the Fathers are regarded by Catholics as
decisive in authority on points of faith, but only when they exhibit a
unanimity of opinion.
FATHOM, a measure of 6 ft. used in taking marine soundings,
originally an Anglo-Saxon term for the distance stretched by a man's
extended arms; is sometimes used in mining operations.
FATHOM, COUNT FERDINAND, a villain in the novel of Smollett so
named.
FATIMA, the last of Bluebeard's wives, and the only one who escaped
being murdered by him; also Mahomet's favourite daughter.
FATIMIDES, a Mohammedan dynasty which assumed the title of caliphs
and ruled N. Africa and Egypt, and later Syria and Palestine, between the
10th and 12th centuries inclusive; they derived their name from the claim
(now discredited) of their founder, Obeidallah Almahdi, to be descended
from Fatima, daughter of Mahomet and wife of Ali; they were finally
expelled by Saladin in 1169.
FAUCHER, LÉON, a political economist, brought into notice by the
Revolution of 1830; edited _Le Temps_; opposed Louis Philippe's minister,
M. Guizot; held office under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon, but threw
up office on the _coup d'état_ of 1851 (1803-1854).
FAUCHET, ABBÉ, a French Revolutionary, a Girondin; blessed the
National tricolor flag; "a man of _Te Deums_ and public consecrations";
was a member of the first parliament; stripped of his insignia, lamented
the death of the king, perished on the scaffold (1744-1793).
FAUCIT, HELEN, a famous English actress; made her _début_ in London
(1836), and soon won a foremost place amongst English actresses by her
powerful and refined representations of Shakespeare's heroines under the
management of Macready; she retired from the stage in 1851 after her
marriage with THEODORE MARTIN (q. v.); in 1885 she published a
volume of studies "On Some of Shakespeare's Female Characters"
(1820-1899).
FAUNS, divinities of the woods and fields among the Romans, and
guardians of flocks against the wolf.
FAUNTLEROY, HENRY, banker and forger; in his twenty-third year
became a partner in the bank of Marsh, Sibbald, & Co., London; was put on
trial for a series of elaborate forgeries, found guilty, and hanged; the
trial created a great sensation at the time, and efforts were made to
obtain a commutation of the sentence (1785-1824).
FAUNUS, a god, grandson of Saturn, who figures in the early history
of Latium, first as the god of fields and shepherds, and secondly, as an
oracular divinity and founder of the native religion, afterwards
identified with the Greek Pan.
FAURE, FRANÇOIS FELIX, President of the French Republic, born in
Paris; carried on business in Touraine as a tanner, but afterwards
settled in Havre and became a wealthy shipowner; he served with
distinction as a volunteer in the Franco-German War; entered the Assembly
in 1881, where he held office as Colonial and Commercial Minister in
various Cabinets; was elected President in 1895 (1841-1899).
FAUST, JOHANNES. See FUST.
FAUST, or DOCTOR FAUSTUS, a reputed professor of the black art,
a native of Germany, who flourished in the end of the 15th century and
the beginning of the 16th century, and who is alleged to have made a
compact with the devil to give up to him body and soul in the end,
provided he endowed him for a term of years with power to miraculously
fulfil all his wishes. Under this compact the devil provided him with a
familiar spirit, called Mephistopheles, attended by whom he traversed the
world, enjoying life and working wonders, till the term of the compact
having expired, the devil appeared and carried him off amid display of
horrors to the abode of penal fire. This myth, which has been subjected
to manifold literary treatment, has received its most significant
rendering at the hands of Goethe, such as to supersede and eclipse every
other attempt to unfold its meaning. It is presented by him in the form
of a drama, in two parts of five acts each, of which the first, published
in 1790, represents "the conflicting union of the higher nature of the
soul with the lower elements of human life; of Faust, the son of Light
and Free-Will, with the influences of Doubt, Denial, and Obstruction, or
MEPHISTOPHELES (q. v.), who is the symbol and spokesman of
these; and the second, published in 1832, represents Faust as now
elevated, by the discipline he has had, above the hampered sphere of the
first, and conducted into higher regions under worthier circumstances."
FAUSTA, the wife of Constantino the Great.
FAUSTINA, ANNIA GALERI, called Faustina, Senior, wife of Antoninus
Pius, died three years after her husband became emperor (105-141).
FAUSTINA, ANNIA, JUNIOR, wife of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius,
daughter of the preceding. Both she and her mother are represented by
historians as profligate and unfaithful, and quite unworthy the affection
lavishly bestowed upon them by their husbands.
FAUSTULUS, the shepherd who, with his wife Laurentia, was the
foster-parent of Romulus and Remus, who, as infants, had been exposed on
the Palatine Hill.
FAVART, CHARLES SIMON, French dramatist, born at Paris, where he
became director of the Opéra Comique; was celebrated as a vivacious
playwright and composer of operas; during a temporary absence from Paris
he established his Comedy Company in the camp of Marshal Saxe during the
Flanders campaign; his memoirs and correspondence give a bright picture
of theatrical life in Paris during the 18th century (1710-1792).
FAVONIUS, the god of the favouring west wind.
FAVRE, JULES CLAUDE GABRIEL, a French Republican statesman, born at
Lyons; called to the Paris bar in 1830; a strong Republican, he joined
the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848; held office as Minister of the Interior
in the New Republic, and disapproving of the _coup d'état_, resumed
practice at the bar; defended the Italian conspirator ORSINI (q. v.),
and in 1870, on the dissolution of the Empire, became Minister of
Foreign Affairs; mistakes in his negotiations with Bismarck led to his
resignation and resumption of his legal practice (1809-1880).
FAWCETT, HENRY, statesman and political economist, born at
Salisbury; though blind, it was his early ambition to enter the arena of
politics, and he devoted himself to the study of political economy, of
which he became professor at Cambridge; entering Parliament, he became
Postmaster-General under Mr. Gladstone in 1880; he wrote and published
works on his favourite study (1832-1884).
FAWKES, GUY, a notorious English conspirator, born of a respected
Yorkshire family; having spent a slender patrimony, he joined the Spanish
army in Flanders; was converted to the Catholic faith; and on his return
to England allied himself with the conspirators of the GUNPOWDER
PLOT (q. v.), and was arrested in the cellars of the House of
Commons when on the point of firing the explosive; was tried and executed
(1570-1606).
FAY, ANDREAS, Hungarian dramatist and novelist, born at Kohany;
studied law, but the success of a volume of fables confirmed him in his
choice of literature in preference; wrote various novels and plays; was
instrumental in founding the Hungarian National Theatre; was a member of
the Hungarian Diet (1786-1804).
FAYAL (26), a fruit-bearing island among the AZORES (q. v.),
exports wine and fruits; Horta, with an excellent bay, is its chief town.
FAYYUM (160), a fertile province of Central Egypt, lies W. of the
Nile, 65 miles from Cairo, is in reality a southern oasis in the Libyan
desert, irrigated by means of a canal running through a narrow gorge to
the Nile valley; its area is about 840 sq. m., a portion of which is
occupied by a sheet of water, the Birket-el-Kern (35 m. long), known to
the ancients as Lake Moeris, and by the shores of which stood one of the
wonders of the world, the famous "Labyrinth."
FEASTS, JEWISH, OF DEDICATION, a feast in commemoration of the
purification of the Temple and the rebuilding of the altar by Judas
Maccabæus in 164 B.C., after profanation of them by the Syrians: OF THE
PASSOVER, a festival in April on the anniversary of the exodus from
Egypt, and which lasted eight days, the first and the last days of solemn
religious assembly: OF PENTECOST, a feast celebrated on the fiftieth
day after the second of the Passover, in commemoration of the giving of
the law on Mount Sinai; both this feast and the Passover were celebrated
in connection with harvest, what was presented in one in the form of a
sheaf being in the other presented as a loaf of bread: OF PURIM, a
feast in commemoration of the preservation of the Jews from the wholesale
threatened massacre of the race in Persia at the instigation of Haman:
OF TABERNACLES, a festival of eight days in memory of the wandering
tentlife of the people in the wilderness, observed by the people dwelling
in bowers made of branches erected on the streets or the roofs of the
house; it was the Feast of Ingathering as well.
FEBRUARY, the second month of the year, was added along with January
by Numa to the end of the original Roman year of 10 months; derived its
name from a festival offered annually on the 15th day to Februus, an
ancient Italian god of the nether world; was assigned its present
position in the calendar by Julius Cæsar, who also introduced the
intercalary day for leap-year.
FÉCAMP (13), a seaport in the dep. of Seine-Inférieure, 25 m. NE. of
Havre; has a fine Gothic Benedictine church, a harbour and lighthouse,
hardware and textile factories; fishing and sugar refineries also
flourish; exports the celebrated Benedictine liqueurs.
FECHNER, GUSTAV THEODOR, physicist and psychophysicist, born at
Gross-Särchen, in Lower Lusatia; became professor of Physics in Leipzig,
but afterwards devoted himself to psychology; laid the foundations of the
science of psychophysics in his "Elements of Pyschophysics"; wrote
besides on the theory of colour and galvanism, as well as poems and
essays (1801-1887).
FECHTER, CHARLES ALBERT, a famous actor, born in London, his father
of German extraction and his mother English; made his _début_ in Paris at
the age of 17; after a tour through the European capitals established
himself in London as the lessee of the Lyceum Theatre in 1863; became
celebrated for his original impersonations of Hamlet and Othello; removed
to America in 1870, where he died (1824-1879).
FECIALES, a college of functionaries in ancient Rome whose duty it
was to make proclamation of peace and war, and confirm treaties.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, in modern parlance is the political system which
a number of independent and sovereign States adopt when they join
together for purposes of domestic and especially International policy;
local government is freely left with the individual States, and only in
the matter of chiefly foreign relations is the central government
paramount, but the degree of freedom which each State enjoys is a matter
of arrangement when the contract is formed, and the powers vested in the
central authority may only be permitted to work through the local
government, as in the German Confederation, or may bear directly upon the
citizens throughput the federation, as in the U.S. of America, and since
1847 in Switzerland.
FEDERALIST, a name in the United States for a supporter of the Union
and its integrity as such; a party which was formed in 1788, but
dissolved in 1820; has been since applied to a supporter of the integrity
of the Union against the South in the late Civil War.
FEDERATION, THE CHAMPS-DE-MARS, a grand féte celebrated in the
Champs-de-Mars, Paris, on July 14, 1790, the anniversary of the taking of
the Bastille, at which deputies from the newly instituted departments
assisted to the number of 80,000, as well as deputies from other nations,
"Swedes, Spaniards, Polacks, Turks, Chaldeans, Greeks, and dwellers in
Mesopotamia," representatives of the human race, "with three hundred
drummers, twelve hundred wind-musicians, and artillery planted on height
after height to boom the tidings all over France, the highest recorded
triumph of the Thespian art." Louis XVI. too assisted at the ceremony,
and took solemn oath to the constitution just established in the interest
of mankind. See Carlyle's "French Revolution."
FEHMGERICHT. See VEHMGERICHTE.
FEITH, a Dutch poet, born at Zwolle, where, after studying at
Leyden, he settled and died; his writings include didactic poems, songs,
and dramas; had a refining influence on the literary taste of his
countrymen (1753-1824).
FÉLICITÉ, ST., a Roman matron, who with her seven sons suffered
martyrdom in 164. Festival, July 10.
FELIX, the name of five popes: F. I., ST., Pope from 269 to
274, said to have been a victim of the persecution of Aurelius; F.
II., Pope from 356 to 357, the first anti-pope having been elected in
place of the deposed Liberius who had declined to join in the persecution
of ATHANASIUS (q. v.), was banished on the restoration of
Liberius; F. III., Pope from 483 to 492, during his term of office
the first schism between the Eastern and Western Churches took place; F.
IV., Pope from 526 to 530, was appointed by Theodoric in face of the
determined opposition of both people and clergy; F. V., Pope from
1439 to 1449. See AMADEUS VIII..
FELIX, CLAUDIUS, a Roman procurator of Judæa in the time of Claudius
and Nero; is referred to in Acts xxiii. and xxiv. as having examined the
Apostle Paul and listened to his doctrines; was vicious in his habits,
and formed an adulterous union with Drusilla, said by Tacitus to have
been the granddaughter of Antony and Cleopatra; was recalled in A.D. 62.
FELIX HOLT, a novel of George Eliot's, written in 1866.
FELL, JOHN, a celebrated English divine; Royalist in sympathy, he
continued throughout the Puritan ascendency loyal to the English Church,
and on the Restoration became Dean of Christ Church and a royal chaplain;
was a good man and a charitable, and a patron of learning; in 1676 was
raised to the bishopric of Oxford; was the object of the well-known
epigram, "I do not like thee, Dr. Fell, The reason why I cannot tell"
(1625-1686).
FELLAH, the name applied contemptuously by the Turks to the
agricultural labourer of Egypt; the Fellahin (pl. of Fellah) comprise
about three-fourths of the population; they are of good physique, and
capable of much toil, but are, despite their intelligence and sobriety,
lazy and immoral; girls marry at the age of 12, and the children grow up
amidst the squalor of their mud-built villages; their food is of the
poorest, and scarcely ever includes meat; tobacco is their only luxury;
their condition has improved under British rule.
FELLOWS, SIR CHARLES, archæologist, born at Nottingham; early
developed a passion for travel; explored the Xanthus Valley in Asia
Minor, and discovered the ruins of the cities Teos and Xanthus, the
ancient capital of Lycia (1838); returned to the exploration of Lycia in
1839 and again in 1841, discovering the ruins of 13 other ancient cities;
accounts of these explorations and discoveries are fully given in his
various published journals and essays; was knighted in 1845 (1799-1861).
FELLOWSHIP, a collegiate term for a status in many universities
which entitles the holder (a Fellow) to a share in their revenues, and in
some cases to certain privileges as regards apartments and meals in the
college, as also to a certain share in the government; formerly
Fellowships were usually life appointments, but are now generally for a
prescribed number of years, or are held during a term of special
research; the old restrictions of celibacy and religious conformity have
been relaxed.
FELO-DE-SE, in English law the crime which a man at the age of
discretion and of a sound mind commits when he takes away his life.
FELONY, "a crime which involves a total forfeiture of lands or goods
or both, to which capital or other punishment may be superadded,
according to the degree of guilt."
FELTON, CORNELIUS CONWAY, American scholar, born at West Newbury,
Massachusetts; graduated at Harvard in 1827, and became professor of
Greek there, rising to the Presidency of the same college in 1860; edited
Greek classics, and made translations from the German; most important
work is "Greece, Ancient and Modern," in 2 vols. (1807-1862).
FELTON, JOHN, the Irish assassin of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628.
FEMMES SAVANTES, a comedy in five acts by Molière, and one of his
best, appeared in 1672.
FENELLA, a fairy-like attendant of the Countess of Derby, deaf and
dumb, in Scott's "Peveril of the Peak," a character suggested by Goethe's
Mignon in "Wilhelm Meister."
FÉNÉLON, FRANÇOIS DE SALIGNAC DE LA MOTHE, a famous French prelate
and writer, born in the Château de Fénélon, in the prov. of Périgord; at
the age of 15 came to Paris, and, having already displayed a remarkable
gift for preaching, entered the Plessis College, and four years later
joined the Seminary of St. Sulpice, where he took holy orders in 1675;
his directorship of a seminary for female converts to Catholicism brought
him into prominence, and gave occasion to his well-known treatise "De
l'Éducation des Filles"; in 1685, after the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, he conducted a mission for the conversion of the Huguenots of
Saintonge and Poitou, and four years later Louis XIV. appointed him tutor
to his grandson, the Duke of Burgundy, an appointment which led to his
writing his "Fables," "Dialogues of the Dead," and "History of the
Ancient Philosophers"; in 1694 he became abbé of St. Valery, and in the
following year archbishop of Cambrai; soon after this ensued his
celebrated controversy with BOSSUET (q. v.) regarding the
doctrines of QUIETISM (q. v.), a dispute which brought him into
disfavour with the king and provoked the Pope's condemnation of his
"Explication des Maximes des Saints sur la Vie intérieure"; the
surreptitious publication of his most famous work "Télémache," the MS. of
which was stolen by his servant, accentuated the king's disfavour, who
regarded it as a veiled attack on his court, and led to an order
confining the author to his own diocese; the rest of his life was spent
in the service of his people, to whom he endeared himself by his
benevolence and the sweet piety of his nature; his works are extensive,
and deal with subjects historical and literary, as well as philosophical
and theological (1651-1715).
FENIANS, an Irish political organisation having for its object the
overthrow of English rule in Ireland and the establishment of a republic
there. The movement was initiated in the United States soon after the
great famine in Ireland of 1846-47, which, together with the harsh
exactions of the landlords, compelled many Irishmen to emigrate from
their island with a deeply-rooted sense of injustice and hatred of the
English. The Fenians organised themselves so far on the model of a
republic, having a senate at the head, with a virtual president called
the "head-centre," and various "circles" established in many parts of the
U.S. They collected funds and engaged in military drill, and sent agents
to Ireland and England. An invasion of Canada in 1866 and a rising at
home in 1867 proved abortive, as also the attack on Clerkenwell Prison in
the same year. Another attempt on Canada in 1871 and the formation of the
_Skirmishing Fund_ for the use of the _Dynamitards_ and the institution
of the _Clan-na-Gael_ leading to the "Invincibles," and the Phoenix Park
murders (1882) are later manifestations of this movement. The Home Rule
and Land League movements practically superseded the Fenian. The name is
taken from an ancient military organisation called the Fionna Eirinn,
said to have been instituted in Ireland in 300 B.C.
FERDINAND THE CATHOLIC, V. of Castile, II. of Aragon and Sicily, and
III. of Naples, born at Sos, in Aragon, married Isabella of Castile in
1849, a step by which these ancient kingdoms were united under one
sovereign power; their joint reign is one of the most glorious in the
annals of Spanish history, and in their hands Spain quickly took rank
amongst the chief European powers; in 1492 Columbus discovered America,
and the same year saw the Jews expelled from Spain and the Moorish power
crushed by the fall of Granada. In 1500-1 Ferdinand joined the French in
his conquest of Naples, and three years later managed to secure the
kingdom to himself, while by the conquest of Navarre in 1512 the entire
Spanish peninsula came under his sway. He was a shrewd and adroit ruler,
whose undoubted abilities, both as administrator and general, were,
however, somewhat marred by an unscrupulous cunning, which found a
characteristic expression in the institution of the notorious
Inquisition, which in 1480 was started by him, and became a powerful
engine for political as well as religious persecution for long years
after (1452-1516).
FERDINAND I., emperor of Germany (1556-64), born at Alcalá, in
Spain, son of Philip I., married Anna, a Bohemian princess, in 1521; was
elected king of the Romans (1531), added Bohemia and Hungary to his
domains (1503-1564).
FERDINAND II., emperor of Germany (1619-37), grandson of the
preceding and son of Charles, younger brother of Maximilian II., born at
Grätz; his detestation of the Protestants, early instilled into him by
his mother and the Jesuits, under whom he was educated, was the ruling
passion of his life, and involved the empire in constant warfare during
his reign; an attempt on the part of Bohemia, restless under religious
and political grievances, to break away from his rule, brought about the
Thirty Years' War; by ruthless persecutions he re-established Catholicism
in Bohemia, and reduced the country to subjection; but the war spread
into Hungary and Germany, where Ferdinand was opposed by a confederacy of
the Protestant States of Lower Saxony and Denmark, and in which the
Protestant cause was in the end successfully sustained by the Swedish
hero, GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS (q. v.), who had opposed to him the imperial
generals TILLY and WALLENSTEIN (q. v.); his reign is regarded as one of
disaster, bloodshed, and desolation to his empire, and his connivance at
the assassination of Wallenstein will be forever remembered to his
discredit (1578-1637).
FERDINAND III., emperor of Germany (1637-57), son of the preceding,
born at Grätz; more tolerant in his views, would gladly have brought the
war to a close, but found himself compelled to face the Swedes reinforced
by the French; in 1648 the desolating struggle was terminated by the
Peace of Westphalia; the rest of his reign passed in tranquillity
(1608-1657).
FERDINAND I., king of the Two Sicilies, third son of Charles III. of
Spain, succeeded his father on the Neapolitan throne (1759), married
Maria Caroline, daughter of Maria-Theresa; joined the Allies in the
struggle against Napoleon, and in 1806 was driven from his throne by the
French, but was reinstated at the Congress of Vienna; in 1816 he
constituted his two States (Sicily and Naples) into the kingdom of the
Two Sicilies, and in the last four years of his reign ruled, with the aid
of Austria, as a despot, and having broken a pledge to his people, was
compelled ere his return to grant a popular constitution (1751-1825).
FERDINAND II., king of the Two Sicilies, grandson of the preceding
and son of Francis I.; after the death of his first wife, a daughter of
Victor Emmanuel I., he married the Austrian princess Maria-Theresa, and
fell under the influence of Austria during the rest of his reign; in 1848
he was compelled to grant constitutional rights to his people, but was
distrusted, and an insurrection broke out in Sicily; with merciless
severity he crushed the revolt, and by his savage bombardment of the
cities won him the epithet "Bomba"; a reign of terror ensued, and in 1851
Europe was startled by the revelations of cruel injustice contained in
Mr. Gladstone's famous Neapolitan letters (1810-1859).
FERDINAND III., Grand-duke of Tuscany and Archduke of Austria, born
at Florence; succeeded to the government of Tuscany in 1790; introduced
many wise measures of reform, which brought peace and prosperity to his
State; reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in 1793, but two
years later entered into friendly relations with France, and in 1797, in
order to save his States being merged in the Cisalpine Republic,
undertook to make payment of an annual subsidy; later he formed an
alliance with Austria, and was by Napoleon driven from his possessions,
which were, however, restored to him in 1814 by the Peace of Paris
(1769-1824).
FERDINAND VII. OF SPAIN, son of Charles IV. of Spain; too weak to
steer his way through the intrigues of the court, he appealed to Napoleon
in 1807 to support the king, his father, and himself; but his letter was
discovered, and his accomplices exiled; the following year the French
entered Spain, and Charles abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand; but
soon after, under Napoleon's influence, the crown was surrendered to the
French, and Joseph Bonaparte became king; in 1813 Ferdinand was
reinstated, but found himself immediately met by a demand of his people
for a more liberal representative government; the remaining years of his
reign were spent in an internecine struggle against these claims, in
which he had French support under Louis XVIII. (1784-1833).
FERDUSI. See FIRDAUSI.
FERETRUM, the shrine containing the sacred effigies and relics of a
saint.
FERGUS, the name of three Scottish kings: F. I., _d_. 356; F.
II., king from 411 to 427; and F. III., king from 764 to 767.
FERGUSON, ADAM, a Scotch philosopher and historian, born at
Logierait, Perthshire; after passing through the universities of St.
Andrews and Edinburgh, he in 1745 was appointed Gaelic chaplain to the
Black Watch Highland Regiment, and was present at the battle of Fontenoy;
in 1757 he became keeper of the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh; two
years later professor of Natural Philosophy, and subsequently of Moral
Philosophy in the university there; during his professorship he, as
secretary, was attached to the commission sent out by Lord North to bring
about a friendly settlement of the dispute pending between England and
the North American colonies; resigning his chair in 1785 he retired to
Neidpath Castle, to engage in farming at Hallyards, an estate in the same
neighbourhood; died at St. Andrews; his best-known works are "Institutes
of Moral Philosophy," "History of the Roman Republic," and "Principles
of Moral and Political Science" (1723-1816).
FERGUSON, JAMES, a popular writer on astronomy and mechanics, born
at Rothiemay, Banff, son of a labourer; his interest in astronomy was
first aroused by his observation of the stars while acting as a "herd
laddie," and much of his time among the hills was spent in the
construction of mechanical contrivances; compelled by circumstances to
betake himself to various occupations, pattern-drawing, clock-mending,
copying prints, and portrait sketching, he still in his leisure hours
pursued those early studies, and coming to London in 1743 (after a
residence of some years in Edinburgh), began lecturing on his favourite
subjects; a pension of £50 was granted him out of the privy purse, and in
1763 he was elected an F.R.S.; besides publishing lectures on mechanics,
hydrostatics, optics, &c., he wrote several works on astronomy, chiefly
popular expositions of the methods and principles of Sir Isaac Newton
(1710-1776).
FERGUSON, PATRICK, soldier and inventor of the breech-loading gun,
born at Pitfour, Aberdeenshire; served in the English army in Germany and
Tobago; brought out his new rifle in 1766, which was tried with success
in the American War of Independence; rose to be a major, and fell at the
battle of King's Mountains, in South Carolina (1744-1780).
FERGUSON, ROBERT, a notorious plotter, who took part in Monmouth's
invasion in 1685 and was prominent in the various plots against Charles
II. and James II., but after the Revolution turned Jacobite; published a
history of the Revolution in 1706; died in poverty (about 1637-1714).
FERGUSSON, JAMES, a writer on the history and art of architecture,
born at Ayr; went to India as an indigo-planter, but afterwards gave
himself up to the study of the rock-temples; published various works, and
in his later years interested himself in the fortifications of the United
Kingdom; his "History of Architecture," in 4 vols., is a standard work
(1808-1886).
FERGUSSON, ROBERT, a Scottish poet, born in Edinburgh; after a
university course at St. Andrews he obtained a post in the office of the
commissionary-clerk of Edinburgh; his first poems appeared in _Ruddiman's
Weekly Magazine_, and brought him a popularity which proved his ruin;
some years of unrestrained dissipation ended in religious melancholia,
which finally settled down into an incurable insanity; his poems,
collected in 1773, have abundant energy, wit, and fluency, but lack the
passion and tenderness of those of Burns; he was, however, held in high
honour by Burns, who regarded him as "his elder brother in the Muses."
"In his death," says Mr. Henley, "at four-and-twenty, a great loss was
inflicted to Scottish literature; he had intelligence and an eye, a right
touch of humour, the gifts of invention and observation and style,
together with a true feeling for country and city alike ... Burns, who
learned much from him, was an enthusiast in his regard for him, bared his
head and shed tears over 'the green mound and the scattered gowans,'
under which he found his exemplar lying in Canongate Churchyard, and got
leave from the managers to put up a headstone at his own cost there"
(1750-1774). See Mr. Henley's "Life of Burns" in the Centenary Burns,
published by the Messrs. T. C. and E. C. Jack.
FERGUSSON, SIR W., surgeon, born at Prestonpans; graduated at
Edinburgh; was elected to the chair of Surgery in King's College, London,
and in 1866 was made a baronet; was serjeant-surgeon to the Queen, and
president of the Royal College of Surgeons; Fergusson was a bold and
skilful surgeon; is the author, amongst other treatises, of a "System of
Practical Surgery," besides being the inventor of many surgical
instruments (1808-1877).
FERISHTAH, a Persian historian, born at Astrabad, on the Black Sea;
went at an early age, accompanied by his father, to India, where his life
was spent in the service, first of Murtaza Nizam Shah, in Ahmednagar, and
afterwards at the court of the prince of Bijapur; his famous history of
the Mohammedan power in India, finished in 1609, and the writing of which
occupied him for 20 years, is still a standard work, and has been
translated into English (about 1570-1611).
FERMANAGH (74), an Irish county in the SW. corner of Ulster, of a
hilly surface, especially in the W.; is well wooded, and produces
indifferent crops of oats, flax, and potatoes; some coal and iron, and
quantities of limestone, are found in it; the Upper and Lower Loughs Erne
form a waterway through its centre; chief town, Enniskillen.
FERMAT, PIERRE DE, a French mathematician, born near Montauban; made
important discoveries in the properties of numbers, and with his friend
Pascal invented a calculus of probabilities; was held in high esteem by
Hallam, who ranks him next to Descartes (1601-1665).
FERNANDEZ, JUAN, a Spanish navigator, discovered the island off the
coast of Chile that bears his name; _d_. in 1576.
FERNANDO PO (25), a mountainous island, with an abrupt and rocky
coast, in the Bight of Biafra, W. Africa; the volcano, Mount Clarence
(9300 ft.), rises in the N.; is covered with luxuriant vegetation, and
yields maize and yams, some coffee, and palm-oil and wine; is inhabited
by the Bubis, a Bantu tribe; is the chief of the Spanish Guinea Isles.
FEROZEPORE (50), the chief town of the district of the same name in
the Punjab, India, a few miles S. of the Sutlej; is strongly fortified,
and contains a large arsenal; the present town was laid out by Lord
Lawrence. F. DISTRICT (887), lies along the S. bank of the Sutlej;
came into the possession of the British in 1835; cereals, cotton, sugar,
and tobacco are cultivated.
FERRAR, NICHOLAS, a religious enthusiast in the reign of Charles I.;
was elected a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1610; afterwards
devoted himself to medicine and travelled on the Continent; subsequently
joined his father in business in London, and entered Parliament in 1624;
but a year later retired to the country, and at Little Gidding,
Huntingdonshire, founded, with some of his near relations, a religious
community, known as the "Arminian Nunnery," some account of which is
given in Shorthouse's "John Inglesant"; it was broken up by the Puritans
in 1647; he was the intimate friend of George Herbert; this community
consisted of some "fourscore persons, devoted to a kind of Protestant
monasticism; they followed celibacy and merely religious duties, employed
themselves in binding prayer-books, &c., in alms-giving and what
charitable work was possible to them in their desert retreat, kept up,
night and day, a continual repetition of the English liturgy, never
allowing at any hour the sacred fire to go out" (1592-1637).
FERRAR, ROBERT, an English prelate, born at Halifax, was prior of
the monastery of St. Oswald's, embraced the Reformation, and was made
Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI.; suffered martyrdom under Mary in
1555.
FERRARA, a broadsword bearing the name of Andrea Ferrara, one of an
Italian family famous in the 16th and 17th centuries for the quality of
their swords.
FERRARA (31), a fortified and walled Italian city, capital of the
province of the name, situated on a low and marshy plain between the
dividing branches of the Po, 30 m. from the Adriatic; it has many fine
ecclesiastical buildings and a university founded in 1264, with a library
of 100,000 vols., but now a mere handful of students; a fine old Gothic
castle, the residence of the Estes (q. v.), still stands; it was the
birthplace of Savonarola, and the sometime dwelling-place of Tasso and
Ariosto; once populous and prosperous, it has now fallen into decay.
FERRARI, GAUDENZIO, Italian painter and sculptor, born at Valduggia,
in Piedmont; studied at Rome under Raphael; many of his paintings and
frescoes are to be found in the Lombard galleries, and principally in
Milan; his work is characterised by bold and accurate drawing,
inventiveness, and strong colouring, but it somewhat lacks the softer
qualities of his art (1484-1550).
FERRARI, PAOLO, Italian dramatist, born at Modena; produced his
first play at the age of 25; his numerous works, chiefly comedies, and
all marked by a fresh and piquant style, are the finest product of the
modern Italian drama; in 1860 he was appointed professor of History at
Modena and afterwards at Milan; his dramatic works have been published in
14 vols. (1822-1889).
FERRIER, DAVID, a distinguished medical scientist, born at Woodside,
Aberdeen; graduated in arts there; studied at Heidelberg, and coming to
Edinburgh graduated in medicine with high distinction in 1868; in 1872
became professor of Forensic Medicine at King's College, London, and
afterwards physician to the National Hospital for the Paralysed and
Epileptic; his most notable work has been done in connection with the
brain, and his many experiments on the brains of living animals have
resulted in much valuable information, embodied in his various writings;
is editor and co-founder of the periodical _Brain_; _b_. 1843.
FERRIER, JAMES FREDERICK, a metaphysician of singular ability and
originality, born at Edinburgh; after graduating at Oxford was called to
the Scotch bar in 1832; but under the influence of Sir W. Hamilton,
metaphysics became his dominant interest, and he found an outlet for his
views in the pages of _Blackwood_ by a paper on "Consciousness," which
attracted the attention of Emerson; in 1842 was appointed professor of
History in Edinburgh University, and three years later of Moral
Philosophy in St. Andrews; published the "Institutes of Metaphysics," a
lucid exposition of the Berkleian philosophy, and "Lectures on Greek
Philosophy," and edited the works of his uncle and father-in-law,
Christopher North; "he belongs," says Dr. Stirling, "to an era of thought
that was inaugurated by Thomas Carlyle" (1808-1864).
FERRIER, SUSAN EDMONSTON, a Scottish novelist, aunt of the
preceding, born in Edinburgh, where her life was chiefly spent, her
father being Clerk in the Court of Session, and a colleague of Sir Walter
Scott; her novels, "Marriage," "The Inheritance," and "Destiny," &c., are
rich in humour and faithful in their pictures of Scottish life and
character; Scott held her in high esteem, and kept up a warm friendship
with her till his death (1782-1854).
FERROL (26), a strongly fortified seaport in Galicia, Spain, 10 m.
NE. of Coruña, on a narrow inlet of the sea which forms a splendid
harbourage, narrow at the entrance and capacious within, and defended by
two forts; it possesses one of the largest Spanish naval arsenals;
manufactures linen and cotton, and exports corn, brandy, and sardines.
FERRY, JULES FRANÇOIS CAMILLE, a distinguished French statesman,
born at Saint Dié, in the Vosges; called to the Paris bar in 1854, he
speedily plunged into the politics of the time, and offered
uncompromising opposition to the party of Louis Napoleon; as a member of
the _Corps Législatif_ he opposed the war with Prussia, but as central
mayor of Paris rendered signal service during the siege by the Germans;
during his tenure of office as Minister of Public Instruction in 1879 was
instrumental in bringing about the expulsion of the Jesuits; as Prime
Minister in 1880 and again in 1883-85 he inaugurated a spirited colonial
policy, which involved France in war in Madagascar, and brought about his
own downfall (1832-1893).
FESCH, JOSEPH, an eminent French ecclesiastic, born at Ajaccio, the
half-brother of Napoleon's mother; was educated for the Church, but, on
the outbreak of the Revolution, joined the revolutionaries as a
storekeeper; co-operated with his illustrious nephew in restoring
Catholicism in France, and became in 1802 archbishop of Lyons, and a
cardinal in 1803; as ambassador at Rome in 1804 he won the Pope's favour,
and brought about a more friendly understanding between him and Napoleon;
later he lost favour with the emperor, and retired to Lyons, whence in
1814 he fled to Rome, there to end his life; was a lover of art, and left
a magnificent collection of pictures (1763-1839).
FESTUS, the name of a poem by Philip James Bailey (q. v.), first
published in 1839, but extended to three times its length since, a poem
that on its first production produced no small sensation.
FESTUS, SEXTUS POMPEIUS, a Latin grammarian of probably the 3rd
century; noted for an epitome of a great work by Verrius Flaccus on the
meaning and derivation of Latin words, which, although only a portion of
it exists, is regarded as an invaluable document, and is preserved at
Naples.
FETICHISM, the worship of a fetich, an object superstitiously
invested with divine or demonic power, and as such regarded with awe and
worshipped.
FEUDALISM, or the Feudal system, that system which prevailed in
Europe during the Middle Ages and in England from the Norman Conquest, by
which vassals held their lands from the lord-superior on condition of
military service when required, for "the extreme unction day" of which
see CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION," VOL. I. BK. 4.
FEUERBACH, LUDWIG ANDREAS, German philosopher, son of the
succeeding, born at Landshut; studied theology at Hiedelberg, but coming
under the influence of Hegel went to Berlin and devoted himself to
philosophy; after failing in an attempt to support himself by lecturing
in Erlangen, he was fortunate in his marriage, and upon his wife's means
lived a retired and studious life at Bruckberg; in his philosophy, which
is a degeneracy and finally total departure from Hegel, he declines to
find a higher sanction for morality than man's own conception of right
and wrong as based on a doctrine of Hedonism (q. v.); his chief work,
on the nature of Christianity, which was translated into English by
George Eliot, is extravagant in its departure from orthodox lines of
thought; his influence has been trifling outside his own country; he
began with Hegel, but "descended at last from Hegel's logical idea to
naked sense," and what guidance for life might be involved in it
(1804-1872).
FEUERBACH, PAUL JOHANN ANSELM VON, a highly distinguished criminal
jurist, born at Jena, where he studied philosophy and law; at 23 came
into prominence by a vigorous criticism of Hobbes's theory on civil
power; and soon afterwards, in lectures on criminal jurisprudence he set
forth his famous theory, that in administering justice judges should be
strictly limited in their decisions by the penal code; this new doctrine
gave rise to a party called "Rigorists," who supported his theory; he
held professorships in Jena and in Kiel, and in 1804 was appointed to an
official post in Münich; in 1814 he became president of the Court of
Appeal at Anspach; his chief work was the framing of a penal code for
Bavaria, which became a model for several other countries (1775-1833).
FEUILLANS, a reformed brotherhood of Cistercian monks, founded in
1577 by Jean de la Barrière, abbot of the Cistercian monastery at
Feuillans, in Languedoc. The movement thus organised was a protest
against the laxity which had crept into the Church, and probably received
some stimulus from the Reformation, which was then in progress. The
Feuillans settled in a convent in the Rue St. Honoré, Paris, which in
after years became the meeting-place of a revolutionary club, which took
the name of Feuillans; founded in 1790 by Lafayette, La Rochefoucauld,
&c., and which consisted of members of the respectable property classes,
whose views were more moderate than those of the Jacobins. They could not
hold out against the flood of revolutionary violence, and on March 28,
1791, a mob burst into their place of meeting and dispersed them.
FÉUILLET, OCTAVE, a celebrated French novelist, born at Saint-Lò, in
La Manche; started his literary career as one of Dumas' assistants, but
made his first independent success in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ by a
series of tales, romances, &c., begun in 1848; in 1862 he was elected a
member of the Academy, and later became librarian to Louis Napoleon; his
novels, of which "Le Roman d'un Jeune Homme Pauvre" and "Sibylle" are the
most noted, are graceful in style, and reveal considerable dramatic
force, but often lapse into sentimentality, and too often treat of
indelicate subjects, although in no spirit of coarseness (1812-1890).
FEZ (150), the largest city in Morocco, of which it is the second
capital; is surrounded by walls and prettily situated in the valley of
the Sebu, a stream which flows through its centre and falls into the
Atlantic 100 m. to the E. It has been for many centuries one of the most
important of the sacred cities of the Moslem; has many fine mosques, the
Sultan's palace, and an important university; is yet a busy commercial
centre, although signs of decay appear all over the city, and carries on
an active caravan trade with Central Africa.
FEZZAN (50), a Turkish province lying to the S. of Tripoli, to which
it is politically united; in character partakes of the desert region to
which it belongs, being almost wholly composed of barren sandy plateaux,
with here and there an oasis in the low valleys, where some attempt at
cultivation is made. The people, who belong to the Berber stock, are
Mohammedans, honest, but lazy and immoral. Murzuk (6) is the chief town.
FIARS, an expression in Scotch law given to the prices of grain
which are determined, by the respective sheriffs in the various counties
assisted by juries. The Court for "striking the fiars" is held towards
the end of February in accordance with Acts of Sederunt of the Court of
Session. The prices fixed are used in the settling of contracts where no
prices have been determined upon, e. g. in fixing stipends of ministers
of the Church of Scotland, and are found useful in other ways.
FICHTE, JOHANN GOTTLIEB, a celebrated German philosopher, born in
Upper Lusatia; a man of an intensely thoughtful and noble nature; studied
theology at Jena, and afterwards philosophy; became a disciple of Kant,
and paid homage to him personally at Königsberg; was appointed professor
of Philosophy at Jena, where he enthusiastically taught, or rather
preached, a system which broke away from Kant, which goes under the name
of "Transcendental Idealism," and which he published in his
"Wissenschaftslehre" and his "System der Sittenlehre"; obliged to resign
his chair at Jena on a charge of atheism, he removed to Berlin, where he
rose into favour by his famous "Address to the Germans" against the
tyranny of Napoleon, and after a professorate in Erlangen he became head
of the New University, and had for colleagues such men as Wolff,
Humboldt, Scheiermacher, and Neander; he fell a victim to the War of
Independence which followed, dying of fever caught through his wife and
her nursing of patients in the hospitals, which were crowded with the
wounded; besides his more esoterico-philosophical works, he was the
author of four of a popular cast, which are worthy of all regard, on "The
Destiny of Man," "The Nature of the Scholar," "The Characteristics of the
Present Age," and "The Way to the Blessed Life"; "so robust an intellect,
a soul so calm," says Carlyle, "so lofty, massive, and immovable, has not
mingled in philosophic discussion since the time of Luther ... the cold,
colossal, adamantine spirit, standing erect and clear, like a Cato Major
among degenerate men; fit to have been the teacher of the Stoa, and to
have discoursed of Beauty and Virtue in the groves of Academe"
(1762-1814).
FICHTELGEBIRGE, a mountain chain in North-East Bavaria, so called
from its having once been covered with pines, Fichtel meaning a pine. In
its valleys rise the Elbe, Rhine, and Danube; considerable quantities of
iron, copper, and lead are found, which give rise to a smelting industry,
while mother-of-pearl is obtained from the streams. The climate is cold
and damp, but the district has of late become a favourite resort of
tourists.
FICINO, MARSILIO, an eminent Italian Platonist, born at Florence; in
1463 became president of a Platonic school, founded by Cosmo de' Medici,
where he spent many years spreading and instilling the doctrines of
Plato, and, indeed, ancient philosophy generally; entered the Church in
1473, and under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici was appointed to the
canonry of Florence Cathedral; his religious beliefs were a strange blend
of Platonism and Christianity, but were the foundation of a pure life,
while his interest in classical studies helped considerably to further
the Renaissance (1433-1499).
FICK, AUGUST, a German philologist, born at Petershagan; spent his
life chiefly at Göttingen, where he first studied philology under Benfey;
became a teacher in the Gymnasium, and eventually in 1876 professor of
Comparative Philology in the university; in 1887 accepted a professorship
in Breslau, but retired four years later; author of a variety of learned
works on philology; _b_. 1833.
FIDELIO, a celebrated opera by Beethoven, and his only one.
FI`DES, the Roman goddess of fidelity, or steadfast adherence to
promises and engagements. Numa built a shrine for her worship and
instituted a festival in her honour; in later times a temple containing a
statue of her dressed in white adjoined the temple of Jupiter, on the
Capitol at Rome.
FIELD, CYRUS WEST, brother of the following, born at Stockbridge,
Massachusetts; was first a successful paper manufacturer, but turning his
attention to submarine telegraphy was instrumental in establishing cable
communication between England and America, and founded the Atlantic
Telegraph Company in 1856; on the successful laying of the 1866 cable,
since which time communication between the Old and New Worlds has never
been interrupted, he was awarded a gold medal and the thanks of the
nation; afterwards interested himself in developing the overhead railway
in New York (1819-1892).
FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY, an eminent American Jurist, born in Haddam,
Connecticut; for 57 years a prominent member of the New York bar, during
which time he brought about judiciary reforms, and drew up, under
Government directions, political, civil, and penal codes; interested
himself in international law, and laboured to bring about an
international agreement whereby disputes might be settled by arbitration
and war done away with; was President of the London Peace Congress in
1890 (1805-1894).
FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD, a plain near Guisnes, where Henry VIII.
had an interview with Francis I.; was so called from the magnificence
displayed on the occasion on the part of both sovereigns and their
retinue.
FIELDING, COPLEY, an eminent English water-colour painter; became
secretary and treasurer and finally president of the Society of
Water-Colour Painters (1787-1855).
FIELDING, HENRY, a famous novelist, who has been styled by Scott
"the father of the English novel," born at Sharpham Park, Glastonbury,
son of General Edmund Fielding and a cousin of LADY MARY WORTLEY
MONTAGU (q. v.); was educated at Eton and at Leyden, where he
graduated in 1728; led for some years a dissipated life in London, and
achieved some celebrity by the production of a series of comedies and
farces, now deservedly sunk into oblivion; in 1735 he married Miss
Charlotte Cradock, and after a brief experiment as a theatre lessee
studied law at the Middle Temple, and was called to the bar; literature
was, however, his main pursuit, and in 1742 he came to the front with
"Joseph Andrews," a burlesque on Richardson's "Pamela," in which his
powers as a novelist first showed themselves; in 1743 followed three
volumes of "Miscellanies," including "Jonathan Wild"; after his wife's
death he turned again to law, but in 1745 we find him once more engaged
in literature as editor of the _True Patriot_ and afterwards of the
_Jacobite's Journal_; "Tom Jones," his masterpiece, appeared in 1749, and
three years later "Amelia"; journalism and his duties as a justice of the
peace occupied him till 1754, when ill-health forced him abroad to
Lisbon, where he died and was buried. Fielding is a master of a fluent,
virile, and attractive style; his stories move with an easy and natural
vigour, and are brimful of humour and kindly satire, while his characters
in their lifelike humanness, with all their foibles and frailties, are a
marked contrast to the buckram and conventional figures of his
contemporary Richardson; something of the laxity of his times, however,
finds its way into his pages, and renders them not always palatable
reading to present-day readers (1707-1754).
FIESCHI, COUNT, a Genoese of illustrious family who conspired
against Andrea Doria, but whose plot was frustrated on the eve of its
fulfilment by his falling into the sea and being drowned as he stept
full-armed from one of his ships into another (1523-1547).
FIESCHI, JOSEPH MARCO, a Corsican conspirator; served under Murat
and in Russia in 1812; obtained a government post in 1830, and in
consequence of his discharge from this five years later he, by means of
an infernal machine, made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Louis
Philippe, for which, along with his accomplices, he was tried and
executed (1790-1836).
FIESOLE, a small town, 3 m. from Florence, where the wealthy
Florentines have villas, and near which Fra Angelico lived as a monk.
FIFE (190), a maritime county in the E. of Scotland, which juts out
into the German Ocean and is washed by the Firths of Tay and Forth on its
N. and S. shores respectively, thus forming a small peninsula; has for
the most part a broken and hilly surface, extensively cultivated however,
while the "How of Fife," watered by the Eden, is a fertile valley, richly
wooded; and valuable coal deposits are worked in the S. and W.; its long
coast-line is studded with picturesque towns, many of them of ancient
date, a circumstance which led James VI. to describe the county as "a
beggar's mantle fringed with gold"; it is associated with much that is
memorable in Scottish history.
FIFTH-MONARCHY MEN, a set of fanatics of extreme levelling
tendencies, who, towards the close of the Protectorate, maintained that
Jesus Christ was about to reappear on the earth to establish a fifth
monarchy that would swallow up and forcibly suppress all that was left of
the four preceding--the Assyrian, the Persian, the Macedonian, and the
Roman; their standard exhibited the lion of the tribe of Judah couchant,
with the motto, "Who will rouse him up?" some of them conspired to murder
the Protector, but were detected and imprisoned till after his death.
FIGARO, a name given by the French dramatist Beaumarchais to a
cunning and intriguing barber who figures in his "Barbier de Seville" and
his "Mariage de Figaro," and who has since become the type of all such
characters. The name has been adopted by various journals in England and
in France.
FIGARO, MARIAGE DE, a play by Beaumarchais, "issued on the stage in
Paris 1784, ran its hundred nights; a lean and barren thing; succeeded,
as it flattered a pruriency of the time and spoke what all were feeling
and longing to speak."
FIGUIER, LOUIS, a popular writer on scientific subjects, born at
Montpellier, where he became professor of Pharmacy in 1846, and
subsequently in Paris; his voluminous writings have done much to
popularise science, and they comprise a volume on alchemy and one in
defence of immortality; many of these have been received with favour in
England (1819-1894).
FIJI (125), a group of islands in the S. Pacific Ocean, known also
as the Viti Islands; they lie between 15°-22° S. lat. and 176° E.-178° W.
long., and are a dependency of Britain; sighted by Tasman in 1643, though
first discovered, properly speaking, by Cook in 1773, came first into
prominence in 1858, when the sovereignty was offered to England and
declined, but in 1874 were taken over and made a crown colony; they
number over 200 islands, of which Viti Leon and Vanua Leon are by far the
largest; Suva is the capital; sugar, cotton, vanilla, tea, and coffee are
cultivated, besides fruit.
FILDES, S. LUKE, artist, born in Lancashire; made his mark first as
a designer of woodcuts; contributed to various magazines and illustrated
books, notably Dickens's "Edwin Drood"; his most noted pictures are
"Applicants for a Casual Ward," "The Widower," and "The Doctor"; he was
made an R.A. in 1887; _b_. 1844.
FILIBUSTER, a name given to buccaneers who infested the
Spanish-American coasts or those of the West Indies, but more specially
used to designate the followers of Lopez in his Cuban expedition in 1851,
and those of Walker in his Nicaraguan in 1855; a name now given to any
lawless adventurers who attempt to take forcible possession of a foreign
country.
FILIGREE, a name given to a species of goldsmith's ornamental work
fashioned out of fine metallic (usually gold or silver) wire into
lace-like patterns; the art is of ancient date, and was skilfully
practised by the Etruscans and Egyptians, as well as in Central Asia and
India.
FILIOQUE CONTROVERSY, a controversy which ended in the disruption of
the Western from the Eastern Church on the question whether the Spirit
proceeded from the Father and the Son or from the Father only, the
Western maintaining the former and the Eastern the latter.
FILLAN, ST., a name borne by two Scottish saints: (1) the son of a
Munster prince, lived in the 8th century, was first abbot of the
monastery on the Holy Loch in Argyll, and afterwards laboured at
Strathfillan, Perthshire; some of his relics are to be seen in the
Edinburgh Antiquarian Museum; (2) or Faolan, known as "the leper," had
his church at the end of Loch Earn, Perthshire; a healing well and chair
are associated with his name.
FILLMORE, President of the United States from 1850 to 1853.
FINALITY JOHN, Lord John Russell, from his complacently pronouncing
the Reform Bill of 1832 a final measure.
FINCH, HENEAGE, first Earl of Nottingham and Lord Chancellor of
England, born in Kent, studied at Oxford, and was called to the bar in
1645; at the Restoration he was appointed Solicitor-General, and took an
active part in prosecuting the regicides; in 1670 he became
Attorney-General, and in 1675 Lord-Chancellor; he presided as Lord-High
Steward at the trial of Stafford in 1680, and pronounced judgment in a
speech of great eloquence (1621-1682).
FINDLATER, ANDREW, encyclopedist, born near Aberdour, in
Aberdeenshire, of humble parentage; graduated at Aberdeen, and became a
schoolmaster at Tillydesk, and afterwards held the post of head-master of
Gordon's Hospital in Aberdeen; in 1853 joined the staff of Messrs. W. &
R. Chambers, Edinburgh, and became eventually editor of the first edition
of their encyclopedia (1861-1868); amongst other work done for the
Messrs. Chambers were various manuals on astronomy, geography, &c.; was a
man of wide and accurate scholarship (1810-1877).
FINGAL or FIONN, the great hero of Gaelic mythology,
represented by OSSIAN (q. v.) to have ruled over the kingdom of
Morven, which may be said to have been then co-extensive with Argyllshire
and the West Highlands; in ballad literature he is represented as
belonging also to Ireland.
FINGAL'S CAVE, a remarkable cave of basaltic formation on the coast
of the ISLE OF STAFFA (q. v.); entrance to the cave is effected
in boats through a natural archway 42 ft. wide and 66 ft. high, and the
water fills the floor of this great hall to a distance of 227 ft.
FINISTERRE or FINISTÈRE (727), the most westerly department of
France, washed on the N. by the English Channel, and on the S. and W. by
the Atlantic; has a rugged and broken coast-line, but inland presents a
picturesque appearance with tree-clad hills and fertile valleys; the
climate is damp, and there is a good deal of marshy land; mines of
silver, lead, &c., are wrought, and quarries of marble and granite;
fishing is largely engaged in; and the manufacture of linen, canvas,
pottery, &c., are important industries, while large quantities of grain
are raised.
FINLAND (2,431), a grand-duchy forming the NW. corner of Russia; was
ceded by the Swedes in 1809, but still retains an independent
administration. The coast-line is deeply indented, and fringed with small
islands; the interior, chiefly elevated plateau, consists largely of
forest land, and is well furnished with lakes, many of which are united
by canals, one 36 m. connecting Lake Saima with the Gulf of Finland.
Various cereals (barley, oats, &c.) are grown, and there is a varied and
valuable fauna; fishing is an extensive industry, and no less than 80
kinds of fish are found in the rivers, lakes, and coast waters. The
country is divided into eight counties, and is governed by a Senate and
Diet, the reigning Russian emperor holding rank as grand-duke; education
is highly advanced; Swedish and Finnish are the two languages of the
country, Russian being practically unknown. There is an excellent Saga
literature, and the beginnings of a modern literature. The Finns came
under the dominion of the Swedes in the 12th and 13th centuries, and were
by them Christianised.
FINLAY, GEORGE, a distinguished historian, horn at Faversham, Kent,
but of Scotch parents; received a university training at Glasgow and
Göttingen, and in 1822 went to Greece, where he met Byron and fought in
the War of Independence; henceforth Greece became his home, and there,
after an unavailing effort to promote agriculture, he betook himself to a
studious life and to writing the history of his adopted country; his
valuable history, published in various parts, traces the national life of
Greece from 146 B.C. to A.D. 1864 (1799-1875).
FINMARK (29), a province of Norway, lying in the extreme N., with a
rocky and indented coast and a barren and mountainous interior; fishing
is the main industry of the inhabitants, who are chiefly Lapps.
FINNS, the native inhabitants of Finland, and originally of the
districts in Sweden and Norway as well, are of the Mongolian type, and
were settled in Europe before the arrival of the Slavic and Teutonic
races.
FIORDS, deep indentations forming inlets of the sea, especially on
the coast of Norway, overlooked by high mountains and precipitous cliffs.
FIRDAUSI or FIRDUSI, the pseudonym of Abu-'l Kasim Mansur, the
great poet of Persia, born near Tûs, in Khorassan; flourished in the 10th
century B.C.; spent 30 years in writing the "Shah Nama," a national
epic, but having been cheated out of the reward promised by Sultan
Mahmud, he gave vent to bitter satire against his royal master and fled
the court; for some time he led a wandering life, till at length he
returned to his birthplace, where he died; a complete translation of his
great poem exists in French.
FIRE-WORSHIP, worship of fire, especially as embodied in the sun
viewed as the most express and emphatic exhibition of beneficent divine
power.
FIRMAMENT, a name given to the vault of the sky conceived as a solid
substance studded with stars, so applied in the Vulgate.
FIRMAN, a Persian word denoting a mandate or decree; among the Turks
the term is applied to such decrees as issue from the Ottoman Porte, and
also to passports, the right of signing which lies with the Sultan or a
Pasha; the word is also used in India to denote a permit to trade.
FIRMIN, ST., bishop of Amiens, who suffered martyrdom in 287.
Festival, Sept. 25.
FIRST GENTLEMAN OF EUROPE, George IV., from his fine style and
manners.
FISCHART, JOHANN, a German satirist; an imitator of Rabelais
(1545-1589).
FISCHER, ERNST KUNO BERTHOLD, a German historian of philosophy, born
at Sandewalde, Silesia; as a student of Erdmann at Halle he was smitten
with the love of philosophy, and gave his life to the study of it; after
graduating he went to Heidelberg and there established himself as a
private lecturer, in which capacity he was eminently successful, but in
1853 was deprived of his status by Government, probably on account of the
alleged Pantheistic trend of his teaching; in 1856, however, he was
elected to the chair of Philosophy in Jena, and 16 years later was called
back to Heidelberg as Zeller's successor; his chief work is a "History of
Modern Philosophy"; _b_. 1824.
FISHER, JOHN, bishop of Rochester, born at Beverley; was
distinguished at Cambridge, and became chaplain and confessor to the
Countess of Richmond, Henry VII.'s mother, who had him appointed
professor of Divinity at his _alma mater_; in 1504 he was elected
Chancellor of the University and made bishop of Rochester, but incurred
the royal displeasure by opposing Henry VIII.'s divorce of Catherine of
Aragon, and by upholding the Pope's supremacy; became involved in the
deceptions of Elizabeth Barton, maid of Kent, and was sent to the Tower
in 1534 for refusing to take the oath of succession; was created a
cardinal, but was beheaded by order of the king ere his hat arrived; was
beatified in 1886 (1469-1535).
FISKE, JOHN, American writer, born at Hartford, Conn., U.S.;
studied at Harvard; in 1869 lectured at his old university as a
Positivist, and was under-librarian from 1872 to 1879; he is the author
of a number of works on Darwinism, American history, philosophy, etc.;
_b_. 1842.
FITCH, JOHN, an American inventor, born in Connecticut; led a life
of adventure, at one time acting as gunsmith to the American
revolutionaries and at another falling into the hands of Indians whilst
trading in the West; in 1785 he brought out a model steamboat with side
wheels, and in 1788 and in 1790 constructed larger vessels, one of the
latter being for some time employed as a passenger boat; some of his
plans are said to have fallen into Robert Fulton's hands and given him
the idea of his steamship; disheartened by the ill-success of a trip to
France he committed suicide at Bardstown, Kentucky (1743-1798).
FITZ-BOODLE, GEORGE, Thackeray's pseudonym in _Fraser's Magazine_.
FITZGERALD, EDWARD, English scholar, born in Suffolk; at Cambridge,
where he graduated in 1830, he formed close friendships with James
Spedding and Thackeray, and afterwards was on intimate terms with Carlyle
and Tennyson; his life was quietly spent in his country residence in
Suffolk, varied by yachting expeditions and visits to London, where he
made the round of his friends; his first book, "Euphranor," a dialogue on
youth, appeared when he was 42, "Polonius" followed and some Spanish
translations, but his fame rests on his translations of Persian poetry,
and especially on his rendering of the 11th-century poet, Omar Khayyám
(1809-1883).
FITZGERALD, LADY, a daughter of Egalité and Mme. Genlis, called
Pamela; distinguished for her beauty and enthusiasm for liberty, and who
became the wife of LORD FITZGERALD, the Irish patriot (q. v.);
_d_. 1831.
FITZGERALD, LORD EDWARD, the younger son of the Duke of Leinster,
born at Carlton Castle, near Dublin; spent his early years in France;
joined the English army and served with distinction in the American War;
in 1784 he was elected to the Irish Parliament, and opposed the English
Government; was attracted to France by the Revolution, but returned to
Ireland and joined the United Irishmen in 1796, and began plotting the
rising of 1798; his scheme was betrayed, and he was arrested in Dublin
after a determined resistance, during which he received wounds of which
he died in prison (1763-1798).
FITZHERBERT, MRS., a Roman Catholic lady, maiden name Maria Anne
Smythe, with whom, after her second widowhood, George IV., while Prince
of Wales, contracted a secret marriage in 1785, which, however, under the
Royal Marriage Act, was declared invalid (1756-1837).
FITZROY, ROBERT, admiral, navigator, and meteorologist, born at
Ampton Hall, near Bury St. Edmunds; entered the navy at 14, and in
1828-1830 conducted a survey of the coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del
Fuego, a work he continued while commanding the _Beagle_ (1831-1836), in
which Darwin accompanied him; in 1843-1845 was governor of New Zealand;
in his later years devoted himself to meteorology, and, on the retired
list, rose to be vice-admiral; published accounts of his voyages, etc.;
under pressure of work his mind gave way, and he committed suicide
(1805-1865).
FITZWILLIAM, WILLIAM, EARL, a politician of George the Third's time;
the excesses of the French Revolution caused him to come over from the
Whigs and support Pitt; favoured Catholic emancipation during his
Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland, but was recalled; held office under
Grenville in 1806, and took some part in the Reform Bill agitation of the
day (1748-1833).
FIUME (29), a seaport of Hungary, on the Adriatic, at the rocky
entrance of the Fiumara, 40 m. SE. of Trieste; a new town of spacious and
colonnaded streets and many fine buildings, has grown up on the ground
sloping down from the old town; has an excellent harbour, and flourishing
industries in paper, torpedoes, tobacco, etc., besides being the entrepôt
of an important and increasing commerce.
FLACIUS or VLACICH, MATTHIAS, surnamed Illyricus, a German
theologian, born at Albona, in Illyria; was the pupil of Luther and
Melanchthon; became professor of the Old Testament Scriptures at
Wittenberg, but four years later lost his position on account of certain
attacks he made on Melanchthon; subsequently he was elected professor at
Jena, but was again deposed for heterodox notions on original sin; died
in poverty; was author of an ecclesiastical history and other works
(1520-1575).
FLAGELLANTS, a set of medieval fanatics, who first arose in Italy in
1260, and subsequently appeared in other quarters of Europe, and who
thought by self-flagellation to atone for sin and avert divine judgment,
hoping by a limited number of stripes to compensate for a century of
scourgings; the practice arose at a time when it was reckoned that the
final judgment of the world was at hand.
FLAHAULT DE LA BILLARDERIE, AUGUSTE CHARLES JOSEPH, COMTE DE, a
French soldier and diplomatist, born at Paris; was aide-de-camp to
Napoleon, and for distinguished services in the Peninsular war and at
Leipzig was made a general and count; fought at Waterloo, and two years
later married Margaret Elphinston, who by inheritance became Baroness
Keith; he was ambassador at the Courts of Venice (1841-48) and at London
(1860) (1785-1870).
FLAMBARD, RANDOLPH, a Norman who came over with the Conqueror to
England and became chaplain to William Rufus, whom he abetted and
pandered to in his vices, in return for which, and a heavy sum he paid,
he was in 1099 made bishop of Durham.
FLAMBOYANT, the name given, from the flame-like windings of its
tracery, to a florid style of architecture in vogue in France during the
15th and 16th centuries.
FLAMENS, priests elected in Rome by the people and consecrated by
the chief pontiff to the service of a particular god, such as Jupiter,
Mars, &c.
FLAMINIUS, CAIUS, a Roman tribune and consul, who constructed the
Flaminian Way; perished at Lake Trasimene, where he was defeated by
Hannibal in the Second Punic War, 217 B.C.
FLAMINIUS, T. QUINTUS, a Roman consul, who defeated Philip of
Macedon and proclaimed the freedom of Greece, and it was his close
neighbourhood to Hannibal that induced the latter to take poison rather
than fall into his hands (230-174 B.C.).
FLAMMARION, CAMILLE, French astronomer, born at Montigny-le-Roi; he
was attached to the Paris Observatory in 1858, and by means of books and
lectures has spent a busy life in popularising his science; many of his
works have been translated into English; _b_. 1842.
FLAMSTEED, JOHN, the first astronomer-royal of England, born near
Derby; his devotion to astronomy gained him the favour of Sir Jonas
Moore, who was the means of getting him the appointment of
astronomer-royal in 1675; from the Observatory of Greenwich, specially
built for his use, he catalogued the fixed stars and supplied Newton with
useful information bearing on his lunar theory; in 1675 he took holy
orders, and was presented to the living of Burstow in Surrey, which he
held till his death (1646-1719).
FLANDERS, the land of the Flemings, borders upon the North Sea,
formerly extended from the Scheldt to the Somme, and included, besides
the present Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders, part of Zealand,
and also of Artois, in France; the ancient county dates from 862, in
which year Charles the Bold of France, as suzerain, raised it to the
status of a sovereign county, and bestowed it upon his son Baldwin I.; it
has successively belonged to Spain and Austria, and in Louis XIV.'s reign
a portion of it was ceded to France, now known as French Flanders, while
Zealand passed into the hands of the Dutch; the remainder was in 1714
made the Austrian Netherlands, and in 1831 was incorporated with the new
kingdom of BELGIUM (q. v.).
FLANDRIN, a French painter, born at Lyons; was a pupil of Ingres;
represented the religious movement in art in the 19th century
(1809-1864).
FLAUBERT, GUSTAVE, a realistic romancer, born at Rouen; author of
"Madame Bovary," a study of provincial life, which became the subject of
a prosecution, and "Salammbô," wonderful for its vigour and skill in
description; he indulged in repulsive subjects (1821-1880).
FLAVEL, JOHN, an English Nonconformist divine of spiritualising
tendencies, much read by pious people of his class; _d_. 1691.
FLAXMAN, JOHN, an eminent sculptor, born at York; was brought up in
London, where his father carried on business as a moulder of plaster
figures; his love of drawing and modelling soon marked him out as an
artist, and helped by friends he devoted himself to art; exhibited at the
age of 12, and won the silver medal of the Royal Academy at 14; for some
years he supplied the Wedgwoods with designs for their famous pottery,
and in 1787 he went to Rome, which for seven years became his home; in
1810 became professor of Sculpture to the Royal Academy; besides many
fine statues of eminent men and much exquisite work in bas-reliefs, he
executed a series of noble designs illustrating Homer, Dante, and
Æschylus; he was a Swedenborgian by religious creed (1755-1826).
FLECHIER, a famous French pulpit orator, bishop of Nîmes; his
funeral orations compare with Bossuet's (1632-1710).
FLEET MARRIAGES, clandestine marriages, suppressed in 1754,
performed without license by the chaplains of Fleet Prison, London.
FLEET PRISON, a celebrated London jail in Farringdon Street; was a
debtor's prison as far back as the 12th century.
FLEETWOOD, CHARLES, a Cromwellian officer; fought as
lieutenant-general against the king at Worcester, and acted as
lord-deputy in Ireland; on the death of Cromwell advised the abdication
of Richard; _d_. 1692.
FLEGEL, African explorer, born in Wilna, of German descent; made
three journeys from Europe to explore the Niger territory, in which he
made important discoveries; was suddenly stricken down in the last
(1855-1886).
FLEISCHER, HEINRICH LEBERECHT, Orientalist, born at Schandau,
Saxony; after a university training at Leipzig he undertook a catalogue
of the Oriental MSS. in the royal library at Dresden, and in 1836 became
professor of Oriental Languages at Leipzig; did important work as a
critical editor of Oriental works and MSS. (1801-1888).
FLEMING, PAUL, a celebrated German poet, born at Hartenstein,
Vogtland; received a medical training at Leipzig, and was engaged in
embassies in Russia and Persia; settled in Hamburg in 1639, but died the
following year; as a lyrist he stood in the front rank of German poets
(1609-1640).
FLEMISH SCHOOL, a school of painting established in the 15th
century, and to which Reubens, Vandyck, and Teniers belonged.
FLESHLY SCHOOL, a name given by Robert Buchanan to a realistic
school of poets, to which Rossetti, William Morris, and Swinburne belong.
FLESSELLES, the last provost of the merchants of the Hôtel de Ville,
Paris; "shot by an unknown hand at the turn of a street" after the fall
of the Bastille (1721-1789).
FLETCHER, ANDREW, of Saltoun, a Scottish patriot and politician;
after travelling on the Continent for four years he entered the Scottish
Parliament, but got into trouble through his opposition to James, Duke of
York, the Royal Commissioner in Scotland, and fled to Holland; his
estates were confiscated, and for the next seven years he was a political
refugee; he took part in the Rye House Plot and in Monmouth's invasion;
his estates were restored in 1688, and he again sat in the Scottish
Parliament; he was an active promoter of the abortive Darien Scheme, and
a strong opponent of the Union of 1707 (1653-1716).
FLETCHER, GILES, an English poet, born in London; was the
unappreciated rector of Alderton, in Suffolk, and author of a fervid and
imaginative poem, "Christ's Victory and Triumph," which won the
admiration of Milton (1588-1623).
FLETCHER, JOHN, English dramatist, the son of a bishop of London;
was left an orphan and in poverty; collaborated with BEAUMONT (q. v.)
in the production of the plays published under their joint names;
died of the plague (1570-1625).
FLETCHER, PHINEAS, poet, brother of preceding; was rector of Hilgay,
Norfolk; celebrated for his poem the "Purple Island, or the Isle of Man,"
an ingenious allegory descriptive of the human body--i. e. the Purple
Island--and its vices and virtues.
FLEURANT, MONSIEUR, a character in Molière's "Malade Imaginaire."
FLEUR-DE-LIS (i. e. lily-flower), a badge of ultimately three
golden _fleurs-de-lis_ on a blue field, borne from the days of Clovis on
their arms by the kings of France.
FLEURY, ANDRÉ HERCULE DE. CARDINAL, French statesman, born at
Lodève, in Languedoc; studied philosophy in Paris; became a doctor of the
Sorbonne and almoner to the Queen and King Louis XIV., who subsequently
made him bishop of Frèjus and tutor to his son Louis; in 1726 he was
chosen Prime Minister by Louis XV., and created a cardinal; he carried
through a successful war with Germany, which resulted in the acquisition
of Lorraine by France, but although honest and cautious, he cannot be
styled a great statesman (1653-1743).
FLEURY, CLAUDE, ABBÉ, an ecclesiastical historian, born in Paris;
was at the outset of his career a successful advocate, but afterwards
entered the Church; as tutor he educated various princes, including an
illegitimate son of Louis XIV., who in reward appointed him to the priory
of Argenteuil; was chosen confessor to the young Louis XV., and in 1696
was elected to the Academy; his chief work is his great "Ecclesiastical
History" in 20 vols., on which he laboured for 30 years, and the
learning, ability, and impartiality of which procured for him the esteem
of all parties (1640-1723).
FLINDERS, MATTHEW, a naval officer, born in Lincolnshire; explored
the coast of Australia, experiencing not a few adventures, and adding
materially to our geographical knowledge (1760-1814).
FLINT, 1, a maritime county (77) of North Wales, between Lancashire
and Denbigh, of which a detached portion lies to the N. of Shropshire;
low stretches of sand form its foreshore, but inland it is hilly, with
here and there a picturesque and fertile valley in which dairy-farming is
extensively carried on. 2, a seaport (5), on the estuary of the Dee, 13
m. NW. of Chester; has ruins of a castle with interesting historical
associations; in the neighbourhood are copper-works and lead and coal
mines.
FLINT, ROBERT, a theologian, born in Dumfriesshire; professor of
Divinity in Edinburgh University; an eminent scholar, a vigorous thinker,
and a man of broad sympathies, who takes a deep interest in all the vital
questions of the times, and has contributed to the solution of them; has
written on Theism, the Philosophy of History, Socialism, &c.; _b_. 1838.
FLOATING ISLANDS are sometimes formed of masses of driftwood on
which débris, vegetation, &c., gradually form a soil, but are more
commonly portions of river banks detached by the force of the current
when swollen and drifted put, sometimes as much as 100 m., to sea,
carrying with them plants, reptiles, and larger animals, and thus
contributing to the distribution to distant shores of animal and
vegetable life; they are to be met with off the mouths of the larger
American, Asian, and African rivers, and sometimes in inland seas and
lakes; Derwent Lake, in England, has a notable one, which sinks, and
rises periodically; they are also made artificially in districts subject
to floods as asylums of refuge.
FLODDEN, BATTLE OF, fought on Flodden Hill, a low spur of the
Cheviots, 6 m. S. of Coldstream, between James IV. of Scotland and the
English under the Earl of Surrey on the 9th of September 1513, which
resulted in the crushing defeat of the Scots, who lost their king and the
flower of their nobility, an event celebrated in Jean Elliot's "Flowers
of the Forest"; a spirited account is given in the sixth canto of Scott's
"Marmion."
FLOOD, HENRY, an Irish Nationalist, trained at Dublin and Oxford
Universities; entering the Irish Parliament, he by his fervid oratory
soon won a place in the front rank of Irish politicians; in 1769 he was
put on trial for killing an opponent in a duel, but was acquitted; from
1775 to 1781 he was Vice-Treasurer of Ireland; to Grattan's Irish Bill of
Right he offered bitter opposition, holding it to be an altogether
inadequate measure; in 1783 he was returned to the English House of
Commons, but failed to make his mark (1732-1791).
FLORA, goddess of the blossom of flowers and the spring, an early
Roman divinity; had in the time of NUMA a flamen (q. v.) to
herself.
FLORENCE (137), a famous Italian city, situated 50 m. from the sea;
it lies in the valley of the Arno, and is built on both sides of the
river, but chiefly on the N.; the outlying suburbs are singularly
beautiful, and are surrounded by finely wooded hills, bright with gay
villas and charming gardens; the old city itself is characterised by a
sombre grandness, and is full of fine buildings of historic and artistic
interest; chief amongst these is the cathedral, or Duomo, begun in 1298,
with its grand dome and campanile (293 ft.), by Giotto. It is the city of
Dante, Petrarch, Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Boccaccio,
Machiavelli, Galileo and many more of Italy's great men, and has a
history of exceptional interest; it has many fine art galleries; is an
educational centre, and carries on a trade in straw-plaiting and silk.
FLORIAN, JEAN PIERRE DE, a French novelist and writer of fables; was
the friend of Voltaire, from whom he received his first literary impulse;
was the author of several romances plays, &c., but his finest work is
found in his Fables, in which department of literature he ranks next La
Fontaine (1755-1794).
FLORIDA (391), "Land of Flowers," the most southern of the American
States, forms a bold peninsula on the E. side of the Gulf of Mexico, and
has on its eastern shore the Atlantic; has a coast-line of 1150 m.; the
chief physical feature is the amount of water surface, made up of 19
navigable rivers and lakes and ponds to the number of 1200, besides
swamps and marshes; the climate is, however, equable, and for the most
part healthy; fruit-growing is largely engaged in; the timber trade
flourishes, also the phosphate industry, and cotton and the sugar-cane
are extensively cultivated; a successful business in cigar-making has
also of recent years sprung up, and there are valuable fisheries along
the coast; Florida was admitted into the Union in 1845; the capital is
Tallahassee.
FLORIO, JOHN, the translator of Montaigne, born in London, of
Italian parents; was a tutor of foreign languages for some years at
Oxford, and in 1581 became a member of Magdalen College and teacher of
French and Italian; published two works of a miscellaneous character,
called "First Fruits" and "Second Fruits," and an English-Italian
dictionary called a "World of Words," but his fame rests on his
translation of Montaigne, which Shakespeare used so freely (1553-1625).
FLORUS, a Latin historian, contemporary of Trajan.
FLUDD, ROBERT, physician and theosophist, born at Milgate, Kent;
studied at Oxford, and travelled on the Continent, where he came under
the influence of Paracelsus's writings; settled in London as a doctor,
and published a work embodying a vague theosophy (1574-1637).
FLUSHING (13), a Dutch seaport, strongly fortified, on the island of
Walcheren, at the mouth of the western Scheldt; has an active shipping
trade, docks, arsenals, &c.
FLUXIONS, a method, invented by Sir Isaac Newton, of determining the
rate of increase or decrease of a quantity or magnitude whose value
depends on that of another which itself varies in value at a uniform and
given rate. See CALCULUS, DIFFERENTIAL, AND INTEGRAL.
FLYING DUTCHMAN, a Dutch captain, fated for his sins to scour the
sea and never reach port, who appeared from time to time to sea-captains
as on a black spectral ship, and from the very terror he inspired made
them change their course; there are many versions of this fable in the
German mythology.
FO, the name in China for Buddha.
FO-HI, or FUH-HE, the mythical founder of the Chinese dynasty,
is said to have introduced cattle-rearing, instituted marriage, and
invented letters.
FOIX, GASTON DE, illustrious French captain, nephew of Louis XII.,
was from his daring exploits called the Thunderbolt of Italy; he beat the
Swiss, routed the Papal troops, captured Brescia from the Venetians, and
gained the battle of Ravenna against the Spaniards, but was slain when
pursuing the fugitives (1489-1512).
FOIX, GASTON III. DE, French captain, surnamed Phoebus on account of
his beauty and handsome presence; distinguished in the wars against the
English and in the Jacquerie revolt, in which he rescued the dauphin at
Meaux (1331-1391).
FOLEY, JOHN HENRY, an eminent sculptor, born in Dublin; his first
success was achieved in a series of classical figures, including some
Shakespearian subjects; statues of Hampden, Burke, J. S. Mill, Goldsmith,
&c., brought him further fame, and he was commissioned by the Queen to
execute the figure of Prince Albert in the Albert Memorial; his vigour
and genius were further revealed in the noble equestrian statues of
Hardinge and Outram (1818-1874).
FOLKESTONE (24), a seaport and watering-place on the coast of Kent,
7 m. SW. of Dover; has a fine harbour and esplanade; is much engaged in
the herring and mackerel fisheries, and is steam-packet station for
Boulogne; a fine railway viaduct spans the valley in which the old town
lies.
FONBLANQUE, ALBANY WILLIAM, journalistic editor, after serving on
the staff of the _Times_ and the _Morning Chronicle_ became editor of the
_Examiner_, which he conducted successfully from 1830 to 1847; Carlyle
was introduced to him on his visit to London in 1831, and describes him
as "a tall, loose, lank-haired, wrinkly, wintry, vehement-looking flail
of a man," but "the best of the Fourth Estate" then extant; "I rather
like the man," he adds, "has the air of a true-hearted Radical"
(1793-1872).
FONTAINEBLEAU, a town on the left bank of the Seine, 35 m. SE. of
Paris, and famous for a château or palace of the kings of France, and the
forest that surrounds it. This château, founded towards the end of the
10th century, was enlarged and embellished by successive kings, beginning
with Francis I., and was the place where Napoleon signed his abdication
in 1814.
FONTANES, LOUIS, MARQUIS DE, poet and man of letters, born at Niort,
Poitou; came to Paris and achieved some celebrity by his poems and
translations from Pope and Gray; changing from the Royalist side, he,
during the Revolution, edited two journals in the Republican interest,
and held the post of professor of Literature at the College of the Four
Nations; was for some time a refugee in England, but afterwards returned
and became a zealous supporter of Napoleon, on the downfall of whom he
embraced the Bourbon cause, and was raised to the peerage (1757-1821).
FONTENELLE, BERNARD LE BOVIER DE, a miscellaneous French writer,
born at Rouen, a nephew of Corneille, whose Life he wrote; was designed
for the bar, but under his uncle's patronage embarked on a literary
career in Paris; he vehemently upheld the moderns in the famous literary
quarrel of Moderns _versus_ Ancients, and brought upon himself the
satirical attacks of Boileau and Racine; became Secretary and then
President of the Académie des Sciences; died in his hundredth year; his
vigorous and versatile nature found vent in a wide variety of
writings--literary, scientific, and historical; author of "Dialogues of
the Dead," in imitation of Lucian, and "Conversations on the Plurality of
Worlds"; is credited with the saying, "A man may have his hand full of
truth, and yet only care to open his little finger," and this other, "No
man was ever written down but by himself" (1657-1757).
FONTENOY, a village in Belgium, 5 m. SW. of Tournay, where Marshal
Saxe beat the English, Dutch, and Austrians under the Duke of Cumberland
in 1745.
FOOCHOW (630), a Chinese city, the capital of the province of
Fu-chien, situated on the Min, 125 m. NE. of Amoy. Massive walls 30 ft.
high enclose the original town, but the extensive suburbs reach down to
the river, which is bridged, and is a convenient waterway for trading
with the interior; it was made a free port in 1842, and is the centre of
a busy trade in tea, timber, and textiles.
FOOLS, FEAST OF, a festival of wild mirth in the Middle Ages, held
on 1st January, in which the Ass of Scripture celebrity played a chief
part, and in which many of the rites and ceremonies of the Church were
travestied.
FOOT-POUND, the name given in mechanics to the force required to
raise 1 lb. through 1 foot, the unit of work.
FOOTE, SAMUEL, a celebrated English actor and playwright, born at
Truro, Cornwall, of a good family; was educated at Oxford, and studied
law, but ruined himself by gaming, and took to the stage; he became the
successful lessee of Haymarket Theatre in 1747, where, by his inimitable
powers of mimicry and clever comedies, he firmly established himself in
popular favour (1720-1777).
FORBES, ARCHIBALD, a noted war-correspondent, born in Morayshire;
was educated at Aberdeen University; served in a cavalry regiment, acted
as war-correspondent for the _Daily News_ during the Franco-German war,
and has since been the brilliant chronicler of war news in all parts of
the globe; has published several volumes; _b_. 1838.
FORBES, DUNCAN, of Culloden, a distinguished lawyer and patriotic
politician, born at Bunchrew; was trained at Edinburgh and Leyden, and
called to the Scotch bar in 1709; took an active part in putting down the
rebellion of 1715, and in 1722 entered Parliament; three years later he
was appointed Lord Advocate and Lord President of the Court of Session;
succeeded his brother in the estates of Culloden and Bunchrew; during the
1745 rebellion he was active in the Hanoverian interest, and did much to
quell the uprising; Forbes was a devoted Scot, and unweariedly strove to
allay the Jacobite discontent and to establish the country in peace, and
used his great influence and wealth to further these ends, services
which, in the end, impoverished him, and received little or no
recognition at the hands of Government (1685-1747).
FORBES, EDWARD, a noted naturalist, born at Douglas, in the Isle of
Man; studied medicine at Edinburgh, where he became smitten with the love
of natural science, to which he devoted his life; in 1841 he accompanied
the _Beacon_ as naturalist, and returning in 1843 found himself elected
to the chair of Botany in King's College, London; various geological
appointments followed, and in 1852 he became President of the Geological
Society, and two years later received the chair of Natural History in
Edinburgh; Forbes was a prolific author, and his writings cover the whole
field of natural science, to every section of which he has made
contributions of great value (1815-1854).
FORBES, JAMES DAVID, physicist, born at Edinburgh, the grandson of
Sir William, and the son of the first lady-love of Sir Walter Scott, and
very like her; was called to the bar in 1830; physical science, however,
was his ruling passion, and in 1833 he became professor of Natural
Philosophy in Edinburgh University, from which he was called in 1859 to
the Principalship of the United College, St. Andrews, in which he
succeeded Sir David Brewster, whom he had defeated in obtaining the
Edinburgh chair; he made some valuable contributions to natural science,
including discoveries in the polarisation of heat and in regard to the
motion of glaciers, to investigate which he travelled in Norway and in
the Alps (1809-1868).
FORBES, SIR JOHN, physician, born at Cuttlebrae, Banffshire; entered
the navy as assistant-surgeon in 1807, and became M.D. of Edinburgh ten
years later; practised at Penzance and Chichester, but finally settled at
London in 1840, where he became physician to the Queen; was for twelve
years editor of the _British and Foreign Medical Review_, which he
founded in 1836, and was joint-author of the "Cyclopædia of Practical
Medicine"; first to use the stethoscope in England (1787-1861).
FORBES, SIR WILLIAM, an eminent banker, son of a Scotch advocate and
baronet, born in Edinburgh; became partner in the banking firm of Messrs.
John Coutts & Co.; two years later a new company was formed, of which he
rose to be manager, and which in 1830 became the Union Bank of Scotland;
he is author of a Life of his friend Beattie, the Scottish poet, and of
"Memoirs of a Banking-House" (1739-1806).
FORD, JOHN, dramatist, born at Islington, North Devon; studied at
Oxford, and entered the Middle Temple in 1602, but was never called to
the bar; in 1606 appeared his first poetic work "Fame's Memorial," an
elegy on the death of the Earl of Devonshire, and for the next 33 years
he was a prolific writer of plays, chiefly tragedies, collaborating in
some cases with Dekker and Webster; "The Broken Heart" was greatly
admired by Charles Lamb, and "Perkin Warbeck" is considered by Stopford
Brooke the best historical drama after Shakespeare; there is little of
the lighter graces about his work, and he is prone to go beyond the
bounds of nature in his treatment of the tragic, but his grip on the
greater human passions, and his power of moving presentment, are
undoubted (1586-1639).
FORDUN, JOHN OF, a Scottish chronicler; lived in the 14th century;
was a canon of Aberdeen Cathedral, and wrote a chronicle of Scottish
history, bringing the story up to 1153; materials for further volumes,
which he left, were utilised by Walter Bower, an abbot of Inchcolm, in
the Forth, who extended the account to 1437, but often tampered with
Fordun's narrative; the work is the chief authority in Scottish history
up to the time it treats of.
FORELAND, NORTH AND SOUTH, two rocky promontories on the E. coast of
Kent, which lie 16 m. apart; have the Downs and Goodwin Sands between
them; they are well marked with lighthouses.
FORENSIC MEDICINE, or MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE, a branch of legal
science in which the principles of medicine are applied to the purposes
of the law, and originating out of the frequency with which medical
points arise in the administration of justice, e. g. in murder trials
and in cases where insanity is involved.
FOREST LAWS, laws enacted in ancient times for the purpose of
guarding the royal forest lands as hunting preserves, and which were up
to the time of Henry III. of excessive harshness, death being a not
infrequent penalty for infringement. The privileges of forest (at one
time the sole prerogative of the sovereign, but by him capable of being
vested in another), which might include the right to the wild animals in
the forests lying in the domains of a private estate, have now fallen
into abeyance, as also the special Forest Courts, while many of the royal
forests, which in Henry VIII.'s time numbered 69, have been
disafforested.
FORFAR (13), the county town of Forfarshire, 14 m. NE. of Dundee;
manufactures linen; was once an important royal residence, and was made a
royal burgh by David I.
FORFARSHIRE or ANGUS (278), a maritime county on the E. side of
Scotland, lying N. of the Firth of Tay; Strathmore and the Carse of
Gowrie are fertile valleys, where agriculture and cattle-rearing
flourish, and which, with the Braes of Angus in the N. and the Sidlaw
Hills to the S., make up a finely diversified county; jute and linen are
the most important articles of manufacture, of which Dundee and Arbroath
are centres; Forfarshire is a county particularly rich in
antiquities--Roman remains, castles, priories, &c.
FORMOSA (3,500), a large island off the coast of China, from which
it is separated by the Fukien Channel, 90 m. broad. Formosa was ceded to
Japan by the Chinese in 1895; it is an island of much natural beauty, and
is traversed N. and S. by a fine range of hills; is famed for its
bamboos, and exports coal, rice, tea, &c. Name also of a large territory
in the Argentine.
FORNARINA, a Roman lady of great beauty, a friend of Raphael's, and
who frequently posed as a model to him.
FORRES (3), a royal burgh in Elginshire, on the Findhorn, 2 m. from
the sea and 10 m. SW. of Elgin by railway; has ruins of a castle--once a
royal residence--and a famous "Stan'in Stane," Sueno's Stone, 25 ft.
high, placed in the year 900.
FORREST, EDWIN, a celebrated American actor, born in Philadelphia;
went on the stage at 14, and from the provinces made his way to New York,
where his rendering of Othello at the age of 20 raised him to the front
rank among actors; he made three tours in England, but during his last in
1845 he entirely lost the popular favour through his conduct in an
embittered quarrel with Macready; after his final appearance on the stage
in 1871 he continued for a short while to give Shakespearian readings; he
was a tragedian of the highest order, and in his profession amassed a
large fortune (1806-1872).
FORS CLAVIGERA, the name given by Ruskin to a series of letters to
workmen, written during the seventies of this century, and employed by
him to designate three great powers which go to fashion human destiny,
viz., _Force_, wearing, as it were, (_clava_) the club of Hercules;
_For_titude, wearing, as it were, (_clavis_) the key of Ulysses; and
_For_tune, wearing, as it were, (_clavus_) the nail of Lycurgus; that is
to say, Faculty waiting on the right moment, and then striking in. See
Shakespeare's "Time and tide in the affairs of men," &c., the "flood" in
which is the "Third Fors." The letters are represented as written at the
dictation of the Third Fors, or, as it seems to the author, the right
moment, or the occurrence of it.
FÖRSTER, ERNST, an art critic, brother of succeeding, author of a
number of elaborate and important works bearing on the history of art in
Germany and Italy; was the son-in-law of Jean Paul, whose works he
edited, and to whose biography he made contributions of great value
(1800-1885).
FÖRSTER, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH, German poet and historian; his poetic
gifts were first called into exercise during the war of liberation, in
which he served as a volunteer, and the series of spirited war-songs he
then wrote procured him a wide-spread fame; afterwards he lived in
Berlin, teaching in the school of artillery, and subsequently becoming
custodian of the Royal Art Museum; besides poems he wrote several
historical and biographical works (1791-1868).
FORSTER, JOHANN GEORGE ADAM, naturalist, son of the succeeding;
accompanied his father in the voyage with Cook, and contributed to the
literature anent the expedition; subsequently became professor of Natural
History at Cassel and at Wilna, and eventually librarian to the Elector
of Mayence in 1788; his works are published in 9 vols. (1754-1794).
FORSTER, JOHANN REINHOLD, a German naturalist and traveller, born in
Prussia; accompanied Captain Cook as a naturalist on his second
expedition to the South Seas, and in connection with which he wrote a
volume of observations; died professor of Natural History and Mineralogy
at Halle (1729-1798).
FORSTER, JOHN, a noted English writer, born at Newcastle; was
educated for the bar, but took to journalism, and soon made his mark as a
political writer in the _Examiner_; he subsequently edited the _Foreign
Quarterly Review_, the _Daily News_ (succeeding Dickens), and the
_Examiner_ (1847-56); he was the author of several historical sketches,
but his best-known works are the admirable biographies of Goldsmith,
Landor, and Dickens (1812-1876).
FORSTER, WILLIAM EDWARD, statesman, born at Bradpole, Dorset, son of
a Quaker; entered upon a commercial career in a worsted manufactory at
Bradford, but from the first politics engaged his paramount attention,
and in 1861 he became member of Parliament for Bradford; became in
succession Under-Secretary for the Colonies, Vice-president of the
Council of Education, and a Privy Councillor; his chief legislative
measure was the Elementary Education Bill of 1870, which, as a member of
Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet, he carried through Parliament, two years after
which the Ballot Act was introduced by him; in 1874 he visited the United
States, and on his return was elected Lord Rector of Aberdeen University;
as Irish Secretary in 1880 he made an earnest effort to grapple with the
Irish problem, but losing the support of his colleagues, over the
imprisonment of Mr. Parnell and other Land League leaders, he resigned;
he was married to Jane, eldest daughter of Dr. Arnold of Rugby; his
transparent honesty and rugged independence of character won him
universal esteem (1819-1886).
FORT AUGUSTUS, a small village on the Caledonian Canal, 33 m. SW. of
Inverness; the fort, built in 1716 and enlarged in 1730, was utilised as
a barrack during the disturbances in the Highlands, but after being
dismantled and again garrisoned down to 1857, it finally, in 1876, passed
into the hands of the BENEDICTINES (q. v.), who have converted
it into an abbey and college.
FORT GEORGE, a fortress on the Moray Firth, 12 m. NE. of Inverness;
was built in 1748, and is now the head-quarters of the Seaforth
Highlanders.
FORT WILLIAM, a small police-burgh in Inverness-shire, 66 m. SW. of
Inverness, near the southern end of the Caledonian Canal; the railway
station stands on the site of the old fort, which in 1655 was built by
Monk; a meteorological observatory was erected here in 1889.
FORTESCUE, SIR JOHN, an eminent English lawyer, born in
Somersetshire; flourished in the 15th century; was called to the bar at
Lincoln's Inn, and in 1442 became Lord Chief-Justice of the Court of
King's Bench; he was a staunch Lancastrian during the Wars of the Roses,
and shared the exile of Queen Margaret and her son Edward, for whom he
wrote in dialogue form his famous "De Laudibus Legum," a treatise still
read; the fate of the Lancastrian cause was sealed on the field of
Tewkesbury, and he himself was taken prisoner; he died at the advanced
age of 90.
FORTH, a river of Scotland, formed by the junction of Duchray Water
and the Avondhu, streams which rise one on Ben Lomond and the other on
Ben Venue, and which, after 14 and 9 m., unite at Aberfoyle; the river
thence flows with many windings, called Links, through some of the
fairest country of the eastern lowlands to Alloa (51½ m.), where begins
the Firth, which stretches 51 m. to the German Ocean, and which at
Queensferry is spanned by a massive railway bridge known as the Forth
Bridge (1882-1890).
FORTUNA, a Roman divinity, the goddess of luck, and especially good
luck, to whom Servius Tullius, in acknowledgment of her favours to him,
erected several temples in Rome; is represented in art as standing poised
on a globe or a wheel, to express her inconstancy.
FORTUNATUS, a character in a popular German legend, who possessed a
_purse_ out of which he was able to provide himself with money as often
as he needed it and _cap_, by putting on of which, and wishing to be
anywhere, he was straightway there; these he got, by his own free
election and choice, conceded to him by the Upper Powers, and they proved
a curse to him rather than a blessing, he finding out when too late that
"the god Wish is not the true God."
FORTY THIEVES, a fraternity in the "Arabian Nights" who inhabited a
secret den in a forest, the gate of which would open only to the magic
word "Sesamë."
FORUM, a public place in Rome and Roman cities where the courts of
justice were held, and popular assemblies for civic business.
FORWARDS, MARSHAL, MARSHAL BLÜCHER (q. v.).
FOSCARI, a Doge of Venice from 1423 to his death; his reign was
distinguished by the glories of conquest, but his life was embittered by
the misfortunes of his sons, and the judicial tortures inflicted on one
of them which he was compelled to witness; he died at the age of 87,
broken-hearted (1370-1457).
FOSCOLO, UGO, an Italian patriot and author, born at Zante; his
literary career began in Venice with the successful performance of his
tragedy "Trieste," but on the Austrian occupation of the town he joined
the French army; disappointed in the hope that France would unite with
and free Italy, he returned to literary work in Milan, and in 1809 was
called to the chair of Eloquenco in Pavia; but the conquering Austrians
again forced him to become a refugee, first in Switzerland and finally in
England, where he died; he was the author of various essays, poems, etc.,
and of a translation of Sterne's "Sentimental Journey" (1778-1827).
FOSTER, BIRKET, a celebrated artist, born at North Shields; his
earliest work was done in wood-engraving under the direction of Landells,
and many of his sketches appeared in the _Illustrated London News_;
following this he executed, in collaboration with John Gilbert, a series
of illustrations for the works of Goldsmith, Cowper, Scott, and other
poets, in which he exhibited a rare skill in rural scenes; subsequent
work has been in water-colours, and in 1861 he was elected a member of
the Water-Colour Society (1825-1899).
FOSTER, JOHN, an English essayist, born in Halifax, Yorkshire; was
trained for the Baptist ministry, and for 25 years officiated in various
congregations, but met with little success; from 1817 he devoted himself
solely to literature, and became a contributor to the _Eclectic Review_,
for which he wrote no fewer than 184 articles; his best-known work is an
"Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance," in which he advocates a system
of national education (1770-1843).
FOTHERINGAY, a village in Northamptonshire, on the Nen, 9 m. SW. of
Peterborough; the ruined castle there was the scene of the execution of
Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587.
FOUCAULT, JOHN BERNARD, a French physicist, born in Paris;
distinguished for his studies in optics and problems connected with
light; demonstrated the rate of the rotation of the globe by the
oscillation of a pendulum (1819-1868).
FOUCHÉ, JOSEPH, Duke of Otranto, born at Nantes, a member of the
National Convention, and voted for the death of Louis XVI.; became
Minister of Police under Napoleon; falling into disfavour, was sent into
exile, but recalled to Paris in 1814; advised Napoleon to abdicate at
that time and again after Waterloo; served under Louis XVIII. for a time,
but was obliged at length to quit France for good; died at Trieste
(1763-1820).
FOULA, a high and rocky islet among the Shetlands, 32 m. W. of
Lerwick; its sandstone cliffs on the NW. are 1220 ft. in height, and rise
sheer from the water; it is sparsely peopled; fishing is the almost sole
pursuit.
FOULD, ACHILLE, French statesman, born at Paris; entered political
life in 1842; became an authority in finance, served in that capacity
under Louis Napoleon (1800-1865).
FOULIS, ROBERT and ANDREW, celebrated printers; were brought up
in Glasgow, where Robert, the elder, after practising as a barber, took
to printing, and in 1743 became printer to the university; his press was
far-famed for the beauty and accuracy of editions of the classics; Andrew
was trained for the ministry, but subsequently joined his brother; an
academy, started by the brothers in 1753 for engraving, moulding, etc.,
although a complete success artistically, involved them in expense, and
eventually financial ruin; they have been called the "Scottish Elzevirs"
(Robert, 1707-1776; Andrew, 1712-1775).
FOULON, a French financier, nicknamed the _Ame damnée_, Familiar
demon, of the parlement of Paris prior to the Revolution; "once, when it
was objected to some financial scheme of his, 'What will the people do?'
made answer, 'The people may eat grass,'" words which the people never
forgot; when attacked by them "he defended himself like a mad lion, but
was borne down, trampled, hanged, and mangled," his head thereafter
paraded through the city on a pike and the mouth stuffed with grass
(1715-1789).
FOUNDLING HOSPITALS are institutions for the rearing of children who
have been deserted by their parents, and exist with varying regulations
in most civilised countries; the first foundling hospital was established
at Milan in 787, and others arose in Germany, Italy, and France before
the 14th century; the Paris foundling hospital is a noted institution of
the kind, and offers every encouragement for children to be brought in,
and admits legitimate orphans and children pronounced incorrigible
criminals by the court; the London foundling hospital was founded by
Captain Thomas Coram, and supports about 500 illegitimates.
FOUQUIER-TINVILLE, a merciless revolutionary, born near Artois;
member of the Jacobin Club, Attorney-General of the Revolutionary
Tribunal, purveyor of the guillotine; was guillotined himself after the
fall of Robespierre (1747-1795).
FOURTH ESTATE, the daily press, so called by Edmund Burke, pointing,
in the House of Commons, to the reporters' gallery.
FOURTH OF JULY, the anniversary of the declaration of American
Independence in 1776.
FOWLER, SIR JOHN, K.C.M.G., civil engineer, born at Sheffield; was
actively engaged in the construction of numerous railways (notably the
London and Brighton), and in dock and bridge building; carried through
important works in Egypt in 1885, and, along with Sir B. Baker, he
designed the Forth Bridge, on the completion of which he received a
baronetcy (1817-1889).
FOX, CHARLES JAMES, an eminent Whig statesman, third son of Henry
Fox, first Lord Holland, born in London; was educated at Eton and Oxford,
and at the age of 19 sat in Parliament for Midhurst; under Lord North he
held office, but quarrelled with the premier and went over to the Whigs,
then led by Rockingham; here he came under the influence of Burke, and
with him offered uncompromising opposition to the American War; in the
Rockingham ministry which followed he was Foreign Secretary, and
subsequently joined North in the short-lived coalition ministry of 1783;
during the next 14 years he was the great opponent of Pitt's Government,
and his brilliant powers of debate were never more effectively displayed
than in his speeches against Warren Hastings and in the debates arising
out of the French Revolution, in which he advocated a policy of
non-intervention; his sympathy with the French revolutionaries cost him
the friendship of Burke; during a retirement of five years he wrote his
"History of James II."; on Pitt's death in 1806 he again came into office
as Foreign Secretary, but died shortly afterwards when about to plead in
the House of Commons the cause of slave abolition; Fox stands in the
front rank of our parliamentary debaters, and was a man of quick and
generous sympathies, but the reckless dissipation of his private life
diminished his popular influence, and probably accounts for the fact that
he never reached the highest office of State (1749-1806).
FOX, GEORGE, the first of the Quakers, born at Drayton,
Leicestershire; son of a poor weaver, and till his twentieth year plied
the trade of a shoemaker; conceived, as he drudged at this task, that he
had a call from above to withdraw from the world and give himself up to a
higher ministry; stitched for himself one day a suit of leather, and so
encased wandered through the country, rapt in his thoughts and bearing
witness to the truth that God had revealed to him; about 1646 began his
crusade against the religion of mere formality, and calling upon men to
trust to the "inner light" alone; his quaint garb won him the title of
"the man with the leather breeches," and his mode of speech with his
"thou's" and "thee's" subjected him to general ridicule; but despite
these eccentricities he by his earnestness gathered disciples about him
who believed what he said and adopted his principles, and in the
prosecution of his mission he visited Wales, Scotland, America, and
various parts of Germany, not without results; he had no kindly feeling
towards Cromwell, with whom he had three interviews, and who in his
public conduct seemed to him to pay no regard to the claims of the "inner
light" and the disciples of it (1624-1690). See "SARTOR RESARTUS,"
BOOK III. CHAP. I.
FOX, WILLIAM JOHNSON, religious and political orator, born near
Southwold, Suffolk; was trained for the Independent ministry, but seceded
to the Unitarians, and subsequently established himself as a preacher of
pronounced rationalism at Finsbury; as a supporter of the Anti-Corn-Law
movement he won celebrity as an impassioned orator, and from 1847 to 1863
represented Oldham in Parliament; he was editor of the _Monthly
Repository_, and a frequent contributor to the _Westminster Review_, and
published various works on political and religious topics (1786-1864).
FOXE, JOHN, martyrologist, born at Boston, Lincolnshire; in 1545 he
resigned his Fellowship in Magdalen College, Oxford, on account of his
espousing the doctrines of the Reformation, and for some years after he
acted as a private tutor in noble families; during Queen Mary's reign he
sought refuge on the Continent, where he formed acquaintance with Knox
and other leading Reformers; he returned to England on the accession of
Elizabeth, and was appointed a prebend in Salisbury cathedral, but his
Nonconformist leanings precluded his further preferment; his most famous
work is his "Book of Martyrs," first published in Latin on the Continent,
the noble English version appearing in 1563 (1516-1587).
FOYERS, FALL OF, a fine cascade, having a fall of 165 ft., on the
lower portion of the Foyers, a river of Inverness-shire, which enters
Loch Ness on the E. side, 10 in. NE. of Fort Augustus.
FRA DIAVOLO, chief of a band of Italian brigands, born in Calabria;
leader in sundry Italian insurrections; was hanged at Naples for
treachery, in spite of remonstrances from England; gave name to an opera
by Auber, but only the name (1760-1806).
FRACAS`TORO, GIROLAMO, a learned physician and poet, born at Verona;
became professor of Dialectic at Padua in his twentieth year;
subsequently practised as a physician, but eventually gave himself up to
literature (1483-1553).
FRAGONARD, JEAN HONORÉ, a French artist, born at Grasse; gained the
"prix de Rome" in 1752, and afterwards studied in Rome; was a member of
the French Academy, and during the Revolution became keeper of the Musée;
many of his paintings are in the Louvre, and are characterised by their
free and luscious colouring (1732-1806).
FRANC, a silver coin 835/1000 fine, the monetary unity of France
since 1799, weighs 5 grammes and equals about 9½ d. in English currency
(£1 = 25.3 francs); has been adopted by Belgium and Switzerland, while
under other names a similar coin is in use in Spain (peseta), Italy
(lira), and Greece (drachma).
FRANCE (38,343), the land of the French; a nation standing in the
front rank among the powers of Europe. It occupies a geographical
position of peculiar advantage in the western portion of it, having a
southern foreshore on the Mediterranean and a western and northern
seaboard washed by the Atlantic and the English Channel, possessing
altogether a coast-line, rather undeveloped however, of upwards of 2000
m., while to the E. it abuts upon Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and
Italy. It is divided into 87 departments, including Corsica. It is mainly
composed of lowland and plateau, but has the Cévennes in the S., while
the Pyrenees and Alps (with the Vosges and Ardennes farther N.) lie on
its southern and eastern boundaries. Rivers abound and form, with the
splendid railway, canal, and telegraph systems, an unrivalled means of
internal communication; but there are singularly few lakes. It enjoys on
the whole a fine climate, which favours the vineyards in the centre (the
finest in the world), the olive groves in the S., and the wheat and
beetroot region in the N. The mineral wealth is inconsiderable, and what
of coal and iron there is lies widely apart. Her manufactures, which
include silk, wine, and woollen goods, are of the best, and in fine
artistic work she is without an equal. The colonies are together larger
in area than the mother-country, and include Algeria, Madagascar, and
Cochin China. The French are a people of keen intelligence, of bright,
impulsive, and vivacious nature; urbane, cultured, and pleasure-loving in
the cities, thrifty and industrious in the country; few races have given
so rich a bequest to the literature and art of the world. Roman
Catholicism is the dominant form of religion, but Protestantism and the
Jewish religion are also State supported, as also Mohammedanism in
Algiers. Free compulsory education is in vogue. The Government is a
Republic, and there are two chambers--a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies.
Originally occupied by Celts, the country, then called Gallia, was
conquered by the Romans between 58 and 51 B.C., who occupied it till the
4th century, when it was overrun by the Teutons, including the Franks,
who became dominant; and about 870 the country, under Charles the Bald,
became known as France. The unsettling effects of the great cataclysm of
1789 have been apparent in the series of political changes which have
swept across the country this century; within that time it has been
thrice a monarchy, thrice an empire, and thrice a republic.
FRANCESCA, PISTRO DELLA, an Italian painter, sometimes called Piero
Borghese after his native place; did fresco-work in Florence and at
Loretto; painted pictures for the Duke of Rimini, notably "The
Flagellation"; was a friend of Raphael's father; some of his pictures are
in the London National Gallery (1420-1492).
FRANCESCA DA RIMINI, a beautiful Italian lady of the 13th century,
whose pathetic love story finds a place in Dante's "Inferno"; she was
betrothed by her father, the Lord of Ravenna, to Giovanni of Rimini, but
her affections were engaged by Paolo, his brother; the lovers were found
together by Giovanni and murdered by him.
FRANCESCO DI PAULA or ST. FRANCIS OF PAOLA, founder of the
order of the Minims, born at Paula, in Calabria; was trained in a
Franciscan convent, but at the age of 19 took up his abode in a cave,
where the severe purity and piety of his life attracted to him many
disciples; subsequently he founded an ascetic brotherhood, first called
the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, but afterwards changed to
Minim-Hermits of St. Francis of Paola; he eventually lived in France,
where convents were built for him and his brotherhood under royal
patronage (1416-1507).
FRANCHE-COMTÉ, an ancient province in the E. of France, added to the
crown of France in the reign of Louis XIV. at the peace of Nimeguen in
1671.
FRANCIA, DR. JOSÉ GASPAR RODRIGUEZ DA, dictator of Paraguay, born
near Asunçion, in Paraguay; graduated as a doctor of theology, but
subsequently took to law, in the practice of which profession he was
engaged for 30 years, and won a high reputation for ability and
undeviating honesty; in the revolutionary uprising which spread
throughout Spanish South America, Paraguay played a conspicuous part, and
when in 1811 she declared her independence, Francia was elected secretary
of the first national junta, and two years later one of two consuls;
eventually, in 1814, he became dictator, a position he held till his
death; he ruled the country with a strong hand and with scrupulous, if
somewhat rough, justice, making it part of his policy to allow no
intercourse, political or commercial, with other countries; the country
flourished under his rule, but fell into disorder after his death; he is
the subject of a well-known essay by Carlyle, who finds him a man very
much after his own heart (1757-1840).
FRANCIS, ST., OF ASSISI, founder of the Franciscan order, born at
Assisi, in Umbria; began life as a soldier, but during a serious illness
his thoughts were turned from earth to heaven, and he devoted himself to
a life of poverty and self-denial, with the result that his enthusiasm
provoked emulation, and some of his neighbours associated with him and
formed a brotherhood, which gave rise to the order; St. Dominic and he
were contemporaries, "the former teaching Christian men how to behave,
and the latter what they should think"; each sent a little company of
disciples to teach and preach in Florence, where their influence soon
made itself felt, St. Francis in 1212 and St. Dominic in 1220.
FRANCIS, ST., OF SALES, bishop of Geneva, born In the château of
Sales, near Amiens, founder of the Order of the Visitation; was sent to
persuade the Calvinists of Geneva back to the Church of Rome, and applied
himself zealously to the reform of his diocese and the monasteries
(1567-1622).
FRANCIS JOSEPH, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary; succeeded to
the throne in 1848 on the abdication of his uncle, Ferdinand I.; the
Hungarian difficulty has been the chief problem of his reign, with which
he at first dealt in a spirit of harsh oppression, but since 1866 a
milder policy has been adopted, and the desire for national autonomy was
met by the creation of a dual monarchy in 1867, Francis being crowned
king of Hungary; other important events have been the cession of Lombardy
to Sardinia in 1859 and of Venetia in 1866, after an unsuccessful war
with Prussia; _b_. 1830.
FRANCISCANS, or MINORITES, an order of monks founded by St.
Francis of Assisi in 1208; according to Ruskin, they were the order that
preached with St James the gospel of Works as distinct from the
Dominicans, who preached with St. Paul the gospel of Faith, and their
gospel required three things: "to work without money and be poor, to work
without pleasure and be chaste, and to work according to orders and be
obedient"; these were the rules they were sworn to obey at first, but
they gradually forsook the austerity they enjoined, acquired great
wealth, instituted a highly sensuous ceremonial, and became invested with
privileges which excited the jealousy of the regular clergy; with the
order were associated a number of men eminent in the Church, and many no
less so in philosophy, literature, and art.
FRANCK, SEBASTIAN, early German writer, born at Donauwörth; from a
Catholic priest became a Protestant, but fell into disfavour for
promulgating the doctrine that regeneration of life is of more importance
than reform of dogma, and in 1531 was banished from Strasburg;
subsequently he became a soap-boiler and eventually a printer; his most
noted work is his "Chronica," a rough attempt--the first in Germany--at a
general history (1499-1542).
FRANCKE, AUGUST HERMANN, a German religious philanthropist, born at
Lübeck; was professor of Oriental Languages and subsequently of Theology
at Halle; he founded various educational institutions and a large
orphanage, all of which still exist and afford education for some 3000
children annually; he was active in promoting PIETISM, q. v.
(1663-1727).
FRANCONIA, the name formerly applied to a loosely defined district
in Central Germany, which, as the home of the Franks, was regarded as the
heart of the Holy Roman Empire; the emperors long continued to be crowned
within its boundaries; subsequently it was divided into two duchies, East
Franconia and Rhenish Franconia; the latter was abolished in 1501 and the
former much diminished; from 1806 to 1837 the name had no official
existence, but in 1837 the names Upper, Middle, and Lower Franconia were
given to the three northern divisions of Bavaria.
FRANC-TIREURS (i. e. free-shooters), French volunteers, chiefly
peasants, who carried on a guerilla warfare against the Germans in the
Franco-German War; were at first denied the status of regular soldiers by
the Germans and mercilessly shot when captured, but subsequently, having
joined in the movements of the regular army, they were when captured
treated as prisoners of war.
FRANKENSTEIN, a monster of romance created without a soul, yet not
without craving for human sympathy, who found existence on these terms a
curse, as a man with high cravings might find science to be without God.
FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN (180), one of the old free cities of Germany,
a centre of importance under the Kaisers and the seat of the Diet of the
Germanic Confederation, and one of the great banking cities of the world;
it is the birthplace of the poet Goethe, and is associated with his early
history.
FRANKFORT-ON-THE-ODER (56), a town of Prussia, in the province of
Brandenburg, 51 m. SE. of Berlin, is a well-built town; has a university
incorporated with Breslau in 1811, and is actively engaged in the
manufacture of machinery, chemicals, paper, &c.
FRANKLAND, SIR EDWARD, an eminent chemist, born at Churchtown,
Lancashire; has held successively the chairs of Chemistry in Owens
College, in Bartholomew's Hospital, in the Royal Institution, in the
Royal College of Chemistry, and in the Normal School of Science, South
Kensington, the latter of which he resigned in 1885; has published
various works, and was engaged with Lockyer in researches on the
atmosphere of the sun; _b_. 1825.
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, born in Boston, was the youngest son of a
tallow-chandler and one of a family of 17; received a meagre education,
and at the age of 12 became apprenticed to his brother, a printer and
proprietor of a small newspaper, to whose columns he began to contribute;
but subsequently quarrelling with him made his way almost penniless to
Philadelphia, where he worked as a printer; in 1724 he came to England
under promises of assistance, which were not fulfilled, and for 18 months
laboured at his printing trade in London, when he returned to
Philadelphia, and there, by steady industry, won a secure position as a
printer and proprietor of the _Pennsylvania Gazette_; in 1732 began to
appear his _Poor Richard's Almanac_, which, with its famous maxims of
prudential philosophy, had a phenomenal success; four years later he
entered upon a public career, rising through various offices to the
position of Deputy Postmaster-General for the Colonies, and sitting in
the Assembly; carried through important political missions to England in
1757 and 1764, and was prominent in the deliberations which ended in the
declaration of American independence in 1776; he visited France and
helped to bring about the French alliance, and made an unavailing effort
to bring in Canada, and, as American minister, signed the Treaty of
Independence in 1783; was subsequently minister to France, and was twice
unanimously elected President of Pennsylvania; his name is also
associated with discoveries in natural science, notably the discovery of
the identity of electricity and lightning, which he achieved by means of
a kite; received degrees from Oxford and Edinburgh Universities, and was
elected an F.R.S.; in 1730 he married Deborah Reid, by whom he had two
children (1706-1790).
FRANKLIN, SIR JOHN, a famous Arctic explorer, born at Spilsby,
Lincolnshire; entered the navy in 1800; was a midshipman; was present at
the battle of Copenhagen; shortly afterwards accompanied an expedition,
under Captain Minders, to explore and survey the coasts of Australia; was
wrecked, and returned home on board the _Camden_ as a signal-midshipman;
he subsequently distinguished himself at the battle of Trafalgar, and
took part in the attack on New Orleans; in 1818 he was second in command
of an expedition sent out under Captain Buchan to discover a North-West
Passage, which, although unsuccessful, contributed to reveal Franklin's
admirable qualities as a leader, and in 1819 he was chosen to head
another Arctic expedition, which, after exploring the Saskatchewan and
Copper-Mine Rivers and adjacent territory, returned in 1822; Franklin was
created a post-captain, and for services in a further expedition in
search of a North-West Passage was, in 1829, knighted; after further
services he was in 1845 put in command of an expedition, consisting of
the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, for the discovery of the North-West Passage;
the expedition never returned, and for many years a painful interest was
manifested in the various expeditions (17 in all) which were sent out to
search for the lost party; many relics of this unfortunate explorer were
found, demonstrating the discovery of the North-West Passage; but the
story of his fate has never been precisely ascertained (1786-1847).
FRANKS, the name given in the 3rd century to a confederation of
Germanic tribes, who subsequently grouped themselves into two main bodies
called the Salians and the Ripuarians, the former dwelling on the Upper
Rhine, and the latter on the Middle Rhine. Under their king, Clovis, the
Salians overran Central Gaul, subjugating the Ripuarians, and extending
their territory from the Scheldt to the Loire, whence in course of time
there generally developed the kingdom of France. The Franks were of a
tall and martial bearing, and thoroughly democratic in their political
instincts.
FRANZ, ROBERT, musical composer, born at Halle; his first songs
appeared in 1843, and were cordially appreciated by Mendelssohn and other
masters; in 1868 ill-health forced him to resign his musical appointments
in Halle, but by the efforts of Liszt, Joachim, and others, funds were
raised by means of concerts to ensure him a competence for life; he
published upwards of 250 songs (1815-1892).
FRANZENSBAD or FRANZENSBRUNN (2), a watering-place on the NW.
frontier of Bohemia, 3 m. NW. of Eger; is 1460 ft. above sea-level,
amidst a mountainous country; is much frequented by invalids for its
mineral springs.
FRANZ-JOSEF LAND, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, N. of Nova
Zembla; was discovered and partly explored in 1873-74 by Payer and
Weyprecht; consists of two main divisions, Wilczek Land to the E., and
Zichy Land to the W., between which runs Austria Sound. Arctic animals
are found in good numbers. It is considered an excellent base for
expeditions in quest of the North Pole.
FRASER, ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, philosopher, born at Ardchattan,
Argyllshire; after a university training at Edinburgh and Glasgow he
entered the Free Church; was for a brief term Free Church minister of
Cramond, from which he was transferred to a chair in the Free Church
College, but in 1856 succeeded Sir William Hamilton as professor of Logic
and Metaphysics at Edinburgh, a position he held till 1891, when he
resigned; his writings include the standard edition of Berkeley, with
notes and a life, monographs on Locke and Berkeley in the series of
"Philosophical Classics," and two vols. on the "Philosophy of Theism,"
being the Gifford Lectures delivered 1895-96; _b_. 1819.
FRASER, JAMES, bishop of Manchester, born near Cheltenham, became a
Fellow of Oriel after graduating with highest honours, and in 1847 was
appointed to a college living; he issued in 1862-1864 valuable reports on
education in Canada and the United States after visiting these countries;
and in 1870 was appointed bishop by Mr. Gladstone; his strong sense and
wide sympathy and interest in the labour questions won him universal
respect (1818-1885).
FRASER RIVER, the chief river of British Columbia, is formed by the
junction near Fort George of two streams, one rising in the Rockies, the
other flowing out of the Lakes Stuart and Fraser; it discharges into the
Georgian Gulf, 800 m. below Fort George. Rich deposits of gold are found
in the lower basin, and an active industry in salmon-catching and canning
is carried on.
FRATICELLI (i. e. Little Brethren), a religious sect which arose
in Italy in the 13th century, and continued to exist until the close of
the 15th. They were an offshoot from the FRANCISCANS (q. v.),
who sought in their lives to enforce more rigidly the laws of St.
Francis, and declined to accept the pontifical explanations of monastic
rules; ultimately they broke away from the authority of the Church, and
despite the efforts of various popes to reconcile them, and the bitter
persecutions of others, maintained a separate organisation, going the
length of appointing their own cardinals and pope, having declared the
Church in a state of apostasy. Their régime of life was of the severest
nature; they begged from door to door their daily food, and went clothed
in rags.
FRAUNHOFER, JOSEPH VON, German optician, born in Straubing, Bavaria;
after serving an apprenticeship as a glass-cutter in Münich, he rose to
be manager of an optical institute there, and eventually attained to the
position of professor in the Academy of Sciences; his name is associated
with many discoveries in optical science as well as inventions and
improvements in the optician's art; but he is chiefly remembered for his
discovery of the dark lines in the solar spectrum, since called after him
the Fraunhofer lines (1787-1826).
FREDEGONDA, wife of Chilpéric I. of Neustria; a woman of low birth,
but of great beauty and insatiable ambition, who scrupled at no crime to
attain her end; made away with Galswintha, Chilpéric's second wife, and
superseded her on the throne; slew Siegbert, who had been sent to avenge
Galswintha's death, and imprisoned Brunhilda, her sister, of Austrasia,
and finally assassinated her husband and governed Neustria in the name of
her son, Clotaire II. (543-597).
FREDERICK I., surnamed Barbarossa (Red-beard), of the house of
Swabia, emperor of the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (q. v.) from 1152 till
1190; "a magnificent, magnanimous man, the greatest of all the Kaisers";
his reign is the most brilliant in the annals of the empire, and he
himself among the most honoured of German heroes; his vast empire he
ruled with iron rigour, quelling its rival factions and extending his
sovereign rights to Poland, Hungary, Denmark, and Burgundy; the great
struggle of his reign, however, was with Pope Alexander III. and the
Lombard cities, whose right to independence he acknowledged by the treaty
of Constanz (1183); he "died some unknown sudden death" at 70 in the
crusade against Saladin and the Moslem power; his lifelong ambition was
to secure the independence of the empire, and to subdue the States of
Italy to the imperial sway (1123-1190).
FREDERICK II., called the Wonder of the World, grandson of the
preceding; he was crowned emperor in 1215, at Aix-la-Chapelle, having
driven Otto IV. from the throne; he gave much attention to the
consolidating of his Italian possessions, encouraged learning and art,
founded the university of Naples, and had the laws carefully codified; in
these attempts at harmonising the various elements of his empire he was
opposed by the Papal power and the Lombards; in 1228 he gained possession
of Jerusalem, of which he crowned himself king; his later years were
spent in struggles with the Papal and Lombard powers, and darkened by the
treachery of his son Henry and of an intimate friend; he was a man of
outstanding intellectual force and learning, but lacked the moral
greatness of his grandfather (1194-1250).
FREDERICK III., emperor of Germany, born at Potsdam; bred for the
army; rose to command; did signal service at Königgratz in 1860, and
again in 1870 in the Franco-German War; married the Princess Royal of
England; succeeded his father, but fell a victim to a serious throat
malady after a reign of only 101 days, June 18 (1831-1888).
FREDERICK V., Electoral Prince Palatine; succeeded to the Palatinate
in 1610, and three years later married Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of
England; an attempt to head the Protestant union of Germany and his
usurpation of the crown of Bohemia brought about his ruin and expulsion
from the Palatinate in 1620 by the Spaniards and Bavarians; he took
refuge in Holland, but two years later his principality was given to
Bavaria by the emperor (1596-1632).
FREDERICK III., of Denmark, succeeded to the throne in 1648; during
his reign the arrogance and oppression of the nobles drove the commons,
headed by the clergy, to seek redress of the king by proclaiming the
constitution a hereditary and absolute monarchy (1609-1670).
FREDERICK V., of Denmark, ascended the throne in 1746; during his
reign Denmark made great progress, manufactures were established,
commerce extended, while science and the fine arts were liberally
patronised (1723-1766).
FREDERICK VI., of Denmark, became regent in 1784 during the insanity
of his father, who died in 1808; his reign is noted for the abolishment
of feudal serfdom and the prohibition of the slave-trade in Danish
colonies, and the granting of a liberal constitution in 1831; while his
participation in the maritime confederation between Russia, Sweden, and
Prussia led to the destruction of the Danish fleet off Copenhagen in 1800
by the British, and his sympathy and alliance with Napoleon brought about
the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, and the cession of Norway to
Sweden in 1814 (1768-1839).
FREDERICK I., first king of Prussia, third elector of Brandenburg,
and son of the Great Elector Frederick-William, whom as elector he
succeeded in 1688; he extended his territory by purchase; supported
William of Orange in his English expedition, and lent assistance to the
Grand Alliance against France, for which he received the title of king of
Prussia, being crowned such in Königsberg in 1701; he was "an expensive
Herr, and much given to magnificent ceremonies, etiquettes, and
solemnities" (1657-1713).
FREDERICK II., king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, surnamed "The
Great," grandson of the preceding, and nephew of George I. of England,
born at Berlin; the irksome restraints of his early military education
induced him to make an attempt, which failed, to escape to England, an
episode which incensed his father, and nearly brought him to the
scaffold; after his marriage in 1733 he resided at Rheinsburg, indulging
his taste for music and French literature, and corresponding with
Voltaire; he came to the throne with the ambition of extending and
consolidating his power; from Austria, after two wars (1740-1744), he
wrested Silesia, and again in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), and in
1778 by force of arms acquired the duchy of Franconia; as administrator
he was eminently efficient, the country flourished under his just, if
severe, rule; his many wars imposed no debt on the nation; national
industries were fostered, and religious toleration encouraged; he was not
so successful in his literary attempts as his military, and all he wrote
was in French, the spirit of it as well as the letter; he is accounted
the creator of the Prussian monarchy "the first," says Carlyle, "who, in
a highly public manner, announced its creation; announced to all men that
it was, in very deed, created; standing on its own feet there, and would
go a great way on the impulse it got from him and others" (1712-1786).
FREDERICK CHARLES, PRINCE, nephew of William I. of Germany; bred for
the army; distinguished himself in the wars against Denmark and Austria,
and in the Franco-German War (1828-1885).
FREDERICK-WILLIAM I., king of Prussia, born at Berlin, ascended the
throne in 1713; in 1720, at the peace of Stockholm, he received part of
Pomerania with Stettin for espousing the cause of Denmark in her war with
Russia and Poland against Sweden; the rest of his reign was passed in
improving the internal conditions of his country and her military
resources; in praise of him as a sternly genuine man and king, Carlyle
has much to say in the early volumes of his "Frederick"; "No Baresark of
them" ("the primeval sons of Thor"), among whom he ranks him, "no
Baresark of them, not Odin's self, I think, was a bit of truer human
stuff; his value to me in these times, rare and great" (1688-1740).
FREDERICK-WILLIAM II., king of Prussia, nephew of FREDERICK THE
GREAT (q. v.); succeeded to the throne in 1786, but soon lost
favour by indolence and favouritism; in 1788 the freedom of the press was
withdrawn, and religious freedom curtailed; he involved himself in a weak
and vacillating foreign policy, wasting the funds accumulated by his
uncle in a useless war with Holland; at the partition of Poland in 1793
and 1795 various districts were added to the kingdom (1744-1797).
FREDERICK-WILLIAM III., king of Prussia from 1797 till 1840; incited
by the queen and the commons he abandoned his position of neutrality
towards Napoleon and declared war in 1806; defeat followed at Jena and in
other battles, and by the treaty of Tilsit (1807) Prussia was deprived of
half her possessions; under the able administration of Stein the country
began to recover itself, and a war for freedom succeeded in breaking the
power of France at the victory of Leipzig (1813), and at the treaty of
Vienna (1815) her lost territory was restored; his remaining years were
spent in consolidating and developing his dominions, but his policy was
sometimes reactionary in its effects (1770-1840).
FREDERICK-WILLIAM IV., king of Prussia from 1840 till 1861; his
reign is marked by the persistent demands of the people for a
constitutional form of government, which was finally granted in 1850; a
year previous he had declined the imperial crown offered by the Frankfort
Diet; in 1857 he became insane, and his brother was appointed regent
(1795-1861).
FREDERIKSHALD, a fortified seaport of Norway, 65 m. SE. of
Christiania; was burnt in 1826, but handsomely restored in modern style;
timber is the main trade; in the immediate neighbourhood is the
impregnable fortress of Frederiksteen, associated with the death of
Charles XII. of Sweden, who fell fighting in the trenches before its
walls in 1718.
FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, an ecclesiastical body formed by those who
left the Established Church in 1843 on the ground that they were not free
in their connection with the State to enforce certain obligations which
they considered lay on them as a Church of Christ, to whom, and not to
the State, they held themselves as a Church subject.
FREE CITIES OF GERMANY, were cities which enjoyed sovereign rights
within their own walls, independent representation in the Diet, and owned
allegiance solely to the emperor. Their internal government was sometimes
democratic, sometimes the opposite. Their peculiar privileges were
obtained either by force of arms, by purchase, or by gift of the
emperors, who found in them a convenient means of checking the power of
their feudal lords. Most of them lost their privileges in 1803, and since
1866 only Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg remain in the category of free
cities.
FREE PORT, name given to a port at which ships of all nations may
discharge or load cargo without payment of customs or other duties, save
harbour dues. They were created in various Continental countries during
the Middle Ages for the purpose of stimulating trade, but Copenhagen and,
in a restricted sense, Hamburg and Bremen are now the only free ports in
Europe. The system of bonded warehousing has superseded them.
FREE SOILERS, a political party which arose in the United States in
1848 to oppose slave-extension. In 1856 their principles were adopted,
and the party absorbed in the newly-formed Republican party.
FREE TRADE, the name given to the commercial policy of England,
first elaborately set forth with cogent reasoning by Adam Smith in his
"Wealth of Nations," and of which the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 was
the first step towards its adoption. Strictly used, the term is
applicable only to international or foreign trade, and signifies a policy
of strict non-intervention in the free competition of foreign goods with
home goods in the home markets. Differential duties, artificial
encouragements (e. g. bounties, drawbacks), to the home producer, all
of which are characteristic of a protective system of trading, are
withheld, the belief being entertained by free-traders that the
industrial interests of a country are best served by permitting the
capital to flow into those channels of trade into which the character and
resources of the country naturally dispose it to do, and also by bringing
the consumer as near as possible to the cheapest producer. But it is not
considered a violation of the Free Trade principles to impose a duty for
revenue purposes on such imported articles as have no home competitor,
e. g. tea.
FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS, historian, born at Mitchley Abbey,
Staffordshire; was a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford; examiner in the
School of Law and Modern History; in 1884 he was elected Regius Professor
of Modern History at Oxford; most of his life was spent in country
retirement at Somerleaze, varied by Continental travel; he is the author
of many scholarly works ranging over the whole field of history, his
fame, however, mainly resting on his great "History of the Norman
Conquest" (1823-1892).
FREEMASONRY, in modern times is the name given to a world-wide
institution of the nature of a friendly benevolent society, having for
its objects the promotion of social intercourse amongst its members, and,
in its own language, "the practice of moral and social virtue," the
exercise of charity being particularly commended. By a peculiar grip of
the hand and certain passwords members are enabled to recognise each
other, and the existence of masonic lodges in all countries enables the
freemason to find friendly intercourse and assistance wherever he goes.
Its origin is found in the masonic brotherhoods of the Middle Ages, and
some of the names, forms, and symbols of these old craft guilds are still
preserved. In an age when great cathedrals and monasteries were rapidly
springing up masons were in great demand, and had to travel from place to
place, hence signs were adopted by which true masons might be known
amongst each other and assisted. The idea of utilising this secret method
of recognition for general, social, and charitable purposes, without
reference to the mason's craft, seems to have originated in the Edinburgh
Lodge, where, in 1600, speculative or theoretical masons were admitted.
In its present form of organisation it dates back to 1813, when the
"United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England" was
formed, and of which, since 1874, the Prince of Wales has been
Grand-Master, and which has nearly 2000 local lodges under its
protection.
FREEPORT, SIR ANDREW, a London merchant; a member of the imaginary
club under whose auspices the _Spectator_ was issued.
FREIBERG (29), in the centre of the Saxon mining district, 20 m. SW.
of Dresden; is an old town, which arose upon the discovery of its silver
mines in 1163. It has a fine old cathedral, and a famous school of mines;
and the manufactures comprise gold and silver work, wire, chemicals, etc.
FREIBURG, 1, a Swiss canton (119) between Bern and Vaud, and having
three esclaves in the latter; the population consists chiefly of French
Catholics; is hilly; dairy-farming, watchmaking, and straw-plaiting are
the chief industries. 2, Capital (12) of the canton, is situated on the
Saane, 19 m. SW. of Bern; the river is spanned by a suspension bridge,
and there is an old Gothic cathedral with one of the finest-toned organs
in Europe.
FREIBURG (49), in Breisgau, an important town in Baden, at the W.
side of the Black Forest, and 32 m. NE. of Basel; has a Gothic cathedral
famous for its architectural beauty, a university with 87 professors and
teachers and 884 students; has important manufactures in silk, cotton,
thread, paper, etc.; is the seat of a Catholic archbishop, and is
associated with many stirring events in German history.
FREILIGRATH, FERDINAND, a popular German poet, born at Detmold; was
engaged in commerce in his early years, but the success of a small
collection of poems in 1838 induced him to adopt a literary career;
subsequently his democratic principles, expressed in stirring verse,
involved him in trouble, and in 1846 he became a refugee in London; he
was permitted to return in 1848, and shortly afterwards was the
successful defendant in a celebrated trial for the publication of his
poem "The Dead to the Living," after which fresh prosecution drove him to
London in 1851, where, till his return in 1868, he engaged in poetical
work, translating Burns, Shakespeare, and other English poets
(1810-1876).
FREISCHÜTZ (i. e. Freeshooter), a legendary hunter who made a
compact with the devil whereby of seven balls six should infallibly hit
the mark, and the seventh be under the direction of the devil, a legend
which was rife among the troopers in the 13th and 14th centuries, and has
given name to one of Weber's operas.
FRÉMONT, JOHN CHARLES, an American explorer, born at Savannah,
Georgia; at first a teacher of mathematics in the navy, subsequently took
to civil-engineering and surveying; in 1843 explored the South Pass of
the Rockies, and proved the practicability of an overland route; explored
the Great Salt Lake, the watershed between the Mississippi and Pacific,
and the upper reaches of the Rio Grande; he rendered valuable services in
the Mexican War, but was deprived of his captaincy for disobedience;
after unsuccessfully standing for the Presidency in the anti-slavery
interest, he again served in the army as major-general; a scheme for a
southern railway to the Pacific brought him into trouble with the French
government in 1873, when he was tried and condemned for fraud, unjustly
it would seem; from 1878 to 1882 he was governor of Arizona; he was the
recipient of distinctions from various geographical societies
(1813-1890).
FRENCH PHILOSOPHISM, an analysis of things conducted on the
presumption that scientific knowledge is the key to unlock the mystery
and resolve the riddle of the universe.
FRENCH REVOLUTION, according to Carlyle "the open violent revolt,
and victory, of disimprisoned Anarchy against corrupt, worn-out
Authority, the crowning Phenomenon of our Modern Time," but for which, he
once protested to Mr. Froude, he would not have known what to make of
this world at all; it was a sign to him that the God of judgment still
sat sovereign at the heart of it.
FRERE, SIR HENRY BARTLE EDWARD, a distinguished diplomatist and
colonial governor, born near Abergavenny; entering the East India Company
in 1834, he rendered important services as administrator in Mahratta and
as Resident in Sattara in 1847; as the chief-commissioner in Sind he did
much to open up the country by means of canals, roads, etc.; during the
Mutiny, which arrested these works of improvement, he distinguished
himself by the prompt manner in which he suppressed the rising in his own
province; from 1862 to 1867 he was governor of Bombay; in 1867 was
knighted, and five years later carried through important diplomatic work
in Zanzibar, signing the treaty abolishing the slave-trade; his last
appointment was as governor of the Cape and High-Commissioner for the
settlement of South African affairs; the Kaffir and Zulu Wars involved
him in trouble, and in 1880 he was recalled, having effected little
(1815-1884).
FRERE, JOHN HOOKHAM, English politician and author, born in London,
uncle of the preceding; he was a staunch supporter of Pitt, and in 1799
became Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs; a year later he was envoy to
Lisbon, and subsequently minister to Spain; in 1821 he retired to Malta,
where he devoted himself to scholarly pursuits, twice declining a
peerage; in his early days he was a contributor to the _Anti-Jacobin_,
and shares with his school-fellow Canning the authorship of the "Needy
Knife-Grinder"; but he is best known by his fine translations of some of
Aristophanes' plays (1769-1841).
FRESCO, the art of painting on walls freshly laid with plaster, or
which have been damped so as to permit of the colour sinking into the
lime; there were two methods, the _fresco secco_ and the _fresco buon_;
in the first the wall was sprinkled with water, and the colours were then
worked into the damp surface; in the second process, in which finer and
more permanent effects were obtained, the artist worked upon the fresh
plaster of the wall (which is laid for him as he proceeds), pouncing or
tracing his designs with a stylus; only colours which are natural earths
can be employed, as they require to be mixed with lime ere being applied,
and are subject to the destroying effect of that substance; as a method
of mural decoration it was known to the ancients, and some of the finest
specimens are to be seen in the Italian cathedrals of the 14th and 15th
centuries; the art is still in vogue, but can only be practised
successfully in a dry climate.
FRESNEL, AUGUSTIN JEAN, French physicist, born at Broglie, Eure; as
an engineer he rose to be head of the Department of Public Works at
Paris; in 1825 he was elected an F.R.S. of London; he made discoveries
in optical science which helped to confirm the undulatory theory of
light, also invented a compound lighthouse lens (1783-1827).
FRESNO (11), a town in California, on the Southern Pacific Railway,
207 m. SE. of San Francisco; the surrounding district, extensively
irrigated, produces abundance of fruit, and raisins and wine are largely
exported.
FREUND, WILHELM, German philologist, born at Kempen, in Posen;
studied education at Berlin and Breslau, and was chiefly occupied in
teaching till 1870, when he retired in order to devote himself to his
literary pursuits; besides classical school-books and some works on
philology, he compiled an elaborate Latin dictionary in 4 vols., which
has been the basis of the standard English-Latin dictionaries since; _b_.
1806.
FREYR, figures in the Scandinavian mythology as the god who rules
the rain and sunshine, and whose gifts were peace, wealth, and abundant
harvests; the wooing of Gerda, daughter of the giant Gymer, by Freyr is
one of the most beautiful stories in the northern mythology; his festival
was celebrated at Christmas, and his first temple was built at Upsala by
the Swedes, who especially honoured him.
FREYTAG, GUSTAV, an eminent German novelist and dramatist, born at
Kreuzburg, Silesia; from 1839 was teacher of German language and
literature at Breslau, and became editor of a journal, a position he held
till 1870; was a member of the North German Diet, and accompanied the
Crown Prince during the war of 1870-71; from 1879 resided at Wiesbaden;
his many novels and plays and poems, which reveal a powerful and
realistic genius, place him in the front rank of modern German
littérateurs; several of his novels have been translated into English,
amongst which his masterpiece, "Soll und Haben" (Debit and Credit)
(1816-1895).
FRIAR (i. e. brother), a name applied generally to members of
religious brotherhoods, but which in its strict significance indicated an
order lower than that of priest, the latter being called "father," while
they differed from monks in that they travelled about, whereas the monk
remained secluded in his monastery; in the 13th century arose the Grey
Friars or Franciscans, the Black Friars or Dominicans, the White Friars
or Carmelites, Augustinians or Austin Friars, and later the Crutched
Friars or Trinitarians.
FRIAR JOHN, a friar of Seville, in Rabelais' "Pantagruel," notorious
for his irreverence in the discharge of his religious duties and for his
lewd, lusty ways.
FRIAR TUCK, Robin Hood's chaplain and steward, introduced by Scott
into "Ivanhoe" as a kind of clerical Falstaff.
FRIDAY, the young savage, the attendant of Robinson Crusoe, so
called as discovered on a Friday.
FRIDAY, the sixth day of the week, so called as consecrated to
Freyia or Frigga, the wife of Odin; is proverbially a day of ill luck;
held sacred among Catholics as the day of the crucifixion, and the
Mohammedan Sunday in commemoration as the day on which, as they believe,
Adam was created.
FRIEDLAND, VALENTIN, an eminent scholar and educationist, born in
Upper Lusatia; friend of Luther and Melanchthon; his fame as a teacher
attracted to Goldberg, in Silesia, where he taught, pupils from far and
near; the secret of his success lay in his inculcating on his pupils
respect for their own honour; had a great faith in the intelligence that
evinced itself in clear expression (1490-1556).
FRIEND OF MAN, Marquis de Mirabeau, so called from the title of one
of his works, "L'Ami des Hommes."
FRIENDLY ISLANDS, islands of the S. Pacific, some 180 in number,
mostly of coral or volcanic origin, and of which 30 are inhabited; the
natives rank high among the South Sea islanders for intelligence. See
TONGA ISLANDS.
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES, associations of individuals for the purpose of
mutual benefit in sickness and distress, and of old and wide-spread
institution and under various names and forms.
FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF, a community of Christians popularly known as
Quakers, founded in 1648 by GEORGE FOX (q. v.), distinguished
for their plainness of speech and manners, and differing from other sects
chiefly in the exclusive deference they pay to the "inner light," and
their rejection of both clergy and sacrament as media of grace; they
refuse to take oath, are averse to war, and have always been opposed to
slavery.
FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE, an association formed as far back as 1792 to
secure by constitutional means parliamentary reform.
FRIES, ELIAS, Swedish cryptogamic botanist, professor at Upsala;
wrote on fungi and lichens (1794-1878).
FRIES, JAKOB FRIEDRICH, a German Kantian philosopher; was professor
at Jena; aimed at reconciling the Kantian philosophy with Faith, or the
intuitions of the Pure Reason (1773-1843).
FRIESLAND, the most northerly province of Holland, with a rich soil;
divided into East and West Friesland; low-lying and pastoral; protected
by dykes.
FRIGGA, a Scandinavian goddess, the wife of Odin; worshipped among
the Saxons as a goddess mother; was the earth deified, or the Norse
Demeter.
FRISIANS, a Low German people, who occupied originally the shores of
the North Sea from the mouths of the Rhine and Ems; distinguished for
their free institutions; tribes of them at one time invaded Britain,
where traces of their presence may still be noted.
FRITH, WILLIAM POWELL, an English painter, born near Ripon,
Yorkshire; his works are numerous, his subjects varied and interesting,
and his most popular pictures have brought large sums; _b_. 1819.
FRITZ, FATHER, name given to Frederick the Great by his subjects
"with a familiarity which did not breed contempt in his case."
FROBISHER, SIR MARTIN, famous English sailor and navigator, born
near Doncaster; thrice over enthusiastically essayed the discovery of the
North-West Passage under Elizabeth; accompanied Drake to the West Indies;
was knighted for his services against the Armada; conducted several
expeditions against Spain; was mortally wounded when leading an attack on
Brest, and died on his passage home (1535-1594).
FROEBEL, FRIEDRICH, a devoted German educationist on the principles
of Pestalozzi, which combined physical, moral, and intellectual training,
commencing with the years of childhood; was the founder of the famous
_Kindergarten_ system (1782-1852).
FROGMORE, a royal palace and mausoleum in Windsor Park, the
burial-place of Prince Albert.
FROISSART, JEAN, a French chronicler and poet, born at Valenciennes;
visited England in the reign of Edward III., at whose Court, and
particularly with the Queen, he became a great favourite for his tales of
chivalry, and whence he was sent to Scotland to collect more materials
for his chronicles, where he became the guest of the king and the Earl of
Douglas; after this he wandered from place to place, ranging as far as
Venice and Rome, to add to his store; he died in Flanders, and his
chronicles, which extend from 1322 to 1400, are written without order,
but with grace and _naïveté_ (1337-1410).
FROMENTIN, EUGÈNE, an eminent French painter and author, born at
Rochelle; was the author of two travel-sketches, and a brilliant novel
"Dominique" (1820-1876).
FRONDE, a name given to a revolt in France opposed to the Court of
Anne of Austria and Mazarin during the minority of Louis XIV. The war
which arose, and which was due to the despotism of Mazarin, passed
through two phases: it was first a war on the part of the people and the
parlement, called the Old Fronde, which lasted from 1648 till 1649, and
then a war on the part of the nobles, called the New Fronde, which lasted
till 1652, when the revolt was crushed by Turenne to the triumph of the
royal power. The name is derived from the mimic fights with slings in
which the boys of Paris indulged themselves, and which even went so far
as to beat back at times the civic guard sent to suppress them.
FROUDE, HURRELL, elder brother of the succeeding, a leader in the
Tractarian movement; author of Tracts IX. and LXIII. (1803-1836).
FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY, an English historian and man of letters, born
at Totnes, Devon; trained originally for the Church, he gave himself to
literature, his chief work being the "History of England from the Fall of
Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada," in 12 vols., of which the
first appeared in 1854 and the last in 1870, but it is with Carlyle and
his "Life of Carlyle" that his name has of late been most intimately
associated, and in connection with which he will ere long honourably
figure in the history of the literature of England, though he has other
claims to regard as the author of the "Nemesis of Faith," "Short Studies
on Great Subjects," a "Life of Cæsar," a "Life of Bunyan," "The English
in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century," and "English Seamen in the
Sixteenth Century"; he ranks as one of the masters of English prose, and
as a man of penetration, insight, and enlarged views, if somewhat
careless about minor details (1818-1894).
FROUDE, WILLIAM, another brother, a civil engineer, assistant to
Brunel; made important discoveries in hydro-dynamics of great practical
avail (1810-1879).
FRY, MRS. ELIZABETH, philanthropist, born at Norwich, third daughter
of John Gurney, the Quaker banker; married Joseph Fry of Plashet, Essex;
devoted her life to prison reform and the reform of criminals, as well as
other benevolent enterprises; she has been called "the female Howard"
(1780-1845).
FUAD-MAHMED, PASHA, a Turkish statesman, diplomatist, and man of
letters; studied medicine, but soon turned himself to politics; was much
esteemed and honoured at foreign courts, at which he represented Turkey,
for his skill, sagacity, and finesse; became Minister of Foreign Affairs
in 1852; was hostile to the pretensions of Russia, and gave umbrage to
the Czar; published a Turkish grammar, which is received with favour
(1814-1869).
FUDGE FAMILY, THE, a satiric piece by Thomas Moore, published in
1818.
FUENTES, COUNT, a Spanish general and statesman, eminent both in war
and diplomacy; commanded the Spanish infantry at the siege of Rocroi when
he was eighty-two, borne on a litter in the midst of the fight, and
perished by the sword, the Great Condé having attacked the besiegers
(1560-1643).
FUERO-FUEGO, a Wisigoth Spanish law of the 7th century, a curious
monument of the legislation of the Middle Ages.
FUGGER, the name of a family of Augsburg who rose from the loom by
way of commerce to great wealth and eminence in Germany, particularly
under the Emperors Maximilian and Charles V., the real founder of the
wealth being Jacob, who died 1409.
FULHAM, a suburb of London, on the Middlesex bank of the Thames,
opposite Putney, with the palace and burying-place of the bishops of
London.
FULLAH, a people of the Upper Soudan whose territory extends between
Senegal and Darfur, a race of superior physique and intelligence, and of
a certain polish of manners, and with Caucasian type of feature.
FULLER, ANDREW, an eminent Baptist minister, born in Cambridgeshire,
was settled at Kettering, and a zealous controversialist in defence of
the gospel against hyper-Calvinism on the one hand and Socinianism on the
other, but he is chiefly distinguished in connection with the foundation
of the Baptist Missionary Society, to which he for most part devoted the
energies of his life (1754-1815).
FULLER, MARGARET, an American authoress, born at Cambridgepont,
Mass., a woman of speculative ability and high aims, a friend of Emerson,
and much esteemed by Carlyle, though he thought her enthusiasm
extravagant and beyond the range of accomplishment; she was one of the
leaders of the transcendental movement in America; visited Europe, and
Italy in particular; engaged there in the struggle for political
independence; married the young Marquis of Ossoli; sailed for New York,
and was drowned with her husband and child on the sand-bars of Long
Island (1810-1850).
FULLER, THOMAS, historian, divine, and wit, born in
Northamptonshire, son of the rector of Sarum; entering into holy orders,
he held in succession several benefices in the Church of England, and was
a prebend in Salisbury Cathedral; taking sides with the king, he lost
favour under the Commonwealth; wrote a number of works, in which one
finds combined gaiety and piety, good sense and whimsical fancy; composed
among other works the "History of the Holy War," a "History of the
Crusades," "The Holy and the Profane States," the "Church History of
Great Britain," and the "Worthies of England," the last his principal
work, and published posthumously; he was a man of great shrewdness, broad
sympathies, and a kindly nature; was an author much admired by Charles
Lamb (1608-1661).
FULTON, ROBERT, an American engineer, born in Pennsylvania; began
life as a miniature portrait and landscape painter, in which he made some
progress, but soon turned to engineering; he was one of the first to
apply steam to the propulsion of vessels, and devoted much attention to
the invention of submarine boats and torpedoes; he built a steamboat to
navigate the Hudson River, with a very slow rate of progress however,
making only five miles an hour (1615-1765).
FUM, a grotesque animal figure, six cubits high, one of four
presumed to preside over the destinies of China.
FUNCHAL (19), the capital of Madeira, at the head of a bay on the S.
coast, and the base of a mountain 4000 ft. high, extends a mile along the
shore, and slopes up the sides of the mountain; famous as a health
resort, more at one time than now.
FUNDY BAY, an arm of the sea between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia;
it is of difficult navigation owing to the strong and rapid rush of the
tides.
FÜNEN (221), the second in size of the Danish islands, separated
from Zealand on the E. by the Great Belt and from Jutland on the W. by
the Little Belt; is flat except on S. and W., fertile, well cultivated,
and yields crops of cereals.
FURIES. See ERINNYES.
FURNIVALL, FREDERICK JAMES, English barrister, born at Egham, in
Surrey; devoted to the study of Early and Middle English Literature;
founder and director of numerous societies for promoting the study of
special works, such as the Early English Text, Chaucer, Ballad, and New
Shakespeare Societies, and editor of publications in connection with
them; was in his early days a great authority on boating and
boat-building; _b_. 1825.
FÜRST, JULIUS, a distinguished German Orientalist, born in Posen, of
Jewish descent; a specialist in Hebrew and Aramaic; author of a Hebrew
and Chaldee Manual (1805-1873).
FÜRST, WALTER, of Uri, a Swiss patriot, who, along with William
Tell, contributed to establish the liberty and independence of
Switzerland; _d_. 1317.
FUSELI, HENRY, properly FUSOLI, a famous portrait-painter, born
at Zurich; coming to England at the age of 22, he became acquainted with
Sir Joshua Reynolds, who advised him to go to Rome; after eight years
spent in study of the Italian masters, and Michael Angelo in particular,
he returned to England and became an R.A.; he painted a series of
pictures, afterwards exhibited as the "Milton Gallery" (1741-1825).
FUST JOHANN, a rich burgher of Mainz, associated with Gutenberg and
Schöffer, to whom along with them the invention of printing has been
ascribed; _d_. 1466.
FYNE, LOCH, an Argyllshire arm of the sea, extending N. from Bute to
Inveraray, and from 1 m. to 5 m. broad; famed for its herrings.
FYZABAD (78), capital of Oudh, in India, at one time, 78 m. E. of
Lucknow; much decayed.
G
GABELENTZ, HANS CONON VON DER, a distinguished German philologist,
born at Altenburg: was master, it is said, of 80 languages, contributed
treatises on several of them, his most important work being on the
Melanesian (1807-1874).
GABELLE, an indirect tax, specially one on salt, the term applied to
a State monopoly in France in that article, and the exaction in
connection with which was a source of much discontent; the people were
obliged to purchase it at government warehouses and at extravagant, often
very unequal, rates; the impost dates from 1286; was abolished in 1789.
GABELSBERGER, FRANZ XAVIER, inventor of the shorthand in use in
German countries as well as elsewhere (1789-1849).
GABERLUNZIE, a licensed beggar, or any of the mendicant class, so
called from the wallet he carried.
GABINUS, a Roman tribune in 66 B.C., afterwards consul; party to
the banishment of Cicero, 57 B.C.
GABOON and FRENCH CONGO (5,000), a French Colony in W. Africa
fronting the Atlantic, between the Cameroon country and the Congo State,
and stretching inland as far as the head-waters of the Congo River; in
the NW. is the great Gaboon estuary, 40 m. long and 10 broad at its
mouth, with Libreville on its N. bank; along the coast the climate is hot
and unhealthy, but it improves inland; the natives belong to the Bantu
stock; the French settled in it first in 1842, but only since the
explorations of De Brazza in 1876-86 have they begun to extend and
colonise it.
GABRIEL, an angel, one of the seven archangels, "the power of God,"
who is represented in the traditions of both the Jews and the Moslems as
discharging the highest functions, and in Christian tradition as
announcing to the Virgin Mary her election of God to be the mother of the
Messiah; he ranks fully higher among Moslems than Jews.
GABRIEL, a French architect, born in Paris (1710-1782).
GABRIELLES D'ESTRÉES, the mistress of Henry IV. of France, who for
State reasons was not allowed to marry her (1571-1599).
GAD, one of the Jewish tribes inhabiting the E. of the Jordan.
GADAMES or GHADAMES (7 to 10), an oasis and town in Africa,
situated in the SW. corner of Tripoli, on the N. border of the Sahara;
the fertility of the oasis is due to hot springs, from which the place
takes its name; high walls protect the soil and the fruit of it, which is
abundant, from sand-storms; it is an entrepôt for trade with the
interior; the inhabitants are Berber Mohammedans.
GADDI, GADDO, a Florentine painter and worker in mosaic, friend of
Cimabue and Giotto (1239-1312).
GADDI, TADDEO, son of the preceding, and pupil of Giotto both in
architecture and fresco-painting (1300-1366).
GADDI, AGNOLO, son of the preceding, and a painter of frescoes
(1350-1396).
GADES, the ancient name of CADIZ (q. v.).
GADSHILL, an eminence in Kent, 3 m. NW. of Rochester, associated
with the name of Falstaff, also of Dickens, who resided here from 1856 to
1870, and where he died.
GAETA (17), a fortified seaport of S. Italy, finely situated on a
steep promontory 50 m. NW. of Naples; it was a favourite watering-place
of the ancient Roman nobility, and the beauty of its bay is celebrated by
Virgil and Horace; it is rich in classic remains, and in its day has
witnessed many sieges; the inhabitants are chiefly employed with fishing
and a light coast trade.
GAGE, THOMAS, English general, son of Viscount Gage; he served in
the Seven Years' War, and took part in 1755 in Braddock's disastrous
expedition in America; in 1760 he became military governor of Montreal,
and three years later commander-in-chief of the British forces in
America; as governor of Massachusetts he precipitated the revolution by
his ill-timed severity, and after the battle of Bunker's Hill was
recalled to England (1721-1787).
GAIA or GE, in the Greek mythology the primeval goddess of the
earth, the _alma mater_ of living things, both in heaven and on earth,
called subsequently Demeter, i. e. Gemeter, Earth-mother.
GAILLARD, French historian, born at Amiens; devoted his life to
history (1726-1806).
GAINSBOROUGH, THOMAS, one of England's greatest artists in portrait
and landscape painting, born at Sudbury, Suffolk; he early displayed a
talent for drawing, and at 14 was sent to London to study art; when 19 he
started as a portrait-painter at Ipswich, having by this time married
Margaret Burr, a young lady with £200 a year; patronised by Sir Philip
Thicknesse, he removed in 1760 to Bath, where he rose into high favour,
and in 1774 he sought a wider field in London; he shared the honours of
painting portraits with Reynolds and of landscape with Wilson; his
portraits have more of grace, if less of genius, than Reynolds, while his
landscapes inaugurated a freer and more genial manner of dealing with
nature, while as a colourist Ruskin declares him the greatest since
Rubens; among his most famous pictures are portraits of Mrs. Siddons,
the Duchess of Devonshire, and the Hon. Mrs. Graham, "Shepherd Boy in the
Shower," "The Seashore," &c. (1727-1788).
GAIUS, a Roman jurist of the 2nd century, whose "Institutes" served
for the basis of Justinian's.
GALAHAD, SIR, son of Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round
Table; distinguished for the immaculate purity of his character and life;
was successful in his search for the Holy Graal.
GALAOR, a hero of Spanish romance, brother of Amadis de Gaul, the
model of a courtly paladin, and always ready with his sword to avenge the
wrongs of the widow and the orphan.
GALAPÁGOS, a sparsely populated group of islands (13 in number),
barren on the N., but well wooded on the S., situated on the equator, 600
m. W. of Ecuador, and which, although belonging to Ecuador, all bear
English names, bestowed upon them, it would appear, by the buccaneers of
the 17th century; Albemarle Island makes up more than half of their area;
they are volcanic in formation, and some of their 2000 craters are not
yet inactive; their fauna is of peculiar scientific interest as
exhibiting many species unknown elsewhere; besides the islands proper
there is a vast number of islets and rocks.
GALATA, a faubourg of Constantinople where the European merchants
reside.
GALATEA, a nymph whom Polyphemus made love to, but who preferred
Acis to him, whom therefore he made away with by crushing him under a
rock, in consequence of which the nymph threw herself into the sea.
GALATIA, a high-lying Roman province in Asia Minor that had been
invaded and taken possession of by a horde of Gauls in the 3rd century
B.C., whence the name.
GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE, an epistle of St. Paul to the churches in
Galatia, which was an especial favourite with Luther, as, with its
doctrine of spiritual freedom in Christ, it might well be, for it
corroborated the great revelation first made to him by a neighbour monk;
"man is not saved by singing masses, but by the grace of God"; it is a
didactic epistle, in assertion, on the one hand, of freedom from the law,
and, on the other, of the power of the spirit.
GALATZ or GALACZ (59), the great river-port of Roumania, on the
Danube, 8 m. above the Sulina mouth of the river and 166 m. NE. of
Bucharest; the new town is well laid out, and contains some fine
buildings; its harbour is one of the finest on the Danube; a great export
trade is carried on in cereals, while textiles and metals are the chief
imports.
GALAXY, the Milky Way, a band of light seen after sunset across the
heavens, consisting of an innumerable multitude of stars, or suns rather,
stretching away into the depths of space.
GALBA, a Roman emperor from June 68 to January 69, elected at the
age of 70 by the Gallic legions to succeed Nero, but for his severity and
avarice was slain by the Prætorian guard, who proclaimed Otho emperor in
his stead.
GALE, THEOPHILUS, a Nonconformist divine; author of the "Court of
the Gentiles," in which he attempts to prove that the theology and
philosophy of the Gentiles was borrowed from the Scriptures (1628-1678).
GALE, THOMAS, dean of York; edited classics, wrote on early English
history (1636-1702).
GALEN, or CLAUDIUS GALENUS, a famous Greek physician, born at
Pergamus, in Illyria, where, after studying in various cities, he settled
in 158; subsequently he went to Rome, and eventually became physician to
the emperors M. Aurelius, L. Verus, and Severus; of his voluminous
writings 83 treatises are still extant, and these treat on a varied array
of subjects, philosophical as well as professional; for centuries after
his death his works were accepted as authoritative in the matter of
medicine (131-201).
GALE`RIUS, VALERIUS MAXIMUS, Roman emperor, born in Dacia, of lowly
parentage; rose from a common soldier to be the son-in-law of the Emperor
Diocletian, who in 292 raised him to the dignity of a Cæsar; in 305, on
the death of Diocletian, he became head of the Eastern Empire, which he
continued to be till his death in 311; his name is associated with a
cruel persecution of the Christians under Diocletian.
GALGACUS, a Caledonian chief defeated by Agricola at the battle of
the Grampians in 85, after a desperate resistance.
GALIA`NI, FERDINANDO, an Italian political economist, man of
letters, and a wit; held with honour several important offices under the
Neapolitan Government; was attaché to the embassy at Paris, and the
associate of Grimm and Diderot (1728-1787).
GALICIA, 1, an old province (1,919) of Spain, formerly a kingdom in
the NW. corner of it, fronting the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic; now
divided into the four minor provinces, Coruña, Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra;
the county is hilly, well watered, fertile, and favoured with a fine
climate, but cultivated only very partially; some mining is carried on.
2, A crownland (6,607) in the NE. of Austria, between Russia and the
Carpathians; the inhabitants are mainly Slavs, but there is a goodly
number of Jews, Germans, Poles, &c.; the land is fertile, consists
chiefly of extensive plains, well watered by the Dneister and other large
rivers, and yields abundance of cereals, while one-fourth is covered with
forest; timber is largely exported, and salt; many of the useful metals
are found, and productive petroleum wells; it has an independent Diet,
but an Austrian governor; Austria annexed it in 1772.
GALILÆANS, a fanatical sect, followers of one Judas of Galilee, who
fiercely resented the taxation of the Romans, and whose violence
contributed to induce the latter to vow the extermination of the whole
race.
GALILEE, the northern division of Palestine, divided into Upper,
hilly, Lower, level, about 60 m. long and 30 broad.
GALILEE, SEA OF, an expansion of the Jordan, 12½ m. long, and at the
most 8 m. broad, enclosed by steep mountains, except on NW.
GALILEO, an illustrious Italian mathematician, physicist, and
astronomer, born at Pisa, demonstrated the isochronism of the pendulum,
invented the thermometer and the hydrostatic balance, propounded the law
of falling bodies, constructed the first astronomical telescope, and by
means of it satisfied himself of, and proved, the truth of the Copernican
doctrine, that the sun and not the earth is the centre of the planetary
system, and that the earth revolves round it like the other planets which
reflect its light; his insistence on this truth provoked the hostility of
the Church, and an ecclesiastical decree which pronounced the Copernican
theory heresy; for the profession of it he was brought to the bar of the
Inquisition, where he was compelled to forswear it by oath, concluding
his recantation, it is said, with the exclamation, "still, it moves";
before his end he became blind, and died in Florence at 78, the year
Newton was born (1564-1642).
GALITZIN, the name of a Russian family distinguished for their
ability and success in both war and peace from the 16th century onwards.
GALL, FRANZ JOSEPH, the founder of phrenology, born at Tiefenbronn,
on the borders of Baden and Würtemberg; in 1785 he established himself as
a physician in Vienna, where for many years he carried on a series of
elaborate investigations on the nature of the brain and its relation to
the outer cranium, visiting with that view lunatic asylums, &c.; in 1796
he gave publicity to his views in a series of lectures in Vienna, which
were, however, condemned as subversive of morality and religion; being
joined by Spurzheim, who adopted his theories, he undertook a lecturing
tour through a large part of Europe, and eventually settled at Paris,
where he published his phrenological work "Fonctions du Cerveau"; it is a
curious fact that on his death his skull was found to be twice the usual
thickness, and that there was a tumour in the cerebellum (1758-1828).
GALL, ST., an Irish monk who, about 585, accompanied St. Columban to
France in his missionary labours, banished from which he went to
Switzerland, and founded a monastery on the Lake of Constance, which bore
his name; _d_. about 646.
GALLAND, ANTOINE, French Orientalist, born in Picardy, professor of
Arabic in the College of France; was the first to translate the "Arabian
Nights" into any European tongue (1646-1715).
GALLAS, an Ethiopian race occupying the S. and E. of Abyssinia,
energetic, intelligent, and warlike; follow mostly pastoral occupations;
number over four millions, and are mostly heathens.
GALLE or POINT DE GALLE (33), fortified seaport town, prettily
situated on a rocky promontory in the SW. of Ceylon; there is a good
harbour, but the shipping, which at one time was extensive, has declined
since the rise of Colombo.
GALLICAN CHURCH, the Catholic Church in France which, while
sincerely devoted to the Catholic faith and the Holy See, resolutely
refused to concede certain rights and privileges which belonged to it
from the earliest times; it steadfastly contended that infallibility was
vested not in the Pope alone, but in the entire episcopal body under him
as its head; maintained the supreme authority of general councils and
that of the holy canons in the government of the Church, and insisted
that there was a distinction between the temporal and the spiritual
power; contentions summed up in a declaration of the French clergy in
1682, the body of whom opposed to which are known by the name of
"Ultramontanists."
GALLICANISM, the name given to the contention of the GALLICAN
CHURCH (q. v.).
GALLIENUS, PUBLIUS LICINIUS, Roman Emperor from 260 to 268, and for
seven years (253-260) associated in the government with his father, the
Emperor Valerian; under his lax rule the empire was subjected to hostile
inroads on all sides, while in the provinces a succession of usurpers,
known as the Thirty Tyrants, sprang up, disowning allegiance, and
aspiring to the title of Cæsar; in his later years he roused himself to
vigorous resistance, but in 268 was murdered by his own soldiers whilst
pressing the rebel Aureolus at the siege of Milan.
GALLIGANTUA, the wizard giant slain by Jack the Giant-killer.
GALLIO, the Roman proconsul of Achaia in the days of St. Paul,
before whom the Jews of Corinth brought an appeal against the latter, but
which he treated with careless indifference as no affair of his, in
consequence of which his name has become the synonym of an easy-going
ruler or prince.
GALLIPOLI, 1, a fortified seaport town (8) in Southern Italy, 59 m.
S. of Brindisi; stands on a rocky islet in the Gulf of Taranto, close to
the mainland, with which it is connected by a bridge of 12 arches; a fine
cathedral and huge tanks hewn out of the solid rock for the storage of
olive-oil are objects of interest. 2, A seaport (15) of Turkey in Europe,
stands on a peninsula of the same name at the western end of the Sea of
Marmora, at the mouth of the Dardanelles, 90 m. S. of Adrianople; it was
the first city captured by the Turks in Europe (1356), and is now the
naval arsenal of Turkey and head-quarters of the Turkish navy.
GALLOWAY, a district in the SW. of Scotland, co-extensive with
Wigtown and Kirkcudbright, though formerly of considerably greater
extent; the lack of mineral wealth has retarded its development, and the
industry of the population is limited chiefly to agriculture, the rearing
of sheep and cattle, and fishing, and it is still noted for a small but
hardy breed of horses called Galloways; the province derives its name
from Gall-Gael, or foreign Gaels, as the early inhabitants were called,
who up to the time of the Reformation maintained the characteristics,
language, &c., of a distinct people; in 1455 Galloway ceased to exist as
a separate lordship; in the extreme S. of Wigtown is the bold and rocky
promontory, the MULL OF GALLOWAY, the extremity of the peninsula
called the Rhinns of Galloway; the Mull, which is the most southerly
point in Scotland, rises to a height of 210 ft., and is crowned by a
powerful lighthouse.
GALSWINTHE, the sister of Brunhilda and the second wife of Chilpéric
I.; was strangled to death in 568.
GALT, JOHN, Scotch novelist, born at Irvine; educated at Greenock,
where he held a post in the Custom-house for a time; essayed literature,
wrote "The Ayrshire Legatees," "The Annals of the Parish," "Sir Andrew
Wylie," "The Entail," and "The Provost"; died of paralysis at Greenock;
Carlyle, who met him in London in 1832, says, "He had the air of a broad,
gaucie, Greenock burgher; mouth indicating sly humour and
self-satisfaction; eyes, old and without lashes, gave me a _wae_ interest
for him; says little, but that little peaceable, clear, and _gutmüthig_"
(1779-1839).
GALVANISED IRON, plate-iron coated with zinc, which renders it less
liable to be affected by moisture and subject to corrosion.
GALVANISM, the mere contact with two dissimilar metals, the science
of what is now called Voltaic or current electricity, produced, as in the
above instance, from the contact of dissimilar metals, especially that of
acids on metals.
GALVANI, LUIGI, an Italian physician, born at Bologna; celebrated
for his discoveries in animal magnetism called after him Galvanism, due
to an observation he made of the convulsive motion produced in the leg of
a recently-killed frog (1737-1798).
GALVESTON (38), the chief seaport of Texas, situated on a low island
of the same name at the entrance of Galveston Bay into the Gulf of
Mexico; it has a splendid harbour, and is an important centre of the
cotton trade, ranking as the third cotton port of the world; the city is
well laid out, and is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop; it has a
medical college and several foundries.
GALWAY (215), a maritime county in the W. of Ireland, in the
province of Connaught; Lough Corrib (25 m. long) and Lough Mask (12 m.
long), stretching N. and S., divide the county into East and West
districts; the former is boggy, yet arable; the latter, including the
picturesque district known as CONNEMARA, is wild and hilly, and
chiefly consists of bleak morass and bogland; its rocky and indented
coast affords excellent harbourage in many places; the Suck, Shannon, and
Corrib are the chief rivers; the Slieve Boughta Mountains in the S. and
in the W. the Twelve Pins (2395 ft.) are the principal mountains;
fishing, some agriculture, and cattle-rearing are the chief employments;
it contains many interesting cromlechs and ruins.
GALWAY (14), the capital of Connaught and of the county of that
name; is situated on the N. side of Galway Bay, at the mouth of the
Corrib River, 50 m. NW. of Limerick; it is divided into the old and new
town, and contains several interesting ecclesiastical buildings, e. g.
the cruciform church of St. Nicholas (1320), and is the seat of a Queen's
College; fishing is an important industry, while wool and black marble
are exported.
GAMA, VASCO DA, a famous Portuguese navigator, the discoverer of the
route to India round the Cape of Good Hope, born at Sines, in Portugal,
of good family; he seems to have won the favour of King Emmanuel at an
early age, and already an experienced mariner, was in 1497 despatched on
his celebrated voyage, in which he rounded the Cape; on that occasion he
made his way to Calicut, in India, where he had to contend with the
enmity of the natives, stirred against him by jealous Arabian merchants;
in 1499 he returned to Lisbon, was received with great honour, and had
conferred on him an array of high-sounding titles; three years later he
was appointed to the command of an expedition to Calicut to avenge the
massacre of a small Portuguese settlement founded there a year previous
by Cabrat; in connection with this expedition he founded the colonies of
Mozambique and Sofala, and after inflicting a cruel punishment upon the
natives of Calicut, he returned to Lisbon in 1503; the following 20 years
of his life were spent in retirement at Evora, but in 1524 he was
appointed viceroy of Portuguese India, a position he held only for a
short time, but sufficiently long to re-establish Portuguese power in
India; he died at Cochin; the incidents of his famous first voyage round
the Cape are celebrated in Camoëns' memorable poem "The Lusiad"
(1469-1525).
GAMALIEL, a Jewish rabbi, the instructor of St. Paul in the
knowledge of the law, and distinguished for his tolerant spirit and
forbearance in dealing with the Apostles in their seeming departure from
the Jewish faith.
GAMBETTA, LÉON MICHEL, a French republican leader, born at Cahors,
of Italian descent; intended for the Church, to which he evinced no
proclivity; he early showed a _penchant_ for politics and adopted the
profession of law, in the prosecution of which he delivered a speech
which marked him out as the coming man of the French republic, from the
spirit of hostility it manifested against the Empire; at the fall of the
Empire he stood high in public regard, assumed the direction of affairs,
and made desperate attempts to repel the invading Germans; though he
failed in this, he never ceased to feel the shame of the loss of Alsace
and Lorraine, and strove hard to recover them, but all his efforts proved
ineffectual, and he died in Dec. 31, to the grief of the nation
(1838-1882).
GAMBIA, 1, a river of W. Africa, that flows through Senegambia and
discharges itself into the Atlantic at Bathurst after a course of more
than 1400 m. into a splendid estuary which, in some parts, has a breadth
of 27 m. but contracts to 2 m. at the seaward end; light craft can ascend
as far as Barraconda, 400 m. from the mouth. 2. A British settlement (15)
lying along the banks of the Gambia as far as Georgetown, with a
protectorate to Barraconda (pop. 50); it enjoys a separate government
under a British administrator, and produces hides, cotton, rice, &c.
GAMBIER, JAMES, LORD, British admiral, born in the Bahamas; at 22 he
was created a post-captain; in 1781 distinguished himself in an
engagement against the French at Jersey; and again under Lord Howe in
1794 he rendered material service in repulsing the French off Ushant; in
the following year he was made rear-admiral, and in 1799 vice-admiral;
for his gallant conduct as commander of the English fleet at the
bombardment of Copenhagen he was made a baron; a dispute with Lord
Cochrane at the battle of Aix Roads against the French led to his being
court-martialled, but he was honourably acquitted; on the accession of
William IV. he was made admiral of the fleet (1756-1833).
GAMP, SARAH, a nurse in "Martin Chuzzlewit," famous for her bulky
umbrella, and for confirming her opinions of things by a constant
reference to the authority of an imaginary Mrs. Harris.
GANDO (5,000), a native State traversed by the Niger in Western
Soudan, lying upon the NW. border of Sokoto, of which it is a dependency;
like Sokoto it has been brought within the sphere of influence of the
British Royal Niger Company; the inhabitants belong to the Fulah race,
and profess the Mohammedan religion; Gando is also the name of the
capital, an active centre of the cotton trade.
GANEGA, the Hindu god with an elephant's head and four arms; the
inspirer of cunning devices and good counsel, afterwards the patron of
letters and learned men.
GANELON, a count of Mayence, one of Charlemagne's paladins; trusted
by him but faithless, and a traitor to his cause; is placed by Dante in
the lowest hell.
GANGES, the great sacred river of India, which, though somewhat
shorter than the Indus, drains a larger area and traverses a more fertile
basin; it has its source in an ice-cave on the southern side of the
Himalayas, 8 m. above Gangotri, at an elevation of 13,800 ft. above the
sea-level; at this its first stage it is known as the Bhagirathi, and not
until 133 m. from its source does it assume the name of Ganges, having
already received two tributaries; issuing from the Himalayas at Sukhi, it
flows in a more or less southerly course to Allahabad, where it receives
the Jumna, and thence makes its way by the plains of Behar and past
Benares to Goalanda, where it is joined by the Brahmaputra; the united
stream, lessened by innumerable offshoots, pursues a SE. course till
joined by the Meghna, and under that name enters the Bay of Bengal; its
most noted offshoot is the HOOGHLY (q. v.), which pursues a
course to the S. of the Meghna; between these lies the Great Delta, which
begins to take shape 220 m. inland from the Bay of Bengal; the Ganges is
1557 m. in length, and offers for the greater part an excellent waterway;
it is held in great reverence as a sacred stream whose waters have power
to cleanse from all sin, while burial on its banks is believed to ensure
eternal happiness.
GANGES CANAL, constructed mainly for the purpose of irrigating the
arid land stretching between the Ganges and the Jumna Rivers, originally
extended from Hardwár to Cawnpore and Etawah, but has since been greatly
enlarged, and at present (including branches) has a total extent of 3700
m., of which 500 m. are navigable; it has contributed to mitigate
suffering caused by famines by affording a means of distributing ready
relief.
GANGRENE, the first stage of mortification in any part of a living
body.
GANGWAY, a passage in the House of Commons, running across the
house, which separates the independent members from the supporters of the
Government and the Opposition.
GANYMEDES, a beautiful youth, whom Zeus, attracted by his beauty,
carried off, disguised as an eagle, to heaven, conferred immortality on,
and made cup-bearer of the gods instead of Hebe.
GAO, KARVEH or KARVAH, a Persian blacksmith, whose sons
had been slain to feed the serpents of the reigning tyrant, raised his
leather apron on a spear, and with that for a standard excited a revolt;
the revolt proved successful, and the apron became the standard of the
new dynasty, which it continued to be till supplanted by the crescent.
GARAY, JÁNOS, Hungarian poet, born at Szegszard; his life was spent
chiefly in Pesth, where he held a post in the university library; he
published a number of dramas which show traces of German influence, and
was also the author of a book of lyrics as well as tales (1812-1853).
GARCIA, MANUEL, a noted singer and composer, born at Seville; in
1808 he went to Paris with a reputation already gained at Madrid and
Cadiz; till 1824 he was of high repute in London and Paris as an operatic
tenor; and in the following year visited the United States; when on the
road between Mexico and Vera Cruz he was robbed of all his money; he
spent his closing years in Paris as a teacher of singing, his voice being
greatly impaired by age as well as fatigue; his eldest daughter was the
celebrated Madame Malibran (1775-1832).
GARCIAS, DON PEDRO, a mythical don mentioned in the preface to "Gil
Blas" as buried with a small bag of doubloons, and the epitaph, "Here
lies interred the soul of licentiate Pedro Garcia."
GARCILASO, called the INCA, as descended from the royal family
of Peru; lived at Cordova; wrote "History of Peru," as well as a "History
of Florida" (1530-1568).
GARCILASO DE LA VEGA, a Spanish poet, born in Toledo, a soldier by
profession; accompanied Charles V. on his expeditions; died fighting
bravely in battle; his poems consist of sonnets, elegies, &c., and reveal
an unexpected tenderness (1503-1536).
GARCIN DE TASSY, Indian Orientalist, born at Marseilles (1794-1878).
GARD (419), a dep. in the S. of France, between the Cévennes and the
Rhône; slopes to the Rhône and the sea, with a marshy coast; produces
wine and olives, and is noted for its silkculture and breed of horses.
GARDA, LAGO DI, the largest of the Italian lakes; stretches, amidst
beautiful Alpine scenery, between Lombardy and Venetia. It is 35 m. long,
and from 2 to 10 broad. Its water is remarkably clear, and has a depth of
967 ft. It is studded with many picturesque islands, and is traversed by
steamers.
GARDE NATIONALE, of France, a body of armed citizens organised in
Paris in 1789 for the defence of the citizen interest, and soon by
extensions throughout the country became a force of great national
importance; the colours they adopted were the famous tricolor of red,
white, and blue, and their first commandant was Lafayette. In 1795 they
helped to repress the Paris mob, and under Napoleon were retained in
service. They played a prominent part in the Revolutions of 1830 and
1848, supporting the revolutionists; but in 1852 their powers were
curtailed, and in 1871 they were dissolved by the National Assembly.
GARDES SUISSES, a celebrated corps of the French army, formed in
1616 for defence of royalty, and numbering 2000. During the great
Revolution they gallantly defended the Louvre, but were overawed and
overpowered almost to annihilation by the infuriated Paris mob. "Their
work to die, and they did it," at that moment. The corps was finally
disbanded in 1830.
GARDINER, COLONEL JAMES, soldier, captain of dragoons, noted for his
bravery and piety; served under Marlborough; fell at Prestonpans; his
Life was written by Dr. Doddridge, and is much prized by religious people
(1688-1745).
GAIRDNER, JAMES, historian, born in Edinburgh, Assistant-Keeper
Record Office, London; edited a series of historical documents, and wrote
among other historical works the "Life and Reign of Richard III."; _b_.
1828.
GARDINER, SAMUEL RAWSON, English historian, born at Ropley, Hants;
his chief historical works include "History of England" in the reign of
James I. and Charles I.; "History of the Civil War," in four vols., and
the "History of the Protectorate," on which he is still engaged; a most
impartial and accurate historian; _b_. 1829.
GARDINER, STEPHEN, bishop of Winchester, born at Bury St. Edmunds;
was secretary to Wolsey; promoted the divorce of Queen Catharine, and
made bishop; imprisoned in the Tower under Edward VI.; restored to his
see, and made Chancellor under Mary (1483-1555).
GARFIELD, JAMES ABRAM, President of the United States, born in
Orange, Ohio; reared amid lowly surroundings; at the age of ten began to
help his widowed mother by working as a farmservant; an invincible
passion for learning prompted him to devote the long winters to study,
till he was able as a student to enter Hiram College, and subsequently to
William's College, Massachusetts, where, in 1856, he graduated; in the
following year he became President of Hiram College, and devoting his
attention to the study of law, in 1859 became a member of the State
Senate; he took an active part on the side of the Federalists in the
Civil War, and distinguished himself in several engagements, rising to be
major-general; in his thirty-third year he entered Congress, and soon
came to the front, acting latterly as leader of the Republican party; in
1880 he became a member of the Senate, and in the same year was elected
to the Presidency; he signalised his tenure of the presidential office by
endeavouring to purify and reform the civil service, but this attempt
drew on him the odium of a section of his party, and on the 2nd July 1881
he was shot down by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed place-hunter; after a
prolonged struggle with death he succumbed on the 19th of September
(1831-1881).
GARGANTUA, a gigantic personage, in Rabelais, of preternally lusty
appetite and guzzling and gourmandising power; lived several centuries,
and begat Pantagruel.
GARIBALDI, Italian patriot, began life as a sailor, associated
himself enthusiastically with Mazzini for the liberation of his country,
but being convicted of conspiracy fled to South America, where, both as a
privateer and a soldier, he gave his services to the young republics
struggling there for life; returned to Europe, and took part in the
defence of Rome against France, but being defeated fled to New York, to
return to the Isle of Caprera, biding his time; joined the Piedmontese
against Austria, and in 1860 set himself to assist in the overthrow of
the kingdom of Naples and the union of Italy under Victor Emmanuel,
landing in Calabria and entering Naples, driving the royal forces before
him without striking a blow, after which he returned to his retreat at
Caprera, ready still to draw sword, and occasionally offering it again,
in the cause of republicanism (1807-1882).
GARMENT OF GOD, LIVING, Living Nature, so called by Goethe, nature
being viewed by him as the garment, or vesture, with which God invests
Himself so as to reveal and impart Himself to man.
GARNET, a well-known precious stone of a vitreous lustre, and
usually of a dark-red colour, resembling a ruby, but also found in
various other shades, e. g. black, green, and yellow. The finest
specimens are brought from Ceylon, Pegu, and Greenland. The species of
garnet crystal known as Pyrope, when cut in the shape of a tallow drop,
is called a carbuncle.
GARNET, HENRY, a noted Jesuit, son of a Nottingham schoolmaster,
implicated in the Gunpowder Plot; bred in the Protestant faith, he early
turned Catholic and went abroad and joined the Jesuit order; in 1588 he
returned to England as Superior of the English Jesuits, and engaged in
various intrigues; on the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot he was
arrested, found guilty of cognisance of the Plot, and executed
(1555-1606).
GARNETT, RICHARD, philologist, born at Otley, Yorkshire, Keeper of
the Printed Books in the British Museum, and one of the founders of the
Philological Society, and contributor to its _Proceedings_ (1789-1850).
GARNETT, RICHARD, an acute critic, born in Lichfield, son of
preceding; long associated with the book department of the British
Museum; an admirer of Shelley, and biographer of Carlyle and Emerson;
_b_. 1835.
GARONNE, an important river of SW. France, which rises in the Val
d'Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees; 26 m. from its source it enters France
near Pont du Roi, and after it passes Toulouse flows in a north-westerly
direction; joined by the Dordogne, 20 m. below Toulouse, it gradually
widens into the Gironde estuary, which opens on the Bay of Biscay; it has
a length of 346 m., and is freely navigable as far as Toulouse.
GARRICK, DAVID, a famous English actor and dramatist, born at
Hereford; was educated at Lichfield, the home of his mother, and was for
some months in his nineteenth year a pupil of Samuel Johnson; in 1737 he
accompanied Johnson to London, with the intention of entering the legal
profession, but soon abandoned the purpose, and started in the wine
business with his brother; in 1741 he commenced his career as an actor,
making his first appearance at Ipswich; in the autumn of the same year he
returned to London, and as Richard III. achieved instant success; with
the exception of a sojourn upon the Continent for two years, his life was
spent mainly in the metropolis in the active pursuit of his profession;
in 1747 he became patentee, along with James Lacy, of Drury Lane Theatre,
which he continued to direct until his retirement from the stage in 1776;
three years later he died, and was buried in Westminster Abbey; he was
the author of many comedies and farces, which, however, are of no great
merit, but his abiding fame rests upon his powers as an actor, his
remarkable versatility enabling him to act with equal ease and success in
farce, comedy, and tragedy; his admirable naturalness did much to redeem
the stage from the stiff conventionalism under which it then laboured;
his wife, Eva Maria Violette, a celebrated dancer of Viennese birth, whom
he married in 1740, survived him till 1822, dying at the advanced age of
98 (1717-1779).
GARRISON, WILLIAM LLOYD, American journalist and abolitionist, born
at Newburyport, Mass.; in his native town he rose to be editor of the
_Herald_ at 19, and five years later became joint-editor of the _Genius
of Universal Emancipation_; his vigorous denunciation of slavery involved
him in a charge of libel and brought about his imprisonment, from which
he was liberated by a friend paying his fine; at Boston, in 1831, he
founded his celebrated _Liberator_, a paper in which he unweariedly, and
in the face of violent threats, advocated his anti-slavery opinions till
1865, when the cause was won; he visited England on several occasions in
support of emancipation, and in 1868 his great labours in the cause were
recognised by a gift of 30,000 dollars from his friends (1804-1879).
GARTER, THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE, a celebrated order of
knighthood instituted in 1344 by King Edward III.; the original number of
the knights was 26, of whom the sovereign was head; but this number has
been increased by extending the honour to descendants of George I., II.,
and III., and also to distinguished foreigners; it is the highest order
of knighthood, and is designated K.G.; the insignia of the order
includes surcoat, mantle, star, &c., but the knights are chiefly
distinguished by a garter of blue velvet worn on the left leg below the
knee, and bearing the inscription in gold letters _Honi soit qui mal y
pense_, "Evil be to him that evil thinks"; election to the order lies
with the sovereign.
GARTH, SIR SAMUEL, a distinguished physician, born in co. Durham;
had an extensive practice; author of a mock-heroic poem entitled "The
Dispensary" (1661-1718).
GASCOIGNE, SIR WILLIAM, English judge, born at Gawthorpe, Yorkshire;
during Richard II.'s reign he practised in the law courts, and in 1397
became king's serjeant; three years later he was raised to the Lord
Chief-Justiceship; his single-eyed devotion to justice was strikingly
exemplified in his refusal to pass sentence of death on Archbishop
Scrope; the story of his committing Prince Henry to prison, immortalised
by Shakespeare, is unauthenticated (1350-1419).
GASCONY, an ancient province of SW. France, lying between the
Atlantic, the Pyrenees, and the Garonne; it included several of the
present departments; the province was of Basque origin, but ultimately
became united with Aquitaine, and was added to the territory of the
French crown in 1453; the Gascons still retain their traditional
characteristics; they are of dark complexion and small in stature,
vivacious and boastful, but have a high reputation for integrity.
GASKELL, MRS., _née_ STEVENSON, novelist and biographer, born at
Cheyne Row, Chelsea; authoress of "Mary Barton," "Ruth," "Silvia's
Lovers," &c., and the "Life of Charlotte Brontë," her friend (1810-1865).
GASSENDI, PIERRE, a French mathematician and philosopher, born in
Provence; declared against scholastic methods out of deference to the
empirical; controverted the metaphysics of Descartes; became the head of
a school opposed to him; adopted the philosophy of Epicurus and
contributed to the science of astronomy, and was the friend of Kepler,
Galileo, and Hobbes; was a great admirer of Bayle, the head of his
school, a school of Pyrrhonists, tending to materialism (1592-1655).
GASSNER, JOHANN JOSEPH, a noted "exorcist," born at Bludenz, in the
Tyrol; while a Catholic priest at Klösterle he gained a wide celebrity by
professing to "cast out devils" and to work cures on the sick by means
simply of prayer; he was deposed as an impostor, but the bishop of
Ratisbon, who believed in his honesty, bestowed upon him the cure of
Bendorf (1727-1779).
GATAKER, THOMAS, an English divine, member of the Westminster
Assembly; disapproved of the introduction of the Covenant, declared for
Episcopacy, and opposed the trial of Charles I. (1574-1654).
GATE OF TEARS, the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, so called from the
shipwrecks frequent in it.
GATES, HORATIO, an American general, born at Maldon, Essex, in
England; served as an English officer in America till the peace of 1763,
and then retired to Virginia; in the War of Independence he fought on the
side of America, and, as commander of the northern army, defeated the
English at Saratoga in 1777; so great was his popularity in consequence
of this victory that ill-advised efforts were made to place him over
Washington, but in 1780 he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the
British at Camden, and was court-martialled; acquitted in 1782, he again
retired to Virginia, and subsequently in 1800 removed to New York, having
first emancipated and provided for his slaves (1728-1806).
GATESHEAD (86), an English town, situated on the Tyne, on N. border
of Durham; it is united to Newcastle by three bridges spanning the river;
it contains some handsome and interesting buildings, besides extensive
iron-works, foundries, soap, glass, and chemical manufactories; it was
here Defoe lived when he wrote "Robinson Crusoe."
GATH, Goliath's town, a city of the Philistines, on a cliff 12 m.
NE. of Ashdod.
GATLING, RICHARD JORDAN, the inventor of the Gatling gun, born in
Hertford County, N. Carolina, U.S.; he was bred to and graduated in
medicine, but in 1849 settled in Indianapolis and engaged in land and
railway speculation; his famous machine-gun, capable of firing 1200 shots
a minute, was brought out in 1861; another invention of his is a
steam-plough; _b_. 1818.
GATTY, MRS., writer of tales for young people, "Parables from
Nature," and editor of _Aunt Judy's Magazine_; daughter of the chaplain
of the _Victory_, Nelson's ship at Trafalgar, in whose arms Nelson
breathed his last (1809-1873).
GAUCHOS, a name bestowed upon the natives of the pampas of S.
America; they are of Indo-Spanish descent, and are chiefly engaged in
pastoral pursuits, herding cattle, &c.; they are dexterous horsemen, and
are courteous and hospitable; the wide-brimmed sombrero and loose poncho
are characteristic articles of their dress.
GAUDEN, JOHN, bishop of Worcester; protested against the trial of
Charles I., and after his execution published "EIKON BASILIKË"
(q. v.), or the "Portraiture of his Sacred Majesty in his Solitude and
Sufferings," which he declared was written by him (1605-1669).
GAUL, the name the ancients gave to two distinct regions, the one
CISALPINE GAUL, on the Roman side of the Alps, embracing the N. of
Italy, as long inhabited by Gallic tribes; and the other TRANSALPINE
GAUL, beyond the Alps from Rome, and extending from the Alps to the
Pyrenees, from the ocean to the Rhine, inhabited by different races;
subdued by Julius Cæsar 58-50 B.C., and divided by Augustus into four
provinces.
GAUNT, JOHN OF, Duke of Lancaster, third son of Edward III., born at
Ghent, who in 1362 succeeded to the estates of his father-in-law, the
Duke of Lancaster; having in 1372 married, as his second wife, the
daughter of the king of Castile, he made an unsuccessful attempt to seize
the Castilian throne; in the later years of Edward III.'s reign he took
an active part in public affairs, and by his opposition to the national
party and overbearing conduct towards the Commons made himself obnoxious
to the people; for selfish motives he for a time supported Wycliffe, but
in 1381 the Peasant Revolt drove him into Scotland; in 1386 he made
another ineffectual attempt to gain the crown of Castile; in his later
years he was engaged in various embassies in France (1339-1399).
GAUR or LAKHNAUTI, the ancient capital of Bengal, now in ruins,
but with Hindu remains of exceptional interest, is situated 4 m. S. of
Malda, between the rivers Ganges and Mahananda; the city is believed to
have been founded in the 11th century; it fell into decay after the Mogul
conquest in 1575, but pestilence and the deflection of the Ganges into a
new channel accelerated its fate.
GAUSS, KARL FRIEDRICH, a celebrated German mathematician and
astronomer, born at Brunswick; was director of the observatory at
Göttingen for 40 years; was equally great on theory of numbers and
practice of calculation; he made important discoveries in magnetism, and
was pronounced by Laplace the greatest mathematician in Europe
(1775-1855).
GAUTAMA, the name of the family Buddha belonged to, a Rajput clan
which at the time of his birth was settled on the banks on the Rohini, a
small affluent of the Gogra, about 137 m. N. of Benares.
GAUTIER, THÉOPHILE, a distinguished French poet, novelist, and
critic, born at Tarbes; began life as a painter, but turning to
literature soon attracted the attention of Sainte-Beuve by some studies
in the old French authors; by-and-by he came under the influence of
Victor Hugo, and in 1830 started his career as a poet by the publication
of "Albertus," five years after which appeared his famous novel
"Mademoiselle de Maupin"; for many years he was engaged in the work of
art criticism for the Paris newspapers, and those of his critiques
dealing with the drama have been republished, and fill six vols.; both as
poet and novelist his works have been numerous, and several delightful
books of travel in Spain, Turkey, Algeria, &c., have come from his pen;
as a literary artist Gautier has few equals to-day in France, but his
work is marred by a lax and paradoxical philosophy of life, which has, by
his more enthusiastic admirers, been elevated into a "cult" (1811-1872).
GAUTIER AND GARGUILLE, all the world and his wife.
GAVARNI, PAUL, the _nom de plume_ of Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier,
caricaturist, born in Paris; began life as an engineer's draughtsman, but
soon turned his attention to his proper vocation as a cartoonist; most of
his best work appeared in _Le Charivari_, but some of his bitterest and
most earnest pictures, the fruit of a visit to London, appeared in
_L'Illustration_; he also illustrated Balzac's novels, and Sue's
"Wandering Jew" (1801-1866).
GAVAZZI, ALESSANDRO, an Italian anti-papal agitator, born at
Bologna; admitted into the order of Barnabite monks; he became professor
of Rhetoric at Naples; one of the most energetic supporters of Pius IX.
in his liberal policy, he afterwards withdrew his allegiance; joined the
Revolution of 1848, and ultimately fled to England on the occupation of
Rome by the French; as an anti-papal lecturer he showed considerable
oratorical powers; delivered addresses in Italian in England and
Scotland against the papacy, which were received with enthusiasm,
although in Canada they led to riots; he was taken by some for an Italian
Knox; "God help them," exclaimed Carlyle, who regarded him as a mere
wind-bag (1809-1889).
GAVELKIND, descent of property to all the sons alike, the oldest to
have the horse and arms and the youngest the homestead.
GAWAIN, SIR, one of the Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur's
nephew; celebrated for his courtesy and physical strength.
GAY, JOHN, an English poet, born at Barnstaple the same year as
Pope, a friend of his, to whom he dedicated his "Rural Sports"; was the
author of a series of "Fables" and the "Beggar's Opera," a piece which
was received with great enthusiasm, and had a run of 63 nights, but which
gave offence at Court, though it brought him the patronage of the Duke
and Duchess of Queensberry, with whom he went to reside, and tinder whose
roof he died; was buried in Westminster (1688-1732).
GAYA (80), chief town of a district of the same name in Bengal, on
the Phalgu, 57 m. S. of Patna; it is a great centre of pilgrimage for
Hindus, and has associations with Buddha; 100,000 pilgrims visit it
annually.
GAY-LUSSAC, LOUIS JOSEPH, French chemist and physicist, born at St.
Leonard, Haute-Vienne; at the Polytechnic School, Paris, his abilities
attracted the attention of BERTHOLLET (q. v.), who appointed him
his assistant in the government chemical works at Arcueil; here he
assiduously employed himself in chemical and physical research, in
connection with which he made two balloon ascents; in 1809 he became
professor of Chemistry at the Paris Polytechnic School; in 1832 was
elected to a similar chair at the Jardin des Plantes; seven years later
was created a peer of France, while in 1829 he became chief assayer to
the Mint; his name is associated with many notable discoveries in
chemistry and physics, e. g. the law of volumes, isolation of cyanogen,
&c. (1778-1850).
GAZA, a Philistine town, the gates of which Samson carried off by
night; situated on a mound at the edge of the desert, 5 m. from the sea,
a considerable place to this day.
GAZETTE THE, an official newspaper in which government and legal
notices are published, issued on Tuesdays and Fridays; originally a
Venetian newspaper, the first of the kind so called as issued for a
farthing.
GEBIR or GEBER, the name under which several works on alchemy
and chemistry were written by Jabir ihn Haijan, an Arabic alchemist of
the 8th century; his birthplace is unknown, but he is said to have lived
at Damascus and Kufa.
GED, WILLIAM, the inventor of stereotyping, born in Edinburgh, where
he carried on business as a goldsmith; he endeavoured to push his new
process of printing in London by joining in partnership with a
capitalist, but, disappointed in his workmen and his partner, he returned
despondent to Edinburgh; an edition of Sallust and two prayer-books (for
Cambridge) were stereotyped by him (1699-1749).
GEDDES, ALEXANDER, biblical scholar, born at Arradowl, Banffshire;
was trained for the Catholic Church, and after prosecuting his studies at
Paris was appointed to the charge of a Catholic congregation at
Auchinhalrig; ten years later he was deposed for heresy, and removing to
London took to literary work; his most notable performance is his
unfinished translation of the Scriptures, and the notes appended, in
which he reveals a very pronounced rationalistic conception of holy writ;
this work, which anticipated the views of such men as Eichhorn and
Paulus, lost him his status as a priest, although to the end he professed
a sincere belief in Christianity; he was the author of volumes of poems,
&c. (1737-1802).
GEDDES, JENNY, an Edinburgh worthy who on 23rd July 1637
immortalised herself by throwing her stool at the head of Laud's bishop
as he proceeded from the desk of St. Giles's in the city to read the
_Collect_ for the day, exclaiming as she did so, "Deil _colic_ the wame
o' thee, fause loon, would you say _Mass_ at my lug," which was followed
by great uproar, and a shout, "A Pape, a Pape; stane him"; "a daring
feat, and a great," thinks Carlyle, "the first act of an audacity which
ended with the beheading of the king."
GEEFS, GUILLAUME, Belgian sculptor, born at Antwerp; executed a
colossal work at Brussels, "Victims of the Revolution," and numerous
statues and busts as well as imaginative productions; had two brothers
distinguished also as sculptors (1806-1860).
GEELONG (24), a prettily laid out city of Victoria, on Corio Bay, 45
m. SW. of Melbourne. The gold discoveries of 1851 gave a stimulus to the
town, which is now a busy centre of the wool trade, and has tanneries and
paper works, &c. The harbourage is excellent, and in summer the town is a
favourite resort as a watering-place.
GEFLE (25), a seaport, and the third commercial town in Sweden;
capital of the _län_ of Gefleborg; is situated on an inlet of the Gulf of
Bothnia, midway between Fahlun and Upsala; has an interesting old castle,
a school of navigation, and, since a destructive fire in 1869, has been
largely rebuilt.
GEHENNA, the valley of Hinnom, on the S. of Jerusalem, with
TOPHET (q. v.) at its eastern end; became the symbol of hell
from the fires kept burning in it night and day to consume the poisonous
gases of the offal accumulated in it.
GEHENNA BAILIFFS, ministers of hell's justice, whose function is to
see to and enforce the rights of hell.
GEIBEL, EMANUEL VON, a celebrated German poet, born at Lübeck; was
professor of Æsthetics at Münich; the tender, sentimental passion that
breathed in his poetry procured for him a wide-spread popularity,
especially among women (1815-1884).
GEIGER, ABRAHAM, an eminent Hebrew scholar and Rabbi, born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, and editor of the _Zeitschrift für jüdische
Theologie_; strove hard to break down the barrier of Jewish exclusiveness
(1810-1874).
GEIJER, ERIK GUSTAV, great Swedish historian, born in Vermland; held
a post in the Record Office, Stockholm; was a poet as well as a
historian, his principal work being "History of the Swedish People"
(1783-1847).
GEIKIE, SIR ARCHIBALD, geologist, born at Edinburgh; at the age of
20 he joined the Geological Survey of Scotland, and in 1867 became
director; in 1870 he became Murchison professor of Geology at Edinburgh,
and in 1881 was appointed chief director of the Geological Survey of
Great Britain; in 1801 he was knighted, and from 1892 to 1893 was
President of the British Association; he is the author of various works
on geology, written with great lucidity, as well as essays much
appreciated; _b_. 1835.
GEIKIE, JAMES, geologist, brother of the preceding, born at
Edinburgh; in 1882, after serving 21 years in the Geological Survey of
Scotland, he succeeded his brother in the chair of Geology at Edinburgh;
his principal work as a scientist is "The Great Ice Age"; his literary
sympathies appear in his admirable volume of translations of, "Songs and
Lyrics of Heine"; _b_. 1839.
GEÏLER VON KAISERBERG, JOHANN, a famous German pulpit orator, born
at Schaffhausen; Strasburg was the principal scene of his labours; his
writings, though numerous, are rare, among them the "Narrenschiff, or
Ship of Fools" (1453-1510).
GELASIUS I., ST., Pope from 492 to 496; a vigorous man and strong
assertor of the supremacy of the chair of St. Peter; G. II., also
Pope from 1118 to 1119.
GELL, SIR WILLIAM, archæologist, born at Hopton, Derbyshire; after
graduating at Cambridge was elected to a Fellowship at Emmanuel College;
his passion for classical antiquities led him latterly to settle in
Italy, which bore fruit in various valuable works on the topography and
antiquities of Troy, Pompeii, Rome, Attica, &c.; he had for some time
previously been chamberlain to Queen Caroline, and appeared as a witness
at her trial (1777-1836).
GELLERT or KILLHART, a famous dog which figures in Welsh
tradition of the 13th century, and whose devotion and sad death are
celebrated in a fine ballad written by the Hon. William Robert Spencer
(1796-1834). The story is as follows: Prince Llewellyn on returning one
day from the chase discovered the cradle of his child overturned and
blood-stains on the floor. Immediately concluding that Gellert, whom he
had left in charge of the child, had been the culprit, he plunged his
sword into the breast of the dog and laid it dead. Too late he found his
child safe hidden in the blankets, and by its side the dead body of an
enormous wolf. Gellert's tomb is still pointed out in the village of
Beddgelert on the S. of Snowdon. A story similar even to details is
current in the traditionary lore of many other lands.
GELLERT, CHRISTIAN, a German poet, fabulist, and moralist, born in
Saxony; professor of Philosophy at Leipzig; distinguished for the
influence of his character and writings on the literature of the period
in Germany, in the effect of it culminating in the literature of Schiller
and Goethe; Frederick the Great, who had an interview with him,
pronounced him the most rational of German professors (1715-1769).
GELLUS, AULUS, a Latin grammarian, born at Rome; author of "Noctes
Atticæ," a miscellany professing to have been composed in a country house
near Athens during winter nights, and ranging confusedly over topics of
all kinds, interesting as abounding in extracts from ancient writings no
longer extant.
GELON, tyrant of Syracuse from 484 to 478 B.C.; rose from the
ranks, gained a victory in 480 B.C. on the day of the battle of Salamis
over a large host of Carthaginians who had invaded Sicily; _d_.
478 B.C., leaving behind him an honoured memory.
GEMARA, the second part of the Talmud, being a body of notes,
comments, &c. on the Mishna or text.
GEMINI, the Twins, two stars in the southern hemisphere named Castor
and Pollux; also the name of a sign of the zodiac.
GENDARMES (i. e. men-at-arms), a military police in France
organised since the Revolution, and charged with maintaining the public
safety. The gendarmerie is considered a part of the regular army, and is
divided into legions and companies; but the pay is better than that of an
ordinary soldier. In the 14th and 15th centuries the name was applied to
the heavy French cavalry, and later to the royal bodyguard of the
Bourbons.
GENESIS, the first book in the Bible, so called in the Septuagint,
as containing an account of the origin of the world, of the human family,
and of the Jewish race; a book of the oldest date possessing any human
interest.
GENEVA: 1. The smallest canton (106) of Switzerland, situated at the
western extremity of the lake of the name; the surface is hilly, but not
mountainous, and is watered by the Rhône and Arve; the soil is unfertile,
but the patient industry of the inhabitants has made it fruitful; the
cultivation of the vine, fruit-growing, and the manufacture of watches,
&c., are the chief industries; 85 per cent, of the people speak French.
2. Capital (78) of the canton, occupies a splendid geographical position
at the south-western end of the lake, at the exit of the Rhône; the town
existed in Cæsar's time, and after being subject in turn to Rome and
Burgundy, ere long won its independence in conjunction with Bern and
Freiburg. In Calvin's time it became a centre of Protestantism, and its
history, down to the time of its annexation by Napoleon in 1798, is
mainly occupied with the struggles between the oligarchical and
democratic factions. On the overthrow of Napoleon it joined the Swiss
Confederation. Since 1847 the town has been largely rebuilt, and
handsomely laid out. Among many fine buildings are the Transition
Cathedral of St. Peter (1124), the Academy founded by Calvin and others.
The Rhône flows through it, and compasses an island which forms part of
the city. It has many literary and historical associations, and was the
birthplace of Rousseau.
GENEVA, LAKE OF, or LAKE LEMAN, stretches in crescent shape
between Switzerland and France, curving round the northern border of the
French department of Haute-Savoie; length, 45 m.; greatest breadth, 9 m.;
maximum depth, 1022 ft. On the French side precipitous rocks descend to
the water's edge, and contrast with the wooded slopes of the north. The
water is of a deep-blue colour; many streams flow into it, notably the
Rhône, which flows out at Geneva.
GENEVIÈVE, the patron saint of Paris, born at Nanterre; by her
prayer the city, then called LUTETIA (q. v.) was saved from the
ravages of Attila (422-512) and his Huns.
GENGHIS KHAN (i. e. Very Mighty Ruler), a celebrated Mongol
conqueror, born near Lake Baikal, the son of a Mongol chief; his career
as a soldier began at the age of 13, an age at which he boldly assumed
the reins of government in succession to his father; by his military
skill and daring example he gradually raised his people to a position of
supremacy in Asia, and established by means of them a kingdom which, at
his death, stretched from the Volga to the Pacific, and from Siberia to
the Persian Gulf; he regarded himself as commissioned by Heaven to
conquer the world, a destiny which he almost fulfilled (1162-1227).
GENLIS, STEPHANIE FÉLICITÉ, COMTESSE DE, a celebrated French
novelist, born at Champceri, near Autun, Burgundy; at the age of 16 she
was married to the Comte de Genlis, who eventually fell a victim to the
fury of the Revolution; in 1770 she was a lady-in-waiting to the Duchesse
de Chartres, and 12 years later became governess to the children of the
Duc d'Orléans, amongst whom was the future king of the French,
Louis-Philippe; the Revolution drove her to Switzerland, but on the
elevation of Napoleon she returned to Paris, and received from him a
pension, which continued to be paid her even under the restored Bourbon
dynasty: she was a voluminous writer of moral tales, comedies, &c., and
her works amount to about 90 vols., among them the celebrated "Mémoirs"
of her life and times; she was ill-natured, and in her "Memoirs"
inaccurate, as well as prejudiced (1746-1830).
GEN`OA (138), a city and chief commercial seaport of Italy, built at
the foot of the Apennines as they slope down to the gulf of the name. The
encircling hills behind, which are strongly fortified, form a fine
background to the picturesquely laid-out city. There is excellent
harbourage for the extensive shipping, and an active export and import
trade is carried on. In the city are iron-works, cotton and cloth mills,
match factories, &c.; the streets are narrow and irregular, but many of
the buildings, especially the ducal palaces and the cathedral, are of
great historical and architectural interest; there is an excellent
university, a public library, and an Academy of Fine Arts; Columbus was
born here.
GENRE PAINTING, name given to paintings embracing figures as they
appear in ordinary life and in ordinary situations.
GENS, the name among the Romans for what we understand by the word
clan as consisting of families.
GENS BRACCATA, the Gauls, from wearing _braccæ_ or breeches.
GENS TOGATA, the Roman, from wearing the TOGA (q. v.) as
their distinguishing dress.
GEN`SERIC, king of the Vandals, son of Godigiselus, founder of the
Vandal kingdom in Spain, and bastard brother of Gunderic, whom he
succeeded in A.D. 429; from Spain he crossed to Africa, and in
conjunction with the Moors added to his kingdom the land lying W. of
Carthage, ultimately gaining possession of Carthage itself; he next set
himself to organise a naval force, with which he systematically from year
to year pillaged Spain, Italy, Greece, and the opposite lands of Asia
Minor, sacking Rome in 455; until his death in 477 he continued master of
the seas, despite strenuous efforts of the Roman emperors to crush his
power.
GENTILLY, a southern suburb of Paris, once a village beyond the
fortifications.
GENTLE SHEPHERD, a famous pastoral by Allan Ramsay, with some happy
descriptive scenes and a pleasant delineation of manners, published in
1723.
GENTLE SHEPHERD, a nickname George Grenville bore from a retort of
the elder Pitt one day in Parliament.
GENTLEMEN-AT-ARMS, next to the yeomen of the guard the oldest corps
in the British army, is the bodyguard of the sovereign; was formed by
Henry VIII. in 1509; now consists of a captain, lieutenant,
standard-bearer, adjutant, and 40 members, whose duties are limited to
attendance at State ceremonies.
GENTZ, FRIEDRICH VON, German politician and author, born at Breslau;
while in the Prussian civil service he warmly sympathised with the French
Revolution, but his zeal was greatly modified by perusal of Burke's
"Reflections," a treatise he subsequently translated, and in 1802 entered
the Austrian public service; in the capacity of a political writer he
bitterly opposed Napoleon, but for other purposes his pen and support
were at the service of the highest bidder; he was secretary at the
Congress of Vienna, and held a similar post in many of the subsequent
congresses (1764-1832).
GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, a celebrated chronicler and ecclesiastic of
the 12th century, born in Monmouth, where he was educated in a
Benedictine monastery; in 1152 he was made bishop of St. Asaph; his Latin
"Chronicon sive Historia Britonum" contains a circumstantial account of
British history compiled from Gildas, Nennius, and other early
chroniclers, interwoven with current legends and pieced together with
additions from his own fertile imagination, the whole professing to be a
translation of a chronicle found in Brittany; this remarkable history is
the source of the stories of King Lear, Cymbeline, Merlin, and of Arthur
and his knights as they have since taken shape in English literature;
_d_. about 1154.
GEOFFREY SAINT-HILAIRE, ÉTIENNE, zoologist and biologist, born at
Étampes; he was educated for the Church, but while studying theology at
Paris his love for natural science was awakened, and the study of it
henceforth became the ruling passion of his life; was made professor of
Zoology in the Museum of Natural History in Paris; accompanied Napoleon
to Egypt as a member of the scientific commission, and returned with rich
collections, while his labours were rewarded by his election to the
Academy of Sciences; a scientific mission to Portugal in 1808 next
engaged him, and a year later he was nominated to the chair of Zoology in
the Faculty of Sciences at Paris; the main object of his scientific
writing was to establish, in opposition to the theories of his friend
Cuvier, his conception of a grand unity of plan pervading the whole
organic kingdom (1772-1844).
GEOFFRIN, MARIE THÉRÈSE, a French patroness of letters, born at
Paris, the daughter of a _valet-de-chambre_; in her fifteenth year she
married a wealthy merchant, whose immense fortune she inherited; her love
of letters--which she cherished, though but poorly educated herself--and
her liberality soon made her _salon_ the most celebrated in Paris; the
_encyclopédists_, Diderot, D'Alembert, and Marmontel, received from her a
liberal encouragement in their great undertaking; Walpole, Hume, and
Gibbon were among her friends; and Stanislas Poniatowsky, who became king
of Poland, acknowledged her generosity to him by styling himself her son
and welcoming her royally to his kingdom (1699-1777).
GEORGE I., king of Great Britain from 1714 to 1727, and first of the
Hanoverian line; son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, and of
Sophia, granddaughter of James I. of England; born in Hanover; in 1682 he
married his cousin, the Princess Sophia Dorothea of Zell, and in 1698
became Elector of Hanover; he co-operated actively with Marlborough in
opposing the schemes of Louis XIV., and commanded the Imperial forces; in
accordance with the Act of Settlement, he succeeded to the English throne
on the death of Queen Anne; his ignorance of English prevented him taking
part in Cabinet councils, a circumstance which had important results in
the growth of constitutional government, and the management of public
affairs during his reign devolved chiefly upon Sir Robert Walpole; the
abortive Jacobite rising of 1715, the South Sea Bubble (1720), and the
institution of Septennial Parliaments (1716), are among the main events
of his reign; in 1694 he divorced his wife on account of an amour with
Count Königsmark, and kept her imprisoned abroad till her death in 1724,
while he himself during these years lived in open profligacy with his
mistresses (1660-1727).
GEORGE II., king of Great Britain from 1727 to 1760, and Elector of
Hanover, born in Hanover, son of preceding; in 1705 he married Caroline
of Anspach, and in 1714 was declared Prince of Wales; he joined his
father in the struggle with Louis XIV., and distinguished himself on the
side of the Allies at the battle of Oudenarde; the period of his reign is
one of considerable importance in English history; Walpole and
subsequently Pitt were the great ministers of the age; war was waged
against Spain and France; the last Jacobite rising was crushed at
Culloden (1746); English power was established in Canada by the brilliant
victory of Wolfe at Quebec (1759); an empire was won in India by Clive;
the victory of Minden (1759) was gained in the Seven Years' War;
Methodism sprang up under Wesley and Whitfield; while a great development
in literature and art took place; against these, however, must be set the
doubling of the National Debt, mainly due to the Seven Years' War, and a
defeat by the French at Fontenoy (1745) (1683-1760).
GEORGE III., king of Great Britain from 1760 to 1820, and king of
Hanover (Elector from 1760 to 1815), eldest son of Frederick Lewis,
Prince of Wales, and grandson of preceding, born in London; in 1761 he
married Princess Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, by whom he had
fifteen children; more English in sentiment and education than his two
predecessors, George's main interest was centred in his English kingdom,
and never during his long life did he once set foot in his Hanoverian
possessions; the purity of his domestic life, his devotion to England,
and the pathos attaching to his frequent fits of insanity, won him the
affections of his people, an affection, however, sorely tried by his
obstinate blundering; the 60 years of his reign present a succession of
domestic episodes, far-reaching in their consequences to England and to
the civilised world; the conclusion of the Seven Years' War left England
predominant in North America, and with increased colonial possessions in
the West Indies, &c., but under the ill-guided and obstinate policy of
Lord North she suffered the loss of her American colonies, an event which
also involved her in war with France and Spain; in 1787 the famous trial
of WARREN HASTINGS (q. v.) began, and two years later came the
French Revolution; the great struggle with Napoleon followed, and gave
occasion for the brilliant achievements of Nelson and Wellington; during
these long years of war the commercial prosperity of England never
slackened, but through the inventions of Hargreaves, Arkwright, and
Compton increased by leaps and bounds; freedom of the press was won by
Wilkes; and in 1802 the union with Ireland took place; the majestic
figure of Pitt stands out amidst a company of brilliant politicians that
included Burke and Fox and Sheridan; literature is represented by a line
of brilliant writers that stretches from Johnson to Keats, and includes
the names of Burns, Cowper, Shelley, and Byron (1738-1820).
GEORGE IV., king of Great Britain and of Hanover from 1820 to 1830,
eldest son of the preceding, born in London; in consequence of his
father's insanity he became Regent in 1810; a tendency to profligacy
early displayed itself in an intrigue with Mrs. Robinson, an actress; and
two years afterwards in defiance of the Royal Marriage Act he secretly
married MRS. FITZHERBERT (q. v.), a Roman Catholic; in 1795 he
publicly espoused Princess Caroline of Brunswick, whom later he
endeavoured to divorce; a Burmese War (1823), the victory of Admiral
Codrington at Navarino (1827), the Repeal of the Test and Corporation
Acts (1828), and the passing of the Catholic Emancipation Bill (1829),
were occurrences of some importance in an uneventful reign (1762-1830).
GEORGE I., king of Greece, son of King Christian of Denmark, and
brother of the Princess of Wales; became king of Greece in 1864; _b_.
1845.
GEORGE, HENRY, an American writer on social and economic questions,
born in Philadelphia; he first tried life on the sea, but in 1858 settled
in California as a printer, and there married; in course of time he took
to journalism, became an editor, and zealously addressed himself to the
discussion of public affairs; his peculiar views on the question of land
reform were set forth in "Our Land and Land Policy," published in 1870,
and nine years later appeared his more famous and widely popular work
"Progress and Poverty," in which he promulgated the theory that to the
increase in economic rent and land values is due the lack of increase in
wages and interest which the increased productive power of modern times
should have ensured; he proposed the levying of a tax on land so as to
appropriate economic rent to public uses, and the abolition of all taxes
falling upon industry and thrift; he lectured in Great Britain and
Ireland, Australia, &c.; in 1887 founded the _Standard_ paper in New
York; he died during his candidature for the mayoralty of Greater New
York (1839-1897).
GEORGE, ST., the patron saint of chivalry and of England; adopted as
such in the reign of Edward III.; believed to have been born in Armorica,
and to have suffered martyrdom under Diocletian in A.D. 303; he is
represented as mounted on horseback and slaying a DRAGON (q. v.),
conceived as an incarnation of the evil one.
GEORGETOWN: 1 (53), capital of British Guiana, at the mouth of the
Demerara River; is the see of an Anglican bishop; is neatly laid out, and
has some handsome buildings, but is considered unhealthy; the staple
industries are sugar and coffee. 2 (14), a port of entry in the District
of Columbia, on the Potomac, 2 m. NW. of Washington; is a terminus of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
GEORGIA: 1 (1,837), one of the 13 original States of the American
Union, lies to the S., fronting the Atlantic between Florida and S.
Carolina; is divided into 136 counties, Atlanta being the capital and
Savannah the chief port; it is well watered with rivers; is low and
swampy for some miles inland, but it rises into plateaux in the interior,
and the Appalachians and Blue Mountains intersect it in the NW.;
excellent crops of wheat and fruit are grown among the hills, rice in the
lowlands, while immense quantities of cotton are raised on the islands
skirting the coast; the vast forests of pitch-pine supply an increasing
lumber trade; the mountain lands are rich in minerals; the State was
named after George II. in 1733 by the founder, James Oglethorpe. 2, The
former name of an independent kingdom, which extended along the southern
slopes of the Caucasus, and which, since the beginning of the century,
has belonged to Russia under the name of Gruzia, and now forms the
central portion of Russian Transcaucasia; the Georgians number at present
about a million; they are a people of splendid physique, whose history
reaches back to the time of Alexander the Great, and who attained their
zenith in the 12th century; subsequently they suffered from Persian and
Turkish invasion, and eventually, as we have said, fell into the hands of
Russia; at present there is a Georgian literature growing, especially in
Tiflis, if that is any sign of advance.
GERA (30), a thriving city on the White Elster, 35 m. SW. of
Leipzig; has broad streets and fine buildings, with a castle; chief
manufactures woollen.
GERAINT, SIR, one of the Knights of the Round Table, the husband of
Enid, whose fidelity he for a time distrusted, but who proved herself a
true wife by the care with which she nursed him when he was wounded.
GÉRARD, ÉTIENNE MAURICE, COMTE, marshal of France, born at
Damvillers, Lorraine; in 1791 he entered the army and fought under
Bernadotte in various campaigns; at Austerlitz he won his brigade, and
subsequently fought at Jena, Erfurt, and Wagram; he joined Napoleon after
his flight from Elba, and was wounded at Wavre; on the downfall of the
Emperor he quitted France, but returned in 1817; in 1822 he was elected
to the Chamber of Deputies, and in 1831 assisted in driving the Dutch out
of Flanders; he was War Minister under Louis Philippe (1773-1855).
GÉRARD, FRANÇOIS PASCAL SIMON, BARON, painter, born at Rome, of
French and Italian parentage; came to Paris when a youth, where he
studied painting under David; in 1795 his "Blind Belisarius" brought him
to the front, whilst subsequent work as a portrait-painter raised him
above all his contemporaries; his masterpiece, "Entry of Henri IV. into
Paris," brought him a barony at the hands of Louis XVIII.; his historical
paintings, characterised by minute accuracy of detail, include "Napoleon
in his Coronation Robes," "Battle of Austerlitz," &c. (1770-1837).
GERHARDT, KARL FRIEDRICH, chemist, born at Strasburg; after a
training at Carlsruhe and Leipzig, worked in Liebig's laboratory at
Giessen; in 1838 he began lecturing in Paris, and made experiments along
with Cahours on essential oils, which bore fruit in an important
treatise; in 1844 he received the chair of Chemistry at Montpellier, but
returned to Paris four years later; there he matured and published his
theories of types, homologous series, &c., which have greatly influenced
the science of chemistry; in 1855 he became professor of Chemistry in
Strasburg (1816-1856).
GERHARDT, PAUL, a celebrated German hymn-writer of the Lutheran
Church, born at Gräfenhainichen, in Saxony; in 1657 he became dean of St.
Nicholas in Berlin, an appointment he held till 1666, when he was deposed
for his embittered opposition to the union of the Lutheran and Reformed
Churches; he was subsequently pastor at Lübben; his hymns, 123 in number,
rank amongst the finest of their class (1607-1676).
GERIZZIM, a mountain of 2848 ft. in height in the S. of the valley
of Shechem, opposite EBAL (q. v.), and from the slopes of which
the blessings were responded to by half the tribes of Israel on their
arrival in Canaan (Josh. viii. 30-35); the Samaritans erected a temple on
this mountain, ruins of which still remain.
GERM THEORY, the doctrine that certain diseases are due to
fermentation caused by the presence of germs in the system in the form of
minute organisms called bacteria.
GERMAN CATHOLICS, a sect formed in 1844 by secession from the
Catholic Church of Germany, under the leadership of Johann Ronge, on
account of the mummery under papal patronage connected with the
exhibition of the Holy Coat of Trèves and the superstitious influence
ascribed to it.
GERMAN VOLTAIRE, name given sometimes to Wieland and sometimes, but
less appropriately, to Goethe.
GERMANICUS, CÆSAR, Roman general, son of Nero Claudius Drusus and
Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony; he served with distinction under his
uncle Tiberius in Dalmatia and Pannonia; was awarded a triumph, and in
A.D. 12 was elected consul; his success and popularity as leader of the
army on the Rhine provoked the jealousy of Tiberius, who transferred him
to the East, where he subsequently died; his son Caligula succeeded
Tiberius on the imperial throne (15 B.C.-A.D. 19).
GERMANY (49,428), constituted an empire in 1871, occupies a
commanding position in Central Europe, and stretches from Switzerland in
the S. to the German Ocean and Baltic Sea on the N.; Austria lies to the
SE., Russia to the NE., while France, Belgium, and the Netherlands flank
the W.; is made up of 26 States of widely varying size and importance,
comprising four kingdoms (of which Prussia is by far the largest and most
influential), six grand-duchies, five duchies, seven principalities,
three free towns (Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg), and one imperial province,
Alsace-Lorraine; the main physical divisions are (1) the great lowland
plain stretching from the centre to the Baltic and North Sea, well
watered by the Ems, Weser, Elbe, Oder, Vistula, and their tributaries, in
which, bating large sandy tracts, agriculture employs a large class, and
cereals, tobacco, and beetroot are raised; (2) the mountainous district,
in the interior of which the Fichtelgebirge is the central knot, in which
vast forests abound, and rich deposits of coal, fire-clays, iron, and
other metals are worked, giving rise to iron-works and potteries; (3) the
basin of the Rhine, on the W., where the vine is largely cultivated, and
extensive manufactures of silks, cottons, and hardware are carried on;
fine porcelain comes from Saxony and vast quantities of beer from
Bavaria; Westphalia is the centre of the steel and iron works; throughout
Germany there are 26,000 m. of railway line (chiefly State railways),
57,000 m. of telegraph line, while excellent roads, canals, and navigable
rivers facilitate communication; 65 per cent. of the people are
Protestants; education is compulsory and more highly developed than in
any other European country; the energies of the increasing population
have in recent years found scope for their action in their growing
colonial possessions; the military system imposes upon every German a
term of seven years' service, three in active service, and the remainder
in the reserve, and till his forty-sixth year he is liable to be called
out on any great emergency; under the emperor the government is carried
on by a _Federal Council_, the members of which are appointed by the
governments of the various estates, and the _Reichstag_, elected by
universal suffrage and ballot for three years.
GÉRÔME, LÉON, a celebrated French painter, born at Vésoul; he
studied at Paris under Paul Delaroche, with whom he subsequently
travelled in Italy; he travelled in the East and familiarised himself
with Eastern scenes; in 1863 he was appointed professor of Painting in
the Paris School of Fine Arts; among his most famous pictures, all
characterised by vivid colouring and strong dramatic effect, are "The Age
of Augustus and the Birth of Christ," "Roman Gladiators in the
Amphitheatre," "Cleopatra and Cæsar," &c.; _b_. 1824.
GERRY, ELBRIDGE, American statesman, born in Marblehead, Mass.; in
1773, eight years after graduating at Harvard, he was elected to the
Massachusetts Assembly, and in 1789 to the first National Congress; as
envoy to France in 1797 he assisted in establishing diplomatic relations
with that country, and after his recall in 1810 was chosen governor of
his native State; during his tenancy of this office, by an unfair
redistribution of the electoral districts in the State he gave undue
advantage to his own political party, a proceeding which led to the
coining of the word "gerrymandering"; subsequently he held office as
Vice-President of the Republic (1744-1814).
GERSON, JOHN CHARLIER DE, an eminent ecclesiastical scholar, born at
Gerson, in the diocese of Rheims; in 1395 he became chancellor of his old
university at Paris, and earned in that office a high reputation for
learning, becoming known as Doctor Christianissimus; he was a prominent
member of the councils of Pisa and Constance, advocating, as a remedy for
the Western Schism, the resignation of the rival Popes; in consequence of
his denunciation of the Duke of Burgundy for the murder of the Duke of
Orleans he was forced to become a refugee in Germany for some time, but
finally retired into the monastery of Lyons; his various works reveal an
intellect of keen intelligence, but somewhat tinged with a cloudy
mysticism (1363-1429).
GERSTÄCKER, FRIEDRICH, German author and traveller, born in Hamburg;
when 21 he emigrated to New York, and for six years led a wandering life
in different parts of America, working the while now at one occupation
now at another, a narrative of which he published on his return to
Germany; in 1849 he undertook a journey round the world which occupied
him three years; in 1860-61 he crossed S. America; in 1862 he was in
Africa with Duke Ernst of Gotha, and in 1863 in Central America; his many
writings, descriptive of these countries, exhibit a fresh and graphic
style, and have had a wide popularity; he is the author also of several
thrilling stories (1816-1872).
GERVASE OF TILBURY, a mediæval historical writer, born at Tilbury,
in Essex; said to have been a nephew of King Henry II.; he held a
lectureship in Canon Law at Bologna, and through the influence of Emperor
Otto IV. was made marshal of the kingdom of Arles; he was the author of
"Otia Imperiala," a historical and geographical work; _d_. about 1235.
GERVINUS, GEORG GOTTFRIED, German historian and Shakespearian
critic, born at Darmstadt; he was elected to the chair of History at
Göttingen in 1836, an appointment which was cancelled the following year
by his signing the protest against the abolition of the Hanoverian
constitution; in 1844 he was appointed honorary professor at Heidelberg,
and subsequently contributed greatly to the establishment of
constitutional liberty in Germany by means of his writings and by
founding the _Deutsche Zeitung_ there; in 1848 he became a member of the
National Assembly, but shortly afterwards withdrew, disgusted with the
course things were taking; he now engaged in literary studies, the fruit
of which appeared in his celebrated volumes of Shakespearian criticism
(1805-1871).
GERYON, a king of Erytheia (i. e. red island), on the western
borders of the world, with three bodies and three heads, who had a herd
of oxen guarded by a giant shepherd and his dog, the two-throated
Orthros, which were carried off by Hercules at the behest of his fate.
GESENIUS, an eminent German Hebraist and Biblical scholar, born in
Prussian Saxony, whose labours form an epoch in the study of the Hebrew
Scriptures; was 30 years professor of the language in Halle; produced a
Hebrew Grammar and Lexicon, and commentary on Isaiah on rationalistic
lines (1785-1842).
GESNER, KONRAD VON, Swiss scholar and naturalist, born at Zurich;
hampered by ill-health and poverty in his youth, he yet contrived by
unremitting diligence to obtain an excellent education at Strasburg,
Bourges, and Paris; in his twenty-first year he obtained an appointment
in Zurich University, and in 1537 became professor of Greek at Lausanne;
abandoning the idea he entertained of entering the Church, he determined
to adopt the medical profession instead, graduated at Basel in 1540, and
a year later went to Zurich to occupy the chair of Natural History and to
practise as a doctor; his chief works are the "Bibliotheca Universalis"
(a catalogue and summary of all Hebrew, Greek, and Latin works then known
to exist), and the "Historia Animalium"; these monuments of learning have
won him the cognomen of the German Pliny (1516-1565).
GESSLER, ALBRECHT, a governor of the forest cantons of Switzerland,
who figures in Swiss legend as an oppressor who was shot as related in
the tradition of Tell.
GESSNER, SALOMON, Swiss poet and artist, born at Zurich; served an
apprenticeship to a bookseller in Berlin, and after a sojourn in Hamburg
returned to Zurich, where the rest of his life was spent; he published
several volumes of poetry, chiefly pastoral and of no great value; his
"Death of Abel" is his most notable performance; his paintings are mainly
landscapes of a conventional type, several of which he engraved,
revealing better abilities as an engraver than as an artist (1730-1788).
GESTA ROMANORUM (the exploits of the Romans), a collection of short
didactic stories, not however solely Roman, written in the Latin tongue,
probably towards the close of the 13th century, the authorship of which
is uncertain, though it is generally recognised as of English origin; the
stories are characterised by naïve simplicity, and have served as
materials for many notable literary productions; thus Shakespeare owes to
this work the plot of Pericles and the incidents of the caskets and the
pound of flesh in the "Merchant of Venice," Parnell his "Hermit," Byron
his "Three Black Crows," and Longfellow his "King Robert of Sicily."
GETHSEMANE, somewhere on the E. of Kedron, half a mile from
Jerusalem, at the foot of Mount Olivet, the scene of the Agony of Christ.
GETTYSBURG (3), a town in Pennsylvania, built on a group of hills 50
m. SW. of Harrisburg; during the Civil War it was the scene of General
Meade's famous victory over the Confederates under General Lee on July 3,
1863.
GEYSER, fountains which from time to time, under the expansion of
steam, eject columns of steam and hot water, and which are met with in
Iceland, North America, and New Zealand, of which the most remarkable is
the Great Geyser, 70 m. N. of Reikiavik, in Iceland, which ejects a
column of water to 60 ft. in height, accompanied with rumblings
underground; these eruptions will continue some 15 minutes, and they
recur every few hours.
GFRÖRER, AUGUST FRIEDRICH, a learned German historian, born in the
Black Forest; educated for the Protestant ministry; in 1828, after
residence at Geneva and Rome, started as a tutor of theology, and two
years later became librarian at Stuttgart; published a number of
historical works, including a "Life of Gustavus Adolphus," "Pope Gregory
VII.," a "History of Primitive Christianity," "Church History to the
Fourteenth Century"; in this last work he showed a strong leaning to
Catholicism; was appointed to the chair of History in the university of
Freiburg; was elected to the Frankfort parliament, and finally openly
professed the Catholic faith (1803-1861).
GHÂTS, or GHAUTS, EASTERN AND WESTERN, two mountain ranges
running parallel with the E. and W. coasts of S. India, the latter
skirting the Malabar coast between 30 and 40 m. from the sea, rising to
nearly 5000 ft., and exhibiting fine mountain and forest scenery, and the
former skirting the E. of the Deccan, of which tableland it here forms
the buttress, and has a much lower mean level; the two ranges converge
into one a short distance from Cape Comorin.
GHAZALI, ABU MOHAMMED AL-, Arabian philosopher, born at Tûs, Persia;
in 1091 he was appointed professor of Philosophy in Bagdad; four years
later he went to Mecca, and subsequently taught at Damascus, Jerusalem,
and Alexandria; finally, he returned to his native town and there founded
a Sufic college; of his numerous philosophic and religious works the most
famous is the "Destruction of the Philosophers," in which he combats the
theories and conclusions of the current Arabian scholasticism
(1058-1111).
GHAZIPUR (45), a city of India, on the Ganges, 44 m. NE. of Benares,
capital of the district of that name (1,077), in the North-West
Provinces; is the head-quarters of the Government Opium Department, and
trades in rose-water, sugar, tobacco, &c.; contains the ruins of the
Palace of Forty Pillars.
GHAZNI (10), a fortified city of Afghanistan, 7726 ft. above the
sea, 85 m. SW. of Cabul; it is the chief strategical point on the
military route between Kandahar and Cabul; in the 11th and 12th centuries
it was the capital of the KINGDOM OF GHAZNEVIDS, which stretched
from the plains of Delhi to the Black Sea, and which came to an end in
1186.
GHEEL (12), a town in Belgium, situated on a fertile spot in the
midst of the sandy plain called the Campine, 26 m. SE. of Antwerp; it has
been for centuries celebrated as an asylum for the insane, who (about
1300) are now boarded out among the peasants; these cottage asylums are
under government control, and the board of the patients in most cases is
guaranteed.
GHENT (150), a city of Belgium, capital of East Flanders, situated
at the junction of the Scheldt and the Lys, 34 m. NW. of Brussels; rivers
and canals divide it into 26 quarters, connected by 270 bridges; in the
older part are many quaint and interesting buildings, notably the
cathedral of St. Bavon (13th century); it is the first industrial city of
Belgium, and is a great emporium of the cotton, woollen, and linen
trades; the floriculture is famed, and the flower-shows have won it the
name of the "City of Flowers."
GHETTO, an Italian word applied to the quarters set apart in Italian
cities for the Jews, and to which in former times they were restricted;
the term is now applied to the Jews' quarters in any city.
GHIBELLINES, a political party in Italy who, from the 11th to the
14th centuries, maintained the supremacy of the German emperors over the
Italian States in opposition to the GUELPHS (q. v.).
GHIBERTI, LORENZO, an Italian sculptor and designer, born at
Florence; his first notable work was a grand fresco in the palace of
Malatesta at Rimini in 1400, but his most famous achievement, which
immortalised his name, was the execution of two doorways, with bas-relief
designs, in the baptistery at Florence; he spent 50 years at this work,
and so noble were the designs and so perfect the execution that Michael
Angelo declared them fit to be the gates of Paradise (about 1378-1455).
GHIKA, HELENA. See DORA D'ISTRIA.
GHILAN (200), a province of NW. Persia, between the SW. border of
the Caspian Sea and the Elburz Mountains; is low-lying, swampy, and
unhealthy towards the Caspian, but the rising ground to the S. is more
salubrious; wild animals are numerous in the vast forests; the soil,
where cleared, is fertile and well cultivated; the Caspian fisheries are
valuable; the people are of Iranian descent, and speak a Persian dialect.
GHIRLANDAJO (i. e. Garland-maker), nickname of Domenico Curradi,
an Italian painter, born at Florence; acquired celebrity first as a
designer in gold; he at 24 turned to painting, and devoted himself to
fresco and mosaic work, in which he won wide-spread fame; amongst his
many great frescoes it is enough to mention here "The Massacre of the
Innocents," at Florence, and "Christ calling Peter and Andrew," at Rome;
Michael Angelo was for a time his pupil (1449-1494).
GHUZNI. See GHAZNI.
GIANTS, in the Greek mythology often confounded with, but distinct
from, the TITANS (q. v.), being a mere earthly brood of great
stature and strength, who thought by their violence to dethrone Zeus, and
were with the assistance of Hercules overpowered and buried under Etna
and other volcanoes, doomed to continue their impotent grumbling there.
GIANT'S CAUSEWAY, a remarkable headland of columnar basaltic rock in
North Ireland, projecting into the North Channel from the Antrim coast at
Bengore Head, 7 m. NE. of Portrush; is an unequal surface 300 yds. long
and 30 ft. wide, formed by the tops of the 40,000 closely packed,
vertical columns which rise to a height of 400 ft. The legend goes that
it was the beginning of a roadway laid down by a giant.
GIAOUR, the Turkish name for an unbeliever in the Mohammedan faith,
and especially for a Christian in that regard.
GIBBON, EDWARD, eminent historian, born at Putney, near London, of
good parentage; his early education was greatly hindered by a nervous
complaint, which, however, disappeared by the time he was 14; a wide
course of desultory reading had, in a measure, repaired the lack of
regular schooling, and when at the age of 15 he was entered at Magdalen
College, Oxford, he possessed, as he himself quaintly puts it, "a stock
of erudition which might have puzzled a doctor, and a degree of ignorance
of which a schoolboy might have been ashamed"; 14 months later he became
a convert to Roman Catholicism, and in consequence was obliged to quit
Oxford; in the hope of reclaiming him to the Protestant faith he was
placed in the charge of the deistical poet Mallet, and subsequently under
a Calvinist minister at Lausanne; under the latter's kindly suasion he
speedily discarded Catholicism, and during five years' residence
established his learning on a solid foundation; time was also found for
the one love episode of his life--an amour with Suzanne Curchod, an
accomplished young lady, who subsequently became the wife of the French
minister M. Neckar, and mother of Madame de Staël; shortly after his
return to England in 1758 he published in French an Essay on the Study of
Literature, and for some time served in the militia; in 1774, having four
years previously inherited his father's estate, he entered Parliament,
and from 1779 to 1782 was one of the Lords Commissioners of Trade and
Plantations; in 1776 appeared the first volume of his great history "The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," the conception of which had come
to him in 1764 in Rome whilst "musing amongst the ruins of the Capitol";
in 1787 his great work was finished at Lausanne, where he had resided
since 1783; modern criticism, working with fresh sources of information,
has failed to find any serious flaw in the fabric of this masterpiece in
history, but the cynical attitude adopted towards the Christian religion
has always been regarded as a defect; "a man of endless reading and
research," was Carlyle's verdict after a final perusal of the "Decline,"
"but of a most disagreeable style, and a great want of the highest
faculties of what we would call a classical historian, compared with
Herodotus, for instance, and his perfect clearness and simplicity in
every part"; he, nevertheless, characterised his work to Emerson once as
"a splendid bridge from the old world to the new" (1737-1794).
GIBBONS, GRINLING, a celebrated wood-carver, born at Rotterdam, but
brought up in England; through the influence of Evelyn he obtained a post
in the Board of Works, and his marvellous skill as a wood-carver won him
the patronage of Charles II., who employed him to furnish ornamental
carving for the Chapel of Windsor; much of his best work was done for the
nobility, and in many of their mansions his carving is yet extant in all
its grace and finish, the ceiling of a room at Petworth being considered
his masterpiece; he also did some notable work in bronze and marble
(1648-1721).
GIBBONS, ORLANDO, an eminent English musician, composer of many
exquisite anthems, madrigals, &c., born at Cambridge; in 1604 he obtained
the post of organist in the Chapel Royal, London, and two years later
received the degree of Mus. Bac. of Cambridge, while Oxford recognised
his rare merits in 1622 by creating him a Mus. Doc.; in the following
year he became organist of Westminster Abbey, and in 1625 was in official
attendance at Canterbury on the occasion of Charles I.'s marriage, but he
did not live to celebrate the ceremony, for which he wrote the music; he
is considered the last and greatest of the old Church musicians of
England (1583-1625).
GIBEON, a place on the northern slopes of a hill 6 or 7 m. S. of
Bethel, and the spot over which Joshua bade the sun stand still; its
inhabitants, for a trick they played on the invading Israelites, wore
condemned to serve them as "hewers of wood and drawers of water."
GIBRALTAR, a promontory of rock, in the S. of Spain, about 2 m.
square and over 1400 ft. in height, connected with the mainland by a spit
of sand, forming a strong fortress, with a town (25) of the name at the
foot of it on the W. side, and with the Strait of Gibraltar on the S.,
which at its narrowest is 15 m. broad; the rock above the town is a
network of batteries, mounted with heavy cannon, and the town itself is a
trade entrepôt for N. Africa; the rock has been held as a stronghold by
the British since 1704.
GIBSON, JOHN, sculptor, born at Gyffin, near Conway, Wales, of
humble parentage; after serving an apprenticeship to a cabinet-maker in
Liverpool, he took to carving in wood and stone, and supported by Roscoe
became a pupil of Canova and afterwards of Thorwaldsen in Rome; here he
made his home and did his best work; mention may be made of "Theseus and
the Robber," "Amazon thrown from her horse," statues of George
Stephenson, Peel, and Queen Victoria; in 1836 he was elected a member of
the Royal Academy (1790-1866).
GIBSON, THOMAS MILNER, politician, born at Trinidad; graduated at
Cambridge; entered Parliament in the Conservative interest, but becoming
a convert to Free-Trade principles, he went over to the Liberal ranks,
and became an active and eloquent supporter of the Manchester policy;
returned for Manchester in 1841 and 1846, was made a Privy Councillor and
Vice-President of the Board of Trade; his earnest advocacy of peace at
the Crimean crisis lost him his seat in Manchester, but Ashton-under-Lyne
returned him the same year; under Palmerston he was for seven years
(1859-66) President of the Board of Trade; his name is honourably
associated with the repeal of the Advertisement, Newspaper Stamp, and
Paper Duties; in 1868 he retired from public life (1806-1884).
GIDEON, one of the most eminent of the Judges of Israel, famous for
his defeat of the Midianites at Gilboa, and the peace of 40 years'
duration which it ensured to the people under his rule.
GIESEBRECHT, WILHELM VON, historian, born at Berlin; was professor
of History at Königsberg and at Münich; his chief work is "Geschichte der
Deutschen Kaiserzeit" (1814-1889).
GIESELER, JOHANN KARL LUDWIG, a learned Church historian, born near
Minden; after quitting Halle University adopted teaching as a profession,
but in 1813 served in the war against France; on the conclusion of the
war he held educational appointments at Minden; was nominated in 1819 to
the chair of Theology at Bonn, and in 1831 was appointed to a like
professorship in Göttingen; his great work is a "History of the Church"
in 6 vols. (1793-1854).
GIESSEN (21), the chief town of Hesse-Darmstadt, situated at
the confluence of the Wieseck and the Lahn, 40 m. N. of
Frankfort-on-the-Main; has a flourishing university, and various
manufactories.
GIFFORD, ADAM, LORD, a Scottish judge, born in Edinburgh; had a
large practice as a barrister, and realised a considerable fortune, which
he bequeathed towards the endowment of four lectureships on Natural
Theology in connection with each of the four universities in Scotland;
was a man of a philosophical turn of mind, and a student of Spinoza; held
office as a judge from 1870 to 1881 (1820-1887).
GIFFORD, WILLIAM, an English man of letters, born in Ashburton,
Devonshire; left friendless and penniless at an early age by the death of
his parents, he first served as a cabin-boy, and subsequently for four
years worked as a cobbler's apprentice; through the generosity of a local
doctor, and afterwards of Earl Grosvenor, he obtained a university
training at Oxford, where in 1792 he graduated; a period of travel on the
Continent was followed in 1794 by his celebrated satire the "Baviad," and
in two years later by the "Mæviad"; his editorship of the _Anti-Jacobin_
(1797-1798) procured him favour and office at the hands of the Tories;
the work of translation, and the editing of Elizabethan poets, occupied
him till 1809, when he became the first editor of the _Quarterly Review_;
his writing is vigorous, and marked by strong partisanship, but his
bitter attacks on the new literature inaugurated by Wordsworth, Shelley,
Keats, and others reveal a prejudiced and narrow view of literature
(1757-1826).
GIGMAN, Carlyle's name for a man who prides himself on, and pays all
respect to, respectability; derived from a definition once given in a
court of justice by a witness who, having described a person as
respectable, was asked by the judge in the case what he meant by the
word; "one that keeps a gig," was the answer.
GIL BLAS, a romance by Le Sage, from the name of the hero, a
character described by Scott as honestly disposed, but being
constitutionally timid, unable to resist temptation, though capable of
brave actions, and intelligent, but apt to be deceived through vanity,
with sufficient virtue to make us love him, but indifferent to our
respect.
GILBERT, SIR HUMPHREY, navigator, born in Devonshire, half-brother
of Sir Walter Raleigh; in 1583 established a settlement in Newfoundland.
GILBERT, SIR JOHN, English artist, President of the Royal Society of
Water-Colour Painters; was for long an illustrator of books, among the
number an edition of Shakespeare; he was a Chevalier of the Legion of
Honour (1817-1897).
GILBERT, WILLIAM SCHWENCK, barrister, notable as a play-writer and
as the author of the librettos of a series of well-known popular comic
operas set to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan; _b_. 1836.
GILBERT ISLANDS, or KINGSMILL GROUP (37), a group of islands in
the Pacific, of coral formation, lying on the equator between 172° and
177° E. long; they are 16 in number, were discovered in 1788, and annexed
by Britain in 1892.
GILBOA, MOUNT, a range of hills on the SE. of the Plain of
Esdraëlon, in Palestine, attaining a height of 1698 ft.
GILCHRIST, ALEXANDER, biographer of WILLIAM BLAKE (q. v.),
born at Newington Green, son of a Unitarian minister; although called to
the bar, literary and art criticism became his main pursuit; settled at
Guildford in 1853, where he wrote his Life of the artist Etty; became in
1856 a next-door neighbour of Carlyle at Chelsea, and had all but
finished his Life of Blake when he died (1828-1861).--His wife, Anne
Gilchrist, née Burrows, was during her life an active contributor to
magazines; she completed her husband's Life of Blake, and in 1883
published a Life of Mary Lamb (1828-1885).
GILDAS, a monkish historian of Britain, who wrote in the 6th century
a Latin work entitled "De Excidio Britanniæ," which afterwards appeared
in two parts, a History and an Epistle.
GILEAD, a tableland extending along the E. of the Jordan, at a
general level of 2000 ft. above the sea, the highest point near
Ramoth-Gilead being 3597 ft.
GILES, ST., the patron saint of cripples, beggars, and lepers; was
himself a cripple, due to his refusal to be cured of a wound that he
might learn to mortify the flesh; was fed by the milk of a hind that
visited him daily; had once at his monastery a long interview with St.
Louis, without either of them speaking a word to the other.
GILFILLAN, GEORGE, a critic and essayist, born at Comrie, minister
of a Dissenting congregation in Dundee from 1836 to his death; a writer
with a perfervid style; author of "Gallery of Literary Portraits," "Bards
of the Bible," etc., and editor of Nichol's "British Poets," which
extended to 48 vols. (1817-1878).
GILLESPIE, GEORGE, a celebrated Scotch divine, born at Kirkcaldy;
trained at St. Andrews, and ordained to a charge at Wemyss; in 1642 he
was called to Edinburgh, and in the following year appointed one of a
deputation of four to represent Scotland at the Westminster Assembly; his
chief work is "Aaron's Rod Blossoming," a vigorous statement and
vindication of his Presbyterianism; in 1648 he was Moderator of the
General Assembly (1613-1648).
GILPIN, JOHN, a London citizen, on an adventure of whose life Cowper
has written a humorous poem.
GILPIN, WILLIAM, OF BOLDRE, an English author, who by his series of
"Picturesque Tours" exercised an influence on English literature similar
to that of White's "Selborne," at the same time (1724-1804).
GILRAY, JAMES, English caricaturist, born in Chelsea; distinguished
for his broad humour and keen satire; his works were numerous and highly
popular; died insane (1757-1815).
GIOBERTI, VINCENZO, an Italian philosophical and political writer,
born at Turin; in 1825 he was appointed to the chair of Theology in his
native city, and in 1831 chaplain to the Court of Charles Albert of
Sardinia; two years later was exiled on a charge of complicity in the
plots of the Young Italy party, and till 1847 remained abroad, chiefly in
Brussels, busy with his pen on literary, philosophical, and political
subjects; in 1848 he was welcomed back to Italy, and shortly afterwards
rose to be Prime Minister of a short-lived government; his later years
were spent in diplomatic work at Paris; in philosophy he reveals Platonic
tendencies, while his political ideal was a confederated Italy, with the
Pope at the head and the king of Sardinia as military guardian
(1801-1852).
GIORDANO, LUCA, Italian painter, born at Naples; studied under
various celebrated masters at Naples, Rome, Lombardy, and other places,
finally returning to Naples; in 1692 he received a commission from
Charles II. of Spain to adorn the Escurial, and in the execution of this
work remained at Madrid till 1700, when he again settled in his native
city; he was famous in his day for marvellous rapidity of workmanship,
but this fluency combined with a too slavish adherence to the methods of
the great masters has somewhat robbed his work of individuality; his
frescoes in the Escurial at Madrid and others in Florence and Rome are
esteemed his finest work (1632-1705).
GIORGIONE (i. e. Great George), the sobriquet given to Giorgio
Barbarella, one of the early masters of the Venetian school, born near
Castelfranco, in the NE. of Italy; at Venice he studied under Giovanni
Bellini, and had Titian as a fellow-pupil; his portraits are among the
finest of the Italian school, and exhibit a freshness of colour and
conception and a firmness of touch unsurpassed in his day; his works deal
chiefly with scriptural and pastoral scenes, and include a "Holy Family"
in the Louvre, "Virgin and Child" in Venice, and "Moses Rescued"
(1447-1511).
GIOTTO, a great Italian painter, born at a village near Florence;
was a shepherd's boy, and at 10 years of age, while tending his flock and
drawing pictures of them, was discovered by Cimabue, who took him home
and made a pupil of him; "never," says Ruskin, "checked the boy from the
first day he found him, showed him all he knew, talked with him of many
things he himself felt unable to paint; made him a workman and a
gentleman, above all, a Christian, yet left him a shepherd.... His
special character among the great painters of Italy was that he was a
practical person; what others dreamt of he did; he could work in mosaic,
could work in marble, and paint; could build ... built the Campanile of
the Duomo, because he was then the best master of sculpture, painting,
and architecture in Florence, and supposed in such business to be without
a superior in the world.... Dante was his friend and Titian copied
him.... His rules in art were: You shall see things as they are; and the
least with the greatest, because God made them; and the greatest with the
least, because God made you, and gave you eyes and a heart; he threw
aside all glitter and conventionality, and the most significant thing in
all his work is his choice of moments." Cimabue still painted the Holy
Family in the old conventional style, "but Giotto came into the field,
and saw with his simple eyes a lowlier worth; and he painted the Madonna,
St. Joseph, and the Christ,--yes, by all means if you choose to call them
so, but essentially--Mamma, Papa, and the Baby; and all Italy threw up
its cap" (1276-1336). See Ruskin's "Mornings in Florence."
GIOTTO'S O, a perfectly round O, such as Giotto is said to have sent
the Pope in evidence of his ability to do some decorative work for his
Holiness.
GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS (i. e. Giraldus of Cambria), ecclesiastic and
author, born in Pembrokeshire, of Norman descent; studied with
distinction in Paris; was a zealous churchman; obtained ecclesiastical
preferment in England; was twice elected bishop of St. David's, but both
times set aside; travelled in Ireland as well as Wales, and left record
of his impressions, which give an entertaining picture and a valuable
account of the times, though disfigured by credulity and personal vanity
(1147-1223).
GIRARD, STEPHEN, a philanthropist, born at Bordeaux; in early life
followed the career of a seaman and rose to be captain of an American
coast-trader; in 1769 set up as a trader in Philadelphia, and in course
of time establishing a bank, accumulated an immense fortune; during his
lifetime he exhibited a strange mixture of niggardliness, scepticism,
public charitableness, and a philanthropy which moved him during a
yellow-fever epidemic to labour as a nurse in the hospital; at his death
he bequeathed $2,000,000 to found an orphanage for boys, attaching to the
bequest the remarkable condition, that no clergyman should ever be on the
board or ever be permitted to enter the building (1750-1831).
GIRARDIN, ÉMILE DE, journalist and politician, born in Switzerland,
the natural son of General Alexandre de Girardin; took to stockbroking,
but quitting it for journalism he soon established a reputation as a
ready, vivacious writer, and in 1836 started _La Presse_, the first
French penny paper; his rapid change of front in politics earned for him
the nickname of "The Weathercock"; latterly he adhered to the Republican
cause, and founded _La France_ in its interest; he published many
political brochures and a few plays, and was for some years editor of _La
Liberté_ (1806-1881).--His wife, DELPHINE GAY, enjoyed a wide
celebrity both as a beauty and authoress; her poems, plays, and novels
fill six vols. (1806-1881).
GIRARDIN, FRANÇOIS SAINT-MARC, a French professor and littérateur,
born at Paris; in 1827 was professor in the College Louis-le-Grand, and
in 1834 was nominated to the chair of Literature in the Sorbonne; as
leader-writer in the _Journal des Débats_ he vigorously opposed the
Democrats, and sat in the Senate from 1834 to 1848; in 1869, as
Saint-Beuve's successor, he took up the editorship of the _Journal des
Savants_, and in 1871 became a member of the National Assembly; he
published his collected essays and also his popular literary lectures
(1801-1873).
GIRONDE (794), a maritime department in SW. France, facing the Bay
of Biscay on the W. and lying N. and S. between Charente-Inférieure and
Landes; the Garonne and the Dordogne flowing through it form the Gironde
estuary, and with their tributaries sufficiently water the undulating
land; agriculture and some manufactories flourish, but wine is the chief
product.
GIRONDINS or GIRONDISTS, a party of moderate republican
opinions in the French Revolution; "men," says Carlyle, "of fervid
constitutional principles, of quick talent, irrefragable logic, clear
respectability, who would have the reign of liberty establish itself, but
only by respectable methods." The leaders of it were from the Gironde
district, whence their name, were in succession members of the
Legislative Body and of the Convention, on the right in the former, on
the left in the latter, and numbered among them such names as Condorcet,
Brissot, Roland, Carnot, and others; they opposed the court and the
clerical party, and voted for the death of the king, but sought to rescue
him by a proposal of appeal to the people; overpowered by the Jacobins in
June 1793, with whom they came to open rupture, they sought in vain to
provoke a rising in their favour; on October 24 they were arraigned
before the Revolutionary tribunal, and on the 31st twenty-one of them
were brought to the guillotine, singing the "Marseillaise" as they went
and on the scaffold, while the rest, all to a few, perished later on
either the same way or by their own hands.
GIRTIN, THOMAS, a landscape-painter, born in London; painted in
water-colour views of scenes near Paris and London; was a friend of
Turner (1773-1802).
GIRTON COLLEGE, a celebrated college for women, founded in 1869 at
Hitchin, but since 1873 located at Girton, near Cambridge; the ordinary
course extends to three years, and degree certificates of the standard of
the Cambridge B.A. are granted; the staff consists of a "head" and five
resident lecturers, all women, but there is a large accession of
lecturers from Cambridge; the students number upwards of 100, the fee for
board and education £35 per term.
GIZEH or GHIZEH (11), a town in Egypt, on the Nile, opposite
Old Cairo, to which it is joined by a suspension bridge spanning the
river; in the neighbourhood are the Great Pyramids.
GLACIER, a more or less snow-white mass of ice occupying an Alpine
valley and moving slowly down its bed like a viscous substance, being fed
by semi-melted snow at the top called _nevé_ and forming streams at the
bottom; it has been defined by Prof. J. D. FORBES (q. v.) as "a
viscous body which is urged down slopes of a certain inclination by the
mutual pressure of its parts"; in the Alps alone they number over 1000,
have an utmost depth of 1500 ft., and an utmost length of 12 m.
GLADIATOR, one who fought in the arena at Rome with men or beasts
for the amusement of the people, originally in connection with funeral
games, under the belief, it is said, that the spirits of the dead were
appeased at the sight of blood; exhibitions of the kind were common under
the emperors, and held on high occasions; if the gladiator was wounded in
the contest, the spectators decided whether he was to live or die by, in
the former case, turning their thumbs downwards, and in the latter
turning them upwards.
GLADSTONE, WILLIAM EWART, statesman, orator, and scholar, born at
Liverpool, son of a Liverpool merchant, sometime of Leith, and of Ann,
daughter of Andrew Robertson, Stornoway; educated at Eton and Oxford;
entered Parliament in 1832 as member for Newark in the Tory interest;
delivered his maiden speech on slavery emancipation on May 17, 1833;
accepted office under Sir Robert Peel in 1834, and again in 1841 and
1846; and as member for Oxford, separating from the Tory party, took
office under Lord Aberdeen, and in 1859, under Lord Palmerston, became
Chancellor of the Exchequer; elected member for South Lancashire, 1865,
he became leader of the Commons under Lord John Russell; elected for
Greenwich, he became Premier for the first time in 1869, holding office
till 1875; after a brilliant campaign in Midlothian he was returned for
that county in 1880, and became Premier for the second time; became
Premier a third time in 1886, and a fourth time in 1892. During his
tenure of office he introduced and carried a great number of important
measures, but failed from desertion in the Liberal ranks to carry his pet
measure of Home Rule for Ireland, so he retired from office into private
life in 1895; his last days he spent chiefly in literary work, the fruit
of which, added to earlier works, gives evidence of the breadth of his
sympathies and the extent of his scholarly attainments; but being seized
by a fatal malady, his strong constitution gradually sank under it, and
he died at Hawarden, May 19, 1898; he was buried in Westminster Abbey at
the expense of the nation and amid expressions of sorrow on the part of
the whole community; he was a man of high moral character, transcendent
ability, and strong will, and from the day he took the lead the
acknowledged chief of the Liberal party in the country (1809-1898).
GLAISHER, JAMES, meteorologist and founder of the Royal
Meteorological Society, born in London; his first observations in
meteorology were done as an officer of the Irish Ordnance Survey; in
1836, after service in the Cambridge Observatory, he went to Greenwich,
and from 1840 to 1874 he superintended the meteorological department of
the Royal Observatory; in connection with atmospheric investigations he
made a series of 28 balloon ascents, rising on one occasion to a height
of 7 m., the greatest elevation yet attained: _b_. 1809.
GLAMORGANSHIRE (687), a maritime county in S. Wales, fronting the
Bristol Channel, between Monmouth and Carmarthen; amid the hilly country
of the N. lie the rich coal-fields and iron-stone quarries which have
made it by far the most populous and wealthiest county of Wales; the S.
country--the garden of Wales--is a succession of fertile valleys and
wooded slopes; dairy-farming is extensively engaged in, but agriculture
is somewhat backward; the large towns are actively engaged in the
coal-trade and in the smelting of iron, copper, lead, and tin; some
interesting Roman remains exist in the county.
GLANVILL, JOSEPH, born at Plymouth, graduated at Oxford; was at
first an Aristotelian and Puritan in his opinions, but after the
Restoration entered the Church, and obtained preferment in various sees;
his fame rests upon his eloquent appeal for freedom of thought in "The
Vanity of Dogmatising" (1661) and upon his two works in defence of a
belief in witches; he was one of the first Fellows of the Royal Society;
he seems to have made Sir Thomas Browne his model, though he is not equal
to him in the vigour of his thinking or the harmony of his style
(1636-1680).
GLANVILL, RANULF DE, Chief-Justiciary of England in the reign of
Henry II., born at Stratford, in Suffolk; is the author of the earliest
treatise on the laws of England, a work in 14 books; was deposed by
Richard I., and, joining the Crusaders, fell before Acre; _d_. 1190.
GLASGOW (815, including suburbs), the second city of the empire and
the chief centre of industry in Scotland, is situated on the Clyde, in
Lanarkshire, 45 m. W. from Edinburgh and 405 from London; it is
conjectured that the origin of the name is found in Cleschu ("beloved
green spot"), the name of a Celtic village which occupied the site
previously, near which St. Mungo, or Kentigern, erected his church about
A.D. 560; although a royal burgh in 1636, it was not till after the
stimulus to trade occasioned by the Union (1707) that it began to display
its now characteristic mercantile activity; since then it has gone
forward by leaps and bounds, owing not a little of its success to its
exceptionally favourable situation; besides the advantages of waterway
derived from the Clyde, it is in the heart of a rich coal and iron
district; spinning and weaving, shipbuilding, foundries, chemical and
iron works, and all manner of industries, flourish; the city is
spaciously and handsomely laid out; the cathedral (1197) is the chief
building of historical and architectural interest; there is a university
(1451) and a variety of other colleges, besides several public libraries
and art schools; Glasgow returns seven members of Parliament.
GLASSE, MRS., authoress, real or fictitious, of a cookery book, once
in wide-spread repute; credited with the sage prescription, "First catch
your hare."
GLASSITES, a Christian sect founded in Scotland about 1730 by John
Glas (1695-1773), a minister of the Church of Scotland, who in 1730 was
deposed for denouncing all national establishments of religion as
"inconsistent with the true nature of the Church of Christ," and
maintaining that a Church and its office-bearers owed allegiance to none
other than Christ; the sect, which developed peculiarities of doctrine
and worship in conformity with those of the primitive Church, spread to
England and America, where they became known as _Sandemanians_, after
Robert Sandeman (1718-1771), son-in-law to Glas, and his zealous
supporter.
GLASTONBURY (4), an ancient town in Somersetshire, 36 m. S. of
Bristol, on the Brue; it is associated with many interesting legends and
historical traditions that point to its existence in very early times;
thus it was the _Avalon_ of Arthurian legend, and the place where Joseph
of Arimathea, when he brought the Holy Grail, is said to have founded the
first Christian Church; ruins are still extant of the old abbey founded
by Henry II., which itself succeeded the ancient abbey of St. Dunstan
(946); there is trade in gloves, mats, rugs, &c.
GLEIN, LUDWIG, German lyric poet, known as Father Glein for the
encouragement he gave to young German authors; composed war songs for the
Prussian army (1719-1803).
GLENCOE, a wild and desolate glen in the N. of Argyllshire, running
eastward from Ballachulish 10 m.; shut in by two lofty and rugged
mountain ranges; the Coe flows through the valley and enhances its lonely
grandeur. See following.
GLENCOE, MASSACRE OF, a treacherous slaughter of the Macdonalds of
that glen on the morning of 13th February 1691, to the number of 38, in
consequence of the belated submission of MacIan, the chief, to William
and Mary after the Revolution; the perpetrators of the deed were a body
of soldiers led by Captain Campbell, who came among the people as
friends, and stayed as friends among them for 12 days.
GLENDOWER, OWEN, a Welsh chief and patriot, a descendant of the old
Welsh princes who stirred up a rebellion against the English under Henry
IV., which, with the help of the Percies of Northumberland and Charles
VI. of France, he conducted with varied success for years, but eventual
failure (1349-1415). See Shakespeare's "Henry IV."
GLENLIVET, a valley in Banffshire, through which the Livet Water
runs, about 20 m. SW. of Huntly; famed for its whisky.
GLENROY, a narrow glen 14 m. long, in Inverness-shire, in the
Lochaber district; Fort William lies 13 m. NE. of its SW. extremity; the
Roy flows through the valley; the steep sides are remarkable for three
regular and distinctly-formed shelves or terraces running parallel almost
the entire distance of the glen, the heights on either side exactly
corresponding; these are now regarded as the margins of a former loch
which gradually sank as the barrier of glacial ice which dammed the
waters up slowly melted.
GLOGAU (20), a town with a strong fortress in Silesia, on the Oder,
35 m. NW. of Liegnitz; is a place of manufacture; was brilliantly taken
by Frederick the Great in the Silesian War on the 9th March 1741 by
scalade, in one hour, at the very break of day.
GLOMMEN or STOR-ELV (i. e. Great River), the largest river in
Norway; has its source in Lake Aursund, and, after a southward course of
350 m., broken by many falls, and for the most part unnavigable,
discharges into the Skager Rack at Frederikstad.
GLORIANA, Queen Elizabeth, represented in her capacity as sovereign
in Spenser's "Faërie Queen."
GLOUCESTER: 1 (39), the capital of Gloucestershire, on the Severn,
38 m. NE. of Bristol; a handsomely laid out town, the main lines of its
ground-plan testifying to its Roman origin; conspicuous among several
fine buildings is the cathedral, begun in 1088 (restored in 1853) and
exhibiting features of Perpendicular and Norman architecture; the river,
here tidal, is spanned by two stone bridges, and a flourishing commerce
is favoured by fine docks and a canal; chemicals, soap, &c., are
manufactured. 2 (25), a seaport of Massachusetts, U.S., 30 m. NE. of
Boston; is a favourite summer resort, an important fishing-station, and
has an excellent harbour; granite is hewn in large quantities in the
neighbouring quarries.
GLOUCESTER, ROBERT OF, English chronicler; was a monk of Gloucester
Abbey, and lived in the 13th century; his chronicle, which is in verse,
traces the history of England from the siege of Troy to 1271, the year
before the accession of Edward I.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE (600), a west midland county of England, which
touches Warwick in the centre of the country, and extends SW. to the
estuary of the Severn; it presents three natural and well-defined
districts known as the Hill, formed by the Cotswold Hills in the E.; the
Vale, through which the Severn runs, in the centre; the Forest of Dean
(the largest in England) in the W.; coal is wrought in two large fields,
but agricultural and dairy-farming are the main industries; antiquities
abound; the principal rivers are the Wye, Severn, Lower and Upper Avon,
and Thames; BRISTOL (q. v.) is the largest town.
GLÜCK, CHRISTOPH VON, a German musical composer and reformer of the
opera; made his first appearance in Vienna; studied afterwards for some
years under San-Martini of Milan, and brought out his first opera
"Artaxerxes," followed by seven others in the Italian style; invited to
London, he studied Händel, attained a loftier ideal, and returned to the
Continent, where, especially at Vienna and Paris, he achieved his
triumphs, becoming founder of a new era in operatic music; in Paris he
had a rival in Piccini, and the public opinion was for a time divided,
but the production by him of "Iphigénie en Aulide" established his
superiority, and he carried off the palm (1714-1787).
GNOMES, a set of imaginary beings misshapen in form and of
diminutive size, viewed as inhabiting the interior of the earth and
presiding over its secret treasures.
GNOSTICS, heretics, consisting of various sects that arose in the
Apostolic age of Christianity, and that sought, agreeably to the
philosophic opinions which they had severally embraced, to extract an
esoteric meaning out of the letter of Scripture and the facts especially
of the Gospel history, such as only those of superior speculative insight
could appreciate; they set a higher value on Knowledge (_gnosis_, whence
their name) than Faith; thus their understanding of Christianity was
speculative, not spiritual, and their knowledge of it the result of
thinking, not of life; like the Jews they denied the possibility of the
Word becoming flesh and of a realisation of the infinite in the finite;
indeed, Gnosticism was at once a speculative and a practical denial that
Christ was God manifest in the flesh, and that participation in
Christianity was, as He presented it (John vi. 53), participation in His
flesh. See CHRISTIANITY.
GOA (495), a Portuguese possession in W. India, lying between the
Western Ghâts and the sea-coast, 250 m. SE. of Bombay; large quantities
of rice are raised in it; is hilly on the E. and covered with forests; it
was captured in 1510 by Albuquerque. Old Goa, the former capital, has
fallen from a populous and wealthy city into utter decay, its place being
taken by Nova Goa or Panjim (8), on the Mandavi, 3 m. from the coast.
GOBELINS, GILLES AND JEAN, brothers, celebrated dyers, who in the
15th century introduced into France the art of dyeing in scarlet,
subsequently adding on tapestry-weaving to their establishment; their
works in Paris were taken over by government in Louis XIV.'s reign, and
the tapestry, of gorgeous design, then put forth became known as
Gobelins; Le Brun, the famous artist, was for a time chief designer, and
the tapestries turned out in his time have a world-wide celebrity; the
works are still in operation, and a second establishment, supported by
government, for the manufacture of Gobelins exists at Beauvais.
GODAV`ARI, an important river of India, rises on the E. side of W.
Ghâts, traverses in a SE. direction the entire Deccan, and forming a
large delta, falls into the Bay of Bengal by seven mouths after a course
of 900 m.; its mighty volume of water supplies irrigating and navigable
canals for the whole Deccan; it is one of the 12 sacred rivers of India,
and once in 12 years a bathing festival is celebrated on its banks.
GODET, FREDERICK, Swiss theologian, born at Neuchâtel; became
professor of Theology there; author of commentaries on St. John's and
Luke's Gospels and on the Epistles to the Romans and the Corinthians,
along with other works; _b_. 1812.
GODFREY OF BOUILLON, a renowned Crusader, eldest son of Eustace II.,
Count of Boulogne; he served with distinction under the Emperor Henry
II., being present at the storming of Rome in 1084; his main title to
fame rests on the gallantry and devotion he displayed in the first
Crusade, of which he was a principal leader; a series of victories led up
to the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, and he was proclaimed "Defender and
Baron of the Holy Sepulchre," but declined to wear a king's crown in the
city where his Saviour had borne a crown of thorns; his defeat of the
sultan of Egypt at Ascalon in the same year confirmed him in the
possession of Palestine (1061-1100).
GODIVA, LADY, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry,
who pled in vain with her husband on behalf of the inhabitants of the
place for relief from heavy exactions he had laid upon them, till one day
he relented and consented he would grant her prayer if she would ride
through Coventry on horseback naked, which, with his leave, she at once
undertook to do, and did, not one soul of the place peering through to
look at her save Peeping Tom, who paid for his curiosity by being smitten
thereafter with blindness.
GODOLPHIN, SYDNEY GODOLPHIN, EARL OF, a celebrated English statesman
and financier, born at Godolphin Hall, near Helston, Cornwall; at 19 was
a royal page in the Court of Charles II., and in 1678 engaged on a
political mission in Holland; in the following year entered Parliament
and was appointed to a post in the Treasury, of which, five years later,
he became First Commissioner, being at the same time raised to the
peerage; under James II, was again at the head of the Treasury, and at
the Revolution supported James, till the abdication, when he voted in
favour of a regency; on the elevation of William to the throne was
immediately reinstated at the Treasury, where he continued eight years,
till the Whig ascendency brought about his dismissal; for six months in
1700 he once more assumed his former post, and under Anne fulfilled the
duties of Lord High-Treasurer from 1702 to 1710, administering the
finances with sagacity and integrity during the great campaigns of his
friend Marlborough, and in 1706 he was created an Earl (1645-1712).
GODOY, MANUEL DE, minister of Charles IV. of Spain, born at Badajoz;
played a conspicuous part in the affairs of Spain during the French
Revolution and the Empire; received the title of Prince of Peace for an
offensive and defensive treaty he concluded with France in 1796, in
opposition to the general wish of the nation; lost all and died in Paris
(1767-1851).
GODWIN, Earl of the West Saxons, a powerful English noble of the
11th century and father of Harold II.; first comes into prominence in the
reign of Cnut; was created an earl previous to 1018, and shortly
afterwards became related to the king by marriage; he was a zealous
supporter of Harthacnut in the struggle which followed the demise of
Cnut; subsequently was instrumental in raising Edward the Confessor to
the throne, to whom he gave his daughter Edith in marriage; continued for
some years virtual ruler of the kingdom, but in 1051 his opposition to
the growing Norman influence brought about his banishment and the
confiscation of his estates; in 1052 he returned to England and was
received with so great popular acclaim that the king was forced to
restore to him his estates and offices; _d_. 1054.
GODWIN, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT, an English authoress, and first to
publicly assert the Rights of Women, born at Hoxton, of humble Irish
parentage; at 19 she began to support herself by teaching, and continued
to do so till 1788, when she established herself in London to push her
way as a writer, having already published "Thoughts on the Education of
Daughters"; in 1791 she replied to Burke's "Reflections," and in the
following year appeared her famous "Vindication of the Rights of Women";
while in Paris in 1793 she formed a _liaison_ with an American, Captain
Imlay, whose cruel desertion of her two years later induced her to
attempt suicide by drowning; in 1796 she became attached to William
Godwin, a friend of five years' standing, and with him lived for some
months, although, in accord with their own pronounced opinions, no
marriage ceremony had been performed; in deference to the opinions of
others, however, they departed from this position, and a marriage was
duly celebrated five months before the birth of their daughter Mary
(Shelley's second wife); contemporary opinion shows her to have been
generous and gentle of nature, and animated throughout by a noble zeal
for the welfare of humanity (1759-1797).
GODWIN, WILLIAM, a political writer and novelist, the son of a
Presbyterian minister, born at Wisbeach, Somersetshire; was educated for
the Church, and was for five years in the ministry; during this period
his opinions on politics and religion underwent a radical change, and
when in 1787 he threw up his holy office to engage in literature, he had
become a republican in the one and a free-thinker in the other; various
works had come from his pen, including three novels, before his
celebrated "Political Justice" appeared in 1793, "Caleb Williams," a
novel, and his best-known work, being published in the following year; in
1797 he married Mary Wollstonecraft (_See_ preceding), who died the same
year, and four years later he married a widow, Mrs. Clement; to the close
of his long life he was a prolific writer on literary, historical, and
political subjects, but his carelessness and lack of business habits left
him little profit from all his literary activity; his writings are clear
and vigorous in the expression, if visionary and impracticable in theory
(1756-1836).
GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON, a great poet and wise man, the
greatest, it is alleged, the world has seen since Shakespeare left it,
and who, being born in Frankfort-on-the-Main 10 years before Robert
Burns, died in the small duchy of Weimar the same year as Sir Walter
Scott; was the son of an imperial chancellor, a formal man and his
pedagogue in boyhood, and of Elizabeth Textor, daughter of the chief
magistrate of the city, a woman of bright intelligence, who was only
eighteen at the time of his birth. Spiritually and bodily he was the most
perfectly formed, symetrically proportioned, justly balanced, and
completely cultivated man perhaps that ever lived, whose priceless value
to the world lies in this, that in his philosophy and life there is found
the union in one of what to smaller people appears entirely and
absolutely antagonistic, of utmost scientific scepticism and highest
spiritual faith and worth. "He was filled full with the scepticism,
bitterness, hollowness, and thousandfold contradictions of his time, till
his heart was like to break; yet he subdued all this, rose victorious
over this, and manifoldly, by word and act, showed others that came after
how to do the like." Carlyle, who is never done recalling his worth,
confesses an indebtedness to him--which he found it beyond his power to
express: "It was he," he writes to Emerson, "that first proclaimed to me
(convincingly, for I saw it _done_): 'behold, even in this scandalous
Sceptico-Epicurean generation, when all is gone but hunger and cant, it
is still possible that Man be Man.'" "He was," says he, "king of himself
and his world;... his faculties and feelings were not fettered or
prostrated under the iron sway of Passion, but led and guided in kindly
union under the mild sway of Reason; as the fierce primeval elements of
chaos were stilled at the coming of Light, and bound together, under its
soft vesture, into a glorious and beneficent Creation." His life lies
latent in his successive works, above all in "Goetz," in "Werter," in
"Faust," and in "Meister"; but as these have not been duly read it has
not yet been duly written, though an attempt is being made to do so in
the said connection. Of the last of the four works named, Carlyle, who
has done more than any one else yet to bring Goethe near us, once said,
"There are some ten pages of that book that, if ambition had been my
object, I would rather have written than all the literature of my time."
"One counsel," says Carlyle, "he has to give, the secret of his whole
poetic alchemy, 'Think of living! Thy life is no idle dream, but a solemn
reality. It is thy own, it is all thou hast to front eternity with.'"
"Never thought on thinking," he has said, _Nie ans Denken gedacht_. "What
a thrift," exclaims Carlyle, "of faculty here!" Some think he had one
weakness: he lived for culture, believed in culture, irrespective of the
fact and the need of individual regeneration. And Emerson, who afterwards
in his "Representative Men" did Goethe full justice, in introducing him
as, if not a world-wise man, at all events as a world-related, once
complained that "he showed us the _actual_ rather than the _ideal_." To
which Carlyle answered, "That is true; but it is not the whole truth. The
actual well seen _is_ the ideal. The actual, what really is and exists;
the past, the present, and the future do all lie _there_" (1749-1832).
GOETZ VON BERLICHINGEN (of the Iron Hand), a German knight of the
16th century; was involved in turbulent movements, and lost his right
hand at the siege of Landshut, which he replaced by one of his own
invention made of steel; spent his life in feuds, and left an
autobiography which interested Goethe, who dramatised his story, "to
save," as he said, "the memory of a brave man from darkness," a drama
that had the honour of being translated by Sir Walter Scott.
GOG AND MAGOG, names that occur in the Bible of foes of Israel, and
designative in the Apocalypse of enemies of the kingdom of God, as also
of a Scythian tribe N. of the Caucasus. The names are applied likewise to
two giants, survivors of a race found in Britain by Brute of Troy,
effigies of whom stood at the Guildhall Gate, symbolic defenders of the
city.
GOGOL, NICOLAI VASILIEVITCH, a popular Russian novelist, born in
Poltava; in 1829 he started as a writer in St. Petersburg, but met with
little success till the appearance of his "Evenings in a Farm near
Dikanka"; the success of the included sketches of provincial life induced
him to produce a second series in 1834, which are characterised by the
same freshness and fidelity to nature; in 1837 appeared his masterpiece
"Dead Souls," in which all his powers of pathos, humour, and satire are
seen at their best; for some time he tried public teaching, being
professor of History at St. Petersburg, and from 1836 to 1846 lived
chiefly at Rome; many of his works, which rank beside those of Puschkin
and Turgenieff, are translated into English (1809-1852).
GOLCONDA, a fortified town in the Nizam's dominions, 7 m. W. of
Hyderabad; famous for its diamonds, found in the neighbourhood; beside it
are the ruins of the ancient city, the former capital of the old kingdom;
the fort is garrisoned, and is the treasury of the Nizam; it is also a
State prison.
GOLD COAST (1,475, of whom 150 are Europeans), a British crown
colony on the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa, with a coast-line of 350 m.;
from the low and marshy foreshore the country slopes upward and inward to
Ashanti; the climate is very unhealthy; palm-oil, india-rubber, gold
dust, &c., are exported; Cape Coast Castle is the capital.
GOLDEN AGE, the age of happy innocence under the reign of Cronos or
Saturn, in which, as fabled, the earth yielded all fulness without toil,
and every creature lived at peace with every other; the term is applied
to the most flourishing period in the history of a nation. See
AGES.
GOLDEN ASS, a romance of APULEIUS (q. v.).
GOLDEN BULL, an Imperial edict, issued by the Emperor Charles IV.,
which determined the law in the matter of the Imperial elections, and
that only one member of each electoral house should have a vote; so
called from the gold case enclosing the Imperial seal attached.
GOLDEN FLEECE, the fleece of a ram which PHRYXOS (q. v.),
after he had sacrificed him to Zeus, gave to Æëtes, king of Colchis, who
hung it on a sacred oak, and had it guarded by a monstrous dragon, and
which it was the object of the Argonautic expedition under Jason to
recover and bring back to Greece, an object which they achieved. See
ARGONAUTS.
GOLDEN FLEECE, ORDER OF THE, an order of knighthood founded by
Philip III., Duke of Burgundy and the Netherlands in 1429, and instituted
for the protection of the Church.
GOLDEN HORN, the inlet on which Constantinople is situated.
GOLDEN LEGEND, a collection of lives of saints and other tales, such
as that of the "Seven Sleepers" and "St. George and the Dragon," made in
the 13th century by Jacques de Voragine, a Dominican monk, to the glory
especially of his brotherhood.
GOLDEN ROSE, a cluster of roses on a thorny stem, all of gold;
perfumed, and blessed by the Pope on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and sent
to a prince who has during the year shown most zeal for the Church.
GOLDONI, CARLO, the founder of Italian comedy, born at Venice; in
his youth he studied medicine and subsequently law, but in 1732 appeared
as a dramatist with his tragedy "Belisario"; moving from place to place
as a strolling-player, he in 1736 returned to Venice, and finding his
true vocation in comedy-writing, turned out a rapid succession of
sparkling character plays after the manner of Molière; in 1761 he went to
Paris as a playwright to the Italian theatre; became Italian master to
Louis XV.'s daughters, and subsequently was pensioned; his comedies
displaced the burlesques and farces till then in vogue on the stage in
Italy (1707-1793).
GOLDSCHMIDT, MADAME. See LIND, JENNY.
GOLDSMITH, OLIVER, English man of letters, born at Pallas or
Pallasmore, co. Longford, Ireland, and celebrated in English literature
as the author of the "Vicar of Wakefield"; a born genius, but of careless
ways, and could not be trained to any profession, either in the Church,
in law, or in medicine, though more or less booked for all three in
succession; set out on travel on the Continent without a penny, and
supported himself by his flute and other unknown means; came to London,
tried teaching, then literature, doing hack-work, his first work in that
department being "An Inquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in
Europe," which was succeeded by his "Citizen of the World"; became a
member of the "Literary Club," and associated with Johnson, Reynolds,
Burke, and others; produced poems, "The Traveller" and the "Deserted
Village," besides comedies, such as "She Stoops to Conquer"; lived
extravagantly, and died in debt; wrote histories of Greece and Rome, and
"Animated Nature"; was a charming writer (1728-1774).
GOLF, a game played with a bent club and a small ball on commons
with short grass, in which the player who drives the ball into a
succession of small holes in the ground, usually 18, with the fewest
strokes, or who reckons up the most holes in the round by taking them
with the fewest strokes, is the winner; an old popular Scotch game, and
first introduced into English on Blackheath by James I., which has of
late years been revived, and in connection with which clubs have
established themselves far and wide over the globe, even at Bagdad.
GOLIATH, a Philistine giant of Gath slain by David with pebbles from
a brook by a sling (1 Sam. xvii.).
GOMARISTS, a sect of Calvinists in Holland, so called from their
leader Gomarus (1563-1641), a bitter enemy of ARMINIUS (q. v.).
GONCOURT, EDMOND AND JULES DE, French novelists, born, the former at
Nancy, the latter at Paris; a habit of elaborate note-taking whilst on
sketching tours first drew the brothers towards literature, and
inoculated them with the habit of minute and accurate observation which
gave value to their subsequent writings; their first real venture was a
series of historical studies, designed to reproduce with every
elaboration of detail French society in the later half of the 18th
century, including a "History of French Society during the Revolution";
later they found their true province in the novel, and a series of
striking works of fiction became the product of their joint labours,
works which have influenced subsequent novelists not a little; "Les
Hommes de Lettres" (1860) was the first of these, and "Madame Gervaisais"
(1869) is perhaps their best; their collaboration was broken in 1870 by
the death of Jules; but Edmond still continued to write, and produced
amongst other novels "La Fille Élisa"; the "Journal" of the brothers
appeared in 1888 in six vols. (Edmond, 1822-1888; Jules, 1830-1870).
GONDAR (4), a once populous city and the capital of AMHARA
(q. v.), situated on a basaltic ridge in the Wogra Mountains, 23 m. N.
of Lake Tzana; there are ruins of an old castle, churches and mosques,
and establishments for the training of Abyssinian priests.
GONERAL, an unnatural daughter of King Lear.
GONSALEZ, a Spanish hero of the 10th century, celebrated for his
adventures, and whose life was twice saved by his wife.
GONZAGA, the name of a princely family from Germany, settled in
Mantua, from which the dukes were descended who ruled the territory from
1328 to 1708.
GONZALVO DI CORDOVA (the popular name of Gonzalo Hernandez y
Aguilar), a renowned Spanish soldier, born at Montilla, near Cordova; he
first became prominent in the wars with the Moors of Granada and with
Portugal, and was rewarded with an estate and pensioned; in 1498 he so
distinguished himself in assisting the king of Naples (Ferdinand II.) to
drive out the French that he became known henceforth as _El Gran
Capitan_, and was created Duke of San Angelo; subsequent heroic
achievements in Naples, which won the kingdom for Spain (1503), roused a
feeling of jealousy in the Spanish king, so that Gonzalvo was recalled
and ill-requited for his great services (1453-1515).
GOOD FRIDAY, the Friday before Easter, held sacred from early times
by the Church in commemoration of the crucifixion of Christ, observed
originally with fasting and prayer.
GOOD REGENT, the REGENT MURRAY (q. v.).
GOOD TEMPLARS, a total abstinence fraternity organised in New York
in 1851, which has lodges, subordinate, district, and grand, now all over
the world; they exact a pledge of lifelong abstinence, and advocate the
suppression of the vice by statute; there is a juvenile section pledged
to abstinence from tobacco, gambling, and bad language, as well as drink.
GOODFELLOW, ROBIN, a merry domestic spirit, full of tricks and
practical jokes, and a constant attendant upon the English fairy court.
GOODMAN OF BALLENGEICH, a name assumed by James V. of Scotland in
his disguised perambulations about Edinburgh o' nights.
GOODSIR, JOHN, eminent Scotch anatomist, born at Anstruther; was
trained at St. Andrews and Edinburgh, in which latter city he served an
apprenticeship in dentistry; he settled in Anstruther and there wrote his
noted essay on "Teeth"; in 1840 he became keeper of the museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, and lecturer on Diseases of the
Bone in 1842; four years later he succeeded Dr. Monro in the chair of
Anatomy in Edinburgh University, which he adorned, having for some time
previously acted as assistant (1814-1867).
GOODWIN SANDS, a famous sandbank stretching 10 m. along the E. coast
of Kent, about 5½ m. from the shore; with the flowing of the tidal
current the hidden sands are apt to shift and change their outline, and
when storms of great violence sweep over them, despite their being well
marked by four lightships and nine buoys, they have often been the
occasion of a long series of melancholy shipwrecks; the shoal forms a
splendid breakwater for the Downs, an excellent anchorage, stretching
between the Goodwins and the shore; they are supposed popularly to be the
remnants of an estate which belonged to the great EARL OF GODWIN
(q. v.), but this supposition is a mere fable.
GOODY TWO SHOES, a character in a nursery story published in 1765,
and supposed to have been written by Goldsmith when in straits.
GOODYEAR, CHARLES, the inventor of vulcanised rubber, born at New
Haven, Connecticut; his career was a troubled one; he failed as an
iron-founder, and when, after 10 years labour, amidst every disadvantage
of poverty and privation, he in 1844 produced his new method of hardening
rubber by means of sulphur, he became involved in a fresh series of
troubles, as well as poverty, consequent on the infringement of his
inventions; his patents latterly amounted to 60, and medals and honours,
were awarded him both in London and Paris (1800-1860).
GOORKHAS or GURKHAS, a brave and powerful native race in Nepal
claiming Hindu descent; in 1814 they were subdued by the British, and
have since rendered valuable service to Britain in the Mutiny, in the
Afghan and in the Sikh Wars; there are now ten regiments of Goorkhas.
GORDIAN KNOT, a knot by which the yoke was fastened to the beam of
the chariot of Gordius (q. v.), and which no one could untie except the
man who was destined to be the conqueror of Asia; Alexander the Great
being ambitious to achieve this feat, tried hard to undo it, but failing,
cut it with his sword and marched on to conquest.
GORDIANUS, the name of three Roman Emperors, father, son, and
grandson. MARCUS ANTONIUS GORDIANUS, surnamed Africanus, rose to be
an ædile, consul twice, and subsequently became proconsul of Africa; on
the deposition of the Emperor Maximinus in 238, he, then in his eightieth
year, was proclaimed emperor, his son (_b_. A.D. 192) being associated
with him in the imperial office; grief at the death of his son, killed in
battle, caused him to commit suicide a month after he had assumed the
purple; he was a man of refined and generous nature. MARCUS ANTONIUS
GORDIANUS, grandson of preceding, was early raised to the dignity of
Cæsar, and in 238 rose to the rank of Augustus; his most important
achievement was his driving back of the Persians beyond the Euphrates and
his relief of Antioch; he was assassinated in 244 by his own soldiers
while preparing to cross the Euphrates.
GORDIUS, a boor, the father of Midas (q. v.), who was proclaimed
king of Phrygia because he happened, in response to the decree of an
oracle, to be the first to ride into Gordium during a particular assembly
of the people; he rode into the city on a waggon, to which the yoke was
attached by the Gordian knot, and which he dedicated to Zeus.
GORDON, GENERAL CHARLES GEORGE, born at Woolwich, son of an
artillery officer; entered the Royal Engineers; served in the Crimea as
an officer in that department, and was, after the war, employed in
defining the boundaries of Asiatic Turkey and Russia; being employed in
1860 on a mission to square up matters with the Chinese, on the
settlement of the quarrel lent himself to the Emperor in the interest of
good order, and it was through him that the Taiping Rebellion in 1863-64
was extinguished, whereby he earned the title of "Chinese" Gordon; he
returned to England in 1865, and was for the next six years engaged in
completing the defences of the Thames at Gravesend; he was Vice-Consul of
the delta of the Danube during 1871-73, at the end of which term he
conducted an expedition into Africa under the Khedive of Egypt, and was
in 1877 appointed governor of the Soudan, in which capacity, by the
confidence his character inspired, he succeeded in settling no end of
troubles and allaying lifelong feuds; he relinquished this post in 1880,
and in 1884, the English Government having resolved to evacuate the
Soudan, he was commissioned to superintend the operation; he started off
at once, and arrived at Khartoum in February of that year, where, by the
end of April, all communication between him and Cairo was cut off; an
expedition was fitted out for his relief, but was too late in arriving,
the place was stormed by the Arabs, and he with his comrades fell dead
under a volley of Arab musketry, January 28; from the commencement to the
close of his career he distinguished himself as a genuine Christian and a
brave man (1833-1885).
GORDON, LORD GEORGE, Anti-Papal agitator, born in London, son of the
Duke of Gordon; he adopted the navy as a profession, and rose to be
lieutenant; entered Parliament, and soon made himself conspicuous by his
indiscriminate attacks on both Whigs and Tories; gave a passionate
support to the London Protestant Association formed for the purpose of
bringing about the repeal of the Catholic Emancipation Bill of 1778; in
1780, as President of the Association, took the leading part in the
famous No Popery riots in London; was tried but acquitted, mainly through
the eloquent defence of Erskine; subsequently he was excommunicated for
contempt of court, and eventually, after endeavouring to escape
prosecution for two treasonable pamphlets, was apprehended, and died in
Newgate (1751-1793).
GORDON, SIR JOHN WATSON, a portrait-painter, born in Edinburgh; was
a pupil of Raeburn's, and his successor as a painter of portraits;
executed portraits of most of the eminent Scotchmen of his time, and
among the number Sir Walter Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch, Lord Cockburn,
Dr. Chalmers, and Professor Wilson (1788-1864).
GORE, CHARLES, canon of Westminster, a Fellow of Trinity College,
Oxford, is an exponent of High Church tenets; the editor of _Lux Mundi_,
and the author of the Bampton Lecture for 1891, on "The Incarnation of
the Son of God"; _b_. 1853.
GÖRGEI, ARTHUR, a Hungarian patriot; at the age of 27 entered the
army, and designed to devote himself to the study of chemistry and the
administration of his estate; but on the outbreak of the Revolution in
1848 he joined the revolutionists; crushed the Croatians at Ozora; at the
head of a patriot army faced the Austrians under Windischgrätz on the
western frontier, and despite a temporary repulse, succeeded in asserting
the supremacy of the Hungarian cause in a series of victories; Russian
assistance accorded to Austria, however, changed the fortune of war;
Kossuth resigned, and Görgei became dictator; but hopeless of success, he
immediately negotiated a peace with the Russians; in 1851 he published a
vindication of his policy and surrender, and in 1885 was exonerated by
his compatriots from the charges of treachery brought against him by
Kossuth; _b_. 1818.
GORGIAS, a celebrated Greek sophist, born at Syracuse, in Sicily;
settled in Athens, a swashbuckler of a man, who attached himself to the
ELEATICS (q. v.), and especially Zeno, in order that by their
dialectic "he might demonstrate that nothing exists, or if something
exists, that it cannot be known, or if it can be known, that it cannot be
communicated"; his work bore characteristically enough the title "Of the
Non-Existent, or of Nature"!
GORGONS, three sisters, Medusa, Euryale, and Stheino, with hissing
serpents on their heads instead of hair, of whom Medusa, the only one
that was mortal, had the power of turning into stone any one who looked
on her. See PERSEUS.
GORHAM, GEORGE CORNELIUS, an English ecclesiastic; being presented
to the vicarage of Bramford Speke, N. Devon, was refused institution by
Dr. Philpotts, the bishop of Exeter, because he was unsound in the matter
of baptismal regeneration, upon which he appealed to the Court of Arches,
which confirmed the bishop's decision, but the sentence of the court was
reversed by the Privy Council, and institution granted (1787-1857).
GÖRLITZ (62), a fortified town in Prussian Silesia, 52 m. W. of
Liegnitz, on the Meuse, where JACOB BOEHME (q. v.) lived and
died.
GORTSCHAKOFF, MICHAEL, Russian general, brother of the succeeding;
served in the war between Russia and Turkey in 1828-1829; commanded in
the Danubian Principalities in 1853; distinguished himself in the defence
of Sebastopol (1795-1861).
GORTSCHAKOFF, PRINCE, an eminent Russian general; was engaged in
Finland in 1809, in the Turkish War in 1810, in the French War 1812-14,
and the Crimean War (1789-1866).
GOSCHEN, GEORGE JOACHIM, English statesman, born in London; entered
Parliament in the Liberal interest in 1863; served in office under Lord
John Russell and Mr. Gladstone; was opposed to Home Rule, joined the
Liberal-Unionist party and holds office under Lord Salisbury as First
Lord of the Admiralty; _b_. 1831.
GOSHEN, a fertile district along a branch of the Nile, in the
eastern part of the delta of Lower Egypt; assigned by Pharaoh to the
children of Israel when they came to sojourn in the land.
GOSPELS, the name by which the four accounts in the New Testament of
the character, life, and teaching of Christ are designated; have been
known since as early as the 3rd century, of which the first three are
called "Synoptic," because they are summaries of the chief events, and go
over the same ground in the history, while the author of the fourth
gospel follows lines of his own; the former aim mainly at mere narrative,
while the object of the latter is dogmatic, as well as probably to supply
deficiencies in the former; moreover, the interest of John's account
centres in the person of Christ and that of the others in His gospel; the
writers were severally represented as attended, Matthew by a man, Mark by
a lion, Luke by an ox, and John by an eagle.
GOSPORT (25), a fortified port and market-town in Hants, on the W.
side of Portsmouth harbour, opposite Portsmouth, with which it is
connected by a floating bridge; its industries embrace flourishing
iron-works, barracks, the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, and Haslar
shipyard for the repair of gunboats.
GOSSE, EDMUND, poet, essayist, and critic, born in London, the son
of the succeeding; author of "History of Eighteenth Century Literature,"
a collection of lyrics, and a series of monographs, in particular "Life
of Gray"; _b_. 1849.
GOSSE, PHILIP HENRY, naturalist, horn at Worcester, in business in
Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States; spent his leisure hours in
the study of natural history, chiefly insects; after a visit of two years
to Jamaica wrote an account of its birds; compiled several works
introductory to the study of animal life, and latterly devoted himself to
the study of marine animals (1810-1888).
GOTHA (30), northern capital of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and
seat of the reigning prince, the present Duke of Edinburgh, situated on
the Leine Canal, 6 m. from the northern border of the Thuringian Forest;
is picturesquely laid out, and has considerable manufactures, the famous
Perthes' geographical publishing-house; Friedenstein Castle, the ducal
residence, built in 1643, has a library of 200,000 vols. and 6000 MSS.
GOTHAM, a village of N. Nottinghamshire, the natives of which were
made a laughing-stock of for their foolish sayings and doings, an
instance of the latter being their alleged joining hand in hand round a
bush to hedge in a cuckoo.
GOTHAMITES, American cockneys, New York being called Gotham.
GOTHARD, ST., the central mountain mass (9850 ft. high) of the
Middle Alps and core of the whole Alpine system; it forms a watershed for
rivers flowing in four different directions, including the Rhône and the
Rhine; the famous pass (6936 ft.) from Lake Lucerne to Lake Maggiore
forms an excellent carriage-way, has two hotels and a hospice at its
summit; on the lower slopes is the St. Gothard railway (opened 1882),
with its celebrated tunnel (9¼ m.), the longest in the world.
GOTHENBURG (109), the second town of Sweden, at the mouth of the
Gotha, 284 m. SW. of Stockholm, is a clean and modernly built town,
intersected by several canals; it has a splendid harbour, and one of the
finest botanical gardens in Europe; its industries include shipbuilding,
iron-works, sugar-refining, and fisheries; its licensing system has
become famous; all shops for the sale of liquor are in the hands of a
company licensed by government; profits beyond a five per cent. dividend
to the shareholders are handed over to the municipality.
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, a varied style of architecture distinguished by
its high and sharply-pointed arches, clustered columns, which had its
origin in the Middle Ages, and prevailed from the 12th to the 15th
centuries, though the term Gothic was originally applied to it as
indicating a _barbarous_ degeneracy from the _classic_, which it
superseded.
GOTHLAND: 1 (2,595), the southernmost of the three old provinces of
Sweden; chiefly mountainous, but with many fertile spaces; forest and
lake scenery give a charm to the landscape; Gothenburg is the chief town.
2 (51), a Swedish island in the Baltic, 44 m. E. of the mainland, area
1217 sq. m.; forms, with other islands, the province of Gothland or
Wisby; agriculture, fishing, and shipping are the main industries; Wisby
is the chief town (also called Gottland).
GOTHS, a tribe of Teutons who in formidable numbers invaded the
Roman empire from the east and north-east from as early as the third
century, and though they were beaten back at the battle of Châlons,
eventually broke it up.
GOTTFRIED VON STRASBURG, a medieval German poet and one of the
famous _minnesingers_; flourished in Strasburg at the close of the 12th
century and beginning of the 13th; his great poem "Tristan und Isolde,"
completed in 1210, extends to 19,552 lines, and has a grace and freshness
suggestive of Chaucer.
GÖTTINGEN (24), an ancient Hanoverian town, prettily situated in the
valley of the Leine, 50 m. S. of Hanover; is chiefly noteworthy on
account of its university (1734), with its library of 500,000 vols. and
5000 MSS.; the students exceed 800, and are instructed by 120 professors;
there is a flourishing book-trade.
GOTTSCHED, JOHANN CHRISTOPH, a German literary notability, born near
Königsberg, professor of philosophy and belles-lettres at Leipzig; was
throughout his life the literary dictator of Germany; did much to
vindicate the rights and protect the purity of the German tongue, as well
as to improve the drama, but he wrote and patronised a style of writing
that was cold, stiff, and soulless (1700-1766).
GOUGH, HUGH, VISCOUNT, a distinguished English general, born at
Woodstown, in Limerick; he first saw service at the Cape and in the West
Indies; afterwards fought with distinction in the Peninsular war;
subsequently, as major-general, he took part in the Indian campaign of
1827, and in 1840 commanded the forces in China; during seven years
(1843-50) he was commander-in-chief of the Indian army, and carried
through successfully the Sikh Wars, which added the Punjab to the British
dominions; in 1849 he was created a viscount, and a field-marshal in 1862
(1779-1869).
GOUGH, J. B., temperance orator, born in Kent; bred a bookbinder;
early a victim to intemperance; took the pledge in 1842, and became an
eloquent and powerful advocate of the temperance cause both in England
and America (1817-1886).
GOUJON, JEAN, a celebrated French sculptor and architect, born at
Paris; he did the reliefs on the Fountain of the Innocents and the façade
of the old Louvre; was a Huguenot, but died before the massacre of St.
Bartholomew in 1572.
GOULD, JOHN, eminent ornithologist, born at Lyme Regis, Devonshire;
his works are entitled "A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains,"
"The Birds of Europe," "The Birds of Australia," "The Birds of Asia,"
"The Birds of Great Britain," and "Humming-Birds," of which last he had
an almost complete collection, only one wanting; the volumes in which
these works were published were large folios and very expensive, with
coloured illustrations of the birds described, the whole done under Mr.
Gould's own eye, and in many cases by his own hand (1804-1881).
GOUNOD, CHARLES FRANÇOIS, an eminent French composer, born at Paris;
a prize gained at the Paris Conservatoire followed by a government
pension enabled him to continue his studies at Rome, where he gave
himself chiefly to the study of religious music; the "Messe Solenelle"
was published on his return to Paris; turning his attention to opera he
produced "Sappho" in 1851, a popular comic opera "Le Médecin malgré lui"
in 1858, and a year later his famous setting of "Faust," which placed him
in the front rank of composers; other operas followed, with various
masses, anthems, hymns, &c.; his oratorio "Redemption," perhaps his
masterpiece, appeared in 1882 (1818-1893).
GOVAN (63), a town in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on S. bank of the
Clyde, virtually a western suburb of Glasgow; the staple industry is
shipbuilding.
GOW, NATHANIEL, youngest son of Neil, won celebrity as a composer of
songs and other pieces; his 200 compositions include the popular "Caller
Herrin'" (1766-1831).
GOW, NEIL, a famous Scotch fiddler, born at Inver, near Dunkeld, of
lowly origin; during his long life he enjoyed a wide popularity amongst
the Scotch nobility, his especial patron being the Duke of Atholl;
Raeburn painted his portrait on several occasions; he composed over a
hundred strathspeys, laments, &c., giving a fresh impulse and character
to Scotch music, but his fame rests mainly on his violin playing
(1727-1807).
GOWER, JOHN, an English poet, contemporary and friend of Chaucer,
but of an older school; was the author of three works: "Speculum
Meditantis," the "Thinker's Mirror," written in French, lost for long,
but recovered lately; "Vox Clamantis," the "Voice of One Crying," written
in Latin, an allegorising, moralising poem, "cataloguing the vice of the
time," and suggested by the Wat Tyler insurrection, 1381; and "Confessio
Amantis," "Confession of a Lover," written in English, treating of the
course of love, the morals and metaphysics of it, illustrated by a
profusion of apposite tales; was appropriately called by Chaucer the
"moral Grower"; his tomb is in St. Mary's, Southwark (1325-1408).
GOWKTHRAPPLE, a "pulpit-drumming" Covenanter preacher in "Waverley,"
described by Scott as in his own regard a "chosen vessel."
GOWRIE CONSPIRACY, a remarkable and much disputed episode in the
reign of James VI. of Scotland; the story goes that Alexander Ruthven and
his brother, the Earl of Gowrie, enticed the king to come to Gowrie House
in Perth on the 5th August 1600 for the purpose of murdering or
kidnapping him, and that in the scuffle Ruthven and Gowrie perished.
Historians have failed to trace any motive incriminating the brothers,
while several good reasons have been brought to light why the king might
have wished to get rid of them.
GOZO (17), an island in the Mediterranean which, together with Malta
and Comino, forms a British crown colony; lies 4 m. NW. of Malta. Babato
is the chief town.
GOZZI, COUNT CARLO, Italian dramatist, born at Venice; was 39 when
his first dramatic piece, "Three Oranges," brought him prominently before
the public; he followed up this success with a series of dramas designed
to uphold the old methods of Italian dramatic art, and to resist the
efforts of Goldoni and Chiari to introduce French models; these plays
dealing with wonderful adventures and enchantments in the manner of
Eastern tales ("dramatic fairy tales," he called them), enjoyed a wide
popularity, and spread to Germany and France. Schiller translated
"Turandot" (1722-1806).--His elder brother, COUNT GASPARO GOZZI, was
an active littérateur; the author of various translations, essays on
literature, besides editor of a couple of journals; was press censor in
Venice for a time, and was in his later days engaged in school and
university work (1713-1786).
GRACCHUS, CAIUS SEMPRONIUS, Roman tribune and reformer, brother of
the succeeding, nine years his junior; devoted himself and his oratory on
his brother's death to carry out his measures; was chosen tribune in 123
B.C., and re-elected in 122; his measures of reform were opposed and
undone by the Senate, and being declared a public enemy he was driven to
bay, his friends rallying round him in arms, when a combat took place in
which 3000 fell, upon which Gracchus made his slave put him to death;
"overthrown by the Patricians," he is said, "when struck with the fatal
stab, to have flung dust toward heaven, and called on the avenging
deities; and from this dust," says one, "there was born Marius--not so
illustrious for exterminating the Cimbri as for overturning in Rome the
tyranny of the nobles."
GRACCHUS, TIBERIUS SEMPRONIUS, Roman tribune and reformer, eldest
son of Cornelia, and brought up by her; proposed, among others, a measure
for the more equal distribution of the public land, which he had to
battle for against heavy odds three successive times, but carried it the
third time; was killed with others of his followers afterwards in a riot,
and his body thrown into the Tiber and refused burial, 138 B.C., aged
40.
GRACE, the term in Scripture for that which is the free gift of God,
unmerited by man and of eternal benefit to him.
GRACE, DR. W. G., the celebrated cricketer, born near Bristol;
distinguished as a batsman, fielder, and bowler; earned the title of
champion, which was spontaneously and by universal consent conferred on
him; has written on cricket; _b_. 1848.
GRACE CUP, a silver bowl with two handles passed round the table
after grace at all banquets in London City.
GRACES, THE, reckoned at one time two in number, but originally they
appear to have been regarded as being, what at bottom they are, _one_. At
last they are spoken of as _three_, and called Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and
Thalia: Thalia, the blooming one, or life in full bloom; Euphrosyne, the
cheerful one, or life in the exuberance of joy and sympathy; and Aglaia,
the shining one, or life in its effulgence of sunny splendour and glory.
But these three are one, involved each in the other, and made perfect in
one. There is not Thalia by herself, or Aglaia, but where one truly is,
there, in the same being also, the other two are. They are three sisters,
as such always inseparable, and in their inseparability alone are Graces.
Their secret is not learned from one, but from all three; and they give
grace only with fulness, buoyancy, and radiancy of soul, or life, united
all in one. They are in essence the soul in its fulness of life and
sympathy, pouring itself rhythmically through every obstruction, before
which the most solid becomes fluid, transparent, and radiant of _itself_.
GRACIOSA, a princess in a fairy tale, persecuted by her stepmother,
and protected by Prince Percinet, her lover.
GRACIOSO, a fool in a Spanish comedy, who ever and anon appears on
the stage during the performance with his jokes and gibes.
GRADGRIND, a character in "Hard Times," who weighs and measures
everything by a hard and fast rule and makes no allowances.
GRAFTON, AUGUSTUS HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF, English statesman in the
reign of George III.; held various offices of State under Rockingham,
Chatham, and North; was bitterly assailed in the famous "Junius Letters"
(1735-1811).
GRAHAM, SIR JOHN, companion of Sir William Wallace, who fell at the
battle of Falkirk.
GRAHAM, JOHN, VISCOUNT DUNDEE. See CLAVERHOUSE.
GRAHAM, THOMAS, celebrated Scottish chemist, born in Glasgow, where
in 1830 he became professor of Chemistry in the Andersonian University;
seven years later he was appointed to a similar chair in University
College, London; in 1855 he resigned his professorship on succeeding
Herschel as Master of the Mint; his name is honourably associated with
important researches relating to the diffusion of gases and liquids, and
with contributions to the atomic theory of matter (1805-1869).
GRAHAME, JAMES, a Scottish poet, born in GLASGOW; bred a
lawyer; took to the Church; author of a poem on the "Sabbath," instinct
with devout feeling, and containing good descriptive passages
(1765-1811).
GRAHAM'S DYKE, a Roman wall extending between the Firths of Forth
and Clyde.
GRAHAMSTOWN (16), capital of the eastern province of Cape Colony, 25
m. from the sea and 106 m. NE. of Port Elizabeth; is beautifully situated
1728 ft. above sea-level at the base of the Zuurberg Mountains; has an
exceedingly salubrious climate; some fine buildings, and is the seat both
of a Catholic and a Protestant bishop.
GRAIÆ, three old women in the Greek mythology, born with grey hair,
had only one tooth and one eye among them, which they borrowed from each
other as they wanted them; were personifications of old age.
GRAIL, THE HOLY, the cup or vessel, said to have been made of an
emerald stone, that was used by Christ at the Last Supper, and in which
Joseph of Arimathea caught up the blood that flowed from His wounds on
the Cross; it was brought to England by Joseph, it is alleged, but after
a term disappeared; to recover it formed an object of quest to the
Knights of the Round Table, in which Sir Galahad succeeded, when it was
seen by certain other knights, but it has not been seen since, for none
is permitted to see it or can set eye on it but such as are of a pure
heart.
GRAMONT or GRAMMONT, PHILIBERT, COMTE DE, a celebrated French
courtier in the age of Louis XIV.; he greatly distinguished himself in
the army, as also at the court by his lively wit and gallant bearing, and
soon established himself in the king's favour, but an intrigue with one
of the royal mistresses brought about his exile from France; at the
profligate court of Charles II of England he found a warm welcome and
congenial surroundings; left memoirs which were mainly the work of his
brother-in-law, Anthony Hamilton, and which give a marvellously witty and
brilliant picture of the licentiousness and intrigue of the 17th-century
court life (1621-1707).
GRAMPIANS, 1, a name somewhat loosely applied to the central and
chief mountain system of Scotland, which stretches E. and W. right across
the country, with many important offshoots running N. and S.; the
principal heights are Ben Nevis (4406 ft), Ben Macdhui (4296 ft.),
Cairntoul (4200 ft.). 2, A range of mountains in the W. of Victoria,
Australia, highest elevation 5600 ft.
GRANADA, the last of the ancient Moorish kingdoms to be conquered
(1492) in Spain, in the SE. of Andalusia, fronting the Mediterranean, now
divided into Granada, Almeria, and Malaga; the modern province (484) has
an area of 4928 sq. m.; Granada (72), the capital, is beautifully
situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, on an eminence 2245 ft. above
sea-level, 140 m. SE. of Seville; the Jenil flows past it; has a large
university, a cathedral, and monastery; was founded by the Moors in the
8th century, but has been largely rebuilt on modern principles.
GRANADA, NEW (9), a commercial town in Nicaragua, Central America,
on the NW. shore of Lake Nicaragua.
GRANBY, JOHN MANNERS, MARQUIS OF, an English general, eldest son of
the third Duke of Rutland; rose to be commander-in-chief of the British
army in Germany during the Seven Years' War; distinguished himself at
Warburg; in 1763 he was master-general of the ordnance, and in 1766
commander-in-chief of the army; was the victim of some of Junius's most
scathing invectives (1721-1770).
GRAND ALLIANCE, an alliance signed at Vienna 1689 by England,
Germany, and the States-General to prevent the union of France and Spain.
GRAND JURY, a jury appointed to decide whether there are grounds for
an accusation to warrant a trial.
GRAND LAMAISM, a belief of the people of Thibet that Providence
sends down always an incarnation of Himself into every generation.
GRAND MONARQUE, THE, LOUIS XIV. (q. v.) of France, so
called.
GRAND PENSIONARY, a state official in the Dutch Republic; in earlier
times the Grand Pensionary was Secretary and also Advocate-General of the
province of Holland; later his duties embraced the care of foreign
affairs; held office for five years, but was generally re-elected; the
office was abolished in 1795.
GRANDISON, SIR CHARLES, the hero of one of Richardson's novels, a
character representative of an ideal Christian and gentleman.
GRANDVILLE, the pseudonym of JEAN IGNACE ISIDORE GÉRARD, a
French caricaturist, born at Nancy; his fame was first established by the
"Metamorphoses du Jour," a series of satirical sketches representing men
with animal faces characteristic of them; his subsequent work embraced
political cartoons and illustrations for "Gulliver's Travels," "Don
Quixote," "Robinson Crusoe," La Fontaine's "Fables," &c. (1803-1847).
GRANGEMOUTH (6), a busy port in Stirlingshire, on the Forth, 3 m.
NE. of Falkirk; exports iron-ware and coal; has excellent docks, and does
some shipbuilding.
GRANI`CUS, a river in Asia Minor, flowing from the slopes of Mount
Ida and falling into the Sea of Marmora, where Alexander gained, 334 B.C.,
the first of the three victories which ended in the overthrow of the
Persian empire.
GRANT, SIR ALEXANDER, of Dalvey, born at New York; graduated at
Oxford, and became a Fellow of Oriel College; in 1856 he succeeded to the
baronetcy; was appointed Inspector of Schools at Madras; two years later
was appointed professor of History and Principal in Elphinstone College
there; at Bombay he became Vice-Chancellor of Elgin College, and in 1868
succeeded Sir David Brewster as Principal of Edinburgh University; wrote
"The Story of Edinburgh University," various essays, and edited
Aristotle's Ethics; was married to a daughter of Professor Ferrier of St.
Andrews (1826-1884).
GRANT, MRS. ANNE, _née_ M'VICAR, authoress, born in Glasgow;
took to literature as a means of livelihood after the death of her
husband, and produced several volumes descriptive of the Highlands of
Scotland and the character of the people; "Letters from the Mountains"
enjoyed a wide popularity, and first gave to the public some adequate
conception of the charm and character of the Highlands (1755-1838).
GRANT, SIR FRANCIS, artist, born in Edinburgh; was educated for the
Scottish bar, but took to painting, and became celebrated for his hunting
pictures, into which portraits of well-known sportsmen were introduced;
also executed portraits of the Queen and Prince Consort on horseback, of
Palmerston, Macaulay, and others, and became President of the Royal
Academy (1803-1878).
GRANT, JAMES, novelist, born in Edinburgh; joined the army as an
ensign at 17, but after a few years resigned and adopted literature as
his profession; "The Romance of War" (1846), his first book, was followed
by a series of stirring novels which are yet in repute, and have most of
them been translated into Danish, German, and French; he turned Catholic
in 1875 (1822-1887).
GRANT, SIR JAMES HOPE, General, brother of Sir Francis Grant, born
at Kilgraston, Perthshire; first distinguished himself in the Sikh Wars,
and took a leading part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny; in 1859
he commanded the British forces in China, and captured Pekin; was created
a G.C.B. in 1860 and a general in 1872; he published several works
bearing upon the wars in which he had been engaged (1808-1875).
GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON, General, born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio; bred
to the military profession, served in Mexico, and held several
appointments in the army; retired to civic life in 1854, but on the
outbreak of the Civil War he entered the army and fought on the side of
the North with such success that in 1864 he was appointed
general-in-chief; he was eventually raised to the Presidency in 1868, and
re-elected in 1872; on the expiry of this second term he made a tour
round the world, and was everywhere received with the distinction he
deserved (1822-1885).
GRANTHAM (17), a market-town in Lincolnshire, on the Witham, 25 m.
SW. of Lincoln, and has a fine 13th-century church; in the grammar-school
Newton was educated, and in 1643 Cromwell won his first victory here; its
industries embrace agricultural-implement making, malting, &c.; a 30 m.
canal connects it with the Trent.
GRANVILLE, GEORGE LEVESON-GOWER, second Earl, statesman; entered
Parliament as a Liberal in 1836, and became a supporter of free trade; in
1846 succeeded to the peerage, and in 1851 became Foreign Minister under
Lord John Russell; four years later became leader of the Lords; figured
in every Liberal cabinet till 1886, usually as Colonial or Foreign
Secretary; in 1859 he failed to form a ministry of his own; was a staunch
supporter of Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy (1815-1891).
GRATIAN, a celebrated canonist of the 12th century, born at Chiusi,
Tuscany; was a Benedictine monk at Bologna, and compiled the "Decretum
Gratiani" between 1139 and 1142.
GRATIANUS, AUGUSTUS, Roman emperor from 375 to 383, eldest son of
Valentinian I., born in Pannonia; at 16, in conjunction with his
four-year-old brother, Valentinian II., became ruler over the Western
Empire, and three years later found himself, by the death of his uncle
Valens, head also of the Eastern Empire, a year after which he summoned
Theodosius to be his colleague; his reign is noted for the stern
repression of the remains of the heathen worship; in 383, while
endeavouring to combat the usurper Maximus, he was captured at Lyons and
there put to death (359-383).
GRATTAN, HENRY, great Irish patriot and orator, born in Dublin, and
by birth a Protestant; studied at Trinity College, where he stood high in
classics; was called to the Irish bar in 1772, and entered the Irish
Parliament three years after, where he distinguished himself as the
champion of legislative freedom, by maintaining that the crown had no
right to legislate on matters affecting Irish interests, and particularly
Irish commercial interests, without consulting the Irish Parliament, and
by securing thereby in a measure the legislative independence of Ireland;
on the question of Irish Parliamentary reform he quarrelled with his
compatriots, and he confined his own efforts to Catholic emancipation; in
1798 he retired from public life, but came forth as an opponent of the
Union in 1800, though, on its accomplishment, he represented first Malton
in Yorkshire, and then Dublin in the United Parliament, devoting the rest
of his life to the political emancipation of his Catholic
fellow-subjects; before the rupture referred to fell out, he received a
grant of £50,000 from the Irish Parliament; in private as in public life,
he was a man of irreproachable character, while as an orator he ranks
among the foremost of his time (1746-1820).
GRATZ or GRÄTZ (112), capital of Styria, in Austria,
picturesquely situated on the Mur, 141 m. SW. of Vienna; its many old and
interesting buildings include a cathedral (1462), four monasteries, and
the Landhaus, an ancient ducal residence; there is a flourishing
university, with upwards of 1100 students; its industries embrace iron
and steel works, sugar-refining, soap and candle factories, &c.
GRAVELOTTE, a village in Lorraine, 7 m. W. of Metz; was the scene of
a German victory over the French in 1870.
GRAVESEND (35), a thriving river-port and watering-place in Kent, on
the Thames, opposite Tilbury Fort, 24 m. SE. of London; the new town
rises amid picturesque surroundings above the old town; it is the chief
pilot station for the river; there is a busy trade in shipbuilding,
iron-founding, brewing, &c.
GRAY, ASA, a distinguished American botanist, born at Paris, Oneida
County, New York; graduated in medicine in 1842; became Fisher professor
of Natural History at Harvard, and in 1874 succeeded Agassiz as Regent of
the Smithsonian Institution; his writings did much to promote the study
of botany in America on a sound scientific basis, and also to forward the
theories of Darwin; in conjunction with Dr. Torrey he wrote "The Flora of
North America," and by himself various manuals of botany and "Natural
Science and Religion" (1810-1888).
GRAY, AULD ROBIN, the title of a ballad by Lady Anne Lindsay, from
the name of its hero, a good old man who married a young girl whose lover
is thought to be dead, but who turns up to claim her a month after.
GRAY, JOHN EDWARD, English naturalist, born at Walsall; studied
medicine, and at 24 entered the British Museum as an assistant in the
Natural History department; in 1840 he became keeper of the Zoological
Collections, of which he made a complete catalogue, enriched with most
valuable notes; is the author of books and papers to the number of 500,
and was an active promoter of scientific societies in London (1800-1875).
GRAY, THOMAS, English poet, born in Cornhill, London, for whom
Horace Walpole conceived a warm attachment, which, after a brief rupture,
lasted with life; gave himself up to the study of Greek literature, and
began to cultivate the muse of poetry; produced in 1747 "Ode on a Distant
Prospect of Eton College," and in 1750 his well-known "Elegy written in a
Country Churchyard"; these were followed by the "Pindaric Odes," the
"Progress of Poesy," and the "Bard," which was finished in 1757; in 1760
he was presented by the Duke of Grafton with the professorship of Modern
History in Cambridge, a sinecure office with £400 a year. "All is clear
light," says Stopford Brooke, "in Gray's work. Out of the love of Greek
he drew his fine lucidity.... He moved with easy power over many forms of
poetry, but there is naturalness and no rudeness in the power. It was
adorned by high ornament and finish.... The 'Elegy' will always remain
one of the beloved poems of Englishmen; it is not only a piece of
exquisite work; it is steeped in England" (1716-1771).
GREAT COMMONER, WILLIAM PITT, who became Earl Chatham (q. v.).
GREAT DUKE, DUKE OF WELLINGTON (q. v.).
GREAT EASTERN, the name of the largest ship ever built; was designed
by Brunel and Scott Russell; laid down at Milwall in 1854, and launched
in 1858, having cost £732,000; it did not prove a successful venture; was
latterly used for laying the Atlantic cables; subsequently became a
coal-hulk at Gibraltar, and in the end was sold in 1888 for old iron.
GREAT ELECTOR, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
(1620-1683).
GREAT HARRY, a man-of-war built by Henry VII., the first of any size
built in England.
GREAT MAGICIAN, Sir Walter Scott.
GREAT MORALIST, SAMUEL JOHNSON (q. v.), from the character
of his writings.
GREAT SALT LAKE, in N. of Utah, U.S., stretches upwards of 80 m.
along the western base of the Wahsatch Mountains, about 4200 ft. above
the sea-level; it is from 20 to 32 m. broad, and very shallow; Antelope
Island, 18 m. long, is the largest island; the coast is rugged and
desolate; its clear waters hold no fish, and the surplus inflow is
carried off by evaporation only.
GREAT SLAVE LAKE, 300 m. long and 50 at its greatest breadth; lies
within the Canadian NW. Territory; the Mackenzie River carries its
overflow to the Arctic Ocean.
GREAT UNKNOWN, THE, author of "Waverley" and Waverley novels.
GREAT UNWASHED, THE, the artisan class.
GREATHEART, in the "Pilgrim's Progress," the guide of Christiana and
her family to the Celestial City.
GREECE (2,187), a kingdom of S. Europe occupying the southern
portion of a peninsula which projects into the Mediterranean between the
peninsula of Italy and the mainland of Turkey in Asia; the N. is bounded
by Turkey in Europe; it is made up of the N. and S. divisions connected
by the narrow and canalled isthmus of Corinth, the Ionian Islands in the
W., and the Cyclades and Sporades in the E.; it is a mountainous region,
and many of the peaks are rich in classic associations, e. g. Olympus,
Parnassus, and Helicon; the rivers are of no great size, and the lakes
though numerous are inconsiderable; in the valleys the soil is fertile
and agriculture is actively engaged in, although the methods adopted are
still somewhat primitive; but favoured by a delightful climate the vine,
olive, and other fruit-trees flourish; currants are the chief article of
export, and textiles and cereals the principal imports; milling, dyeing,
distilling, and tanning are important industries; various minerals are
found, and the marble from Paros is famed as the finest for statue
carving; there is a considerable mercantile marine, and a busy shipping
trade of a small kind among the islands and along the deeply indented
coast, and also valuable coral and sponge fisheries; the government is a
limited and hereditary monarchy, and the legislative power is vested in
an elected chamber of, at least, 150 paid representatives, called the
Boul[=e]; universal suffrage obtains, and the period of election is for
four years; the bulk of the people belong to the established Greek
Church, but in Thessaly and Epirus there are about 25,000 Mohammedans;
education is free and compulsory, but is badly administered, and a good
deal of illiteracy exists; the glory of Greece lies in her past, in the
imperishable monuments of her ancient literature and art; by 146 B.C.
she had fallen before the growing power of the Romans and along with the
rest of the Byzantine or Eastern empire was overrun by the Turks in A.D.
1453; her renascence as a modern nation took place between 1821 and 1829,
when she threw off the Turkish yoke and reasserted her independence,
which she had anew to attempt by arms in 1897, this time with humiliation
and defeat, till the other powers of Europe came to the rescue, and put a
check to the arrogance of the high-handed Turk.
GREEK or EASTERN CHURCH, that section of the Church which
formerly separated from the Roman or Western in 1054, which assumed an
independent existence on account of the arrogant claims of the latter,
and which acknowledges the authority of only the first seven general
councils; they dissent from the _FILIOQUE_ DOCTRINE (q. v.),
administer the Eucharist in both kinds to the laity, and are zealously
conservative of the orthodoxy of the Church.
GREEK FIRE, a combustible of highly inflammable quality, but of
uncertain composition, used by the Greeks of the Byzantine Empire against
the Saracens; a source of great terror to those who were assailed by it,
as it was difficult to extinguish, so difficult that it was said to burn
under water.
GREELEY, HORACE, American journalist and politician, born at
Amherst, New Hampshire, the son of a poor farmer; was bred a printer, and
in 1831 settled in New York; in a few years he started a literary paper
the _New Yorker_, and shortly afterwards made a more successful venture
in the _Log Cabin_, a political paper, following that up by founding the
_New York Tribune_ in 1841, and merging his former papers in the _Weekly
Tribune_; till his death he advocated temperance, anti-slavery,
socialistic and protectionist principles in these papers; in 1848 he
entered Congress and became a prominent member of the Republican party;
he visited Europe, and was chairman of one of the juries of the Great
Exhibition; in 1872 he unsuccessfully opposed Grant for the Presidency;
in religion he was a Universalist; his works include "The American
Conflict," "Recollections," "Essays," &c. (1811-1872).
GREEN, JOHN RICHARD, historian, born at Oxford; took orders, and was
for a time vicar of St. Philip's, Stepney, contributing articles the
while on historical subjects to the _Saturday Review_, and pursuing his
historical studies with a zeal that undermined his health; in 1874 he
published his "Short History of the English People," which was speedily
adopted in schools, and was accepted at large as one of the ablest
summaries of the history of the country; the welcome with which this
small work was received induced the author to essay a larger, which he
accordingly by-and-by published in 4 volumes, and which he dedicated to
"My Masters in the study of English History, Bishop Stubbs and Professor
Freeman"; this was followed by "The Making of England" and "The Conquest
of England," the latter being published after his decease (1837-1883).
GREEN, NATHANAEL, a celebrated American general, born at Warwick,
Rhode Island; though the son of a Quaker, he promptly took up arms on the
outbreak of hostilities with the mother-country, and in 1775, as
brigadier-general, headed the force in Rhode Island; his gallant conduct
at the battles of Princeton and Brandywine won him promotion, and in 1780
he was advanced to the command of the army of the south; after a
temporary reverse from Cornwallis at Guildford Court, he conducted his
operations with so much success that, with the crowning victory at Eutaw
Springs (1781), he cleared the British from the States; his last days
were spent on his estate in Georgia, a gift from government in
recognition of his services; next to Washington he was the great hero of
the war (1742-1788).
GREEN, THOMAS HILL, philosopher, born in Yorkshire; studied at
Balliol College, Oxford; was elected a Fellow and became eventually
Whyte's professor of Moral Philosophy; his philosophy had a Kantian root,
developed to a certain extent on the lines of Hegel, which, however, he
applied less in speculative than a spiritual interest, though he was not
slow, on the ground of it, to assail the evolution theory of Herbert
Spencer and G. H. Lewes; he was a great moral force in Oxford, and that
apart from his philosophical speculations, though there can be little
doubt that the philosophy which he had embraced was a potent element in
his moral character and his influence; his views on the purely spiritual
nature and derivation of the Christian religion have, since his death,
attracted attention, and are regarded with some anxiety by those whose
faith requires a historical basis (1838-1882).
GREENBACKS, a name given to the inconvertible paper currency issued
in the United States during the Civil War, so called from the colour of
the notes, bonds, &c.; the name has since been popularly applied to the
paper money of the States; the notes were made convertible in 1879.
GREENLAND (11), an extensive but imperfectly defined territory lying
mostly within the Arctic circle to the NE. of North America, from which
it is separated by Davis Strait and Baffin Bay; the area is variously
estimated from 512,000 to 320,000 sq. m.; the land lies submerged beneath
a vast plain of ice, pierced here and there by mountain tops, but it is
conjectured to consist of one large island-continent engirt by groups of
smaller islands; only on the S. coast, during the meagre summer, is there
any appearance of vegetation; there is a great variety of birds, and the
animals include the wolf, fox, bear, reindeer, musk ox, and Arctic hare,
while whales, seals, and many kinds of fish are found; the inhabitants
are chiefly Esquimaux, but there are some Danish settlements, begun in
1721, and the trade is a Danish monopoly; the country was known in early
times to the Scandinavians (of whose settlements there are interesting
remains), and was rediscovered by John Davis in 1585.
GREENOCK (63), a flourishing seaport of Renfrewshire, on the Firth
of Clyde, 22 m. W. of Glasgow; it stretches some 4 m. along the shore and
climbs the hill slopes behind, whence it commands a splendid view of the
river and Highlands beyond; the west end is handsomely laid out, and
contains some fine buildings, including the Watt Institute, with library
of 130,000 vols.; the harbourage is excellent, and favours a large
foreign shipping trade; the staple industries are shipbuilding,
engineering, spinning, sugar-refining, &c.; coal and iron are the chief
exports, and sugar and timber the largest imports.
GREENOUGH, HORATIO, an American sculptor, spent most of his life in
Rome and Florence; executed the colossal statue of Washington in front of
the Capitol in Washington City, and a group of figures entitled "The
Rescue" (1803-1852).
GREENWICH (78), an important borough of Kent (officially within the
county of London), on the Thames, 5 m. SE. of London Bridge; its active
industries embrace engineering, telegraph works, chemical works, &c.; the
Royal Observatory, founded by Charles II. in 1675, occupies a commanding
site within the Park; it is from this point that degrees of longitude
with us are reckoned.
GREENWICH HOSPITAL, founded in 1694 by Queen Mary after designs by
Christopher Wren, was from 1705 till 1869 an asylum for disabled sailors;
since then the funds, amounting to £167,259 a year, have been distributed
in pensions and also utilised for the upkeep of Greenwich Hospital
Schools (where 1000 children of seamen receive board and education);
since 1873 this hospital has served as the college for the Royal Navy.
GREENWOOD, FREDERICK, publicist and journalist; editor of _Cornhill
Magazine_, author of Life of Napoleon III., "Lover's Lexicon," and
"Dreams"; _b_. 1830.
GREG, WILLIAM RATHBONE, literary and political essayist, born in
Manchester; in 1856 became a Commissioner of Customs, and from 1864 till
his resignation in 1877 acted as Controller of H.M. Stationery Office;
his works embrace "The Creed of Christendom," "Enigmas of Life,"
"Political Problems," &c., and are marked by vigorous thought couched in
a lucid, incisive style; was from his evil prognostications designated
Cassandra Greg (1809-1881).
GRÉGOIRE, HENRI, bishop of Blois, born at Vého, near Lunéville, one
of the clerical deputies to the States-General of 1789; attached himself
to the Tiers-état, was a member of the National Convention, and a staunch
advocate for civil and religious liberty, but refused resolutely to
follow "Goose Gobel," the archbishop of Paris, and renounce the Christian
religion and deny his Master (1750-1831). See CARLYLE'S "FRENCH
REVOLUTION."
GREGORIAN CALENDAR, the regulation of the year according to the
correction introduced by Gregory XIII. in 1582 of the Julian calendar,
which allowed the year 11 minutes and 10 seconds too much.
GREGORIAN YEAR, the civil year according to the correction of the
Gregorian calendar.
GREGORY, the name of 16 popes: G. I., the Great, Pope from 590
to 604; G. II., st., pope from 715 to 731; G. III., Pope from
731 to 741; G. IV., pope from 827 to 844; G. V., Pope from 996
to 997; G. VI., pope from 1045 to 1046; G. VII., Pope from 1073
to 1085; G. VIII., pope in 1187; G. IX., Pope from 1227 to
1241; G. X., pope from 1271 to 1276; G. XI, Pope from 1370 to
1378; G. XII., pope from 1406 to 1415; G. XIII., Pope from 1572
to 1585; G. XIV., pope from 1590 to 1591; G. XV., Pope from
1621 to 1623; G. XVI., Pope from 1831 1846. Of these the following
are worthy of note:--
GREGORY I., THE GREAT, and ST., born in Rome, son of a senator;
made prætor of Rome; relinquished the office and became a monk; devoted
himself to the regulation of church worship (instituting, among other
things, the liturgy of the Mass), to the reformation of the monks and
clergy, and to the propagation of the faith; saw some fair-haired British
youths in the slave-market at Rome one day; on being told they were
Angles, he said they should be Angels, and resolved from that day on the
conversion of the nation they belonged to, and sent over seas for that
purpose a body of monks under Augustin.
GREGORY II., ST., born at Rome and bred a Benedictine; is celebrated
for his zeal in promoting the independence of the Church and the
supremacy of the see of Rome, and for his defence of the use of images in
worship.
GREGORY III., born in Syria; was successor of Gregory II., and
carried out the same policy to the territorial aggrandisement of the Holy
See at a time when it might have been overborne by secular invasions.
GREGORY VII., HILDEBRAND, born in Tuscany; bred up as a monk in a
life of severe austerity, he became sensible of the formidable evils
tending to the corruption of the clergy, due to their dependence on the
Emperor for investiture into their benefices, and he set himself with all
his might to denounce the usurpation and prohibit the practice, to the
extent of one day ex-communicating certain bishop who had submitted to
the royal claim and those who had invested them; his conduct roused the
Emperor, Henry IV., who went the length of deposing him, upon which the
Pope retaliated with a threat of excommunication; it ended in the final
submission of Henry at CANOSSA (q. v.); the terms of submission
imposed were intolerable, and Henry broke them, elected a Pope of his
own, entered Rome, was crowned by him, and besieged Gregory in San
Angelo, from which Guiscard delivered him to retire to Salerno, where he
died, 1035; he was a great man and a good Pope.
GREGORY IX., UGOLINO, born in Campania; had during his pontificate
contests with the Emperor Barbarossa, whom he twice over excommunicated;
was the personal friend of St. Francis of Assisi, whom he canonised; died
at a very advanced age.
GREGORY XIII., born in Bologna; was skilled in canon law;
distinguished himself in the Council of Trent, and by his zeal against
the Protestants; celebrated the Bartholomew Massacre by public
thanksgivings in Rome, and reformed the calendar.
GREGORY XVI., born at Belluno; occupied the Papal chair at a time of
great civil commotion, and had much to do to stem the revolutionary
movements of the time; developed ultramontanist notions, and paved the
way for the hierarchical policy of his successor Pio Nono.
GREGORY NAZIANZEN, ST., bishop of Constantinople, born in
Cappadocia; studied in Athens, where he became the friend of St. Basil,
and held discussions with Julian, afterwards emperor and apostate, who
was also studying there; had been bishop of Nazianzus before he was
raised by Theodosius to the bishopric of Constantinople, which he held
only for a year, at the end of which he retired into solitude; he was the
champion of orthodoxy, a defender of the doctrine of the Trinity, and
famed for his invectives against Julian; he has left writings that have
made his name famous, besides letters, sermons, and poems (328-389).
Festival, May 9.
GREGORY OF NYSSA, ST., one of the Fathers of the Greek Church,
brother of St. Basil, and bishop of Nyssa, in Cappadocia; he was
distinguished for his zeal against the Arians, and was banished from his
diocese at the instance of the Emperor Valens, who belonged to that sect,
but returned to it after his death; he was an eminent theologian and a
valiant defender of orthodoxy, on, according to Harnack, something like
Hegelian lines (332-400). Festival, March 9.
GREGORY OF TOURS, ST., bishop of Tours, French theologian and
historian, born at Clermont; was mixed up a good deal in the political
strife of the time, and suffered not a little persecution; was the author
of a "History of the Franks," the earliest of French chronicles,
entitling him to be regarded as the "Father of Frankish History"; his
history contains a great number of valuable documents, though it is
written in a barbarous style, and not unfrequently evinces a lack of
moral sensibility (540-594).
GREGORY THAUMATURGUS, ST., a theologian of the Greek Church, and a
convert and disciple of Origen; became bishop of Neo-Cæsarea in Pontus;
was present at the Council of Antioch; numerous conversions from paganism
are ascribed to him, as well as numerous miracles; _d_. 270. Festival
November 12.
GREGORY, DAVID, nephew of succeeding, born at Aberdeen; became
professor of Mathematics in Edinburgh at the age of 23, and in 1691 was
appointed Savilian professor of Astronomy at Oxford; was one of the first
to publicly teach the principles of Newton's philosophy (1661-1708).
GREGORY, JAMES (1), inventor of the reflecting telescope, born in
Aberdeen; after a three years' residence in Padua received the
appointment of professor of Mathematics in St. Andrews, which he held
from 1669 to 1674, when he was elected to the corresponding chair in
Edinburgh; author of various mathematical treatises which display a fine
originality; he was struck blind whilst working at his telescope
(1638-1675).
GREGORY, JAMES (2), son of succeeding, was his successor in the
chair of Medicine at Edinburgh, and wrote "Philosophical and Literary
Essays"; compounded "Gregory's mixture" (1753-1821).
GREGORY, JOHN, grandson of James (1), born at Aberdeen, where he
became professor of Medicine in 1755, whence ten years later he was
translated to fill the corresponding chair in Edinburgh; his works
include, among others, "A Comparative View of the State and Faculties of
Man with those of the Animal World" (1724-1773).
GREGORY, WILLIAM, son of James (2); held successively the chairs of
Chemistry in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh; he translated Liebig's
"Agricultural Chemistry," and was the first to advance and expound
Liebig's theories (1803-1858).
GRENADA (54), one of the most picturesque of the Windward Islands,
in the British West Indies, of volcanic origin; lies about 60 m. N. of
Venezuela; the harbour of St. George, the capital, is the most sheltered
anchorage in the Windward Islands; fruits, cocoa, and coffee are
cultivated; it was ceded by France in 1783.
GRENFELL, SIR FRANCIS WALLACE, Major-General, late Sirdar of the
Egyptian army, born in London; distinguished himself in Zulu, Transvaal,
Egyptian, and Nile expeditions (1885-1892), and commanded forces in Egypt
(1897-98); was presented by the Khedive with a sword of honour on his
retirement, in souvenir of the victories of Giniss, Gamaizo, and Toski;
_b_. 1841.
GRENOBLE (57), a strongly fortified city of France, capital of the
dep. of Isère, on the river Isère, 58 m. SE. of Lyons; there are several
fine old cathedrals, and a university with a library of 170,000 vols.;
the manufacture of kid gloves is the staple industry.
GRENVILLE, GEORGE, statesman, younger brother of Earl Temple; was
called to the bar in 1735, and six years later entered Parliament; held
various offices of State, and in 1763 succeeded Bute as Prime Minister;
his administration is noted for the prosecution of WILKES (q. v.),
and the passing of the American Stamp Act, a measure which
precipitated the American Revolution (1712-1770).
GRENVILLE, SIR RICHARD, a gallant seaman of Queen Elizabeth's time;
already a knight, commanded the first expedition sent by Raleigh to
colonise Virginia; took part in the defeat of the Armada, and in 1591,
while commanding the _Revenge_ in Lord Howard's squadron, engaged
single-handed the entire Spanish fleet off the Azores; after a desperate
fight of about 18 hours, during which time four of the Spanish vessels
were sunk, and upwards of 2000 of their men slain or drowned, he
surrendered, was carried wounded on board a Spanish ship, in which he
died; the fight is celebrated in Tennyson's noble ballad "The Revenge."
GRENVILLE, WILLIAM WYNDHAM, LORD, statesman; entered Parliament in
1782; was not a man of brilliant parts, but his integrity and capacity
for work raised him to the highest offices of State; in 1789 he was
Speaker of the House of Commons, and a year later was raised to the
peerage and made Home Secretary under Pitt; in 1791 he was Foreign
Secretary; supported Catholic Emancipation and the Abolition of the
Slave-trade; he was Premier from 1806 to 1807; later he supported Canning
and Earl Grey (1759-1834).
GRESHAM, SIR THOMAS, founder of the Royal Exchange, born in London;
son of Sir Richard Gresham, a wealthy mercer, who was knighted and made
Lord Mayor in Henry VIII.'s reign; after studying at Cambridge entered
the Mercers' Company, and in 1552, as "King's agent" in Antwerp,
negotiated important loans with the Flemish merchants; under the Catholic
régime of Mary he was dismissed, but was shortly after restored, and in
1559 appointed ambassador in Antwerp; between 1566 and 1571 he carried
through his project of erecting an Exchange, and his munificence was
further displayed in the founding of a college and eight almshouses; in
1569 he was instrumental in bringing about the important fiscal
arrangement of borrowing from home merchants instead of as formerly from
foreign merchants (1519-1579).
GRESHAM COLLEGE, college founded by Sir Thomas Gresham in 1575, and
managed by the Mercer's Company, London, where lectures are delivered,
twelve each year, by successive lecturers on physics, rhetoric,
astronomy, law, geometry, music, and divinity, to form part of the
teaching of University College.
GRETCHEN, the German diminutive for Margaret, and the name of the
guileless girl seduced by Faust in Goethe's tragedy of the name.
GRETNA GREEN, a village in Dumfriesshire, over the border from
England, famous from 1754 to 1856 for clandestine marriages, which used
latterly to be celebrated in the blacksmith's shop.
GRÉTRY, a celebrated musical composer, born at Liège, composed 40
operas marked by feeling and expression, the "Deux Avares," "Zemire et
Azor," and "Richard Coeur de Lion" among them; he bought Rousseau's
hermitage at Montmorency, where he died (1741-1813).
GREUZE, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French painter, much esteemed for his
portraits and exquisite _genre_ pieces; he died in poverty (1725-1805).
GRÈVE, PLACE DE, place of public execution in Paris at one time.
GREVILLE, CHARLES CAVENDISH FULKE, celebrated for his "Memoirs";
after quitting Oxford he acted as private secretary to Earl Bathurst, and
from 1821 to 1860 was Clerk of the Council in Ordinary; it was during his
tenure of this office that he enjoyed exceptional opportunities of
meeting the public men of his times, and of studying the changing phases
of political and court-life of which he gives so lively a picture in his
"Memoirs" (1794-1865).
GREVILLE, FULKE, a minor English poet, born at Beauchamp Court,
Warwickshire; was educated at Cambridge and Oxford; travelled on the
Continent; played a part in the court-life of Elizabeth's time; was
knighted in 1597, and in 1620 was created Lord Brooke; he was murdered in
a scuffle with his valet (1554-1628).
GRÉVILLE, HENRY, the pseudonym of Madame Alice Durand (_née_
Fleury), novelist, born at Paris; her works, which are numerous, contain
lively pictures of life in Russia, in which country, in St. Petersburg,
she spent 15 years of her life (1857-72), and married Émile Durand, a
French professor of Law; since 1872 she has lived in France; _b_. 1842.
GRÉVY, FRANÇOIS, PAUL JULES, French President, born at
Mont-sous-Vaudrey, Jura; became prominent at the Paris bar, and after the
'48 Revolution entered the Constituent Assembly, of which he became
Vice-President; his opposition to Louis Napoleon, and disapproval of his
_coup d'état_, obliged him to retire; but in 1869 he again entered the
political arena, and was four times chosen President of the National
Assembly; in 1879 he was elected President of the Republic for seven
years, and in 1886 was confirmed in his position for a similar period,
but ministerial difficulties induced him to resign two years later
(1807-1891).
GREY, CHARLES, FIRST EARL, soldier; as Sir Charles Grey of Howick he
distinguished himself in the wars with the American Colonies and the
French Republic, and in 1804 was rewarded with a Barony, and two years
later was made Earl Grey (1728-1807).
GREY, CHARLES, 2ND EARL, party to the impeachment of Warren
Hastings; tried to impeach Pitt; denounced union with Ireland; became
leader of the House of Commons in 1806; carried Act for the Abolition of
the African Slave-trade; succeeded to the earldom in 1807, and denounced
the Bill against Queen Caroline; becoming Prime Minister in 1830 he was
defeated, and resigned twice over the Reform Bill; returning to power in
1832, with permission to make as many peers as might be needed, he
succeeded at last in passing the Bill; he was head of a powerful party in
the reformed Parliament, and carried the bill abolishing slavery in the
Colonies, but resigned over Irish troubles in 1834 (1764-1845).
GREY, SIR GEORGE, colonial governor and statesman, born at Lisburn,
Ireland; while a captain in the army he, in 1837 and 1838, explored
Central Australia and the Swan River district; in 1841, having retired
from the army, he became Governor of South Australia; was made K.C.B.
for his services: in 1846 was Governor of New Zealand, and in 1854
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope, where he
conciliated the Kaffirs; in 1858 a difference with the home government
led him to resign, but he was soon re-established; from 1861 to 1867 he
was at his former post in New Zealand, where he pacified the Maories; in
1875 he was Superintendent of Auckland, and in 1877-84 was Premier of New
Zealand; he is the author of "Journals of Discovery in Australia,"
"Polynesian Mythology," &c. (1812-1898).
GREY, LADY JANE, the ill-fated "nine days' queen," born at Bradgate,
Leicestershire; was the daughter of the Duke of Suffolk and the
great-granddaughter of Henry VII.; her talents were of a rare order, and
sedulously cultivated; she attained to great proficiency in Greek, Latin,
and also in modern languages, while she was skilled in all the
accomplishments of womanhood; a plot entered into by Suffolk and the Duke
of Northumberland, whose son Lady Jane had been forced to espouse at 15,
brought about her proclamation as Queen in 1553; the attempted usurpation
was crushed in ten days, and four months later Lady Jane and her husband
were executed (1537-1554).
GREY FRIARS, the FRANCISCANS (q. v.), from their grey
habit.
GRIEG, EDOARD, Norwegian composer, born at Bergen, of Scotch
descent; received his first musical lessons from his mother, and at 15
went to Leipzig; in 1863 was at Copenhagen and then established himself
as a teacher at Christiania, where he continued eight years and became
intimate with Ibsen; subsequently, after leading an unsettled life, he
received a government pension, and after that devoted himself to musical
composition; his music, chiefly pianoforte pieces and songs, achieved a
wide popularity in England and Scotland; _b_. 1843.
GRIERSON, SIR ROBERT, OF LAG, a notorious persecutor of the
Covenanters, whose memory is still regarded with odium among the peasants
of Galloway; was for some years Steward of Kirkcudbright; was in 1685
made a Nova Scotia baronet, and awarded a pension (1655-1733).
GRIESBACH, JOHANN JACOB, German theologian and biblical critic, born
in Hesse-Darmstadt; produced a critical revision of the text of the New
Testament, the chief labour of his life, for which he visited and
ransacked the various libraries of Europe (1745-1812).
GRIFFIN or GRIFFON, a chimerical fabulous animal with the body
and legs of a lion in symbol of strength, with the wings and beak of an
eagle in symbol of swiftness, with the ears of a horse in symbol of
watchfulness, and instead of a mane the fin of a fish; figures among
heraldic symbols with the significance here indicated.
GRILLPARZER, FRANZ, popular Austrian dramatist, born at Vienna;
studied law and then entered the Civil Service, in which he remained from
1813 to 1856; his first notable drama was the tragedy "Die Ahnfrau," the
_motif_ of which is an extreme fatalism; "Sappho," "Das goldene Vliess,"
and many others followed, all of which are marked by dramatic power and
lyric grace; he stands in the front rank of Austrian poets (1791-1872).
GRIMALDI, JOSEPH, a famous English clown, son of an Italian
dancing-master, born in London; was bred to the stage from his infancy,
appearing on the boards when not yet two years old; his Memoirs were
edited by Dickens, who describes him as "the genuine droll, the
grimacing, filching, irresistible clown" (1779-1837).
GRIMM, BARON, a German littérateur and critic, born at Ratisbon; a
man of versatile powers and vast attainments; settled in Paris and became
acquainted with Rousseau and the leading Encyclopédists and Madame
d'Epinay; on the breaking out of the Revolution he retired to the court
of Gotha and afterwards to that of Catharine II. of Russia, who made him
her minister at Hamburg; his correspondence is full of interest, and
abounds in piquant literary criticism (1723-1807).
GRIMM, JACOB LUDWIG, German philologist, born at Hanau; held office
as librarian to Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, and afterwards to
Göttingen University, as well as a professorship there, devoting himself
the while chiefly to studies in early German lore, and afterwards with
his brother settled in Berlin; his principal works were, "Deutsche
Grammatik," "Deutsche Mythologie," "Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache,"
and the "Kinder-und-Haus-Märchen" in collaboration with his brother
(1785-1863).
GRIMM, WILHELM KARL, philologist, younger brother of the preceding,
born at Hanau; was associated both in his appointments and work with his
brother, the two being known as the Brothers Grimm; edited several old
German poems, his principal work "Die Deutsche Heldensage" (1786-1859).
GRIMM'S LAW, as enunciated by J. L. Grimm, is the law regulating the
interchange of mute consonants in languages of Aryan origin, aspirates,
flats, and sharps in the classical languages corresponding respectively
to flats, sharps, and aspirates in Low German, and to sharps, aspirates,
and flats in High German tongues.
GRIMSBY or GREAT GRIMSBY (59), a seaport of Lincolnshire, on
the S. shore of the Humber, opposite Spurn Head, 20 m. SE. of Hull; was a
port of importance in Edward III.'s time; is now noted as the largest
fishing-port in the kingdom; has extensive docks, shipbuilding, tanning,
brewing, and other industries.
GRINDAL, EDMUND, archbishop of Canterbury; was suspended for
respecting his conscience more than the Queen (Elizabeth), but restored;
offered to resign, but the Queen would not accept his resignation; became
in the end blind from grief (1519-1583).
GRINDELWALD, a winter resort in Bernese Oberland, in Switzerland, in
a beautiful valley 12½ m. long and 4 m. broad, and nearly 3500 ft. above
sea-level.
GRINGO, a name of contempt in Mexico and South America for
interlopers of English descent or speech.
GRINGORE, a French poet; flourished in the reigns of Louis XII. and
Francis I.; was received with favour at court for political reasons,
though he lashed its vices and those of the clergy; wrote satirical
farces, and one especially at the instance of Louis against Pope Julius
II., entitled "Le Jeu du Prince des Sots" (1476-1544).
GRIQUALAND, WEST AND EAST, British territories in South Africa. The
former (83, 30 whites) lies to the N.E. of Cape Colony, between the
Orange River on the S. and Bechuanaland on the N.; the diamond industry,
of which Kimberley is the centre, is the chief source of wealth, and was
begun in 1867; Kimberley is also the seat of government. The latter (153,
4 whites), situated in No-Man's-Land, between the Kaffir country and S.
Natal, is chiefly inhabited by Griquas and Basutos. The first has been
part of Cape Colony since 1881, and the second was annexed to that colony
in 1871, though it is controlled by a chief-magistrate. Griqua is a name
given to half-bloods of Dutch fathers and Hottentot mothers.
GRISELDA or GRISELDIS, a famous heroine of mediæval tradition;
figures in Boccaccio, Petrarch, and Chaucer, and in later dramatists of
England, Germany, and Spain; the beautiful daughter of a Piedmontese
peasant, she was loved and married by the Marquis Walter of Saluzzo; his
jealous affection subjected her to several cruel tests of love, which she
bore with "wyfly pacience," and in the end "love was aye between them
twa."
GRISI, GIULIA, a celebrated singer, born in Milan; Paris and London
were the chief scenes of her triumphs; her greatest triumph was in
playing the part of "Norma," in the opera of the name; she was famous
alike for the beauty of her person and the quality of her voice
(1811-1869).
GRISNEZ, CAPE, a headland with a lighthouse on the French coast
opposite Dover, and the nearest point in France to England.
GRISONS (95), the largest of the Swiss cantons, lies in the SE.
between Tyrol and Lombardy; consists of high mountains and valleys,
amongst which are some of the most noted Alpine glaciers; the Engadine
Valley, through which flows the Inn, is a celebrated health resort, as
also the Davos Valley in the E.; some cereals are raised, but pasture and
forest land occupy a large part of the canton, and supply the cattle and
timber export trade; the population, which is small for the extent of
territory, is a mixture of German, Romanic, and Italian elements.
GROCYN, WILLIAM, classical scholar, born at Bristol; was the first
to teach Greek at Oxford, and the tutor in that department of Sir Thomas
More and Erasmus (1442-1519).
GRODNO, a province and town of Russia; the latter (51) is on the
Niemen, 148 m. NE. of Warsaw; has a Polish palace and medical school. The
former (1,556) is a wide, pine-covered, swampy, yet fertile district,
which produces good crops of cereals, and is a centre of the woollen
industry.
GROLIER, JEAN, a famous bibliophile, whose library was dispersed in
1675; the bindings of the books being ornamented with geometric patterns,
have given name to bindings in this style; they bore the inscription,
"Io. Grolieri et Amicorum" (the property of Jean Grolier and his
friends).
GRÖNINGEN (286), a low-lying province in the NE. of Holland,
fronting the German Ocean on the N., and having Hanover on its eastern
border; its fertile soil favours extensive farming and grazing;
shipbuilding is an important industry. The capital (58) is situated on
the Hunse, 94 m. NE. of Amsterdam; has several handsome buildings, a
university (1614), botanic gardens, shipbuilding yards, and tobacco and
linen factories.
GRONOVIUS, the name of two Dutch scholars, father and son,
professors successively of belles-lettres at Leyden; John died 1671, and
Jacob 1716.
GROS, ANTOINE JEAN, BARON, a French historical painter, born at
Paris; his subjects were taken from events in the history of France, and
especially in the career of Napoleon; his first work, received with
unbounded enthusiasm, was "Pestiféré's de Jaffa," and his latest, a
picture in the cupola of the Church of Geneviève, in Paris (1771-1835).
GROSE, CAPTAIN FRANCIS, an English antiquary, born at Greenford,
Middlesex; was educated for an artist, and exhibited; proved a good
draughtsman; became captain of Sussex militia; published the "Antiquities
of England and Wales" (1773-1787); came to Scotland in 1789 on an
antiquarian tour, and made the acquaintance of Burns, who celebrated him
in his "Hear, Land o' Cakes and Brither Scots," as "a chield's amang you
takin' notes, and faith he'll prent it"; was an easy-going man, with a
corpulent figure, a smack of humour, and a hearty boon companion; lived
to publish his "Antiquities of Scotland and Ireland"; died at Dublin in
an apoplectic fit (1731-1791).
GROSSMITH, GEORGE, actor, famous for leading parts in Gilbert and
Sullivan's operas, and since as giving single-handed dramatic sketches
and songs, written by himself and set to music by himself; _b._ 1847.
GROSSMITH, WEEDON, actor, artist, and contributor to _Art Magazine_
and _Punch_; brother of preceding.
GROSSETESTE, ROBERT, a famous bishop of Lincoln, born at Stradbroke,
Suffolk, of peasant parents; a man of rare learning, he became a lecturer
in the Franciscan school at Oxford, and rose through various stages to be
bishop of Lincoln in 1235; he was an active Parliamentarian, and gave
valuable assistance to his friend Simon de Montfort in the struggle with
Henry III., and headed the Church reform party against the nepotism of
Innocent IV.; according to Stubbs, "he was the most learned, the most
acute, and most holy man of his time" (1175-1253).
GROTE, GEORGE, historian and politician, born at Clay Hill, near
Beckenham, of German descent; was a banker to business; spent his leisure
time in the study of philosophy and history; contributed to the
_Westminster Review_, a philosophical Radical organ at that time;
represented the City of London in that interest from 1833 to 1841, when
he retired to devote all his time to his "History of Greece," of which
the first volumes appeared In 1846 and the last in 1856, making 12
volumes in all; this work contributed to dispel many erroneous
impressions, in regard particularly to Athens and its political
constitution; wrote on Plato and Aristotle, but his philosophical creed
made it impossible for him to do justice to the Greek metaphysics
(1791-1871).
GROTEFEND, GEORG FRIEDRICH, antiquary and philologist, born at
Minden, Hanover; was director of the Lyceum, Hanover; was the first to
decipher the cuneiform inscriptions, a discovery which he gave to the
world in 1802 (1775-1853).
GROTESQUE, THE, the combination in art of heterogeneous parts,
suggested by some whimsically designed paintings in the artificial
grottoes of Roman houses.
GROTIUS, HUGO, or HUIG VAN GROOT, a celebrated Dutch jurist and
theologian, born at Delft; studied at Leyden under Scaliger, and
displayed an extraordinary precocity in learning; won the patronage of
Henri IV. while on an embassy to France; practised at the bar in Leyden,
and in 1613 was appointed pensionary of Rotterdam; he became embroiled in
a religious dispute, and for supporting the Arminians was sentenced to
imprisonment for life; escaped in a book chest (a device of his wife),
fled to Paris, and was pensioned by Louis XIII.; in 1625 he published his
famous work on international law, "De Jure Belli et Pacis"; from 1634 to
1645 he acted as Swedish ambassador at Paris; his acute scholarship is
manifested in various theological, historical, and legal treatises; his
work "De Veritate Religionis Christiana;" is well known (1583-1645).
GROUCHY, EMMANUEL, MARQUIS DE, a French marshal, born at Paris;
entered the army in 1780, and later gave enthusiastic support to the
Revolution, laying aside his title; took part in the Vendéan campaign,
the abortive attempt on Ireland, and, under Joubert, in the conquest of
Italy; was a gallant and daring commander in the Piedmontese, Austrian,
and Russian campaigns of Napoleon, and by skilful generalship covered the
retreat of the French at Leipzig; he was among the first to welcome
Napoleon back from Elba, defeated Blücher at Ligny, but failed to be
forward in the field of Waterloo; led the remnants of the French army
back to Paris afterwards, and then retired to the United States; in 1819
he returned, and in 1831 was reinstated as marshal (1766-1847).
GROVE, SIR GEORGE, born at Clapham; trained as a civil engineer, and
assisted Robert Stephenson in constructing the Britannia tubular bridge;
in 1849 he became secretary to the Society of Arts, a position he held
till 1852, when he became secretary and director of the Crystal Palace
Company; subsequently he was editor of _Macmillan's Magazine_, a
contributor to Smith's "Dictionary of the Bible," and is best known for
the "Dictionary of Music and Musicians" which he edited and partly wrote;
was knighted in 1883; _b_. 1820.
GROVE. SIR WILLIAM ROBERT, lawyer and physicist, burn at Swansea;
called to the bar; was made a judge in 1871, and knighted a year later,
and from 1875 to 1887 he was one of the judges in the High Court of
Justice; throughout his life he busied himself in optical and electrical
research; in 1839 invented the electric battery named after him, and from
1840 to 1847 lectured on Natural Science in the London Institution; in
1866 he was President of the British Association; his scientific
publications are various, and are important contributions to their
subjects (1811-1896).
GRUB STREET, a street in London near Moorfields, formerly inhabited
by a needy class of jobbing literary men, and the birthplace of inferior
literary productions.
GRUNDTVIG, NIKOLAI FREDERIK SEVERIN, Danish poet and theologian,
born in Zealand; was early smitten with a passion for the old Saga
literature of the North, and published in 1808 "Northern Mythology,"
which was followed by other works of a similar nature, patriotic songs,
and a translation of "Beowulf"; he entered the Church as a curate in
1811; engaged in ardent controversy with the rationalists; became leader
of a Church reform party, the Grundtvigians; was for seven years
suspended from preaching, and eventually rose to be a bishop in
Copenhagen, but had no see (1783-1872).
GRUNDY, MRS., an old lady referred to in Thomas Morgan's comedy of
"Speed the Plough," personifying the often affected extreme offence taken
by people of the old school at what they consider violations of
propriety.
GRUYÈRE, a small town in FREIBURG (q. v.), where whole-milk
cheese is made.
GUACHO, a native of the South American pampas.
GUADALQUIVIR, the most important river of Spain, rises in the Sierra
de Cazorla, in the southern province of Jaen, and flows in a SW.
direction through Andalusia, passing Cordova and Seville, to which town
it is navigable for steamers; after a course of 374 m. it discharges into
the Gulf of Cadiz at San Lucar de Barrameda.
GUADELOUPE (168), a French island among the Lesser Antilles, in the
W. Indies; is subject to earthquakes; produces sugar and coffee; has
belonged to France since 1816.
GUADIANA, an important river of Spain, has its source in the E. of
the plateau of Mancha, and for a short distance is known as the Zancara,
flows in a westerly direction as far as Badajoz, where it bends to the
S., then forms the border between Portugal and Spain for a short
distance, bends into Alemtejo, and again, ere reaching the Gulf of Cadiz,
divides the two countries; it is 510 m. long, of which only 42 are
navigable.
GUANAJUATO (1,007), a central province of Mexico; is rich in
minerals, especially silver, and mining is the chief occupation; but
stock-raising is of some importance, and large cotton and woollen
factories have of recent years been introduced. The capital, Guanajuato
(52), is built on both sides of a deep ravine traversed by a dashing
torrent; it is the centre of the mining industry.
GUATEMALA (1,510), a republic of Central America, fronting the
Pacific on the W., between Mexico on the N., and San Salvador and
Honduras on the S.; is for the most part mountainous, with intervening
valleys of rich fertility, little explored; minerals are abundant, and
gold and silver are worked, but the wealth of the country lies in its
fertile soil, which produces abundance of coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco,
and fruits of all kinds; there is some manufacture of textiles, pottery,
&c.; the want of good roads has hindered the development of the country;
Roman Catholicism prevails, and the government is vested in a President
and Council; its independence was proclaimed in 1839. The capital,
Guatemala (85), stands on a plateau 72 m. NE. of its port, San José;
there is a cathedral and an archbishop's palace, also electric light, and
tramway conveyance.
GUAYAQUIL (45), the principal port of Ecuador, stands at the
entrance of the river Guayaquil into the Gulf of Guayaquil; the foreign
trade is centred here; there are sawmills and iron-works; coffee is by
far the largest export; the town is badly laid out, and yellow fever is
common.
GUBERNATIS, ANGELO DE, a distinguished Italian scholar, born at
Turin; in 1863 he was appointed professor of Sanskrit at Florence; was
for a time smitten with the anarchist ideas of Bakunin, whose daughter he
married, and resigned his chair, but soon returned to his professional
labours; in 1891 he became professor of Sanskrit at Rome; his numerous
writings witness to his unceasing industry and versatility, and deal with
Orientalism, mythology, archæology, and general literature; his work
"Zoological Mythology," published in English by Mr. Trübner, is not
unknown to scholars among us; _b_. 1840.
GUDRUN, a heroine in an old German epic so called; betrothed to
Herwig, king of Zealand, and carried off by Hochmut, king of Norway, a
rejected suitor; preferred out of respect to her vow to serve as a menial
in his mother's kitchen rather than be his wife; was rescued from durance
by her brother and her betrothed, and being married to Herwig, pardoned
the suitor that had stolen her from his embraces.
GUELDERLAND (523), a province of Holland, stretching from the Zuider
Zee on the NW. to Prussia on the SE.; agriculture is the staple industry;
the Rhine crosses it in the S.
GUELPHS, a political party in Italy, who from the 11th to the 14th
centuries maintained, against the claims of the Emperors, the
independence of Italy, and the supremacy of the Pope, in opposition to
the GHIBELLINES (q. v.).
GUERICKE, OTTO VON, a German physicist, born at Magdeburg;
experimented on air, and invented the air-pump (1602-1686).
GUERIN, MAURICE DE, a French poet, of noble birth; bred for the
Church, but broke away from it; of a genius of marked promise, whose days
were cut short by an early death; his works included a prose poem called
the "Centaur" (1810-1838).
GUERIN, PIERRE, a French painter; treated classical subjects in the
classical style (1774-1833)
GUERNSEY (35), the second in size of the CHANNEL ISLANDS (q. v.);
fruit and vegetables are largely exported, and it is noted for a
fine breed of cows; St. Peter's Port is the only town, and has an
excellent harbour.
GUERRAZZI, FRANCESCO DOMENICO, an Italian patriot and author, born
at Leghorn; was trained to the law, but took to literature and produced a
number of brilliant political novels; after the flight of the Duke of
Tuscany in 1849 he was proclaimed dictator of the duchy, although little
in sympathy with the republican government, and on the restoration of the
duke was imprisoned for three years and banished to Corsica; later he sat
in the Turin Parliament from 1862 to 1865 (1804-1873).
GUESCLIN, BERTRAND DU. See DU GUESCLIN, BERTRAND.
GUEST, EDWIN, master of Caius College, Cambridge, antiquary; wrote
only one book "History of English Rhythms," a work of great learning, but
contributed papers of great value on the early history of England in
learned journals (1800-1880).
GUEUX, "the Beggars," the name assumed by the nobles and others in
the Low Countries in the War of Independence against Philip II. of Spain;
being called beggars in reproach by the court party, they adopted the
name as well as the dress, wore a fox's tail for a plume and a platter
for a brooch.
GUIANA, an extensive tract of country in the N. of S. America
fronting the Atlantic, bordering on Venezuela on the W., and for the
rest hemmed in by Brazil; it is divided into British, Dutch, and French
Guiana, all fronting the sea; the physical characteristics of all three
are practically the same; a fertile alluvial foreshore, with
upward-sloping savannahs and forests to the unexplored highlands, dense
with luxuriant primeval forest; rivers numerous, climate humid and hot,
with a plentiful rainfall; vegetation, fauna, &c., of the richest
tropical nature; timber, balsams, medicinal barks, fruits, cane-sugar,
rice, cereals, &c., are the chief products; also some gold. BRITISH
GUIANA (278) is the most westerly, and borders on Venezuela; area,
88,650 sq. m., divided into Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo;
GEORGETOWN (q. v.) is the capital. DUTCH GUIANA or Surinam
(73) occupies the central position; area, 46,058 sq. m.; capital
PARAMARIBO (q. v.). FRENCH GUIANA or Cayenne (30) lies to
the E.; area, 31,000 sq. m; capital, CAYENNE (q. v.).
GUICCIARDINI, an Italian statesman and historian, born in Florence;
studied law; became professor of Jurisprudence there; was a disciple of
Macchiavelli; did service as a statesman in the Papal territories; took a
leading part in the political changes of Florence; secured the
restoration of the Medici to power, and on his retirement composed a
"History of Italy during his Own Time," which he had all but completed
when he died (1485-1540).
GUICHARD, KARL, a Prussian officer, born at Magdeburg; joined
Frederick the Great at Breslau, "a solid staid man, of a culture unusual
for a soldier; brought with him his book, 'Memoirs Militaires sur les
Grecs et les Romans,' a solid account of the matter by the first man who
ever understood both war and Greek; very welcome to Frederick, whom he
took to very warmly; dubbed him Quintus Icilius, and had his name so
entered as major on the army books; promoted at length to colonel, a rank
he held till the end of the war" (1721-1775). See Carlyle's "Frederick."
GUICOWAR, the hereditary title of the Mahratta princes who rule over
BARODA (q. v.), in Gujarat, East India.
GUIDO ARETINUS, a Benedictine monk who flourished at Arezzo, in
Italy, during the 11th century, the first to promote the theoretical
study of music; he is credited, amongst other things, with the invention
of counterpoint, and was the first to designate notes by means of
alphabetical letters, and to establish the construction of the stave.
GUIDO RENI, Italian painter of the school of Bologna; best known by
his masterpiece "Aurora and the Hours" at Rome, painted on a ceiling, and
his unfinished "Nativity" at Naples (1575-1642).
GUIENNE (a corruption of Aquitania), an ancient province of SW.
France, now subdivided into the departments of Gironde, Dordogne, Lot,
Aveyron, and embraces parts of Lot-et-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne.
GUIGNES, JOSEPH DE, an eminent French Orientalist, and Sinologist
especially; was author of "Histoire Générale des Huns, des Turcs, des
Moguls, &c.," a work of vast research (1721-1800).
GUILDFORD (14), capital of Surrey, on the Wey, 30 m. SW. of London,
a quaint old town with several interesting buildings, and the ruins of a
Norman castle; is noted for its "Surrey wheats" and live-stock markets;
and has corn, paper, and powder-mills, also iron-works.
GUILDHALL, a building in London and a hall for banquets of the City
Corporation; destroyed by the fire of 1666 and rebuilt in 1789.
GUILDHALL SCHOOL OF MUSIC, an institution established by the
Corporation of London to provide advanced and thorough instruction in
music at a moderate rate, a fine building in connection with which was
erected in 1887; started with 62, and has now 3600 pupils. The
Corporation have expended £50,000 on it, besides an annual contribution
of £2300.
GUILDS, associations of craftsmen or tradesmen in the Middle Ages to
watch over and protect the interests of their craft or trade, and to see
that it is honourably as well as economically conducted, each with a body
of officials to superintend its affairs; they were associations for
mutual help, and of great benefit to the general community, religiously
and morally, as well as municipally.
GUILLOTINE, a beheading-machine invented by a Dr. Guillotin, and
recommended by him to the National Convention, which adopted it; "with my
machine, Messieurs, I whisk off your head in a twinkling, and you have no
pain;" it was anticipated by the _Maiden_ in Scotland.
GUINEA, a name somewhat loosely applied to an extensive tract of
territory on the W. coast of Africa, generally recognised as extending
from the mouth of the Senegal in the N. to Cape Negro in the S., and is
further designated as Lower and Upper Guinea, the boundary line being
practically the Equator; the territory is occupied by various colonies of
Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, and the Negro Republic of
Liberia.
GUINEGATE, a village in Hainault, SW. of Belgium, where Henry VIII.
defeated the French in 1513 in the Battle of the SPURS (q. v.).
GUINEVERE, the wife of King Arthur; the most beautiful of women,
conceived a guilty passion for Lancelot, one of Arthur's knights, and
married Modred, her husband's nephew, in the latter's absence on an
expedition against the Romans, on hearing of which he returned, met
Modred on the field of battle, whom he slew, fell mortally wounded
himself, while she escaped to a nunnery. Tennyson gives a different
version in his "Idylls."
GUISCARD, ROBERT, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, born at Coutances, in
Normandy; along with his brothers, sons of Tancred de Hauteville, he, the
sixth of twelve, following others of the family, invaded S. Italy; won
renown by his great prowess, and in the end the dukedom of Apulia; he
engaged in war with the Emperor of the East, but returned to suppress a
revolt in his own territory; when Pope Gregory VII. was besieged in San
Angelo by Henry IV. of Germany he came to the rescue and the emperor made
off (1015-1085).
GUISE, a celebrated French ducal family deriving its title from the
town of Guise in Aisne.
GUISE, CHARLES, CARDINAL OF LORRAINE, DUKE OF, son of the
succeeding, and considered the ablest of the Guise family; was archbishop
of Rheims in 1538, and cardinal of Lorraine in 1547; was prominent at the
Council of Trent, and in conjunction with his brother fiercely opposed
Protestantism (1527-1574).
GUISE, CLAUDE OF LORRAINE, first Duke of, fifth son of René II.,
Duke of Lorraine; distinguished himself in the service of Francis I., who
conferred on him the dukedom of Guise; was the grandfather of Mary, Queen
of Scots, through his daughter Marie, wife of James V. of Scotland
(1496-1550).
GUISE, FRANCIS, second Duke of, and son of preceding; rose, to the
highest eminence as a soldier, winning, besides many others, the great
victory of Metz (1552) over the Germans, and capturing Calais from the
English in 1558; along with his brother CHARLES (q. v.) he was
virtual ruler of France during the feeble rule of Francis II., and these
two set themselves to crush the rise of Protestantism; he was murdered by
a Huguenot at the siege of Orleans (1519-1563).
GUISE, HENRY I., third Duke of, son of Francis; the murder of his
father added fresh zeal to his inborn hatred of the Protestants, and
throughout his life he persecuted them with merciless rigour; he was a
party to the massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572); his ambitious designs on
the crown of France brought about his assassination (1550-1588).
GUISE, HENRY II., fifth Duke of, grandson of preceding; at 15 he
became archbishop of Rheims, but the death of his brother placed him in
the dukedom (1640); he opposed Richelieu, was condemned to death, but
fled to Flanders; with Masaniello he made a fruitless attempt to seize
the kingdom of Naples, and eventually settled in Paris, becoming
grand-chamberlain to Louis XIV. (1614-1664).
GUIZOT, FRANÇOIS PIERRE GUILLAUME, a celebrated French historian and
statesman, born at Nîmes; his boyhood was spent at Geneva, and in 1805 he
came to Paris to study law, but he soon took to writing, and in his
twenty-fourth year had published several works and translated Gibbon's
great history; in 1812 he was appointed to the chair of History in the
Sorbonne; on the second restoration (1814) became Secretary-General of
the Ministry of the Interior; the return of Napoleon drove him from
office, but on the downfall of the Corsican he received the post of
Secretary to the Ministry of Justice; in 1830 he threw in his lot with
Louis Philippe, became Minister of Public Instruction, Foreign Minister,
and Prime Minister; his political career practically closed with the
downfall of Louis Philippe; his voluminous historical works, executed
between his terms of office and in his closing years, display wide
learning and a great faculty of generalisation; the best known are "The
History of the English Revolution" and "The History of Civilisation"; as
a statesman he was honest, patriotic, but short-sighted (1787-1874).
GUJARAT (3,098), a N. maritime province of the Presidency of Bombay,
lying between the Gulfs of Cutch and Cambay; it is a rich alluvial
country, and chiefly comprises the native States of Kathiawar, Cutch, and
Baroda.
GULF STREAM, the most important of the great ocean currents; it
issues by the Strait of Florida from the Gulf of Mexico (whence its
name), a vast body of water 50 m. wide, with a temperature of 84° and a
speed of 5 m. an hour; flows along the coast of the U.S. as far as
Newfoundland, whence it spreads itself in a NE. direction across the
Atlantic, throwing out a branch which skirts the coasts of Spain and
Africa, while the main body sweeps N. between the British Isles and
Iceland, its influence being perceptible as far as Spitzbergen; the
climate of Britain has been called "the gift of the Gulf Stream," and it
is the genial influence of this great current which gives to Great
Britain and Norway their warm and humid atmosphere, and preserves them
from experiencing a climate like Labrador and Greenland, a climate which
their latitude would otherwise subject them to.
GULL, SIR WILLIAM WITHEY, physician, born at Thorpe-le-Soken;
received his medical training at London, and in 1843 became professor of
Physiology at the Royal Institution; four years later he was appointed
clinical lecturer at Guy's Hospital; in 1871 his attendance on the Prince
of Wales brought him a baronetcy; published various lectures and papers
on cholera, paralysis, &c. (1816-1890).
GULLIVER, the hero of Swift's satirical romance entitled "Gulliver's
Travels," which records his adventures among the pigmies of Lilliput, the
giants of Brobdingnag, the quacks of Laputa, and the HOUYHNHNMS
(q. v.).
GULLY, RIGHT HON. WILLIAM COURT, Speaker of the House of Commons
since 1895; has represented Carlisle since 1886, is son of Dr. Gully of
water-cure celebrity; _b_. 1835.
GUN-COTTON, a powerful explosive formed by the action of nitric or
sulphuric acid on cotton or some similar vegetable fibre.
GUN-METAL, a tough, close-grained alloy of copper and tin.
GUNNINGS, two beautiful Irish girls, MARIA (1733-1760) and
ELIZABETH (1734-1790), the elder of whom became Countess of
Cromarty, and the younger married first the Duke of Hamilton (1752) and
afterwards the first Duke of Argyll (1759).
GUNPOWDER PLOT, an attempt on the part of a conspiracy to blow up
the Parliament of England on Nov. 5, 1605, on the day of the opening,
when it was expected the King, Lords, and Commons would be all assembled;
the conspirators were a small section of Roman Catholics dissatisfied
with King James's government, and were headed by Robert Catesby, the
contriver of the plot; the plot was discovered, and Guy Fawkes was
arrested as he was proceeding to carry it into execution, while the rest,
who fled, were pursued, taken prisoners, and the chief of them put to
death.
GUNTER, EDMUND, mathematician, born in Hertfordshire; was educated
at Oxford for the Church, but his natural bent was towards mathematical
science, and in 1619 he became professor of Astronomy in Gresham College,
London, a position he held till his death; his "Canon Triangulorum"
(1620) was the first table of logarithmic sines and tangents drawn up on
Briggs's system; amongst other of his inventions was the surveying chain,
a quadrant, Gunter's scale, and he was the first to observe the
variations of the compass (1581-1626).
GUNTHER, king of Burgundy and brother of Chriemhild; his ambition
was to wed BRUNHILDA (q. v.), who could only be won by one who
surpassed her in three trials of skill and strength; by the help of
Siegfried, who veiled himself in a cloak of darkness, he succeeded not
only in winning her hand, but in reducing her to wifely subjection after
she was wed.
GUPPY, the name of a pert, conceited lawyer's clerk who figures in
Dickens's "Bleak House."
GURNEY, JOSEPH JOHN, a Quaker philanthropist and writer, born at
Earlham Hall, near Norwich; in 1818 he became a Quaker minister; he
energetically co-operated with his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, in
bringing about a reform of the prison system, and otherwise spent his
life in philanthropic work; his works include "Prison Discipline," 1819,
"Religious Peculiarities of the Society of Friends," 1824 (1788-1847).
GUSTAVUS (I.) VASA or GUSTAVUS ERICSSEN, king of Sweden from
1523 to 1560, born at Lindholm, in Upland; having conceived the idea of
freeing his country from the yoke of Denmark, under which it had fallen
in 1519, and his early efforts to infuse a spirit of patriotic rebellion
into the Swedes proving ineffectual, he was captured by the Danes;
escaping from captivity, he became a wanderer in his own land, working in
mines and enduring great privations, but at last, in 1520, the Swedes
were goaded to rebellion, and under him eventually drove the Danes from
their land in 1523; during his long reign Gustavus gradually brought his
at first disorganised empire into a peaceful and united realm
(1496-1560).
GUSTAVUS (II.) ADOLPHUS, king of Sweden from 1611 to 1632, born at
Stockholm, grandson of preceding and son of Charles IX.; successful
territorial wars with Denmark and Russia occupied him during the early
years of his reign, and in 1629 he concluded an advantageous truce for
six years with Poland; next he espoused the Protestant cause in Germany
against the Catholic League; victory crowned his efforts at every step,
but in the great battle of Lützen (near Leipzig), whilst facing
WALLENSTEIN (q. v.), his most powerful opponent, he fell in the
act of rallying his forces, and in the hour of success, not without
suspicion of having been assassinated; he ranks amongst the greatest of
champions (1594-1632).
GUSTAVUS III., king of Sweden from 1771 to 1792; succeeded his
father Adolphus Frederick; he found himself early at conflict with his
nobles, and in 1772, supported by popular feeling, imposed a new
constitution on the country greatly diminishing their power; Gustavus was
an enlightened ruler, but somewhat alienated his people from him by his
extravagance and fondness for French modes of life; in 1788 he became
embroiled in a purposeless war with Russia; he was assassinated when
about to take up arms in behalf of the Bourbon cause against the French
Republicans (1746-1792).
GUSTAVUS IV., king of Sweden from 1792 to 1809, son of preceding;
his incompetency and stubbornness made him an ill ruler; territory was
lost to the French, and Finland to Russia, while an attack on Norway
proved a failure; popular indignation rose to a height in 1809; he was
deposed, and the crown given to his uncle, Charles XIII.; after this he
lived on the Continent (1778-1837).
GUTENBURG, JOHANNES or HENNE, also called GENSFLEISCH,
claimed by the Germans to have been the inventor of the art of printing
with movable types, born at Mainz; for some time lived in Strasburg as a
polisher of precious stones, mirrors, &c.; he set up his first
printing-press at Mainz about 1450 (1400-1468).
GUTHRIE, THOMAS, a Scottish clergyman, distinguished as a pulpit
orator and a philanthropist, born in Brechin; was minister at Arbirlot,
near Arbroath, and then in Edinburgh; left the Established Church at the
Disruption, and became minister of St. John's; traversed the country
(1845-46) to raise a fund to provide manses for the Disruption ministers,
and realised £116,000 for the object; came forward as an advocate for
ragged schools, and founded one in Edinburgh; he was a warm-hearted man
as well as an eloquent, who could both move his audience to tears and
rouse it to enthusiasm (1803-1873).
GUTTA-PERCHA, the inspissated juice of a tree found in the Malay
Archipelago.
GUY, THOMAS, founder of Guy's Hospital, London, born at Horsleydown,
Southwark, London; he started as a bookseller in 1668, and after the
importation of English Bibles from Holland was stopped he obtained the
privilege of printing Bibles for Oxford University; lucky speculation in
South Sea stock, combined with his printing business, enabled him to
amass an immense fortune, which he devoted largely to charitable
purposes; from 1695 to 1702 he sat in Parliament (1645-1724).
GUY OF WARWICK, a hero of English romance of the 13th century, who
won the hand of the daughter of the Earl of Warwick by a succession of
astonishing feats of valour, but repented of the slaughter he had made,
and went a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; returned to his wife disguised as
a palmer; retired into a hermitage; when about to die sent a ring to her,
upon which she came and interred him; she died 15 days after him, and was
buried by his side.
GUYON, SIR, a knight in Spenser's "Faërie Queene," the impersonation
of temperance and self-control; he subdued the sorceress Acrasia (i. e.
intemperance), and was the destroyer of her "Bower of Bliss."
GWALIOR (3,378), a native State of Central India, under British
protection since 1803; governed by the Maharajah Sindhia; area, 29,067
sq. m.; consists of scattered districts in the basins of the Jumna and
Nerbudda; opium is the chief export. Gwalior, the capital (1,041), is
situated 65 m. S. of Agra; the citadel is very strongly posted on a steep
rocky base 340 ft. high.
GWYNN, NELL, a "pretty, witty" actress of Drury Lane, who became
mistress of Charles II., whose son by her was created Duke of St. Albans;
the king was very fond of her and took special thought of her when he was
dying (1640-1691).
GYGES, a young shepherd of Lydia, who, according to classic legend,
possessed a magic ring of gold by which he could render himself
invisible; he repaired to the Court of Candaules, whose first minister he
became, whose chamber he entered invisibly, and whom he put to death to
reign in his stead.
GYMNOSOPHISTS, a set of contemplative philosophers among the Hindus
who practised an extreme asceticism and went about almost naked.
GYMNOTUS, an electric eel of South America, and found in the fresh
waters of Brazil and Guiana.
GYPSIES, a race of people of wandering habits, presumed to be of
Indian origin, found scattered over Europe, Asia, and Africa, and even in
America, who appear to have begun to migrate westward from the valley of
the Indus about A.D. 1000, and to have reached Europe in the 14th
century, and to owe their name gypsies to their supposed origin in Egypt.
They in general adhere to their unsettled habits wherever they go, show
the same tastes, and follow the same pursuits, such as tinkering,
mat-making, basket-making, fortune-telling. On their first appearance
they were mere vagabonds and thieves.
H
HAAFIZ. See HÄFIZ.
HAARLEM (58), a handsome town in the province of N. Holland on the
Spaarne, 4 m. from the sea, and 12 m. W. of Amsterdam; has a fine
15th-century church with a famous organ (8000 pipes), linen and other
factories, &c., and is noted for its tulip-gardens and trade in
flower-bulbs; it is intersected by several canals as well as the rivers;
there existed at one time a lagoon of the Zuyder Zee called HAARLEM
LAKE, which stretched southward as far as Leyden, between Amsterdam
and Haarlem; but destructive inundations, caused by the tidal advance in
1836, compelled the Government to set about draining it, and this
difficult engineering operation was successfully carried through by an
English company during 1839-52.
HABAKKUK, a book of the Old Testament by a Levite, whose name it
bears, and who appears to have flourished in the 7th century B.C.,
containing a prophecy which belongs, both in substance and form, to the
classic period of Hebrew literature, and is written in a style which has
been described as being "for grandeur and sublimity of conception, for
gorgeousness of imagery, and for melody of language, among the foremost
productions of that literature." The spirit of it is one: faith, namely,
in the righteous ways of the Lord; but the burden is twofold; to denounce
the judgment of God on the land for the violence and wrong that prevailed
in it, as about to be executed on it by a power still more violent and
unjust in its ways; and to comfort the generation of the righteous with
the assurance of a time when this very rod of God's wrath shall in the
pride of its power be broken in pieces, and the Lord be revealed as
seated in His Holy Temple.
HABBERTON, JOHN, author of "Helen's Babies," born in Brooklyn, New
York; was first a clerk and then a journalist; his other works include
"Other People's Children," "The Worst Boy in Town," &c.; _b_. 1842.
HABEAS CORPUS, an Act of Parliament passed in the reign of Charles
II. to ensure the protection of one accused of a crime prior to
conviction in an open court of justice.
HABINGTON, THOMAS, a Worcester gentleman of fortune, involved at one
time in a conspiracy to release Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison, and
convicted at another of concealing some of the agents in the Gunpowder
Plot (1560-1647).
HABINGTON, WILLIAM, poet and historian, son of the preceding; a
devoted Catholic, "who did not run with the times"; author of "Castara,"
a collection of exquisite lyrics in homage to his wife, and in
celebration of her charms and virtues (1605-1654).
HACHETTE, JEAN, French mathematician; one of the founders of the
École Polytechnique (1769-1834).
HACHETTE, JEANNE, a French heroine, born in Beauvais, who took part
in the defence of her native town when besieged in 1472 by Charles the
Bold.
HACKLÄNDER, German novelist and dramatist, born near
Aix-la-Chapelle; his writings, which show a genial humour, have been
compared to those of Dickens (1816-1877).
HACKNEY (230), an important parish and borough of Middlesex, a
suburb of London, 3 m. NE. of St. Paul's; returns three members of
Parliament.
HACO V., king of Norway from 1223 to 1263; was defeated by Alexander
III. of Scotland at Largs, and died at the Orkneys on his way home.
HADDINGTON (3), the county town, on the Tyne, 17 m. E. of Edinburgh;
has interesting ruins of an abbey church, called the "Lamp of Lothian," a
cruciform pile with a central tower, a corn exchange, &c.; was the
birthplace of John Knox, Samuel Smiles, and Jane Welsh Carlyle.
HADDINGTONSHIRE or EAST LOTHIAN (37), a maritime county of
Scotland, on the E. fronting the Firth of Forth and the North Sea, N. of
Berwickshire; on the southern border lie the Lammermuir Hills; the Tyne
is the only river; considerable quantities of coal and limestone are
wrought, but agriculture is the chief industry, 64 per cent, of the land
being under cultivation.
HADEN, SIR FRANCIS SEYMOUR, an etcher and writer on etching, born in
London; was bred to medicine, and in 1857 became F.R.C.S.; in 1843 he
took up etching as a pastime and has since pursued it with enthusiasm and
conspicuous success; he has won medals in France, America, and England
for the excellency of his workmanship, while his various writings have
largely contributed to revive interest in the art; he is President of the
Society of Painters, and in 1894 a knighthood was conferred upon him;
_b_. 1818.
HADES (lit. the Unseen), the dark abode of the shades of the dead
in the nether world, the entrance into which, on the confines of the
Western Ocean, is unvisited by a single ray of the sun; originally the
god of the nether world, and a synonym of PLUTO (q. v.).
HADITH, the Mohammedan Talmud, being a traditional account of
Mahomet's sayings and doings.
HADJI, a Mohammedan who has made his Hadj or pilgrimage to Mecca,
and kissed the Black Stone of the CAABA (q. v.); the term is
also applied to pilgrims to Jerusalem.
HADLEIGH (3), an interesting old market-town of Suffolk, on the
Bret, 9½ m. W. of Ipswich; its cloth trade dates back to 1331; Guthrum,
the Danish king, died here in 889, and Dr. Rowland Taylor suffered
martyrdom in 1555. Also a small parish of Essex, near the N. shore of the
Thames estuary, 37 m. E. of London, where in 1892 the Salvation Army
planted their farm-colony.
HADLEY, JAMES, an American Greek scholar, and one of the American
committee on the revision of the New Testament (1821-1872).
HADLEY, JOHN, natural philosopher; invented a 5 ft. reflecting
telescope, and a quadrant which bears his name, though the honour of the
invention has been assigned to others, Newton included (1682-1744).
HADRAMAUT (150), a dry and healthy plateau in Arabia, extending
along the coast from Aden to Cape Ras-al-Hadd, nominally a dependency of
Turkey.
HADRIAN, Roman emperor, born in Rome; distinguished himself under
Trajan, his kinsman; was governor of Syria, and was proclaimed emperor by
the army on Trajan's death in A.D. 117; had troubles both at home and
abroad on his accession, but these settled, he devoted the last 18 years
of his reign chiefly to the administration of affairs throughout the
empire; visited Gaul in 120, whence he passed over to Britain, where he
built the great wall from the Tyne to the Solway; he was a Greek scholar,
had a knowledge of Greek literature, encouraged industry, literature, and
the arts, as well as reformed the laws (76-138).
HAECKEL, ERNST HEINRICH, an eminent German biologist, born at
Potsdam; carried through his medical studies at Berlin and Vienna; early
evinced an enthusiasm for zoology, and, after working for some time at
Naples and Messina, in 1865 became professor of Zoology at Jena; here he
spent a life of unceasing industry, varied only by expeditions to Arabia,
India, Ceylon, and different parts of Europe in the prosecution of his
scientific theories; he was the first among German scientists to embrace
and apply the evolutionary theories of Darwin, and along these lines he
has produced several works of first-rate importance in biology; his great
works on calcareous sponges, on jelly-fishes, and corals are enriched by
elaborate plates of outstanding value; he made important contributions to
the _Challenger_ reports, and was among the first to outline the
genealogical tree of animal life; his name is associated with
far-reaching speculations on heredity, sexual selection, and various
problems of embryology; "The Natural History of Creation," "Treatise on
Morphology," "The Evolution of Man," are amongst his more popular works;
_b_. 1834.
HÄFIZ, his real name Shems-Eddin-Mohammed, the great lyric poet of
Persia, born in Shiraz, where he spent his life; he has been called the
Anacreon of Persia; his poetry is of a sensuous character, though the
images he employs are Interpreted by some in a supersensuous or mystical
sense; Goethe composed a series of lyrics in imitation; the name Häfiz
denotes a Mohammedan who knows the Korân and the Hadith by heart
(1320-1391).
HAGAR, Sarah's maid, of Egyptian birth, who became by Abraham the
mother of Ishmael and of the Ishmaelites.
HAGEDORN, a German poet, born at Hamburg; was secretary to the
English factory there; wrote fables, tales, and moral poems (1708-1754).
HAGEN, king of Burgundy; the murderer of Siegfried in the
"Nibelungen Lied," who is in turn killed by Chriemhild, Siegfried's wife,
with Siegfried's sword.
HAGENAU (15), a town of Alsace-Lorraine, situated in the Hagenau
Forest, on the Moder, 21 m. NE. of Strasburg; has two quaint old churches
of the 12th and the 13th century respectively; hops and wine are the
chief articles of commerce; was ceded to Germany in 1871.
HAGENBACH, KARL, a German theologian, born at Basel, and professor
there; was a disciple of Schleiermacher; wrote a church history; is best
known by his "Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte," or "History of Dogmas"
(1801-1874).
HAGGADAH, a system of professedly traditional, mostly fanciful,
amplifications of the historical and didactic, as distinct from the
legal, portions of Jewish scripture; is a reconstructing and remodelling
of both history and dogma; for the Jews seem to have thought, though they
were bound to the letter of the Law, that any amount of licence was
allowed them in the treatment of history and dogma.
HAGGAI, one of the Hebrew prophets of the Restoration (of Jerusalem
and the Temple) after the Captivity, and who, it would seem, had returned
from Babylon with Zerubbabel and Joshua. Signs of the divine displeasure
having appeared on account of the laggard spirit in which the Restoration
was prosecuted by the people, this prophet was inspired to lift up his
protest and rouse their patriotism, with the result that his appeal took
instant effect, for in four years the work was finished and the Temple
dedicated to the worship of Jehovah, as of old, in 516 B.C.; his book is
a record of the prophecies he delivered in that connection, and the
style, though prosaic, is pure and clear.
HAGGARD, RIDER, novelist, born in Norfolk; after service in a civic
capacity in Natal, and in partly civil and partly military service in the
Transvaal, adopted the profession of literature; first rose into
popularity as author in 1885 by the publication of "King Solomon's
Mines," the promise of which was sustained in a measure by a series of
subsequent novels beginning with "She" in 1887; _b_. 1856.
HAGGIS, a Scotch dish, "great chieftain o' the puddin' race,"
composed of the chopped lungs, heart, and liver of a sheep, mixed with
suet and oatmeal, seasoned with onions, pepper, salt, &c., and boiled in
a sheep's stomach.
HAGIOGRAPHA, the third division of the Jewish canon of scripture,
which included the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra, and
Nehemiah.
HAGUE, THE (166), the capital of the Netherlands, seat of the Court
and of the Government, 15 m. NW. of Rotterdam and 2 m. from the North
Sea; is handsomely laid out, in spacious squares and broad streets, with
stately buildings, statues, and winding canals, beautifully fringed with
lindens and spanned by many bridges; has a fine picture-gallery, a royal
library (200,000 vols.), archives rich in historical documents of rare
value, an ancient castle, palace, and a Gothic church of the 14th
century; industries embrace cannon-foundries, copper and lead smelting,
printing, &c.; it is connected by tramway with Scheveningen, a
fashionable watering-place on the coast.
HAHN-HAHN, IDA, a German authoress of aristocratic birth and
prejudice, who, on the dissolution of an unhappy marriage, sought
consolation in travel, and literature of a rather sickly kind
(1805-1880).
HAHNEMANN, SAMUEL, a German physician, the founder of
HOMOEOPATHY (q. v.), born at Meissen; established himself in
practice in Dresden on orthodox lines and enjoyed a high reputation, but
retired to revise the whole system of medicine in vogue, of which he had
begun to entertain misgivings, and by various researches and experiments
came to the conclusion that the true principle of the healing art was
_similia similibus curantur_, "like things are cured by like," which he
announced as such to the medical world in 1796, and on which he proceeded
to practise first in Leipzig and finally in Paris, where he died
(1755-1843).
HAIDEE, a beautiful Greek girl in "Don Juan," who, falling in love
with the hero and losing him, came to a tragic end.
HAIDUK or HAJDUK (i. e. cowherd), a name bestowed on a body
of irregular infantry in Hungary who kept up a guerilla warfare in the
16th century against the Turks; in 1605 a stretch of territory on the
left bank of the Theiss was conferred upon them, together with a measure
of local government and certain other privileges; but in 1876 their
territory was incorporated in the county of Hajdu; the name was in later
times applied to the Hungarian infantry and to noblemen's retainers.
HAILES, LORD, SIR DAVID DALRYMPLE, Scottish judge and antiquary,
born at Edinburgh; was called to the Scotch bar in 1748, and raised to
the bench in 1768; ten years later he became a justiciary lord; he
devoted his vacations to literary pursuits, and a series of valuable
historical works came from his pen, which include "Annals of Scotland
from Malcolm III. to Robert I." and "Annals of Scotland from Robert I. to
the Accession of the House of Stuart," "A Discourse on the Gowrie
Conspiracy," &c. (1726-1792).
HAILEYBURY COLLEGE, lies 2 m. SE. of Hertford; was founded in 1809
by the East India Company as a training institution for their cadets, and
was in use till 1858, when the company ceased to exist; in 1862 it was
converted into a public school.
HAINAN (2,500), an island of China, in the extreme S., between the
Gulf of Tongking and the China Sea, 15 m. S. of the mainland; agriculture
is the staple industry; the mountainous and wooded interior is occupied
by the aboriginal Les.
HAINAULT (1,082), a southern province of Belgium bordering on
France, between W. Flanders and Namur; the N. and W. is occupied by
fertile plains; the Forest of Ardennes extends into the S., where also
are the richest coal-fields of Belgium; iron and lead are wrought also;
the chief rivers are the Scheldt, Sambre, Dender, and Haine; textiles,
porcelain, and iron goods are manufactured; Mons is the capital.
HAKIM or HAKEM, a Mohammedan name for a ruler, a physician, or
a wise man.
HAKIM BEN ALLAH or BEN HASHEM, surnamed MOKANNA (i. e.
the Veiled or the One-Eyed); the founder of a religious sect in
Khorassan, Persia, in the 8th century; he pretended to be God incarnate,
and wore over his face a veil to shroud, as his followers believed, the
dazzling radiance of his countenance, but in reality to hide the loss of
an eye, incurred in earlier years when he had served as a common soldier;
the sect was after fierce fighting suppressed by the Caliph, and Hakim is
said to have flung himself into a vessel of powerfully corrosive acid in
the hope that, his body being destroyed, a belief in his translation to
heaven might spread among his followers; the story of Hakim is told in
Moore's "Lalla Rookh."
HAKLUYT, RICHARD, English author; was educated at Oxford, and became
chaplain to the English embassy in Paris; wrote on historical subjects;
his principal work, published in 1589, "Principal Navigations, Voyages,
and Discoveries of the English Nation by Land and Sea," a work which,
detailing as it does the great deeds of Englishmen, particularly on the
sea, has borne very considerable fruit in English life and literature
since (1552-1616).
HAKODATE (66), one of the open ports of Yezo in Japan, with a large
harbour and large export trade.
HAL (9), a town of Belgium, 9 m. SW. from Brussels; noted for its
14th-century church, which contains a black wooden image of the Virgin
credited with miraculous powers, and resorted to by pilgrims.
HALACHA, the Jewish law as developed into validity by the decisions
of the Scribes, on the basis of inferential reasoning or established
custom; it was of higher authority than the law as written, though not
held valid till sanctioned by a majority of the doctors.
HALBERSTADT (37), an interesting old town in Prussian Saxony, 30 m.
SW. of Magdeburg; the 13th-century cathedral is a fine specimen of
Pointed Gothic, and the Church of Our Lady, a 12th-century structure, is
in the Byzantine style; its industries embrace gloves, cigars, machines,
sugar, &c.
HALCYON DAYS, days of peace, happiness, and prosperity, properly the
seven days before and the seven after the winter Solstice, days of quiet,
during which the halcyon, or kingfisher, is fabled to be breeding.
HALDANE, ROBERT, born in London, and JAMES, born in Dundee,
brothers; entered the English navy, and after distinguishing themselves
in it, left the service, and devoted their time and their wealth to
evangelistic labours and the building of "tabernacles," as they were
called, for religious worship in connection eventually with the Baptist
body; they both contributed to theological literature in the Calvinistic
interest; Robert died in 1842, being born in 1764, and James in 1851,
being born in 1766.
HALE, SIR MATTHEW, Lord Chief-Justice of England, born at Alderley,
Gloucestershire: in 1629 he entered Lincoln's Inn after some years of
roving and dissipation, and eight years later was called to the bar; as
he held aloof from the strife between king and commons, his service as
advocate were in requisition by both parties, and in 1653 he was raised
to the bench by Cromwell; on the death of the Protector he declined to
receive his commission anew from Richard Cromwell, and favoured the
return of Charles; after the Restoration he was made Chief Baron of the
Exchequer and knighted; in 1671 he was created Lord Chief-Justice;
charges of "trimming" have been made against him, but his integrity as a
lawyer has never been impugned (1609-1676).
HALES, ALEXANDER OF, a scholastic philosopher, surnamed "Doctor
Irrefragabilis," who flourished in the 15th century; author of "Summa
Theologiæ."
HALES, JOHN, the "Ever-memorable," canon of Windsor; a most
scholarly man, liberal-minded and highly cultured; was professor of Greek
at Oxford; suffered great hardships under the Puritan supremacy
(1584-1656).
HALES, STEPHEN, scientist, born at Beckesbourn, Kent; became a
Fellow of Cambridge in 1702; took holy orders, and in 1710 settled down
in the curacy of Teddington, Middlesex; science was his ruling passion,
and his "Vegetable Staticks" is the first work to broach a true
morphology of plants; his papers on Ventilation led to a wide-spread
reform in prison ventilation, and his method of collecting gases greatly
furthered the work of subsequent chemists (1677-1761).
HALÉVY, JACQUES FRANÇOIS ELIAS, a French operatic composer, born at
Paris; became a professor at the Conservatoire; wrote a large number of
operas, of which "La Juive" and "L'Éclair" were the best, and enjoyed a
European reputation (1799-1862).
HALÉVY, JOSEPH, French Orientalist and traveller, born at
Adrianople; his most notable work was done in Yemen, which he crossed
during 1869-70 in search of Sabæan inscriptions, no European having
traversed that land since A.D. 24; the result was a most valuable
collection of 800 inscriptions, &c.; his works are numerous, and deal
with various branches of Oriental study; _b_. 1827.
HALIBURTON, THOMAS CHANDLER, Nova Scotian judge and author, born at
Windsor, Nova Scotia; was called to the bar in 1820, and soon after was
elected a member of the House of Assembly; in 1840 he became Judge of the
Supreme Court, and two years later retired to England, where, in 1869, he
entered Parliament; he wrote several books bearing on Nova Scotia and
aspects of colonial life, but is best known as the author of "Sam Slick,"
Yankee clockmaker, peripatetic philosopher, wit, and dispenser of "soft
sawder" (1796-1865).
HALICARNASSUS, a Greek city, and the chief of Caria, in Asia Minor,
on the sea-coast opposite the island of Cos, the birthplace of Herodotus;
celebrated for the tomb of Mausolus, called the MAUSOLEUM (q. v.).
HALIDON HILL, an eminence in Northumberland, on the Tweed, 2 m. from
Berwick, the scene of a bloody battle in 1333 between the English and
Scots, to the defeat of the latter.
HALIFAX, 1, a prosperous manufacturing town (90), in the West Riding
of Yorkshire, situated amid surrounding hills on the Hebble, 43 m. SW. of
York; the staple industries are carpet and worsted manufacturing, the
carpet works being the largest in the world; cotton, merinos, and damasks
are also woven and dyed. 2, capital (39), of Nova Scotia; the naval and
military head-quarters of the British in North America, and the chief
port in East Canada; is situated near the head of Chebucto Bay, which
forms a magnificent harbour; a citadel and masked batteries defend the
town; it is an important railway and shipping terminus and coaling
station; its gravingdock is the largest in America; it is the seat of
Dalhousie University.
HALIFAX, CHARLES MONTAGUE, EARL OF, a celebrated Whig statesman,
born at Horton, Northamptonshire; a clever skit on Dryden's "Hind and
Panther," entitled "The Town and Country Mouse," written in collaboration
with Prior after he had left Cambridge, brought him some reputation as a
wit; in 1688 he entered the Convention Parliament, and attached himself
to William's party, when his remarkable financial ability soon brought
him to the front; in 1692 he brought forward his scheme for a National
Debt, and two years later founded the Bank of England in accordance with
the scheme of William Paterson; in the same year he became Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and in 1697 Prime Minister; in conjunction with Sir Isaac
Newton, Master of the Mint, he carried through a re-coinage, and was the
first to introduce Exchequer Bills; in 1699 he was created a Baron, and
subsequently was made the victim of a prolonged and embittered but
unsuccessful impeachment; with the accession of George I. he came back to
power as Prime Minister, and received an earldom (1661-1715).
HALIFAX, GEORGE SAVILLE, MARQUIS OF, a noted statesman who played a
prominent part in the changing politics of Charles II.'s and James II.'s
reigns, and whose apparently vacillating conduct won him the epithet of
"Trimmer"; he was an orator of brilliant powers and imbued with patriotic
motives, and through his various changes may be seen a real desire to
serve the cause of civil and religious liberty, but he was never a
reliable party man; on the abdication of James II. he, as President of
the Convention Parliament, proffered the crown to William of Orange; he
rose through successive titles to be a marquis in 1682; his writings,
chief of which is "Character of a Trimmer" (practically a defence of his
own life), are marked by a pungent wit and graceful persuasiveness (about
1630-1695).
HALL, BASIL, explorer and miscellaneous writer, born in Edinburgh,
son of Sir James Hall of Dunglass, a noted chemist and geologist; rose to
be a post-captain in the navy, and in 1816 made a voyage of discovery on
the coast of the Corea and the Great Loo Choo Islands, his account of
which forms a fascinating and highly popular book of travel; during
1820-22 he commanded the _Conway_ on the W. coast of South America, and
his published journals covering that period of Spain's struggle with her
colonies are of considerable historical value; "Travels in North America
in 1827-28" is an entertaining record of travel; was also author of some
tales, &c.; he died insane (1788-1844).
HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS, Arctic explorer, born at Rochester, New
Hampshire; the mystery surrounding Franklin's fate awakened his interest
in Arctic exploration, and during 1860-62 he headed a search party, and
again in 1864-69; during the latter time he lived amongst the Eskimo, and
returned with many interesting relics of Franklin's ill-fated expedition;
in 1871 he made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole, and died
at Thank God Harbour in Greenland; he published accounts of his
expeditions (1821-1871).
HALL or HALLE, EDWARD, English lawyer and historian, born in
London; studied law at Gray's Inn; in 1540 he became one of the judges of
the Sheriff's Court; his fame rests on his history "The Union of the Two
Noble Families of Lancaster and Yorke," a work which sheds a flood of
light on contemporary events, and is, moreover, a noble specimen of
English prose (1499-1547).
HALL, JOSEPH, bishop first of Exeter and then of Norwich, born at
Ashby-de-la-Zouch; was accused of favouring Puritanism, and incurred the
enmity of Laud; was sent to the Tower for joining 12 prelates who had
protested against certain laws passed in Parliament during their enforced
absence from the House; being released on bail, be returned to Norwich,
and was persecuted by the Puritans, who plundered his house and spoiled
the cathedral; was the author of a set of political satires and of
"Meditations," early instances in English literature of an interest in
biography (1574-1656).
HALL, ROBERT, an eminent Baptist minister and pulpit orator, born
near Leicester; began his ministry in Bristol, and ended it there after a
pastorate in Cambridge; was an intimate friend of Sir James Mackintosh
(1764-1831).
HALL, SAMUEL CARTER, founder and editor of the _Art Journal_, born
at Geneva Barracks, co. Waterford; was for a time a gallery reporter;
succeeded Campbell, the poet, as editor of the _New Monthly Magazine_,
and after other journalistic work started in 1839 the well-known
periodical the _Art Journal_, which he continued to edit for upwards of
40 years; in 1880 he received a civil-list pension (1800-1889); his wife,
ANNA MARIA FIELDING, was in her day a popular and voluminous writer
of novels and short tales (1800-1881).
HALLAM, ARTHUR HENRY, eldest son of the succeeding, the early friend
of Tennyson, who died suddenly at Vienna to the bitter grief of his
father and of his friend, whose "In Memoriam" is a long elegy over his
loss (1811-1838).
HALLAM, HENRY, English historian, born at Windsor, of which his
father was a canon; bred for the bar; was one of the first contributors
to the _Edinburgh Review_; was the author of three great works, "The
State of Europe during the Middle Ages," published in 1818; "The
Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the
Death of George II.," published in 1827; and the "Introduction to the
Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth
Centuries," published in 1838; "was the first," says Stopford Brooke, "to
write history in this country without prejudice" (1777-1859).
HALLE (101), a flourishing city in Prussian Saxony, on the Saale, 20
m. NW. of Leipzig; has a splendid university attended by upwards of 1500
students, and a library of 220,000 vols.; some fine old Gothic churches,
medical institutes, hospitals, &c.; it is is an important railway centre,
and is famed for its salt-works.
HALLÉ, SIR CHARLES, an eminent pianist, born at Hagen, in
Westphalia; in 1848 he came to England, with a reputation already gained
at Paris, and settled down in Manchester; his fine orchestra, which from
year to year visited the important cities of the kingdom, did a great
work in popularising classical music, and educating the public taste in
its regard; in 1888 he was knighted (1819-1895). His wife, _née_
Wilhelmine Néruda, a violinist of rare talent, born at Brünn, in Moravia,
appeared first in Vienna when only seven years old; in 1864 she married
Normann, a Swedish composer, and in 1885 became the wife of Sir Charles;
_b_. 1839.
HALLECK, HENRY WAGER, an American general; distinguished himself on
the side of the North in the Civil War, and was promoted to be
commander-in-chief; was author of "Elements of Military Art and Science"
(1815-1873).
HALLEL, name given to Psalms cxiii.-cxviii. chanted by the Jews at
their great annual festivals.
HALLER, ALBERT VON, a celebrated anatomist, physiologist, botanist,
physician, and poet, born at Bern; professor of Medicine at Göttingen;
author of works in all these departments; took a keen interest in all the
movements and questions of the day, literary and political, as well as
scientific; was a voluminous author and writer (1708-1777).
HALLEY, EDMUND, astronomer and mathematician, born near London;
determined the rotation of the sun from the spots on its surface, and the
position of 350 stars; discovered in 1680 the great comet called after
his name, which appeared again in 1825; was entrusted with the
publication of his "Principia" by Sir Isaac Newton; made researches on
the orbits of comets, and was appointed in 1719 astronomer-royal
(1656-1742).
HALLIWELL-PHILLIPPS, JAMES ORCHARD, a celebrated Shakespearian
scholar and antiquary, born at Chelsea; studied at Cambridge; his love
for literary antiquities manifested itself at an early age, and his
research in ballad literature and folk-lore, &c., had gained him election
as Fellow to the Royal and Antiquarian Societies at the early age of 19;
devoting himself more particularly to Shakespeare, he in 1848 published
his famous "Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare," which has grown in
fulness of detail with successive editions, and remains the most
authoritative account of Shakespeare's life we have; his "Dictionary of
Archaic and Provincial Words" is also a work of wide scholarship; having
succeeded in 1872 to the property of his father-in-law, Thomas Phillipps,
he added Phillipps to his own surname (1820-1889).
HALL-MARK, an official mark or attestation of the genuineness of
gold and silver articles.
HALLOWED FIRE, an expression of Carlyle's in definition of
Christianity "at its rise and spread" as sacred, and kindling what was
sacred and divine in man's soul, and burning up all that was not.
HALLOWE'EN, the eve of All Saints' Day, 31st October, which it was
customary, in Scotland particularly, to observe with ceremonies of a
superstitious character, presumed to have the power of eliciting certain
interesting secrets of fate from wizard spirits of the earth and air,
allowed, as believed, in that brief space, to rove about and be
accessible to the influence of the charms employed.
HALOGENS (i. e., salt producers), name given to the elementary
bodies, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluorine as in composition with
metals forming compounds similar to sea-salt.
HALS, FRANS, an eminent Dutch portrait-painter, born at Antwerp; is
considered to be the founder of the Dutch school of _genre_-painting; his
portraits are full of life and vigour; Vandyck alone among his
contemporaries was considered his superior (1581-1666).
HALSBURY, HARDINGE STANLEY GIFFORD, LORD, Lord Chancellor of
England, born in London; was called to the bar in 1850; he was
Solicitor-General in the last Disraeli Government; entered Parliament in
1877, and in 1885 was raised to the peerage and made Lord-Chancellor, a
position he has held in successive Conservative Governments; _b_. 1825.
HALYBURTON, THOMAS, Scottish divine, known as "Holy Halyburton,"
born at Dupplin, near Perth; was minister of Ceres, in Fife, and from
1710 professor of Divinity in St. Andrews; was the author of several
widely-read religious works (1674-1712).
HAM, a son of Noah, and the Biblical ancestor of the southern dark
races of the world as known to the ancients.
HAM, a town in the dep. of Somme, France, 70 m. NE. of Paris, with a
fortress, used in recent times as a State prison, in which Louis Napoleon
was confined from 1840 to 1846.
HAMADAN (30), an ancient Persian town, at the foot of Mount Elwend,
160 m. SW. of Teheran, is an important _entrepôt_ of Persian trade, and
has flourishing tanneries; it is believed to stand on the site of
ECBATANA (q. v.).
HAMADRYAD, a wood-nymph identified with a particular tree that was
born with it and that died with it.
HAMAH (45), the Hamath of the Bible, an ancient city of Syria, on
the Orontes, 110 m. NE. of Damascus; manufactures silk, cotton, and
woollen fabrics; is one of the oldest cities of the world; has some trade
with the Bedouins in woollen stuffs; during the Macedonian dynasty it was
known as Epiphania; in 1812 Burckhardt discovered stones in it with
Hittite inscriptions.
HAMAN, an enemy of the Jews in Persia, who persuaded the king to
decree the destruction of them against a particular day, but whose
purpose was defeated by the reversal of the sentence of doom.
HAMANN, JOHANN GEORG, a German thinker, born at Königsberg; a man of
genius, whose ideas were appreciated by such a man as Goethe, and whose
writings deeply influenced the views of Herder (1730-1788).
HAMBURG, a small German State (623) which includes the free city of
Hamburg (323; suburbs, 245), Bergedorf, and Cuxhaven; the city, the chief
emporium of German commerce, is situated on the Elbe, 75 m. E. of the
North Sea and 177 NW. of Berlin; was founded by Charlemagne in 808, and
is to-day the fifth commercial city of the world; the old town is
intersected by canals, while the new portion, built since 1842, is
spaciously laid out; the town library, a fine building, contains 400,000
volumes; its principal manufactures embrace cigar-making, distilling,
brewing, sugar-refining, &c.
HAMELN (14), a quaint old Prussian town and fortress in the province
of Hanover, situated at the junction of the Hamel with the Weser, 25 m.
SW. of Hanover city; associated with the legend of the Pied Piper; a fine
chain bridge spans the Weser; there are prosperous iron, paper, and
leather works, breweries, &c.
HÄMERKIN or HÄMMERLEIN, the paternal name of THOMAS À
KEMPIS (q. v.).
HAMERLING, ROBERT, Austrian poet, born at Kirchberg in the Forest,
Lower Austria; his health gave way while teaching at Trieste, and while
for upwards of 30 years an invalid in bed, he devoted himself to poetical
composition; his fame rests chiefly on his satirical epics and lyric
compositions, among the former "The King of Iron," "The Seven Deadly
Sins," and "Cupid and Psyche," and among the latter "Venus in Exile"
(1830-1889).
HAMERTON, PHILIP GILBERT, English critic, particularly of art;
edited the Portfolio, an art magazine; author of a story of life in
France entitled "Marmorne," and of a volume of essays entitled "The
Intellectual Life" (1834-1894).
HAMILCAR BARCA, a Carthaginian general and one of the greatest, the
father of Hannibal, commanded in Sicily, and held his ground there
against the Romans for six years; concluded a peace with them and ended
the First Punic War; invaded Spain with a view to invade Italy by the
Alps, and after gaining a footing there fell in battle; had his son with
him, a boy of nine, and made him swear upon the altar before he died
eternal enmity to Rome; _d_. 229 B.C.
HAMILTON (25), a town of Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 10 m. SE. of
Glasgow; mining is the chief industry. Also a city (49) of Canada, on
Burlington Bay, at the west end of Lake Ontario, 40 m. SW. of Toronto; is
an important railway centre, and has manufactories of iron, cotton, and
woollen goods, &c.
HAMILTON, ALEXANDER, American soldier and statesman, born in West
Indies; entered the American army, fought in the War of Independence,
became commander-in-chief, represented New York State in Congress,
contributed by his essays to the favourable reception of the federal
constitution, and under it did good service on behalf of his country; was
mortally wounded in a duel (1757-1804).
HAMILTON, ELIZABETH, novelist and essayist, born, of Scottish
parentage, in Belfast; is remembered for her early advocacy of the higher
education of women and for her faithful pictures of lowly Scottish life;
"Letters of a Hindoo Rajah" and "Modern Philosophers" were clever skits
on the prevailing scepticism and republicanism of the time; "The
Cottagers of Glenburnie" is her best novel (1758-1816).
HAMILTON, EMMA, LADY, _née_ Amy Lyon or "Hart," born at Ness,
Cheshire, a labourer's daughter; appeared as the Lady in the charlatan
Graham's "Temple of Health," London; became the mother of two
illegitimate children, and subsequently was the "geliebte" of the Hon.
Charles Greville and of his uncle Sir Wm. Hamilton, whose wife she became
in 1791; her notorious and lawless intimacy with Lord Nelson began in
1793, and in 1801 their daughter Horatia was born; although left a widow
with a goodly fortune, she fell into debt and died in poverty
(1763-1815).
HAMILTON, PATRICK, a Scottish martyr, born at the close of the 15th
century, probably in Glasgow; returning from his continental studies at
Paris and Louvain he came to St. Andrews University, where his Lutheran
sympathies involved him in trouble; he escaped to the Continent, visited
Wittenberg, the home of Luther, and then settled in Marburg, but returned
to Scotland at the close of the same year (1527) and married; the
following year he was burned at the stake in St. Andrews for heresy; his
eager and winning nature and love of knowledge, together with his early
martyrdom, have served to invest him with a special interest.
HAMILTON, WILLIAM, a minor Scottish poet, born near Uphall,
Linlithgowshire; was a contributor to Ramsay's _Tea-Table Miscellany_;
became involved in the second Jacobite rising and fled to France;
subsequently he was permitted to return and take possession of his
father's estate of Bangour, near Uphall; his collected poems include the
beautiful and pathetic ballad, "The Braes of Yarrow" (1704-1754).
HAMILTON, SIR WILLIAM, distinguished philosopher of the Scotch
school, born in Glasgow; studied there and in Oxford with distinction;
bred for the bar, but hardly ever practised; contributed to the
_Edinburgh Review_, having previously published "Discussions in
Philosophy"; in 1836 he became professor of Logic and Metaphysics in
Edinburgh University, in which capacity he exercised a great influence in
the domain of philosophic speculation; his lectures were published after
his death; his system was attacked by John Stuart Mill, and criticised in
part by Dr. Hutchison Stirling, who, while deducting materially from his
repute as an original thinker, describes his "writings as always
brilliant, forcible, clear, and, where information is concerned, both
entertaining and instructive"; was "almost the only _earnest_ man,"
Carlyle testifies, he found in Edinburgh on his visit from Craigenputtock
to the city in 1833 (1788-1856).
HAMILTON, SIR WILLIAM ROWAN, an eminent mathematician, born in
Dublin; such was his precocity that at 13 he was versed in thirteen
languages, and by 17 was an acknowledged master in mathematical science;
while yet an undergraduate at Trinity College, Dublin, he was appointed
in 1827 professor of Astronomy in Dublin University, and Astronomer-Royal
of Ireland; his mathematical works and treatises, of the most original
and a far-reaching character, brought him a European reputation, and
embraced his "Theory of Systems of Rays," "A General Method in Dynamics,"
and the invention of "Quaternions"; he was knighted in 1835 (1805-1865).
HAMILTONIAN SYSTEM, a system of teaching languages by interlinear
translation.
HAMMER, German Orientalist and historian, born at Grätz; author of a
"History of the Ottoman Empire" (1774-1856).
HAMMERFEST (2), the most northerly town in Europe; is situated on
the barren island of Kvalö, and is the port of the Norwegian province of
Finmark; fishing is the staple industry; during two months in summer the
sun never sets.
HAMMERSMITH (97), a parliamentary borough of Middlesex, on the N.
side of the Thames, forms a part of W. London.
HAMMOND, HENRY, English divine, born at Chertsey; suffered as an
adherent of the royal cause, being chaplain to Charles I.; author of
"Paraphrase and Annotations of the New Testament" (1605-1660).
HAMPDEN, JOHN, a famous English statesman and patriot, cousin to
Oliver Cromwell, born in London; passed through Oxford and studied law at
the Inner Temple; subsequently he settled down on his father's estate,
and in 1621 entered Parliament, joining the opposition; he came first
into conflict with the king by refusing to contribute to a general loan
levied by Charles, and subsequently became famous by his resistance to
the ship-money tax; he was a member of the Short Parliament, and played a
prominent part in the more eventful transactions of the Long Parliament;
an attempt on Charles's part to seize Hampden and four other members
precipitated the Civil War; he took an active part in organising the
Parliamentary forces, and proved himself a brave and skilful general in
the field; he fell mortally wounded while opposing Prince Rupert in a
skirmish at Chalgrove Field; historians unite in extolling his nobility
of character, statesmanship, and single-minded patriotism (1594-1643).
HAMPDEN, RENN DICKSON, theologian and bishop, born in Barbadoes;
became a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and in 1832 delivered his
celebrated Bampton lectures on the "Scholastic Philosophy considered in
its Relation to Christian Theology," which drew upon him the charge of
heresy and produced an embittered controversy in the Church of England;
he was successively Principal, professor of Moral Philosophy, and of
Divinity at St. Mary's Hall, and became bishop of Hereford in 1847
(1793-1868).
HAMPOLE, RICHARD ROLLE, "the Hermit of Hampole," born at Thornton,
Yorkshire; studied at Oxford, and at the age of 19 turned hermit; was the
author of "The Pricke of Conscience," a lengthy poem of a religious
character (1290-1349).
HAMPSHIRE, HANTS (690), a maritime county of S. England, fronting
the English Channel between Dorset on the W. and Sussex on the E.; in the
NE. are the "rolling Downs," affording excellent sheep pasturage, while
the SW. is largely occupied by the New Forest; the Test, Itchen, and Avon
are principal rivers flowing to the S.; besides the usual cereals, hops
are raised, while Hampshire bacon and honey are celebrated; Southampton,
Portsmouth, and Gosport are the chief trading and manufacturing towns.
HAMPSTEAD (68), a Parliamentary borough of Middlesex, has a hilly
and bright situation, 4 m. NW. of London; is a popular place of resort
with Londoners, and contains many fine suburban residences; beyond the
village is the celebrated Heath; many literary associations are connected
with the place; the famous Kit-Cat Club of Steele and Addison's time is
now a private house on the Heath; here lived Keats, Leigh Hunt,
Coleridge, Hazlitt, &c.
HAMPTON (4), a village of Middlesex, on the Thames, 15 m. SW. of
London; in the vicinity is HAMPTON COURT PALACE, a royal residence
down to George II.'s time, and which was built originally by Wolsey, who
presented it to Henry VIII.; in William III.'s time considerable
alterations were made under the guidance of Wren; there is a fine
picture-gallery and gardens; it is now occupied by persons of good family
in reduced circumstances; the HAMPTON COURT CONFERENCE to settle
ecclesiastical differences took place here in 1604 under the presidency
of James I., and the decisions at which proved unsatisfactory to the
Puritan members of it; it was here at the suggestion of Dr. Reynolds the
authorised version of the Bible was undertaken.
HANAU (25), a Prussian town in Hesse-Nassau, at the junction of the
Kinzig and the Main, 11 m. NE. of Frankfurt; is celebrated for its
jewellery and gold and silver work, and is otherwise a busy manufacturing
town; it is the birthplace of the brothers Grimm.
HANCOCK, WINFIELD SCOTT, a noted American general, born near
Philadelphia; he had already graduated and served with distinction in the
Mexican War, when, on the outbreak of the Civil War, he received a
commission as brigadier-general of volunteers; he led a heroic charge at
Fredericksburg, and in 1864 his gallant conduct in many a hard-fought
battle was rewarded by promotion to a major-generalship in the regular
army; subsequently he held important commands in the departments of
Missouri, Dakota, &c., and in 1880 unsuccessfully opposed Garfield for
the Presidency (1824-1886).
HÄNDEL, musical composer, born at Halle; distinguished for his
musical ability from his earliest years; was sent to Berlin to study when
he was 14; began his musical career as a performer at Hamburg in 1703;
produced his first opera in 1704; spent six years in Italy, devoting
himself to his profession the while; came, on invitation, to England in
1710, where, being well received, he resolved to remain, and where, year
after year--as many as nearly fifty of them--he added to his fame by his
diligence as a composer; he produced a number of operas and oratorios;
among the latter may be noted his "Saul," his "Samson," and "Judas
Maccabæus," and pre-eminently the "Messiah," his masterpiece, and which
fascinates with a charm that appeals to and is appreciated by initiated
and uninitiated alike (1684-1759).
HANG-CHOW (800), a Chinese town, a treaty-port since the recent war
with Japan; is at the mouth of the Tsien-tang at the entrance of the
Imperial Canal, 110 m. SW. of Shanghai; it is an important literary,
religious, and commercial centre; has flourishing silk factories, and is
noted for its gold and silver ware.
HANGING GARDENS, THE, OF BABYLON, one of the seven wonders of the
world, had an area of four acres, formed a square, were a series of
terraces supported by pillars sloping upwards like a pyramid and seeming
to hang in air; they are ascribed to Semiramis.
HANIF, name given to a Mohammedan or an Arab of rigidly monotheistic
belief.
HANKOW (750), a Chinese river-port, at the confluence of the Han and
Yangtsze Rivers; it is properly an extension of the large towns Wu-chang
and Han-yang; there is a considerable amount of shipping; tea is the
principal article of export, and a large trade is carried on with the
inland provinces.
HANLEY (85), a busy manufacturing town in the "Potteries," 18 m. N.
of Stafford; coal and iron are wrought in the neighbourhood.
HANMER, SIR THOMAS, Speaker of the House of Commons; elected in
1713, discharged the duties of the office with conspicuous impartiality;
published an edition of Shakespeare (1677-1746).
HANNAY, JAMES, a novelist and critic, born in Dumfries; spent his
boyhood in the navy, on quitting which he settled in London and took to
letters; was for a time editor of the _Edinburgh Courant_, a Tory paper,
and subsequently consul at Barcelona, where he died; he knew English
literature and wrote English well (1827-1873).
HANNIBAL, the great Carthaginian general, son of HAMILCAR
(q. v.); learned the art of war under his father in Spain; subjugated
all Spain south of the Ebro by the capture of the Roman allied city of
Saguntum, which led to the outbreak of the Second Punic War and his
leading his army through hostile territory over the Pyrenees and the Alps
into Italy; defeated the Romans in succession at the Ticinus, the Trebia,
and Lake Trasimenus, to the extirpation of the army sent against him;
passed the Apennines and descended into Apulia, where, after being
harassed by the tantalising policy of Fabius Maximus, he met the Romans
at Cannæ in 216 B.C. and inflicted on them a crushing defeat, retiring
after this into winter quarters at Capua, where his soldiers became
demoralised; he next season began to experience a succession of reverses,
which ended in the evacuation of Italy and the transfer of the seat of
war to Africa, where Hannibal was met by Scipio on the field of Zama in
201 B.C. and defeated; he afterwards joined Antiochus, king of Syria,
who was at war with Rome, to his defeat there also, upon which he fled to
Prusias, king of Bithynia, where, when his surrender was demanded, he
ended his life by poisoning himself (247-183 B.C.).
HANNINGTON, JAMES, first bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, born
at Hurstpierpoint, Sussex; was ordained in 1873 after passing through
Oxford, and in 1882 undertook missionary work in Uganda, under the
auspices of the Church Missionary Society; his health breaking down when
he had gone as far as Victoria Nyanza, he returned home; but two years
later as bishop he entered upon his duties at Frere Town, near Mombasa;
in the following year he was killed by natives when making his way to the
mission station at Rubaga, in Uganda (1847-1885).
HANNO, the name of several eminent Carthaginians, one of whom,
surnamed the Great, was a persistent opponent of the Barcine faction,
headed by Hamilcar; and another was a navigator who made a voyage round
the western coast of Africa, of which he left an account in his
"Periplus" or "Circumnavigating Voyage."
HANOVER (2,278), a Prussian province since 1866, formerly an
independent kingdom; stretches N. from Westphalia to the German Ocean,
between Holland on the W. and Saxony on the E.; the district is well
watered by the Elbe, Weser, and Ems; in the S. are the Harz Mountains;
for the rest the land is flat, and much of it is occupied by
uncultivated moors; agriculture and cattle-rearing are, however, the
chief industries, while the minerals of the Harz are extensively wrought;
in 1714 George Ludwig, second Elector of Hanover, succeeded Anne on the
English throne as her nearest Protestant kinsman, and till 1837 the dual
rule was maintained, Hanover meanwhile in 1814 having been made a
kingdom; in 1837 the Hanoverian crown passed to the Duke of Cumberland,
Queen Victoria, as a woman, being ineligible; in 1866 the kingdom was
conquered and annexed by Prussia.
HANOVER (164), the capital, is situated on the Leine, 78 m. SE. of
Bremen; it consists of an old and a new portion; presents a handsome
appearance, and its many fine buildings include the royal library
(170,000 vols.), the Kestner Museum, several palaces and art-galleries,
&c.; it is the centre of the North German railway system, and its many
industries embrace iron-works, the manufacture of pianos, tobacco, linen,
&c.
HANSARD, record of the proceedings and debates in the British
Parliament, published by the printers Hansard, the founder of the firm
being Luke Hansard, a printer of Norwich, who came to London in 1770 as a
compositor, and succeeded as proprietor of the business in which he was a
workman; _d_. 1828.
HANSEATIC LEAGUE, a combination of towns in North-western Germany
for the mutual protection of their commerce against the pirates of the
Baltic and the mutual defence of their liberties against the
encroachments of neighbouring princes; it dates from 1241, and flourished
for several centuries, to the extension of their commerce far and wide;
numbered at one time 64 towns, and possessed fleets and armies, an
exchequer, and a government of their own; the League dwindled down during
the Thirty Years' War to six cities, and finally to three, Hamburg,
Lübeck, and Bremen.
HANSTEEN, CHRISTOPH, a Norwegian astronomer and mathematician, born
in Christiania, where he became professor of Mathematics; is famous for
his researches and discoveries in connection with the magnetism of the
earth, and the impetus he gave to the study of it; he prosecuted his
magnetic researches as far as the E. of Siberia, and published the
results (1784-1873).
HANSWURST (i. e. Jack Pudding), a pantomimic character in comic
performances on the German stage; a great favourite at one time with the
vulgar; distinguished for his awkwardness, his gluttonous appetite, and
his rotundity.
HANUMAN, the monkey-god of the Hindus, a friend of Râma, for whose
benefit he reared a causeway across seas to Ceylon.
HANWAY, JONAS, a traveller and philanthropist, born in Portsmouth;
travelled through Russia and Persia, and settled in London as one of the
navy commissariat; devoted himself to the reclaiming and befriending of
unfortunates of all kinds; was a man of very eccentric ways (1712-1786).
HAPSBURG or HABSBURG, HOUSE OF, a famous royal house which has
played a leading part in the history of Continental Europe from its
foundation in the 12th century by Albert, Count of Hapsburg, and which is
represented to-day by the Imperial family of Austria. Representatives of
this family wore the Imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire for
centuries. It takes its name from the castle of Habsburg or Habichtaburg,
on the Aar, built by Werner, bishop of Strasburg, in the 11th century, a
castle, however, which has long since ceased to be in the possession of
the family.
HARBOUR GRACE (7), a seaport and the second town of Newfoundland,
lies on the W. side of Conception Bay, 84 m. NW. of St. John's; its
commodious harbour is somewhat exposed; it is the seat of a Roman
Catholic bishop, and has a cathedral and convent.
HARBURG (35), a prospering Prussian seaport in Lüneburg, on the
Elbe, 5 m. S. of Hamburg; its industries embrace gutta-percha goods, oil,
chemicals, &c.; is a favourite watering-place.
HARCOURT, SIR WILLIAM VERNON, statesman, born, a clergyman's son, at
Nuneham Park, Oxfordshire; was highly distinguished at Cambridge, and in
1854 was called to the bar; was a Q.C. in 1866, and professor of
International Law at Cambridge (1869-87); he won considerable repute by
his articles in the _Saturday Review_ and his "Historicus" letters to the
_Times_, and in 1868 entered Parliament, representing Oxford in the
Liberal interest; in 1873 he became Solicitor-General, and received a
knighthood; he was a vigorous opponent of the Disraeli Government, and on
the return of the Liberals to power in 1880 became Home Secretary; under
Mr. Gladstone in 1886, and again in 1892, he held the office of
Chancellor of the Exchequer; he staunchly supported Mr. Gladstone in his
Home Rule policy; became leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons
on Mr. Gladstone's retirement, a post which for party reasons he resigned
in 1899; _b_. 1827.
HARDENBERG, FRIEDRICH VON. See NOVALIS.
HARDENBERG PRINCE VON, a Prussian statesman, born in Hanover; after
service in Hanover and Brunswick entered that of Prussia under William
II., and became Chancellor of State under William III.; distinguished
himself by the reforms he introduced in military and civic matters to the
benefit of the country, though he was restrained a good deal by the
reactionary proclivities of the king (1750-1822).
HARDICANUTE, king of England and Denmark, the son of Canute and his
successor on the Danish throne; was king of England only in part till the
death of his brother Harold, whom he survived only two years, but long
enough to alienate his subjects by the re-imposition of the Danegelt;
_d_. 1642.
HARDING, JOHN, or HARDYNG, an English rhyming chronicler in the
reign of Edward IV.; had been a soldier, and fought at Agincourt
(1378-1465).
HARDING, STEPHEN, a Benedictine monk, born in Devonshire, of noble
descent, a born ascetic, who set himself to restore his order to its
primitive austerity; retired with a few others into a dismal secluded
place at Citeaux, and became abbot; was joined there by the great St.
Bernard, his kindred, and followers, to the great aggrandisement of the
order; _d_. 1134.
HARDINGE, HENRY, VISCOUNT, a distinguished soldier and
Governor-General of India, born at Wrotham, Kent; joined the army in
1798, and served through the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns, but
wounded at Ligny he was unable to take part in the final struggle with
Napoleon; he now turned his attention to politics; was Secretary of War
under Wellington, and subsequently twice Chief Secretary for Ireland; in
1844 he was appointed Governor-General of India, and later distinguished
himself under Gough in the first Sikh War; a viscountship and pension
followed in 1845, and seven years later he succeeded Wellington as
Commander-in-Chief of the British army (1785-1856).
HARDOUIN, JEAN, a French classical scholar, born at Quimper,
Brittany; early entered the Jesuit order; was from 1683 librarian of the
College of Louis le Grand in Paris; he is chiefly remembered for his wild
assertion that the bulk of classical literature was spurious, and the
work of 13th-century monks; Virgil's "Æneid" he declared to be an
allegorical account of St. Peter's journey to Rome, and the original
language of the New Testament to be Latin; his edition of Pliny, however,
evinces real scholarship (1646-1729).
HARDWÁR, a town on the Ganges, 39 m. NE. of Saharunpur, North-West
Provinces; famous for its large annual influx of pilgrims seeking
ablution in the sacred river; a sacred festival held every twelfth year
attracts some 300,000 persons.
HARDY, THOMAS, novelist, born in Dorsetshire, with whose scenery he
has made his readers familiar; bred an architect; first earned popularity
in 1874 by his "Far from the Madding Crowd," which was followed by, among
others, "The Return of the Native," "The Woodlanders," and "Tess of the
D'Urbervilles," the last in 1892, books which require to be read in order
to appreciate the genius of the author; _b_. 1840.
HARDY, SIR THOMAS DUFFUS, an eminent palæographer, born in Jamaica;
he acquired his skill in MS. deciphering as a clerk in the Record Office
in the Tower; in 1861 he was elected deputy-keeper of the Public Records,
and nine years later received a knighthood; his great learning is
displayed in his editions of various "Rolls" for the Record Commission,
in his "Descriptive Catalogue of MSS.," &c. (1804-1878).
HARDY, SIR THOMAS MASTERMAN, BART., a brave naval officer, whose
name is associated with the closing scene of Nelson's life, born at
Portisham, in Dorsetshire; as a commander in the battle of the Nile he
greatly distinguished himself, and gained his post-commission to Nelson's
flagship, the _Vanguard_; at Trafalgar he commanded the _Victory_, and
subsequently brought Nelson's body to England; he received a baronetcy,
and saw further service, eventually attaining to the rank of vice-admiral
(1769-1839).
HARE, JULIUS CHARLES, archdeacon of Lewes, born at Vicenza; took
orders in the Church, and in 1832 became, in succession to his uncle,
rector of Hurstmonceaux, in Sussex, the advowson of which was in his
family, in which rectory he laboured till his death; he was of the school
of Maurice; wrote "The Mission of the Comforter," and with his brother
Augustus "Guesses at Truth"; had John Sterling as his curate for a short
time, and edited his remains as well as wrote his Life, the latter in so
exclusively ecclesiastical a reference as to dissatisfy Carlyle, his
joint-trustee, and provoke him, as in duty bound, to write another which
should exhibit their common friend in the more interesting light of a man
earnestly struggling with the great burning problems of the time, calling
for some wise solution by all of us, church and no church (1795-1855).
HAREM, the apartment or suite of apartments in a Mohammedan's house
for the female inmates and their attendants, and the name given to the
collective body of them.
HARFLEUR, a village in France with a strong fortress, 4 m. S. of
Havre, taken by Henry V. in 1415, and retaken afterwards by both French
and English, becoming finally French in 1450.
HARGRAVES, EDMUND, discoverer of the gold-field in Australia, born
at Gosport, Devon; had been to California, concluded that as the
geological formation was the same in Australia where he had come from, he
would find gold there too and found it in New South Wales in 1851, for
which the Government gave him £10,000 (1818-1890).
HARGREAVES, JAMES, inventor of the spinning-jenny, born at
Standhill, near Blackburn; was a poor and illiterate weaver when in 1760
he, in conjunction with Robert Peel, brought out a carding-machine; in
1766 he invented the spinning-jenny, a machine which has since
revolutionised the cotton-weaving industry, but which at the time evoked
the angry resentment of the hand-weaver; he was driven from his native
town and settled in Nottingham, where he started a spinning-mill; he
failed to get his machine patented, and died in comparative poverty
(1745-1778).
HARI-KARI, called also a "happy despatch," a form of suicide, now
obsolete, permitted to offenders of high rank to escape the indignity of
a public execution; the nature of it may be gathered from the name, "a
gash in the belly."
HÄRING, WILHELM, German novelist, born at Breslau; bred for law, but
abandoned it for literature; wrote two romances, "Walladmor" and "Schloss
Avalon," under the pseudonym of "Walter Scott," which imposed upon some;
he afterwards assumed the name of Wilibald Alexis, a name by which he was
long honourably known (1797-1871).
HARINGTON, SIR JOHN, courtier and miscellaneous writer, translated
by desire of Queen Elizabeth Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" (1561-1612).
HARIRI, Arabic philologist and poet of the 11th century, born at
Bassorah; celebrated far and wide as the author of "Makameat," a
collection of tales in verse, the central figure in which is one Abu
Seid, a clever and amusing production, and evincing a unique mastery of
Arabic.
HARLAW, BATTLE OF, a battle fought at Harlaw, 18 m. NW. of Aberdeen,
on 24th July 1411, which decided the supremacy of the Lowland Scots over
the Highland.
HARLECH, an old Welsh town in Merionethshire, facing the sea, 10 m.
N. of Barmouth; its grim old castle by the shore was a Lancastrian
fortress during the Wars of the Roses, and its capture by the Yorkists in
1468 was the occasion of the well-known song, "The March of the Men of
Harlech."
HARLEQUIN, a character in a Christmas pantomime, in love with
Columbine, presumed to be invisible, and deft at tricks to frustrate
those of the clown, who is his rival lover.
HARLEY, ROBERT, EARL OF OXFORD, a celebrated English politician,
born of good family; entered Parliament shortly after the Revolution
(1688) as a Whig, but after a period of vacillation threw in his lot with
Tories and in 1701 became Speaker of the House; in 1704 he was associated
with St. John (Bolingbroke) in the Cabinet as Secretary of State, and set
about undermining the influence of Godolphin and Marlborough; he became
Chancellor of the Exchequer and head of the Government; was created Earl
of Oxford and Lord High Treasurer; from this point his power began to
wane; was displaced by Bolingbroke at last in 1715; was impeached for
intriguing with the Jacobites and sent to the Tower; two years later he
was released, and the remainder of his life was spent in the pursuit of
letters and in the building up of his famous collection of MSS., now
deposited in the British Museum (1661-1724).
HARMATTAN, a hot withering wind blowing over the coast of Guinea to
the Atlantic from the interior of Africa, more or less from December to
February.
HARMODIUS, an Athenian who in 514 B.C. conspired with
Aristogeiton, his friend, against Hipparchus and his brother Hippias, the
tyrant, but being betrayed were put to death; they figured in the
traditions of Athens as political martyrs, and as such were honoured with
statues.
HARNACK, ADOLF, a German theologian, born at Dorpat; professor
successively at Giessen, Marburg, and Berlin; has written on the history
of dogma in the Christian Church, on Gnosticism, early Christian
literature, and the Apostles' Creed, on the latter offensively to the
orthodox; B. 1851.
HAROLD I., king of England from 1035 to 1040, younger son of Cnut;
the kingdom was practically divided between him and his brother
Harthacnut; but the latter remaining in Denmark to protect his
possessions there, England passed into Harold's hands.
HAROLD II., the last of the Saxon kings of England, held the crown
for a few months in 1066, was the second son of the great EARL
GODWIN (q. v.); in 1053 he succeeded his father in the earldom of
the West Saxons, and during the later years of Edward's feeble rule was
virtual administrator of the kingdom; on his accession to the throne his
title was immediately challenged by his brother Tostig, and William, Duke
of Normandy; having crushed his brother's invasion at Stamford Bridge, he
immediately hurried S. to meet the forces of William at Hastings. Norman
strategy won the day, and Harold fell in the battle pierced through the
eye by an arrow; historians unite in ascribing to him every kingly
quality--a noble presence, sagacity, and a brave yet gentle nature.
HAROLD I. OF NORWAY, surnamed _Haarfager_ (fair-haired), by him the
petty kingdoms of Norway were all conquered and knit into one compact
realm; the story goes that he undertook this work to win the hand of his
lady-love, and that he swore an oath neither to cut nor comb his hair
till his task was done; _d_. 930.
HAROUN-AL-RASCHID ("Aaron the Orthodox or Just"), the most renowned
of the Abbaside caliphs; succeeded to the caliphate in 786 on the death
of his elder brother, El Hádi, and had for grand-vizier the Barmacide
Yâhyá, to whom with his four sons he committed the administration of
affairs, he the while making his court a centre of attraction to wise
men, scholars, and artists, so that under him Bagdad became the capital
of the civilised world; his glory was tarnished by one foul blot towards
the end of his reign, and that was the massacre out of jealousy of the
Barmacide family, members of which had contributed so much to his fame,
an act which he had soon occasion to repent, for it was followed by an
insurrection which cost him his life; the halo that invests his memory
otherwise was, however, more fabulous than real, and history shows him at
his best to have been avaricious, resentful, and cruel.
HARPIES, fabulous ravenous creatures, living in filth and defiling
everything they touch, with the head and breast of a woman, the wings and
claws of a bird, and a face pale with hunger, the personification of
whirlwinds and storms, conceived of as merely ravening, wasting powers.
HARRINGTON, JAMES, political writer; author of a political romance
entitled "The Commonwealth of Oceana," in which he argued that all secure
government must be based on property, and for a democracy on this basis
(1611-1677).
HARRIS, HOWEL, a noted Welsh Methodist, born at Trevecca, Brecon;
embracing Calvinism, he at the age of 21 became an itinerant preacher,
confining himself chiefly to Wales; in 1752 he took up his abode at
Trevecca, where he erected a large house to accommodate those who sought
his ministrations (1714-1773).
HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER, American writer, born in Georgia, U.S.;
author of "Uncle Remus," his chief work a study of negro folk-lore,
followed by interesting sketches and stories; _b_. 1848.
HARRIS, LUKE, founder of the "Brotherhood of the New Life," born in
Buckinghamshire, a spiritualistic Socialist; his system founded on
SWEDENBORGIANISM (q. v.) on the one hand and a form of communism
on the other, with a scriptural Christianity spiritualised as backbone;
the destiny of man he regards as angelhood, or a state of existence like
that of God, in which the unity of sex, or fatherhood and motherhood,
meet in one; the late Laurence Oliphant and the late John Pulsford were
among his disciples; _b_. 1823.
HARRISBURG (50), capital of Pennsylvania, is beautifully situated on
the Susquehanna, 106 m. NW. of Philadelphia; the industries include
extensive iron and steel works and a flourishing lumber trade.
HARRISON, BENJAMIN. President of the United States and grandson of
William Henry Harrison, a former President, born at North Bend, Ohio;
started as a lawyer in Indianapolis, became an important functionary in
the court of Indiana, and subsequently proved himself a brave and
efficient commander during the Civil War; engaging actively in politics,
he in 1880 became a United States Senator; as the nominee of the
Protectionist and Republican party he won the Presidency against
Cleveland, but at the election of 1892 the positions were reversed; in
1893 he became a professor in San Francisco; _b_. 1833.
HARRISON, FREDERIC, barrister, born in London, professor of
Jurisprudence in the Inns of Court; author of articles contributed to
Reviews and Essays, and of Lectures on a variety of current questions,
historical, social, and religious, from the standpoint of the positivism
of Auguste Comte, with his somewhat vague "Religion of Humanity" is the
author of "Order and Progress," the "Choice of Books," &c.; _b_. 1831.
HARRISON, JOHN, a celebrated mechanician, born at Foulby, Yorkshire;
was the first to invent a chronometer which, by its ingenious apparatus
for compensating the disturbing effects caused by variations of climate,
enabled mariners to determine longitude to within a distance of 18 m.; by
this invention he won a prize of £20,000 offered by Government; amongst
other things he invented the compensating _gridiron pendulum_, still in
use (1693-1776).
HARRISON, WILLIAM, a noted historical writer, born in London;
graduated at Cambridge, and after serving as chaplain to Lord Cobham,
received the rectorship of Radwinter, in Essex; subsequently he became
canon of Windsor; his fame rests on two celebrated historical works,
"Description of England," an invaluable picture of social life and
institutions in Elizabethan times, and "Description of Britain," written
for Holinshed's "Chronicle" (1534-1593).
HARROGATE or HARROWGATE (14), a popular watering-place,
prettily situated amid forest and moorland, in the West Riding of
Yorkshire, 20 m. NW. of York; it enjoys a wide repute for its sulphurous,
saline, and chalybeate springs.
HARROW (6), a town of Middlesex, built on an eminence 200 ft. high,
12 m. from St. Paul's, London; its church, St. Mary's, founded by
Lanfranc, is a Gothic structure of great architectural interest. Harrow
School, a celebrated public school, was founded in 1571 for the free
education of 30 poor boys of the parish, but subsequently opened its
doors to "foreigners," and now numbers upwards of 500 pupils.
HARRY, BLIND, a famous Scottish minstrel who flourished in the 15th
century; the few particulars of his life which have come down to us
represent him as a blind and vagrant poet, living by reciting poems
"before princes and peers"; to him is attributed the celebrated poem,
"The Life of that Noble Champion of Scotland, Sir William Wallace,
Knight," completed about 1488, a spirited, if partly apocryphal, account
of Wallace, running to 11,861 lines in length.
HART, SOLOMON ALEXANDER, born at Plymouth; served as an engraver's
apprentice in London; studied at the Royal Academy, and excelled in
miniature painting; he became celebrated as a painter of historical
scenes and characters, and in 1854 was appointed professor of Painting in
the Royal Academy, and subsequently librarian; his works include "Henry
I. receiving intelligence of the Death of his Son," "Milton visiting
Galileo in Prison," "Wolsey and Buckingham," "Lady Jane Grey in the
Tower," &c. (1806-1881).
HARTE, BRET, American humourist, born at Albany, New York; went to
California at 15; tried various occupations, mining, school-mastering,
printing, and literary sketching, when he got on the staff of a
newspaper, and became eventually first editor of the _Overland Monthly_,
in the columns of which he established his reputation as a humourist by
the publication of the "Heathen Chinee" and other humorous productions,
such as "The Luck of Roaring Camp"; he wields a prolific pen, and all he
writes is of his own original coinage; _b_. 1839.
HARTFORD (80), the capital of Connecticut, U.S., on the
Connecticut, 50 m. from its mouth and 112 m. NE. of New York; is
handsomely laid out, and contains an imposing white marble capitol,
Episcopalian and Congregational colleges, hospitals, libraries, &c.; is
an important depôt for the manufacture of firearms, iron-ware, tobacco,
&c., and is an important banking and insurance centre.
HARTLEPOOL (65), a seaport of Durham, situated on a tongue of land
which forms the Bay of Hartlepool, 4 m. N. of the Tees estuary; the chief
industries are shipbuilding, cement works, and a shipping trade, chiefly
in coal and iron. WEST HARTLEPOOL (43), lies on the opposite and
south side of the bay, 1 m. distant, but practically forming one town
with Hartlepool, and carries on a similar trade, but on a somewhat larger
scale; the extensive docks, stretching between the two towns, cover an
area of 300 acres.
HARTLEY, DAVID, an English philosopher and physician; wrote
"Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations";
ascribed sensation to vibration in the nerves, and applied the doctrine
of the association of ideas to mental phenomena (1705-1757).
HARTMANN, a German philosopher, born at Berlin; established his fame
by a work entitled the "Philosophy of the Unconscious," which rapidly
passed through nine editions; he has since written on pessimism, the
moral and the religious consciousness, the philosophy of the beautiful,
and spiritualism; he is the founder of a new school of philosophy, which
professes to be a synthesis of that of Hegel and that of Schopenhauer,
and to aim at the reconciliation of philosophic results with scientific;
_b_. 1842.
HARTMANN, MORITZ, a German poet; had a keen sympathy with the
liberal political ideas that prevailed in 1848, and which his poems
contributed to foster, and on account of which he got into trouble
(1821-1872).
HARTZENBUSCH, JUAN EUGENIO, Spanish dramatist, born at Madrid, of
German extraction; was educated under the Jesuits, but abandoned his
intention of joining the Church, took to literature, and was given a post
in the National Library at Madrid; his dramas are fresh and vigorous, and
enjoy a wide popularity; he rose to be Director of the National Library,
and in 1852 was President of the Theatrical Council (1806-1880).
HARUS`PICES, among the Romans, soothsayers who affected to foretell
future events by the inspection of the entrails of animals offered in
sacrifice, as well as by study of abnormal phenomena.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, the oldest and premier educational institution
in the United States, is located at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 3 m. W. of
Boston; it is named after the Rev. John Harvard, a graduate of Cambridge,
who by the bequest of his library and small fortune helped to launch the
institution in 1638; it was originally intended for the training of
youths for the Puritan ministry, but it has during the present century
been extended into a university of the first rank, under emancipation
from all sectarian control; it has a student roll of about 3000, is
splendidly equipped, and now richly endowed.
HARVEST-MOON, the full moon which in our latitude, at the autumnal
equinox, rises for an evening or two about the same time.
HARVEY, SIR GEORGE, a Scotch artist, born at St. Ninians, Stirling;
was one of the original associates of the Royal Scottish Academy, of
which he at length became president; among his paintings are the
"Covenanters' Preaching," "The Curlers," and "John Bunyan in Jail"
(1805-1880).
HARVEY, WILLIAM, a celebrated English physician, born at Folkestone,
in Kent; graduated at Cambridge, and in 1602 received his medical diploma
at Padua; settling in London, he in a few years became physician to St.
Bartholomew's Hospital, and subsequently lecturer at the College of
Physicians; in 1628 he announced in a published treatise his discovery of
the circulation of the blood; for many years he was Court physician, and
attended Charles I. at the battle of Edgehill (1578-1657).
HARWICH (8), a seaport and market town of Essex; is situated on a
headland on the S. side of the conjoined estuaries of the Stour and the
Orwell, 5 m. N. of the Naze and 65 m. NE. of London; it is an important
packet station for Holland, has a good harbour and docks, with an
increasing commerce.
HARZ MOUNTAINS, a mountain range of N. Germany, stretching for 57 m.
between the Weser and the Elbe to the S. of Brunswick; it forms a
picturesque and diversified highland, is a favourite resort of tourists,
and rises to its greatest elevation in the far-famed _BROCKEN_
(q. v.); the scene of the Walpurgisnacht in "Faust"; silver, iron, and
other metals are found in considerable quantities, and, with the
extensive forests, give rise to a prosperous mining and timber industry.
HASDRUBAL, the name of several distinguished Carthaginian generals,
of whom the most noted were (1), the son of HAMILCAR BARCA (q. v.)
and brother of HANNIBAL (q. v.); he played a prominent part
in the Second Punic War, conquered Cn. Scipio in Spain (212 B.C.), and
subsequently commanded the Carthaginian army in Italy; he fell at the
battle of the Metaurus in 207 B.C.: (2) the brother-in-law of Hamilcar
Barca, whom he succeeded in 228 B.C. as administrator of the new empire
in the Iberian peninsula; he pushed the western frontiers back to the
Tagus, and by his strong yet conciliatory government firmly established
the Carthaginian power; he was assassinated in 221 B.C.
HASE, KARL AUGUST, an eminent German theologian, born at Steinbach,
Saxony, professor at Jena; author of a "Text-book of Evangelical Dogma,"
a "Life of Christ," a "Church History," &c., was equally opposed to
orthodoxy and rationalism, and sought to reconcile the creed of the
Church with the conclusions of science (1800-1890).
HASHISH, an intoxicant made from Indian hemp, having different
effects on different individuals according to the dose and to the
constitution of the individual.
HASLINGDEN (18), a busy market-town of Lancashire, 19 m. NW. of
Manchester; has flourishing cotton, silk, and woollen factories, and in
the vicinity are coal-mines, iron-works, &c.
HASSAN PASHA, a Turkish grand-vizier of African birth; twice reduced
the beys of Egypt; commanded, at the age of 85, the Turkish forces
against Russia in 1788, but being defeated, was dismissed and put to
death in 1790.
HASSELT (13); a Belgian town, capital of the province of Limburg, 47
m. NE. of Brussels; distilling, and the manufacture of lace, linen, and
tobacco are the staple industries.
HASTINGS (61), a popular holiday and health resort in Sussex;
occupies a fine situation on the coast, with lofty cliffs behind, 33 m.
E. of Brighton; has a splendid esplanade 3 m. long, parks, public
gardens, &c., and ruins of a castle.
HASTINGS, BATTLE OF, fought on 14th October 1066, on Senlac Hill, 6
m. NW. of Hastings (where now stands the little town of Battle), between
William, Duke of Normandy and Harold II., King of England; victory rested
with the Normans, and Harold was slain on the field.
HASTINGS, FRANCIS RAWDON-HASTINGS, MARQUIS OF, Governor-General of
India; entering the army in 1771, he saw active service in the American
War and in Holland; succeeded his father in the earldom of Moira; was in
1813 appointed to the Governor-Generalship of India; he was instrumental
in extending the Company's territories, and pacifying the warlike
Goorkhas, for which, in 1816, he was created Marquis of Hastings;
latterly he held the Governorship of Malta (1754-1826).
HASTINGS, WARREN, first Governor-General of India, born at
Churchill, Oxfordshire; early left an orphan, he was maintained at
Westminster School by his uncle, and at 17 received a clerkship in the
East India Company; for 14 years his life was occupied in mercantile and
political work, at the close of which time he returned to England; in
1769 he was back in India as a member of the Madras Council; married the
divorced wife of Baron Imhoff, and in 1772 was appointed President of the
Council in Bengal; under the new arrangement for the governing of the
provinces, Hastings was raised to the position of Governor-General in
1773; despite jealousies and misrepresentations both among his colleagues
in India and the home authorities, he steadily, and with untiring energy,
extended and brought into orderly government the British dominions; in
1785 he voluntarily resigned, and on his return he was impeached before
the House of Lords for oppression of the natives, and for conniving at
the plunder of the Begums or dowager-princesses of Oudh; the trial
brought forth the greatest orators of the day, Burke, Fox, and Sheridan
leading the impeachment, which, after dragging on for nearly eight years,
resulted in the acquittal of Hastings on all the charges; his fortune
having been consumed by the enormous expenses of the trial, he was
awarded a handsome pension by the Company, and thereafter lived in
honoured retirement (1732-1818).
HATCH, EDWIN, theologian, born at Derby; graduated at Oxford, and
was for some years professor of Classics in Trinity College, Toronto; in
1867 was appointed Vice-Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford; Rector of
Purleigh, Essex, in 1883; reader in Ecclesiastical History at Oxford; he
held the Grinfield, Bampton, and Hibbert lectureships at different times,
and established a reputation, both abroad and at home, for wide and
accurate scholarship; HARNACK (q. v.) translated his learned
lectures on "The Organisation of the Early Christian Churches"; and "The
Growth of Church Institutions" displayed his rare gift of combining
profound scholarship with popular presentation (1835-1889).
HATFIELD, or BISHOP'S HATFIELD (4), a market-town of
Hertfordshire, 18 m. NW. of London; its parish church dates from the 13th
century, and in the vicinity stands Hatfield House, a noble architectural
pile of James I.'s time, the seat of the Marquis of Salisbury.
HATHERLEY, BARON, barrister, elected to represent Oxford in
Parliament; in 1847 was Solicitor-General, in 1853 raised to the bench,
and in 1868 made Lord Chancellor; retired in 1872 from failing sight
(1801-1881).
HATHRAS (39), an important commercial town in the NW. Provinces,
India, 97 m. SE. of Delhi; exports large quantities of sugar, grain,
cotton, &c., and is famed for its beautiful carved stone-and-wood-work.
HATS AND CAPS, the name of two political factions in Sweden in the
middle of the 18th century, the former favouring France and the latter
Russia.
HATTERAS, CAPE, a low sandy headland of a small island separated
from the mainland of N. Carolina, U.S., by Pimlico Sound; it is a
storm-swept and treacherous point, and is marked by a powerful light, 190
ft. high.
HATTI-SHERIFF, a name given to an edict of the Sultan which is
irrevocable, though many a one of them has proved a dead letter.
HATTO, archbishop of Mainz, of whom tradition alleges that he was
assailed in his palace by an army of mice, to escape whose ravages he
retired to a tower on the Rhine, whither the mice followed him and ate
him up, a judgment due, as is alleged, to his having, during a great
famine in 970, gathered the poor into a barn and burnt them to death, as
"like mice, good only for devouring corn," he said.
HAUBERK, a coat or tunic of mail made of interwoven steel rings and
extending below the knees.
HAUCH, HANS CARSTEN, Danish poet and novelist, born at
Frederikshald, in Norway; in 1846 he became professor of Northern
Literature at Kiel, and four years later of Æsthetics at Copenhagen; his
historical tragedies, lyrics, tales, and romances are instinct with true
poetic feeling, and are widely popular in Denmark (1790-1872).
HAUFF, WILHELM, a German prose writer, born in Stuttgart, who died
young; wrote "Memoirs of Satan" and "The Man in the Moon," and a number
of charmingly told "Tales," which have made his name famous among
ourselves (1802-1827).
HAUG, a German Orientalist, professor of Sanskrit at Poona, and
afterwards at Münich; devoted himself to the exposition of the Zendavesta
(1827-1876).
HAUSER, KASPAR, a young man of about 16 who mysteriously appeared in
Nürnberg one day in 1828, was found to be as helpless and ignorant as a
baby, and held a letter in his hand giving an account of his history. The
mystery of his case interested Lord Stanhope, who charged himself with
the care of him, but he was enticed out of the house he was boarded in
one day, returned mortally wounded, and died soon after.
HAUSSA or HOUSSA, a subject people of Central Soudan, whose
language has become the common speech of some 15 millions of people
between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Guinea. The language is allied
to the Hamitic tongues, and is written in modified Arabic characters.
HAUSSMAN, GEORGE EUGÈNE, a celebrated Préfect of the Seine, who,
while holding that position (1853-70), carried through extensive
architectural improvements in Paris, which transformed it into one of the
handsomest cities of Europe; the enormous cost entailed brought about his
dismissal, but not before he had received many distinctions, and been
ennobled by Napoleon III.; in 1881 he was elected to the Chamber of
Deputies (1809-1891).
HAÜY, RENÉ JUST, known as the Abbé Haüy, a French mineralogist, born
at St. Just; propounded the theory of crystallisation founded on
geometrical principles; absorbed in study, was caught napping during the
Revolution; got consequently into trouble, but was extricated out of it
by his friend and pupil, Geoffrey St.-Hilaire; was appointed professor of
Mineralogy by Napoleon (1743-1823).
HAVANA (200), fortified capital of the island of Cuba, in the West
Indies; has a spacious and securely sheltered harbour, an old Spanish
cathedral, a university, botanical garden, and several fine theatres; the
town is ill laid out, badly drained, and subject to yellow fever; the
staple industries are the raising of tobacco and sugar, and the
manufacture of cigars.
HAVEL, an important tributary of the Lower Elbe, which it joins a
few miles from Wittenberg; it rises in Mecklenburg, and takes a
circuitous course past Potsdam of 180 m.
HAVELOCK, SIR HENRY, British general, born at Bishop Wearmouth;
entered the army in 1815, and embarked in the service for India in 1823;
served in the Afghan and Sikh Wars, as also in Persia; on the outbreak of
the Mutiny he was in 1857 sent to the relief of Cawnpore and Lucknow, the
latter of which places he entered on 25th Sept., where, being beleagured,
he entrenched himself in the Residency, and held his own until November,
when Sir Colin Campbell came to his relief, but his health had been
undermined from his anxieties, and he died on the 22nd of that month; for
his services on this occasion a baronetcy and a pension of £1000 was
conferred on him, but it was too late, and the honour with the pension
was transferred to his son; he was a Christian soldier, and a commander
of the Puritan type (1795-1857).
HAVERFORDWEST (6), seaport and capital of Pembroke, Wales, prettily
situated on the Cleddan, 10 m. NE. of Milford; has a 14th-century castle
and a ruined priory; the chief industry is paper-making.
HAVERGAL, FRANCES RIDLEY, a hymn-writer, born at Astley, where her
father, known as a musical composer, was rector; was authoress of
"Ministry of Song," and collections which have been highly popular
(1830-1879).
HAVERSIAN CANALS, canals in the bones to convey the vessels that
nourish them.
HAVRE, LE (116), the second commercial port in France, on the N.
side of the Seine estuary, 143 m. NW. of Paris, in the dep. of
Seine-Inférieure; has a fine harbour, docks, &c., but shipping is
incommoded by the shifting sandbanks of the estuary, and railway
facilities are poor; it is an important centre of emigration, and its
industries embrace shipbuilding, iron-works, flour-mills, &c.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (named by Cook the Sandwich Islands) (90), a group
of volcanic islands, 12 in number, situated in the North Pacific; total
area somewhat larger than Yorkshire. Of the five inhabited islands Hawaii
is the largest; it contains the famous volcano, Kilauea, whose crater is
one of the world's wonders, being 9 m. in circumference, and filled with
a glowing lake of molten lava which ebbs and flows like an ocean tide.
The island of Maui has the largest crater on the earth. The climate of
the group is excellent, and vegetation (including forests) is abundant;
sugar and rice are the chief crops. Honolulu (on Oahu), with a splendid
harbour, is the capital. The islands are now under the jurisdiction of
the United States.
HAWARDEN, a town 7 m. W. of Chester, near which is Hawarden Castle,
where Mr. Gladstone resided and died.
HAWEIS, HUGH REGINALD, English churchman, born at Egham, Surrey,
incumbent of St. James's, Marylebone; was present in Italy during the
revolution there, and at several of the battles; is popular as a preacher
and lecturer, and has written a number of works on the times, on music,
Christ and Christianity, &c.; _b_. 1840.
HAWES, STEPHEN, an English poet; held a post In the household of
Henry VII.; author of an allegorical poem on the right education of a
knight, entitled "The Pastime of Pleasure"; _d_. _d_. 1503.
HAWICK (19), a prosperous and ancient town of Roxburghshire, at the
confluence of the Teviot and Slitrig, 52 m. SE. of Edinburgh; is a
flourishing centre of the tweed, yarn, and hosiery trade, and has besides
dye-works, tanneries, &c.
HAWK-EYE STATE, Iowa, U.S., so called from the name of an Indian
chief once a terror in those parts.
HAWKE, LORD, an English admiral, born in London; entered the navy at
an early age in 1747; defeated a French fleet off Finisterre and captured
six ships of the line in 1759; defeated Admiral Conflans off Belleisle;
was made a peer in 1776; _d_. 1781.
HAWKER, ROBERT STEPHEN, a Cornish clergyman and poet; was vicar for
40 years of Morwenstow, a parish on the N. Cornwall coast; author of
"Cornish Ballads"; was a humane man, of eccentric ways, and passionately
fond of animals; was the author of several works besides his ballads, in
particular "Echoes from Old Cornwall" and "Footprints of Former Men in
Far Cornwall" (1805-1875).
HAWKESWORTH, JOHN, a miscellaneous writer; wrote a book of
"Voyages," an account of the first voyage of Captain Cook; was a friend
of Johnson's, and associated with him in literary work (1715-1773).
HAWKINS, SIR JOHN, an English navigator and admiral, born at
Plymouth; was rear-admiral of the fleet sent against the Armada and
contributed to its defeat; has the unenviable distinction of having been
the first Englishman to traffic in slaves, which he carried off from
Africa and imported into the West Indies (1530-1595).
HAWKINS, SIR JOHN, retired attorney, born in London; wrote a
"History of Music," and edited Walton's "Complete Angler" with notes
(1719-1789).
HAWKWOOD, SIR JOHN, an English captain, born in Essex; embracing
the profession of arms, served with distinction at Crécy and Poitiers,
and was in consequence knighted by Edward III.; afterwards fought as
free-lance with his White Company in the wars of Italy, and finally in
the service of Florence, where he spent his last days and died in 1393.
For an account of his character, military ability, and manner of warfare,
see Ruskin's "Fors Clavigera."
HAWORTH (3), a village of Yorkshire, situated on a rising moorland
in the W. Biding, 2 m. SW. of Keighley, memorable as the lifelong home of
the Brontës, and their final resting-place.
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL, American novelist, born at Salem,
Massachusetts; his early ambition was to be a literary man, and
"Twice-told Tales" was the first production by which he won distinction,
after the publication of which he spent some months at BROOK FARM
(q. v.), leaving which he married and took up house at Concord; from
1848 to 1850 he held a State appointment, and in his leisure hours wrote
his "Scarlet Letter," which appeared in the latter year, and established
his fame as a master of literature; this was followed by "The House of
the Seven Gables," "The Snow Image," "The Blithedale Romance," and
by-and-by "The Marble Faun," and "Our Old Home" (1804-1864).
HAYDN, JOSEPH, German composer, born at Rohrau, in Austria, of poor
parents; early evinced a musical talent, and became at the age of eight a
cathedral chorister; came into notice first as a street musician; soon
became a popular music-master in Vienna, and, under the patronage of the
Esterhazys, kapellmeister to Prince Nicolaus, a passionate lover of
music; he produced operas, symphonies, and oratorios, &c.; he is at his
best in quartettes and symphonies, and in "The Creation" and "The
Seasons"; he was a man of a happy disposition, and his character appears
in his music; he was known at length as Father Haydn (1732-1809).
HAYDON, BENJAMIN ROBERT, an English historical painter, born at
Plymouth; studied at the Royal Academy, and in 1807 exhibited "Joseph and
Mary resting on the Road to Egypt"; two years later occurred his
memorable split with the Royal Academy over a supposed slight to his
picture, "Dentatus"; "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem" brought him £1700 by
exhibition, and his "Judgment of Solomon," considered his finest work,
sold for 700 guineas; despite large sums obtained for "The Mock
Election," "The Reform Banquet," &c., he was continually in debt, and his
high-strung, sensitive temperament, smarting under imaginary slights and
weary of unrealised ambitions, led him to commit suicide by shooting
himself in his studio; he was an artist of great but unequal genius; he
was fascinated with the Elgin Marbles, and the admiration he expressed
for them contributed to persuade the Government to purchase them
(1786-1846).
HAYES, ISAAC ISRAEL, Arctic explorer, born in Pennsylvania; after
graduating in medicine, joined the Kane expedition in search of Franklin
in 1853, and subsequently made two other voyages to the Arctic regions,
accounts of which are given in his "An Arctic Boat-journey," "The Land of
Desolation," &c.; subsequently he served as a surgeon during the Civil
War, and sat in the New York Assembly (1832-1881).
HAYES, RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD, President of the United States, born at
Delaware, Ohio; graduated at Kenyon College, Ohio; studied law at
Harvard, and started practice at Cincinnati; he served with distinction
through the Civil War, entered Congress in 1865, and was thrice governor
of Ohio; in 1876 he was elected President in the Republican interest
after a protracted and bitterly disputed election; he did much to pacify
the South, reform the civil service, advance education, and to bring
about resumption of specie payments, measures which greatly restored the
prosperity of the country (1822-1893).
HAY-FEVER, a sort of catarrh, accompanied with paroxysms of
sneezing, irritation in the eyes, pains in the head, &c., most frequent
in early summer.
HAYLEY, WILLIAM, poet, the friend and biographer of Cowper; wrote
"Triumphs of Temper," a poem (1745-1820).
HAYM, RUDOLF, professor of Philosophy at Halle; wrote biographies of
Hegel, W. von Humboldt, and Schopenhauer; _b_. 1821.
HAYNAU, JULIUS JAKOB, BARON VON, a notorious Austrian general, born
at Cassel, Germany; entered the army in 1801, and while holding a command
during the Italian campaigns of 1848-49, crushed the revolt at Brescia
with such brutal ferocity as to gain him the name of the "Hyæna of
Brescia"; he was for a time dictator of Hungary, but his murderous
cruelty towards the subjugate people became a European scandal and led to
his removal; in London he was mobbed and narrowly escaped with his life
(1786-1853).
HAYTI (Hispaniola or Santo Domingo), next to Cuba the largest of the
W. Indian Islands, in the group of the Greater Antilles, lies midway
between Cuba on the W. and Porto Rico on the E.; its area, somewhat
larger than Scotland, is apportioned between the negro Republic of Hayti
in the E. and the mulatto Dominican Republic in the W.; the island is
mountainous, and forests of valuable timber abound; a warm, moist climate
favours rice, cotton, &c., and minerals are plentiful; but during this
century, under native government, the island has been retrogressive;
agriculture and mining are practically at a standstill, while the natives
seem incapable of self-government; the language spoken is a corrupt
French; Port-au-Prince and San Domingo are the chief towns; discovered in
1492 by Columbus, the island was soon denuded of its aboriginals, then
peopled by imported negroes, joined latterly by French buccaneers; in
1697 the island was ceded to France, but in 1791, under TOUSSAINT
L'OUVERTURE (q. v.), the blacks, after a bloody revolution, swept
the island clear of Europeans; population of island somewhat over a
million.
HAYWARD, ABRAHAM, English essayist; bred to law, but took to
literature; executed a prose translation of "Faust," Pt. I. (1802-1884).
HAZLITT, WILLIAM, critic and essayist, born in Maidstone, of Irish
descent; began life as an artist, but abandoned art for letters, and
contributed to the reviews; wrote on the English poets and dramatists,
the "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays," "The Spirit of the Age," a "Life
of Napoleon," &c.; criticism was his _forte_, and he ranks among the
foremost devoted to that art; his life was not well regulated, his health
gave way, and he died in poverty (1778-1830).
HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART., writer on art, born near Maidstone,
Kent, succeeded to the baronetcy in 1838; became lieutenant-governor of
New Brunswick in 1847, and governor-general of Canada in 1854; wrote
"Handbook of Spanish Painting," also "French Art," and some poems
(1805-1868).
HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, soldier and author; governor of Upper
Canada; suppressed an insurrection; wrote a "Life of Bruce the African
Traveller," "Bubbles from the Brunnen of Nassau," "A Faggot of French
Sticks," &c. (1793-1875).
HEAD-HUNTERS, name given to the Dyaks of Borneo, from their habit of
preserving in the way of trophy the heads of those whom they slay in
battle, as the Red Indians did the scalps.
HEADRIGG, CUDDIE (i. e. Cuthbert), a ploughman in "Old Mortality."
HEALY, TIMOTHY MICHAEL, Irish Nationalist, born at Bantry, Cork;
came into prominence during the Land League agitation in 1880, and in the
same year was returned to Parliament; was called to the Irish bar in
1884, and has since been active in promoting the interests of the Home
Rule movement; in 1890 he was one of the leaders in the revolt against
Parnell; _b_. 1855.
HEARNE, THOMAS, a noted English antiquary, born in White Waltham,
Berks; graduated at Oxford in 1699, and subsequently became second keeper
of the Bodleian Library; his compilations and editions of old English
texts, e. g. Camden's "Annals," Robert of Gloucester's "Chronicle,"
display wide and ingenious scholarship; he figures in Pope's "Dunciad"
(1678-1735).
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN, the old Tolbooth or jail of Edinburgh, the
capital of Midlothian, which gives name to one of Scott's best novels.
HEATHENISM, as defined by Carlyle, "plurality of gods, mere sensuous
representation of the Mystery of Life, and for chief recognised element
therein Physical Force, as contrasted with Christianism, or Faith in an
Invisible, not as real only, but as the only reality; Time, through every
meanest moment of it, resting on Eternity; Pagan empire of Force
displaced by a nobler supremacy, that of Holiness."
HEATHFIELD, GEORGE AUGUSTUS ELIOTT, LORD, a gallant general, the
defender of Gibraltar, son of Sir Gilbert Eliott, born at Stobs, in
Roxburghshire; saw service first in the war of the Austrian Succession,
fighting at Dettingen and Fontenoy; as a colonel he fought with English
troops in alliance with Frederick the Great against Austria; for his
heroic defence of Gibraltar (1779-1783) against the combined forces of
France and Spain he was raised to the peerage as Baron of Gibraltar
(1717-1790).
HEAVEN, in Christian theology the place of the immediate Divine
presence, where God manifests Himself without veil, and His saints enjoy
that presence and know as they are known. In Scripture it denotes, (1)
the atmosphere, (2) the starry region, (3) a state of bliss, (4) as
defined, the divine presence, and (5) God Himself.
HEAVE-OFFERING, among the Jews, an offering for the support of
divine service, so called as, when offered, lifted up in presence of the
people.
HEBBEL, FRIEDRICH, lyrist and dramatist, born at Weselburen,
Ditmarsh; settled in Vienna in 1846; "Die Nibelungen" is his best play,
others are "Judith," "Maria Magdalena," &c.; his dramas are vigorous and
original, but ill-proportioned, and in the passions they depict abnormal;
his works are collected in 12 vols. (1813-1863).
HEBE, goddess of eternal youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera; was the
cup-bearer of the gods; was superseded by Ganymedes, and became the wife
of Hercules after his admission among the immortals.
HEBER, REGINALD, bishop of Calcutta, born in Cheshire, author of a
prize poem entitled "Palestine" and a volume of "Hymns," several of them
famous; died at his post in Trichinopoly; left a narrative of a "Journey
through India" (1783-1826).
HÉBERT, JACQUES RENÉ, commonly called Per Duchesne as editor of a
journal of that name, a violent revolutionary organ; took part in the
September Massacres; brutally insulted the queen at her trial, to the
disgust of Robespierre; was arrested by his colleagues, whom he dared to
oppose, and guillotined, his widow found weeping, following him to his
doom (1756-1794).
HEBREW, a Semitic language, the ancient language of the Jews, and
that in which the Old Testament is written, the words of which, as indeed
of others of the same stock, are derived from triliteral roots, and the
verb in which has no present tense, only a past and a future,
convertible, moreover, into one another.
HEBREW POETRY is of two kinds, either lyric or gnomic, i. e.
subjectively emotional or sententiously didactic, the former belonging to
the active or stirring, and the latter to the reflective or quiet,
periods of Hebrew history, and whether expressed in lyric or gnome rises
in the conscience and terminates in action; for Hebrew thought needs to
go no higher, since therein it finds and affirms God; and it seeks to go
no farther, for therein it compasses all being, and requires no epic and
no drama to work out its destiny. However individualistic in feature, as
working through the conscience, it yet relates itself to the whole moral
world, and however it may express itself, it beats in accord with the
pulse of eternity. The lyric expression of the Hebrew temper we find in
the Psalms and the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and the gnomic in the books
of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, while the book of Job, which is only
dramatic in form, is partly lyric and partly dramatic.
HEBREW PROPHECY had throughout regard for the Jews as a nation and
to see that it fulfilled its destiny as such in the world. This purpose
we see carried out by five steps or stages. It taught, first, by the
NEBIIM (q. v.), that the nation must regard itself as one nation;
secondly, by Elijah, that it must have Jehovah alone for its God;
thirdly, by Amos, that as a nation it was not necessarily God's chosen;
fourthly, by Isaiah, that it existed for the preservation of a holy seed;
and finally, that it ceased to exist when it was felt that religion
primarily concerned the individual and was wholly an affair of the
conscience. Thus does Hebrew prophecy terminate when it leads up to
Christianity, the first requirement of which is a regeneration of the
heart (John iii. 3), and the great promise of which is the outpouring of
a spirit that "will guide into all truth" (John xvi. 13).
HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE, an epistle of the New Testament of
uncertain authorship addressed to Christians of Jewish descent, who were
strongly tempted, by the persecution they were subjected to at the hands
of their Jewish brethren, to renounce the cross of Christ, which it was
feared they would too readily do, and so to their own ruin crucify the
Son of God afresh, there being only this alternative for them, either
crucifixion _with_ Christ or crucifixion _of_ Christ, and death of all
their hopes founded on Him.
HEBRIDES, or WESTERN ISLANDS, a general name for the islands on
the west coast of Scotland (save the islands of the Firth of Clyde),
about 500 in number, of which 100 are inhabited; they belong to the
counties of Ross, Inverness, and Argyll, and are divided by the Little
Minch and the Minch into the Outer Hebrides, of which the chief are
Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist, Benbecula, &c.; and the Inner
Hebrides, including Skye, Rum, Mull, Iona, Staffa, &c.; they have wild
and rocky coasts, but are picturesque and verdurous, and are much
frequented by tourists; the climate is mild and moist; cattle and sheep
rearing and fishing are the chief industries.
HEBRON, an ancient town and city of refuge, originally called
Kirjath-arba, i. e. four cities, only 20 m. S. of Jerusalem; it is a
poor place now, but still abounds in orchards and vineyards.
HECATÆUS OF MILETUS, styled the "logographer," who flourished about
500 B.C.; visited many countries, and wrote two books, "The Tour of the
World" and "Genealogies or Histories," the former containing descriptions
of the places he visited, and the latter an account of the poetical
fables and traditions of the Greeks.
HECATE, in the Greek mythology a mysterious divinity of the Titan
brood and held in honour by all the gods, identified with Phoebe in
heaven, Artemis on earth, and Persephone in Hades, as being invested with
authority in all three regions; came to be regarded exclusively as an
infernal deity, having under her command and at her beck all manner of
demons and phantom spirits.
HECKER, FRIEDRICH KARL FRANZ, a German revolutionary, born at
Eichtersheim, Baden; practised as an advocate in Mannheim, and in 1842
became an active democrat and Socialist; frustrated in an attempt during
the '48 Revolution to create a republican assembly, he headed a
revolutionary attack upon Baden, was defeated, and subsequently settled
in the United States, where he took to farming; took part in the Civil
War at the head of a regiment of Germans, and became a commander of a
brigade (1811-1881).
HECKER, JUSTUS FRIEDRICH KARL, author of a great work on the
"Epidemics of the Middle Ages"; was a professor of Medicine at Berlin
(1795-1850).
HECKMONDWIKE (10), a market-town in Yorkshire, 8 m. NE. of
Huddersfield; is the principal seat of the carpet and blanket
manufactures in the West Riding.
HECLA or HEKLA, the loftiest of 20 active volcanoes in Iceland
(5102 ft.); is an isolated peak with five craters, 68 m. E. of Reykjavik;
its most violent outbreak in recent times continued from 1845 to 1846;
its last eruption was in March 1878.
HECTIC FEVER, a fever connected with consumption, and showing itself
by a bright pink flush on the cheeks.
HECTOR, the chief hero of Troy in the war with the Greeks, the son
of Priam and Hecuba; fought with the bravest of the enemy and finally
slew Patroclus, the friend of ACHILLES (q. v.), which roused the
latter from his long lethargy to challenge him to fight; Achilles chased
him three times round the city, pierced him with his spear, and dragged
his dead body after his chariot round Ilium; his body was at the command
of Zeus delivered up to Priam and buried with great pomp within the city
walls.
HECUBA, the wife of Priam, king of Troy; distinguished both as a
wife and a mother; on the fall of the city she fell into the hands of the
Greeks, and, according to one tradition, was made a slave, and, according
to another, threw herself in despair into the sea.
HEDONISM, the doctrine of the Cyrenaics that pleasure is the end of
life, and the measure of virtue, or the _summum bonum_.
HEEM, JAN DAVIDSZ VAN, a famous Dutch painter, born at Utrecht; had
a prosperous and uneventful career in Antwerp, where in 1635 he became a
member of the Guild of Painters; he is considered the greatest of the
"still life" painters; his pictures, masterpieces of colouring and
chiaroscuro, have a great monetary value, and are to be found in the
famous galleries of Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, &c.
(1606-1684).
HEEREN, LUDWIG, a German historian; professor of History at
Göttingen; wrote on ancient and modern history, specially the ancient and
its antiquities; eminent in both (1760-1842).
HEFELE, KARL JOSEPH VON, a Catholic Church historian, born at
Unterkochen, in Würtemberg; in 1840 became professor of Church History
and Christian Archæology in the Catholic Theological Faculty in Tübingen
University, and in 1869 Bishop of Rottenburg; was for some time zealously
opposed to the doctrine of the Papal infallibility, but subsequently
acquiesced, putting, however, his own construction on it; his best-known
works are the "History of the Christian Councils" and "Contributions to
Church History" (1809-1893).
HEGEL, GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH, German philosopher, the greatest of
all, born in Stuttgart; studied first at Tübingen, with a view to
theology; as a student attracted no particular attention, was outstript
by Schelling; did domestic tutoring for a time; qualified at Jena for an
academic career; adhered to and collaborated with Schelling in
philosophy; first announced himself in 1807 by his work, "Phenomenology
of the Spirit"; became rector of the Academy at Nürnberg, where in
1812-16 he composed his "Logic"; was in 1816 appointed professor of
Philosophy at Heidelberg, whence he was removed to Berlin in 1818, where,
his philosophy being now matured, he began to apply it with intense
earnestness to every subject of human interest; he was the last of a line
of thinkers beginning with Kant, with whom, however, he affiliated
directly, and in his idealism philosophy first reached the goal which it
was till then with hesitating steps only stretching forward to; his works
fill 22 goodly sized volumes, and his system may be grouped under three
heads, the "Science of Logic," the "Philosophy of Nature," and the
"Philosophy of Spirit" (1770-1831).
HEGELIANISM, the philosophy of Hegel, which resolves being into
thought, and thought into the unity of the logical moments of simple
apprehension, judgment, and reason, all purely spiritual acts, whereby
being in itself, or _seyn_, becomes other than itself, or _daseyn_, and
returns into itself, or _für sich seyn_, the universal being first by
separating from itself particularised, and then by return into itself
individualised, the whole being what Hegel characterises as _Der Process
des Geistes_, "The Process of the Spirit." Something like this is what
Dr. Stirling calls "The Secret of Hegel," and an open secret it is, for
he finds it pervading the whole system; "open where you will in Hegel,"
he says, "you find him always engaged in saying pretty well the same
thing"; always identity by otherness passing into selfness, or making
that _for_ itself which is at first _in_ itself;--a philosophy which is
anticipated by the doctrine of St. Paul, which represents God as the One
_from_ whom are all things as Father, and _through_ whom are all things
as Son, and _to_ whom are all things as Spirit, the One who is thus All;
it is also involved in the doctrine of Christ when He says God is Spirit,
or the Living One who lives, and manifests Himself in life, for Himself,
from Himself, and through Himself, who, so to say, thus concretes Himself
throughout the universe.
HEGE`SIAS, a Cyrenaic philosopher, who held that life was full of
evils, that it was in vain to seek after pleasure, and that all a wise
man could do was to fortify himself as best he could against pain.
HEGESIPPUS, a Church historian of the 2nd century, a convert from
Judaism; only fragments of his "Memoirs of Ecclesiastical Affairs"
remain.
HEIDELBERG (35), a celebrated German city, in Baden, situated amid
beautiful surroundings, on the Neckar, 13 m. SE. of Mannheim; has many
interesting buildings, including ruins of a splendid 13th-century castle,
but is chiefly celebrated for its flourishing university (student roll,
800; professors, 100; library, 500,000), whose professoriate has included
many of the most distinguished German scholars; it was long the centre of
Calvinism; its chief trade is in books, tobacco, wine, and beer.
HEIJN, or HEYN, PETER PETERSEN, a famous Dutch admiral, born at
Delftshaven; from being a cabin-boy rose to be commander of the Dutch
fleet; off the east coast of S. America he twice defeated the Spanish
fleet, securing an immense booty, and in 1628 captured a flotilla of
Spanish galleons with silver and jewels equal to 16,000,000 Dutch
guilders; fell in an action off Dunkirk (1577-1629).
HEILBRONN (30), a quaint old town of Würtemberg, on the Neckar, 23
m. N. of Stuttgart; has a fine 11th-century Gothic church, and the
Thief's Tower (Diebsthurm); is associated with the captivity of GOETZ
VON BERLICHINGEN (q. v.); it is now a busy commercial centre, and
manufactures silverware, paper, beet-sugar, chemicals, &c.
HEILSBRONN, a Bavarian market-town, 16 m. SW. of Nüremberg; is
celebrated for its Cistercian monastery, now suppressed, but whose church
still contains monuments and art relics of great historic interest.
HEINE, HEINRICH, a German lyric poet, born at Düsseldorf, of Jewish
parents; was bred to law, but devoted himself to literature, and mingled
with literary people, and associated in particular with the Varnhagen von
Ense circle; first became notable by the publication of his "Reisebilder"
and his "Buch der Lieder," the appearance of which created a wide-spread
enthusiasm in Germany in 1825 he abandoned the Jewish faith and professed
the Christian, but the creed he adopted was that of a sceptic, and he
indulged in a cynicism that outraged all propriety, and even common
decency; in 1830 he quitted Germany and settled in Paris, and there a few
years afterwards married a rich lady, who alleviated the sufferings of
his last years; an attack of paralysis in 1847 left him only one eye, and
in the following year he lost the other, but under these privations and
much bodily pain he bore up with a singular fortitude, and continued his
literary labours to the last; in his songs he was at his best, and by
these alone it is believed he will be chiefly remembered (1797-1856).
HEINECCIUS, JOHANN GOTTLIEB, a celebrated German jurist, born at
Eisenberg; was successively professor of Philosophy and subsequently of
Law at several universities of Germany; he wrote several learned works in
law treated from a philosophical standpoint; mention may be made of his
"Historia Juris Civilis Romani" and "Elementa Juris Naturæ Gentium"
(1681-1741).
HEINSIUS, ANTHONY, a noted Dutch statesman, born at Delft; became
Grand Pensionary of Holland; was the intimate friend and correspondent of
William III. of England, who left the guidance of Dutch affairs largely
in his hands (1641-1720).
HEIR APPARENT, one whose right of succession is sure if he survive
the present holder.
HEIR PRESUMPTIVE, one whose right of succession is sure if not
barred by the birth of one nearer.
HEJAZ, EL, the holy land of the Moslems, a district of Arabia Felix,
and so called by containing the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina.
HEJIRA or HEJRA (Arabic, "going away"), a word applied to
Mahomet's flight from Mecca to Medina in A.D. 622; Calif Omar, 17 years
later, adopted this date as the starting-point of a new Mohammedan
calendar.
HEL or HELA, in Scandinavian mythology an inexorable divinity,
the death-goddess who presides over the icy realm of the dead; her maw
was insatiable and her heart pitiless.
HELDENBUCH, a collection of German heroic poems relating heroic
deeds and events connected with the inroads of the barbarians on the
empire.
HELDER, THE (25), a strongly fortified and flourishing seaport in
North Holland, on the Marsdiep, at the N. end of the North Holland Canal,
51 m. NW. of Amsterdam; is an important naval centre, and has an
excellent harbour.
HELEN, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and the wife of Menelaus, king
of Sparta; the most beautiful of women, who was carried off to Troy by
Paris, to revenge whose abduction the princes of Greece, who had pledged
themselves to protect her, made war on Troy, a war which lasted ten
years.
HELENA, ST., the mother of Constantine the Great; is said to have
visited Jerusalem and discovered the Holy Sepulchre and the cross on
which Christ was crucified; _d_. 328, at the age of 80. Festival, Aug.
18. There are several other saints of the same name.
HELENSBURGH (8), a pleasantly situated watering-place in Dumbarton,
on the Firth of Clyde, at the entrance of the Gareloch, 4 m. N. of
Greenock.
HELENUS, a son of Priam and Hecuba, celebrated for his prophetic
foresight; is said to have deserted his countrymen and joined the Greeks.
HELIAND, an old Saxon poem of the 9th century, of great philological
value, but of no great literary merit; deals with the life and work of
Christ; of the two extant MSS. one is in the British Museum.
HELICON, a mountain in Boeotia, Greece, sacred to Apollo and the
Muses; famous for the fountains on its slopes dedicated to the latter.
HELIGOLAND (2, but rising to 14 in summer), an islet of the North
Sea, 35 m. from the mouths of the Elbe and the Weser; German since 1890;
consists of the _Oberland_, a plateau, with some 400 houses, and the
_Unterland_ on the shore, 206 ft. beneath, with a group of 70 dwellings.
In the summer it is crowded with visitors, bathing being the chief
attraction; fishing is the staple industry of the native Frisians.
HELIODORUS, the most noted and earliest of the Greek romancists,
born at Emesa, Syria; flourished in the second half of the 3rd century
A.D.; his romance "Æthiopica" is a love tale of great beauty and told with
naïve simplicity; has had considerable influence over subsequent romance
writers, e. g. Tasso.
HELIOGA`BALUS, a Roman emperor; invested, while yet a youth, with
the Imperial purple by the army in 218; ruled with a show of moderation
at first, but soon gave way to every manner of excess; was after four
years put to death by the Prætorian Guard, and his body thrown into the
Tiber.
HELIOGRAPHY, a method of signalling from distant points by means of
the sun's rays flashed from mirrors; messages can in this manner be
transmitted a distance of 190 m.; it has been found of great practical
value in military operations.
HELIOPOLIS (i. e. City of the Sun), in Egyptian _On_, one of the
oldest and most sacred cities of Egypt; was situated about 10 m. N. of
Cairo, on the eastmost branch of the Nile; it was the centre of Egyptian
learning; Solon and Plato are said to have studied there, and Potiphar
was one of its chief priests; the famous obelisk PHARAOH'S NEEDLE
stands near; and CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE, now on the Thames Embankment,
was originally of this city. Also the name of Baalbec.
HELIOS, the god of the sun, mistakenly identified with Apollo, but of an
older dynasty, was the brother of SELENE (q. v.) and EOS (q. v.); a god
of the brood of the TITANS (q. v.), and the source of light to both gods
and men; he rises from the bosom of OKEANOS (q. v.) in the morning, and
loses himself in his dark abyss every evening.
HELIOTROPE or BLOODSTONE, a variety of quartz (chalcedony or
jasper) of a deep green colour, with bright red spots. The finest
specimens, which come from South Asia, are of fairly translucent
chalcedony; those of jasper are opaque; they are used as seals,
ring-stones, &c.
HELL FIRE, the infinite terror to a true man, the infinite misery
which he never fails to realise must befall him if he come short in his
loyalty to truth and duty.
HELL GATE or HURL GATE, a narrow pass in the East River,
between the city of New York and Long Island; at one time its hidden
shoals and swift narrow current were dangerous to ships, but extensive
blasting operations, completed in 1885, have greatly widened and cleared
the pass.
HELLAS, the name of the abode of the ancient Greeks, and of greater
extent than Greece proper.
HELLE, a maiden who, with her brother Phrixus, fled on the
golden-fleeced ram to escape from the cruelty of her step-dame Ino, and
fell into the strait called the Hellespont after her, in which she was
drowned. See GOLDEN FLEECE.
HELLENISTS, originally Jews who would fain have seen Jewish thought
and life more or less transformed in spirit as well as fashion after a
Greek pattern; eventually those who by contact with Greek civilisation
became Grecianised, and were open to learn as much from the civilisation
of the Greeks as was consistent with the maintenance in their integrity
of the principles of their own religion.
HELLER, STEPHEN, a distinguished pianist and composer, born at
Pesth; made his _début_ at nine, and by 17 had won a reputation
throughout the great cities of Europe; in 1838 he settled in Paris, and
gave himself to teaching and composition; he ranks beside Chopin as a
master of technique; his works are almost entirely pianoforte pieces
(1814-1888).
HELMHOLTZ, HERMANN VON, an eminent German scientist, born at
Potsdam, Brandenburg; was first an army doctor, and in 1849 became
professor of Physiology in Königsberg, and subsequently in Bonn and
Heidelberg; in 1871 he became professor of Physics in Berlin; was
ennobled, and in 1887 nominated head of the Charlottenburg Institute; to
physiology he made contributions of great value on the various
sense-organs, and to physics on the conservation of energy; but his most
original work was done in connection with acoustics in its relation to
optics; his published works include "Theory of Sound Sensations'" and
"Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music"
(1821-1894).
HELMONT, JEAN BAPTIST VAN, a celebrated German chemist, the father
of chemistry, born at Brussels; his early years were divided between the
study of medicine and the practice of a religious mysticism; the works of
Paracelsus stimulated his interest in chemistry and physics, and having
married a noble Brabant lady, he settled down on the family estate near
Vilvorde, where he devoted himself to scientific research; mixed up a
good deal of mysticism and alchemy with his scientific discoveries, and
made a special study of gases; he was the first to prove the
indestructibility of matter in chemical changes by utilising the balance
in analysis; he invented the word gas, first used the melting-point of
ice and the boiling-point of water as limits of a thermometric scale, and
his physiological speculations led him to regard the stomach as the seat
of the soul! (1577-1644).
HELOÏSE, niece of Canon Fulbert, born at Paris; celebrated for her
amour with ABELARD (q. v.); became prioress of the convent of
Argenteuil and abbess of the Paraclete, where she founded a new convent
and lived a pious life (1101-1164).
HELOÏSE, NOUVELLE, a romance by Rousseau.
HELOTS, slaves who formed the lowest grade of the population of
Sparta, were descendants of the original inhabitants of Laconia, or
prisoners of war; they were slaves belonging to the State, from the State
alone could they receive manumission; they were employed as tillers of
the ground, waited at meals, filled various menial offices for private
individuals, and were treated with the utmost harshness; were whipped
annually to remind them of their servile position; slaughtered when their
numbers increased too much, and were forced to exhibit themselves under
intoxication as a warning to the Spartan youth.
HELPS, SIR ARTHUR, essayist and historian, born in Surrey; for a
time held official posts in connection with the government of the day,
and finally that of Clerk to the Privy Council, in which capacity he was
brought into connection with the Queen, which led to his being appointed
editor of the "Principal Speeches and Addresses of the late Prince
Consort" and Her Majesty's "Leaves from a Journal of our Life in the
Highlands"; he is the author of "Friends in Council," published one
series in 1847 and a second in 1859, which dealt with a variety of
subjects, and was, along with "Companions of my Solitude," very popular;
he did also plays and romances as well as historical sketches
(1817-1875).
HELSINGFORS (77), a strongly fortified seaport and capital of
Finland, is in a commanding position placed on a rocky peninsula in the
Gulf of Finland, 191 m. W. of St. Petersburg; the numerous islands and
islets at the entrance of the harbour are strongly fortified; the town is
handsomely laid out, and has a flourishing university (student roll,
1703), and does a good Baltic trade.
HELST, BARTHOLOMÆUS VAN DER, one of the greatest of the Dutch
portrait-painters, born at Haarlem, but spent his life in Amsterdam; he
enjoyed a great reputation in his day, and many of his pictures are to be
found in European galleries; his "Muster of the Burgher Guard" was
considered by Sir Joshua Reynolds to be "the first picture of portraits
in the world" (1613-1670).
HELVELLYN, one of the Cumberland mountains, 3118 ft. high, rises at
the side of Ulleswater, midway between Keswick and Ambleside.
HELVETII, a Celtic people mentioned by Cæsar as occupying territory
in Central Europe now embraced in Switzerland; they suffered tremendous
slaughter at the hands of Cæsar when endeavouring to make their way to a
wider territory in Southern Gaul.
HELVÉTIUS, a French philosophe, born in Paris, of Swiss origin;
author of a book entitled "De l'Esprit," which was condemned by the
Parlement of Paris for views advocated in it that were considered
derogatory to the dignity of man, and which exposed him to much bitter
hostility, especially at the hands of the priests; man he reduced to a
mere animal, made self-love the only motive of his actions, and the
satisfaction of our sensuous desires the principle of morals,
notwithstanding which he was a man of estimable character and of kindly
disposition (1715-1771).
HEMANS, FELICIA DOROTHEA, _née_ Browne, poetess, born in Liverpool;
her marriage was an unhappy one, and after the birth of five children
ended in permanent separation; she was the authoress of a number of
works, a complete edition of which occupies 7 vols., the best of her
productions being lyrics; and she enjoyed the friendship of Wordsworth,
Scott, and other literary celebrities of the time (1791-1835).
HÉNAULT, French historian, born in Paris, president of the Parlement
of Paris; was author of "Abrégé Chronologique de l'Histoire de France"
(1685-1770).
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD (10), a busy market-town in Herts, 23 m. NW. of
London; noted for its straw-plaiting, and has paper-mills, foundries, &c.
HEMS or HOMS (35), a noted Syrian city known to the Romans as
Emesa, on the Orontes, 63 m. NE. of Tripoli; here stood in ancient times
a famous temple of the Sun, one of whose priests, HELIOGABALUS
(q. v.), became Roman emperor (218); the Crusaders captured it from the
Saracens in 1098; it does a good trade in oil, cotton, silk, &c.
HEMSTERHUIS, Dutch philologist, born at Gröningen; was professor of
Greek at Leyden; one of the greatest Grecians of his day; had for pupils
Ruhnken and Valckenaer, and edited a number of classical works
(1685-1766).
HENDERSON, ALEXANDER, a celebrated Scotch divine; became professor
of Rhetoric and Philosophy in St. Andrews, and subsequently held the
living of Leuchars, in Fife; he actively espoused the cause of the
Covenanters, and became a prominent leader in negotiations with the king;
in 1643 he drafted the "Solemn League and Covenant" which passed into
force, and he was one of Scotland's representatives to the Assembly of
Divines at Westminster (1583-1646).
HENDERSON, THOMAS, astronomer, born at Dundee, astronomer first at
the Cape and then Astronomer-royal for Scotland, calculated the distance
of the nearest fixed star [Greek: alpha] Centauri and found it nearly 19
billions of miles from the sun.
HENGIST AND HORSA, two Saxon brothers who came over to assist
Vortigern against the Picts, and were rewarded by a gift of Thanet,
though they were afterwards defeated by Vortigern and the latter slain.
HENGSTENBERG, a German theologian, born in Westphalia; was editor of
the _Evangelische Kirchenzeitung_, and the valiant unwearied assailant of
Rationalism in its treatment of the Scriptures and the old orthodox
faith; his principal works bear on Old Testament literature, such as its
Christology and the Psalms, as well as on the New, such as St. John's
Gospel and the Apocalypse (1802-1869).
HENLEY, WILLIAM ERNEST, poet and critic, author of a "Book of
Verses" and "Song of the Sword," in which he reveals superior powers as a
poet, and of a volume entitled "Views and Reviews," in which he evinces
discriminative criticism of the highest order; he has edited, along with
T. F. Henderson, in a workmanlike style, the "Centenary Edition of the
Poetry of Burns," accompanied it with a "Life of the Poet," and a
characterisation somewhat damping to the prevailing enthusiasm in
connection with the poet; _b_. 1849.
HENLEY-ON-THAMES (5), a borough of Oxfordshire, on the Thames, near
the Chiltern Hills, 36 m. W. of London; the river is spanned here by a
fine five-arch bridge, and the annual amateur regatta is a noted social
event; malting and brewing are the chief industries.
HENOTHEISM, a polytheism which assigns to one god of the pantheon
superiority over the rest.
HENRIETTA MARIA, wife of Charles I., born at the Louvre; daughter of
Henry IV. of France and of Marie de Medicis; a beautiful and able woman,
much beloved, and deservedly so, by her husband, but from her bigotry as
a Roman Catholic disliked and distrusted by the nation, not without good
reason; by her imprudent conduct she embroiled matters more seriously
than they were; menaced with impeachment by the Commons, had to flee the
country; returned, indeed, with a supply of money and ammunition
"purchased by crown jewels," but in 1644 was obliged to seek refuge again
in France; revisited the country for a short time after the Restoration,
and died near Paris at her retreat there (1609-1669).
HENRIETTA MARIA, daughter of Charles I., and wife of the Duke of
Orleans, brother of Louis XIV., born at Exeter; she had an itch for
political intrigue like her mother, and was successful in persuading her
brother, Charles II., into league with France by signing the treaty of
Dover; on her return to France she died suddenly, by poison it is
believed (1644-1670).
HENRIOT, a French revolutionary, born at Nanterre; was generalissimo
of the National Guard of Paris during the Reign of Terror; marched with
his sansculotte following into the Convention one day and escorted 29 of
the Girondists to the guillotine; became the satellite of Robespierre,
whom he defended at the last, but could not deliver; arrested himself in
a state of intoxication, was dragged out of a drain, and despatched by
the guillotine (1761-1794).
HENRY I., king of England from 1100 to 1135, youngest son of William
the Conqueror, born at Selby, in Yorkshire; usurped the crown from his
elder but irresolute brother Robert, an act which was confirmed by the
Church and the mass of the people, Robert, after a weak resistance, being
pensioned off; the epithets Beauclerc and the Lion of Justice, which were
bestowed on him, so far accurately describe him as he appeared to his
people; his attainments were scholarly for his times, and his reign was
distinguished by the strong and organised administration of justice,
although morally his life was a depraved one; after seizing Normandy from
his brother Robert, whom he imprisoned for life, he governed his kingdom
with a firm hand; the turbulent Norman nobles were subdued, while the
administration of the law was greatly improved by the institution of the
_Curia Regis_ (the King's Court) and of itinerant judges; trade took a
start, and the religious life of the nation was deepened through the
advent of the Cistercian monks and the influence of Anselm; he was
married to Eadgyth (changed to Matilda), daughter of Malcolm of Scotland
(1068-1135).
HENRY II., king of England from 1154 to 1189, first of the
Plantagenet line; was the son of Matilda, daughter of Henry I., and her
second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, born at Le Mans;
when he came to the throne as Stephen's successor he was already in
possession, mainly through his marriage with Eleanor, the divorced wife
of Louis VII., of more than half of France; he set himself with all the
vigour of his energetic nature to reform the abuses which had become
rampant under Stephen, and Thomas à Becket was his zealous Chancellor;
the Great Council was frequently summoned to deliberate on national
affairs; the _Curia Regis_ was strengthened, the itinerant judgeships
revived, while the oppression and immorality of the nobles was sternly
suppressed by the demolition of the "adulterine castles"; a blow was
aimed at the privileges and licentiousness of the clergy by the
Constitutions of Clarendon, but their enactment brought about a rupture
between the king and Becket, now Archbishop of Canterbury, which
subsequently ended in the murder of Becket; in 1171 Ireland was invaded
and annexed, and three years later William the Lion of Scotland was
forced to declare his kingdom a fief to the English throne; some time
previously the Welsh princes had done him homage; the last years of his
reign were embittered by quarrels and strife with his ungrateful sons; he
was a man of many kingly qualities, perhaps the best, taken all in all,
that England ever had, and his reign marks an epoch in the development of
constitutional law and liberty (1133-1189).
HENRY III., king of England from 1216 to 1272, eldest son of King
John; succeeded to the throne at the age of nine; during his minority the
kingdom was wisely and faithfully served by the Earl of Pembroke and
Hubert de Burgh; when he came to years he proved himself a weak ruler,
and, according to Stubbs, his administration was "one long series of
impolitic and unprincipled acts"; with the elevation of Peter des Roches,
a native of Anjou, to the post of chief adviser, French interlopers soon
became predominant at the Court, and the recipients of large estates and
pensions, an injustice further stimulated by the king's marriage with
Eleanor of Provence; justice was prostituted, England humiliated under a
feeble foreign policy, and the country finally roused by infamous
exactions; Simon de Montfort, the king's own brother-in-law, became the
leader of the people and the champion of constitutional rights; by the
Provisions of Oxford, forced upon the king by Parliament assembled at
Oxford (1258), a wider and more frequent Parliamentary representation was
given to the people, and the king's power limited by a permanent council
of 15; as an issue of the Barons' War, which resulted in the defeat and
capture of the king at Lewes (1264), these provisions were still further
strengthened by the Mise of Lewes, and from this time may be dated the
birth of representative government in England as it now exists; in 1265
was summoned the first Parliament as at present constituted, of peers
temporal and spiritual, and representatives from counties, cities, and
boroughs; internal dissensions ceased with the victory of Prince Edward
over the barons at Eastham (1265), the popular leader De Montfort
perished on the field (1206-1272).
HENRY IV., king of England from 1399 to 1418, first of the
Lancastrian kings, son of John of Gaunt, and grandchild of Edward III.,
born at Bolingbroke, in Lincolnshire; Richard II.'s misrule and despotism
had damped the loyalty of his people, and when Henry came to England to
maintain his ducal rights he had little difficulty in deposing Richard,
and, with the consent of Parliament, in assuming the crown; this act of
usurpation--for Richard's true heir was Roger Mortimer, a descendant of
an older branch of the family--had two important results; it made Henry
more obsequious to the Parliamentary power which had placed him on the
throne, and it was the occasion of the bloody Wars of the Roses that were
to devastate the kingdom during the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV.;
Henry's own reign was a troubled one; wars were successfully undertaken
against the Welsh under Owen Glendower and against the Scotch; while
rebellion was raised by the Percies in unsuccessful attempts to win the
crown for Mortimer; the only law of importance passed was the statute for
burning heretics, the first passed in England for the suppression of
religious opinion (1366-1413).
HENRY V., king of England from 1413 to 1422, son of preceding, born
at Monmouth; during the wars of his father's reign he gave evidence of
his abilities as a soldier, distinguishing himself specially by his
conquest of Wales; on his accession to the throne he renewed the claims
put forward by Edward III. to the French crown, and with the support of
his people embarked on his great struggle to win the kingdom of France;
in 1415 he gained the glorious victory of Agincourt, strengthened his
position by confirmed military successes, and by marrying Catherine,
daughter of the French king, and by the treaty of Troyes got himself
appointed regent of France and successor to the throne; he was idolised
by his people as the perfect pattern of a warrior king, but he had
neither the gifts of statesmanship nor the foresight of Edward I., to
whom he is compared, and the English dominion which he established in
France was too unsubstantial to endure (1388-1422).
HENRY VI., king of England from 1422 to 1461, son of preceding, born
at Windsor; was a child of nine months when his father died, and in the
same year was acknowledged king over the N. and E. of France; the Dukes
of Bedford and Gloucester became regents respectively over the English
and French kingdoms; war was resumed with France, and for thirty years
the weary struggle continued, by the end of which time England, despite
some early successes, had been stripped of her French possessions, mainly
owing to the enthusiasm awakened by the heroic and ill-fated JEANNE
D'ARC (q. v.); the growing discontent of the people is indicated by
Jack Cade's rebellion (1540), and five years later began the famous Wars
of the Roses; six battles were fought between the rival houses, and four
times victory rested with the Yorkists; after the final victory of the
Yorkists at Towton (1461), Henry fled to Scotland and Edward was
proclaimed king; Henry was a man of weak intellect, gentle, and of
studious nature, and was ill mated in his ambitious and warlike queen,
Margaret of Anjou; a futile struggle was made to win his kingdom back,
but the hopes of the Lancastrians perished at Tewkesbury; the king was
captured and confined in the Tower, where, there is little doubt, he was
murdered (1421-1471).
HENRY VII., king of England from 1485 to 1509, son of Edmund Tudor,
Earl of Richmond, first of the Tudor monarchs, born at Pembroke Castle;
after defeating and slaying Richard III. on Bosworth Field he assumed the
crown, and by his marriage with Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward
IV., united the claims of the rival roses; his firm and prudent rule
established quiet and order in the country; the pretensions of the
pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck were promptly crushed; a
peaceful relationship was established with France, and the Scotch were
conciliated by the marriage of his daughter Margaret to their king, James
IV.; increased prosperity followed, maritime enterprise was encouraged,
but the kingly power grew at the expense of the constitutional authority
of Parliament; resort was had to benevolences and other unconstitutional
methods of raising funds, and in his latter years the king's exactions
became tyrannical; Henry was not a man of fine kingly qualities, but he
accomplished much for his country, and is best described in Gardiner's
words, "his contemporaries needed a chief-constable to keep order, and he
gave them what they needed" (1456-1509).
HENRY VIII., king of England from 1509 to 1547, son of preceding,
born at Greenwich; was welcomed to the throne with great enthusiasm, and
still further established himself in public favour by his gallant
exploits at the Battle of Spurs and at the sieges of Tournay and
Terouenne in the war of the Holy Alliance against France; in his absence
an invasion of James IV. of Scotland was repulsed and the Scottish army
crushed at Flodden (1513); during the first half of the reign public
affairs were mainly conducted by the king's favourite minister, Wolsey,
whose policy it was to hold the balance of power between Spain and
France; but he fell into public disfavour by the heavy burden of taxation
which he little by little laid upon the people; Henry, who in 1521 had
been named "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope for his published defence
of the sacraments against the attacks of Luther, was now moving for a
divorce from his first wife Catherine of Arragon; a breach with the Pope
ensued, Wolsey was deposed for his double-dealing in the matter, and
Henry, having defiantly married Anne Boleyn, put an end to the papal
jurisdiction in England to secure himself against appeals to the Papal
Court, and got himself acknowledged Supreme Head of the Church of
England; the suppression of the monasteries soon followed, and their
estates were confiscated (1536-1540); in 1536 the movement of the
Reformation was continued by the drawing up of _Ten Articles_ and by an
authorised translation of the Bible; but the passing of the _Six
Articles_ three years later, declaring in favour of the real presence of
Christ in the Eucharist, clerical celibacy, private masses, auricular
confession, &c., was an attempt to stay the rapid spread of Protestant
doctrines; in 1541 Henry was declared King of Ireland, and in the two
following years successful wars were waged with Scotland and France; the
importance of the reign lies in the coincidence of it with the rise and
culmination of the Reformation, a movement brought about in the first
instance by no higher motive than the king's desire for a divorce as well
as for absolute power; but for which a favourable reception had been
prepared beforehand by the spread of the new learning and that free
spirit of inquiry that was beginning to take possession of men's minds;
historians for the greater part agree in representing Henry as a man of
versatile powers, considerable intellectual force, but headstrong,
selfish, and cruel in the gratification of his desires; he was six times
married; Catherine and Anne of Clèves were divorced, Anne Boleyn and
Catherine Howard executed, Jane Seymour died in childbirth, and Catherine
Parr survived him; he left behind to succeed him on the throne Mary,
daughter of Catherine, Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, and Edward,
son of Jane Seymour (1491-1547).
HENRY III., an illustrious Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, son of
Conrad II.; in 1026 he became king of the Germans, succeeded to the
dukedoms of Bavaria and Suabia, and in 1039 assumed the imperial crown;
under his strong and wise government, dissensions, papal and otherwise,
were put down, the territory of the empire extended, and many churches
and monastic schools established (1017-1056).
HENRY IV., Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, son of preceding; his
reign is memorable as witnessing the first open claim on the part of the
Papal power to have dominion over the crowned heads of Europe; Henry's
attempt to depose Gregory VII. was boldly met by a declaration of
excommunication; Henry was forced to do penance and to receive his crown
afresh from the Pope; but the struggle broke out anew; Clement III. was
put up in opposition, and the contest raged with varying success till the
deposition of Henry by his ungrateful son (1050-1106).
HENRY IV., king of France from 1594 till 1610, surnamed "The Great" and
"The Good"; during his reign the great struggle between the Huguenots and
the Catholics continued with unabated fury; Henry saved his life in the
massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day by renouncing his early Calvinism, but
was imprisoned; four years later he was again at the head of the Huguenot
army and defeating the Bourbon claimant for the throne, was crowned king,
but not before waiving his Protestant principles to conciliate the
people; in 1598 he issued the famous Edict of Nantes, giving freedom of
worship to the Huguenots; during his administration the nation was
consolidated, new roads and a growing trade knit the towns together;
financial reforms of great importance were carried out by his celebrated
minister, DUC DE SULLY (q. v.); Henry was assassinated by instigation of
the Jesuits (1553-1610).
HENRY OF HUNTINGDON, a noted English chronicler of the 12th century,
who became archdeacon of Huntingdon, and wrote a Latin history of England
down to the death of Stephen in 1154.
HENRY THE NAVIGATOR, son of John I., king of Portugal, born at
Oporto; an able, enterprising man, animated with a zeal for maritime
discovery, and who at his own expense sent out voyagers who discovered
the Madeira Islands and explored the coast of Africa as far as Cape
Blanco; is said to have been the first to employ the compass for purposes
of navigation; his mother was daughter of John of Gaunt (1391-1460).
HENRY, MATTHEW, a Nonconformist divine; was minister at Hackney,
London; was the author of a commentary long in repute among pious
evangelical people, and to some extent still, as a practical and
devotional guide in the study of the Scriptures (1662-1714).
HENRY, PATRICK, American statesman and orator, born in Virginia;
having been in business he took to law, and rose into fame by his
eloquent pleadings in the cause of the people; played a conspicuous part
in the agitation for independence, especially by his oratory, which was
of a quality to move large audiences; he was a member of the first
Congress in 1774 (1736-1799).
HENRYSON, ROBERT, an early Scottish poet, flourished in the 15th
century; most of his life was spent as a schoolmaster in Dunfermline; his
chief works, which are full of pathos, humour, and a fine descriptive
power, include "Testament of Cresseid," a continuation of Chaucer's tale,
"Robene and Makyne," the earliest Scottish pastoral, a metrical version
of some of "Æsop's Fables," and the story of "Orpheus and Eurydice."
HEPHÆSTOS, called Vulcan by the Romans, the Greek god of fire, or of
labour in the element of fire, the son of Zeus and Hera, represented as
ill-shapen, lame, and ungainly, so much so as to be an object of ridicule
to the rest of the pantheon, but he was indispensable to the dynasty, and
to none more than his father and mother, who were often unkind to him; he
had his smithy in Olympus in the vicinity of the gods, and the marvellous
creations of his art were shaped on an anvil, the hammer of which was
plied by 20 bellows that worked at his bidding; in later traditions he
had his workshop elsewhere, and the Cyclops for his servants, employed in
manufacturing thunderbolts for Zeus; he was wedded to Aphrodité, whom he
caught playing false with Ares, and whom he trapped along with him in a
net a spectacle to all the upper deities.
HEPTAD, a term in chemistry to denote an atom that is the equivalent
of seven atoms of hydrogen, from _hepta_, seven.
HEPTARCHY, ANGLO-SAXON, the seven kingdoms of Kent, Sussex, Wessex,
Essex, Northumberland, East Anglia, and Mercia, the chief of those
established by the Saxons during the 6th century in Great Britain.
HEPTATEUCH, a name given to the first seven books of the Bible.
HERA, called Juno by the Romans, daughter of Cronos and Rhea, and
sister and wife of Zeus; was the queen of heaven, and treated with the
same reverence as her husband, but being inferior in power was bound to
obey him equally with the rest, or suffer if she did not; she was jealous
of Zeus in his amours with mortals, and persecuted all his children by
mortal mothers, Hercules among the chief.
HERACLES, i. e. the chosen of Hera, to be tried by her. See
HERCULES.
HERACLI`DÆ, Spartans, presumed descendants of Hercules, who at one
time invaded and took possession of the Peloponnesus.
HERACLITUS, a Greek philosopher, born at Ephesus, who flourished
about the year 480 B.C.; was the first to note how everything throughout
the universe is in constant flux, and nothing permanent but in transition
from being to nothing and from nothing to being, from life to death and
from death to life, that nothing is, that everything becomes, that the
truth of being is becoming, that no one, nothing, is exempt from this
law, the law symbolised by the fable of the PHOENIX IN THE FIRE
(q. v.).
HERACLIUS, Emperor of the East from 610 to 642, born in Cappadocia;
raised to the throne of the East on account of the services he rendered
the citizens of Constantinople in getting rid of a tyrant; waged war
against the hostile Persians, defeated Chosroës, and compelled a peace,
but was unable to withstand the arms of the Moslem invaders.
HERAT (50), the chief town of the province of Herat, in W.
Afghanistan, on the Hari-Rud, 300 m. W. of Cabul; its central position
has given it a great commercial and military importance; it has
manufactures of leather and wool, and as a place of great strategical
value, since the advance of Russia in Asia is strongly fortified by a
British citadel and garrison.
HÉRAULT (462), a maritime dep. of S. France fronting the Gulf of
Lyons; in the N. are the Cévennes Mountains, but wide plains fringed on
the sea border with large lagoons occupy the S.; the climate, except on
the marshy coast, is dry and healthy; its former importance as a
wine-growing district has greatly diminished, but olives and almonds are
cultivated, sheep and silkworms bred; coal is the most important mineral;
salt is obtained in large quantities from the salt marshes, and fishing
is an important industry.
HERBART, German philosopher, born at Oldenburg; Kant's successor at
Königsberg, professor also at Göttingen twice over; founded his
philosophy like Kant on the criticism of subjective experience, but
arrived at different results, and arrayed itself against the whole
post-Kantian philosophy of Germany; it is described by SCHWEGLER
"as an extension of the monadology of Leibnitz, full of ingenuity but
devoid of inward fertility, or any germ of movement"; he failed to see,
as Dr. Stirling points out, that "Philosophy is possible only on the
supposition of a single principle that possesses within itself the
capability of transition into all existent variety and varieties"
(1776-1841).
HERBERT, EDWARD, LORD, of Cherbury, diplomatist, soldier, and
scholar, born at Montgomery Castle, in Wales; served as a soldier under
Maurice of Orange; was twice ambassador in France, but chiefly devoted to
philosophical speculation; was the first of the deistical writers of
England, though his deism was dogmatic not critical, positive not
sceptical, as that of the subsequent English deists is (1581-1648).
HERBERT, GEORGE, poet, brother of the preceding, born in Montgomery
Castle; failing in preferment at Court, took holy orders and became
rector of Bemerton, Wiltshire, a post he lived only two years to hold;
was the author of a Christian poem entitled "The Temple"; held in high
regard by people of the devout and reverently contemplative spirit of the
author; his memory is embalmed in a Life of him by Izaak Walton
(1593-1632).
HERBERT, SIDNEY (Lord Herbert of Lea), politician, born at Richmond;
entered the House of Commons in 1832 as a Tory, and was in turn Secretary
to the Admiralty and War Secretary under Peel; during the Aberdeen
ministry he, as War Secretary, incurred much popular disfavour for the
mismanagement of the Crimean War, but under Palmerston he effected many
beneficial reforms while at the head of the War Office; he was elevated
to the House of Lords in 1860 (1810-1861).
HERCULANEUM, a city of ancient Italy, overwhelmed in A.D. 79 along
with Pompeii and Stabiæ by an eruption of Vesuvius, at the north-western
base of which it was situated, 5 m. E. of Naples; so completely was it
buried by the ashes and lava that its site was completely obliterated,
and in time two villages sprang up on the new surface, 40 to 100 ft.
below which lay the buried city; relics were discovered while deepening a
well in 1706, and since then a considerable portion of the town has been
excavated, pictures, statues, &c., of the greatest value having been
brought to light.
HERCULES, the typical hero of the Greeks, son of Zeus and Alkmene,
and the tried therefore of Hera, who persecuted him from his cradle,
sending two serpents to devour him as he lay there, but which he
strangled with his arms; grown into manhood, and distinguished for his
stature and strength, was doomed by the artifice of Hera to a series of
perilous adventures before he could claim his rights as a son of his
father; these are known as the "Twelve Labours of Hercules": the first
the throttling of the Nemean lion; the second, the killing of the Lernean
hydra; the third, the hunt and capture of the hind of Diana, with its
hoofs of brass; the fourth, the taking alive of the boar of Erymanthus;
the fifth, the cleansing of the stables of Augeas; the sixth, the
destruction of the Stymphalian birds; the seventh, the capture of the
Cretan bull; the eighth, the capture of the mares of Diomedes of Thrace;
the ninth, the seizure of the girdle of the queen of the Amazons; the
tenth, the killing of Geryon and capture of his oxen; the eleventh,
fetching of the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides; the
twelfth, dragging Cerberus to the light of day. These were the twelve,
but in addition, he strangled the giant Antæus, slew the robber Cacus,
delivered Hesione, unchained Prometheus from the rocks of Caucasus, and
smote the centaur Nessus, the last proving the cause of his death. See
NESSUS.
HERCULES, THE CHOICE OF, the choice of a life of virtue offered to
him by Athene, in preference to a life of pleasure offered by Aphrodité,
in his youth.
HERCULES, THE PILLARS OF, two mountains on the opposite sides of the
Strait of Gibraltar, originally one, but fabled to have been separated by
Hercules, Calpë on the Spanish coast and Abyla on the African.
HERCYNIAN FOREST, a forest of Central Germany, extending at one time
from the Rhine to the Carpathian Mountains, described by Cæsar as nine
days journey in breadth and sixty in length, is now the district of the
Harz Mountains.
HERDER, an eminent German thinker, born at Mohrungen, in East
Prussia; studied philosophy under Kant, but gave himself up chiefly to
literature; became acquainted at Strasburg with Goethe, who was five
years his junior, and exercised a great influence over him in his youth;
in after years was invited by him to Weimar, where he became court
preacher and consistorial councillor, and where he died; wrote the
"Spirit of Hebrew Poetry," "Ideas towards a Philosophy of the History of
Humanity," and "Poems" (1744-1803).
HEREFORD (20), the county town of Herefordshire, on the Wye, 144 m.
NW. of London; has some fine old buildings, including a noble cathedral
begun in 1079, ruins of a castle, &c.; it was made the seat of a
bishopric in 676; it is noted for its roses and agricultural produce.
HEREFORDSHIRE (116), an inland county of West England, lying on the
Welsh border between Shropshire and Monmouthshire; it is a pretty
agricultural county, through the centre of which runs the Wye; in the E.
are the Malvern Hills and in the SW. the Black Mountains (2631 ft); the
rich red soil produces fine wheat, hops, and apples; there is some trade
in timber, some stone and marble quarrying, and the cattle are noted; its
history is associated with many stirring historical events, and in
various parts are antiquities of considerable interest.
HERENNIUS, a Samnite general, who defeated the Romans at the Caudine
Forks, and made them pass under the yoke, 321 B.C.
HEREWARD THE WAKE, a Saxon hero, a yeoman, who made a gallant effort
to rally his countrymen against the Norman Conqueror; he made his final
stand on the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire (1070-71), cut his way through
the besieging army, and escaped to the Fens; subsequently it is supposed
he became reconciled to William and held estates.
HERFORD (16), a Prussian town in Westphalia, 59 m. SW. of Hanover;
manufactures textiles, sugar, &c.
HERGEST, THE RED BOOK OF, an important volume of Welsh writings in
MS., preserved at Oxford; it dates from the 14th century; was compiled at
Hergest Court, and is the most valuable Welsh MS. extant.
HERIOT, GEORGE, founder of Heriot's Hospital, a splendid educational
establishment in his native city, Edinburgh; was a prosperous goldsmith
there; did work for Anne of Denmark, consort of James VI. of Scotland; in
1603 removed with the court to London and combining banking with his
other business, he amassed a great fortune, and, dying childless, left
his property to found and endow the educational institution referred to,
and which still bears his name; in 1837 the accumulated surplus funds
were utilised in establishing 10 free schools in Edinburgh, which,
however, were closed in 1885, and the original Hospital reconstructed as
a secondary and technical school, while a portion of the funds was used
in subsidising the Heriot-Watt College and in founding bursaries
(1563-1624).
HÉRISTAL (12), a town of Belgium, on the Meuse, practically a NE.
suburb of Liège; the inhabitants are largely employed in coal-mining and
in flourishing iron-works; the ruins of a castle, the birthplace of Pépin
d'Héristal, still remains.
HERKOMER, HUBERT, artist, born at Waal, Bavaria; his father removing
to England in 1857, young Hubert became a distinguished student of the
Southampton School of Art; he has been a prolific artist, and many of his
portraits have become celebrated; the "Last Muster" (1875) is reckoned
his finest work; he has been twice Slade professor at Oxford, and in 1890
was elected R.A.; the School of Art at Bushey was founded by him, and he
has displayed his versatility of talent in carving, engraving, and
writing, as well as in painting; _b_. 1849.
HERMANDAD, SANTA (i. e. Holy Brotherhood), an association of the
principal cities of Spain leagued together at first against the
pillagings and robberies of the nobles, and eventually against all forms
of violence and lawlessness in the State.
HERMANN AND DOROTHEA, the title of an idyll by Goethe.
HERMANNSTADT (22), an old historic town of Hungary, formerly capital
of Transylvania; overlooks the Zibin; 60 m. SE. of Klausenburg; is the
seat of a Greek archbishop and of a "Saxon" university. Amongst its
notable buildings is the Bruckenthal Palace, with valuable art, library,
and antiquarian collections; has various manufactures.
HERMAS, one of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church; wrote a work in
Greek called the "Shepherd of Hermas," extant in Latin, and treating of
Christian duties.
HERMES, the Mercury of the Romans; in the Greek mythology the herald
of the gods and the god of eloquence and of all kinds of cunning and
dexterity in word and action; invented the lyre, the alphabet, numbers,
astronomy, music, the cultivation of the olive, &c.; was the son of Zeus
and Maia; wore on embassy a winged cap, winged sandals, and carried a
herald's wand as symbol of his office.
HERMES TRISMEGISTUS, or the Thrice-greatest, an Egyptian or Egyptian
god to whose teachings or inspirations the Neo-Platonists ascribed the
great body of their peculiar doctrines, and whom they regarded as an
incarnation or impersonation of the _Logos_.
HERMI`ONE, the beautiful daughter of Menelaus and Helen; married to
Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, but carried off by Orestes, her first love.
HERMODEUS, a son of Odin and messenger of the Norse gods.
HERNIA, the name given to the protrusion of an internal organ,
specially a part of the intestines.
HERO, a priestess of Venus at Sestos, in Thrace, beloved by Leander
of Abydos, on the opposite shore, who swam the Hellespont every night to
visit her, but was drowned one stormy evening, whereupon at sight of his
dead body on the beach she threw herself into the sea.
HERO, a mathematician, born at Alexandria in the first half of the
2nd century; celebrated for his experiments on condensed air, and his
anticipation of the pressure of steam.
HERO, a name given by the Greeks to human beings of such superhuman
faculties as to be regarded the offspring of some god, and applied in
modern times to men of an intellect and force of character of such
transcendent nature as to inspire ordinary mortals with something like
religious regard.
HEROD, the name of a family of Idumæan origin but Jewish creed, who
rose into power in Judea shortly prior to the dissolution of the Jewish
nationality; the chief members of which were HEROD THE GREAT, king
of the Jews by favour of the Romans, who made away with all his rivals,
caused his own children to be strangled on suspicion of their conspiring
against him, and died a painful death; who massacred the Innocents about
Bethlehem, and whose death took place 4 B.C., the true date of the
Nativity of Christ: and HEROD ANTIPAS, his son, tetrarch of Galilee,
who beheaded John the Baptist, and to whom Christ was remitted by Pilate
for examination, and who died in exile at Lyons.
HERODIANS, a party in Judea who from motives of self-interest
supported the dynasty of the Herods.
HERODOTUS, the oldest historian of Greece, and the "Father of
History," born at Halicarnassus, in Caria, between 490 and 480 B.C.;
travelled over Asia Minor, Egypt, and Syria as far as Babylon, and in his
old age recorded with due fidelity the fruits of his observations and
inquiries, the main object of his work being to relate the successive
stages of the strife between the free civilisation of Greece and the
despotic barbarism of Persia for the sovereignty of the world, an
interest in which Alexander the Great drew sword in the century following
(484-408 B.C.).
HEROPHILUS, a celebrated Greek physician who lived into the 3rd
century B.C., born at Chalcedon, and settled at Alexandria, where he
devoted himself specially to anatomy and helped to found the medical
school in that city; his zeal is said to have led him to dissect
criminals alive; some of his writings are yet extant.
HERRERA, ANTONIO, Spanish historian, born at Cuellar; under Philip
II. he became historiographer of the Indies and Castile; he was a
voluminous writer, and his "Description of the Indies," "History of the
World in the Reign of Philip II.," from their fairness and accuracy are
reckoned authoritative works on Spanish history (1549-1625).
HERRERA, FERNANDO DE, Spanish poet, born at Seville, and took
orders; in his lifetime his lyrics enjoyed a wide popularity, and won for
him the epithet "divine"; his "Battle of Lepanto" is a spirited ode, and
many of his other works, including a prose history of the "War in
Cyprus," are still read (1534-1597).
HERRERA, FRANCISCO, a distinguished Spanish painter, founder of the
Seville school, born at Seville; his finest paintings include "The Last
Judgment" and a "Holy Family," both in churches at Seville; others are in
the Louvre, Paris; they exhibit boldness of execution with faultless
technique (1576-1656). He is known as _El viejo_, "the elder," to
distinguish him from FRANCISCO HERRERA, his son, also a noted
painter (1622-1685).
HERRICK, ROBERT, a Caroline poet, born in London, of good family;
was incumbent of Dean Prior in Devonshire; author of the "Hesperides,"
published in 1648, a collection of "gay and charming" pieces, "in which,"
says Stopford Brooke, "Horace and Tibullus seem to mingle their peculiar
art, which never misses its aim nor fails in exquisite execution"
(1591-1674).
HERRNHUT, a small Saxon town, 50 m. E. of Dresden; gave name to a
colony of Moravian Brethren who took refuge there in 1792, and were
protected by Count Zinzendorf.
HERSCHEL, SIR JOHN, astronomer, only son of Sir William; prosecuted
with great diligence and success the same researches as his father; spent
four years at the Cape, and added much to our knowledge of the stars and
meteorology; contributed a "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural
Philosophy" to Lardner's "Cyclopædia," and an excellent "Treatise on
Astronomy," afterwards extended (1790-1871).
HERSCHEL, LUCRETIA, sister of the succeeding; was his assistant, and
made important observations of her own, which were published; retired
after her brother's death to Hanover, where she died (1750-1848).
HERSCHEL, SIR WILLIAM, a distinguished astronomer, born at Hanover;
son of a musician, and bred to the profession; came to England at the end
of the Seven Years' War, and obtained sundry appointments as an organist;
gave his leisure time to the study of astronomy and survey of the
heavens; discovered the planet Uranus in 1781, which he called _Georgium
sidus_ in honour of George III., discovered also the two innermost belts
of Saturn, as well as drew up a catalogue of 5000 heavenly bodies or
clusters of them (1738-1822).
HERTFORD (7), the county town of Hertfordshire, on the Lea, 26 m. N.
of London; some few remains of its famous 10th-century castle still
exist, and there are several charity schools, a castle built in James
I.'s time, and a branch of Christ's Hospital (London); the chief trade is
in corn, malt, and flour; in the vicinity is HAILEYBURY COLLEGE
(q. v.).
HERTFORDSHIRE or HERTS (220), an inland county of England,
occupying a central position between Buckingham and Bedford on the W. and
Essex on the E.; the surface is undulating and much covered with wood;
the Lea and the Colne are the chief rivers; large crops of barley, wheat,
and hay are raised; straw-plaiting and the manufacture of paper, silk,
and chemicals are carried on extensively, while Ware is the centre of the
English malting trade; ST. ALBANS (q. v.) is the largest town.
HERTHA, the Scandinavian Cybele, and worshipped with kindred
ceremonies.
HERTZ, HENRIK, Danish poet, born in Copenhagen of Jewish parents;
graduated in law at Copenhagen, and produced his first work, a comedy, in
1827; "Letters of a Ghost," a satire, followed three years later, and had
a wide vogue; his best-known work is "King René's Daughter," which has
been translated into English for the fourth time by Sir Theodore Martin;
he is considered one of the greatest of modern Danish lyrists and
dramatists (1798-1870).
HERVEY, JAMES, clergyman and poet, born at Hardingstone, near
Northampton; graduated at Oxford; became curate and subsequently the
zealous incumbent of two livings near Northampton; was the author of
"Meditations among the Tombs"; was held in great popular favour during
his lifetime (1714-1758).
HERWARTH VON BITTENFELD, KARL EBERHARD, a Prussian general; came to
the front during the war of liberation, and in 1864 as general captured
the Isle of Alsen, and two years later operated with great success at the
head of the army in Saxony and Bohemia; during the Franco-German War he
became governor of the Rhine provinces and a field-marshal (1796-1884).
HERZ, HENRI, pianist and composer, born in Vienna, the son of a Jew;
his compositions attained a wide popularity in Europe, and as a pianist
he was received with great favour in England and America; he was
decorated with the Legion of Honour, and from 1842 to 1874 was professor
at the Paris Conservatoire; _b_. 1806.
HERZEN, ALEXANDER, a Russian political writer and revolutionary,
born at Moscow; expelled from Russia in 1842; settled in England, and
published works forbidden in Russia (1812-1870).
HESIOD, one of the earliest Greek poets, born in Boeotia, lived in
the 8th century B.C., chiefly at Orchomenos, probably of humble birth;
of the works ascribed to him the principal were the "Works and Days" the
"Theogony," and the "Shield of Hercules"; his poems treat of the quiet
pursuits of ordinary life, the origin of the world, the gods and heroes,
while those of Homer are occupied with the restless and active
enterprises of the heroic age.
HESPERIDES, maidens of high degree appointed to guard the golden
apples presented to Hera by Gaia on her marriage with Zeus, assisted in
their office by the dragon Ladon; the apples were stolen by Hercules, but
were afterwards restored by Athene.
HESPERUS, the personification of the evening star and an object of
worship.
HESSE or HESSE-DARMSTADT (993), a grand-duchy of the German
empire, lies partly in, and partly on the border of, SW. Prussia;
consists of two large portions, divided by a strip of Hesse-Nassau, and
11 enclaves; half the land is under cultivation, and the greater part of
what remains is covered with forest; its many rivers belong mostly to the
Rhine system; corn is raised in large quantities, iron and manganese are
found, and there are flourishing manufactures of leather, upholstery,
tobacco, &c.; the legislative power is vested in two chambers; Mainz is
the largest town, and Darmstadt the capital.
HESSE-CASSEL (745), a government district in HESSE-NASSAU
(q. v.); as an electorate it sided with Austria in 1866, which brought
about its incorporation with Prussia.
HESSE-NASSAU (1,664), a province in the SW. of Germany, between the
Rhine on the W. and Bavaria and Saxony on the E.; was formed in 1868 out
of the electorate of Hesse-Cassel, duchy of Nassau, &c.; the country is
hilly, abounds in minerals, which are extensively worked, but agriculture
and cattle-rearing are the chief industries; the medicinal springs of
Homburg, Wiesbaden, &c., are celebrated; Cassel is noted for its gold and
silver ware; damasks and other textiles are produced at Fulda, and at
Hanau are flourishing iron-works; Marburg has a fine university.
HESTIA, called Vesta by the Romans, the Greek goddess of the hearth,
or rather the fire that burns in it, the guardian of domestic life,
conceived of as a most sacred charge.
HESYCHASTS, a religious sect of the 14th century belonging to the
Greek Church; consisted chiefly of a community of monks who dwelt at
Mount Athos; they professed a kind of QUIETISM (q. v.), and were
noted for their practice of sitting for hours daily with their eyes fixed
upon the navel (regarding the stomach as the seat of the soul); in this
position they professed to see a divine light beaming out upon them, and
to enjoy therein a specially intimate communion with God. See ATHOS,
MOUNT.
HESYCHIUS, a Greek grammarian of the 5th century, born at
Alexandria; produced a Greek lexicon of great philological value.
HEUSCHRECKE, HOFRATH (i. e. State-Councillor Grasshopper), a
loose, zigzag figure in "Sartor," a mend and blind admirer of
Teufelsdröckh's, an incarnation of distraction distracted, and all the
counsellor the "editor" had to advise him and encourage him in his work;
a victim to "timidity" and preyed on by an uncomfortable sense of mere
"physical cold," such as the majority of the State counsellors of the day
were.
HEXATEUCH, the name given to the first six books of the Bible.
HEXHAM (6), an interesting old town in Northumberland, prettily
situated on the Tyne, 24 m. W. of Newcastle; has a fine cruciform abbey
church, portions of which belong to the 12th century, and beautiful
remains of a 7th-century monastery; the staple industries are glove and
hat making; the river is spanned by a stone bridge of nine arches.
HEYLIN, PETER, English divine, born at Burford; graduated at Oxford,
and in 1629 became chaplain-in-ordinary to Charles I.; was a zealous
champion of the Church of England; forfeited his livings and property
during the Puritan ascendency, but was reinstated at the Restoration; he
wrote a "Defence of the Church of England," "Life of Bishop Laud," &c.
(1600-1662).
HEYNE, CHRISTIAN GOTTLOB, a German classical scholar, born at
Chemnitz, son of a poor weaver, and reared all along almost on the verge
of destitution; became eminent by his heroic devotion to scholarship,
both as a translator and editor of classical works, his edition of
"Virgil" the chief in the latter department; Carlyle almost ranks him
among his heroes, and ascribes superlative merit to his book on Virgil
(1729-1812).
HEYSE, PAUL JOHANN, German poet and novelist, born at Berlin; in
1854 he settled at Münich, where he enjoyed the patronage of King Max of
Bavaria; he has been a voluminous writer of popular novelettes, novels,
dramas, and narrative poems, besides which he has executed translations
of Leopardi, Giusti, and other Italian authors; _b_. 1830.
HEYWOOD (23), a town of Lancashire, 9 m. N. of Manchester; owes its
rapid growth to the neighbouring coal-fields and the development of the
cotton industry; has also flourishing iron and brass foundries, woollen
factories, &c.
HEYWOOD, JOHN, a dramatic poet, a favourite with Henry VIII. and his
court; wrote farces, the characters of which were drawn from real life,
presumably not hard to identify at the time (1479-1565).
HEZEKIAH, a king of Judah; reigned from 725 to 697 B.C.;
distinguished for his zeal in the celebration of the worship of Jehovah
and for his weakness in making a parade of his wealth; reigned in the
golden age of Hebrew prophecy, Isaiah and Micah being his contemporaries.
HIAWATHA, the subject of a poem of Longfellow's; a personage
reverenced by the North American Indians as the founder among them of the
arts of peace, as well as the clearer of the forests.
HIBBERT LECTURES, unsectarian lectures instituted by the trustees of
Robert Hibbert, a West India merchant, devoted to the discussion of
unsolved problems in theology.
HIBERNIA, the classical name for Ireland, which to the ancient world
was in the main a _terra incognita_.
HICKS, ELIAS, an American preacher of the Quaker connection, who
adopted Unitarian views and caused a split in the body (1748-1830).
HICKS-BEACH, SIR MICHAEL EDWARD, Conservative politician, born in
London; educated at Eton and Oxford, and in 1864 entered Parliament; took
office as Under-Secretary for Home Affairs under Disraeli, and in 1874
became Secretary for Ireland; four years later he was Lord Carnarvon's
successor at the Colonial Office, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader
of the House of Commons in 1885, Secretary for Ireland in 1886, President
of the Board of Trade in 1888, and in 1895, on the formation of a
Coalition Ministry, again became Chancellor of the Exchequer; _b_. 1837.
HIERAPOLIS, 1, an ancient city of Syria Cyrrhestica, now in ruins,
situated between Antioch and Mesopotamia, 14 m. W. of the Euphrates; had
considerable commercial importance, and was famous for its great temple
of Astarte. 2, A city of ancient Phrygia, 5 m. N. of Laodicea; the
birthplace of Epictetus, and where Paul founded a church; was celebrated
for its hot springs.
HIERO I., tyrant of Syracuse; broke the naval power of Etruria by
victory over the Etruscan fleet near Cannæ, 474 B.C.; was an enlightened
patron of men of letters, many of whom he entertained at his court,
Æschylus, Pindar, and Simonides among the number; _d_. 467 B.C.
HIERO II., king of Syracuse, for near half a century the steadfast
friend and ally of the Romans; unlike his namesake he was averse to
display, and was accustomed to appear in public in the garb of a common
citizen; he ruled his country well; _d_. 216 B.C. at the age of 92.
HIERONYMUS. See JEROME.
HIGDEN, RALPH, author of the "Polychronicon"; was a Benedictine
monk, who spent his long life in St. Werburgh's monastery, Chester; the
work with which his name is associated is an account of the world down to
the end of Edward III.'s reign, but the chronicle of the last 50 years is
supposed to have been written by other hands; Caxton published a
translation made by John Trevisa; _d_. about 1307.
HIGGINS, MATTHEW JAMES, essayist, wrote under the _nom de plume_ of
"Jacob Omnium," born at Benown, Ireland; was educated at Eton and Oxford,
and spent many years in European travel; his numerous papers, which
appeared in the leading magazines and newspapers, were principally
directed against social abuses, and are characterised by a humour and
pungent irony not unlike his friend Thackeray's (1810-1868).
HIGGINSON, THOMAS WENTWORTH, an American author and abolitionist,
born at Cambridge, Massachusetts; graduated at Harvard, and took orders,
but resigned in 1858 to devote himself to politics in the anti-slavery
interest; during the Civil War he commanded the first regiment of freed
slaves; subsequently he resumed literary work, and in 1880 became a
member of the Massachusetts Legislature; he wrote a "History of the
United States," "Army Life in a Black Regiment," &c.; _b_. 1823.
HIGH CHURCH, that section of the Episcopal Church in England who
attach supreme importance to the administration of word and sacrament by
clergy duly ordained, and regarded by them as such, the sole divinely
appointed media of divine grace.
HIGH PLACES, elevated spots on which altars were erected for worship
in the rude belief that, as they were nearer heaven than the plains and
valleys, they were more favourable places for prayer. The practice of
worship on these spots, though from the first forbidden, became frequent
among the Jews, and was with difficulty abolished, though denounced time
after time by the prophets as an affront to Jehovah.
HIGH SEAS, as understood in international law means the entire sea
or ocean area which lies beyond a three-mile belt of coast water. This
coastal strip is called the _mare clausum_, and the rights of fishing,
&c., in it are reserved to the country upon which it borders.
HIGHGATE, a noted suburb of London, 5 m. N. of the General
Post-Office; the burial-place of Coleridge, George Eliot, and Faraday.
Dick Whittington's Stone is at the foot of Highgate Hill.
HILARION, ST., founder of monachism in Palestine; was a convert of
St. Anthony, and of great repute for sanctity (291-372). Festival, Oct.
21.
HILARY, ST., bishop of Poitiers, of which he was a native;
distinguished himself by his zeal against the Arians; his writings
valuable in connection with that controversy; _d_. 367. Festival, Jan.
13.
HILDEBRAND. See GREGORY VII.
HILDESHEIM (33), a town in Hanover, Prussia, on the Innerste, 24 m.
SE. of Hanover; is a quaint old town, and has several ancient churches,
notably a noble cathedral of the 11th century, with famous bronze gates;
trades in corn, linen, &c.
HILL, REV. ROWLAND, a popular but eccentric preacher, born in
Hawkeston, the son of a baronet, came under the influence of Whitfield
and the Methodist movement, and while yet an undergraduate became an
itinerant preacher; he took orders in 1774; but continued his open-air
preaching till 1783, when he established himself in London, starting an
unlicensed place of worship, although still remaining a communicant of
the Church of England; he originated the first Sunday School in London,
and was the author of several religious works, including a volume of
hymns (1744-1833).
HILL, SIR ROWLAND, originator of the penny postage, born at
Kidderminster; commenced life as a teacher and educationist; interested
himself in the colonisation of South Australia, and held a post in
connection with it; published in 1837 his pamphlet, "Post-Office
Reforms," and saw his scheme of uniform postage rate adopted three years
after, though not till 1354 did he become secretary to the
Postmaster-General or have full power and opportunity to carry his views
out (1795-1879).
HILL, VISCOUNT, British general, born in Shropshire; entered the
army at fifteen, served under Sir John Moore, and under the Duke of
Wellington in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, where he commanded a
division; succeeded Wellington in 1828 as commander-in-chief (1772-1842).
HILLEL, an eminent and influential Jewish Rabbi, born in Babylon
about 112 B.C.; devoted his life to the study of the Jewish law, formed
a digest of it, and founded a school; was a good and wise man and
teacher; died at a great age, 120 years old it is said.
HIMALAYAS ("the abode of snow"), a stupendous mountain chain
stretching 1500 m. along the northern frontier of India, and dividing
that country from Thibet; forty-five of its peaks attain a greater height
than those of any other mountain system in the world; Mount Everest, the
loftiest, reaches 29,002 ft.; the best-known pass is the _Karakoram Pass_
(18,550 ft.), leading into Eastern Turkestan; there are few lakes, but
amid the snowy heights rise the rivers Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, &c.;
gold, iron, copper, and lead are wrought.
HINCKLEY (10), a nicely built town of Leicestershire, 13 m. W. of
Leicester; has an interesting old parish church of Edward III.'s time;
does a good trade in hosiery, baskets, boots, &c.
HINC`MAR, a famous Frankish churchman; was appointed archbishop of
Rheims, in which capacity he maintained an independent attitude towards
the Papal See, and distinguished himself as a champion of ecclesiastical
liberty (806-882).
HIND, JOHN RUSSELL, an eminent astronomer, born at Nottingham; at 17
he obtained a post in the Greenwich Observatory; subsequently became
observer in Mr. Bishop's private observatory, Regent's Park, where his
untiring assiduity was rewarded by the discovery of several new movable
stars and 10 minor planets; he received various honours from societies;
was President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and in 1852 was
pensioned by Government; his works include "The Comets," "The Solar
System," &c. (1823-1895).
HINDLEY (19), a busy manufacturing town in Lancashire, 3 m. SE. of
Wigan; the staple industry is the manufacture of cotton; in the vicinity
are large coal-mines.
HINDU KUSH, a lofty mountain range stretching 365 m. from the
western extremity of the Himalayas, from which it is cut off by the
valley of the Indus into Afghanistan, which it divides from Turkestan; it
attains an elevation of 23,000 ft.; is crossed by several passes, and is
rich in minerals, especially iron; the tribes that inhabit it are chiefly
Shins and Dards.
HINDUISM, the name given to certain forms of religion among the
Hindus, the characteristics of which are the worship of divinities
exalted above the rest, and the highly concrete and intensely personal
conception of these, which comes out in sundry accounts respecting them
of a biographical nature which divinities are identified either with Çiva
or Vishnu, and their religions called Çivaite or Vishnuite, while their
respective followers are styled Çaivas or Vishnavas.
HINDUSTAN, a name sometimes loosely applied to the entire Indian
peninsula, but which, strictly speaking, embraces only the country of the
upper valley of the Ganges, divided into NW. Provinces, Oude, and Behar;
the language spoken is Hindi, a pure Sanskritic tongue, on which
Hindustani is based, but with large Persian and Arabic admixtures.
HINDUSTANI, the official and common language of India.
HINTON, JAMES, aurist and metaphysician, born at Reading; after
taking his degree was for some time at sea and in Jamaica, but in 1850
established himself in London; specialising in ear-diseases he rose to
the top of his profession, becoming lecturer at Guy's Hospital; his
leisure was earnestly devoted to philosophy, and gave fruit in "Man and
his Dwelling-Place," "The Mystery of Pain," "Philosophy and Religion,"
&c. (1822-1875).
HIOUEN-THSANG, a Chinese Buddhist, who in the 7th century traversed
India collecting books bearing upon the creed and law of Buddhism, and
spent his time after his return in translating them.
HIPPARCHUS, ancient astronomer, born at Nicæa; flourished in the 2nd
century B.C.; discovered among other things the precession of the
equinoxes, determined the place of the equinox, and catalogued 1000 fixed
stars.
HIPPIAS, tyrant of Athens, son of Pisistratus; expelled from Athens,
applied to the Persians to reinstate him, and kindled the first Persian
War with Greece; fell at Marathon, 490 B.C.
HIPPOCRATES, the father of medicine, born at Cos, 460 B.C.; was a
contemporary of Socrates and Plato; was of wide-spread renown as a
physician; settled in Thessaly and died at Larissa advanced in years; no
fewer than 60 writings are ascribed to him, but only a few are genuine.
HIPPOCRENE (lit. the fountain of the horse), a fountain on Mount
Helicon, in Boeotia, sacred to the Muses, and said to have been caused by
PEGASUS (q. v.) striking the spot with his hoof.
HIPPODAMI`A, in the legendary lore of Greece, was the beautiful
daughter of Oenomaus, king of Pisa, in Elis, and the pleiad Sterope; the
oracle had foretold death to Oenomaus on the occasion of his daughter's
marriage, to prevent which the king had made it a condition that each
suitor should run a chariot race with him, and that, if defeated, should
be put to death; many had perished in the attempt to beat the king, till
Pelops, by bribing Oenomaus's charioteer, won the race; the king in a
frenzy killed himself, and the kingdom and the fair Hippodamia passed to
Pelops.
HIPPOLYTË, queen of the Amazons, slain by Hercules in order to
obtain and carry off her magic girdle.
HIPPOLYTUS, ST., bishop of Portus, near Rome; lived in the 3rd
century B.C.; a lost work of his, "A Refutation of all the Heresies,"
was discovered at Mount Athos in 1842, his authorship of which Bunsen
vindicated in "Hippolytus and his Age."
HISPANIA, the ancient name of Spain and Portugal among the Latins.
HISSAR, 1, a district (776) in the Punjab, India; for the most part
sandy, yet in rainy years produces good crops of rice, barley, &c., and
is noted for its white cattle; the capital (14), bearing the same name,
is situated on the Western Jumna Canal, 102 m. W. of Delhi. 2, Also a
district in Central Asia, a dependency of the Khan of Bokhara lying N. of
the Oxus River, and separated from Bokhara by a branch of the Thian Shan
Mountains; has a fertile soil, and exports corn, sheep, &c., to Bokhara.
HISTOLOGY, the science of tissues, vegetable and animal.
HITCHCOCK, EDWARD, American geologist, born in Massachusetts;
reported on the geology of his native State, and on the agricultural
schools of Europe; wrote "Elementary Geology" and the "Religion of
Geology" (1793-1864).
HITCHIN (9), a very old and still prosperous town of Hertfordshire,
on the Hiz, 14 m. NW. of Hertford; does a flourishing trade in corn,
malt, and flour; brewing and straw-plaiting are important industries, and
it has long been noted for its lavender and lavender water.
HITOPADESA (i. e. good instruction), a celebrated Sanskrit
collection of fables, which in the substance of them have passed into all
the civilised literatures of the world.
HITTITES, one of the original tribes of Canaan, and one of the most
powerful, whose dominion extended at one time as far as the border of
Egypt on the one hand, and Mesopotamia on the other, and northward beyond
the Taurus Mountains, traces of which have been discovered over all Asia
Minor, while they were strong enough to engage in war with the Egyptians;
they had two capitals, Kadesh on the Orontes, and Carchemish on the
Euphrates.
HITZIG, FERDINAND, a German Orientalist and biblical scholar, born
in Baden; devoted himself to Old Testament studies; was professor of
Theology first at Zurich and then at Heidelberg; his principal works bore
on Old Testament exegesis (1807-1875).
HOADLY, BENJAMIN, an English prelate, born in Kent; was a keen
controversialist; argued stoutly in defence of civil and religious
liberty, and was an opponent of the pretensions of the High Church party
(1676-1761).
HOANG-HO ("Yellow River"), one of the chief rivers of China, rises
in the plain of Odontala, south of the Kuen-lun Mountains, and sweeps
with impetuous current in a more or less north-easterly direction,
discharging into the Gulf of Pechili after a course of 3000 m.; it is for
the most part quite unnavigable, and its frequent floods are a constant
menace to the districts through which it flows.
HOBART (25), capital of Tasmania, is situated on the estuary of the
Derwent, at the base of Mount Wellington; is handsomely laid out in the
form of a square; is the seat of government, and has many fine public
buildings; has a splendid natural harbour; the manufacture of flour, jam,
leather, besides brewing, shipbuilding, and iron-founding, are its chief
industries; it has extensive suburbs, and is a favourite health resort.
HOBART PASHA, Turkish admiral; was a son of the Duke of Buckingham;
distinguished himself in the British navy before he entered the Turkish
service; had during the Russo-Turkish war in 1877 to withdraw from the
service of the Queen, and shortly afterwards died (1822-1886).
HOB`BEMA, MEINDERT, a famous Dutch landscape painter, born at
Amsterdam; lived chiefly in his native town, and died in poverty; his
fine, subdued pictures of woodland life and scenery are ranked amongst
the masterpieces of Dutch landscape painting, and are the valued
possessions of the National Galleries in London, Berlin, Vienna, &c.
(1638-1709).
HOBBES, THOMAS, an English philosopher, psychologist, and moralist,
born at Malmesbury; was educated at Oxford; connected all his days with
the Cavendish family, with members of which he travelled on the
Continent, and was on friendly terms with Charles II., Bacon, Descartes,
&c.; translated Thucydides, wrote a number of works, "De Cive" among
others, and the "Leviathan," all more or less leading up to the doctrine
that the absolute sovereign power in all matters of right and wrong is
vested in the State as the achieved fact of the emancipation of the race
from savagery (1588-1679).
HOBHOUSE, JOHN CAM, English politician, a friend of Byron;
represented Nottingham and Norwich in Parliament in the Liberal interest,
and held several ministerial appointments (1780-1869).
HO`BOKEN (59), a city of New Jersey, on the Hudson River, adjoining
Jersey City and opposite New York; is an important railway terminus and
shipping-port; does a large trade in coal, lead-pencils, iron-casting,
&c.
HOBSON, a Cambridge stabler who let out horses on hire, the choice
always limited to the one next the door, the one that had been longest
in, hence Hobson's Choice.
HOCCLEVE or OCCLEVE, THOMAS, an early English poet; had an
appointment in the Exchequer Office in Henry V.'s time; his chief work is
the "Government of Princes," but his poems have more linguistic than
poetic interest; has left us an interesting portrait of his contemporary,
Chaucer (1368-1448).
HOCHE, LA, French general, born near Versailles; rose from the ranks
to the command of the army of the Moselle; drove the Austrians out of
Alsace, and suppressed the rising in and pacified La Vendée; while yet a
sergeant bore a hand conspicuously at the overturn of the Bastille
(17681797).
HOCHKIRCH, a village in Saxony where Frederick the Great was
defeated by the Austrian Marshal Daun in 1758.
HODGE. CHARLES, an American theologian, born at Philadelphia;
graduated at Princeton, and in 1822 became professor in the Theological
Seminary in Princeton, a post he held till the close of his life; besides
founding and editing the Princeton Review, was the author of various
commentaries, but is best known by his "Systematic Theology," which is
still a standard text-book (1797-1878).
HODGKINSON, EATON, a distinguished engineer, born at Anderton, near
Norwich; was professor of Engineering in University College, London;
became a leading authority on bridge construction, and carried through
elaborate experiments testing the strength of iron girders; co-operated
in planning the Britannia Tubular Bridge (1789-1861).
HODGSON, BRIAN HOUGHTON, Orientalist, born near Macclesfield; served
in the East India Company, and was Resident in Nepal for more than 20
years; was a voluminous writer on Eastern ethnology, languages, and
zoology, and his valuable collection of MSS. remains the chief source of
our knowledge of northern Buddhism (1800-1895).
HODSON, MAJOR WILLIAM, a noted leader during the Indian Mutiny;
joined the Indian Army in 1845, fought through the first Sikh War, and
subsequently held a civil post in the Punjab; on the outbreak of the
Mutiny he became head of the Intelligence Department, and won celebrity
as the daring but wild leader of an irregular cavalry regiment known as
Hodson's Horse; he took part in the sieges of Delhi, and at Lucknow
captured the Mogul Emperor; shot down with his own hand the young
princes, and a few months later fell himself while storming a palace in
the city (1821-1858).
HOF (25), a town of Bavaria, on the Saale, 40 m. NE. of Baireuth;
has flourishing textile factories, breweries, and iron-works; is
associated with the early struggles of Jean Paul Richter.
HOFER, ANDREAS, Tyrolese patriot; was leader of the Tyrolese against
the Bavarians and the French, and the emancipator thrice over of his
country, but was eventually betrayed by his enemies into the hands of the
French, condemned by court-martial at Mantua, and shot; his family were
indemnified afterwards by the Emperor of Austria, and his son ennobled
(1767-1810).
HOFFMANN, AUGUST HEINRICH, poet and philologist, born at
Fallersleben; studied literature and philology under the influence of the
Grimms, and in 1835 was appointed professor of the German Language at
Breslau, a post he forfeited seven years later by publishing "Lays" of
somewhat radical tendencies; he led an unsettled life till 1860, when he
became librarian to the Duke of Ratibor; his writings include "German
Social Songs of the 16th and 17th Centuries," "German Philology," an
"Autobiography" in six vols., lyrics, &c. (1798-1874).
HOFFMANN, ERNST THEODORE WILHELM, a celebrated German writer, whose
versatility displayed itself in numerous tales, sketches, art-criticisms,
&c., all bearing the impress of a strong, if wayward, intellect; born at
Königsberg, was trained to the law, and entered the State service; his
position at Warsaw was lost to him on the entry of the French troops in
1806, and for some years he supported himself by musical criticism in
Leipzig, and as Director of a Dresden Opera Company; in 1816 he was again
in government service at Berlin, where he continued till his death; his
writings are strongly characteristic of the romanticism of his time,
while he himself was a witty, restless leader of Bohemian life
(1776-1822).
HOGARTH, WILLIAM, a famous English painter, caricaturist, and
engraver, born in London; served his time as a silversmith's apprentice;
studied painting, and began to support himself by engraving and etching;
unsuccessful in his attempts at portrait-painting, he at length found his
true vocation in depicting the follies and vices of his age; "A Harlot's
Progress," a series of six pictures engraved by himself, appeared in
1731, and was soon followed by others of a like nature, including "A
Rake's Progress," "Strolling Actresses dressing in a Barn," "Marriage à
la Mode," "Idleness and Industry"; he also produced some indifferent
historical paintings; in 1757 he was appointed sergeant-painter to the
king; in his own department Hogarth has never been equalled, and in the
opinion of Sir Joshua Reynolds, never will be; the deep moral purpose of
his best pictures, made known throughout the country by abundant prints,
must have helped not a little to reform the manners of his time
(1697-1764).
HOGG, JAMES, a Scottish poet, born in Ettrick; had little or no
schooling; was bred a shepherd; took to rhyming; fell in with Sir Walter
Scott, whom he assisted with his "Border Minstrelsy"; rented a farm, and
first came into notice by the publication of his poem, the "Queen's
Wake"; he wrote in prose as well as poetry, with humour as well as no
little graphic power; "was," says Carlyle, "a little red-skinned stiff
sack of a body, with two little blue or grey eyes that sparkled, if not
with thought, yet with animation; was a _real_ product of nature"
(1782-1835).
HOHENLINDEN, a village in Upper Bavaria, 20 m. E. of Münich;
celebrated as the scene of a victory by the French under Moreau over the
Austrians under Archduke John on 3rd December 1800.
HOHENSTAUFFENS, THE, the third dynasty of the Romish kaisers, which
held the imperial throne from 1138 to 1254, commencing with Frederick I.,
or Barbarossa, and ending with Conrad IV., five in all; derived their
name from a castle on the Hohenstauffen Berg, by the left bank of the
Danube, 30 m. below Stuttgart.
HOHENZOLLERNS, THE, the family which in 1415 became Electors of
Brandenburg, kings of Prussia, and are now at length emperors of Germany;
derived their name from an old castle so called near the springs of the
Danube, a little way north from Constance and its lake.
HOLBACH, BARON VON, a French philosophe born in Heidelsheim, in the
Palatinate, of wealthy parents; lived from youth all his days in Paris,
kept a good table, and entertained all the "Encyclopédie" notabilities at
his board; wrote "Système de la Nature," and was a materialist in
philosophy and an atheist in religion, but a kind-hearted man
(1723-1789).
HOLBEIN, HANS, a German painter, born at Augsburg, trained by his
father; attracted the attention of Erasmus, who took a great interest in
him, and persuaded him to go to England, and introduced him to Sir Thomas
More, who in turn introduced him to Henry VIII.; here under Henry's
patronage he remained, executing numerous portraits of his courtiers,
till his death of the plague; his "Last Supper" and "Dance of Death" are
well known (1497-1554).
HOLBERG, LUDWIG, BARON, an eminent Danish author, born at Bergen, in
Norway; graduated at Copenhagen, where, after travel, he became professor
of Metaphysics; subsequently he held in turn the chairs of Eloquence and
of History; he was an author of great versatility, excelling as a writer
of satires, comedies, and as historian of Church and State; his
autobiography is an interesting work, and many of his plays and other
works are among the accepted classics of Danish literature (1684-1754).
HOLCROFT, THOMAS, journalist and political novelist, born in London;
began life as an actor; wrote "Road to Ruin"; was charged with treason,
but acquitted; left "Memoirs" (1744-1809).
HOLDEN, SIR ISAAC, inventor, born at Hurlet, Renfrewshire; worked in
a cotton-mill in Paisley, but betook himself to teaching, and in 1829,
while a teacher of chemistry in Reading, discovered the principle of the
lucifer match; turning to wool-combing as a means of livelihood, he
became established near Paris, where he carried out elaborate
experiments, which resulted in improvements in wool-combing machinery
that brought him fame and fortune; in 1859 he transferred his works to
the vicinity of Bradford; entered Parliament in 1865, and was created a
baronet in 1893 (1807-1897).
HOLINSHED, RAPHAEL, English chronicler of the Elizabethan age; his
"Chronicle," published in two vols. in 1577, supplied Shakespeare with
materials for some of his historical plays; _d_. 1580.
HOLL, FRANK, artist, born in Kentish Town; was highly distinguished
as an art student, and at 23 won the travelling studentship of the
Academy; came into notice first as a _genre_-painter, exhibiting pictures
of a pathetic nature, such as "Want--the Pawnbroker's Shop,"
"Newgate--Committed for Trial," "Ordered to the Front," &c.; subsequently
he won a wide celebrity as a portrait-painter, producing portraits of the
Prince of Wales, Mr. Gladstone, and other distinguished personages
(1845-1888).
HOLLAND (4,795), officially known as the Netherlands, a small
maritime country of Western Europe, bordered on its N. and W. by the
German Ocean, and having Prussia on its E. and Belgium to the S.; its
area, somewhat less than one-fourth the size of England and Wales,
comprises, besides the mainland, two island groups, one in the N. and one
in the S.; its flat surface in great part lies below the level of the
sea, and where there are no natural sandhills is protected from
inundation by enormous dykes, 365 ft. thick, forming excellent
carriage-ways along the coast; much of the soil has been reclaimed by
draining lakes and by pushing back the sea walls, the size of the country
having been increased by one-half since 1833; canals traverse the country
in all directions, and form with the shallow lakes and the great rivers a
complete system of waterways. The climate is for the most part similar to
that of England, but greater extremes of heat and cold are experienced.
Farming is the staple industry, although a considerable portion of the
land is still unfit for cultivation; butter and cheese are the most
valuable products, and are largely exported; the fisheries, coast and
deep sea, are also of much importance; manufactures are retarded by the
want of coal, but the wind is made to supply the motive power, by means
of windmills, to flourishing textile factories (cotton, woollen, and
silk), gin distilleries, pottery works, margarine and cocoa factories,
&c. Holland no longer is the premier shipping country of Europe, a
position it held in the 17th century, but it still maintains a busy
carrying trade with all parts of the world, especially with its many rich
colonies in the East and West Indies, which comprise an area 64 times
larger than Holland itself. The government is a limited monarchy; the
executive power is vested in the crown and the legislation in the
States-General, an assembly consisting of two chambers, the one elected
(for four years) by direct suffrage, the other (for nine years) by
provincial councils. Primary education is free, but not compulsory.
Religion is not established, but about two-thirds of the people are
Protestants, the remainder Roman Catholics. The birth of Holland as an
independent European power took place in the 16th century, when, after an
heroic and protracted struggle, it freed itself from the yoke of Spain,
then the most powerful nation in the world.
HOLLAND, HENRY RICHARD FOX VASSALL-HOLLAND, BARON, statesman, born
in Wilts; succeeded to the title in 1774; entered on a public career as a
Whig under the patronage of his uncle Charles James Fox; held office
under Grenville, Grey, and Melbourne; was imbued with a fine humanitarian
spirit, and fought ably against the slave-trade and the corn-laws; his
cultured literary taste is revealed in his writings, which embrace
Spanish translations, lives of Guillen de Castro and Lope de Vega,
Memoirs, &c. (1773-1840).
HOLLAND, SIR HENRY, physician and author, born at Knutsford, Cheshire;
graduated at Edinburgh in 1811; spent some years in Eastern Europe, and
finally settled in London; he rose to be physician-in-ordinary to the
Prince Consort and the Queen, and in 1853 was created a baronet; wrote
various essays on various branches of medicine, physiology, psychology,
besides "Recollections of Past Life" (1758-1873).
HOLLAND, NORTH (819), one of the eleven provinces of Holland;
comprises the peninsula lying between the Zuider Zee and the German
Ocean. SOUTH HOLLAND, also a province, faces the German Ocean
between Zealand and North Holland. These provinces form the most
important part of the Netherlands, raise the best farm produce and
cattle, and in their great ports Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, the bulk of
the trade of Holland is carried on.
HOLLES, DENZIL, statesman, and one of the "five members," the son of
the Earl of Clare, born at Houghton, Northamptonshire; entering
Parliament in 1624, he joined the opposition against the king, and
actively resisted the imposition of tonnage and poundage, for which he
was heavily fined and imprisoned; subsequently he was one of the five
members whom Charles attempted to arrest in 1642 on a charge of
high-treason; his opposition to the maintenance of a standing Puritan
army involved him in trouble, and he fled the country; after Cromwell's
death he returned, was prominent in promoting the Restoration, received a
peerage, and for some years was engaged in public duties, still remaining
a staunch upholder of the rights of Parliament (1559-1680).
HOLLOWAY (48), a northern district of London, in Islington parish.
HOLMES, OLIVER WENDELL, a celebrated American author, born the son
of a Congregational minister, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated
in arts and medicine at Harvard; became professor of Anatomy and
Physiology at Dartmouth College, but resigned and settled in Boston as a
general practitioner; in 1847 he was elected to the chair of Anatomy in
Harvard, a position he held till his resignation in 1882; a successful
professor, it is as an essayist, novelist, and poet that he is
remembered; the appearance of "The Autocrat at the Breakfast-Table," with
its quaint humour, fresh thought, and charming egotism took literary
America by storm; the "Professor" and the "Poet at the Breakfast-Table"
followed in after years, and remain his most widely popular works; "Elsie
Venner," a novel dealing with the problem of heredity, "The Guardian
Angel," "Songs of Many Seasons," "Memoirs of Motley and of Emerson," are
some of his many works, all of which have the impress of his bright,
engaging personality (1809-1894).
HOLOFERNES, the Assyrian general whom the Jewish Judith, entering
his camp as it invested her native place, slew with her own hand, and
bore his head as a trophy back to the town.
HOLSTEIN (560), which with Sleswick forms the Prussian province of
SLESWICK-HOLSTEIN (q. v.), was till 1866 a duchy of Denmark, but
in that year was annexed by Prussia.
HOLT, FRANK, artist, born in London; was distinguished as an artist
from his early youth; produced a succession of works of eminent merit,
and attained the highest excellence as a painter of portraits, to which
department he devoted the last years of his life (1815-1888).
HOLT, SIR JOHN, English lawyer, born at Thame, Oxfordshire; called
to the bar in 1663; was a prominent counsel in the State trials of his
age, and rose to be Lord Chief-Justice of the King's Bench under William
III., an office whose duties he discharged with unflinching integrity and
fairness (1642-1710).
HOLTZMANN, ADOLF, an eminent German philologist, born at Carlsruhe;
gave himself to the study of theology and then of philology at various
universities, and in 1852 became professor of the German Language and
Literature at Heidelberg; author of various learned treatises on
philology and kindred subjects (1810-1870).
HOLY ALLIANCE, an alliance of the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and
Prussia on the fall of Napoleon, professedly for conservative ends, but
really for the suppression of political liberty and the maintenance of
absolute power.
HOLY COAT OF TRÈVES, a seamless coat alleged to have been deposited
there by the Empress Helena, and to have been the one worn by Christ.
HOLY FAIR, a rural celebration of the Communion once common in
Scotland, attended not only by the people of the parish, but by large
numbers of strangers from far and near; described by Burns.
HOLY ISLAND or LINDISFARNE, an islet of Northumberland, 9½ m.
SE. of Berwick; is separated from the mainland by a stretch of sand bare
at low water, and some 3 m. broad; has interesting ruins of a Benedictine
priory church where ST. CUTHBERT (q. v.) once ministered; there
is a small village and fine old castle.
HOLY OFFICE, name given to the INQUISITION (q. v.).
HOLY WARS, name given to the CRUSADES (q. v.).
HOLY WEEK, the week before Easter, so called as consecrated to the
commemoration of the Passion of Christ in view of His death on the Cross.
HOLYHEAD (9), an important little seaport of Anglesey, North Wales,
on the N. side of an island of the same name, 25 m. W. of Bangor; is the
chief mail-packet station for Ireland, and has excellent harbourage, &c.
HOLYHEAD ISLAND (9), a rocky islet forming a part of Anglesey, from
which it is separated by a narrow strait, dry at low water, and crossed
by an arched causeway.
HOLYOAKE, GEORGE JACOB, an active propagandist of advanced social
theories, born at Birmingham; has lived a busy life as an agitator,
lecturing and writing; he espoused the cause of Garibaldi, edited the
_Reasoner_; was the last man to be imprisoned in England on a charge of
atheism (1841); was a zealous supporter of co-operation and all movements
making for the betterment of the social condition of the working-classes;
his numerous works embrace a valuable "History of Co-operation in
England," "The Limits of Atheism," "Sixty Years of an Agitator's Life,"
&c.; _b_. 1817.
HOLYOKE (45), a city of Massachusetts, 8 m. N. of Springfield, on
the Connecticut, whose rapid current supplies the water-power for the
many large paper-mills, cotton and woollen factories.
HOLYROOD, an abbey founded at Edinburgh in 1128 by David I., and
dedicated in honour of the Holy Cross, a casket of gold shaped like a
cross brought to the country by St. Margaret in 1070; a palace was
afterwards attached, which became the chief seat of the Scottish
sovereigns of the Stuart dynasty; the parks around were at one time a
sanctuary for debtors.
HOLYWELL (3), a market-town of Flintshire, has an elevated
situation, 15 m. NW. of Chester; the principal industry is the smelting
of lead, iron, copper, and zinc ores obtained from the surrounding mines;
the famous well of St. Winifred (whence the name of the town) is
over-built by a fine Perpendicular chapel.
HOMBURG (9), a fashionable watering-place in Hesse-Nassau, Prussia,
beautifully situated at the base of the Taunus Mountains, 8 m. NW. of
Frankfort-on-the-Main; has fine chalybeate and saline springs.
HOME, defined by Ruskin as "the place of Peace; the shelter not only
from all injury, but from all terror, doubt, and division. In so far as
it is not this, it is not home; so far as the anxieties of the outer
world penetrate into it, and the inconsistently-minded, unknown, unloved,
or hostile society, the outer world, is allowed by either husband or wife
to cross the threshold, it ceases to be home; it is then only a part of
the outer world which you have roofed over and lighted a fire in."
HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS, a noted spiritualist, born near Edinburgh;
became widely known as a "medium," was presented at Courts and to the
Pope; was expelled from the Catholic Church for spiritualistic practices,
and latterly became involved in a lawsuit with a Mrs. Lyon, who had
bestowed upon him £60,000 and forced him to return it; he is supposed to
have suggested to Browning his well-known poem "Sludge--the Medium";
wrote several books (1833-1886).
HOME, JOHN, Scotch divine and dramatist, born at Leith; graduated at
Edinburgh, and entered the Church in 1745; became minister at
Athelstaneford, near Haddington, where he wrote the tragedies "Agis" and
"Douglas"; the latter established his fame, but brought him into disgrace
with the Presbytery, and he withdrew to England, becoming secretary to
the Earl of Bute; his plays were produced by Garrick, and displaced the
stiff and artificial tragedies of Addison, Johnson, &c.; besides his
dramatic works and poems he published a "History of the Rebellion of
1745" (1722-1808).
HOME RULE, a form of local self-government, a name applied to an
administration of the kind projected by Mr. Gladstone for Ireland.
HOMER, the great epic poet of Greece, and the greatest of all time;
author of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," and for the honour of being the
place of whose birth seven Greek cities contended; is said, when old and
blind, to have wandered from city to city rehearsing his verses, and to
have lived 900 years before Christ, some time after the reign of Solomon;
it is only modern criticism that has called in question his existence,
and has ventured to argue that the poems ascribed to him are a mere
congeries of compositions of the early fabulous age of Greece, but the
unity of the plan and the simplicity of the style of the poems go to
condemn this theory in the regard of most Homeric scholars.
HOMILDON HILL, in Northumberland, 1 m. NE. of Wooler; the scene of
Hotspur's famous victory over the Scots under Earl Douglas, December 14,
1402.
HOMOEOPATHY, a method of treating diseases advocated by
HAHNEMANN (q. v.) which professes to cure a disease by
administering in small quantities medicines that would produce it in a
healthy person.
HOMOIOUSIA, name given to the Semi-Arian doctrine that the Son is of
_like_ substance with the Father, in opposition to the orthodox doctrine
called Homoousia that He is of the _same_ substance.
HOMOLOGOUMENA, name given to the books of the New Testament accepted
as canonical.
HONDURAS (435), a maritime republic of Central America, whose
northern seaboard fronts the Gulf of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea,
between Nicaragua on the S. and SE. and Guatemala on the W., less than
four-fifths the size of England; the coast lands are low and swampy, but
the interior consists chiefly of elevated tableland diversified by broad
rich valleys; the Cordilleras traverse the country in a NW. direction,
and form the watershed of many streams; fever prevails along the low, hot
coast, but the highlands are cool and healthful; large numbers of cattle
are raised, and fruits, india-rubber, indigo, &c., are exported, but
agriculture is backward; its mineral wealth is very great; silver ore is
abundant, and other minerals, such as gold, iron, copper, but the
enterprise is wanting to the carrying out of mining on a proper scale;
Honduras broke away from Spain in 1821, and became an independent State
in 1839; the Government is vested in a President and six ministers, and
the legislative power in a Congress of 37 members; the population is,
with the exception of a few thousands, composed of blacks; Tegucigalpa
(12) is the capital.
HONE, WILLIAM, miscellaneous writer and political satirist, born at
Bath; threw up his position as a law clerk in London and started a print
and book shop; became a busy contributor to newspapers, and involved
himself in serious trouble by the freedom of his political parodies and
satires; of his many squibs, satires, &c., mention maybe made of "The
Political House that Jack Built," "The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder," "The
Political Showman," all illustrated by G. CRUIKSHANK (q. v.)
(1780-1842).
HONEYCOMB, WILL, a jaunty member of the "Spectator Club."
HONFLEUR (9), a seaport of France, situated on the estuary of the
Seine, opposite Havre; has a good harbour; exports dairy produce, cattle,
&c.; has sugar refineries, tanworks, &c.
HONG-KONG (222), an island lying off the mouth of the Canton River,
South China; was ceded to Britain in 1842; is hilly and unproductive, but
is well watered and tolerably healthy; it owes its great importance as a
commercial centre to its favourable position, its magnificent harbour,
and to its having been made a free port and the head-quarters of the
European banks; opium is the chief import, silk and tea the principal
exports; Victoria, a handsome city on the N. side, is the capital, seat
of the British governor, &c.
HONITON (3), an ancient market-town of Devonshire, close to the
Otter, 17 m. NE. of Exeter; is famed for its pillow-lace, an industry
introduced by some Flemish refugees in the 16th century.
HONOLULU (20), capital of the HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (q. v.),
situated on an arid strip of land on the S. side of Oahu; is nicely laid
out after the manner of a European town; and has the only good harbour in
the archipelago.
HONORIUS, the name of four popes: H. I., the most famous, Pope
from 626 to 638; H. II., pope from 1124 to 1130; H. III., Pope
from 1216 to 1227; and H. IV., Pope from 1286 to 1287.
HONORIUS, FLAVIUS, emperor of the West, born at Constantinople, son
of Theodosius the Great, a weak ruler, and only able to resist the
invasion of the Goths so long as Stilicho, his minister, lived, for after
the murder of the latter by treachery matters with him went from bad to
worse, and he saw some of his finest provinces snatched from his grasp
(384-423).
HONTHEIM, a German Catholic theologian, born at Trèves;
distinguished for his bold assertion and subsequent retractation of a
doctrine called Febronianism, from the _nom de plume_ Febronius which he
assumed, tending to the disparagement of the Papal authority in the
Church (1701-1790).
HONTHORST, GERARD VAN, a Flemish painter, born at Utrecht, painted
night and torchlight scenes; "Christ before Pilate" his best-known work
(1592-1666).
HONVED`, name given in Hungary to the landwehr, or originally to any
distinguished national patriot or party.
HOOD, SAMUEL, VISCOUNT, a distinguished admiral, born at Thorncombe;
entered the navy in 1740, and rising rapidly in his profession evinced
high qualities as a leader; in 1782 he brilliantly outmanoeuvred De
Grasse in the West Indies, and under Rodney played a conspicuous part in
the destruction of the French fleet at the battle of Dominica, for which
he was rewarded with an Irish peerage; he defeated Fox in the celebrated
Westminster election, became a Lord of the Admiralty, and as commander of
the Mediterranean fleet during the revolutionary wars, captured the
French fleet at Toulon and reduced Corsica; in 1796 he was created a
viscount (1724-1816).
HOOD, THOMAS, poet and humourist, born in London; gave up business
and engraving, to which he first applied himself, for letters, and
commencing as a journalist, immortalised himself by the "Song of the
Shirt" and his "Dream of Eugene Aram"; edited the "Comic Annual," and
wrote "Whims and Oddities," in all of which he displayed both wit and
pathos (1798-1845).
HOOGHLY or HÛGLI, 1, the most important and most westerly of
the several branches into which the Ganges divides on approaching the
sea, breaks away from the main channel near Santipur, and flowing in a
southerly direction past Calcutta, reaches the Bay of Bengal after a
course of 145 m.; navigation is rendered hazardous by the accumulating
and shifting silt; the "bore" rushes up with great rapidity, and attains
a height of 7 ft. 2, A city (33) on the western bank of the river, 25 m.
N. of Calcutta; is capital of a district, and has a college for English
and Asiatic literature.
HOOK, THEODORE, comic dramatist, born in London; wrote a number of
farces sparkling with wit and highly popular; appointed to be
Accountant-General of the Mauritius, came to grief for peculation by a
subordinate under his administration; solaced and supported himself after
his acquittal by writing novels (1788-1841).
HOOKE, ROBERT, natural philosopher, born at Freshwater, Isle of
Wight; was associated with Boyle in the construction of the air-pump, and
in 1665 became professor of Geometry in Gresham College, London; was a
man of remarkable inventiveness, and quick to deduce natural laws from
meagre premises; thus he in some important points anticipated Newton's
theory of gravitation, and foresaw the application of steam to machinery;
he discovered amongst other things the balance-spring of watches, the
anchor-escapement of clocks, the simplest theory of the arch, and made
important improvements on the telescope, microscope, and quadrant
(1635-1703).
HOOKER, RICHARD, English Church theologian and ecclesiastical
writer, born in Exeter; famous as the author of "Ecclesiastical Polity,"
in defence of the Church against the Puritans, characterised by Stopford
Brooke as "a stately work, and the first monument of splendid literary
prose that we possess"; of this work Pope Clement VIII. said, "There are
such seeds of eternity in it as will continue till the last fire shall
devour all learning"; the author is distinguished by the surname of "The
Judicious" for his calm wisdom; he was not judicious, it would seem, in
the choice of a wife, who was a shrew and a scold (1554-1600).
HOOKER, SIR WILLIAM, botanist, born at Norwich; was professor of
Botany in Glasgow from 1820 to 1841, after which he held the post of
Director of Kew Gardens; his writings in botany are numerous (1785-1865).
HOOLEE, in India, the name of a saturnalian festival in honour of
KRISHNA (q. v.).
HOOPER, JOHN, bred for the Church; was converted to Protestantism,
and had to leave the country; returned on the accession of Edward VI. and
was made Bishop of Gloucester; was committed to prison in the reign of
Mary, condemned as a heretic, and burned at the stake in Gloucester
(1495-1555).
HOOSAC MOUNTAIN, in the Green Mountain Range in Massachusetts, is
noted for its railway tunnel, nearly 5 m. in length, and the longest in
America.
HOPE, ANTONY, _nom de plume_ of A. H. Hawkins, novelist, born in
London, educated at Oxford; called to the bar; author of "Men of Mark,"
"Prisoner of Zenda," &c.; _b_. 1863.
HOPE, THOMAS, traveller and virtuoso, author of "Anastasius, or the
Memoirs of a Modern Greek," which Byron was proud to have fathered on
him, and of a posthumous essay on the "Origin and Prospects of Man," was
famous as having suggested to Carlyle one of the most significant things
he ever wrote, while he pronounced it perhaps the absurdest book written
in our century by a thinking man. See Carlyle's Miscellaneous Essay
"Characteristics."
HÔPITAL, MICHEL DE L', Chancellor of France; stoutly resisted the
persecution of the Protestants, and secured for them a measure of
toleration, but his enemies were too strong for him; he was driven from
power in 1568, and went into retirement; was spared during the massacre
of St. Bartholomew, but it broke his heart, and he survived it only a few
days (1505-1572).
HOPKINS, SAMUEL, an American divine, born at Waterbury, Connecticut;
was pastor at Newport; was a Calvinist in theology, but of a special
type, as he denied imputation and insisted on disinterested benevolence
as the mark of a Christian; gave name to a party, Hopkinsians, as they
were called, who held the same views (1721-1803).
HORATII. See CURIATII
HORATIUS FLACCUS or HORACE, Roman poet, born at Venusium, in
Apulia; was educated at Rome and in Athens, and when there in his
twenty-first year joined Marcus Brutus, became a military tribune, and
fought at Philippi, after which he submitted to the conqueror and
returned to Rome to find his estate forfeited; for a time afterwards he
had to be content with a frugal life, but by-and-by he attracted the
notice of Virgil, and he introduced him to Mæcenas, who took him into his
friendship and bestowed on him a small farm, to which he retired and on
which he lived in comfort for the rest of his life; his works, all in
verse, consist of odes, satires, and epistles, and reveal an easy-going
man of the world, of great practical sagacity and wise remark; they
abound in happy phrases and quotable passages (65-8 B.C.).
HORN, CAPE, the most southern point of America, is a lofty,
precipitous, and barren promontory of Hermit Island, in the Fuegian
Archipelago.
HORN GATE, the gate of dreams which come true, as distinct from the
Ivory Gate, through which the visions seen are shadowy and unreal.
HORNBOOK, was a sheet of vellum or paper used in early times for
teaching the rudiments of education, on which were inscribed the alphabet
in black or Roman letters, some monosyllables, the Lord's Prayer, and the
Roman numerals; this sheet was covered with a slice of transparent horn,
and was still in use in George II.'s reign.
HORROCKS, JEREMIAH, a celebrated astronomer, born at Toxteth, near
Liverpool; passed through Cambridge, took orders, and received the curacy
of Hoole, Lancashire; was devoted to astronomy, and was the first to
observe the transit of Venus, of which he gave an account in his treatise
"Venus in Sole Visa" (1619-1641).
HORSE-POWER, the unit of work of a steam-engine, being the power to
raise 33,000 lbs. one foot in one minute.
HORSHAM (9), a market-town of Sussex, 26 m. NW. of Brighton; has a
fine specimen of an Early English church, and does a thriving trade in
brewing, tanning, iron-founding, &c.
HORSLEY, SAMUEL, English prelate, born in London; celebrated as the
champion of orthodoxy against the attacks of PRIESTLEY (q. v.),
in which he showed great learning but much bitterness, which, however,
brought him church preferment; was in succession bishop of St. Davids,
Rochester, and St. Asaph (1733-1806).
HOSEA, a Hebrew prophet, a native of the northern kingdom of Israel,
and a contemporary of Isaiah, the burden of whose prophecy is, Israel has
by her idolatries and immoralities forsaken the Lord, and the Lord has
forsaken Israel, in whom alone her salvation is to be found.
HOSHANGABAD (17), capital of a district of the same name in the
Central Provinces, India, situated on the Nerbudda River, 40 m. SE. of
Bhopal; is a military station, and has a considerable trade in cotton,
grain, &c.
HOSHIARPUR (22), a town in the Punjab, at the base of the Siwalik
Hills, 90 m. E. of Lahore; is capital of a district, and is the seat of
an American mission.
HOSPITALLERS, the name given to several religious brotherhoods or
orders of knights under vow to provide and care for the sick and wounded,
originally in connection with pilgrimages and expeditions to Jerusalem.
HOSPODAR, a title once borne by the kings of Poland and the
governors of Moldavia and Wallachia.
HOSTILIUS, TULLUS, the third king of Rome from 670 to 638 B.C.;
showed more zeal for conquest than for the worship of the gods, who in
the end smote him and his whole house with fire.
HOTTENTOTS, a name somewhat indiscriminately applied to the first
known inhabitants of Cape Colony, who, however, comprised two main
tribes, the Khoikhoi and the Bushmen, in many respects dissimilar, but
speaking languages characterised alike by harsh and clicking sounds, a
circumstance which induced the early Dutch settlers to call them
Hottentots, which means practically "jabberers"; the great majority are
semi-civilised now, and servile imitators of their conquerors.
HOUDON, JEAN-ANTOINE, an eminent French sculptor, born of humble
parentage at Versailles; at 20 he won the _prix de Rome_, and for 10
years studied with enthusiasm the early masters at Rome, where he
produced his great statue of St. Bruno; he was elected in turn a member
of the Academy and of the Institute, Paris, and in 1805 became professor
at the École des Beaux-Arts; he was unrivalled in portraiture, and
executed statues of Rousseau, Voltaire, Diderot, Mirabeau, Washington,
Napoleon, and others (1741-1828).
HOUGHTON, RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES, LORD, poet and patron of letters,
born of good family at Fryston Hall, Pontefract; graduated at Cambridge;
entered Parliament as a Conservative, but subsequently went over to the
other side, and in 1863 was raised to the peerage by Palmerston; was a
man of varied interests, a traveller, leader of society, philanthropist,
and above all the friend and patron of authors; his works include various
volumes of poetry, "Life of Keats," "Monographs, Personal and Social,"
&c. (1809-1885).
HOUNSLOW (13), a town of Middlesex, 10 m. SW. of London; railways
have done away with its importance as a posting town; in the vicinity are
gunpowder mills, barracks, and the famous Hounslow Heath.
HOURI, a beautiful maiden who, according to the Mohammedan faith,
awaits the advent of a pious Moslem in Paradise.
HOUSTON, SAMUEL, President of the Texan Republic, born in Virginia;
was adopted by a Cherokee Indian, and rose from the rank of a common
soldier to be governor of Tennessee in 1827; as commander-in-chief in
Texas he crushed the Mexicans, won the independence of Texas, and became
the first President of the new republic in 1836; subsequently represented
Texas in the United States Senate; was elected governor and deposed in
1861 for opposing secession (1793-1863).
HOUYHN`HNMS, an imaginary race of horses in "Gulliver's Travels"
endowed with reason.
HOVEDEN, ROGER OF, chronicler, born at Howden, Yorkshire; held an
appointment in Henry II.'s household; was engaged in various missions to
the monastic houses, and in 1189 became an itinerant justice; his
well-known Chronicle begins where Bede's ends, 732, and continues down to
1201.
HOWARD, CATHERINE, fifth wife of Henry VIII., granddaughter of the
Duke of Norfolk; was married to Henry in 1540 after his divorce from Anne
of Clèves; two years later she was found guilty of immoral conduct prior
to her marriage, and was executed (1520-1542).
HOWARD, JOHN, a noted philanthropist, born at Hackney, Middlesex;
was left in easy circumstances at his father's death; a bitter experience
as a French prisoner of war and observations made whilst acting as
sheriff of Bedfordshire roused him to attempt some reform of the abuses
and misery of prison life; he made a tour of the county jails of England,
and the mass of information which he laid before the House of Commons in
1774 brought about the first prison reforms; he continued his visitations
from year to year to every part of the United Kingdom and to every
quarter of the Continent; during 1785-87 he made a tour of inspection
through the principal lazarettos of Europe, visited plague-smitten
cities, and voluntarily underwent the rigours of the quarantine system;
he died at the Crimea whilst on a journey to the East; he published at
various times accounts of his Journeys; his deep piety, cool sense, and
single-hearted devotedness to his one great object won him universal
respect throughout Europe (1727-1790).
HOWE, JOHN, a Puritan divine, born at Loughborough; was educated at
Oxford and Cambridge, took orders, and became the outspoken and
universally respected chaplain to Cromwell; after the Restoration he was
ejected from the Church by the Act of Uniformity; subsequently he was in
turn domestic chaplain to Lord Massarene in Ireland, and pastor of a
Dissenting congregation in London; for some years he settled in Utrecht,
but in 1687 returned to England after the Declaration for Liberty of
Conscience, and became a leader of the Dissenters; he published a number
of works which display a powerful, philosophic, and earnest mind; his
"The Good Man the Living Temple of God" remains a masterpiece of Puritan
theology; he was a man of exceptional strength of character, and it was
said that he could awe Cromwell into silence and Tillotson into tears
(1630-1706).
HOWE, RICHARD, EARL, admiral, born in London, son of an Irish
viscount; first saw service under Anson against the Spaniards;
distinguished himself during the Seven Years' War; in 1783 became First
Lord of the Admiralty, and was created an earl; during the French War in
1793 he commanded the Channel Fleet, and gained "the glorious first of
June" victory off Ushant (1726-1799).
HOWELL, JAMES, an English writer, whose "Familiar Letters" have won
a permanent place in English literature, born in Abernant,
Carmarthenshire; travelled for many years on the Continent in a business
capacity; entered Parliament in 1627; was for some years a Royalist spy,
and suffered imprisonment at the Fleet; at the Restoration he was created
Historiographer-Royal; his works are numerous, but his fame rests upon
his entertaining "Instructions for Foreigne Travell" and his graceful and
witty "Familiar Letters" (1593-1666).
HOWELLS, WILLIAM DEAN, a popular American novelist, the son of a
Swedenborgian journalist, born at Martin's Ferry, Ohio; adopted
journalism as a profession, produced a popular Life of Lincoln, and from
1861 to 1865 was Consul at Venice; resuming journalism he became a
contributor to the best American papers and magazines, and was for a
number of years editor of the _Atlantic Monthly;_ an excellent
journalist, poet, and critic, it is yet as a novelist--witty, graceful,
and acute--that he is best known; "A Chance Acquaintance," "A Foregone
Conclusion," "A Modern Instance," "An Indian Summer" are among his more
popular works; _b_. 1837.
HOWITT, WILLIAM, a miscellaneous writer, who, with his equally
talented wife, MARY HOWITT (1799-1888) (_née_ Botham), did much to
popularise the rural life of England, born, a Quaker's son, at Heanor,
Derbyshire; served his time as a carpenter, but soon drifted into
literature, married in 1821, and made many tours in England and other
lands for literary purposes; was a voluminous writer, pouring out
histories, accounts of travel, tales, and poems; amongst these are "Rural
Life in England," "Visits to Remarkable Places," "Homes and Haunts of the
Poets," &c. (1792-1879). His wife, besides collaborating with him in such
works as "Stories of English Life," "Ruined Abbeys of Great Britain,"
wrote poems, tales, &c., and was the first to translate the fairy-tales
of Hans Andersen.
HOWRAH or HAURA (130), a flourishing manufacturing town on the
Hooghly, opposite Calcutta, with which it is connected by a floating
bridge.
HOY, a steep, rocky islet in the Orkney group, about 1 m. SW. of
Mainland or Pomona, remarkable for its huge cliffs.
HOYLAKE (3), a rising watering-place in Cheshire, at the seaward end
of Wirral Peninsula, 8 m. W. of Birkenhead; noted for its golf-links.
HOYLE, EDMOND, the inventor of whist, lived in London; wrote on
games and taught whist; his "Short Treatise on Whist" appeared in 1742
(1672-1769).
HROLF, ROLLO, DUKE OF NORMANDY (q. v.)
HUANCAVELI`CA (104), a dep. of Peru, lies within the region of the
Cordilleras, has rich silver and quicksilver mines; the capital (4),
bearing the same name, is a mining town 150 m. SE. of Lima.
HUB OF THE UNIVERSE, a name humorously given by Wendell Holmes to
Boston, or rather the State House of the city.
HUBER, FRANCIS, naturalist, born at Geneva; made a special study of
the habits of bees, and recorded the results in his "Observations sur les
Abeilles" (1750-1831).
HUBERT, ST., bishop of Liège and Maestricht, the patron-saint of
huntsmen; was converted when hunting on Good Friday by a milk-white stag
appearing in the forest of Ardennes with a crucifix between its horns;
generally represented in art as a hunter kneeling to a crucifix borne by
a stag (656-728).
HUBERT DE BURGH, Earl of Kent, chief justiciary of England under
King John and Henry III.; had charge of Prince Arthur, but refused to put
him to death; was present at Runnymede at the signing of Magna Charta;
_d_. 1234.
HUC, a French missionary, born at Toulouse; visited China and
Thibet, and wrote an account of his experiences on his return
(1813-1860).
HUDDERSFIELD (96), a busy manufacturing town in the West Riding of
Yorkshire, is favourably situated in a coal district on the Colne, 26 m.
NE. of Manchester; is substantially built, and is the northern centre of
the "fancy trade" and woollen goods; cotton, silk, and machine factories
and iron-founding are also carried on on a large scale.
HUDIBRAS, a satire by Samuel Butler on the Puritans, published in
1663, born of the reaction that set in after the Restoration.
HUDSON, in New York State, one of the most picturesque of North
American rivers, rises amid the Adirondack Mountains, and from Glen's
Fall flows S. to New York Bay, having a course of 350 m.; is navigable
for steamboats as far as Albany, 145 m. from its mouth. It has valuable
fisheries.
HUDSON, GEORGE, the Railway King, originally a linen-draper in York,
the great speculator in the construction and extension of railways, in
connection with which he made a huge fortune; acquired civic honours, and
was nearly having a statue raised to his honour, but certain frauds being
exposed he fell into disgrace and embarrassment, and died in London; he
was elected thrice over Lord Mayor of York, and represented Sunderland in
Parliament from 1845 to 1859 (1800-1871).
HUDSON, HENRY, English navigator; made three unsuccessful efforts to
discover a north-east passage, then turned his course north-westward, and
discovered in 1610 the river, strait, and bay which bear his name; his
sailors in his last expedition in 1611 mutinying, set him and eight
others adrift in an open boat, and though an expedition was sent in quest
of him, he was nowhere to be found.
HUDSON BAY, an inland sea in North America, 400 m. long and 100 m.
wide, communicating with the Atlantic; discovered by Hudson in 1610.
HUDSON BAY COMPANY, a joint-stock company founded in 1760 to obtain
furs and skins from North America, under charter granted by Charles II.,
the possessions of which were in 1869 incorporated in the Dominion of
Canada.
HUÉ (30), capital of the French protectorate Annam, on the Hué, 10
m. above its mouth, is strongly fortified with walls and a citadel.
HUELVA (19), a thriving seaport in Spain, 68 m. SW. of Seville,
between the mouths of the Odiel and Tinto; fisheries and the exportation
of copper, manganese, quicksilver, and wine are the chief industries.
HUERTA, GARCIA DE LA, a Spanish poet, was royal librarian in Madrid;
wrote tragedy of "Raguel," thought of very highly (1729-1797).
HUESCA (13), an interesting old Spanish town, 58 m. NE. of
Saragossa; has picturesque old churches, a university, and a palace;
manufactures linen and leather.
HUET, PIERRE DANIEL, a learned French prelate, born at Caen; a pupil
of Descartes; associated with Bossuet as scholar, and editor of Origen
(1630-1721).
HUG, LEONHARD, a Catholic theologian and biblical scholar, author of
an "Introduction to the New Testament" (1765-1846).
HUGH CAPET, the first of the Capetian dynasty of France, son of Hugh
Capet, Count of Paris; proclaimed king in 987; his reign was a troubled
one by the revolt of the very party that had raised him to the throne,
and who refused to own his supremacy; Adelbert, a count of Périgueux, had
usurped the titles of Count of Poitiers and of Tours, and the king,
sending a messenger to ask "Who made you count?" got for answer the
counter-challenge "Who made you king?" (946-996).
HUGHENDEN, a parish in Buckinghamshire, in the Chiltern district, 2
m. N. of High Wycombe; is interesting as the seat of Hughenden Manor, for
many years the residence of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield.
HUGHES, THOMAS, author of "Tom Brown's School-days," born at
Uffington, Berks; was at Rugby in Dr. Arnold's time, graduated at Oxford,
and was called to the bar in 1848; his famous story of Rugby school life,
"Tom Brown's School-days," was published in 1856, and was followed by
"Tom Brown at Oxford" and other stories and biographies; he entered
Parliament in 1865, and in 1882 became a County Court Judge; throughout
his life he was keenly interested in social questions and the betterment
of the working-classes (1832-1896).
HUGO, VICTOR-MARIE, a famous French poet and novelist, born at
Besançon; as a boy he accompanied his father, a general in Joseph
Bonaparte's army, through the campaigns in Italy and Spain; at 14 he
produced a tragedy, and six years later appeared his "Odes et Ballades";
in 1827 was published his famous tragedy "Cromwell," which placed him at
the head of the Romanticists, and in "Hernani" (1830) the departure from
the old classic novels was more emphatically asserted; his superabundant
genius continued to pour forth a quick succession of dramas, novels,
essays, and poems, in which he revealed himself one of the most potent
masters of the French language; he was admitted to the French Academy,
and in 1845 was created a peer; he engaged in politics first as a
Royalist and next as a Democrat, fled to Brussels after the _coup
d'état_; subsequently he established himself in Jersey and then in
Guernsey, where he wrote his great novels "Les Misérables," "Les
Travailleurs de la Mer," etc.; he returned to France in 1870, engaged in
politics again, became a senator, and continued to produce works with
undiminished energy; his writings were in the first instance a protest
against the self-restraint and coldness of the old classic models, but
were as truly a faithful expression of his own intense and assertive
egoism, and are characteristic of his school in their exaggerated
sentiment and pervading self-consciousness (1802-1885).
HUGUENOTS, a name formerly given to the Protestants of France,
presumed to be a corruption of the German word _eingenossen_, i. e.
sworn confederates, the history of whom and their struggles and
persecutions fills a large chapter in the history of France, a cause
which was espoused at the first by many of the nobles and the best
families in the country, but all along in disfavour at Court.
HULL, or KINGSTON-UPON-HULL (260), a flourishing river-port in
the E. Riding of Yorkshire, at the junction of the Hull with the Humber,
42 m. SE. of York; is an old town, and has many interesting churches,
statues, and public buildings; is the third port of the kingdom; has
immense docks, is the principal outlet for the woollen and cotton goods
of the Midlands, and does a great trade with the Baltic and Germany; has
flourishing shipbuilding yards, rope and canvas factories, sugar
refineries, oil-mills, etc., and is an important centre of the east coast
fisheries.
HULLAH, JOHN, professor of music, born in Worcester; did much to
popularise music in England (1812-1884).
HULSEAN LECTURES, fruits of a lectureship tenable for one year,
founded by Rev. John Hulse, of St. John's College, in 1789; delivered
annually to the number of four, bearing on revealed religion.
HUMANIST, one who at the Revival of Letters upheld the claims of
classical learning in opposition to the supporters of the scholastic
philosophy.
HUMANITARIANS, a name given to those who maintain the simple
humanity of Christ to the denial of his divinity; also to those who view
human nature as sufficient for itself apart from all supernatural
guidance and aid.
HUMBERT I., king of Italy, son of Victor Emmanuel, whom he succeeded
in 1878; took while crown prince an active part in the movement for
Italian unity, and distinguished himself by his bravery; _b_. 1844.
HUMBOLDT, FRIEDRICH HEINRICH ALEX., BARON VON, great traveller and
naturalist, born in Berlin; devoted all his life to the study of nature
in all its departments, travelling all over the Continent, and in 1800,
with AIMÉ BONPLAND (q. v.) for companion, visiting S. America,
traversing the Orinoco, and surveying and mapping out in the course of
five years Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico, the results of
which he published in his "Travels"; his chief work is the "Kosmos," or
an account of the visible universe, in 4 vols., originally delivered as
lectures in Paris in the winter of 1827-28; he was a friend of Goethe,
who held him in the highest esteem (1769-1859).
HUMBOLDT, KARL WILHELM VON, an eminent statesman and philologist,
born at Potsdam, elder brother of the preceding; represented Prussia at
Rome and Vienna, but devoted himself chiefly to literary and scientific
pursuits; wrote on politics and æsthetics as well as philology, and
corresponded with nearly all the literary grandees of Germany
(1767-1835).
HUME, DAVID, philosopher and historian, born in Edinburgh, the
younger son of a Berwickshire laird; after trial of law and mercantile
life gave himself up to study and speculation; spent much of his life in
France, and fraternised with the sceptical philosophers and
encyclopedists there; his chief works, "Treatise on Human Nature" (1739),
"Essays" (1741-42), "Principles of Morals" (1751), and "History of
England" (1754-61); his philosophy was sceptical to the last degree, but
from the excess of it provoked a reaction in Germany, headed by Kant,
which has yielded positive results; he found in life no connecting
principle, no purpose, and had come to regard it as a restless aimless,
heaving up and down, swaying to and fro on a waste ocean of blind
sensations, without rational plot or counterplot, God or devil, and had
arrived at an absolutely _non-possumus_ stage, which, however, as hinted,
was followed by a speedy and steady rebound, in speculation at all
events; Hume's history has been characterised by Stopford Brooke as clear
in narrative and pure in style, but cold and out of sympathy with his
subject, as well as inaccurate; personally, he was a guileless and kindly
man (1711-1776).
HUME, JOSEPH, a politician, born in Montrose; studied medicine, and
served as a surgeon under the East India Company in India, made his
fortune, and came home; adopted the political principles of Bentham and
entered Parliament, of which he continued a prominent member till his
death; he was an ardent reformer, and lived to see many of the measures
he advocated crowned with success (1777-1855).
HUMOUR, distinct from wit, and defined as "a warm, tender,
fellow-feeling with all that exists," as "the sport of sensibility and,
as it were, the playful, teasing fondness of a mother for a child" ... as
"a sort of inverse sublimity exalting into our affections what is below
us,... warm and all-embracing as the sun."
HUNDRED DAYS, the name given to the period between Napoleon's return
from Elba and his abdication, from Mar. 10 to June 28, 1815, after
Waterloo.
HUNDYADES JOHN CORVINUS, a Hungarian captain of the 14th century, a
formidable foe of the Turks.
HUNGARY (18,556), the eastern part of Austro-Hungary, including
Hungary proper, Transylvania, Croatia, and Slavonia, and, except in
military and diplomatic matters and customs dues, with a considerable
amount of self-government independent of Austria, differing from it, as
it does, in race, language, and many other respects, to such a degree as
gives rise to much dissension, and every now and then threatens
disruption.
HUNS, THE, a horde of barbarians of Mongolian origin who invaded
Europe from the shores of the Caspian Sea in two wars, the first in the
4th century, which at length subsided, and the second in the 5th century,
ultimately under Atilla, which, in the main body of them at all events,
was driven back and even dispersed; they have been described as a race
with broad shoulders, flat noses, small black eyes buried in the head,
and without beards.
HUNT, HOLMAN, painter, born in London; became a pupil of Rossetti,
and "his greatest disciple," and joined the Pre-Raphaelite movement; he
began with "worldly subjects," but soon quitted these "virtually for
ever" under Rossetti's influence, and "rose into the spiritual passion
which first expressed itself in his 'Light of the World,'" with this
difference, as Ruskin points out, between him and his "forerunner," that
whereas Rossetti treated the story of the New Testament as a mere thing
of beauty, with Hunt, "when once his mind entirely fastened on it, it
became ... not merely a Reality, not merely the greatest of Realities,
but the only Reality"; in this religious realistic spirit, as Ruskin
further remarks, all Hunt's great work is done, and he notices how in all
subjects which fall short of the religious element, "his power also is
shortened, and he does those things worst which are easiest to other
men"; his principal works in this spirit are "The Scape-Goat," "The
Finding of Christ in the Temple," "The Shadow of Death," and the "Triumph
of the Innocents," to which we may add "The Strayed Sheep," remarkable as
well for its vivid sunshine, "producing," says Ruskin, "the same
impressions on the mind as are caused by the light itself"; _b_. 1827.
HUNT, LEIGH, essayist and poet; was of the Cockney school, a friend
of Keats and Shelley; edited the _Examiner_, a Radical organ; was a busy
man but a thriftless, and always in financial embarrassment, though
latterly he had a fair pension; lived near Carlyle, who at one time saw a
good deal of him, his household, and its disorderliness, an eyesore to
Carlyle, a "_poetical tinkerdom_" he called it, in which, however, he
received his visitors "in the spirit of a king, apologising for nothing";
Carlyle soon tired of him, though he was always ready to help him when in
need (1784-1859).
HUNTER, JOHN, anatomist and surgeon, born near East Kilbride,
Lanarkshire; started practice as a surgeon in London, became surgeon to
St. George's Hospital, and at length surgeon to the king; is
distinguished for his operations in the cure of aneurism; he built a
museum, in which he collected an immense number of specimens illustrative
of subjects of medical study, which, after his death, was purchased by
Government (1728-1793).
HUNTER, SIR WILLIAM, Indian statistician, in the Indian Civil
Service, and at the head of the Statistical Department; has written
several statistical accounts, the "Gazetteer of India," and other
elaborate works on India; with Lives of the Earl of Mayo and the Marquis
of Dalhousie; _b_. 1862.
HUNTINGDON (4), the county town of Huntingdonshire, stands on the
left bank of the Ouse 59 m. N. of London; has breweries, brick-works, and
nurseries, and was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell.
HUNTINGDON, COUNTESS OF, a leader among the Whitfield Methodists,
and foundress of a college for the "Connexion" at Cheshunt (1707-1791).
HUNTINGDONSHIRE (57), an undulating county NE. of the Fen district,
laid out for most part in pasture and dairy land; many Roman remains are
to be found scattered about in it.
HURD, RICHARD, English bishop in succession of Lichfield and
Worcester; was both a religious writer and a critic; was the author of
"Letters on Chivalry and Romance," "Dissertations on Poetry," and
"Commentaries on Horace's Ars Poetica," the last much admired by Gibbon
(1720-1808).
HURON, a lake in N. America, 263 m. long and 70 m. broad, the second
largest on the average of the five on the Lawrence basin, interspersed
with numerous islands.
HURONS, THE, a tribe of Red Indians of the Iroquois family.
HUSKISSON, WILLIAM, an English statesman and financier;
distinguished for his services when in office in the relaxation of
restrictions on trade (1770-1830).
HUSS, JOHN, a Bohemian church reformer; was a disciple of Wyclif,
and did much to propagate his teaching, in consequence of which he was
summoned in 1414 to answer for himself before the Council of Constance;
went under safe-conduct from the emperor; "they laid him instantly in a
stone dungeon, three feet wide, six feet high, seven feet long; burnt the
true voice of him out of this world; choked it in smoke and fire"
(1373-1415).
HUTCHESON, FRANCIS, moral philosopher, born in Ulster, son of a
Presbyterian minister; educated in Glasgow; became professor in the
university there and founder of the Scotch school of philosophy, who,
according to Dr. Stirling, has not received the honour in that regard
which is his due (1094-1747).
HUTCHINSON, ANNE, a religious fanatic, born in England, settled in
New England, U.S.; expelled from the colony for Antinomian heresy, took
refuge in Rhode Island, and was with her family butchered by the Indians
(1590-1643).
HUTCHINSON, COLONEL, one of the Puritan leaders, and a prominent
actor in the Puritan revolt, to the extent of signing the death-warrant
of the king, but broke partnership as a republican with Cromwell when he
assumed sovereign power, and sullenly refused to be reconciled to the
Protector, though he begged him towards his end beseechingly as his old
comrade in arms (1616-1664).
HUTCHINSON, JOHN, a theological faddist, born in Yorkshire; in his
"Thoughts concerning Religion," derived all religion and philosophy from
the Bible, but directly, as he insisted, from the original Hebrew, in
which view he had a following of a few intelligent people (1674-1737).
HUTTEN, ULRICH VON, a zealous humanist and reformer, born in the
castle of Steckelberg, in Hesse, of an ancient and noble family; allied
himself as a scholar with Erasmus, and then with Luther as a man; entered
heart and soul into the Reformation of the latter to a rupture with the
former, and by his writings, which included invectives against the clergy
and appeals to the nation, did much, amid many perils, to advance the
cause of German emancipation from the thraldom of the Church (1488-1523).
HUTTON, CHARLES, a mathematician, born in Newcastle; became
professor at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; wrote on mathematics
and physics (1737-1825).
HUTTON, JAMES, celebrated geologist, born in Edinburgh; bred to
medicine, but devoted himself to agriculture and chemistry, which led on
to geology; was the author of the Plutonic theory of the earth, which
ascribes the inequalities and other phenomena in the crust of it to the
agency of the heat at the centre (1726-1797).
HUXLEY, THOMAS HENRY, eminent scientist in the department of natural
history, born at Ealing, Middlesex; was professor of Natural History in
the Royal School of Mines; distinguished by his studies and discoveries
in different sections of the animal kingdom, in morphology and
palæontology; was a zealous advocate of evolution, in particular the
views of Darwin, and a champion of science against the orthodoxy of the
Church; he was a man of eminent literary ability as well as scientific,
and of the greatest in that regard among scientific men (1825-1895).
HUYGENS, CHRISTIAN, a Dutch geometrician, physicist, and astronomer,
born at The Hague; published the first scientific work on the calculation
of probabilities, improved the telescope, broached the undulatory theory
of light, discovered the fourth satellite of Saturn, invented the
pendulum clock, and stands as a physicist midway between Galileo and
Newton (1629-1093).
HYDASPES, the ancient name of the Jhelum, the northernmost tributary
of the Indus.
HYDER ALI, a Mohammedan ruler of Mysore; raised himself to be
commander-in-chief of the army; organised it on the French model;
unseated the rajah; conquered Calicut, Bednor, and Kananur; waged war
successfully against the English and the Mahrattas, and left his kingdom
to his son TIPPOO SAIB (q. v.) (1728-1782).
HYDERABAD (370), the capital of the Nizam's dominions in the Deccan,
is 6 m. in circumference, strongly protected all round by a belt of rocky
desert, and a centre of Mohammedanism in India. Also the capital of Sind
(58), near the apex of the delta of the Indus; manufactures silks,
pottery, and lacquered ware, and is strongly fortified.
HYDRA, THE LERNEAN, a monstrous reptile inhabiting a marsh, with a
number of heads, that grew on again as often as they were chopped off,
and the destruction of which was one of the twelve labours of Hercules,
an act which symbolises the toil expended in draining the fens of the
world for man's habitation.
HYGEIA, in the Greek mythology the Goddess of Health, and daughter
of Æsculapius; is represented as a virgin in a long robe, with a cup in
her hand and a serpent drinking out of it.
HYMEN, in the Greek mythology the God of Marriage, son of Apollo,
and one of the Muses, represented as a boy with wings; originally a
nuptial song sung at the departure of the bride from her parental home.
HYMER, a frost Jötun, whose cows are icebergs; splits rocks with the
glance of his eye.
HYMETTUS, a mountain in Attica, famous for its honey and marble.
HYPATIA, a far-famed lady teacher of Greek philosophy in Alexandria,
distinguished for her beauty and purity of life, who, one day in 415, on
her return home from her lecture-room, was massacred in the streets of
the city, at the instance, of both Jews and Christians, as a propagator
of paganism.
HYPERBOREANS, a people blooming in youth and health, fabled by the
Greeks to dwell in the extreme northern parts of the world under favour
of Apollo.
HYPERMNESTRA, the only one of the DANAIDES (q. v.) who
spared the life of her husband in spite of her father's orders.
HYPNOTISM, the process of inducing sleep by wearying out the optic
nerve of the eyes, by making the patient fix them upon a certain spot for
a time, generally situated where it is a little wearisome for the eyes to
find it. The fatigue thus induced spreads from the ocular muscles to the
system, causing deep sleep.
HYRCANIA, an ancient province of Persia, on the E. and SE. of the
Caspian Sea, celebrated for the savage animals that inhabited its
forests, as well as the savagery of its inhabitants.
HYRCANUS, JOHN, the son of Simon Maccabeus, king of Judea, as well
as High-Priest of the Jews from 135 to 105 B.C.; achieved the
independence of his country from the Syrian yoke, extended the borders of
it, and compelled the Edomites to accept the Jewish faith at the point of
the sword; in the strife then rampant between the SADDUCEES (q. v.)
and the PHARISEES (q. v.) he sided with the former.
I
IACHIMO, an arch-villain in Shakespeare's "Cymbeline," who attempts
to violate the chastity of Imogen.
IACHUS, the son of Zeus and Demeter, and the solemn name of Bacchus
in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
IAGO, a cool, selfish, malignant, subtle, evil-scheming knave in
"Othello," his "ancient" or ensign, who poisoned his mind against
Desdemona.
IAMBLICHUS, a Neo-Platonic philosopher of the 4th century, in the
time of Constantine, struggled, as it proved, in vain for the revival of
Greek philosophy, in the hope of thereby stemming the advance of
Christianity.
IAMBUS, a metrical foot, consisting of two syllables, of which the
first is short and the second long, or in which the stress is on the
second.
IAPETOS, in the Greek mythology a Titan, father of Atlas,
Prometheus, and Epimetheus, as the Greeks fabled the ancestor of the
human race.
IBERIA, the ancient and still poetic name of Spain; anciently also a
territory inhabited by an agricultural population between the Black Sea
and the Caspian, now called Georgia.
IBIS, the Nile bird, regarded as an avatar of deity, and held sacred
by the Egyptians; it did not breed in Egypt, and was supposed to be of
mystic origin; it arrives in Egypt when the Nile begins to rise.
IBRAHIM BEY, chief of the Mamelukes of Egypt at the time of
Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt in 1798 (1789-1816).
IBRAHIM PASHA, viceroy of Egypt, son and successor of Mehemet-Ali;
appointed generalissimo of the Egyptian army, remodelled it after the
French fashion; was leader of the Turks against the Greeks; gained
several victories over them in 1828, but was obliged to retire; overran
and conquered Syria from the Sultan, but was forced by the Powers to
surrender his conquest and restore it; he was Viceroy of Egypt only for a
single year, and died at Cairo (1789-1848).
IBSEN, HENRIK, Norwegian dramatist and poet, born at Skein, in
Norway; bred to medicine; is author of a succession of plays of a new
type, commencing with "Catalina," a poor attempt, followed by "Doll's
House," "Ghosts," "Pillars of Society," and "Brand," deemed his
masterpiece, besides others; his characters are vividly drawn as if from
life; he is a psychologist, and his productions have all more or less a
social bearing; _b_. 1828.
IBYCUS, a Greek lyric poet, who was murdered by robbers, and who
appealed to a flock of cranes that flew past before he died to avenge his
death, and that proved the means of the discovery of the murderers.
ICARUS, son of DÆDALUS (q. v.), who, flying with his father
from Crete on wax-fastened wings, soared so high that the sun melted the
wax and he dropped into the sea, giving name to that part of it.
ICE BLINK, the name given to a white light seen on the horizon, due
to reflection from a field of ice immediately beyond.
ICELAND (71), a volcanic island larger by a third than Scotland,
lying just S. of the polar circle, between Greenland and Norway, distant
250 m. from the former and 500 from the latter; consists of a plateau
2000 ft. high, sometimes sloping to the sea, sometimes ending in sheer
precipices, from which rise numerous snow-clad volcanoes, some, like
Hecla, still active. "A wild land of barrenness and lava," Carlyle
characterises it, "swallowed up many months of the year in black
tempests, yet with a wild gleaming beauty in summer time, towering up
there stern and grim, with its snow jokuls and roaring geysers, and
horrid volcanic chasms, like the waste chaotic battlefield of frost and
fire." The interior comprises lava and sand tracts, and ice-fields, but
outside these are river valleys and lake districts affording pasturage,
and arable land capable of producing root crops. The climate is
changeable, mild for the latitude, but somewhat colder than Scotland.
There are few trees, and these small; cranberries grow among the heather,
and Iceland moss is a plentiful article of food. The island exports sheep
and ponies; the fisheries are important, including cod, seals, and
whales; sulphur and coal are found; the hot springs are famous,
especially the Great Geyser, near Hecla. Discovered by Irishmen and
colonised by Norwegians in the 9th century, Iceland passed over to the
Danes in 1388, who granted it home rule in 1893. The religion has been
Protestant since 1550; its elementary education is excellent. Reykjavik
(3) is the capital; two towns have 500 inhabitants each; the rest of the
population is scattered in isolated farms; stock-raising and fishing are
the principal industries, and the manufacture of homespun for their own
use.
ICH DIEN (I serve), the motto of the Black Prince, adopted from John
of Bohemia, and since then that of the English Prince of Wales.
ICHNEUMON, an animal of the weasel tribe, worshipped in Egypt from
its destroying the eggs of noxious reptiles, and of the crocodile in
particular.
ICHOR, an ethereal fluid presumed to supply the place of blood in
the veins of the Greek gods.
ICHTHYOSAURUS (lit. a fish-reptile), an extinct marine reptile in
the shape of a fish, its limbs paddles, and with a long lizard-like tail.
ICONIUM, the capital of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, a flourishing city
in St. Paul's time, who planted a church there, and of importance in the
time of the Crusades; is now named Konieh.
ICONOCLASTS (i. e. breakers of images), the name given to a sect
who, in the 8th century, opposed to the presence of images in churches
and the worship paid to them, set about the demolition of them as
savouring of idolatry, and even in 730 obtained a papal decree or
condemnation of the practice; the enthusiasm died out in the next
century, but the effect of it was felt in a controversy, which led to the
separation of the Church of the East from that of the West.
ICTINUS, great Greek architect of the 5th century B.C., a
contemporary of Pericles, designer of temples at Bussæ and Eleusis, and
joint-designer with Callicrates of the world's one perfect building, the
Parthenon, at Athens (437 B.C.).
IDA, the name of two mountains in the East, one in Crete, on which
Zeus was brought up in a cave near it, and one in Asia Minor, near Troy,
"Woody Ida," the scene of the rape of Ganymedes and of the judgment of
Paris, also a seat of Cybele worship.
IDAHO (88), one of the north-western States of the American Union,
surrounded by Washington and Oregon in the W., Nevada and Utah in the S.,
Wyoming in the E., and Montana, from which it is separated by a branch of
the Rocky Mountains, in the NE., the short northern boundary touches
Canada; the country is traversed by lofty mountain ranges cut up into
deep river valleys and cañons, is extremely rugged in its northern parts,
and chiefly useful for cattle-raising; there is a plateau in the centre,
some arid prairie land in the S., and lake districts in the N. and in the
SE.; grain farming is restricted to fringes along the river banks; the
Snake River flows through the whole S.; silver, lead, gold, and copper
mines are wrought successfully, and coal is found; the State was admitted
to the Union in 1890; a fifth of the population are Mormons; there are
still 4000 Indians. Boisé City (2) is the capital.
IDDESLEIGH, EARL OF, Sir Stafford Northcote, Conservative financier
and statesman, born in London of old Devonshire stock; educated at
Oxford; became private secretary to Mr. Gladstone in 1842, and five years
later was called to the bar; entering Parliament in 1885, he sat in
succession for Dudley, for Stamford, and for North Devon; under Lord
Derby he was Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1859, and President
of the Board of Trade in 1866; under Disraeli he was at the India Office
in 1868, and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1874; he succeeded Disraeli
in the leadership of the Commons, and was raised to the peerage in 1885;
was successively First Lord of the Treasury and Foreign Secretary under
Lord Salisbury; in 1871 Mr. Gladstone appointed him Commissioner in the
settlement of the _Alabama_ claim, and he was elected Lord Hector of
Edinburgh University in 1883; resigning from the Foreign Office in
January 1887, he died suddenly a few days later at the Prime Minister's
residence (1818-1887).
IDEALISM, that view of the universe which, in opposition to
MATERIALISM (q. v.), refers everything to and derives everything
from a spiritual root; is Subjective if traced no further back than the
_ego_, and Objective if traced back to the _non-ego_ likewise, its
counterpart, or other, in the objective world. Idealism in art is art
more or less at work in the region of the ideal in comparative disregard
of the actual.
IDELER, CHRISTIAN LUDWIG, a German astronomer, born in Prussia; an
authority on chronology, on which he wrote a handbook, as also a work on
the reckoning of time among the Chinese (1766-1846).
IDENTICAL NOTE, a term in diplomacy to denote terms agreed upon by
two Powers to coerce a third.
IDES, the name given in the Roman calendar to certain days that
_divide_ the month; in March, May, July, and October they fall on the
15th, in the rest on the 13th.
IDOLATRY, worship paid to a mere symbol of the divine while the
heart is dead to all sense of that which it symbolises; a species of
offence against the Most High, of which many are flagrantly guilty who
affect to regard with pity the worshipper of idols of wood or stone.
"Idolatry," says Buskin, _apropos_ of Carlyle's well-known doctrine, "is
summed up in the one broad wickedness of refusing to worship Force and
resolving to worship No-Force; denying the Almighty, and bowing down to
four-and-twopence with a stamp on it."
IDOMENEUS, king of Crete, grandson of Minos, and a hero of the
Greeks in the war with Troy.
IDRIS, a giant, prince, and astronomer of Welsh tradition, whose
rock-hewn chair on the summit of Cader Idris was supposed to mete out to
the bard who spent a night upon it death, madness, or poetic inspiration.
IDUMÆA. See EDOM.
IDUNA, a Scandinavian goddess who kept a box of golden apples which
the gods tasted when they wished to renew their youth; she was carried
off one day, but being sent for by the gods, came back changed into a
falcon.
IDYLL, a poem in celebration of everyday life or life in everyday
costume amid natural, often pastoral and even romantic, and at times
tragic surroundings.
IF, an islet in the Gulf of Marseilles, with a castle built by
Francis I., and afterwards used as a State prison.
IGGDRASIL the _Tree_ of Existence, as conceived of by the Norse, and
reflecting the Norse idea of the universe, "has its roots deep down in
the kingdoms of Hela, or Death; its trunk reaches up heaven-high, and
spreads its boughs over the whole universe. At the foot of it, in the
Death-Kingdom, sit the THREE NORNAS (q. v.) watering its roots
from the sacred Well."
IGNATIEFF, NICHOLAS, Russian general and diplomatist, born at St.
Petersburg; was ambassador at Pekin in 1859, and at Constantinople in
1864, and secured at both posts important concessions to Russia; he is a
zealous Panslavist and Anti-Semite, too much so to carry with him the
support of the country; _b_. 1832.
IGNATIUS, FATHER, the name by which the Rev. Joseph Lyne is known,
born in London, educated at St. Paul's School and Glenalmond; commenced a
movement to introduce monasticism into the Church of England, and built a
monastery for monks and nuns near Llanthony Abbey, the members of which
follow the rule and wear the garb of the Order of St. Benedict; _b_.
1837.
IGNATIUS, ST., surnamed Theophoros, an Apostolic Father of the
Church, Bishop of Antioch; died a martyr at Rome about 115, by exposure
to wild beasts, in the amphitheatre; is represented in Christian art as
accompanied by lions, or exposed to them chained; left epistles which, if
genuine as we have them, establish prelacy as the order of government in
the primitive Church, and lay especial stress on the twofold nature of
Christ.
IGNATIUS LOYOLA. See LOYOLA.
IGNORANTINES, a Jesuit association in the Roman Catholic Church
founded in 1724, who give instruction to poor children gratis, with the
object of winning them over to the Catholic faith.
IHRE, JOHAN, a learned Swedish philologist, born at Lund, of Scotch
descent; was 40 years professor of Rhetoric and Political Economy at
Upsala, and was the founder of Swedish philology (1707-1780).
ILE DE FRANCE, the province of France of which Paris is the capital;
was also formerly the name of Mauritius.
ILE DU DIABLE, an island off the coast of French Guiana, where
Captain Dreyfus was confined.
ILFRACOMBE, a popular watering-place on the coast of N. Devon, in
the Bristol Channel; once a considerable place.
ILIAD, the great epic poem of Homer, consisting of 24 books, the
subject of which is the "wrath of ACHILLES" (q. v.), and the
events which followed during the last year of the ten years' Trojan War,
so called from ILION, one of the names of Troy. See ILIUM.
ILITHYIA, the Greek goddess who presided over the travail of woman
at childbirth, promoting or retarding the birth as the Fates might
ordain.
ILIUM, TROY (q. v.), so called from Ilus, the son of Tros,
who founded the city.
ILLINOIS (3,826), an American State as large as England and Wales;
has the Mississippi for its western, the Ohio for its southern boundary,
with Wisconsin and Lake Michigan in the N. and Indiana on the E.; fourth
in population, seventeenth in area; "the Prairie State" is level, well
watered, and extremely fertile; has a climate subject to extremes, but,
except in the swamps, healthy. It produces enormous quantities of wheat,
besides other cereals, of tobacco and temperate fruits. Flour-milling,
pork-packing, and distilling are the chief industries. The most extensive
coal-deposits in America are in this State; with navigable rivers on its
borders, and traversing it Lake Michigan, a great canal, and the largest
railway system in the Union, it is admirably situated for commercial
development; originally acquired by Britain from the French, who entered
it from Canada; it was ceded to the Americans in 1783, and admitted to
the Union 1818; the State spends $12,000,000 annually on education, which
is compulsory, and has a large and wealthy scientific and agricultural
university at Urbana. Springfield (25) is the capital; but Chicago
(1,100) is the largest city.
ILLUMINATED DOCTOR, a title bestowed on RAYMOND LULLY (q. v.).
ILLUMINATI, a class or fraternity of people who affect superior
enlightenment, particularly on religious and social matters, tending of
late in the one to Deism, and in the other to Republicanism, in France
forming a body of materialists, and in Germany a body of idealists; the
former to the disparagement of ideas, and the latter to the disparagement
of reason, and both hostile to the Church.
ILLUMINATION, THE, the name given to the "advanced" thinking class
who pride themselves in their emancipation from all authority in
spiritual matters, the assumption of which they regard as an outrage not
only against the right of private judgment, but the very constitution of
man, which, they argue, is violated when respect is not before all paid
to individual conviction. See AUFKLÄRUNG.
ILLYRIA, the name anciently given to a broad stretch of mountainous
country of varying extent lying E. of the Adriatic Sea. The Illyrians
were the last Balkan people to be civilised; becoming a Roman province 35
B.C., Illyria furnished several emperors, among them the notorious
Diocletian. Constantine extended the province to include all the country
S. of the Danube; at the division of the empire, Greece and Macedonia
went to the East, the rest to the West; the name was revived by Napoleon,
but has since been dropped.
ILUS, a legendary king of Troy, the grandson of Dardanus, and the
founder of Ilium.
IMAGE WORSHIP in the Christian Church is reverence, as distinct from
the supreme adoration of the Deity, paid to the crucifix and to pictures,
images, or statues of saints and martyrs, and understood really as
offered through these to the personages whom they represent. The
practice, unknown in apostolic or sub-apostolic times, was prevalent in
the 4th century, provoked by its excesses a severe reaction in the 8th
century, but carefully defined by the second Council of Nice (787), has
continued since both in the Greek and Roman communion; there is still
controversy as to its propriety in the Anglican Church; the Lutherans
still use the crucifix freely, but other Protestant Churches have
entirely repudiated the practice. See ICONOCLASTS.
IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS, a remarkable work by Landor, in 6 vols.,
much appreciated by many.
IMAGINATION, the name appropriate to the highest faculty of man, and
defined by Ruskin as "mental creation," in the exercise of which the
human being discharges his highest function as a responsible being, "the
defect of which on common minds it is the main use," says Ruskin, "of
works of fiction, and of the drama, as far as possible, to supply."
IMÂM is the title of the officer who leads the devotions in
Mohammedan mosques, and in Turkey conducts marriage and funeral services,
as well as performs the ceremonies connected with circumcision; the
office was filled and the title borne by Mahomet, hence it sometimes
signifies head of the faith, and is so applied to the Sultan of Turkey;
good Mohammedans believe in the future advent of an Imâm--the hidden
Imâm--who shall be greater than the Prophet himself.
IMAUS, a name the ancients gave to any large mountain chain in Asia,
more particularly one bordering on India, or looking down upon it, as the
home of the Aryans.
IMITATION OF CHRIST, a book of pious reflections, unique in its
kind, and much esteemed by piously thoughtful people; ascribed to
THOMAS À KEMPIS (q. v.).
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, the doctrine held by the Roman Catholic
Church that the Virgin Mary was conceived and born without taint of sin;
first distinctly propounded in the 12th century, at which time a festival
was introduced in celebration of it, and which became matter of dispute
in the 14th century, and it was only in 1854 that it became by a bull an
article of the Catholic faith.
IMMANENCE, the idea that the creative intelligence which made, with
the regulative intelligence which governs, the universe, is inherent in
it and pervades it.
IMMENSITIES, CENTRE OF, an expression of Carlyle's to signify that
wherever any one is, he is in touch with the whole universe of being, and
is, if he knew it, as near the heart of it there as anywhere else he can
be.
IMMENSITY, THE TEMPLE OF, the universe as felt to be in every corner
of it a temple consecrated to worship in with wonder and awe.
IMMERMANN, KARL LEBERECHT, German novelist and dramatist, born at
Magdeburg; fought at Waterloo; entered the public service of Prussia and
obtained an appointment at Düsseldorf, where he died; his fame rests upon
his miscellaneous tales and satirical novels, such as "Münchausen"; his
dramas consisted of both tragedies and comedies (1796-1840).
IMMORTALITY, the doctrine of the continued existence of the soul of
each individual after death, a doctrine the belief of which is, in one
form or another, common to most religious systems; even to those which
contemplate absorption in the Deity as the final goal of existence, as is
evident from the prevalence in them of the doctrine of transmigration or
reincarnation.
IMMORTALS, a regiment of 10,000 foot soldiers who formed the
bodyguard of the ancient Persian kings; the name given to the 40 members
of the French Academy.
IMOGEN, the daughter of Cymbeline, in Shakespeare's play of the
name, a perfect female character, pronounced "the most tender and the
most artless of all Shakespeare's women."
IMO`LA (12), a town in Italy, 10 m. N. of Faenza, with some fine
palaces; manufactures leather, glass, silk, &c.
IMPANATION, a name employed to denote the union of the body of
Christ with the bread of the Eucharist.
IMPENETRABILITY, the name given to that quality of matter whereby
two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
IMPERATIVE, THE CATEGORICAL. See CATEGORICAL.
IMPERIAL FEDERATION, name given to a scheme for uniting more closely
together the several interests of the British Empire.
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, South Kensington, founded by the exertions of
the Prince of Wales in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's jubilee, was
opened by her in 1893; was intended to include a complete collection of
the products of the British Empire, a grand commercial intelligence
bureau, and a school of modern Oriental languages; the government to be
carried on by a chartered body, whose form of constitution was granted
by a royal warrant of date April 21, 1891; the idea is for the present
abandoned, and the premises appropriated as henceforth the seat of the
London University.
IMPERIALISM, the name given by English politicians to the policy
which aims at the consolidation into one empire of all the colonies and
dependencies along with the mother-country.
IMPETIGO, a cutaneous eruption, generally in clusters, of
yellow-scaled pustules, which grow thicker and larger; common among
children ill fed and ill cared for.
IMPEY, SIR ELIJAH, Indian judge, born at Hammersmith; educated at
Cambridge, and called to the bar in 1756; was sent out to Bengal as first
Chief-Justice in 1774; he supported Warren Hastings's administration, and
presided over the court which sentenced Nuncomar to death for forgery; in
the quarrel over Hastings's alleged resignation he decided in favour of
the governor; was recalled and impeached for his conduct of the Nuncomar
trial in 1783, but was honourably acquitted; resigning in 1789, he sat in
Parliament for New Romney till 1796 (1732-1809).
IMPONDERABLES, the name given to light, heat, and electricity when
they were supposed to be material substances, but without weight.
IMPRESSIONISM, a term in painting that denotes the principle of a
new school originating in France before 1870, and introduced into this
country some 10 years later; it is a revolt against traditionalism in
art, and aims at reproducing on canvas not what the mind knows or by
close study observes is in nature, but the "impression" which eye and
mind gather. The influence of the movement has been strong, and promises
to be lasting both here and in Germany, and not the least interesting
work of the kind has of late years issued from the "Glasgow School" and
the "London Impressionists."
IMPRESSMENT, legalised enforcement of service in the British navy,
which has for years been in abeyance, and is not likely to be ever again
revived.
IMPROPRIATION, the transference of the revenues of a benefice to a
layman or lay body to be devoted to spiritual uses.
IMPUTATION, the theological dogma of the transference of guilt or
merit from one to another who is descended naturally or spiritually from
the same stock as the former, as of Adam's guilt to us by nature or
Christ's righteousness to us by faith; although in Scripture the term
generally, if not always, denotes the reckoning to a man of the merit or
the demerit involved in, not another's doings, but his own, as in a
single act of faith or a single act of unbelief, the one viewed as
allying him with all that is good, or as a proof of his essential
goodness, and the other as allying him with all that is evil, or as a
proof of his essential wickedness.
IN CÆNA DOMINI (i. e. in the Supper of the Lord), a papal bull
promulgated in the Middle Ages, denouncing excommunication against all
who dispute the claims of the Church, and the promulgation of which was
felt on all hands to be intolerable; the promulgation has been
discontinued since 1773.
INACHOS, in Greek legend the first king of Argos, son of Oceanus and
Tethys.
IN-AND-IN, a term applied to the breeding of animals from the same
parentage.
INCA, a king or royal prince of the ancient original people of Peru.
INCANDESCENT LIGHT, or ELECTRIC LIGHT, a light produced by a
thin strip of a non-conducting body, such as carbon, in a vacuum raised
to intense heat by an electric current.
INCARNATION, the humanisation of the Divine in the person of Christ,
a doctrine vehemently opposed in the early times of the Church by both
Jews and Gnostics, by the former as inconsistent with the greatness of
God, and by the latter as inconsistent with the inbred depravity of man.
INCENSE, a fragrance which arises from the burning of certain gums
and burnt in connection with sundry religious observances, particularly
in the Roman Catholic Church, as an expression of praise presumably well
pleasing to God; a practice which Protestants repudiate as without
warrant in Scripture.
INCHBALD, ELIZABETH, actress, dramatist, and novelist, daughter of
John Simpson, a Suffolk farmer; came to London at the age of 18, seeking
a theatrical engagement; after some adventures she met Joseph Inchbald,
an actor of no note, to whom she was married in 1772; shortly afterwards
she made her _début_ as Cordelia at Bristol; after seven years in the
provinces and nine in London, during which she failed to rise high in her
profession, she turned to literature; she wrote and adapted many plays,
but the works by which she is remembered are two novels, "A Simple Story"
and "Nature and Art" (1753-1821).
INCHCOLM, an island in the Firth of Forth, near Aberdour, on the
Fife coast, so called as the residence of St. Columba when engaged in the
conversion of the Northern Picts; has the remains of an abbey founded by
Alexander I.
INCHKEITH, an island in the Firth of Forth, in the county of Fife,
2½m. N. of Leith, and about ½ m. long, has a lighthouse with a revolving
light, and fortifications to protect the Forth.
INCITATUS, the horse of CALIGULA (q. v.); had a house and a
servant to itself, was fed from vessels of gold, admitted to the
priesthood, and created a consul of Rome.
INCLEDON, CHARLES BENJAMIN, a celebrated ballad-singer with a fine
tenor voice, born in Cornwall (1763-1826).
INCORRUPTIBLE, THE, ROBESPIERRE (q. v.), a man not to be
seduced to betray his principles or party.
INCREMENT, UNEARNED, an expression denoting increase in the value of
landed property due to increased demand and without any expenditure on
the part of the proprietor.
INDEPENDENCE, DECLARATION OF, a declaration made July 4, 1776, by
the North American States declaring their independence of Great Britain.
INDEPENDENCE, THE WAR OF, the name given to the struggle which the
North American colonists maintained against the mother country.
INDEPENDENCE DAY, a holiday observed throughout the United States
annually on the 4th of July in celebration of the Declaration of
Independence in 1776 that day.
INDEPENDENTS or CONGREGATIONALISTS are a Protestant sect
deriving both names from their principle of government; repudiating both
Episcopacy and Presbyterianism, they hold that every congregation should
manage its own affairs, and elect its own officers independent of all
authority save that of Christ; they profess to derive all rules of faith
and practice from the Scriptures, and are closely akin to Presbyterians
in doctrine. Numerous as early as Queen Elizabeth's time, they suffered
persecution then; many fled or were banished to Holland, whence the
_Mayflower_ conveyed the Pilgrim Fathers to New England in 1620.
Regaining ascendency under Cromwell, they again suffered at the
Restoration; but political disabilities then imposed have gradually been
removed, and now they are the most vigorous Dissenting body in England.
The congregations in the English Union (a union for common purposes and
mutual help) number 4700, those in the Scottish Union 100.
INDEX EXPURGATORIUS, a list of books issued by the Church of Rome,
which, as hostile to her teaching, are placed under her ban, and are
under penalties forbidden to be read. The first list published was by
Pope Paul IV. in 1557, and in 1562 the Council of Trent appointed a
committee whose special business it should be to draw up a complete list
of obnoxious writings, a work which it fell to Paul IV. to finish after
the sittings of the Council came to a close in an index issued in 1564.
INDIA (287,223), British dependency, consisting of the great
peninsula in the S. of Asia, which has the Bay of Bengal on the E. and
the Arabian Sea on the W., and is separated from the mainland by the
Hindu-Kush and the Himalaya Mountains; politically the name includes
besides the Punjab in the N. and Burma in the E.; the centre of the
peninsula is a great plateau called the Deccan, between which and the
snow-clad Himalaya stretch the great fertile basins of the Ganges, the
Thar Desert, and the arid wastes of the Indus Valley; great varieties of
climate are of course met with, but the temperature is prevailingly high,
and the monsoons of the Indian Ocean determine the regularity of the
rainy season, which occurs from June to October; the country generally is
insalubrious; the vegetation is correspondingly varied, but largely
tropical; rice, cereal crops, sugar, and tobacco are generally grown;
cotton in Bombay and the Central Provinces, opium in the Ganges Valley,
jute in Eastern Bengal, and indigo in Behar; coffee and tea are raised by
Europeans in the hill country on virgin soil; the chief mineral deposits
are extensive coal-fields between the Ganges and the Godavari, the most
valuable salt deposits in the world in the Punjab, and deposits of iron,
the purest found anywhere, in many parts of the country, which, however,
are wrought only by native methods; native manufactures are being largely
superseded by European methods, and the young cotton-weaving industry
flourishes well; the country is well populated on the whole, with a
relative scarcity of big towns; the people belong to many different
races, and speak languages representing four distinct stocks; the vast
bulk of them are Brahmanists or Hindus; there are many Mohammedans,
Buddhists (in Burma), and Parsees (in Bombay); 2¼ millions are
Christians, and there are other religions; India has been subject to many
conquests; the Aryan, Greek, and Mussulman invasions swept from the NW.;
the Portuguese obtained a footing on the SW. coast in the 15th century;
the victories of Plassey 1757, and Seringapatam 1799, established British
rule throughout the whole peninsula, and the principle that native
princes where they retained their thrones were vassals; Sind was won in
1843 and the Punjab in 1849, and the powers of the East India Company
transferred to the Queen in 1857, who was proclaimed Empress in 1877; the
government is vested in a governor-general aided by an executive and a
legislative council, under control, however, of a Secretary of State for
India and council at home; there are governors and lieutenant-governors
of the presidencies of Madras and Bombay, and of the various provinces;
native States are all attached to and subject to the supervision of the
government of a province; there is a native army of 146,000 men, and
74,000 European troops are maintained in the country; British rule has
developed the resources of the country, advanced its civilisation, and
contributed to the welfare of the people; Indian finance is not yet
satisfactory; the currency is based on silver, the steady depreciation of
which metal has never ceased to hamper the national funds.
INDIA, (1) THE IMPERIAL ORDER OF THE CROWN OF, founded in 1878,
includes the Queen and certain royal princes, English and Indian, female
relatives of the Viceroy, of the governors of Bombay and Madras, and
others in high places in India; (2) THE MOST EXALTED ORDER OF THE STAR
OF, founded in 1861 and since enlarged, with the sovereign for head
and the viceroy as grand-master, and three different grades of knights,
designed severally G.C.S.I., K.C.S.I, and C.S.I., a blue ribbon with
white stripes being the badge; and (3) THE MOST EMINENT ORDER OF THE
EMPIRE OF, founded in 1878 and enlarged in 1887, with queen and
empress at the head, and a knighthood similar to the preceding, their
motto, "Imperatricis auspiciis."
INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE, a service which, besides embracing the
ordinary departments of civil administration, includes judicial, medical,
territorial, and even military staff appointments, appointments dependent
on the possession of regulated, more or less academic, qualifications.
INDIAN MUTINY, a wide-spread rebellion on the part chiefly of the
Sepoys against British authority in 1857, and which was suppressed by a
strong force under Sir Colin Campbell in 1858.
INDIAN OCEAN is that stretch of sea between Africa on the W. and
Australia, Java, and Sumatra on the E., which separates in the N. into
the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal; the monsoons, or trade-winds, blow
here with great regularity; from April to October they are strong from
the SW., from October to April more gentle in the opposite direction;
there are many islands and reefs of coral formation, such as the Maldive
group; St. Paul's and Mauritius are volcanic, while Madagascar and Ceylon
are typical continental islands.
INDIAN TERRITORY (186), a stretch of country in the basin of the
Arkansas, Canadian, and Red Rivers, with Kansas on the N., Arkansas on
the E., Oklahoma Territory on the W., and separated by the Red River from
Texas on the S., set apart for the occupation of the Indian tribes of the
western prairies; formerly double its present size, it has been reduced
by the purchase in 1890 of Oklahoma.; in the centre and east are fertile
plains and great forests of walnut and maple, in which deer and bears
abound; the west is a treeless prairie supporting vast herds of cattle;
mineral resources are probably rich, but are undeveloped; the principal
tribes have their own organisations and civilised institutions, churches,
schools, banks, and newspapers; the towns are small, Tahlequah, Lehigh,
and M'Alister are the chief.
INDIANA (2,192), one of the smaller but most populous States of the
American Union, lies between Lake Michigan and the Ohio River, with Ohio
on the E. and Illinois on the W.; the climate is marked by extremes of
heat and cold; the country is somewhat hilly in the S., is mostly level,
well watered, and very fertile; agriculture is the chief industry,
cereals, potatoes, and tobacco forming the chief crops; there is great
mineral wealth, with extensive and varied industries, embracing iron,
glass, and textile manufactures, waggon-building, and furniture-making;
petroleum wells are abundant, and in one part of the territory natural
gas is found in great quantities. First occupied by the French, Indiana
was acquired by Britain in 1763, ceded to America 1783, and admitted to
the Union in 1816; education in the State university and schools is free;
besides Indianapolis, the capital, the largest towns are Evansville (50),
Fort Wayne (30), and Terre Haute (30).
INDIANAPOLIS (169), capital of Indiana, on the White Ford River, in
the centre of the State; a fine city, with wide, tree-lined streets,
large iron, brass, and textile manufactures, and canned-meat industry; is
a great railroad centre.
INDIANS, AMERICAN, the aborigines of America, and now gradually
dying out; these aborigines were called Indians by Columbus, because when
he discovered America he thought it was India. See AMERICAN INDIANS.
INDIA-RUBBER, CAOUTCHOUC, or GUM ELASTIC, is a product of the
milky juices of several tropical and sub-tropical plants found in the
West Indies, Central and South America, West Africa, and India; there is
evidence that its properties were partially known to the Spaniards in the
West Indies early in the 17th century; but its first introduction to this
country was about 1770, when it was employed by artists for erasing
black-lead pencil marks, hence its familiar name; it is collected by
making incisions in the tree trunk and gathering the slowly exuding
juice, which is first solidified by drying, then purified by boiling and
washing; it is flexible and elastic, insoluble in water, and impenetrable
to gases and fluids, and these qualities give it great commercial
importance; the use of pure rubber has been greatly superseded by that of
"vulcanised" rubber; mixed with from 1/40 to ½ of its weight of sulphur
and combined by heat, the rubber acquires greater elasticity, is not
hardened by cold or rendered viscid by heat, and is insoluble in many of
the solvents of pure rubber; its usefulness is thus largely increased and
greatly extended of late; the demand for rubber is in excess of the
supply, but no substitute has been found effective; in recent years care
has been bestowed on its economical collection and on its scientific
culture.
INDICTION, a cycle of 15 years instituted by Constantine the Great,
and which began on the 24th September 812, the day of his victory over
Maxentius; to find the indiction of any year add 1 and divide by 15.
INDIUM, a metallic elementary body of rare occurrence, and first
discovered in zinc-blende in 1863.
INDIVIDUALISM, the name given to a social system which has respect
to the rights of the individual as sovereign, and is strictly opposed to
Socialism.
INDO-CHINA, called also the Eastern Peninsula or Farther India, the
name given to the large peninsular territory which lies between the Bay
of Bengal and the Chinese Sea, lying almost wholly within the Torrid
Zone, and embracing the empires of Burma and Annam and the kingdom of
Cambodia and Siam, as well as territories under Britain and France, all
now mostly divided between the latter two and Siam; it is sparsely
peopled owing to its mountainous character and the swampy lands, and the
natives are mainly of the Mongolian type.
INDO-EUROPEAN, an epithet applied to a family of the human race with
the languages of its several members descended from the Aryans, and found
dispersed over an area including the better part of India and Europe.
INDO-GERMANIC, a term at one time employed especially among German
writers, synonymous with Aryan.
INDORE, 1, a native principality (1,094), in Central India, somewhat
larger than Wales, embraces the Vindbya and Satpura Mountains, and is
traversed by the Nerbudda River; there are great forests on the
mountains; the valley of the river is fertile; wheat, sugar, cotton,
tobacco, and large quantities of opium are raised; the climate is sultry,
and at certain seasons unhealthy; the natives are chiefly Mahratta
Hindus; among the hills are Bhils and Gonds, the wildest tribes of India;
the State is governed by a Maharajah styled Holkar, under supervision of
an agent of the Governor-General; education is progressing. INDORE,
2, on the Kuthi River, the capital (92), is a poor city of brick and mud;
the palace and the British residency, however, are fine buildings; it is
connected by rail with Bombay, distant 400 m. SW., and with Ajmere; it
was the scene of a British massacre in 1857.
INDRA, the king of heaven and national god of the Aryans; gives
victory to his people, and is always ready to aid them; he is
pre-eminently a warlike god, and as he stands on his war-chariot, drawn
by five fawn-coloured horses, he is in a sort the type of an Aryan
chieftain; he is sometimes assisted by other gods, but he more frequently
fights alone; he is the dispenser, moreover, of all good gifts, and the
author and preserver of all living; his power extends over the heavens,
and he holds the earth in the hollow of his hand.
INDUCTION, the name given to the logical process by which from a
study of particular instances we arrive at a general principle or law.
The term is also applied to an electric or magnetic effect produced
without direct contact and equal to the cause, being essentially its
reproduction.
INDULGENCE, remission by Church authority of the guilt of a sin on
the penitent confession of the sinner to a priest, which, according to
Roman Catholic theology, the Church is enabled to dispense out of the
inexhaustible treasury in reserve of the merits of Christ.
INDUS, a great river of India, 1800 m. long; rises in Thibet, on the
N. of the Himalayas, flows NW. through Cashmere, then SW. through the
Punjab and Sind to the sea; its upper course is through great gorges and
very rapid, but after the entrance of the Kabul River its way lies
through arid plains, and it is navigable; after receiving the Panjnad its
volume decreases through evaporation and the sinking of some of the many
streams into which it divides in the sand; on one of the branches of the
delta stands the thriving port of Kurrachee.
INERTIA, that property of bodies by which they remain in a state of
rest or of motion in a straight line till disturbed by a force moving
them in the one case or arresting them in the other.
INEZ DE CASTRO. See CASTRO.
INFALLIBILITY, freedom from all error in the past and from all
possibility of error in the future as claimed by the Church of Rome. This
claim extends to all matters of faith, morals, and discipline in the
Church, and is based on an interpretation of Matt. xvi. 18, xxviii. 19;
Eph. iv. 11-16, and other passages. It is held that the Church is
incapable of embracing any false doctrine from whatever quarter
suggested, and that she is guided by the Divine Spirit in actively
opposing heresy, in teaching all necessary truth, and in deciding all
relative matters of controversy. Infallibility is not claimed in
connection with matters of fact, science, or general opinion. The seat of
infallibility has been much disputed even in the Roman Catholic Church
itself, and the infallibility of the Pope was only decreed so recently as
the Vatican Council in 1870. It was always agreed that where the Pope and
Bishops were unanimous they were infallible, and their unanimity might be
expressed either in a general council, or in a decree of a local council
tacitly accepted by the Pope and the rest of the Church, or even in a
decree of the Pope alone if the bishops either expressly or tacitly
affirmed it. But the Vatican Council decided "that when the Roman Pontiff
speaks _ex cathedrâ_--that is, when he, using his office as pastor and
doctor of all Christians, in virtue of his apostolic office, defines a
doctrine of faith and morals to be held by the whole Church--he by the
Divine assistance, promised to him by the blessed Peter, possesses that
infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer was pleased to invest His
Church in the definition of doctrine in faith or morals, and that
therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable in their
own nature and not because of the consent of the Church." The Greek
Church puts forward a moderate claim to _inerrancy_, holding that as a
matter of fact those councils which she regards as oecumenical have not
erred in their decrees affecting faith and morals.
INFANTE, INFANTA, the titles given respectively to the royal princes
and princesses of Spain and Portugal.
INFERI, the name given by the Latins to the nether world and the
gods of it.
INFERNO, the hell of Dante, represented as included in nine circles,
of which the first six, constituting the uppermost hell, are occupied by
those who cannot govern themselves yet have no mind to harm any one else,
of which the seventh, constituting the mid-hell, is occupied by those who
cannot govern their thoughts, and of which the eighth and ninth,
constituting the nether hell, are occupied by those who have wilfully
done harm to other people, those in the eighth in hot blood and those in
the ninth or lowest in cold blood, the former in passion and the latter
without passion, far down _below_ the freezing-point. See Ruskin's "Fors
Clavigera," more fully, and by way of authority for this.
INFLECTION, the name given to the changes in the end of words to
indicate relations, not so common in English--being usually expressed
among us by prepositions--as in Latin, Greek, and other languages, but
occurring in English as king's, mine, ours, to indicate possession;
inflection in nouns is called declension, and in verbs conjugation.
INFLUENZA, an epidemic disease, closely resembles, but is quite
distinct from, cold in the head. It is characterised by early and marked
debility and depression; though usually of short duration, attacks must
not be disregarded; fatal results often ensue on carelessness.
Convalescence is slow, and complications may ensue. The cause of the
malady is obscure; sporadic cases always occur, but from time to time
great epidemics of this disease have travelled westward over the world.
Their movement seems to depend on atmospheric conditions, but is
independent of the season of the year and often contrary to the direction
of the wind. Visitations occurred in Britain in 1837-38, 1847-48, and
1889-91.
INFRALAPSARIANS, those Calvinists who believe that election and
predestination are subsequent to the Fall, while the Supralapsarians
believe that these ordinations are as old as eternity.
INFUSORIA, a name given to certain classes of animalculæ engendered
in stagnant water infused with decaying organic matter.
INGELOW, JEAN, poetess and novelist, born at Boston, Lincolnshire,
died at Kensington; her earliest work appeared anonymously, but a volume
of verses under her name was successful in 1863; her poetry is chiefly
religious and devotional; later she wrote for children; subsequently she
turned to novels, and produced besides several others "Off the Skelligs"
in 1872; she will be remembered for her ballad "High Tide on the Coast of
Lincolnshire," and a song "Supper at the Mill" (1820-1897).
INGEMANN, BERNHARD SEVERIN, a Danish poet and novelist; in the
latter regard took Scott for his model, his subjects being historical;
was a man of varied literary ability (1789-1862).
INGLEBY, CLEMENT MANSFIELD, Shakespearian scholar, born near
Birmingham, passed from Cambridge, where he graduated in 1847, to
practise as a solicitor, but abandoned law for literature in 1859; his
early works were of a philosophical nature, but he is best known as the
author of a long series of works on Shakespearian subjects, of which "The
Shakespeare Fabrications" was the first and "Shakespeare: the Man and the
Book" the chief; he was a Vice-President of the Royal Society of
Literature (1823-1886).
INGLESANT, JOHN, a celebrated romance by J. H. Shorthouse.
INGLIS, SIR JAMES, a Fifeshire gentleman, who in the reign of James
IV. distinguished himself against the English and was knighted; author of
"Complaint of Scotland"; _d_. 1554.
INGLIS, SIR JOHN, English general; entered the army at 19, served in
Canada in 1837; was sent to India, and distinguished himself in the
Punjab in 1848; at the outbreak of the Mutiny was stationed at Lucknow,
where he heroically defended the residency for 87 days till the relief of
the city by Havelock and Outram (1814-1862).
INGLIS, SIR ROBERT HARRY, Conservative statesman, opposed every
Liberal measure of the period, from that of Catholic Emancipation to the
Abolition of the Corn Laws (1786-1855).
INGOLDSBY, THOMAS, the pseudonym of REV. RICHARD BARHAM (q. v.),
author of "Ingoldsby Legends," a collection of humorous tales in
verse.
INGOLSTADT (16), a Bavarian town and fortress on the Danube, 50 m.
N. of Münich, has many ancient associations; once the seat of a
university; its manufactures now are beer, cannon, gunpowder; salt is
mined in the vicinity.
INGRAHAM, JOSEPH HOLT, author of "The Prince of the House of David,"
born at Portland, Maine; after some years spent at sea, became a teacher
of languages in Mississippi, and was ordained Episcopal clergyman in
1855; prior to his ordination he wrote stories of adventure, "Captain
Kyd," &c., but subsequently confined himself to biblical subjects
(1809-1860).
INGRES, JEAN DOMINIQUE AUGUSTE, a great French painter, born at
Montauban; studied in Paris; in 1806 went to Rome, and 14 years after to
Florence, but became professor of Fine Arts at the Academy in Paris in
1824; wounded by hostile criticisms he left Paris for Rome again in 1834,
where he became Director of the French Academy in Rome; in 1841 he
returned to Paris, where he died; he followed his master David in his
choice of classical subjects, but his work met with varied reception, now
favourable, now the reverse; the "Portrait of Cherubini," and other
pictures, however, won for him great admiration in his later days; he was
made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (1781-1867).
INGULPH, abbot of Croyland, long credited with the authorship of a
history of the monastery, which has since been proved to be a fabrication
of a later date, of probably the 13th or 14th century; he was appointed
abbot in 1080; _d_. 1109.
INKERMANN, a small Tartar village E. of Sebastopol harbour; the
scene of a battle between the Russians and allied forces, to the defeat
of the former after a prolonged struggle on 5th November 1854.
INNER TEMPLE. See INNS OF COURT.
INNES, COSMO, lawyer and antiquary, born at Durris, of an old Scotch
family; professor of History in Edinburgh University; author of "Scotland
in the Middle Ages," "Lectures on Scotch Legal Antiquities," and
"Sketches of Early Scotch History" (1798-1874).
INNES, THOMAS (FATHER INNES) Scotch historian, born in
Aberdeenshire, educated at Paris; became a priest in 1692; after three
years' service in Banffshire he returned to Paris, where he held a
scholastic appointment till his death; in politics a Jacobite, in
religious matters he had leanings to the Jansenist heresy; a diligent
student of Scottish history, he produced the earliest scientific
Scoto-historical works; his "Critical Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of
Scotland" and "Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland"
(unfinished), display honesty and penetration (1662-1744).
INNISFAIL, an ancient name of Ireland.
INNOCENT, the name of 13 popes: INNOCENT I., Pope from 402 to
417; INNOCENT II., pope from 1130 to 1143; INNOCENT III., Pope
from 1198 to 1216; INNOCENT IV., Pope from 1243 to 1254; INNOCENT
V., Pope in 1276; INNOCENT VI., Pope from 1352 to 1362, resided
at Avignon; INNOCENT VII., Pope from 1404 to 1406; INNOCENT
VIII., Pope from 1484 to 1492; INNOCENT IX., Pope in 1591;
INNOCENT X., Pope from 1644 to 1655, condemned Jansenism; INNOCENT
XI., Pope from 1676 to 1689; INNOCENT XII., Pope from 1691 to
1700; INNOCENT XIII., Pope from 1721 to 1724; of these there were
two of note.
INNOCENT III., the greatest of the name, born in Arragon; succeeded
Celestine III.; extended the territorial power of the Church, and made
nearly all Christendom subject to its sway; essayed the recovery of
Palestine, and promoted a crusade against the Albigenses; excommunicated
Otto IV., emperor of Germany; put England under an interdict, and deposed
King John; was zealous for the purity as well as supremacy of the Church,
and countenanced every movement that contributed to enhance its influence
and stereotype its beliefs as well as its forms of worship,
transubstantiation among the one and auricular confession among the
other; though harsh, and even cruel, to those whom he conceived to be the
enemies of the faith, he was personally a man of blameless life, and did
much to reform the morals of the clergy.
INNOCENT XI., succeeded Clement X., is celebrated for his contest
with Louis XIV., and as giving occasion thereby to a protest of the
Gallican clergy, and a declaration on their part of what is known as the
GALLICAN LIBERTIES (q. v.), and for a further contest he had
with Louis in regard to certain immunities claimed, to the scandal of the
Church, by foreign ambassadors residing in Rome, an interference which
Louis resented on behalf of his representatives among them, but, as it
happened in vain.
INNOCENTS, THE HOLY, FEAST OF, a festival celebrated in the Western
Church on the 28th December and in the Eastern on the 29th, to
commemorate the slaughter by Herod of the children at Bethlehem from two
years old and under, and who have from the earliest times been included
among the holy martyrs of the Church.
INNS OF COURT, are four voluntary societies--Lincoln's Inn, the
Inner and the Middle Temple, and Gray's Inn--with whom rests the
exclusive right to call men to the English bar; they provide lectures and
hold examinations in law, and they have discretionary powers to refuse
admission to the bar or to expel and disqualify persons of unsuitable
character from it; each Inn possesses considerable property, a dining
hall, library, and chapel, and is subject to the jurisdiction of an
irresponsible, self-elective body of Benchers, who are usually judges or
senior counsel; these societies originated in the 13th century, when the
practice of law passed out of the hands of the clergy.
INNSBRUCK (23), on the Inn, at the head of the Brenner Pass, 100 m.
S. of Münich; is the capital of the Austrian Tyrol, an ancient and
beautiful town, rich in art treasures, with a university and manufactures
of woollen cloth, glass ware, and stained glass.
INO, the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, the wife of Athamas, king
of Thebes, who was changed into a sea-deity as she fled for refuge from
her husband, who had gone raving mad and sought her life.
INOCULATION is the introduction of disease germs into the system,
usually by puncture of the skin or hypodermic injection; many diseases so
introduced assume a mild form, and render the subject not liable to the
severe form. Inoculation for smallpox, the virus being taken from actual
smallpox pustules, was practised by the ancient Brahmans and by the
Chinese 600 years before Christ, and its practice continued in the East.
It was introduced to this country from Turkey in 1717, and extensively
practised until superseded by Jenner's discovery of vaccination at the
end of the century, and finally prohibited by law in 1840. Inoculation
has been found successful in the prevention of other diseases, notably
anthrax, hydrophobia, and recently malaria.
INQUISITION, an ecclesiastical tribunal established in 1248 under
Pope Innocent IV., and set up successively in Italy, Spain, Germany, and
the S. of France, for the trial and punishment of heretics, of which that
established in Spain achieved the greatest notoriety from the number of
victims it sacrificed, and the remorseless tortures to which they were
subjected, both when under examination to extort confession and after
conviction. The rigour of its action began to abate in the 17th century,
but it was not till 1835, after frequent attempts to limit its power and
suppress it, that it was abolished in Spain. Napoleon suppressed it in
France in 1808, and after an attempted revival from 1814 to 1820, its
operations there came to an end. ST. DOMINIC (q. v.) has the
credit of having invented the institution by the zeal which animated him
for the orthodoxy of the Church.
INSANITY. See INSPIRATION.
INSPIRATION, an earnest, divinely-awakened, soul-subduing sense and
perception of the presence of the invisible in the visible, of the
infinite in the finite, of the ideal in the real, of the divine in the
human, and, in ecstatic moments, of very God in man, accompanied with a
burning desire to impart to others the vision revealed; distinguished as
"seraphic" from insanity as "demonic" by this, that the inspired man sees
an invisible which is there, and the insane an invisible which is _not_
there, states of mind so like otherwise that the one may be, and often
is, mistaken for the other, the inspired man taken for an insane, and the
insane man for an inspired.
INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. According to one view the Scriptures
are throughout verbally inspired, and every word in them dictated by the
Spirit of God; according to another, though they are not verbally
inspired, they contain a record of divine things written under divine
inspiration; according to a third, though not written under divine
inspiration in any part, they contain a faithful record of a divine
revelation; and according to a fourth, they contain a record merely of
what a succession of God-fearing men in sympathy with each other and
their race saw and felt to be the clear purpose of God in His providence
of the world.
INSPIRED IDIOT, Horace Walpole's name for Oliver Goldsmith.
INSTITUTE OF FRANCE was established by the Directory in 1795, to
take the place of the four academies suppressed by the Convention two
years previously. In 1816 Louis XVIII. gave back the old names to its
four sections, viz. _L'Académie Française, L'Académie des Inscriptions et
Belles-lettres, L'Académie des Sciences_, and _L'Académie des Beaux
Arts_. In 1832 was added _L'Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques_.
Each academy has its own separate organisation and work, and participates
besides in the advantages of the common library, archives, and funds.
Election, which is in every case subject to government confirmation, is
by ballot, and every member receives an annual salary of at least 1500
francs. Government votes a sum of money annually to the Institute.
Members of the French Academy have special duties and privileges, and in
some cases special remuneration. They allot every year prizes for
eloquence and poetry; a prize "to the poor Frenchman who has done the
most virtuous action throughout the year," and one to the Frenchman "who
has written and published the book most conducive to good morals."
Membership in the Académie Française is strictly limited to 40 Frenchmen.
The others have, besides, from 40 to 70 members each, also Associate,
foreign and corresponding, members. The Institute centralises the pursuit
of all branches of knowledge and art, and has been the model of similar
national institutes in Madrid, Lisbon, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg.
INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, a celebrated work of Calvin's,
in exposition of the doctrines of the French Protestants, hence called
Calvinists in France. See CALVIN.
INTAGLIO, name given to a gem with a design incised in the surface.
INTELLECT, the faculty of clear and decisive intelligence, or of
instant and sure perception.
INTERLAKEN (2), a small town, a pretty place, on the Aar, in
Switzerland, "between the lakes" Thun and Brienz; it is near to some of
the finest Swiss scenery, and is a famous health resort, and visited
annually by 25,000 tourists.
INTERNATIONAL, THE, a secret socialistic organisation, the outcome
of the teaching of Karl Marx, which, though it has changed its name, has
wide-spread ramifications throughout Europe, the object of which appears
to be the emancipation of labour, and the assertion everywhere of the
sovereign rights of the working-man, to the extinction of all merely
national and class interests.
INTUITION, a name given to _immediate_ knowledge, as distinct from
_mediate_ or inferential knowledge, and which is matter of consciousness
or direct perception.
INTUS-SUSCEPTION, a displacement of the bowel, in which a higher
portion becomes folded or telescoped into a lower; is a frequent cause of
obstruction, and a serious, though not always fatal, condition; the term
is also applied to the process by which nutriment is absorbed and becomes
part of the system.
INVALIDES, HÔTEL DES, an institution in Paris, founded by Louis XIV.
in 1674, for retired court servants and invalided soldiers; the church,
the nave of which is adorned with military trophies, is surmounted by a
majestic dome, under which the remains of Napoleon were deposited in
1840.
INVERARAY, county town of Argyllshire, on the NW. shore of Loch
Fyne, close to which is the castle, the residence of the Duke of Argyll.
INVERNESS (21), county town of Inverness-shire and capital of the
Northern Highlands, is situated on the Ness, near the Moray Firth, amid
picturesque surroundings, is rich in interesting memories; has several
public institutions, several manufactures, and a considerable trade; the
inhabitants are distinguished for the purity of their English.
INVERNESS-SHIRE (90), the largest county in Scotland, stretches from
the Moray Firth to the Atlantic, and includes many islands, Skye, the
Outer Hebrides (except Lewis), and others; it embraces a large part of
the Highlands, is very mountainous, has many glens and lochs, but little
fertile land; there are large deer forests, grouse moors, and sheep runs;
Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles (4406 ft.), is in
this county.
INVISIBLE, THE, He who or that which cannot be seen, felt, handled,
or even conceived of, and yet who or which _is_, and _alone is_, as no
one, as nothing else can be.
IO, in the Greek mythology a daughter of INACHOS (q. v.),
beloved by Zeus, whom Hera out of jealousy changed into a heifer and set
the hundred-eyed Argus to watch, but when Zeus had by Hermes slain the
watcher, Hera sent a gadfly to goad over the world, over which she ranged
distractedly till she reached Egypt, where Osiris married her, and was in
connection with him worshipped as Isis.
IODINE, a non-metallic element originally obtained from kelp, but
now found in South America in combination with sodium, used largely both
free and in combination in medicine and surgery, in photography, and in
making aniline dyes.
IODOFORM, a crystalline substance similar to chloroform in
composition, only in it iodine takes the place of chlorine; it is used in
surgery as an antiseptic.
IOLCUS, a town in Thessaly, the port from which the Argonauts sailed
in quest of the Golden Fleece.
ION, in the Greek mythology son of Apollo by Creusa, and exposed by
her in the cave where she bore him, but who was conveyed by the god to
Delphi and educated by a priestess, and was afterwards owned by his
mother, and became the ancestor of the Ionians, her husband, Xuthus,
being kept throughout in the dark.
IONA, a fertile little island 1½ m. W. of Mull, where St. Columba
landed from Ireland A.D. 563, and built a monastery which was for
centuries the centre of ecclesiastical life and missionary enterprise
among the Scots of Scotland and Ireland and the Angles of the N. of
England. It is 3½ m. long and 1½ broad.
IONIA, ancient name of the western districts of Asia Minor between
the Hermus and the Mæander, with adjacent islands; was colonised by
Greeks 1050 B.C., and its chief cities, including Miletus, Ephesus,
Samos, Chios, and later Smyrna, formed the Ionian League; the Ionians
were noted for wealth, art, and luxury; coming under Persian yoke in 557
B.C. they deserted to Greece 479 B.C., in the great war, and became
again independent; from 387 B.C. they were again under Persia till
Alexander the Great took them and merged their history in that of the
surrounding peoples.
IONIAN ISLANDS (250), a chain of forty mountainous islands lying off
the W. coast of Greece, the largest being Corfu (78), Santa Maura (25),
Cephalonia (80), and Zante (44). The climate is good, and there is much
fertile soil in the valleys except in Cephalonia; corn, grapes, and
currants are grown; sulphur and coal are found in Corfu; their history
has been very chequered; after belonging at different times to Venice,
France and Turkey, they were seized by Britain and constituted a
dependency in 1815; never satisfied with British rule, they were a source
of constant friction which Mr. Gladstone's mission in 1858 was
insufficient to allay, and were handed over to Greece in 1863.
IONIC ORDER, an order of Grecian architecture, characterised by the
volute of its capital in the form of a ram's horn, and in which the
cornice is dentated, the shaft fluted, and the entablature plain or
embellished.
IONIC SCHOOL, the name of the earliest of the schools of philosophy
in Greece, the prominent members of which were natives of Ionia, one and
all of whom traced the beginning or basis of things back to the action of
some physical agent, such as water, air, fire, &c., and among whom are
reckoned such men as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Heraclitus.
IOWA (1,754), one of the United States, on the right bank of the
Mississippi River, with Minnesota to the N. and Missouri to the S., and
the Missouri River on its western border; is well watered, very fertile,
and, though liable to extremes of temperature, very healthy; agriculture
flourishes, the country being an undulating plain and most of the soil
being arable; cereals and root crops are raised, cattle fed; there are
poultry and dairy farms; coal, gypsum, and lead are mined; manufactures
include mill products, canned meats, and agricultural implements; general
education in the State is advanced, State policy in this respect being
liberal; Iowa was admitted to the Union, 1846; Des Moines (32) is the
capital; Iowa (7) is the seat of the State University and of some
flour-mills and factories.
IPHICRATES, a famous Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker,
celebrated throughout Greece for his defeat of the Spartans in 392, as
well as for other great military exploits, for which he was rewarded by
his countrymen with almost unprecedented honours; _d_. 348 B.C.
IPHIGENIA, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; her father
having killed a favourite deer belonging to Artemis in Aulis as he was
setting out for Troy, the goddess was offended, and CALCHAS (q. v.),
when consulted, told him she could only be appeased by the
sacrifice of his daughter; this he proceeded to do, but as he was
preparing to offer her up the goddess descended in a cloud, carried her
off to Tauris, and made her a priestess in her temple. The story has been
dramatised by Euripides, Racine, and Geothe.
IPSUS, a small town in Phrygia, the scene of a great contest between
the generals of Alexander for succession to the empire.
IPSWICH (57), a town in Suffolk, on the Orwell, 12 m. from the sea;
is an old town, and has a number of interesting, as well as some
old-fashioned, buildings; is well provided with churches and educational
establishments, and was the birthplace of Cardinal Wolsey; manufactures
agricultural implements, and exports besides these leather, oil, coke and
agricultural produce.
IQUIQUE (16), important seaport in the N. of Chili; exports
nitrates, iodine, and silver.
IRAK-ARABI, ancient Babylonia watered by the Euphrates and the
Tigris.
IRAN, the ancient name or plateau of Asia, extending N. and S.
between the Hindu Kush and the Persian Gulf, and E. and W. between the
Indus and Kurdistan; inhabited by the Aryans; is the official name for
Persia.
IRANIANS, the inhabitants of Iran, a people constituting an
important branch of the Indo-European family, including the Persians,
Medes, &c.
IRAWADI, a river, navigable throughout its whole course, formed by
the union of two streams from the mountains of Thibet; flows S. through
Burma 700 miles, passing Mandalay, and falling into the Bay of Bengal in
a delta, on one branch of which stands Rangoon.
IRELAND (5,175), an island rather more than half the size of and
lying to the west of England and Wales, from which it is divided by the
North Channel (13 m. wide), the Irish Sea (140 m.), and the St. George's
Channel (50 m.). It consists of a large undulating plain in the centre,
containing extensive bogs, several large loughs--Neagh, the Erne, Allen,
Derg, drained by the rivers Shannon, Barrow, Liffey, and Boyne, and
surrounded on almost all sides by maritime highlands, of which those on
the SW., NW., and E. are the highest. The N. and W. coasts are rugged and
much indented. The climate is milder, more equable, and somewhat more
rainy than that of England; but the cereal and green crops are the same.
Flax is grown in the N. The tendency is to revert to pasturage however,
agriculture being generally in a backward state. Unfavourable land-laws,
small holdings, and want of capital have told heavily against the Irish
peasantry. Fisheries are declining. The chief manufacture is linen in
Belfast and other Ulster towns. Irish exports consist of dairy produce,
cattle, and linen, and are chiefly to Great Britain. Primary education is
largely supported by government grants; there are many excellent schools
and colleges; the chief universities are Dublin and the Royal (an
examining body only). In Ulster the Protestants slightly outnumber the
Roman Catholics, in all other parts the Roman Catholics are in a vast
majority. Ireland was occupied by Iberian peoples in prehistoric times;
these were conquered and absorbed by Celtic tribes; many kingdoms were
set up, and strife and confusion prevailed. There was Christianity in the
island before St. Patrick crossed from Strathclyde in the 5th century.
Invasions by Danes, 8th to 10th centuries, and conquest by Normans under
Henry II. 1162-1172, fomented the national disquiet. Under Tudor and
Stuart rule the history of the country is a long story of faction and
feud among the chiefs and nobles, of rebellions, expeditions, massacres,
and confiscations. Sympathy with the Stuarts brought on it the scourge of
Cromwell (1649) and the invasion by William III. Thereafter the penal
laws excluded Roman Catholics from Parliament. The union of the Irish
with the British Parliament took place in 1801. Catholic disabilities
were removed 1829. An agitation for the repeal of the Union was begun in
1842 by Daniel O'Connell, and carried on by the Fenian movement of 1867
and the Home Rule movement led by Charles Parnell. A Home Rule bill was
lost in the Commons in 1886, and another in the Lords in 1893. The Church
of Ireland (Protestant Episcopal) was disestablished in 1871. Since the
Union the executive has been in the hands of a lord-lieutenant,
secretary, and council appointed by the Crown. Ireland is far behind
Great Britain in wealth, and its population has been steadily declining.
IRELAND, SAMUEL WILLIAM HENRY, a notorious forger of Shakespearian
relics, born in London, son of a dealer in old books and prints; imposed
on his father and a number of lovers of the antique, till he was exposed
by Malone; he published a confession of his forgeries, and died in
obscurity and poverty (1777-1835).
IRENÆUS, one of the Fathers of the Church; was bishop of Lyons, and
suffered martyrdom about 202; had been a disciple of Polycarp; wrote
against the Gnostics in a work in Greek, which all to a few fragments in
Latin is lost.
IRE`NE, the daughter of Zeus and Themis, the Greek goddess of peace;
she was an object of worship both in Athens and Rome, is represented as
holding in her left arm a cornucopia, and in her right hand an olive
branch.
IRENE, empress of Constantinople, born in Athens, a poor orphan
girl, famous for her beauty, her talents, and her crimes; was banished to
Lesbos, where she maintained herself by spinning; has been canonised by
the Greek Church for her zeal in image worship (752-803).
IRETON, HENRY, born at Altenborough, Notts; graduated at Cambridge
1629, and studied law; on outbreak of Civil War he joined the
Parliamentarian party, and marrying Cromwell's daughter acquired great
influence; took a leading part in the prosecution of the king, was one of
his judges, and signed the warrant for his execution; kept by Cromwell in
Ireland in 1650, he proved a stern deputy, and died of the plague before
Limerick; he was a man of great vigour of character, whose zeal for
justice made him almost cruel (1611-1651).
IRIDIUM, a metallic elementary body of rare occurrence, and found in
the ores of platinum.
IRIS, the daughter of Thaumus (i. e. wonder) and of the ocean
nymph Electra (i. e. splendour); was the goddess of the rainbow, and as
such the messenger of the gods, particularly of Zeus and Hera, the
appearance of the rainbow being regarded as a sign that communications of
good omen were passing between heaven and earth, as it was to Noah that
they would continue to be kept up; she is represented as dressed in a
long wide tunic, over which hangs a light upper garment, and with golden
wings on her shoulders.
IRKUTSK (421), a central Siberian province, separated from China by
the Sayan Mountains; it has Lake Baikal on the E., Yenisei and Yakutsk on
the W. and N.; a rich pastoral country, watered by the navigable rivers
Angara and the Lena, agriculture, cattle rearing are prosperous
industries; there are gold, iron, and salt mines; one-third of the
population are forced colonists; the capital, Irkutsk (45), is the seat
of government for Eastern Siberia, an ecclesiastical centre, and the
chief emporium of commerce; it is the finest city in Siberia.
IRMIN, a Teutonic tribal deity; was honoured by wooden pillars with
his image on the top, greatly reverenced by the people; the constellation
"The Plough" was known as "Irmin's Chariot."
IRON AGE, the last of the three stages, stone, bronze, iron, which
mark the prehistoric development of most now civilised peoples; these, of
course, occurred at different periods, and were of different duration in
different cases; they are named from the material employed in making
cutting instruments and weapons; the forms of instruments are freer than
in the bronze period, and rectilineal gives places to free curvilineal
decoration; this age is marked, too, by the introduction of writing and
the beginning of literary and historic records. See AGES.
IRON CITY, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from its numerous iron-works.
IRON CROWN, the crown of the ancient Lombard kings, a golden circlet
studded with jewels, and so called as enclosing a ring of iron said to
have been one of the nails of the cross, beaten out; Napoleon had it
brought from Monza, and crowned himself with it as king of Italy. It is
now in Vienna.
IRON DUKE, Duke of Wellington, from his iron will, it is surmised.
IRON GATE, the name given to dangerous rapids in the Danube at
Orsova, as it issues out of Hungary.
IRON HAND, GOETZ VON BERLICHINGEN (q. v.).
IRON MASK, MAN WITH THE, a prisoner who in the reign of Louis XIV.
wore, when he was transferred from prison to prison, what seemed an iron
mask to prevent any one discovering and revealing his identity, over
which to this day there hangs an impenetrable veil; he is reported to
have been young and of noble form, and the conclusion is that he was a
man of distinction.
IRONCLADS were originally wooden vessels protected by iron plates;
they were used at the siege of Gibraltar in 1782; the French had them in
the Crimean War, and in 1858 built four iron-plated line-of-battle ships;
in 1860 England built the _Warrior_, an iron steam battleship with
4½-inch plates; since then new types have succeeded each other very
quickly; the modern ironclad is built of steel and armed with steel
plates sometimes 2 feet thick; the term is now loosely applied to all
armoured vessels, whether battleships, or cruisers, or gunboats, and
whether of iron or steel.
IRONSIDES, Cromwell's troopers, a thousand strong, and raised by him
in the Eastern counties of England, so called at first from the
invincibility displayed by them at Marston Moor; were selected by
Cromwell "as men," he says, "that had the fear of God before them, and
made conscience of what they did.... They were never beaten," he adds,
"and wherever they were engaged against the enemy, they beat
continually."
IRONY is a subtle figure of speech in which, while one thing is
said, some indication serves to show that quite the opposite is meant;
thus apparent praise becomes severe condemnation or ridicule; practical
irony is evinced in ostensibly furthering some one's hopes and wishes
while really leading him to his overthrow. Life and history are full of
irony in the contrast between ambitions and their realisation.
IRONY, SOCRATIC, the name given to a practice of Socrates with
pretentious people; "affecting ignorance and pretending to solicit
information, he was in the habit of turning round upon the sciolist and
confounding his presumption, both by the unlooked-for consequences he
educed by his incessant questions and by the glaring contradictions the
other was in the end landed by his admissions."
IROQUOIS, one of the most intelligent branches of the North American
Indians, comprised a confederation of five, afterwards six, tribes, among
whom the leading place was taken by the Mohawks; their territory lay
inland in what is now New York State and the basin of the St. Lawrence.
Numbering some 25,000, they maintained their own against the hereditary
foes by whom they were surrounded; they took kindly to English and Dutch
settlers, but were hostile to the French, and in the wars of the 18th
century were allies of England against the French; their descendants,
about 12,000, in reservations in Canada and New York are a peaceful
people, have accepted English religion and culture, and have proved
themselves skilful and industrious agriculturists.
IRREDUCIBLE CASE, name given to a cubic equation which cannot be
solved by the rule of CARDAN (q. v.).
IRTISH, an enormous river of Western Siberia and chief tributary of
the Obi; its course from the Altai Mountains runs NW. through the
Siberian plains for 1200 m.; it is navigable almost all the way in
summer, and in winter it is a highway for sledge traffic; on its banks
stand Semipalatinsk, Omsk, and Tobolsk.
IRVING, EDWARD, a great pulpit orator, born in Annan, Dumfriesshire;
bred for the Scotch Church, became in 1819 assistant to Dr. Chalmers in
Glasgow, and removed in 1822 to the Caledonian Church, London, where he
attracted to his preaching the world of fashion as well as intellect in
the city, who soon grew tired of him and left him, after which he took to
extravagances which did not draw them back, and drew around him instead a
set of people more fanatical than himself, and whose influence over him,
to which he weakly yielded, infatuated him still more; the result was
that he was deposed from the ministry of the Church that sent him forth,
and became for a time the centre of an organisation which still exists,
in a modified form, and bears his name; he was the bosom friend in his
early days of Thomas Carlyle, and no one mourned more over his aberration
than he, for he loved him to the end. "But for Irving," he says, "I had
never known what the communion of man with man means. His was the freest,
brotherliest, bravest human soul mine ever came in contact with; I call
him on the whole the best man I have ever, after trial enough, found in
this world, or now hope to find. Scotland sent him forth," he says, "a
herculean man, but our mad Babylon wore him and wasted him with all her
engines, and it took her 12 years"; he died in Glasgow, aged 42, "hoary
as with extreme age," and lies buried in a crypt of the cathedral there
(1792-1834).
IRVING, SIR HENRY (John Henry Brodribb), born near Glastonbury; was
at first a clerk in London, appeared on the Sunderland stage in 1856,
spent three years in Edinburgh, and gradually worked his way at Glasgow
and Manchester, till he was invited to London ten years afterwards; his
performance of Hamlet at the Lyceum in 1874 established his reputation as
a tragedian; since then he has remained at the head of his profession,
and both in this country and in America secured many triumphs in Macbeth,
Shylock, and other Shakespearian characters, and in roles like those of
Matthias in "The Bells," "Mephistopheles in Faust," &c.; he has
contributed to the literature of Acting, and received knighthood in 1895:
_b_. 1838.
IRVING, WASHINGTON, popular American essayist and historian, born of
British parentage in New York, was delicate in early life; his education
suffered accordingly, and he travelled in Europe, 1804-6, visiting Italy,
France, and England; returning to New York he was called to the bar, put
he devoted himself to a literary career, only interrupted by one period
of commercial life, and occasional short terms of diplomatic service; he
first won fame by his "History of New York, by Diedrich Knickerbocker,"
1809, a good-natured satire on the Dutch settlers; the years 1815-32 he
spent in Europe studying and writing; his "Sketch-Book," 1819-20, was
very successful, as were "Bracebridge Hall," "Tales of a Traveller," and
other volumes which followed it; going to Spain in 1826 he began his
researches in Spanish history which resulted in "The Life of Columbus,"
"The Conquest of Granada," and other works which introduced English
readers to the Spain of the 15th and 16th centuries; on his return to
America he was treated with great respect by his countrymen; declining
the honours they would have given him had he turned aside to politics, he
continued to write; among his latest works were "Mahomet and his
Successors" and a "Life of Washington"; much courted in society, he was
kind and generous in disposition; his writings are marked by humour,
observation, and descriptive power; these qualities with an excellent
style place him in the foremost rank of American authors; he died,
unmarried, at Tarrytown, New York (1783-1859).
IRVINGITES, the name given to the Catholic Apostolic Church as
founded by Edward Irving, which is repudiated by them, as disclaiming all
earthly leadership; their ministry is after the Apostolic order, includes
prophets, evangelists, and pastors, and they employ material symbols in
their worship besides those of water in baptism and wine in communion,
such as incense; the Eucharist they regard as a sacrifice, and they
believe in the permanency of the spiritual gifts of the primitive Church.
ISAAC, a Hebrew patriarch, son of Abraham, born to him when he was
old; a mild man with no great force of character, and a contrast to
Ishmael, his half-brother; lived to a great age.
ISSAC I., COMNENUS, Emperor of the East from 1057 to 1059; raised to
the throne by the army; ruled well, but falling ill and fearing he had
not long to live. He retired and spent his two remaining years in a
monastery; he was a student and annotator of Homer.
ISSAC II., ANGELUS, Emperor of the East; a good man, but weak;
became emperor in 1185, was dethroned by his brother Alexis in 1195;
reinstated by the Crusaders in 1203, but overthrown six months after in
1204.
ISAC OF YORK, the father of Rebecca in "Ivanhoe."
ISABELLA, queen of Castile; her marriage with Ferdinand of Aragon
led to the union under one sceptre of the crowns of Aragon and Castile,
which was followed 10 years after by their united occupancy of the throne
of all Spain; she was an able woman, and associated with her husband in
every affair of State (1451-1504). See FERDINAND V.
ISABELLA II., ex-queen of Spain, daughter of Ferdinand VII.;
succeeded him in 1833; was forced to leave the country in 1868; took
refuge in France, and in 1870 abdicated in favour of her son.
ISABEY JEAN BAPTISTE, French portrait-painter, born at Nancy;
painted many of the notabilities of France in his day (1767-1855).
ISÆUS, an Attic orator, and the teacher of Demosthenes; wrote 64
orations, of which only 10 are extant, and these not on political issues
but forensic, and particularly the law of inheritance.
ISAIAH, one of the great Hebrew prophets, the son of one Amoz; was a
citizen of Jerusalem, evidently of some standing, and who flourished
between 750 and 700 B.C.; like AMOS (q. v.), he foresaw the
judgment that was coming on the nation for its unfaithfulness, but felt
assured that God would not altogether forsake His people, and that "a
remnant," God's elect among them, would be saved--that though the casket
would be shattered in pieces, the jewel it contained would be preserved.
See HEBREW PROPHECY.
ISAIAH, THE ASCENSION OF, an apocryphal book giving an incoherent
account of the martyrdom of Isaiah, and a vision he had under the reign
of Hezekiah, apparently the origin of the tradition in Heb. xi. 37, about
the prophet having been "sawn asunder."
ISAIAH, THE PROPHECIES OF, consist of two divisions, the first
extending from chap. i. to chap. xxxix., and the second from chap. xl. to
the end; these two divisions were for long believed to be throughout the
work of Isaiah the son of Amoz, but modern criticism assigns them in the
main to different authors, the one living 150 years after the other; and
the reasons for this conclusion are that the author of the latter
belonged to a different period of Jewish history from that of the former,
is not of the same temper, and has much deeper spiritual insight, while
his hopes and expectations are built on a more spiritual view of the
method of salvation, the Messiah of the former, for instance, being a
conquering king, and that of the latter a suffering Redeemer, who to save
the nation has to bear the burden of its sins, and the brunt of them, and
so bearing, bear them away.
ISAMBERT, FRANÇOIS ANDRÉ, a noteworthy French lawyer, politician,
and historian, born at Aunay; began to practise in Paris at the age of
twenty-six; becoming known in politics, he gained considerable renown by
certain works on French law and by his advocacy of the claims of the
liberated slaves in the French West Indies; entering the Chamber of
Deputies after the Revolution of July 1830, he set himself to oppose the
Jesuits and to further freedom; "The Religious Conditions of France and
Europe" and a "History of Jerusalem" were among his later works; he died
at Paris (1792-1857).
ISANDULA, place 110 m. NW. of Durban, where a force of British
troops was encamped in January 22, 1879, and was set upon and almost
annihilated by a body of Zulus.
ISAURIA, in ancient times this name was given to the northern slopes
of the Taurus in Asia Minor, what is now Karamania; the Isaurians were a
wild, savage people; from the 1st to the 4th centuries they were the
terror of neighbouring States, and gave Rome herself considerable
trouble; but from the 5th century they disappear from history.
ISCHIA (22), a beautiful volcanic island 6 m. off the Bay of Naples;
its scenery, climate, and mineral springs make it a health resort; it
produces excellent fruits and wines; it is liable to severe earthquakes;
in the last (1883), 4000 persons perished. The chief town (3) bears the
same name.
ISCHL, a town in Upper Austria, picturesquely situated on the river
Traun, 33 m. SE. of Salzburg; famous for its saline baths; has
salt-works, where 8000 tons of salt are annually manufactured.
ISENGRIN, the wolf, typifying the feudal baron in the epic tale of
Reynard the Fox, as the fox does the Church. See REYNARD.
ISER, a German river, which rises in the Tyrol N. of Innsbruck,
passes through Münich, and falls into the Danube after a course of 180 m.
ISÈRE, a river in the SE. of France, which gives name to a dep.
(572), and which, after a course of 180 m. falls into the Rhône near
Valence.
ISERLOHN (22), a town in Prussian Westphalia, 14 m. SE. of Dortmund;
is picturesquely situated, and is engaged in iron-ware manufacture.
ISHMAEL, the son of Abraham and the handmaid Hagar, cast out of
Abraham's household at 15; he became skilful with the bow, and founded a
great nation, the Arabs; for the offering of Isaac on Moriah the Arabs
substitute the offering of Ishmael on Arafat, near Mecca; Mahomet claimed
descent from him; he gives name in modern life to a social outcast driven
into antagonism to social arrangements.
ISIDORE, ST., BISHOP OF SEVILLE, born at Carthagena, a distinguished
man and ecclesiastic, who exercised great influence on Latin
Christianity, and on both civil and ecclesiastical matters in Spain, and
left a large number of writings of varied interest; he was animated at
once by a severe sense of duty and by an admirable Christian spirit
(570-638). Festival, April 4.
ISINGLASS, a gelatine substance prepared from the sounds or
air-bladders of certain fresh-water fishes, the sturgeon in particular;
it is imported from Russia, Brazil, and the Hudson Bay Territory.
ISIS, an Egyptian divinity, the wife and sister of Osiris and mother
of Horus, the three together forming a trinity, which is
characteristically Egyptian, and such as often repeats itself in Egyptian
mythology, and typifying the life of the sun, Osiris representing that
luminary slain at night and sorrowed over by his sister Isis, reviving in
the morning in his son Horus, and wedded anew to his sister Isis as his
wife; passed into the mythology of the Greeks, Isis became identified
first with Demeter and then with the Moon, while in that of Rome she
figures as the Universe-mother.
ISLA, JOSÉ FRANCISCO DE, a Spanish Jesuit, celebrated as a preacher
and a humorist and satirist of the stamp of Cervantes; his principal work
"Friar Gerund," a satire on the charlatanism and bombast of the popular
preaching friars of the day, as Don Quixote was on the false chivalry;
the friars he satirised were too strong for him, and he was expelled from
Spain, retired to Italy, and died at Bologna in extreme poverty
(1703-1781).
ISLAM or ISLAMISM, the religion of Mahomet, "that we must
_submit_ to God; that our whole strength lies in resigned submission to
Him, whatsoever He do to us, for this world and the other; this is the
soul of Islam; it is properly the soul of Christianity; Christianity also
commands us, before all, to be resigned to God. This is yet the highest
wisdom that Heaven has revealed to our earth." See "Heroes and
Hero-Worship."
ISLAND OF SAINTS, a name given to Ireland in the Middle Ages.
ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED, fabled islands of the far west of the ocean,
where the favoured of the gods after death are conceived to dwell in
everlasting blessedness.
ISLAY (7), a large mountainous Island 13 m. W. of Kintyre, Scotland;
much of it is cultivated; dairy produce, cattle, and sheep are exported;
there are lead, copper, and manganese mines, marble quarries, and salmon
fisheries; the distilleries produce 400,000 gallons of whisky annually.
ISLINGTON (319), a district of London, 2½ m. N. of St. Paul's;
contains the division of Holloway, Highbury, Barnsbury, and part of
Kingsland.
ISMAIL PASHA, khedive of Egypt from 1863, who was obliged by the
Powers to abdicate in 1879.
ISMAILIA, a small town on Suez Canal; was the head-quarters of the
work during the construction of the Canal.
ISMAÎLIS, one of the Mohammedan sects which support the claim of the
house of Ali, Mahomet's cousin, to supremacy among the faithful;
originating about A.D. 770, they rose to importance in the 10th century
under Abdallah, a Persian, who introduced Zoroastrian ideas into their
creed and prophesied the appearance of a Madhi or Messiah who should be
greater than the Prophet himself; becoming latterly extremely
rationalistic the sect lost its influence in the 13th century, and its
representatives in Syria and Persia are now comparatively obscure; in
Turkey and Egypt, however, several Madhis have arisen, of whom the last,
Mohammed Ahmed, _b_. 1843, gained possession of the Soudan, defeated the
Egyptian army in 1883, two years later captured Khartoum, but died at
Omdurman shortly afterwards.
ISMENË, the sister of Antigone, who requested, as her accomplice, to
be promoted to be sharer in her fate.
ISOCRATES, an Athenian rhetorician, of a school that was an offshoot
of the SOPHISTS (q. v.), and the whole merit of whose oratory
depended upon style or literary finish and display; he is said to have
starved himself to death after the battle of Cheronea at the age of 98
because he could not brook to outlive the humiliation of Greece by Philip
of Macedon and the destruction of its freedom (436-338 B.C.).
ISODORIAN DECRETALS, a body of ecclesiastical decretals imposed upon
the Church under the name of ISODORE OF SEVILLE (q. v.).
ISOLDE, the wife of King Mark of Cornwall, who, under the potency of
some philter which she had inadvertently taken, conceived an illicit
passion for Sir Tristram, her husband's nephew, the story of which is
celebrated in mediæval romance.
ISPAHÂN (60), the ancient capital of Persia, 226 m. S. of Teheran,
on the river Zenderud, which, as its greatest glory, is spanned by a
noble bridge of 34 arches; it stands in a fertile plain abounding in
groves and orchards, amid ruins of its former grandeur, and is a centre
of Mohammedan learning; the inhabitants are said to have at one time
numbered a million; it produces rich brocades and velvets, firearms,
sword-blades, and much ornamental ware; there are many fine buildings,
and signs of returning prosperity.
ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF, the name given to the northern kingdom of the 10
tribes of the Israelites which revolted from the kingdom of Judah after
the death of Solomon.
ISRÄELS, JOSEF, a Dutch oil and water-colour artist and etcher, born
in Gröningen; studied in Amsterdam and Paris; devoting himself to _genre_
subjects, he has depicted the pathetic side of the life of the Dutch
fisher-folks with great sympathy and power; he won a _grand prix_ at the
Paris Exhibition of 1889; _b_. 1824.
ISRAFEEL, in the Mohammedan mythology an angel whose office it will
be to sound the trumpet on the resurrection morning.
ISSUS, a river in Cilicia, Asia Minor, where Alexander the Great
defeated Darius, 333 B.C.
ISSY (12), a village ½ m. SW. of Paris, where Davout was defeated by
Blücher on 3rd July 1815, and which suffered severely during the siege of
Paris by the Germans in 1870-71.
ISTAMBOUL, the Turkish name for Constantinople.
ISTHMIAN GAMES, one of the four Pan-Hellenic festivals; they were
periodically celebrated in honour of Poseidon or Neptune at the isthmus
of Corinth, in Greece, whence the name.
ISTRIA (299), a mountainous territory of Austria, in the NE. corner
of the Adriatic; yields olive-oil, figs, and vines, though often swept by
sirocco and bora winds.
ISUMBRAS, ST., a hero of mediæval romance, a proud man subdued by
God's justice into a penitent and a humble.
ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE. The style of architecture called Italian was
first developed by Filippo Bruneschelli, and flourished during the 15th,
16th, and 17th centuries; it was an adaptation of classical circular-arch
form to modern requirements. In Rome it conformed most to ancient types;
in Venice it assumed its most graceful form. It was more suitable to
domestic than to ecclesiastical work; but the dome is an impressive
feature, and St. Peter's a noble church.
ITALIC SCHOOL, the name given to the school of PYTHAGORAS
(q. v.) who taught philosophy in Italy.
ITALIC VERSION, THE, a version of the Scriptures into Latin on the
basis of the Septuagint, executed in N. Italy under episcopal authority
from other versions in circulation; being of mixed quality and far from
satisfactory, JEROME (q. v.) undertook its revision with the
view of a new translation into Latin known as the Vulgate direct from the
Hebrew and Greek originals.
ITALY (30,536), the central one of three peninsulas stretching into
the Mediterranean Sea, in the S. of Europe, has the Adriatic and
Tyrrhenian Seas respectively on the E. and W., and is separated from
France, Switzerland, and Austria in the N. by the various ranges of the
Alps. Between the Alps and the Apennines lies the extensive, fertile
plain of Lombardy, watered by the river Po, and containing several large
lakes, such as Garda, Como, and Maggiore. The Apennines form a very
picturesque chain of mountains 5000 ft. high down the centre of the
country. The climate varies in different districts, but is mostly warm.
Malaria curses many parts in autumn. Agriculture is extensive, but
primitive in manner, and the peasantry are very poor. The most important
crops are cereals, including rice and maize, grapes, olives, and
chestnuts, and in the S. oranges and lemons. Italian wines are of
indifferent quality. Coal and iron are scarce; sulphur is produced in
large quantities in Sicily. There are large quarries of marble and
alabaster. The most important industries are silk, glass, and porcelain.
There is an extensive foreign trade, chiefly with France and Great
Britain; the exports consist of silk, sulphur, marble, fruit, and wine;
the imports of coal, iron, and textile goods. The religion is Roman
Catholic; education is now compulsory. The Gothic kingdom of Italy was
founded on the ruins of the Roman Empire, A.D. 489. In succession the
country was conquered by the forces of the Byzantine Empire, by the
Lombards, and by the Franks. From the 11th century onwards its history
has been one of constant internal strife and confusion. The presence of
the papal power in Rome, the rise of such rich trading republics as the
cities of Milan, Florence, Naples, Genoa, and Venice, the pretensions of
French kings and German emperors, and factions like those of the Guelphs
and Ghibellines, produced endless complications and ruinous wars. In the
16th century the influence of the Austro-Spanish house of Charles V.
became dominant; his son, Philip II., was king of Milan and Naples. In
more recent times the small states of Italy were continually involved in
the wars which devastated Europe, and passed in alliance or in
subordination into the hands of Austria, France, and Spain alternately.
The last 50 years have seen the unification of the kingdom. After the
abortive movement of Mazzini came Cavour and Garibaldi, who, after severe
struggles against the Austrians in the North and the despots of Southern
Italy, proclaimed Victor Emmanuel king of Italy in 1861. By various steps
the whole of the peninsula, with the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, have
been brought into the kingdom. The temporal power of the Pope ceased in
1870. The Government is a constitutional monarchy. Franchise is
exercised by every citizen who can read and write. Conscription is in
force for army and navy. These are both strong, the navy one of the best
in Europe. Finances are bad; the debt amounts to £520,000,000, and
taxation is ruinous.
ITHACA (10), one of the Ionian Islands, and one of the smallest,
known now under the name Thiaki; it was the home of Ulysses, and his
domain as king when he set out for the Trojan War, and which he did not
see again till his return after twenty years. Also a town (11) in New
York State, U.S., seat of CORNELL UNIVERSITY (q. v.).
ITHURIEL, an angel whom Milton represents as sent by Gabriel to
search for Satan in Paradise, who had found entrance by eluding the
vigilance of the guard; he was armed with a _spear_, the touch of which
could unmask any disguise, and by means of which he discovered Satan
lurking in the garden in the form of a toad.
ITINERARY, a name given among the Romans to an account or a map of
the principal routes through the empire and the stations along them.
ITURBIDE, AUGUSTINE DE, a Mexican general, emancipated Mexico from
the yoke of Spain; seized the crown and was proclaimed emperor in 1822,
was obliged to abdicate next year and leave the country, but returning,
was immediately arrested, and shot (1783-1824).
IVAN (i. e. John), the name of two grand-dukes and four czars of
Russia; the two grand-dukes were Ivan I., grand-duke from 1328 to 1340,
and Ivan II., his son, grand-duke from 1353 to 1359.
IVAN III., surnamed The Threatening, sought to free Russia from the
yoke of the Tartars who had held it tributary for two centuries; gained
victories over the Tartars and the Poles, and was the first to receive at
Moscow ambassadors from other Powers of Europe; reigned from 1462 to
1505.
IVAN IV., surnamed The Terrible, grandson of the preceding, assumed
the sovereignty at 14, had himself crowned in 1545, and took the title of
Czar; his first great ambition was to destroy the Tartar power, which he
did at Kasan and Astrakhan, receiving homage thereafter from almost all
the Tartar chiefs; on the death of his wife in 1563 he lost all
self-restraint, and by the ferocity of his wars provoked hostility which
the Pope, who had been appealed to, interposed to appease; in a fit of
passion he killed his eldest son, whom he loved, remorse for which
embittered his last days and hastened his end (1530-1584).
IVANHOE, the hero of Sir Walter Scott's novel of the name, the
disinherited son of Cedric of Rotherwood, who falls in love with Rowena,
a ward of his father, but by the exhibition of his prowess as a knight is
at the intercession of King Richard, reconciled to his father, with the
result that he marries Rowena.
IVANOVA (32), a Russian town in Vladimir, 210 m. NE. of Moscow,
engaged in the manufacture of cotton, and known as the "Manchester of
Russia."
IVANOVITCH, IVAN, a lazy, good-natured impersonation of the typical
Russian, as John Bull is of the Englishman, and Brother Jonathan of the
American.
IVES, ST., a town on the Ouse, in Huntingdonshire, 50 m. N. of
London, where Oliver Cromwell resided from 1631 to 1635; the chief
industries are malting and brewing.
IVIZA (22), the most westerly of the Balearic Isles, is hilly and
well wooded, with fertile valleys and important fisheries.
IVORY COAST, a territory on the K. of the Gulf of Guinea, belonging
partly to Liberia and partly to France and Britain.
IVORY GATE, the gate spoken of in Virgil through which dreams pass
that do not turn out true. See HORN GATE.
IVRY, a village in the dep. of Eure, NE. of Dreux, famous for the
victory of Henry of Navarre over the Leaguers in 1590.
IXION, the king of the LAPITHÆ (q. v.), who being admitted
to heaven attempted to do violence to Hera, and whom Zeus deluded to
embrace a phantom image of her instead, whereby he became the father of
the Centaurs, and whom Zeus thereafter punished by fastening him hands
and feet to an eternally revolving wheel in hell.
IZALIO, a volcano in the republic of San Salvador, which first
announced its existence by a fissure opening in 1798 on the plain that
now surrounds it, from which there vomited lava and cinders, accompanied
with earthquake.
J
JABALPUR (84), a town, district, and one of the four divisions of
the Central Provinces, India; the town is an important commercial and
railway centre, situated 228 m. SW. of Allahabad; cotton and carpets are
amongst its chief manufactures.
JACK, a familiar form of John, the most widely spread of Christian names,
and said to be derived from the French JACQUES or, as others maintain,
from JANKIN, a distinctive form of JOHAN or JOHN; JOHNKIN gives us JOCK
and JOCKEY; from its extreme commonness it has acquired that slightly
contemptuous signification observable in such compounds as "every man
JACK," "JACK-of-all-trades," "JACK-an-apes," and the name as applied to
the _knaves_ in playing-cards, and to the small white ball used as a mark
in the game of bowls is an example of its transferred sense.
JACKAROO, name given in Australia to a green-horn from England
inexperienced in bush life.
JACKDAW OF RHEIMS, one of the INGOLDSBY LEGENDS (q. v.).
JACKSON, 1, a prosperous manufacturing city (21) in Michigan,
U.S.A., on the Grand River, 70 m. W. of Detroit; has various mills,
iron-works, breweries, &c., and bituminous coal-mines on its outskirts.
2, A cotton market-town (10), capital of Madison County, Tennessee, on
the South Fork of the Forked Deer River, 107 m. SE. of Cairo, Illinois.
JACKSON, ANDREW, GENERAL, president of the United States, born at
Waxhaw, N. Carolina, adopted law as a profession, and in 1788 became
public prosecutor at Nashville; took a prominent part in establishing the
State of Tennessee, of which he subsequently became a senator and a,
judge; during the war with Britain (1812-14) be came to the front and
crowned a series of successes by his great victory over Sir E. Pakenham
at New Orleans; for a time he was governor of the newly purchased State
of Florida, but resigning, he again entered the U.S. Senate in 1823;
five years later he became President, and in 1832 was again elected; his
Presidency is associated with the readjustment of the tariff on a purely
protective basis, which led to disputes with S. Carolina, the sweeping
away of the United States Bank, the wiping out of the national debt in
1835, and the vigorous enforcement of claims against the French for
damage done during the Napoleonic wars; his imperious yet honest nature
led him to make a more frequent use of the President's veto than any of
his predecessors (1767-1845).
JACKSON, THOMAS JONATHAN, known as Stonewall Jackson, an American
general, born in Virginia; bred for the army; distinguished himself in
the Mexican War; retired from the army in 1853, and became a professor in
Mathematics and Military Science in Virginia; was appointed
brigadier-general in the Confederate army at the outbreak of the Civil
War, and earned the _nom de guerre_ of "Stonewall" by his firmness at the
battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; distinguished himself in subsequent
engagements; at Chancellorville was by mistake fired at in the dark and
mortally wounded by his own men on May 6, 1863; he was a man of the
Cromwell stamp, and his death was not only a blow to his own party, but
matter of grief to the whole American nation (1824-1863).
JACKSONVILLE, 1, the chief seat of commerce (17) in Florida State,
is situated on St. John's River, some 20 m. from its mouth; is a busy
railway centre, and has an active river trade in lumber, cotton, fruits,
&c., and is a health resort. 2, Capital (13) of Morgan County, Illinois,
is pleasantly situated on a fertile plain, 34 m. SW. of Springfield; is
noted as an educational centre, and for its many charity asylums; its
manufactures embrace woollens, paper, &c.
JACOB, a Hebrew patriarch, younger son of Isaac and Rebecca, the
favourite of his mother, and had twelve sons, the fathers of the twelve
tribes of Israel; his character and the story of his life are naïvely
delineated in the book of Genesis.
JACOB, JEAN CLAUDE, a serf from the Jura Mountains, 120 years old,
who was brought from his native place to figure as "dean of the human
race" in Paris at the great federation festival of June 1790.
JACOBI, FRIEDRICH HEINRICH, a German philosopher, born at
Düsseldorf; bred for business, and after engaging in it for a time threw
it up for a revenue appointment; devoted all his by-hours to philosophy
and correspondence with eminent men, and was appointed President of the
Academy of Sciences at Münich in 1807; he formed no system and he founded
no school; his thoughts present themselves in a detached form, and are to
be gathered from letters, dialogues, and imaginative works; he contended
for the dogma of "immediate cognition as the special organ of the
supersensuous," and failed to see, as SCHWEGLER notes, that said
cognition "has already described a series of subjective intermediating
movements, and can pretend to immediacy only in entire oblivion of its
own nature and origin" (1743-1819).
JACOBI, KARL GUSTAVO, a celebrated German mathematician, born at
Potsdam, of Jewish birth; was professor at Königsberg and Berlin, and one
of the founders of the theory of determinants (1801-1851).
JACOBINS, a political club, originally known as the Club Breton,
which was founded in Paris during the French Revolution; so called from
its place of meeting in the Rue St. Honoré, which had previously been a
Jacobin friar convent; it exercised a great influence over the course of
the Revolution, and had affiliated societies all over the country,
working along with it; its members were men of extreme revolutionary
views, procured the death of the king, exterminated the Girondists,
roused the lowest classes against the middle, and were the ruling spirits
during the Reign of Terror, of whom Robespierre was the chief, the fall
of whom sealed their doom; they were mobbed out of their place of meeting
with execrations on Hallow-Eve 1794.
JACOBITES, a name given to certain partisans of Eutychean sect in
the 17th century in the East, from the name of their leader.
JACOBITES, the name given to the adherents of the Stuart dynasty in
Great Britain after their expulsion from the throne in 1688, and derived
from that of James II., the last Stuart king; they made two great
attempts to restore the exiled dynasty, in 1715 and 1745, but both were
unsuccessful, after which the movement exhausted itself in an idle
sentimentality, which also is by this time as good as extinct.
JACOBS, a German Greek scholar, born at Gotha; editor of "Anthologia
Græca" (1767-1847).
JACOBUS, a gold coin of the reign of James I., worth 25 shillings.
JACOBY, JOHAN, a Prussian politician, born in Königsberg; bred to
medicine, but best known as a politician in a liberal interest, which
involved him in prosecutions; was imprisoned for protesting against the
annexation of Alsace and Lorraine; he was a man of fearless honesty, and
one day had the courage to say to the Emperor William I., "It is the
misfortune of kings that they will not listen to the truth" (1805-1877).
JACOTOT, JEAN JOSEPH, a celebrated educationalist, born at Dijon,
France; after holding various educational appointments, he in 1818 became
professor of the French Language and Literature at Louvain, and
subsequently held the post of Director of the Military Normal School; he
is noted for his "Universal Method" of education, which is based on his
assumption that men's minds are of equal calibre (1770-1840).
JACQUARD LOOM, a loom with an apparatus for weaving figures in
textiles, such as silks, muslins, and carpets, which was the invention of
an ingenious Frenchman, born in Lyons, of the name of Joseph Marie
Jacquard (1752-1834).
JACQUERIE, the name given to an insurrection of French peasants
against the nobles in the ILE OF FRANCE (q. v.), which broke out
on May 21, 1358, during the absence of King John as a prisoner in
England; it was caused by the oppressive exactions of the nobles, and was
accompanied with much savagery and violence, but the nobles combined
against the revolt, as they did not do at the time of Revolution,
preferring rather to leave the country in a pet, and it was extinguished
on the 9th June following.
JACQUES BONHOMME, a name given to a French peasant as tamely
submissive to taxation.
JADE, is the common name of about 150 ornamental stones, but belongs
properly only to nephrite, a pale grey, yellowish, or white mineral found
in New Zealand, Siberia, and chiefly in China, where it is highly valued.
JAEL, the Jewish matron who slew Sisera the Canaanitish captain,
smiting a nail into his temples as he lay asleep in her tent, Judges iv.
18, 21.
JAEN (26), a picturesque cathedral city, capital of a province of
the same name, in Andalusia, Spain, on a tributary of the Guadalquivir,
50 m. NW. of Granada; the province (438) lies along the valley of the
Guadalquivir, and was once a Moorish kingdom.
JAGGANNATHA. See JUGGERNAUT.
JAGHIR, revenue from land or the produce of it, assigned in India by
the Government to an individual as a reward for some special service.
JAHN, FRED. L., a German patriot, born in Pomerania; did much to
rouse his country into revolt against the domination of France in 1813
(1778-1852).
JAHN, JOHAN, a Catholic theologian and Orientalist, born in Moravia;
held professorships in Olmütz and Vienna; was distinguished as a Biblical
scholar, author of "Biblical Archæology," in five vols., as well as an
Introduction to the Old Testament, with Grammar, Lexicons, &c., in
connection with the Biblical languages (1750-1816).
JAHN, OTTO, philologist and archæologist, born at Kiel; after
holding the post of lecturer at Kiel and Greifswald he, in 1847, was
appointed to the chair of Archæology in Leipzig; becoming involved in the
political troubles of 1848-49, he lost his professorial position, but
subsequently held similar appointments at Bonn and Berlin; his voluminous
writings, which cover the field of Greek and Roman art and literature,
and include valuable contributions to the history of music, are of
first-rate importance (1813-1869).
JAIL FEVER, the popular name of a fever now known to be a severe
form of typhus, such as happened in 1579 at the "Black Assize," so called
as so many of those in the conduct of it died infected by the prisoners.
JAINAS, sects of Hindus scattered up and down India, allied to the
Buddhists, though ecclesiastically in open antagonism to them; they
reject the Veda of the Brahmans, and oppose to it another of their own,
as also their caste and their sacerdotalism, though they observe the
rules of caste among themselves; like the Buddhists, they are divided
into an ascetic class and a lay, but monasticism is not developed to the
same degree among them. There are two principal sects, "the white-gowns"
and "the air-clad," i. e. naked, though it is only at meals, which they
eat in common, that the latter strip naked; "Not only do they abstain
from animal food, but they drink only filtered water, breathe only
through a veil, and go sweeping the ground before them for fear of
swallowing or crushing any smallest animalcule." In religion they are
atheists, and admit of no Creator or of any perfection of being at the
beginning, only at the end. They distinguish between soul and body, and
regard the former as eternal; evil is not in mere existence, but in life,
and their Nirvâna is a blessedness without break or end. We know little
or nothing of the history of these sects; with them conduct is
everything; their origin is of later date than that of the Buddhists. See
BARTH'S "RELIGIONS OF INDIA," translated by the Editor.
JALAPA (16), capital of the Mexican State of Vera Cruz, is prettily
situated at the base of the Cordilleras, 60 m. NW. of Vera Cruz city.
JALISCO (1,250), a maritime state in Mexico facing the Pacific;
consists chiefly of elevated plateau; enjoys a fine climate; has
long-established mining industries, some agriculture, and a growing trade
in cotton and woollen goods, tobacco, &c.; capital, Guadalajara.
JAMAICA ("Land of Springs") (640, of which 15 are whites), a British
crown colony, the largest and most important of the British West India
Islands; is one of the Greater Antilles group, and lies some 90 m. S. of
the eastern end of Cuba; its greatest length E. and W. 144 m.; is
traversed by the Blue Mountains (7400 ft.), whose slopes are clad with
luxuriant forests of mahogany, cedar, satin-wood, palm, and other trees;
of the numerous rivers, only one, the Black River, is navigable and that
for only flat-bottomed boats and canoes; there are many harbours
(Kingston finest), while good roads intersect the island; the climate is
oppressively warm and somewhat unhealthy on the coast, but delightful in
the interior highlands; for administrative purposes the land area is
divided into three counties, Surrey, Middlesex, and Cornwall; the chief
trade-products are dye-woods, fruit, sugar, rum, coffee, and spices;
discovered in 1494 by Columbus, and since 1670 a possession of England.
JAMES, the name of three disciples of Christ; James, the elder son
of Zebedee, by order of the high-priest was put to death by Herod
Agrippa; James, the younger son of Alphæus; and James, the brother of the
Lord, stoned to death.
JAMES I., king of Scotland from 1406 to 1437, son of Robert III.,
born at Dunfermline; in 1406, while on a voyage to France, he was
captured by the English and detained by Henry IV. for 18 years, during
which time, however, he was carefully trained in letters and in all
knightly exercises; returning to Scotland in 1424 with his bride, Jane
Beaufort, niece of the English king, he took up the reins of government
with a firm hand; he avenged himself on the nobles by whose connivance he
had been kept so long out of his throne, reduced the turbulent
Highlanders to order, and introduced a number of beneficial reforms (e. g.
a wider parliamentary franchise, a fixed standard for the coinage, a
supreme court of civil jurisdiction, a renovated system of weights and
measures), and widened Scotland's commercial relations with the
Continent; he was a man of scholarly tastes, a patron of learning, and
exhibits no mean poetic gift in his well-known poem the "King's Quhair";
his vigorous and sometimes harsh and vindictive efforts to lower the
powers of the nobility procured him their inveterate hatred, and in 1437
he was murdered in the Dominican monastery at Perth by a band of
conspirators (1394-1437).
JAMES II., king of Scotland from 1437 to 1460, son of preceding;
during his minority the country was torn by rival factions amongst the
nobility, the chief point of contest being the wardship of the young
king; an attempt on the part of the conspirators who had murdered James
I. to place their leader, the Earl of Athole, on the throne, was
frustrated; in 1449 James assumed the duties of his kingship, and in the
same year married Mary, the daughter of the Duke of Gueldres; an English
war then being waged on the Borders was brought to a close, and the young
king entered vigorously upon administrative reforms; in these efforts he
was hampered by the opposition of the nobility, and his fiery temper led
him to participate in the murder of the chief obstructionist, the Earl of
Douglas; protection given to the exiled Douglases by the Yorkists led
James to support the claims of Henry VI. in England; he was killed by the
bursting of a cannon at the siege of Roxburgh Castle (1430-1460).
JAMES III., king of Scotland from 1460 to 1488, son of James II.;
was during his minority under the care of his mother and Bishop Kennedy
of St. Andrews, the Earl of Angus being lieutenant-general of the
kingdom; but the bishop and the earl died before he was 14, and the
nobility fell into faction and disorder again; the first to gain power
was Lord Boyd (whose son married the king's sister), but a charge of
treason brought about his downfall and exile; the king married Princess
Margaret of Denmark in 1469, and gave himself up to a life of quiet ease
surrounded by men of art and culture, while his brothers Albany and Mar,
by their military tastes and achievements, won the affections of the
nobles; James, becoming jealous, imprisoned them; Albany, who had
intrigued with Edward IV., fled to France, Mar died in Craigmillar
Castle; while the king and his army were marching to meet expected
English action in 1482 the nobles, instigated by Archibald, Bell-the-Cat,
seized and hanged the royal favourites at Lauder, and committed the king
to Edinburgh Castle; a short reconciliation was effected, but was soon
broken, and civil war ensued; the defeat of the royalist forces at
Sauchieburn took place in 1488; the king escaped from the field, but was
thrown from his horse, and taking refuge in a house at Beaton's Mill, was
there slain (1462-1488).
JAMES IV., king of Scotland from 1488 to 1513, participated in the
rebellion which overthrew his father, James III., and succeeded him; but
in remorse for his unfilial conduct wore an iron belt all his life;
during his youth his supporters carried on the government in their own
interests, and despoiled the nobles who had been loyal to the late king;
but when he came of age he showed his independence in choosing good
advisers, among them Sir Andrew Wood; his reign was marked by resistance
to the claims of the Roman pontiff, by the firm and wise administration
of law, the fostering of agriculture, of shipbuilding, and other
industries; in 1503 James married Margaret, daughter of Henry VII.; after
that king's death relations between the two countries became strained;
two English men-of-war captured Andrew Barton's privateers; the jewels
which the queen inherited from her father were retained by Henry VIII.,
and James maintained an alliance with Henry's enemy, France; at the
solicitation of the French queen, against the advice of his own queen and
nobles, he invaded England in 1513, but the invasion ended in disaster at
Flodden, where he and the flower of his army perished; he was an able but
a headstrong, a pleasure-loving, and an extravagant man (1472-1513).
JAMES V., king of Scotland from 1513 to 1542, was only an infant
when he succeeded to his father's throne; his mother was regent till her
marriage with young Angus, when the nobles called James IV.'s cousin,
Albany, from France to assume the regency; French and English factions
sprang up; Henry VIII. intrigued in the affairs of the country; anarchy
and civil war ensued, and Albany retired to France in 1524; in that year
the queen-mother, aided by Henry, took the young king from Sir David
Lyndsay, to whom he had been entrusted, and assumed the government again
in his name; the Douglas family usurped his person and the government in
1525; but James asserted himself three years later, and began to reign in
person, displaying judgment and resolution, banishing the Douglases,
keeping order in the Highlands and on the Borders, establishing the
College of Justice, protecting the peasantry from the tyranny of the
barons, and fostering trade by a commercial treaty with the Netherlands;
he married (1) Princess Magdalene of France in 1537, and (2) Mary of
Guise in 1538; Henry, aggrieved by James's failure to meet him in
conference on Church matters, and otherwise annoyed, sent 30,000 men into
Scotland in 1542; disaffection prevented the Scottish forces from acting
energetically, and the rout of Solway Moss took place; the king, vexed
and shamed, sank into a fever and died at Falkland; in this reign the
Reformation began to make progress in Scotland, and would have advanced
much farther but that James had to support the clergy to play off their
power against the nobles (1512-1542)
JAMES VI. OF SCOTLAND AND I. OF ENGLAND, son of Mary, Queen of
Scots, and Darnley, born in Edinburgh Castle; was proclaimed king of
Scotland when only 13 months old, in 1567; entrusted to the Earl of Mar,
and educated by George Buchanan; Moray, Lennox, Mar, and Morton were
successively regents, till James assumed the government in 1581,
executing Morton and choosing Arran and Lennox for his advisers; plots
and counter-plots, the Raid of Ruthven (1582), the siege of Stirling by
some of the nobles with 10,000 troops, mostly from England, the surrender
of the king and the fall of Arran in 1585, the insurrection of the
Catholic nobles 1491-94, and the Gowrie Conspiracy in 1600, betrayed the
restlessness of the kingdom, and the weakness of the king; James married
Anne of Denmark 1589; on the death of Elizabeth, in 1603, he succeeded to
the throne of England as JAMES I.; was at first popular, but soon
forfeited all confidence by his favouritism; he governed through
creatures like Carr, Earl of Somerset, and the infamous Buckingham, whose
indiscretion brought about a war with Spain in 1624; James died
immediately afterwards; he has been described by Sully as "the wisest
fool in Christendom"; his conduct was certainly much less creditable than
his conversation; he held absurdly high views of the royal prerogative;
but he sold patents of nobility, and was careless of the misdeeds of his
ministers; he did not live to see revolution, but he saw its precursor in
the loosening of the bonds of sympathy between sovereign and people
(1566-1625).
JAMES II. OF ENGLAND AND VII. OF SCOTLAND, the son of Charles I.,
reigned in succession to Charles II. from 1685 to 1688; during the
Commonwealth he was a soldier in France and Spain; at the Restoration
returned to England as Duke of York, and became Lord High Admiral;
avowing himself a Catholic in 1671, the Test Act of 1673 enforced his
resignation, and thenceforward repeated attempts were made to exclude him
from the succession; on becoming king he promised to maintain the Church
and to respect the liberties of the people, but his government all the
same was arbitrary and tyrannical; he paraded his Catholicism, persecuted
the Covenanters, subordinated English interests to French, permitted the
"Bloody Assize," suspended the Test Act, violated the rights of the
Universities, gave Church offices to Roman Catholics, and by these and
many other acts of despotism made his deposition necessary; leading
statesmen invited William of Orange to assume the throne, and James fled
to France; an invasion of Ireland in 1689 ended in his defeat at Boyne
Water; he retired again to France, and lived at St. Germains till his
death (1633-1701).
JAMES, EPISTLE OF, a Catholic epistle of the New Testament, presumed
to have been written by James, the brother of the Lord, addressed to
Jewish Christians who, in accepting Christianity, had not renounced
Judaism, and the sphere in which it moves is that of Christian morality,
agreeably to the standard of ethics given in the Sermon on the Mount. The
author looks upon Judaism as the basis of Christianity, and as on the
moral side leading up to it, in correspondence with the attestation of
Christ, that "salvation is of the Jews."
JAMES, G. P. R., historical novelist, born in London; wrote as many
as a hundred novels, beginning with "Richelieu" in 1829, which brought
him popularity, profit, and honour; was burlesqued by Thackeray
(1801-1860).
JAMES, SIR HENRY, military engineer; superintended the geological
survey of Ireland, and became in 1854 director-general of the Ordnance
Survey (1803-1877).
JAMES, HENRY, an American theological writer, a disciple of
Swedenborg, and an exponent of his system (1811-1882).
JAMES, HENRY, American novelist, born in New York: studied law at
Harvard, but was eventually drawn into literature, and after a spell of
magazine work established his reputation as a novelist in 1875 with
"Roderick Hudson"; most of his life has been spent in Italy and England,
and the writing of fiction has been varied with several volumes of
felicitous criticism, chiefly on French life and literature; his novels
are characterised by a charming style, by a delicate discriminating
analysis of rather uneventful lives, and by an almost complete absence of
strong dramatic situation; _b_. 1843.
JAMES, JOHN ANGELL, most influential Congregationalist of his time,
born in Dorsetshire; was pastor of Carr's Lane Chapel, Birmingham, from
1805 to 1859; won the esteem of all parties; published the "Anxious
Inquirer," and many other works (1785-1859).
JAMES, ST., James, the son of Zebedee, the patron saint of Spain;
his attribute the sword, by which he was decapitated.
JAMES RIVER, an important river of Virginia, U.S., formed by the
junction of the Jackson and the Cowpasture, and flows in a south-easterly
direction across Virginia, falling into the Atlantic at the S. end of
Chesapeake Bay. It has a course of 450 m., and is navigable as far as
City Point.
JAMESON, ANNA, _née_ Murphy, English literary lady and art critic,
born in Dublin; authoress of "Sacred and Legendary Art," "Legends of the
Monastic Orders," "Legends of the Madonna," &c.; left unfinished at her
death a work on Our Lord and John the Baptist as represented in art,
which was completed afterwards by Lady Eastlake (1794-1860).
JAMESON, GEORGE, a Scotch portrait-painter, born in Aberdeen; many
of his portraits are to be met with in Scottish mansion-houses; his work
has been unduly lauded, and himself extravagantly designated the
"Scottish Vandyck" (1586-1644).
JAMESON, DR. LEANDER STARR, leader of the raid upon Johannesburg,
born at Edinburgh; studied medicine in his native city and in London;
established himself at Kimberley in 1878, and under the patronage of Mr.
Rhodes became the popular administrator for the South Africa Company at
Fort Salisbury in 1891; from Mafeking in December of 1896 he started,
with a body of 500 troopers, upon his ill-fated incursion into the
Transvaal to assist the Uitlanders of Johannesburg; at Krugersdorp the
raiders, exhausted by a 24 hours' ride, were repelled by a superior force
of Boers, and compelled to surrender; having been handed over to the
British authorities, "Dr. Jim," as he was familiarly called, was tried in
London, and condemned to 15 months' imprisonment, but was liberated on
account of ill-health after about five months' incarceration; _b_. 1853.
JAMESON, ROBERT, naturalist, born in Leith; appointed professor of
Natural History in Edinburgh University in 1804; wrote several works on
mineralogy and geology (1773-1853).
JAMES'S PALACE, ST., a palace, a brick building adjoining St.
James's Park, London, where drawing-rooms were held, and gave name to the
English Court in those days as St. Stephen's does of the Parliament.
JAMIESON, DR. JOHN, a Scotch antiquary, born in Glasgow; bred for
the Church; was Dissenting minister in Nicolson Street Church, Edinburgh;
widely known as author of the "Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish
Language"; wrote other works of less note (1759-1838).
JAMYN, AMADIS, a French poet, a protégé of Ronsard's; was a good
Greek scholar.
JAN MAYEN LAND, a volcanic island, 35 m. in length, situated in the
Arctic Ocean between Iceland and Spitzbergen; is the head-quarters of
considerable seal and whale fisheries; discovered in 1611 by a Dutch
navigator.
JANE EYRE, a novel by Charlotte Brontë; published in 1847.
JANICULUM, one of the hills of Rome, on the right bank of the Tiber.
JANIN, JULES GABRIEL, critic and novelist, born at St. Étienne,
France; took to journalism early, and established a reputation by his
lively dramatic criticisms in the _Journal des Débats_; his gift of ready
composition betrayed him into a too prolific output of work, and it is
doubtful if any of his many novels and articles will long survive his day
and generation; they, however, brought him wealth and celebrity in his
own lifetime; he succeeded in 1870 to Sainte-Beuve's chair in the French
Academy (1804-1874).
JANIZARIES, a Turkish military force organised in 1330, and more
perfectly in 1336; composed originally of Christian youths taken
prisoners in war or kidnapped, and trained as Mohammedans; from being at
first 10,000, and fostered by the privileges granted them, increased to
300,000 or 400,000 strong, till they became unruly and a danger to the
State, when, after various unsuccessful attempts to crush them, they were
in 1826 overborne by the Sultan Mahmoud II. and dissolved.
JANNÆUS, ALEXANDER, the second of the Asmonæan kings of Judea;
reigned in the beginning of the century before Christ; insulted the Jews
by profaning the rites of their religion, and roused a hostility against
him which was appeased only by his death, the news of which was received
with expressions of triumphant exultation.
JANNES AND JAMBRES, the two Egyptian magicians who thought to
outrival Moses in the performance of his miracles; supposed to be
referred to in 2 Tim. iii. 8 as "withstanding" him.
JANSEN, CORNELIUS, a Dutch theologian and bishop of Ypres, born in
Louvain; studied the works of Augustine, and wrote a book entitled
"Augustinus" in exposition of that great Father's doctrine of grace,
which was published after his death, and which gave occasion to a great
controversy between his followers, in France especially, and the Jesuits
(1585-1638).
JANSENISTS, a party in the Roman Catholic Church, supporters of
Jansen's views, who, in opposition to the Jesuits, maintained the
Augustinian principle of the sovereign and irresistible nature of divine
grace. The most celebrated members of the party were the
PORT-ROYALISTS (q. v.) of France, in particular Arnauld and
Pascal, and they were opposed not only by the Jesuits, but by both Louis
XIV. and the Pope. Driven from France on the death of Louis, they took
refuge in Holland, and thither the Pope Clement XI. followed them, first
in 1713, hurling a bull against them, and then in 1719 by
ex-communicating them and driving them for good from within the pale of
the Catholic Church.
JANUARIUS, ST., a Christian who suffered martyrdom under Diocletian,
and whose head is preserved in Naples with a phial containing his blood
which, on certain occasions, liquefies when brought into contact with the
head. Recourse is had to it on the occasion of public calamities, not
without desired effects, and it is an object of worship. Festival,
September 19.
JANUARY, the first month of the year, so called as sacred to
JANUS (q. v.).
JANUARY, EDICT OF, edict of date January 17, 1562, on which
Catherine de Médecis granted certain concessions to the Protestants.
JANUS, a very ancient Italian deity who presided over the beginning
of the several divisions of time, as well as the beginning of all
enterprises, in connection with which he was worshipped; he had two
heads, or faces, one of which looked behind into the past and the other
before into the future, and this power of penetrating into both it is
said Saturn endowed him with as a reward for receiving him on earth when
he was driven out of heaven.
JAPAN (40,719), an island empire of the N. Pacific, lying along the
E. coast of Asia, and separated from Corea and Primorsk by the Sea of
Japan, consists of Honshiu (31,000), Shikoku (3,000), Kyushu (6,000),
Yezo (314), and 4000 small islands; though not of volcanic origin, the
islands are the most mountainous in the world, have many volcanoes and
sulphur springs, and are subject to earthquakes; they are very
picturesque, and have peaks from 8000 to 12,000 ft. high; the rivers are
too swift for navigation; the coast, not much indented, has yet some good
harbours; the valleys are well wooded, but the soil not very fertile;
temperature and climate are various; nowhere is the heat intense, but in
some parts the winter is very cold; there is much rain, but on the whole
it is healthy; the chief industry is agriculture; farming is careful and
intelligent; rice, cereals, pulse, tea, cotton, and tobacco are raised,
and many fruits; gold, silver, all the useful metals, coal, granite, some
decorative stones are found, but good building-stone is scarce; the
manufacture of porcelain, lacquer-work, and silk is extensive, and in
some artistic work the Japanese are unrivalled; the chief ports are
Yokohama (143), on the E. of Honshiu, which has grown up since 1854, when
the country was opened to trade; and Hyogo (143), on the S. coast of the
same island, where are also shipbuilding yards; the chief exports are
tea, silk, and rice; imports cotton, woollen, iron goods, and chemicals;
the Japanese, sprung from an ancient union of Tartars with Ainos and with
S. Malays, are a kindly, courteous, law-abiding folk, with highly
developed artistic tastes; education is compulsory, and well provided
for; religion is Shintoism and Buddhism, but Christianity is gaining
rapid ground; the government is in the hands of the Mikado, who rules now
with the aid of ministers and two houses of parliament; education,
government, army, and navy--indeed the whole modern civilisation of the
country--is on Western lines, though until 1853 foreigners were excluded;
a civil war in 1867-68 effected the change from the old feudalism, and
the amazing success of Japan in the war against China in 1894 has proved
that the new civilisation is no mere veneer; the capital is Tokyo
(1,162).
JAPHETH, one of the three sons of Noah and the ancestor of the
Gentiles, as distinct from the descendants of Shem, or the Semites, and
of Ham, or the Hamites. See IAPETOS.
JAQUES, or the "melancholy" a cynical moraliser in Shakespeare's "As
You Like It."
JARNAC, a town on the Charente, celebrated as the scene of a victory
which the Catholics, commanded by the Duc d'Anjou, afterwards Henry III.
obtained in 1569 over the Huguenots commanded by Condé.
JAROSLAV (79), on the Volga, 160 m. NE. of Moscow, is capital of the
government of Jaroslav; is an important river-port, a seat of theological
and legal culture, and has cotton manufactures.
JARPNOONK, a mesmeric or hypnotic state produced by Hindu conjurers.
JARROW (34), in Durham, on the Tyne, 7 m. below Newcastle; is a
coal-shipping port, and has extensive shipbuilding and iron manufactures;
in ancient times its monastery was made famous by the Venerable Bede.
JARVIE, BAILIE NICOL, a Glasgow magistrate; an original character in
Scott's "Rob Roy."
JASHER, BOOK OF, a Hebrew book twice quoted in the Old Testament, no
longer extant; believed to have been a collection of national ballads.
JASMIN, JACQUES, a Gascon barber and poet, who by his romances,
burlesques, and odes, published between 1835 and 1849, raised the patois
of the S. of France to the status of a literary language, and created a
wholesome influence on French life and letters (1778-1864).
JASON, a mythological Greek hero, son of Æson, king of Iolcos;
brought up by the centaur Chiron, was supplanted on the throne by his
half-brother Pelias; undertook the leadership of the Argonautic
expedition, assisted by Medea in this enterprise; he took her to wife,
but cast her off for Creusa, whom Medea to avenge herself killed, with
her father and her two sons by Jason, she herself escaping to Athens in a
chariot drawn by winged dragons; Jason took refuge from her fury in the
sanctuary of Poseidon near Corinth, where the timber of the ship Argo
deposited there breaking up fell upon him and crushed him to death.
JASPER, an opaque quartz found in all colours, and spotted, striped,
and clouded; is valued in ornamental lapidary work because of the polish
it takes.
JASSY (90), ancient capital of Moldavia, situated 89 m. NE. of
Bucharest; is the seat of an archbishop and a university, and has a large
community of Jews; trades largely with Russia in corn, spirits, and wine.
JÂTAKA, a Pâli collection of stories recounting 550 previous
"births" of the Buddha, the earliest collection of popular tales, and the
ultimate source of many of Æsop's fables and Western folk-lore legends.
JATS, are the principal race in the Punjab, where they number 4½
millions, and are engaged in agriculture. There is much debate as to
their origin and their racial relationship.
JAVA (23,868), the finest island of the Indian Archipelago, lying
between Sumatra and Bali, with the Indian Ocean on the S. and the Java
Sea separating it from Borneo on the N., lies E. and W., traversed by a
mountain chain with a rich alluvial plain on the N.; there are many
volcanoes; the climate is hot, and on the coast unhealthy; the mountains
are densely wooded, and the teak forests are valuable; the plain is
fertile; coffee, tea, sugar, indigo, and tobacco are grown and exported;
all kinds of manufactured goods, wine, spirits, and provisions are
imported; the natives are Malays, more civilised than on neighbouring
islands; there are 240,000 Chinese, many Europeans and Arabs; the island
is nearly as large as England, and belongs to Holland; the chief towns
are Batavia (105) and Samarang (70), both on the N.
JAY, JOHN, American statesman, born in New York, and called to the
bar in 1768; took a part in the struggle for independence second only to
Washington's; represented his country subsequently in Madrid and London;
was first Chief-Justice of the United States, and from 1795 to 1801
governor of New York (1745-1829).
JAY, WILLIAM, eminent Congregationalist minister, born in Wiltshire;
was first a stone-mason, but entered the ministry, and after a short term
of service near Chippenham was pastor of Argyle Chapel, Bath, for 62
years. He was an impressive preacher and a popular writer (1769-1853).
JAYADEVA, a Hindu poet, born near Burdwân, in Bengal, flourished in
the 12th century, whose great work, the "Gita Govinda," the "Song of the
Shepherd Krishna," has been translated by Sir Edwin Arnold as the "Indian
Song of Songs," in celebration of the love of Krishna and his wife Radha;
it has often been compared with the "Song of Songs," in the Hebrew
Scriptures.
JEAN D'ÉPEE (Jean, i. e. the Frenchman with the sword), a name
given to Napoleon by his partisans who conspired for his restoration in
1814.
JEAN JACQUES, Rousseau, from his Christian name.
JEAN PAUL, RICHTER (q. v.), from his Christian name.
JEANNE D'ALBRET. See D'ALBRET, JEANNE.
JEANNE D'ARC. See JOAN OF ARC.
JEBB, PROFESSOR, eminent Greek scholar, born in Dundee; elected in
1889 Regius Professor of Greek in Cambridge; has represented Cambridge in
Parliament since 1891; edited "Sophocles," "The Attic Orators,"
"Introduction to Homer," &c.; B. 1841.
JEDBURGH (3), county town of Roxburghshire, picturesquely situated
on the Jed, 30 m. SW. of Berwick, and 10 m. SW. of Kelso; is an ancient
town of many historic memories; made a royal burgh by David I.; contains
the ruins of an abbey, and has some woollen manufactures.
JEDDAH (46), a town on the Red Sea, 65 m. W. of Mecca, of which it
is the port, where the pilgrims disembark for the holy city; is a place
of trade, less considerable than it once was.
JEEJEEBHOY, SIR JAMSETJEE, Indian philanthropist, a Parsee by birth
and creed, born in Bombay; realised a fortune as a merchant, and employed
it in releasing debtors from jail by paying their debts, and in founding
a hospital and schools; in 1857 was made a baronet (1783-1859).
JEFFERIES, JOHN RICHARD, writer on rural subjects, born near
Swindon, Wilts, son of a gamekeeper; was first a journalist and novelist,
but attained success in "The Gamekeeper at Home," 1878; other books
display a very accurate faculty of observation and description, a
reverence for nature, for rural scenes and people; "The Story of my
Heart," 1883, is an introspective and somewhat morbid autobiography; he
died after six years' illness at Goring, Sussex; Prof. Saintsbury
pronounces him "the greatest minute describer of English country life
since White of Selborne" (1848-1887).
JEFFERSON, JOSEPH, comedian, born in Philadelphia, of theatrical
lineage; was on the stage at the age of 3; made his first success in New
York as Dr. Pangloss in 1857, and in London in 1865 began to play his
most famous rôle, Rip van Winkle, a most exquisite exhibition of
histrionic genius; B. 1829.
JEFFERSON, THOMAS, American statesman, born at Shadwell, Virginia;
took a prominent part in the Revolution, and claimed to have drawn up the
Declaration of Independence; he secured the decimal coinage for the
States in 1783; was plenipotentiary in France in 1784, and subsequently
minister there; third President, 1801-1807, he saw the Louisiana purchase
and the prohibition of the slave-trade; after his retirement he devoted
himself to furthering education till his death at Monticello, Va.; he was
a man of extremes, but honest and consistent in his policy (1743-1826).
JEFFREY, FRANCIS, LORD, a celebrated critic and lawyer, born in
Edinburgh; trained for and called to the bar in 1794; with a fine
cultivated literary taste devoted himself principally to literary
criticism, and being a Whig in politics was associated with the
originators of the _EDINBURGH REVIEW_ (q. v.), and became its
first editor in 1802, which he continued to be till 1829, contributing to
its pages all along articles of great brilliancy; he was distinguished
also at the bar in several famous trials; became Lord Advocate of
Scotland in 1830, M.P. for Edinburgh in 1832, and finally, in 1834, one
of the judges in the Court of Session; lie was a dark-eyed, nimble little
man, of alert intelligence and quick in all his movements; died at
Craigcrook, near Edinburgh (1773-1850).
JEFFREYS, BARON, of infamous memory, born in Wales; became
Chief-Justice of England in 1863; was one of the advisers and promoters
of the tyrannical proceedings of James II.'s reign, and notorious for his
cruel and vindictive judgments as a judge, to the indignation of the
people; tried to escape on the arrival of William; was discovered lurking
in a public-house at Wapping, and apprehended and committed to the Tower,
where he died (1648-1689).
JEHOVAH, the name of God in the Hebrew Scriptures as
_self-existent_, and the Creator and Lord of all things, in the regard of
the Jews too sacred to be pronounced, and which in the Authorised Version
is often rendered by the word LORD in small capital letters.
JEHOVIST, the presumed author of the Jehoistic portions of the
Pentateuch. See ELOHIST.
JEKYLL, DR., AND MR. HYDE, the good nature and the bad struggling
for the ascendency in the same person, generally to the defeat of the
former.
JELF, RICHARD WILLIAM, Principal of King's College, London; was
educated at Oxford, became Fellow of Oriel, canon of Christ's Church, and
Principal of King's College; is remembered chiefly for his rigid
orthodoxy and for the part he played in depriving Maurice of his
professorship at King's College (1798-1871).
JEMAPPES (11), a manufacturing Belgian town, 3 m. W. of Mons, where
Dumouriez in the name of the French Republic defeated the Austrians in
1792.
JEMINDAR, a native officer in the Indian army of rank equal to that
of lieutenant in the British.
JENA (13), in Saxe-Weimar, on the Saale, 14 m. SE. of Weimar, an old
town with memories of Luther, Goethe, and Schiller; has a university
founded to be a centre of Reformation influence, and since associated
with Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and the Schlegels, who were teachers
there; on the same day in October 14, 1806, two victories were won near
the town by French troops over the Prussians, the collective name for
both being "the battle of Jena."
"JENKINS'S EAR," refers to an incident which provoked a war with
Spain in 1739, viz., the conduct of the officer of a Spanish guardship
not far from Havana towards the captain of an English trading ship of the
name of Jenkins; the Spaniards boarded his ship, could find nothing
contraband on board, but treated him cruelly, cut off his left ear, which
he brought home in wadding, to the inflaming of the English people
against Spain, with the above-named issue.
JENNER, EDWARD, an English physician, born in Berkeley, and
practised there; was the discoverer of inoculation with cowpox as a
preventive of smallpox, or vaccination as it is called, a discovery which
has immortalised his name (1749-1822).
JENNER, SIR WILLIAM, an eminent physician, born at Chatham; held
several professorships in University College; was physician to the Queen
and the Prince of Wales; discovered the symptoms which differentiate
typhus from typhoid fever (1815-1899).
JEPHTHAH, one of the Judges of Israel, famed for his rash vow in the
event of victory to offer in sacrifice the first object that came out of
his house on his return, and which happened to be his daughter and only
child, and whom it would seem he sacrificed, after allowing her two
months to bewail her fate along with her maidens; it is not said her
father sacrificed her, and it is thought she was only doomed to perpetual
virginity.
JEREMIAD, a lament over degeneracy in modern times.
JEREMIAH, a Hebrew prophet, born at Anathoth, a priestly city 3 m.
N. of Jerusalem, where, after his removal thither, he spent as a prophet
the greater part of his life, viz., from 629 to 588 B.C.; his prophecy
was a lifelong protest against the iniquity and folly of his countrymen,
and was conceived in bitter foreboding of the hopeless ruin they were
bringing down upon their heads; his faithfulness offended friend and foe
alike, and more than one plot was laid against his life, which was one of
ever-deepening sadness and one long wail over the ruin of the country he
so loved; he lived to see the issue of his prediction in the captivity of
the people, though he did not go into captivity with them, the conqueror
having allowed him to remain as he wished; he appears to have died in
Egypt; he was the author of "Lamentations," and it is thought of sundry
of the Psalms. See HEBREW PROPHECY.
JERICHO, an ancient city of Palestine, in the SW. of a plain of the
same name that extends W. of the Jordan and NW. of the Dead Sea; it was
the first city taken by the Israelites when they entered the Holy Land,
the walls falling down before them after being compassed for seven days
by the priests blowing on rams' horns and followed by the people.
JEROME, JEROME KLAPTA, dramatist, journalist, &c., author of "Idle
Thoughts of an Idle Fellow," "Three Men in a Boat," "Diary of a
Pilgrimage," &c., as also of plays; editor of the _Idler_ and of a weekly
magazine journal, _To-Day_; _b_. 1861.
JEROME, ST., a Father of the Church, born in N. Illyria, of rich
parents, presumably Christian, although he first became Christian himself
of his own election after he was grown up; and from the day of his
baptism, "he left," as he says, "not only parents and kindred, but the
accustomed luxuries of delicate life"; his fame rests on a translation of
the Scriptures into Latin, known as the Vulgate, which he executed at
Bethlehem at intervals from A.D. 385 to 404, with the design of showing
to the Latin world what was and what was not contained in the original
documents for the faith of the Church, and with the result, that in the
long run the Old and the New Testaments were for the first time presented
to and received by the Church as both of equal, or at least common
authority, and as both sections of one book (331-420).
JEROME OF PRAGUE, born at Prague; studied there and at Oxford (where
he came under Wycliffe's influence), Paris, Heidelberg, and Cologne;
acquired great learning, and displayed great energy and oratorical power;
attracted the notice of the Kings of Poland and Hungary; joined John Huss
in his agitation against the abuses of the Church; became involved in the
movement against Huss, and though he recanted, afterwards withdrew his
recantation, and was burned at Constance (about 1365-1416.)
JERROLD, DOUGLAS, dramatist and celebrated wit, born in London, son
of a theatrical magistrate; began life as a printer; composed "Black-eyed
Susan"; contributed to _Punch_ "Mrs. Caudle's Lectures" among other
pieces, and edited magazines; the keenness of his satire was the reflex
of a feeling heart (1803-1857).
JERSEY (55), the largest and richest of the Channel Islands, lies 15
m. off the French coast, 100 m. S. of Portland Bill, is oblong in shape,
with great bays in the coast, and slopes from the N. to the SW.; the soil
is devoted chiefly to pasture and potato culture; the exports are early
potatoes for the London market and the famous Jersey cattle, the purity
of whose breed is carefully preserved; the island is self-governing, has
a somewhat primitive land tenure, is remarkably free from poverty and
crime, has been under the English crown since 1066; the capital is St.
Helier (29), where there is a college, a public library, a harbour, and a
good market.
JERSEY CITY (206), the most populous city in New Jersey, is
separated from New York, of which it is practically a part, only by the
Hudson River; has no pretension to beauty, but is a busy railway centre;
has very varied manufactures, including sugar, flour, machinery, and
chemicals, extensive shipping interests, and great trade in iron, coal,
and agricultural produce.
JERUSALEM (41), the capital of Palestine, holy city of the Jews,
belonged originally to the Jebusites, but was captured by David and made
his capital; a strong place, built on four hills 2000 ft. above the
Mediterranean, enclosed within walls and protected nearly all round by
deep valleys and rising grounds beyond; it has been so often besieged,
overthrown, and rebuilt that the present city stands on rubbish heaps,
the ruins of ancient structures.
JERUSALEM, KINGDOM OF, kingdom founded by Godfrey of Bouillon in
1099 and overthrown by Saladin in 1187.
JERUSALEM DELIVERED, an epic poem in 20 cantos by Tasso and
published in 1575, the appearance of which constitutes one of the great
epochs in the history of literature.
JERVIS, SIR JOHN, an English admiral, born in Staffordshire; entered
the navy at 10, rose to be Rear-Admiral of the White in 1790; his great
feat his defeat of the Spanish fleet of 27 ships with one of 15 ships off
St. Vincent in 1797, in consequence of which he was raised to the peerage
as Earl St. Vincent; was buried in St. Paul's, London (1734-1823).
JESSICA, Shylock's daughter, in the "Merchant of Venice".
JESUITISM, popularly regarded as an attempt to achieve holy ends by
unholy means, but really and radically the apotheosis of falsehood and
unreality to the dethronement of faith in the true, the genuine and the
real, a deliberate shutting of the eyes to the truth, a belief in a lie
in the name of God, a belief in symbols and formulas as in themselves
sacred, salutary, and divine, fiction superseding fact, and fancy faith
in God or the divine reality of things, the embodiment of the genius of
cant persuading itself to believe that _that which is not is_, while
atheism, on the other hand, tries to persuade itself to believe that
_that which is is not_.
JESUITS, or SOCIETY OF JESUS, the religious order founded by
Ignatius Loyola in 1534, and approved of by bull of Paul III. in 1540,
for the conversion of heretics and the propagation of the Roman Catholic
faith, and reputed, however self-denying at times, to be unscrupulous in
the means they employ to achieve their ends, which is, broadly speaking,
re-establishing over Christendom the tyranny of the Church; they
established themselves in the several countries of Europe, but their
policy was found dangerous to political liberty as well as religious, and
they are now everywhere nearly stamped out; there are nevertheless still
several communities of them in the south of Europe, and even colleges in
England, Ireland, and the United States, as well as missions under them
in heathen parts.
JESUS, THE SON OF SIRACH, the author of the book of
ECCLESIASTICUS (q. v.).
JESUS CHRIST (i. e. the anointed Divine Saviour), the Son of God
and the hope of Israel, Saviour of mankind, born in Bethlehem of the
Virgin Mary four years before the commencement of the Christian era, and
who suffered death on the cross for the salvation of His people in A.D.
33, after a life of sorrow over the sins of the world and an earnest
pleading with men to turn from sin unto God as revealed in Himself, in
the life He led, the words He spoke, and the death He died, and after
leaving behind Him a Spirit which He promised would guide those who
believed in Him unto all truth, a Spirit which was and would prove to be
the spirit of His manifestation in the flesh from birth onwards to death,
and through death to the very grave. See CHRISTIANITY.
JET, a hard, black, bituminous lignite, capable of an excellent
polish and easily carved, hence useful for trinkets and ornaments, which
have been made of it from very early times; is found in France, Spain,
and Saxony, but the best supplies come from Whitby, Yorkshire.
JETSAM, part of the cargo of a ship thrown overboard to lighten her
in a case of peril.
JEU DE PAUME, an oath which the deputies of the Third Estate took on
June 13, 1789, not to separate till they had given France a constitution.
JEUNESSE DORÉE (lit. gilded youth), name given to a body of young
dandies who, after the fall of Robespierre, strove to bring about a
counter-revolution.
JEVONS, WILLIAM STANLEY, logician and political economist, born in
Liverpool; in 1866 was professor of Logic of Owens College, Manchester,
and 10 years later professor of Political Economy in University College,
London; distinguished himself in the departments of both chairs both as a
lecturer and a writer; was drowned while bathing at Bexhill, near
Hastings (1835-1882).
JEW, THE WANDERING, a Jew bearing the name of Ahasuérus, whom,
according to an old legend, Christ condemned to wander over the earth
till He should return again to judgment, because He drove Him brutally
away as, weary with the cross He carried, He sat down to rest on a stone
before his door; in symbolic token, it is surmised, of the dispersion of
the whole Jewish people over the earth as homeless wanderers by way of
judgment for their rejection of Christ.
JEWELL, JOHN, early English Protestant divine, born near Ilfracombe;
educated at Oxford; became Tutor of Corpus Christi; embraced the Reformed
faith, and was secretary to Peter Martyr in 1547; he received the living
of Sunningwell, Berks, in 1551, but on Mary's accession fled to
Strasburg; Elizabeth made him Bishop of Salisbury in 1559, and three
years later he published his "Apology for the English Church," in his
defence of which he sought to base the faith of the Church on the direct
teaching of Christ apart from that of the Fathers and tradition
(1522-1571).
JEWS, THE, a people of Semitic origin, descended from Abraham in the
line of Jacob; conspicuous for the profession of a religion that has
issued from them, and affected to the core the rest of the civilised
world. Their religion was determined by a moral standard; through them
more than through any other race has the moral principle, or the law of
conscience, been evolved in humanity as the sovereign law of life, and
this at length resolved itself into a faith in one God, the sole ruler in
heaven and on earth, the law of whose government is truth and
righteousness, only they stopped short with the assertion of this divine
unity, and in their hard monotheism stubbornly refused, as they do still,
to accept the doctrine of trinity in unity which, spiritually understood
is, as it has been well defined, the central principle of the Christian
faith, the principle that to have a _living_ morality one must have a
faith in a Divine Father, a Divine Son, and a Divine Spirit, all three
equally Divine. But, indeed, it is to be noted that the Jewish religion
never was nor ever has been the religion of the Jewish people, but was
from first to last solely the religion of the law-givers and prophets
sent to teach them, to whom they never as a race paid any heed. There was
never such antagonism of Yea to God and Nay to Him in the history of any
nation as among them; never such openness to whisperings, and such
callousness to the thunder of God's voice; on the one side, never such
tenderness, and on the other, never such hardness, of heart. Nor except
by their religion, which they did not believe at heart themselves, and of
which they have but been the vehicles, have they as a race contributed
anything to the true wealth of the world, "being mere dealers in money,
gold, jewels, or else old clothes, material and spiritual." And it has
been noted they have all along shown a want of humour, a want of gentle
sympathy with the under side, "a fatal defect, as without it no man or
people is good for anything." They were never good for much as a nation,
and they are still more powerless for good since it was broken up,
numerous as they have been, and are in their widely scattered state; for
there are 4,500,000 in Russia, 1,600,000 in Austria-Hungary, 1,567,000 in
Germany, 567,000 in Roumania, 300,000 in Turkey, 120,000 in Holland,
97,000 in France, 72,000 in England, 101,000 in Italy, 50,000 in
Switzerland, 4652 in Servia, and 15,792 in Greece, in all, 7,701,261 in
Europe; throughout the globe altogether 11,000,000, while the numbers in
Palestine are increasing.
JEYPORE (2,832), a native state in Rajputana; has been under British
protection since 1818, and was loyal at the Mutiny; the soil is rocky and
sandy, but there is much irrigation; copper, iron, and cobalt are found;
enamelled gold ware and salt are manufactured; education is well provided
for; at the capital, Jeypore (159), the handsomest town in India, there
is a State college and a school of art; its business is chiefly banking
and exchange.
JEZEBEL, the wicked wife of Ahab, king of Israel, whose fate is
recorded in 2 Kings ix. 30-37; gives name to a bold, flaunting woman of
loose morals.
JINA (lit. the "victorious" one as contrasted with Buddha the
merely "awakened" one) is in the religion of the JAINAS (q. v.)
a sage who has achieved _omniscience_, and who came to re-establish the
law in its purity where it has become corrupted among men; one of a
class, of which it appears there have been 24 in number, who have
appeared at intervals after long periods of time, in shapes less imposing
or awe-inspiring than at first, and after less and less intervals as time
goes on The Jainas claim that Buddha was a disciple of the Jina, their
founder, who had finished the faith to which the latter had only been
awakened.
JINGO, a name, of uncertain derivation, given to a political party
favourable to an aggressive, menacing policy in foreign affairs, and
first applied in 1877 to that political section in Great Britain which
provoked the Turco-Russian war.
JINN, in the Arabian mythology one of a class of genii born of fire,
some of them good spirits and some of them evil, with the power of
assuming visible forms, hideous or bewitching, corresponding to their
character.
JOAB, the nephew and a general of David's; put to death by order of
Solomon 1014 B.C.
JOACHIM, JOSEPH, a distinguished violinist, born near Presburg, in
Hungary; famous as a youthful prodigy; was encouraged by Mendelssohn; has
visited London every year since 1844, and has been principal leader in
the Monday and Saturday Popular Concerts from the first, and became head
of the Academy of Music at Berlin in 1869; the fiftieth anniversary of
his first appearance was celebrated on March 17, 1889, when his admirers
presented him with a magnificent violin; _b_. 1831.
JOACHIM, ST., the husband of St. Anne, and the father of the Virgin
Mary.
JOAN, POPE, a woman who, in the guise of a man with male
accomplishments, is said for two years five months and four days to have
been Pope of Rome between Leo IV. and Benedict III. about 853-855, and
whose sex was discovered by the premature birth of a child during some
public procession. She is said to have been of English parentage, and to
have borne the name of Gilberte. However, it is but fair to say that the
story is of doubtful authenticity.
JOAN OF ARC, OR MAID OF ORLEANS, a French heroine, born at Domrémy,
of poor parents, but nursed in an atmosphere of religious enthusiasm, and
subject, in consequence, to fits of religious ecstasy, in one of which
she seemed to hear voices calling to her from heaven to devote herself to
the deliverance of France, which was then being laid desolate by an
English invasion, occupied at the time in besieging Orleans; inspired
with the passion thus awakened she sought access to Charles VII., then
Dauphin, and offered to raise the siege referred to, and thereafter
conduct him to Reims to be crowned; whereupon, permission being granted,
she marched from Blois at the head of 10,000 men, whom she had inspired
with faith in her divine mission; drove the English from their
entrenchments, sent them careering to a distance, and thereafter
conducted Charles to Reims to be crowned, standing beside him till the
coronation ceremony was ended; with this act she considered her mission
ended, but she was tempted afterwards to assist in raising the siege of
Compiègne, and on the occasion of a sally was taken prisoner by the
besieging English, and after an imprisonment of four months tried for
sorcery, and condemned to be burned alive; she met her fate in the
market-place of Rouen with fortitude in the twenty-ninth year of her age
(1412-1431).
JOANNUS DAMASCENUS, theologian and hymn-writer, born at Damascus;
was a zealous defender of image-worship; was said to have had his right
hand chopped off by the machinations of his foes, which was afterwards
restored to him by the Virgin; _d_. 754, at the age of 70.
JOB, BOOK OF pronounced by Carlyle "one of the grandest things ever
written with pen; grand in its sincerity, in its simplicity, in its epic
melody and repose of reconcilement"; one perceives in it "the seeing eye,
the mildly understanding heart, true eyesight and vision for all things;
sublime sorrow and sublime reconciliation; oldest choral melody as of the
heart of mankind; so soft and great as the summer midnight, as the world
with its seas and stars"; the whole giving evidence "of a literary merit
unsurpassed by anything written in Bible or out of it; not a Jew's book
merely, but all men's book." It is partly didactic and partly biographic;
that is to say, the object of the author is to solve a problem in part
speculatively, or in the intelligence, and in part spiritually, or in the
life; the speculative solution being, that sufferings are to prove and
purify the righteous; and the spiritual, consisting in accepting them not
as of merely Divine appointment, but manifestations of God Himself, which
is accomplished in the experience of Job when he exclaims at last, "Now
mine eye seeth Thee." It is very idle to ask if the story is a real one,
since its interest and value do not depend on its historic, but its
universal and eternal truth; nor is the question of the authorship of any
more consequence, even if there were any clue to it, which there is not,
as the book offers no difficulty to the interpreter which any knowledge
of the author would the least contribute to remove. In such a case the
challenge of Goethe is _apropos_, "What have I to do with names when it
is a work of the spirit I am considering?" The book of Job was for long
believed to be one of the oldest books in the world, and to have had its
origin among a patriarchal people, such as the Arabs, but is now pretty
confidently referred to a period between that of David and the return
from the captivity, the character of it bespeaking a knowledge and
experience peculiarly Jewish.
JOCASTE, the wife of Laius, king of Thebes, and mother of Oedipus;
she afterwards married him not knowing that he was her son, and on
discovery of the crime put an end to herself, though not till after she
had become the mother of Etéocles, Polynices, Antigone, and Ismenë.
JOCELIN DE BRAKELONDA, an old 12th-century St. Edmundsbury monk, who
left behind him a "Chronical" of the Abbey from 1173 to 1202, and which,
published in 1840 by the Camden Society, gave occasion to the "Past and
Present" of Thomas Carlyle; he had been chaplain to the Abbot Samson, the
hero of his book, living beside him night and day for the space of six
years, "an ingenious and ingenuous, a cheery-hearted, innocent, yet
withal shrewd, noticing, quick-witted man"; _d_. 1211.
JODHPUR (2,522), largest Rajputana State, under British protection
since 1818; is backward in government, education, agriculture, and
manufactures; tin, lead, and iron are found; salt is made at Sambhar
Lake. The state revolted at the Mutiny. JODHPUR (62), the capital,
is 350 m. SW. of Delhi, and is connected by rail with Jeypore and Bombay.
JOE MILLER, an English actor, the author of a book of jests
(1684-1738).
JOEL, a Hebrew prophet, author of a book of the Old Testament that
bears his name, and which is of uncertain date, but is written on the
great broad lines of all Hebrew prophecy, and reads us the same moral
lesson, that from the judgments of God there is no outlet for the sinner
except in repentance, and that in repentance lies the pledge of
deliverance from all evil and of the enjoyment of all good.
JOHANNESBURG (40), the largest town in the Transvaal, 30 m. S. of
Pretoria, and 800 m. NE. of Cape Town; is the centre of Witwatersrand
gold-mining fields. Until recently an ill-equipped town, it has made
rapid progress. Since 1892 railways connect it with Delagoa Bay, Durban,
Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town. Magnificent buildings and residential
suburbs are springing up. The water-supply is bad, and dust-storms are
frequent, otherwise the climate is very healthy. Johannesburg was the
seat of the dissatisfaction among the Uitlanders in 1895, which led to
Dr. Jameson's raid.
JOHN, king of England from 1199 to 1216, was clever and vivacious,
but the most vicious, profane, false, short-sighted, tyrannical, and
unscrupulous of English monarchs; the son of Henry II., he married Hawisa
of Gloucester, and succeeded his brother Richard I., being Richard's
nominee, and the tacitly elect of the people; his nephew, Arthur, claimed
the French dominions, and was supported by the French king, Philip; in
1200 he divorced Hawisa, and married Isabel of Angoulême, a
child-heiress; this provoked the French barons; in the war that ensued
Arthur was captured, and subsequently murdered either by John himself or
by his orders; Philip invaded Normandy, and with the fall of the
Château-Gaillard in 1204, most of the French possessions were lost to the
English crown; then followed John's quarrel with Pope Innocent III. over
the election of an archbishop of Canterbury; the Pope consecrated Stephen
Langton; John refused to receive him; in 1208 the kingdom was placed
under an interdict, and next year the king was excommunicated; John on
his side confiscated Church property, exiled the bishops, exacted homage
of William of Scotland, and put down risings in Ireland and Wales; but a
bull, deposing him and absolving his vassals from allegiance, forced him
to submit, and he resigned his crown to the Pope's envoy in 1213; this
exaction on Innocent's part initiated the opposition to Rome which
culminated in the English Reformation; the rest of the reign was a
struggle between the king, relying on his suzerain the Pope, and the
people, barons, and clergy, for the first time on one side; war broke
out; the king was forced to sign Magna Charta at Runnymede in 1215, but
the Pope annulled the Charter; the barons appealed for help to the
Dauphin, and were prosecuting the war when John died at Newark
(1167-1216).
JOHN, the name of no fewer than 23 popes. J. I., Pope from 523
to 526, was canonised; J. II., pope from 532 to 535; J. III.,
Pope from 560 to 578; J. IV., pope from 640 to 642; J. V., Pope
from 686 to 687; J. VI., pope from 701 to 705; J. VII., Pope
from 705 to 707; J. VIII., pope from 872 to 882; J. IX., Pope
from 898 to 900; J. X., pope from 914 to 928; J. XI., Pope from
931 to 936; J. XII., Pope from 956 to 964--was only 18 when elected,
led a licentious life; J. XIII., pope from 965 to 972; J. XIV.,
Pope from 984 to 985; J. XV., pope in 985; J. XVI., Pope from
985 to 996; J. XVII., pope in 1003; J. XVIII., Pope from 1003
to 1009; J. XIX., pope from 1024 to 1033; J. XX., Anti-Pope
from 1043 to 1046; J. XXI., Pope from 1276 to 1277; J. XXII., Pope
from 1316 to 1334--a learned man, a steadfast, and a courageous; J.
XXIII., Pope in 1410, deposed in 1415--was an able man, but an
unscrupulous.
JOHN, EPISTLES OF, three Epistles, presumed to have been written by
the author of the Gospel, from the correspondence between them both as
regards thought and expression; the occasion of writing them was the
appearance of Antichrist within the bounds of the Church, in the denial
of Christ as God manifest in flesh, and the object of writing them was to
emphasise the fact that eternal life had appeared in Him.
JOHN, KNIGHTS OF ST., a religious order of knights, founded in 1048,
and instituted properly in 1110, for the defence of pilgrims to
Jerusalem; established a church and a cloister there, with a hospital for
poor and sick pilgrims, and were hence called the Hospital Brothers of
St. John of Jerusalem; the knights consisted of three classes, knights of
noble birth to bear arms, priests to conduct worship, and serving
brothers to tend the sick; on the fall of Jerusalem they retired to
Cyprus, conquered Rhodes, and called themselves Knights of Rhodes; driven
from which they settled in Malta and took the name of Knights of Malta,
after which the knighthood had various fortunes.
JOHN, PRESTER, a supposed king and priest of a mediæval kingdom in
the interior of Asia; converted to Christianity by the Nestorian
missionaries; was defeated and killed in 1202 by Genghis Khan, who had
been tributary to him but had revolted; he was distinguished for piety
and magnificence.
JOHN, ST., the Apostle, the son of Zebedee and Salome, the sister of
the virgin Mary; originally a fisherman on the Galilæan Lake; after being
a disciple of John the Baptist became one of the earliest disciples of
Christ; much beloved and trusted by his Master; lived after His death for
a time in Jerusalem, and then at Ephesus as bishop, where he died at a
great age; he lived to see the rise of the Gnostic heresy, against which,
as a denial that Christ had come in the flesh, he protested with his last
breath as an utter denial of Christ; he is represented in Christian art
as either writing his Gospel, or as bearing a chalice out of which a
serpent issues, or as in a caldron of boiling oil.
JOHN, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO, the fourth Gospel, of which tradition
alleges St. John was the author, and which is presumed to have been
written by him at Ephesus about A.D. 78; its great design is to bear
witness to the Son of God as having come in the flesh, as being not an
ideal, therefore, but a real incarnation, and as in the reality of that
being the light and life of man; whereas the scene of the other Gospels
is chiefly laid in Galilee, that of John's is mostly in Judea, recording,
as it does, no fewer than seven visits to the capital, and while it
portrays the person of Christ as the light of life, it represents him as
again and again misunderstood, even by those well disposed to Him, as if
the text of his Gospel were "the light shineth in darkness, and the
darkness comprehendeth it not"; the authenticity of this Gospel has been
much debated, and its composition has by recent criticism been referred
to somewhere between A.D. 160 and 170.
JOHN BULL, a humorous impersonation of the English people, conceived
of as well fed, good natured, honest hearted, justice loving, and plain
spoken.
JOHN OF GAUNT, Duke of Lancaster, third son of Edward III.; an
ambitious man; vainly seized the crown of Castile; supported the
Wycliffites against the clergy; married Blanche of Lancaster, and was
made duke by Henry IV. (1340-1399).
JOHN O' GROAT'S HOUSE, on the Caithness coast, 1¾ m. W. of Duncansby
Head, marks the northern limit of the Scottish mainland; the house was
said to be erected, eight-sided, with a door at each side and an
octagonal table within, to compromise the question of precedence among
eight branches of the descendants of a certain Dutchman, John o' Groot.
JOHN OF LEYDEN, originally a tailor; attained great power as an
orator; joined the Anabaptists, and in 1534 established at Münster, in
Westphalia, a society based on communistic and polygamic principles; but
the bishop of Münster interfered, and next year John was put to death
with great cruelty (1509-1536).
JOHN OF SALISBUSY, bishop of Chartres, born at Salisbury, of Saxon
lineage; was a pupil of Abelard; was secretary first to Theobald and then
to Thomas á Becket, archbishop of Canterbury; was present at the
assassination of the latter; afterwards he retired to France and was made
bishop; wrote the Lives of St. Thomas and St. Anselm, and other works of
importance in connection with the scholasticism of the time (1120-1180).
JOHN THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of Christ, who baptized with water
unto, or on the confession of, repentance, in anticipation of, and in
preparation for, the appearance in the immediate future of One who would
baptize with the Spirit and with fire; his fate is well known, and the
motive of it.
JOHN THE GOOD, king of France from 1350 to 1364, succeeded his
father Philip VI.; at the battle of Poitiers he was captured and carried
to England; four years later he was allowed to return on leaving his son
as hostage; the hostage made his escape; John chivalrously came back to
London, and died in captivity (1319-1364).
JOHN'S EVE, ST., a festival celebrated with fires on Midsummer Eve;
very universally observed and with similar rites throughout Europe, in
the Middle Ages, and the celebration of it was associated with many
superstitious practices.
JOHNSON, ANDREW, American President, born at Raleigh, N. Carolina;
was entirely self-educated, and became a tailor; settling in Tennessee he
entered the State legislature in 1839; he sat in Congress from 1843 till
1853; was for four years Governor of Tennessee, and sat in the Senate
from 1857 to 1863; though in favour of slavery, he discountenanced
secession and supported Lincoln, whom he succeeded as President in 1865,
and whose policy he continued; but he lost the confidence of Congress,
which indeed he treated somewhat cavalierly; his removal of Secretary
Stanton led to his impeachment for violation of the Tenure of Office Act;
he was tried before the Senate, but acquitted, and completed his term
(1808-1875).
JOHNSON, SAMUEL, the great English lexicographer, born in Lichfield,
the son of a bookseller; received his early education in his native town
and completed it at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1728; in 1736 he married
a widow named Porter, who brought him £800; started a boarding-school,
which did not prosper, and in the end of a year he removed to London
along with David Garrick, who had been a pupil under him; here he became
connected with Cave, a printer, the proprietor of the _Gentleman's
Magazine_, with whom he had previously corresponded, and contributed to
the pages of the magazine, earning thereby a meagre livelihood, eking out
his means by reporting Parliamentary debates in terms which expressed the
drift of them, but in his own pompous language; in 1740 he published a
poem entitled the "Vanity of Human Wishes," and about the same time
commenced his world-famous Dictionary, which was Published in 1755, "a
great, solid, square-built edifice, finished, symmetrically complete, the
best of all dictionaries"; during the progress of the Dictionary Johnson
edited the _Rambler_, writing most of the contents himself, carrying it
on for two years; in 1758 he started the _Idler_; in 1762 the king
granted him a pension of £300, and by this he was raised above the
straitened circumstances which till then had all along weighed upon him,
and able to live in comparative affluence for the last 22 years of his
life; five years after he instituted the Literary Club, which consisted
of the most celebrated men of the time, his biographer, Boswell, having
by this time been introduced to him, as subsequently the family of Mr.
Thrale; in 1770 he began his "Lives of the English Poets," and in 1773 he
made a tour in the Highlands along with Boswell, of which journey he
shortly afterwards published an account; Johnson's writings are now dead,
as are many of his opinions, but the story of his life as written by
BOSWELL (q. v.) will last as long as men revere those qualities
of mind and heart that distinguish the English race, of which he is the
typical representative (1709-1783).
JOHNSTON, ALEXANDER KEITH, cartographer, born at Kirkhill,
Midlothian; was an engraver by trade, and devoted himself with singular
success to the preparation of atlases; the "National Atlas" was published
in 1843, and the "Royal Atlas of Geography" (1861) was the finest till
then produced; he also executed atlases physical, geological, and
astronomical, and constructed the first physical globe; honours were
showered upon him by home and foreign geographical societies; he died at
Ben Rhydding (1804-1871).
JOHNSTON, JAMES FINLAY WEIR, agricultural chemist, born at Paisley,
educated at Glasgow; acquired a fortune by his marriage in 1830, and
devoted himself to studying chemistry; after some years in Sweden he was
chosen lecturer in Durham University, but he resided in Edinburgh, and
wrote his "Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry," since translated into
most European languages, and his "Chemistry of Common Life"; he died at
Durham (1796-1855).
JOHNSTONE (10), a Renfrewshire manufacturing town, on the Black
Cart, 3½ m. W. of Paisley; has flax, cotton, paper, and iron industries.
JOHNSTOWN (22), a city of Pennsylvania, engaged in iron and steel
manufactures; was overwhelmed by the bursting of a reservoir, May 31,
1889.
JOHORE (200), a Mohammedan State in the S. of the Malayan Peninsula,
15 m. N. of Singapore; half the population are Chinese; exports gambier,
pepper, and coffee.
JOINVILLE, JEAN, SIRE DE, French chronicler, seneschal of Champagne,
born in Châlons-sur-Marne; author of the "Vie de St. Louis"; followed
Louis IX. in the crusade of 1248, but refused to join in that of 1270; he
lived through six reigns, and his biography of his sovereign is one of
the most remarkable books of the Middle Ages; his "Vie de St. Louis"
deals chiefly with the Crusade, and is, says Prof. Saintsbury, "one of
the most circumstantial records we have of mediæval life and thought"; it
is gossipy, and abounds in digressions (1224-1319).
JOKAI MAURICE or MORITZ, Hungarian novelist and voluminous
author, born at Komorn; published his first novel, "Working Days," in
1845; in 1848 took a prominent part in the Hungarian struggle, but
afterwards devoted himself to literature; wrote over 300 books, novels,
romances, dramas, essays, and poems, and edited several newspapers; his
work resuscitated Hungarian literature; was in his old age an able
debater in the House of Representatives; _b_. 1825.
JONAH, a Hebrew prophet, who, born in Gathhepher, belonged to the
northern kingdom of Israel; prophesied in the reign of Jeroboam II., and
whose special mission it was, at the bidding of the Lord, to preach
repentance to the people of Nineveh; his book, which records his mission
and the story of it, written apparently, as by God's dealings with the
Ninevites he had himself been, to admonish the Jews that the heathen
nations whom they regarded as God's enemies were as much the objects of
His mercy as themselves.
JONATHAN, BROTHER, an impersonation of the American people, given to
them from the name of one Jonathan Trumbull, in whose judgment Washington
had great confidence, and whom he said he would have to consult at a
crisis of his affairs.
JONES, EBENEZER, poet, born in Islington; author of "Studies in
Sensation and Event," fraught with genuine poetic feeling; published a
pamphlet on "Land Monopoly," in which he advocated the nationalisation of
land, apparently as a disciple of Carlyle (1820-1860).
JONES, EDWARD BURNE. See BURNE-JONES.
JONES, ERNEST, Chartist leader and poet, born at Berlin, of English
parentage, educated at Göttingen; came to England in 1838, and six years
later was called to the bar; in 1845 he threw himself into the Chartist
movement, and devoted the rest of his life to the amelioration and
elevation of the working-classes, suffering two years' (1848-1850)
solitary imprisonment for a speech made at Kensington; he wrote, besides
pamphlets and papers in the Chartist cause, several poems; "The Revolt of
Hindostan" was written in prison, with his own blood, he said, on the
fly-leaves of a prayer-book; he never succeeded in getting into
Parliament (1819-1869).
JONES, HENRY ARTHUR, dramatist, born at Grandborough, Bucks; author
of the "Silver King," "Judah," the "Dancing Girl," and many other plays;
_b_. 1831.
JONES, INIGO, architect, born in London, son of a cloth-worker;
studied in Italy, and, returning to England, obtained the patronage of
James I., and became chief architect in the country; the Royal Chapel at
Whitehall is reckoned his masterpiece; Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh, is
from his design; his style follows Palladio of Venice (1573-1652).
JONES, PAUL, a naval adventurer, whose real name was John Paul, born
in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, son of a gardener; took to the sea, engaged
in the slave-trade, settled in Virginia, threw in his lot with the
colonists and against the mother-country, and offered his services as a
sea-captain in the war with a ship of 18 guns; he in 1778 infested the
British coast, and made a descent on the shores of his native county; his
sympathies were with the French in their struggles for liberty, and he
fought in their service as well, making the "proud Forth quake at his
bellying sails," and capturing two British war-vessels off Flamborough
Head; he died in Paris, where he languished in poverty, but the National
Assembly granted him a "ceremonial funeral," attended by a deputation;
"as good," reflects Carlyle in his apostrophe to him--"as good had been
the natural Presbyterian kirk-bell, and six feet of Scottish earth, among
the dust of thy loved ones" (1747-1792).
JONES, SIR WILLIAM, English Orientalist, born in London; passed
through Oxford to the English bar in 1774, and was made a judge in Bengal
in 1783; early devoted to Eastern languages and literature, he published
numerous translations and other works, concluding with "Sakuntala" and
"The Laws of Manu"; he founded the Asiatic Society at Calcutta, where he
died (1746-1794).
JONGLEURS, were mediæval minstrels of Provence and Northern France,
who sang and often composed songs and tales, but whose jesting and
buffoonery distinguished them from the knightly troubadours and
trouvères.
JONSON, BEN, dramatist, born at Westminster, posthumous son of a
clergyman of Scottish descent; was in his youth first a bricklayer,
afterwards a soldier in the Netherlands, whence he returned about 1592;
married a shrew, and became connected with the stage; he was one of the
most learned men of his age, and for forty years the foremost, except
Shakespeare, in the dramatic and literary world; killing his challenger
in a duel nearly cost him his life in 1598; he was branded on the left
thumb, imprisoned, and his goods confiscated; in prison he turned
Catholic, but twelve years later reverted to Protestantism; the opening
of the century brought an unpleasant difference with Dekker and Marston,
and saw the famous Mermaid Club at its zenith; for nine years after
Shakespeare's death he produced no dramas; in 1619 he received a degree,
M.A., from Oxford, the laureateship, and a small pension from the king;
now a widower, he founded with Herrick, Suckling, Carew, and others the
Apollo Club at the Devil Tavern; in the new reign he turned again to
dramatic work with sadly diminished power; he died in poverty, but was
buried in Westminster Abbey, his tombstone bearing the words "O rare Ben
Jonson"; he wrote at least sixteen plays, among them "Every Man is his
Humour" (1598), in which Shakespeare acted, "The Poetaster" (1601), which
vexed Dekker, the tragedy of "Sejanus" (1603), "The Silent Woman" (1609),
a farcical comedy, Dryden's favourite play, and his most elaborate and
masterly work, "The Alchemist" (1610); he wrote also thirty-five masques
of singular richness and grace, in the production of which Inigo Jones
provided the mechanism; but his best work was his lyrics, first of which
stands "Drink to me only with thine eyes," whose exquisite delicacy and
beauty everybody knows (1573-1637).
JOPPA, an ancient town and seaport, now Jaffa, on the coast of
Palestine, 35 m. NW. from Jerusalem; a place of note in sacred and
mediæval history; here Jonah took ship to Tarshish.
JORDAENS, JAKOB, a Dutch painter and engraver, born at Antwerp; was
a friend of Rubens, and ranks next him among the Flemings (1615-1678).
JORDAN, a river of Palestine, which rises on the western side of
Mount Hermon, and flows S. below Cæsarea-Philippi within banks, after
which it expands into lagoons that collect at length into a mass in Lake
Merom (Huleh), 2 m. below which it plunges into a gorge and rushes on for
9 m. in a torrent, till it collects again in the Sea of Galilee to lose
itself finally in the Dead Sea after winding along a distance of 65 m. as
the crow flies; at its rise it is 1080 ft. above and at the Dead Sea 1300
ft. below the sea-level.
JORDAN, MRS. DOROTHEA, the stage name of Miss Bland, daughter of an
actress, born at Waterford; played first in Dublin, then in Yorkshire,
and appeared at Drury Lane in "The Country Girl" in 1785; her popularity
was immense, and she maintained it for thirty years in the roles of boys
and romping girls, her wonderful laugh winning lasting fame; she attained
considerable wealth, and was from 1790 to 1811 the mistress of the Duke
of Clarence, who, when William IV., ennobled her eldest son; she died,
however, in humble circumstances in St. Cloud, near Paris (1762-1816).
JORTIN, JOHN, English divine, born in London, of Huguenot descent;
held various appointments, was a prebend of St. Paul's, wrote on
ecclesiastical history (1698-1770).
JORULLO, a volcano in Mexico, 150 m. SW. of Mexico city, rose one
night from a high-lying plateau on Sept. 8, 1759, the central crater at
a height 4625 ft. above the sea-level.
JOSEPH, the name of four persons in scripture. 1, JOSEPH, the
son of Jacob and Rachel, and the story of whose life is given in Genesis.
2, JOSEPH, ST. the carpenter, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the
reputed father of Jesus. 3, JOSEPH OF ARAMATHEA, a member of the
Jewish Sanhedrin, who begged the body of Jesus to bury it in his own
tomb. 4, JOSEPH, surnamed BARSABAS, one of the disciples of
Jesus, and deemed worthy to be nominated to fill the place vacated by
Judas.
JOSÉPHINE, the Empress of the French, born in Martinique; came to
France at the age of 15; was in 1779 married to Viscount Beauharnais, who
was one of the victims of the Revolution, and to whom she bore a
daughter, Hortense, the mother of Napoleon III.; married in 1796 to
Napoleon Bonaparte, to whom she proved a devoted wife as well as a wise
counsellor; she became empress in 1804, but failing to bear him any
children, was divorced in 1809, though she still corresponded with
Napoleon and retained the title of Empress to the last, living at
Malmaison, where she died (1763-1814).
JOSEPHUS, FLAVIUS, Jewish historian, born at Jerusalem, of royal and
priestly lineage; was a man of eminent ability and scholarly
accomplishments, distinguished no less for his judgment than his
learning; gained favour at Rome; was present with Titus at the siege of
Jerusalem, and by his intercession saved the lives of several of the
citizens; he accompanied Titus back to Rome, and received the freedom of
the city; devoting himself there to literary studies, wrote the "History
of the Jewish War" and "Jewish Antiquities"; he was of the Pharisaic
party, but his religious views were rationalistic; he discards the
miraculous; takes no note of the rise of Christianity or of the person of
its Founder (37-98).
JOSHUA, a Jewish military leader, born of the tribe of Ephraim, the
minister and successor of Moses, under whose leadership the Jews obtained
a footing in the Land of Canaan.
JOSHUA, THE BOOK OF, a book of the Bible, is closely connected with
the Pentateuch, and now regarded as the continuation and completion of
it, constituting along with it what is called the Hexateuch, or sixfold
book; it covers a period of 25 years, and contains a history of Israel
under the guidance of Joshua, commencing with his appointment as leader
and concluding with his death.
JOSIAH, a king of Judah from 639 to 609 B.C.; was zealous for the
restoration of the Jewish worship according to the ritual of Moses, as
recently come to light in the discovery by Hilkiah the high-priest of the
"Book of the Law"; he fell in battle before an invading Assyrian host.
JOSS, a Chinese god or his idol.
JÖTUNHEIM, the abode of the Jötuns in the Norse mythology, as
Asenheim is that of the Norse deities.
JÖTUNS, a race of giants in the Norse mythology, "huge, shaggy
beings of a demonic character, representing the dark hostile Powers of
Nature, such as Frost, Fire, Sea-tempest, who dwelt in Jötunheim, a
distant, dark chaotic land ... in perpetual internecine feud with the
gods, or friendly powers, such as Summer-heat and the Sun, and who dwelt
far apart."
JOUBERT, BARTHÉLEMI, French general; distinguished himself in the
Rhine and Italian campaigns, and fell mortally wounded at the battle of
Novi; one of the most promising generals France ever had (1769-1799).
JOUBERT, JOSEPH, author of "Pensées," born in Montignac, Périgord;
educated in Toulouse, succeeded to a small competency, came to Paris, got
access to the best literary circles, and was the most brilliant figure in
the salon of Madame de Beaumont; his works were exclusively _pensées_ and
maxims, and bear at once on ethics, politics, theology, and literature;
"There is probably," Professor Saintsbury says, "no writer in any
language who has said an equal number of remarkable things on an equal
variety of subjects in an equally small space and with an equally high
and unbroken excellence of style and expression;... all alike have the
characteristic of intense compression; he describes his literary aim in
the phrase 'tormented by the ambition of putting a book into a page, a
page into a phrase, and a phrase into a word'" (1754-1824).
JOUFFROY D'ABBANS, CLAUDE, MARQUIS DE, is claimed by the French as
the first inventor of the steamboat; he made a paddle-steamer ply on the
Rhône in 1783, but misfortunes due to the Revolution hindered his
progress, till he was forestalled by Fulton on the Seine in 1803
(1751-1832).
JOUGS, an iron collar hung by a chain in some public place, was
fastened round a culprit's neck, who was thus exposed in a sort of
pillory; in use in Scotland from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
JOULE, JAMES PRESCOTT, a celebrated physicist, born at Salford; was
a pupil of Dalton's, and devoted his time to physical and chemical
research; made discoveries in connection with the production of heat by
voltaic electricity, demonstrated the equivalence of heat and energy, and
established on experimental grounds the doctrine of the conservation of
energy (1818-1889).
JOURDAN, JEAN BAPTISTE, COMTE VON, marshal of France, born at
Limoges; gained for the Republic the victory of Fleurus in 1794, but was
in 1795 defeated at Höchst, and subsequently by the Archduke Charles of
Austria; served under Napoleon, and became Governor of the Hôtel des
Invalides under Louis Philippe (1762-1833).
JOWETT, BENJAMIN, Master of Balliol College, Oxford, born at
Camberwell; was a fellow and tutor of his college till his election to
the mastership in 1870; his name will always be associated with Balliol
College, where his influence was felt, and made the deepest impression;
he wrote an article "On the Interpretation of Scripture" in the "Essays
and Reviews," and a commentary on certain epistles of St. Paul, but he
achieved his greatest literary successes by his translations of Plato's
"Dialogues," the "History" of Thucydides, and the "Politics" of Aristotle
(1817-1893).
JUAN, DON, a poem of Byron's, a work which, as Stopford Brooke
remarks, "was written in bold revolt against all the conventionality of
social morality, religion, and politics, and in which--escaped from his
morbid self, he ran into the opposite extreme--he claimed for himself and
others absolute freedom of individual act and thought in opposition to
the force of society which tends to make all men after one pattern."
JUAN FERNANDEZ, a mountainous island 3000 ft. high, off the Chilian
coast, 420 m. W. of Valparaiso; was the lonely residence of ALEXANDER
SELKIRK (1704-1709) (q. v.); was used as a penal settlement from
1819 to 1835, and is inhabited by a few seal and sea-lion hunters.
JUAREZ, BENITO, president of Mexico, born in Oaxaca, of Indian
extraction; was elected to the Presidency twice over, in 1861 and 1867
(1806-1872).
JUBA, a great river rising in the Abyssinian mountains and flowing
S. into the Indian Ocean, with a town of the same name at its mouth;
marks the northern limit of British East Africa.
JUBILEE, a festival among the Jews every fiftieth year in
celebration of their emancipation from Egypt.
JUBILEE, YEAR OF, a year during which it was required that all land
which had passed out of the original owner's hands during the 50 years
preceding should be restored, all who during that time had been forced to
sell their liberty should be released, and all debts contracted in that
period should be remitted, a requirement, however, which does not appear
to have been very rigorously or regularly observed.
JUDÆA, a southern district of Palestine extending in one direction
between Samaria and the desert of Arabia, and in the other between the
Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.
JUDAH, KINGDOM OF, the kingdom in the S. of Palestine of the two
tribes of Judah and Benjamin that remained true to the house of David
after the revolt of the other ten under Jeroboam, who formed what was
called the kingdom of Israel, a larger, but a weaker.
JUDAIZERS, a party, called also EBIONITES, in the primitive
Church who sought to overlay the simple ordinances of Christianity with
Judaic observances and rites, "a yoke which neither they nor their
fathers were able to bear."
JUDAS, surnamed ISCARIOT, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ,
who from some infatuation that unaccountably possessed him, and to his
everlasting infamy, betrayed his Master to His enemies for 30 pieces of
silver; was designated by Christ as the Son of Perdition.
JUDAS MACCABÆUS, a son of MATTATHIAS (q. v.), who succeeded
his father in the leadership of the Jews against the Syrians in the war
of the Maccabees, and who gave name to the movement, a man of chivalric
temper, great energy, firm determination, dauntless courage, and powerful
physique; who, with the elect of his countrymen of kindred spirit
encountered and overthrew the Syrians in successive engagements, till
before a great muster of the foe his little army was overwhelmed and
himself slain in 160 B.C. See MACCABEES.
JUDE, EPISTLE OF, an epistle in the New Testament, of which Judas,
the brother of James, was the author; written to some unknown community
in the primitive Church, in which a spirit of antinomian libertinism had
arisen, and the members of which are denounced as denying the sovereign
authority of the Church's Head by the practical disobedience and scorn of
the laws of His kingdom. For the drift and modern uses of this epistle
see Ruskin's "Fors Clavigera," chaps. lxvi. and lxvii., where it is shown
that the enemies of the faith in Jude's day are its real enemies in ours.
JUDGES, BOOK OF, a book of the Old Testament; gives an account of a
series of deliverances achieved on behalf of Israel by ministers of God
of the nation so called, when, after their occupation of the land, now
this tribe and now that was threatened with extinction by the Canaanites;
these deliverers bore the character of heroes rather than judges, but
they were rather tribal heroes than national, there being as yet no king
in Israel to unite them into one; of these the names of twelve are given,
of which only six attained special distinction, and their rule covered a
period of 300 years, which extended between the death of Joshua and the
birth of Samuel; the story throughout is one: apostasy and consequent
judgment, but the return of the Divine favour on repentance insured.
JUDGMENT, PRIVATE, assumption of judgment by individual reason on
matters which are not amenable to a lower tribunal than the universal
reason of the race.
JUDITH, a wealthy, beautiful, and pious Jewish widow who, as
recorded in one of the books of the Apocrypha called after her, entered,
with only a single maid as attendant, the camp of the Assyrian army under
Holofernes, that lay investing Bethulia, her native place; won the
confidence of the chief, persuaded him to drink while alone with him in
his tent till he was brutally intoxicated, cut off his head, and making
good her escape, suspended it from the walls of the place, with the issue
of the utter rout of his army by a sally of the townsfolk.
JUDSON, ADONIRAM, Burmese missionary and scholar, born at Maiden,
Mass.; sailed for Burma 1812, and for 40 years laboured devotedly,
translating the Bible into Burmese, and compiling a Burmese-English
dictionary; he died at sea on his way home (1788-1850).
JUGGERNAUT (22) or PURI, a town on the S. coast of Orissa, in
Bengal; one of the holy places of India, with a temple dedicated to
Vishnu, and containing an idol of him called Jagannâtha (or the Lord of
the World), which, in festival times, attracts thousands of pilgrims to
worship at its shrine, on one of which occasions the idol is dragged
forth in a ponderous car by the pilgrims and back again, under the wheels
of which, till prohibited, multitudes would throw themselves to be
crushed to death in the hope of thereby attaining a state of eternal
beatitude.
JUGURTHA, king of Numidia; succeeded by violent measures to the
throne, and maintained his ground in defiance of the Romans, who took up
arms against him and at last led him captive to Rome to die of hunger in
a dungeon.
JUKES, JOSEPH BEET, geologist, born near Birmingham; graduated at
Cambridge; took part in several expeditions, and finally became lecturer
in the Royal College of Science, Dublin, where he died; he published
among other works a "Student's Manual of Geology" (1811-1869).
JULIA, daughter and only child of Augustus Cæsar; celebrated for her
beauty and the dissoluteness of her morals, and became the wife in
succession of Marcellus, Agrippa, and Tiberius.
JULIAN THE APOSTATE, Roman emperor for 18 months, from 361 to 363;
was born at Constantinople, his father being a half-brother of
Constantine the Great, on whose death most of Julian's family were
murdered; embittered by this event, Julian threw himself into philosophic
studies, and secretly renounced Christianity; as joint emperor with his
cousin from 355 he showed himself a capable soldier, a vigorous and wise
administrator; on becoming sole emperor he proclaimed his apostasy, and
sought to restore paganism, but without persecuting the Church; though
painted in blackest colours by the Christian Fathers, he was a lover of
truth, chaste, abstinent, just, and affectionate, if somewhat vain and
superstitious; he was killed in an expedition against Persia; several
writings of his are extant, but a work he wrote against the Christians is
lost (331-363).
JÜLICH, a duchy on the W. bank of the Rhine, its capital a place of
the same name, 20 m. W. of Köln.
JULIEN, STANISLAS AIGNAN, an eminent Sinalogue, born in Orleans,
originally eminent in Greek; turned his attention to Chinese, and in 12
months time translated a part of one of the classical works in that
language; originally professor of Greek, he became in 1827 professor of
Chinese in the College of France in succession to Rémusat; he was not
less distinguished as a Sanskrit and Pâli scholar (1797-1873).
JULIUS, the name of three popes: ST. J. I., Pope from 337 to
332; J. II., pope from 1502 to 1513; J. III., Pope from 1550 to
1555, of which only J. II. deserves notice. J. II., an Italian by
birth, was more of a soldier than a priest, and, during his pontificate,
was almost wholly occupied with wars against the Venetians for the
recovery of Romagna, and against the French to drive them out of Italy,
in which attempt he called to his aid the spiritual artillery at his
command, by ex-communicating Louis XII. and putting his kingdom under an
interdict in 1542; he sanctioned the marriage of Henry VIII. with
Catharine of Aragon, commenced to rebuild St. Peter's at Rome, and was
the patron of Michael Angelo and Raphael.
JULLIEN, LOUIS ANTOINE, a distinguished musical conductor, born in
the Basses-Alpes; did much to popularise music by large bands, but he was
unfortunate in his speculations, and died insane and in debt (1812-1860).
JULY, the seventh month of the year, so called in honour of Julius
Cæsar, who reformed the calendar, and was born in this month; it was
famous as the month of the outbreak of the second Revolution of France in
Paris in 1830.
JUMNA, the chief affluent of the Ganges, which it joins at
Allahabad, rises in the Punjab, and flows through the North-West
Provinces, having Delhi and Agra on its banks; its course is 860 m., and
it falls over 10,000 ft.; its waters are used for irrigation by means of
canals, being of little use for navigation.
JUMPERS, name of a certain religious sect in America, from the
dancing associated with its services.
JUNE, the sixth month of the year, so named from the Roman _gens_ or
clan Junius, or perhaps from Juno.
JUNG STILLING, a German mystic, born in Nassau; first a tailor, then
a schoolmaster; went to Strasburg, became intimate with Goethe, studied
medicine there, and afterwards practised in Elberfeld; became professor
of Political Economy at Marburg and in Heidelberg; is best known by his
autobiography: Kant and Lavater were friends of his (1740-1817).
JUNGFRAU (Maiden), a peak of the Bernese Alps, 13,671 ft. in height;
was first ascended by the brothers Meyer in 1811.
JUNIUS, LETTERS OF, seventy letters on public affairs which appeared
under that signature in the _Public Advertiser_ 1769 to 1772, and were
with others reprinted in book form; were, though severe in tone, the
prototype of the modern leading article. Their authorship has never been
discovered; but some hold that evidence points to Sir Philip Francis as
responsible for them.
JUNK, a Chinese boat with a flat bottom, a square prow, a high
stern, and a pole for mast.
JUNKER, a name given in Germany to the younger members of the
aristocracy, or of the landed gentry, as representing a reactionary party
in modern politics.
JUNO, a Roman goddess, the wife of Jupiter, and the queen of heaven,
corresponding to the HERA (q. v.) of the Greeks; the impersonation of
womanhood, and the special protectress of the rights of women, especially
married women, and bore the names of _Virginalis_ and _Matrona_. She was
the patroness of household and even state economy. See ZEUS.
JUNOT, ANDOCHE, DUC D'ABRANTES, French general; was Napoleon's
aide-de-camp in his first Campaign in Italy; took part in the expedition
to Egypt; distinguished himself in the invasion of Portugal, but soon
experienced reverse after reverse; in a fit of madness he threw himself
one day out of a window, and died from the effect (1771-1813).
JUNTO, the name given to a Whig faction in the reign of William
III., that for 20 years exercised a great influence in the affairs of the
nation, of which Russell, Lord-Keeper Somers, and Charles Montague were
the leading members.
JUPITER. See ZEUS.
JUPITER, one of the exterior planets of the solar system, and the
largest; revolves in an orbit outside that of the asteroids, at a mean
distance from the sun of 480 millions of miles, completing its revolution
round the sun in 4338 days, and taking 10 hours to revolve on its own
axis; it is surrounded by belts considered to be openings in the cloudy
atmosphere which invests it, and is accompanied by four moons, all nearly
of the same size but at different distances, and with different periods
of revolution round it; it is in volume 1300 times larger than that of
the earth, while its weight is only 300 times that of the earth, is
therefore less than one-fourth of the density of the earth.
JUPITER CARLYLE, a sobriquet given to the REV. ALEXANDER
CARLYLE (q. v.), from his resemblance to the artist's conception of
Jupiter, particularly in the head.
JUPITER SCAPIN, a nickname given by the Abbé de Pradt to Napoleon,
after a valet of the name of Scapin in a comedy of Molière's, noted for
his knaveries.
JURA, an Argyllshire island NE. of Islay, mountainous (2500 ft.);
the eastern slopes yield some crops, but most of the island is deer
forest and cattle-grazing land.
JURY, a body of citizens set to try a question of fact, or to assess
damages; in England and Ireland a jury numbers 12, and its verdict must
be unanimous; in Scotland the verdict is by majority, and the jury
numbers 12 in civil and 15 in criminal cases.
JUSSIEU, ANTOINE LAURENT DE, celebrated French botanist, born at
Lyons; his book, entitled "Genera Plantarum," published in 1789, lays
down the principle on which the modern classification of plants is based;
he was one of a family of botanists (1748-1836).
JUSTICE, 1, HIGH COURT OF, one of the two great sections of the
English Supreme Courts; 2, LORD CHIEF, the chief judge of the
Queen's Bench division of it; 3, LORD JUSTICE-GENERAL, supreme judge
in Scotland, the Lord President of the Court of Session; 4, OF THE
PEACE, the title of a petty county or borough magistrate of
multifarious duties and jurisdiction; 5, LORDS JUSTICES, judges of
the English Court of Appeal.
JUSTICE, BED OF, a formal session of Parliament of Paris under the
presidency of the king, for the compulsory registration of royal edicts.
JUSTICIARY COURT, the highest court for the trial of criminal cases
in Scotland.
JUSTIN, surnamed the Martyr, an early Christian apologist, born in
Sichem, Samaria; a heathen by birth, who studied philosophy in the Stoic
and Platonic schools, and was converted to Christianity from observing
the strength of the convictions with which it was embraced; was the
author of two "Apologies for the Christians," rather than for
Christianity or its dogmas, and a "Dialogue with Trypho the Jew," and
suffered martyrdom in 168. Festival, June 12.
JUSTINIAN I., Roman emperor and jurist, born in Illyria; became
co-emperor with Justin I. in 527; married the infamous Theodora, and for
38 years enjoyed a reign, the most brilliant of the late Empire, but not
without dangers from foes outside and factions within; his fame rests on
the codification and reform of the laws which he carried out; he improved
the status of slaves, revised the laws of divorce and of intestate
succession; and in his "Digest," "Institutes," and other sections of the
"Corpus Juris Civilis," first gave definiteness to Roman law and laid the
basis of the civil law of most modern nations (482-565).
JUSTINIAN PANDECTS, a code of Roman laws compiled under the
direction of the Emperor Justinian, with a digest of the commentaries of
the jurists thereupon.
JUTLAND, at the mouth of the Baltic Sea, is the only European
peninsula that stretches northward; it comprises the continental portion
of the kingdom of Denmark.
JUVENAL, a celebrated Latin poet and satirist, born at Aquinum; a
friend of Martial and contemporary of Statius and Quintilian; his
satires, 16 in number, are written in indignant scorn of the vices of the
Romans under the Empire, and in the descriptions of which the historian
finds a portrait of the manners and morals of the time (42-120).
JUXON, WILLIAM, archbishop of Canterbury, born in Chichester; became
in succession bishop of Worcester and bishop of London, and attended
Charles I. in prison and on the scaffold; lived in privacy till the
Restoration, four months after which he was made archbishop, and died
about two years after his elevation (1582-1663).
K
KAABA. See CAABA.
KABUL (70), on the Kabul River, at the foot of the Takht-i-Shah
Hills, 650 m. NW. of Delhi, is the capital of Afghanistan, an ancient,
mud-built city, but progressing; noted for its fruit and trading in
carpets, camel-hair cloth, and skins; the town was taken by General
Pollok 1842, avenging the death of Burnes and Macnaughten, and by General
Roberts in 1879, avenging the murder of Cavagnari.
KABYLES, the name given to a division of the Berbers of N. Africa,
who occupy the coast and tablelands of Mauritania, and are indigenous to
it.
KADIJAH, a rich widow, the wife of Mahomet, who had been her steward
and factotum, and whom he married when she was forty and himself only
twenty-five, and with whom he lived till her death, "loving her truly and
her alone," himself now a man of fifty; he had begun his mission as a
prophet before she died, and one service she did him he never forgot as
the greatest of them all: she believed in him, when no one else did.
KADRIS, a set of Mohammedan dervishes who lacerate themselves with
scourges, like the Flagellants.
KAFFIRS, including Kaffirs proper and Zulus, a division of the Bantu
negroes, found all over S. Africa, are a pastoral and latterly
agricultural people of fine physique, naturally hospitable, honest, and
truthful, but now much contaminated by the white man; Kaffir wars broke
out in 1834, 1846, 1850, and 1877; the name, which means infidel, was
originally applied by the Mohammedans to all pagans.
KAFIRISTAN (200), a lofty mountainous region in the E. of
Afghanistan, S. of the Hindu-Kush, with the Panjshir, Kabul, and Chitral
Rivers on the W., S., and E.; the people are undersized, pastoral, and
devoted to their Aryan faith, which here has its last stronghold, not
organised politically, but united in their love of independence and
hatred of Mohammedanism.
KAIRWAN` (5), the sacred city of Northern Africa, in Tunis, 80 m. S.
of Tunis, a _decayed_ town, was the chief seat of the Mohammedans in N.
Africa, and a sacred city; manufactures copper vessels, carpets, and
articles of leather.
KAISAR-I-HIND (i. e. Cæsar of India), a title applied to Queen
Victoria as Empress of India since 1876.
KAISER, the name, derived from the Latin Cæsar, given to the emperor
of the old German Empire or Reich, and resumed by the modern Emperor,
William I., and his successors.
KAISER WILHELM'S LAND (116), the N. of the eastern half of New
Guinea, belonging partly to Britain, partly to Holland, and partly to
Germany.
KAITHAL (15), in the Punjab, 90 m. NW. of Delhi, an ancient town,
with saltpetre refineries; has old associations with the Hindu
monkey-god, HANUMAN (q. v.).
KÂLA, the Hindu Chronus, or god of time, who, as in the Greek
mythology, at once produces and devours all things.
KALAHARI DESERT, in S. Africa, stretches far northward from the
Orange River between German SW. Africa and the Transvaal, an elevated
plateau, not really desert, but covered with scrub and affording coarse
pasturage for cattle.
KALAMAZOO` (18), a railway centre and flourishing town in the SW. of
Michigan, 144 m. NE. of Chicago; manufactures machinery, paper, and
flour.
KALEIDOSCOPE, an optical instrument, invented by Sir David Brewster
in 1817, consisting of a cylinder with two mirrors set lengthwise inside,
two plates of glass with bits of coloured glass loose between at one end
and an eye-hole at the other, presents varying patterns on rotation.
KALEVALE, a collection of popular songs current among the peasantry
of Finland from earliest times.
KALI (i. e. the black one), one of the names of the wife of SIVA (q. v.),
and of whom she is the female counterpart, and has been identified with
the GREEK HECATE (q. v.); she is represented with a necklace of human
heads.
KÁLIDÁSA, a great Indian dramatist and poet, probably of the 6th
century A.D.; was author of "The Lost Ring" and "The Hero and the
Nymph," translated by Sir William Jones, much praised by Goethe and Max
Müller.
KALMAR (12), seaport in SE. of Sweden, on an island in Kalmar Sound;
carries on a large timber trade, and manufactures of tobacco and matches.
KALMUCKS, the name given to the Western Moguls, inhabiting Central
Asia, and considerably intermingled with their neighbours, the Russians,
Persians, and Turks; they are Buddhists, nomadic, and have herds of
horses and cattle.
KALPA, a Braminical name for the immense period of time which
separates one destruction of the world from the next, a day and a night
of Brahma.
KALPI (14), a decaying town in the NW. Provinces of India, on the
Jumna, 50 m. SW. of Cawnpore; was the scene of the defeat of 12,000
mutineers in 1858; manufactures paper, and exports grain and cotton.
KÂMA, the Hindu Cupid, or god of love, a potent god of the Hindu
pantheon, able to subdue nearly all the rest of the gods except Siva, who
once with a single glance of his Cyclop eye reduced him to ashes for
daring to bring trouble into his breast; he is one of the primitive gods
of the Hindu pantheon, like the EROS (q. v.) of the Greeks.
KAMCHATKA (7), a long narrow peninsula on the E. coast of Siberia,
stretching southwards between the Behring Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk,
with a precipitous coast and a volcanic range of mountains down the
centre, has a cold, wet climate, grass and tree vegetation, and many hot
springs; the people live by fishing, hunting, and trading in furs; they
are Russianised, the peninsula having been Russian since the 17th
century.
KAMES, HENRY HOME, LORD, Scottish judge and philosopher, born in
Berwickshire; became an advocate in 1723 and judge in 1752; wrote books
on law, "Essays on Morality and Natural Religion," and other
philosophical works, in which he indulged in a wide and often fanciful
range of speculation; was noted for his sociality and public spirit, and
died at Edinburgh (1696-1782).
KAMPEN (19), a reviving Dutch town on the Yssel, 3 m. from the
Zuyder Zee, and 5½ m. W. of Zwolle; has shipbuilding and fishing
industries; the inhabitants are the proverbial fools of Holland.
KAMPTULICON, a floorcloth composed of cork and india-rubber or
similar substance.
KAMTHI (43), a town of recent origin in the Central Provinces of
India, 9 m. NW. of Nagpur; trades in cattle and grain, salt, and timber.
KANARA, a rainy district on the W. coast of India, between Goa and
Malabar, mostly malarial forest country, with the Ghat Mountains and many
rivers. NORTH KANARA (446) is in Bombay Presidency. SOUTH
KANARA (1,056), capital Mangalore, is in Madras.
KANARIS, CONSTANTIN, an intrepid Greek sea-captain who distinguished
himself by his exploits in the Greek War of Independence, particularly in
the destruction of the Turkish vessels by means of fire-ships; he
attained the rank of admiral in 1862, and took part in the revolution
which overthrew King Otho (1780-1877).
KANDAHAR, capital of Southern Afghanistan, near the Argandab River,
200 m. SW. of Kabul; a well-watered, regularly built town in the middle
of orchards and vineyards; is of great political and commercial
importance; a centre of trade with India, Persia, and Turkestan; it was
held by the British through the war of 1839-41, and again in 1880-81;
population variously estimated from 25,000 to 100,000.
KANDY (20), a town on a mountain lake in the middle of Ceylon, 75 m.
NE. of Colombo; is a railway centre; has the ruins of the palace of the
old native kings, and a temple with the famous tooth of Buddha.
KANE, ELISHA KENT, an American explorer, born in Philadelphia; bred
to medicine; became a surgeon in the navy; acquired a taste for
adventure; from his experiences in such accompanied, in 1850, the first
Grinnell expedition to the Arctic seas, and commanded the second in 1853,
after three years returning with many discoveries; he wrote accounts of
both expeditions (1820-1857).
KANE, SIR ROBERT, chemist, born in Dublin; originator of the _Dublin
Journal of Medical Science_ in 1832, and of the Irish Museum of Industry
in 1846; was President of Queen's College, Cork, and President of the
Royal Irish Academy in 1876; Published "Elements of Chemistry," and other
works (1810-1890).
KANSAS (1,427), the central State of the American Union; lies in the
basin of the Kansas and Arkansas Rivers, between Nebraska on the N. and
Oklahoma on the S., with Colorado on the W. and Missouri on the E. It is
a rolling prairie, with a fine climate subject to occasional extremes,
and a rainfall, except in some districts, sufficient; raises crops of
grain and sugar, and affords excellent grazing ground. Pork and beef
packing, flour-milling, and iron-founding industries are carried on. The
State University is at Lawrence, an agricultural college at Manhattan,
and good schools in every town. Previous to its admission to the Union in
1859 Kansas was the scene of violent conflicts between pro- and
anti-slavery parties for five years. In the Civil War it joined the
North. The capital is Topeka (31), and the largest other towns Kansas
City (38) and Wichita (23).
KANSAS CITY, two contiguous towns on the S. bank of the Missouri
River, 280 m. W. of St. Louis, are so called. The larger and more
easterly one (164) is the second city of Missouri; an important railway
centre, and distributes the agricultural products of a large region; has
pork-packing industries and iron manufactures. The smaller, westerly city
(51), is in Kansas, the largest town of that State; has a remarkable
elevated railway.
KANT, IMMANUEL, a celebrated German philosopher, born in Königsberg,
the son of a saddler, of Scotch descent, and fortunate in both his
parents; entered the university in 1740 as a student of theology; gave
himself to the study of philosophy, mathematics, and physics; wrote an
essay, his first literary effort, on "Motive Force" in 1747; settled at
the University as a private lecturer on a variety of academic subjects in
1755; became professor of Logic and Metaphysics in 1770, when he was 46,
and continued till his retirement, in 1797, from the frailties of age,
spending the last 17 years of his life in a small house with a garden in
a quiet quarter of the town; his great work, the "Kritic of Pure Reason,"
was published in 1781, and it was followed by the "Kritic of Practical
Reason" in 1788, and the "Kritic of Judgment" in 1790; his works
inaugurate a new era in philosophic speculation, and by the adoption of a
critical method dealt a death-blow to speculative dogmatism on the one
hand and scepticism on the other; it was, he says, the scepticism of Hume
that first broke his dogmatic slumber, so that had Hume not been, he had
not been, and the whole course of modern thought different; Kant by his
critical method did for philosophy what Copernicus did for astronomy; he
centralised the intelligence in the reason or soul, as the latter did the
planetary system in the sun; Kant was a lean, little man, of simple
habits, and was never wedded (1724-1804).
KAOLIN, a fine white clay, a hydrous silicate of alumina, which does
not colour when fired; used in making porcelain; called also China clay.
KAPELLMEISTER, director of an orchestra or choir, more particularly
of the band of a German prince.
KAPILA, the founder of the Sankhya system of HINDU PHILOSOPHY
(q. v.); was regarded as an incarnation of VISHNU (q. v.).
KARA, a gold-mining district in East Siberia, 300 m. from Chita, of
which the mines are the private property of the Czar, and are worked by
convicts, who are often disgracefully treated, many of them merely
political offenders.
KARA SEA is a portion of the Arctic Sea, on the NE. corner of
Russia, between Nova Zembla and the Yalmal; receives the rivers Obi and
Yenisei, and is navigable from July to September.
KARAITES, a Jewish sect which originated in the 8th century; adhered
to the letter of Scripture and repudiated all tradition; were strict
Sabbatarians.
KARAKORUM, a range of the Himalayas, extending from the Hindu-Kush
eastward into Thibet, and a pass in the centre of it 18,000 ft. high.
Also the name of the old capital of Mongolia.
KARAMSIN, a Russian historian; his first work was "Letters of a
Russian Traveller," in 6 vols., published in 1797-1801, which gained him
a high reputation, and it was followed by his "History of Russia," in 12
vols., published in 1816-1829, for the materials of which he had access,
to the most authentic documents as imperial historiographer, an office to
which he was appointed in 1803, and the work is a work in the highest
repute (1766-1826).
KARIKAL (93), a French possession in India, on the Coromandel coast,
150 m. S. of Madras; rears and exports rice in large quantities.
KARLI, a famous temple-cave in Bombay Presidency, on the
Bombay-Poona road; dates from the 1st century B.C. at latest.
KARMA, the unbroken sequence, according to the Theosophists, of
cause and effect, in which every effect is regarded the cause of the
next.
KARMAN, the name given in the Brahminical philosophy and in Buddhism
to that act of the soul by which, as is conceived, it determines its own
destiny, a truly serious conception, and in itself soul affecting.
KARMATHIANS, originally a secret society of the Ismaîlis, developed
into a religious and communistic sect, and waged a great peasants' war
under successive leaders between A.D. 900 and 950; Mecca was captured
930; the movement of the Karmathians did much to overthrow the power of
the Khalifate.
KARR, JEAN BAPTISTE ALPHONSE, French novelist, born at Paris;
entered journalism, became editor of the _Figaro_ 1839, started _Les
Guepes_ the same year, retired to Nice 1855, and there died; his chief
novel is "Géneviève," and best known book, "Voyage autour de mon Jardin"
(1808-1890).
KARROO, the name of a barren tract of tableland in South Africa with
a clay soil, which, however, bursts into grassy verdure and blossom after
rain; the Great Karroo, which is 850 m. long and about 80 m. broad, is
3000 ft. above the sea-level, while the Little Karroo is 1000 ft. lower;
large flocks of sheep are pastured on them, and the value of the land has
immensely increased within late years.
KARS (9), an almost impregnable fortress on the Russo-Turkish
frontier in Asia, 100 m. E. of the Caspian Sea; was successfully held by
the Turks under General Williams in 1855, of which Laurence Oliphant
wrote an account, but captured by Russia in 1877, and ceded to her by the
Treaty of Berlin, 1878; it is a strong place, and a prize to any power
that possesses it.
KARUN RIVER, rising in the Zarduh Koh Mountains W. of Ispahân; flows
W. and S. past Shuster into the Persian Gulf; is the sole navigable
waterway of Persia, and was thrown open to trade 1888.
KASCHAU (29), a beautiful town in Northern Hungary, on the Hernad
River, 140 m. NW. of Budapest; has a royal tobacco factory, is noted for
hams, has an agricultural school and a Jesuit university.
KASHGAR (120), political capital and second largest city of Chinese
Turkestan, on the Kizil River; has cotton, silk, carpet, and saddlery
industries, and trades with Russia; it is the centre of Mohammedanism in
Eastern Turkestan, a pilgrim city; has been in Chinese hands since 1758,
but is chiefly under Russian influence.
KASSALA (3), a fortified town in the Soudan, near the Abyssinian
boundary, on the Chor-el-Gash, a tributary of the Atbara, is 260 m. S. of
Suakim; suffered severely from the Madhist rising of 1883-1885.
KATAKAMA, the square style of writing of the Japanese.
KATER, HENRY, a physicist, born in Bristol; bred to the law, but
entered the army, and went out to India, where, to the injury of his
constitution, he was for seven years engaged on the trigonometrical
survey of the country; devoted the rest of his life to scientific
research; he contributed to the _Philosophical Transactions_, determined
the length of the seconds pendulum at the latitude of London, and
invented the floating collimator (1777-1835).
KATKOFF, MICHAEL NIKIFOROVITCH, Russian journalist and publicist,
born at Moscow, educated at Moscow, Königsberg, and Berlin; became
professor of Philosophy in Moscow and in 1801 editor of the _Moscow
Gazette_; though at first an advocate of parliamentary government, he
became a violent reactionary, made his paper the most influential in
Russia, and had great influence in public affairs; he is said to have
determined the reactionary policy of Alexander III. (1818-1887).
KATRINE, LOCH, a long narrow beautiful lake in the Trossachs,
Scotland, about 30 m. N. of Glasgow, to which it affords an abundant
water supply, is 8 m. long and ¾ broad; the splendid scenery of it is
described in Scott's "Lady of the Lake."
KAUFFMANN, ANGELICA, painter, born in the Tyrol; gave early evidence
of artistic talent; came to London, and became one of the first members
of the Royal Academy; produced pictures on classical and mythological
subjects, as well as portraits of the royal family among others; her
story forms the basis of a fiction by Miss Thackeray (1741-1807).
KAUFMANN, CONSTANTINO VON, Russian general, of German descent; did
much to contribute to the establishment of the Russian power in Central
Asia (1818-1882).
KAULBACH, WILHELM VON, German painter, head of the new German
school, born in Waldeck; was a pupil of Cornelius, and associated with
him in painting the frescoes in the Glyptothek in Münich; among other
works, which have made his name famous, he executed the splendid series
of compositions that adorn the vestibule of the Berlin Museum; he
illustrated Goethe's "Faust" and his "Reinecke Fuchs" (1805-1874).
KAUNITZ, PRINCE VON, Austrian statesman, born at Vienna; under
Charles VI. and Maria Theresa distinguished as a diplomatist at the
Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and sided with France in the Seven
Years' War; was for nearly 40 years "the shining star and guide of
Austrian politics, and greatest of diplomatists in his day, supreme Jove
in that extinct Olympus; regarded with sublime pity, not unalloyed to
contempt, all other diplomatic beings"; he shared with Colonne the
_sobriquet_ of the "European coach-driver"; he was sold body and soul to
the interests of Austria (1711-1794).
KAVANAGH, JULIA, novelist, born in Tipperary, a very dainty little
lady; wrote "Madeleine," "Woman in France," "Women of Letters," "Women of
Christianity," &c.; spent most of her life in France (1824-1877).
KAWI, the old language of Java found in old documents and
inscriptions.
KAY, SIR, a rude and boastful Knight of the Round Table,
foster-brother of King Arthur, who from his braggart ways often made
himself the butt of the whole court.
KAY, JOHN, a Scottish caricaturist, born near Dalkeith; began
business in Edinburgh first as a barber and then as a print-seller;
author of sketches of local celebrities, now collected in two volumes,
and of much interest and value as a record of the Edinburgh of his time
(1742-1826).
KAYE, SIR JOHN WILLIAM, historian of English India, an officer in
the Bengal Artillery, retired in 1841; in 1856 entered the East India
Company's service in England, and was subsequently a secretary in the
Government India Office; he wrote "History of the Sepoy War 1857-58," and
"Essays of an Optimist" (1814-1876).
KEAN, CHARLES JOHN, actor, second son of the succeeding, born in
Waterford; made his first appearance in Drury Lane in 1827, which proved
unsuccessful, but by assiduous study and his marriage with Helen Tree, a
popular actress who played along with him, he rose in the profession and
became lessee of the Princess's Theatre, London, where he distinguished
himself by his revivals of Shakespeare's plays, with auxiliary effects
due to scenery and costume; he was at his best in melodramas, such as
"Louis XI." (1811-1868).
KEAN, EDMUND, distinguished English tragedian, born in London; trod
the stage from his infancy; his first success was Shylock in the
"Merchant of Venice" in 1814, and the representation of it was followed
by equally famous representations of Richard III., Othello, and Sir Giles
Overreach; he led a very dissipated life, and under the effects of it his
constitution gave way; he broke down one evening beside his son as Iago,
as he was playing the part of Othello, was carried off the stage, and
never appeared on the boards again (1787-1833).
KEARY, ANNIE, novelist, born in Yorkshire; began as a writer of
children's books, "Castle Daly," an Irish novel, among her best; was a
woman of a sympathetic nature, and was devoted to works of benevolence
(1825-1882).
KEATS, JOHN, was the son of a livery-stable proprietor, born at
Finsbury, London; never went to a university, but was apprenticed to a
London surgeon, and subsequently practised medicine himself in London;
abandoning his profession in 1817, he devoted himself to literature, made
the acquaintance of Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt, Lamb, Wordsworth, and other
literary men; left London for Carisbrooke, moved next year to Teignmouth,
but on a visit to Scotland contracted what proved to be consumption; in
1819 he was betrothed to Miss Fanny Browne, and struggled against
ill-health and financial difficulties till his health completely gave way
in the autumn of 1820; accompanied by the artist Joseph Severn he went to
Naples and then to Rome, where, in the spring following, he died; his
works were three volumes of poetry, "Poems" 1817, "Endymion" 1818,
"Lamia, Isabella and other Poems," including "Hyperion" and "The Eve of
St. Agnes" 1820; he never reached maturity in his art, but the dignity,
tenderness, and imaginative power of his work contained the highest
promise; he was a man of noble character, sensitive, yet strong,
unselfish, and magnanimous, by some regarded as the most original of
modern poets (1795-1821).
KEBLAH, the point of the compass to which people turn their faces
when they worship, as the Mohammedans do to Mecca when they pray.
KEBLE, JOHN, English clergyman, author of the "Christian Year," born
in Fairford, Gloucestershire; studied at Oxford, and became Fellow of
Oriel College in 1811; in 1827 appeared the "Christian Year," which he
published anonymously; in 1831 was appointed professor of Poetry in
Oxford, and that same year issued an "Address to the Electors of the
United Kingdom" against the Reform Bill; he was one of four who
originated the Tractarian movement at Oxford, and was the author of
several of the "Tracts for the Times"; in 1835 he was presented to the
vicarage of Hursley, which he held till his death; he was author of "Lyra
Innocentium," and along with Newman and others of "Lyra Apostolica"; the
secession of Newman rather riveted than loosened his attachment to the
English Church (1792-1866).
KEDRON, a wady E. of Jerusalem, traversed by a brook in the rainy
season, and which runs in the direction of the Dead Sea.
KEELHAULING, a naval punishment of the 17th and 18th centuries;
consisted in dropping the victim into the sea from one yardarm, hauling
him under the keel and up to the yardarm on the other side; is now a term
for a severe rebuke.
KEELING ISLANDS. See COCOS ISLANDS.
KEEWATIN, a district in Canada under the jurisdiction of the
government of Manitoba, and N. of it; the mineral wealth is great, and
includes copper and silver.
KEHAMA, a Hindu rajah who obtains and sports with supernatural
powers, whose adventures are given in Southey's "Curse of Kehama."
KEIGHLEY (30), a Yorkshire town, on the Aire, 9 m. NW. of Bradford;
manufactures woollen and worsted fabrics and spinning-machinery.
KEIGHTLEY, THOMAS, man of letters, born in Dublin; wrote a number of
school manuals, and "Fairy Mythology" (1789-1872).
KEIM, THEODOR, a German theologian, born at Stuttgart, professor at
Zurich and afterwards at Giessen; his great work, to which others were
preliminary, was his "History of Jesu of Nazara," in which he presents
the person of Christ Himself as the one miracle in the story and that
eclipses every other in it, and makes them of no account comparatively
(1823-1878).
KEITH, JAMES, known as Marshal Keith, born near Peterhead, of an old
Scotch family, Earls Marischal of Scotland; having had to leave the
country for his share in the Jacobite rebellion, fled first to Spain and
then to Russia, doing military service in both, but quitted both in 1747
for service in Prussia under Frederick the Great, who soon recognised the
worth of him, and under whom he rose to be field-marshal; he
distinguished himself in successive engagements, and fell shot through
the heart, when in the charge of the right wing at Hochkirch; as he
opened his way by his bayonet the enemy gathered round him after being
twice repulsed (1696-1758).
KEITH, LORD, English admiral, born near Stirling; served in various
parts of the world, and distinguished himself in the American and French
wars.
KELAT (14), capital of Beluchistan, in a lofty region 140 m. S. of
Kandahar; is the residence of a British agent since 1877, and was annexed
as a British possession in 1888. It is a military stronghold, and of
great importance in a military point of view.
KELLER, FERDINAND, Swiss archæologist; his reputation rests on his
investigations of lake-dwellings in Switzerland in 1853-54 (1800-1881).
KELLER, GOTTFRIED, distinguished poet and novelist, born in Zurich;
his greatest remance, and the one by which he is best known, is "Der
Grüne Heinrich"; wrote also a collection of excellent tales entitled,
"Die Leute von Seldwyla" (1819-1890).
KELLERMANN, FRANÇOIS CHRISTOPHE, Duke of Valmy, French general born
in Alsace, son of a peasant; entered the army at 17; served in the Seven
Years' War; embraced the Revolution; defeated the Duke of Brunswick at
Valmy in 1792; served under Napoleon as commander of the reserves on the
Rhine, but supported the Bourbons at the Restoration (1735-1820).
KELLS (2), an ancient town in co. Meath, with many antiquities;
gives its name to the "Book of Kells," a beautiful 9th-century Keltic
illuminated manuscript of the Gospels, now in the library of Trinity
College, Dublin.
KELP, an alkaline substance derived from the ashes of certain
sea-weeds, yielding iodine, soda, potass, and certain oils; kelp-burning
was formerly a valuable industry in Orkney and the Hebrides.
KELPIE, an imaginary water-spirit which, it is said, appears
generally in the form of a horse.
KELSO, a market-town in Roxburghshire, beautifully situated on the
Tweed, where the Teviot joins it, with the ruins of an abbey of the 12th
or the early 13th century.
KELVIN, LORD. See THOMSON, WILLIAM.
KEMBLE, a family of three sons and one daughter, children of Roger
Kemble, a provincial theatrical manager, all actors, of whom the greatest
was the eldest, Sarah, MRS. SIDDONS (q. v.).
KEMBLE, ADELAIDE, daughter of Charles, was noted as an operatic
singer, but retired from the stage on her marriage 1842 (1814-1879).
KEMBLE, CHARLES, son of Roger, born at Brecon; appeared first at
Sheffield as Orlando, in 1792, and two years later came to London, where
he continued playing till 1840, when he was appointed Examiner of Plays
(1775-1854). Two daughters of Charles also won fame on the stage.
KEMBLE, FRANCES ANNE, daughter of Charles, born in London; made her
_début_ in 1829, and proved a queen of tragedy; in 1832 went to America,
where, in 1834, she married a planter, from whom she was divorced in
1848; resuming her maiden name, Fanny Kemble, she gave Shakespearian
readings for 20 years (1809-1893).
KEMBLE, JOHN MITCHELL, Anglo-Saxon scholar, born in London, son of
Charles Kemble; edited writings belonging to the Anglo-Saxon period; his
chief work "The Saxons in England" (1807-1857).
KEMBLE, JOHN PHILIP, eldest son of Roger, born at Prescot,
Lancashire; began to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood, but adopted
the stage, and appeared first at Wolverhampton in 1776; after touring in
Yorkshire and Ireland he came to London in 1783, playing Hamlet at Drury
Lane; became manager of that theatre in 1788; in 1802 transferred himself
to Covent Garden, where, on the opening of the new house in 1809, the
"Old Price" riots brought him ill-will; he retired in 1817, and lived at
Lausanne till his death (1757-1823).
KEMBLE, STEPHEN, son of Roger, was from 1792 till 1800 manager of
Edinburgh Theatre (1758-1822).
KEMP, GEORGE MEIKLE, architect, born in Moorfoot, Peeblesshire; bred
a millwright, became a draughtsman, studied Gothic architecture, and
designed the Scott Monument in Edinburgh; was drowned one evening in the
Union Canal before the work was finished (1796-1844).
KEMPEN, a Prussian town, 27 m. NW. of Düsseldorf; manufactures
textile fabrics in silk, cotton, linen, &c.; was the birthplace of Thomas
à Kempis.
KEMPENFELT, RICHARD, British admiral, born at Westminster;
distinguished himself in several actions, was on board of the _Royal
George_ as his flagship when she went down at Spithead, carrying him
along with her and over a thousand others also on board at the time; he
was a brave and skilful officer, and his death was a great loss to the
service (1718-1782).
KEMPIS, THOMAS À, born at Kempen, near Düsseldorf, son of a poor but
honest and industrious craftsman named Hämerkin; joined, while yet a
youth, the "Brotherhood of Common Life" at Deventer, in Holland, and at
20 entered the monastery of St. Agnes, near Zwolle, in Oberyssel, where
he chiefly resided for 70 long years, and of which he became sub-prior,
where he spent his time in acts of devotion and copying MSS., that of the
Bible, among others, in the Vulgate version of it, as well as in the
production of works of his own, and in chief the "Imitation of Christ," a
work that in the regard of many ranks second to the Bible, and is thought
likely to survive in the literature of the world as long as the Bible
itself; it has been translated into all languages within, as well as
others outside, the pale of Christendom, and as many as six thousand
editions, it is reckoned, have issued from the press; it is five
centuries and a half since it was first given to the world, and it has
ever since continued to be a light in it to thousands in the way of a
holy and divine life; it draws its inspiration direct from the
fountain-head of Holy Scripture, and is breathing full of the same spirit
that inspires the sacred book (1380-1471).
KEN, THOMAS, English prelate, born at Little Berkhampstead; is
famous as the author of hymns, especially the morning one, "Awake, my
Soul," and the evening one, "Glory to Thee, my God"; was committed to the
Tower for refusing to read James II.'s "Declaration of Indulgence," and
deprived of his bishopric, that of Bath and Wells, for refusing to take
the oath of allegiance to William III. (1637-1711).
KENDAL (14), a Westmorland market-town on the Kent, 38 m. S. of
Carlisle; manufactures heavy woollen goods, paper, and snuff; it owes the
introduction of its woollen manufacture to the settlement in it of
Flemings in the reign of Richard III.
KENIA, MOUNT, a mountain in British East Africa, 10° S. of the
Equator, 18,000 ft. above the sea-level, and one of the highest on the
continent.
KENILWORTH (4), a Warwickshire market-town, 5 m. N. of Warwick;
noted for its castle, where, as described by Scott in his novel of the
name, Leicester sumptuously entertained Elizabeth in 1575; has some
tanworks, tanning being the chief industry.
KENNAQUHAIR (i. e. know-not-where), an imaginary locality in
Scott's "Monastery." See WEISSNICHTWO.
KENNEDY, BENJAMIN HALL, head-master of Shrewsbury, son of a
schoolmaster, born at Birmingham; after a brilliant career at Cambridge
became, in 1828, Fellow of St. John's, in 1830 assistant-master at
Harrow, and in 1830 was appointed to Shrewsbury, where he proved one of
the greatest of schoolmasters (1804-1889).
KENNICOTT, BENJAMIN, English Hebraist, born at Totnes, Devonshire,
educated at Oxford; became Fellow of Exeter, Radcliffe librarian, and in
1770 canon of Christ Church; from 1753 he organised and took part in an
extensive collation of Hebrew texts, issuing in 1776-80 the "Hebrew Old
Testament, with Various Readings" (1718-1783).
KENSAL GREEN, a cemetery in the NW. of London; celebrated as the
burial-place of many eminent men, Thackeray in chief.
KENSINGTON (166), a West London parish, in which stand the Palace
(Queen Victoria's birthplace), the Albert Memorial and Hall, South
Kensington Museum, the Royal College of Music, the Imperial Institute,
and many other institutions: contains also Holland House, and has long
been the place of residence of notably artistic and literary men.
KENT (1,142), English maritime county in the extreme SE.; lies
between the Thames estuary and the Strait of Dover, with Surrey and
Sussex on the W.; it is hilly, with marshes in the SE. and on the Thames
shore; is watered by the Medway, Stour, and Darent; has beautiful
scenery, rich pasturage, and fine agricultural land, largely under hops
and market-gardens; a large part of London is in Kent; Maidstone (32) is
the county town; Rochester (26) and Canterbury (23) are cathedral cities;
Woolwich (99), Gravesend (35), and Dover (33) are seaports, and Margate
and Ramsgate watering-places.
KENTIGERN, ST., or ST. MUNGO, the Apostle of Cumbria, born at
Culross, the natural son of a princess named Thenew; entered the
monastery there, where he had been trained from a boy, and founded a
monastery near Glasgow and another in Wales; was distinguished for his
missionary labours; was buried at Glasgow Cathedral (518-603).
KENTISH FIRE, vehement and prolonged derisive cheering, so called
from indulgence in it in Kent at meetings to oppose the Catholic
Emancipation Bill of 1829.
KENTUCKY (1,859), an American State in the S. of the Ohio basin,
with the Virginias on its E. and Tennessee on its S. border and the
Mississippi River on the W.; is watered by the Licking and Kentucky
Rivers that cross the State from the Cumberland Mountains in the SE. to
the Ohio, and the Tennessee River traverses the western corner; the
climate is mild and healthy; much of the soil is extremely fertile,
giving hemp and the largest tobacco crops in the Union; there are dense
forests of virgin ash, walnut, and oak over two-thirds of the State, and
on its pasturage the finest stock and horses are bred; coal is found in
both the E. and the W., and iron is plentiful; the chief industries are
whisky distilling, iron smelting and working; admitted to the Union in
1792, Kentucky was a slave-holding State, but did not secede in the Civil
War; the capital is Frankfort (8), the largest city Louisville (160); the
State University is at Lexington (29).
KEPLER, JOHN, illustrious astronomer, born at Weil der Stadt,
Würtemberg, born in poverty; studied at Tübingen chiefly mathematics and
astronomy, became lecturer on these subjects at Grätz; joined Tycho Brahé
at Prague as assistant, who obtained a pension of £18 for him from the
Austrian government, which was never paid; removed to Lintz, where Sir
Henry Wotton saw him living in a _camera obscura_ tent doing ingenious
things, photographing the heavens, "inventing toys, writing almanacs, and
being ill off for cash ... an ingenious person, if there ever was one
among Adam's posterity ... busy discovering the system of the
world--grandest conquest ever made, or to be made," adds Carlyle, "by the
sons of Adam"; he was long occupied in studying the "'motions of the
star' Mars, with calculations repeated seventy times, and with the
discovery of the planetary laws of the Universe"; these last are called
from his discovery of them Kepler's Laws; the first, that the planets
move on elliptic orbits, the sun in one of the foci; the second, that, in
describing its orbit, the radius vector of a planet traverses equal areas
in equal times; and the third, that the square of the time of the
revolution of a planet is proportional to the cube of its mean distance
from the sun; poverty pursued Kepler all his days, and he died of fever
at Ratisbon (1571-1630).
KEPLER'S LAWS. See KEPLER, JOHN.
KEPPEL, AUGUSTUS, VISCOUNT, son of the Earl of Albemarle; entered
the navy, and was in several engagements between 1757 and 1778; when
encountering the French off Ushant he quarrelled with his
second-in-command and let them escape; was court-martialled, but
acquitted; he was afterwards First Lord of the Admiralty (1725-1786).
KER, DR. JOHN, minister and professor, was horn in Peeblesshire,
brought up in Edinburgh; studied there and in Halle, was chosen to fill
the chair of Practical Training in the U.P. Theological College in 1876;
published some "Sermons," and "The Psalms in History and Biography"
(1819-1886).
KERATIN, a substance forming the chief constituent in the hair,
nails, and horn of animals.
KERGUELEN'S LAND, an island with rugged coasts, 85 m. long by 70
wide, of volcanic origin, in the Antarctic Ocean; so called after its
discoverer in 1772, changed to Desolation Island in 1776 by Captain Cook;
belongs to France.
KERMAN (300), an eastern province of Persia, the N. and the NE. of
it a desolate salt waste, and with a chief town (30) of the name in the
middle of it, once a great emporium of trade; manufactures carpets.
KERNER, ANDREAS, a lyric poet of the Swabian school, born in
Würtemberg; studied and wrote on animal magnetism and spiritualism
(1786-1862).
KEROSENE, a refined petroleum used as oil for lamps.
KERRY (179), maritime county in the SW. of Ireland, between the
Shannon and Kenmare Rivers, with Limerick and Cork on the E.; has a
rugged, indented coast, Dingle Bay running far inland; is mountainous,
having Mount Brandon, the Macgillicuddy, and Dunkerron ranges, and
contains the picturesque Lakes of Killarney; there is little industry or
agriculture, but dairy-farming, slate-quarrying, and fishing are
prosecuted; iron, copper, and lead abound, but are not wrought; the
population is Roman Catholic; county town, Tralee (9).
KERTCH (30), a seaport of the Crimea, on the eastern shore; had a
large export trade, which suffered during the Crimea War, but has revived
since.
KESWICK (4), a Cumberland market-town and tourist centre and capital
of the Lake District, on the Derwent, 20 m. SW. of Carlisle; manufactures
woollens, hardware, and lead-pencils; is the seat of an annual religious
convention which gives its name to a phase of Evangelicalism.
KET, ROBERT, a tanner in Norfolk, leader of an insurrection in the
country in 1549, was after seizing Norwich driven out by the Earl of
Warwick, captured, and hanged.
KETTERING (20), market-town in Northamptonshire; manufactures boots
and shoes, stays, brushes, &c.
KEW (2), a village on the Thames, in Surrey, 6 m. W. of Hyde Park,
where are the Royal Botanic Gardens, a national institution since 1840,
and an observatory.
KEY, FRANCIS SCOTT, author of "The Star-spangled Banner," born in
Maryland, U.S.; wrote the words that have immortalised him when he saw
the national flag floating over the ramparts of Baltimore in 1814
(1780-1857).
KEY WEST (10), a seaport, health resort, and naval station on a
coral island 60 m. SW. of Caple Sable, Florida; it has a good harbour and
strong fort; was the basis of operations in the Spanish-American War,
1898; exports salt, turtles, and fruit, and manufactures cigars.
KEYNE, ST., a pious virgin, lived in Cornwall about 490, and left
her name to a church and to a well whose waters are said to give the
upper hand to whichever of a bridal pair first drinks of them after the
wedding.
KEYS, HOUSE OF, the third estate in the Isle of Man, consisting of
24 members chosen by themselves, when a vacancy occurs, by presenting to
the Governor "two of the oldest and worthiest men in the isle" for his
selection.
KEYS, POWER OF THE, power claimed, according to Matt. xvi. 19, by
the authorities of the Church to admit or exclude from church membership,
a power the Roman Catholics allege conferred at first on St. Peter and
afterwards on his successors in office.
KHAMSIN (fifty), a hot sand wind which blows in Egypt from the
desert for fifty days, chiefly before and after the month of May.
KHAN, the title of a Tartar sovereign or prince; also an Eastern inn
or caravansary.
KHANDESH, a district of Bombay in the valley of the Tapti; a great
cotton-growing centre; Dhulia, the capital.
KHARKOFF (194), important town in Little Russia, 350 m. NE. of
Odessa; has immense horse and wool fairs, and manufactures sugar, soap,
felt, and iron; it is a Greek bishopric, a university seat, and has
various schools of learning.
KHARTOUM (60), a caravan depôt in the Soudan, just above the
confluence of the Blue and White Niles, 1100 m. S. of Cairo; was an
active slave-trade centre, and commercially important; was captured by
the Mahdists in 1885, when General Gordon fell; retaken by Lord Kitchener
in 1898; lately has been superseded by Omdurman on the opposite bank of
the Nile.
KHATMANDU (50), the capital of Nepal, India, at the confluence of
the Baghmati and Vishnumati Rivers, 60 m. N. of the British frontier; is
the centre of a considerable trade.
KHEDIVE, the official title of the Viceroy of Egypt since 1867, the
first to hold it being Ismail, the son of IBRAHIM PASHA (q. v.),
by grant of the Sultan, his suzerain.
KHERSON (62), on the Dnieper, 19 m. from the sea and 60 m. E. of
Odessa; capital of the Russian government of Kherson; has been surpassed
in importance by Odessa; its trade is in timber, and industries are
soap-making, brewing, and wool-cleansing.
KHINGANS, THE, a range of volcanic mountains on the E. of the desert
of Gobi.
KHIVA (500), a Turkestan province or khanate in Central Asia, S. of
the Sea of Aral; is under Russian protection since 1873; a sandy desert
with many oases, and in some parts well irrigated from the Oxus; it
produces wheat, rice, cotton, and fruit; climate subject to extremes.
KHIVA, the capital (20), on a canal connected with the Amu, some
distance from the left bank of the Oxus, and 300 m. NW. of Merv, is a
town of earth huts; it was at one time one of the chief slave-markets in
Asia till the traffic was put a stop to by Russia.
KHORASSAN, the largest province of Persia; is on the Afghan border,
mountainous, and fertile only in the N. among the valleys of the Elburz
range; grain, tobacco, and medicinal plants are grown; gold and silver,
turquoises, and other gems found. The capital is Meshed (50), a sacred
Moslem city, with carpet, jewellery, and silk manufactures.
KHYBER PASS, a narrow defile 33 m. long, in one place only 10 ft.
wide, through not lofty but precipitous mountains; lies to the NW. of
Peshawur, and is the chief route between the Punjab and Afghanistan; was
the scene of a British catastrophe in the war of 1839-42, but has been
repeatedly forced since, and since 1879 has been under British control.
KIAKHTA (9), a Russian town in Transbaikalia, Siberia, on the
borders of China; an emporium of trade between China and Russia.
KIAO-CHAU, a province of Shantung, China; occupied by Germany in
1897, and ceded to her on a 99 years' lease by China in 1898; extends to
about 160 m. along the coast, and about 20 m. inland.
KIDD, WILLIAM, a noted pirate, born of Covenanting parents at
Greenock; went to sea early, and served in privateering expeditions with
distinction; appointed to the command of a privateer about 1696, and
commissioned to suppress the pirates of the Indian Ocean, he went to
Madagascar, and there started piracy himself; entering Boston harbour in
1700 he was arrested, sent to London, tried on a charge of piracy and
murder, and executed in 1701.
KIDDERMINSTER (26), in the N. of Worcester, 18 m. SW. of Birmingham;
has been since 1735 noted for its carpets; manufactures also silk, paper,
and leather; was the scene of Richard Baxter's labours as vicar, and the
birthplace of Sir Rowland Hill.
KIEFF (184), on the Dnieper, 300 m. N. of Odessa, is a holy city,
the capital of the province of Kieff, strongly fortified, and one of the
oldest towns in Russia, where Christianity was proclaimed the religion of
the country in 988; has St. Vladimir's University, theological schools,
and Petchersk monastery; a pilgrim resort; industries unimportant,
include tanning and candle-making; trade chiefly in the hands of the
Jews.
KIEL (69), on the Baltic, 60 m. N. of Hamburg, is the capital of
Schleswig-Holstein, a German naval station and important seaport, with
shipments of coal, flour, and dairy produce; has shipbuilding and brewing
industries, a university and library, and is the eastern terminus of the
Baltic Ship Canal, opened 1895.
KIEPERT, HEINRICH, distinguished German cartographer, born at
Berlin; was professor of Geography there; his chief works an "Atlas of
Asia Minor," and his "Atlas Antiquus"; _b_. 1818.
KIERKEGAARD, SÖREN AABY, philosophical and religious thinker, born
at Copenhagen; lived a quiet, industrious, literary life, and exerted a
chief influence on 19th-century Dano-Norwegian literature; his greatest
works are "Either-Or," and "Stadia on Life's Way" (1813-1855).
KIESELGHUR, powder used for polishing and in the manufacture of
dynamite, formed from shells of microscopic organisms.
KILDA, ST., a lonely island in the Atlantic, 60 m. W. of Harris, 3
m. long by 2 broad, with a precipitous coast and a few poor inhabitants,
who live by fishing and fowling.
KILDARE (70), inland Irish county, in Leinster, in the upper basins
of the Liffey and Barrow, W. of Dublin and Wicklow; is level and fertile,
with the great Bog of Allen in the N., and in the centre the Curragh, a
grassy plain; agriculture is carried on in the river basins; the county
town is Naas (4); other towns Maynooth, with the Roman Catholic
theological college, and Kildare.
KILIAN, ST., the first apostle of the Franks, an Irish monk; deputed
by the Pope in 686.
KILIMA-NJARO, a volcanic mountain group, 19,000 ft. high, on the
northern border of German East Africa, 170 m. from the coast, with two
peaks, Kibo and Kimawenzi; in 1894 an Austrian communistic settlement was
established on the slopes.
KILKENNY (87), inland Irish county in Leinster, surrounded by
Waterford, Tipperary, Queen's County, Carlow, and Wexford, watered by the
Barrow, Suir, and Nore; extremely fertile in the S. and E., producing
fine corn, hay, and green crops; is moorland, and devoted to
cattle-rearing in the N., where also anthracite coal is abundant.
Kilkenny (11), the county town, is noted for a fine black marble quarried
near it.
KILLARNEY (5), market-town and tourist centre, in co. Kerry,
Ireland, on the shores of the lake, 15 m. SE. of Tralee; has a Roman
Catholic cathedral and some arbutus-carving industry.
KILLARNEY, THE LAKES OF, three beautiful lakes at the northern foot
of the Macgillicuddy Reeks, in the basin of the Leane, much resorted to
by tourists.
KILLIECRANKIE, PASS OF, 15 m. NW. of Dunkeld, in Perthshire, where
General Mackay was defeated by Claverhouse, who fell, in 1689; is
traversed by a road and a railway.
KILMAINHAM (5), a suburb of Dublin, with a royal hospital for
disabled soldiers and a jail; the treaty of Kilmainham was an agreement
said to have been made in 1882 between Gladstone and Parnell, who was
then confined in Kilmainham jail, affecting Irish government and policy.
KILMARNOCK (28), on the Irvine, 20 m. SW. of Glasgow, largest town
in Ayrshire; is an important railway centre, has extensive engineer
works, carpet factories, and breweries; is in the middle of a rich coal
and iron district, and has a great annual cheese and dairy produce show.
KIMBERLEY (29), 500 m. NE. of Cape Town; is capital of Griqualand
West, and chief inland town in South Africa, in a dry but healthy
situation; exists in virtue of diamond mines in the vicinity, the richest
in the world. Also the name of a district in the N. of West Australia, a
district of rising prosperity.
KIMBERLEY, EARL OF, English Liberal statesman, son of Baron
Wodehouse; succeeded to the title 1846; was twice over Under-Secretary
for Foreign Affairs, and Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1864-66; in 1866
created Earl of Kimberley, he was in succession Lord Privy Seal, Colonial
Secretary, Secretary for India, and Foreign Secretary; _b_. 1826.
KIMCHI, DAVID, a Jewish rabbi, born at Narbonne; wrote a Hebrew
grammar and lexicon, which forms the basis of all subsequent ones, also
commentaries on most books of the Old Testament (1160-1235).
KINCARDINESHIRE (35), east coast Scottish county, lying between
Aberdeen and Forfar, faces the North Sea, with precipitous cliffs; has
much fertile soil under corn, green crops, and small fruit, also pasture
and grazing land where cattle are reared; the fishing is important, and
there are some coarse linen factories; chief towns, Stonehaven (5) and
Bervie (1).
KINDERGARTEN, schools conducted according to Froebel's system for
the development of the power of observation and the memory of young
children.
KINEMATICS, the science of pure motion under the categories of space
and time, irrespective of consideration of the forces determining it and
the mass of the body moved.
KINEMATOGRAPH, a photographic apparatus by which an impression is
taken of closely consecutive stages in the development of a scene.
KINETICS, the science of the action of forces causing motion; both
this law and the two preceding are derived from a Greek word signifying
"to move."
KING, WILLIAM RUFUS, American statesman and diplomatist, born in
North Carolina; was a member of Congress and the Senate, and
Vice-President of the Republic, represented the United States both at St.
James's and in France (1755-1827).
KING NIBELUNG, king of the NIBELUNGEN (q. v.), who left his
two sons an inexhaustible hoard of wealth, so large that 12 waggons in 12
days at the rate of 3 journeys a day could not carry it off.
KING OF THE ROMANS, a title assumed by the Emperor Henry II., and
afterwards conferred on the eldest son of the emperor of Germany.
KINGLAKE, ALEXANDER WILLIAM, historian, born near Taunton; bred for
the bar, gave up the legal profession, in which he had a lucrative
practice, for literature; is the author of two works, "Eothen" and the
"History of the War in the Crimea," in 8 vols., the former a brilliantly
written book of travels in the East, published in 1844, the latter a
minute record of the war, of which the last vol. was published in 1890,
pronounced by Prof. Saintsbury, in a literary point of view, to be "an
imposing failure" (1809-1891).
KINGMAKER, THE, a title popularly given to Richard Nevil, Earl of
Warwick, who was instrumental in raising Edward IV. to the throne of
England by dethroning Henry VI., and afterwards in restoring Henry by the
defeat of Edward.
KINGS, THE BOOK OF, two books of the Old Testament, originally one,
but divided in the Septuagint into two, containing the history of the
Jewish kingdom under the kings from its establishment under David to its
fall, and covering a period from 1015 B.C. to 560 B.C., during which
time the kingdom fell into two, that of Israel and that of Judah, the
captivity of the former, occurring 130 years before that of the latter;
the author, who is unknown, wrote the history at the time of the
captivity, and his object is didactic of the effect on the history of a
nation of its apostasy from faith in its God, not, however, without a
promise of restoration in the case of repentance.
KING'S COLLEGE, London, a Church of England institution, with
faculties of Theology, Arts, Science, and Medicine, Evening Class, Civil
Service and Art departments, a preparatory School and a Ladies'
department; it grants the title of associate.
KING'S COUNSEL or QUEEN'S COUNSEL are those barristers in
England and Ireland who, having been successful in their profession have
received the letters-patent conferring that title and right of precedence
in all courts; the appointment is honorary and for life, but in acting
against the Crown a Q.C. must obtain leave by special license, which is
always granted.
KING'S COUNTY (66), an inland Irish county on the left bank of the
Shannon, between Tipperary and West Meath; is mostly flat, a quarter of
it bogland and a quarter under crops; the chief towns are Tullamore (5),
the county town, on the Grand Canal, and Birr or Parsonstown (4), where
Lord Rosse's great telescope is.
KINGSLEY, CHARLES, canon of Westminster and chaplain to the Queen,
born at Holne Vicarage, near Dartmoor; studied at Cambridge; became
rector of Eversley, in Hampshire, in 1844; was the author in 1848 of a
drama, entitled "The Saint's Tragedy," with St. Elizabeth of Hungary for
heroine, which was followed successively by "Alton Locke" (1849), and
"Yeast" (1851), chiefly in a Socialistic interest; "Hypatia," a brilliant
book in the interest of early Christianity in Alexandria and "Westward
Ho!" a narrative of the rivalry of England with Spain in the days of
Elizabeth, and besides other works, including "Two Years Ago," "Water
Babies," and "Hereward the Wake," he was the author of the popular
ballads of "The Three Fishers," "The Starlings," and "The Sands of Dee";
his writings had a great influence on his contemporaries, particularly on
young men; Professor Saintsbury writes an appreciative estimate of
Kingsley (1819-1875).
KINGSLEY, HENRY, younger brother of the preceding; after a brief
experience of life in Australia he returned home to start on the career
of letters in rivalry with his brother, and distinguished himself by
exhibitions of similar literary ability, as a novelist especially, as
well as kindred sympathies; his principal novels were "Geoffrey Hamlyn,"
one of the best novels on Australian life; "Ravenshoe," his masterpiece,
and "The Hillyars and the Burtons" (1830-1876).
KINGSTON, 1, capital (13) of Frontenac County, Ontario, on the NE.
shore of the Lake, 150 m. E. of Toronto, an important commercial town
with shipbuilding and engineering works; is the seat of Queen's
University, military and medical colleges, and an observatory. 2, Capital
(47) of Jamaica, on a great bay on the S. coast, on the edge of a
sugar-growing district; exports sugar, tobacco, and dye-woods, and
imports cotton, flour, and rice. 3, a town (21) on the Hudson, N.Y., has
great blue stone-flag quarries, and cement-works, breweries, and
tanneries.
KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES (27), in Surrey, 10 m. SW. of London, has a
fine church and other buildings, and malting industry.
KINGSTON, W. H. G., popular boys' story-writer, born in London,
spent his youth in Oporto, was interested in philosophic schemes, and
helped to arrange the Anglo-Portuguese commercial treaty; he wrote 120
tales, of which the "Three Midshipmen" series is the best, and died at
Willesden (1814-1880).
KINGSTOWN, seaport of Dublin, 7 m. SE.; was till 1817 but a fishing
village; has a harbour designed by Rennie, which cost £525,000; was
originally Dunleary, and changed into Kingstown on George IV.'s visit in
1821.
KINKEL, JOHANN GOTTFRIED, German poet and writer on æsthetics, born
near Bonn; studied for the Church, but became lecturer on Art in Bonn,
1846; two years later he was imprisoned for revolutionary proceedings;
escaped in 1850 to England, and became professor at Zurich in 1866; wrote
"Otto der Schütz," an epic, and "Nimrod," a drama (1815-1882).
KINROSS (7), small Scottish county lying between Perth and Fife,
round Loch Leven, is agricultural and grazing, with some hills of no
great height, and coal mines; the co. town, KINROSS (2), is on the
W. shore of Loch Leven; manufactures tartan.
KINSALE (5), a once important seaport in co. Cork, at the mouth of
the Bandon, 13 m. S. of Cork; has lost its trade, and is now a summer
resort and fishing station; King James II. landed here in 1689, and
re-embarked in 1690.
KINTYRE, a long narrow isthmus on the W. coast of Scotland, between
the Atlantic and the Firth of Clyde, is chiefly hill and grass country;
but at Campbeltown are great distilleries; at Machrihanish Bay, on the W.
coast, are fine golfing links.
KIPCHAKS, a nomadic Turkish race who settled on the south-eastern
steppes of Russia about the 11th century, and whose descendants still
occupy the district.
KIPLING, RUDYARD, story-teller and poet, born in Bombay, and
educated in England; went out to India as a journalist; his stories
respect Anglo-Indian, and especially military, life in India, and his
"Soldiers Three," with the rest that followed, such as "Wee Willie
Winkie," gained for him an immediate and wide reputation; as a poet, his
most successful effort is his "Barrack-Room Ballads," instinct with a
martial spirit, in 1864; he is a writer of conspicuous realistic power;
he deems it the mission of civilisation to drill the savage races in
humanity; _b_. 1865.
KIRBY, WILLIAM, entomologist, born in Suffolk; distinguished as the
author of "Monographia Apium Angliæ," and "Introduction to Entomology";
was rector of Barham, Suffolk, for 68 years (1759-1850).
KIRGHIZ, a nomadic Turkish people occupying the Kirghiz steppes, an
immense tract E. of the Ural River and the Caspian Sea, numbering 2½
millions, adventurous, witty, and free-spirited; refuse to settle; retain
ancient customs and characteristics, and are Moslems only in name.
KIRK SESSION, an ecclesiastical court in Scotland, composed of the
minister and elders of a parish, subject to the Presbytery of the
district.
KIRKCALDY (27), a manufacturing and seaport town in Fifeshire,
extending 4 m. along the north shore of the Forth, known as the "lang
toon." It was the birthplace of Adam Smith, and one of the scenes of the
schoolmastership period of Thomas Carlyle's life; manufactures textile
fabrics and floorcloth; is a busy town.
KIRKCUDBRIGHT (40), a Scottish county on the Solway shore between
Wigtown and Dumfries, watered by the rivers Nith, Dee, and Cree; has
Mount Merrick on the NW. border, and Loch Dee in the middle; one-third of
its area cultivated, the rest chiefly hill pasturage. County town
KIRKCUDBRIGHT (3), on the Dee, 6 m. from the Solway; held St.
Cuthbert's church.
KIRKDALE CAVE, a cave in the vale of Pickering, Yorkshire,
discovered by Buckland to contain the remains of a number of extinct
species of mammals.
KIRKE'S LAMBS, the soldiers of Colonel Kirke, an officer of the
English army in James the Second's time, distinguished for their acts of
cruelty inflicted on the Monmouth party.
KIRKINTILLOCH (10), a town on the Forth and Clyde Canal, 7 m. N. of
Glasgow, manufactures chemicals, has calico works, and mines of coal and
iron.
KIRKWALL (4), capital of Orkney, in the E. of Mainland, 35 m. NE. of
Thurso; has a fine cathedral named St. Magnus, and some shipping trade;
it was in mediæval times subject to Norway, and was the residence of the
jarls.
KIRRIEMUIR (4), a small Forfarshire town, 5 m. NW. of Forfar, native
place of J. M. Barrie, and the "Thrums" of his books; manufactures brown
linens.
KIRSCHWASSER (cherry water), a liqueur formed from ripe cherries
with the stones pounded in it after fermentation and then distilled.
KISFALUDY, KAROLY, Hungarian dramatist, brother of the following,
was founder of the national drama, and with his brother ranks high in the
literature of the country (1788-1830).
KISFALUDY, SANDOR, a Hungarian lyric poet, "Himfy's Loves" his chief
work, was less distinguished as a dramatist (1772-1844).
KISSINGEN (4), Bavarian watering-place on the Saale, 65 m. E. of
Frankfort-on-the-Main, visited for its saline springs by 14,000 people
annually; its waters are used both internally and externally, and are
good for dyspepsia, gout, and skin-diseases.
KITCAT CLUB, founded in 1688 ostensibly to encourage literature and
art, and named after Christopher Catt, in whose premises it met; became
ultimately a Whig society to promote the Hanoverian succession;
Marlborough, Walpole, Congreve, Addison, and Steele were among the
thirty-nine members.
KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM, HORATIO HERBERT, LORD, son of Col. Kitchener;
joined the Royal Engineers, and was first engaged in survey work in
Palestine and Cyprus; became a major of cavalry in the Egyptian army
1882, served in the 1884 expedition, was governor of Suakim 1886, and
after leading the Egyptian troops at Handub 1888 was made aide-de-camp to
the Queen, C.B., and adjutant-general in the Egyptian army; he was
appointed Sirdar, commander-in-chief of that army, in 1892, organised and
led the expedition of 1898 which overthrew the Khalifa at Omdurman, and
for which he was awarded a peerage and received many honours, the freedom
of the cities of London and Edinburgh, &c.; a gift of £30,000 was voted
by the Government in 1899; _b_. 1850.
KIZIL (red river), the ancient Halys, the largest river in Asia
Minor, which flows into the Black Sea 40 m. E. of Sinope after a course
of 450 m.
KLAPKA, a Hungarian patriot, distinguished in arms against the
Austrians during the revolution, and for his heroic defence of Komorn in
the end (1820-1892).
KLAPROTH, JULIUS VON, Orientalist and philologist; was an
accomplished Chinese scholar; explored Siberia and Caucasia (1783-1835).
KLAUS, PETER, the German prototype of Rip Van Winkle, a goat-herd
who slept for the same number of years and at the end had similar
experiences.
KLAUSTHAL (9), in Hanover, 25 m. NE. of Göttingen, is the chief
mining town of the northern Hartz Mountains, and the seat of the German
mining administration, surrounded by silver, copper, lead, and zinc
mines.
KLÉBER, JEAN BAPTISTE, French general, born at Strasburg; originally
an architect, served with distinction in the Revolutionary army,
accompanied Bonaparte to Egypt, and was left by him in command, where,
after a bold attempt to regain lost ground and while in the act of
concluding a treaty with the Turks, he was assassinated by an Arab
fanatic (1753-1800).
KLEIST, HEINRICH VON, German dramatist and poet, born at
Frankfort-on-the-Oder; entered the army, but afterwards devoted himself
to literature; slow recognition and other trials preyed on his mind, and
he shot himself near Potsdam (1777-1811).
KLONDIKE, a small section of Yukon, a territory in the extreme NW.
of N. America, and a present-day centre of pilgrimage by gold-seekers
since the recent discovery of the gold-fields there.
KLOPSTOCK, FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB, German poet, born at Quedlinburg;
distinguished as the author of an epic poem entitled the "Messiah," which
is his chief work, his treatment of which invested him with a certain
sense of sanctity, and the publication of which did much to quicken and
elevate the literary life of Germany (1724-1803).
KNARESBOROUGH (5), Yorkshire market-town, 14 m. W. of York;
manufactures woollen rugs, grinds flour, and trades in corn.
KNELLER, SIR GODFREY, portrait-painter, born at Lübeck; studied
under Rembrandt and at Italy, came to England in 1674, and was appointed
court painter to Charles II., James II., William III., and George I.;
practised his art till he was seventy, and made a large fortune
(1646-1723).
KNICKERBOCKER, the imaginary author of the fictitious "History of
New York," by Washington Irving.
KNIGHT, CHARLES, London publisher and editor, publisher for the
Useful Knowledge Society, of "Library of Entertaining Knowledge," of the
"Penny Magazine," and the "Penny Cyclopædia," &c., as well as a
"Pictorial Shakespeare," edited by himself (1791-1873).
KNIGHTHOOD, a distinction granted to commoners, ranking next to
baronet, now bestowed by the crown; formerly knighthood was a military
order, any member of which might create new knights; it was originally
the highest rank of CHIVALRY (q. v.); it was an order of many
subdivisions developed during the crusades, and in full flower before the
Norman conquest of England.
KNIGHTS OF LABOUR, an American labour organisation, founded in 1869,
resembling a union of all trades, male and female; in 1886 had 730,000
members, which have since disagreed and fallen off.
KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE, King Arthur's knights, so called from
the round table at which they sat, so that when seated there might seem
no precedency, numbered popularly at twelve, though reckoned by some at
forty.
KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE, English gentry representing a middle class
between the barons and the peasants, acting as members of Parliament for
the county they belonged to.
KNOWLES, SHERIDAN, dramatist, born at Cork; was connected with the
stage first as actor and then as an author of plays, which include
"Virginius," "The Hunchback," and "The Wife"; latterly he gave up the
stage, and took to preaching in connection with the Baptist body
(1784-1862).
KNOW-NOTHINGS, a party in the United States that sprung up in 1853
and restricted the right of American citizenship to those who were born
in America or of an American parentage, so called because to those
inquisitive about their secret organisation they uniformly answered "I
know nothing."
KNOX, JOHN, the great Scottish Reformer, born at Giffordgate,
Haddington, in 1505; studied at Glasgow University; took priest's orders;
officiated as a priest, and did tutoring from 1530 to 1540; came under
the influence of George Wishart, and avowed the Reformed faith; took
refuge from persecution in St. Andrews Castle in 1547; was there summoned
to lead on the movement; on the surrender of the castle was taken
prisoner, and made a slave in a French galley for 19 months; liberated in
1549 at the intercession of Edward VI., came and assisted the Protestant
cause in England; was offered preferments in the Church, but declined
them; fled in 1553 to France, from the persecution of Bloody Mary;
ministered at Frankfort and Geneva to the English refugees; returned to
Scotland in 1555, but having married, went back next year to Geneva; was
in absence, in 1557, condemned to be burned; published in 1558 his "First
Blast against the Monstrous Regiment of Women"; returned to Scotland for
good in 1559, and became minister in Edinburgh; saw in 1560 the
jurisdiction of the Pope abolished in Scotland; had successive interviews
with Queen Mary after her arrival at Leith in 1561; was tried for
high-treason before the Privy Council, but acquitted in 1563; began his
"History of the Reformation in Scotland" in 1566; preached in 1567 at
James VI.'s coronation in Stirling; was in 1571 struck by apoplexy; died
in Edinburgh on the 24th November 1572, aged 67, the Regent Morton
pronouncing an _éloge_ at his grave, "There lies one who never feared the
face of man." Knox is pronounced by Carlyle to have been the one
Scotchman to whom, "of all others, his country and the world owe a debt";
"In the history of Scotland," he says, "I can find properly but one
epoch; we may say it contains nothing of world interest at all but this
Reformation by Knox.... It is as yet a country without a soul ... the
people now begin to _live_ ... Scottish literature and thought, Scottish
industry, James Watt, David Hume, Walter Scott (little as he dreamt of
debt in that quarter), and Robert Burns, I find Knox and the Reformation
acting on the heart's core of every one of these persons and phenomena; I
find that without the Reformation they would not have been; or," he adds,
"the Puritanism of England and of New England either"; and he sums up his
message thus: "Let men know that they are men, created by God,
responsible to God; who work in any meanest moment of time what will last
through eternity. This great message," he adds, "Knox delivered with a
man's voice and strength, and found a people to believe him."
KOBDO, a town in Mongolia, the entrepôt of Russian dealers in
connection with the Altai mines.
KOCH, ROBERT, an eminent bacteriologist, born at Klansthal, in
Hanover; famous for his researches in bacteriology; discovered sundry
bacilli, among others the cholera bacillus and the phthisis bacillus, and
a specific against it; _b_. 1843.
KOCK, CHARLES PAUL DE, popular French novelist and dramatist, born
near Paris, and educated for a mercantile career, but turned to writing
and produced a series of works, not of first merit, but illustrating
contemporary French middle-class life (1794-1871).
KOHELETH (the preacher, originally gatherer), the Hebrew name for
the book of Ecclesiastes, and a personification of wisdom.
KOLA, a small town, the most northerly in Russia, on a peninsula of
the same name, with a capacious harbour.
KOLIN, a Bohemian town on the Elbe, 40 m. SE. of Prague, where
Frederick the Great was defeated by Marshal Daun in 1757.
KÖLLIKER, an eminent embryologist, born at Zurich; professor of
Anatomy at Würzburg; _b_. 1817.
KÖLN, the German name for COLOGNE (q. v.).
KÖNIG, FRIEDRICH, German mechanician, born in Eisleben; bred a
printer, and invented the steam-press, or printing by machinery
(1774-1833).
KÖNIGGRÄTZ (16), a Bohemian town 60 m. E. of Prague; was the scene
of a terrible battle called Sa'dowa, in Austria, where the Germans
defeated the Austrians in 1866.
KÖNIGSBERG (161), the capital of E. Prussia, on the Pregel, with
several manufactures and an extensive trade; has a famous university, and
is the birthplace of Kant, where also he lived and died.
KORÂN (i. e. book to be read), the Bible of the Mohammedans,
accepted among them as "the standard of all law and all practice; thing
to be gone upon in speculation and life; it is read through in the
mosques daily, and some of their doctors have read it 70,000 times, and
hard reading it is"; it contains the teaching of Mahomet, collected by
his disciples after his death, and arranged the longest chapters first
and the shortest, which were the earliest, last; a confused book.
KORDOFAN (280), an Egyptian Soudanese province on the W. bank of the
Nile; an undulating dry country, furnishing crops of millet, and
exporting gums, hides, and ivory; was lost in the Mahdist revolt of 1883,
but recovered by Lord Kitchener's expedition in 1898; El Obeid (30), the
capital is 230 m. SW. of Khartoum.
KOREISH, the chief tribe among the Arabs in Mahomet's time, and to
which his family belonged.
KÖRNER, KARL THEODOR, a German soldier poet, often called the German
Tyrtæus, born in Dresden; famous for his patriotic songs and their
influence on German patriots; fell in a skirmish with the French at
Mecklenburg (1791-1813).
KOSCIUSKO, THADDEUS, Polish general and patriot, born in Lithuania,
of noble parentage, bred to arms; first saw service in the American War
on the side of the colonists, and returning to Poland, twice over did
valiant service against Russia, but at length he was taken prisoner at
the battle of Maciejowice in 1794; he was subsequently set at liberty by
the Emperor Paul, when he removed to America, but soon returned to settle
in Switzerland, where he died by a fall of his horse over a precipice; he
was buried at Cracow beside John Sobieski (1746-1817).
KOSSUTH, LOUIS, Hungarian patriot, born near Zemplen; studied for
his father's profession, the law, but giving that up for politics, became
editor of several Liberal papers in succession; elected member of the
Diet at Pesth in 1847, he next year demanded autonomy for Hungary, and
set himself to drive out the Hapsburgs and establish a republic; he
raised a large army and large funds, but Russia aided Austria, and the
struggle, though hopeful at first, proved in vain, defeated at Temesvar
and escaping to Turkey, he came to England in 1851, was enthusiastically
received, and lived there for many years; ultimately he resided in Turin,
studied science, and died there (1802 or 1806-1894).
KOTZEBUE, German dramatist, born at Weimar; went to St. Petersburg,
obtained favour at court and a government appointment; was banished to
Siberia, but regained the favour of Paul, and was recalled; on Paul's
death he returned to Germany, but went back to Russia from fear of
Napoleon, whom he had violently attacked; he had a facile pen, and wrote
no fewer than 200 dramatic pieces; his strictures on the German
university students greatly exasperated them, and one of them attacked
him in his house at Mannheim and stabbed him to death (1761-1819).
KOUMISS, an intoxicating beverage among the Kalmucks, made by
fermentation from mare's milk.
KOVALEVSKY, ALEXANDER, Russian embryologist, professor at St.
Petersburg; studied and wrote on the Ascidians; _b_. 1840.
KRAKATAO, a volcanic island in the narrow Strait of Sunda, between
Java and Sumatra; was the scene of a terrific eruption in 1883, causing a
tidal wave that swept round the globe, and raising quantities of dust
that made the sunsets in Britain even more than usually red for three
years.
KRAKEN, a huge fabulous sea-monster, reported as at one time seen in
the Norwegian seas; it would rise to the surface, and as it plunged down
drag ships and every floating or swimming thing along with it.
KRAPOTKIN, PRINCE PETER, a Russian Nihilist, born in Moscow; became
a member of the INTERNATIONAL (q. v.); was arrested in Russia
and imprisoned, but escaped, as also in France, but released, and settled
in England; has written extensively on Socialistic subjects; _b_. 1842.
KRAUSE, KARL CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH, German philosopher, born at
Eisenberg; studied under Fichte and Schelling, and was himself lecturer
successively in Jena, Dresden, Berlin, Göttingen, and Münich, where he
died; of the school of Kant, his work has suffered through the pedantry
of his style; he wrote "The Ideal of Humanity," and many philosophical
treatises (1781-1832).
KREFELD (105), in Rhenish Prussia, 12 m. NW. of Düsseldorf;
important manufacturing town; noted for its silk and velvet factories
founded by Protestant refugees; has also machinery and chemical works.
KREMLIN, gigantic pile of buildings in Moscow of all styles of
architecture;, including palaces, cathedrals, museums, government
offices; founded by Ivan III. in 1485.
KREUZER, a German coin, worth one-third or one-fifth of an English
penny.
KRIEGSSPIEL, a military game played on large-scale maps with metal
blocks for troops, and designed to represent as fully as possible the
conditions of warfare; was invented by a Prussian lieutenant in 1824.
KRILOF, IVAN ANDREEVICH, the great Russian fabulist, born at Moscow,
son of a soldier; began his literary career writing dramas and editing
magazines; was some time secretary to the governor of Livonia, and for
years lived an idle roving life; at 40 his fables in the Moscow
_Spectator_ brought him fame in 1805; next year he was appointed to a
Government post at St. Petersburg, and in 1821 to a post in the Imperial
Public Library; he was an eccentric, much-loved man, and the humour and
sympathy of his writings have won for him the title of the La Fontaine of
Russia (1768-1844).
KRISHNA (i. e. the swarthy one), the man-god, or god-man, viewed
as the 8th and final incarnation or avatar of VISHNU (q. v.), in
whose manifestation the latter first reveals himself as supreme divinity,
being, as the Theosophist might say, his Mahatma. See THEOSOPHY.
KRÜDENER, MADAME DE, novelist, born at Riga; authoress of an
autobiographical novel entitled "Valérie"; lived partly at St. Petersburg
and partly at Paris; was a mystic religious enthusiast and political
prophetess (1764-1824).
KRÜGER, S. J. PAUL, President of the Transvaal Republic, born at
Rastenburg; became member of the Executive Council in 1872; in 1882 was
chosen President, and has been three times elected to the same office
since; a man of sturdy, stubborn principles, a champion of the rights of
the Boers, and a cunning diplomatist; _b_. 1825.
KRUMMACHER, FREDERICK, German theologian, author of "Elijah the
Tisbite," a popular work; was an opponent of the Rationalists
(1796-1868).
KRUPP, ALFRED, metal and steel founder, born at Essen, where through
his father he became the proprietor of a small foundry which grew in his
hands into such dimensions as to surpass every other establishment of the
kind in the world; the BESSEMER (q. v.) process was early
introduced here in the manufacture of steel, which Krupp was the first to
employ in the manufacture of guns; the works cover an immense area, and
employ 20,000 people, and supply artillery to every Government of Europe
(1810-1887).
KUBERA or KUVERA, the Hindu Plutus, or god of riches,
represented as deformed and mounted on a car drawn by hobgoblins.
KUBLAI KHAN was a great Mongol emperor of the 13th century; built up
an empire which included all the continent of Asia (except India, Arabia,
and Asia Minor) and Russia, the most extensive that ever existed; he was
an enlightened prince, adopted Chinese civilisation, promoted learning,
and established Buddhism throughout his domains.
KUENEN, ABRAHAM, a Dutch Biblical critic, born at Haarlem; studied
at Leyden, and became professor there; distinguished for his researches
on the lines of the so-called higher criticism bearing upon the literary
history of the books of the Old Testament, beginning with that of the
Pentateuch (1828-1891).
KUEN-LUN, N. of Thibet, a great snow-clad mountain range, 18,000 to
25,000 ft. high; stretches for 700 m., with a breadth of 100 m. It was
explored by General Prjevalski, a Russian, 1876-88.
KULM, a Bohemian village on the left bank of the Elbe, 50 m. NW. of
Prague, where the French under Vandamme surrendered to the Russians and
Prussians in 1813.
KUNERSDORF, a village near Frankfort-on-Oder, where Frederick the
Great was defeated by Russians and Austrians in 1759.
KURDISTAN (2,250), a stretch of plateau and mountain land in
Turkish, Persian, and Russian Trans-Caucasian territory, consisting of
grassy plains and lofty ranges through which rivers like the Zabs,
Batman-su, and Euphrates force their way; is inhabited by a partly nomad,
partly agricultural people of ancient stock, who export wool, gum, and
hides; the Kurds retain their old customs and organisation, are subject
to their own chiefs, impatient of the rule of the Porte and the Shah;
predatory by instinct, but brave and chivalrous; they are Moslems and
Nestorians.
KURILE ISLANDS, a chain of 26 islands, being a continuation of the
peninsula of Kamchatka, enclosing the sea of Okhotsk; very sparsely
inhabited.
KURRACHEE (105), the chief port of the Punjab; situated on the delta
of the Indus, with an extensive harbour and trade.
KURTZ, HEINRICH, German theologian, professor at Dorpat; author,
among other works, of a "Handbook of Church History"; _b_. 1809.
KURUMAN, in Bechuanaland, 140 m. NW. of Kimberley; is the place
where Livingstone and Moffat laboured.
KYD, THOMAS, Elizabethan dramatist, born in London, and trained a
scrivener, but won fame as a writer of tragedies, of which the best was
"The Spanish Tragedy" (1557-1595).
KYOTO (298), from 784 to 1868 the capital of Japan, on the Kamo
River, inland, 190 m. W. of Yedo; is still the centre of Japanese
Buddhism, and is noted for its pottery, bronze-work, crapes, and velvets.
KYRIE ELEISON, means "Lord have mercy upon us," and with CHRISTE
ELEISON, "Christ have mercy upon us," occurs in all Greek liturgies,
in the Roman Mass, and in the English Prayer Book, where it forms the
"lesser litany."
KYRLE, JOHN, philanthropist, born in Gloucestershire; celebrated by
Pope as the "Man of Ross," from the name of the place in Herefordshire
where he lived; was distinguished for his benefactions; has given name to
a society founded, among other things, for the betterment of the homes of
the people (1637-1724).
L
LAB`ARUM, the standard, surmounted by the monogram of Christ, which
was borne before the Emperor Constantine after his conversion to
Christianity, and in symbol of the vision of the cross in the sky which
led to it. It was a lance with a cross-bar at its extremity and a crown
on top, and the monogram consisted of the Greek letter for Ch and R.
LABÉ, LOUISE, poetess, surnamed "La belle Cordière" as the wife of a
rope-maker, born in Lyons; wrote in prose "Dialogue d'Amour et de Folie,"
and elegies and sonnets, with "a singular approach to the ring of
Shakespeare's" (1526-1566).
LABICHE, EUGENE, a French dramatist, born at Paris; his dramas give
evidence of a genius of inexhaustible fertility of invention, wit, and
humour; his best-known play "Le Voyage de M. Perrichon," 1860
(1815-1888).
LABLACHE, a celebrated operatic deep bass singer, born in Naples, of
French origin; he created quite a _furore_ wherever he went; was teacher
of singing to Queen Victoria (1794-1858).
LABOULAYE, RENÉ DE, a French jurist, born in Paris; was a Moderate
in politics; wrote on French law, and was the author of some tales of a
humorous turn, such as "Paris in America" (1811-1883).
LABOURDONNAIS, MARÉ DE, French naval officer, born at St. Malo,
Governor of the Isle of France; distinguished himself against the English
in India; was accused of dishonourable conduct, and committed to the
Bastille, but after a time found guiltless and liberated (1699-1753).
LABRADOR (6), the great peninsula in the E. of Canada, washed by
Hudson's Bay, the Greenland Sea, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; is a high
tableland, with many lakes and rivers, and forests of birch and fir. The
climate is much too severe for agriculture. Summer is very short, and
plagued with mosquitoes. The rivers abound in salmon; the fox, marten,
otter, and other animals are trapped for their fur; iron and labradorite
are plentiful. The population is largely Eskimo, christianised by the
Moravians. The name Labrador specially belongs to the region along the
eastern coast, between Capes St. Louis and Chudleigh, presenting a barren
front to the sea, precipitous, much indented, and fringed with rocky
islands. This region is governed by Newfoundland; its chief industry is
cod and herring fishing.
LA BRUYÈRE, JEAN DE, a celebrated French moralist, born at Paris;
was tutor to the Duke of Bourbon, the grandson of the great Condé, and
spent a great part of his life in Paris in connection with the Condé
family; his most celebrated work is "Les Caractères de Théophrastus"
(1687), which abounds in wise maxims and reflections on life, but gave
offence to contemporaries by the personal satires in it under disguised
names; he ranks high as a writer no less than as a moralist; his style is
"a model of ease, grace, and fluency, without weakness in his characters;
a book," adds Professor Saintsbury, "most interesting to read, and
especially to Englishmen" (1645-1696).
LABUAN (6), a small island, distant 6 m. from the W. coast of North
Borneo, ceded to Britain in 1846, and administered by the British North
Borneo Company; has rich coal-beds; its town, Victoria, is a market for
Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago, and exports sago, camphor, and pearls;
the population is chiefly Malay and Chinese.
LABYRINTH, a name given to sundry structures composed of winding passages
so intricate as to render it difficult to find the way out, and sometimes
in. Of these structures the most remarkable were those of Egypt and of
Crete. The Egyptian to the E. of Lake Moeris, consisted of an endless
number of dark chambers, connected by a maze of passages into which it
was difficult to find entrance; and the Cretan, built by Dædalus, at the
instance of Minos, to imprison the Minotaur, out of which one who entered
could not find his way out again unless by means of a skein of thread. It
was by means of this, provided him by ARIADNE, PERSEUS (q. v.) found his
way out after slaying the MINOTAUR (q. v.).
LAC, a term employed in India for a hundred thousand, a crore
amounting to 100 lacs, usually of money.
LACCADIVES, THE, or THE HUNDRED THOUSAND ISLES (14), a
group of low-lying coral islands 200 m. W. of the Malabar coast of India,
mostly barren, and yielding chiefly cocoa-nuts; the population being
Hindus professing Mohammedanism and poorly off.
LACÉPÈDE, COMTE DE, French naturalist, born at Agen; was entrusted
by Buffon to complete his Natural History on his death; wrote on his own
account also the natural histories of reptiles, of fishes, and of man
(1756-1825).
LACHAISE, FRANÇOIS DE, a French Jesuit, an extremely politic member
of the fraternity in the reign of Louis XIV.; had a country house E. of
Paris, the garden of which is now the cemetery Père la Chaise
(1624-1709).
LACHESIS, the one of the three Fates that spun the thread of life
and apportioned the destinies of man. See PARCÆ.
LACHMANN, KARL, a German philologist and classical scholar, born at
Brunswick, professor at Berlin; besides sundry of the Latin classics, in
particular Lucretius, he edited the Nibelungen Lied, and the Greek New
Testament, as well as contributed important critical essays on the
composition of the "Iliad," which he regarded as a collection of lays
from various independent sources (1783-1851). See ILIAD.
LACHRYMA CHRISTI, a sweet wine of a red or amber colour, produced
from grapes grown on Mount Vesuvius.
LACONIA, ancient name for Sparta, the inhabitants of which were
noted for the brevity of their speech.
LACORDAIRE, JEAN BAPTISTE HENRY, a celebrated French preacher, and
one of the most brilliant orators of the century; bred for the bar; held
sceptical opinions at first, but came under the influence of religion;
took orders as a priest and became associated with Montalembert and
Lamennais as joint-editor of the _Avenir_, a journal which advocated
views at once Ultramontane and radical, but which, being condemned by the
Pope, was discontinued; after this he took to preaching, and immense
crowds gathered to hear his conferences, as they were called, in the
church of Notre Dame, where, to the astonishment of all, he appeared in
the pulpit in guise of a Dominican monk with the tonsure; he was
afterwards elected member of the Constitutent Assembly, where he sat in
his monk's attire, but he soon retired; he ended his days as head of the
Military College of Sorrèze (1802-1861).
LACRATELLE, French historian, born at Metz; began life as a
journalist; became professor of History in Paris University; wrote a
history of the 18th century and of the French Revolution, showing very
great accuracy of detail, if little historical insight (1766-1855).
LA CROSSE, the national game of Canada, of Indian derivation; is
played twelve a side, each armed with a long-handled racquet or crosse,
the object of the game being to drive an india-rubber ball through the
opponents' goal.
LACTANTIUS, a Christian apologist of the early part of the 14th
century, who, from his eloquent advocacy of the Christian faith, was
styled the Christian Cicero; he was a pagan born, and by profession a
rhetorician.
LADISLAUS, the name of seven kings of Hungary, of which the first
(1077-1095) received canonisation for his zeal on behalf of Christianity.
LADOGA, a lake as large as Wales and the largest in Europe, in the
NW. of Russia, not far from St. Petersburg; it is the centre of an
extensive lake and river system, receiving the Volkhov, Syas, and Svir,
and drained into the Gulf of Finland by the Neva; but so dangerous is
navigation, owing to sunken rocks and shoals and to the storms that
prevail during the open months, that the extensive shipping is carried
round the S. shores by the Ladoga and the canals.
LADRONES or MARIANA ISLANDS (10), a well-watered,
thickly-wooded group in the North Pacific, 1400 m. E. of the Philippines
and belonging to Spain; produce cotton, indigo, and sugar, but the trade
is of little worth; the only town is San Ignazio de Agaña, on the largest
island, Guam.
LADY CHAPEL, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary attached to a
church.
LADY DAY, the festival of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March
25; a quarter-day in England and Ireland.
LADY OF ENGLAND, title of Matilda, daughter of Henry I. and wife of
Geoffrey Plantagenet, conferred on her by a council held at Westminster,
1141.
LADY OF SHALOTT, a maiden of great beauty, the subject of a poem by
Tennyson, in love with Lancelot, who died because her love was not
returned.
LADY OF THE LAKE, the name given to Vivien, the mistress of Merlin,
who dwelt in an imaginary lake, surrounded by a court of knights and
damsels; also to Helen Douglas, a heroine of Scott's, who lived with her
father near Loch Katrine.
LA FAYETTE, MADAME DE, novelist, born in Paris; is credited with
being the originator of the class of fiction in which character and its
analysis are held of chief account; she was the daughter of the governor
of Havre, and contracted a Platonic affection for La Rochefoucauld in his
old age, and was besides on intimate terms with Madame Sévigné and the
most eminent literary men of the time; her "Princess de Clèves" is a
classic work, and the merit of it is enhanced by the reflection that it
preceded by nearly half a century the works both of Le Sage and Defoe
(1634-1693).
LA FAYETTE, MARQUIS DE, born in the castle of Chavagnac; went to
America in 1777, took an active and self-sacrificing part in the War of
Independence; was honourably distinguished at the battle of Brandywine;
sailed for France, brought over auxiliaries; he commanded Washington's
vanguard in 1782; returned to Paris, and was made commander-in-chief of
the National Guard in 1789; would have achieved the Revolution with the
minimum of violence and set up a republic on the model of the Washington
one; was obliged to escape from France during the Reign of Terror; was
imprisoned five years at Olmütz, but was liberated when Napoleon appeared
on the scene; as a consistent republican showed no favour to Napoleon;
took part in the Revolution of 1830, became again commander-in-chief of
the National Guard and a supporter of Louis Philippe, the citizen king;
characterised by Carlyle as "a constitutional pedant; clear, thin,
inflexible, as water turned to thin ice" (1757-1834).
LAFITTE, JACQUES, French banker and financier; played a conspicuous
part in the Revolution of 1830, and by his influence as a liberal
politician with the French people secured the elevation of Louis Philippe
to the throne; in the calamities attendant on this Revolution his house
became insolvent, but he was found, after paying all demands, to be worth
in francs nearly seven millions (1767-1844).
LAFONTAINE, JEAN DE, celebrated French author, born at
Château-Thierry, in Champagne; a man of indolent, gay, and dissipated
habits, but of resplendent genius, known to all the world for his
inimitable "Tales" and "Fables," and who was the peer of all the
distinguished literary notabilities of his time; the former, published in
1665, too often transgress the bounds of morality, but are distinguished
by exquisite grace of expression and sparkling wit; the latter, published
in 1668, have an irresistible charm which no reader can withstand; he was
the author also of the "Amours of Cupid and Psyche"; he was the friend of
Boileau, Molière, and Racine, and in his later years a confirmed Parisian
(1621-1695).
LA FORCE, DUC DE, maréchal of France under Henry IV., and one of the
most distinguished; escaped when an infant the massacre of St.
Bartholomew (1558-1652).
LAGOS (40), a large and thriving commercial town in a colony (100)
of the name subject to Britain, on the Guinea Coast of Africa.
LAGRANGE, JOSEPH LOUIS, COMTE, famous mathematician, born at Turin
of French parentage; had gained at the age of twenty a European
reputation by his abstruse algebraical investigations; appointed director
of Berlin Academy in 1766, he pursued his researches there for twenty-one
years; in 1787 he removed to Paris, where be received a pension from the
Court of 6000 francs, and remained till his death; universally respected,
he was unscathed by the Revolution; appointed to several offices, he
received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour from Napoleon, who made
him a count (1736-1813).
LA HARPE, JEAN FRANÇOIS DE, French littérateur and critic, born in
Paris; wrote dramas and éloges, but his best-known work is his "Cours de
Littérature" in 12 vols., of little account except for its criticism of
French literature, in which he showed not a little pedantry and
ill-temper as well as acuteness; he was zealous for the Revolution at
first, but drew back when extreme measures were adopted and became a warm
royalist, for which he was sentenced to deportation, but left at liberty
(1739-1803).
LA HOGUE, a cape with a roadstead on NE. of France, where a French
fleet sent by Louis XIV. to invade England on behalf of James II. was
destroyed in 1692.
LAHORE (177), an ancient walled city on the Ravi, a tributary of the
Indus, 1000 m. NW. of Calcutta, is the capital of the Punjab, and an
important railway centre; it has many fine buildings, both English and
native, including a university and a medical school, but the situation is
unhealthy; half the population are Mussulmans; the trade is
inconsiderable; the district of Lahore (1,075) one of the most important
in the province, is well irrigated by the Bári Doab Canal, and produces
fine crops of cereals, pulse, and cotton.
LAIDLAW, WILLIAM, Sir Walter Scott's factor at Abbotsford, born in
Selkirkshire; having failed in farming, entered Scott's service in 1817
and remained his trusted and faithful friend, advising him in his schemes
of improvement and acting latterly as his amanuensis till his death in
1832; thereafter he was factor in Ross-shire, where he died; he had some
poetic gift of his own, and contributed to the third volume of the
"Minstrelsy" (1780-1845).
LAING, DAVID, a learned antiquary, profound in his knowledge of
Scottish ecclesiastical and literary history, born, the son of
bookseller, at Edinburgh, followed for thirty years his father's trade;
was appointed to the charge of the Signet Library in 1837; was secretary
to the Bannatyne Club, and in 1864 received the degree of LL.D. from
Edinburgh University; he contributed many valuable papers to the
_Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, collected and
edited much of the ancient poetry of Scotland, and acquired a private
library of manuscripts and volumes of great value (1799-1878).
LAING, MALCOLM, Scottish historian, born in Orkney; passed through
Edinburgh University to the Scottish bar, to which he was called in 1785,
but proved an unsuccessful advocate; turning to literature, he edited
"Ossian," and wrote a "History of Scotland from James VI. to Anne"
(1800), in a subsequent edition of which he inserted the well-known
attack on Mary Stuart (1762-1818).
LAÏS, the name of two Greek courtesans celebrated for their beauty,
the one a native of Corinth, who lived at the time of the Peloponnesian
War, and the other belonging to Sicily, and who, having visited Thessaly,
was stoned to death by the women of the country out of jealousy.
LAISSEZ-FAIRE (lit. let things alone and take their course), the
name given to the let-alone system of political economy, in opposition to
State interference, or State regulation, in private industrial
enterprise.
LAKE DISTRICT, a district in Cumberland and Westmorland, 20 m. long
by 25 m. broad, abounding in lakes, environed with scenery of rare
beauty, and much frequented by tourists.
LAKE DWELLINGS, primitive settlements, the remains of which have
been found in many parts of Europe, but chiefly in Switzerland, the N. of
Italy, and in Scotland and Ireland. They were constructed in various
ways. In the Swiss lakes piles, consisting of unbarked tree trunks, were
driven in a short distance from the shore, and strengthened more or less
by cross beams; extensive platforms laid on these held small villages of
rectangular wooden huts, thatched with straw and reeds. These were
sometimes approachable only in canoes, more often connected with the
shore by a narrow bridge, in which case cattle were kept in sheds on the
platforms. In Scotland and Ireland the erection was rather an artificial
island laid down in 10 or 12 ft. of water with brushwood, logs, and
stones, much smaller in size, and holding but one hut. The Swiss
dwellings, the chief of which are at Meilen, on Lake Zurich, date from
very early times, some say 2000 years before Christ, and contain remains
of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages, weapons, instruments, pottery, linen
cloth, and the like. The relic of latest date is a Roman coin of A.D.
54. The British remains are much more recent, belonging entirely to the
Iron period and to historic times. The object sought in these structures
is somewhat obscure--most probably it was the security their insular
nature afforded.
LAKE POETS, a school of English poets, the chief representatives of
which were Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge, who adorned the beginning
of the 19th century, and were so designated by the _Edinburgh Review_
because their favourite haunt was the LAKE DISTRICT (q. v.) in
the N. of England, and the characteristic of whose poetry may be summed
as a feeling of and a sympathy with the pure spirit of nature.
LAKSHMI, in the Hindu mythology the wife of Vishnu and the goddess
of beauty, pleasure, and victory; she is a favourite subject of Hindu
painting and poetry.
LALANDE, a French astronomer; was professor of Astronomy in the
College of France, and produced an excellent treatise on the subject in
two vols. (1732-1807).
LALLA-ROOKH, the title of a poem by Moore, from the name of the
heroine, the daughter of the Mogul Emperor, Aurungzebe; betrothed to the
young king of Bacharia, she goes forth to meet him, but her heart having
been smitten by a poet she meets on the way, as she enters the palace of
her bridegroom she swoons away, but reviving at the sound of a familiar
voice she wakes up with rapture to find that the poet of her affection
was none other than the prince to whom she was betrothed.
LALLY-TOLLENDAL, or BARON DE TOLLENDAL, a French general, born
at Romans, in Dauphiné, of Irish descent; saw service in Flanders;
accompanied Prince Charles to Scotland in 1745, and was in 1756 appointed
Governor-General of the French settlements in India, but being defeated
by the English he was accused of having betrayed the French interests,
and executed after two years' imprisonment in the Bastille (1702-1766).
LALLY-TOLLENDAL, MARQUIS DE, son of the preceding; successfully
vindicated the conduct of his father, and received back his paternal
estates that had unjustly been forfeited; supported LA FAYETTE
(q. v.) at the time of the Revolution, and followed his example; was
arrested in 1792, but escaped to England; returning to France, he
supported the Bourbon dynasty at the Restoration; wrote a "Defence of the
French Emigrants," and a Life of the Earl of Strafford, Charles I.'s
minister (1751-1830).
LAMAISM, Buddhism as professed in Thibet and Mongolia, or the
worship of Buddha and his DHARMA (q. v.); conceived of as
incarnated in the SANGHA (q. v.) or priesthood, and especially
in the Grand Lama or Dalai Lama, the chief priest; a kind of
hero-worship, or at all events saint-worship; long since sunk into mere
IDOLATRY (q. v.).
LAMARCK, a French naturalist, born at Bazentin, Picardy; entered the
army at the age of 17, and after serving in it a short time retired and
devoted himself to botany; in his "Flora Française" published (1773)
adopted a new method of classification of plants; in 1774 became keeper
of what ultimately became the Jardin des Plantes, and was professor of
Zoology, devoting himself to the study of particularly invertebrate
animals, the fruits of which study appeared in his "Histoire Naturelle
des Animaux sans Vertèbres"; he held very advanced views on the matter of
biology, and it was not till the advent of Darwin they were appreciated
(1744-1820).
LA MARMORA, MARQUIS DE, an eminent Italian general and statesman,
born at Turin; fell under the rebuke of Bismarck for an indiscretion as a
diplomatist (1801-1878).
LAMARTINE, ALPHONSE MARIE DE, a French author, politician, and poet,
born in Mâcon; his poetic effusions procured for him admission into the
French Academy, and in 1834 he entered the Chamber of Deputies; his
ability as a poet, and the independent attitude he maintained in the
Chamber, gained for him a popularity which his action in 1848 contributed
to increase, but it suffered eclipse from the moment he allied himself
with Ledru-Rollin; after serving in the Provisional Government of 1848 he
stood candidate for the Presidency, but was defeated, and on the occasion
of the _coup d'état_, he retired into private life; he published in 1819
"Méditations Poétiques," in 1847 the "Histoire de Girondins," besides
other works, including "Voyage en Orient"; he was "of the second order of
poets," says Professor Saintsbury, "sweet but not strong, elegant but not
full;... a sentimentalist and a landscape painter" (1790-1869).
LAMB, CHARLES, essayist and critic, born in London, and educated at
Christ's Hospital, where he had Coleridge for school-fellow; was for 35
years a clerk in the East India Company's office, on his retirement from
which he was allowed a pension of £450; it was as a poet he made his
first appearance in literature, but it was as an essayist he attained
distinction, and chiefly by his "Essays of Elia" he is best known and
will be longest remembered; he was the friend of Wordsworth, Southey, and
others of his illustrious contemporaries, and is famous for his witty
remarks, to which his stammering tongue imparted a special zest; he was
never married; his affection for his sister Mary, for whom he composed
his "Tales from Shakespeare," is well known, and how in her weakness from
insanity he tenderly nursed her (1775-1834).
LAMBALLE, PRINCESSE DE, a young widow, the devoted friend of Marie
Antoinette, born at Turin; was for her devotion to the queen one of the
victims of the September massacres and brutally outraged; "she was
beautiful, she was good, she had known no happiness" (1748-1792).
LAMBERT, JOHANN HEINRICH, German philosopher and mathematician; was
the successor and rival of Leibnitz in both regards, and was patronised
by Frederick the Great (1619-1728).
LAMBERT, JOHN, one of Cromwell's officers in the civil war, born in
Yorkshire; served in the successive engagements during the war from that
of Marston Moor onwards, and assisted at the installation of Cromwell as
Protector, but declined to take the oath of allegiance afterwards; on the
death of the Protector essayed with other officers to govern the country,
an attempt which was defeated by Monk, and for which he was imprisoned,
tried, and banished (1619-1683).
LAMBETH (275), part of the SW. quarter of London, and a
parliamentary borough in Surrey returning four members; abounds in
manufactories, contains St. Thomas's Hospital and Lambeth Palace, the
official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, with a magnificent
library and important historic portrait-gallery.
LAMENNAIS, FÉLICITÉ, ROBERT DE, a French theologian and journalist,
born at St. Malo; began life as a free-thinker, but by-and-by became a
Roman Catholic of the extreme ultramontane type; in 1820 went to Rome and
was offered a cardinalate, but in 1830 his views changed, and he joined
Montalembert and Lacordaire in the conduct of _L'Avenir_, a journal which
advocated religious and political freedom, on the condemnation of which
by the Pope he became again a free-thinker and revolutionary; his
influence on French literature was great, and affected both Michelet and
Victor Hugo (1782-1854).
LAMENTATIONS, BOOK OF, one of the poetical books of the Old
Testament, ascribed to Jeremiah and historically connected with his
prophecies, written apparently after the fall of Jerusalem and in sight
of its ruins, as lamentation over the general desolation in the land
connected therewith.
LAMMAS DAY, the first of August, literally "the loaf-mass" day or
festival day at the beginning of harvest, one of the cross quarter days,
Whitsuntide, Martinmas, and Candlemas being the other three.
LAMMERMOORS, a range of hills separating the counties of Haddington
and Berwick, extending from Gala Water to St. Abb's Head, the Lammer Law
being 1733 ft.
LA METTRIE, a French physician and materialist, born at St. Malo;
bred to medicine, served as an army surgeon at Dettingen and Fontenoy;
his materialistic views were given first in a publication entitled
"D'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme," and at length in his "L'Homme Machine,"
both in profession of a materialism so gross and offensive, being
absolutely atheistic, that he was glad to escape for shelter to Berlin
under the wing of Frederick the Great (1709-1754).
LAMOTTE, COUNTESS DE, born at Fontelle, in Aube, who came up to
Paris a shifty adventuress and played a chief part in the notorious
affair of the DIAMOND NECKLACE (q. v.), which involved so many
high people in France in deep disgrace (1756-1791). See CARLYLE'S
"MISCELLANIES."
LANARK (5), county town of Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 31 m. SE. of
Glasgow; has a cattle-market and some weaving industry, and is for
parliamentary purposes in the Falkirk group of burghs.
LANARKSHIRE (1,106), inland Scottish county occupying the Clyde
valley, in size the twelfth, but first in wealth and population. The
middle and south are hilly, with such outstanding peaks as Tinto, and are
adapted for cattle and sheep grazing and for dairy-farming. The lower
north-western portion is very rich in coal and iron, the extensive mining
and manufacture of which has given rise to many busy towns such as
Glasgow, Motherwell, Hamilton, Coatbridge, and Airdrie; fireclay, shale,
and lead are also found; the soil is various; comparatively little grain
is grown; there are large woods. The orchards of the river side have
given place mostly to market gardens, which the proximity of great towns
renders profitable. The industries, besides iron and coal, are very
extensive and varied, and include great textile works.
LANCASHIRE (3,927), English county stretching from the Cumberland
Mountains in the N. to the Mersey in the S. along the shores of the Irish
Sea; is the wealthiest and most populous county, and the indentations of
the coast-line adapt it to be the chief outlet westward for English
trade, more than a third of England's foreign commerce passing through
its ports. The country is mostly low, with spurs of the Yorkshire hills;
it is rich in minerals, chiefly coal and iron; its industrial enterprise
is enormous; nearly half of the cotton manufacture of the world is
carried on in its towns, besides woollen and silk manufacture, the making
of engineer's tools, boots and shoes. The soil is a fertile loam, under
corn and green crops and old pasture. Lancaster is the county town, but
the largest towns are Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, and Blackburn. The
northern portion, detached by Morecambe Bay, is known as Furness, belongs
really to the Lake District, and has Barrow-in-Furness, with its large
shipbuilding concerns, for its chief town. Lancashire has long been an
influential political centre.
LANCASTER (31), picturesque town near the mouth of the Lune, 50 m.
NW. of Manchester, is the county town of Lancashire, and manufactures
furniture, cotton, machinery, and railway plant; it was disfranchised in
1867 for corrupt practices.
LANCASTER, JOSEPH, educationist, born in Southwark, and founder of
the Monitorial System; had a chequered career, died in poverty
(1778-1838).
LANCELOT OF THE LAKE, one of the Knights of the Round Table, famous
for his gallantry and his amours with Queen Guinevere; was called of the
Lake because educated at the court of the LADY OF THE LAKE (q. v.);
he turned hermit in the end, and died a holy man.
LAND LEAGUE, an organisation founded by DAVITT (q. v.) in
Ireland in 1879 to deal with the land question, and suppressed in 1881 as
illegal.
LANDAMAN, name given to the chief magistrate in certain Swiss
cantons, also to the President of the Swiss Diet.
LANDER, RICHARD, African explorer, born in Truro, Cornwall;
accompanied Clapperton as his servant; along with his brother John
discovered the lower course of the Niger; on the third expedition was
wounded in a conflict with the natives, and died at Fernando Po
(1804-1834).
LANDES, sandy plains along the French coast between the Garonne and
the Pyrenees, covered with heath and broom.
LANDGRABBER, name given in Ireland to one in the possession or
occupancy of land from which another has been evicted.
LANDGRAVE, title given to certain counts of the old German empire
who had the rank of princes.
LANDON, LETITIA ELIZABETH, known as L. E. L., authoress, born in
Chelsea; a charming woman, who wrote well both in verse and prose; was
Mrs. Hemans's successor; having taken prussic acid by mistake had a
tragic end (1802-1838).
LANDOR, WALTER SAVAGE, eminent literary man, born in Warwick, a man
of excitable temperament, which involved him in endless quarrels leading
to alienations, but did not affect his literary work; figured first as a
poet in "Gebir" and "Count Julian," to the admiration of Southey, his
friend, and De Quincey, and ere long as a writer of prose in his
"Imaginary Conversations," embracing six volumes, on which recent critics
have bestowed unbounded praise, Swinburne in particular; he died in
Florence separated from his family, and dependent on it there for six
years; Carlyle visited him at Bath in 1850, and found him "stirring
company; a proud, irascible, trenchant, yet generous, veracious, and very
dignified old man; quite a ducal or royal man in the temper of him"
(1775-1864).
LAND'S END, a bold promontory of granite rock on the SW. coast of
Cornwall.
LANDSEER, SIR EDWIN HENRY, greatest English animal-painter, born in
London, the son of an engraver and writer on art, trained by his father,
sketched animals before he was six years old, and exhibited in the Royal
Academy before thirteen; in his early years he portrayed simply the form
and colour and movement of animal life, but after his twenty-first year
he added usually some sentiment or idea; elected A.R.A. in 1826, and R.A.
in 1830; he was knighted in 1853; five years later he won a gold medal
in Paris; in 1859 he modelled the Trafalgar Square lions; after 1861 he
suffered from mental depression, and declined the Presidency of the Royal
Academy in 1866 (1802-1873).
LANDSTURM, the name given to the last reserve in the German army,
which is never called out except in time of war.
LANDTHING, the name of the Upper House in the Danish Parliament.
LANDWEHR, a military force in Germany and Austria held in reserve
against a time of war, when it is called out to do ordinary military
duty. In Germany those capable of bearing arms have to serve in it five
years after completing their seven years' term of regular service.
LANE, EDWARD WILLIAM, eminent Arabic scholar, born at Hereford; set
out for Egypt in 1825; studied the language and manners, and returned in
1828; published in 1836 an "Account of the Manners and Customs of the
Modern Egyptians"; translated in 1840 "The Arabian Nights," and spent
seven years in Egypt preparing an Arabic Lexicon which he had all but
finished when he died; it was completed and edited by S. Lane-Poole
(1801-1876).
LANFRANC, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Pavia; went to France,
entered the monastery of Bec, and became prior in 1046, and was
afterwards, in 1062, elected prior of the abbey of St. Stephen at Caen;
and came over to England with William the Conqueror, who appointed him to
the archbishopric rendered vacant by the deposition of Stigand; he was
William's trusted adviser, but his influence declined under Rufus; _d_.
1089.
LANFREY, PIERRE, historian, born at Chambéry; wrote an elaborate
History of Napoleon to, it is reckoned, the irreparable damage of its
hero (1828-1877).
LANG, ANDREW, a versatile writer, born in Selkirk; has distinguished
himself in various departments of literary work, as a poet, a
folk-lorist, a writer of fancy tales, a biographer, and a critic; has
composed "Ballads and Lyrics of Old France," "Ballads in Blue China"; has
translated Homer into musical prose, and written the Lives of Sir
Stafford Northcote and John Gibson Lockhart; he began his literary career
as a journalist, and his assiduity as a writer has never relaxed; _b_.
1844.
LANGE, FRIEDRICH, German philosopher, born near Solingen, son of the
following; became professor at Marburg; wrote a "History of Materialism"
of great value (1828-1875).
LANGE, JOHANN PETER, a German theologian, born near Elberfeld;
became professor at Bonn; his works are numerous, but is best known by
his "Life of Christ" and his "Christian Dogmatic" (1802-1884).
LANGHORNE, JOHN, an English divine and poet, horn at Kirkby Stephen;
was a prebend of Wells Cathedral; wrote a poem entitled "Genius and
Virtue," and executed with a brother a translation of Plutarch's Lives
(1735-1779).
LANGLAND, or LANGLEY, WILLIAM, the presumed author of the
"Vision of Piers Plowman," and who lived in the 14th century.
LANGRES (10), a French town, strongly fortified, near the sources of
the Marne, rich in antiquities, and one of the oldest towns in France;
has manufactures and a considerable trade.
LANGTON, STEPHEN, archbishop of Canterbury, born in England but
educated in France; a man of ability and scholarly attainments; in 1206
visited Rome, was made Cardinal by Innocent III., presented to the
Archbishopric, and consecrated at Viterbo in 1207; King John refused to
acknowledge him, and the kingdom was put under an interdict, a quarrel
which it took five years to settle; established in the primacy, the
prelate took up a constitutional position, and mediated between the king
and the barons to the advancement of political liberty; _d_. 1228.
LANGUEDOC, a province in the S. of France, annexed to the French
crown in 1361, and now divided into nine departments, borders on the
Rhône.
LANKA, name given to Ceylon in the Hindu mythology.
LANNES, JEAN, DUC DE MONTEBELLO, marshal of France, born at
Lectoure; was much esteemed by Napoleon, whom he zealously supported;
went with him to Egypt, was with him at Marengo, distinguished himself at
Austerlitz and in Spain, and fell mortally wounded at Essling
(1769-1809).
LANSDOWNE, HENRY, THIRD MARQUIS OF, liberal politician, born in
London; educated at Edinburgh and Cambridge; sat in the Commons as member
for Calne from 1801 and for Cambridge from 1806, and succeeded to the
peerage in 1809; on the accession of the Liberals to power he joined the
Cabinet of Canning, presided at the Foreign Office in Goderich's
administration, became President of the Council under Lord Grey in 1830,
and, twice refusing the Premiership, was a member of every Liberal
Government till 1858, when he retired from public life; he was the
trusted adviser of his party, and friend of the Queen till his death
(1780-1863).
LANSDOWNE, HENRY, FIFTH MARQUIS OF, Liberal statesman, grandson of
the above, educated at Oxford; succeeded to the peerage in 1866, and held
office in Liberal Governments, Lord of the Treasury 1868-72,
Under-Secretary for War 1872-74, and Under-Secretary for India 1880; he
was Governor-General of Canada 1883-88, and Viceroy of India 1888-94; in
1895 he joined Lord Salisbury's ministry as a Liberal-Unionist, becoming
Secretary for War; _b_. 1845.
LANTERNE, LA, a stout lamp-iron at the corner of a street in Paris,
used by the mob for extemporised executions during the Revolution by
Lynch law.
LAOCÖON, a priest of Apollo, in Troy, who having offended the god
by, for one thing, advising the Trojans not to admit the wooden horse of
the Greeks within the walls, was, with his two sons, while engaged in
sacrificing to Poseidon, strangled to death in the coils of two enormous
serpents sent to kill him, a subject which is the theme of one of the
grandest relics of ancient sculpture now in existence and preserved in
the Vatican.
LAODAMIA, a Grecian lady, who accompanied her husband to the Trojan
War, and who, on his death on the field, begged the gods to restore him
to her for three hours, a prayer which was granted, but with the result
that at the end of the time she died along with him and accompanied him
on his return to Hades.
LAODICEA. Eight ancient cities bore this name; the chief, situated
on the Lycus, in Phrygia, lay on the way between Ionia and the Euphrates;
was a city of great commerce and wealth, the seat of schools of art,
science, medicine, and philosophy, and of an early Christian bishopric;
though the Church was stigmatised in the Revelation, two councils
assembled here in A.D. 363 and 476, the former of which influenced the
determination of the canon of both Testaments; the city, destroyed by the
Mohammedan invasions, is now in ruins.
LAOMEDON, the founder of Troy, who persuaded Apollo and Neptune to
assist him in building the walls, but refused the recompense when the
work was finished, in consequence of which the latter sent a monster to
ravage the country, which could be propitiated only by the annual
sacrifice to it of a young maid, till one year the lot fell on Hermione,
the king's daughter, when Hercules, persuaded by the king, slew the
monster and delivered the maiden.
LAOTZE (i. e. the old Philosopher), a Chinese sage, born in the
province of Ho-nan about 565 B.C., a contemporary of Confucius, who
wrote the celebrated "Tao-te-King," canon, that is, of the Tao, or divine
reason, and of virtue, one--and deservedly so on account of its high
ethics--of the sacred books of China; he was the founder of one of the
three principal religions of China, Confucianism and Buddhism being the
other two, although his followers, the Tao-sze as they are called, are
now degenerated into a set of jugglers.
LA PÉROUSE, a celebrated French navigator, born near Albi, in
Languedoc; after distinguished services in the navy was in 1785 sent with
two frigates on a voyage of discovery by Louis XVI.; "the brave
navigator" went forth, sailing along the Pacific shores of America and
Asia as far as Botany Bay, but never returned; "the seekers search far
seas for him in vain; he has vanished trackless into blue immensity, and
only some mournful mysterious shadow of him hovers long in all heads and
hearts" (1741-1788).
LAPITHÆ, a race inhabiting the mountains of Thessaly; subject to
Perithous, who, on the occasion of his marriage with Hippodamia, invited
his kinsfolk the Centaurs to the feast, but these, under intoxication
from the wine, attempting to carry off the bride and other women, were
set on by the Lapithæ and, after a bloody struggle, overpowered.
LAPLACE, a celebrated French mathematician, born at
Beaumont-en-Auge, Normandy; the son of a farmer; after teaching in his
native place went to Paris (1767), where he became professor in the Royal
Military School; becoming member of the Académie des Sciences in 1785, he
attained a position among mathematicians and astronomers almost equal to
Newton's; his "Three Laws" demonstrated the stability of the solar
system; he published many treatises on lunar and planetary problems,
electricity, magnetism, and a Nebula-hypothesis; his "Mécanique Céleste"
is unrivalled in that class of work; surviving the Revolution he became
implicated in politics without success or credit; he received his
marquisate from Louis XVIII. in 1817, when he became President of the
French Academy; "LAGRANGE (q. v.) has proved that on Newton's
theory of gravitation the planetary system would endure for ever;
Laplace, still more cunningly, even guessed that it could not have been
made on any other scheme" (1749-1827).
LAPLAND (28), a stretch of country in the N. of Europe, between the
Atlantic and the White Sea; is divided between Norway, Sweden, Finland,
and Russia. Its climate is very severe; mountainous in the W., it becomes
more level in the E., where are many marshes, lakes, and rivers; the
summer is never dark, and there are six to eight weeks of winter never
light. The Lapps, of whom 18,000 are in Norwegian Lapland, are closely
allied to the Finns, small of stature, thick lipped, and with small
piercing eyes; proverbially uncleanly, not very intelligent, are
good-natured, but untruthful and parsimonious; nominally Christian, but
very superstitious; they are kindly treated by both Norway and Sweden.
The mountain Lapps are nomads, whose wealth consists of herds of
reindeer, which supply nearly all their wants. The sea Lapps live by
fishing. The forest and river Lapps, originally nomads, have adopted a
settled life, domesticated their reindeer, and taken to hunting and
fishing.
LA PLATA (65), a new city, founded in 1884 as capital of the prov.
of Buenos Ayres, 30 m. SE. of Buenos Ayres city; rapidly built, it has
continued to grow, and has now some handsome buildings, a college, and
cotton and woollen manufactures; a canal connects it with the La Plata
River.
LA PLATA RIVER, a broad estuary in South America, from 28 to 140 m.
broad and 200 m. long, with Uruguay on the N. and the Argentine Republic
on the S., through which the Uruguay and Paraná rivers pour into the
Atlantic; it is much exposed to storms; its best harbour is at Monte
Video.
LAPSI, name given to apostates in the early Christian Church.
LAPUTA, a flying island inhabited by speculative philosophers,
visited by Gulliver in his "Travels," who, when their minds began to be
too much absorbed in their studies, were wakened up by a set of
attendants called "Flappers" armed with dried bladders full of small
pebbles or "dried peas" attached to the end of a stick, with which they
struck them gently about the mouth and ears.
LARDNER, DIONYSIUS, a popular scientist, born in Dublin; wrote a
number of scientific works; edited a Cyclopedia, being a series of
volumes on scientific subjects; was professor of Natural Philosophy and
Astronomy in University College, London, but from a misdemeanour had to
vacate his chair and emigrate to America (1793-1859).
LARDNER, NATHANIEL, an English divine, ecclesiastically a
Presbyterian but theologically a Unitarian, author of "Credibility of the
Gospel History" and "Jewish and Heathen Testimonies" in favour of
Christianity (1684-1768).
LARES, household deities of the Romans; originally deified ancestors
of the families whose family life they protected, and images of whom were
kept in some shrine in the house near the hearth. Besides these domestic
lares, there were public lares, who were protectors of the whole
community. Both classes were objects of worship.
LARISSA (13), the capital of Thessaly, in Greece; stands in a sandy
plain; is the seat of a Greek archbishop; has mosques as well as
churches.
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, FRANÇOIS, DUC DE, a great maxim writer, member of
a French family of Angoumois, born at Paris; played a conspicuous part in
the war of the Fronde; was present at several engagements, and was
wounded twice over, and retired at length in shattered health; he passed
the rest of his days at court, where he enjoyed the society of the most
distinguished ladies of the time; his "Maxims" appeared in 1665, and were
immediately appreciated; they bear one and all on ethical subjects, and
are the fruit of a life of large and varied commerce with the race
(1613-1680).
LA ROCHEJAQUELEIN, HENRI, COMTE DE, a celebrated Vendéan royalist;
the peasants of La Vendée having in 1792 risen in the royal cause, he
placed himself at the head of them, and after gaining six victories was
killed fighting in single combat while defending Nouaillé (1772-1794).
LAROUSSE, PIERRE, a celebrated French grammarian and lexicographer;
best known by his "Grand Dictionnaire Universel du xix^{me} Siècle"
(1817-1875).
LARRY, DOMINIQUE JEAN, BARON, a celebrated military surgeon;
distinguished for the organisation he instituted of the "flying
ambulance" for the care of the wounded in battle; accompanied Napoleon to
Egypt; served in the Russian campaign; was wounded and taken prisoner at
Waterloo; wrote treatises on army surgery (1766-1842).
LA SALLE, ROBERT CAVELIER SIEUR DE, a French explorer, born at
Rouen; set out from Canada and explored the North American continent
along the course of the Mississippi as far as the Gulf of Mexico,
planting the French flag at what he thought was, but was not, the mouth
of the river; was assassinated by one of his retinue in the end
(1640-1687).
LASCARS, East Indians serving as seamen on board of British vessels,
who have proved very tractable, and make excellent sailors; they are
mostly Mohammedans.
LASCARSIS, CONSTANTINO, an eminent Greek scholar, born in Phrygia;
on the fall of Constantinople in 1453 came with his brother John to
Italy, published a Greek grammar, opened a school at Rome and Naples for
Greek and Rhetoric, and did much to propagate in Italy a taste for
Hellenic literature (1445-1535).
LAS CASAS, BARTHOLOMÉ DE, a celebrated Spanish priest, surnamed the
Apostle of the Indians, born at Seville; visited the West Indies early
under Columbus; took a deep interest in the natives; was grieved to see
the usage they were subjected to there, as well as elsewhere, under the
rule of Spain, and spent his life in persuading his countrymen to adopt a
more lenient and humane treatment; crossed the ocean twelve times on
their behalf; was made Bishop of Chiapa, in Mexico, in 1554; died in
Madrid (1474-1566).
LAS CASES, French historiographer; became attached to Napoleon and
accompanied him to St. Helena, and after his death published his Memorial
of St. Helena, with an account of Napoleon's life and the treatment he
was subjected to there (1766-1842).
LASCO, JOHANNES, a Protestant Reformer, born in Poland; studied at
Rome and Bologna, and entered holy orders; became acquainted with Erasmus
at Basel, and joined the Reformation movement; settled at Emden; accepted
an invitation from Cranmer to London, and ministered to a Protestant
congregation there, but left it on the accession of Mary, and in 1556
returned to Poland and contributed largely to the movement already begun
there (1490-1560).
LAS PALMAS (17), the capital of the Canary Islands, on the NE. of
the Grand Canary, the second largest of the group; is the seat of the
Government, and a health resort.
LASSALLE, FERDINAND, founder of Socialism in Germany, born at
Breslau, of Jewish parents; attended the universities of Breslau and
Berlin; became a disciple of Hegel; took part in the Revolution of 1848,
and was sent to prison for six months; in 1861 his "System of Acquired
Rights" started an agitation of labour against capital, and he was again
thrown into prison; on his release founded an association to secure
universal suffrage and other reforms; returning to Switzerland he
conceived a passionate affection for a lady betrothed to a noble whom she
was compelled to marry, and whom he challenged, but by whom he was
mortally wounded in a duel (1825-1864).
LASSELL, WILLIAM, astronomer, born at Bolton, discovered the
satellite of Neptune, and the eighth satellite of Saturn, in an
observatory of his own, with instruments of his own construction
(1799-1880).
LASSEN, CHRISTIAN, eminent Orientalist, born at Bergen; studied Pâli
with Burnouf in Paris; became professor of Indian Languages and
Literature in Bonn; contributed largely to our knowledge of cuneiform
inscriptions, and wrote, among other works, an epoch-making work entitled
"Indische Alterthumskunde."
LASSO, a well-plaited strip of hide, with a noose, to catch wild
horses or cattle with.
LATAKIA (10), a seaport on the coast of Syria; exports a tobacco of
a fine quality, to which it gives name.
LATEEN SAIL, a triangular sail common on the Mediterranean.
LATERAN, the palace, originally a basilica, built by Constantine in
Rome about 333, the residence of the Pope till 1308, and from which no
fewer than five Ecumenical Councils receive their names as held in it,
namely, those of 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215, and 1518; the church, called the
Church of St. John Lateran, is the cathedral church of Rome.
LATHAM, ROBERT GORDON, ethnologist and philologist, born at
Billingborough Vicarage, Lincolnshire, graduated at Cambridge 1832. and
became Fellow of King's College; qualifying in medicine he held
appointments in the London hospitals, but meanwhile was attracted to
philology and ethnology, appointed professor of English Language and
Literature in University College, London, 1839, and director of the
ethnological department of the Crystal Palace, 1852; in 1862 he
affirmed, against the most weighty authorities, that the Aryan stock is
originally European, not Asian, a view which has since found favour; he
published his "English Language" in 1841, and "The Natural History of the
Varieties of Mankind" in 1850, and was pensioned in 1863 (1812-1888).
LATIMER, HUGH, Bishop of Worcester, born near Leicester; studied at
Cambridge, and entered the Church, but soon adopted the Reformed
doctrines, gained the favour of Henry VIII. by approving of his divorce,
and was appointed bishop; by his labours in Worcester as a preacher of
the Reformed faith he lost the royal favour, and was twice committed to
the Tower for his obstinacy, he the while resigning his appointment;
under Edward VI. his zeal as a preacher had full scope, but under Mary
his mouth was gagged, and he was burnt at the stake along with Ridley,
opposite Balliol College, Oxford (1490-1545).
LATIN UNION, a convention in 1865, between France, Italy, Belgium,
Switzerland, and Greece, to establish an international monetary standard.
LATITUDINARIANS, the name given to a body of theologians belonging
to the Church of England who, at the end of the 17th century, sought, in
the interest of religion, to affiliate the dogmas of the Church, with the
principles of philosophy as grounded on reason; they were mostly of the
school of Plato, and among their leaders were Cudworth and Henry More.
LATONA, the Latin name for Greek LETO (q. v.).
LATOUR D'AUVERGNE, CORRET DE, a French grenadier, born in Brittany;
celebrated for his intrepidity and his self-sacrificing patriotism;
distinguished himself in the wars of the Revolution; would accept no
promotion, and declined even the title of "First Grenadier of the
Republic" which Bonaparte wished to confer on him, but by which he is
known to posterity (1743-1800).
LATRIELLE, PIERRE ANDRÉ, French naturalist, born at Brives, in
Corrèze; one of the founders of the science of Entomology; succeeded
Lamarck as professor in Natural History in the Jardin des Plantes; wrote
several works on entomology (1762-1833).
LATRIA, the name given in Catholic theology to the worship of God,
as distinguished from DULIA (q. v.), their name for the worship
of saints.
LATTER-DAY PAMPHLETS, a series of pamphlets published by Carlyle in
1850, in vehement denunciation of the political, social, and religious
imbecilities and injustices of the period.
LATTER-DAY SAINTS. See MORMONS.
LAUD, WILLIAM, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Reading, son of a
clothier; studied at and became a Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford,
was ordained in 1601; early gave evidence of his High-Church proclivities
and his hostility to the Puritans, whom for their disdain of forms he
regarded as the subverters of the Church; he rose by a succession of
preferments, archdeaconship of Huntingdon one of them, to the Primacy,
but declined the offer of a cardinal's hat at the hands of the Pope, and
became along with Strafford a chief adviser of the unfortunate Charles
I.; his advice did not help the king out of his troubles, and his
obstinate, narrow-minded pedantry brought his own head to the block; he
was beheaded for treason on Tower Hill, Jan. 10, 1645; he "could _see_ no
religion" in Scotland once on a visit there, "because he saw no ritual,
and his soul was grieved" (1573-1645).
LAUDERDALE, JOHN MAITLAND, DUKE OF, Scottish Secretary under Charles
II., professed Covenanting sympathies in his youth, and attended the
Westminster Assembly of Divines as a Commissioner for Scotland 1643;
succeeding to the earldom in 1645 he joined the Royalists in the Civil
War, was made prisoner at Worcester 1651, and confined for nine years;
receiving his Scottish office at the Restoration he devoted himself to
establishing by every means the absolute power of the king in Church and
State; his measures were responsible for the rising of 1666 and in part
for that of 1677; but he made the Episcopal Church quite subservient;
appointed to the Privy Council, he sat in the "Cabal" ministry, was made
duke in 1672, and in spite of intrigues and an attempt to censure him in
the Commons, remained in power till 1680; he was shrewd, clever, witty,
sensual, and unscrupulous; then and still hated in Scotland (1616-1682).
LAUENBURG (49), a duchy of N. Germany, between Holstein and
Mecklenburg, was annexed to Prussia in 1876.
LAUGHING PHILOSOPHER, a name given to Democrates of Abdera for a
certain flippancy he showed.
LAUNCESTON (17), on the Tamar, the second city in Tasmania, is the
chief port and market in the N., a fine city, carrying on a good trade
with Australian ports, and serving as a summer resort to Melbourne.
LAURA, a young Avignonese married lady, for whom Petrarch conceived
a Platonic affection, and who exercised a lifelong influence over him.
LAUREATE, POET, originally an officer of the royal household whose
business it was to celebrate in an ode any joyous occasion connected with
royalty, originally the sovereign's birthday; it is now a mere honour
bestowed by royalty on an eminent poet.
LAURIER, SIR WILFRED, Premier of Canada since 1896, and the first
French-Canadian to attain that honour, born in St. Lin; bred for the bar,
soon rose to the top of his profession; elected in 1871 as a Liberal to
the Quebec Provincial Assembly, where he came at once to the front, and
elected in 1874 to the Federal Assembly, he became distinguished as "the
silver-tongued Laurier," and as the Liberal leader; his personality is as
winning as his eloquence, and he stood first among all the Colonial
representatives at Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897; _b_. 1841.
LAUSANNE (33), a picturesque town on the slopes of the Jura, 1 m.
from the N. shore of Lake Geneva, is the capital of the Swiss canton of
Vaud; noted for its educational institutions and museums, and for its
magnificent Protestant cathedral; it has little industry, but
considerable trade, and is a favourite tourist resort; here took place
the disputation between Calvin, Farel, and Viret, and here Gibbon wrote
the "Decline and Fall."
LAVA, a general term for all rocks originating in molten streams
from volcanoes, includes traps, basalts, pumice, and others; the surface
of a lava stream cools and hardens quickly, presenting a cellulose
structure, while below the heat is retained much longer and the rock when
cooled is compact and columnar or crystalline; the largest recorded lava
flow was from Skaptar Jökull, Iceland, in 1783.
LAVALETTE, COUNT DE, French general, born at Paris; condemned to
death after the Restoration as an accomplice of Napoleon, he was saved
from death by the devotion of his wife, who was found in the prison
instead of him on the morning appointed for his execution (1769-1830).
LA VALLIÈRE, DUCHESSE DE, a fascinating woman, born at Tours, who
became the mistress of Louis XIV.; supplanted by another, she became a
Carmelite nun in 1674 in the Carmelite nunnery in Paris, and continued
doing penance there as would seem till her death (1644-1710).
LAVATER, JOHANN KASPAR, German clergyman, a mystic thinker and
writer on physiognomy, born at Zurich; wrote "Outlooks to Eternity," and
a work on physiognomy, or the art of judging of character from the
features of the face (1741-1804).
LAVOISIER, ANTOINE LAURENT, one of the founders of modern chemistry,
born in Paris; to prosecute his researches accepted the post of
farmer-general in 1769, introduced in 1776 improvements in manufacturing
gunpowder, discovered the composition of the air and the nature of
oxygen, applied the principles of chemistry to agriculture, and indicated
the presence and action of these principles in various other domains of
scientific inquiry; called to account for his actions as farmer-general,
one in particular "putting water in the tobacco," and condemned to the
guillotine; he in vain begged for a fortnight's respite to finish some
experiments, "the axe must do its work" (1742-1794).
LAW, JOHN, financier and speculator, son of a goldsmith and banker,
born at Edinburgh; was early noted for his calculating power; visiting
London in 1691 he got into debt, sold his estate, killed a man in a duel,
and escaped to Amsterdam, where he studied finance; came to Scotland with
financial proposals for the Government in 1700, but they were refused,
and he spent some years on the Continent as a gambling adventurer; in
1716 he and his brother William started a private bank in Paris, the
success of which induced the Regent Orleans in 1718 to institute the
"Royal Bank of France," with Law as director; next year he floated the
"Mississippi Scheme" for the settlement of Louisiana, but after a show of
success the scheme proved a bubble; he had to fly to Brussels, his
property being confiscated; he died at Venice, poor, but scheming to the
end (1671-1729).
LAW, WILLIAM, author of "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life,"
born at Kingscliffe, Northamptonshire, son of a grocer; entered Cambridge
in 1705; became a Fellow, and took orders in 1711; became associated with
the family of the elder Gibbon, father of the historian, in 1727, and
spent ten years with them as tutor, friend, and spiritual director; in
1740 he retired to Kingscliffe, where he spent the remainder of his life
in seclusion, shared by Miss Hester Gibbon, the historian's aunt, and
Mrs. Hutcheson, a widow of means, occupying themselves much with
charitable schemes; Law was an able theologian and dialectician, and an
exponent of German mysticism; his writings contributed greatly to the
evangelical revival (1686-1761).
LAWRENCE, JOHN, LORD, the "Saviour of India," born of Irish
parentage at Richmond, Yorkshire; entered the Bengal Civil Service in
1829, and on the annexation of the Punjab was appointed Commissioner and
afterwards Lieutenant-Governor; by his justice and the reforms he carried
through he so won the esteem of the Sikhs that at the Mutiny he was able
to disarm the Punjab mutineers, raise 50,000 men, and capture Delhi;
returning to England he received a pension of £1000 a year, was made
successively baronet and Privy Councillor, and sent out again as
Governor-General of India in 1863; his rule was characterised by wise
policy and sound finance; he disapproved of English interference in
Afghan affairs; he was raised to the peerage in 1869 (1811-1879).
LAWRENCE, ST., a deacon of the Church at Rome, who suffered
martyrdom in the time of Valerian, 258, by being broiled on a gridiron,
which he is represented in Christian art as holding in his hand.
LAY BROTHER, a member of a monastery under the three monastic vows,
but not in holy orders.
LAYAMON, early English poet who flourished in the 12th century, and
was by his own account priest near Bewdley, on the Severn; was author of
a long poem or chronicle of 32,250 lines called "Brut d'Angleterre," and
which is of interest as showing how Anglo-Saxon passed into the English
of Chaucer.
LAYARD, SIR AUSTEN HENRY, English traveller and diplomatist, born at
Paris; spent his boyhood in Italy, and studied law in London; between
1845 and 1847 he conducted excavations at the ruins of Nineveh, securing
for the British Museum its famous specimens of Assyrian art, and on his
return published works on "Nineveh and its Remains" and "Monuments of
Nineveh"; he received the freedom of London, Oxford gave him D.C.L., and
Aberdeen University chose him for Lord Rector; entering Parliament in
1852, he sat for Aylesbury and for Southwark, and was Under-secretary for
Foreign Affairs 1861-06; in 1809 he was sent as ambassador to Madrid, and
from 1877 till 1880 represented England at Constantinople, where his
philo-Turkish sympathies provoked much comment; he was a noted linguist
(1817-1894).
LAZZARONI, an indolent class of waifs under a chief who used to
lounge about Naples, and proved formidable in periods of revolution; they
subsisted partly by service as messengers, porters, &c., and partly as
beggars.
LEAGUE AND COVENANT, SOLEMN. See COVENANT.
LEAGUE, THE, specially a coalition organised in 1576 by the Duke of
Guise to suppress the Reformed religion in France by denying civil and
religious liberty to the Huguenots, and specially to prevent the
accession of Henry IV. as a Protestant to the throne.
LEAMINGTON (27), a fashionable Warwickshire watering-place of modern
date on the Learn, 15 m. SE. of Birmingham. It has chalybeate, saline,
and sulphurous springs, to which visitors have gathered since the end of
18th century; brewing and kitchen-range making are carried on; Leamington
and Warwick return one member of Parliament.
LEANDER. See HERO.
LEANING TOWER, specially a campanile of white marble at Pisa, in
Italy, 178 ft. in height, and which leans 14 ft. off the perpendicular.
LEAR, a legendary British king, the hero of one of Shakespeare's
tragedies, the victim of the unnatural conduct of two of his daughters.
LEAR, EDWARD, English painter, and author of "Book of Nonsense,"
composed for the grandchildren of the Earl of Derby in 1848, and after of
"More Nonsense Rhymes," which were widely popular with young people;
painted landscapes in Greece and Asia Minor (1812-1888).
LEATHER STOCKING, NATTY, a character in Cooper's novel the
"Pioneers," "a melodious synopsis of man and nature in the West."
LEATHES, STANLEY, prebendary of St Paul's, born in Bucks; has held
several clerical appointments; is professor of Hebrew in King's College,
London, and is author of a number of works bearing on Christianity; _b_.
1830.
LEBANON (i. e. "the White Mountain"), a range on the northern
border of Palestine, which rises to a height of 10,000 ft., and is
divided into two by a valley, the ancient Coele-Syria, which the Leontes
and Orontes water, the eastern range being called Anti-Lebanon.
LE BRUN, CHARLES, a celebrated French painter, born in Paris;
studied in Rome, settled in Paris, and patronised by Colbert; he
exercised for about 40 years a great influence on the art of the period;
he decorated Versailles and the Louvre, but with the death of his patron
he sunk into obscurity and pined and died (1619-1690).
LECHLER, GOTTHARD VICTOR, theologian, born in Würtemberg; was
professor at Leipzig; wrote "History of Deism," "Life of Wiclif," and
"Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times" (1811-1888).
LECKY, WILLIAM EDWARD HARTPOLE, historian and suggestive writer,
born near Dublin; represents Dublin University in Parliament; is the
author of "Leaders of Public Opinion," 1861; "The Rise and Influence of
the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe," 1865; the "History of European
Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne," 1869; and the "History of the
Eighteenth Century," 1878-90; _b_. 1838.
LECLAIRE, EDME-JEAN, French economist, and experimentalist in the
matter of the union of capital and labour; adopted the system of
profit-sharing in 1842, with important results (1801-1872).
LE CLERC, JOHN, otherwise Johannes Clericus, liberal Swiss
theologian and controversialist, born at Geneva; studied philosophy and
theology there, and at Paris and London; became professor in the
Remonstrant Seminary in Amsterdam in 1684, but lost his speech in 1728;
his voluminous writings include commentaries on the whole Bible, which
contained opinions on the authorship and composition of the Pentateuch,
and the inspiration of the wisdom books, then startling but since much in
favour (1657-1736).
LECONTE DE LISLE, a French poet, a Creole, born in the Isle of
Bourbon, author of "Poésies Barbares" and "Poésies Antiques," and
translator of Homer, Sophocles, Theocrates, and other classics; his
translations are wonderfully faithful to the originals (1820-1894).
LECTERN, a stand with a desk for a book from which the service is
read in a church.
LEDA, in the Greek mythology the wife of the Spartan king Tyndareus,
who was visited by Zeus in the form of a swan and became the mother of
Castor and Pollux; was frequently the subject of ancient art.
LEDRU-ROLLIN, ALEXANDRA AUGUSTE, a French democrat, born near Paris;
called to the bar in 1830; became a leader of the democratic movement in
the reign of Louis Philippe, and gained the title of the "Tribune of the
Revolution"; in 1848 he became a member of the Provisional Government;
was Minister of the Interior; secured for France the privilege of
universal suffrage; his opposition to Louis Napoleon obliged him to seek
refuge in England, where he took part in a general democratic movement,
and an amnesty being granted, he returned to France in 1870; was elected
to the Assembly, but his power was gone; died suddenly (1807-1874).
LEE, ROBERT EDWARD, Confederate general in the American Civil War,
born at Stratford, Virginia, son of a soldier of old and distinguished
family, and educated at West Point; became captain of Engineers in 1838;
he distinguished himself in the Mexican War of 1846; was from 1852 till
1855 head of the U.S. Military Academy; was in active service again in
Texas 1855-59 as an officer of Cavalry; on the secession of the Southern
States, though disapproving of the war, deeming Virginia to have a claim
before the Union to his loyalty, resigned his commission, and was
appointed general, third in rank, by the Confederate Congress of
Virginia, 1861; after various services he succeeded General Johnston in
command of the army at Richmond; won the seven days' battle against
M'Clellan; invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania, but was forced to surrender
with 28,000 men to Grant at Appomatox, in Virginia, April 9, 1865;
forfeiting his estates he became President of the Washington University
(since called Washington and Lee), Lexington, Virginia, which post he
held till his death; he was a man of devout religious faith, a high sense
of duty, great courage and ability as a soldier (1807-1870).
LEE, ROBERT, a Scottish theologian, born at Tweedmouth; was minister
of Old Greyfriars, Edinburgh, and professor of Biblical Criticism in the
University; reformed the Presbyterian worship to some extent on the
Anglican model, and suffered no small persecution at the hands of the
conservative party in the Church for these innovations; his proclivities
otherwise were rationalistic (1804-1868).
LEE, SAMUEL, English Orientalist, born in Shropshire; professor in
Cambridge first of Arabic and then of Hebrew; was the author of a Hebrew
grammar and lexicon, and a translation of the Book of Job (1783-1852).
LEECH, JOHN, English artist, born in London; was educated at the
Charterhouse, and a fellow pupil there of Thackeray's; displayed early a
turn for caricature; produced a set of illustrations for the "Ingoldsby
Legends"; joined the staff of _Punch_ in 1844, and remained a member of
it till his death; here he distinguished himself by his cartoons and his
humorous illustrations of scenes and characters of English life and
society, and showed himself an artist more than a caricaturist; his work
was not limited to _Punch_; he contributed illustrations also to _Once a
Week_, the _Illustrated London News_, and other publications of the time
(1817-1864).
LEEDS (368), fifth city in England, largest in Yorkshire, on the
Aire, 25 m. SW. of York, in the West Riding; has been noted for its
textile industry since the 16th century, now its woollen manufactures of
all kinds are the largest in England, and besides other industries, there
are very large manufactures of ready-made clothing, leather, boots and
shoes, and iron. There are many fine buildings: St. Peter's Church is the
largest; St. John's, consecrated in 1634, still retains the fittings of a
"Laudean" church. There is a magnificent infirmary, a grammar-school, and
art-gallery. The Yorkshire College is affiliated with Victoria
University. Dr. Priestley was a native. A Parliamentary borough only
since 1832, it now returns five members.
LEEDS, THOMAS OSBORNE, DUKE OF, English statesman, son of a
Yorkshire baronet, after the Restoration entered Parliament as member for
York and supporter of King and Church; his advance was rapid till he was
Lord High Treasurer and Earl of Danby in 1674; constantly intriguing, he
was impeached by the Commons in 1678, and kept for five years in the
Tower without trial; returning to public life he opposed James II.'s
policy regarding the Church, and joined in the movement which set William
of Orange on the English throne; appointed President of the Council, he
was again guilty of corrupt practices; he became Duke of Leeds in 1694,
but in 1695 was impeached a second time, and though he again escaped
condemnation he never regained power (1631-1712).
LEEUWENHOEK, ANTON VAN, an early microscopist, born at Delft; the
instrument he used was of his own construction, but it was the means of
his arriving at important discoveries, one of the most so that of
capillary circulation; stoutly opposed the theory of spontaneous
generation (1632-1673).
LEFORT, FRANÇOIS JACOB, Russian officer, born in Geneva, son of a
merchant; after serving in France and Holland, in 1675 entered the
service and gained the favour of Peter the Great, organised the army on
the French model, laid the foundation of a navy, and died
commander-in-chief both of the land forces and the navy (1656-1699).
LEFT, THE, the opposition in a Continental Legislative Assembly, as
sitting on the left of the chair; also the liberal section of a
philosophical school.
LEGALISM, adherence to the strict letter of the law often in
disregard of the spirit and even in defiance of it.
LE GALLIENNE, RICHARD, poet, journalist, and critic, born in
Liverpool, of a Guernsey family; has been connected with and contributed
to several London journals; is author of "My Lady's Sonnets," "George
Meredith: some Characteristics," "The Religion of a Literary Man," &c.;
is successful as a lecturer as well as a littérateur; _b_. 1866.
LEGATE, the title of the Pope's representative or ambassador; in
medieval times this office was attached to certain bishoprics, and the
bishops were styled _legati nati;_ besides these there were _legati a
latere_, generally cardinals, and _legati missi_, or nuncios specially
appointed; legates used to claim full papal jurisdiction within their
provinces, which caused many disputes; now they are ambassadors for
spiritual purposes at Roman Catholic Courts--Vienna, Münich, Madrid,
Lisbon, and Paris--and do not interfere with the authority of the
bishops.
LEGENDRE, ADRIEN MARIE, brilliant French mathematician, contemporary
of Lagrange and Laplace, born at Toulouse; obtained the professorship of
Mathematics in the Military School at Paris, and was elected to the
Academy of Sciences in 1783; he was one of the commissioners to determine
the length of the metre, and held many posts under the Republic and the
Empire; among many works his best known is the "Elements of Geometry"
(1794), translated into English by Carlyle (1752-1833).
LEGGE, JAMES, a Chinese scholar, born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire;
studied at King's College, Aberdeen; was sent out as missionary to the
Chinese by the London Missionary Society in 1839, laboured for 30 years
at Hong-Kong, and became professor of the Chinese Language and Literature
at Oxford in 1876; edited with a translation and notes the Chinese
classics, the "four _Shu_," and the "five _King_," and gave lectures on
the religions of China as compared with Christianity; _b_. 1815.
LEGHORN (106), a flourishing Italian seaport, on the W. coast, 60 m.
from Florence; is a fine city, with broad streets and many canals; its
exports include wine, silk, oil, marble, and straw hats; it imports
spirits, sugar, and machinery; it does a large and increasing coasting
trade, and manufactures coral ornaments; its prosperity dates from the
15th century; it was a free port till 1868.
LEGION, among the ancient Romans a body of soldiers consisting of
three lines, the _hastati_, the _principes_, and the _triarii_, ranged in
order of battle one behind the other, each divided into ten maniples, and
the whole numbering from 4000 to 6000 men; to each legion was attached
six military tribunes, who commanded in rotation, each for two months;
under Marius the three lines were amalgamated, and the whole divided into
ten cohorts of three maniples each; under the original arrangement the
_hastati_ were young or untrained men, the _principes_ men in their full
manhood, and the _triarii_ veterans.
LEGION OF HONOUR, an order of merit instituted on republican
principles on May 10, 1802, by Bonaparte when First Consul in recompense
of civil and military services to the country; it originally consisted of
four classes, but now comprehends five: grand crosses, grand officers,
commanders, officers, and chevaliers, each, of military or naval men,
with pensions on a descending scale and all for life; their badge, a
white star of five rays, bearing on the obverse an image of the republic
and on the reverse two tricolor flags.
LEGITIMISTS, a name given to supporters of the Bourbon dynasty in
France as opposed to the Orleanists, who supported the claims of Louis
Philippe.
LEIBNITZ, German philosopher, mathematician, and man of affairs,
born in Leipzig; studied law and took the degree of Doctor of Laws at
Altorf; spent a good part of his life at courts, visited Paris and London
and formed a friendship with the savans in both cities, and finally
settled in Hanover, where he moved much in the circle of the Electress
Sophia and her daughter Sophia Charlotte, the Prussian Queen, whom he
entertained with his philosophy of the "infinitely little," as it has
been called; he discovered with Newton the basis of the differential
calculus, and concocted the system of monods (his "Monodology"), between
which and the soul, he taught, there existed a "pre-established harmony,"
issuing in the cosmos; he was an optimist, and had for his motto the
oft-quoted phrase, "Everything is for the best in the best of possible
worlds"; his principal works in philosophy are his "Théodicée," written
at the instance of Sophia Charlotte and in refutation of Bayle, and his
"Monodologie," written on the suggestion of Prince Eugene (1646-1716).
LEICESTER (209), county town of Leicestershire, on the Soar, 40 m.
E. of Birmingham; is an ancient town, with several historic buildings;
has grown rapidly of late owing to its hosiery, boot and shoe, and
iron-founding industries; it sends two members to Parliament.
LEICESTER, ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF, Queen Elizabeth's favourite,
fifth son of the Duke of Northumberland; won the queen's favour by his
handsome appearance and courtly address; received many offices and
honours, and on the death, under suspicious circumstances, of his
Countess, Amy Robsart, aspired to her hand; still favoured, in spite of
his unpopularity in the country, he was proposed as husband to Mary,
Queen of Scots, in 1563; he married the dowager Lady Sheffield in 1573,
and afterwards bigamously the Countess of Essex; after a short term of
disfavour he was appointed commander in the Netherlands, and subsequently
at Tilbury Fort, but proved an incapable soldier (1532-1588).
LEICESTERSHIRE (374), English midland county, bounded by Nottingham,
Lincoln, Rutland, Northampton, Warwick, and Derby shires; is an
undulating upland watered by the Soar, and mostly under pasture.
Leicester cattle and sheep are noted, and its Stilton cheeses. There are
coal deposits and granite and slate quarries in the N. The chief towns
are Leicester, the county town, Loughborough, and Hinckley.
LEIGH, AURORA, the heroine of Mrs. Browning's poem of the same name.
She styled it "a novel in verse," and wrote of it, it is "the most mature
of my works, and the one into which my highest convictions upon Life and
Art have entered."
LEIGHTON, FREDERICK, LORD, eminent English artist, born at
Scarborough; studied in the chief art-centres of the Continent; his first
exhibit at the Royal Academy being "Cimabue's Madonna carried in
Procession through Florence," which was followed by a numerous array of
others of classic merit, and showing the scholar as well as the artist;
he distinguished himself in sculpture as well as painting, and died
President of the Royal Academy after being ennobled (1830-1897).
LEIGHTON, ROBERT, a Scottish theologian, the son of a Puritan
clergyman in London, who wrote a book against prelacy, and suffered
cruelly at the hands of Laud in consequence; studied at Edinburgh;
entered the Church, and became Presbyterian minister at Newbattle in
1641, but resigned in 1653; was made Principal of Edinburgh University;
reluctantly consented to accept a bishopric, and chose the diocese of
Dunblane, but declined all lordship connected with the office; was for a
time archbishop of Glasgow; retired to England in 1674, and lived ten
years afterwards with a widowed sister in Sussex; he was a most saintly
man, and long revered as such by the Scottish people; his writings, which
are highly imaginative, were much admired by Coleridge (1611-1684).
LEIOTRICHI, a primitive race of people distinguished by their smooth
hair.
LEIPZIG (357), in the W. of Saxony, and largest city of that
kingdom; is the third city in Germany. The old portion is narrow and
quaint, with historic buildings; the new is well built, with splendid
edifices. It is the seat of the supreme court of the Empire, of an old
university which has a magnificent library and well-equipped medical
school, and of one of the finest conservatories of music in Europe. Its
chief trade is in books, furs, leather, and cloth, and its chief
industries type-founding and pianoforte-making. It was the birthplace of
Leibnitz and Wagner, and is associated also with Bach and Mendelssohn.
LEITH (68), chief seaport in E. of Scotland, on the Forth,
contiguous to Edinburgh and the port of it; is an old, unattractive, but
busy town. The harbour comprises five docks. The imports are corn, flour,
wines, sugar, and fruit; the exports, coal, iron, paraffin, and whisky.
There are shipbuilding and engineering works, breweries, distilleries,
and other industries. Leith Fort, between the town and Newhaven, is the
head-quarters of the artillery for Scotland.
LEITHA, an Austrian stream which flows NE. and falls into the Danube
E. of Vienna; divides Cis-Leithan from Trans-Leithan.
LELAND, CHARLES, an American writer, born at Philadelphia; bred to
the bar, but left law for literature, and contributed to the journals;
has taken interest in and written on the industrial arts, social science,
folk-lore, the gypsies, &c.; his works are numerous, and of a humorous or
burlesque character, and include "The Poetry and Mystery of Dreams," "The
Legends of Birds," "Hans Breitmann's Ballads," &c.; _b_. 1824.
LELAND, JOHN, English antiquary, born in London; travelled much on
the Continent and amassed vast learning; held a commission from Henry
VIII. to examine the antiquities and libraries of England, in fulfilment
of which charge he spent six years in collecting a world of things that
would otherwise have been lost, and the rest of his life, till he went
insane, in arranging them (1506-1552).
LELAND, JOHN, a Nonconformist minister, born in Wigan; wrote chiefly
in defence of Christianity against the attacks of the Deists (1691-1766).
LELY, SIR PETER, a painter, born in Westphalia; settled in London;
took to portrait-painting, and was patronised by Charles I. and II., as
well as by Cromwell; he painted the portraits of his patrons, and the
beauties of Charles II.'s court; was Vandyck's successor (1618-1680).
LEMAN LAKE, the LAKE OF GENEVA (q. v.).
LEMBERG (128), the capital of Austrian Galicia, from its central
position and ready communication with rivers and railways, enjoys an
extensive trade; Polish is the prevailing language; there is a
flourishing university, and of the population 40,000 are Jews.
LEMMING RAT, a rodent, which "travelling in myriads seawards from
the hills," as seen in Norway, "turns not to the right or the left, eats
its way through whatever will eat, and climbs over whatever will not eat,
and perishes before reaching the sea, its consistent rigidly straight
journey, a journey nowhither." See the Application in the "Latter
Pamphlet," No. 6.
LEMNOS (30), an island plateau in the Ægean Sea, 30 m. SW. of the
Dardanelles, Turkish since 1657; produces corn, wine, and tobacco, and is
a place of exile for Turkish prisoners; the population is mostly Greek;
chief town Kastro (3), on the W. coast.
LEMON, MARK, editor of _Punch_ from 1843 to his death, born in
London; began his career as a dramatist, story-teller, and song-writer,
writing 60 pieces for the stage and 100 songs (1809-1870).
LEM`URES, a name given by the Romans to the spirits of the dead, and
who, such of them as are ghosts of the wicked, wander about at night as
spectres, and tormented themselves, torment and frighten the living.
LENCLOS, NINON DE, a woman celebrated for wit and beauty, born in
Paris, whose salon in the city was frequented by all the notable
personages of the period; she was a woman of superior mental endowments
as well as polished manners, but of loose morality and want of heart
(1616-1705).
LENNEP, JACOB VAN, a Dutch dramatist and novelist, born at
Amsterdam; bred to the bar and practised as a lawyer; was a devoted
student of English literature, and executed translations from English
poets; was called by his countrymen the Walter Scott of Holland
(1802-1868).
LENNOX, an ancient district of Scotland that included Dumbartonshire
and part of Stirlingshire.
LENORE, the heroine of a celebrated ballad by Bürger, the German
lyric poet, a maiden whose lover dies and whose spectre appears to her on
horseback and carries her off mounted behind him.
LENORMANT, FRANÇOIS, a distinguished archæologist, born at Paris, a
man of genius and of vast learning; his chief works "Manuel d'Histoire
Ancienne de l'Orient," "Lettres Assyriologues," "Les Premières
Civilisations," and "Les Sciences Occultes en Asie" (1837-1883).
LENS, a piece of glass adapted as convex or concave so as to change
the direction of the rays of light passing through it and magnify or
diminish the apparent size of an object.
LENT, a period of fasting previous to Easter, at first lasting only
40 hours, was gradually extended to three, four, or six days, then
different Churches extended it to three and six: weeks; in the 6th
century Gregory the Great fixed it for the West at 40 days from Ash
Wednesday to Easter, excluding Sundays; in the Eastern Church it begins
on the Monday after quinquagesima and excludes both Saturdays and
Sundays; in the Anglican Church the season is marked by special services,
but the fast is not rigidly kept.
LENTHALL, WILLIAM, Speaker of the Long Parliament; is famous for his
answer to the demand of Charles to point out to him five members he had
come to arrest, "May it please your Majesty," said he, failing on his
knees, "I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak but as the House
directs me" (1591-1662).
LEO, the fifth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters on July 22.
LEO, the name of six emperors of the East, of which the chief was
Leo III., surnamed the Isaurian, born in Isauria; raised to the imperial
throne by the army, defeated by sea and land the Saracens who threatened
Constantinople; ruled peacefully for nine years, when he headed the
ICONOCLAST MOVEMENT (Q. V.), which provoked hostility and led
to the revolt of Italy from the Greek empire; _d_. 741.
LEO, the names of 13 popes: L. I., ST., Pope from 410 to 461;
L. II., ST., pope from 682 to 683; L. III., Pope from 795 to
816; L. IV., pope from 847 to 855; L. V., Pope in 903; L.
VI., Pope from 928 to 929; L. VII., Pope from 936 to 939; L.
VIII., Pope from 963 to 965; L. IX., ST., Pope from 1049 to
1054; L. X., pope from 1513 to 1521; L. XI., Pope in 1605; L.
XII., Pope from 1823 to 1829; L. XIII., Pope since 1878. Of
these only the following deserve mention:--
LEO I., saint, surnamed the GREAT; was distinguished for his
zeal against heretics, presided at two councils, and persuaded Attila to
retire from Rome on his invasion of Italy, as he persuaded Genseric four
years later to moderate the outrages of his troops in the city; his
letters are in evidence of the jurisdiction of the Roman over the
universal Church. Festival, Nov. 10.
LEO III., proclaimed Charlemagne emperor of the West in 800; driven
in 799 from the papal chair by a conspiracy, he was reinstated by
Charlemagne, who next year visited the city and was crowned by him
emperor.
LEO IX., saint; was elected at the Diet of Worms in 1048, welcomed
at Rome, and applied himself zealously to the reform of Church
discipline; being defeated in the field by Guiscard, suffered a 10 years'
imprisonment, fell ill and died.
LEO X., Giovanni de' Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent,
sovereign of Florence; was distinguished as a patron of art, science, and
letters, and as occupant of the chair of St. Peter at the outbreak of the
Reformation, and as by his issue of indulgences for the replenishment of
his treasure provoking the movement and rousing the ire of Luther, which
set the rest of Europe on fire.
LEO XIII., 257th Pope of Rome, born at Carpineto; distinguished at
college in mathematics, physics, and philosophy; took holy orders in
1837, was nuncio to Belgium in 1843, became bishop of Perugia in 1846,
cardinal 1853, and Pope in 1878; holds to his rights as Pope both secular
and spiritual; believes in the Catholic Church as the only regenerator of
society, and hails every show of encroach it makes on the domain of
Protestantism as promise of its universal restoration; _b_. 1810.
LEON, an ancient kingdom in the NE. of Spain, united with Castile in
1230, with a capital of the same name 256 m. NW. of Madrid. Also the name
of a city in Nicaragua and another in Mexico.
LEONARDO DA VINCI, celebrated painter and sculptor of the Florentine
school, born at Vinci in the Val d'Arno; showed early a wonderful
aptitude for art; studied under Andrea del Verrocchio, but so surpassed
him in his work as to drive him to renounce the painter's art; his great
work, executed by him at Milan, was the famous picture of the "Last
Supper," which he painted in oil about 1497 on the wall of the refectory
of the Dominican convent of the Madonna delle Grazie; it perished from
the dampness of the wall almost as soon as it was finished, but happily
copies were taken of it before decay had ruined it; besides, Leonardo did
in 1503 at Florence the famous cartoon of the Battle of the Standard; he
was a man of imposing personal appearance, of very wide range of ability,
and distinguished himself in engineering as well as art; he wrote a
"Treatise on Painting," which has been widely translated (1452-1519).
LEONIDAS, king of Sparta from 491 to 480 B.C.; opposed Xerxes, the
Persian, who threatened Greece with a large army, and kept him at bay at
the Pass of Thermopylæ with 300 Spartans and 5000 auxiliaries till he was
betrayed by EPHIALTES (q. v.), when he and his 300 threw
themselves valiantly on the large host, and perished fighting to the last
man.
LEONIDS, meteors which descend in showers during November in certain
years, their chief centre being the constellation Leo.
LEOPARDI, GIACOMO, modern Italian poet, born near Ancona; a
precocious genius; an omnivorous reader as a boy, and devoted to
literature; of a weakly constitution, he became a confirmed invalid, and
died suddenly; had sceptical leanings; wrote lyrics inspired by a certain
sombre melancholy (1788-1837).
LEOPOLD I., king of the Belgians, son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg; in
his youth served in the Russian army; visited England in 1815, and
married Princess Charlotte, who died two years later; he declined the
throne of Greece in 1830, but accepted that of the Belgians in 1831, and
proved a wise, firm, constitutional sovereign; in 1832 he married the
French princess Louise; he was succeeded by his son Leopold II.
(1790-1865).
LEOPOLD II., king of the Belgians, born at Brussels, son and
successor of Leopold I.; has travelled much in Europe and Asia Minor;
founded, and is now ruler of, the Congo Free State; married in 1853 the
Archduchess Maria of Austria, by whom he has had three daughters; _b_.
1835.
LEPSIUS, KARL RICHARD, a celebrated Egyptologist, born in Prussian
Saxony; took at first to the study of philology under Bopp, but early
devoted himself to the study of the antiquities of Egypt; headed in 1842
an expedition of research among the monuments under the king of Prussia,
which occupied five years, and was fertile in important results, among
others the production of a work in 12 vols. on the subject entitled
"Denkmäleraus Egypten und Ethiopien," issued between 1849 and 1860; he
was the author also of works on philology (1810-1884).
LERNÆAN HYDRA, a monster with nine heads, one of them immortal, that
infested a swamp near Lernæ, and which Hercules was required to slay as
one of his twelve labours, only as often as he cut off one head two grew
on, but with the assistance of Iolcus his servant he singed off the eight
mortal ones, cut down the ninth, and buried it under a huge rock.
LERWICK (31), the capital of Shetland, on the E. of Mainland;
fishing and knitting the chief industries.
LE SAGE, ALAIN RENÉ, French dramatist and novelist, born at Sarzeau,
in Brittany; educated at a Jesuit school at Vannes; went to Paris in
1692; studied the Spanish language and literature, and produced
translations of Spanish works and imitations; some of his dramas attained
great popularity, and one in particular, the "Turcaret," a satire on the
time generally, and not merely, as represented, on financiers of the
period, gave offence; but the works by which he is best known are his
novels "Le Diable Boiteux" and "Gil Blas," his masterpiece (1668-1747).
LESBOS (36), modern name Mytilene, a mountainous island, the largest
on the Asia Minor coast, 10 m. off shore and 20 m. N. of the Gulf of
Symrna; has a delightful climate, disturbed by earthquakes, fertile soil,
and produces fine olive-oil. In ancient Greek days it was a cradle of
literature, the home of Sappho, and famous for its wine; Turkish since
1462, its population is mostly Greek; chief town Castro (12), on the E.
coast.
LESE-MAJESTY, name given to a crime against the sovereign.
LESLIE, name of a Scottish family distinguished in Scottish history
as well as for military service in foreign parts.
LESLIE, CHARLES, non-juring controversial divine, born in Dublin,
wrote "A Short and Easy Method with the Jews," and another with the
Deists (1650-1722).
LESLIE, SIR JOHN, natural philosopher and professor, born at Largo,
Fifeshire; educated at St. Andrews and Edinburgh University; visited
America in 1788, and returned to London 1790; for fifteen years he was
engaged in scientific investigation, invented several instruments, and
published his "Inquiry into the Nature of Heat," for which he received
the Rumford Medal from the Royal Society; appointed to the chair of
Mathematics in Edinburgh in 1805, he was transferred to that of Natural
Philosophy in 1819; continued his researches and inventions, and shortly
before his death was knighted (1766-1832).
LESPINASSE, a French lady, born in Lyons, famous for her wit, to
whom D'Alembert was much attached, and the centre of a learned circle in
Paris in her time (1731-1776).
LESSEPS, FERDINAND DE, French diplomatist, born at Versailles;
conceived the scheme of connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean in
1854, and saw it finished as the Suez Canal in 1869; projected a similar
scheme for a canal at Panama, but it ended in failure, disgrace, and ruin
to the projectors as well as others (1805-1894).
LESSING, GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM, a German author, and founder of modern
German literature, born at Kamenz, Saxony, son of the pastor there; sent
to study theology at Leipzig, studied hard; conceived a passion for the
stage; wrote plays and did criticisms; wrote an essay on Pope; took
English authors as his models, revolted against those of France; made it
his aim to inaugurate or rather revive a purely German literature, and
produced examples regarded as classics to this day; his principal dramas,
all conceived on the soil, are "Miss Sara Sampson," "Mina von Barnhelm,"
"Emilia Galotti," and "Nathan der Weise," and his principal prose works
are his "Fables" and "Laocoon," a critical work on art still in high
repute (1729-1781).
L'ESTRANGE, SIR ROGER, a zealous Royalist, born in Norfolk; was for
his zeal in the royal cause committed to prison; having escaped, he was
allowed to live in retirement under Cromwell, but woke up a vigorous
pamphleteer and journalist in the old interest at the Restoration,
"wounding his Whig foes very sorely, and making them wince"; he
translated Josephus, Cicero's "Offices," Seneca's "Morals," the
"Colloquies" of Erasmus, and Quevedo's "Visions," his most popular work
(1616-1704).
LETHE (i. e. oblivion), in the Greek mythology a stream in the
nether world, a draught of the waters of which, generally extended to the
ghosts of the dead on their entrance into Pluto's kingdom, obliterated
all recollection of the past and its sorrows.
LETO (i. e. the hidden one), one of the Titan brood, who became by
Zeus the mother of Apollo and Artemis, and for whose confinement, in her
persecution by Hera, Poseidon by a stroke of his trident fixed the till
then floating island of Delos to the sea-bottom.
LETTER OF MARQUE, a commission to the captain of a merchant ship or
a privateer to make reprisals on an enemy's ships or property.
LETTERS PATENT, a document under seal of the government granting
some special privilege to a person.
LETTRES DE CACHET (i. e. sealed letters), warrants of
imprisonment, issued prior to the Revolution, sealed with the private
seal of the king, in contradistinction from _lettres patentées_, which
were sealed by the Great Seal of the kingdom. See CACHET, LETTRE
DE.
LEUCIPPUS, a Greek philosopher of the 6th century B.C., the founder
of the Atomic theory of things, of which DEMOCRITUS (q. v.) was
the chief expounder.
LEUCTRA, a village in Boeotia, to the S. of Thebes, where in 371
B.C. Epaminondas and his Thebans overthrew the ascendency of Sparta.
LEUTHEN, a village in the W. of Breslau, in Silesia, where Frederick
the Great defeated the Austrians with great loss in 1757.
LEVANA, the title of a book by Jean Paul on the education of
children; title from the name of a Roman goddess, the protectress of
foundlings.
LEVANT (i. e. the Rising), a name given to the E. of the
Mediterranean and the regions adjoining by the western peoples of the
Mediterranean.
LEVEE, a morning reception held by the sovereign or some one of high
rank.
LEVELLERS, a party of violent red-hot Republicans, led on by John
Lilburne, who appeared in the time of the Commonwealth, but were
suppressed by Cromwell.
LEVER, CHARLES JAMES, a novelist, born at Dublin, was by profession
a physician; author of a numerous series of Irish stories written in a
rollicking humour, "Harry Lorrequer" and "Charles O'Malley" among the
chief; was a contributor to and for some time editor of _Dublin
University Magazine_; held ultimately various consular appointments
abroad, and after that wrote with success in a more sober style
(1806-1872).
LEVERRIER, URBAN JEAN JOSEPH, French astronomer, born at St. Lô;
distinguished in chemistry before he devoted himself to astronomy; rose
to eminence in the latter science by a paper on the variations in the
orbits of the planets, and was led to the discovery of the planet Neptune
from perturbations in the orbit of the planet Uranus; he indicated the
spot where the planet would be found, and it was actually discovered a
few days after by Galle at Berlin (1811-1877).
LEVI, LEON, commercial economist, born at Ancona; settled in England
and was naturalised; drew attention to the want of commercial
organisation, and to whose pleading the first chamber of commerce, that
of Liverpool, owes its existence; became professor of Commercial Law in
King's College, London (1821-1888).
LEVIRITE LAW, a law among the Jews which ordained if a husband died
without issue that his brother should take his widow to wife and raise up
seed to him (Deut. xxv. 5-10).
LEVITES, a body of men divided into courses, the servants of the
priests in the worship of the Temple of Jerusalem; they were not
permitted to enter the sanctuary or serve at the altar, their duties
being limited to keeping watch over the Temple, slaying the victims, and
making other preparations for the sacred services.
LEVITICAL DEGREES, relationships that preclude marriage, so called
as presumably fixed by the Levitical priesthood of the Jews.
LEVITICUS, the third book of the Pentateuch, so called as containing
the laws and ordinances appointed to regulate the services of the
sanctuary as conducted by a priesthood of the tribe of Levi, the
narrative portion of it recording the consecration of Aaron and his sons,
the death of Nadab and Abihu, and the stoning of the blasphemer,
embracing a period of only one year, and the legislation of it no longer
issuing from Mount Sinai, but from the door of the Tabernacle.
LEWALD, FANNY, an eminent German novelist, born at Königsberg, of
Jewish parents; professed Christianity and was married to Adolf Stahr;
was a realist in art and a zealous woman's rights advocate (1811-1889).
LEWES (11), the county town of Sussex, finely situated on a slope of
the South Downs, 10 m. NE. of Brighton; was the scene of a victory of
Simon de Montfort in 1264 over the forces of Henry III.; has a trade in
corn and malt, and tanneries.
LEWES, GEORGE HENRY, a versatile man of letters, born in London, the
son of an actor; wrote a "Biographical History of Philosophy" from the
Positivist standpoint, published originally in 1845, and a "Life of
Goethe" in 1855, "Seaside Studies," "Problems of Life and Mind," &c., and
edited the _Fortnightly Review_; he did much to popularise both science
and philosophy; though a married man with children, formed a connection
with George Eliot, and died in her house (1817-1878).
LEWIS, SIR GEORGE CORNWALL, English statesman and political
philosopher, born in London; held several important posts under and in
the governments of the day; wrote on "Early Roman History," "The
Influence of Authority on Matters of Opinion," "The Best Form of
Government," "Ancient Astronomy," &c. (1806-1863).
LEWIS, MATTHEW GREGORY, romancer, familiarly known as Monk Lewis
from the name of his principal novel, the "Monk," which was written,
along with others, in Mrs. Radcliffe's vein and immensely popular, and
literally swarmed with ghosts and demons (1773-1818).
LEYDEN, one of the chief towns of Holland and characteristically
Dutch, 15 m. NW. of The Hague, with a famous university founded by the
Prince of Orange in 1576, containing the richest natural history museum
in the world; it is noted for the bravery and power of endurance of its
inhabitants, manifest for a whole year (1573-74) during the War of
Independence.
LEYDEN, JOHN, poet and Orientalist, born in Denholm, son of a
shepherd; bred for the Church, his genius and abilities attracted the
notice of influential people; was introduced to Scott, and assisted him
in his "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border"; went to India as a military
surgeon; studied and prelected on the native dialects; became a judge in
Calcutta; died of fever (1775-1811).
LEYDEN, JOHN OF, leader of the Anabaptists in Münster, born in The
Hague; beset with his followers, who regarded him as a prophet, in
Münster, he was taken alive after a siege of six months and tortured to
death in 1536.
LEYDEN, LUCAS VAN, an eminent early Dutch painter and engraver, born
in Leyden; succeeded in every branch of painting, and, like Dürer,
engraved his own pictures; his works are highly valued, and some of them
very rare; he spent his means in high living and died young, only 39
(1494-1533).
LEYDEN JAR, an electric condenser, a cylindrical glass bottle lined
inside and outside with metal to within a short distance from the top,
while a brass rod connected with the inside coating extends upward
through a wooden stopper terminating in a knob.
LEYS SCHOOL, the Cambridge school founded in 1875 to supply under
unsectarian religious influences a high-class education, the founders of
it having been chiefly members of the Methodist body.
LHASSA (seat of the gods) (50), the capital of Thibet, and the
metropolis of the Buddhist world in the Chinese Empire, stands in the
middle of a plain 11,900 ft. above the sea-level; on a hill in the NW. of
the centre of the city, a conical hill called Potala, amid temples and
palaces, is the residence of the Grand Lama; the monasteries are 15 in
number, and the priests 20,000, and it is the centre of the caravan
trade.
L'HÔPITAL. See HÔPITAL, MICHEL DE L'.
LI, a Chinese mile, equal to one-third of an English mile.
LIA-FAIL, the stone of destiny on which the Irish kings used to be
crowned, which was at length removed to Scone, in Perthshire, and is now
in Westminster under the coronation chair, having been removed thither by
Edward I.
LIBERALISM, MODERN, "practically summed up" by Ruskin, in "the
denial or neglect of the quality and intrinsic worth in things, the
incapacity of discerning or refusal to discern worth and unworth in
anything, and least of all in man."
LIBERAL-UNIONIST, one of the Liberal party in English politics,
which in 1886 quitted the Liberal ranks and joined the Conservative party
in opposition to the Home Rule policy of Mr. Gladstone.
LIBERATIONIST, one who advocates the emancipation of the Church from
State control.
LIBERIA (1,500), a negro republic on the Grain Coast of Africa,
founded in 1822 by American philanthropists as a settlement for freedmen,
with a constitution after the model of the United States.
LIBERTY, FRATERNITY, AND EQUALITY, the trinity of modern democracy,
and which first found expression as a political creed in the French
Revolution, of which the first term is now held to require definition,
the second to have only a sentimental basis, and the third to be in
violation of the fact of things; universal suffrage is the expression of
it politically.
LIBRATION, the name given to certain apparent movements in the moon
as if it swayed like a balance both in latitude and longitude in its
revolution round the earth.
LIBRI-CARRUCCI, COUNT, Italian mathematician; professor at Pisa, but
obliged to resign for his liberal opinions and take refuge in France,
where he was made professor at the Sorbonne, was a kleptomaniac in the
matter of books (1803-1869).
LIBYA, a name by the early geographers to the territory in Africa
which lay between Egypt, Ethiopia, and the shores of the Atlantic.
LICHFIELD (8), ancient ecclesiastical town in Staffordshire, 15 m.
SE. of Stafford, an episcopal see since 656, with a cathedral in Early
English style, recently completely restored; has an ancient grammar
school, a museum, and school of art; the birthplace of Samuel Johnson;
its industries are brewing, coachbuilding, and implement making.
LICHTENBERG, GEORG CHRISTOPH, German physicist and satirist, born
near Darmstadt; was educated at Göttingen, and appointed professor there
in 1770; he wrote a commentary on Hogarth's copperplates; his reputation
in Germany as a satirist is high (1742-1799).
LICINIUS, CAIUS, a Roman tribune and consul, of plebeian birth,
author of several laws intended to minimise the distinction politically
between patrician and plebeian, in office between 376 and 361 B.C.
LICK OBSERVATORY, an observatory built at the expense of James Lick,
an American millionaire, on one of the peaks of Mount Hamilton,
California, with a telescope that has the largest object-glass of any in
the world.
LICTOR, an officer in Rome who bore the FASCES (q. v.)
before a magistrate when on duty.
LIDDELL, HENRY GEORGE, Greek lexicographer, graduated at Oxford in
1833; was tutor of Christ Church, and in 1845 appointed professor of
Moral Philosophy; he was successively Head-master of Winchester, Dean of
Christ Church, and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford from 1870 to 1874; his great
work is a Greek lexicon (first edition 1843, last 1883), of which he was
joint-author with Dr. Robert Scott, and which is the standard work of its
kind in English; _b_. 1811.
LIDDON, HENRY PARRY, canon of St. Paul's, London, born in Hants;
educated at Christ Church, Oxford; eminent both as a scholar and a
preacher; author of an eloquent course of lectures, the Bampton, "On the
Divinity of Jesus Christ"; belonged to the Liberal section of the
High-Church party (1829-1890).
LIEBIG, BARON VON, eminent German chemist, born at Darmstadt; in
1824 attracted the attention of Alexander von Humboldt by a paper before
the Institute of France on fulminates, and was appointed to the chair of
Chemistry in Giessen, where he laboured 28 years, attracting students
from all quarters, and where his laboratory became a model of many others
elsewhere; wrote a number of works on chemistry, inorganic and organic,
animal and agricultural, and their applications, as well as papers and
letters; accepted a professorship in Münich in 1852, and in 1860 was
appointed President of the Münich Academy of Sciences (1803-1873).
LIÈGE (160), a town in Belgium and capital of the Walloons, in a
very picturesque region at the confluence of the Ourthe with the Meuse,
the busiest town in Belgium and a chief seat of the woollen manufacture;
it is divided in two by the Meuse, which is spanned by 17 bridges; it is
the centre of a great mining district, and besides woollens has
manufactures of machinery, and steel and iron goods.
LIEGNITZ (46), a town in Silesia, 40 m. NW. of Breslau, where
Frederick the Great gained a victory over the Austrians in 1760.
LIFEGUARDS, the British royal household troops, consisting of
cavalry and infantry regiments.
LIGHTFOOT, JOHN, Orientalist and divine, born at Stoke-upon-Trent,
son of a clergyman, educated at Cambridge; took orders and was rector of
Ashley, Staffordshire, till 1642; next year he was one of the most
influential members of the Westminster Assembly; in 1652 he was made D.D.,
was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge in 1653, and subsequently prebendary
of Ely; one of England's earlier Hebrew scholars, the great work of his
life was the "Horæ Hebraicæ et Talmudicæ," published in large part
posthumously (1602-1675).
LIGHTFOOT, JOSEPH BARBER, bishop of Durham, born at Liverpool; was a
Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, was eminent among English scholars
as a New Testament exegete, became bishop of Durham in 1879; died at
Bournemouth (1828-1889).
LIGNY, a village 13 m. from Charleroi, where Napoleon defeated
Blücher two days before the battle of Waterloo while Wellington and
Marshal Ney were engaged at Quatre Bras.
LIGUORI, ST. ALPHONSE MARIA DI, founder of the Redemptorists, born
at Naples of a noble family; bred to the law, but devoted himself to a
religious life, received holy orders, lived a life of austerity, and gave
himself up to reclaim the lost and instruct the poor and ignorant; was a
man of extensive learning, and found time from his pastoral labours to
contribute extensively to theological literature and chiefly casuistry,
to the extent of 70 volumes; was canonised in 1839; the order he founded
is called by his own name as well (1696-1787).
LIGURIAN REPUBLIC, a name given by Bonaparte to the republic of
Genoa, founded in 1797.
LI HUNG CHANG, an eminent and enlightened Chinese statesman; is
favourable to European culture and intercourse with Europe; was sent as a
special envoy to the Czar's coronation in 1896, and afterwards visited
other countries in Europe, including our own, and the States and Canada;
_b_. 1823.
LILBURNE, JOHN, a victim of the Star-Chamber in the time of Charles
I., and exposed on the pillory as well as fined and imprisoned; joined
the Parliamentary ranks and fought for the Commonwealth, but as an
Independent indulged in violent harangues against Cromwell, and was
committed to the Tower, but on his release turned Quaker (1618-1657).
LILITH or LILIS, the name of Adam's first wife, whom, according
to Jewish tradition, he had before Eve, and who bore him in that wedlock
the whole progeny of aërial, aquatic, and terrestrial devils, and who, it
seems, still wanders about the world bewitching men to like issue and
slaying little children not protected by amulets against her.
LILLE (161), chief town in the department of Nord, in the extreme N.
of France, 60 m. inland from Calais, an ancient and at present very
strong fortress, is in a fertile district; the town, rebuilt in modern
times, has a Catholic university, a medical school, library, and art
gallery, and thriving industries, linen, cotton, tobacco, sugar, and many
others.
LILLIPUT, a country inhabited by a very diminutive race of men not
larger in size than a man's finger, visited by Gulliver in his travels.
LILLO, GEORGE, English dramatist, born in London, by trade a
jeweller; wrote seven comedies, of which "The Fatal Curiosity" and
"George Barnwell" are the best and the best appreciated (1693-1739).
LILLY, WILLIAM, an English astrologer, born in Leicestershire, who
made gain by his fortune-telling during the Commonwealth period
especially, but got into trouble afterwards as a presumed mischief-maker
(1602-1681).
LIMA (200), capital of Peru, 6 m. inland from Callao, its port, a
picturesque but somewhat shabby city, 700 ft. above the sea-level,
regularly built, with many plazas; has a cathedral and 70 churches;
trade is in the hands of foreigners, mostly Germans, and industries are
unimportant; it was founded by Pizarro, and his bones lie buried in the
cathedral.
LIMBURG, in the basin of the Meuse, formerly a duchy, was after
various fortunes divided in 1839 into Belgian Limburg (225), on the W. of
the river, capital Hasselt (13), and Dutch Limburg (262), on the E.,
capital Maestricht (33); partly moorland and partly arable, it has coal,
iron, sugar, and tobacco industries.
LIMBUS or LIMBO, according to Catholic theologians a region on
the confines of Hades tenanted, the _limbus patrum_, by the souls of good
men who died before Christ's advent, and the _limbus infantium_, by the
souls of unbaptized infants, both of whom await there the resurrection
morn to join the ransomed in heaven.
LIMELIGHT, a bright light caused by making a stream of two gases,
oxygen and nitrogen, play in a state of ignition on a piece of compact
quicklime.
LIMERICK (159), Irish county on the S. of the Shannon estuary,
between Tipperary and Kerry, watered by the Mulcai, Maigue, and Deel;
hilly in the S., is mostly fertile, and under corn and green crops;
cattle are reared and dairy products exported; some woollens and paper
manufactured. There are many antiquities. Limerick (37), the county town,
on the Shannon, is the fourth Irish seaport, and manufactures a little
lace.
LIMITED LIABILITY, liability on the part of the shareholders of a
joint-stock company limited by the amount of their shares.
LIMOGES (68), chief town in the dep. of Haute-Vienne, on the Vienne
River, 250 m. S. of Paris; has a Gothic cathedral; is one of the chief
manufacturing towns of France. Its porcelain and woollen cloths are
widely famed; it has a large transit trade; it gives name to a fine kind
of surface enamel, which was brought to perfection there.
LINCOLN (44), capital of Lincolnshire, on the Witham, 130 m. N. of
London; is a very old and quaint city, with one of the finest cathedrals
in England, and many historic buildings. Its annual spring horse-fair is
among the largest in the world. It manufactures agricultural instruments,
and trades in flour. Its stands on the Oolitic Ridge, and commands a wide
view of the Trent Valley.
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, sixteenth President of the United States, born
near Hodgensville, Kentucky; spent his boyhood there and in the Indiana
forests, and picked up some education in the backwoods schools; passed
some years in rough work; he was clerk in a store at New Salem, Illinois;
became village postmaster and deputy county surveyor, and began to study
law; from 1834 to 1842 he led the Whigs in the State legislature, and in
1846 entered Congress; he prospered as a lawyer, and almost left
politics; but the opening of the slavery question in 1854 recalled him,
and in a series of public debates with Stephen Douglas established his
reputation as debater and abolitionist; unsuccessful in his candidature
for the Senate, he was nominated by the Republicans for the Presidency,
and elected 1860; his election was the signal for the secession of the
Southern States; Lincoln refused to recognise the secession, accepted the
war, and prosecuted it with energy; on New Year's day, 1863, he
proclaimed the emancipation of the negroes, and was re-elected President
in 1864, but shortly after his second inauguration was assassinated; he
was a man of high character, straightforward, steadfast, and sympathetic
(1809-1865).
LINCOLN'S INN. See INNS OF COURT.
LINCOLNSHIRE (473), maritime county in the E. of England, between
the Humber and the Wash, next to Yorkshire in size, consists of upland
country in the W., chalk downs in the E., and fens in the S., but these
well reclaimed and cultivated. It is watered by the Trent, Witham, and
Welland, and crossed by numerous canals. Iron abounds in the W.; sheep,
cattle, and horses are raised. Grimsby is a shipping and fishing centre.
Sir Isaac Newton and Lord Tennyson were born in the county, which has
many historic associations.
LINCRUSTA WALTON, a plastic material invented by Walton, capable of
being moulded into raised patterns for decorating walls, &c.
LIND, JENNY (Madame Otto Goldschmidt), the Swedish nightingale, born
at Stockholm; giving evidence of her power of song in childhood, she was
put under a master at nine; too soon put to practise in public, her voice
at twelve showed signs of contracting, but after four years recovered its
full power, when, appearing as Alice in "Robert le Diable," the effect
was electric; henceforth her fame was established, and followed her over
the world; in 1844 she made a round of the chief cities of Germany; made
her first appearance in London in 1847, and visited New York in 1851,
where she married, and then left the stage for good, to appear only now
and again at intervals for some charitable object; she was plain looking,
and a woman of great simplicity both in manners and ways of thinking
(1821-1882).
LINDLEY, JOHN, distinguished botanist, born near Norwich; wrote
extensively on botany according to the natural system of classification,
and did much to popularise the study; was professor of the science in
London University (1799-1865).
LINDSAY, name of a Scottish family of Norman extraction, and that
first figures in Scottish history in the reign of David I.
LINDSAY or LYNDSAY, SIR DAVID, OF THE MOUNT, Scottish poet,
born at the Mount, near Cupar, Fife, at the grammar-school of which he
was educated, as afterwards at St. Andrews University; was usher to James
V. from his childhood, and knighted by him after he came of age; did
diplomatic work in England, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark; is
famous as the author of, among others, three poems, the "Satire of the
Three Estates," "Dialogues between Experience and a Courtier," and the
"History of Squire Meldrum," of which the first is the most worthy of
note, and is divided into five parts, the main body of it a play of an
allegorical kind instinct with conventional satire; without being a
partisan of the Reformation, his works, from the satire in them being
directed against the Church, contributed very materially to its reception
in Scotland approximately (1490-1555).
LINGA, a symbol in the phallus worship of the East of the male or
generative power in nature. This worship prevails among the Hindu sect of
the Givas or Sivas, and the symbol takes the form of the pistil of a
flower, or an erect cylindrical stone.
LINGARD, JOHN, historian, born at Winchester, the son of a
carpenter; besides a work on the "Antiquity of the Anglo-Saxon Church,"
wrote a "History of England from the Roman Invasion to the Reign of
William III.," the first written that shows anything like scholarly
accuracy, and fairly impartial, though the author's religious views as a
Roman Catholic, it is alleged, distort the facts a little (1771-1851).
LINGUA FRANCA, a jargon composed of a mixture of languages used in
trade intercourse.
LINLITHGOW (4), the county town of Linlithgowshire, 16 m. W. of
Edinburgh, on the S. shore of a loch of the name, with a palace, the
birthplace of James V.; the county (52) lying on the S. shore of the
Forth, and rich in minerals.
LINNÆUS, or more properly LINNÉ, KARL VON, great Swedish
naturalist, specially in the department of botany, a branch to the study
of which he was devoted from his earliest years; he was the founder of
the system of the classification of plants which bears his name, and
which is determined by the number and disposition of the reproductive
organs, but which is now superseded by the natural system of Jussieu; he
was professor at Upsala, and his works on his favourite subject were
numerous, and extended far and wide his reputation as a naturalist
(1707-1778).
LINNELL, JOHN, English painter, painted portraits at first, but in
the end landscapes, of which last "The Windmill" and a wood scene are in
the National Gallery; he was a friend and an admirer of William Blake
(1807-1882).
LINOLEUM, a floorcloth, being a composition of cork and linseed oil
with chloride of silver.
LINOTYPE, a contrivance for setting and casting words or lines for
printing.
LINZ (47), the capital of the crownland of Upper Austria, on the
right bank of the Danube; a busy commercial place, a great railway
centre, and the seat of the manufacture of woollen goods, linen, tobacco,
&c.; is also of great strategical importance in time of war.
LION, THE, the king of animals, was the symbol of power, courage,
and virtue, and in Christian art of the resurrection; is in general, as
Mr. Fairholt remarks, "a royal symbol, and in emblem of dominion,
command, magnanimity, vigilance, and strength; representing when
_couchant_ sovereignty, when _rampant_ magnanimity, when _passant_
resolution, when _guardant_ prudence, when _saliant_ valour, when
_sciant_ counsel, and when _regardant_ circumspection."
LIP`ARI ISLANDS (22), a group of islands of volcanic origin, 12 in
number, off the N. coast of Sicily, in two of which, Vulcano and
Stromboli, the volcanic force is still active, the latter emitting clouds
of steam at intervals of five minutes.
LIPPE (128), an old N. German principality, the principal towns of
which are Detmold, Lemgo, and Horn.
LIPPI, FILIPPINO, Italian painter, son of the succeeding; is
presumed to have been a pupil of BOTTICELLI'S (q. v.); his
earliest known work is the "Vision of St. Bernard" in Florence, and he
executed various works in Bologna, Genoa, and Rome; painted frescoes and
altar-pieces, and scenes in the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul
(1460-1504).
LIPPI, FRA FILIPPO, Italian painter, born at Florence; left an
orphan, was brought up in a monastery, where his talent for art was
developed and encouraged; went to Ancona, was carried off by pirates, but
procured his release by his skill in drawing, and returning to Italy
practised his art in Florence and elsewhere, till one day he eloped with
a novice in a nunnery who sat to him for a Madonna, by whom he became the
father of a son no less famous than himself; he prosecuted his art amid
poverty with zeal and success to the last; distinguished by Ruskin (Fors
xxiv. 4) as the only monk who ever did good painter's work; he had
Botticelli for a pupil (1412-1469).
LIPSIUS, JUSTUS, an erudite Belgian scholar, with fast and loose
religious principles; was the author of numerous learned works
(1547-1579).
LIPSIUS, RICHARD ADELBERT, distinguished German theologian, born in
Gera; professor in succession at Vienna, Kiel, and Jena; wrote on
dogmatics, the philosophy of religion, and New Testament criticism
(1830-1892).
LISBON (301), the capital of Portugal, a magnificent town, built on
the N. bank of the Tagus, 9 m. from its mouth, extends along the banks of
the river 9 m. and inland 5 m.; it boasts of an array of fine buildings
and squares, a number of literary and scientific institutions, and a
spacious harbour; is remarkable for a marble aqueduct which brings water
more than 10 m. across the valley of Alcantara; the manufactures include
tobacco, soap, wool, and chemicals, and the exports wine, oil, and
fruits; it suffered from an earthquake of great violence in 1755, by
which the greater part of the city was destroyed, and from 30,000 to
40,000 of the inhabitants were killed.
LISTER, JOSEPH, LORD, eminent surgeon, born at Upton, Essex; the
founder of modern antiseptic surgery, and is as such reckoned among the
world's greatest benefactors; was President of the British Association in
1896, and is surgeon-extraordinary to the Queen; _b_. 1827.
LISTON, JOHN, an English actor of low comedy, and long famous on the
London stage, to which he was introduced by Charles Kemble; _d_. 1846.
LISTON, ROBERT, a celebrated surgeon, born in Linlithgowshire;
studied in Edinburgh and London; was distinguished as an operator; was
professor of Clinical Surgery in University College, London, and author
of "Elements of Surgery" and "Practical Surgery" (1794-1847).
LISZT, ABBÉ FRANZ, famous pianist, a Hungarian by birth; born with a
genius for music, his first efforts at composition were not successful,
and it was not till he heard what Paganini made of the violin that he
thought what might be made of the piano, and that he devoted himself to
the culture of piano music, with the result that he not only became the
first pianist himself, but produced a set of compositions that had the
effect of raising the art to the highest pitch of perfection; he was a
zealous Catholic, and took holy orders, but this did not damp his ardour
or weaken his power as a musician; he spent the greater part of his life
at Weimar, but he practised his art far and wide, and his last visit to
England in 1886, the year on which he died, created quite a flutter in
musical circles (1811-1886).
LITANY, a form of supplication in connection with some impending
calamity in which the prayer of the priest or officiating clergyman is
responded to by the congregation.
LITERATURE, defined by Carlyle "as an 'apocalypse of nature,' a
revealing of the 'open secret,' a 'continuous revelation' of the God-like
in the terrestrial and common, which ever endures there, and is brought
out now in this dialect, now in that, with various degrees of
clearness ... there being touches of it (i. e. the God-like) in the
dark stormful indignation of a Byron, nay, in the withered mockery of a
French sceptic, his mockery of the false, a love and worship of the
true ... how much more in the sphere harmony of a Shakespeare, the
cathedral music of a Milton; something of it too in those humble, genuine,
lark-notes of a Burns, skylark starting from the humble furrow far overhead
into the blue depths, and singing to us so genuinely there."
LITHUANIA, formerly a grand-duchy occupying portions of the valleys
of the Dwina, Niemen, Dnieper, and Bug; for centuries connected with
Poland; passed to Russia in 1814. The Lithuanians are a distinct race of
the Indo-European stock, fair and handsome, with a language of their
own, and a literature rich in folk-lore and songs. Of a strong religious
temperament, they embraced Christianity late (13th century), and still
retain many pagan superstitions; formerly serfs, they are now a humble
peasantry engaged in agriculture, cattle-breeding, and bee-keeping.
LITMUS, a colouring matter obtained from certain lichens;
extensively used in chemical experiments to detect acids, for instance.
LITTLE CORPORAL, a name given to Bonaparte after the battle of Lodi
from his small stature, he being only 5 ft. 2 in.
LITTLE ENGLANDERS, those politicians who hold that English statesmen
should concern themselves with England only and its internal affairs.
LITTLETON, SIR THOMAS, English jurist of the 15th century; was
recorder of Coventry in 1450, judge of Common Pleas 1466, and knighted in
1475; his work on "Tenures" was the first attempt to classify the law of
land rights, and was the basis of the famous "Coke upon Littleton"; _d_.
1481.
LITTRÉ, a celebrated French scholar, physician, philologist, and
philosopher, born in Paris; wrote on medical subjects, and translated
Hippocrates; was of the Positivist school in philosophy, and owes his
fame chiefly to his "Dictionnaire de la Langue Française," published in
1863-72, and on which he spent forty years' labour (1801-1881).
LITURGY is sometimes used as including any form of public worship,
but more strictly it denotes the form for the observance of the
Eucharist. As development from the simple form of their institution in
the primitive Church liturgies assumed various forms, and only by degrees
certain marked types began to prevail: viz., the Roman, ascribed to St.
Peter, in Latin, and prevailing in the Roman Catholic Church all over the
world; the Ephesian, ascribed to St. John, in corrupt Latin, included the
old Scottish and Irish forms, heard now only in a few places in Spain;
the Jerusalem, ascribed to St. James, in Greek, the form of the Greek
Church and in translation of the Armenians; the Babylonian, ascribed to
St. Thomas, in Syriac, used still by the Nestorians and Christians of St.
Thomas; and the Alexandrian, ascribed to St. Mark, in a Græco-Coptic
jargon, in use among the Copts; these all contain certain common
elements, but differ in order and in subsidiary parts; the Anglican
liturgy is adapted from the Roman; other Protestant liturgies or forms of
service are mostly of modern date and compiled from Scripture sources.
LIVA, an Italian coin worth 9½ d., and the monetary unit in the
country.
LIVERPOOL (585), the third city and first seaport of Great Britain,
in Lancashire, on the Mersey, 3 m. from the sea, formerly the chief seat
of the slave interest in Britain; owed its present prosperity to the
impulse of the cotton trade at the end of the 18th century; progressing
rapidly it has now docks stretching six miles along the Mersey, which
receive a sixth of the tonnage that visits British ports; through it
passes a third of our foreign trade, including enormous imports of wheat
and cotton and exports of cotton goods; it possesses shipbuilding and
engineering works, iron-foundries, flour, tobacco, and chemical
factories; the public buildings, town hall, exchange, colleges, and
observatory are fine edifices; it was the native place of W. E.
Gladstone.
LIVERPOOL, EARL OF, ROBERT JENKINSON, English statesman, educated at
Oxford; entered Parliament 1791, and as Foreign Secretary negotiated the
peace of Amiens in 1802; becoming Lord Hawkesbury in 1803, he became Home
Secretary under Pitt, and succeeding to the earldom in 1808; was War
Secretary under Perceval in 1800, Premier from 1812 to 1827; he
liberalised the tariff and maintained a sound finance, uniting and
holding together the Tory party at a critical period (1770-1828).
LIVERYMEN, name given to members of the several guilds or
corporations of London and freemen of the city, so called as entitled to
wear the livery belonging to their respective companies; they possess
certain privileges of a civic character.
LIVINGSTONE, DAVID, African traveller and missionary, born in
Blantyre, Lanarkshire; began life as a mill-worker, studied medicine and
theology at Glasgow, and was sent out to Africa by the London Missionary
Society in 1840, landed at Port Natal, and addressed himself to
missionary work; moving north, he arrived at Lake Ngami in 1849, and
ascending the Zambesi in 1853 arrived at Loanda next year; later on he
explored the course of the Zambesi and its tributaries, discovered Lake
Nyassa, and set himself to discover the sources of the Nile, but this
expedition proved too much for him, and he died exhausted; his body was
embalmed, brought home to England, and buried in Westminster Abbey
(1815-1873).
LIVIUS, TITUS (LIVY), illustrious Roman historian, born at Patavium
(Padua); appears to have settled early in Rome and spent the most of his
life there; his reputation rests on his "History of Rome from the
Foundation of the City to the Death of Drusus," it consisted of 142
chapters, but of these only 30 remain entire and 5 in fragments,
bequeathing to posterity his account of the early history of the city and
of the wars with Hannibal (59-17 B.C.).
LIVONIA (1,260), Russian Baltic province on the Gulf of Riga; is
flat and marshy, and only moderately fertile; produces rye, barley, and
potatoes; its chief industries are distilling, brewing, and
iron-founding, and fishing; four-fifths of the population are Letts and
Esthonians, only 5 per cent. are Russian; the original Finnic Livonians
are almost extinct; capital Riga (180).
LIVRAISON, part of a serial issued from time to time.
LLANDUDNO (6), a fashionable watering-place at the foot of Great
Ormes Head, Carnarvon, frequented by people from Yorkshire and
Lancashire.
LLANELLY (32), a manufacturing seaport in Carmarthenshire for
shipping coal, iron, and copper.
LLANOS, vast level plains twice the size of Great Britain in the N.
of South America, in the basin of the Orinoco, covered in great part with
tall grass and stocked in the rainy season with herds of cattle; during
the dry season they are a desert.
LLORENTE, JUAN ANTONIO, Spanish historian, is the author of several
works, but his celebrity is mainly due to his "History of the Spanish
Inquisition," of which in 1789 he became the secretary (1760-1823).
LLOYD'S, a part of the Royal Exchange, London, appropriated to the
use of underwriters and for marine intelligence, frequented by those
interested in merchant shipping; so called from Lloyd's Coffee-house,
formerly the head-quarters of the class.
LOAD-LINE, line painted on the outside of a vessel to mark the
extreme of immersion in loading her with a cargo.
LOADSTONE or LODESTONE, an iron ore remarkable for its magnetic
quality or power of attracting iron; it derived its name from its use as
a leading stone in the compass to mariners.
LOBBY, THE, hall connected with a legislative assembly to which the
public have access.
LOCAL OPTION, licence granted to the inhabitants of a district to
extinguish or reduce the sale of intoxicants in their midst.
LOCHABER, a Highland district in the S. of Inverness-shire.
LOCHABER AXE, an axe with a broad blade and a long handle formerly
in use among the Highlanders as a weapon.
LOCHIEL, a Highland chief, Sir Evan Cameron his name, head of the
Cameron clan, who held out against William III.'s rule in the Highlands,
but ultimately took the oath of allegiance; _d_. 1719.
LOCHINVAR, hero of a ballad in Scott's "Marmion," who carries off
his sweetheart just as she is about to be sacrificed in marriage to
another whom she loathes.
LOCHLEVEN, Scottish lake in Kinross-shire overshadowed by Benarty
and the West Lomond, is 23 m. NW. of Edinburgh; in a castle on one of its
islands Mary Stuart was imprisoned 1567-68; it is now famous for its
trout.
LOCKE, JOHN, English philosopher, the father of modern materialism
and empiricism, born in Wrington, Somerset; studied medicine, but did not
practise it, and gave himself up to a literary life, much of it spent in
the family of the celebrated Earl of Shaftesbury, both at home with it
and abroad; his great work is his "Essay on the Human Understanding" in
1690, which was preceded by "Letters on Toleration," published before the
expulsion of James II., and followed by the "Treatise on Government" the
same year, and "Thoughts on Education" in 1693; his "Essay" was written
to show that all our ideas were derived from experience, that is, through
the senses and reflection on what they reveal, and that there are no
innate ideas; "Locke," says Prof. Saintsbury, "is eminently" (that is,
before all his contemporaries) "of such stuff as dreams are _not_ made
of"--is wholly a prosaic practical man and Englishman (1632-1704).
LOCKHART, JOHN GIBSON, man of letters, born in Cambusnethan; bred
for the Scottish bar and practised at it; contributed to _Blackwood_,
wrote in collaboration with John Wilson "Peter's Letters to his
Kinsfolk"; married Sophia Scott, Sir Walter's daughter, in 1820, lived a
good deal near Abbotsford, wrote some four novels and "Spanish Ballads,"
became editor of the _Quarterly_ in 1825, and began in 1837 his "Life of
Scott," a great work, and his greatest; died at Abbotsford, health broken
and in much sorrow; his "Life" has been interestingly written by Andrew
Lang (1794-1854).
LOCKOUT, the exclusion of workmen from a factory by the employer to
bring them to terms which they decline to accept.
LOCKYER, SIR JOSEPH NORMAN, astronomer, born at Rugby; became clerk
in the War Office in 1857, was secretary to the Royal Commission on
Scientific Instruction in 1870, and was transferred to the Science and
Art Department in 1875; he directed Government eclipse expeditions to
Sicily, India, Egypt, and the West Indies; in 1860 he became F.R.S.,
received the Society's Rumford medal in 1874, next year was appointed
corresponding Member of the Institute of France and received the Janssen
medal in 1891; he was knighted in 1897; he made important discoveries in
spectrum analysis, and has written several astronomical works; _b_. 1836.
LOCO-FOCOS, the name, which denotes lucifer-matches, given to an
ultra-democratic or radical party in the United States because at a
meeting when on one occasion the lights were extinguished the matches
which they carried were drawn and the lamps lit again.
LOCRI, a people of ancient Greece of two distinct tribes occupying
different districts of the country.
LODI (18), a town in Lombardy, 18 m. SE. of Milan, on the Adda,
famous for a signal victory of Bonaparte over the Austrians in 1796 in
the face of a tremendous fire.
LOEWE, GOTTFRIED, German composer; composed oratorios, operas, and
pianoforte pieces; sang and played in London in 1847 (1796-1869).
LOFODEN ISLANDS (20), a rugged mountainous chain on the NW.
Norwegian coast within the Arctic circle, with winters rendered mild by
the Gulf Stream, afford pasturage for sheep; the waters between them and
the mainland are a rich cod-fishing ground, visited by thousands of boats
between January and March.
LOGAN, JOHN, a Scotch poet, born at Soutra; was for a time minister
in South Leith church, but was obliged to resign; was the author of a
lyric, "The Braes of Yarrow" and certain of the Scotch paraphrases
(1748-1788). See BRUCE, MICHAEL.
LOGARITHM, the exponent of the power to which a fixed number, called
the base, must be raised to produce a certain given number.
LOGIC, the science of correct thinking or of the laws which regulate
thought, called also dialectics; or in the Hegelian system "the
scientific exposition and development of those notions or categories
which underlie all things and all being."
LOGIC SPECTACLES, Carlyle's name for eyes that can only discern the
external relations of things, but not the inner nature of them.
LOGOS, an expression in St. John's gospel translated the Word (in
chap. i.) to denote the manifestation of God, or God as manifested,
defined in theology as the second person of the Deity, and viewed as
intermediary between God as Father and God as Spirit.
LOG-ROLLING, mutual praise by authors of each other's work.
LOHENGRIN, hero of a German 13th-century poem; son of Parzival, and
a Knight of the Grail; carried by a swan to Brabant he delivered and
married the Princess Elsa; subsequently returning from war against the
Saracens, she asked him of his origin; he told her, and was at once
carried back again by the swan. Wagner adapted the story in his opera
"Lohengrin."
LOIRE, the largest river in France, 630 m., rises in the Cévennes,
flows northwards to Orleans and westward to the Bay of Biscay, through a
very fertile valley which it often inundates. It is navigable for 550 m.,
but its lower waters are obstructed by islands and shoals; it is
connected by canals with the Seine, Saône, and Brest Harbour.
LOKI, in the Norse mythology, a primitive spirit of evil who mingles
with the Norse gods, distinguished for his cunning and ensnaring ways,
whose devices are only evil in appearance, and are overruled for good.
LOLLARDS, originally a religious community established at Antwerp in
1300, devoted to the care of the sick and burial of the dead, and as
persecuted by the Church, regarded as heretics. Their name became a
synonym for heretic, and was hence applied to the followers of Wycliffe
in England and certain sectaries in Ayrshire.
LOMBARD, PETER, a famous schoolman, born in Lombardy in the 12th
century, of poor parents; was a disciple of Abelard; taught theology at,
and became Bishop of, Paris; was styled the Master of Sentences, as
author of a compilation of sentences from Augustine and other Church
Fathers on points of Christian doctrine, and long used as a manual in
scholastic disputations.
LOMBARDS, a German people, settled at the beginning of our era about
the lower Elbe. In the 5th century we find them in Moravia, and a century
later established, a powerful people, between the Adriatic and the
Danube. They invaded Italy in 568, and in three years had mastered the
North, but abandoning their Arian faith they gradually became
Italianised, and after the overthrow of their dynasty by Charlemagne in
774 they became merged in the Italians. From the 13th century Italian
merchants, known as Lombards, from Lucca, Florence, Venice, and Genoa,
traded under much odium, largely in England as wool-dealers and bankers,
whence the name Lombard Street.
LOMBARDY (3,982), an inland territory of Northern Italy between the
Alps and the Po, Piedmont, and Venetia. In the N. are Alpine mountains
and valleys rich in pasturage; in the S. a very fertile, well irrigated
plain, which produces cereals, rice, and sub-tropical plants. The culture
of the silkworm is extensive; there are textile and hardware
manufactures. The chief towns are Milan, Pavia, and Corno. Austrian in
1713, Napoleon made it part of the kingdom of Italy in 1805; it was
restored to Austria in 1815, and finally again to Italy in 1859.
LOMOND, LOCH, an irregularly-shaped lake in Dumbarton and Stirling
shires, 22 m. long and of varying breadth; contains a number of small
wooded islands; on the eastern shore rises Ben Lomond to the height of
3192 ft.
LONDON (5,633), on the Thames, 50 m. from the sea, the capital of
the British Empire, is the most populous and wealthiest city in the
world. An important place in Roman times, it was the cap. of the East
Saxons, and has been the metropolis of England since the Norman Conquest;
it possesses, therefore, innumerable historic buildings and associations.
Often devastated by plague and fire, its progress has never been stayed;
its population has more than quadrupled itself this century, and more
than doubled since 1850. The City of London proper occupies one square
mile in the centre, is wholly a commercial part, and is governed by an
annually elected mayor and aldermen; is the seat of a bishopric, with St.
Paul's for cathedral. The City of Westminster is also a bishopric under a
high steward and high bailiff, chosen by the dean and chapter. These two
cities, with twenty-five boroughs under local officers, constitute the
metropolis, and since 1888 the county of the city of London, and send 59
members to Parliament. Streets in the older parts are narrow, but newer
districts are well built; the level ground and density of building
detracts from the effect of innumerable magnificent edifices. Buckingham,
Kensington, and St. James's are royal residences; the Houses of
Parliament are the biggest Gothic building in the world; St. Paul's,
built by Sir Christopher Wren, contains the remains of Nelson and
Wellington, Reynolds, Turner, and Wren himself. Westminster, consecrated
1269, is the burial-place of England's greatest poets and statesmen, and
of many kings; the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand were opened in
1882. London has a University (an examining body), 700 colleges and
endowed schools, among which Westminster, Christ's Hospital, and the
Charterhouse are famous, many medical hospitals, and schools and
charitable institutions of all kinds. London is the centre of the English
literary and artistic world, and of scientific interest and research;
here are the largest publishing houses, the chief libraries and
art-galleries, and museums; the British Museum and Library, the National
Galleries, &c., and magnificent botanical and zoological gardens. London
is also a grand emporium of commerce, and the banking centre of the
world. It has nine principal docks; its shipping trade is unrivalled,
55,000 vessels enter and clear annually; it pays more than half the
custom duties of the kingdom, and handles more than a quarter of the
total exports; its warehouse trade is second only to that of Manchester;
it manufactures everything, chiefly watches, jewellery, leather goods,
cycles, pianos, and glass. The control of traffic, the lighting, and
water-supply of so large a city are causing yearly more serious problems.
LONDON (30), the cap. of Middlesex county, Ontario, near the S. end
of the peninsula, in the middle of a fertile district, and a rising
place.
LONDONDERRY (152), maritime county in Ulster, washed by Lough Foyle
and the Atlantic, surrounded by Donegal in the W., Tyrone in the S., and
Antrim in the W., and watered by the Foyle, Roe, and Bann Rivers,
somewhat hilly towards the S., is largely under pasture; the cultivated
parts grow oats, potatoes, and flax; granted to the Corporation and
Guilds of London in 1609, a large part of the land is still owned by
them. The county town, LONDONDERRY (33), manufactures linen shirts,
whisky, and iron goods, and does a considerable shipping trade. Its siege
by the troops of James II. in 1689 is memorable.
LONG, GEORGE, a distinguished classical scholar, born in Lancashire;
became professor of Greek in London University; edited several useful
works, among others the "Penny Cyclopædia," on which he spent 11 years of
his life (1800-1870).
LONG ISLAND (774), a long narrow island, 115 m. long by from 12 to
24 broad, belonging to New York State, off the shores of New York and
Connecticut, from which it is separated by the East River and Long Island
Sound. It is low, much of it forest and sandy waste land, with great
lagoons in the S. The chief industry is market-gardening; fisheries and
oyster-beds are valuable. Principal towns, Brooklyn, Long Island City,
and Flushing.
LONG PARLIAMENT, the celebrated English Parliament which assembled
3rd November 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell 20th April 1653, and
which was afterwards restored, and did not finally decease till 16th
March 1660.
LONG TOM COFFIN, a character in Cooper's novel "The Pilot," and of
wider celebrity than any of the sailor class.
LONGCHAMP, a racecourse on the W. side of the Bois du Boulogne,
Paris.
LONGCHAMP, WILLIAM DE, a low-born Norman favourite of Richard I.,
made by him bishop of Ely; became Justiciar of England 1190, and Papal
Legate 1191; clever, energetic, just, and faithful, he yet incurred
dislike by his ambition and arrogance, and was banished to Normandy; his
energy in gathering the money for Richard's ransom restored him to
favour, and he became Chancellor; _d_. 1197.
LONGFELLOW, HENRY WADSWORTH, American poet, born at Portland, Maine;
after studying on the Continent, became professor of Modern Languages in
Harvard University; wrote "Hyperion," a romance in prose, and a
succession of poems as well as lyrics, among the former "Evangeline,"
"The Golden Legend," "Hiawatha," and "Miles Standish" (1807-1882).
LONGINUS, DIONYSIUS CASSIUS, a learned Greek philosopher,
rhetorician, and critic, and eminent in all three departments, being in
philosophy a Platonist of pure blood; his fame as a teacher reached the
ears of Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, and being invited to her court he
became her political adviser as well as the educator of her children, but
on the surrender of the place he was beheaded by order of the Emperor
Aurelian as a traitor; he wrote several works, but the only one that
survives to some extent is his "Treatise on the Sublime," translated by
Boileau (210-273).
LONGMANS, famous and oldest publishing house in London; founded by
Thomas Longman of Bristol in 1726, and now in the hands of the fifth
generation; has been associated with the production of Johnson's
"Dictionary," Lindley Murray's "Grammar," the works of Wordsworth,
Southey, Coleridge, and Scott, and Macaulay's "Lays," "Essays," and
"History"; it absorbed the firm of Parker in 1863, and of Rivington in
1890.
LÖNNROT, ELIAS, a great Finnish scholar, born in Nyland; was
professor at Helsingfors; was editor of ancient Finnish compositions, and
author of a Finnish-Swedish Dictionary (1802-1884).
LOPE DE VEGA. See VEGA.
LORD OF THE ISLES, assumed title of Donald, a chief of Islay, who in
1346 reduced the whole of the Western Isles under his authority, and
borne by his successors, and, as some allege, his ancestors as well.
LORELEI or LURLEI, a famous steep rock, 430 ft. high, on the
Rhine, near St. Goar; dangerous to boatmen, on which it was fabled a
siren sat combing her hair and singing to lure them to ruin; the subject
of an exquisite Volkslied by Heine.
LORETTO, a city in Italy, 14 m. SE. of Ancona; celebrated as the
site of the SANTA CASA (q. v.), and for the numerous pilgrims
that annually resort to the holy shrine.
L'ORIENT (41), a seaport in Morbihan; contains the principal
shipbuilding yard in France; was founded by the French East India Company
in 1664 in connection with their trade in the East.
LORNE, MARQUIS OF, eldest son of the Duke of Argyll; entered
Parliament in 1868; married Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen
Victoria, in 1871; became Governor-General of Canada in 1878, member of
Parliament for South Manchester in 1895, and is Governor of Windsor
Castle; _b_. 1845.
LORRAINE, a district in France, between Metz and the Vosges;
belonged originally to Germany, became French in 1766, and was restored
to Germany in 1871.
LORRAINE, CLAUDE. See CLAUDE LORRAINE.
LOS ANGELES (11), a city in South California, 345 m. SE. of San
Francisco, and founded in 1781; is the centre of a great orange-growing
district, and a health resort.
LOST TRIBES, the ten tribes of the race of Israel whom the Assyrians
carried off into captivity (see 2 Kings xvii. 6), and of whom all trace
has been lost, and only in recent years guessed at.
LOTOPHAGI. See LOTUS EATERS.
LOTUS EATERS or LOTOPHAGI, an ancient people inhabiting a
district of Cyrenaica, on the NE. coast of Africa, who lived on the fruit
of the lotus-tree, from which they made wine. Ulysses and his companions
in their wanderings landed on their shores, but the soothing influence of
the lotus fruit so overpowered them with languor, that they felt no
inclination to leave, or any more a desire to pursue the journey
homewards. See Tennyson's poem "The Lotus-eaters."
LOTZE, RUDOLF HERMANN, German philosopher, born at Bautzen, in
Saxony; professor successively at Göttingen and Berlin; believed in
metaphysics as well as physics, and was versant in both; "Microcosmus" is
his principal work, published in 1864; he founded the system of
"teleological idealism," based on ethical considerations; he repudiated
agnosticism, and had as little patience with a mere mechanical view of
the universe as Carlyle (1817-1881).
LOUDON, JOHN CLAUDIUS, botanist and horticulturist, born at
Cambuslang, Lanarkshire; wrote largely on plants and their cultivation,
and an "Arboretum" on trees and shrubs (1783-1843).
LOUIS I., LE DÉBONNAIRE (i. e. the Gentle), was king of France
from 814 to 840 in succession to his father Charlemagne, but was too meek
and lowly to rule, and fitter for a monk than a king; suffered himself to
be taken advantage of by his nobles and the clergy; was dethroned by his
sons, and compelled to retire into a cloister, from which he was twice
over brought forth to stay the ravages of their enemies; he divided his
kingdom among them during his lifetime, and bequeathed it to them to
guard over it when he was gone, to its dismemberment.
LOUIS VI., LE GROS (i. e. the Fat), was son of Philip I.; was
associated in the royal power with his father from 1098 to 1108, and sole
king from 1108 till 1137; in his struggle against the great vassals he,
by the help of the clergy and the bourgeois, centralised the government
in the crown; had trouble with Henry I. of England as Lord Superior of
Normandy, and was defeated by him in battle in 1119; under his reign the
burgesses achieved their independence, and though he did nothing to
initiate the movement he knew how to profit from the achievement in the
interest of the monarchy.
LOUIS VII., THE YOUNG, son of the preceding, married Eleanor of
Aquitaine; took part in the second crusade; on his return divorced his
queen for her profligacy in his absence, who married Henry II. of
England, and brought with her as dowry to Henry the richest provinces of
France, which gave rise to the Hundred Years' War (1120-1180).
LOUIS VIII., THE LION, son of Philip Augustus; offered by the barons
of England the crown of England, he was crowned at London in 1216, but
defeated at Lincoln next year, he was obliged to recross the Channel;
became king of France in 1223; he took several towns from the English,
and conducted a crusade against the Albigenses (1187-1226).
LOUIS IX., SAINT LOUIS, son of the preceding; was a minor at the
death of his father, and the country was governed by his mother, Blanche
of Castile, with a strong hand; on attaining his majority he found
himself engaged with the English under Henry, who had been called on to
assist certain of the great barons in revolt, but in 1242 he defeated
them in three engagements; under a vow he made during a dangerous illness
he became a crusader, and in 1249 landed in Egypt with 40,000 men, but in
an engagement was taken prisoner by the Saracens; released in 1250 on
payment of a large ransom, though he did not return home for two years
after, till on hearing of the death of his mother, who had been regent
during his absence; on his return he applied himself to the affairs of
his kingdom and the establishment of the royal power, but undertaking a
second crusade in 1270, he got as far as Tunis, where a plague broke out
in the camp, and he became one of the victims, and one of his sons before
him; he was an eminently good and pious man, and was canonised by
Boniface VIII. in 1297 (1215-1270).
LOUIS XI., son of Charles VII., born at Bourges, of a cruel and
treacherous nature, took part in two insurrections against his father, by
whom he had been pardoned after the first and from whom he had to flee
after the second for refuge to Burgundy, where he remained till his
father's death in 1461; he signalised the commencement of his reign by
severe measures against the great vassals, which provoked a revolt,
headed by the Dukes of Burgundy and Bretagne, which he succeeded in
subduing more by his crafty policy than force of arms; involved
afterwards in a war with Charles the Bold of Burgundy and soliciting an
interview, he was discovered by Charles to have been sowing treason among
his subjects, taken prisoner, and only released on a solemn protestation
of innocence; notwithstanding the sinister and often cruel character of
his policy, he did much to develop the resources of the country and
advance the cause of good government by the patronage of learning; the
crimes he had committed weighed heavily on his mind towards the end of
his days, and he died in great fear of death and the judgment
(1423-1483).
LOUIS XIII., the son of Henry IV.; being only nine years old at the
death of his father, the government was conducted by Marie de' Medicis,
his mother, and at his accession the country was a prey to civil
dissensions, which increased on the young king's marriage with a Spanish
princess; the Huguenots rose in arms, but a peace was concluded in 1623;
it was now Richelieu came to the front and assumed the reins with his
threefold policy of taming the nobles, checkmating the Huguenots, and
humbling the house of Austria; Rochelle, the head-quarters of the
Huguenots, revolted, the English assisting them, but by the strategy
adopted the city was taken and the English driven to sea; henceforth the
king was nobody and the cardinal was king; the cardinal died in 1642 and
the king the year after, leaving two sons, Louis, who succeeded him, and
Philip, Duke of Orleans and the first of his line (1601-1644).
LOUIS XIV., the "Grand Monarque," son of the preceding, was only
nine when his father died, and the government was in the hands of his
mother, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin, her minister; under the
regency the glory of France was maintained in the field, but her internal
peace was disturbed by the insubordination of the parlement and the
troubles of the Fronde; by a compact on the part of Mazarin with Spain
before he died Louis was married to the Infanta Maria Theresa in 1659,
and in 1660 he announced his intention to rule the kingdom alone, which
he did for 54 years with a decision and energy no one gave him credit
for, in fulfilment of his famous protestation _L'état, c'est moi_,
choosing Colbert to control finance, Louvois to reorganise the army, and
Vauban to fortify the frontier towns; he sought to be as absolute in his
foreign relations as in his internal administration, and hence the long
succession of wars which, while they brought glory to France, ended in
exhausting her; at home he suffered no one in religious matters to think
otherwise than himself; he revoked the Edict of Nantes, sanctioned the
dragonnades in the Cévennes, and to extirpate heresy encouraged every
form of cruelty; yet when we look at the men who adorned it, the reign of
Louis XIV. was one of the most illustrious in letters and the arts in the
history of France: Corneille, Racine, and Molière eminent in the drama,
La Fontaine and Boileau in poetry, Bossuet in oratory, Bruyère and
Rochefoucauld in morals, Pascal in philosophy, Saint-Simon and Retz in
history, and Poussin, Lorraine, Lebrun, Perault, &c., in art (1636-1715).
LOUIS XV., _Bien-Aimé_ (i. e. Well-Beloved), great-grandson of the
preceding, and only five at his death, the country during his minority
being under the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans; the regency was
rendered disastrous by the failure of the Mississippi Scheme of Law and a
war with Spain, caused by the rejection of a Spanish princess for Louis,
and by his marriage to Maria Lesczynski, the daughter of Stanislas of
Poland; Louis was crowned king in 1722 and declared of age the following
year; in 1726 Cardinal Fleury, who had been his tutor, became his
minister, and under him occurred the war of the succession to Poland,
concluded by the treaty of Vienna, and the war of the Austrian
succession, concluded by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; with the death of
his minister Louis gave way to his licentious propensities, and in all
matters of state allowed himself to be swayed by unworthy favourites who
pandered to his lusts, the most conspicuous among them being Madame de
Pompadour and Dame de Barry, her successor in crime; under them, and the
corrupt court they presided over, the country went step by step to ruin,
and she was powerless to withstand the military ascendency of England,
which deprived her of all her colonies both in the East and in the West;
though Choiseul, his last "substantial" minister, tried hard by a family
compact of the Bourbons to collect her scattered strength; the situation
did not trouble Louis; "it will last all my time," he said, and he let
things go; suffering from a disease contracted by vice, he was seized
with confluent smallpox, and died in misery, to the relief of the nation,
which could not restrain its joy (1710-1774).
LOUIS XVI., the grandson of the preceding and his successor; had in
1770 married Marie Antoinette, the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa of
Austria, and a woman young, beautiful, and accomplished, in high esteem
for the purity of her character; his accession was hailed with
enthusiasm, and he set himself to restore the ruined finances of the
country by taking into his counsel those who could best advise him in her
straitened state, but these one and all found the problem an impossible
one, owing to the unwillingness of the nobility to sacrifice any of their
privileges for the public good; this led to the summoning of the
States-General in 1789, and the outbreak of the Revolution by the fall of
the Bastille in July of that year; in the midst of this Louis,
well-intentioned but without strength of character, was submissive to the
wishes of his court and the queen, lost his popularity by his hesitating
conduct, the secret support he gave to the EMIGRANTS (q. v.),
his attempt at flight, and by his negotiations with foreign enemies, and
subjected himself to persecution at the hands of the nation; he was
therefore suspended from his functions, shut up in the Temple, arraigned
before the Convention, and condemned to death as "guilty of conspiracy
against the liberty of the nation and a crime against the general safety
of the State"; he was accordingly guillotined on the 21st January; he
protested his innocence on the scaffold, but his voice was drowned by the
beating of drums; he was accompanied by the Abbé Edgeworth, his
confessor, who, as he laid his head on the block, exclaimed, "Son of St.
Louis, ascend to heaven" (1754-1793).
LOUIS XVII., second son of the preceding, shut up in the Temple,
was, after the execution of his mother, proclaimed king by the Emigrants,
and handed over in his prison to the care of one Simon, a shoemaker, in
service about the prison, to bring him up in the principles of
Sansculottism; Simon taught him to drink, dance, and sing the
_carmagnole_; he died in prison "amid squalor and darkness," his shirt
not changed for six months (1785-1796).
LOUIS XVIII., brother of Louis XVI., and called Monsieur during his
brother's reign, flew from Paris and joined the Emigrants along with his
brother, Count d'Artois, and took up arms, which he was compelled to
forego, to wander from one foreign Court to another and find refuge at
last in England; on Napoleon's departure for Elba he returned to France
and was installed on the throne as _Louis le Desiré_, but by the
reappearance of the former on the scene he was obliged to seek refuge in
Belgium, to return for good after the battle of Waterloo, July 9, 1815,
with Talleyrand for minister and Fouché as minister of police; he reigned
but a few years, his constitution being much enfeebled by a disease
(1755-1824).
LOUIS NAPOLEON (Napoleon III.), nephew of the first emperor, born at
Paris, brought up at Augsburg and in Switzerland; became head of the
family in 1832; he began a Bonapartist propaganda, and set himself to
recover the throne of France; an abortive attempt in 1836 ended in a
short exile in America and London, and a second at Boulogne in 1840
landed him in the fortress of Ham under sentence of perpetual
imprisonment; escaping in 1846 he spent two years in England, returning
to France after the Revolution of 1848; elected to the Constituent
Assembly and the same year to the Presidency he assumed the headship of
the Republic, and posed as the protector of popular liberties and
national prosperity; struggles with the Assembly followed; he won the
favour of the army, filled the most important posts with his friends,
dissolved the Constitution in 1851 (Dec. 2), was immediately re-elected
President for ten years, and a year later assumed the title of Emperor;
he married the Spanish Countess Eugénie in 1853, and exerted himself by
public works, exhibitions, courting of the clergy, gagging of the press,
and so on to strengthen his hold on the populace; in the Crimean War
(1854-56) and the Lombardy campaign (1859) he was supported by Britain;
in 1860 he annexed Savoy and Nice; ten years later suspecting the
enthusiasm of the army, he plunged into war with Germany to rekindle its
ardour, on a protest arising from the scheme to put Leopold of
Hohenzollern on the Spanish throne; France was unprepared, disaster
followed disaster; the Emperor surrendered to the Germans at Sedan, Sept.
2, 1870; a prisoner till the close of the war, he came to England in 1871
and resided with the Empress at Chislehurst till his death (1808-1873).
LOUIS PHILIPPE, king of the French from 1830 till 1848, born at
Paris, eldest son of the Duke of Orleans, renounced his titles along with
his father, and joined the National Guard and the Jacobins at the
Revolution as M. Egalité; after the defeat of Neerwinden 1793, where he
commanded the centre, he fled to Austria and Switzerland and supported
himself by teaching; after three years in the United States he came to
London in 1800, and on the fall of Napoleon repaired to Paris and
recovered his estates; he gained popularity with the _bourgeoisie_, and
when the Revolution of July 1830 overthrew Charles X. he succeeded to the
throne as the elected sovereign of the people; under the "citizen king"
France prospered; but his government gradually became reactionary and
violent; he used his great wealth in giving bribes, tampered with trial
by jury and the freedom of the press, and so raised against him both the
old aristocracy and the working-classes; political agitation culminated
in the Revolution of February 1848; he was forced to abdicate and escaped
with his queen to England, where he died (1773-1850).
LOUIS-D'OR, an old French gold coin which ranged in value from 16s.
7d. to 18s. 9¾d., and ceased to be issued in 1795.
LOUISIANA (1,119), an American State on the Gulf of Mexico, between
the Mississippi and Sabine Rivers, with Arkansas on the N. and traversed
diagonally by the Red River, is half upland and half alluvial; much of
the lower level in the S. is marshy, subject to tidal flow or river
inundation, and is covered by swampy woods, but is being reclaimed and
planted with rice; on the uplands cattle are grazed, there are pine and
oak forests, while the arable land is under cotton, sugar, oranges, and
figs; the principal manufactures are shingles and tanks, cotton-seed oil,
tobacco, and clothing; there is a State University and agricultural and
mechanical college at Baton Rouge; the Southern and Tulane Universities
are in New Orleans; free schools are throughout the State. Founded by
France, but held by Spain from 1762 till 1800, ceded again to France and
sold to the United States by Napoleon, it was admitted to the Union in
1812. In the Civil War a hundred battles were fought within the State and
New Orleans was captured, which left ruin behind; but since 1880
prosperity has returned, property is increasing fast, and finances are
healthy.
LOUISVILLE (205), on the left bank of the Ohio River, the largest
city in Kentucky, is well built and regular, with a Roman Catholic
cathedral, many colleges and charitable institutions; it is the largest
tobacco market in the world, has pork packing, distilling, tanning, and
many other industries.
LOURDES, a French town in the dep. of the Hautes-Pyrénées, with a
grotto near by in which the Virgin Mary, as is alleged, appeared to a
girl of the place in 1858, and to which multitudes have since resorted in
the hope of being healed of their maladies from the waters which spring
up on the spot.
LOUTH (71), the smallest Irish county, in Leinster, stretches from
Carlingford Bay to the estuary of the Boyne, washed by the Irish Sea; the
country is flat and the soil fertile, potatoes, oats, and barley are
grown; there are coarse linen manufactures and oyster fisheries; rich in
antiquities, its chief towns are Dundalk (12), Drogheda (12), and Ardee
(2).
LOUVET, French romancer, born in Paris; author of the "Chevalier de
Faublas," which gives a picture of French society on the eve of the
Revolution, in which the author played a part (1760-1797).
LOUVOIS, MARQUIS OF, War Minister of Louis XIV., born in Paris; was
a man of great administrative ability in his department, but for the
glory of France and his own was savage for war and relentless in the
conduct of it, till one day in his obstinate zeal, as he threatened to
lay the cathedral city of Trèves in ashes, the king, seizing the tongs
from the chimney, was about to strike him therewith, and would have
struck him, had not Madame de Maintenon, his mistress, interfered and
stayed his hand; he died suddenly, to the manifest relief of his royal
master (1641-1691).
LOUVRE, an open turret or lantern on ancient roofs for the escape of
smoke or foul air.
LOUVRE, a great art museum and gallery in Paris, containing
Egyptian, Assyrian, classic, mediæval, and modern relics and art
treasures of priceless value; here is housed the Venus of Milo.
LOVAT, SIMON FRASER, LORD, a Highland chief connected with
Inverness, who, being outlawed, fled to France and got acquainted with
the Pretender, in whose interest he returned to Scotland to excite a
rising, but betraying the secret to the government was imprisoned in the
Bastille on his going back to France; on his release and return he
opposed the Pretender in 1715, but in 1745 espoused the cause of Prince
Edward; was arrested for treason, convicted, and beheaded on Tower Hill
(1667-1747).
LOVEDALE, a mission station in South Africa, 650 m. NE. of Cape
Town, founded in 1841, and supported by the Free Church of Scotland.
LOVELACE, one of the principal characters in Richardson's "Clarissa
Harlowe"; is the type of a young heartless seducer.
LOVELACE, RICHARD, English cavalier and poet, born at Woolwich, heir
of great wealth, but lost his all in supporting the royal cause, and died
a ruined man; was the handsomest man of his time, and the author of a
collection of poems entitled "Lucasta" (1618-1658).
LOVER, SAMUEL, an Irish novelist and poet, born in Dublin; started
as a painter, but soon gave himself to literature; was the author of
"Rory O'More" and "Handy Andy," as also of some lyrics and ballads of a
stirring character (1797-1868).
LOW CHURCH, that section of the Church of England which, in contrast
with the High Church party, is not exclusive in its assertion of Church
authority and observances, and in contrast with the Broad Church party is
narrowly evangelical in its teaching.
LOW LATIN, Latin as spoken and written in the Middle Ages, being a
degeneration of the classical which began as early as the time of Cicero
and developed unchecked with the dismemberment of the Roman empire.
LOW MASS, mass performed by a single priest and without musical
accompaniment.
LOW SUNDAY, name given in Catholic countries to the next Sunday
after Easter, in contrast with the style of the festival just closed.
LOWE, SIR HUDSON, English general, born in Ireland; served with
credit in various military enterprises, and was appointed governor of St.
Helena in 1815, and held that office during Napoleon's incarceration
there; a much abused-man for his treatment of his prisoner, particularly
by the French, who dub him "Napoleon's jailer"; died in London in poor
circumstances; wrote a defence of his conduct (1770-1844).
LOWELL, JAMES RUSSELL, American essayist, poet, and diplomatist,
born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, son of a clergyman; graduated at
Harvard in 1838, studied law, but acquiring extensive scholarship devoted
himself to literature; volumes of poems were published by him in 1840 and
1844, but the Mexican War of 1846 and the Civil War of 1861-65 called
forth respectively the first and second series of "Biglow Papers," in
rustic dialect, the highest expression of his genius and the finest
modern English satire; he was an ardent abolitionist; succeeding
Longfellow in the chair of Modern Languages and Literature in Harvard in
1855, he visited Europe to study, returned as U.S. minister to Spain in
1877, was transferred to England 1880-1885; of his prose work "My Study
Windows" and "Among my Books" are essays on literary subjects, "Fireside
Travels" contain reminiscences, and his last work was a "Life of
Hawthorne"; he died at Cambridge in the house of his birth (1818-1891).
LOWER EMPIRE, name given to the Byzantine empire.
LOWESTOFT (23), seaport and watering-place at the mouth of the
Waveney, in Suffolk, 120 m. NE. of London, the most easterly town in
England; has a good harbour, an old parish church, and a large
fish-market; the Dutch were defeated off Lowestoft in 1665.
LOWTH, ROBERT, a distinguished English prelate, born in Hants; was
professor of Poetry in Oxford, and bishop in succession of St. Davids,
Oxford, and London; wrote "Prelectiones" on the poetry of the Hebrews, a
celebrated work, and executed a translation of Isaiah (1710-1787).
LOYOLA, IGNATIUS, the founder of the Order of the Jesuits, born in
the castle of Loyola, in the Basque Provinces of Spain, of a noble
Spanish family; entered the army, and served with distinction, but being
severely wounded at the siege of Pampeluna, he gave himself up to a life
of austere religious devotion, and conceived the idea of enlisting and
organising a spiritual army for the defence of the Church at home and the
propagation of the faith in the realms of heathendom; it seemed to him a
time when such an organisation should be formed, and he by-and-by got a
number of kindred spirits to join him, with the result that he and his
confederates did, on Ascension Day, 1534, solemnly pledge themselves in
the subterranean chapel of the Abbey of Montserrat to, through life and
death, embark in this great undertaking; the pledge thus given was
confirmed by the pope, Pope Pius III., the Order formed, and Ignatius, in
1547, installed as general, with absolute authority subject only to the
Pope, to receive canonisation by Gregory XV. in 1622 (1481-1566).
LUBBOCK, SIR JOHN, scientist, born in London; banker by profession;
as a member of Parliament has accomplished several economic reforms; is
author of "Prehistoric Times," "The Origin of Civilisation and the
Primitive Condition of Man," and various books on natural science; his
"Pleasures of Life" has been very popular, and gone through between 30
and 40 editions; _b_. 1834.
LÜBECK (64), a German free city on the Trave, an old-fashioned
place, but with wide, open streets, 12 m. from the Baltic, 40 m. NE. of
Hamburg; joined the North German Federation in 1866, and the Customs
Union in 1868. It has a 12th-century cathedral, some fine old churches,
scientific and art collections; with unimportant industries; its Baltic
and German transit trade is extensive.
LUCAN, a Latin poet, born at Corduba (Cordova), in Spain; was a
nephew of Seneca, and brought early to Rome; gave offence to Nero, and
was banished from the city; joined in a conspiracy against the tyrant,
and was convicted, whereupon he caused his veins to be opened and bled to
death, repeating the while the speech he had composed of a wounded
soldier on the battlefield dying a like death; he was the author of a
poem entitled "Pharsalia" on the civil war between Cæsar and Pompey
(39-65).
LUCARIS, CYRIL, eminent ecclesiastic in the Greek Church, born in
Crete, who embraced and propagated Protestantism; became a victim of
persecution, and had a mysterious fate (1572-1637).
LUCCA (20), cap. of the Italian prov. of Lucca (309), on the
Serchio, 12 m. NE. of Pisa; has an extensive trade in olive-oil, silk,
and capers, the specialty of the province. Its cathedral has a very
ancient cedar crucifix, fine paintings, and valuable archives. There are
other ancient churches, scientific and artistic institutes, and a
wonderful aqueduct of 459 arches. The natives are known over Europe as
stucco figure-sellers and organ-grinders.
LUCERNE (36), a Swiss canton E. of Berne, mountainous in the S.,
where cattle are pastured and much cheese made; in the N. and in the
valleys fertile with corn and fruit crops; is German speaking, and Roman
Catholic; its highest elevation, Mount Pilatus, is 7000 ft. Stretching
from the eastern corner is Lake Lucerne, one of the most beautiful in
Europe. The cap. Lucerne (20), on the shores of the lake, is a busy
tourist centre; outside its walls is the famous Lion of Lucerne, designed
by Thorwaldsen, in memory of the Swiss Guard slain while defending the
Tuileries in Paris in 1792, and cut out of the solid rock.
LUCIAN, a Greek writer, born in Samosata, in Syria, in the early
part of the 2nd century; he travelled much in his youth; acquired a
cynical view of the world, and gave himself to ridicule the philosophical
sects and the pagan mythology; his principal writings consist of
"Dialogues," of which the "Dialogues of the Dead" are the best known, the
subject being one affording him scope for exposing the vanity of human
pursuits; he was an out and out sceptic, found nothing worthy of
reverence in heaven or on earth.
LUCIFER (i. e. light-bringer), name given to Venus as the morning
star, and by the Church Fathers to Satan in interpretation of Isaiah xiv.
12.
LÜCKE, FRIEDRICH, German theologian, professor first at Bonn and
then at Göttingen; wrote commentaries on John's Gospel and the Apocalypse
(1791-1855).
LUCKNOW (273), fourth city in India, cap. of the prov. of Oudh, on
the Gumti, a tributary of the Ganges, 200 m. NW. of Benares; is a centre
of Indian culture and Mohammedan theology, an industrial and commercial
city. It has many magnificent buildings, Canning and Martinière Colleges,
various schools and Government offices. It manufactures brocades, shawls,
muslins, and embroideries, and trades in country products, European
cloth, salt, and leather. Its siege from July 1857 to March 1858, its
relief by Havelock and Outram, and final deliverance by Sir Colin
Campbell, form the most stirring incidents of the Indian Mutiny.
LUCRETIA, a Roman matron, the wife of Collatinus, whose rape by a
son of Tarquinus Superbus led to the dethronement of the tyrant, the
expulsion of his family from Rome, and the establishment of the Roman
republic.
LUCRETIUS, TITUS CARUS, a Roman poet of whose personal history
nothing is known, only that he was the author of a poem entitled "De
Rerum Naturâ," a philosophic, didactic composition in six books, in which
he expounds the atomic theory of Leucippus, and the philosophy of
Epicurus; the philosophy of the work commends itself only to the atheist
and the materialist, but the style is the admiration of all scholars, and
has ensured its translation into most modern languages (about 95-31 B.C.).
LUCULLUS, LUCIUS, a Roman general, celebrated as conqueror of
Mithridates, king of Pontus, and for the luxurious life he afterwards led
at Rome on the wealth he had amassed in Asia and brought home with him;
one day as he sat down to dine alone, and he observed his servant had
provided for him a less sumptuous repast than usual, he took him sharply
to task, and haughtily remarked, "Are you not aware, sirrah, that
Lucullus dines with Lucullus to-day?"
LUDDISM, fanatical opposition to the introduction of machinery as it
originally manifested itself among the hand-loom weavers of the Midlands.
LUDDITES name assumed by the anti-machinery rioters of 1812-1861,
after a Leicestershire idiot, Ned Ludd, of 1780; appearing first at
Nottingham, the agitation spread through Derby, Leicester, Cheshire,
Lancashire, and Yorkshire, finally merging in the wider industrial and
political agitations and riots that marked the years that followed the
peace after Waterloo.
LUDLOW, EDMUND, a republican leader in the Civil War against Charles
I., born in Wiltshire of good family; entered the army of the Parliament,
and was present in successive engagements, but opposed Cromwell on his
assumption of the Protectorate, and was put under arrest; reasserted his
republicanism on Cromwell's death, but died in exile after the
Restoration; left "Memoirs" (1630-1693).
LUDOVICUS VIVES, a humourist, born in Valentia, Spain; studied at
Paris, wrote against scholasticism, taught at Oxford, was imprisoned for
opposing Henry VIII.'s divorce; died at Bruges (1472-1540).
LUGA`NO, a lake partly in the Swiss canton of Ticino and partly in
the Italian province of Como, 15 m. by 2 m., in the midst of picturesque
grand scenery, with a town of the name on the NW. side amid vineyards and
olive plantations.
LUINI, BERNARDINO, a painter of the Lombard school, born at Luino,
in the territory of Milan, and a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, so that some
of his works, which though they show a grace and delicacy of their own,
pass for those of his master; is famed for his works in oil as well as in
fresco; is, in Ruskin's regard, one of the master painters of the world
(1460-1540).
LUKE or LUCANUS, author of the third Gospel, as well as the
Acts, born in Antioch, a Greek by birth and a physician by profession,
probably a convert, as he was a companion, of St. Paul; is said to have
suffered martyrdom and been buried at Constantinople; is the patron saint
of artists, and represented in Christian art with an ox lying near him,
or in the act of painting; his Gospel appears to have been written before
the year 63, and shows a Pauline interest in Christ, who is represented
as the Saviour of Jew and Gentile alike; it was written for a Gentile
Christian and in correspondence with eye-witnesses of Christ's life and
death.
LULLI, a composer of operatic music, born in Provence; was director
of the French opera in the reign of Louis XIV. (1633-1687).
LULLY, RAYMOND, the _Doctor Illuminatus_, as he was called, born at
Palma, in Majorca, who was early smitten with a zeal for the conversion
of the Mohammedans, in the prosecution of which mission he invented a new
method of dialectic, called after him _Ars Lullia_; held public
discussions with the Mohammedans, who showed themselves as zealous to
convert him as he was to convert them, till he ventured in his over-zeal
when in Africa among them to threaten them with divine judgment if they
did not abjure their faith, upon which they waxed furious, dragged him
out of the city, and stoned him to death in the year 1315; his works,
several on alchemy, fill 16 volumes.
LUNAR CYCLE, a period of time at the close of which the new moons
return on the same days of the year.
LUNAR MONTH, a month of 29 days, the time of the revolution of the
moon, a lunar year consisting of 12 times the number.
LUNAR THEORY, an explanation by mathematical reasoning of
perturbations in the movements of the moon founded on the law of
gravitation.
LUNAR YEAR, a period of 12 synodic lunar months, being about 354.5
days.
LUND (14), a city in the S. of Sweden, 10 m. NE. of Malmö, once the
capital of the Danish kingdom, the seat of an archbishop, with a
Romanesque cathedral and a flourishing university.
LUNDY ISLAND, a precipitous rugged island 3 m. long by 1 m. broad,
belonging to Devon, with the remains of an old castle, and frequented by
myriads of sea-fowl.
LÜNEBURG (21), on the Ilmenau, 30 m. SE. of Hamburg, an ancient
German city with old Gothic churches, once the capital of an independent
duchy, now in Hanover; has salt and gypsum mines, iron and chemical
manufactures; the British royal house is descended from the princes of
Brunswick-Lüneburg.
LUPERCALIA, a Roman festival held on Feb. 15 in honour of Lupercus,
regarded as the god of fertility, in the celebration of which dogs and
goats were sacrificed and their skins cut up into thongs, with which the
priests ran through the city striking every one, particularly women, that
threw themselves in their way.
LUPERCUS, an ancient Italian god, worshipped by shepherds as the
protector of their flocks against wolves.
LUPUS, a chronic disease of the skin, characterised by the
tuberculous eruptions which eat into the skin, particularly of the face,
and disfigure it.
LUSATIA, a district of Germany, between the Elbe and the Oder,
originally divided into Upper and Lower, belongs partly to Saxony and
partly to Prussia; it swarmed at one time with Wends.
LUSIAD or LUSIADES, a poem of Camoëns in ten cantos, in
celebration of the discoveries of the Portuguese in the East Indies, and
in which Vasco da Gama is the principal figure; it is a genuine national
epic, in which the poet passes in review all the celebrated exploits and
feats that glorify the history of Portugal.
LUSITANIA, the ancient name of Portugal, still used as the name of
it in modern poetry.
LUSTRUM, a sacrifice for expiation and purification offered by one
of the censors of Rome in name of the Roman people at the close of the
taking of the census, and which took place after a period of five years,
so that the name came to denote a period of that length.
LUTETIA, the ancient name of Paris, _Lutetia Parisiorum_, mud-town
of the borderers, as Carlyle translates it.
LUTHER, MARTIN, the great Protestant Reformer, born at Eisleben, in
Prussian Saxony, the son of a miner, was born poor and brought up poor,
familiar from his childhood with hardship; was sent to study law at
Erfurt, but was one day at the age of 19 awakened to a sense of higher
interests, and in spite of remonstrances became a monk; was for a time in
deep spiritual misery, till one day he found a Bible in the convent,
which taught him for the first time that "a man was not saved by singing
masses, but by the infinite grace of God"; this was his awakening from
death to life, and to a sense of his proper mission as a man; at this
stage the Elector of Saxony was attracted to him, and he appointed him
preacher and professor at Wittenberg; on a visit to Rome his heart sank
within him, but he left it to its evil courses to pursue his own way
apart; if Rome had let him alone he would have let it, but it would not;
monk Tetzel arrived at Wittenberg selling indulgences, and his
indignation was roused; remonstrance after remonstrance followed, but the
Pope gave no heed, till the agitation being troublesome, he issued his
famous "fire-decree," condemning Luther's writings to the flames; this
answer fired Luther to the quick, and he "took the indignant step of
burning the decree in 1520 at the Elster Gate of Wittenberg, Wittenberg
looking on with shoutings, the whole world looking on"; after this Luther
was summoned to the Diet of Worms, and he appeared there before the
magnates, lay and clerical, of the German empire on April 17, 1521; how
he demeaned himself on that high occasion is known to all the world, and
his answer as well: "Here stand I; I can do no other; so help me God";
"it was the grandest moment in the modern history of man"; of the
awakening this produced Luther was the ruling spirit, as he had been the
moving one, and he continued to be so to the end of his life; his
writings show the man as well as his deeds, and amid all the turmoil that
enveloped him he found leisure to write and leave behind him 25 quarto
volumes; it is known the German Bible in use is his work, executed by him
in the Castle of Wartburg; it was begun by him with his back to the wall,
as it were, and under the protestation, as it seemed to him, of the
prince of darkness himself, and finished in this obstructive element
pretty much throughout, the New Testament in 1522, the Pentateuch in
1523, and the whole, the Apocrypha included, in 1534; he was fond of
music, and uttered many an otherwise unutterable thing in the tones of
his flute; "the devils fled from his flute," he says; "death-defiance on
the one hand, and such love of music on the other, I could call these,"
says Carlyle, "the two opposite poles of a great soul, between these two
all great things had room.... Luther," he adds, "was a true great man,
great in intellect, in courage, in affection, and integrity,... great as
an Alpine mountain, but not setting up to be great at all--his, as all
greatness is, an unconscious greatness" (1488-1546).
LUTHERANISM, that form of Protestantism which prevails in Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, and Northern Germany. See LUTHERANS.
LUTHERANS, the name given to that school of the Protestant Church
which accepted Luther's doctrine, especially that of the Eucharist, in
opposition to that of the members of the Reformed Church, who assented to
the views in that matter of Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer; the former
maintaining the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and that the grace
of Christ is communicated in the celebration of it, and the latter
maintaining that it is a merely commemorative ordinance, and the means of
grace to the believing recipient only.
LUTTERWORTH, a small town in Leicestershire, on the Swift, 8 m. NE.
of Rugby, of the church of which Wiclif was rector, and where he was
buried, though his bones were afterwards, in 1428, dug up and burned, and
the ashes cast into the river.
LÜTZEN, a small town in Prussian Saxony, the vicinity of it the
scene of a victory of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, and of another by
Napoleon over the combined forces of Russia and Prussia in 1813.
LUX, the name given to the unit of the intensity of electric light.
LUX, ADAM, a young Parisian; smitten with love for Charlotte Corday,
proposed a statue to her with the inscription "Greater than Brutus,"
which brought him to the guillotine.
LUXEMBURG (211), grand-duchy, a small, independent territory at the
corner where Belgium, France, and Rhenish Prussia meet, is a plateau
watered by the Moselle on its eastern boundary, and the tributary Sauer;
is well wooded and fertile, yielding wheat, flax, hemp, and wine. Iron
ore is mined and smelted; leather, pottery, sugar, and spirits
manufactured. The population is Low-German and Roman Catholic; the
language of the educated, French. The government is in the hands of a
grand-duke, the Duke of Nassau, and a house of 42 representatives. For
commercial purposes Luxemburg belongs to the German Customs Union. The
capital is LUXEMBURG (18). There is a Belgian province of
LUXEMBURG (212), until 1839 part of the grand-duchy.
LUZON (3,200), the largest of the Philippines; about one-half larger
than Ireland; is the most northerly of the group; is clad with forests,
and yields grain, sugar, hemp, and numerous tropical products. The
capital is Manila.
LYCAON, a king of Arcadia; changed into a wolf for offering human
flesh to Zeus, who came, disguised as mortal, to his palace on the same
errand as the angels who visited Lot in Sodom. According to another
tradition he was consumed, along with his sons, by fire from heaven.
LYCEUM, a promenade in Athens where Aristotle taught his pupils as
he walked to and fro within its precincts.
LYCIAS, an Athenian orator, who flourished in the 4th century B.C.;
assisted in the expulsion of the Thirty Tyrants, and distributed among
the citizens his large fortune which the Tyrants had confiscated.
LYCIDAS, the name of an exquisite dirge by Milton over the death by
drowning of his friend Edward King.
LYCURGUS, the legislator of Sparta, who lived in the 9th century
B.C.; in the interest of it as king visited the wise in other lands, and
returned with the wise lessons he had learned from them to frame a code
of laws for his country, which was fast lapsing into a state of anarchy;
when he had finished his work under the sanction of the oracle at Delphi
he set put again on a journey to other lands, but previously took oath of
the citizens that they would observe his laws till his return; it was his
purpose not to return, and he never did, in order to bind his countrymen
to maintain the constitution he gave them inviolate for ever.
LYDGATE, JOHN, an early English poet; was a monk of Bury St. Edmunds
in the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries; was a teacher
of rhetoric as well as a poet, and a man of some note in his day.
LYDIA, a country of Asia Minor; seat of an early civilisation, and a
centre of influences which affected both the religion and culture of
Greece; was noted for its music and purple dyes.
LYELL, SIR CHARLES, celebrated English geologist, born at Kinnordy,
in Forfarshire; bred for and called to the bar; he left his practice, and
gave himself to the study of geology, to which he had been attracted by
Alexander Buckland's lectures when he was at Oxford; his great work was
his "Principles of Geology," which, published in 1830, created quite a
revolution in the science; it was followed by his "Student's Elements of
Geology," which was modified by his conversion to Darwin's views, and by
"Antiquity of Man," written in defence of Darwin's theory (17971875).
LYLY, JOHN, English dramatist, born in Kent; was the author of nine
plays on classical subjects, written for the court, which were preceded
in 1579 by his once famous "Euphues, or Anatomy of Wit," followed by a
second part next year, and entitled "Euphues and his England," and that
from the fantastic, pompous, and affected style in which they were
written gave a new word, Euphuism, to the English language (1553-1606).
LYNCH LAW, the name given in America to the trial and punishment of
offenders without form of law, or by mob law; derived from the name of a
man Lynch, dubbed Judge, who being referred to used to administer justice
in the far West in this informal way.
LYNDHURST, JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, BARON, thrice Lord Chancellor of
England, born at Boston, Massachusetts, son of an artist; was brought up
in London, educated at Cambridge, and called to the bar in 1804;
acquiring fame in the treason trials of the second decade, he entered
Parliament in 1808, was Solicitor-General 1819, Attorney-General 1819,
Master of the Rolls 1826, and Lord Chancellor in three governments
1827-30; Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1830-34; he was Lord Chancellor in
Peel's administrations of 1834-35 and 1841-46; he was great as a debater,
and a clear-headed lawyer, but not earnest enough for a statesman
(1772-1863).
LYNEDOCH, THOMAS GRAHAM, LORD, soldier, born in Perthshire; raised
in 1793 the 90th Regiment of Foot, and served with it at Quibéron and
Isle Dieu; thereafter distinguished himself in various ways at Minorca
1798, and Malta 1800, in the Peninsular wars, and in Holland; founded the
Senior United Service Club in 1817; was created baron and general 1821,
and died in London (1748-1843).
LYON COURT, the Herald's College of Scotland, consisting of three
heralds and three pursuivants.
LYON KING OF ARMS, the legal heraldic officer of Scotland, who
presides over the Lyon Court.
LYONS (398), the second city of France, at the junction of the Rhône
and Saône, 250 m. S. of Paris; has a Roman Catholic university, and
valuable museum, library, and art collections, many old churches and
buildings, and schools of art and industries; the staple industry is
silk, weaving, dyeing, and printing; there are also chemical, machinery,
and fancy ware manufactures, and it is an emporium of commerce between
Central and Southern Europe; of late years Lyons has been a hot-bed of
ultra-republicanism.
LYRIC POETRY, poetry originally accompanied by the lyre, in which
the poet sings his own passions, sure of a sympathetic response from
others in like circumstances with himself.
LYSANDER, a Spartan general and admiral who put an end to the
Peloponnesian War by defeat of the Athenian fleet off Ægospotami, and of
whom Plutarch says in characterisation of him, he knew how to sew the
skin of the fox on that of the lion; fell in battle in 395 B.C.
LYSIMACHUS, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, who became
king of Thrace and afterwards of Macedonia; _d_. 281 B.C.
LYTTON, EDWARD ROBERT, EARL OF, statesman and novelist, under the
_nom de plume_ of Owen Meredith; entered the diplomatic service at an
early age, became viceroy of India in 1876, and ambassador at Paris in
1892.
LYTTON, GEORGE EDWARD BULWER, LORD, statesman and novelist, born in
London; entered Parliament at the age of 26, began his parliamentary
career as a Whig, but became a Conservative and ranked in that party for
the greater part of his life; "Pelham," published in 1828, was his first
novel, and this was followed by a long list of others of endless variety,
all indicative of the conspicuous ability of the author, and to the last
giving no sign of decay in power; he was the author of plays as well as
novels (1803-1873).
M
MAB, QUEEN, the fairies' midwife that brings dreams to the birth, to
be distinguished from Titania, the Queen.
MABILLON, JEAN, a French Benedictine and eminent scholar; wrote a
history of his order and edited St. Bernard's works (1632-1707).
MABLY, GABRIEL BONNET DE, French author, was born at Grenoble,
brother of Condillac; educated at Lyons, and became secretary to Cardinal
Tencin, but most of his life was spent in study, and he died in Paris;
his "Romans and the French" is not complimentary to his countrymen; he
was a great admirer of the ancients (1709-1785).
MABUSA, JAN, real name Gossaert, Flemish artist, born at Mabuse,
lived and died at Antwerp; his work is not great but careful, his figures
catch the stiffness of his favourite architectural backgrounds; his early
period is strongly national, but a visit to Italy with Philip of Burgundy
brought him under southern influences and contributed to intensify his
colour (1470-1532).
MACADAM, JOHN LOUDON, Scottish engineer, born at Ayr; inventor of
the system of road-making which bears his name; he made his fortune as a
merchant in New York, but spent it in road-making (1756-1836).
MACAIRE, ROBERT, a noted criminal and assassin that figures in
French plays; was convicted of a murder in trial by combat with a witness
in the shape of the dog of the murdered man.
MACAO, small island at the mouth of the Canton River, 100 m. S. of
Canton, forming with Colovane and Taipa since 1557 a Portuguese station
(50, mostly Chinese); is a very healthy port, though very hot; formerly
it was a centre of the Coolie trade, abolished in 1873, but its anchorage
is bad, and since the rise of Hong-Kong its commerce has suffered
severely; chief import opium, export tea; it is the head-quarters of
French missions in China.
MACARIUS, ST., a hermit of the Thebaïd, where he spent 60 years of a
life of solitude and austerity (300-390). Festival, January 13.
MACARONI, a fine wheaten paste made into long thin tubes, and
manufactured in Italy and the S. of France.
MACASSAR, southern portion and chief town (20) at SW. corner of
Celebes; exports coffee, spices, timber, and "Macassar" oil.
MACAULAY, THOMAS BABINGTON, LORD, essayist and historian, born at
Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, son of Zachary Macaulay the
philanthropist, and so of Scottish descent; graduated at Cambridge 1822,
proving a brilliant debater in the Union, and became Fellow of Trinity
1824; called to the bar 1826, he preferred to follow literature, having
already gained a footing by some poems in _Knight's Quarterly_ and by his
essay on "Milton" in the _Edinburgh Review_ (1825); in 1830 he entered
Parliament for a pocket-borough, took an honourable part in the Reform
debates, and in the new Parliament sat for Leeds; his family were now in
straitened circumstances, and to be able to help them he went out to
India as legal adviser to the Supreme Council; to his credit chiefly
belongs the Indian Penal Code; returning in 1838, he represented
Edinburgh in the Commons with five years' interval till 1856; the "Lays
of Ancient Rome" appeared in 1842, his collected "Essays" in 1843, two
years later he ceased writing for the _Edinburgh;_ he was now working
hard at his "History," of which the first two volumes attained a quite
unprecedented success in 1848; next year he was chosen Lord Rector of
Glasgow University; 1855 saw the third and fourth volumes of his
"History"; in 1857 he was made a peer, and many other honours were
showered upon him; with a tendency to too much declamation in style, a
point of view not free from bias, and a lack of depth and modesty in his
thinking, he yet attained a remarkable amount and variety of knowledge,
great intellectual energy, and unrivalled lucidity in narration
(1800-1859).
MACBETH, a thane of the north of Scotland who, by assassination of
King Duncan, became king; reigned 17 years, but his right was disputed by
Malcolm, Duncan's son, and he was defeated by him and fell at Lumphanan,
December 5, 1056.
MACCABEES, a body of Jewish patriots, followers of Judas Maccabæus,
who in 2nd century B.C. and in the interest of the Jewish faith
withstood the oppression of Syria and held their own for a goodly number
of years against not only the foreign yoke that oppressed them, but
against the Hellenising corruption of their faith at home.
MACCABEES, BOOKS OF, two books of the Apocrypha which give, the
first, an account of the heroic struggle which the Maccabees maintained
from 175 to 135 B.C. against the kings of Syria, and the second, of an
intercalary period of Jewish history from 175 to 160 B.C., much of it of
legendary unreliable matter; besides these two a third and a fourth of a
still more apocryphal character are extant.
M'CARTHY, JUSTIN, writer and politician, began life as a journalist;
is the author of a "History of Our Own Times" and a "History of the Four
Georges," as well as a number of novels; represents North Longford in
Parliament; _b_. 1830.
M'CHEYNE, ROBERT MURRAY, the subject of a well-known memoir by
Andrew Bonar, was born in Edinburgh, educated at the university there,
and was minister of St. Peter's, Dundee, from 1836 till his death; he is
esteemed a saint by pious evangelical people, by whom the memoirs of him
are much prized (1813-1843).
M'CLELLAN, American general, born in Philadelphia; served in the
Mexican War, and in the War of Secession, eventually as
commander-in-chief; was author of military engineering works (1826-1882).
MACCLESFIELD (36), Cheshire manufacturing town on the Bollin, 15 m.
S. of Manchester; has a 13th-century church, and a grammar-school founded
by Edward VI.; its staple industry is silk manufactures; there are
breweries, and mining and quarrying near.
MACCLINTOCK, Arctic navigator, born at Dundalk; sent out by Lady
Franklin to discover the fate of Sir John and his crew; wrote an account
of the voyage (1819-1891).
M'CLURE, Arctic navigator, born in Wexford; went out in search of
Franklin, and discovered the North-West Passage in 1850 (1807-1873).
M'CRIE, THOMAS, a Scotch seceder, born in Dunse; was minister in
Edinburgh; author of the "Life of John Knox," published in 1812; defended
the Covenanters against Scott; he was a man of dignified military
presence (1772-1835).
M'CULLOCH, HORATIO, a Scottish landscape-painter, born in Glasgow;
was distinguished for his Highland landscapes (1806-1867).
M'CULLOCH, JOHN RAMSEY, political economist, born in Isle of
Whithorn; contributed to the _Scotsman_ and _Edinburgh Review;_ wrote
"Principles of Political Economy," and edited Dictionaries of Commerce
and Geography (1789-1864).
MACCUNN, HAMISH, Scottish composer, born at Greenock; entered the
Royal College of Music in 1883, and became junior professor of Harmony at
the Royal Academy; his fertility in melody and mastery of the orchestra
are devoted to music of strong national characteristics, as his overture
"Land of the Mountain and the Flood," and his choral work "The Lay of the
Last Minstrel" show; _b_. 1868.
MACDONALD, marshal of France, born at Sancerre, of Scotch descent,
entered the army at the time of the Revolution as a lieutenant, and
rapidly rose in rank; served with distinction under Napoleon, especially
at Wagram, when he was made Duke of Taranto; supported the Bourbons on
their restoration (1765-1840).
MACDONALD, SIR CLAUDE M., British Minister at Peking; served in the
army in Egypt in 1882 and 1884, as a diplomatist in Zanzibar in 1887, and
on the coast of Africa as commissioner in 1888; was sent to Peking in
1896; _b_. 1852.
MACDONALD, FLORA, a devoted Jacobite who, at the risk of her own
life, screened Prince Charles Edward after his defeat at Culloden from
his pursuers, and saw him safe off to France, for which she was
afterwards confined for a short time in the Tower (1722-1790).
MACDONALD, GEORGE, novelist, born in Huntly; trained for the
ministry, but devoted himself to literature; is the author, among other
works, of "Robert Falconer," "David Elginbrod," and "Alec Forbes"; his
interests are religious, and his views liberal, particularly on religious
matters; _b_., 1824.
MACE, THE, the symbol of authority in the House of Commons; is
placed on the table when the House is sitting, and is under the table as
a rule when the Speaker is not in the chair.
MACEDONIA, an ancient kingdom lying between Thrace and Illyria, the
Balkans and the Ægean; mostly mountainous, but with some fertile plains;
watered by the Strymon, Axius, and Heliacmon Rivers; was noted for its
gold and silver, its oil and wine. Founded seven centuries B.C., the
monarchy was raised to dignity and power by Archelaus in the 5th century.
Philip II. (359 B.C.) established it yet more firmly; and his son,
Alexander the Great, extended its sway over half the world. His empire
broke up after his death, and the Romans conquered it in 168 B.C. Ægæ
and Pella were its ancient capitals, Philippi, Thessalonica, and
Amphipolis among its towns. After many vicissitudes during the Middle
Ages it is now a province of Turkey.
MACEDONIANS, a sect in the early Church who taught that the Holy
Ghost was inferior to the Father and the Son, so called from Macedonius,
bishop of Constantinople, their leader.
MACFARREN, SIR GEORGE ALEXANDER, musical author and composer, born
in London; studied at the Royal Academy, and became professor there in
1834; in many operatic works he aimed at restoring old English musical
characteristics, and wrote also cantatas "Lenore," "May-Day," &c., and
oratorios, of which "John the Baptist" (1873) was the first; but his
chief merit lies in his writings on theory (1813-1887).
MACHIAVELLI, NICCOLO, statesman and historian, born in Florence, of
an ancient family; was secretary of the Florentine Republic from 1498 to
1512, and during that time conducted its diplomatic affairs with a skill
which led to his being sent on a number of foreign embassies; he was
opposed to the restoration of the Medici family, and on the return of it
to power was subjected to imprisonment and torture as a conspirator, but
was at last set at liberty; he spent the remainder of his life chiefly in
literary labours, producing among other works a treatise on government,
entitled "The Prince," the principles of which have established for him a
notoriety wide as the civilised world (1469-1530).
MACHIAVELLISM, the doctrine taught by Machiavelli in "The Prince,"
that to preserve the integrity of a State the ruler should not feel
himself bound by any scruple such as may suggest itself by considerations
of justice and humanity; the State he regards as too precious an
institution to endanger by scruples of that sort.
M'IVOR, FLORA, the heroine in Scott's "Waverley."
MACK, KARL, Austrian general, born in Franconia; notorious for his
military incapacity and defeats; confronted by Napoleon at Ulm in 1805,
he surrendered with 28,000 men without striking a blow; for this he was
tried by court-martial, and sentenced to death, which was commuted to
imprisonment for life, from which he was released at the end of a year
(1752-1826).
MACKAY, CHARLES, journalist, novelist, and critic; wrote an
autobiography entitled, "Forty Years' Recollections of Life, Literature,
and Public Affairs"; was the father of Eric Mackay, author of
"Love-Letters of a Violinist" (1814-1889).
MACKENZIE, SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, composer, born at Edinburgh;
studied in Germany and at the Royal Academy; was teacher and conductor in
his native city from 1865 to 1878, lived thereafter in Italy; was made
Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in 1887, and knighted in 1895;
his opera "Colomba" (1883) first brought him fame; among his works, which
are of every kind, his oratorio, "The Rose of Sharon" (1884), is reckoned
best; _b_. 1847.
MACKENZIE, SIR GEORGE, eminent Scottish lawyer, born in Dundee;
became King's Advocate for Scotland; wrote on law and on other subjects
in a style which commended itself to such a critic as Dryden, though by
his severe treatment of the Covenanters he earned in Scotland the
opprobrious title of the "bluidy Mackenzie" (1636-1691).
MACKENZIE, HENRY, novelist, born in Edinburgh; bred to law; author
of "The Man of Feeling," "The Man of the World," and "Julia de Roubigné,"
written in a sentimental style; held the office of Controller of Taxes in
Scotland by favour of Pitt (1745-1831).
MACKENZIE RIVER, a river in N. America, rises in the Rocky
Mountains; is fed by mighty streams in its course, and falls into the
Arctic Ocean after a course of over 2000 m. in length.
M'KINLEY, WILLIAM, American statesman, of Scottish parentage; served
in the Civil War; born at Niles, Ohio; entered Congress in 1877; made his
mark as a zealous Protectionist; passed in 1890 a tariff measure named
after him; was elected to Presidency as the champion of a sound currency
in opposition to Mr. Bryan in November 1896; _b_. 1844.
MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES, philosopher and politician, born in
Inverness-shire; took his degree in medicine, but went to the London bar;
was a Whig in politics; wrote "Vindiciæ Gallicæ" in reply to Burke's
philippic; defended Peltier, Bonaparte's enemy, in a magnificent style,
and contributed a masterly preliminary "Dissertation on Ethics" to the
"Encyclopædia Britannica" (1763-1832).
MACLAREN, IAN (_nom de plume_ of Rev. John Watson), born in Essex,
of Scottish parents; studied in Edinburgh; was minister of the Free
Church in Logiealmond and in Glasgow, and translated to Sefton Park
Presbyterian Church, Liverpool, In 1880; wrote a series of idylls
entitled "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," and a second series entitled
"The Days of Auld Lang Syne"; both had a large circulation, and a number
of other works, religious as well as fictitious; _b_. 1850.
MACLAURIN, COLIN, mathematician, born in Kilmoden, Argyllshire; was
professor of Mathematics in Aberdeen and in Edinburgh; wrote a "Treatise
on Fluxions," in defence of Newton against Berkeley, and an "Account of
Newton's Discoveries"; did much to give an impetus to mathematical study
in Scotland (1698-1746).
MACLEOD, NORMAN, liberal Scottish clergyman, born at Campbeltown,
son of the manse; a genial, warm-hearted man; an earnest, powerful, and
vigorous preacher, and a humorous writer; a visit to India in connection
with missions shortened his days (1817-1872).
MACLISE, DANIEL, painter, born at Cork, of Scottish extraction;
among his oil-paintings are "Mokanna Unveiling," "All Hallow Eve,"
"Bohemian Gipsies," and the "Banquet Scene in Macbeth," his last work
being a series of cartoons painted in fresco for the palace of
Westminster illustrative of the glories of England (1811-1870).
MACMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA, marshal of France, born at Sully, of
Irish descent, second President of the third French republic from 1873 to
1879; distinguished himself in Algeria and at the Crimea, and took part
in the Franco-German War to his defeat and capture (1808-1893).
MACPHERSON, JAMES, a Gaelic scholar, born in Ruthven,
Inverness-shire; identified with the publication of the poems of Ossian,
the originals of which he professed to have discovered in the course of a
tour through the Highlands, and about the authenticity of which there has
been much debate, though they were the making of his fortune; he was
buried in Westminster Abbey at his own request and expense (1738-1796).
MACRAMÉ LACE, a coarse lace made of twine, used to decorate
furniture generally.
MACREADY, WILLIAM CHARLES, English tragedian, born in London; he
began his career as an actor in Birmingham in the character of Romeo, and
was enthusiastically received on his first appearance in London; was
distinguished for his impersonation of Shakespeare's characters, but
suffered a good deal from professional rivalries; leased in succession
Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres with pecuniary loss, and when he
took farewell of the stage he was entertained at a banquet, attended by a
host of friends eminent in both art and literature (1793-1873).
MACROMETER, an optical instrument to determine the size or distance
of inaccessible objects.
MACTURK, CAPTAIN HECTOR, "the man of peace" in "St. Ronan's Well."
MADAGASCAR (3,500), largest island in the world but two, in the
Indian Ocean, 300 m. off the Mozambique coast, SE. Africa; is nearly
three times the size of Great Britain, a plateau in the centre, with low,
fertile, wooded ground round about; has many extinct volcanoes and active
hot springs; the highest peak is Ankàratra (9000 ft.), in the centre; the
NW. coast has some good harbours; there are 300 m. of lagoons on the E.;
the biggest lake is Alaotra, and the rivers flow mostly W.; the climate
is hot, with copious rains, except in the S.; rice, coffee, sugar, and
vanilla are cultivated; many kinds of valuable timber grow in the
forests, and these, with cattle, hides, and india-rubber, constitute the
exports; gold, iron, copper, lead, and sulphur are found, and the natives
are skilled in working metals; the Malagasys possess civilised
institutions; slavery was abolished in 1879; a quarter of the population
is Christian; the heathen section, though untruthful and immoral, are
affectionate, courageous, and loyal; Antanànarìvo (100), the capital, is
situated in the interior, and has many fine buildings; chief ports,
Tamatave on the E. and Majunga on the NW. coasts; the island has been
under French protection since 1890, and is a French colony since 1896.
MADEIRA (140), the chief of a group of small volcanic islands with
precipitous coasts, in the Atlantic, 400 m. off Morocco; has peaks 6000
ft. high and deep picturesque ravines; the island is a favourite resort
for consumptives; the climate is very mild and equable, the rainfall
moderate, and the soil fertile; crops of cereals and potatoes are raised;
oranges, lemons, grapes, figs, and bananas abound; Madeira wine is
famous, and the chief export; Funchal (21) is the capital, with an
exposed harbour and some good buildings; the islands form a province of
Portugal.
MADEIRA RIVER (i. e. river of the wood), formed by the junction of
the Mamoré and Beni on the borders of Bolivia and Brazil, flows 900 m.
NE., and joins the Amazon, as an affluent its longest and largest, and
forms a magnificent navigable waterway.
MADELEINE, CHURCH OF THE, one of the principal and wealthiest
churches in Paris, erected in the style of a Greek temple, and the
building of which, began in 1764, was not finished till 1842, both the
interior and exterior of which has been adorned by the most distinguished
artists.
MADGE WILDFIRE, a pretty but giddy girl in the "Heart of
Midlothian," whom seduction and the murder of her child drove crazy.
MADISON, JAMES, American statesman and President, born at Port
Conway, Virginia, educated at Princeton; devoted himself to politics in
1776; he took part in framing the Virginia constitution, and subsequently
secured religious liberty in the State; with Jay and Hamilton he
collaborated to establish the federation of the States and to frame the
Federal Constitution; the "three-fifths" rule, which won the adhesion of
the slave-holding States, was his suggestion; elected to the first
Congress, he attached himself to Jefferson's party, and was Secretary of
State during Jefferson's Presidency, 1801-1809; he succeeded his former
leader and held office for two terms, during which the war of 1812-14
with England was waged; his public life closed with his term of office,
1817 (1751-1836).
MADMAN OF THE NORTH, Charles XII. of Sweden, so called from his
temerity and impetuosity.
MADOC, a Welshman who, according to Welsh tradition, discovered
America 300 years before Columbus, after staying in which for a time he
returned, gave an account of what he had seen and experienced, and went
back, but was never heard of more; his story has been amplified by
Southey in an epic.
MADONNA is the name given to pictures of the Virgin with the infant
Christ, and more generally to all sacred pictures in which the Virgin is
a prominent figure; the Virgin has been a favourite subject of art from
the earliest times, the first representation of her being, according to
legend, by St. Luke; different countries and schools have depicted their
Madonnas, each in its own characteristic style; the greatest of all are
the Sistine and Della Sedia of Raphael.
MADRAS (35,630), one of the three Indian Presidencies, occupies the
S. and E. of the peninsula, and is one-half as large again as Great
Britain; the chief mountains are the Ghâts, from which flow SE. the
Godavari, Kistna, and Kavari Rivers, which, by means of extensive
irrigation works, fertilise the plains; climate is various; on the W.
coast very hot and with a rainfall from June to October of 120 inches,
producing luxurious vegetation; on the E. the heat is also great, but the
rainfall, which comes chiefly between October and December, is only 40
inches; in the hill country, e. g. Ootacamund, the government summer
quarters, it is genial and temperate all the year, and but for the
monsoons the finest in the world; rice is everywhere the chief crop;
cotton is grown in the E., tobacco in the Godavari region, tea, coffee,
and cinchona on the hills, and sugar-cane in different districts; gold is
found in Mysore (native State), and diamonds in the Karnul; iron abounds,
but without coal; the teak forests are of great value; cotton,
gunny-bags, sugar, and tiles are the chief manufactures; English
settlements date from 1611; the population, chiefly Hindu, includes 2
million Mohammedans and ¾ million Christians; the chief towns are
Rujumahendri (28), Vizugapatam (34), Trichinopoli (91), of cheroot fame,
and Mangalore (41), on the W. coast, and the capital MADRAS (453),
on the E., Coromandel, coast, a straggling city, hot but healthy, with an
open roadstead, pier, and harbour exposed to cyclones, a university,
examining body only, colleges of science, medicine, art, and agriculture,
and a large museum; the chief exports are coffee, tea, cotton, and
indigo.
MADRID (522), since 1561 the capital of Spain, on the Manzanares, a
mere mountain torrent, on an arid plateau in New Castile, the centre of
the peninsula; is an insanitary city, and liable to great extremes of
temperature; it is regularly built, sometimes picturesque, with great
open spaces, such as the Prado, 3 m. long; fine buildings and handsome
streets. It contains the royal palace, parliament and law-court houses, a
university, magnificent picture-gallery, many charitable institutions,
and a bull-ring. The book-publishing, tapestry weaving, and tobacco
industries are the most important. It is a growing and prosperous city.
MADRIGAL, a short lyric containing some pleasant thought or sweet
sentiment daintily expressed; applied also to vocal music of a similar
character.
MADVIG, JOHAN NICOLAI, Danish scholar and politician, born at
Svaneke, Bornholm; studied at Copenhagen, where he became professor of
Latin in 1829; his studies of the Latin prose authors brought him
world-wide fame, and his Latin Grammar (1841) and Greek Syntax (1846)
were invaluable contributions to scholarship; he entered parliament, was
repeatedly its president, and was Liberal Minister of Education and
Religion 1848 to 1851; he died blind (1804-1886).
MÆANDER, a river in Phrygia, flowing through the Plain of Troy, and
noted for its numerous windings.
MÆCENAS, a wealthy Roman statesman, celebrated for his patronage of
letters; was the friend and adviser of Augustus Cæsar, and the patron of
Virgil and Horace; claimed descent from the ancient Etruscan kings; left
the most of his property to Augustus; _d_. 8 B.C.
MAELSTRÖM. See MALSTRÖM.
MÆNADES, the priestesses of Bacchus, who at the celebration of his
festivals gave way to expressions of frenzied enthusiasm, as if they were
under the spell of some demonic power.
MÆONIDES, a name given to Homer, either as the son of Mæon, or as
born, according to one tradition, in Mæonia.
MAESTRICHT (33), capital of Dutch Limburg, on the Maes, 57 m. E. of
Brussels; has manufactures of glass, earthenware, and carpets; near it
are the vast subterranean quarries of the Pietersberg, opened by the
Romans.
MAETERLINCK, MAURICE, Belgian dramatist, born at Ghent; earned his
fame by "La Princesse Maleine," produced in Paris 1890, and followed by
"L'Intruse," "Les Aveugles," and several other plays; his essays show
religious sympathies; _b_. 1864.
MAFEKING, a station in NE. of British Bechuanaland, on the Transvaal
frontier, on the railway from Cape Town.
MAFFIA, a Sicilian secret society which aims at boycotting the
law-courts, superseding the law, and ruling the island; its chief weapon
is the boycott; violence is only resorted to for vengeance; funds are
raised by blackmail; popular support enables it to control elections,
avoid legal proceedings, and influence industrial questions. The Italian
government try in vain to put it down.
MAGDALA, an Abyssinian hill fortress on a lofty plateau 300 m. S. of
Massowah; captured by Lord Napier, who had been sent in 1868 to rescue
certain British subjects held prisoners there, and which he succeeded in
doing.
MAGDALENE, MARY, a Galilæan, belonging to Magdala, on the Sea of
Galilee, who followed Christ, stood by the cross, prepared spices for His
sepulchre, to whom He first appeared after His resurrection, and who is
supposed by some recent critics to be the sole voucher for His rising
again.
MAGDEBURG (202), on the Elbe, 75 m. SW. of Berlin, is the capital of
Prussian Saxony, one of the most important fortresses, the chief sugar
market of Germany, and the seat of large iron manufactures; it has also
distilleries and cotton mills, and is a busy railway centre; it is a
place of ancient date and historical interest.
MAGELLAN, FERDINAND, Portuguese navigator; served his country first
in the East Indies and Morocco, but dissatisfied with King Manuel's
treatment of him, offered himself to Spain; under Charles V.'s patronage
he and Ruy Falero set out to reach the Moluccas by the west in 1519; he
reached the Philippines, and died in battle in Matan; on this voyage he
discovered the MAGELLAN STRAIT, 375 m. long and 15 m. wide, between
the South American mainland and Tierra del Fuego; he gave name to the
Pacific from the calm he exceptionally, it appears, experienced on
entering it (1470-1521).
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS, two masses of stars and nebulæ seen in the
southern hemisphere, not far from the South Pole.
MAGENDIE, FRANÇOIS, a celebrated French physiologist, born at
Bordeaux; was the author of several works on physiology, made important
discoveries in connection with the animal system, and was an unscrupulous
vivisectionist (1783-1855).
MAGENTA (6), Italian town, 15 m. W. of Milan, where Macmahon
defeated a superior Austrian force in 1859.
MAGGIORE, LAGO (i. e. the Greater Lake), a large lake in the N. of
Italy, partly in Switzerland, 37 m. in length, and 8 m. in greatest
breadth, the river Ticino flowing through it. THE BORROMEAN
ISLANDS (q. v.) occupy a western arm of the lake.
MAGI, a priestly caste in the East, constituting the "learned"
class, as the Druids in the West: the custodiers of religion and the
rites connected therewith, and who gave themselves up to the study of
sciences of a recondite character, but with a human interest, such as
astrology and magic, and who were held in great reverence by, and
exercised a great influence over, the people.
MAGI, THE THREE, the "wise men from the East" mentioned in Matt.
ii.--Melchior, an old man, who brought gold, the emblem of royalty;
Gaspar, a youth, who brought frankincense, the emblem of divinity;
Balthazar, a Moor, who brought myrrh, the emblem of humanity--and who
were eventually regarded as the patron saints of travellers.
MAGIC, the pretended art to which extraordinary and marvellous
effects are ascribed, of evoking and subjecting to the human will
supernatural powers, and of producing by means of them apparitions,
incantations, cures, &c., and the practice of which we find prevailing in
all superstitious ages of the world and among superstitious people. See
SUPERSTITION.
MAGINN, WILLIAM, a witty, generous-hearted Irishman, born in Cork; a
man of versatile ability, who contributed largely to _Blackwood_, and
became editor of _Fraser's Magazine_, in the conduct of which latter he
gathered round him as contributors a number of the most eminent literary
men; the stories and verses he wrote gave signs of something like genius
(1793-1842).
MAGLIABECCHI, an inordinate bookworm, born in Florence; became
librarian of the Grand-Duke; his book-knowledge was as unbounded as his
avidity for knowledge; his memory was extraordinary; he carried in his
head the page of a passage in a book as well as the passage itself in the
_ipsissima verba_, (1633-1714).
MAGNA CHARTA, "the great charter," extorted from King John by the
barons of England at Runnymede on June 5, 1215, that guaranteed certain
rights and privileges to the subjects of the realm, which were pronounced
inviolable, and that established the supremacy of the law over the will
of the monarch.
MAGNA GRÆCA, the ancient name of the southern part of Italy, so
called in early times as it was extensively colonised by Greeks.
MAGNET, the name given to loadstone as first discovered in Magnesia,
a town in Asia Minor; also to a piece of iron, nickel, or cobalt having
similar properties, notably the power of setting itself in a definite
direction; also a coil of wire carrying an electric current, because such
a coil really possesses the properties characteristic of an iron magnet.
MAGNETIC INDUCTION, power in a magnet of imparting its qualities to
certain other substances.
MAGNETISM, the branch of science devoted to the study of the
properties of magnets, and of electric currents in their magnetic
relations; sometimes also used to denote the subtle influence supposed to
lie at the root of all magnetic phenomena, of the true nature of which
nothing is known. See ANIMAL MAGNETISM.
MAGNIFICAT, THE, a musical composition embracing the song of the
Virgin Mary in Luke I. 46-55, so called from the first word of the song
in the Vulgate; it belongs to, and forms part of, the evening service.
MAGNUSSEN, FINN, a Scandinavian scholar and archæologist, born in
Iceland; became professor of Literature at Copenhagen in 1815;
distinguished for his translation and exposition of the "Elder Edda"
(1781-1847).
MAGYARS, a people of Mongolian origin from the highlands of Central
Asia that migrated westward and settled in Hungary and Transylvania,
where they now form the dominant race.
MAHÂBHÂRATA, one of the two great epic poems of ancient India, a
work of slow growth, extending through ages, and of an essentially
encyclopædic character; one of the main sources of our knowledge of the
ancient Indian religions and their mythologies; it is said to consist of
upwards of 100,000 verses.
MAHÂDÊVA, the great god of the Hindus; an appellation of SIVA
(q. v.), as Mahâdêvi is of Durgâ, his wife.
MAHÁNADÉ, a great Indian river which, after flowing eastward for
over 500 m., the last 300 of which are navigable, falls into the Bay of
Bengal near Cape Palmyras; its volume in flood is enormous, and renders
it invaluable for irrigation.
MAHATMA, one who, according to the Theosophists, has passed through
the complete cycle of incarnation, has thereby attained perfection of
being, and acquired the rank of high priesthood and miraculous powers in
the spirit world, one, it would seem, of "the spirits of just men made
perfect."
MAHDI (i. e. religious leader), a name given to any Mohammedan
fanatic who arises in the interest of the Mohammedan faith, summons the
Moslems to war, and leads them to repel the infidel; a kind of Mohammed
Messiah armed with the sword for the conquest of the world to the faith.
MAHDI, MOHAMMED AHMED, a Mohammedan fanatic, born in Dongola, and
who, at the head of an army of dervishes, raised his standard for the
revival of Islam in the Soudan; he was unsuccessfully opposed by the
Egyptians, and Khartoum, occupied by them, fell into his hands, to the
sacrifice of General Gordon, just as the British relief army under Lord
Wolseley approached its walls in 1885, a few months after which he died
at Omdurman.
MAHDISM, a hope cherished by devout Moslems of a Mahdi to come who
will lead them on to victory against the infidel and to the conquest of
the world.
MAHMUD II., Sultan of Turkey; crushed a rebellion on his accession
by putting his brother to death, on whose behalf the janissaries had
risen, as they afterwards did to their annihilation at his hands by
wholesale massacre; by the victory of Navarino in 1827 he lost his hold
of Greece, which declared its independence, and was near losing his
suzerainty in Egypt when he died; his reign was an eventful one
(1785-1839).
MAHOMET. See MOHAMMED.
MAHON, LORD, EARL STANHOPE, statesman and historian; wrote "History
of the War of the Succession in Spain," "History of the Reign of Queen
Anne," and "History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of
Versailles" (1805-1875).
MAHONY, FRANCIS, an Irish priest, born in Cork, who took to
journalism, and is known by his _nom de plume_ of Father Prout;
contributed to _Fraser's Magazine_, and was foreign correspondent to the
_Daily News_ and the _Globe_; was famous for his elegant translations
(1804-1866).
MAHOUN, a contemptuous name for Mahomet, transferred in Scotland to
the devil, who was called Old Mahoun.
MAHRATTAS, a warlike Hindu race in Central India, occupying a
territory watered by the Nerbudda, Godavari, and Kistna, who at one time
kept up a struggle for the supremacy of India with the British, but were
finally subdued in 1843.
MAÏ, ANGELO, cardinal, distinguished scholar and editor; became
librarian of the Vatican; was distinguished for deciphering
PALIMPSESTS (q. v.), and thus disclosing lost classical works or
fragments of them; he edited a number of unedited MSS. which he found in
the Vatican, and in particular the Vatican codex of the Bible
(1782-1854).
MAIA, the daughter of Atlas, the eldest of the seven PLEIADES
(q. v.), and the mother by Zeus of Hermes or Mercury.
MAID MARIAN, a man dressed as a woman who grimaced and performed
antics in the morris dances.
MAID OF NORWAY, daughter of Eric II., king of Norway, and through
her mother heiress to the Scottish crown; died on her passage to Scotland
in 1240.
MAID OF ORLEANS, Joan of Arc, so called from her defence of Orleans
against the English. See JOAN.
MAIDEN, THE, a sort of guillotine that appears to have been in use
in Scotland during the 15th and 16th centuries, of which there is one in
the Antiquarian Museum, Edinburgh.
MAIDMENT, JAMES, antiquary and collector, born in London; passed
through Edinburgh University to the Scotch bar, and was chief authority
on genealogical cases; his hobby was the collection of literary rarities,
and he published editions of ancient literary remains; he died at
Edinburgh (1794-1879).
MAIDSTONE (32), county town of Kent, on the Medway, 30 m. SE. of
London; has several fine old churches and historical buildings, a grammar
school and a school of art and music, numerous paper-mills, and
breweries, and does a large trade in hops; Woollett the engraver and
Hazlitt the essayist were born here.
MAIMON, SOLOMON, philosopher, born, of Jewish parents, in a village
of Minsk; came to Berlin, where he studied, lived an eccentric, vagabond
life, dependent mostly on his friends; made the acquaintance of Kant and
Goethe, and attempted and published an eclectic system of philosophy in
1790, being Kant's system supplemented from Spinoza, Leibnitz, and Locke,
and even Hume; his last patron was Count Kalkreuth, at whose house in
Siegersdorf he died (1754-1800).
MAIMONIDES, MOSES, a Jewish rabbi, born at Cordova, whom the Jews
regarded as their Plato, and called the "Lamp of Israel" and the "Eagle
of the doctors"; was a man of immense learning, and was physician to the
Sultan of Egypt; in his relation to the Jews he ranks next to Moses, and
taught them to interpret their religion in the light of reason; he wrote
a "Commentary on the Mishna and the Second Law," but his chief work is
the "Moreh Nebochim," or "Guide to the Perplexed" (1135-1204).
MAINE (662), the most north-easterly State in the American Union,
lies between Quebec and New Hampshire on the W. and New Brunswick and the
Atlantic on the E., and is a little larger than Ireland, a picturesque
State with high mountains in the W., Katahdin (5000 ft), many large lakes
like Moosehead, numerous rivers, and a much indented rocky coast; the
climate is severe but healthy, the soil only in some places fertile, the
rainfall is abundant; dense forests cover the north; hay, potatoes,
apples, and sweet corn are chief crops; cotton, woollen, leather
manufactures, lumber working, and fruit canning are principal industries;
the fisheries are valuable; timber, building stone, cattle, wool, and in
winter ice are exported; early Dutch, English, and French settlements
were unsuccessful till 1630; from 1651 Maine was part of Massachusetts,
till made a separate State in 1820; the population is English-Puritan and
French-Canadian in origin; education is advancing; the State's Liquor Law
of 1851 was among the first of the kind: the capital is Augusta (11);
Portland (36) is the largest city and chief seaport; Lewiston (22) has
cotton manufactures.
MAINE, SIR HENRY, English jurist, legal member of the Council in
India, and professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford; wrote on "Ancient Law,"
and important works on ancient institutions generally; regarded the
social system as a development of the patriarchal system (1822-1888).
MAINTENANCE, CAP OF, an ermine-lined, crimson velvet cap, the
wearing of which was a distinction granted first to dukes but
subsequently to various other families.
MAINTENON, FRANÇOISE D'AUBIGNÉ, MARQUISE DE, born in the prison of
Niort, where her father was incarcerated as a Protestant; though well
inoculated with Protestant principles she turned a Catholic, married the
poet Scarron in 1652, became a widow in 1660; was entrusted with the
education of the children of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan;
supplanted the latter in the king's affections, and was secretly married
to him in 1684; she exercised a great influence over him, not always for
good, and on his death in 1715 retired into the Convent of St. Cyr, which
she had herself founded for young ladies of noble birth but in humble
circumstances (1635-1719).
MAINZ or MAYENCE (72), in Hesse-Darmstadt, on the Rhine,
opposite the mouth of the Main, is an important German fortress and one
of the oldest cities in Germany; it has a magnificent cathedral, restored
in 1878, and is a stronghold of Catholicism; a large transit trade is
done, and the making of furniture, leather goods, and machinery are
important industries; Gutenberg was a native.
MAISTRE, COUNT, JOSEPH DE, a keen and extreme Ultramontanist, born
at Chambéry, of a noble French family; accompanied the king of Sardinia
in his retreat while the French occupied Savoy in 1792; was ambassador at
St. Petersburg from 1803 to 1817, when he was recalled to the home
government at Turin; wrote numerous works, the chief "Du Pape" and
"Soirées de St. Petersbourg" (1753-1821).
MAITLAND, WILLIAM, Scottish politician and reformer, the Secretary
Lethington of Queen Mary's reign; played a prominent part in the various
movements of his time, but gained the confidence of no party; he adhered
to the party of Moray as against the extreme measures of Knox, and proved
a highly astute ambassador at the English Court; he connived at Rizzio's
murder, but regained Mary's favour, and when she fled to England he,
though joining with the new government, acted in her interest and formed
a party to restore her to power; he and Kirkcaldy of Grange were forced
to surrender, however, at Edinburgh in 1573, and Maitland afterwards died
in Leith prison (1525-1573).
MAJOLICA, a kind of enamelled pottery imported into Italy from
Majorca, known also as faience from its manufacture at Faenza, and
applied also to vessels made of coloured clay in imitation.
MAJORCA (234), the largest of the Balearic Isles, is 130 m. NE. of
Cape San Antonio, in Spain; mountains in the N. rise to 5000 ft., their
slopes covered with olives, oranges, and vines; the plains are extremely
fertile, and the climate mild and equable; manufactures of cotton, silk,
and shoes are the industries; the capital, PALMA (61), is on the S.
coast, at the head of a large bay of the same name.
MAJUSCULE, a capital letter found in old Latin MSS. in and before
the 6th century.
MAKRIZI, TAKI-ED-DIN AHMED EL-, greatest Arabic historian of Egypt,
born at Cairo; studied philosophy and theology, and in 1385 won the green
turban; occupied several political and ecclesiastical offices; went to
Damascus in 1408, but returning to Cairo devoted himself to history, and
published among other works an important "History of Egypt and Cairo"
(1364-1442).
MALABAR (2,653), a district in the W. of Madras, sloping from the
Ghâts down to the Indian Ocean, very rainy, covered with vast forests of
teak; produces rice, coffee, and pepper.
MALACCA is a name given to the whole Malay Peninsula, that
remarkable tongue of land 44 to 210 m. wide, stretching 800 m. SE. from
Burma between the Strait of Malacca and the Gulf of Siam; mountain ranges
7000 ft. high from the backbone; along the coast are deep mangrove
swamps; the plains between yield rice, sugar-cane, cotton, and tobacco;
there are forests of teak, camphor, ebony, and sandal-wood, and the
richest tin mines in the world; the climate is unhealthy; the northern
portion is Siamese, the southern constitutes the British Straits
Settlements, of which one, on the W. coast, is specifically called
MALACCA (92); it exports tin and tapioca; the capital, MALACCA
(20), 120 m. NW. of Singapore, was the scene of Francis Xavier's labours.
MALACHI, a prophetic book of the Old Testament, the author of which
is otherwise unknown, as the name, which means the "Messenger of
Jehovah," occurs nowhere else in the Bible, and it is a question whether
the name is that of a person or a mere appellative; the prophecy it
contains appears to have been uttered 420 B.C., and refers to abuses
which came to a head between the first and second visits of Nehemiah to
Jerusalem; it lacks the old prophetic fire, and gives the impression that
the prophetic office is ended.
MALACHY, ST., archbishop of Armagh in the 12th century; was a friend
of St. Bernard's, who wrote his Life and in whose arms he died at
Clairvaux; was renowned for his sanctity as well as learning; a book of
prophecies ascribed to him bearing on the Roman pontiffs is a forgery.
MALADETTA, MOUNT (i. e. the accursed), the name of the highest
summit of the Pyrenees, 11,168 ft. high, in NE. of Zaragoza.
MALAGA (132), Spanish seaport, 65 m. NE. of Gibraltar, an ancient
Phoenician town, is now an important but declining centre of commerce; it
exports olive-oil, wine, raisins, lead, &c., and manufactures cotton,
linen, machinery, fine-art pottery, &c.; its magnificent climate makes it
an excellent health resort.
MALAGROWTHER, an old courtier in the "Fortunes of Nigel" soured by
misfortune, and who would have every one be as discontented as himself.
MALAISE, an uneasy feeling which often precedes a serious attack of
some disease.
MALAPROP, MRS., a character in Sheridan's "Rivals," noted for her
blunders in the use of fine or learned words, as in the use of "allegory"
for "alligator."
MÄLAR LAKE, large and beautiful Swedish lake, stretching 80 m.
westward from Stockholm; its shores are deeply indented with bays, and
the surrounding hills as well as the thousand islands it contains are
well wooded.
MALAY ARCHIPELAGO or INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO is that group of many
hundred islands stretching from the Malay Peninsula SE. to Australia
between the North Pacific and the Indian Ocean, of which Borneo, Sumatra,
Java, and Celebes are the largest.
MALAYS, a branch of the human family now classed among the Mongols,
and which inhabit the Malay Peninsula, the islands of the Indian
Archipelago, as well as Madagascar, and many of the islands in the
Pacific; they are of a dark-brown or tawny complexion, short of stature,
have flat faces, black coarse hair, and high cheek-bones; there are three
classes of them, distinguished from each other in character and habits of
life; the more civilised of them are Mohammedans.
MALCOLM, SIR JOHN, Indian soldier and statesman, born in
Dumfriesshire; went as cadet to the Madras army in 1785, and for over 30
years was an important figure in Eastern affairs; he was ambassador to
Persia 1800, governor of Mysore 1803, again in Persia as plenipotentiary
in 1807 and 1810, political agent in the Deccan 1817, and governor of
Bombay 1827-30; he distinguished himself also in several wars; wrote "A
History of Persia" and other historical works, and returning to England
entered Parliament in 1831, opposed to the Reform Bill; two years later
he died in London (1769-1833).
MALCOLM CANMORE, son of Duncan, whom Macbeth slew, succeeded his
father in 1040 as king of Cumbria and Lothian, and in 1057, on Macbeth's
death, became king of all Scotland; till 1066 his reign was peaceful, but
thereafter it was one long conflict with the Normans in England; raids
and counter-raids succeeded each other till, in 1091, Malcolm was forced
to do homage to William Rufus; next year he lost his possessions S. of
the Solway, and in 1093 he was slain in battle at Alnwick; the influence
of his second wife, the saintly Margaret, did much to promote the
civilisation of Scotland and to bring the Scottish Church into harmony
with the rest of Christendom.
MALDIVE ISLANDS (20), a chain of several hundred tiny coral islands
in the Indian Ocean stretching 550 m. southward from a point 300 m. SW.
of Cape Comorin, 200 of which are inhabited; Malé is the residence of the
sultan, who is a tributary of the governor of Ceylon; the natives are
akin to the Singhalese, and occupy themselves gathering cowries,
cocoa-nuts, and tortoise-shell for exportation.
MALEBOLGE, the name given to the eighth circle in Dante's "Inferno,"
as consisting of "evil pits," which the name means, 10 in number, for
those guilty of frauds: contains (1) seducers, (2) flatterers, (3)
simonists, (4) soothsayers, (5) bribers and receivers of bribes, (6)
hypocrites, (7) robbers, (8) evil advisers, (9) slanderers, (10) forgers.
MALEBRANCHE, NICHOLAS, a French metaphysician, born in Paris;
determined to embrace a monastic life, entered the congregation of the
Oratory at the age of 22, and devoted himself to theological study, till
the treatise of Descartes on "Man" falling into his hands, he gave
himself up to philosophy; his famous work "De la Recherche de la Vérité"
was published in 1673, the main object of which was to bridge over the
gulf which separates mind from matter by the establishment of the thesis
that the mind immediately perceives God, and sees all things in God, who
in Himself includes the presumed irreconcilable antithesis (1638-1715).
MALESHERBES, LAMOIGNON DE, French statesman, born in Paris; a good
and upright man; was twice over called to be one of Louis XVI.'s
advisers, but his advice was not taken and he retired; defended Louis at
his trial; pled for him "with eloquent want of eloquence, in broken
sentences, in embarrassment and sobs," and was guillotined for it; he had
been censor of the press, and to his liberal-minded censorship the world
owes the publication of the "Encyclopédie" (1721-1794).
MALHERBE, FRANÇOIS DE, a French lyric poet and miscellaneous writer
of great industry, born at Caen, is, from his correct though affected
style, regarded as one of the reformers of the French language
(1555-1628).
MALIGNANTS, the advisers of Charles I., chief among whom were
Strafford and Laud; were so called by the Parliamentarians, who blamed
them for the evils of the country; the name was afterwards applied to the
whole Royalist party.
MALINES or MECHLIN (52), a Belgian city on the Dyle, 14 m. S.
of Antwerp; has lost its old commercial activity, and is now the quiet
ecclesiastical capital; masterpieces of Van Dyck and Rubens adorn its
churches.
MALINGERING, a name given in the army to the crime of feigning
illness to evade duty or obtain a discharge.
MALLET, DAVID, originally MALLOCH, Scottish littérateur, born
in Crieff; wrote several plays, and is remembered for his ballad entitled
"William and Margaret"; he was a friend of Thomson, and divided with him
the honour of the authorship of "Rule Britannia," the merit of which,
however, is more in the music than in the poetry, about which they
contested (1702-1765).
MALLOCK, WILLIAM HURRELL, author, born in Devonshire, educated at
Oxford; published "The New Republic," 1876, a masterly satire on
prominent contemporaries, which none of his subsequent work has excelled;
_b_. 1849.
MALMAISON, a historical château 10 m. W. of Paris; belonged
originally to Richelieu; saw the last days of Joséphine, whose favourite
residence it was, and was the scene of the repulse of Ducrot's sortie in
October 1870.
MALMESBURY, WILLIAM OF, an English chronicler of the 12th century;
his chief work "Gesta Regum Anglorum" and "Gesta Pontificum Anglorum,"
followed by his "Historia Novella."
MALMÖ (50), important seaport and third town of Sweden, opposite
Copenhagen; ships farm produce, cement, and timber; imports machinery,
textile fabrics, and coffee; has cigar and sugar factories, and some
shipbuilding.
MALONE, EDMUND, a Shakespearian critic and editor, born in Dublin,
was a stickler for literary accuracy and honesty (1741-1812).
MALORY, SIR THOMAS, flourished in the 15th century; was the author
of "Morte d'Arthur," being a translation in prose of a labyrinthine
selection of Arthurian legends, which was finished in the ninth year of
Edward IV., and printed fifteen years after by Caxton "with all care."
MALPIGHI, MARCELLO, Italian anatomist and professor of Medicine;
noted for his discovery of the corpuscles of the kidney and the spleen,
named after him (1628-1694).
MALSTRÖM, or MAELSTRÖM, a dangerous whirlpool off the coast of
Norway, caused by the rushing of the currents of the ocean in a channel
between two of the Loffoden Islands, and intensified at times by contrary
winds, to the destruction often of particularly small craft caught in the
eddies of it, and sometimes of whales attempting to pass through it.
MALTA (with Gozo) (177), a small British island in the Mediterranean,
80 m. S. of Sicily; is a strongly fortified and a most important naval
station, head-quarters of the British Mediterranean fleet, and
coaling-station for naval and mercantile marine; with a history of great
interest, Malta was annexed to Britain in 1814. The island is treeless,
and with few streams, but fertile, and has many wells. Wheat, potatoes,
and fruit are largely cultivated, and filigree work and cotton
manufactured. The people are industrious and thrifty; population is the
densest in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church is very powerful. There is a
university at Valetta, and since 1887 Malta has been self-governing.
MALTEBRUN, CONRAD, geographer, born in Denmark; studied in
Copenhagen, but banished for his revolutionary sympathies; settled in
Paris; was the author of several geographical works, his "Geographic
Universelle" the chief (1775-1826).
MALTHUS, THOMAS R., an English economist, born near Dorking, in
Surrey; is famous as the author of an "Essay on the Principle of
Population," of which the first edition appeared in 1798, and the final,
greatly enlarged, in 1803; the publication provoked much hostile
criticism, as it propounded a doctrine which was disastrous to the
accepted theory of perfectibility, and which aimed at showing how the
progress of the race was held in check by the limited supply of the means
of subsistence, a doctrine that admittedly anticipated that struggle for
life on a larger scale which the Darwinian hypothesis requires for its
"survival of the fittest" (1766-1834).
MALVERN, GREAT (6), a watering-place in Worcestershire, on the side
of the Malvern Hills, with a clear and bracing air, a plentiful supply of
water, and much frequented by invalids.
MAMBRINO, a Moorish king, celebrated in the romances of chivalry,
who possessed a helmet of pure gold which rendered the wearer of it
invulnerable, the possession of which was the ambition of all the
paladins of Charlemagne, and which was carried off by Rinaldo, who slew
the original owner; Cervantes makes his hero persuade himself that he has
found it in a barber's brass basin.
MAMELUKES, originally slaves from the regions of the Caucasus,
captured in war or bought in the market-place, who became the bodyguard
of the Sultan in Egypt, and by-and-by his master to the extent of ruling
the country and supplying a long line of Sultans of their own election
from themselves, many of them enlightened rulers, governing the country
well, but their supremacy was crushed by the Sultan of Turkey in 1517;
after this, however, they retained much of their power, and they offered
a brilliant resistance to Bonaparte at the battle of the Pyramids in
1798, who defeated them; but recovering their power after his withdrawal
and proving troublesome, they were by two treacherous massacres
annihilated in 1811 by Mehemet Ali, who became Viceroy of Egypt under the
Porte.
MAMMON, the Syrian god of riches, which has given name to the modern
passion for material wealth, specially conceived of as an abnegation of
Christianity, the profession of which is in flat antagonism to it.
MAMMOTH, an extinct species of elephant of enormous size found
fossilised in Northern Europe and Asia in deposits alongside of human
remains, and yielding a supply of fossil ivory.
MAMMOTH CAVE, a cave in Kentucky, U.S., about 10 m., the largest in
the world, and rising at one point to 300 ft. in height, with numerous
side branches leading into grottoes traversed by rivers, which here and
there collect into lakes; name also of another of smaller dimensions in
California.
MAN, ISLE OF (56), a small island in the Irish Sea, 35 m. W. of
Cumberland and about the same distance E. of Co. Down; from its equable
climate and picturesque scenery is a favourite holiday resort; it has
important lead mines at Laxey and Foxdale; fishing and cattle-grazing are
profitable industries; the people are Keltic, with a language and
government of their own; the island is a bishopric, with the title Sodor
and Man.
MAN OF DESTINY, name given to Napoleon Bonaparte as reflecting his
own belief, for he was a fatalist.
MAN OF FEELING, the title of a novel by Henry Mackenzie, frequently
applied to himself as well as his hero.
MAN OF ROSS, John Kyrle, a public-spirited gentleman, immortalised
by Pope from the name of his parish in Hereford. See KYRLE.
MAN OF SIN, name given in 2 Thess. ii. 3 to the incarnation at the
height of its pride of the spirit of Antichrist, synchronous with the day
of its fall.
MANASSEH-BEN-ISRAEL, a Jewish rabbi, born at Lisbon; settled at
Amsterdam; wrote several works in the interest of Judaism (1604-1659).
MANBY, CAPTAIN, a militia officer, born in Norfolk; was inventor of
the apparatus for saving shipwrecked persons, and by means of which he
saved the lives of nearly a thousand persons himself (1765-1854).
MANCHA, LA, an ancient province of Spain, afterwards included in New
Castile, the greater part of which is occupied by Ciudad-Real; it is
memorable as the scene of Don Quixote's adventures.
MANCHE, LA, the French name for the English Channel, so called from
its resemblance to a sleeve, which the word in French means.
MANCHESTER (505), on the Irwell, in the SE. of Lancashire, 30 m. E.
of Liverpool, the centre of the English cotton manufacturing district,
with many other textile and related industries, is an ancient, rich, and
prosperous city; it has many fine buildings, including a Gothic Town Hall
and Assize Court-House by Waterhouse; there is a picture-gallery,
philosophic and other institutions, and technical school; Owens College
is the nucleus of Victoria University; the substitution of steam for hand
power began here about 1750; the industrial struggles in the beginning of
the 19th century were severe, and included the famous "Peterloo
massacre"; the Anti-Corn-Law League originated in Manchester, and
Manchester has given its name to a school of Liberal politicians
identified with the advocacy of peace abroad, free trade, no government
interference with industry, and _laissez-faire_ principles at home; the
Bridgewater Canal 1762, the railway 1830, and the Ship Canal to the mouth
of the Mersey 1894, mark steps in the city's progress; since 1888
Manchester with Salford (198), on the opposite bank of the Irwell, have
formed a county.
MANCHESTER, EDWARD MONTAGU, EARL OF, English statesman and general,
eldest son of the first earl; sided with the Parliament in the Civil War,
and commanded in the army, but was censured by Cromwell for his slackness
at Newbury, which he afterwards resented by opposing the policy of the
Protector; he contributed to the restoration of Charles II., and was in
consequence made Lord Chamberlain (1602-1671).
MANCHURIA (21,000), a Chinese province lying between Mongolia and
Corea, with the Amur River on the N. and the Yellow Sea on the S., is
five times the size of England and Wales; the northern, central, and
eastern parts are mountainous; the Sungari is the largest river; the soil
is fertile, producing large crops of millet, maize, hemp, &c., but the
climate in winter is severe; pine forests abound; the country is rich in
gold, silver, coal, and iron, but they are little wrought; beans, silk,
skins and furs are exported; the imports include textiles, metals, paper,
and opium; the Manchus are the aristocracy of the province; Chinese
settlers are industrious and prosperous; the chief towns are Moukden
(250) in the S., Kirin (75) on the Sungari, and New-Chwang (60) on the
Liao River, a treaty-port since 1858; Russian influence predominates in
the province since 1890.
MANDÆANS, a community found working as skilled artisans in the
Persian province of Khuzistan, and in Basra on the Euphrates; are a
religious sect; called also Sabians, and holding tenets gathered from
Christian, Jewish, and heathen sources, resembling those of the ancient
Gnostics; their priesthood admits women; their chief rite is baptism, and
hence their old name, Christians of St. John the Baptist.
MANDALAY (189), capital of Upper Burma, on the Irawadi, in the
centre of the country, 360 m. N. of Rangoon; was seized by the British in
1885. The Aracan Pagoda, with a brazen image of the Buddha, attracts many
pilgrims, and Buddhist monasteries cluster outside the town. There are
silk-weaving, gold, silver, ivory, and wood work, gong-casting and
sword-making industries. Great fires raged in it in 1886 and 1892.
MANDARIN, the name given by foreigners, derived from the Portuguese,
signifying to "command," to Chinese official functionaries, of which
there are some nine orders, distinguished by the buttons on their caps,
and they are appointed chiefly for their possession of the requisite
qualifications for the office they aspire to.
MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE, a cynical writer, born at Dordrecht,
Holland; bred to medicine; came to London to practise; wrote in racy
English the "Fable of the Bees," intended to show, as Stopford Brooke
says, how the "vices of society are the foundation of civilisation," or
as Professor Saintsbury says, how "vice makes some bees happy, and virtue
makes them miserable"; the latter calls him "The Diogenes of English
Philosophy"; he affirmed that "private vices are public benefits," and
reduced virtue into a form of selfishness; his satire is directed against
the ethics of SHAFTESBURY (q. v.) (1670-1733).
MANDEVILLE, SIR JOHN, English adventurer, named of St. Albans, who
from his own account travelled over thirty years in the East, and wrote a
narrative of the marvels he experienced in a book of voyages and travels
published in 1356; the authorship of this book has been questioned, but
on this point there is no doubt that, as Professor Saintsbury says, "it
is the first book of belles-lottres in English prose."
MANDINGOES, a negro race in Senegambia, and farther inland around
the Quorra; are numerous and powerful, and arranged in separate
nationalities so to speak.
MANES, the general name given by the Romans to the departed spirits
of good men, who are conceived of as dwelling in the nether world, and as
now and again ascending to the upper.
MANES, MANI, or MANICHÆANS, the founder of the
MANICHÆANS (q. v.), a native of Persia, and who died A.D. 274.
MANETHO, an Egyptian priest and historian, of the 3rd century B.C.;
wrote a history of Egypt in Greek, derived from study of sacred
monumental inscriptions, which is extant only in fragments.
MANFRED, king of the Two Sicilies, son of the Emperor Frederick II.,
who had to struggle for his birthright with three Popes, Innocent IV.,
Alexander IV., and Urban IV., the last of whom having excommunicated him,
as his predecessors had done, and bestowed his dominions on Charles of
Anjou, in conflict with whom at Benevento he fell, and who denied him
Christian burial, though his nobles pled with him to grant it
(1231-1266).
MANFRED, COUNT, hero of a poem of Byron's; sold himself to the
Prince of Darkness; lived in solitude on the Alps, estranged from all
sympathy with others, and was carried off in the end by the master whom
he had served.
MANHATTAN, a long island at the mouth of the Hudson, on which a
great part of New York stands.
MANICHÆISM, the creed which ascribes the created universe to two
antagonistic principles, the one essentially good--God, spirit, light;
the other essentially evil--the devil, matter, darkness; and this name is
applied to every system founded on the like dualism. Mani, the founder of
it, appears to have borrowed his system in great part from Zoroaster.
MANILA (270), capital of the Philippine Islands; at the head of a
great bay on the W. coast of Luzon; is hot, but not unhealthy; suffers
severely from storms and earthquakes, and is largely built of wood. It
has a cathedral, university, and observatory. Its only industry is
cigar-making, but the exports include also manila hemp, sugar, and
coffee. The population, chiefly Tagals, includes 25,000 Chinese, many
Spaniards and Europeans. In the Spanish-American War of 1898 Admiral
Dewey captured the city.
MANIN, DANIEL, an illustrious Italian patriot, born at Venice, of
Jewish birth; bred for the bar, and practised at it; became President of
the Venetian Republic in 1848, and was one of the most distinguished
opponents of the domination of Austria; died at Paris, a teacher of
Italian (1804-1857).
MANITO`BA (193), a partially developed inland province of Canada,
somewhat larger than England and Wales; is square in shape, with the
United States on its S. border, Assiniboia on the W., Saskatchewan and
Keewatin on the N., and Ontario on the E.; a level prairie and arable
country, scantily wooded but well watered, having three large lakes,
Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba, and three large rivers,
Assiniboine, Souris, and Red River. The climate is dry and healthy,
though subject to great extremes of temperature; comparatively little
snow falls; the soil is very fertile; mixed farming, dairy, cattle, and
sheep farming are carried on successfully. Land is cheap, and the
government still makes free grants of 160-acre lots. There is no mineral
wealth; coal is found in the S.; fishing is pursued on the lakes and
rivers. Constituted a province in 1870, Manitoba was the scene of the
Riel rebellion, quelled that same year. The government is vested in a
lieutenant-governor, an executive council, and a single chamber of 40
members. In the Dominion Government the province is represented by four
members of Senate and five members of the Commons. The capital is
Winnipeg (26), the seat of a university and of extensive flour-mills. The
other chief towns are Brandon (4), a market town, and Portage-la-Prairie
(4), with a brewery, flour, and paper mills.
MANITOU, among the North American Indians an animal revealed to the
head of a tribe as the guardian spirit of it, and an object of sacred
regard. See TOTEMISM.
MANLIUS, CAPITOLINUS, a Roman hero who, in 390 B.C., saved Rome
from an attack of the Gauls, and who was afterwards for treason thrown
down the Tarpeian Rock.
MANN, HORACE, American educationist, born in Massachusetts; was
devoted to the cause of education as well as that of anti-slavery
(1790-1859).
MANNA, the food with which the Israelites were miraculously fed in
the wilderness, a term which means "What is this?" being the expression
of surprise of the Israelites on first seeing it.
MANNHEIM (79), on the right bank of the Rhine, 55 m. above Mainz;
the chief commercial centre of Baden; has manufactures of tobacco,
india-rubber, and iron goods, and a growing river trade. An old
historical city, it was formerly capital of the Rhenish Palatinate, and a
resort of Protestant refugees.
MANNING, HENRY EDWARD, cardinal, born in Hertfordshire; Fellow of
Merton, Oxford, and a leader in the Tractarian Movement there; became
rector in Sussex; married, and became Archdeacon of Chichester; his wife
being dead, and dissatisfied with the state of matters in the Church of
England, in 1851 joined the Church of Rome, became Archbishop of
Westminster in 1865, and Cardinal in 1875; took interest in social
matters as well as the Catholic propaganda; a too candid "Life" has been
written of him since his decease, which has created much controversy
(1808-1892).
MANS, LE (53), capital of French department of Sarthe, on the river
Sarthe, 170 m. SW. of Paris; has a magnificent cathedral; is an important
railway centre, and has textile and hosiery factories. It was the scene
of a great French defeat in January 1871.
MANSARD, the name of two French architects, born in
Paris--FRANÇOIS, who constructed the Bank of France (1598-1666), and
JULES HARDOUN, his grand-nephew, architect of the dome of the
Invalides and of the palace and chapel of Versailles (1645-1708).
MANSEL, HENRY LONGUEVILLE, dean of St. Paul's, born in
Northamptonshire; wrote admirably on philosophical and religious
subjects, and was a doughty adversary in controversy both with Mill and
Maurice; he was a follower in philosophy of SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON
(q. v.) (1820-1871).
MANSFIELD (16), market-town of Notts, 14 m. N. of Nottingham, in the
centre of a mining district, with iron and lace-thread manufactures.
MANSFIELD, WILLIAM MURRAY, EARL OF, Lord Chief-Justice of England,
born in Perth, called to the bar in 1730; distinguished himself as a
lawyer, entered Parliament in 1743, and became Solicitor-General,
accepted the chief-justiceship in 1756; was impartial as a judge, but
unpopular; raised to the peerage in 1776, and resigned his judgeship in
1789 (1704-1793).
MANSFIELD COLLEGE, Oxford, a theological college established there
for the education of students intended for the Nonconformist ministry,
though open to other classes; the buildings were opened in 1889.
MANSION HOUSE, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London,
erected in 1739 at a cost of £42,638, with a banqueting-room capable of
accommodating 400 guests.
MANTEGNA, ANDREA, an Italian painter and engraver, born at Padua;
his works were numerous, did atlas pieces and frescoes, his greatest "The
Triumph of Cæsar"; he was a man of versatile genius, was sculptor and
poet as well as painter, and his influence on Italian art was great
(1430-1504).
MANTELL, GIDEON, an eminent English geologist and palæontologist,
born at Lewes, in Sussex; wrote "The Wonders of Geology," "Thoughts on a
Pebble," &c.; he was a voluminous author, and distinguished for his study
of fossils (1790-1852).
MANTEUFFEL, BARON VON, field-marshal of Germany, born in Dresden;
entered the Prussian army in 1827, rose rapidly, and took part in all the
wars from 1866 to 1872, and was appointed viceroy at the close of the
last in Alsace-Lorraine, a rather unhappy appointment, as it proved
(1809-1885).
MANTRA, the name given to hymns from the Veda, the repetition of
which are supposed to have the effect of a charm.
MANTUA (28), the strongest fortress in Italy, in SE. Lombardy, on
two islands in the river Mincio, 83 m. E. of Milan, is a somewhat gloomy
and unhealthy town, with many heavy mediæval buildings; there are
saltpetre refineries, weaving and tanning industries. Virgil was born
here in 70 B.C. The town was Austrian in the 18th century, but ceded to
Italy 1866.
MANTUAN SWAN, a name given to the Roman poet Virgil, from his having
been a native of Mantua, in N. Italy.
MANU, CODE OF, one of the sacred books of the Hindus, in which is
expounded the doctrine of Brahminism, inculcating "sound, solid, and
practical morality," and containing evidence of the progress of
civilisation among the Aryans from their first establishment in the
valley of the Ganges. Manu, the alleged author, appears to have been a
primitive mythological personage, conceived of as the ancestor and
legislator of the human race, and as having manifested himself through
long ages in a series of incarnations.
MANZONI, ALESSANDRO, Italian poet and novelist, born at Milan; began
a sceptic, but became a devout Catholic; wrote a volume of hymns,
entitled "Inni Sacri," and a tragedy, "Adelchi," his masterpiece, and
admired by Goethe, as also a prose fiction, "I Promessi Sposi," which
spread his name over Europe; in 1860 was made a senator of the kingdom of
Italy, and was visited by Garibaldi in 1862; he was no less distinguished
as a man than as an author (1780-1875).
MAORIS, the natives of New Zealand, a Polynesian race numbering
40,000, who probably displaced an aboriginal; are distinguished for their
bravery; are governed by chiefs, and speak a rich sonorous language; they
are the most vigorous and energetic of all the South Sea islanders.
MAR, a district in S. Aberdeenshire, between the Don and the Dee,
has given a title to many earls; one was regent of Scotland in 1572,
another, nicknamed "Bobbing Joan," led the Jacobite rising of 1715; on
the death without issue of the earl in 1866 the question of succession
was at issue; the Committee of Privileges granted it to his cousin, the
Earl of Kellie, thereafter Mar and Kellie, and a Bill in Parliament
awarding it to his nephew, who is thus Earl of Mar.
MARABOUTS, a sect of religious devotees of a priestly order much
venerated in North Africa, believed to possess supernatural power,
particularly in curing diseases, and exercising at times considerable
political influence; their supernatural power appears to come to them by
inheritance.
MARACAYBO (34), a Venezuelan town and fortress on the W. shore of
the outlet of Lake Maracaybo; has handsome streets and buildings, and
exports coffee and valuable woods; the lake of Maracaybo is a large
fresh-water lake in the W. of Venezuela, connected with the Gulf of
Maracaybo by a wide strait, across which stretches an effective bar.
MARANATHA (lit. the Lord cometh to judge), a form of anathema in
use among the Jews.
MARAÑON, one of the head-waters of the Amazon, rising in Lake
Lauricocha, Peru, and flowing N. and E. till it joins the Ucayali and
forms the Amazon; the name is sometimes given to the whole river.
MARAT, JEAN PAUL, a fanatical democrat, born in Neuchâtel, his
father an Italian, his mother a Genevese; studied and practised medicine,
came to Paris as horse-leech to Count d'Artois; became infected with the
revolutionary fever, and had one fixed idea: "Give me," he said, "two
hundred Naples bravoes, armed each with a good dirk, and a muff on his
left arm by way of shield, and with them I will traverse France and
accomplish the Revolution," that is, by wholesale massacre of the
aristocrats; he had more than once to flee for his life, and one time
found shelter in the sewers of Paris, contracting thereby a loathsome
skin disease; he was assassinated one evening as he sat in his bath by
CHARLOTTE CORDAY (q. v.), but his body was buried with honours
in the Pantheon by a patriot people, "that of Mirabeau flung out to make
room for him," to be some few months after himself cast out with
execration (1743-1793).
MARATHON, a village, 22 m. NE. of Athens, on the sea border of a
plain where the Greeks under Miltiades on a world-famous occasion
defeated the Persians under Darius in 480 B.C.; the plain on which the
battle was fought extends between mountains on the W. and the sea on the
E.
MARBURG (13), quaint university town of Hesse-Nassau, on the Lahn,
40 m. NE. of Limburg; has many old buildings; its Gothic church contains
St. Elizabeth's tomb; Luther and Zwingli held a conference in the castle,
1529; William Tyndale and Patrick Hamilton were students at its
university, which has now 97 teachers, 1000 students, and a fine library.
MARCEAU, French general, born at Chartres; distinguished himself in
the Republican army in La Vendée and Fleurus, and was killed at
Altenkirchen when covering a retreat of the French army (1760-1796).
MARCELLO, BENEDETTO, an Italian musical composer; composed music for
an Italian version of the Psalms (1686-1739).
MARCELLUS, CLAUDIUS, Roman general; in a war with the Gauls killed
their chief Viridomarus with his own hands, whose spoils he dedicated as
_SPOLIA OPIMA_ (q. v.) to Jupiter; took Syracuse, which long
baffled him through the skill of Archimedes, and fell fighting against
Hannibal 208 B.C.; he was five times consul though but of plebeian
birth.
MARCELLUS, MARCUS, son of Octavia, the sister of Augustus, who had
named him his heir; his decease at 20 was mourned as a public calamity,
and inspired Virgil to pen his well-known lament over his death in the
sixth book of the "Æneid."
MARCET, MRS. JANE, authoress, born at Geneva; married a Swiss doctor
settled in London; wrote elementary text-books on chemistry (from which
Faraday gained his first knowledge), political economy, natural
philosophy, &c., under the title "Conversations," and her best work,
"Stories for very Little Children" (1769-1858).
MARCH, the third month of our year; was before 1752 reckoned first
month as in the Roman calendar, the legal year beginning on the 25th; it
is proverbially dusty and stormy, and is the season of the spring
equinox; it was dedicated to the Roman god Mars, whence the name.
MARCHAND, MAJOR, a French emissary in Africa; was sent in 1890 to
explore the sources of the Niger and other districts, and was afterwards
appointed to push on to the Nile, where he arrived in 1898, hoisting the
French flag by the way, and finally at Fashoda, from which he was
recalled; with extreme disgust he was obliged to retire and find his way
back to France; _b_. 1863.
MARCION, a heretic of the 2nd century, born at Sinope, in Pontus,
who, convinced that the traditional records of Christianity had been
tampered with, sought to restore Christianity to its original purity,
taking his stand on the words of Christ and the interpretation of St.
Paul as the only true apostle; he held that an ascetic life was of the
essence of Christianity, and he had a following called Marcionites.
MARCUS AURELIUS. See ANTONINUS.
MAREMMA, a malarial coast district of Italy, N. of the Campagna,
stretching from Orbitello to Guardistallo, with few villages or roads.
Part of it was improved by draining and planting (1824-44), and the
inhabitants come down from the neighbouring Apennine slopes in summer to
cultivate it; healthier in winter, it affords good pasturage.
MARENGO, a village of N. Italy, SE. of Alessandria, where Napoleon
defeated the Austrians on 14th June 1800.
MAREOTIS, LAKE, a lagune in the N. of Egypt, 40 m. long by 18 m.
broad, separated from the Mediterranean by a tongue of land on which part
of Alexandria is situated.
MARGARET, queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, was the daughter of
Waldemar IV. of Denmark, whose crown, on his death in 1375, she received
in trust for her son Olaf; her husband, Hacon VIII. of Norway, died in
1380, and left her queen; Olaf died 1387, when she named her
grand-nephew, Eric of Pomerania, her heir; the Swedes deposed their king
next year, and offered Margaret the throne; she accepted it, put down all
resistance, and ultimately brought about the Union of Calmar (1397),
which provided for the perpetual union of the three crowns; her energy
and force of character won for her the title of "Semiramis of the North"
(1353-1412).
MARGARET, a simple, innocent girl in Goethe's "Faust," who is the
victim of a tragic fatality; Faust meets her as she comes from church,
falls in love with her, and seduces her; she slays the infant born, is
convicted and condemned to death, and loses her reason; Faust would fain
save her, but he is hurried away by Mephistopheles, and she is left to
her fate.
MARGARET, ST., the type of female innocence, represented as a
beautiful young maiden bearing the palm and crown of a martyr and
attended by a dragon; is patron saint against the pains of childbirth.
Festival, July 20.
MARGARET, ST., queen of Scotland, wife of Malcolm Canmore, and
sister of Edgar Atheling, born in Hungary; brought up at the court of
Edward the Confessor; after the conquest sought refuge in Scotland, and
winning the heart of the Scotch king, was married to him at Dunfermline;
was a woman of beautiful character and great piety, and did much to
civilise the country by her devotion and example; she died in Edinburgh
Castle, and was in 1250 canonised by Innocent IV.; Lanfranc had been her
spiritual instructor (1047-1093).
MARGARET OF ANGOULÊME, queen of Navarre, Sister of Francis I.,
married in 1527 Henri d'Albret, king of Navarre, by whom she became the
mother of JEANNE D'ALBRET (q. v.); protected the Protestants,
and encouraged learning and the arts; she left a collection of novels,
under the name of "Heptameron," and a number of interesting letters, as
well as some poems (1492-1549).
MARGARET OF ANJOU, queen of Henry VI. of England, and daughter of
the good King René of Anjou; was distinguished for the courage she
displayed during the Wars of the Roses, though, after a struggle of
nearly twenty years, she was defeated at Tewkesbury and committed to the
Tower, from which, after four years of incarceration, she was afterwards
released by ransom (1429-1482).
MARGARET OF VALOIS, third daughter of Henry II. of France and
Catherine de' Medicis; married Henry IV., by whom she was divorced for
her immoral conduct (1552-1615).
MARGATE (18), seaport and watering-place, 3 m. W. of the North
Foreland, Kent, is with its firm sands, bathing facilities, and various
attractions a favourite resort of London holiday-makers. Its
church-tower, 135 ft., is a prominent landmark. There are large
almshouses and orphanages, and other charitable institutions; J. M. W.
Turner was at school here.
MARHEINECKE, a German theologian, born at Hildesheim; professor
successively at Erlangen, Heidelberg, and Berlin; was a Hegelian in
philosophy; his chief works, a "System of Catholicism" and a "History of
the German Reformation" (1780-1846).
MARIA LOUISA, empress of France, daughter of Francis I., Emperor of
Austria; was married to Napoleon in 1810 after the divorce of Joséphine,
and bore him a son, who was called King of Rome; after Napoleon's death
she became the wife of Count von Neipperg (1791-1847).
MARIA THERESA, empress of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Charles
VI., a queenly woman; was in 1736 married to Francis of Lorraine;
ascended the throne in 1740 on the death of her father, associating her
husband with her in the government under the title of Francis I.; no
sooner had she done so than, despite the PRAGMATIC SANCTION (q. v.),
which assured her of her dominions in their integrity, she was
assailed by claimants one for this and one for another portion of them,
in particular by Frederick the Great, who by force of arms wrenched
Silesia from her and kept it fast; the war thus occasioned is known as
the war of the Austrian Succession, which lasted seven years, and was
concluded by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748; this peace, however,
was soon broken, and Maria, backed by France and counselled by Kaunitz,
renewed hostilities in the hope of compelling Frederick to restore what
he had taken; all in vain, for the end of this war, known as the Seven
Years' War, was to leave Frederick still in possession of the territory
which he had sliced from her empire as in the former; in the interim of
these wars Maria devoted her attention to the welfare of her subjects,
who were conspicuously loyal to her, and before the end of her reign she
saw what she had lost made up to her in a measure by the partition of
Poland, in which she took part (1717-1780).
MARIAMNE, the wife of Herod the Great, whom he put to death on
suspicion of her unfaithfulness.
MARIANA, JUAN, Spanish historian and political philosopher, born at
Talavera; joined the Jesuits in 1554, and taught in their colleges in
Rome, Sicily, and Paris; returning to Toledo he gave himself to
literature; his "History of Spain" appeared in 1592 and 1605, theological
writings incurred persecution, and his greatest work, "De Rege et Regis
Institutione," in which he defended the right of the people to cast out a
tyrant, was condemned by the general of his order (1536-1624).
MARIE ANTOINETTE, queen of France, fourth daughter of Maria Theresa;
was married in 1770 to the dauphin of France, who in 1774 succeeded to
the throne as Louis XVI.; was a beautiful woman, but indiscreet in her
behaviour; had made herself unpopular and impotent for good when the
Revolution broke out; when matters became serious the queenliness of her
nature revealed itself, but it was in haughty defiance of the
million-headed monster that was bellowing at her feet; the heroism she
showed at this crisis the general mass of the people could not
appreciate, though it won the homage of such men as Mirabeau and Barnave;
all she wanted was a wise adviser, for she had courage to follow any
course which she could be persuaded to see was right; in Mirabeau she had
one who could have guided her, but by his death in 1791 she was left to
herself, and the course she took was fatal to all the interests she had
at heart; fatality followed fatality: first she saw her husband hurried
off to the guillotine, and then she followed herself; hers, if any, was
the most tragic of fates, and any one who has read that heart-moving
apostrophe to her by Carlyle on the way to her doom must know and feel
that it was her fate; she and her husband suffered as the representatives
of the misgovernment of France for centuries before they were born, and
were left a burden on their shoulders which they could not bear and under
which they were crushed to death (1756-1793).
MARIE DE FRANCE, a poetess and fabulist of Henry III.'s time; her
fables are translations into French from an English version of old Greek
tales; a greater work was her "Laïs," consisting of 12 or 14 beautiful
narratives in French verse.
MARIE DE' MEDICI, daughter of the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, born at
Florence; was married to Henry IV. of France in 1600, with whom she lived
unhappily till his murder in 1610; she was then regent for seven years;
in 1617 her son assumed power as Louis XIII.; she was for two years
banished from the court, and on her return so intrigued as to bring about
her imprisonment in 1631; though a lover of art she was neither good wife
nor good queen, and escaping from confinement she died in destitution at
Cologne (1573-1642).
MARIENBAD, a high-lying Bohemian watering-place, 18 m. S. of
Carlsbad; it is much frequented for its saline springs.
MARIETTE PASHA, FRANÇOIS AUGUSTE FERDINAND, Egyptologist, born at
Boulogne; became professor in the college there in 1841, entered the
Egyptian department of the Louvre in 1849, and next year set out for
Egypt; eight years later he was made keeper of the monuments to the
Egyptian government, and in 1879 was made a pasha; he died at Cairo; he
made many valuable discoveries and excavations, among which were the
burial-place of the Apis bulls, the Sphinx monument, and many temples
(1821-1881).
MARIO, GIUSEPPE, a celebrated tenor, born in Cagliari; acquired a
large fortune as a professional singer, but lost it through unsuccessful
speculations; in the circumstances a concert was given in London for his
benefit which realised £1000; he was a handsome man and of charming
manners (1808-1883).
MARIOTTE, EDME, a French physicist, born at Dijon; discoverer of the
law named after him, that the volume of a gas is inversely as the
pressure; called also Boyle's; it bears the name of Mariotte's law on the
Continent, and Boyle's in England (1620-1684).
MARIUS, CAIUS, a celebrated Roman general, born near Arpinum, uncle
by marriage to Julius Cæsar and head of the popular party, and the rival
of Sulla; conquered the Teutons and the Cimbri in Gaul, and made a
triumphal entry into Rome; having obtained command of the war against
Mithridates, Sulla marched upon the city and drove his rival beyond the
walls; having fled the city, he was discovered hiding in a marsh, cast
into prison, and condemned to die; to the slave sent to execute the
sentence he drew himself haughtily up and exclaimed, "Caitiff, dare you
slay Caius Marius?" and the executioner fled in terror of his life and
left his sword behind him; Marius was allowed to escape; finding his way
to Africa, he took up his quarters at Carthage, but the Roman prætor
ordered him off; "Go tell the prætor," he said to the messenger sent,
"you saw Caius Marius sitting a fugitive on the ruins of Carthage"; upon
this he took courage and returned to Rome, and along with Cinna made the
streets of the city run with the blood of the partisans of Sulla; died
suddenly (156-88 B.C.).
MARIVAUX, a French dramatist and novelist, born in Paris; was a man
of subtle wit, and his writings reveal it as well as an affectation of
style named _Marivaudage_ after him; his fame rests on his novels rather
than his dramas (1688-1763).
MARK, GOSPEL ACCORDING TO, is mainly a narrative of the doings of
Christ and of the events of His life in their historical sequence; moves
on at an even pace, abounds in graphic touches, and adds minute traits as
if by an eye-witness; it represents Christ as the Son of man, but
manifesting Himself by such signs and wonders as to show that He was also
the Son of God; it is written for Gentile Christians and not for Jewish,
and hence little stress is laid on Old Testament fulfilments or reference
made to those antagonisms to Christianity which had a merely Jewish root.
MARK, JOHN, the author of the second Gospel, the son of Mary,
Barnabas' sister, who ministered to Christ, and whose house in Jerusalem
was a place of resort for the disciples of Christ after the resurrection;
accompanied Paul and his uncle on their first missionary journey,
afterwards accompanied Peter, who calls him "my son," and to him it is
thought he is indebted for his Gospel narrative; he is regarded as the
founder of the Coptic Church, and his body is said to have been buried in
Venice, of which he is the patron saint, and the cathedral of which is
named St. Mark's after him; he is represented in Christian art as a man
in the prime of life accompanied by a winged lion, with his Gospel in his
left hand and a pen in his right.
MARK ANTONY. See ANTONIUS, MARCUS.
MARK TWAIN. See CLEMENS.
MARKHAM, CLEMENTS ROBERT, traveller and author, born near York, son
of a clergyman; served in the navy from 1844 to 1851, taking part in the
Franklin search expedition; 1852-1854 he spent exploring Peru; he
introduced the cinchona plant to India 1860, became secretary to the
Royal Geographical Society 1863, served as geographer to the Abyssinian
Expedition of 1867-68, and was then put at the head of the Geographical
department of the India Office; among many books of travels may be named
"The Threshold of the Unknown Region" 1874, and among biographies
"Columbus," 1892; _b_. 1830.
MARLBOROUGH (9), on the Kennet, 38 m. E. of Bristol, a Wiltshire
market-town, with sack and rope making, brewing, and tanning industries;
has an old Norman church, the remains of an old royal residence, and a
college, chiefly for sons of clergymen, founded in 1845.
MARLBOROUGH, JOHN CHURCHILL, DUKE OF, soldier and statesman, born in
Devonshire; joined the Guards as ensign, and served in Tangiers in 1667;
sent in command of a company to help Louis XIV. in his Dutch wars, his
courage and ability won him a colonelcy; he married Sarah Jennings in
1678, and seven years later became Baron Churchill on James II.'s
succession; as general he was employed in putting down Monmouth's
rebellion; he seceded to William of Orange in 1688, and received from him
the earldom of Marlborough; he was in disfavour from 1694 till the
outbreak of the Spanish Succession War, in which he gained his great
renown; beginning by driving the Spaniards from the Netherlands in 1702,
he won a series of important victories--Blenheim 1704, Ramillies 1706,
Oudenard 1708, and Malplaquet 1709, contributed to enhance the military
glory of England; Queen Anne loaded him with honours; large sums of
money, Woodstock estate, Blenheim Palace, and a dukedom were bestowed on
him; his wife was the Queen's closest friend, and the duke and duchess
virtually governed the country, till in 1711 the Queen threw off their
influence, and charges of misappropriation of funds forced him into
retirement; he was restored to many of his offices by George I. in 1714,
but for the last six years of his life he sank into imbecility; one of
England's greatest generals, he was also one of her meanest men
(1650-1722).
MARLOWE, CHRISTOPHER, English dramatist and poet, precursor of
Shakespeare; son of a shoemaker at Canterbury; besides a love poem
entitled "Hero and Leander," he was the author of seven plays,
"Tamburlaine," in two parts, "Doctor Faustus," "The Jew of Malta,"
"Edward the Second," "The Massacre of Paris," and "Dido," the first four
being romantic plays, the fifth a chronicle play, and the last two
offering no particular talent; he dealt solely in tragedy, and was too
devoid of humour to attempt comedy; "In Marlowe," says Prof. Saintsbury,
"two things never fail him long--a strange, not by any means impotent,
reach after the infinite, and the command of magnificent verse"; his life
was a short one (1564-1593).
MARMONT, Duke of Ragusa and marshal of France, served under
Napoleon, and distinguished himself on many a battlefield; received the
title of duke for his successful defence of Ragusa against the Russians;
was present at Wagram, Lützen, Bautzen, and Dresden, but came to terms
with the allies after the taking of Paris, which led to Napoleon's
abdication in 1814; obliged to flee on Napoleon's return, he came back to
France and gave his support to the Bourbons; left Memoirs (1774-1852).
MARMONTEL, JEAN FRANÇOIS, French writer, born at Bort; author of
"Les Incas," "Bélesaire," and "Contes Moraux;" "was," says Ruskin, "a
peasant's son, who made his way into Parisian society by gentleness, wit,
and a dainty and candid literary power; he became one of the humblest yet
honestest, placed scholars at the court of Louis XV., and wrote pretty,
yet wise, sentimental stories in finished French, the sayings and
thoughts in them, in their fine tremulous way, perfect like the
blossoming heads of grass in May" (1723-1799).
MARMORA, SEA OF, 175 m. long and 50 broad, lies between Europe and
Asia Minor, opening into the Ægean through the Dardanelles and into the
Baltic through the Bosphorus; the Gulf of Ismid indents the eastern
coasts; Marmora, the largest island, has marble and alabaster quarries.
MARNE (435) and HAUTE-MARNE (244), contiguous departments in
the N.E. of France, in the upper basin of the Marne River; in both
cereals, potatoes, and wine are the chief products, the best champagne
coming from the N. In the former, capital Châlons-sur-Marne, building
stone is quarried; there are metal works and tanneries; in the latter,
capital Chaumont, are valuable iron mines and manufactures of cutlery and
gloves.
MAROCHETTI, BARON, Italian sculptor, born in Turin; after working in
Paris, came to this country in 1848, and executed several public statues,
one of the Queen among others (1805-1867).
MARONITES, a sect of Syrian Christians, numbering 200,000, dwelling
on the eastern slopes of Lebanon, where they settled in the 7th century,
and who joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1445, while they retain much
of their primitive character; they maintained a long sanguinary rivalry
with their neighbours the DRUSES (q. v.).
MAROONS, the name given to wild negro bands in Jamaica and Guiana;
those in Jamaica left behind by the Spaniards on the conquest of the
island by the English, 1655, escaped to the hills, and continued
unsubdued till 1795; in Guiana they still maintain independent
communities. To MAROON a seaman is to leave him alone on an
uninhabited island, or adrift in a boat.
MAROT, CLEMENT, French poet, born at Cahors; was valet-de-chambre of
Margaret of Valois; was a man of ready wit and a satirical writer, the
exercise of which often brought him into trouble; his poems, which
consist of elegies, epistles, rondeaux, madrigals, and ballads, have left
their impress on both the language and the literature of France
(1495-1544).
MARPRELATE TRACTS, a series of clever but scurrilous tracts
published under the name of Martin Marprelate, but which are the work of
different writers in the time of Elizabeth against prelacy, and which
gave rise to great excitement and some inquisition as to their
authorship.
MARQUE. See LETTER OF MARQUE.
MARQUESAS ISLANDS (5), a group of 13 small volcanic mountainous
islands in the S. Pacific, 3600 m. W. of Peru, under French protection
since 1842, are peopled by a handsome but savage race, which is rapidly
dying out; Chinese immigrants grow cotton; the more southerly were
discovered by Mendaña in 1595, the more northerly by Ingraham, an
American, in 1791.
MARROW CONTROVERSY, a theological controversy which arose in
Scotland in the 18th century over the teaching of a book entitled "The
Marrow of Modern Divinity," and which led to a secession from the
Established Church on the part of the "Marrow men," as the supporters of
the doctrine of the book were called. It contained an assertion of the
evangelical doctrine of free grace, which was condemned by the Assembly,
and for maintaining which the "Marrow men," headed by the Erskines, were
deposed in 1733, to the formation of the Secession Church.
MARRYAT, FREDERICK, novelist, born at Westminster; after service in
the royal navy, which he entered in 1806, and in which he attained the
rank of commandant, he retired in 1830, and commenced a series of novels;
"Frank Mildmay," the first, proving a success, he resolved to devote the
rest of his life to literature; his novels were numerous, all of interest
for their character sketches and adventures, and "Peter Simple" and
"Midshipman Easy" are reckoned the best; it was by recourse to Marryat's
stories of sea life that Carlyle solaced himself after the burning of the
MS. volume of his "French Revolution," and that he put himself in tune to
repair the loss (1792-1848).
MARS, the exterior planet of the Solar system, nearest the earth, of
one-half its diameter, with a mean distance from the sun of 141,000,000
m., round which it takes 686 days to revolve, in a somewhat centric
orbit, and 24½ hours to revolve on its own axis, which inclines to its
equator at an angle of 29°; examination of it shows that there is four
times as much land as water in it; it is accompanied by two moons, an
outer making a revolution round it in 30 hours 18 minutes, and an inner
in 7 hours and 38 minutes; they are the smallest heavenly bodies known to
science.
MARS, the Roman god of war, the reputed father of Romulus, and the
recognised protector of the Roman State, identified at length with the
Greek Ares.
MARSEILLAISE, THE, the hymn or march of the French republicans,
composed, both words and music, at Strasburg by Rouget de Lisle one night
in April 1792, and singing which the 600 volunteers from Marseilles
entered Paris on the 30th July thereafter. "Luckiest musicial
composition," says Carlyle, "ever promulgated. The sound of which will
make the blood tingle in men's veins, and whole armies and assemblages
will sing it, with eyes weeping and burning, with hearts defiant of
death, despot, and devil."
MARSEILLES (321), third city and first seaport of France, on the
shore of the Gulf of Lyons, 27 m. E. of the mouth of the Rhône; has
extensive dock accommodation; does great trade in wheat, oil, wine,
sugar, textiles, and coal, and manufactures soap, soda, macaroni, and
iron; there is a cathedral, picture-gallery, museum, and library, schools
of science and art; founded by colonists from Asia Minor in 600 B.C., it
was a Greek city till 300 B.C.; after the days of Rome it had many
vicissitudes, falling finally to France in 1575, and losing its privilege
as a free port in 1660; always a Radical city, it proclaimed the Commune
in 1871; a cholera plague devastated it in 1885; six years later great
sanitary improvements were begun; Thiers and Puget were born here.
MARSHAL FORWARDS, a name given to BLÜCHER (q. v.) for the
celerity of his movements and the dash of his attack.
MARSHALL, JOHN, an American judge; served in the army during the
first years of the American War; afterwards entered the legal profession
and became Chief-Justice of the United States; was an authority on
constitutional law (1755-1835).
MARSTON, JOHN, English dramatist, so called, was more of a poet than
a dramatist, and his dramas are remembered chiefly for the poetic
passages they contain; his masterpiece is a comedy entitled "What You
Will" (1575-1634).
MARSTON, JOHN WESTLAND, dramatist, born at Boston, Lincolnshire;
wrote several dramas, "Strathmore" and "Marie de Méranie" among the
number (1819-1890).
MARSTON, PHILIP BOURKE, poet, son of preceding; wrote three volumes
of verse, admired by Rossetti and Swinburne; was blind from boyhood
(1850-1887).
MARSTON MOOR, 7 m. W. of York; here Cromwell and Fairfax defeated
the Royalists under Prince Rupert, July 2, 1644, and so won the north of
England for the Parliament.
MARSYAS, a Phrygian peasant, who, having found a flute which Athena
had thrown away because playing on it disfigured her face, and which, as
still inspired by the breath of the goddess, yielded sweet tones when he
put his lips to it, one day challenged Apollo to a contest, the condition
being that the vanquished should pay whatever penalty the victor might
impose on him; Apollo played on the lyre and the boor on the flute, when
the Muses, who were umpires, assigned the palm to the former; upon this
Apollo caught his rival up, bound him to a tree, and flayed him alive for
his temerity.
MARTELLO TOWERS, round towers of strong build, erected as a defence
at one time off the low shores of Sussex and Kent; they are of Italian
origin; there is one off the harbour of Leith.
MARTENS, FREDERICK DE, German diplomatist and publicist, born at
Hamburg; author of a "Précis du Droit des Gens" (1756-1821).
MARTENSEN, HANS LASSEN, bishop of Copenhagen, a distinguished
theologian; author of "Meister Eckhart," a study of mediæval mysticism,
"Christliche Dogmatic" and "Christliche Ethic"; was a Hegelian of a
conservative type (1808-1884).
MARTHA, ST., the sister of Mary and Lazarus, the patron saint of
good housewives, is represented, in homely costume, with a bunch of keys
at her girdle, and a pot in her hand. Festival, July 20.
MARTIAL, a Latin poet, born at Bilbilis, in Spain; went to Rome,
stayed there, favoured of the emperors Titus and Domitian, for 35 years,
and then returned to his native city, where he wrote his Epigrammata, a
collection of short poems over 1500 in number, divided into 14 books,
books xiii. and xiv. being entitled respectively Xenia and Apophoreta;
these epigrams are distinguished for their wit, diction, and indecency,
but are valuable for the light they shed on the manners of Rome at the
period (43-104).
MARTIAL LAW, law administered by military force, to which civilians
are amenable during an insurrection or riot.
MARTIN, the name of five popes: M. I., ST., Pope from 649 to
655; M. II., pope from 882 to 884; M. III., Pope from 942 to
946; M. IV., pope from 1281 to 1285; M. V., Pope from 1417 to
1431, distinguished for having condemned Huss to be burned.
MARTIN, AIMÉ, a French writer, born at Lyons, repaired to Paris,
became the pupil and friend of Bernardin de St. Pierre; collected his
works and married his widow; his letters to Sophia on "Natural History,"
&c., highly popular (1781-1844).
MARTIN, HENRI, celebrated French historian, born at Saint-Quentin;
devoted his life to the study of the history of France; wrote an account
of it, entitled "Histoire de France," a magnificent work in 19 volumes;
brought the history down to 1789, and received from the Institute 20,000
francs as a prize (1810-1885).
MARTIN, JOHN, English painter, born near Hexham; was an artist of an
ardent temperament and extraordinary imaginative power; his paintings,
the first "Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion," characterised as
"sublime" and "gorgeous," were 16 in number, and made a great impression
when produced; engravings of some of them are familiar, such as the "Fall
of Babylon" and "Belshazzar's Feast" (1789-1854).
MARTIN, LADY. See FAUCIT, HELEN.
MARTIN, ST., bishop of Tours, was in early life a soldier, and
meeting with a naked beggar one cold day in winter divided his military
cloak in two, and gave him the half of it; was conspicuous both as a monk
and bishop for his compassion on the poor; seated at a banquet on one
occasion between the king and queen, hobnobbed with a poor beggar looking
on, and extended his goblet of wine to him; he is the patron saint of
topers; _d_. 397. Festival, November 11.
MARTIN, SARAH, a philanthropist, born at Great Yarmouth; lived by
dressmaking, and devoted much of her time among criminals in the jails
(1791-1843).
MARTIN, SIR THEODORE, man of letters, born in Edinburgh; acquired
his first fame under the pseudonym of Bon Gaultier; is author of the
"Life of the late Prince Consort"; wrote along with Aytouna "Book of
Ballads," and translated the Odes of Horace, Dante's "Vita Nuova" and
Goethe's "Faust"; _b_. 1816.
MARTINEAU, HARRIET, English authoress, born at Norwich; a lady with
little or no genius but with considerable intellectual ability, and not
without an honest zeal for the "progress of the species"; she was what is
called an "advanced" thinker, and was a disciple of Auguste Comte; wrote
a number of stories bearing on social questions, and had that courage of
her opinions which commanded respect; it was she who persuaded Carlyle to
try lecturing when his finances were low, and she had a real pride at the
success of the scheme (1802-1876).
MARTINEAU, JAMES, rationalistic theologian, born in Norwich, brother
of the preceding; began life as an engineer, took to theology, and
became a Unitarian minister; was at first a follower of Bentham and then
a disciple of Kant; at one time a materialist he became a theist, and a
most zealous advocate of theistic beliefs from the Unitarian standpoint;
he is a thinker of great power, and has done much both to elevate and
liberate the philosophy of religion; his views are liberal as well as
profound, and he is extensively known as the author of the "Endeavours
after the Christian Life" and "Hours of Thought on Sacred Things"; _b_.
1805.
MARTINIQUE (176, of which a few are white), a West Indian French
possession, one of the Lesser Antilles; has a much-indented precipitous
coast; a mountain range in the centre is densely wooded; the plains are
fertile, and produce sugar, coffee, and cotton, which with fruit are the
exports; the climate is hot and not salubrious; the island has been
French, with three short intervals, since 1635.
MARTYN, HENRY, a Christian missionary, born at Truro, in Cornwall;
was a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge; went to India as a
chaplain, settled in various stations and in Persia; translated the New
Testament into Hindi and Persian, as well as the Prayer-book; fell into
broken health; did more than he was able for, caught fever and died
(1781-1812).
MARVELL, ANDREW, poet and politician, born at Worcester; was first a
lyric poet, and in politics much of a Royalist, at last a violent
politician on the Puritan side, having become connected with Milton and
Cromwell; he wrote a tract "On the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary
Government in England" after the Restoration, which brought him into
trouble; being a favourite with the king, the king sought to bribe him,
but he could not be caught; he died suddenly, and an unfounded rumour was
circulated that he had been poisoned (1621-1678).
MARX, KARL, a German Socialist, born at Trèves, of Jewish descent;
was at first a student of philosophy and a disciple of Hegel, but soon
abandoned philosophy for social economy on a democratic basis and in a
materialistic interest, early adopted socialistic opinions, for his zeal
in which he was driven from Germany, France, and finally Belgium, to
settle in London, where he spent the last 30 years of his life; founded
the "INTERNATIONAL" (q. v.), and wrote a work "Das Kapital,"
which has become the text-book of Socialism, a remarkable book, and one
that has materially promoted the cause it advocates (1818-1866).
MARY, THE VIRGIN. Of her we know nothing for certain except what is
contained in the Gospel history, and that almost exclusively in her
relation to her Son, in connection with whom, and as His mother, she has
become an object of worship in the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches.
MARY I., queen of England, was born at Greenwich, daughter of Henry
VIII. and Catharine of Aragon; at first the king's favourite, on her
mother's divorce she was treated with aversion; during her brother Edward
VI.'s reign she lived in retirement, clinging to her Catholic faith; on
her accession in 1553 a Protestant plot to put Lady Jane Grey on the
throne failed; she began cautiously to restore Catholicism, imprisoning
Reformers and reinstating the old bishops; on her choosing Philip of
Spain for her husband a revolt broke out under Sir Thomas Wyatt, and
though easily put down was the occasion for the execution of Lady Jane
Grey and the imprisonment of Elizabeth; after her marriage in 1554 the
religious reaction gained strength, submission was made to Rome, and a
persecution began in which 300 persons, including Latimer, Ridley, and
Cranmer, perished in three years; ill-health, Philip's cruelty, and her
childlessness drove her to melancholy; a war with France led to the loss
of Calais in 1558, and she died broken-hearted, a virtuous and pious, but
bigoted and relentless woman (1516-1558).
MARY II., queen of England, daughter of the Duke of York (afterwards
James II.) and Anne Hyde; was married to her cousin William of Orange in
1677, ascended the English throne along with him on her father's
abdication in 1688, and till her death was his much loved, good, and
gentle queen; Greenwich Hospital for disabled sailors, which she built,
is her memorial (1662-1694).
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, daughter of James V. and Mary of Lorraine,
born at Linlithgow, became by her father's death queen ere she was a week
old; her early childhood was spent on an island in the Lake of Menteith;
she was sent to France in 1548, brought up at court with the royal
princes, and married to the dauphin in 1558, who for a year, 1559-60, was
King Francis II.; on his death she had to leave France; she returned to
assume the government in Scotland, now in the throes of the Reformation;
refraining from interference with the Protestant movement she retained
her own Catholic faith, but chose Protestant advisers; out of many
proposed alliances she elected, against all advice, to be married to her
cousin Darnley 1565, and easily quelled the insurrection that broke out
under Moray; Darnley, granted the title king, tried to force her to
settle the succession in the event of her dying childless on him and his
heirs; deeming her favourite Rizzio to stand in the way, he plotted with
the Protestant Lords to have him murdered, and Mary was reduced to agree
to his demands; the murder was done; the queen was for a time a prisoner
in Holyrood, but she succeeded in detaching Darnley, and the scheme fell
through; her only son, afterwards James VI., was born three months later
in 1566; the murder of Darnley took place in February 1567, being
accomplished by Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, almost certainly with Mary's
connivance; her marriage with Bothwell in May alienated the nobles; they
rose, took the queen prisoner at Carberry, carried her to Edinburgh, then
to Loch Leven, where they forced her to abdicate in July; next year,
escaping, she fled to England, and was there for many years a prisoner;
Catholic plots were formed to liberate her and put her in place of
Elizabeth on the English throne (she was next in order of succession,
being great-granddaughter of Henry VII.); at last she was accused of
complicity in Babbington's conspiracy, tried, found guilty, and executed
in Fotheringhay Castle, February 8, 1587; faithful to her religion to the
end; she was a woman of great beauty and charm, courage and ability, warm
affection and generous temper (1542-1587).
MARYLAND (1,042), a State of the American Union, occupying the basin
of the Potomac and of Chesapeake Bay, with Pennsylvania on the N.,
Delaware on the E., and the Virginias on the W. and S.; has a much
indented coast-line affording great facilities for navigation; the soil
is throughout fertile; on the level coast plains tobacco and fruit,
chiefly peaches, are grown; in the undulating central land wheat; the
mountains in the W. are well wooded with pine; there are coal-mines in
the W., copper and chrome in the midland, and extensive marble quarries;
the shad and herring fisheries are valuable; the manufactures of clothing
stuffs, flour, tobacco, and beer are extensive; the climate of Maryland
is temperate and genial; education is free, and advanced; the John
Hopkins University is in Baltimore; there is a State college in every
county, and schools for blind, deaf, and feeble-minded children;
colonisation began in 1634, and a policy of religious toleration and
peace with the Indians led to prosperity; the State was active in the War
of Independence, and remained with the North in the Civil War; the
capital is Annapolis (8), but the largest city is Baltimore (434), a
great wheat-shipping port and centre of industry; Cumberland (13) has
brick and cement works, and Hagerstown (10) has machine, farm implement,
and furniture factories.
MASACCIO, an Italian painter, born in Florence; went when very young
to Rome, where he painted in the church of St. Clement a series of
frescoes, his greatest work being the frescoes in the Brancacci chapel of
the Carmine church; he was a great master of perspective and colour
(1402-1443).
MASAI, a warlike tribe in Africa, between the coast of Zanzibar and
Victoria Nyanza, of the race of the Gallas, men of powerful physique,
though far from prepossessing in appearance; when their warlike spirit
and prowess are spent they settle down to cattle-breeding.
MASANIELLO, a fisherman of Amalfi, who headed a revolt against the
Spanish viceroy in Naples, which proved successful, but turned his head
and led to his assassination (1623-1647).
MASHONALAND, a plateau 4000 ft. high crossed by the Umvukwe
Mountains, lying to the NE. of Matabeleland and S. of the Zambesi River,
of which its streams are tributaries; is a fertile country, and being
traversed continually by cold SE. winds is healthy and bracing; the
natives, of Bantu stock, are peaceful and industrious, growing rice,
maize, tobacco, and cotton, which they also weave, and working with skill
in iron; they live in dread of the fierce Matabele tribes; the country is
very rich in iron, copper, and gold, and has traces of ancient scientific
gold-mining; it has been under British protection since 1888.
MASK, IRON. See IRON MASK.
MASKELYNE, NEVIL, astronomer-royal, born in London; determined the
method of finding longitude at sea, and the density of the earth by
experiments at Schiehallion, and commenced the "National Almanack," and
produced the first volume of "Astronomical Observations at Greenwich"
(1732-1811).
MASON, SIR JOSIAH, Birmingham manufacturer and philanthropist, born
at Kidderminster; made his fortune by split rings, steel pens,
electro-plating; founded an orphanage at Erdington at the cost of nearly
£300,000, and the college at Birmingham which bears his name (1795-1881).
MASON, WILLIAM, a minor poet, a friend of poet Gray; the author of
two tragedies, "Elfrida" and "Caractacus" (1724-1797).
MASON AND DIXON'S LINE, so called after English engineers who
surveyed it 1764-67; is the boundary separating Maryland from
Pennsylvania and Delaware; during the Civil War it was inaccurately
regarded as dividing the slave-holding from the free States, Maryland and
Delaware both recognising slavery.
MASPERO, GASTON CAMILLE CHARLES, French Egyptologist, born at Paris;
made extensive explorations and important discoveries in Egypt; has
written, among works bearing on Egypt, "Histoire Ancienne des Peuples
d'Orient"; _b_. 1846.
MASSACHUSETTS (2,239), a New England State of the American Union,
lies on the Atlantic seaboard between New Hampshire and Vermont on the N.
and Rhode Island and Connecticut on the S., with New York on its western
border; has a long irregular coast-line and an uneven surface, rising to
the Green Mountains in the W.; the scenery is of great beauty, but the
soil is in many places poor, the farms raising chiefly hay and dairy
produce; the winters are severe; Massachusetts is the third manufacturing
State of the Union; its industries include cotton, woollen, worsted,
clothing, leather and leather goods, iron and iron goods; school
education throughout the State is free and of a high standard; there are
several universities and colleges, including Harvard, Boston, Williams,
and Amherst; founded in 1620 by the Pilgrim Fathers, Massachusetts had
many hardships in early days, and was long the scene of religious
intolerance and persecution; the War of Independence began at Bunker's
Hill and Lexington in 1776; the capital and chief seaport is Boston
(448); Worcester (85) has machinery factories, Springfield (44) paper,
and Lowell (78) cotton mills; Concord was for long a literary centre.
MASSAGE, in medicine a process of kneading, stroking, and rubbing,
with the fingers and palms of the hands, applied to the body as a whole
or to locally affected parts, to allay pain, promote circulation, and
restore nervous and vital energy; it was practised in very early times in
China and India; was known to the Greeks and Romans, and was revived by
Dr. Mezger of Amsterdam in 1853.
MASSAGETÆ, a Scythian people on the NE. of the Caspian Sea, who used
to kill and eat the aged among them, in an expedition against whom, it is
said, Cyrus the Great lost his life.
MASSENA, Duc de Rivoli, Prince of Essling, one of the most
illustrious marshals of France, born at Nice; he distinguished himself at
Rivoli in 1796, at Zurich in 1799, at the siege of Genoa in 1800, at
Eckmühl and at Wagram in 1809, and was named by Napoleon _L'enfant chéri
de la Victoire_, i. e. the favoured child of victory; he was recalled
from the Peninsula by Napoleon for failing to expel Wellington, and it
appears he never forgot the affront (1758-1817).
MASSEY, GERALD, English democratic poet, born in Hertfordshire;
wrote "Poems and Charms," "Voices of Freedom and Lyrics of Love"; has
written for the reviews, and taken a great interest in spiritualism; _b_.
1828.
MASSILLON, JEAN BAPTISTE, celebrated French pulpit orator, born at
Hières, in Provence; entered the congregation of the Oratory, and became
so celebrated for his eloquence that he was called to Paris, where he
gathered round him hearers in crowds; Bourdaloue, when he heard him,
said, "He must increase, but I must decrease," and Louis XIV. said to
him, "When I hear others preach I go away much pleased with them, but
when I hear you I feel displeased with myself"; he was made bishop of
Clermont, and next year preached before Louis XV., now king, his famous
"Petit Carême," a series of ten sermons for Lent; he was a devoted
bishop, and the idol of his flock; his style was perfect, and his
eloquence was winning, and went home to the heart (1663-1742).
MASSINGER, PHILIP, English dramatist; little is known of his
personal history except that he studied at Oxford without taking a
degree, that he lived in London, and was buried as "a stranger" in St.
Saviour's, Southwark; of his 37 plays only 18 remain, and of these the
most famous is the comedy entitled "New Way to Pay Old Debts," the chief
character in which is Sir Giles Overreach, and the representation of
which still holds its place on the stage (1583-1640).
MASSON, DAVID, man of letters, born in Aberdeen; elected literature as
his profession in preference to theology, with the study of which he
commenced; joined the staff of the Messrs. Chambers; settled in London,
and became professor of English Literature in University College, from
the chair of which he removed to the corresponding one in Edinburgh in
1865; edited _Macmillan's Magazine_ from 1859 to 1868; his great work,
the "Life of Milton," in 6 vols., a thorough book, and of great
historical value; has written on "British Novelists and their
Styles," "Life of Drummond of Hawthornden," &c.; became in 1893
Historiographer-Royal of Scotland; _b_. 1822.
MASSO`RAH, a body of Biblical references, chiefly handed down by
tradition, and calculated to be of great service in verifying the
original text of the Hebrew Scriptures.
MASSORETIC POINTS, the vowel points and accents in Hebrew; invented
by the Massorites, or authors of the Massorah.
MASTER HUMPHREY, a character in Dickens's "Old Curiosity Shop."
MASTER OF SENTENCES, PETER LOMBARD (q. v.).
MASTODON, one of an extinct species of mammals akin to the elephant.
MASULIPATAM (38), chief seaport in the district of Kistna, Madras
Presidency, India, 215 m. N. of Madras, with a large coasting trade.
MATABELELAND, a country stretching northward from the Transvaal, 180
m. by 150 m., towards the Zambesi River; formerly occupied by peaceful
Mashona and Makalaka tribes, but conquered by the Matabele in 1840, and
since held by them. They are warlike, and have no industries. The women
grow mealies, the men make continual forays on their neighbours. Gold
exists in various parts, and the country was declared British territory
in 1890. It is developed by the British South African Company, whose
chief stations are Buluwayo in the SW. and Fort Salisbury in the NE.
MATANZA (50), a fortified town in Cuba, 32 m. E. of Havana.
MATERIALISM, the theory which, denying the independent existence of
spirit, resolves everything within the sphere of being into matter, or
into the operation and the effect of the operation of forces latent in
it, or into the negative and positive interaction of mere material
forces, to the exclusion of intelligent purpose and design.
MATHER, COTTON, an American divine, born in Boston; notorious for
his belief in witchcraft, and for the persecution he provoked against
those charged with it by his zeal in spreading the delusion (1663-1728).
MATHEW, THEOBALD, or FATHER MATHEW, apostle of temperance, born
in Tipperary; studied for the Catholic priesthood, but joined the
Capuchin Minorites; was in 1814 ordained a priest, and located in Cork,
where at sight of the cruel effects of drunkenness on the mass of the
people his heart was moved, and he resolved on a crusade against it to
stamp it out; he started on this enterprise in 1827, but it took a year
and a half before his mission bore any fruit, and then it was accompanied
with marvellous success wherever he went, even as far as the New World
itself (1790-1856).
MATHEWS, CHARLES, comedian, born in London; abandoned his father's
trade of bookseller for the stage in 1794; appeared in Dublin and York,
and from 1803 till 1818 played in Drury Lane, Covent Garden, and the
Lyceum; the rest of his life he spent as a single-handed entertainer,
charming countless audiences in Britain and America with his good singing
and incomparable mimicry; he died at Plymouth (1776-1835).
MATHEWS, CHARLES JAMES, light comedian, son of the preceding;
married Madame Vestris; was a charming actor, acted with a great grace
and delicacy of feeling (1803-1878).
MATLOCK, a watering-place in Derbyshire, on a slope overlooking the
Derwent, 15 m. NW. of Derby.
MATILDA, the "Great Countess" of Tuscany, celebrated for her zeal on
behalf of the Popes against the Emperor Henry IV., and for the donation
of her possessions to the Church, which gave rise to a contest after her
death (1046-1115).
MATILDA or MAUD, daughter of Henry I. of England and wife of
the Emperor Henry V., on whose decease she was married to Geoffrey
Plantagenet of Anjou and became mother of Henry II.; on the death of her
father succeeded to the English throne, but was supplanted by Stephen,
whom she defeated and who finally defeated her (1103-1167).
MATADORE, the athlete who kills the bull in a bull-fight.
MATSYS, QUENTIN, a Flemish painter, originally a blacksmith, did
altar-pieces and _genre_ paintings (1466-1530).
MATTATHIAS, a Jewish priest, the father of the Maccabees, who in 170
B.C., when asked by a Syrian embassy to offer sacrifice to the Syrian
gods, not only refused to do so, but slew with his own hand the Jew that
stepped forward to do it for him, and then fell upon the embassy that
required the act; upon which he rushed with his five sons into the
wilderness of Judea and called upon all to follow him who had any regard
for the Lord; this was the first step in the war of the Maccabees, the
immediate issue of which was to the Jew the achievement of an
independence which he had not enjoyed for 400 years.
MATTERHORN, a sharp Alpine peak 14,700 ft., on the Swiss-Italian
border, difficult of ascent; first scaled by Whymper 1865.
MATTHEW, a publican, by the Sea of Tiberias, who being called became
a disciple and eventually an apostle of Christ; generally represented in
Christian art as an old man with a large flowing beard, often occupied in
writing his gospel, with an angel standing by.
MATTHEW, GOSPEL ACCORDING TO, written not later than 62 A.D., is
the earliest record we possess of the ministry and teaching of Christ,
and is believed to have been originally a mere collection of His sayings
and parables; was written in Aramaic, the spoken language of the Jews at
the period, of which the version we have in Greek is a translation, as
some think by Matthew himself; its aim is to show that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, in a form, however, which
led to His rejection by the Jews, and their consequent rejection by Him,
to the proclamation of His gospel among the Gentiles (chap. xxviii. 19,
20).
MATTHIAS CORVINUS, conqueror and patron of learning, born at
Klausenburg; was elected King of Hungary 1458; though arbitrary in his
measures, he promoted commerce, dispensed justice, fostered culture, and
observed sound finance; he founded the University of Buda-Pesth, an
observatory, and great library, but his reign was full of wars; for nine
years he fought the Turks and took from them Bosnia, Moldavia, and
Wallachia; from 1470 till 1478 the struggle was with Bohemia, from which
he wrested Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia; then followed war with
Frederick III., the capture of Vienna 1485, and a large part of Austria
1487; he made Vienna his capital, and died there (1443-1490).
MATURIN, CHARLES ROBERT, novelist, a poor curate in Dublin, where
he died; wrote "The Fatal Revenge" and other extravagant tales, and
produced one successful tragedy, "Bertram," 1816 (1782-1824).
MAUDSLEY, HENRY, specialist in mental diseases, born near
Giggleswick; was educated at University College, London, and graduated
M.D. 1857; after being physician in Manchester Asylum, he returned to
London 1862, and was professor of Medical Jurisprudence at his own
college 1869-79; he is the author of several works on mental pathology;
_b_. 1835.
MAUNDAY-THURSDAY, the Thursday before Good Friday, on which day it
was customary for high people to wash the feet of a number of poor
people, and on which Royal alms are bestowed by the Royal Almoner to the
poor.
MAUPASSANT, GUY DE, a clever French romancer, born at Fécamp; served
in the Franco-German War, and afterwards gave himself to letters,
producing novels, stories, lyrics, and plays; died insane (1850-1893).
MAUPEOU, chancellor of France, whose ministry was signalised by the
banishment of the Parlement of Paris, and the institution of _Conseils du
roi_; the Parlement Maupeou became a laughing-stock under Louis XV., and
Louis XVI. recalled the old Parlement on his accession (1714-1792).
MAUPERTUIS, PIERRE LOUIS MOREAU DE, French mathematician and
astronomer, born at St. Malo; went to Lapland to measure a degree of
longitude, to ascertain the figure of the earth; wrote a book "On the
Figure of the Earth"; was invited to Berlin by Frederick the Great, and
made President of the Academy of Science there; was satirised by Voltaire
much to the annoyance of the king, who patronised him and prided himself
in the institution of which he was the head (1698-1759).
MAUR, ST., a disciple of St. Benedict in the 6th century; the
congregation of Saint-Maur, founded in 1613, was a perfect nursery of
scholarly men, known as Maurists.
MAUREPAS, French statesman, born at Versailles; was minister of
France under Louis XV. and again under Louis XVI., an easy-going,
careless minister, "adjusted his cloak well to the wind, if so be he
might have pleased all parties" (1701-1784).
MAURICE, FREDERICK DENISON, a liberal theologian and social
reformer, born at Normanstone, near Lowestoft, the son of a Unitarian
minister; started as a literary man, and for a time edited the
_Athenæum_, and took orders in the English Church in 1834; was chaplain
to Guy's Hospital and afterwards to Lincoln's Inn, and incumbent of Vere
Street Chapel; held professorships in Literature, in Theology, and Moral
Philosophy; was a disciple of Coleridge and a Broad Churchman, who
"promoted the charities of his faith, and parried its discussion"; one of
the originators of Christian Socialism along with Kingsley, and the
founder of the Working-Man's College; his writings were numerous though
somewhat vague in their teachings, and had many admirers (1805-1872).
MAURICE OF NASSAU, Prince of Orange; one of the most famous generals
of modern times, son of William the Silent, on whose assassination he was
elected Stadtholder, and became by his prowess the liberator of the
United Provinces from the yoke of Spain; his name is stained by his
treatment of Barneveldt, who saw and opposed his selfish designs
(1567-1625).
MAURISTS, a congregation of reformed Benedictines, with
head-quarters in Paris, disbanded in 1792; were through the 17th and 18th
centuries noted for their services to learning; they published many
historical and ecclesiastical works, including a "History of the
Literature of France," and boasted in their number Montfauçon, Mabillon,
and other scholars. See MAUR, ST.
MAURITANIA, was the old name of the African country W. of the Muluya
River and N. of the Atlas Mountains, from which supplies of corn and
timber were obtained.
MAURITIUS, or ISLE OF FRANCE (372), a volcanic island in the
Indian Ocean, 550 m. E. of Madagascar, as large as Caithness, with
mountains 3000 feet high, a tableland in the centre, and many short
streams; the climate is cool in winter, hot in the rainy season, and
subject to cyclones; formerly well wooded, the forests have been cut down
to make room for sugar, coffee, maize, and rice plantations; sugar is the
main export; the population is very mixed; African and Eastern races
predominate; descendants of French settlers and Europeans number 110,000;
discovered by the Portuguese in 1510, they abandoned it 90 years later;
the Dutch held it for 112 years, and abandoned it in turn; occupied by
the French in 1721, it was captured by Britain in 1810, and is now, with
some other islands, a crown colony, under a governor and council. PORT
LOUIS (62), on the NW., is the capital, and a British naval coaling
station.
MAURY, ABBÉ, born in Vaucluse, son of a shoemaker; came to Paris,
and became celebrated as a preacher; "skilfulest vamper of old rotten
leather to make it look like new," was made member of the Constituent
Assembly, "fought Jesuistico-rhetorically, with toughest lungs and heart,
for throne, specially for altar and tithes"; his efforts, though
fruitless for throne, gained in the end the "red cardinal plush," and
Count d'Artois and he embraced each other "with a kiss" (1740-1817).
MAURY, MATTHEW FONTAINE, American hydrographer, born in Virginia;
entered the United States navy in 1825, became lieutenant in 1837,
studied the Gulf Stream, oceanic currents, and great circle sailing, and
in 1856 published his "Physical Geography of the Sea"; took the side of
the Confederates in the Civil War, and was afterwards appointed professor
in the Military College at Lexington, in Virginia (1806-1873).
MAUSOLE`UM, a building more or less elaborate, used as a tomb. See
MAUSOLUS.
MAUSOLUS, a king of Caria, husband of Artemisia, who in 353 raised a
monument to his memory, called the Mausoleum, and reckoned one of the
Seven Wonders of the world.
MAX MÜLLER, FRIEDRICH, philologist, born at Dessau, son of a German
poet, Wilhelm Müller; educated at Leipzig; studied at Paris, and came to
England in 1846; was appointed Taylorian Professor at Oxford in 1854, and
in 1868 professor of Comparative Philology there, a science to which he
has made large contributions; besides editing the "Rig-Veda," he has
published "Lectures on the Science of Language" and "Chips from a German
Workshop," dealing therein not merely with the origin of languages, but
that of the early religious and social systems of the East; _b_. 1823.
MAXIM, HIRAM S., American inventor, born at Tangerville, Maine,
U.S.; showed early a decided mechanical talent, and is best known in
connection with the invention of the gun named after him, but among his
other inventions are the smokeless powder, the incandescent lamp carbons,
and search-lights; B. 1840.
MAXIM GUN, an automatic machine-gun invented by Hiram S. Maxim, an
American, in 1884, capable of discharging 620 rifle cartridges per
minute; the first shot is fired by hand, and the recoil is utilised to
reload and fire the next, and so on. A cylinder of water keeps the barrel
from heating.
MAXIMILIAN, FERDINAND JOSEPH, archduke of Austria, younger brother
of Francis Joseph, born at Schönbrunn; became emperor of Mexico; issued
an edict threatening death to any Mexican who took up arms against the
empire, roused the Liberal party against him, and was at the head of 8000
men defeated at Querétaro, taken prisoner, tried by court-martial, and
shot (1832-1867).
MAXIMILIAN I., emperor of Germany, son of Frederick III., acquired
Burgundy and Flanders by marriage, which involved him in a war with
France; became emperor on the death of his father in 1493; became by
marriage Duke of Milan, and brought Spain under the power of his dynasty
by the marriage of his son Philip to the daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella; it was he who assembled the Diet of Augsburg at which Luther
made appeal to the Pope (1459-1519).
MAXWELL, JAMES CLERK, eminent physicist, born in Edinburgh, son of
John Clerk Maxwell of Middlebie; attained the rank of senior wrangler at
Cambridge; became professor in Aberdeen in 1856, in London in 1860, and
of Experimental Physics in Cambridge in 1871; in this year appeared the
first of his works, "The Theory of Heat," which was followed by
"Electricity and Magnetism" and "Matter and Motion," the second being his
greatest; he was as sincere a Christian as he was a zealous scientist
(1831-1879).
MAXWELL, SIR WILLIAM STIRLING, of Keir, Perthshire, a man of refined
scholarship; travelled in Italy and Spain; wrote on subjects connected
with the history and the artists of Spain (1818-1878).
MAY, the fifth month of the year, so called from a Sanskrit word
signifying to grow, as being the shooting or growing month.
MAY, ISLE OF, island at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, 5½ m. SE.
of Crail on the Fife coast; has a lighthouse with an electric light,
flashing out at intervals to a distance of 22 nautical miles.
MAY, SIR THOMAS ERSKINE, English barrister; became Clerk of the
House of Commons in 1871; wrote a parliamentary text-book, "Democracy in
Europe," and a "Constitutional History of England since the Accession of
George III.," in continuation of the works of Hallam and Stubbs
(1815-1886).
MAYER, JULIUS ROBERT VON, German physicist, born in Heilbronn; made
a special study of the phenomena of heat, established the numerical
relation between heat and work, and propounded the theory of the
production and maintenance of the sun's temperature; he had a controversy
as to the priority of his discoveries with Joule, who claimed to have
anticipated them (1814-1878).
MAYHEW, HENRY, littérateur and first editor of _Punch_, born in
London, and articled to his father, a solicitor; chose journalism as a
profession, and in conjunction with Gilbert à Beckett started _The Thief_
in 1832, the first of the "Bits" type of papers; he joined the first
_Punch_ staff in 1841, in which year his farce "The Wandering Minstrel"
was produced; collaborating with his brother Augustus, he wrote "Whom to
Marry" and many other novels between 1847 and 1855, thereafter works on
various subjects; his principal book, "London Labour and the London
Poor," appeared in 1851 (1812-1887).
MAYNOOTH, village in co. Kildare, 15 m. W. of Dublin; is the seat of
a Roman Catholic seminary founded by the Irish Parliament in 1795 on the
abolition of the French colleges during the Revolution; an annual grant
of £9000 was made, increased to £26,000 in 1846, but commuted in 1869 for
a sum of £1,100,000, when State connection ceased; the college trains 500
students for the priesthood.
MAYO (245), maritime county in Counaught, west of Ireland, between
Sligo and Galway; has many indentations, the largest Broadhaven,
Blacksod, and Clew Bays, and islands Achil and Clare, with a remarkable
peninsula The Mullet; mountainous in the W., the E. is more level, and
has Lough Conn and the Moy River; much of the county is barren and bog,
but crops of cereals and potatoes are raised; cattle are reared on
pasture lands; there are valuable slate quarries and manganese mines;
Castlebar (4), in the centre, is the county town; Westport (4), on Clew
Bay, has some shipping.
MAYO, RICHARD SOUTHWARK BOURKE, EARL OF, statesman, born and
educated in Dublin; entered Parliament 1847, and was Chief Secretary for
Ireland in Conservative Governments 1852, 1858, and 1866, opposing
Gladstone's Irish Church resolutions; in 1868 he succeeded Lord Lawrence
as Viceroy of India, in which office he proved himself a prudent
statesman, a sound financier, and a just and wise administrator; he was
murdered by a fanatic in the Andaman Islands, and universally mourned
(1822-1872).
MAZARIN, JULES, cardinal, born at Piscina, Abruzzi; having been sent
by the Pope one of an embassy to France, he gained the favour of
Richelieu, who recommended him to Louis XIII. as his successor, and whose
successor, being naturalised as a Frenchman, he became in 1642, an office
which he retained under the queen-regent on Louis' death; he brought the
Thirty Years' War to an end by the peace of Westphalia, crushed the
revolt of the FRONDE (q. v.), and imposed on Spain the treaty of
the Pyrenees; at first a popular minister, he began to lose favour when
cabals were formed against him, and he was dismissed, but he contrived to
allay the storm, regained his power, and held it till his death; he died
immensely rich, and bequeathed his library, which was a large one, to the
College Mazarin (1602-1661).
MAZARIN BIBLE, the first book printed by movable metal types, a copy
of which is in the Mazarin library, and bears the date 1456.
MAZEPPA, IVAN, hetman of the Cossacks, born in Podolia; became page
to John Casimir, king of Poland; was taken by a Polish nobleman, who
surprised him with his wife, and tied by him to the back of a wild horse,
which galloped off with him to the Ukraine, where it had been bred, and
where some peasants released him half-dead; life among those people
suited his taste, he stayed among them, became secretary to their hetman,
and finally hetman himself; he won the confidence of Peter the Great, who
made him a prince under his suzerainty, but in an evil hour he allied
himself with Charles XII. of Sweden, and lost it; fled to Bender on the
defeat of the Swedish king at Pultowa in 1709 (1644-1709).
MAZURKA, a lively Polish dance, danced by four or eight couples, and
much practised in the N. of Germany as well as in Poland.
MAZZINI, JOSEPH, Italian patriot, born at Genoa; consecrated his
life to political revolution and the regeneration of his country on a
democratic basis by political agitation; was arrested by the Sardinian
government in 1831 and expelled from Italy; organised at Marseilles the
secret society of Young Italy, whose motto was "God and the People";
driven from Marseilles to Switzerland and from Switzerland to London, he
never ceased to agitate and conspire for this object; on the outbreak of
the Revolution in 1848 at Paris he hastened thither to join the
movement, which had spread into Italy, and where in 1849 he was installed
one of a triumvirate in Rome and conducted the defence of the city
against the arms of France, but refusing to join in the capitulation he
returned to London, where he still continued to agitate till, his health
failing, he retired to Geneva and died (1805-1872).
MEAD, a brisk liquor made by fermenting honey, and used in civilised
and barbarous Europe from very early times.
MEADE, GEORGE GORDON, American general, born at Cadiz, son of an
American merchant; he passed through West Point and joined the engineers;
he served in the Mexican War, became captain and major, and was employed
surveying and lighthouse building till the Civil War; in it, first in
command of volunteers and afterwards as general in the regular army, he
distinguished himself chiefly by frustrating Lee in 1863; after the war
he continued in the service till his death at Philadelphia (1815-1872).
MEANDER. See MÆANDER.
MEATH (77), a county in Leinster, Ireland, touching the Irish Sea
between Louth and Dublin, is watered by the Boyne River and its tributary
the Blackwater; the surface is undulating, the soil fertile; some oats
and potatoes are grown, but most of the county is under pasture; there is
a little linen and coarse woollen industry; the chief towns are Navan
(4), Kells (2), and the county town Trim (1).
MEAUX (13), on the Marne, 28 m. NE. of Paris, a well-built town,
with Gothic cathedral; has a large corn and provision trade, and some
copper and cotton industries; Bossuet was bishop here, and it contains
his grave.
MECCA, the birthplace of Mahomet, the Holy City and Keblah of the
Moslems, the capital of Hedjaz and the true capital of Arabia; in the
midst of sandy valleys, and 60 m. distant from Jeddah, its port; a city
to which every true Mussulman must make a pilgrimage once in his life;
has a population which varies from 30,000 to 60,000. See CAABA.
MECHANICAL POWERS, the lever, inclined plane, wheel and axle, screw,
pulley, and wedge, the elementary contrivances of which all machines are
composed.
MECHANICS' INSTITUTES, associations of working-men which aim at
providing a general education for artisans, and particularly instruction
in the fundamental principles of their own trades; are managed by
committees of their own election, usually have a reading-room and
library, and provide classes and lectures; Dr. Birkbeck started a
journeymen's class in Glasgow 1800, and in 1824 in London organised the
first Mechanics' Institute.
MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN (578), a German grand-duchy, on the shores of
the Baltic, between Schleswig-Holstein and Pomerania; is mostly a level,
fertile plain, with numerous small rivers and many lakes; agriculture is
the chief industry; merino sheep are renowned; there are iron-founding,
sugar-refining, and tanning works, and amber is found on the coasts;
social institutions are very backward; still largely feudal; serfdom was
abolished in 1824 only. SCHWERIN (34), on Lake Schwerin, is the
capital. ROSTOCK (44), has a university; is a busy Baltic port, from
which grain, wool, and cattle are shipped; has important wool and cattle
fairs, shipbuilding, and other industries. MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ
(98), adjacent to the foregoing on the SE., presents similar
characteristics, and is united to it in government; the capital is
Neustrelitz (9).
MEDEA, a famous sorceress of Greek legend, daughter of Æëtes, king
of Colchis, by whose aid JASON (q. v.) accomplished the object
of his expedition, and acquired the Golden Fleece, and who accompanied
him back to Greece as his wife; by her art she restored the youth of
Eson, the father of her husband, but the latter having abandoned her she
avenged herself on him by putting the children she had by him to death;
the art she possessed was that of making old people young again by first
chopping them in pieces and then boiling them in a caldron.
MEDIA, a country on the SW. of the Caspian Sea, originally a
province of the Assyrian empire, from which it revolted; was after 150
years of independence annexed to Persia by Cyrus, of which it had formed
the NW. portion.
MEDIÆVALISM, a tendency in literature and art to conform in spirit
or otherwise to mediæval models.
MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE OR FORENSIC MEDICINE, is the branch of medical
study which bears on legal questions, the detection of crime or the
determination of civil rights.
MEDICI, an illustrious family who attained sovereign power in
Florence in the 15th century, the most celebrated members of which were:
COSMO DE, surnamed the "Father of his Country," was exiled for ten
years but recalled, and had afterwards a peaceful and prosperous reign;
was a student of philosophy, and much interested in literature
(1389-1464). LORENZO DE, the Magnificent, did much to demoralise
Florence, but patronised literature and the arts (1448-1492). Other
celebrated members of the family were POPES LEO X., CLEMENT
VII., and CATHERINE AND MARY DE MEDICI (q. v.).
MEDICINE-MAN, one among the American Indians who professes to cure
diseases or exorcise evil spirits by magic.
MEDINA (lit. the city) (76), called also Medina-en-Nabi, 210 m. N.
of Mecca, the City of the Prophet, as the place in which he found refuge
after his "flight" from Mecca in 632; it was here he from that date
lived, where he died, and where his tomb is, in a beautiful and rich
mosque called El Haram (i. e. the inviolate), erected on the site of
the prophet's house. See HEGIRA.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA, so called by the ancients as lying in the
presumed middle of the earth surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa; the
largest enclosed sea in the world; its communication with the Atlantic is
Gibraltar Strait, 9 m. wide; it communicates with the Black Sea through
the Dardanelles, and in 1869 a canal through the isthmus of Suez
connected it with the Red Sea, 2200 m. long by 100 to 600 m. broad; its
S. shores are regular; the N. has many gulfs, and two great inlets, the
Ægean and Adriatic Seas; the Balearic Isles, Corsica, and Sardinia,
Sicily, Malta, Cyprus, and Crete, the Ionian Isles, and the Archipelago
are the chief islands; the Rhône, Po, and Nile the chief rivers that
discharge into it; a ridge between Sicily and Cape Bon divides it into
two great basins; it is practically tideless, and salter than the
Atlantic; its waters too are warm; northerly winds prevail in the E. with
certain regular variations; the surrounding territories are the richest
in the world, and the greatest movements in civilisation and art have
taken place around it in Africa, Phoenicia, Carthage, Greece, and Rome.
MEDIUM, in modern spiritualism a person susceptible to communication
with the spirit-world.
MEDJIDIE, an Ottoman order of knighthood instituted in 1852 by the
Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid, as a reward of merit in civil or military service.
MÉDOC, a district in the dep. of the Gironde, on the left of the
estuary, in the S. of France, famous for its wines.
MEDUSA, one of the THREE GORGONS (q. v.), is fabled to have
been originally a woman of rare beauty, with a magnificent head of hair,
but having offended Athena, that goddess changed her hair into hideous
serpents, and gave to her eyes the power of turning any one into stone
who looked into them; PERSEUS (q. v.) cut off her head by the
help of Athena, who afterwards wore it on the middle of her breastplate
or shield.
MEDWAY, a river in Kent, which rises in Surrey and Sussex, and which
after a NE. course of 58 m. falls into an estuary at Sheerness.
MEEANEE, a village in Sind, 6 m. N. of Hyderabad, where Sir Charles
Napier defeated an army of the Ameer of Sind in 1843.
MEERSCHAUM (lit. sea-foam), a fine white clay, a hydrate-silicate
of magnesia, supposed, as found on the sea-shore in some places, to have
been sea-foam petrified.
MEERUT (119), an Indian town in the North-West Provinces, on the
Nuddi, 40 m. NE. of Delhi; is capital of a district of the same name, and
an Important military station; it is noted as the scene of the outbreak
of the Mutiny in 1857.
MEGARIS, a small but populous State of ancient Greece, S. of Attica,
whose inhabitants were adventurous seafarers, credited with deceitful
propensities. The capital, Megara, famous for white marble and fine clay,
was the birthplace of Euclid.
MEGATHERIUM, an extinct genus of mammalia allied to the sloth, some
18 or 20 ft. in length and 8 ft. in height, with an elephantine skeleton.
MEHEMET ALI, pasha of Egypt, born in Albania; entered the Turkish
army, and rose into favour, so that he was able to seize the pashalic,
the Sultan compromising matters by exaction of an annual tribute in
acknowledgment of his suzerainty; the Mamelukes, however, proved unruly,
and he could not otherwise get rid of them but by luring them into his
coils, and slaughtering them wholesale in 1811; he maintained two wars
with the Sultan for the possession of Syria, and had Ibrahim Pasha, his
son, for lieutenant; compelled to give up the struggle, he instituted a
series of reforms in Egypt, and prosecuted them with such vigour that the
Sultan decreed the pashalic to remain hereditary in his family
(1769-1849).
MEISSEN (15), a town of Saxony, on the Upper Elbe, 15 m. NW. of
Dresden; has a very fine Gothic cathedral and an old castle. Gellert and
Lessing were educated here. There is a large porcelain factory, where
Dresden china is made, besides manufactures of iron.
MEISSONIER, JEAN LOUIS ERNEST, French painter, born at Lyons; began
as a book illustrator of "Paul and Virginia" amongst other works,
practising the while and perfecting his art as a figure painter, in which
he achieved signal success, from his "Chess-player" series to his designs
for the decoration of the Pantheon, "The Apotheosis of France," in 1889
(1811-1891).
MEISTER, WILHELM, a great work of Goethe's, fraught with
world-wisdom, the hero of which of the name represents a man who is led,
in these very days, by a higher hand than he is aware of to his appointed
destiny.
MEISTERSÄNGERS or SINGERS, a guild founded in Germany in the
15th century or earlier for the cultivation of poetry, of which HANS
SACHS (q. v.) was the most famous member.
MEKHONG, is the great river of Siam. Its source In the mountains of
Chiamdo is unexplored. Its course, 3000 m., is southerly to the China
Sea; the last 500 m. are navigable. It carries great quantities of silt
which goes to form and augment the delta through which it issues.
MELANCHTHON, PHILIP, Protestant Reformer, born in the Palatinate of
the Rhine; was the scholar of the German Reformation, and a wise friend
of Luther's, having come into contact with him at Wittenberg, where he
happened to be professor of Greek; he wrote the first Protestant work in
dogmatic theology, entitled "Loci Communes," and drew up the "Augsburg
Confession"; the sweetness of temper for which he was distinguished,
together with his soberness as a thinker, had a moderating influence on
the vehemence of Luther, and contributed much to the progress of the
Reformation; he was the Erasmus of that movement, and combined the
humanist with the Reformer, as George Buchanan did in Scotland
(1497-1560).
MELANESIA, eleven archipelagoes of crystalline, coralline, and
volcanic islands in the W. of Polynesia, all S. of the equator, and
inhabited by the Melanesian or dark oceanic race; includes the Fiji,
Solomon, Bismarck, and New Hebrides islands.
MELBA, NELLIE, a celebrated operatic singer, born in Australia; made
her first appearance when she was only six; has often appeared in opera
in London; her private name is Mrs. Armstrong, and she resides in Paris;
_b_. 1865.
MELBOURNE (491), the capital of Victoria, at the head of Port
Phillip Bay; is the largest and most important city in Australia; built
in broad regular streets, with much architectural beauty, and containing,
besides the Government buildings, a Roman and an Anglican cathedral, a
mint and a university, numerous colleges, hospitals, and other
institutions. Its shipping interests are very large; a ship canal enables
the largest ships to reach the quays; exports of gold and wool are
extensive. Melbourne is the railway centre of the continent. It has
manufactures of boots and clothing, foundries and flour-mills. It has a
hot climate. Its water supply is abundant, but defective drainage impairs
its healthfulness. First settled in 1835, it was incorporated in 1842,
and nine years later was made capital of the newly constituted colony. It
was the scene of an exhibition in 1888, of a great industrial struggle in
1890, and of a very severe financial crisis in 1893.
MELBOURNE, WILLIAM LAMB, VISCOUNT, English statesman, born in
London; educated at Cambridge and Glasgow Universities; entered
Parliament as a Whig in 1805, but was Chief Secretary for Ireland in the
Governments of Canning, Goderich, and Wellington; succeeding to the title
in 1828, he reverted to his old party; was Home Secretary under Earl Grey
in 1830, and was himself Prime Minister for four months in 1834, and then
from 1835 till 1841, when he retired from public life; he was a man of
sound sense, and showed admirable tact in introducing the young queen to
her various duties in 1837 (1779-1848).
MELCHIZEDEK (i. e. king of righteousness or justice), a
priest-king of Canaan, to whom, though of no lineage as a priest, but as
a minister of God's justice, Abraham did homage and paid tithes; a true
type of priest as ordained of God, and one in that capacity "without
father and without mother."
MELEAGER, a Greek mythic hero, distinguished for throwing the
javelin, and by his skill in it slaying a wild boar which devastated his
country, and whose life depended on the burning down of a brand that was
blazing on the hearth at the time of his birth, but which his mother at
once snatched from the flames. But a quarrel having arisen between him
and his uncles over the head of the boar, in which they met their death,
the mother to be avenged on him for slaying her brothers threw back into
the fire the brand on the preservation of which his life depended, and on
the instant he breathed his last.
MELIORISM, the theory that there is in nature a tendency to better
and better development.
MELODRAMA, a play consisting of sensational incidents, and arranged
to produce striking effects.
MELPOMENË, the one of the nine muses which presides over tragedy.
MELROSE, a small town in Roxburghshire, at the foot of the Eildons,
on the S. bank of the Tweed, famed for its abbey, founded by David I. in
1136; it is celebrated by Sir Walter Scott in his "Lay of the Last
Minstrel."
MELTON-MOWBRAY (6), a town 15 m. NE. of Leicester, the centre of the
great hunting district; celebrated for its pork pies.
MELUSINA, a fairy of French legend, who married Raymond, a knight,
on condition that on a particular day of the week he would not visit her,
a stipulation which he was tempted to break, so that on a day of her
seclusion he broke into her chamber, and found the lower part of her body
from the waist downwards transformed into that of a serpent, upon which
she straightway flew out at the window, to hover henceforth round the
castle of her lord and only appear again on the occasion of the death of
any of the inmates.
MELVILLE, ANDREW, Scottish Presbyterian ecclesiastic, born near
Montrose; of good and even wide repute as a scholar; became Principal
first of Glasgow College and then of St. Mary's College, St. Andrews; was
zealous for the headship of Christ over the Church, in opposition to the
claim of the king, James, and spoke his mind freely both to the king and
the bishops, for which he was sent to the Tower; on his release, after
four years, he retired to a professorship at Sedan, in France, having
been forbidden to return to Scotland (1545-1622).
MELVILLE, WHYTE-, novelist; his novels were chiefly of the hunting
field, such as "Katerfelto" and "Black, but Comely," though he wrote
historical ones also, such as "The Queen's Maries" (1821-1878).
MEMEL (19), Baltic seaport at the mouth of the Kurisches Haff, in
the extreme NE. of Prussia; ships great quantities of Russian and
Lithuanian timber, and has some chemical works and shipbuilding yards.
MEMNON, a son of Tithonus and Aurora, who was sent by his father,
king of Egypt and Ethiopia, to the assistance of Troy on the death of
Hector, and who slew Antilochus, the son of Nestor, and was himself slain
by Achilles, whereupon Aurora, all tears, besought Zeus to immortalise
his memory, which, however, did not calm her sorrow, for ever since the
earth bears witness to her weeping in the dews of the morning; a statue,
presumed to be to his memory, was erected near Thebes, in Egypt, which
was fabled to emit a musical sound every time the first ray fell on it
from the rosy fingers of Aurora.
MEMPHIS, an ancient city of Egypt, of which it was the capital; it
was founded by Menes at the apex of the delta of the Nile, and contained
700,000 inhabitants.
MEMPHIS (102), a Tennessee port on the Mississippi, 826 m. above New
Orleans, accessible to the largest vessels, is also a great railway
centre, and therefore a place of great commercial importance; has many
industries, and a great cotton market.
MENADO (549), a Dutch colony in the N. of Celebes.
MENAI STRAIT, a picturesque channel separating Anglesey from
Carnarvonshire, 14 m. long and at its narrowest 200 yards wide; is
crossed by a suspension bridge (1825) and the Britannia Tubular Bridge
for railway (1850).
MENANDER, a Greek comic poet, born at Athens; was the pupil of
Theophrastus and a friend of Epicurus; of his works, which were numerous,
we have only some fragments, but we can judge of them from his imitator
TERENCE (q. v.) (342-291 B.C.).
MENCIUS or MENG-TZE, a celebrated Chinese sage, a disciple,
some say a grandson, of Confucius (q. v.); went up and down with his
disciples from court to court in the country to persuade, particularly
the ruling classes, to give heed to the words of wisdom, though in vain;
after which, on his death, his followers collected his teachings in a
book entitled the "Book of Meng-tze," which is full of practical
instruction (372-289 B.C.).
MENDICANT ORDER, a religious fraternity, the members of which denude
themselves of all private property and live on alms.
MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY, FELIX, celebrated German composer, grandson
of the succeeding, born in Hamburg; he began to compose early in life,
and his compositions consisted of symphonies, operas, oratorios, and
church music; his oratorios of "St. Paul" and "Elijah" are well known,
and are enduring monuments of his genius; he was a man universally loved
and esteemed, and had the good fortune to live amidst the happiest
surroundings (1809-1847).
MENDELSSOHN, MOSES, a German philosopher, born at Dessau, of Jewish
descent, a zealous monotheist, and wrote against Spinoza; was author of
the "Phædon, a Discourse on the Immortality of the Soul," and did a great
deal in his day to do away with the prejudices of the Jews and the
prejudices against them; he was the friend of Lessing, and is the
prototype of his "Nathan" (1720-1786).
MENDOZA (137), province in the extreme W. of Argentina; has the
Andes in the W., Aconcagua (23,500 ft.), the highest peak in the New
World, otherwise is chiefly worthless pampa, fertile only where irrigated
from the small Mendoza River; there vines flourish; copper is plentiful,
coal and oil are found. MENDOZA (20), the capital, 640 m. W. of
Buenos Ayres by rail, is on the Trans-Andine route to Chili, with which
it trades largely; suffers frequently from earthquakes.
MENELAUS, king of Sparta, the brother of Agamemnon and the husband
of Helen, the carrying away of whom by Paris led to the Trojan War.
MENHIR, a kind of rude obelisk understood to be a sepulchral
monument.
MENINGES, the name of three membranes that invest the brain and
spinal cord, and the inflammation of which is called meningitis.
MENNONITES, a Protestant sect founded at Zurich with a creed that
combines the tenets of the Baptists with those of the Quakers; have an
episcopal form of government, and maintain a rigorous church discipline.
MENSCHIKOFF, ALEXANDER DANILOVITCH, Russian soldier and statesman,
born in humble life at Moscow; became servant to Lefort, on whose death
he succeeded him as favourite of Peter the Great, whom he accompanied to
Holland and England; in the Swedish War (1702-1713) he won renown, and
was created field-marshal on the field of Pultowa; he introduced to the
Czar Catharine, afterwards czarina, whom he captured at Marienburg, and
when Peter died secured the throne for her; during her reign and her
successor's he governed Russia, but his ambition led the nobles to banish
him to Siberia 1727 (1672-1729).
MENSCHIKOFF, ALEXANDER SERGEIEVITCH, general, great-grandson of the
former, served in the wars of 1812-15, in the Turkish campaign of 1828,
was ambassador to the Porte in 1853, and largely responsible for the
Crimean War, in which he commanded at Alma, Inkermann, and Sebastopol
(1789-1869).
MENTEITH, LAKE OF, a small beautiful loch in Perthshire, 13 m. W. of
Stirling, with three islets, on one of which stood a priory where, as a
child, Mary Stuart spent 1547-48; on another stood the stronghold of the
earls.
MENTHOL, a crystalline substance obtained from the oil of
peppermint, used in nervous affections, such as neuralgia, as a
counter-irritant.
MENTONE (8), town and seaport in France, on the Mediterranean, 1½ m.
from the Italian border; was under the princes of Monaco till 1848, when
it subjected itself to Sardinia, which afterwards handed it over to
France; protected by the Alps, the climate is delightful, and renders it
a favourite health resort in winter and spring; it exports olive-oil and
fruit.
MENTOR, a friend of Ulysses, and the tutor of his son Telemachus,
whose form and voice Athena assumed in order to persuade his pupil to
retain and maintain the courage and astuteness of his father.
MENZEL, ADOLF, German painter, born at Breslau, professor at Berlin;
best known for his historical pictures and drawings; _b_. 1815.
MENZEL, WOLFGANG, German author and critic, born in Silesia; wrote
on German history, literature, and poetry, as well as general history,
and maintained a vigorous polemic against all who by their writings or
their politics sought to subvert the Christian religion or the orthodox
policy of the German monarchies (1789-1873).
MEPHISTOPHELES, the impersonation in Goethe's "Faust" of the modern
devil, the incarnation of the spirit of universal scepticism and
scoffing, who can see not only no beauty in goodness but no deforming in
iniquity, alike without reverence for God and fear of his adversary,
blind as a mole to all worth and all unworth throughout the universe, yet
knowing and boastful of knowledge, by means of which he sees only "the
ridiculous, the unsuitable, the bad, but for the solemn, the noble, the
worthy is blind as his ancient mother."
MERCATOR, a celebrated Dutch geographer who has given name to a
projection of the earth's surface on a plane (1512-1592).
MERCENARIES, originally hired soldiers as distinguished from feudal
levies, now bodies of foreign troops in the service of the State; the
Scots Guards in France from the 15th to 18th centuries were famous, and
Swiss auxiliaries once belonged to most European armies; William III. had
Dutch mercenaries in England; under the Georges, German were hired and
were used in the American War, the Irish rebellion, and the Napoleonic
struggle; in the Crimean War German, Swiss, and Italian were enrolled.
MERCIA, one of the three chief kingdoms of early England; founded by
Anglian settlers in the Upper Trent Valley (now South Staffordshire) In
the 6th century; it rose to greatness under Penda 626-655, subsequently
succeeded Northumberland in the supremacy, but after the death of Cenwulf
819, waned in turn before Wessex and the Danes.
MERCURY, the Roman name for the Greek Hermes, the son of Jupiter and
Maia, the messenger of the gods, the patron of merchants and travellers,
and the conductor of the souls of the dead to the nether world.
MERCURY, an interior planet of the Solar system, whose orbit is
nearest the sun, the greatest distance being nearly 43,000,000 m. and the
least over 28,000,000, is one-seventeenth the size of the earth, but is
of greater density, and accomplishes its revolution in about 84 days; it
is visible just before the sun rises and after it sets, but that very
seldom owing to the sun's neighbourhood.
MER-DE-GLACE, the great glacier of the Alps near Chamouni, was the
subject of the experiments of Professor J. D. Forbes of Edinburgh about
1843, and on which the movement of the glaciers was first observed.
MEREDITH, GEORGE, poet and novelist, born in Hampshire; began his
literary career 1851 as a poet, in which capacity he has since
distinguished himself and given expression to his deepest personal
convictions, but it is chiefly as a novelist he is most widely known and
is generally judged of; as a novel-writer he occupies a supreme place,
and is reckoned superior in that department to all his contemporaries in
the same line by the unanimous consent of one and all of them; his
novels, however, appeal only to a select few, but by them they are
regarded with unbounded admiration, some giving preference to this and
others to that of the series; "The Ordeal of Richard Feveril," published
in 1859, is by many considered his best, though it is over "The Egoist"
that Louis Stevenson breaks out into raptures; Meredith has most
sympathetic insights into nature and life, has a marvellous power in
analysing and construing character, and shows himself alive to all the
great immediate interests of humanity; _b_. 1828.
MEREDITH, OWEN, the _nom de plume_ assumed by Edward Robert Bulwer
Lytton, from his descent from a Welsh noble of the name.
MERGUI, a small seaport near the mouth of the Tenasserim, British
Burma, which exports birds' nests to China.
MERIDIAN, an imaginary great circle passing through the poles at
right angles to the equator.
MÈRIMÈE, PROSPER, a great French writer, born in Paris; abandoned
law, to which he was bred, for literature; became under Louis Philippe
inspector-general of historical documents, and travelled in that capacity
in the S. and W. of France, publishing from time to time the fruits of
his researches; he wrote in exquisite style stories, historical
dissertations, and travels, among other works "Guzla," "Chronicles of
Charles IX.," the "History of Don Pedro, King of Castile," "Letters to an
Unknown"; he was a man of singularly enigmatic character (1802-1870).
MERIO`NETH (49), a mountainous county of North Wales, abutting on
Cardigan Bay, between Carnarvon and Cardigan; lofty peaks, Aran Mowddy,
Cader Idris, and Aran Benllyn; rivers, Dee and Dovey, and Lake Bala
afford picturesque scenery; the soil is fit only for sheep-grazing; but
there are slate and limestone quarries, manganese and gold mines; the
county town, Dolgelly (2), on the Wnion, has woollen and tweed
manufactures.
MERIVALE, CHARLES, dean of Ely, born at Exeter; held a succession of
appointments as lecturer; wrote a history of Rome from its foundation in
753 to the fall of Augustus in 476, but his chief work is the "History of
the Romans under the Empire," indispensable as an Introduction to Gibbon
(1808-1893).
MERLE D'AUBIGNÉ, JEAN-HENRI. See D'AUBIGNÉ, MERLE.
MERLIN, a legendary Welsh prophet and magician, child of a wizard
and a princess, who lived in the 5th century, and was subsequently a
prominent personage at King Arthur's' court; prophecies attributed to him
existed as far back as the 14th century; Tennyson represents him as
bewitched by Vivian; legend also tells of a Clydesdale Merlin of the 6th
century; his prophecies, published in 1615, include the former; both
legends are based on Armorican materials.
MERMAIDS and MERMEN (i. e. sea-maids and sea-men), a class of
beings fabled to inhabit the sea, with a human body as far as the waist,
ending in the tail of a fish; the females of them represented above the
surface of the sea combing their long hair with one hand and holding a
mirror with the other; they are supposed to be endowed with the gift of
prophecy, and are of an amorous temper.
MEROVINGIANS, a name given to the first dynasty that ruled over
France, and which derives its name from Merovig, the founder of the
family.
MERRILEES, MEG, a half-crazy Border gipsy; one of the characters in
Scott's "Guy Mannering."
MERRY MONARCH, a title by which Charles II. of England was at one
time familiarly known.
MERSEY, river rising in NW. Derbyshire, flows westward 70 m. between
Lancashire and Cheshire to the Irish Sea; is of great commercial
importance, having Liverpool on its estuary; its chief tributary is the
Irwell, on which stands Manchester.
MERTHYR-TYDVIL (58), industrial town in Glamorganshire, on the Taff,
15 m. NW. of Cardiff; is the centre of great coal-fields and of enormous
iron and steel works, which constitute the only industry.
MERV (500), an oasis in Turkestan, belonging to Russia, being
conquered in 1883, 60 m. long by 40 broad, producing cereals, cotton,
silk, &c.; breeds horses, camels, sheep, with a capital of the same name,
on the Transcaspian railway.
MERYON, CHARLES, etcher of street scenes, born at Paris; son of
English doctor; died insane (18211868).
MESMER, FRIEDRICH ANTON, a German physician, born near Constance;
bred for the Church, but took to medicine; was the founder of animal
magnetism, called mesmerism after him, his experiments in connection with
which created a great sensation, particularly in Paris, until the
quackery of it was discovered by scientific investigation, upon which he
retired into obscurity, "to walk silent on the shore of the Bodensee,
meditating on much" (1733-1815).
MESMERISM, animal magnetism so called, or the alleged power which,
by operating on the nervous system, one person obtains control over the
thoughts and actions of another.
MESOPOTAMIA, the name given after Alexander the Great's time to the
territory "between the rivers" Euphrates and Tigris, stretching from
Babylonia NW. to the Armenian mountains; under irrigation it was very
fertile, but is now little cultivated; once the scene of high
civilisation when Nineveh ruled it; it passed from Assyrian hands
successively to Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab; now, after
many vicissitudes, it is in the deathly grasp of Turkish rule.
MESSENIA, a province of Greece, mainly the fertile peninsula between
the Gulfs of Arcadia and Coron; in ancient times the Messenians were
prosperous, excited Spartan envy, and after two long wars were conquered
in 668 B.C. and fled to Sicily.
MESSIAH (i. e. the Anointed one), one consecrated of God, who the
Jewish prophets predicted would one day appear to emancipate the Jewish
people from bondage and exalt them in the eyes of all the other nations
of the earth as His elect nation, and for the glory of His name.
MESSINA (78), on a bay at the NE. corner of Sicily; is a very
ancient city, but rebuilt after the earthquake of 1783; has a
12th-century cathedral, two old castles, and a university, founded 1549;
it manufactures light textiles, coral ornaments, and fruit essences; its
excellent harbour encourages a good trade.
MESSINA, STRAIT OF, 24 m. long, and at its narrowest 2½ broad;
separates Sicily from the Italian mainland; here were the Scylla and
Charybdis of the ancients.
MESSUAGE, a dwelling-house with buildings and land attached for the
use of the household.
METABOLISM, name given to a chemical change in the cells or tissues
of living matter.
METAMORPHOSIS is a classical name for the changing of a human being
into a beast, an inanimate object, or an element, stories of which are
common in all folk-lore.
METAPHYSICS, the science of being as being in contradistinction from
a science of a particular species of being, the science of sciences, or
the science of the ultimate grounds of all these, and presupposed by
them, called by Plato dialectics, or the logic of being.
METASTASIO, an Italian poet, born at Rome, the son of a common
soldier named Trapassi; his power of improvising verse attracted the
attention of one Gravina, a lawyer, who educated him and left him his
fortune; he wrote opera librettoes, which were set to music by the most
eminent composers, was court poet at Vienna, and died there 40 years
after his active powers were spent (1698-1782).
METEORS or SHOOTING STARS are small bodies consisting of iron,
stone, and certain other familiar elements which are scattered in immense
numbers through planetary space; they revolve round the sun in clouds or
in long strings, and when the earth gets close to them numbers are drawn
down to its surface, friction with the atmosphere rendering them luminous
and grinding them usually to fine dust; larger meteors are known as
fireballs and aërolites, many of which have reached the earth; comets are
masses of meteors.
METHODISTS, a body of Christians founded by John Wesley in the
interests of personal religion, ecclesiastically governed by a Conference
with subordinate district synods, and holding and professing evangelical
principles, which they teach agreeably to the theology of Arminius; the
name is also given to the followers of Whitefield, who are Calvinists in
certain respects.
METHYLATED SPIRIT, is alcohol adulterated with 10 per cent. of
wood-spirit.
METIS (i. e. wise counsel), in the Greek mythology the daughter of
Oceanos and Tethys, and the first wife of Zeus; afraid lest she should
give birth to a child wiser and more powerful than himself, he devoured
her on the first month of her pregnancy, and some time afterwards being
seized with pains, he gave birth to ATHENA (q. v.) from his
head.
MÈTRE, the name given to the unit of length in the metric or decimal
system, and equal to 39.37 English inches, the tenths, the hundreds, and
the thousands of which are called from the Latin respectively decimetres,
centimetres, and millimetres, and ten times, a hundred times, and a
thousand times, which are called from the Greek respectively decamètres,
hectomètres, and kilomètres.
METTERNICH, CLEMENT, PRINCE VON, Austrian diplomatist, born at
Coblenz; served as ambassador successively at the courts of Dresden,
Berlin, and Paris, and became first Minister of State in 1809, exercising
for 40 years from that date the supreme control of affairs in Austria;
one of his first acts as such was to effectuate a marriage between
Napoleon and the Archduchess Maria Theresa, himself escorting her to
Paris; he presided at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and from that date
dominated in foreign affairs in the interest of the rights of kings and
the repression of popular insurrection; he had to flee from Vienna in
1848, but returned in 1851, after which, though not called back to
office, he continued to influence affairs by his advice (1773-1859).
METZ (60), strongest fortress in Lorraine, on the Moselle, 105 m.
SW. of Coblenz, captured in 1870 from the French, who had held it since
1552; has a cathedral, library, museum, and school of music; industries
are unimportant; the trade is in liquor, leather, and preserved fruits.
MEUNG, JEAN DE, mediæval French satirist; continued the unfinished
"Roman de la Rose," in which he embodied a vivid satiric portraiture of
contemporary life (1250-1305 ?).
MEUSE, river, 500 m. long, rises in Haute-Marne, France, and
becoming navigable flows N. through Belgium, turns E. at Namur, where the
Sambre enters from the left, N. again at Liège, where it receives the
Ourthe from the right; enters Holland at Maastricht, is for a time the
boundary, finally trends westward, and joins the Rhine at the delta.
MEXICO (12,050), a federal republic of 27 States, a district, and
two territories, lying S. of the United States, between the Gulf of
Mexico and the Pacific, and including the peninsulas of Lower California
in the W. and Yucatan in the E.; is nearly half as large as Europe
without Russia; it consists of an immense plateau 3000 to 8000 ft. high,
from which rises the Sierra Nevada, 10,000 ft., running N. and S., and
other parallel ranges, as also single peaks. Toluca (19,340 ft.), Orizaba
(18,000), and Popocatapetl (17,000); the largest lake is Chapala, in the
centre; the rivers are mostly rapid and unnavigable; the chief seaports
are Vera Cruz (29) and Tampico (5) on the E. and Acapulco on the W., but
the coast-line is little indented and affords no good harbours; along the
eastern seaboard runs a strip of low-lying unhealthy country, 60 m.
broad; on the Pacific side the coast land is sometimes broader; these
coast-lines are well watered, with tropical vegetation, tropical and
sub-tropical fruits; the higher ground has a varied climate; in the N.
are great cattle ranches; all over the country the mineral wealth is
enormous, gold, silver, copper, iron, sulphur, zinc, quicksilver, and
platinum are wrought; coal also exists; the bulk of Mexican exports is of
precious metals and ores; there are cotton, paper, glass, and pottery
manufactures; trade is chiefly with the United States and Britain;
imports being textile fabrics, hardware, machinery, and coal; one-fifth
of the population is white, the rest Indian and half-caste; education is
backward, though there are free schools in every town; the religion is
Roman Catholic, the language Spanish; conquered by Cortez in 1519, the
country was ruled by Spain and spoiled for 300 years; a rebellion
established its independence in 1821, but the first 50 years saw
perpetual civil strife, and wars with the United States in 1848 and
France in 1862; since 1867, however, when the constitution was modelled
on that of the United States, there has been peace and progress, Ponfirio
Diaz, President since 1876, having proved a masterly ruler. MEXICO
(327), the capital of the republic, 7000 ft. above the level of the sea,
in the centre of the country, is a handsome though unhealthy city, with
many fine buildings, a cathedral, a picture-gallery, schools of law,
mining, and engineering, a conservatory of music, and an academy of art;
there are few manufactures; the trade is chiefly transit.
MEXICO, GULF OF, a large basin between United States and Mexican
territory; is shut in by the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatan, 500 m.
apart, and the western extremity of Cuba, which lies between them; it
receives the Mississippi, Rio Grande, and many other rivers; the coasts
are low, with many lagoons; ports like New Orleans, Havana, and Vera Cruz
make it a highway for ships; north-easterly hurricanes blow in March and
October.
MEYER, CONRAD FERDINAND, Swiss poet and novelist, native of Zurich;
has written "Der Heilige" and many other novels; _b_. 1825.
MEYERBEER, illustrious musical composer, born at Berlin, of Jewish
birth; composer of operatic music, and for over 30 years supreme in
French opera; produced "Robert le Diable" in 1831, the "Huguenots" in
1833, "Le Prophète" in 1844, "L'Étoile du Nord" in 1854, the "Dinorah" in
1859 (1791-1864).
MEZZOFANTI, GIUSEPPE, cardinal and linguist, born at Bologna;
celebrated for the number of languages he knew, some 58 in all; lived
chiefly in Rome, and was keeper of the Vatican library; Byron called him
"a walking polyglot" (1771-1848).
MEZZOTINT, a mode of engraving on steel or copper in imitation of
Indian ink drawings, the lights and shades of the picture being produced
by scraping on a black ground.
MIALL, EDWARD, journalist, English apostle of disestablishment,
founder of the Liberation Society; sat for Rochdale and Bradford; was
presented on his retirement with a sum of ten thousand guineas for his
services (1809-1881).
MICAH, one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament, a
contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos; his prophecies are in the same
strain as those of Isaiah, and numerous are the coincidences traceable
between them; though a great sternness of temper and severity of tone
appears in his prophecies, a deep tenderness of heart from time to time
reveals itself, and a winning persuasiveness (chap. vi. 8); chap. vii.
8-20 has been quoted as one of the sweetest passages of prophetic
writing; his prophecies predict the destruction both of Samaria and
Jerusalem, the captivity and the return, with the re-establishment of the
theocracy, and the advent of the Messiah.
MICAWBER, a character in "David Copperfield," a schemer whose
schemes regularly came to grief, yet who always wakes up after his
depression, and hopes something will turn up to his advantage.
MICHAEL, an archangel, the leader of the heavenly host, at
never-ending war with the devil and his angels in their arrogance of
claim; is represented in art as clad in armour, with a sword in one hand
and a pair of scales in the other to weigh the souls of men at the
judgment. Festival, September 20.
MICHAEL, the name of a succession of eight emperors who, at
different periods, occupied the throne of the East from 811 to 1282, the
last being Michael VIII., the founder of the Palæologic dynasty.
MICHAEL ANGELO BUONAROTTI, painter, sculptor, architect, and poet,
born at Caprese, in Tuscany, one of the greatest artists that ever lived;
studied art as apprentice for three years under Domenico Ghirlandajo, and
at seventeen his talents attracted the notice of Lorenzo de' Medici, who
received him into his palace at Florence, and employed as well as
encouraged him; on the death of his patron he left for Bologna, and
afterwards, in 1496, went to Rome, whither his renown as a sculptor had
gone before him, and there he executed his antiques "Bacchus" and
"Cupid," followed by his "Pieta," or Virgin weeping over the dead Christ;
from 1503 to 1513 he was engaged on the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel; in
1530 we find him at Florence dividing his time between work as an
engineer in the defence of the city and his art as a sculptor; three
years after this he was back in Rome, and by-and-by _busy painting_ his
great fresco in the Sistine Chapel, the "Last Judgment," which occupied
him eight years; in 1542 he was appointed architect of St. Peter's, and
he planned and built the dome; sculpture was his great forte, but his
genius was equal to any task imposed on him, and he has left poems to
show what he might have done in the domain of letters as he has done in
those of arts, with which his fame is more intimately associated
(1474-1564).
MICHAELIS, JOHANN DAVID, an Orientalist and Biblical scholar, born
at Halle; was a man of vast learning; professor of Philosophy as well as
of Oriental Languages at Göttingen; wrote an "Introduction to the New
Testament," and "Commentaries on the Legislation of Moses"; was one of
the first to correlate the history of the Jews with that of the other
Oriental nations of antiquity (1717-1791).
MICHAELMAS is the festival in honour of St. Michael and the angels,
held on the 20th September, the day being one of the quarter days on
which rents are levied.
MICHEL, FRANCESQUE, French antiquary, born at Lyons; was
commissioned by the French Government in 1835 to visit the libraries of
England in the interest of the history and literature of France; was a
most erudite man, and edited a great many works belonging to the Middle
Ages; wrote even on the Scottish language and Scottish civilisation
(1809-1887).
MICHELET, JULES, French historian, born in Paris; was the author
among other works of a "History of France" in 18 vols., and a "History of
the Revolution" in 7 vols.; he cherished a great animosity against the
priests, and especially the Jesuits, whom he assailed with remorseless
invective; he was from 1838, for 13 years, professor of History in the
College of France, but he lost the appointment because he refused to take
the oath of allegiance to Louis Napoleon; from this date he abandoned all
interest in public affairs, and gave himself to the quiet study of nature
and animal life; wrote on birds and insects, on the sea, on women, on
love, on witchcraft, and the Bible and humanity; as a writer of history
he gave his imagination free scope, and he painted it less as it was than
as he regarded it from his own personal likes and dislikes (1798-1874).
MICHIGAN (2,094), a State of the American Union, larger than England
and Wales, is broken in two by Lake Michigan; the western portion has
Wisconsin on its S. border, the eastern portion has Indiana and Ohio on
the S.; the rest of the State is surrounded by Lakes Superior, Huron, and
Erie. The western section is mountainous, with great forests of pine,
little agriculture, rich mines of copper and iron, and some gold; the
eastern section is much larger, very flat and low, has coal, gypsum, and
marble quarries, but is chiefly a wheat-growing area; in the Saginaw
Valley are great salt wells; the climate is modified by the lakes. At
first a French colony, the country was handed over to England in 1760,
and to the United States in 1776; it was organised as a territory in
1805, and admitted a State in 1837; the chief commercial city is
DETROIT (206), on Detroit River, in the E., has manufactures of
machinery and railway plant, leather, and beer, and a large shipping
trade. GRAND RAPIDS (60), on the Grand River, has furniture works,
and makes stucco-plaster and white bricks. LANSING (13) is the State
capital, and an important railway centre.
MICHIGAN, LAKE, in the N. of the United States, between Michigan and
Wisconsin, is the third largest of the fresh-water seas, its surface
being three-fourths that of Scotland; it is 335 m. long and 50 to 80
broad, bears much commerce, has low sandy shores and no islands; the
chief ports are Chicago, Milwaukee, and Racine.
MICKIEWICZ, ADAM, Polish poet, born in Lithuania, of a noble family;
in 1822 published at Kovno a collection of poems instinct with patriotic
feeling; was exiled into the interior of Russia, in 1824, for secret
intrigues in the interest of his nation; while there published three
epics, conceived in the same patriotic spirit; left Russia in 1829 for
Italy by way of Germany; was warmly welcomed by Goethe in passing; in
1834 published his great poem "Sir Thaddeus," and in 1840 was appointed
to a professorship of Polish Literature in Paris, where to the last he
laboured for his country; died at Constantinople, whence his bones were
transferred to lie beside those of Kosciusko at Cracow (1798-1855).
MICKLE, WILLIAM JULIUS, translator of the "Lusiad" (q. v.), born
at Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, author of "There's nae Luck aboot the
Hoose" (1734-1788).
MICROBE, a minute organism found in the blood of animals, especially
when suffering from disease. See BACTERIA.
MICROCOSM, name given by the Middle Age philosophers to man as
representing the macrocosm or universe in miniature.
MICROPHONE, an instrument invented in 1878 by Professor Hughes, and
consisting of charcoal tempered in mercury, which intensifies and renders
audible the faintest possible sound.
MICROZYME, a minute organism which acts as a ferment when it enters
the blood and produces zymotic diseases.
MIDAS, a king of Phrygia who, in his lust of riches, begged of
Bacchus and obtained the power of turning everything he touched into
gold, a gift which he prayed him to revoke when he found it affected his
very meat and drink, which the god consented to do, only he must bathe in
the waters of the Pactolus, the sands of which ever after were found
mixed with gold; appointed umpire at a musical contest between Pan and
Apollo, he preferred the pipes of the former to the lyre of the latter,
who thereupon awarded him a pair of ass-ears, the which he concealed with
a cap, but could not hide them from his barber, who could not retain the
secret, but whispered it into a hole in the ground, around which sprang
up a forest of reeds, which as the wind passed through them told the tale
into the general ear, to the owner's discomfiture.
MIDDLE AGES, is a term used in connection with European history to
denote the period beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, and
closing with the invention of printing, the discovery of America, and
the revival of learning in the 15th century.
MIDDLE ENGLISH, the English in use for two centuries and a half from
1200 to 1460.
MIDDLE PASSAGE, in the slave-trade the part of the Atlantic
stretching between Africa and the West Indies.
MIDDLESBROUGH (99), iron manufacturing and shipping town at the
mouth of the Tees, in the N. of Yorkshire, 45 m. N. of York; has also
shipbuilding yards and chemical works, and exports coal. It owes its
growth to the discovery of one of the largest iron-fields in the country
in the Cleveland hills, near at hand, in 1850.
MIDDLESEX (560), a small county on the N. of the Thames, adjacent to
and W. of London; has no hills and no rivers, only undulating pasture
land and small streams. In 1888 the populous part next the metropolis was
detached for the new county of London, leaving no big town but many
suburban villages, Brentford, reckoned the county town, Harrow with its
school, Highgate, and Hornsey. Hampton Court, Hampstead Heath, and
Enfield Chase are in the county. There are many market gardens.
MIDDLETON, CONYERS, a liberal theologian, Fellow of Cambridge; was
engaged a good deal in controversy, particularly with Bentley; wrote an
able Life of Cicero; is distinguished among English authors for his
"absolutely plain style" of writing (1683-1750).
MIDDLETON, THOMAS, dramatist, born in London, where he was
afterwards City Chronicler, married Mary Morbeck, and died; was fond of
collaboration, and received assistance in his best work from Drayton,
Webster, Dekker, Rowley, and Jonson; his comedies are smart and buoyant,
sometimes indecorous; his masques more than usually elaborate and
careful; in the comedy of "The Spanish Gypsy," and the tragedies of "The
Changeling," and "Women beware Women," is found the best fruit of his
genius (1570-1627).
MIDGARD, a name given in the Norse mythology to the earth as
intermediate between the ASGARD (q. v.) of the gods and
UTGARD OF THE JÖTUNS (q. v.).
MIDIANITES, a race of Arabs descended from Abraham by Keturah, who
dwelt to the E. of Akaba; though related, were troublesome to the
Hebrews, but were subdued by Gideon.
MIDRASH, the earliest Hebrew exposition of the Old Testament;
included the Halacha, or development of the legal system on Pentateuchal
lines, and the Hagada, a commentary on the whole Scripture, with ethical,
social, and religious applications. The name Midrash came to refer
exclusively to the latter, in which much fanciful interpretation was
mixed with sound practical sense.
MIGHTS AND RIGHTS, the Carlyle doctrine that Rights are nothing till
they have realised and established themselves as Mights; they _are_
rights first only then.
MIGNE, THE ABBÉ, French Catholic theologian, born at St. Flour;
edited a great many works on theology, such as "Patrologiæ Cursus
Completus," and "Orateurs Sacrés," and founded _L'Univers_ journal
(1800-1875).
MIGNET, FRANÇOIS AUGUST, French historian, born at Aix, settled at
Paris; was a friend of Thiers; became keeper of the archives of the
Foreign Office, and had thus access to important historical documents;
wrote a number of historical works, among others a "History of the French
Revolution," and "History of Marie Stuart" (1796-1884).
MIGNON, an impassioned Italian child, a creation of Goethe's in his
"Wilhelm Meister," of mysterious origin and history; represented as a
compact of vague aspirations and longings under which, as never
fulfilled, she at length pines away and dies.
MIGUEL, DON, king of Portugal, born at Lisbon; usurped the throne in
defiance of the right of his brother, Don Pedro, emperor of Brazil, who,
however, conceded to him the title of regent on condition of his marrying
Donna Maria, his daughter; on his arrival in Portugal he had himself
proclaimed king, but refused to marry Maria, who followed him, and
prohibited her landing, which, together with his conduct of affairs,
provoked a civil war, in which the party of Don Pedro prevailed, and
which ended in the capitulation of the usurper and his withdrawal to
Italy (1802-1866).
MIKADO, the emperor of Japan, regarded as the head of both Church
and State in his dominions.
MIKLOSICH, FRANZ VON, philologist, born at Luttenberg, studied at
Grätz; in 1844 was appointed to an office in the Imperial Library,
Vienna, where from 1850 to 1885 he was professor of Slavonic; his works,
all philological, are the authority on the Slavonic languages; _b_. 1813.
MILAN (296), the largest city in Italy except Naples, is in
Lombardy, 25 m. S. of Lake Como; of old much vexed by war, it is now
prosperous, manufacturing silks and velvets, gold, silver, and porcelain
ware, and trading in raw silk, grain, and tobacco, with great printing
works, and is the chief banking centre of N. Italy; it is rich in
architectural treasures, foremost of which is the magnificent Gothic
cathedral of white marble; has a splendid picture-gallery, and many rich
frescoes; in 1848 it revolted finally from Austrian oppression.
MILAN DECREE, a decree of Napoleon dated Milan, 27th Dec. 1807,
declaring the British dominions in a state of blockade, and under penalty
prohibiting all trade with them.
MILETUS, the foremost Ionian city of ancient Asia Minor, at the
mouth of the Mæander, was the mother of many colonies, and the port from
which vessels traded to all the Mediterranean countries and to the
Atlantic; its carpets and cloth were far-famed; its first greatness
passed away when Darius stormed it in 494 B.C., and it was finally
ruined by the Turks; Thales the philosopher and Cadmus the historian were
among its famous sons.
MILITARY ORDERS were in crusading times associations of knights
sworn to chastity and devoted to religious service; the Hospitallers, the
earliest, tended sick pilgrims at Jerusalem; the Templars protected
pilgrims and guarded the Temple; the Knights of St. John were also
celibate, but the orders of Alcantara and others in Spain, of St. Bennet
in Portugal, and others elsewhere, with different objects, were permitted
to marry.
MILITIA, a body of troops in the British service for home defence,
the members of which have as a rule never served in the regular army, nor
have, except for a short period each year, any proper military training.
MILKY WAY. See GALAXY.
MILL, JAMES, economist, born in Logie Pert, near Montrose, the son
of a shoemaker, bred for the Church; was a disciple of Locke and Jeremy
Bentham; wrote a "History of British India," "Elements of Political
Economy," and an "Analysis of the Human Mind"; held an important
lucrative post in the East India Company's service (1773-1836).
MILL, JOHN STUART, logician and economist, born in London, son of
the preceding; was educated pedantically by his father; began to learn
Greek at 3, could read it and Latin at 14, "never was a boy," he says,
and was debarred from all imaginative literature, so that in after years
the poetry of Wordsworth came to him as a revelation; entered the service
of the East India Company in 1823, but devoted himself to philosophic
discussion; contributed to the _Westminster Review_, of which he was for
some time editor; published his "System of Logic" in 1843, and in 1848
his "Political Economy"; entered Parliament in 1865, but lost his seat in
1868, on which he retired to Avignon, where he died; he wrote a book on
"Liberty" in 1859, on "Utilitarianism" in 1863, on "Comte" in 1865, and
on "Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy" the same year, and left an
"Autobiography"; he was a calm thinker and an impartial critic; he
befriended Carlyle when he went to London, and Carlyle rather took to
him, but divergences soon appeared, which, as it could not fail, ended in
total estrangement; he had an Egeria in a Mrs. Taylor, whom he married
when she became a widow; it was she, it would almost seem, who was
responsible for the fate of Carlyle's MS. (1806-1873).
MILLAIS, SIR JOHN EVERETT, painter, born of Jersey parentage, at
Southampton; studied at the Royal Academy, and at 17 exhibited a notable
historical work; early associated with Rossetti and Holman Hunt, he
remained for over 20 years under their influence; to this period belong
"The Carpenter's Shop," 1851, "Autumn Leaves," 1856, and "The Minuet,"
1866; "The Gambler's Wife" marks the transition from Pre-Raphaelitism;
his chief subsequent work, in which technical interest predominates, was
portraiture, including Gladstone and Beaconsfield; he was a profuse
illustrator, and wrought some etchings; he was made R.A. 1864, a baronet
in 1885, and P.R.A. February 1896 (1829-1896).
MILLBANK PRISON, Westminster, constructed 1812-21 on the plans of
Howard and Bentham, so that each of its 1100 cells were visible from the
governor's room, was used for solitary confinement preparatory to penal
servitude, and as a convict prison until 1886, and demolished 1890.
MILLER, HUGH, journalist and geologist, self-taught, born in
Cromarty, of sailor ancestry; began life as a stone-mason; editor of the
_Witness_ newspaper from 1839 till his death; wrote the "Old Red
Sandstone," "Footprints of the Creator," and the "Testimony of the
Rocks," books which awakened an interest in geological subjects, besides
being the author of an account of his life, "My Schools and
Schoolmasters"; died by his own hand at Portobello; he was a writer of
considerable literary ability, and "nothing," says Prof. Saintsbury, "can
be more hopelessly unliterary than to undervalue Hugh Miller"
(1802-1856).
MILLER, WILLIAM, line-engraver, lived at Millerfield, Edinburgh;
famed for his engravings of Turner; was a member of the Society of
Friends, and stood high in his art as an engraver (1797-1882).
MILLET, JEAN FRANÇOIS, French painter of French peasant life, born
near Greville, of a peasant family; sent to Paris, studied under Paul
Delaroche, withdrew into rustic life, and took up his abode at the
village of Barbizon, near the Forest of Fontainebleau, where he spent as
a peasant the rest of his life, honoured though poor by all his
neighbours, and produced inimitable pictures of French country life,
completing his famous "Sower," and treating such subjects as the
"Gleaners," the "Sheep-Shearers," "Shepherdess and Flock," &c., with an
evident appreciation on his part of the life they depicted so faithfully
(1814-1875).
MILMAN, HENRY HART, dean of St. Paul's, ecclesiastical historian,
born in London; edited Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," wrote "History of the
Jews," "History of Christianity to the Abolition of Paganism under the
Empire," and "History of Latin Christianity," all learned works,
particularly the last in 9 vols., described by Dean Stanley as "a
complete epic and philosophy of mediæval Christianity"; was professor of
Poetry at Oxford (1791-1865).
MILNE-EDWARDS, HENRI, eminent naturalist, born at Bruges, of English
parentage; wrote extensively and learnedly on natural history subjects,
dissented from Darwin, and held to the theory of different centres of
creation, and to this he stoutly adhered to the last (1800-1885).
MILNER, VISCOUNT, High Commissioner of South Africa since 1897, and
Governor of the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies since 1901; a student
of Balliol (graduating with a first class in classics), and a Fellow of
New College, Oxford; called to the bar in 1881; Private Secretary to Mr.
Goschen (1887-1889); Under-Secretary for Finance in Egypt (1889-1892);
Chairman of the Inland Revenue Board, from 1892 to 1897, when he
succeeded Lord Rosmead at the Cape; represented the Mother Country with
great ability before and during the Boer War; visited England and raised
to the peerage in 1901; declined the Colonial Secretaryship in 1903;
resigned in 1905; _b_. 1854.
MILNER, JOSEPH, Church historian; master of the Grammar School,
Hull; his "History of the Church" reaches down to the 16th century
(1744-1797).
MILO, a celebrated athlete, born at Crotona, of extraordinary
strength, said to have one day carried a live bullock 120 paces along the
Olympic course, killed it with his fist, and eaten it up entire at one
repast; in old age he attempted to split a tree, but it closed upon his
arm, and the wolves devoured him.
MILTIADES, an Athenian general, famous for his decisive defeat of
the Persians at Marathon, 490 B.C.; failing in a naval attack on Paros,
and fined to indemnify the cost of the expedition, but unable to pay, was
cast into prison, where he died of his wounds inflicted in the attempt.
MILTON, JOHN, poet, born in London, son of a scrivener; graduated at
Cambridge, and settled to study and write poetry in his father's house at
Horton, 1632; in 1638 he visited Italy, being already known at home as
the author of the "Hymn on the Nativity," "Allegro," "Penseroso,"
"Comus," a mask, and "Lycidas," an elegy on his friend King, who was
drowned in the Irish Sea in 1637, besides much excellent Latin verse; the
outbreak of the Civil War recalled him, and silenced his muse for many
years; settling in London he took pupils, married in 1643 Mary Powell,
and became active as a writer of pamphlets on public questions; his first
topic was Church Government, then his wife's desertion of him for two
years called forth his tracts on Divorce, a threatened prosecution for
which elicited in turn the "Areopagitica, a Speech for the Liberty of
Unlicensed Printing"; his father died in 1647, his wife in 1652; under
the Common wealth he was "Secretary of Foreign Tongues," and successfully
defended the execution of Charles I. in his Latin "Defence of the English
People," and other bitter controversial works; he married in 1656 his
second wife, who died two years later; the Restoration gave him back to
leisure and poetry; his greatest work, "Paradise Lost," was composed
rapidly, dictated to his daughters, and completed in 1663, but not
published till 1667; 1671 saw "Paradise Regained" and "Samson
Agonistes"; he had been blind since 1652; he married Elizabeth Minshull
in 1663, who comforted him in his closing years; a man of fervent,
impulsive temperament, and a lover of music, he was sincere in
controversy, magnanimous in character, and of deep religious faith; the
richness, melody, and simplicity of his poetry, the sublimity of his
great theme, and the adequacy of its treatment, place him among the
greatest poets of the world; in later years he leaned to Arianism, and
broke away from the restraints of outward religious practice; his last
prose work, a Latin treatise on "Christian Doctrines," was lost at the
time of his death, and only recovered 150 years later (1608-1674).
MILWAÜKEE (285), chief city of Wisconsin, U.S., on W. shore of Lake
Michigan, 80 miles N. by W. of Chicago. Exports grain, iron ore, &c.;
manufactures flour, machinery, and pig-iron.
MIMES, dramatic performances among the Greeks and Romans, in comic
representation of scenes in ordinary life, often in extempore dialogue.
MIMIR, in the Norse mythology the god of wisdom, guardian of the
sacred well which nourished the roots of the TREE IGGDRASIL (q. v.),
and a draught of whose waters imparted divine wisdom.
MINARETS, a salient feature of Mohammedan architecture, are tall
slim towers, in several storeys with balconies, from which the muezzin
calls the people to prayer, and terminated by a spire or finial.
MINERVA, the Roman virgin goddess of wisdom and the arts, identified
with the GREEK ATHENA (q. v.); born full-armed from the brain of
Jupiter, and representing his thinking, calculating, inventive power, and
third in rank to him.
MINERVA PRESS, a printing establishment in Leadenhall Street,
London, which about a century ago issued a set of trashy, extremely
sentimental novels with complicated plots, in which hero and heroine were
involved before they could get married.
MINGHETTI, MARCO, Italian patriot and statesman, born at Bologna; a
man of liberal views; a friend and associate of Cavour; held office under
him as Minister of the Interior in 1862; was ambassador to the Court of
St. James's in 1868, and Prime Minister at Rome from 1873 to 1876
(1818-1886)
MINIMS, an order of monks founded by St. Francis of Paula in 1453, a
name which signifies "the least" to express super-humility.
MINNEAPOLIS (203), city of U.S., Minnesota, on both sides of the
Mississippi, the greatest centre of the wheat and flour trade in U.S.
MINNESINGERS (i. e. love-singers), a name given to the lyric poets
of Germany during the latter part of the 12th and the first half of the
13th centuries.
MINNESOTA (1,302), one of the United States of America; lies between
the Dakotas on the W. and Wisconsin on the E., Canada on the N., and Iowa
on the S., round the upper waters of the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence,
and the Red River of the North; the State is largely prairie, with
hundreds of lakes, the largest Red Lake, and is chiefly a wheat-producing
area; there are pine forests in the N., iron mines, slate and granite
quarries; the climate is dry, equable, and bracing; education is good;
the State university is at Minneapolis; the capital is ST. PAUL
(133), where the Mississippi is still navigable, a fine city, founded in
1840, the centre of the grocery and dry-goods trade; the largest city is
Minneapolis (203), which has great lumber and flour mills; Duluth (33)
has a magnificent harbour and good shipping trade.
MINORCA (34), the second of the Balearic Isles, hilly, with
stalactite caves and rocky coast; is less fertile than Majorca, from
which it is 25 m. distant NE.; it produces oil, wine, and fruits, and
makes boots and shoes, but under Spanish misrule is not prosperous; the
capital Mahon (17), in the SE., is strongly fortified, and has a good
harbour.
MINOS, an ancient king of Crete, celebrated for his administration
of justice; was fabled to have been appointed, along with Æacus and
Rhadamanthus, one of the judges of the dead on their descent into the
nether world.
MINOTAUR, in the Greek mythology a monster, half-man half-bull with
a bull's head, confined in the Labyrinth of Crete, fed by the annual
tribute of seven youths and seven maidens of Athenian birth, till he was
slain by Theseus with the help of ARIADNE (q. v.).
MINSTRELS, a body of men who during the Middle Ages wandered from
place to place, especially from court to court, singing their own
compositions to the harp for accompaniment.
MINTO, EARL OF, Governor-General of India; was bred to the bar,
served in Parliament and as ambassador, went out to India in 1806,
consolidated the British power, captured Java, and opened diplomatic
relations with powers around (17501814).
MIRABEAU, GABRIEL HONORÉ RIQUETTI, COMTE DE, son of the succeeding,
born at the mansion-house of Bignon; was a man of massive intellect and
strong physical frame, who came to the front in the French Revolution;
being expelled from his order by the noblesse of Provence, he ingratiated
himself with the Third Estate, and was elected commons-deputy of Aix to
the States-General in 1789, where he became, as the incarnation of the
whole movement, the ruling spirit of the hour, and gave proof, if he had
lived, of being able to change the whole course of the Revolution, for he
was already in communication with the court and in hopes of gaining it
over to accept the inevitable, when he sickened and died, to the
consternation of the entire people, whose affection and confidence he had
won (1749-1791). See CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION" and his Essay
in his "MISCELLANIES."
MIRABEAU, VICTOR RIQUETTI, MARQUIS DE, "crabbed old friend of men,"
born at Pertuis, in Provence, claimed to be of Florentine descent; "could
never make the world go to his mind," and set about reforming it by
coercing a family as self-willed as himself, to the driving of his
celebrated son to desperate courses and reckless excesses; advocated the
doctrines of the French economists in a series of writings instinct with
a certain theoretical philanthropy (1716-1783).
MIRACLE PLAYS were strictly speaking dramas founded on legends of
the saints, as distinct from mysteries founded on scriptural subjects,
but the name came to cover all those religious representations for the
instruction of the people fostered by the Church of the Middle Ages,
performed first in churches, afterwards in public places; they were
common in England from the 12th century, but latterly became corrupt
through the introduction of grotesque indecorous comicalities; the rise
of the drama led to their abandonment; on the Continent ecclesiastical
action was taken against them, not by the Reformers, but by the Church
itself in the 18th century, and everywhere they have all but disappeared;
the Passion Play acted every 10 years at Oberammergau, Bavaria, is the
only important survival.
MIRANDA, the beautiful daughter of the magician Prospero in
Shakespeare's "Tempest."
MIRANDA, FRANCESCO DE, a Portuguese poet; wrote sonnets and epistles
in verse; was predecessor of Camoëns (1495-1558).
MISERERE, a carved bracket on the under side of the stall seats in
mediæval churches, which, when the seat was turned up during the standing
portion of the service, afforded support to the older clergy. Miserere,
the Catholic name for the 51st Psalm.
MISHNA, the oral law of the Jews, which is divided into six parts,
and constitutes the text of the Talmud, of which the Gemara is the
commentary.
MISPRISION, a high offence under, but close upon, the degree of a
capital one; misprision of treason being a concealment of a felony
without consenting to it.
MISSAL, a book containing the service of the mass for the entire
year, such as is now in almost universal use throughout the Catholic
world.
MISSISSIPPI (1,290), an American State on the E. bank of the Lower
Mississippi, abutting on the Gulf of Mexico, between Louisiana and
Alabama; has a hilly surface, traversed by numerous rivers, the Yazoo, a
tributary of the Mississippi, forming a great fertile delta; the climate
is free from extremes; the chief industry is agriculture; the best crops
are grown in the N., and on the alluvial bottom lands; in the centre and
NE. are good grazing farms; cotton, corn, oats, and fruits are the chief
crops; virgin forests of hardwood cover much of the delta; valuable
deposits of pipe and ochre clays and of lignite are found; cotton is
manufactured, and there is trade in lumber; more than half the population
is coloured, and the races are kept distinct in the State schools; the
State university is at Oxford, and there are many other colleges; Jackson
(6), the capital, is the chief railway centre, Meridian (10) has iron
manufactures, Vicksburg (13) and Natchez (10) are the chief riverports;
Mississippi was colonised by the French in 1699, ceded to Britain 1763,
admitted to the Union 1817, joined the South in 1861, but was readmitted
to the Union in 1869.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER rises in Lake Itaska, Minnesota, and flowing S.
for 2800 m., enters the Gulf of Mexico by a large delta; its earlier
course is through picturesque country, often in gorges, with rapids such
as the St. Anthony Falls, the Des Moines and Rock Island Rapids. After
receiving the Missouri, 3000 m. long, from the Rocky Mountains, it flows
2½ m. per hour through great alluvial plains, which are protected from
its overflows by hundreds of miles of earth embankments, and is joined by
the Ohio from the E., the Red and Arkansas Rivers from the W., and many
other navigable streams. The Mississippi is navigable by large steamers
for 2000 m.; St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans are
among the chief ports on its banks.
MISSISSIPPI SCHEME was started in France 1717 by John Law and the
Government, ostensibly to develop the Mississippi basin, but really to
ease the pressure on the exchequer; a company was formed and empowered to
monopolise almost all the foreign trade; 624,000 shares were issued;
depreciated paper currency was accepted in payment, and the national bank
issued notes without stint; in 1719 the demand for shares was enormous;
the nation was completely carried away; next year the crash came; the
Government made every effort to save the position, but in vain; the
distress was extreme, and Law had to leave the country.
MISSOLONGHI (6), Greek seaport and fishing town, on the Gulf of
Patras, chiefly noted for heroic defences in the War of Independence
1821-1826, and as the place of Byron's death 1824.
MISSOURI (2,679), an American State on the right bank of the
Mississippi, between Iowa and Arkansas, is half the size of the British
Isles, and is traversed by the Missouri River; N. of that river the
country is level, S. of it there rise the Ozark tablelands; the soil is
very fertile, and the State principally agricultural; immense crops of
maize, oats, potatoes, cotton, and tobacco are raised; there are large
cattle ranches, and dressed beef and pork are largely exported; the
climate is subject to extremes; coal, iron, lead, zinc, and other
minerals abound, while marble, granite, and limestone are quarried; the
rivers afford excellent transport facilities; the educational system is
very complete; admitted to the Union in 1821, Missouri was divided in the
Civil War, and suffered terribly, but since then has been very
prosperous; the capital, St. Louis (452), is one of the greatest
commercial and manufacturing towns in the Union, does a vast trade in
grain and cotton, and has hardware, leather goods, and tobacco factories;
Kansas City (133), has great pork-packing establishments and railroad
iron-works.
MISTRAL, FREDERICK, poet of Southern France, born near Maillaune,
was a peasant's son, and himself a peasant; his fame rose on the
publication of the epic, "Mirèio," in Provençal dialect, 1859; in 1867 he
published "Calendou," and in 1876 a volume of songs, and in 1884 "Nerto,"
a novel; _b_. 1830.
MITFORD, MARY RUSSELL, authoress, born at Alresford, Hants, lived
with her father, an extravagant physician, at Lyme Regis and London; she
published poems in 1810-11-12, but, forced to earn a living, took to
dramatic work; "Julian," "The Foscari," and "Rienzi" were successful if
ephemeral tragedies; her best work was "Our Village," sketches of homely
English life written with much care, and after appearing in the _London
Magazine_, published in 5 vols., 1824-32 (1786-1855).
MITFORD, WILLIAM, English author; wrote a "History of Greece" and on
the "English Metre, or the Harmony of Language" (1744-1827).
MITHRAS (i. e. the Friend), the highest of the second order of
deities in the ancient Persian religion, the friend of man in this life
and his protector against evil in the world to come, sided with Ormuzd
against Ahriman, incarnated in the sun, and represented as a youth
kneeling on a bull and plunging a dagger into his neck, while he is at
the same time attacked by a dog, a serpent, and a scorpion.
MITHRIDATES THE GREAT, surnamed Eupator, king of Pontus from 123 to
63 B.C.; an implacable enemy of the Romans, between whom and him there
raged from 90 to 63 a succession of wars, till he was defeated by Pompey
near the Euphrates, when, being superseded by his son, he put an end to
his life; he was a great man and conqueror, subdued many surrounding
nations, and was a collector of works of art; he made a special study of
poisons, and familiarised himself with all their antidotes, in view of
possible attempts by means of them to take away his life.
MITRAILLEUSE, a gun consisting of several, as many as 25, barrels,
from which a number of shots may be fired simultaneously or in rapid
succession, used by the French in the Franco-German War.
MIVART, ST. GEORGE, naturalist, a Roman Catholic professor at
Louvain, distinguished for his opposition to Darwinianism; _b_. 1827.
MNEMOSYNË in the Greek mythology the daughter of Uranos, the goddess
of memory, and the mother of the Muses by Zeus.
MOA, the name of several species of New Zealand and Australian
birds, from 2 to 14 ft. high, and quite wingless; almost extinct since
the 17th century; two living specimens were captured in 1876.
MOAB, a pastoral region extending along the E. of lower parts of the
Jordan and the Dead Sea, and inhabited by the descendants of Lot, now
extinct, or merged among the Arabs.
MOABITE STONE, a stone 4 ft. high and 2 ft. broad found by Dr. Klein
in 1868 among the ruins of Dhiban, a town in Moab, now in the Louvre at
Paris, describing a victory of the Moabites over the Israelites; it was
broken by the Arabs, but the fragments have been collected and put into
their proper places.
MOBILE (31), a city and port of Alabama, U.S., 30 m. N. of the Gulf
of Mexico; a thriving place; exports cotton, lumber, &c.
MOBILIER CRÉDIT, a banking and financial company founded in Paris in
1852; lends money on security of property other than real, and takes
shares in public schemes, such as railways.
MODENA (31), Italian town, 62 m. N. of Florence; has a cathedral,
with noted campanile, university, library, and art collections, and
manufactures silk and leather; capital of a duchy (303); incorporated in
the kingdom of Italy 1860.
MODERN ATHENS, Edinburgh, from its resemblance to Athens and its
repute for literary culture; applied also to Boston, in America.
MODERN BABYLON, London, from its huge extent and the miscellaneous
character of its inhabitants.
MODJESKA, HELENA, actress, born in Cracow; went on the stage after
her first marriage in 1861, and from 1868 to 1876 was the favourite of
Warsaw; retired to California on her second marriage, but returned to the
stage, having learned English in seven months in California 1877, and
till her final retirement in 1895, was eminently successful in America
and Britain in such parts as Rosalind, Beatrice, &c.
MODRED, SIR, a treacherous knight, the rebellious nephew of King
Arthur, whose wife he seduced; was slain in battle, and buried in Avalon.
MOFFAT, ROBERT, African missionary, born at Ormiston,
Haddingtonshire; the scene of his nearly lifelong labours was among the
Bechuanas in South Africa, whom he raised from a savage to a civilised
state; he was sent out in 1816 by the London Missionary Society. He
married (1819) Mary Smith, a daughter of his former employer at
Dunkinfield.
MOHAMMED, great prophet of the Arabs, and founder of Islamism, born
at Mecca, the son of Abdallah, of the tribe of the Koreish; left an
orphan, brought up by his uncle Abu Taleb; became steward to a rich
WIDOW KADIJAH (q. v.) whom he married; was given to serious
meditation, would retire into solitude and pray, and one day, by the
favour of Heaven, got answer which left him "in doubt and darkness no
longer, but saw it all," saw into the vanity of all that was not God,
that He alone was great, inconceivably great; that it was with Him alone
we had to do, we must all submit to Him; this revelation made to him he
imparted to Kadijah, and after a time she assented, and his heart leaped
for joy; he spoke or his doctrine to this man and that, but made slow
progress in persuading others to believe it; made only 13 converts in 3
years; his preaching gave offence to the chief people, and his relatives
tried hard to persuade him to hold his peace, but he would not; after 13
years a conspiracy was formed to take his life, and he fled, through
peril after peril, to Medina, in his fifty-third year, and in 622 of our
era; his enemies had taken up the sword against him, and he now replied
with the same weapon, and in 10 years he prevailed; it was a war against
idolatry in all its forms, and idolatry was driven to the wall, the motto
on his banner "God is Great," a motto with a depth of meaning greater
than the Mohammedan world, and perhaps the Christian, has yet realised;
it is for one thing a protest on the part of Mohammed, in which the
Hebrew prophets forestalled him, against all attempts to understand the
Deity and fathom "His ways, which are ever in the deep, and whose
footsteps are not known" (571-631).
MOHAMMEDANISM, the religion of MOHAMMED, or ISLAM, (q. v.),
is essentially much the same as the religion of the Jews with some
elements borrowed from the Christian religion, and is defined by Carlyle
as a bastard Christianity; originating in Arabia it spread rapidly over
the W. of Asia, the N. of Africa, and threatened at one time to overrun
Europe itself; it is the religion to-day of two hundred millions of the
human race, and the profession of it extends over a wide area in western
and southern Asia as also in northern Africa, though its limits in Europe
do not extend beyond the bounds of Turkey.
MOHAWK, a tribe of American Indians, gave name to a band or club of
ruffians who infested the streets of London in 1711-12.
MOHIC`ANS, an American Indian tribe, took sides with the English
settlers against the French and with the former against England.
MOHL, JULIUS, Orientalist, born in Stuttgart; edited the "Shah
Nameh" of Firdushi, a monumental work (1800-1876).
MÖHLER, JOHANN ADAM, a Roman Catholic theologian, born at
Würtemberg, author of "Symbolik," a work which discusses the differences
between the doctrines of Catholics and Protestants, as evidenced in their
respective symbolical books, a work which created no small stir in the
theological world (1796-1838).
MOIR, DAVID MACBETH, the "Delta" of _Blackwood_, born in
Musselburgh, where he practised as a physician; was author of "Mansie
Waugh" (1798-1851).
MOIRA, FRANCIS RAWDON-HASTINGS, EARL OF, son of the Earl of Moira;
entered the army 1771, and served against the Americans in the War of
Independence; created Baron Rawdon in 1783; succeeded to his father's
title 1793; entered political life under Fox, and was Governor-General of
India 1813-23, in which period fell the Goorkha War, for the successful
negotiations subsequent on which he was created Marquis of Hastings; his
administration encouraged native education and freedom of the press; from
1824 he was Governor of Malta till his death at Naples (1754-1826).
MOKANNA, AL, "the veiled one," a name given to Hakim ben Allah, who
wore a veil to hide the loss of an eye; he professed to be an incarnation
of the Deity and to work miracles; found followers; founded a sect at
Khorassan; seized some fortresses, but was overthrown at Kash A.D. 780,
whereupon he took poison.
MOLDAU, largest river in Bohemia, rises on the N. of the Böhmerwald
Mountains, flows SE. along their base, then turns northward through
Bohemia, passes Budweis, becomes navigable, is 100 yards broad at Prague,
and joins the Elbe at Melnik after flowing 278 m.
MOLDAVIA, once independent, now the northern division of Roumania,
lies between the Carpathians and the Pruth River, and is well watered by
the Sereth; its chief town is Jassy, in the NE.
MOLÉ, LOUIS MATTHIEU, COMTE, French statesman, born in Paris;
published in 1805 an essay on politics which, defending Napoleon, won for
its author a series of minor offices, and in 1813 a peerage and a seat in
the Cabinet; retaining power under Louis XVIII. and Louis Philippe, he
was Minister of Marine 1817, Foreign Minister 1830, and Premier 1837, but
retired from politics two years later (1781-1855).
MOLECULE, the smallest particle of which an element or a compound
body is composed, and that retains all the properties in a free state.
MOLESWORTH, SIR WILLIAM, British statesman, born in London; was an
advanced Liberal; editor and proprietor of the _Westminster Review_;
edited the works of Hobbes (1810-1855).
MOLIÈRE, JEAN BAPTISTE POQUELIN, great French comic dramatist, born
in Paris; studied law and passed for the bar, but evinced from the first
a proclivity for the theatre, and soon associated with actors, and found
his vocation as a writer of plays, which procured him the friendship of
Lafontaine, Boileau, and other distinguished men, though he incurred the
animosity of many classes of society by the ridicule which he heaped on
their weaknesses and their pretensions, the more that in his satires his
characters are rather abstract types of men than concrete
individualities; his principal pieces are, "Les Précieuses Ridicules,"
"L'École des Femmes," "Le Tartuffe," "Le Misanthrope," "George Dandin,"
"L'Avare," "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme," "Les Fourberies de Scapin," "Le
Malade malgré Lui," "Les Femmes Savantes," and "Le Malade Imaginaire";
though seriously ill, he took part in the performance of this last, but
the effort was too much for him, and he died that night; from the grudge
which the priests bore him for his satires on them he was buried without
a religious service (1622-1673).
MOLINA, LUIS, a Spanish Jesuit and theologian, author of a theory
called Molinism, which resolves the doctrine of predestination into a
mere foreknowledge of those who would accept and those who would reject
the grace of God in salvation.
MOLINOS, MIGUEL DE, a Spanish theologian, born at Saragossa;
published a book called the "Spiritual Guide," which, as containing the
germ of Quietism, was condemned by the Inquisition, and its author
sentenced to imprisonment for life (1627-1696).
MOLLAH, a judge of the highest rank among the Turks on matters of
law, both civil and sacred.
MOLLWITZ, a village in Silesia, 20 m. SE. of Breslau, where
Frederick the Great defeated the Austrians 1741.
MOLOCH or MOLECH, the chief god of the Ammonites, the worship
of whom, which prevailed among all the Canaanites, was accompanied with
cruelties, human sacrifices among others, revolting to the humane spirit
of the Jewish religion; originally it appears to have been the worship of
fire, through which the innocent as well as the guilty have often to pass
for the achievement of the noblest enterprises, which degenerated at
length into selfish sacrifices of others for interests of one's own, into
the substitution of the innocent for the guilty by way of atonement to
the Deity!
MOLTKE, COUNT VON, surnamed the Silent, great German field marshal,
born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, of an old family; was pre-eminent as a
military strategist, planned and conducted the Prussian campaign against
Austria in 1866, and the German campaign against France in 1870-72; was
in the service of Denmark before he entered the Prussian (1800-1891).
MOLUCCAS or SPICE ISLANDS (400), an archipelago of mountainous
islands, mostly volcanic, between Celebes and New Guinea, is in two main
groups; in the N. the largest island is Jilolo, but the most important
Tidor and Ternate, which export spices, tortoise-shell, and bees-wax; in
the S. Buru and Ceram are largest, most important, Amboyna, from which
come cloves; the people are civilised Malays; the islands are equatorial,
but tempered by sea-breezes, and healthy; discovered by the Portuguese in
1521, they have been in Dutch possession since 1607, except when held by
Britain 1810-1814.
MOMBASA (Africans and Arabs 20), capital of British East Africa, on
a rocky islet, close inshore, 50 m. N. of Pemba; was ceded with a tract
of country six times the size of the British Isles, and rich in gold,
copper, plumbago, and india-rubber, to the British East African Company
by the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1888, since when it has been rebuilt, and
the harbour, one of the best and healthiest on the coast, made a naval
coaling-station and head-quarters.
MOMMSEN, THEODOR, historian, born in Schleswig, a man of immense
historical knowledge; his greatest work the "History of Rome"; was
professor of Ancient History at Berlin; his _forte_ was his learning more
than his critical capacity; _b_. 1817.
MOMUS, the god of raillery, the son of Night, a kind of ancient
MEPHISTOPHELES (q. v.).
MONACHISM, or MONASTICISM, is an institution in which
individuals devote themselves, apart from others, to the cultivation of
spiritual contemplation and religious duties, and which has constituted a
marked feature in Pre-Christian Jewish asceticism, and in Buddhism as
well as in Christianity; in the Church it developed from the practice of
living in solitude in the 2nd century, and received its distinctive note
when the vow of obedience to a superior was added to the hermit's
personal vows of poverty and chastity; the movement of St. Benedict in
the 6th century stamped its permanent form on Western Monasticism, and
that of St. Francis in the 12th gave it a more comprehensive range,
entrusting the care of the poor, the sick, the ignorant, &c., to the
hitherto self-centred monks and nuns; during the Middle Ages the
monasteries were centres of learning, and their work in copying and
preserving both sacred and secular literature has been invaluable;
English Monachism was swept away at the Reformation; in France at the
Revolution; and later in Spain, Portugal, and Italy it has been
suppressed; brotherhoods and sisterhoods have sprung up in the Protestant
churches of Germany and England, but in all of them the vows taken are
revocable.
MONACO (13), a small principality 9 m. E. of Nice, on the
Mediterranean shore, surrounded by French territory and under French
protection; has a mild salubrious climate, and is a favourite winter
resort. The capital, MONACO, is built on a picturesque promontory,
and 1 m. NE. stands Monte Carlo.
MONAD, the name given by Leibnitz to one of the active simple
elementary substances, the plurality of which in their combinations or
combined activities constitutes in his regard the universe both spiritual
and physical; it denotes in biology an elementary organism.
MONAGHAN (82), an inland Ulster county, Ireland, surrounded by
Louth, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Cavan, and Meath; is undulating, with
many small lakes and streams; grows flax and manufactures linen, and has
limestone and slate quarries. The chief towns are CLONES (2), and
the county-town MONAGHAN (3), which has a produce market.
MONBODDO, JAMES BURNETT, LORD, a Scottish judge, born in
Kincardineshire, an eccentric writer, author of a "Dissertation on the
Origin of Language" and of "Ancient Metaphysics"; had original fancies on
the origin, particularly of the human race from the monkey, conceived not
so foolish to-day as they were then (1714-1799).
MONCREIFF, SIR HENRY WELLWOOD, Scottish clergyman, born at
Blackford; from 1775 to 1827 minister of St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, and
leader of the evangelical party of the Scottish Church.
MONCREIFF, JAMES W., LORD, second son of preceding, eminent Scottish
judge; was the author of the Veto Act which led to the Disruption of 1843
(1776-1851).
MONCREIFF, SIR HENRY W., son of preceding, became a Free Church
minister, and was Principal Clerk of the General Assembly of the Free
Church; an authority on Church law (1809-1885).
MONCREIFF, JAMES, brother of preceding, bred for the Scottish bar;
was Lord Advocate of Scotland under four administrations; was appointed
Lord Justice-Clerk in 1860; was raised to the peerage in 1874
(1811-1895).
MOND, LUDWIG, distinguished technical chemist and inventor, born at
Cassel, in Germany; was a pupil of Kolbe and Bunsen, and has made
important additions to chemical-industrial processes and products; _b_.
1839.
MONEY, defined by Ruskin to be "a documentary claim to wealth, and
correspondent in its nature to the title-deed of an estate."
MONGE, GASPARD, celebrated French mathematician, born at Beaune; one
of the founders of the Polytechnic School in Paris (1746-1818).
MONGOLS, a great Asiatic people having their original home on the
plains E. of Lake Baikal, Siberia, who first rose into prominence under
their ruler Genghis Khan in the 12th century; he, uniting the three
branches of Mongols, commenced a career of conquest which made him master
of all Central Asia; his sons divided his empire, and pursued his
conquests; a Mongol emperor seized the throne of China in 1234, and from
this branch sprang the great Kublai Khan, whose house ruled an immense
territory 1294-1368. Another section pushed westwards as far as Moravia
and Hungary, taking Pesth in 1241, and founded the immense empire over
which Tamerlane held sway. A third but later movement, springing from the
ruins of these earlier empires, was that of Baber, who conquered India,
and founded the Great Mogul line, 1519. Now Mongols are constituent
elements in the populations of China, Russian, and Turkish Asia.
MONICA, ST., the mother of St. Augustine, who became to him the
symbol of "the highest he knew on earth, bowing before a Higher in
heaven."
MONISM, the name given to the principle of any system of philosophy
which resolves the manifold of the universe into the evolution of some
unity in opposition to DUALISM (q. v.).
MONK, GEORGE, DUKE OF ALBEMARLE, general and admiral, was a
Devonshire man, who spent his youth in the Dutch wars, and returned to
England just in time to side with Charles I. against the Parliament;
after leading a regiment in Ireland, he was captured at Nantwich in 1644,
and spent two years in the Tower; obtaining his release by changing
sides, he won commendation from Cromwell at Dunbar in 1650, and was
entrusted with the command of operations in Scotland afterwards; in 1653
he beat Van Tromp at sea, twice; from 1654 till 1660 he was Governor of
Scotland; on the death of Cromwell he saw the confusion, marched with
6000 troops to London, and after cautious negotiations, brought Charles
II. to England and set him on the throne, receiving a peerage and many
honours for reward; he behaved well as Governor of London in the plague
year, and was again admiral in the Dutch wars of 1666 (1608-1670).
MONMOUTH, GEOFFREY, a Welsh priest of the 12th century, compiler of
what he called a "History of the Early Kings of Britain," from that of
Brut, through the story of King Arthur and others, such as King Lear,
down to that of Cadwallo, a Welsh king, who died in 689.
MONMOUTH, JAMES, DUKE OF, illegitimate son of Charles II., born at
Rotterdam; was admitted to Court after the Restoration, and received his
title in 1663; his manners and his Protestantism brought him popular
favour in spite of his morals, and by-and-by plots were formed to secure
the succession for him; forced to fly to Holland in 1683, he waited till
his father's death, then planned a rebellion with Argyll; Argyll failed
in Scotland; Monmouth, landing in Dorsetshire 1685, was soon overthrown
at Sedgemoor, taken prisoner, and executed (1649-1685).
MONMOUTHSHIRE (252), a west of England county lying N. of the Severn
estuary, between Glamorgan and Gloucestershire; is low and flat in the
S., but otherwise hilly, and is traversed by the Usk River; more than
half the surface is under permanent pasture; the wealth of Monmouthshire
consists of coal and iron-stone; Monmouth (5), the county town, is the
centre of beautiful scenery, and has some fine buildings.
MONOPHYSITES, a body of heretics who arose in the 5th century and
maintained that the divine and human natures in Christ were united in one
divine-human nature, so that He was neither wholly divine nor wholly
human, but in part both.
MONOTHEISM, belief in the existence of one God, or the divine unity,
or that the Divine Being, whether twofold, as in dualism, threefold, as
in Trinitarianism, is in essence and in manifestation one.
MONOTHELISM, a heresy which arose in the 7th century, in which it
was maintained that, though in Christ there were two natures, there was
but One Will, viz., the Divine.
MONRO, ALEXANDER, founder of Edinburgh Medical School, born of
Scotch parentage in London; studied there, and at Paris and Leyden, and
was appointed lecturer on Anatomy by the Surgeons' Company at Edinburgh
in 1719; two years later he became professor, and in 1725 was admitted to
the University; he was a principal promoter and early clinical lecturer
in the Royal Infirmary, and continued his clinical work after resigning
his chair to his son Alexander; he wrote several medical works, and was a
Fellow of the Royal Society; he was called _primus_, to distinguish him
from his son and grandson, who were called respectively _secundus_ and
_tertius_, and were professors of Anatomy in Edinburgh like himself
(1697-1767).
MONROE, JAMES, American President, born in Virginia, of Scottish
descent; left college to join Washington's army; was wounded in the war,
and studying law, entered Congress in 1783; he assisted in framing the
Constitution, and sat in the Senate 1790-1794; his diplomatic career in
France was marked by the purchase of Louisiana from that country in
1803; he was governor of Virginia thrice over, and Secretary of State
till 1817; then followed two terms of the Presidency, during which
Florida was acquired from Spain 1819, the delimitation of the slave limit
by the Missouri compromise, the recognition of the South American
Republics, and the statement of the "MONROE DOCTRINE" (q. v.);
in his later years his generosity led him into debt, and he spent his
closing days with relations in New York (1758-1831).
MONROE DOCTRINE, the doctrine of James Monroe, twice over President
of the United States, that the United States should hold aloof from all
interference with the affairs of the Old World, and should not suffer the
Powers of the Old World to interfere with theirs.
MONSON, SIR EDWARD, English diplomatist; entered the diplomatic
service in 1856, and after service at various courts, became ambassador
at Paris in 1896; _b_. 1834.
MONSOON originally denoted a periodical wind in the Indian Ocean,
which blows from SW. from April to October, and from NE. from October to
April; now denotes any wind connected with a continent regularly
recurring with the seasons.
MONSTRANCE, a transparent pyx on which the Host is exhibited on the
altar to the people, or conveyed in public procession.
MONT BLANC, in the Graian Alps, on the French-Italian frontier, the
highest mountain in Europe, 15,782 ft., the upper half under perpetual
snow; has 56 magnificent glaciers, including the Mer-de-Glace; it was
first climbed by Balmat and Paccard in 1786, and since then has been many
times ascended, now by 50 parties every year.
MONT CENIS, an Alpine peak (12,000 ft.) on the Savoy-Piedmont
frontier and the adjacent pass, over which a road was constructed
1802-1810, and near which a railway tunnel was pierced (1857-70) at a
cost of £3,000,000.
MONT DE PIÉTÉ, an institution to lend money to the poor at little or
no interest, first established in the 15th century, a time when lending
to the poor was as much a work of mercy as giving to them; a public
pawnbroking establishment, so called in France.
MONTAGNARDS. See MOUNTAIN, THE.
MONTAGU, LADY MARY WORTLEY, an English lady, born in
Nottinghamshire, celebrated for her wit and beauty, and for her "Letters
on the Manners of the East" (1690-1762).
MONTAIGNE, MICHEL DE, a sceptico-speculative thinker and moralist,
born in the Château of Montaigne, Périgord; an easy-going mortal, but a
keen observer of the ways and manners of other people, which some
experience in travel gave him opportunities to do, as well as the study
of the old classic Latin authors; his fame rests on his "Essays," in
which he records his observations of mankind, but in which, from a
decided descendental twist he had, he betrays a rather low idea of the
morale of the race; the book, however, is a favourite with all observant
people of education, and a translation of it by Florio is the one book we
know for certain to have been in the library of Shakespeare; bred as he
was by his father's arrangement among the common people, he always
retained a friendly feeling towards his neighbours, and they cherished
towards him feelings of very high regard; he was a quiet, tolerant man,
and his writings reveal a character which commands the respect of men who
affect a much higher level of thinking than that occupied by himself
(1533-1592).
MONTALEMBERT, COMTE DE, a French politician, born in London, son of
a French emigrant; was associated with Lamennais and Lacordaire in the
conduct of the _Avenir_, an Ultramontane Liberal organ, and spent his
life in advocating the cause of a free unfettered system of national
education; wrote the "Monks of the West," his chief work (1810-1870).
MONTANA (132), a State of the American Union, in the NW., lies along
the Canadian border between Idaho and the Dakotas, with Wyoming on the
S.; has a mild climate, and a soil which, with irrigation, produces fine
crops of grain and vegetables. Cattle-raising is profitable, but the
chief industry is mining, in the Rocky Mountains, which occupy a fifth of
the State. There gold, silver, copper, and lead abound. The Missouri and
the Columbia Rivers rise in Montana, and the Yellowstone traverses the
whole State. The State was admitted to the Union in 1889, with Helena (9)
as capital.
MONTANISM, a heresy which arose in the 2nd century; derived its name
from an enthusiast in Phrygia named Montanus, who insisted on the
permanency of the spiritual gifts vouchsafed to the primitive Church, and
a return to the severe discipline of life and character prevailing in it.
MONTCALM DE SAINT VÉRAN, LOUIS JOSEPH, MARQUIS DE, born near Nîmes;
entered the army early, and at forty-four was field-marshal and commander
of the forces in Quebec against the English; the capture of Forts Oswego
and William Henry and the defence of Ticonderoga were followed by the
loss of Louisburg and Fort Duquesne and the retreat on Quebec, where,
surprised by Wolfe in 1759, he was totally defeated, and Canada lost to
France; both generals fell (1712-1759).
MONTE CARLO (4), a great gambling centre in Monaco, 1 m. NE. of the
capital; visited by 400,000 persons annually. The Casino is held by a
company, and stands on ground leased from the prince.
MONTEFIORE, SIR MOSES, a philanthropic Jewish banker, born in
Leghorn; a friend to the emancipation not only of the oppressed among his
own race, but of the slave in all lands; lived to a great age
(1784-1885).
MONTÉGUT, ÉMILE, French critic, born at Limoges; is noted for books
of travel, studies in French and English literature, and for translations
of Shakespeare, Macaulay's "History," and Emerson's "Essays."
MONTENEGRO (236), a Balkan State, less than half the size of Wales,
lying in a wild mountainous region between Herzegovina and Albania, and
touching the Adriatic Sea with its SW. corner only. The climate is severe
in winter, mild in summer. The soil is sterile, but is industriously
tilled, and patches of arable land on the mountain sides and in the
valleys yield maize, oats, potatoes, and tobacco. Cattle and sheep are
reared in large numbers; vines and mulberries are cultivated round the
lake, whose waters abound in fish. Cattle, hides, and cheese are the
exports. The Montenegrins are a primitive people; the men hunt and fight,
the women work. They are mostly of the Greek Church, and noted for their
morality. The government is patriarchal, with a prince at the head.
Education and road-making have recently advanced. The towns are mere
villages. Cetinje (1) is the capital; Antivari and Dulcigno, the Adriatic
ports.
MONTESPAN, MARQUISE DE, mistress of Louis XIV.; a woman noted for
her wit and beauty; bore the king eight children; was supplanted by
MADAME DE MAINTENON (q. v.); passed her last days in religious
retirement (1641-1707).
MONTESQUIEU, BARON DE, illustrious French publicist, born in the
Château La Brède, near Bordeaux; his greatest work, and an able, "Esprit
des Lois," though rated in "Sartor" as at best the work of "a clever
infant spelling letters from a hieroglyphic prophetic book, the lexicon
of which lies in eternity, in heaven"; was author of an able work "On the
Causes of the Grandeur of the Romans and their Declension" (1689-1755).
MONTEVIDEO (215), on the N. shore of the Rio de la Plata, 130 m. E.
of Buenos Ayres; is the capital of Uruguay; a well-built town, with a
cathedral, university, school of arts, and museum. The chief industries
are beef-salting and shipping, though there is practically no harbour.
Nearly half the population are foreigners.
MONTEZ, LOLA, an adventuress of Spanish descent, born at Limerick;
contracted no end of marriages, which were broken off one after another;
took to the stage; took to lecturing, and ended in trying to reclaim
fallen women (1818-1861).
MONTEZUMA II., the last of the Mexican emperors; submitted to Cortez
when he landed; died in 1520 of a wound he received as he pled with his
subjects to submit to the conqueror, aggravated by grief over the failure
of his efforts in bringing about a reconciliation.
MONTFORT, SIMON DE, son of a French count; came to England in 1230,
where he inherited from his grandmother the earldom of Leicester;
attached to Henry III., and married to the king's sister, he was sent to
govern Gascony in 1248; returned in 1253, and passed over to the side of
the barons, whom he ultimately led in the struggle against the king;
after repeated unsuccessful attempts to make Henry observe the Provisions
of Oxford, Simon took arms against him in 1263; the war was indecisive,
and appeal being made to the arbitration of Louis the Good, Simon,
dissatisfied with his award, renewed hostilities, defeated the king at
Lewes, and taking him and his son prisoner, governed England for a year
(1264-65); he sketched a constitution for the country, and summoned the
most representative parliament that had yet met, but as he aimed at the
welfare of not the barons only, but the common people as well, the barons
began to distrust him, when Prince Edward, having escaped from captivity,
joined them, and overthrew Simon at Evesham, where he was slain
(1206?-1265).
MONTGOLFIER BROTHERS, inventors of the balloon, who made their first
ascent in Paris in 1783 in "their paper dome, filled with smoke of burnt
wood, amid the shouts of congregated men"; JOSEPH (1740-1810), and
ÉTIENNE (1745-1799).
MONTGOMERIE, ALEXANDER, Scottish poet, born, it is alleged, in
Ayrshire, from a branch of the Eglinton family; wrote sonnets and some
short poems, but his best-known piece is an allegorical poem, "The Cherry
and the Slae" (1556-1610).
MONTGOMERY, COMTE DE, a French knight of Scottish descent, captain
of the Scottish Guard under Henry II. of France; having in 1559 mortally
wounded the king in a tourney, he fled to England, but returned to fight
in the ranks of the Huguenots, and having had to surrender, he was taken
to Paris and beheaded, in violation of the terms of surrender, which
assured him of his life (1530-1574).
MONTGOMERY, JAMES, poet and hymn-writer, born at Irvine, son of a
Moravian minister; studied for the same profession, but was not licensed;
after some years of various occupation he started journalism, and
eventually produced a journal of his own, _Sheffield Iris_, 1794-1825; he
was twice fined and imprisoned for seditious publications, but became a
Conservative in 1832, a pensioner 1835, and died at Sheffield; of his
poetry most is forgotten, but "For ever with the Lord," and some dozen
other hymns are still remembered (1771-1854).
MONTGOMERY, ROBERT, author of "The Omnipresence of Deity" and
"Satan," born at Bath, son of a clown; passed undistinguished through
Oxford, and was minister of Percy Street Chapel, London; all his many
works are forgotten save the above, which lives in Macaulay's famous
review (1807-1855).
MONTGOMERYSHIRE (58), a North Wales inland county, surrounded by
Merioneth, Cardigan, Radnor, Salop, and Denbigh; is chiefly a stretch of
mountain pasture land, which rises to 2500 ft. at Plinlimmon, and in
which the Severn rises; but in the E. are well wooded and fertile
valleys. There are lead and zinc mines, and slate and limestone quarries.
There is some flannel manufacture at Newtown. The county town is
Montgomery (1).
MONTHOLON, COMTE DE, French general, born in Paris, served under
Napoleon, accompanied him to St. Helena, and left "Memoirs" (1782-1853).
MONTMORENCY, ANNE, DUC DE, marshal and constable of France, born of
an old illustrious family; served in arms under Francis I.; was
associated with Condé against the Huguenots, and was mortally wounded at
St. Denis fighting against them (1492-1567).
MONTMORENCY, HENRI, SECOND DUC OF, born at Chantilly; distinguished
himself in arms under Louis XIII., but provoked along with Gaston, Duke
of Orleans, into rebellion, he was taken prisoner and beheaded,
notwithstanding intercessions from high quarters on his behalf for the
zeal he had shown in defence of the Catholic faith (1596-1632).
MONTPELIER (4), capital of Vermont, 250 m. N. of New York and 120 m.
NW. of Portland, Maine, is on the Onion River, and has some mills and
tanneries.
MONTPELLIER (66), capital of Hérault, France, on the Lez, 6 m. from
the Gulf of Lyons, 30 m. SW. of Nîmes, is a picturesque town, containing
a cathedral, a university, picture-gallery, libraries, and other
institutions, and has been a centre of culture and learning since the
16th century; it also manufactures chemicals, corks, and textiles, and
does a large trade in brandy and wine.
MONTREAL (217), the greatest commercial city of Canada, on an island
in the St. Lawrence, at the confluence of the Ottawa River, 150 m. above
Quebec, is the centre of railway communication with the whole Dominion
and the States, connected by water with all the shipping ports on the
great lakes, and does an enormous import and export trade; its principal
shipment is grain; it is the chief banking centre, has the greatest
universities (M'Gill and a branch of Laval), hospitals, and religious
institutions, and pursues boot and shoe, clothing, and tobacco
manufactures; more than half the population is French and Roman Catholic,
and the education of Protestant and Roman Catholic children is kept
distinct; founded in 1642 by the French, Montreal passed to Britain in
1760; in 1776 it was occupied by the revolting colonies, but recovered
next year, and since then has had a steady career of prosperity and
advancement.
MONTROSE (13), an ancient burgh and seaport of Forfarshire, 35 m. S.
of Aberdeen, stands on a tongue of land between the sea and a basin which
is almost dry at low water; carries on timber-trade with Baltic and
Canadian ports, and spins flax, makes ropes and canvas.
MONTROSE, JAMES GRAHAM, MARQUIS OF, born at Old Montrose, and
educated at St. Andrews; travelled in Italy, France, and the Netherlands;
returning in 1637 he joined the Covenanters, and we find him at Aberdeen,
Stonehaven, and across the English border supporting the Covenant by
force of arms; suspected of treachery to the cause he was imprisoned for
a year, 1641-42, in Edinburgh Castle, whereupon he joined the side of the
king; in 1644-45 he did splendid service for Charles in Scotland,
defeating the Covenanters near Aberdeen, at Inverlochy and Kilsyth; but
routed by Leslie at Philiphaugh he lost the royal confidence, and next
year withdrew to Norway; an unsuccessful invasion in the Stuart cause in
1650 ended in his defeat at Invercarron, capture, and execution; "The
Great Marquis," as he is called, was a soldier of genius, and a man of
taste, learning, clemency, and courage (1612-1650).
MONTYON PRIZES, four prizes in the gift of the French Academy, so
named from their founder, Baron de Montyon (1733-1820), and awarded
annually for (1) improvements in medicine and surgery; (2) improvements
tending to health in some mechanical process; (3) acts of disinterested
goodness; (4) literary works conducive to morality; the last two are
usually divided among several recipients.
MOODY, DWIGHT LYMAN, evangelist, born in Massachusetts; settled in
Chicago, where he began his career as an evangelist, associated with Mr.
Sankey; visited great Britain in 1873 and 1883, and produced a
wide-spread impression, especially on the first visit; _b_. 1837.
MOON, the satellite of the earth, from which it is distant 238,800
m., and which revolves round it in 27-1/3 days, taking the same time to
rotate on its own axis, so that it presents always the same side to us;
is a dark body, and shines by reflection of the sun's light, its diameter
2165 m.; it has a rugged surface of mountains and valleys without
verdure; has no water, no atmosphere, and consequently no life.
MOON, MOUNTAINS OF THE, a range of mountains supposed by Ptolemy and
early geographers to stretch across Africa from Abyssinia to Guinea, now
variously identified as the Kenia, Kilimanjaro, Ruwenzori, &c.
MOONSHEE, in India a teacher of languages, especially Hindustani and
Persian.
MOORE, FRANK FRANKFORT, novelist and dramatist, born at Limerick,
both his novels and his dramas are numerous; commenced his literary
career as a journalist in connection with the _Belfast News Letter_ as
literary and art editor, a post he relinquished in 1893 to settle in
London; _b_. 1855.
MOORE, JOHN, M.D., author and novelist, born at Stirling, studied
medicine in Glasgow, and practised there, in Holland, Paris, and London;
he published books on the countries of Europe which he visited, an essay
on the French Revolution, and among several novels, one of some note,
"Zeluco" (1789); he died at Richmond (1730-1802).
MOORE, SIR JOHN, general, eldest son of above, born at Glasgow;
served in Corsica, the West Indies, Ireland, Holland, Egypt, Sicily, and
Sweden; his famous and last expedition was to Spain in 1808, when with
10,000 men he was sent to co-operate in expelling the French; Spanish
apathy and other causes weakened his hands, and in December he found
himself with 25,000 men at Astorga, a French force of 70,000 advancing
against him; retreat was necessary, but disastrous; he was overtaken by
Soult at Coruña in the act of embarking; the victory lay with the
English, but Moore was killed (1761-1808).
MOORE, THOMAS, the Bard of Erin, born in Dublin, the son of a
grocer, studied at Trinity College; went to London with a translation of
"Anacreon," which gained him favour and a valuable appointment in the
Bermudas in 1803; fought a duel with Jeffrey in 1806, began his "Irish
Melodies" in 1807, and published "The Twopenny Postbag" in 1812; in 1817
appeared "Lalla Rookh," a collection of Oriental tales, and in 1818 a
satiric piece "The Fudge Family," and published a Life of Byron in 1830;
Moore's songs were written to Irish airs, and they contributed much to
ensure Catholic emancipation (1779-1852).
MOORS, a general term for tribes in North Africa descended from Arab
and Berber stock; they were Christians for several centuries, but on
their conquest by Arabs in 647 embraced Mohammedanism; the town Moors do
not hold before European settlers, but the nomad tribes show more
vitality; Moorish peoples seized and settled in Spain early in the 8th
century, and, introducing a civilisation further advanced than that in
Europe generally with respect to science, art, and industry alike,
maintained a strong rule till the 11th century; then the Spaniards
gradually recovered the peninsula; Toledo was taken in 1085, Saragossa in
1118, Valencia in 1238, Seville in 1248, Murcia in 1260, and Granada in
1492; Turkish successes in the East came too late to save the Moors, and
the last were banished from the country in 1609.
MORAINES, masses of rock which become detached from the hill-side
and find lodgment on a glacier are so called, and are further described
as lateral, medial, terminal, or ground moraines, according as they lie
along its edges, its middle, are piled up in mounds at its end, or
falling down crevasses, are ground against the rock underneath.
MORALITIES, didactic dramas, following in order of time the miracle
plays and mysteries, in which the places of saints and biblical
personages in them were taken by characters representing different
virtues and vices, and the story was of an allegorical nature; were the
immediate precursors of the secular drama.
MORAVIA (2,277), a crownland in the N. of Austria, lying between the
Moravian and the Carpathian Mountains, with Silesia on the N., Hungary on
the E., Lower Austria on the S., and Bohemia on the W.; is mountainous,
with lofty plains in the S., and is watered by the March, a tributary of
the Danube; the valleys and plains are fertile; grain, beetroot, flax,
hemp, and vines are grown; cattle and poultry rearing and bee-keeping
occupy the peasantry; sugar, textiles, and tobacco are the chief
manufactures; there are coal and iron mines, graphite and meerschaum are
found; the capital is Brünn (94), which has woollen and leather
industries; associated with Bohemia in 1029, Moravia passed with that
country to Austria in 1526, its association with Bohemia terminating in
1849; the inhabitants are two-thirds Slavs and one-third German, and are
mostly Roman Catholic.
MORAVIANS, a sect of Protestant Christians who, followers of John
Huss, formed themselves into a separate community in Bohemia in 1467 on
the model of the primitive Church, in which the members regarded each
other as brethren, and were hence called the United Brethren; like other
heretics they suffered much persecution at the hands of the orthodox
Church; they are known also as Herrnhuters.
MORAY, JAMES STUART, EARL OF, illegitimate son of James V. of
Scotland, and so half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots; was from 1556 the
leader of the Reformation party, and on Mary's arrival in her kingdom in
1561 became her chief adviser; on her marriage with Darnley he made an
unsuccessful attempt to raise a Protestant rebellion, and had to escape
to England 1565, and after a visit to Edinburgh, when he connived at
Rizzio's murder, to France in 1567; he was almost immediately recalled by
the nobles, who had imprisoned Mary in Lochleven, and appointed regent;
next year he defeated at Langside the forces which, on her escape, had
rallied round her, and in the subsequent management of the kingdom
secured both civil and ecclesiastical peace, and earned the title of "the
Good Regent"; he was shot by a partisan of the queen's, James Hamilton of
Bothwellhaugh, when riding through Linlithgow (1531-1570).
MORE, HANNAH, English authoress, born near Bristol; wrote dramas, a
novel entitled "Coelebs in Search of a Wife," and a tract "The Shepherd
of Salisbury Plain" (1745-1833).
MORE, HENRY, a Platonist, born at Grantham, a Fellow of Christ
College, Cambridge, and author of a poem "Song of the Soul"; he was a
mystic who exercised a great influence among the young men of Cambridge
(1614-1687).
MORE, SIR THOMAS, Chancellor of England, born in London; was the
lifelong friend of Erasmus, and the author of "Utopia," an imaginary
commonwealth; succeeded Wolsey as Chancellor, but resigned the seals of
office because he could not sanction the king's action in the matter of
the divorce, and was committed to the Tower for refusing to take the oath
of supremacy, whence after 12 months he was brought to trial and
sentenced to be beheaded; he ascended the scaffold, and laid his head on
the block in the spirit of a philosopher; was one of the wisest and best
of men (1478-1535).
MOREA is the modern name of the ancient Peloponnesus, that
remarkable peninsula, larger than Wales, which constitutes the southern
half of Greece, and is joined to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth,
less than 4 m. broad.
MOREAU, JEAN VICTOR, French general, born at Morlaix; served with
distinction under the Republic and the Empire; was suspected of plotting
against the latter with George Cadoudal, and banished on conviction; went
to America, but returning to Europe, joined the ranks of the Russians
against his country, and was mortally wounded by a cannon ball at Dresden
(1763-1813).
MORGANATIC MARRIAGE, is a union permitted to German princes who,
forbidden to marry except with one of equal rank, may ally themselves
with a woman of inferior status, their children being legitimate but not
eligible for the succession; the marriages of British princes contracted
before the age of 25 without consent of the sovereign, or after that age
without consent of Parliament, are of a morganatic nature.
MORGARTEN, a mountain slope in the canton of Zug, Switzerland, where
1400 Swiss, on Nov. 15, 1315, in assertion of their independence,
defeated an Austrian army of 15,000.
MORGHEN, RAPHAEL SANZIO CAVALIERE, engraver, born in Naples, of
German parentage; studied in Rome, and by genius and industry became one
of the foremost engravers; his works include engravings of Raphael's
"Transfiguration," the result of 16 years' labour, and Leonardo da
Vinci's "Last Supper," his masterpiece (1758-1833).
MORGUE, a house in which bodies found dead are placed for
identification.
MORISONIANISM, the principles of the Evangelical Union, a Scottish
denomination founded by the Rev. James Morison of Kilmarnock on his
expulsion from the United Secession Church in 1843, and united with the
Scottish Congregational Union in 1897; differed from the older
Presbyterianism in affirming the freedom of the human will to accept or
reject salvation, and the universal scope of the offer of salvation as
made by God to all men; in polity the Morisonians observed a modified
independency.
MORLEY, JOHN, politician and man of letters, born in Blackburn; is
an advanced Liberal in both capacities; besides essays and journalistic
work, has written biographies, particularly on men associated with
politics and social movements, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot,
as well as Burke, and is editor of "English Men of Letters"; in politics
he was a staunch supporter of Mr. Gladstone, though he could have little
sympathy with him as a High Churchman; _b_. 1838.
MORMON, BOOK OF, a book which in 1827 fell into the hands of Joseph
Smith, the son of a farmer, alleged by him to have been written by a
Hebrew prophet who emigrated to America 600 years before Christ, and to
have been recorded by him as a direct revelation to himself from heaven,
by means of which the interrupted communication between heaven and earth
was to be restored.
MORMONISM, the creed of the Mormons, or Latter-day Saints as they
are called, who have settlements of their own in the valley of the Salt
Lake, generally called Utah, U.S.; they conceive, according to Hepworth
Dixon, of God as a flesh and blood man, of man as of the divine
substance, as existing from, and to exist to, all eternity, and without
inherited sin, of the earth as only one of many inhabited worlds, of the
spirit world as consisting of beings awaiting incarnation, of polygamy as
of divine ordination and the relationship eternal, and of their social
system as the kingdom of God on earth.
MORNY, DUC DE, French politician, born in Paris; played a
conspicuous part in the _coup d'état_ of December 1851, and was President
of the Corps Législatif; was believed to have been the son of Queen
Hortense, and consequently Louis Napoleon's half-brother (1811-1865).
MOROCCO (4,000), an empire in the NW. corner of Africa, three times
the size of Great Britain, its coast-line stretching from Algeria to Cape
Nun, and its inland confines being vaguely determined by the French
hinterlands. Two-thirds of the country is desert; much of the remainder
is poor pasture land; the Atlas Mountains stretch from SW. to NE., but
there are some expanses of level fertile country; on the seaboard the
climate is delightful, with abundance of rain in the season; among the
mountains extremes prevail; south of the Atlas it is hot and almost
rainless; the mineral wealth is probably great; gold, silver, copper, and
iron are known to be plentiful, but bad government hinders development;
the exports are maize, pulse, oil, wool, fruit, and cattle; cloth, tea,
coffee, and hardware are imported; the chief industries are the making of
leather, "Fez" caps, carpets, and the breeding of horses; government is
extremely despotic and corrupt, and the Sultan's authority over many of
the tribes is merely nominal; there is no education; the religion is
Mohammedanism, and slavery prevails; there are no roads, and the country
is imperfectly known; telegraph, telephone, and postal service are in
European hands; the country was taken from the Romans by the Arabs in the
7th century, and has ever since been in their hands, but Berbers,
Spaniards, Moors, Jews, and negroes also go to make up the population.
The chief towns are Fez (25), in the N., a sacred Moslem city, squalid
and dirty, but with good European trade, and a depôt for the caravans
from the interior; and Morocco (60), in the S., near the Tensift River,
240 m. SW. of Fez, well situated for local and transit trade, but a
dilapidated city.
MOROCCO, a fine-grained leather of the skin of a goat or sheep,
first prepared in Morocco.
MORPHEUS (i. e. the Moulder), the god of dreams, the son of Night
and Sleep.
MORRIS-DANCE, a rustic merrymaking common in England after 1350, and
still extant; is of disputed origin; the chief characters, Maid Marian,
Robin Hood, the hobby-horse, and the fool, execute fantastic movements
and Jingle bells fastened to their feet and dress.
MORRIS, SIR LEWIS, a poet, born in Carmarthen, Wales; the author of
"Songs of Two Worlds," "The Epic of Hades," "A Vision of Saints," &c.;
often confounded with the succeeding, with whom he has next to nothing in
common; _b_. 1833.
MORRIS, WILLIAM, poet, art-worker, and Socialist, born in
Walthamstow, near London, son and heir of a wealthy merchant; studied at
Oxford, where he became the lifelong bosom friend of Burne-Jones; of an
artistic temperament, he devoted his working hours to decorative art, in
particular designing wall-papers; produced in 1858 "The Defence of
Guenevere and other Poems," in 1867 "The Life and Death of Jason," and
from 1868 to 1870 his masterpiece, "THE EARTHLY PARADISE" (q. v.);
among other works he translated the "Æneid" and the "Odyssey," and
gave a splendid rendering of some of the Norse legends (1834-1896).
MORRISON, ROBERT, first missionary to China, and Chinese scholar,
born of Scottish parentage at Morpeth; entered the Independent ministry,
and was sent to Macao and Canton by the London Missionary Society in
1807; in 1814 he published a Chinese version of the New Testament, and in
1819 of the Old Testament; in 1823 his great Chinese Dictionary was
published at the expense of the East India Company; returning to England
in 1824, he went out again 10 years later as interpreter to Lord Napier,
and died at Canton (1782-1834).
MORSE, SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE, inventor, born at Charlestown,
Massachusetts, graduated at Yale in 1810 and adopted art as a profession;
he gained some distinction as a sculptor, and in 1835 was appointed
professor of Design in New York; electrical studies were his hobby;
between 1832 and 1837 he worked out the idea of an electric
telegraph--simultaneously conceived by Wheatstone in England--and in 1843
Congress granted funds for an experimental line between Washington and
Baltimore; honour and fortune crowded on him, his invention was adopted
all over the world, and he received an international grant of £16,000; he
died in New York (1791-1872).
MORTGAGE, a deed conveying property to a creditor as security for
the payment of a debt, the person to whom it is given being called the
Mortgagee.
MORTON, JAMES DOUGLAS, EARL OF, regent of Scotland; joined the
Reforming party, was made Chancellor, took part in the murder of Rizzio,
and was privy to the plot against Darnley, joined the confederacy of the
nobles against Mary, fought against her at Langside, and became regent in
1572; became unpopular, was charged with being accessory to Darnley's
murder, and beheaded in 1581.
MOSAYLIMA, a rival of Mohammed, posed as equally a prophet, and
entitled to share with Mohammed the sovereignty of the world; two battles
followed, in the second of which Mosaylima was killed, to the dispersion
of his followers.
MOSCHUS, a Greek pastoral poet, author of lyrics which have been
translated by Andrew Lang; lived 150 B.C.
MOSCOW (799), on the Moskwa River, in the centre of European Russia,
370 m. SE. of St. Petersburg; was before 1713 the capital, and is still a
great industrial and commercial centre; its manufactures include
textiles, leather, chemicals, and machinery; it does a great trade in
grain, timber, metals from the Urals, and furs, hides, &c., from Asia;
besides the great cathedral there are many churches, palaces, and
museums, a university, library, picture-gallery, and observatory; the
enclosure called the Kremlin or citadel is the most sacred spot in
Russia; thrice in the 18th century the city was devastated by fire, and
again in 1812 to compel Napoleon to retire.
MOSELLE, river, rising W. of the Vosges Mountains, flows NW. through
French and German Lorraine, then NE. through Rhenish Prussia to join the
Rhine at Coblenz, 315 m. long, two-thirds of it navigable; it passes in
its tortuous course Metz, Thionville, and Trèves.
MOSES, the great Hebrew law-giver, under whose leadership the Jews
achieved their emancipation from the bondage of Egypt, and began to
assert themselves as an independent people among the nations of the
earth; in requiring of the people the fear of God and the observance of
His commandments, he laid the national life on a sure basis, and he was
succeeded by a race of prophets who from age to age reminded the people
that in regard or disregard for what he required of them depended their
prosperity or their ruin as a nation, of which from their extreme
obduracy they had again and again to be admonished.
MOSHEIM, a Protestant Church historian, born at Lübeck, was
professor at Göttingen; his principal work a History of the Church,
written in Latin, and translated into English and other languages
(1694-1755).
MOSS-TROOPERS, maurauders who formerly raided the moss-grown
borderland of England and Scotland.
MOTHERWELL, WILLIAM, Scottish poet, born in Glasgow, educated in
Edinburgh; entered a lawyer's office in Paisley in 1811 and became
Sheriff-Clerk Depute of Renfrewshire 1818; he was editor of the Paisley
Advertiser in 1828, and of the Glasgow Courier in 1830; he wrote
biographical notices of local poets, and edited "Minstrelsy, Ancient and
Modern," in 1827; but his own fame was established by "Poems, Narrative
and Lyrical," 1832, the gem of the collection being "Jeanie Morison"; he
died in Glasgow (1797-1835).
MOTLEY, JOHN LOTHROP, historian and diplomatist, born in
Massachusetts; commenced his literary career as a novelist, but soon
turned all his thoughts to the study of history; spent years in the study
of Dutch history; wrote the "History of the Dutch Republic," which was
published in 1856, the "History of the United Netherlands," publishing
the first part in 1860 and the second in 1868, and the "Life and Death of
John Barnevelde" in 1874; was appointed the United States minister at
Vienna in 1861, and at St. James's in 1869; he ranks high as a
historian, being both faithful and graphic (1814-1877).
MOTOR CAR, a vehicle propelled by petroleum, electricity, &c.
MOUNTAIN, THE, the name given to the Jacobins, or the extreme
democratic party, at the French Revolution, from their occupying the
highest benches in the hall of the National Convention, and included such
men as Marat, Danton, Robespierre, and the men of the Reign of Terror.
MOVABLE FEASTS, festivals of the Church, the date of which varies
with the date of Easter.
MOZAMBIQUE (1,000), the general name for Portuguese East Africa,
lies between Cape Delgado and Delagoa Bay on the mainland, opposite
Madagascar; the Rovuma River separates it from German territory in the
N.; in the S. it touches British Maputaland, while inland it borders on
British Central and South Africa and the Transvaal; the Zambesi divides
it into two; the coast is low and wet, inland are richly wooded plateaux;
the soil is fertile, and minerals abound, but the government is bad, and
industry does not develop; 52 miles of railway connect Lorenzo Marques
with the Transvaal; other chief towns are Quilimane (6), and the capital
MOZAMBIQUE (7), on an island.
MOZART, WOLFGANG AMADEUS CHRYSOSTOM, eminent musical composer, born
at Salzburg; was distinguished for his musical genius as a boy, and
produced over 600 musical compositions, but his principal works were his
operas, the "Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni," and the "Magic Flute";
his fate was an unhappy one; he suffered much from poverty and neglect;
the last piece he wrote was a Requiem Mass, which he felt, he said, as if
he were writing for himself, and he died at Prague on the evening of its
rehearsal (1756-1791).
MUCKLEBACKIT, SAUNDERS, an old fisherman in Scott's "Antiquary."
MUCKLEWRATH, a fanatic preacher in Scott's "Old Mortality."
MUCOUS MEMBRANE, a delicate membrane which lines the cavities and
the canals of the human body.
MUEZZIN, an official, usually blind, attached to a Mohammedan
mosque, summons the faithful to prayers with a chant from a minaret.
MUFTI, a doctor and interpreter of Mohammedan law.
MUFTI, THE GRAND, is head of the Ulema, or interpreters of the
Korân; holds his appointment from the Sultan, and exercises great
influence at the Porte; legal advisers to local and general councils in
the Turkish empire are also styled Mufti.
MUGGLETON, founder of the Muggletonians, a tailor who, along with
one Reeve, at the time of the Commonwealth, pretended to be the two
witnesses of the Revelation and the last of God's prophets, invested with
power to save and to damn; individuals of the sect founded by him existed
so recently as the beginning of this century.
MUIR, JOHN, a Sanskrit scholar, born in Glasgow; was of the Indian
Civil Service; was a man of liberal views, particularly in religion, and
a patron of learning; endowed the Chair of Sanskrit in Edinburgh
University (1810-1882).
MUIR, SIR WILLIAM, an Arabic scholar, brother of the preceding;
Principal of Edinburgh University; was in the Indian Civil Service; wrote
a "Life of Mahomet," on the rise of Mohammedanism, and on the Korân; _b_.
1819.
MUKDEN (250), in Chinese Shing-king, the capital of Manchuria, on a
tributary of the Liao, in the S. of the province; is a city of
considerable commercial importance, and has good coal-mines in the
neighbourhood; there are a great palace, and numerous temples; Irish and
Scotch Presbyterian and Roman Catholic missions have a centre here; the
Japanese invasion of 1894-98 was directed towards it.
MULL (5), large island in the NW. of Argyllshire, third of the
Hebrides; is mountainous and picturesque, with greatly indented
coast-line; the highest peak is Ben More, 3185 ft., the largest inlet
Loch-na-Keal; the soil is best adapted for grazing. TOBERMORY (1),
in the N., is the only town.
MÜLLER, GEORGE, founder of the Orphan Homes near Bristol; born in
Prussia; founded the Orphan Home, in 1836, on voluntary subscriptions, in
answer to prayer, to the support one year of more than 2000 orphans
(1805-1898).
MÜLLER, JOHANNES, eminent German physiologist, born at Coblenz;
professor at Berlin; ranks as the founder of modern physiology, and famed
as author of a text-book on the science, entitled "Handbuch der
Physiologie des Menschen" (1801-1858).
MÜLLER, JOHANNES VON, celebrated historian, born at Schaffhausen,
the "History of Switzerland" his principal work (1752-1809).
MÜLLER, JULIUS, a German theologian, born at Brieg; professor at
Halle; his great work, the "Christian Doctrine of Sin"; he collaborated
on theological subjects with Neander and Nitzsch (1801-1878).
MÜLLER, KARL OTFRIED, archæologist and philologist, born at Brieg,
brother of the preceding; was professor at Göttingen, and distinguished
for his researches in Grecian antiquities and his endeavour to construe
all that concerns the history and life of ancient Greece, including
mythology, literature, and art (1797-1840).
MULOCK, DINAH MARIA (Mrs. Craik), English novelist, born in
Stock-upon-Trent, authoress of "John Halifax, Gentleman," and other
novels (1820-1887).
MULREADY, WILLIAM, _genre_ painter, born at Ennis, Ireland,
illustrated the "Vicar of Wakefield" and other works (1786-1863).
MULTAN (75), a Punjab city near the Chenab River, 200 m. SW. of
Lahore; has many mosques and temples; manufactures of silks, carpets,
pottery, and enamel ware, and considerable trade.
MÜNCHHAUSEN, BARON VON, a cavalry officer in the service of Hanover
famed for the extravagant stories he used to relate of his adventures and
exploits which, with exaggerations, were collected by one Raspe, and
published in 1785 under Münchhausen's name (1720-1797).
MÜNICH (351), capital of Bavaria, on the Isar, 440 m. by rail SW. of
Berlin; is a city of magnificent buildings and rare art treasures;
palaces, public buildings, cathedral, churches, &c., are all on an
elaborate scale, and adorned with works of art; there are galleries of
sculpture, and ancient and modern painting, a university, colleges, and
libraries; the industries include stained glass, lithographing,
bell-founding, and scientific instrument-making; and there are enormous
breweries. Münich has been the centre of artistic life and culture in the
19th century, and associated with it are Cornelius, Kaulbach, and many
famous names.
MÜNSTER (49), capital of Westphalia, a mediæval-looking town, 100 m.
by rail N. of Cologne; has textile, paper, and printing industries; there
is an old cathedral of 12th century, a town-hall, castle, and
16th-century wine-cellar; the place of the Catholic university has been
taken by an academy with Catholic theological and philosophical
faculties; here took place the Anabaptist movement of 1535; the bishops
retained their secular jurisdiction till 1803.
MÜNZER, THOMAS, Anabaptist leader, born at Stolberg, and began to
preach at Zwickau 1520; he came into collision both with the civil
authorities and the Reformed Church; for several years he travelled
through Bohemia and South Germany, and in 1525 settled at Mühlhausen;
here his communistic doctrines obtained popularity and kindled an
insurrection; the rebels were routed at Frankenhansen, and Münzer was
captured and executed (1489-1525).
MURAT, JOACHIM, king of Naples, born near Cahors, the son of an
innkeeper; entered the army, attracted the notice of Bonaparte, and
became his aide-de-camp; distinguished himself in many engagements,
received Bonaparte's sister to wife, and was loaded with honours on the
establishment of the Empire, and for his services under it as a dashing
cavalry officer was rewarded with the crown of Naples in 1808, but to the
last allied in arms with his brother-in-law; he had to fight in the end
on his own behalf in defence of his crown, and was defeated, taken
prisoner, and shot (1771-1815).
MURATORI, LUDOVICO ANTONIO, Italian antiquary and historian, horn in
Vignola, Modena; became librarian in Milan 1695, and of the D'Este
library, Modena, in 1700, in which city he died; he edited the Italian
chronicles of the 5th-16th centuries, with many essays and dissertations,
and many other historical and antiquarian works; but his name is chiefly
associated with the "Muratorian Fragment," which dates from the 2nd
century, and contains a list of the then canonical scriptures, and which
he published 1840 (1672-1750).
MURAVIEFF, COUNT, Russian statesman, born of a distinguished family;
entered the diplomatic service in connection with the Russian embassies
at Berlin, Stockholm, The Hague, and Paris, and became Minister to
Denmark in 1893; in 1897 he was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in
succession to Lobanoff; _b_. 1845.
MURCHISON, SIR RODERICK IMPEY, geologist, born in Ross-shire;
entered the army and served in the Peninsular War, but retiring in 1816
gave himself to science; he explored many parts of Europe, predicted the
discovery of gold in Australia, was President of the British Association,
and knighted in 1846, and subsequently received many other scientific
appointments and honours; he founded the Chair of Geology in Edinburgh
University in 1870; but his fame rests on his discovery and establishment
of the Silurian system; his book on "The Silurian System" is the chief of
several works (1792-1871).
MURDOCH, WILLIAM, engineer, born at Auchinleck, Ayrshire; was a
manager of the Soho Works under Boulton and Watt, where he distinguished
himself by his inventive ingenuity, and where on his suggestion coal-gas
was first employed for lighting purposes (1754-1830).
MURE, COLONEL, Greek scholar, born at Caldwell, Ayrshire; wrote a
scholarly work, "A Critical Account of the Language and Literature of
Ancient Greece" (1799-1860).
MÜRGER, HENRI, French novelist and poet, born at Paris; is chiefly
distinguished as the author of "Scènes de la Vie de Bohême," from his own
experiences, and instinct with pathos and humour, sadness his predominant
tone; wrote lyrics as well as novels and stories, the chief "La Chanson
de Musette," "a tear," says Gautier, "which has become a pearl of poetry"
(1822-1861).
MURILLO, a celebrated Spanish painter, born at Seville; his subjects
were drawn partly from low life and partly from religious or scripture
themes, such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the
Virgin, as well as "Moses Smiting the Rock," the "Miracle of the Loaves
and Fishes," &c.; died from a fall from a scaffold while painting an
altar-piece at Cadiz (1618-1682).
MURRAY, JOHN, London publisher, a successful business man; was on
intimate terms with the celebrated men, such as Byron and Scott, whose
works he published (1778-1843).
MURRAY, LINDLEY, grammarian, born in Pennsylvania, of Quaker
parents; having realised a competency in business came to England and
settled near York, where he produced his "Grammar of the English
Language" in 1795 (1745-1826).
MURRAY, WILLIAM, Scottish actor, lessee of Edinburgh theatre for 42
years; enjoyed the friendship of the Edinburgh literary celebrities of
the time, and was an excellent actor, did Falstaff to perfection
(1791-1852).
MURRAY RIVER, the chief river of Australia, 1120 m. long, rises at
the foot of Mount Kosciusko, in New South Wales, flows NW. between New
South Wales and Victoria; receives the Lachlan and Darling on the right,
and entering South Australia turns southward and reaches the sea at
Encounter Bay.
MUSÆUS, JOHN AUGUST, German author, born at Jena, famous as the
author of German _Volksmärchen_, three of which, "Dumb Love," "Libussa,"
and "Melechsala," were translated in the volumes of "German Romance" by
Thomas Carlyle; he parodied Richardson's "Sir Charles Grandison" and
satirised Lavater's "Physiognomical Travels" (1735-1787).
MUSCAT (20), capital of Oman, in Eastern Arabia, on the Gulf of
Oman; is an ill-built, unhealthy city, but does an important transit
trade between Arabia, Persia, India, and East Africa; it was in
Portuguese possession from 1508 to 1658, but has been independent since.
MUSES, THE, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosynë, presided over the
liberal arts particularly, were nine in number, and dwelt along with
Apollo near Parnassus, Pieria, and Helicon; Clio presided over history,
Euterpë over music, Thalia over comedy, Melpomenë over tragedy,
Terpsichorë over choral dance and song, Erato over erotic poetry and
elegy, Polyhymnia over lyric poetry, Urania over astronomy, and Calliopë
over eloquence and epic poetry.
MUSPELHEIM. See NIFLHEIM.
MUSSELBURGH (9), an old-fashioned Midlothian fishing town on the
coast, 6 m. E. of Edinburgh, with golf links, paper, nets, and tanning
industries, and Loretto school.
MUSSET, ALFRED DE, the premier poet of modern French literature,
born in Paris of good parentage; wayward and impulsive in youth, he would
settle to no occupation, till his already awakened taste for poetry
receiving a powerful stimulus through contact with Victor Hugo, led him
to embrace the profession of letters; two volumes of poetry were
published before he achieved, in 1833, his first signal success with the
dramas "André del Sarto" and "Les Caprices de Marianne"; in the same year
began his famous _liaison_ with GEORGE SAND (q. v.), involving
him in the ill-fated expedition to Venice, whence he returned in the
spring of 1834 shattered in health and disillusioned; from one unhappy
love intrigue he passed to another, seeking in vain a solace for his
restless spirit, but reaping an experience which enriched his writings;
"Confessions d'un Enfant du Siècle" appeared in 1836, and is a
significant confession of his life at this time; two years later he was
appointed librarian at the Home Office, and in 1847 his charming comedy,
"Un Caprice," was received with enthusiasm; in 1852 he was elected to the
Academy, but his work was done, and already an ill-controlled indulgence
in alcohol had fatally undermined his never robust strength; his
writings, besides possessing the charm of an exquisite style, heightened
by an undertone of true tenderness, are chiefly remarkable for the
intense sincerity of feeling, albeit of a limited range, which animates
them, and which finds its highest expression in his four great lyrical
pieces, "Les Nuits"; his fine instinct for dramatic situation and gift of
witty dialogue are manifest in the dramas already mentioned, as also in
many others; of his prose works, "Le Fils du Titien," "Mademoiselle Mimi
Pinson," and the "Confessions" are his best; he was a handsome man, with
fascinating manners (1810-1857).
MUTSU HITO, the Mikado of Japan, ascended the throne in 1867,
married in 1869; has one son, Prince Yoshihito, and three daughters; his
reign has been marked by great reforms, and especially the abolition of
the feudal system which till then prevailed, to the great and increasing
prosperity of the country, and the opening of it to the ideas and arts of
Western civilisation; _b_. 1852.
MUZAFFER-ED-DIN, Shah of Persia, second son of Nasr-ed-Din, who
nominated him to succeed him; succeeded his father on his death by
assassination in 1896, on the 1st of May; _b_. 1853.
MYCENÆ, capital of Agamemnon's kingdom, in the NE. of the
Peloponnesus, was in very ancient days a great city, but never recovered
the invasion of the people of Argos in 468 B.C.; excavations point to
its civilisation being more akin to Phoenician than Greek.
MYRMIDONS, "ant-men," so-called because Zeus was said to have
peopled Thessaly, from which originally they came, by transforming ants
into men; they were the people of Ægina, whose warriors followed Achilles
to the siege of Troy.
MYSORE (4,900), a native State, half the size of England, embedded
in the Madras Presidency, occupies a lofty, broken, but fertile
tableland; the upper waters of the Kistna and Kaveri are used for
irrigation purposes; betel-nut, coffee, cotton, rice, and silk are
exported; cloth, wheat, and precious metals are imported; the climate is
healthy and pleasant; under British government from 1831, it was restored
to its prince in 1881, under British protection; the capital is
MYSORE (74), a prosperous, well-built town.
MYSTAGOGUE, in Greece, was the priest who instructed candidates and
prepared them for initiation into the various religious mysteries; in the
Christian Church it denoted the catechist who prepared catechumens
previous to their admission to the sacraments.
MYSTERIES, sacred rites and ceremonies of stated observance among
the Greeks and Romans in connection with the worship of particular
divinities, to which only the initiated were admitted, and in which, by
associating together, they quickened and confirmed each other in their
faith and hope, and in which it would seem they made solemn avowal of
these; the name is also applied to the MIRACLE PLAYS (q. v.) of
the Middle Ages.
MYSTICISM, a state of mind and feeling induced by direct communion
with the unseen, and by indulging in which the subject of it estranges
himself more and more from those who live wholly in the outside world, so
that he cannot communicate with them and they cannot understand him.
N
NABOB. See NAWAB.
NABOTH, a Jew, who was stoned by order of Ahab, king of Israel,
because he refused to sell him his vineyard, an outrage for which Ahab
was visited by Divine judgment; is symbol, in the regard of the Jews, of
the punishment sure to overtake all rich oppressors of the poor.
NACHTIGAL, GUSTAV, German traveller and explorer; visited
(1869-1874), the first European to do so, at the instance of Prussia, by
way of Tripoli, the heart of Africa, and returned by way of Cairo, and
wrote an account of his journey, "Sahara and Sudan"; in 1884 annexed to
Germany territory in West Africa; died on his return journey, and was
buried at Cape Palmas (1834-1885).
NADIR, name given to the part of the heavens directly under our
feet, as zenith to that directly over our head.
NADIR SHAH, king of Persia, born in Khorassan of low origin; began
his career as a brigand; set himself at the head of 3000 brigands to
deliver Persia from the yoke of the Afghans, and expelled them, rising by
degrees to the sovereignty of Persia himself; made war on the Afghans,
invaded Hindustan, and took and plundered Delhi, restoring its former
dominion to the Persian monarchy; became subject to suspicion of plots
against him, had recourse to violence, and was assassinated (1688-1747).
NÆVIUS, CNEIUS, one of the earliest Roman poets, born in Campania;
wrote dramas, and an epic poem on the first Punic War, in which he had
served; satirised the aristocracy, and was obliged to leave Rome, where
he had spent thirty years of his life; died at Utica (265-204 B.C.).
NAGARI, the name given to the characters In Sanskrit and Hindi
alphabets.
NÂGAS, in the Hindu mythology "deified serpents," sons of Kadru, a
personification of darkness, are represented as more or less invested
with a human form, and endowed with knowledge, strength, and beauty; live
in the depths of the ocean, and their capital city exposes to the vision
a display of the most dazzling riches. They are not always represented as
harmful; though armed with poison they possess the elixir of strength and
immortality, and form the supports of the universe. They are a reflection
of the belief that the deadly powers as well as the regenerative centre
in one and the same deity, in his wisdom killing that he may make alive.
Also the name of a race of aborigines in North-East India.
NAGASAKI (61), one of the six treaty ports of Japan, on the NW. of
the island Kiushiu; has a beautiful and extensive harbour, within which
lies the island of Deshima; manufactures "egg-shell" china, exports coal,
tea, &c., and possesses an excellent dockyard; American and English
missions are carried on.
NAGPUR or NAGPORE (117), capital of the Central Provinces of
British India, and of a district and division of the same name; an
important railway terminus, 450 m. NE. of Bombay; is noted for the
manufacture of fine cloth, and carries on a brisk trade in wheat, salt,
spices, &c.
NAHUM, one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament; appears to
have been a contemporary of Isaiah, and to have prophesied after the
destruction of Samaria and the defeat of Sennacherib before Jerusalem in
the reign of Hezekiah. His mission as a prophet was to console the people
in the presence of the formidable power of Assyria, and to predict its
downfall, and especially that of its capital city Nineveh, an event which
happened under Cyaxares the Mede 603 B.C. His thought is forcible, his
expression clear, and his diction pure, all three worthy of the classical
age of Hebrew literature.
NAIADS, nymphs of the fresh-water fountains and streams, and as such
endowed with prophetic power, and associated with other deities in the
sphere of nature gifted with the same power; are represented as lovely
maidens in a nude or semi-nude state.
NAIRN (4), chief town of its county, prettily situated at the
entrance of the Nairn into the Moray Firth, 16 m. NE. of Inverness; is
frequented by summer visitors, and has a harbour and golf links.
NAIRNE, BARONESS, Scottish poetess, born at Gask, Perthshire, third
daughter of Laurence Oliphant of that Ilk, of Jacobite proclivities;
known for her beauty as the Flower of Strathearn; was married to the
sixth Lord Nairne, whom she survived; wrote 78 songs, the most famous
among them being "The Land o' the Leal," "The Laird o' Cockpen," "Bonnie
Charlie's noo awa," "Caller Herrin'," and "The Auld Hoose"; died at Gask
(1766-1845).
NAIRNSHIRE (9), a northern county of Scotland, fronts the Moray
Firth, wedged in between Elgin on the N. and Inverness on the W. and S.;
the surface rugged and mountainous in the S. and E., slopes towards the
Firth, and is traversed by the rivers Nairn and Findhorn; Loch Loy is the
largest of several small lochs; scarcely one-fifth of the soil is devoted
to the raising of cereals, but more attention is given to stock-raising;
Cawdor and Auldearn are places in it of historic and antiquarian
interest.
NAIRS, Hindus of high caste, claiming to rank next the Brahmans, who
lived on the Malabar coast of India; among them polyandry prevailed, and
the royal power descended through the female line.
NAMAQUAS, a pastoral people of South Africa; one of the principal
branches of the Hottentot race, and inhabiting Great Namaqualand.
NAMUR (31), capital of a province of the same name in Belgium, is
situated at the junction of the Meuse and the Sambre, 35 m. SE. of
Brussels. The town is strongly fortified, but only a few of its fine old
buildings have escaped the ravages of war. The citadel still stands, the
cathedral, and the Jesuit church of St. Loup. Cutlery, firearms, &c., are
manufactured. THE PROVINCE (339) skirts the NE. border of France
between Hainault and Luxembourg.
NANA SAHIB, a Hindu traitor, his real name Dundhu Panth, of Brahman
descent, adopted son of the ex-Peshwa of the Mahrattas, whose pension
from the British Government was not continued to Nana on his death, and
which rendered the latter the deadly foe to British rule in India, and
the instigator, on the outbreak of the Mutiny in 1857, of the massacre of
Cawnpore; he had on the outbreak of the Mutiny in question offered his
services to a British general, and placed himself at the head of the
mutineers; the miscreant escaped, and his fate was never known; _b_.
1820. See CAWNPORE.
NANCY (87), capital of the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle,
North-East France, is prettily situated amid woodland scenery on the
river Meurthe, 220 m. E. of Paris; the new town is spaciously laid out,
while the old town, narrowed in its streets, has many interesting old
buildings, e. g. the cathedral, the 16th-century palace; there is a
university, and an active trade in embroidered cambric and muslin,
besides cotton and woollen goods, &c.
NANKING (150), an ancient city, and up to the 15th century the
capital of China, is situated on the Yangtse River, 130 m. from its
mouth; between 1853 and 1864 its finest buildings were destroyed by the
Taiping rebels; its manufactures of nankeen and satin and of its once
famous pottery and artificial flowers have fallen off, but it still
continues the chief seat of letters and learning in China.
NANNA, in the Norse mythology the wife of Balder, the sun-god;
distinguished for her conjugal fidelity, threw herself on the funeral
pyre of her husband, and descended to the shades along with him; when the
pair were entreated to return, he sent his ring to Odin and she her
thimble to Frigga.
NANSEN, FRIDTJOF, Arctic explorer, born at Froen, near Christiania,
son of a Norwegian advocate; explored the seas in a scientific interest
round Spitzbergen in 1882, and crossed Greenland in 1888, conceived the
idea of reaching the Polar regions by following the Polar ocean currents;
sailed in the _Fram_, a ship specially constructed for a Polar voyage, in
1893, and on his return wrote an account of his expedition in "Farthest
North" in 1897; _b_. 1861.
NANTES (116), capital of the department of Loire-Inférieure,
North-West France, on the Loire, 35 m. from the sea; its fine streets,
handsome buildings, and historical associations make it one of the most
interesting cities in France; the cathedral and the ducal castle date
from the 15th century; shipbuilding, sugar-refining, and hardware are the
staple industries, while an active shipping trade is kept up with the
colonies.
NANTES, EDICT OF, edict granted by Henry IV. 1598, allowing to
Protestants religious liberty and political enfranchisement, and
confirmed by Louis XIII. in 1614, but revoked, after frequent
infringements, in the shape of dragonnades and otherwise, by Louis XIV.,
Oct. 23, 1685, at the instance of Madame Maintenon and Père la Chaise.
NAPHTHA, a liquid hydro-carbon of an inflammable nature that exudes
from the earth or is distilled from coal-tar, &c.
NAPIER, SIR CHARLES, the conqueror of Sinde, born at Westminster,
descendant of Napier of Merchiston; entered the army, was present at
Coruña, served in the Peninsular War, was in 1841 made commander-in-chief
of the Bombay army, defeated the Sikhs at Meeanee in 1848 in a brilliant
engagement; became governor of Sinde, returned to England, and was
welcomed with enthusiasm; went to India again on the outbreak of a second
Sikh War, to find it suppressed; quarrelled with the Governor-General and
came home; was a brave, upright, and humane man, and a great favourite
with the army (1782-1853).
NAPIER, SIR CHARLES, admiral, cousin of preceding, born near
Falkirk; entered the navy as a volunteer in 1799, assisted in two naval
engagements, and for a time served as a volunteer in the Peninsular army;
joined the Portuguese navy, defeated the fleet of Dom Miguel, tried to
reform the navy of Portugal but failed, assisted by land and sea in
driving Mehemet Ali out of Syria, and held the command of the Baltic
fleet during the Crimean War, but disappointed expectations and was
deprived of command (1786-1860).
NAPIER, JOHN, laird of Merchiston, mathematician, born in Merchiston
Castle, near Edinburgh; famed over the world as the inventor of
logarithms; wrote a book on the Apocalypse, which contains some
plain-spoken counsel to King James; believed in astrology, and was
addicted to divination as well as mechanical invention (1550-1617).
NAPIER, SIR WILLIAM, brother of the conqueror of Sinde; entered the
army at the age of 15, served all through the Peninsular War, and wrote,
besides the "Conquest of Sinde," the "History of the Peninsular War," a
celebrated work, written from intimate knowledge of the events and with
matchless graphic power (1785-1860).
NAPIER OF MAGDALA, Lord, military engineer officer, born in Ceylon;
distinguished himself at the sieges of Multan, Delhi, and Lucknow;
commanded an expedition in Abyssinia, stormed and took Magdala in 1868,
for which he was rewarded with high honours (1810-1890).
NAPLES (536), the largest and richest city of Italy; has a lovely
situation within the bend of Naples Bay, spreading from the foreshore
back upon wooded hills and rising terraces, behind which lie the
snow-clad Apennines; to the E. lies the old town with its historic Via di
Roma and narrow crowded thoroughfares; the newer portion on the W. is
more spaciously laid out, and much has been done in recent years over the
whole city to improve the sanitation and water supply; the national
museum, rich in Pompeii relics, the university (4150 students), the
national library (275,000 vols.), the archiepiscopal cathedral, and the
four mediæval gateways are the chief architectural features; large
quantities of wine, olive-oil, chemicals, perfumery, &c., are exported,
while woollen, silk, linen, glove, and other factories carry on a good
home trade; Naples became incorporated in the kingdom of Italy in 1861
after the Bourbon dynasty had been swept away by Garibaldi.
NAPOLEON I., emperor of the French, born at Ajaccio, Corsica, the
second son of Charles Bonaparte and Lætitia Ramolino; trained at the
military schools of Brienne and Paris; distinguished first as a captain
of artillery at the siege of Toulon in 1793; elected general of brigade
in the Italian campaign of 1794; he fell under suspicion, but was soon
after invested with the supreme command of the army there and the conduct
of the war, which was rendered memorable by the victories of Montenotte,
Lodi, Rivoli, Arcole, &c.; on his return to Paris he was received with an
enthusiasm which excited in him the ambition to render himself
indispensable to the country; to utilise his services in their own
interest the Directory determined to strike a blow at England, and Egypt
being the point of attack selected, he sailed in command of an expedition
for that destination in 1797, and conducted it with successes and
reverses till, in 1799, the unpopularity and threatened fall of the
Directory called him back; it was the occasion for a _coup d'état_ which
he had meditated, and which he accomplished on the henceforward
celebrated 18th Brumaire (9th Nov. 1799), when a consulship of three was
established, himself First Consul, and eventually in 1802 Consul for
life; his administration in this capacity, while disgraced by several
despotic acts, was in the main of a nature for the public benefit, and
distinguished by its regard for the interest of law and good order, but
his personal ambition the while was not asleep, for, by a Concordat with
the Pope he so attached the Catholic Church to the state as to secure the
clerical support to his ambitious projects, and was able on the 18th May
1804, to get himself invested with the imperial dignity, only Carnot in
the Tribunate and Grégoire in the Senate protesting against the step as a
violation of liberty; Napoleon owed it to his victories in the field that
he attained this elevation, and the sword must maintain what the sword
had won; from this date accordingly began that long array of wars against
the rest of Europe, distinguished by the victories of Austerlitz, and
Jena, and Eylau, and Friedland, and Eckmühl, and Wagram, and which
contributed to inspire all the nations around with a sense of the terror
of his name; but with the unfortunate expedition into Russia, in 1812,
Napoleon's glory began to wane and the tide to turn; after the battles of
Lützen and Bautzen, he might perhaps have signed an honourable peace, but
he declined the terms offered, and was defeated at Lützen by the Allies,
who invaded France, and entered Paris in 1814 in spite of all his efforts
to keep them at bay, upon which he was compelled to abdicate at
Fontainebleau and retire to Elba, 20th April 1814; it was in vain for him
to return from his retreat and re-enter Paris on the 20th March
following, for the Powers, with England and Prussia at their head,
leagued against him and crushed him at Waterloo; by this defeat he had
forfeited the throne, and was compelled to abdicate, but unable to escape
from France, delivered himself up to Captain Maitland of the
_Bellerophon_, and was shipped off to St. Helena, where, after some six
years of misery, he died 5th May 1821, whence his body was disinterred
and buried with great pomp under the dome of the church of St. Louis,
15th December 1840; "he believed," says Carlyle, "too much in the
_dupeability_ of men, saw no fact deeper in man than hunger and thirst;
he was mistaken; like a man that should build upon clouds, his house and
he fell down a confused wreck, and departed out of the world"; the one
article of his _faith_ being "the tools to him that can handle them"
(1769-1821).
NAPOLEON, LOUIS. See LOUIS NAPOLEON, also BONAPARTE.
NAPOLEON, VICTOR, son of Prince Napoleon; claimed to be head of the
house of Bonaparte in 1891, though his younger brother, Prince Louis, a
colonel in the Russian Imperial Guard, is preferred to him by many
Bonapartists; _b_. 1862.
NAPOLEON D'OR, a French gold coin worth 20 francs, named after the
Emperor Napoleon I.
NARAKA, among the Hindus and the Buddhists the place of penal
suffering after death.
NARCISSUS, a self-satisfied youth who disdained the addresses of
Echo, in consequence of which she pined away and died, and who, by way of
penalty, was doomed to fall in love with his own image, which he kept
beholding in the mirror of a fountain till he too pined away and died,
his corpse being metamorphosed into the flower that bears his name.
NARROWS, THE, name given to the section of the St. Lawrence River
which extends between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
NARSES, a statesman and general of the old Roman empire, rose from
being a slave to be keeper of the imperial privy-purse; was successful
against the Goths, whom he drove out of Rome; _d_. 573.
NARTHEX, a space in early churches railed off from the rest for
catechumens and penitents.
NASEBY, a village in Northampton, where the Royalists under Charles
I. and Prince Rupert were defeated, "shivered utterly to ruin," by the
Parliamentary forces under Fairfax and Cromwell in June 1645, the
"Ironsides" bearing the brunt of the battle and winning the honours of
the day.
NASH, JOHN, English architect, born in London; besides designing
plans for some of the chief streets in the city and the buildings in
them, was the architect of Buckingham Palace and the Pavilion at Brighton
(1752-1835).
NASH, RICHARD, known as "Beau Nash," born at Swansea; installed
himself as master of the ceremonies at Bath, and ruler of the assemblies
of fashion in that resort; was a charitable man as well as gay; died in
poverty, but was honoured with a public funeral (1674-1761).
NASH, THOMAS, English satirist, born at Lowestoft, a Cambridge
University wit; wrote plays, as well as pamphlets, bearing on the
MARPRELATE CONTROVERSY (q. v.) (1567-1601).
NASHVILLE (81), capital of Tennessee, U.S., on the Cumberland
River, 185 m. SW. of Louisville; a suspension bridge and railway
drawbridge joins it with Edgefield suburb; it is an important railway and
educational centre, the seat of the Fisk, Vanderbilt, and Nashville
universities, and is actively engaged in the manufacture of cotton,
tobacco, flour, paper, oil, &c.
NASMITH, ALEXANDER, Scottish landscape painter, born in Edinburgh;
did portraits also, and one of Burns in particular, deemed the best
likeness we have of the poet (1757-1843).
NASMITH, JAMES, mechanician, son of the preceding, born in
Edinburgh; invented the steam-hammer and a steam pile-driver (1808-1890).
NASSAU, till 1866 a duchy of Germany, now included in the Prussian
province of HESSE-NASSAU (q. v.).
NATAL (544, of which 47 are whites), British colony in SE. Africa,
somewhat larger than Denmark, fronts the Indian Ocean on the E., having a
foreshore of 180 m., between Zululand on the N. and Kaffraria on the S.;
the Dragensberg Mountains form its western boundary; enjoys a fine
salubrious climate, and possesses abundance of fertile land, watered by
some 140 inches of rainfall; along the coast the sugar-cane is largely
cultivated, as also some tea, coffee, tobacco, &c., while all kinds of
fruits flourish in its sub-tropical climate; the rising ground inland
produces good cereals, and large numbers of sheep and cattle find
excellent pasturage on the plains and mountain slopes on the W.;
excellent coal is mined in large quantities, and iron and copper promise
well; wool, sugar, hides, feathers, and ivory are the chief exports, and
are shipped mainly at Durban, the chief port; the colony now enjoys the
advantages of good railways, schools, representative government, and a
legal code based on old Dutch law; PIETERMARITZBURG (q. v.) is
the capital; Natal was discovered in 1497 by Vasco da Gama, and after
being annexed to Cape Colony in 1844, was declared, 11 years later, a
separate colony.
NATHAN, a Jewish prophet who had the courage to charge King David to
his face with a heinous crime he had committed and convict him of his
guilt, to his humiliation in the dust.
NATION OF SHOPKEEPERS, Napoleon Bonaparte's contemptuous name for
the English.
NATIONAL ANTHEM, its authorship has been long matter of controversy,
and it is uncertain to this day; it has been ascribed to H. Carey and to
Dr. John Bull.
NATIONAL CONVENTION, the revolutionary assembly of France,
consisting of 749 members chosen by universal suffrage, which on 22nd
September 1792 supplanted the Legislative Assembly, proclaimed the
Republic, and condemned Louis XVI. to the guillotine; in spite of its
perplexities and internal discords, it was successful in suppressing the
Royalists in La Vendée and the south, and repelling the rest of Europe
leagued against it, not only in arms, but in the field of diplomacy; it
laid the foundation of several of the academic institutions of the
country, which have since contributed to its glory as well as welfare,
and collected them together in the world-famous Institute; its work done,
"weary of its own existence, and all men sensibly weary of it," it
willingly deceased in an act of self-dissolution in favour of a Directory
of Five on 20th October 1795.
NATIONAL COVENANT. See COVENANT.
NATIONAL GUARD, THE, a militia of citizens organised in the
municipality of Paris in 1790, with Lafayette as commandant, but
suppressed in 1827, and again suppressed in 1872, after two revivals, in
consequence of their taking part with the Commune of the latter date.
NATURAL SELECTION, name given by Darwin to the survival of certain
plants and animals that are fitted, and the decease contemporaneously of
certain others that are not fitted, to a new environment.
NATURAL SUPERNATURALISM, Carlyle's name in "Sartor" for the
supernatural found latent in the natural, and manifesting itself in it,
or of the miraculous in the common and everyday course of things; name of
a chapter which, says Dr. Stirling, "contains the very first word of a
higher philosophy as yet spoken in Great Britain, the very first English
word towards the restoration and rehabilitation of the dethroned Upper
Powers"; recognition at bottom, as the Hegelian philosophy teaches, and
the life of Christ certifies, of the finiting of the infinite in the
transitory forms of space and time.
NATURALISM, a philosophical term used to denote the resolution of
the supernatural into the natural, and its obliteration; the reference of
everything to merely natural laws, and the denial of all supernatural
interference with them.
NATURE WORSHIP, the worship of the forces of nature conceived of as
personal deities.
NAUSICAA, the daughter of Alcinous, king of the Phæacians, who gave
welcome to Ulysses when shipwrecked on the shore, and whom Homer
represents as, along with her maidens, washing the clothes of the hero
and his companions.
NAUVOO, a village in Illinois, on the Mississippi, where the Mormons
first settled in 1840, and from which they were expelled in 1846.
NAVARINO, a bay on the SW. coast of the Morea, the scene of the
naval victory of the Athenians over the Spartans 425 B.C., and of the
annihilation of the Turkish and Egyptian navies by the combined fleets of
England, France, and Russia, under Codrington, 20th October 1827.
NAVARRE (304), one of the 49 provinces of Spain, comprising by far
the greater portion of the old kingdom of Navarre, which lasted up to
1512, the other part of which now forms French Basses-Pyrénées; the
Spanish province lies on the SW. border of France, is very varied in
surface and climate; in the N. the people are chiefly Basques, and are
much more energetic than the southern Spaniards; maize, wheat, and red
wine are the chief products.
NAWAB, a viceroy of a province in the Mogul empire, applied also to
a Mohammedan chief in India, and, spelt Nabob, to a man who has made his
wealth in India.
NAXOS (14), an island of the Cyclades, in the Ægean Sea, famed for
its marble, and exports salt and emery powder.
NAYLER, JAMES, a fanatical Quaker in the time of the Commonwealth,
with a following as fanatical as himself, who escorted him through
Bristol on his release from prison after the manner of Christ's entry
into Jerusalem; was very cruelly punished for blasphemy in fancying or
seeming to fancy himself a new incarnation of Christ.
NAZARETH (7), a town in a hollow of the hills on the N. of the Plain
of Esdraëlon, 67 m. N. of Jerusalem and 11 m. W. of the Sea of Galilee,
celebrated over Christendom as the home of the Holy Family.
NAZARITES, among the Jews people consecrated by a vow to some
special religious service, generally for a definite period, but sometimes
for life; during its continuance they were bound to abstain not merely
from strong drink, but from all fruit of the vine, to wear their hair
uncut, and forbidden to approach a dead body, long hair being the symbol
of their consecration; the vow was sometimes made by their parents for
them before their birth; the said vow is the symbolic assertion of the
right of any and every man to consecrate himself, in disregard of every
other claim, to any service which God may require of him.
NEAGH, LOUGH, the largest lake in the British Isles, lies in the NE.
of Ireland, touching the borders of five counties, is 16 m. long, and has
an average breadth of 10 m. and a greatest depth of 102 ft.
NEAL, DANIEL, Nonconformist divine, born in London, and minister
there; wrote a "History of the Puritans" and a "History of New England"
(1678-1743).
NEAL, JOHN MASON, hynmologist, born in London; was a zealous and
advanced High Churchman, wrote a "History of the Holy Eastern Church"; is
best known for his hymns, translated and original (1818-1866).
NEANDER, JOHANN AUGUST WILHELM, eminent Church historian, born at
Göttingen, of Jewish parents, his father's name Mendel, which he changed
into Neander (new man) on his baptism at the age of 17; studied theology
under Schleiermacher at Halle, commenced his work as a teacher of
theology in Heidelberg in 1811, but was two years after called to the
chair of Church History in Berlin, a post he occupied with signal
distinction till his death, his fame all along attracting to him students
from every quarter of Christendom; he was a devout believer in historical
Christianity, and had the profoundest insight into the Christian faith,
both in the root of it and the development of it in the life of the
Church; besides several monographs, he wrote the history of the Church
from its first starting through its after expansion, and a "Life of
Christ" in answer to Strauss, which for its apprehension of the spirit of
Christ and His teaching has never been surpassed, while in Christian
character he was, if ever man was, "without spot and blameless"
(1789-1850).
NEATH (11), a borough and river port of Glamorganshire, on the
navigable Neath, 6 m. NE. of Swansea; is an old town, and has interesting
ruins of an abbey and of a castle (burned 1231); has prosperous copper,
tin, iron, and chemical works.
NEBIIM, the prophets of Israel as an organised class, who first
figure as guardians of the spiritual interests of the nation to the time
of Samuel, when it was threatened with extinction piecemeal at the hands
of the Philistines, and whose mission it was to recall the divided tribes
to a sense of their unity as the chosen of Jehovah, and to see that they
were welded into one under a single king; they lived together in
communities, appeared in companies, wore a distinctive dress, and were
called the sons of the prophets; while they were performing and
discharging their offices they were true to their calling, but when order
was established they, as is usual in such cases, became more and more
lax, until first Elijah, and then another and another who were for most
part not of the order, had, if they would be true to their own souls, to
remind the nation of what its authorised teachers, in their
unfaithfulness, were failing to do, and in consequence suffering God's
cause to go to wreck.
NEBRASKA (1,058), one of the west central States of the American
Union, has Dakota on its N. and Kansas and Colorado on the S., is 1½
times the size of England; in the E. stretches of fertile land yield
abundant crops of grain (maize chiefly), hemp, flax, sugar-beet, and
tobacco, while in the W. rich prairie pastures favour a prosperous
stock-raising; the Platte, Niobrarah, and Republican Rivers follow the
eastward slope of the land; Omaha and Lincoln (capital) are the chief
centres of the manufacturing industries; climate is dry and bracing;
wolves, foxes, skunks, &c., abound, chiefly in the "Bad Lands" of the N.;
Nebraska was incorporated in the American Union in 1867.
NEBULÆ, name given to masses larger or smaller of misty light in the
heavens caused by a group of stars too remote to be severally visible to
the naked eye.
NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS, the theory that the sun and planets with their
satellites in the solar system were originally one mass of nebulous
matter which, gradually cooling and contracting, under violent revolution
resolved itself into separate revolving orbs.
NECKER, JACQUES, celebrated financier, born at Geneva, banker in
Paris; married the accomplished Susanne Curchod, the rejected of Gibbon,
and became by her the father of Mme. de Staël; was a man of high repute
for probity and business capacity; became in 1777 Director-General of
Finance in France, tried hard and honestly, by borrowing and
retrenchment, to restore the fallen public credit, but was after five
years dismissed; was recalled in 1788, but though the funds rose, and he
contributed to their relief two million livres of his own money, was
again dismissed, to be once more recalled, only to expose his inability
to cope with the crisis and to be forced to retire (1732-1804).
NECTAR, in the regard of the Greeks the drink of the gods, which,
along with ambrosia, their food, nourished the ichor, their blood, and
kept them ever in the bloom of immortal youth; it was not permitted to
mortals to drink of it.
NEEDLE-GUN, a breech-loading gun, the cartridge of which is exploded
by a needle.
NEGATIVE, in photography a picture of an object in which the lights
and shadows are reversed, so that the shady part appears white and the
light in it appears dark.
NEGATIVITY, the name given in philosophy to the negative element
determinative or definitive of things and all ideas of things, whereby a
thing is this because it is not that, and is seen to be this because it
is seen not to be that, an antagonism essential to all forms of being,
spiritual as well as material, and to all definite and distinct thought.
NEGRITOES, Spanish name for certain distinctive tribes of a
diminutive race resembling negroes, occupying the central portions of
some of the Philippine Islands, also known as Aëtas or Itas; sometimes
loosely used to designate Papuans and all the Melanesian peoples of
Polynesia.
NEGROES, the dark race of tropical Africa, distinguished by their
dark woolly hair, their black eyes, their flat noses, and their thick
lips; they occupy rather a low level in the scale of humanity, and are
lacking in those mental and moral qualities which have impressed the
stamp of greatness on the other races that have distinguished themselves
in the history of the world.
NEHEMIAH, a Jew of the captivity, of royal degree and in high
favour, being king's cup-bearer at the court of Artaxerxes, the Persian
king; received a commission from the king to repair to Jerusalem and
restore the Jewish worship, and ruled over it for 12 years, till he saw
the walls of the city amid much opposition restored; returned afterwards
to superintend the reform of the worship, of which the book of the Old
Testament named after him relates the story.
NEHUSHTAN (a piece of brass), the name given in contempt to what was
alleged to be the "Serpent in the Wilderness," which had become an object
of worship among the Jews, and was destroyed by King Hezekiah among other
idolatrous relics (2 Kings xviii. 4).
NEILGHERRY HILLS, a bracing mountain district in South India,
forming a triangular-shaped and somewhat isolated mass of elevated
country, peaks of which attain an altitude of close upon 9000 ft.; grassy
slopes alternate with thick masses of forest, amid which several small
native wild tribes still dwell; Ootacamund is the chief station of the
many Europeans who frequent the district as a health resort.
NELSON, 1, a Prosperous manufacturing borough of Lancashire (23), 3½
m. NE. of Burnley. 2, Capital of a district in the N. end of South
Island, New Zealand (11); has a busy harbour in Blind Bay, and
manufactures cloth, leather, soap, &c.
NELSON, HORATIO, LORD, great English admiral, born at Burnham
Thorpe, Norfolk; entered the navy as a midshipman in 1770, and after
voyages to the West Indies, the Arctic regions, and the East Indies, was
promoted to a lieutenancy in 1777; three years later he headed the
expedition against San Juan, was invalided home, and in 1781 acted under
Lord Hood in American waters; in command of the _Boreas_ on the Leeward
Islands station, here he involved himself in trouble through his severe
and arbitrary enforcement of the Navigation Act against American traders,
and there also he met and married in 1787 the widow of Dr. Nesbit;
returning home he lived for five years in retirement, but on the eve of
the French Revolutionary war he was again summoned to active service, and
in command of the _Agamemnon_, advanced his reputation by gallant conduct
in the Mediterranean operations of Lord Hood, losing his right eye during
the storming of Calvi, in Corsica; conspicuous bravery at the engagement
with the Spaniards off Cape St. Vincent (1797) brought him promotion to
the rank of rear-admiral; in the same year he lost his right arm at Santa
Cruz, and in the following year, with an inferior force, annihilated the
French fleet in the Bay of Aboukir, for which he was raised to the
peerage as Baron Nelson, and created Duke of Bronte by the King of
Naples; at this time began his lifelong _liaison_ with LADY
HAMILTON (q. v.); involving himself in Neapolitan affairs, he went
beyond his commission in suppressing the rebel Jacobins, and especially
in executing their leader Caracciolo; in 1800 he returned home, his never
robust strength considerably impaired; as vice-admiral nominally under
Sir Hugh Parker, he in 1801 sailed for the Baltic and inflicted a signal
defeat on the Danish fleet off Copenhagen; for this he was made Viscount
and commander-in-chief; during the scare of a Napoleonic invasion he kept
a vigilant watch in the Channel, and on the resumption of war he on
October 21, 1805, crowned his great career by a memorable victory off
Trafalgar over the French fleet commanded by Villeneuve, but was himself
mortally wounded at the very height of the battle (1758-1805).
NEMEAN GAMES, one of the four great national festivals of Greece,
and celebrated every other year.
NEMEAN LION, a monstrous lion in Nemea, a valley of Argolis, which
Hercules slew by throttling it with his hands, clothing himself ever
after with its skin.
NEMESIS, in the Greek imagination, the executioner of divine
vengeance on evil-doers, conceived of as incarnated in the fear which
precedes and the remorse which accompanies a guilty action.
NENNIUS, the reputed author of a chronicle of early British history,
who appears to have lived not later perhaps than the 9th century.
NEOLOGY, the name given to the rationalist theology of Germany or
the rationalisation of the Christian religion.
NEO-PLATONISM, a system of philosophy that originated in Alexandria
at the beginning of the 3rd century, which resolved the absolute, or God,
into the incarnation thereof in the Logos, or reason of man, and which
aimed at "demonstrating the graduated transition from the absolute object
to the personality of man"; it was a concretion of European thought and
Oriental.
NEPAL (about 2,500), an independent native State in North India,
occupying a narrow mountainous territory along and including the southern
slopes of the Himalayas, which separate it from Thibet; consists mainly
of valleys and intervening mountain ridges, among which dwell various
hill tribes, the dominant race being the hardy GOORKHAS (q. v.).
NEPENTHE, an imaginary goddess, the allayer of pain and the soother
of sorrows, or the impersonation of stern retributive justice.
NEPOS, CORNELIUS, Roman historian, born at Pavia; was a contemporary
and friend of Cicero; was the author of several historical works, no
longer extant, and the one still extant ascribed to him, entitled "De
Viris Illustribus," is believed to be an abridgment of an earlier work by
him.
NEPTUNE, the chief marine deity of the Romans, and identified with
the Poseidon of the Greeks, is represented with a trident in his hand as
his sceptre.
NEPTUNE, the remotest planet of the solar system at present known;
it is twice as far distant from the sun as URANUS (q. v.) is,
deemed before its discovery the remotest; its diameter is four times
greater than that of the earth, and it takes 60,126 days to revolve round
the sun, accompanied by a solitary satellite; it was discovered in 1846
by ADAMS (q. v.) and LEVERRIER (q. v.), who were guided
to the spot where they found it from the effect of its neighbourhood on
the movements of Uranus.
NERBUDDA, or NARBADA, a sacred river of India; has its source
in the Amarkantak plateau of the Deccan, and flows westward, a rapid body
of greenish-blue water, through the great valley between the Vindhya and
Satpura Mountains, reaching the Gulf of Cambay after a course of 800 m.,
the last 30 of which are navigable.
NEREIDES, nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea, daughters of Nereus, 60
in number, and attendant on Poseidon.
NEREUS, the god of the Mediterranean Sea, the son of Pontus and
Gaia, the husband of Doris, and father of the Nereides, represented as a
sage, venerable old man.
NERI, ST. PHILIPPO DI, Italian priest, born at Florence, of noble
family; founder of the Congregation of the Oratory; was known from his
boyhood as the Good Pippo, and he spent his life in acts of devotion and
charity (1515-1592). Festival, May 26.
NERO, Roman emperor from A.D. 54 to 68, born at Antium, son of Cn.
Domitius Ahenobarbus and of Agrippina, daughter of Germanicus; after the
murder of Claudius, instigated by Agrippina, who 4 years previously had
become the emperor's wife, Nero seized the throne, excluding Britannicus,
the rightful heir; during the first 5 years of his reign his old tutors,
Seneca and Burrus, were his advisers in a wise and temperate policy, but
gradually his innate tendency to vice broke through all restraint, and
hurried him into a course of profligacy and crime; Britannicus was put to
death, his mother and wife, Octavia, were subsequent victims, and in 64
numbers of Christians suffered death, with every refinement of torture,
on a trumped-up charge of having caused the great burning of Rome,
suspicion of which rested on Nero himself; a year later Seneca and the
poet Lucan were executed as conspirators, and, having kicked to death his
wife Poppæa, then far advanced in pregnancy, he offered his hand to
Octavia, daughter of Claudius, and because she declined his suit ordered
her death; these and many other similar crimes brought on inevitable
rebellion; Spain and Gaul declared in favour of Galba; the Prætorian
Guards followed suit; Nero fled from Rome, and sought refuge in suicide
(37-68).
NERVA, Roman emperor from 96 to 98, elected by the Senate; ruled
with moderation and justice; resigned in favour of Trajan, as from age
unable to cope with the turbulence of the Prætorian Guards.
NESS, LOCH, the second largest loch in Scotland, stretches along the
valley of Glenmore, in Inverness-shire, is 22½ m. long, and has an
average breadth of 1 m. and an extreme depth of 280 ft.: its main feeders
are the Morriston, Oich, and Foyers; the Ness is its chief outlet.
NESSELRODE, COUNT VON, celebrated Russian diplomatist, born at
Lisbon, where his father was Russian ambassador; represented Russia at a
succession of congresses, played a prominent part at them, and directed
the foreign policy of the empire under Alexander I. and Nicholas I., from
1816 to 1856, though he strove to avoid the war which broke out in 1853
(1780-1862).
NESSUS, a Centaur who, for attempting to carry off Dejanira,
Hercules' wife, was shot by Hercules with an arrow dipped in the blood of
the HYDRA (q. v.), and who in dying handed to Dejanira his
mantle, dipped in his poisoned blood, as a charm to regain her husband's
affections should he at any time prove unfaithful. See HERCULES.
NESSUS' SHIRT, the poisoned robe which Nessus gave Dejanira, and
which in a moment of distrust she gave to Hercules. See NESSUS.
NESTOR, king of Pylos, a protégé and worshipper of Poseidon, the
oldest, most experienced, and wisest of the Greek heroes at the siege of
Troy; belonged to the generation of the grandfathers of the rest of them.
NESTORIUS, a celebrated heresiarch, born in Syria; was made
patriarch of Constantinople in 428, deposed for heresy by the Council of
Ephesus 431, and banished to the Lybian Desert, where he died; the heresy
he taught, called after him Nestorianism, was that the two natures, the
divine and the human, coexist in Christ, but are not united, and he would
not allow to the Virgin Mary the title that had been given to her as the
"Mother of God"; the orthodoxy of the Church as against the doctrine was
championed by Cyril of Alexandria.
NETHERLANDS, a term formerly applied to the whole NW. corner of
Europe, occupied by BELGIUM (q. v.) and Holland, but now an
official designation only of HOLLAND (q. v.).
NETLEY, the site of the handsome Royal Victoria Hospital, on the
shore of Southampton Water, 3 m. SE. of Southampton, and connected by a
direct line with Portsmouth; founded in 1856 as an asylum for invalided
soldiers, also the head-quarters of the female nurses of the army; in the
vicinity also are interesting remains of a Cistercian abbey.
NETTLERASH or URTICARIA, an irritating eruption in the skin
causing a sensation like the stinging of nettles. It may be acute or
chronic, frequently caused by errors of diet.
NEUCHÂTEL (109), a western canton of Switzerland, lying between Lake
Neuchâtel and France; the surface is diversified by the Jura Mountains,
and plentifully supplied with small streams; the greater part of the
inhabitants are French Protestants; coal and iron are found,
stock-raising and agriculture are engaged in, but the great specialty of
the canton is watchmaking, which is chiefly carried on at La
Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle; Neuchâtel was incorporated in the Swiss
Confederation in 1815. NEUCHÂTEL (17), capital of the canton, has a
fine situation on the NW. shore of the lake, 86 m. NE. of Geneva; has
many educational, art, and charitable institutions, and is chiefly
engaged in the manufacture of watches, jewellery, &c. LAKE OF
NEUCHÂTEL is a beautiful sheet of water, 25 m. in length, and from 3
to 6 in breadth.
NEUSTRIA, western portion of the kingdom of the Franks in the time
of the Merovingian and Carlovingian dynasties, and in constant rivalry
with AUSTRASIA (q. v.), the kingdom of the East; it extended
from the Scheldt to the Loire and Soissons; Paris, Orleans, and Tours
were the chief towns.
NEUVILLE, ALPHONSE DE, French painter of battle-scenes, born at St.
Omer; he was an illustrator of books, among others Guizot's "Histoire de
France" (1836-1885).
NEVA, a river of Russia issuing from the SW. corner of Lake Ladoga,
flows westward in a broad rapid current past St. Petersburg, and
discharges its great volume of water into the Bay of Cronstadt, in the
Gulf of Finland, after a winding course of 40 miles.
NEVADA (46), one of the western States of the American Union,
occupying a wide stretch of territory on the Great Plateau or Basin,
between the Rocky Mountains on the E. and the Cascades and the Sierra
Nevada on the W., has Oregon and Idaho on the N., and California on the
S. and W.; elevated, cold, dry, and barren, it offers little inducement
to settlers, and is in consequence the least in population of the
American States; the great silver discoveries of 1859 brought it first
into notice, and mining still remains the chief industry; Virginia City
and Carson (capital) are the chief towns; was admitted to the Union in
1864.
NEVILLE'S CROSS, BATTLE OF, battle fought near Durham between the
Scots and English in 1346, in which the former were defeated and King
David taken prisoner.
NEVIS, BEN. See BEN NEVIS.
NEW BRITAIN or NEU-POMMERN, a large island in the German
Bismarck Archipelago, West Pacific, lying off the NE. coast of New
Guinea, from which it is separated by Dampier Strait; is 300 m. long,
with an average breadth of 40 m.; is mountainous and volcanic in the
interior, and thickly clad with forest trees; fruits of various kinds are
the chief product; is inhabited by Melanesian savages.
NEW BRUNSWICK (321), a SE. province of Canada, presents a long
foreshore to the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the NE. and to the Bay of Fundy
on the SE., while directly E. lies Nova Scotia, to which it is joined by
the isthmus of Chignecto; the surface is diversified by numerous lakes,
magnificent forests of pine and other woods, and the fertile valleys of
the Rivers St. John, Restigouche, and Miramichi; timber is the chief
export, but only less valuable are its fisheries, while shipbuilding is
also an important and growing industry; coal is mined in good quantities,
and the chief towns, St. John, Portland, and Fredericton (capital) are
busy centres of iron, textile, and other factories; the climate is
subject to extremes of heat and cold, but is healthy; many of the
inhabitants are of French origin, for New Brunswick formed part of the
old French colony of Acadia.
NEW CALEDONIA (63), an island of the South Pacific belonging to
France, the most southerly of the Melanesian group, lying about 800 m. E.
of Australia and nearly 1000 m. N. of New Zealand; is mountainous,
produces the usual tropical fruits, and exports some nickel, cobalt,
coffee, &c.; is used by the French as a convict station; discovered by
Captain Cook in 1774 and annexed by France in 1853; Noumea (5), on the
SW., is the capital.
NEW ENGLAND, a name given in 1704 by Captain John Smith to the
eastern and most densely populated portion of the United States, which
now comprises Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
and Connecticut; was first colonised under the name of North Virginia by
the Plymouth Company in 1606; the inhabitants, known distinctively as
Yankees, are mostly of Puritan and Scotch descent, and are noted for
their shrewdness and industry.
NEW FOREST, a district in the SW. of Hampshire, 14 m. from N. to S.
and 16 m. wide, and consisting of 92,000 acres, of which 62,000 belong to
the crown demesnes; one-fourth of the area consists of enclosed
plantations, chiefly of oak and beech, the rest being open woodland, bog,
and heath; Lyndhurst is the principal town.
NEW GUINEA, the largest island in the world (excluding the island
continents of Australia and Greenland), lies N. of Australia, from which
it is divided by Torres Strait (90 m. wide); is an irregular,
mountainous, well-rivered territory, 10 times the size of Scotland, and
is held by three European powers--the Dutch (200) in the western and
least developed half; the German (100); in the NE., Kaiser Wilhelm's
Land, administered by the German New Guinea Company, who export tobacco,
areca, bamboo, ebony, &c.; and the British (135), in the SE.,
administered by the Commonwealth of Australia. Successful encouragement
has been given to colonisation, and good exports of gold pearl-shells,
copra, &c., are made. Much of the interior is still to explore, and is
inhabited by Papuans, Negritoes, and other Melanesian tribes, many of
which are still in the cannibal stage, although others are peaceful and
industrious. A hot moist climate gives rise to much endemic fever, but
encourages a wonderful profusion of tropical growth, giving place in the
highlands to the hardier oak and pine, and still higher to a purely
alpine flora; as in Australia, the animals are chiefly marsupials; the
mountain ranges, which stretch in a more or less continuous line
throughout the island, have peaks that touch an altitude of 20,000 ft.
and send down many navigable streams. Port Moresby is the capital of the
British portion.
NEW HAMPSHIRE (377), the second most northerly of the NEW ENGLAND
STATES (q. v.), and from the beauty of its lake and mountain
scenery called the "Switzerland of America," lies N. and S. between
Quebec province and Massachusetts, while the Atlantic washes part of its
eastern borders; is more engaged in manufactures than in agriculture, and
obtains valuable water-power and waterway from its rivers, the
Piscataqua, Merrimac, and Connecticut; Manchester, on the Merrimac, is
the largest city.
NEW HAVEN (108), capital of New Haven county, Connecticut, and chief
city and seaport of the State, at the head of New Haven Bay, 4 m. from
Long Island Sound, and 73 m. NE. of New York; is a finely built city,
and, since 1718, has been the seat of Yale College; is an important
manufacturing centre, producing rifles, iron-ware of all kinds,
carriages, clocks, &c., was up till 1873 joint capital of the State with
Harford.
NEW HEBRIDES (70), a group of some 30 volcanic Islands (20
inhabited) in the Western Pacific, lying W. of the Fiji Islands and NE.
of New Caledonia; is nominally a possession of Britain, and inhabited by
cannibals of the Melanesian race. Missionary enterprise has had some
effect in the southern islands; Espiritu Santo (70 m. by 40) is the
largest.
NEW HOLLAND. See AUSTRALIA.
NEW JERSEY (1,444), one of the 13 original States of the American
Union, faces the Atlantic between New York State on the N. and Delaware
Bay on the S., with Pennsylvania on its western border; the well-watered
and fertile central plains favour a prosperous fruit and agricultural
industry, tracts of pine and cedar wood cover the sandy S., while the N.,
traversed by ranges of the Appalachians, abounds in valuable forests of
oak, hickory, chestnut, sassafras, &c.; minerals are plentiful,
especially iron ores. New Jersey is thickly populated, well provided with
railway and water transit, and busily engaged in manufactures--e. g.
glass, machinery, silk, sugar. Newark (capital) and Jersey City are by
far the largest cities; was sold to Penn in 1682, and settled chiefly by
immigrant Quakers.
NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH, a church consisting of the disciples of
Emanuel Swedenborg, formed into a separate organisation for worship about
1788. See SWEDENBORGIANISM.
NEW MEXICO (154), an extensive territory embracing the SW. end of
North America and the larger part of the great isthmus which unites the
two Americas; was in 1848 detached from MEXICO (q. v.), and
constituted a part of the American Union; consists mainly of elevated
plateau, sloping to the S., and traversed by ranges of the Rocky
Mountains; the precious metals are widely distributed, especially silver;
good deposits of coal and copper are also found. In the broad river
valleys excellent crops are raised, and stock-raising is an important
industry. The territory is divided into 14 counties; Santa Fé is the
capital; a State university exists at Albuquerque.
NEW ORLEANS (287), the capital and largest city of Louisiana, is
beautifully situated on both sides of the Mississippi, 107 m. from its
mouth, with a curved river-frontage of 10 m.; is the second cotton port
of the world, and the greatest sugar-market in the United States; is the
chief trade emporium of the surrounding States, and the main outlet for
the produce of the Mississippi Valley, which includes cotton, sugar,
tobacco, wheat, and salt.
NEW SOUTH WALES (1,132), the "mother colony" of Australia, fronts
the Pacific for 700 m. on the E. between Queensland (N.) and Victoria
(S.), is 2½ times the size of Great Britain and Ireland; mountain ranges
(including the Australian Alps) running parallel with, and from 20 to 100
m. distant from, the coast, divide the narrow littoral plains from the
great plains of the W. and the interior, and are the source of many large
rivers (e. g. the Darling) flowing E. and W.; the climate is warm and
everywhere healthy; rain falls plentifully on the coast lands and
mountains, but is scarce in the W. The mineral wealth of the colony is
very great--gold and silver are found in large quantities, as also
copper, tin, iron, &c., but coal is the most abundant and valuable
mineral product. Cereals, fruits, sugar, tobacco, &c., are cultivated,
but in small quantities compared with the immense output of wool, the
chief product of the country. SYDNEY (q. v.) is the capital and
chief port of the colony. Government is vested in a Crown appointed
Governor and two Houses of Parliament (triennial and paid). Education is
free and compulsory. Established in 1788, the colony was, up to 1840,
used as a settlement for transported criminals. In 1851 the great gold
discoveries started the colony on its prosperous career.
NEW YORK (5,997), the foremost State in the American Union in
population, wealth, commerce, and manufactures, the twenty-fifth in area,
and is about the size of England; is triangular in shape, with a
north-western base on Lakes Erie and Ontario, and an eastern apex
reaching the Atlantic between Connecticut (N.) and New Jersey (S.).
Manhattan, Staten, and Long Island are the most important of many islands
belonging to the State. The land slopes from the mountainous E. to the
shores of the great western lakes, and is pleasantly diversified with
mountain, valley and plain, forest and river. The Hudson, Oswego,
Genesee, and Niagara (with its famous waterfall) are the principal
rivers, while the St. Lawrence forms part of the northern boundary.
One-half of the area is under cultivation; the vine flourishes, hops and
tobacco are grown, and market-gardening prospers near the large cities;
but manufacturing is the chief industry, and the transit of goods is
greatly facilitated by the many waterways and network of railways. Was
finally occupied by the English in 1664, after the expulsion of the
Dutch.
NEW YORK CITY (3,437), but including Brooklyn, Jersey City, and
other suburban places, nearly three millions, the premier city of the
American continent, and third wealthiest in the world; occupies Manhattan
Island (13½ m. long) and several smaller islands at the terminal
confluence of the Hudson with East River, which opens into Long Island
Sound; 18 m. S. of the city is Sandy Hook, where two ship channels cross
the bar, and lead into the outer or lower bay, which in turn is joined by
a strait to the magnificent harbour or inner bay; all approaches are
strongly fortified; a suspension bridge spans East River, uniting the
city with Brooklyn; the rivers and the many wharves are crowded with
shipping. The old town is a busy hive of industry, with its great centres
of banking and mercantile enterprise--Wall, New, and Broad Streets. The
modern part of the city is a model of regularity, is traversed by great
avenues 8 m. in length and 100 ft. wide, the finest being Fifth Avenue.
The City Hall and the Court House are of white marble; the hotels are the
largest in the world; Astor library (250,000 vols.), academy of design,
university, museums, art-galleries, and many other handsome buildings
adorn the streets; carries on industries of almost every description.
NEW ZEALAND (669, of which 42 are Maories), a British island colony
in the South Pacific, lying wholly within the temperate zone, 1200 m. E.
of Australia; comprises North Island (45,000 sq. m.), South or Middle
Island (58,000 sq. m.), Stewart Island (much smaller), and a number of
islets; total area considerably more than that of Great Britain. The two
main islands, separated by Cook Strait, are in no part broader than 150
m., and are traversed from end to end by a great and partly volcanic
mountain chain, the range in South Island being known as the Southern
Alps (highest peak Mount Cook, 12,350 ft), and that in North Island as
the Ruahine Range and the Tararua Mountains; everywhere rivers abound,
Waikato (North Island) and Clutha (South Island) being the largest;
numerous lakes (Lake Taupo, six times the size of Loch Lomond), fertile
valleys, and well-grassed plains, together with the mountains, make up a
beautiful and diversified surface, which much resembles that of Scotland,
while the climate, temperate and healthy, is warmer and more equable than
in Great Britain; almost all the animals have been imported, as well as
the grains and fruits; great forests of indigenous kauri pines, however,
exist; sheep-farming, agriculture, and mining (gold and coal) are the
chief industries, wool being the chief export; Auckland, the largest, and
Wellington, the capital, in North Island, and Dunedin and Christchurch in
South Island, are the chief towns; Government is vested in a
Crown-appointed Governor, an Executive Ministry, and a Parliament of two
Chambers; education is free, secular, and compulsory, but no State aid is
given to any form of religion; discovered in 1642 by Tasman, the islands
were first surveyed by Cook in 1769; their formal cession to the British
crown took place in 1840.
NEWARK (246), city of U.S., New Jersey, 7 miles W. by New Jersey
City. It has extensive tanneries, and manufactories of hats, thread, and
celluloid.
NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME (18), a borough and old market-town of
Staffordshire, 40 m. S. of Manchester; is a well-built town, actively
engaged in brewing, malting, and paper-making.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE (186), a city and county of itself, and chief
town of Northumberland; situated on the N. bank, and 10 m. from the
mouth, of the Tyne, 275 m. N. of London. The old town extends some two
miles along the river bank, and with its crowded quays, narrow winding
streets, and dingy warehouses, presents a striking contrast to the
handsome modern portion, which stretches back on gently rising ground.
The cathedral is an imposing and interesting architectural structure,
while the public buildings are more than usually ornate. The Colleges of
Medicine and of Science are affiliated to Durham University. There are
several fine libraries, theatres, hospitals, and charitable institutions,
and the city is especially well off in the matter of public parks and
pleasure grounds. Three bridges (including Robert Stephenson's famous
High Level Bridge) span the river and connect Newcastle with Gateshead.
It is the chief centre of the English coal trade, and is a busy hive of
all kinds of metallic, chemical, machinery, and kindred works, which give
rise to an immense and ever-increasing shipping trade. As a centre of
shipbuilding the Tyne is second only to the Clyde.
NEWCOMEN, THOMAS, blacksmith, born at Dartmouth; invented a
steam-engine in which the piston was raised by steam and driven down by
the atmosphere after the injection into the cylinder of a squirt of cold
water, which cooled it, so that the steam when injected did not raise the
piston at once up. By James Watt's invention of a separate condenser it
was superseded, and employed afterwards principally for pumping water.
The interruption in the movement between the descent and ascent of the
piston made it worthless for such purposes as Watt's invention is applied
to; _d_. 1729.
NEWDIGATE, SIR ROGER, born in Warwickshire; represented Oxford in
Parliament, and founded the Newdigate Prize for the best English poem by
an undergraduate; the winners of it have since distinguished themselves,
chiefly in letters (1719-1806).
NEWFOUNDLAND (198), the oldest island colony of Britain, situated at
the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, North America; is about one-eighth
larger than Ireland, and triangular in shape, the northern apex running
close in to the coast of Labrador; inland the country is bleak, sparsely
populated, and ill cultivated; lakes and rivers abound; the deeply
indented coast provides excellent harbourage for the large fishing fleets
that frequent it; minerals are found, including coal, iron, lead, and
copper; agriculture and timber-felling are on the increase, but the
fisheries--cod, salmon, herring, and seal--form the staple industry; the
climate is more temperate than in Canada, although, subject to fogs;
ST. JOHNS (q. v.) is the capital; discovered in 1497 by John
Cabot, seized by the English in 1583, and finally ceded to Britain by the
French (who retained certain fishing rights) in 1713; Newfoundland
possesses a responsible government, consisting of a popularly elected
Assembly and a Crown-appointed Governor, and exercises political rights
over the adjoining coast territory of Labrador.
NEWGATE, a dark, gloomy prison in London, the original of which
dates as far back as 1218; was two centuries afterwards rebuilt, and
destroyed in the great fire of 1666; rebuilt in 1780; is now used only
for prisoners awaiting trial during Sessions, and as a place of
execution.
NEWMAN, JOHN HENRY, cardinal, born in London, son of a banker;
educated at Ealing, studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and obtained a
Fellowship in Oriel College in 1823; trained in evangelical beliefs, he
gradually drifted into High-Church notions, and becoming vicar of St.
Mary's, the university church of Oxford, in 1826, started the Tractarian
Movement in 1833, and, busy with his pen, wrote no fewer than 24 of the
celebrated "Tracts for the Times" in advocacy of High-Church teaching,
till Tract XC., which he composed, overshot the mark, and he resigned his
connection with the Church of England, and was received into the Catholic
Church on the 28th October 1845; shortly after this he visited Rome, was
ordained a priest, and after some stay there on his return became head of
the Birmingham Oratory in 1849, where he spent over 40 of the years that
remained of his life; the influence on Church matters which he exercised
as university preacher at Oxford was very great, and made itself felt
through the voluminous writings over the length and breadth of the
Church; on his secession he continued to employ his pen in defence of his
position, particularly in one work, now widely known, entitled "Apologia
pro Vita Sua"; what he wrote was for the time he lived in, and none of
it, except certain of his hymns, is likely to endure; the religion he
fought for and vindicated was an externally authenticated one, whereas
all true religion derives itself and its evidences solely and wholly from
within, and is powerless and virtually nothing except in so far as it
roots itself there (1801-1890).
NEWMAN, FRANCIS WILLIAM, born in London, brother of the preceding,
with whom he was wholly out of sympathy, and at the opposite pole; he was
a theist in his religious opinions, and wrote in defence of them his
principal works, "The Soul: Her Sorrows and Aspirations," and "Phases of
Faith" (1805-1897).
NEWPORT, 1, capital of the Isle of Wight (10), and near its centre;
in its vicinity is Carisbrooke Castle, where Charles I. was imprisoned.
2, The largest town in Monmouth (54), at the mouth of the Usk, engaged in
manufacture of various kinds, but chiefly as a port for the export of
minerals, which is very large. 3, A town in Rhode Island, U.S., (19), a
fashionable watering-place, as well as a manufacturing; was for a time
the residence of Bishop Berkeley.
NEWSTEAD ABBEY, an abbey near Nottingham, founded by Henry II. by
way of atonement for the murder of Thomas à Becket, which was given at
the dissolution of the monasteries to an ancestor of Lord Byron, who
lived in it and sold it, since which it has been restored.
NEWTON, SIR ISAAC, illustrious natural philosopher, born in
Woolsthorpe, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire; entered Trinity College,
Cambridge, in 1661, where he applied himself specially to the study of
mathematics, invented the method of FLUXIONS (q. v.), and began
to theorise on gravitation, graduating in 1667, and becoming professor of
Mathematics in 1669; failing at first, from a mistaken measurement given
of the earth's diameter, in his attempts to establish the theory referred
to, he set himself to the construction of telescopes, and discovered the
composition of light; shortly after this, hearing of a correction of the
measurement required, he renewed his study of gravitation, and made his
theory good in a series of papers communicated to the Royal Society,
though it was not till 1687, encouraged by Halley, he gave the complete
demonstration in his "Principia" to the world; in 1695 he was made Warden
of the Mint, and afterwards Master, a post he held till his death; his
works were numerous, and he wrote on prophecy as well as treatises on
science (1642-1727).
NEWTON, JOHN, English clergyman, born in London; after a wild youth
was converted, entered the Church, and became curate of Olney, where he
became acquainted with Cowper, and had, owing to his severe Calvinism, an
influence over him not altogether for good, and was associated with the
production of the "Olney Hymns"; wrote "Cardiphonia" (1725-1807).
NEWTON, THOMAS, English divine; edited Milton's "Paradise Lost" and
"Paradise Regained," and notes, and wrote "Dissertations on the
Prophecies" (1704-1782).
NEY, MICHEL, peer and marshal of France, born at Sarrelouis, son of
a cooper; entered the army as a private hussar in 1797; distinguished
himself by his bravery in the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, and
earned for himself from the army under Napoleon, and from Napoleon
himself, the title of the "Brave of the braves"; on Napoleon's abdication
in 1814 he attached himself to Louis XVIII., but on his return from Elba
he joined Ins old master, and stood by him during the hundred days; on
the second Restoration he was arrested, tried by his peers, and shot
(1769-1815).
NGAMI, LAKE, a shallow sheet of water 50 m. long in S. Africa, on
the borders of the Kalahari Desert, which is always changing its margin,
is at one time, from the rains, sweet and drinkable, and at another time,
from drought, saline; it is infested with crocodiles, and swarms with
fish.
NIAGARA, a section of the St. Lawrence River, in N. America,
extending between Lakes Erie and Ontario, having a descent throughout its
course of 36 m. of 326 ft., the Falls, preceded and succeeded by rapids,
being the largest in the world, the Canadian or Horse Shoe Fall being
2640 ft. wide, with a descent of 158 ft., and the American Fall being
one-third of the width of the Canadian, and with a descent of over 162
ft.
NIAM-NIAM, a people of the E. Soudan, SE. of Darfur, occupying
territory between the basins of the Nile and the Congo.
NIBELUNG, king of the Nibelungen, a mythical Burgundian tribe, the
fabulous possessor of a hoard of wealth so inexhaustible that "twelve
waggons in twelve days, at the rate of three journeys a day, could not
carry it off," and which he bequeathed to his two sons on his deathbed,
by the vanquishing of whom the hoard fell into the hands of the
redoubtable hero Siegfried.
NIBELUNGEN LIED (i. e. Lay of the Nibelungen), an old German epic,
of date, it is presumed, earlier than the 12th century; it consists of
two parts, the first ending with the murder of Siegfried by Hagen, his
wresting of the hoard (see _SUPRA_) from his widow, Kriemhild, and
burying it at the bottom of the Rhine, and the second relating the
vengeance of Kriemhild and the annihilation of the whole Burgundian race,
Kriemhild included, to whom the treasure had originally belonged; to the
latter part the name of the Nibelungen Not (or Distress) has been given.
NICARAGUA (313, mostly mulattoes and negroes), the largest and
richest of five republics occupying Central America, stretches across the
isthmus from the Pacific to the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras (N.) and
Costa Rica (S.); the Cordilleras traverse the heart of the country, and
the immense valleys of the W. are remarkable for the two great southern
lakes, Nicaragua and Managua, which are studded with volcanic islands;
rich in gold, silver, copper, and coal, with vast forests of mahogany,
rosewood, &c., splendid pastures and a fertile soil; the country has
through misgovernment and a bad climate remained in a backward state; in
recent times more has been done; hides, bananas, coffee, and india-rubber
are the chief exports, and a considerable deal of mining goes on; the
great ship-canal from the Pacific to the Caribbean, begun in 1889 by a
U.S. company, is not yet completed; Managua (18) is the capital; asserted
its independence from Spain in 1821, and has since been rent by countless
revolutions; a president and a congress of 48 administer its affairs.
NICE or NICÆA, an ancient city of Bithynia, in Asia Minor,
celebrated as the seat of two oecumenical councils of the Church, the
first, presided over by Constantine in 325, which condemned Arianism, and
the second, under the Empress Irene in 787, which deliberated on
image-worship.
NICE (74), capital of the department Alpes-Maritimes, France,
charmingly situated on the Mediterranean coast near the Italian border,
terraced hills shelter it on the N., and its genial and equable climate
make it a favourite winter resort for invalids; the Paglione, a small
stream, divides the old and modern portion; Castle Hill, with ruins and
pleasure gardens, the cathedral, art-gallery, &c., are features of
interest; olive-oil is the chief export, and artistic pottery, perfumery,
&c., are manufactured.
NICENE CREED, a creed established as orthodox at NICE (q. v.),
which affirmed as against Arianism that Christ as Son of God was
not merely of _like_ substance, but of the _same_ substance with the
Father.
NICHOLAS, the name of five popes: N. I., ST., surnamed the
Great, Pope from 858 to 867, asserted the supremacy of the papal see,
Festival, Nov. 13; N. II., pope from 1058 to 1061; N. III.,
Pope from 1277 to 1280; N. IV., pope from 1288 to 1292; N. V.,
Pope from 1447 to 1456, after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks,
took the exiled Greek scholars under his protection, fostered the
learning of the East, and laid the foundation of the Vatican Library by
the collection of over 5000 Greek and Latin MSS.
NICHOLAS, ST., the patron saint of boys, of sailors, of Russia and
Aberdeen, as well as other towns; was bishop of Myra, persecuted under
Diocletian; is generally represented in bishop's robes, and has either
three purses or three children as his attributes; the three children and
the three purses refer to one and the same story: St. Nicholas, on
learning that a father who had three daughters was tempted by extreme
poverty to expose them to a life of dishonour, went by night and threw
into the window of the house three bags of money which served as a
marriage portion for each, and thus rescued them from a life of shame.
NICHOLAS I., czar of Russia, born at St. Petersburg, third son of
Paul I., ascended the throne in 1825 in succession to Alexander I., his
eldest brother; suppressed with rigour and not a little severity a
formidable conspiracy which took form on his accession; took up arms
against Persia and wrested Erivan from its sway, struggled against both
the Poles and the Turks till his overbearing policy against the latter
provoked a coalition of France, England, and Sardinia to their defence in
the Crimean War, which was still going on when he died; in 1848 he aided
Austria in the suppression of the Hungarian insurrection (1796-1855).
NICHOLAS II., czar of Russia, born in St. Petersburg, son of
Alexander III., and his successor in Nov. 1894; was married on the month
of his accession to Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt and granddaughter
of Queen Victoria through the Princess Alice, while his mother is a
sister of the Princess of Wales; his education under his father was
conducted expressly with a view to what might be required of him on his
accession to the throne; his ministers are in sympathy with himself, and
he has already (1899) distinguished himself by putting his finger on the
sore which is festering at the heart and is sucking up as a vampire the
life's blood of Europe; _b_. May 18, 1868.
NICHOLSON, JOHN, an Indian officer, born in Dublin, son of a
physician; served in the Sikh Wars, and at the outbreak of the Mutiny in
1857 in the Punjab crushed it in the bud; led the attack at the siege of
Delhi, Sept. 14, but fell mortally wounded as the storming party were
entering the Cabul Gate (1821-1857).
NICOBAR ISLANDS (7), a group of picturesque islands in the Indian
Ocean, S. of the Andaman Islands and midway between Ceylon and the Malay
Peninsula; 14 of the 20 islands are inhabited, chiefly by indigenous
Indians and Malays; after being in the hands of Denmark for upwards of
100 years, they were annexed by Britain in 1869; trade is carried on with
India in cocoa-nuts, ambergris, tortoise-shell, &c.
NICOLAITANS, a sect of heretics that arose in the Apostolic Church,
presumed to have been a party of professing Christians of Gentile
descent, who, after their profession, continued to take part in the
heathen festivals, and to have contributed to break down the distinction
between the Church and the world, so essential to the very existence of
the faith they professed, founded, as it is, no less absolutely on No to
the world than on Yea to God. See EVERLASTING NO and
EVERLASTING YEA.
NICOLE, PIERRE, French divine and moralist, born at Chartres, a
PORT-ROYALIST (q. v.), friend of Arnauld and Pascal; was along
with the former author of the famous "Port Royal Logic" (1625-1695).
NICOTINE, a poisonous alkaloid extracted from the leaves of the
tobacco plant, is a colourless, oily liquid, readily soluble in water,
and has a pungent odour.
NIEBUHR, BARTHOLD GEORG, distinguished historian, born at
Copenhagen, son of the succeeding; studied at Kiel, and for a time at
London and Edinburgh; after various civil appointments in Denmark,
entered the civil service of Prussia in 1806; on the establishment of the
university of Berlin in 1810 gave in connection with it a course of
lectures on Roman history, by which he established his reputation as a
historian, several of the conclusions of which he afterwards confirmed
during his residence as ambassador at the Papal Court at Rome from 1816
to 1823; the revolution of the three days of July 1830 in Paris
threatening, as he thought, a recurrence of the horrors of the first,
gave him such a shock that he sickened of it and died; by his treatment
of the history of Rome he introduced a new era in the treatment of
history generally, which consisted in expiscating all the fabulous from
the story and working on the residuum of authenticated fact, without,
however, as would appear, taking due account of the influence of the
faith of the people on the fable, and the effect of the latter on the
life and destiny of the nation whose history it was his purpose to relate
(1776-1830).
NIEBUHR, KARSTEN, a celebrated traveller, born in Hanover; joined a
Danish expedition in exploration of Arabia, and alone of the members of
it returned home, which he did by way of Persia, Palestine, and Cyprus,
and wrote an account of the results of his researches (1733-1815).
NIEL, ADOLPHE, French marshal, born at Muret; entered the Engineers
1825, served in the Algerine War in 1835, before Rome in 1849, at
Bomarsund in 1854, at Sebastopol in 1856, as well as at Magenta and
Solferino, and finally became Minister of War (1802-1869).
NIEPEE, JOSEPH NICÉPHORE, French chemist, born at Châlons-sur-Saône;
inventor of photography, the method of effecting which he achieved after
long brooding in 1824, and afterwards communicated to Daguerre, with whom
he entered into partnership, and who made it known after his death
(1765-1833).
NIFLHEIM or MISTHOME, in the Norse mythology the primeval
northern region of cold and darkness, in contrast with Muspelheim, or
Brighthome, the primeval southern region of warmth and light, the two
poles, as it were, of the Norse world.
NIGER, a great river of Western Africa, whose head-waters rise amid
the Kong Mountains behind Sierra Leone; flowing NE. as far as Timbuctoo
(2 m. from the river), it there bends gradually southward, receives from
the E. its great affluent the Benuë, and about 100 m. from the coast
begins to form a wide forest and jungle-covered delta (larger than that
of the Nile), and finally flows into the Gulf of Guinea by 22 mouths
after a course of some 2600 m. Forms, with the Benuë, an invaluable
highway into the heart of the country; its upper and middle parts, under
the names Joliba, &c., are within the French sphere, and the lower
portion below Say is under English authority.
NIGHTINGALE, FLORENCE, a famous philanthropic nurse, born at
Florence, of wealthy English parentage; at the age of 22 entered the
institution of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserswerth to be trained as a
nurse, and afterwards studied the methods of nursing and hospital
management with the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, Paris; after
thoroughly reorganising Harley Street Hospital, London, she in 1854
volunteered to organise a staff of nurses to tend the wounded soldiers in
the Crimea; arriving at Scutari on the eve of Inkermann she, during the
terrible winter of 1854-55, ministered with unwearied devotion to the
suffering soldiers; on her return in 1856 she, with public support,
established a training college for nurses at St. Thomas's and at King's
College Hospital; she is author of "Notes on Nursing," "Notes on
Hospitals," &c.; _b_. in 1820.
NIHILISM, the principles of a movement on the part of the educated
classes in Russia which repudiates the existing creed and organisation of
society, and insists on a root and branch wholesale abolition of them and
a reconstruction of them on communistic principles, and for the purely
secular and everyday ends of common life, subordinating everything in the
first place to the feeding, clothing, and lodging of human beings in a
manner worthy of their rank in the scale of being. The term Nihilism is
also applied to those philosophical systems which sweep the course clear
of all incredibilities and irrationalities, but leave us bare of all our
inherited spiritual possessions.
NIJNI-NOVGOROD (73), capital of a Russian government of the same
name, situated at the confluence of the Oka with the Volga, 274 m. E. of
Moscow, is the seat of Peter-Paul's Fair, the greatest in the world,
which lasts from July to September, attracting merchants from Asia and
Europe, and during which the population of the town swells to six or
seven times its normal dimensions; as much as £20,000,000 worth of goods
are said to be sold during the fair.
NILE, the longest river of Africa, and one of the most noted in the
world's history; the Shimiyu, Isanga, and other streams which flow into
Victoria Nyanza from the S. are regarded as its ultimate head-waters;
from Victoria Nyanza, the Victoria Nile or Somerset River holds a
north-westerly course to Albert Nyanza, whence it issues under the name
of the Bahr-el-Jebel, swelled by the waters of the Semliki from Albert
Edward Nyanza; about 650 m. N. it is joined by the Bahr-el-Ghazal from
the W., and bending to the E., now under the name White Nile, receives on
that side the Sobat, and as a sluggish navigable stream flows past
Fashoda on to Khartoum, where it is met by the Bahr-al-Azrak or Blue
Nile; 200 m. lower it receives the Atbara or Black Nile. Through Egypt
the river's course is confined to a valley some 10 m. broad, which owes
its great fertility to the alluvial deposits left by the river during it
annual overflow (July to October, caused by seasonal rains in Abyssinia,
&c.). From Khartoum to Assouan occur the cataracts; below this the stream
is navigable. A few miles N. of Cairo begins the delta which lies within
the Rosetta and Damietta--two main branches of the divided river--and is
some 150 m. broad at its base. From Victoria Nyanza to the coast the
river measures about 3400 m.
NILSSON, CHRISTINE, an operatic singer, born in Sweden, daughter of
a peasant, and one of the foremost sopranos of her day; distinguished for
her dramatic talent no less than by her powers as a vocalist (1843-1882).
NIMEGUEN (34), an interesting old Dutch town in Guelderland, on the
Waal, 73 m. E. of Rotterdam; has a fine 13th-century Gothic church and
other notable buildings; its prosperous manufactures include tobacco,
perfume, beer, &c.; here, in 1678-79, France effected famous peace
treaties with Holland, Spain, and Austria.
NÎMES or NISMES (68), capital of the department of Gard, S. of
France, lies surrounded by the Cévennes in the fertile valley of the
Vistre, 31 m. E. of Montpellier; has unique Roman remains, including an
imposing amphitheatre, now used as a bull-arena, the noble Corinthian
"Maison Carrée," a mausoleum, baths, &c.; textiles (silk, cotton, &c.),
wines, and brandy are the chief articles of manufacture; it declared for
the Reformation in 1559, and suffered cruelly on the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes.
NIMROD, an early king of Assyria or Babylonia, characterised in
Scripture (Gen. x. 9) as "a mighty hunter before the Lord"; a name now
applied to a distinguished hunter.
NINEVEH, an exceeding great city, capital of ancient Assyria, which
stood on the left bank of the Tigris, opposite the modern town of Mosul,
said to have been included within a wall 60 m. long, 100 ft. high, the
breadth of three chariots in width, and defended by 1500 towers each 200
ft. in height.
NINIAN ST., early apostle of Christianity to the southern Picts of
Scotland, born on the shores of the Solway, of noble descent; went to
Rome, was consecrated by the Pope, visited St. Martin at Tours on his way
back; had founded a church at Whithorn, Wigtownshire, which he dedicated
to the latter on his return, where he died, "perfect in life and full of
years," in 432.
NINUS, a legendary king of Assyria, a celebrated conqueror, to whom
tradition assigns the founding of Nineveh.
NIOBE, in the Greek mythology the daughter of Tantalus, and wife of
Amphion, king of Thebes, to whom she bore six sons and six daughters, in
her pride of whom she rated herself above Leto, who had given birth to
only two children, Apollo and Artemis, whereupon they, indignant at this
insult to their mother, gave themselves for nine days to the slaughter of
Niobe's offspring, and on the tenth the gods buried them; Niobe, in her
grief, retired to Mount Sipylos, in Lydia, where her body became cold and
rigid as stone, but not her tears, which, ever as the summer months
returned, burst forth anew.
NIRVÂNA, the name given to the consummation of bliss in the Hindu,
but especially the Buddhist, religions, synonymous with extinction, which
in the Hindu creed means the extinction of individuality by absorption in
the Divine Being, and in Buddhism, not, as some presume, the extinction
of existence, but the extinction of agitation of mind through the
crucifixion of all passion and desire, the attainment of self-centred,
self-sufficient quiescence of being, or rest and peace of soul.
NISUS, a Trojan youth who accompanied Æneas into Italy, and whose
friendship for Euryulus is so pathetically immortalised by Virgil in the
ninth book of the "Æneid."
NITHSDALE, WILLIAM MAXWELL, EARL OF, a noted Catholic, who took part
in the Jacobite rising of 1715, was captured at Preston, found guilty of
treason, and sentenced to death; the night before the day appointed for
his execution (24th February 1786) he effected an escape from the Tower
by exchanging clothes with his daring and devoted countess, who had been
admitted to his room; he fled to Rome, where he lived in happiness with
his wife until her death (1676-1744).
NITROGEN, a gaseous element which constitutes one-fourth in volume
of the atmosphere, is the basis of nitric acid, and is an essential
constituent of proteids, alkaloids, and albuminoids.
NITZSCH, KARL LUDWIG, German theologian, born at Borna; became
professor at Bonn, Saxony, in 1822, whence in 1847 he was removed to
succeed Marheineke at Berlin; was of the Schleiermacher school of
theologians, and author, among other works, of a "System der Christlichen
Lehre" and "Practische Theologie," the former an able work, but most
vilely translated into English, and the latter in evidence of the
importance the author attached to the ethical element in the Christian
religion (1787-1860).
NIXIE, in German folk-lore a water-sprite of a mischievous
disposition, believed to have been suggested to the imagination by the
reflection of the stars in the water.
NIZAM, the name given to a viceroy or administrator of justice in
the Mogul Empire of India.
NIZAM'S DOMINIONS, THE, or HYDERABAD (11,537), in the heart of
the Deccan, situated between the Central Provinces and the Presidency of
Madras; it is highly fertile, and the largest of the native States in
India. See HYDERABAD.
NOAH, the patriarch of Scripture antiquity who, by the command of
God, constructed an ark for the preservation of the human race and the
dry-land animals during the prevalence of the deluge that would otherwise
have swept all these forms of life away.
NOAILLES, the name of an old French family, several members of which
distinguished themselves in the service of both Church and State: ANNE
JULES N., marshal of France, celebrated for his cruelties against the
Huguenots (1650-1708); LOUIS ANTOINE DE, his brother, archbishop of
Paris, who was made cardinal (1651-1729); LOUIS MARIE, VICOMTE DE,
deputy to the States-General, who took part for a time in the Revolution
(1756-1804).
NOAKES, JOHN O', a fictitious name for a litigious person, used by
lawyers in actions of ejectment.
NOBLE, a gold coin first minted by Edward III., formerly current in
the country; worth 6s. 8d., and ultimately 10s., when the value of the
gold increased.
NOCTURNE, picture of a night scene; also a musical piece appropriate
to the night.
NODES, name given to the two points in the orbit of a planet where
it crosses or intersects the ecliptic, called ascending when it goes N.,
and descending when it goes S.
NODIER, CHARLES, able French littérateur, born at Besançon; a man of
great literary activity and some considerable literary influence; author
of charming stories and fairy tales; "did everything well," says
Professor Saintsbury, "but perhaps nothing supremely well" (1780-1844).
NOLLEKENS, JOSEPH, sculptor, born in London, son of an Antwerp
painter; studied in Rome; his _forte_ lay in busts, of which he modelled
a great many, including busts of Garrick, Sterne, Dr. Johnson, Pitt, and
Fox, and realised thereby a large fortune; he was a man of no education;
his principal work is "Venus with the Sandal" (1737-1813).
NOMINALISM, the name given to the theory of those among the
Scholastics who maintained that general notions, which we denote by
general terms, are only names, empty conceptions without reality, that
there was no such thing as pure thought, only conception and sensuous
perception, whereas realists, after Plato, held by the objective reality
of universals. And, indeed, it is not as modern philosophy affirms, in
the particular or the individual, in which alone, according to the
Nominalists, reality resides, but in the universal, in regard to which
the particular is nothing if it does not refer.
NONCONFORMISTS, a name originally applied to the clergy of the
Established Church of England, some two thousand, who in 1662 resigned
their livings rather than submit to the terms of the Act of Uniformity
passed on the 24th of August that year, and now applied to the whole
Dissenting body in England.
NONES, in the Roman calendar the ninth day before the IDES
(q. v.), being the 7th of March, May, July, and October, and the 5th of
the rest.
NONJURORS, a name given to that section of the Episcopal party in
England who, having sworn fealty to James II., refused to take the oath
of allegiance to William III., six of whom among the bishops for their
obstinacy were deprived of their sees.
NO-POPERY RIOTS, name given principally to riots in London in June
1780, due to the zeal of LORD GEORGE GORDON (q. v.), ending in
the death of near 300 persons.
NORDENSKIÖLD, ERIK, a Swedish naturalist, born in Helsingfors; after
several successive voyages and explorations in the Arctic Sea, in which
he paid frequent visits to Spitzbergen, where he measured an arc of the
meridian, in 1878-79 discovered the North-East Passage by traversing,
along the N. shores of Europe and Asia, the whole Arctic Sea from the
Atlantic to the Pacific; has written accounts of his expeditions; _b_.
1832.
NORDKYN (i. e. north chin), the most northerly point in Norway,
and of the continent of Europe generally.
NORE, MUTINY AT THE, a mutiny in the fleet stationed at the Nore, an
anchorage off Sheerness, in the Thames, which broke out on May 20, 1797,
and was not suppressed till June 15, for which the ringleaders were tried
and hanged.
NORFOLK (455), an eastern maritime county of England, lies N. of
Suffolk, and presents a long eastern and northern foreshore (90 m.) to
the German Ocean; the Wash lies on the NW. border; light fertile soils,
and an undulating, well-watered surface favour an extensive and highly
developed agriculture, of which fruit-growing and market-gardening are
special features; rabbits and game abound in the great woods and
sand-dunes; the chief rivers are the Ouse, Bure, and Yare, and these and
other streams form in their courses a remarkable series of inland lakes
known as the BROADS (q. v.); its antiquities of Roman and Saxon
times are many and peculiarly interesting.
NORFOLK ISLAND, a small precipitous island in the Western Pacific,
midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand, 400 m. NW. of the latter;
its inhabitants, many of whom came from Pitcairn Island, and now less
than 1000, govern themselves under the superintendence of New South
Wales.
NORMAN, HENRY, journalist and traveller, born at Leicester;
travelled extensively in the East; has written on "The Peoples and
Politics of the Far East," and "Round the Near East"; has since 1892 been
on the staff of the _Daily Chronicle_.
NORMAN ARCHITECTURE, a massive architecture introduced into England,
particularly in the construction of churches, abbeys, &c., by the Normans
even before the Conquest, which was in vogue in the country till the end
of Henry II.'s reign, and which is characterised by the prevalence of the
rounded arch.
NORMANDY, an ancient province of France, fronting the English
Channel, NE. of Brittany; received its name from the Northmen who, under
Rollo, established themselves there in the 10th century; was for a long
time an appanage of the English crown after the Norman Conquest; after
being taken and retaken, was finally lost to England in 1450; it became
practically a part of France when it was taken by Philip Augustus in
1204; it is now represented by the five departments Seine-Inférieure,
Eure, Orne, Calvados, and Manche.
NORNAS, in the Norse mythology the three Fates--the Past, the
Present, and the Future; maidens or dames who water the roots of
IGGDRASIL (q. v.), the ash-tree of existence, and determine the
destinies of both gods and men.
NORRKÖPING (36) (north market), a town in Sweden, called the
"Scandinavian Manchester," 113 m. SW. of Stockholm, with cotton and
woollen factories worked by the water-power of the river Motala, that in
falls and rapids rushes through the town.
NORROY KING OF ARMS, a name given to the third king-of-arms, whose
province is on the N. side of the Trent, the one on the S. side being
called Clarencieux.
NORTH, CHRISTOPHER, a pseudonym of Prof. John Wilson in the "Noctes
Ambrosianæ" in _Blackwood's Magazine_.
NORTH, FREDERICK, LORD, English statesman; entered Parliament in
1754, became Tory leader in the House of Commons in 1767, and Prime
Minister in 1770; was entirely subservient to the will of the king,
George III., and was responsible in that relation for the loss of the
American colonies; a coalition was effected in 1783 between him and Fox,
to the disgrace of the latter, but it terminated in a few months; he
died, Earl of Guildford, blind (1732-1792).
NORTH BERWICK. See BERWICK, NORTH.
NORTH CAPE, the most northerly point in Europe, in the island of
Magerö, in 71° N. latitude.
NORTH CAROLINA. See CAROLINA, NORTH.
NORTH SEA or GERMAN OCEAN, between the E. coast of Britain and
the Continent, spreads out into the Arctic Ocean, is shallow, is crossed
by many sandbanks, and is subject to frequent violent storms; the Dogger
Bank, between England and Denmark, 8 to 16 fathoms deep, is rich in fish,
especially cod.
NORTH-EAST and NORTH-WEST PASSAGES, the name given to the
sea-routes through the Arctic Ocean, the former by the N. of Europe and
Asia and the latter by the N. of North America, which the northern
nations were ambitious to open up into the Pacific, the access to which
by the Capes in the S. was in possession of the fleets of Spain and
Portugal; the attempts to achieve it cost much money and much life, and
realised no permanent material advantage.
NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. See NORTH-EAST.
NORTH-WEST PROVINCES (46,905), a province and
lieutenant-governorship of British India, embraces the upper portion of
the Ganges Valley and Doab, and reaches from Bengal to the Punjab,
enclosing Oudh on all sides but the N.; area twice that of England, is
the chief wheat province, and also raises opium, cotton, tea, and sugar;
was separated from Bengal in 1835, and with it in 1877 was conjoined
Oudh; Allahabad is the capital.
NORTHALLERTON (4), a market-town and capital of the North Riding of
Yorkshire, 30 m. NW. of York; in the vicinity was fought the famous
Battle of the Standard, in which David I. of Scotland was routed by the
English, August 22, 1138.
NORTHAMPTON (70), capital of Northamptonshire, on the Nen, 66 m. NW.
of London; has two fine old Norman churches, is the centre of the boot
and shoe manufacture, and is actively engaged in brewing, lace-making,
&c.; in the outskirts is a popular racecourse; was the scene of Henry
VI.'s defeat by the Yorkists on July 10, 1460.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE or NORTHANTS (302), a midland county of
England, bordering upon nine others; has an undulating fertile surface,
and is distinguished from the surrounding counties by extensive woods and
plantations; is chiefly engaged in agriculture and stock-raising; the Nen
and the Welland are the principal rivers; among its antiquities are
Fotheringay Castle, where Mary Stuart was beheaded, and Burleigh House;
the battles of Edgecote (1469) and Naseby (1645) were fought within its
borders.
NORTHCOTE, JAMES, English portrait-painter; studied under Sir Joshua
Reynolds, whose Life he wrote as well as Titian's; wrote also "Fables"
and "Conversations."
NORTHCOTE, SIR STAFFORD HENRY. See IDDESLEIGH, LORD.
NORTHMEN or NORSEMEN, the name given in the Middle Ages to the
sea-roving, adventure-loving inhabitants of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark;
in their sea-rovings they were little better than pirates, but they had
this excuse, their home was narrow and their lands barren, and it was a
necessity for them to sally forth and see what they could plunder and
carry away in richer lands; they were men of great daring, their early
religion definable as the consecration of valour, and they were the
terror of the quieter nations whose lands they invaded; at first their
invasions were mere raids for plunder, but at length they were satisfied
with no less than conquest and the permanent occupancy of the lands they
subdued, settling some of them on the shores of England and France, and
even in the S. of Italy; these invasions were common and frequent during
the whole of the 9th and the early part of the 10th centuries.
NORTHUMBERLAND (506), the most northerly county of England, lies on
the border of Scotland, from which it is separated by the Cheviots and
the Tweed; its eastern shore, off which lie the Farne Islands,
Lindisfarne, and Coquet Isle, N. of Durham, fronts the North Sea; is
fifth in size of the English counties; in the N. the Cheviot slopes form
excellent pasturage, but the Pennine Range towards the W. presents dreary
and less valuable moorland; on the W. are arable lowlands; Tweed, Tyne,
Till, Alne, Wansbeck, are the chief rivers. Its great coal-field in the
S.E. is the most celebrated in the world, and is the county's greatest
source of wealth, and includes upwards of 100 collieries; Newcastle,
Alnwick (county town), Hexham, and North Shields are the principal towns.
Within its borders were fought the battles of Otterburn, Homildon Hill,
and Flodden.
NORTHUMBRIA, one of the ancient English kingdoms; comprised the
eastern half of the island from the Humber to the Firth of Forth, and was
divided into the Northern Bernicia and the southern Deira; was founded in
547 by Ida the Angle.
NORTHWICH (14), a town in Cheshire, with springs in and around of
brine, from which salt has been procured for centuries.
NORTON, CHARLES EDWARD, American littérateur, born in Cambridge,
Massachusetts; has travelled a good deal in Europe; edited, with Lowell,
the _North American Review_ and the early Letters of Carlyle, as well as
the "Reminiscences," which had been too carelessly edited by Froude; _b_.
1827.
NORTON, MRS., English novelist and poet, _née_ Sheridan,
granddaughter of Sheridan, authoress of "Stuart of Dunleath," "Lost and
Saved," &c., described by Lockhart as "the Byron of poetesses," figures
in Meredith's "Diana of the Crossways" (1808-1877).
NORWAY (2,000), a kingdom of North Europe, comprising the western
side of the Scandinavian peninsula, and separated from Sweden on the E.
by the Kjölen Mountains; the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans beat upon its
long and serrated western seaboard, forcing a way up the many narrow and
sinuous fiords; Sogne Fiord, the longest, runs into the heart of the
country 100 m.; off the northern coast lie the Loffodens, while the
Skerries skirt the E. The country forms a strip of irregular and
mountainous coast-land 1160 m. long, which narrows down at its least
breadth to 25 m.; 70 per cent, of the surface is uncultivable, and 24 per
cent, is forest; the lakes number 30,000, of which Lake Wenner (2136 sq.
m.) is the largest; immense glaciers are found in the great mountain
barrier, and innumerable rivers run short and rapid courses to the
Atlantic and to the Skager-Rak in the S.; the Glommen, flowing into
Christiania Fiord, is the largest (400 m.). The climate of the W. coast
districts is tempered by the Gulf Stream; inland there is a great
decrease in the rainfall, but much intenser cold is experienced. The
wealth of the country lies in its forests and fisheries, mines and
shipping; only 2 per cent, of the land-surface is under cultivation, and
2.8 per cent is utilised for grazing; the copper, iron, and silver mines
are declining. Christiania (the capital) is the centre of the industrial
area; the shipping almost equals that of the United States, and ranks
third in the world. The Norwegians are intensely democratic (titles and
nobility were abolished in 1821), and although under a king, who also
includes Sweden in his dominions, they enjoy democratic home rule, no
members of the Storthing (Parliament) being paid. Education is free and
compulsory, and the bulk of the people are Lutherans. The monetary unit
is the _Krone_ (= 1/1½). Norway, originally inhabited by Lapps and Gothic
tribes, was first unified by Harold Haarfager (A.D. 863-930), and
subsequently welded into a Christian kingdom by his descendant St. Olaf
(1015). From 1536 it was held as a conquered province by Denmark up to
1814; in that year it was ceded to Sweden, and received national rights
and a free constitution.
NORWICH, 1, an ancient cathedral city and capital of Norfolk (101),
situated on the Wensum, immediately above its junction with the Yare, 114
m. NE. of London; its beautiful woodland surroundings have won it the
name of "the city in an orchard"; chief of its many fine buildings is the
cathedral, a handsome Norman structure, founded in 1096; of the old
Norman castle only the keep now stands, crowning a central hill; its
celebrated triennial musical festivals began in 1824; textile fabrics are
still an important manufacture, but have been superseded in importance by
mustard, starch, and iron-ware factories; has been a bishopric since
1094. 2, Capital of New London County (16), Connecticut, on the Thames
River, 36 m. SE. of Hartford.
NORWOOD (24), a healthy southern suburban district of London, at one
time the locality of a gypsy encampment.
NOSTRADAMUS, a celebrated astrologer, the assumed name of Michel de
Notredame, born at St. Remi, Provence; was a medical man by profession,
but gave himself to divination, uttered in rhymes in a series of
published predictions called "Centuries" (1503-1566).
NOTABLES, THE, name given to certain actual or virtual rulers of the
different districts of France, consisting of men of different ranks,
summoned together in a time of civic perplexity and trouble to advise the
king, and especially the convocation of them summoned at the instance of
Controller Colonne, and that assembled at the Château of Versailles on
22nd February 1787 to the number of a "round gross," including seven
princes of the blood, and who were "organed out" nine weeks after, their
debates proving ineffectual, to be recalled on the 6th November the year
following, to "vanish ineffectual again on 12th December, and return no
more."
NOTARY PUBLIC, a professional person appointed to certify to a
formality required by law as observed in his presence.
NOTRE DAME, celebrated metropolitan church of Paris, situated on the
"Ile de la Cité"; it was begun to be erected in 1163 on the site of a
prior Merovingian cathedral, which itself had superseded a pagan temple
on the spot, and completed, at least the general ensemble of it, in 1230.
NOTTINGHAM (214), capital of Nottinghamshire, on the Trent, 126 m.
NW. of London; is a spacious and well-built town, with an arboretum,
castle (now an art gallery), two theatres, university college, free
library, old grammar-school, racecourse, &c.; is the centre of
lace-making and hosiery in England, and manufactures cottons, silks,
bicycles, cigars, needles, beer, &c.; a fine granite and iron bridge
spans the river.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE (446), a north-midland county of England, lies
wedged in between Lincoln (E.) and Derby (N.), and touches York on the
N.; embraces the broad, level, and fruitful valley of the Trent, Sherwood
Forest, and Wolds in the S.; excepting the Vale of Belvoir in the E.,
part of the Wolds and the Valley of the Trent, the land is not specially
productive; coal and iron ore are found. The principal towns, Nottingham,
Newark, Mansfield, &c., are busily engaged in the manufacture of all
kinds of lace, hosiery, and various woollen goods; iron-founding and
cotton mills are also numerous.
NOUMENA, the philosophical name for realities as distinct from
phenomena, which are regarded as but the appearances of reality.
NOVA SCOTIA (450), a province of Canada, lies E. of New Brunswick,
facing the Atlantic, which, with its extensions, Bay of Fundy and Gulf of
St. Lawrence, all but surrounds it; consists of a peninsula (joined to
New Brunswick by Chignecto Isthmus) and the island of Cape Breton,
separated by the Gut of Canso; area equals two-thirds of Scotland, short
rivers and lakes abound; all kinds of cereals (except wheat and
root-crops) are grown in abundance, and much attention is given to the
valuable crops of apples, pears, plums, and other fruits; gold, coal,
iron, &c., are wrought extensively, manufactures are increasing; the
fisheries (mackerel, cod, herring, salmon, &c.), and timber forests are
the chief sources of wealth; the province is well opened up by railways,
education is free, government is in the hands of a lieutenant-governor,
an executive council (9), and a legislative assembly (38); HALIFAX
(q. v.) is the capital; climate varies in temperature from 20° below
zero to 98° in the shade, fogs prevail in the coast-land; was discovered
in 1497 by Cabot, formed a portion of French ACADIE, and finally
became British in 1713.
NOVA ZEMBLA, a long and narrow island (sometimes classified as two
islands) in the Arctic Ocean, between the Kara Sea and Barentz Sea, 600
m. by 60 m.; the Matochkin Shar, a narrow winding strait, cuts the island
into two halves; belongs to Russia, but is not permanently inhabited; is
visited by seamen and hunters.
NOVALIS, the _nom de plume_ of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a German
author, born at Wiederstädt, near Mansfeld, one of the most prominent
representatives of the Romantic school of poets, author of two unfinished
romances entitled "Heinrich von Ofterdingen" and "Lehrlinge zu Sais,"
together with "Geistliche Lieder" and "Hymnen an die Nacht"; was an
ardent student of JACOB BOEHME (q. v.), and wrote in a mystical
vein, and was at heart a mystic of deep true feeling; pronounced by
Carlyle "an anti-mechanist--a deep man, the most perfect of modern spirit
seers"; regarded, he says, "religion as a social thing, and as impossible
without a church" (1772-1801). See Carlyle's "Miscellanies."
NOVATIAN, a priest of the Church in Rome, a convert from paganism,
who in the third century took a severe view of the conduct of those who
had lapsed under persecution, particularly the Decian, and insisted that
the Church, having no power to absolve them, could not, even on
penitence, readmit them, in which protest he was joined by a considerable
party named after him Novatians, and who continued to trouble the Church
for centuries after his death, assuming the name of Cathari or purists.
NOVEMBER, the eleventh month of the year, so called by the Romans,
in whose calendar it was the ninth.
NOVGOROD (21), a noted Russian city, and capital of a government of
the same name, is situated on the Volkhof, 110 m. SE. of St. Petersburg;
is divided into two parts by the bridged river, contains the cathedral of
St. Sophia (11th century); with its foundation in 864 by Rurik, a
Scandinavian prince, Russian history begins; was by the 12th century a
free State, but in 1471 was put down by the Muscovite Czar Ivan III.; the
government of Novgorod (1,290) lies E. of St. Petersburg, embraces the
Valdai plateau and hills, is chiefly forest land, and includes some 3000
lakes.
NOX, the Latin for "night," and the name of the "goddess of night."
See NYX.
NOYADES, drownages superintended during the Reign of Terror at
Nantes by the attorney Carrier, and effected by cramming some 90 priests
in a flat-bottomed craft under hatches, and drowning them in mid-stream
after scuttling the boat at a signal given, followed by another in which
some 138 persons suffered like "sentence of deportation"; of these
drownages there are said to have been no fewer first and last than 25.
NUBIA, a large and ill-defined region of North-East Africa, lies
between Egypt (N.) and Abyssinia (S.), and stretches from the Red Sea
(E.) to the desert (W.); is divided into Lower and Upper Nubia, Dongola
being the dividing point; Nubia has in recent times rather fallen under
the wider designation of Egyptian Soudan; except by the banks of the Nile
the country is bare and arid desert; climate is hot and dry, but quite
healthy.
NUMA POMPILIUS, the second king of Rome and the successor of
Romulus, its founder, born at Cures, in the Sabine country, and devoted
himself to the establishment of religion and laws among his subjects and
the training of them in the arts of peace, in which, according to the
legend, he was assisted by a nymph EGERIA (q. v.), who lived
close by in a grotto, and to whom he had ever and anon recourse for
consultation; he was long revered in the Roman memory as the organiser of
the State and its civil and sacred institutions, and his reign was long
and peaceful.
NUMANTIA, an ancient Spanish town on a steep height on the Douro,
celebrated for the heroic defence maintained by its inhabitants against
the Romans, till from the thinning of its defenders by starvation and the
sword it was taken and destroyed by Scipio Africanus in 134 B.C.
NUMBERS, BOOK OF, the fourth book of the Pentateuch, and so called
from the two numberings of the people, one at the beginning and the other
at the close of the period it embraces; it embraces a period of 38 years,
and continues the narrative from the departure of the camp of Israel out
of the wilderness of Sinai to its arrival on the borders of Canaan, and
relates an account of the preparations for the march, of the march
itself, and of the preparations for the conquest.
NUMIDIA (i. e. land of Nomads), ancient country in North Africa,
nearly co-extensive with Algiers, the inhabitants of which were of the
Berber race, were brave but treacherous, and excelled in horsemanship;
sided at first with the Carthaginians in the PUNIC WARS (q. v.),
and finally with Rome, till the country itself was reduced by Cæsar to a
Roman province.
NUMISMATICS, the name given to the study and science of coins and
medals.
NUMITOR, a legendary king of Alba Longa, in Italy, and the
grandfather of Romulus and Remus.
NUNEATON (12), a thriving market-town of Warwickshire, on the river
Anker and the Coventry Canal, 22 m. E. of Birmingham; has a Gothic
church; cotton, woollen, and worsted spinning is the chief industry; was
the scene of George Eliot's education.
NUR ED-DIN, MAHMOUD, sultan of Syria, born at Damascus; the
extension of his empire over Syria led to the Second Crusade, preached by
St. Bernard; compelled the Crusaders to raise the siege of Damascus,
which he made his capital; called to interfere in the affairs of Egypt,
he conquered it, and made it his own, a sovereignty which SALADIN
(q. v.) disputed, and which Nur ed-Din was preparing to reassert when
he died (1117-1178).
NÜREMBERG (143), an interesting old Bavarian town on the Pegnitz, 95
m. N. of Münich, is full of quaint and picturesque mediæval architecture
in fine preservation; has valuable art collections, a fine library, and a
museum; is noted for the production of watches, toys, wood, metal, bone
carvings, beer, and chemicals, and exports large quantities of hops; was
made a free imperial city in 1219, and retained independence up to 1806.
NUTATION, name given to a slight oscillatory movement noticeable in
the celestial pole of the earth, due to the latter not being a perfect
sphere.
NYANZA, ALBERT. See ALBERT NYANZA.
NYANZA, VICTORIA, a large lake of Central Africa, in the Nile basin,
at the sources of the river, and S. of the preceding, equal in extent to
the area of Scotland, at an elevation of 3890 ft.; discovered by Captain
Speke in 1858, and sailed round by Stanley in 1875.
NYASSA, LAKE, lake in East Africa, feeds the Zambesi; is 350 m. long
by 40 broad, at an elevation of 1570 ft., and was discovered by
Livingstone in 1859; the waters are sweet, and abound with fish; the
regions bordering it on the S. and W. are called Nyassaland.
NYASSALAND, a region in Central Africa under British protection,
lying round the shores of Lake Nyassa, the chief town of which is
Blantyre; it is known also as the British Central Africa Protectorate,
the administration being in the hands of a commissioner acting under the
Foreign Office; the Europeans number some 300, and the natives 850,000,
while the forces defending it consist of 200 Sikhs and 300 negroes; there
are plantations of sugar, coffee, tobacco, &c., and almost the entire
trade is with Britain.
NYÂYA, the name of one of the six principal systems of Hindu
philosophy, and devoted to the dialectics or metaphysics of philosophy.
NYMPHS, in the Greek mythology maiden divinities of inferior rank,
inhabiting mountains, groves, seas, fountains, rivers, valleys, grottoes,
&c., under the several names of OCEANIDES (q. v.), NEREIDS (q. v.),
NAIADS (q. v.), OREADS (q. v.), DRYADS (q. v.), &c.; they are
distinguished by their grace and fascinating charms.
NYNEE TAL, a place of resort in the summer season and a sanatorium
in the North-West Provinces of India, 22 m. S. of Almora, 6521 ft. above
sea-level.
NYX (i. e. Night), in the Greek mythology the goddess of night,
the daughter of CHAOS (q. v.), and the sister of EREBOS
(q. v.), one of the very first of created beings, the terror of gods,
and by Erebos became the mother of Æther, pure light, and Hemera,
daylight, as well as other entities of note.
O
OAKHAM (4), county town of Rutland, 17 m. E. of Leicester, in the
centre of a fine wheat country; has an old church, a grammar-school
founded in 1581, and a castle mostly in ruins; manufactures of boots and
hosiery, and carries on malting.
OAKLAND (67), on the E. coast of the Bay of San Francisco, 4½ m.
across from San Francisco city, is the capital of Alameda County,
California, a beautiful city with tree-lined streets, surrounded by
vineyards and orchards; it has a home of the adult blind of the State,
manufactures of textile and iron goods, and fruit-canning industries, and
is the terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
OAKS, THE, one of the three great classic races in England, run at
Epsom; established by the 12th Earl of Derby in 1779 for fillies of 3
years old.
OAKUM, name given to fibres of old tarry ropes sundered by teasing,
and employed in caulking the seams between planks in ships; the teasing
of oakum is an occupation for prisoners in jails.
OASES, fertile spots in a desert due to the presence of springs or
water near at hand underground; met with in the deserts of North Africa,
Arabia, and Gobi.
OATES, TITUS, fabricator of a Popish plot for the overthrow of the
Protestant faith in England, the allegation of which brought to the block
several innocent men; rewarded at first with a pension and safe lodgment
in Westminster Hall, was afterwards convicted of perjury, flogged, and
imprisoned for Life, but at the revolution was set at liberty and
granted a pension of £300 (1650-1705).
OBADIAH, a Hebrew prophet who appears to have lived about 588 B.C.,
shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem, at which the Edomites had
assisted, and whose prophecy was written to assure the exiles in Babylon
that the judgment of God had gone forth against Edom, and that with the
execution of it Israel would be restored.
OBAN (5), a modern town situated in the W. of Argyllshire, on a
land-locked bay opening off the Firth of Lorne, is the capital, sometimes
called the "Queen," of the Western Highlands, and a fashionable tourist
resort; it has excellent railway and steamboat communications, 30 hotels,
and has near it two ruined castles, an ancient cave dwelling, and much
beautiful scenery; Dunstaffnage Castle is 4 m. to the N. of it, where the
early Scottish kings used to be crowned.
OBEID (35), in the Eastern Soudan, 220 m. SW. of Khartoum, is the
capital of Kordofan; was the scene in November 1883 of the annihilation
by the forces of the Mahdi, after three days' fighting, of an Egyptian
army under Hicks Pasha and other English officers; its trade consists of
ivory, gold, feathers, and gum.
OBELISK, a tall four-sided pillar, generally monolithic, tapering to
a pyramidal pointed top, erected in connection with temples in Egypt, and
inscribed all over with hieroglyphs, and in memorial, as is likely, of
some historical personage or event; they are of ancient date.
OBER-AMMERGAU, a small village in Bavaria, 45 m. SW. of Münich;
famed for the Passion Play performed there by the peasants, some 500 in
number, every ten years, which attracts a great many spectators to the
spot; the play was instituted in 1634 in token of gratitude for the
abatement of a plague.
OBERLIN, JEAN FRIEDRICH, a benevolent Protestant pastor, born at
Strasburg; laboured all his life at Ban de la Roche, a wild mountain
district of Alsace, and devoted himself with untiring zeal to the
spiritual and material welfare of the people, which they rewarded with
their pious gratitude and warmest affection.
OBERON, the king of the fairies, and the husband of Titania.
OBI, a river and, with its tributaries, great water highway of West
Siberia, which rises in the Altai Mountains, and after a course of 2120
m. falls into the Arctic Ocean.
OBJECTIVE, a philosophical term used to denote that which is true
universally apart from all merely private sense or judgment, and finds
response in the universal reason, the reason that is common to all
rational beings; it is opposed to subjective, or agreeable to one's mere
feelings or fancy.
OBLATES, the name given to an organisation of secular priests living
in community, founded by St. Charles Borromeo at the end of the 16th
century, and who are ready to render any services the bishop may require
of them.
OBOE, a treble-sounding musical instrument of the reed class, to
which the bassoon is reckoned the bass.
OBELUS, a small coin worth about a penny, according to a custom
among the Greeks placed in the mouth of a corpse at burial to pay to
Charon to ferry the ghost of it over the Styx.
O'BRIEN, WILLIAM, journalist, and a Nationalist ex-M.P. for Cork;
was twice over imprisoned for political offences; had to retire in 1895;
_b_. 1852.
O'BRIEN, WILLIAM SMITH, Irish patriot; entered Parliament in 1826;
sat for Limerick from 1835 to 1843, when he joined the Repeal Association
under O'Connell, but separated from it; joined the physical force Young
Ireland party, and became the head; attempted an insurrection, which
failed, and involved him in prosecution for treason and banishment for
life; a free pardon was afterwards granted on promise of abstaining from
all further disloyalty; he died at Bangor, in North Wales (1803-1864).
OBSCURANTIST, name given to an opponent to modern enlightenment as
professed by the devotees of modern science and philosophy.
OBSIDIAN, a hard, dark-coloured rock of a glassy structure found in
lava, which breaks with conchoidal fracture.
OCCAM or OAKHAM, WILLIAM OF, an English Scholastic philosopher,
born at Oakham, Surrey, surnamed _Doctor Invincibilis_; was a monk of the
order of St. Francis; studied under DUNS SCOTUS (q. v.), and
became his rival, and a reviver of NOMINALISM (q. v.) in
opposition to him, by his insistence on which he undermined the whole
structure of Scholastic dogmatism, that is, its objective validity, and
plunged it in hopeless ruin, but cleared the way for modern speculation,
and its grounding of the OBJECTIVE (q. v.) on a surer basis
(1280-1347).
OCCASIONALISM, the doctrine that the action of the spiritual
organisation on the material, and of the material on the spiritual, or of
the inner on the outer, and the outer on the inner, is due to the divine
interposition taking occasion of the effort of mind, or of the inner, on
the one hand, and the effort of matter, or the outer, on the other, to
work the effect or result; or that the link connecting cause and effect
in both cases, that is, the acion of the outer world on the inner, and
_vice versa_, is God.
OCEANIA, an imaginary commonwealth described by James Harrington
(1611-1697) in which the project of a doctrinaire republic is worked out;
also a book of Froude's on the English colonies.
OCEANIA, the name given to the clusters of islands, consisting of
Australasia in the S., Malaysia in the E. Indian Archipelago, and
Polynesia in the N. and E. of the Pacific.
OCEANIDES, the nymphs of the Ocean, all daughters of Oceanus, some
3000 in number.
OCEANUS or OKEANOS, in the Greek mythology the great
world-stream which surrounds the whole earth, and is the parent source of
all seas and streams, presided over by a Titan, the husband of Tethys,
and the father of all river-gods and water-nymphs. He is the all-father
of the world, as his wife is the all-mother, and the pair occupy a palace
apart on the extreme verge of the world.
OCHILS (i. e. the heights), a range of hills lying NE. and SW.
between the valleys of the Forth and Tay; reach their highest point in
Ben Cleugh (2363 ft.), near Stirling; the range is 24 m. long by 12
broad, and affords pasture for black-faced sheep; of the peaks of the
range Dunmyat is the most striking, as Ben Cleuch is the highest.
OCHILTREE, EDIE, a talkative, kind-hearted gaberlunzie who figures a
good deal in Scott's "Antiquary."
OCHINO, BERNARDINO, an Italian monk, born in Sienna; after 40 years'
zeal in the service of the Church embraced the Reformed doctrine; fled
from the power of the Inquisition to Geneva; took refuge in England;
ministered here and there to Italian refugees, but was hunted from place
to place; died at last of the plague in Moravia (1487-1564).
OCHTERLONY, SIR DAVID, British general, born at Boston, U.S., of
Scottish descent; entered the Indian army; distinguished himself in the
war against the Goorkhas; was made a baronet, and received a pension of
£1000 for his services; a monument to his memory stands in the Maidan
Park, Calcutta (1758-1825).
OCKLEY, SIMON, Orientalist, became professor of Arabic; wrote a
"History of the Saracens," part of it in a debtors' prison; died in
indigence (1678-1720).
O'CONNELL, DANIEL, Irish patriot, known as the "Liberator," born
near Cahirciveen, co. Kerry; educated at St. Omer, Douay, and Lincoln's
Inn; was called to the Irish bar in 1798, and was for twenty-two years a
famous and prosperous practitioner on the Munster circuit; turning to
politics he became leader of the Catholics in 1811, his object being the
removal of the Catholic disabilities; the Catholic Association of 1823
was organised by him, which he induced the priesthood to join, and
awakened irresistible enthusiasm throughout the country; the electors now
began to vote independently, and O'Connell was returned for Clare in
1828; the House refused to admit him; but so strong, and at the same time
so orderly, was the agitation in Ireland, that in 1829 the Catholic
disabilities were removed, and O'Connell, returned again for Clare, took
his seat in the House of Commons; next year he represented Waterford in
the new Parliament, and subsequently Kerry, Dublin, Kilkenny, and Cork;
he now formed a society for promoting the repeal of the Union, which
survived several suppressions, and reappeared under different names; but
in spite of his exertions in the House and in the country the cause
languished, till, in 1843, as Lord Mayor of Dublin, he carried a
resolution in its favour in the City Council; but now under the pressure
of less experienced agitators, his monster meetings and other proceedings
began to overstep legal limits, and in 1844 he, with six of his
supporters, was indicted for raising sedition; he was sentenced to a
year's imprisonment and a fine of £2000, but the sentence was set aside
in 14 weeks; by this time the Young Ireland party had broken away from
him, the potato famine came, he was conscious of failure, and his health
was broken; he died on his way to Rome, at Genoa; a man of great physical
strength and energy, and a master of oratory, he gave himself unselfishly
to serve his country, sacrificing a legal practice worth £7000 a year,
honestly administering the immense sums contributed, and spending his
private means for his cause; with an undeniable taint of coarseness,
violence, and scurrility in his nature, he was yet a man of independent
and liberal mind, an opponent of rebellion, loyal to his sovereign, a
great and sincere patriot (1775-1847).
OCTAVIA, the sister of Augustus, a woman distinguished for her
beauty and her virtue; was married first to Marcellus, and on his death
to Mark Antony, who forsook her for Cleopatra, but to whom she remained
true, even, on his miserable end, nursing his children by Cleopatra along
with her own; one other grief she had to endure in the death of her son
MARCELLUS (q. v.) by her former husband, and the destined
successor of Augustus on the throne.
OCTOBER, the tenth month of the year so called (i. e. the eighth)
by the Romans, whose year began on March.
OD, name given to a physical force recently surmised and believed to
pervade all nature, and as manifesting itself chiefly in connection with
mesmeric phenomena.
ODDFELLOWS, the name of several friendly societies. The Independent
Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, is the largest and most important
of the number, its membership is over 665,000, and its funds amount to
£8,000,000. It has been the pioneer in many important movements of the
kind, several of the provisions now compulsory on all societies it
observed of its own accord, prior to their enactment; the actuarial
tables compiled from its statistics in 1845 by its secretary, Henry
Radcliffe, are still a standard work. The Grand United Order of
Oddfellows has a membership of 241,000, and funds amounting to £882,000;
the National Independent Order of Oddfellows embraces 58,000 members, and
has £242,000.
ODER, an important German river, rises in Moravia, and crossing the
frontier flows NW. through Silesia, and N. through Brandenburg and
Pomerania 550 m. into the Stettiner Haff and so to the Baltic. On its
banks stand Ratibor, where navigation ends, Breslau, Frankfort, and
Stettin; it receives its chief tributary, the navigable Warthe, on the
right, and has canal communication with the Spree and the Elbe.
ODESSA (298), on the Black Sea, 25 m. NE. of the mouth of the
Dniester, is the fourth largest city of Russia, and the chief southern
port and emporium of commerce. It exports large shipments of wheat,
sugar, and wool; imports cotton, groceries, iron, and coal, and
manufactures flour, tobacco, machinery, and leather. It is well
fortified, and though many of the poor live in subterraneous caverns, is
a fine city, with a university, a cathedral, and a public library. It was
a free port from 1817 till 1857. The population includes many Greeks and
Jews.
ODIN or WODIN, the chief god of the ancient Scandinavians,
combined in one the powers of Zeus and Ares among the Greeks, and was
attended by two black ravens--Hugin, mind, and Munin, memory, the bearers
of tidings between him and the people of his subject-world. His council
chamber is in ASGARD (q. v.), and he holds court with his
warriors in VALHALLA (q. v.). He is the source of all wisdom as
well as all power, and is supposed by Carlyle to have been the
deification of some one who incarnated in himself all the characteristic
wisdom and valour of the Scandinavian race; Frigga was his wife, and
Balder and Thor his sons. See CARLYLE'S "HEROES."
ODO, bishop of Bayeux, brother of William the Conqueror, fought by
his side at Hastings; after blessing the troops, was made Earl of Kent,
and appointed governor of kingdom during William's absence in Normandy;
had great influence in State affairs all along, and set out for the Holy
Land, but died at Palermo (1032-1096).
ODOACER, a Hun, son of one of Attila's officers, who entered the
Imperial Guards, dethroned Augustulus, and became emperor himself; Zeno,
the emperor of the East, enlisted Theodoric of the Ostrogoths against
him, who made a treaty with him to be joint ruler of the kingdom of
Italy, and assassinated him in 493.
O'DONNELL, LEOPOLD, Spanish soldier and politician, born, of Irish
descent, at Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe; entered the army, and attached
himself to the cause of Queen Isabella, on whose emergence from her
minority in 1843 he was made Governor of Cuba; there he enriched himself
by trading in slaves, and returning to Spain threw himself into politics;
he joined Espartero's cabinet in 1854, and two years later supplanted him
as chief minister; he commanded in the Moorish war of 1858, and was
created Duke of Tetuan after the capture of that city; he was again
Prime Minister till 1866, and died in exile at Bayonne (1809-1867).
ODYSSEY, an epic poem by Homer relating the ten years' wanderings of
Ulysses (Odysseus) after the fall of Troy, and his return at the end of
them to his native kingdom of Ithaca. See ULYSSES.
OECOLAMPADIUS, JOANNES, one of the leaders of the Reformation, born
at Weinsberg, in Würtemberg; became preacher at Basel, assisted Erasmus
in his edition of the New Testament, entered a convent at Augsburg, came
under Luther's influence and adopted the reformed doctrine, of which he
became a preacher and professor, embraced in particular the views of
Zwingli (1482-1531).
OEDIPUS, a mythological king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta,
and fated to kill his father and marry his mother; unwittingly slew his
father in a quarrel; for answering the riddle of the SPHINX (q. v.)
was made king in his stead, and wedded his widow, by whom he became
the father of four children; on discovery of the incest Jocasta hanged
herself, and Oedipus went mad and put out his eyes.
OEHLENSCHLÄGER, ADAM GOTTLOB, great Danish poet, born at Copenhagen;
his poems first brought him into notice and secured him a travelling
pension, which he made use of to form acquaintanceship with such men as
Goethe and his literary confrères in Germany, during which time he
commenced that series of tragedies on northern subjects on which his fame
chiefly rests, which include "Hakon Jarl," "Correggio," "Palnatoke," &c.;
his fame, which is greatest in the North, has spread, for he ranks among
the Danes as Goethe among the Germans, and his death was felt by the
whole nation (1779-1850).
OEHLER, GUSTAV, learned German theologian, professor at Tübingen,
eminent for his studies and writings on the Old Testament (1812-1872).
OEIL-DE-BOEUF, a large reception-room in the palace of Versailles,
lighted by a window so called (ox-eye it means), and is the name given in
French history to the French Court, particularly during the Revolution
period.
OELAND (37), an island off the SE. coast of Sweden, 55 m. long and
about 10 m. broad; has good pasture ground, and yields alum; the
fisheries good.
OENONË, a nymph of Mount Ida, near Troy, beloved by and married to
Paris, but whom he forsook for Helen; is the subject of one of Tennyson's
poems.
OERSTED, HANS CHRISTIAN, a Danish physicist; was professor of
Physics in Copenhagen, the discoverer of electro-magnetism, of the
compressibility of water, and the metal aluminium; did much to popularise
science in a volume entitled "The Soul in Nature" (1777-1851).
OESEL (51), a marshy, well-wooded island at the mouth of the Gulf of
Riga, in the Baltic, 45 m. long and 25 m. of average breadth; has some
low hills and precipitous coasts; Arensburg (4), on the SE. shore, is the
only town; Danish from 1559, the island passed to Sweden in 1645 and to
Russia in 1721; the wealthier classes are of German descent.
OFFA'S DYKE, an entrenchment and rampart between England and Wales,
100 m. long, extending from Flintshire as far as the mouth of the Wye;
said to have been thrown up by Offa, king of Mercia, about the year 780,
to confine the marauding Welsh within their own territory.
OFFENBACH, JACQUES, a musical composer, born at Cologne, of Jewish
parents, creator of the _opera bouffe_; was the author of "La Belle
Hélène," "Orphée aux Enfers," "La Grande Duchesse," "Madame Favart," &c.
(1810-1880)
OFFERTORY, in the Roman Catholic Church a portion of the liturgy
chanted at the commencement of the eucharistic service, also in the
English the part of the service read during the collection of the alms at
communion.
OFTERDINGEN, HEINRICH VON, a famous MINNESINGER (q. v.) of
the 15th century.
OGHAM or OGAM, an alphabet of 20 letters in use among the
ancient Irish and Celts, found carved on monumental stones in Ireland,
Wales, Cornwall, and the North of Scotland.
OGLETHORPE, JAMES EDWARD, English general, born in London; served in
the Marlborough wars, sat in Parliament for several years, conceived the
founding of a colony for debtors in prison, and founded Georgia;
returning to England, fought against the Pretender, and died in Essex
(1696-1785).
OGOWE`, a West African river, 500 m. long, rises in the Akukuja
plateau, and following a semicircular course northward and westward
enters the Atlantic by a delta at Cape Lopez, its course lying wholly
within French Congo territory; in the dry season its volume is much
diminished, and its many sandbanks prevent its navigation except by small
boats.
O'GROAT'S HOUSE, JOHN. See JOHN O' GROAT'S HOUSE.
OGYGES, a Boeotian autochthon, the legendary first king of Thebes,
which is called at times Ogygia, in whose reign a flood, called the
Ogygian after him, inundated the land, though some accounts make it occur
in Attica.
OGYGIA, a mythological island of Homeric legend, situated far off in
the sea, and the home of the sorceress CALYPSO (q. v.).
OHIO (3,672), a State of the American Union, a third larger than
Scotland, stretches northward from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, between
Pennsylvania and Indiana. It consists of level and undulating plains, on
which are raised enormous crops of wheat and maize. Sheep-grazing and
cattle-rearing are very extensive; its wool-clip is the largest in
America. There are valuable deposits of limestone and freestone, and in
output of coal Ohio ranks third of the States. The manufactures are very
important; it ranks first in farm implements, and produces also wagons,
textile fabrics, and liquors. In the N. excellent fruit is grown. The
capital is Columbus (88), the largest city is Cincinnati (297). Admitted
to the Union in 1803, it boasts among its sons four Presidents--Grant,
Hayes, Garfield, and Benjamin Harrison.
OHIO RIVER, formed by the confluence of the Alleghany and the
Monongahela, pursues a westward course of 1000 m., separating Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois from West Virginia and Kentucky, and after
receiving sundry tributaries joins the Mississippi, being the largest
and, next to the Missouri, the longest of its affluents; it is navigable
for the whole of its course; on its banks stand Pittsburg, Cincinnati,
Louisville, and Madison.
OHM, GEORG SIMON, a German physicist, born at Erlangen; discovered
the mathematical theory of the electric current, known as Ohm's Law, a
law based on experiment, that the strength of the electric current is
equal to the electro-motive force divided by the resistance of the wire
(1787-1854).
OHNET, GEORGES, French novelist, born in Paris; author of a series
of novels in a social interest, entitled "Les Batailles de la Vie;" _b_.
1848.
OIL CITY (11), on the Alleghany River, Pennsylvania, by rail 130 m.
N. of Pittsburg, is the centre of a great oil-trade and oil-refining
industry; there are also engineer and boiler works; it suffered severely
from floods in 1892.
OKA, a river of Central Russia, which rises in Orel and flows N.,
then E., then N. again, joining the Volga at Nijni-Novgorod after a
course of over 700 m., navigable nearly all the way; on its banks are
Orel, Kaluga, and Riazan, while Moscow stands on an affluent.
OKEN, LORENZ, German naturalist; was professor first at Jena, then
at Münich, and finally at Zurich, his settlement in the latter being due
to the disfavour with which his political opinions, published in a
journal of his called the _Iris_, were received in Germany; much of his
scientific doctrine was deduced from a transcendental standpoint or by _a
priori_ reasonings; is mentioned in "Sartor" as one with whom
Teufelsdröck in his early speculations had some affinity (1779-1851).
OKHOTSK, SEA OF, an immense sheet of water in Eastern Siberia, lying
between the peninsula of Kamchatka and the mainland, with the Kurile
Islands stretched across its mouth; is scarcely navigable, being infested
by fogs.
OKLAHOMA (62), a United States territory, stretching southward from
Kansas to the Red River, with Texas on the W. and Indian Territory on the
E., is a third larger than Scotland, and presents a prairie surface
crossed by the Arkansas, Cimarron, and Canadian Rivers, and rising to the
Wichita Mountains in the S. There are many brackish streams; the rainfall
is light, hence the soil can be cultivated only in parts. Ceded to the
United States under restrictions by the tribes of the Indian Territory in
1866, there were various attempts by immigrants from neighbouring States
to effect settlements in Oklahoma, which the Government frustrated by
military interference, maintaining the treaty with the Indians till 1889,
when it finally purchased from them their claim. At noon on April 22,
1889, the area was opened for settlement, and by twilight 50,000 had
entered and taken possession of claims. The territory was organised in
1890; embedded in it lies the Cherokee Outlet, still held by the Indians,
but on the extinction of their interests to revert to Oklahoma. The chief
town is Oklahoma (5).
OKUMA, COUNT, a Japanese, rose into office from the part he took in
the Japanese Revolution of 1868, held in succession but resigned the
offices of Minister of Finance and of Foreign Affairs, organised the
Progressive Party in 1881, and entered office again in 1896; organised in
1898 the first government for a time in Japan on a party basis agreeably
to his idea.
OLAF, ST., a Norwegian king; wrested the throne from Eric, and set
himself to propagate Christianity by fire and sword, excited disaffection
among his people, who rebelled and overpowered him with the assistance of
Cnut of Denmark, so that he fled to his brother-in-law, Jaroslav of
Russia; by his help he tried to recover the throne, put was defeated and
slain, his body being buried in Trondhjem; he was canonised in 1164, and
is patron saint of Norway.
OLAÜS, the name of three early kings of Sweden and of five of
Norway, who figured more or less in the history of their respective
countries.
OLBERS, HEINRICH, German astronomer, born near Bremen; discovered
five of the comets and the two planetoids Pallas and Vesta (1758-1840).
OLD BAILEY, a Court or Sessions house adjoining NEWGATE (q. v.),
in London, for the trial of offences committed within a certain
radius round the city, and practically presided over by the Recorder and
the Common Serjeant of London, though theoretically by the Lord Mayor,
Lord Chancellor, and others.
OLD CATHOLICS, a section of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany and
Switzerland that first announced itself in Münich on the declaration in
1870 of the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope, the prime movers in
the formation of the protestation against which were Dr. Döllinger and
Professor Friedrich, backed by 44 professors of the university; the
movement thus begun has not extended itself to any considerable extent.
OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, a name given to Hassan ben Sabbah, the
founder in the 11th century and his successors of a formidable Mohammedan
dynasty in Syria, whose residence was in the mountain fastnesses of the
country, and whose following was known by the name of ASSASSINS
(q. v.).
OLD MAN OF THE SEA, a monster Sindbad the Sailor encountered on his
fifth voyage, who fastened on his back and so clung to him that he could
not shake him off till he made him drunk.
OLD MORTALITY, a character in Scott's novel of the name, the
original of which was one Robert Paterson, who, as related of him, went
about the country visiting the churchyards, and renewing the moss-covered
tombs of the COVENANTERS (q. v.).
OLD NOLL, an epithet applied by his Royalist contemporaries to
Oliver Cromwell.
OLDBUCK, JONATHAN, the antiquary in Scott's novel of the name,
devoted to the study and collection of old coins, a man with an irritable
temper, due to disappointment in a love affair.
OLDBURY (20), a busy manufacturing town in Worcestershire, 3 m. E.
of Dudley, has chemical, iron, and steel works, and factories of various
kinds.
OLDCASTLE, SIR JOHN, Lord Cobham, distinguished himself in arms
under Henry IV. in 1411, embraced Lollardism, which he could not be
prevailed on to renounce, though remonstrated with by Henry V.; was tried
for heresies and committed to the Tower, but escaped to Wales; charged
with abetting insurrection on religious grounds, and convicted, his body
was hung in chains as a traitor, and in this attitude, as a heretic,
burned to death in 1417; he was a zealous disciple of Wiclif, and did
much to disseminate his principles.
OLDENBURG (355), a German grand-duchy, embracing these three
territories: 1, Oldenburg proper, the largest, is let into Hanover with
its northern limit on the North Sea; it is a tract of moorland,
sand-down, and fen, watered by the Weser, Hunte and tributaries of the
Ems; here is the capital, Oldenburg (22), on the Hunte, 30 m. NW. of
Bremen, in the midst of meadows, where a famous breed of horses is
raised. 2, Lübeck, lying in Holstein, N. of but not including the city of
Lübeck. 3, Birkenfeldt, lying among the Hundsrück Mountains, in the S. of
Rhenish Prussia; independent since 1180, Danish 1667-1773, Oldenburg
acquired Lübeck in 1803, and Birkenfeldt in 1815, when it was raised to
the rank of grand-duchy.
OLDHAM (184), on the Medlock, 7 m. NE. of Manchester, is the largest
of the cotton manufacturing towns round that centre; it has 300 cotton
mills, and manufactures besides silks, velvets, hats, and machinery;
there is a lyceum, and a school of science and art.
OLDYS, WILLIAM, bibliographer, was a man of dissolute life, the
illegitimate son of a chancellor of Lincoln; he was librarian to the Earl
of Oxford for 10 years, and afterwards received the appointment of
Norroy king-of-arms; besides many bibliographical and literary articles,
he wrote a "Life of Raleigh" and "The Harleian Miscellany" (1696-1761).
OLÉRON (17), an island of France, in the Bay of Biscay, at the mouth
of the Charente, 11½ m. long and from 3 to 7 broad, is separated from the
mainland by a shallow, narrow channel.
OLGA, ST., a Scandinavian pagan prince, converted to Christianity
and baptized as Helena; laboured for the propagation of the Christian
faith among his subjects, was canonised after in 905, and is one of the
saints of the Russian Church. Festival, July 21.
OLIFAUNT, NIGEL, the hero in Scott's "Fortunes of Nigel."
OLIPHANT, LAURENCE, religious enthusiast and mystic, born in
Perthshire; spent his boyhood in Ceylon, where his father was
chief-justice; early conceived a fondness for adventure, accompanied Lord
Elgin to Washington as his secretary, and afterwards to China and Japan;
became M.P. for the Stirling Burghs, mingled much in London society,
contributed to _Blackwood_, and wrote "Piccadilly," pronounced by Mrs.
Oliphant "one of the most brilliant satires on society ever published";
parliamentary people and parliamentary life being nowise to his liking he
soon threw both up for life in a community with Harris at Lake Erie, U.S.,
whence, after two years' probation, he returned to resume life in the
wide world; while in France during the Franco-German War, he married one
Alice l'Estrange, an alliance which grew into one of the most intimate
character; with her he went to Palestine, pitched his tent under the
shadow of Mount Carmel, and wrote two mystical books under her
inspiration, which abode with him after she was dead; after her decease
he married a Miss Owen, that she might help him in his work, but all she
had opportunity to do was to minister to him on his deathbed (1829-1888).
OLIPHANT, MRS. MARGARET (_née_ Wilson), authoress, born at
Wallyford, near Musselburgh, a lady of varied abilities and
accomplishments, and distinguished in various departments of literature,
began her literary career as a novelist and a contributor to _Blackwood_,
with which she kept up a lifelong connection; her first work which
attracted attention was "Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland,"
and her first success as a novelist was the "Chronicles of Carlingford";
she wrote on history, biography, and criticism, the "Makers of Florence,
of Venice, of Modern Rome," "Lives of Dante, Cervantes, and Edward
Irving," among other works, and was engaged on a narrative of the
publishing-house of Blackwood when she died; she might have distinguished
herself more had she kept within a more limited range; her last days were
days of sorrow under heavy bereavement (1828-1897).
OLIVAREZ, COUNT D', a Spanish statesman, born at Rome, where his
father was ambassador; was the confidant and minister of Philip IV., and
the political adversary of Richelieu; was one of the ablest statesmen
Spain ever had, but was unfortunate in his conduct of foreign affairs
(1587-1645).
OLIVER, a favourite paladin of Charlemagne's, who, along with
Roland, rode by his side, and whose name, along with Roland's, has passed
into the phrase, a "Roland for an Oliver," meaning one good masterstroke
for another, such as both these knights never failed to deliver.
OLIVES, MOUNT OF, or MOUNT OLIVET, a ridge with three summits,
stretching N. and S., E. of Jerusalem, in height 150 ft. above the city,
400 ft. above the intervening valley of Kedron, and 2682 ft. above the
sea-level; so called as at one time studded with olive-trees; is
celebrated as the scene of some of the most sacred events in the life of
Christ.
OLLIVIER, ÉMILE, French statesman, born at Marseilles; bred for the
bar, and eminent at it; became Prime Minister under Louis Napoleon in
1870; precipitated "with a light heart" the country into a war with
Germany, to his own overthrow; retired thereafter to Italy, but returned
in 1872, and devoted himself to literature; died at Geneva (1825-1876).
OLMÜTZ (20), a strongly fortified city in Moravia, and an important
centre of trade, and the former capital of the country; suffered severely
in the Thirty and the Seven Years' Wars.
OLYMPIA, a plain in a valley in Elis, on the Peloponnesus, traversed
by the river Alpheus, and in which the Olympic Games were celebrated
every fifth year in honour of Zeus, and adorned with temples (one to Zeus
and another to Hera), statues, and public buildings.
OLYMPIAD, a name given to the period of four years between one
celebration of the Olympic Games and another, the first recorded dating
from July 776 B.C.
OLYMPIAS, the wife of Philip II. of Macedonia, and mother of
Alexander the Great; divorced by Philip, who married another, she fled to
Epirus, and instigated the assassination of Philip and the execution of
her rival; returned to Macedonia on the accession of her son, who always
treated her with respect, but allowed her no part in public affairs; on
his death she dethroned his successor, but driven to bay in her defence
afterwards, she was compelled to surrender the power she had assumed, and
was put to death 316 B.C.
OLYMPIC GAMES, were originally open only to competitors of pure
Hellenic descent, and the reward of the victors was but a wreath of wild
olive, though to this their fellow-citizens added more substantial
honours; they consisted of foot and chariot races, and feats of strength
as well as dexterity. See OLYMPIA.
OLYMPUS, a mountain range in Greece, between Thessaly and Macedonia,
the highest peak of which is 9750 ft.; the summit of it was the fabled
abode of the Greek gods; it is clothed with forests of pine and other
trees.
OLNEY, a little town in Buckinghamshire, associated with the life of
Cowper, and where he wrote, along with John Newton, the "Olney Hymns."
OM, a mystic word among the Hindus and Buddhists; presumed to be
latent with some magic virtue, and used on solemn occasions as a sort of
spiritual charm efficacious with the upper powers, and potent to draw
down divine assistance in an hour of need.
OMAGH (4), on the Strule, 34 m. S. of Londonderry; is the county
town of Tyrone; though a very ancient town it has been rebuilt since
1743, when it was destroyed by fire; it is the head-quarters of the NW.
military district.
OMAHA (102), chief city of Nebraska, on the W. bank of the Missouri,
20 m. above the confluence of the Platte; is connected by a bridge with
Council Bluffs on the opposite shore; it has many fine buildings,
including colleges and schools; its silver-smelting works are the largest
in the world; it ranks third in the pork-packing industry, and has
besides manufactures of linseed oil, boilers, and safes; an important
railway centre, it lies midway between the termini of the Union Pacific
Railroad; near it are the military head-quarters of the Platte
department.
OMAN, a territory of Arabia, lying along the shores of the Persian
Gulf and the Arabian Sea, round the south-eastern nob of the peninsula;
has some stretches of very fertile country where there happens to be
water for irrigation, but the coast is very hot and not healthy. The
region is subject to the Sultan of Muscat, who is in turn a pensioner of
the Anglo-Indian Government.
OMAR, the successor of Abu-Bekr, and the second Caliph from 634 to
644; was at first a persecutor of the Faithful, but underwent in 615 a
sudden conversion like Said, with a like result; was vizier of Abu-Bekr
before he succeeded him; swept and subdued Syria, Persia, and Egypt with
the sword in the name of Allah, but is accused of having burned the rich
library of Alexandria on the plea that it contained books hostile to the
faith of Islam; he was an austere man, and was assassinated by a Persian
slave whose wrongs he refused to redress.
OMAR KHAYYÁM, astronomer-poet of Persia, born at Naishapur, in
Khorassan; lived in the later half of the 11th century, and died in the
first quarter of the 12th; wrote a collection of poems which breathe an
Epicurean spirit, and while they occupy themselves with serious problems
of life, do so with careless sportiveness, intent he on the enjoyment of
the sensuous pleasures of life, like an easy-going Epicurean. The great
problems of destiny don't trouble the author, they are no concern of his,
and the burden of his songs assuredly is, as his translator says, "If not
'let us eat, let us drink, for to-morrow we die.'"
OMAR PASHA, general in the Turkish army, was born an Austrian, his
proper name Michael Lattas, and educated at the military school of Thurn;
guilty of a breach of discipline, he ran away to Bosnia, turned
Mohammedan, and henceforth threw in his lot with the Turks; he became
writing-master to the Ottoman heir, Abdul-Medjid, and on the succession
of the latter in 1839 was made a colonel; he was military governor of
Lebanon in 1842, won distinction in suppressing rebellions in Albania,
Bosnia, and Kurdistan, but his chief services were rendered in the
Russian War; he successfully defended Kalafat in 1853, entered Bucharest
in 1854, and defeated 40,000 Russians next year at Eupatoria in the
Crimea; his capture of Cetinje, Montenegro, in 1862 was a difficult feat
(1806-1871).
O'MEARA, BARRY EDWARD, a surgeon, born in Ireland, who accompanied
Napoleon to St. Helena, and became his physician, having been surgeon on
board the _Bellerophon_ when the emperor surrendered himself; is
remembered as the author of "A Voice from St. Helena; or, Napoleon in
Exile," a book which from its charges against Sir Hudson Lowe created no
small sensation on its appearance (1786-1836).
OMMIADES, an Arab dynasty of 14 caliphs which reigned at Damascus
from 661 to 720; dethroned by the Abassides, they were under Abder-Rahman
I. welcomed in Spain, and they established themselves in Cordova, where
they ruled from 756 to 1031.
OMNIPRESENCE, an attribute of the Divine Being as all-present in
every section of space and moment of time throughout the universe.
OMPHALË, a queen of Lydia, to whom Hercules was sold for three years
for murdering Iphitus, and who so won his affection that he married her,
and was content to spin her wool for her and wear the garments of a woman
while she donned and wore his lion's skin.
OMSK (32), capital of Western Siberia, on the Om, at its confluence
with the Irtish, 1800 m. E. of Moscow; is within the area of Russian
colonisation, and has a military academy, Greek and Roman Catholic
cathedrals, and large cattle trade; a number of its inhabitants are
political exiles from Europe.
ONEGA, LAKE, in the NW. of Russia, next to Ladoga the largest in
Europe, nearly three times the size of Norfolkshire, being 140 m. long
and 59 broad; has an irregular shore, deeply indented in the W., many
inflowing rivers, but is drained only by the Swir; ice-bound for four
months, there is busy traffic the rest of the year; navigation is
promoted by canals, but hindered by many reefs; fish abound in the
waters.
ONOMATOPOEIA, formations of words resembling in sound that of the
things denoted by them.
ONTARIO (2,114), third largest, most populous, richest, and most
important province of Canada, lies N. of the great lakes between Quebec
and Manitoba, and is thrice the size of Great Britain; the surface is
mostly undulating; there are many small lakes, the chief rivers flow
eastward to join the Ottawa; agriculture is the chief industry, enormous
crops of wheat, maize, and other cereals are raised; stock-rearing and
dairy-farming are important; the climate is subject to less extremes than
that of Quebec, but the winter is still severe; there are rich mineral
deposits, especially of iron, copper, lead, and silver, petroleum and
salt; manufactures of agricultural implements, hardware, textiles, and
leather are carried on; Toronto (181) is the largest town, Ottawa (44) is
the capital of the Dominion, Hamilton (49) an important railway centre;
the prosperity of the province is largely promoted by the magnificent
waterways, lakes, rivers, and canals with which it is furnished. Founded
by loyalists from the United States after the Declaration of
Independence, the province was constituted in 1791 as Upper Canada,
united to Quebec or Lower Canada in 1840, it received its present name on
the federation of Canada in 1867; education in it is free and well
conducted; there are many colleges and universities; municipal and
provincial government is enlightened and well organised; the prevalent
religious faith is Protestant.
ONTARIO, LAKE, in area almost equal to Wales, is the smallest and
easternmost of the five great lakes of the St. Lawrence Basin, North
America; it lies between the province of Ontario, Canada, and New York
State; receives the Niagara River in the SW., several streams on both
sides, and issues in the St. Lawrence in the NE.; on its shores stand
Hamilton, Toronto, and Kingston on the N., and Oswego on the S.; canals
connect it with Lake Erie and the Hudson River, and it is a busy and
always open highway of commerce.
ONTOLOGY, another name for METAPHYSICS (q. v.) or the
science of pure being, being at its living source in spirit or God, or
Nature viewed as divine, especially as the ground of the spiritual in man
and giving substantive being to him.
ONYX, a variety of agate or chalcedony, in which occur even layers
of white and black or white and brown, sharply defined in good specimens;
they come from India, and are highly valued for cameo-cutting.
OOSTERZEE, JAN JAKOB VAN, a theologian of the Dutch Church, born at
Rotterdam; became professor at Utrecht, wrote several theological and
exegetical works on evangelical lines (1817-1882).
OPAL, a variety of quartz, of which the finest kind, precious opal,
is translucent, with blue or yellow tint, and when polished with a convex
surface shows an admirable play of colours; it is found chiefly at
Cerwenitza, Austria.
OPEN SECRET, THE, the secret that lies open to all, but is seen into
and understood by only few, applied especially to the mystery of the
life, the spiritual life, which is the possession of all.
OPEN, SESAMË, the magic formula the pronunciation of which opened
the robbers' stronghold in the "Arabian Nights."
OPERA, a drama set to music and acted and sung to the accompaniment
of a full orchestra, of which there are several kinds according as they
are grave, comic, or romantic.
OPERA BOUFFE, an opera in an extravagant burlesque style, with
characters, music, and other accompaniments to match; is the creation of
OFFENBACH (q. v.), his more distinguished successors in the
production of which have been Lecocq, Hervé, and Strauss.
OPHELIA, the daughter of Polonius in "Hamlet" and in love with the
lord, but whose heart, from the succession of shocks it receives, is
shattered and broken.
OPHICLEIDE, a keyed brass wind instrument of recent invention, of
great compass and power, and of which there are two kinds in use.
OPHIR, a region in the East of uncertain situation, frequently
referred to in Scripture as a region from which gold and precious stones
were imported.
OPHITES, a sect of Gnostics who regarded the serpent as a benefactor
of the race in having persuaded Eve to eat of the tree of the _knowledge_
of good and evil in disregard, or rather in defiance, of the warning of
the God of the Jews.
OPIE, JOHN, English artist, born near Truro, Cornwall; began to
learn his father's trade of carpenter, but turning to art went with Dr.
Wolcott to London in 1780; for a year he had phenomenal success as a
portrait-painter; on the wane of his popularity he turned to scriptural
and historical painting and to illustration; after being Associate for a
year he was elected Academician in 1787; besides some lectures on art, he
wrote a Life of Reynolds and other works (1761-1807).
OPINICUS, a fabulous winged creature with the head of a griffin, the
body of a lion, and the tail of a camel; a heraldic symbol.
OPITZ, MARTIN VON, a German poet, born in Silesia; was much
patronised by the princes of Germany; was crowned with laurel, and
ennobled by Ferdinand II.; his poetry was agreeable to classic models,
but at the expense of soul, though, to his credit it must be said, the
German language and German poetry owe him a deep debt (1597-1639).
OPORTO (140), at the mouth of the Douro, 200 m. N. of Lisbon, the
chief manufacturing city of Portugal, and second in commercial
importance; is the head-quarters of the trade in port wine; the
industries include cloth, silk, hat, and porcelain manufacture, tobacco,
metal-casting, and tanning; besides wine it exports cattle, fruit, cork,
and copper. There are many old churches, schools, a library, and two
picture-galleries.
OPPORTUNIST, name given to a politician whose policy it is to take
advantage of, or be guided by, circumstances.
OPTIMISM, the doctrine or belief that in the system of things all
that happens, the undesirable no less than the desirable, is for the
best.
OPUS OPERATUM (i. e. the work wrought), a Latin phrase used to
denote the spiritual effect in the performance of a religious rite which
accrues from the virtue inherent in it, or by grace imparted to it,
irrespectively of the administrator.
ORAN (74), the busiest port in Algeria, is 260 m. W. of Algiers; it
has a Roman Catholic cathedral, a mosque, a school, a college, and two
castles, and exports esparto grass, iron ore, and cereals.
ORANGE RIVER or GARIEP, chief river of South Africa, rises in
the eastern highlands of Basutoland, and flows 100 m. westward to the
Atlantic, receiving the Vaal and the Caledon as tributaries, and having
Cape Colony on the S. bank and the Orange Free State, Griqualand West,
Bechuanaland, and German Namaqualand on the N.; a bar at the mouth and
the aridity of its lower course make it unfit for navigation.
ORANGE RIVER COLONY, formerly Orange Free State (380), lying between
the Vaal and the Orange Rivers, Griqualand West, and the Drakenberg
Mountains; has an area nearly the size of England, with a healthy,
temperate climate; undulating plains slope northward and southward, from
which rise isolated hills called kopjes. The chief industries are the
rearing of sheep, cattle, horses, and ostriches; coal-mining in the N.
and diamond-seeking in the SW.; the exports comprise wool, hides, and
diamonds. Founded by Dutch Boers from Natal, it was annexed by Britain in
1848, but granted independence in 1854. The capital, Bloemfontein (3), is
connected by a railway with Johannesberg and with the Cape. Having made
common cause with the South African Republic in the Boer War, it was
annexed by Great Britain in 1900. At present (1905) it is under the
supreme authority of the Governor of Orange River and the Transvaal
Colonies, assisted by a Lieutenant-Governor and an Executive Council.
ORANGEMEN, a name given to an association of Protestants in Ireland
instituted to uphold the Protestant succession to the crown, and the
Protestant religion as settled at the Revolution of 1688, and which
derives this name from William, the Prince of Orange, on whose accession
to the throne Protestantism was established; it became dormant for a time
after its institution, but it has shown very decided signs of life at
political crises when Protestantism seemed in danger, such as often to
call for some firm handling.
ORATORIO, a musical composition on a sacred theme, dramatic in form
and associated with orchestral accompaniments, but without scenic
accessories; it derives its name from the oratory of St. Philip Neri at
Rome, in which a composition of the kind was first performed, and was a
musical development of the MIRACLE PLAYS (q. v.).
ORATORY, CONGREGATION OF THE, community of secular priests formed by
St. Philip of Neri (q. v.), and bound by no religious vow, each one of
which is independent of the others; it consists of novices, triennial
fathers, decennial fathers, and a superior, their functions being to
preach and hear confession.
ORCAGNA, a Florentine painter, sculptor, and architect, did several
frescoes; was architect of the cathedral of Orviëto; his masterpiece an
absolutely unique marble tabernacle in the church of Or San Michele,
Florence (1329-1389).
ORCHARDSON, WILLIAM QUILLER, English genre-painter, born in
Edinburgh; his pictures are numerous, and among the best and most
popular, "The Challenge," "The Queen of the Woods," "On Board the
Bellerophon," "The Mariage de Convenance"; _b_. 1835.
ORCUS (i. e. place of confinement), another name for Hades, or the
"World of the Dead"; also of the god of the nether world.
ORDEAL, a test by fire, water, poison, wager of battle, or the like,
of the innocence or guilt of persons in appeal thereby to the judgment of
God in default of other evidence, on the superstitious belief that by
means of it God would interfere to acquit the innocent and condemn the
guilty, a test very often had recourse to among savage or half-civilised
nations.
ORDERICUS VITALIS, a mediæval chronicler, born near Shrewsbury; was
a monk of the Abbey of St. Evreul, in Normandy; wrote an ecclesiastical
history of Normandy and England--a veracious document, though an
incondite; _d_. 1143.
ORDERS IN COUNCIL are issued by the British Sovereign, with the
advice of the Privy Council, and within limits defined by Parliament. In
cases of emergency these limits have been disregarded, and Parliament
subsequently asked to homologate the action by granting an indemnity to
those concerned.
OREADES in the Greek mythology nymphs of the mountains, with special
names appropriate to the district they severally inhabit.
OREGON (314), one of the United States, on the Pacific seaboard,
with Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and California on its inland borders,
nearly twice the size of England, has the Coast Mountains along the W.,
the Cascade range parallel 60 m. E., and 70 farther E. the Blue
Mountains. The centre and E. is hilly, and affords excellent grazing and
dairy-farming ground; the western or Willamette Valley is arable,
producing cereals, potatoes, tobacco, hops, and fruit. Between the Coast
Mountains and the sea excessive rains fall. The State is rich in timber,
coal, iron, gold, and silver; and the rivers (of which the Columbia on
the N. border is the chief) abound in salmon. Owing to the mountain
shelter and the Japanese ocean currents the climate is mild. The capital
is Salem (4), the largest city Portland (46), both on the Willamette
River. The State offers excellent educational facilities; it has 17
libraries, many schools and colleges, and the Blue Mountain University.
The State (constituted in 1859) forms part of the territory long in
dispute between Great Britain and the United States. It was occupied
jointly from 1818 to 1846, when a compromise fixed the present boundary
of British Columbia.
ORELLI, CONRAD VON, theologian, born at Zurich; professor at Basel;
has written commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the minor
prophets; _b_. 1846.
ORELLI, JOHANN KASPAR VON, a Swiss scholar, born at Zurich, where he
was professor of Classical Philology; edited editions of the classics,
particularly Horace, Tacitus, and Cicero, highly esteemed for the
scholarship they show and the critical judgment (1787-1849).
ORESTES, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and brother of
Electra and Iphigenia, who killed his mother to avenge the murder by her
of his father and went mad afterwards, but was acquitted by the Areopagus
and became king of Argos and Lacedæmon; his friendship for Pylades, who
married his sister Electra, has passed into a proverb; the tragic story
is a favourite theme of the Greek tragedians.
ORFILA, M. J. BONAVENTURE, French chemist and physician, born in
Minorca; mainly distinguished for his works on toxicology (1787-1853).
ORGANISM, a structure instinct with life, and possessed of organs
that discharge functions subordinate and ministrative to the life of the
whole.
ORGANON, a term adopted by Bacon to denote a system of rules for the
regulation of scientific inquiry.
ORGIES, festivals among the Greeks and Orientals generally connected
with the worship of nature divinities, in particular DEMETER (q. v.),
DIONYSOS (q. v.), and the Cabiri, celebrated with mystic
rites and much licentious behaviour.
ORIFLAMME (i. e. flame of gold), the ancient banner of the kings
of France, borne before them as they marched to war; it was a red flag
mounted on a gilded staff, was originally the banner of the abbey of St.
Denis, and first assumed as the royal standard by Louis VI. as he marched
at the head of his army against the Emperor Henry V. in 1124, but one
hears no more of it after the battle of Agincourt in 1415, much as it was
at one time regarded as the banner of the very Lord of Hosts.
ORIGEN, one of the most eminent of the Fathers of the Church, born
at Alexandria it is presumed, the son of a Christian who suffered
martyrdom under Severus, whom he honoured and ever reverenced for his
faith in Christ; studied the Greek philosophers that he might familiarise
himself with their standpoint in contrast with that of the Christian;
taught in Alexandria and elsewhere the religion he had inherited from his
father, but was not sufficiently regardful of episcopal authority, and
after being ordained by another bishop than that of his own diocese was
deposed and banished; after this he settled in Cæsarea, set up a
celebrated school, and had Gregory Thaumaturgus for a pupil, whence he
made journeys to other parts but under much persecution, and died at
Tyre; he wrote numerous works, apologetical and exegetical as well as
doctrinal, besides a "Hexapla," a great source of textual criticism,
being a work in which the Hebrew Scriptures and five Greek versions of
them are arranged side by side; in his exegesis he had a fancy for
allegorical interpretation, in which he frequently indulged, but in doing
so he was entitled to some license, seeing he was a man who constantly
lived in close communion with the Unseen Author of all truth (185-253).
ORIGINAL SIN, the name given by the theologians to the inherent
tendency to sin on the part of all mankind, due, as alleged, to their
descent from Adam and the imputation of Adam's guilt to them as sinning
in him.
ORINOCO RIVER, a great river in the NE. of South America, rises in
the Parimé Mountains, and flowing westward bifurcates, the Cassiquiare
channel going southward and joining the Rio Negro, the Orinoco proper
continuing westward, north and east through Venezuela, and reaching the
Atlantic after a course of 1500 m. by an enormous delta; it receives
thousands of tributaries, but cascades half-way up stop navigation.
ORION, in the Greek mythology a handsome giant and hunter, was
struck blind by Dionysos for attempting an outrage on Merope, but
recovered his eyesight on exposing his eyeballs to the arrowy rays of
Aurora, and became afterwards the companion of Artemis on the
hunting-field, but he fell a victim to the jealousy of Apollo, the
brother of Artemis, and was transformed by the latter into a
constellation in the sky, where he figures as a giant wearing a lion's
skin and a girdle or belt and wielding a club.
ORISSA (4,047), the name of an ancient Indian kingdom, independent
till 1568, and falling into British possession in 1803, is now restricted
to the most south-easterly province of Bengal. It is larger than Wales,
and comprises a hilly inland tract and an alluvial plain formed by the
deltas of the Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani Rivers, well irrigated,
and producing great crops of rice, wheat, pulse, and cotton. It has no
railways, and poor roads; transport is by canal and river. Chief towns
Cuttack, Balasor, and Puri.
ORKNEY ISLANDS (30), an archipelago of 90 islands, Pomona the
largest, lying north of the Scottish mainland, from which they are
separated by the Pentland Firth, 7 m. broad. The scenery is tame, the
climate is mild and moist; there are no trees, crops are poor; the chief
industries are fishing and stock-raising; Kirkwall, with a cathedral, and
Stromness are the chief towns. Seized from the Picts by Norse vikings,
they passed to James III. as security for the dowry of Margaret of
Denmark and were never redeemed. The natives show their Scandinavian
ancestry in their features, and the nomenclature is largely Scandinavian.
ORLANDO, a hero who figures in the romantic tales connected with the
adventures of Charlemagne and his paladins, a knight of pure and true
blood; had a magical horn called Olivant, with which he wrought wonders.
ORLEANS (61), on the Loire, 75 m. by rail SW. of Paris, is the
capital of the province of Loiret, a trading rather than an industrial
town, commerce being fostered by excellent railway, canal, and river
communications; the town is of ancient date, and its streets are full of
quaint wooden houses; there is an old cathedral and museum; many historic
associations include the raising of the siege in 1429 by Joan of Arc,
whose house is still shown, and two captures by the Germans, 1870
ORLEANS, DUKES OF, the name of four distinct branches of the royal family
of France, the first commencing with PHILIPPE, fifth son of Philippe of
Valois, in 1344; the second with LOUIS, brother of Charles VI.
(1371-1407); the third with JEAN BAPTISTE GASCON, brother of Louis XIII.,
who took part in the plots against Richelieu, and was appointed
lieutenant-general on the death of his brother (1608-1660); the fourth
with PHILIPPE I., brother of Louis XIV. (1640-1701); PHILIPPE II., son of
the preceding, governed France during the minority of Louis XV.; involved
his finances by his connection with Louis, and did injury to the public
morals by the depravity of his life (1674-1723); LOUIS-PHILIPPE, his
grandson, lieutenant-general and governor of Dauphiné (1725-1785);
LOUIS-PHILIPPE JOSEPH, son of preceding, surnamed Philippe-Egalité,
played a conspicuous part in the Revolution, and perished on the scaffold
(1747-1793); and LOUIS-PHILIPPE, his son (q. v.); PRINCE LOUIS ROBERT,
eldest son of Comte de Paris, claimant to the throne, _b_. 1869.
ORLOFF, the name of two brothers, Russians: GREGORY, the
favourite of Catherine II. (1734-1783), and ALEXIS, a man remarkable
for his stature and strength, who murdered Peter III. and was banished by
Paul I. (1737-1809).
ORME, ROBERT, historian, born in Travancore; entered the East India
Company's service, in which he was appointed historiographer; wrote the
history of its military transactions from 1745 to 1763 (1728-1801).
ORMOLU, a name given to bronze or brass of a golden-yellow colour,
and resembling gold.
ORMONDE, JAMES BUTLER, DUKE OF, supporter of the cause of Charles I.
in Ireland during the war between the king and the Parliament, on the
ruin of which he repaired to the Continent to promote the restoration of
the dynasty; was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland after the
Restoration, and escaped from a party of ruffians headed by Colonel
Blood, who dragged him from his carriage with intent to hang him; he was
a brave man, and much esteemed by his friends (1610-1688).
ORMUZ, an island at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, once the
head-quarters of the Persian trade with India.
ORMUZD, the good deity of the Zoroastrian religion, the embodiment
of the principle of good as Ahriman is of the principle of evil, the
creator of light and order as the other of darkness and disorder. See
DUALISM.
ORONTES, the principal river of Syria, rises in the western slopes
of Anti-Lebanon, and flows northward through Syria, turning at last SW.
to the Mediterranean; its course of 150 m. is through country in many
parts well cultivated, past the towns of Hems and Hamah, and latterly
through a woody ravine of great beauty.
OROSIUS, PAULUS, Spanish Christian apologist of the 5th century,
born at Terragona, a disciple of Augustine; wrote at his suggestion
against the pagans a history of the world used as a text-book in the
Middle Ages.
ORPHEUS, in the Greek mythology son of Apollo and the Muse Calliopë,
famed for his skill on the lyre, from which the strains were such as not
only calmed and swayed the rude soul of nature, but persuaded even the
inexorable Pluto to relent; for one day when his wife Eurydice was taken
away from him, he descended with his lyre to the lower world and
prevailed on the nether king by the spell he wielded to allow her to
accompany him back, but on the condition that he must not, as she
followed him, turn round and look; this condition he failed to fulfil,
and he lost her again, but this time for ever; whereupon, as the story
goes, he gave himself up to unappeasable lamentings, which attracted
round him a crowd of upbraiding Mænades, who in their indignation took up
stones to stone him and mangled him to death, only his lyre as it floated
down the river seaward kept sounding "Eurydice! Eurydice!" till it was
caught up by Zeus and placed in memorial of him among the stars of the
sky.
ORRERY is a mechanical toy which exhibits, by an arrangement of
rods, balls, and toothed wheels, the sun, the planets, and their moons,
all performing their respective motions; so named after the Earl of
Orrery, for whom Charles Boyle made the first one in 1715.
ORSINI, FELICE, Italian conspirator, born of a noble family, but
bred in the atmosphere of revolution and secret plotting; with three
others attempted the life of Louis Napoleon; was defended by Jules Favre,
but condemned to death and guillotined (1819-1858).
ORSOVA, two fortified towns on opposite banks of the Danube, at the
Iron Gates: Old Orsova (3), in Hungary, is a trading and shipping centre;
New Orsova, in Servia, was repeatedly taken and retaken in the wars of
the 18th century.
ORVIËTO (7), an Italian city in Perugia, 78 m. by rail N. of Rome,
is noted for its wines; it dates from Roman times, and in the Middle Ages
was a frequent refuge of the Popes.
OSCANS, a primitive people of Italy occupying Campania; were
subjugated in the 5th century B.C. by the Samnites, who amalgamated with
them and were subsequently incorporated with the Romans; the Oscan
tongue, a cruder form of Latin, may have had its own literature, and is
still extant on coins and in inscriptions.
OSCAR I., king of Sweden and Norway, son of Bernadotte, born at
Paris, reigned from 1844 to 1857 (1799-1858); OSCAR II., king of
Sweden and Norway, son of preceding, succeeded his brother Charles XV. in
1872, has distinguished himself in literature by translating Goethe's
"Faust" into Swedish, and by a volume of minor poems under his _nom de
plume_ Oscar Frederick; _b_. 1829.
OSCOTT, a village in Staffordshire, 4 m. N. of Birmingham, the site
of the Roman Catholic College of St. Mary's, which claims to be the
centre of Catholicism in England; founded in 1752, it was housed in
magnificent buildings in 1835, and became exclusively a training-school
for the priesthood in 1889, though it originally had laymen among its
students.
O'SHAUGHNESSY, ARTHUR, poet, born in London; held a post in the
natural history department of the British Museum; wrote, among other
works, three notable volumes of poems, "The Epic of Women," "Lays of
France," and "Music and Moonlight" (1844-1881).
OSIANDER, ANDREAS, a German Reformer, born near Nüremberg, and
attaching himself to Luther, became preacher there, and eventually
professor of Theology at Königsberg; involved himself in a bitter
controversy with Chemnitz on justification, ascribing it not to
imputation, but the germination of divine grace in the heart, or the
mystical union of the soul with God, a controversy which was kept up by
his followers after his death (1498-1552).
OSIRIS, one of the principal gods of Egypt, the husband of Isis, who
was his sister and the father of Horus, who avenged the wrongs he
suffered at the hands of the Earth, his mother, in whose womb he was born
and in whose womb he was buried; he was the god of all the earth-born,
and subject to the like fate.
OSMANLIS, name given to the Ottomans, from that of their founder,
Osman or Othman.
OSMOSE. If two liquids be separated from each other only by a skin
or parchment, each will percolate through the membrane and diffuse into
the other; the process is known as osmose, and is constantly illustrated
in the animal and vegetable world.
OSNABRÜCK (35), a town in Hanover, 70 m. W. of Hanover, with a
bishopric founded by Charlemagne, which was held by a brother of George
I., and was secularised in 1803.
OSSA, a mountain in Thessaly, famous in Greek mythology. See
PELION.
OSSIAN, the heroic poet of the Gaels, the son of Fingal and the king
of Morven, said to have lived in the 3rd century, the theme of whose
verse concerns the exploits of Fingal and his family, the translation of
which he brought home from fairyland, to which he had been transported
when he was a boy, and from which he returned when he was old and blind;
James Macpherson, who was no Gaelic scholar, professed to have translated
the legend, as published by him in 1760-62-63.
OSTADE, ADRIAN and ISAAC, two Dutch painters, brothers, born at
Haarlem; Adrian (1610-1685), and Isaac (1617-1654).
OSTEND (26), a favourite watering-place on the SW. coast of Belgium,
65 m. due W. of Antwerp; attracts 20,000 visitors every summer; it is an
important seaport, having daily mail communication with Dover, and it
manufactures linen and sail-cloth; fishing is the chief industry; it is
famed for oysters, which are brought over from England and fattened for
export.
OSTIA, the seaport of ancient Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber, now
in ruins.
OSTRACISM, banishment (lit. by shell) for a term of years by popular
vote from Athens of any individual whose political influence seemed to
threaten the liberty of the citizens; the vote was given by each citizen
writing the name of the individual on a shell and depositing it in some
place appointed, and it was only when supported by 6000 citizens that it
took effect.
OSTROGOTHS, or the EASTERN GOTHS, a Teutonic people, who,
having been induced to settle on the banks of the Danube, in the pay of
the Roman emperor, invaded Italy, and founded in the end of the 5th
century a kingdom under Theodoric, which fell before the arms of
Justinian in 532.
OSWALD, ST., king of Northumbria, where by the aid of AIDAN
(q. v.) he established the Christian religion, after his conversion to
it himself in exile among the Scots; he died in battle fighting against
Penda, king of Mercia; _d_.642.
OSWEGO (22), principal port on the E. of Lake Ontario, is at the
mouth of the Oswego River, in New York State; it has 4 miles of quays,
and extensive accommodation for grain, and has a large trade, especially
with Canada, in grain and lumber; the falls in the river are utilised for
industrial purposes, the manufacture of starch and cornflour being famed.
OSWESTRY (8), a market-town of Shropshire, 20 m. NW. of Shrewsbury;
has an old church, castle, and school, railway workshops, and some
woollen mills.
OTAGO (153), the southernmost province in the South Island, New
Zealand, somewhat less in size than Scotland, is mountainous and
inaccessible in the W., but in the E. consists of good arable plains,
where British crops and fruits grow well; the climate is temperate;
timber abounds; there are gold, coal, iron, and copper mines,
manufactures of woollen goods, iron, and soap, and exports wool, gold,
cereals, and hides; founded in 1848 by the Otago Association of the Free
Church of Scotland, but immigration became general on the discovery of
gold in 1861; education is promoted by the Government in a university and
many colleges and secondary schools; the capital is Dunedin (23), the
chief commercial city of New Zealand, the other principal towns being
Invercargill, Port Chalmers, Oamaru, Milton, and Lawrence.
OTHMAN, the third caliph, who ruled from 614 to 636, was
assassinated by Mohammed, son of Abu-Bekr.
OTHMAN or OSMAN I., surnamed the Conqueror the founder of the
empire of the Ottoman Turks, born in Bithynia (1259-1326).
OTHO, Roman emperor, had been a companion of Nero; was created
emperor by the Pretorian Guards in succession to Galba, but being
defeated by the German legionaries, stabbed himself to death after a
reign of three months (32-69).
OTIS, JAMES, American lawyer, born in Massachusetts, distinguished
as a ringleader in the revolution in the colonies against the
mother-country that led to American independence, for which he had to pay
with his life and the prior loss of his reason (1724-1783).
OTRANTO (2), a decayed seaport and fishing town of SE. Italy, 52 m.
S. of Brindisi; founded by Greek colonists, it was in early times the
chief port of trade with Greece; there is a cathedral and castle.
OTTAWA (44), capital of the Dominion of Canada, is situated 90 m. up
the Ottawa River and its confluence with the St. Lawrence, between the
Chaudière and Rideau Falls. Here are the Parliament buildings, the
Governor-General's residence, a Roman Catholic cathedral, numerous
colleges and schools, and a great library. There is some flour-milling
and some iron-working, but the chief industry is lumber felling. Half the
people are French Roman Catholics. It became the capital of the Dominion
in 1856, and in ten years after the government was installed in its new
buildings.
OTTAWA RIVER, the largest tributary of the St. Lawrence, and one of
the largest Canadian rivers, is 700 m. long; rising in the W. of Quebec,
it flows W., then S., then SE., sometimes in a narrow channel, sometimes
broadening even into lakes, receiving many tributaries, and passing down
rapids and falls, and joins the St. Lawrence at Montreal; down its waters
are floated immense quantities of lumber.
OTTERBURN, a Northumberland village, 16 m. S. of the border, famous
as the scene of a struggle on 19th August 1388 between the Douglases and
the Percies, at which the Earl of Douglas lost his life, and Hotspur was
taken prisoner. See CHEVY CHASE.
OTTO or ATTAR OF ROSES, an essential oil obtained by distilling
rose leaves of certain species in water, of very strong odour, pleasant
when diluted; is used for perfumery; it is made in India, Persia, Syria,
and at Kezanlik, in Roumelia.
OTTOMANS, the name given to the Turks from OTHMAN (q. v.).
OTWAY, THOMAS, English dramatist, born in Sussex, intended for the
Church; took to the stage, failed as an actor, and became a playwright,
his chief production in that line being "Alcibiades," "Don Carlos," "The
Orphan," and "Venice Preserved," the latter two especially; he led a life
of dissipation, and died miserably, from choking, it is said, in greedily
swallowing a piece of bread when in a state of starvation (1651-1685).
OUBLIETTE, an underground cell, perfectly dark, in which prisoners
were subjected to perpetual confinement, was so called as being a "place
of forgetfulness," or where one is forgotten; they were often put
secretly to death.
OUDENARDE, a town in Belgium, 15 m. S. of Ghent, scene of
Marlborough's third victory over the French in 1708; it contains a
16th-century hôtel de ville, with a fine tower, and some interesting
churches.
OUDH (12,551), a province in the Bengal Presidency, occupying the
basin of the Gumti, Gogra, and Rapti Rivers, and stretching from the N.
bank of the Ganges to the lower Himalayas; is a great alluvial plain,
through which these rivers flow between natural embankments, affording
irrigation by their marshes and overflows. The sole industry is
agriculture; the crops are wheat and rice, which are exported by rail and
river. The population is one of the densest in the world, the labouring
classes being very poor. The only large town is Lucknow (273), on the
Gumti. One of the earliest centres of Aryan civilisation, Oudh became
subject to the empire of Delhi in the 12th century, but was an
independent State for a century prior to its annexation by the British in
1856.
OUDINOT, DUKE OF REGGIO, marshal of France, born at Bar-le-Duc;
served with distinction under the Revolution and the Empire; led the
retreat from Moscow, and was wounded; joined the Royalists after the fall
of Napoleon, and died Governor of the Hôtel des Invalides (1767-1847).
OUIDA, the pseudonym of Louise de la Ramée, English novelist, born
at Bury St. Edmunds; resides chiefly at Florence; has written over a
score of novels, "Under Two Flags" and "Moths" among the best; _b_. 1840.
OUSE, the name of several English rivers, of which the chief are (1)
the Yorkshire Ouse, flowing through the great Vale of York southwards to
the Humber, receiving the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe, and Aire from the W.
and the Derwent from the E., and having in its basin more great towns
than any other river in the country; (2) the Great Ouse, rising in the S.
of Northamptonshire, pursuing a winding course NE. through the plains of
Buckingham, Bedford, Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Norfolk to the Wash; and
(3) the Sussex Ouse.
OUTRAM, SIR JAMES, British general, surnamed by Napier the "Bayard
of India," born in Derbyshire, began his military career in Bombay,
served in the Afghan War and the war with Persia, played an important
part in the suppression of the Mutiny, marching to the relief of Lucknow,
magnanimously waived his rank in favour of Havelock, and fought under him
(1803-1863).
OVERBECK, FRIEDRICH, celebrated German painter, born at Lübeck; was
head of the new Romantic or Pre-Raphaelite school of German art; had
devoted himself to religious subjects, abjured Lutheranism, and joined
the Roman Catholic Church; is famed for his frescoes "Christ's Entry into
Jerusalem" and "St. Francis" in particular, still more than his
oil-paintings; spent most of his life in Rome (1789-1869).
OVERBURY, SIR THOMAS, English gentleman, remembered chiefly from the
circumstances of his death, having been poisoned in the Tower at the
instance of Rochester and his wife for dissuading the former from
marrying the latter, for which crime the principals were pardoned and the
instruments suffered death; he was the author of certain works published
after his death, and "The Wife," a poem, his "Characters," and "Crumbs
from King James's Table" (1581-1613).
OVERLAND ROUTE, the route to Australia and the East across the
European continent instead of round the Cape of Good Hope, was
inaugurated by Lieutenant Waghorn in 1845, modified on the opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869, and is now _viâ_ France, the Mont Cenis tunnel,
Brindisi, the Levant, Suez Canal, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean.
OVERREACH, SIR GILES, a character in Massinger's play, "A New Way to
Pay Old Debts."
OVERSTONE, BARON, English financier, represented Hythe; was made a
peer in 1850; wrote on finances; was opposed to limited liability and the
introduction of the decimal system; died immensely rich (1796-1883).
OVID (Publius Ovidius Naso), Roman poet of the Augustan age, born at
Salmo, of equestrian rank, bred for the bar, and serving the State in the
department of law for a time, threw it up for literature and a life of
pleasure; was the author, among other works, of the "Amores," "Fasti,"
and the "Metamorphoses," the friend of Horace and Virgil, and the
favourite of Augustus, but for some unknown reason fell under the
displeasure of the latter, and was banished in his fiftieth year, to end
his days among the swamps of Scythia, near the Black Sea
(B.C. 43-18 A.D.).
OVIEDO (44), capital of the Spanish province of Asturias, near the
river Nalon; is the seat of a university, library, and cathedral; it is
the centre of the chief coal-field of Spain; in the neighbourhood are a
gun-factory and many iron-works.
OWEN, JOHN, Puritan divine, born in Oxfordshire, educated at Oxford;
driven from the Church, became first a Presbyterian then an Independent;
Cromwell made him chaplain for a sermon he preached the day after Charles
I.'s execution, and he was presented in 1651 with the deanery of Christ
Church, Oxford, and next year with the Vice-Chancellorship, but on the
Restoration was deprived of both, after which, from 1657, he spent his
life in retirement; wrote an exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, on
the Holy Spirit, and many other works in exposition of the Puritan
theology, which at one time were held in greater favour than they are now
(1616-1683).
OWEN, SIR RICHARD, celebrated English naturalist and comparative
anatomist, born in Lancaster; wrote extensively, especially on
comparative anatomy and physiology, in which, as in everything that
occupied him, he was an enthusiastic worker, being a disciple of Cuvier;
did not oppose, but was careful not to commit himself to, Darwin's
evolutionary theories; Carlyle, who had two hours' talk with him once,
found him "a man of real ability who could tell him innumerable things"
(1804-1892).
OWEN, ROBERT, a Socialist reformer, born in Montgomeryshire; became
manager of a cotton mill at New Lanark, which he managed on Socialist
principles, according to which all the profits in the business above five
per cent, went to the workpeople; in furtherance of his principles he
published his "New Views of Society," the "New Moral World," as well as
pamphlets, lecturing upon them, moreover, both in England and America,
but his schemes issued in practical failures, especially as proving too
exclusively secular, and he in his old age turned his mind to
spiritualism (1771-1858).
OWENS COLLEGE, Manchester, a non-sectarian university, founded by
John Owens, a liberal Churchman, in 1846, and supported as well as
extended by subsequent bequests, the medical school of which is one of
the finest in the kingdom; of the students attending it in 1897-98, 639
were arts students, 99 women, and 418 medicals.
OXENFORD, JOHN, English man of letters and critic; translated
Goethe's "Dichtung und Wahrheit," and "Echermann's Conversations with
Goethe"; was dramatic critic for the _Times_, and wrote plays, as well as
an "Illustrated Book of French Songs" (1812-1877).
OXENSTIERN, AXEL, COUNT, Swedish statesman, favourite minister of
Gustavus Adolphus; supported him through the Thirty Years' War, though he
disapproved of his engaging in it, and managed the affairs of the State
with great ability after his death (1583-1654).
OXFORD (46), the county town of Oxfordshire, seat of one of the
great English universities and of a bishopric; is on the left bank of the
Thames, 52 m. W. of London; it is a city of great beauty, its many
collegiate buildings and chapels and other institutions making it the
richest of English cities in architectural interest; naturally historical
associations abound; here the Mad Parliament met and adopted the
Provisions of Oxford in 1258; Latimer and Ridley in 1555, and Cranmer in
1556, were burned in Broad Street; Charles I. made it his head-quarters
after the first year of the Civil War; it was the refuge of Parliament
during the plague of 1665.
OXFORD SCHOOL, the name given to the leaders of the Tractarian
Movement, which originated at Oxford in 1833.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY, Oxford is spoken of as a seat of learning as
early as the 11th century. Cloistral schools existed before that. Schools
of divinity, law, and topography were founded in the 12th century. In the
13th Dominican and Franciscan scholars raised it to a level only second
to Paris, and by the end of the 14th century there were thousands of
students in attendance. Oxford responded quickly to the Renaissance, and
by the time of the Reformation 13 colleges were founded. Her
Protestantism stood firm through Mary's reaction, sank into passive
obedience under the Stuarts, but woke up to resist James II.'s Catholic
propaganda. Thereafter followed a serious lapse in efficiency, but this
century has seen a complete revival. Oxford has now 21 colleges, among
which are Balliol, Christ Church, Magdalen, Oriel, Trinity, and
University College; 64 professors and teachers, and 3000 students. It is
rich in museums and libraries; the Bodleian Library is of great value,
the Taylor Library is devoted to modern literature. The Oxford or
Tractarian Movement, one of the most remarkable religious impulses of
modern times, had its centre in the University between 1834 and 1845.
Among distinguished Oxford alumni were Hooker, Jeremy Taylor, Wesley,
Newman; Hobbes, Locke, Adam Smith; Johnson, Gibbon, Freeman, Green;
Chatham, Gladstone; Ruskin; Shelley, Keble, Arnold, and Clough. Of the
colleges of which the University consists, the University was founded in
1249, Balliol in 1269, Merton in 1264, Exeter in 1314, Oriel in 1326,
Queen's in 1340, New in 1379, Lincoln in 1427, All Souls' in 1437,
Magdalen in 1468, Brasenose in 1509, Corpus in 1516, Christ Church in
1546, Trinity in 1554, St. John's in 1555, Jesus in 1571, Wadham in 1612,
Pembroke in 1624, Worcester in 1714, Keble in 1870, and Hertford in 1874.
OXFORDSHIRE (186), a S. midland county of England, stretching on the
N. bank of the Thames between Gloucester and Buckingham; is an
agricultural district; bleak in the N. and W., it is hilly, well wooded
and picturesque in the S., where are the Chiltern Hills; iron-stone is
mined near Banbury, blankets made at Witney, and paper at Shiplake and
Henley; natives of the county were Edward the Confessor, Leland, Warren
Hastings, Maria Edgeworth, and J. R. Green.
OXUS or AMU-DARIA, a great river of Central Asia, rises in the
Pamirs, and flows W. between Turkestan and Afghanistan, then N. through
Turkestan to the Sea of Aral; it is believed at one time to have flowed
into the Caspian, and there is record of two changes of course; half its
waters are absorbed in irrigating the plains of Khiva.
OXYGEN, a colourless, inodorous gas which constitutes one-fifth in
volume of the atmosphere, and which, in combination with hydrogen, forms
water. It is the most widely diffused of all the elementary bodies, and
an essential support to everything possessed of life.
OYER AND TERMINER, an English Court Commission to hear and determine
special causes.
OZONE, is an allotropic form of oxygen, from which it can be
developed by electricity, and into which it can be resolved by heat,
present in small quantities in the atmosphere, and possessing strong
oxidising properties.
P
PACHE, JEAN, Swiss adventurer, who became Mayor of Paris, and even
Minister of War during the French Revolution, "the sleek Tartuffe that he
was," is credited with the authorship of the famous revolutionary motto,
Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, or Death (1746-1823).
PACHOMIUS, ST., an Egyptian hermit, the founder of conventual
monachism, who established the first institution of the kind at Tabenna,
an island in the Nile; he also established the first nunnery under his
sister (292-348). Festival, May 14.
PACHYDERMATA, hoofed animals with thick skins and non-ruminant, such
as the elephant and the hog.
PACIFIC OCEAN, the largest sheet of water on the globe, occupies a
third of its whole surface, as much as all the land put together. It is a
wide oval in shape, lying between Australia and Asia on the W., and North
and South America on the E. Except from Asia it receives no large
rivers. On its American shores the Gulf of California is the only
considerable indentation; the Okhotsk, Japanese, Yellow, and Chinese
Seas, on the Asiatic coast, are rather wide bays shut in by islands than
inland seas. Its innumerable islands are the chief feature of the Pacific
Ocean. The continental islands include the Aleutian, Kurile, Japan, and
Philippine Islands, and the archipelago between the Malay Peninsula and
Australia; the Oceanic Islands include countless groups, volcanic and
coral, chiefly in the southern hemisphere, between the Sandwich Islands
and New Zealand. Commerce on the Pacific Ocean is only beginning, but
will increase vastly with the extension of the United States westward,
the colonisation of Australia, and the opening of Chinese and Japanese
ports. San Francisco and Valparaiso on the E., Hong-Kong and Sydney on
the W., are just now the chief centres of trade.
PACKHARD, distinguished American entymologist and naturalist, born
in Maine; his classification of insects is accepted; _b_. 1839.
PACTOLUS, a small river of Lydia, famous for the gold contained in
its sand, due, it was alleged, to Midas washing the gold off him in its
waters, and the alleged source of the wealth of Croesus; its modern name
is Sarabat. See MIDAS.
PACUVIUS, an old Latin dramatist, nephew of ENNIUS (q. v.);
wrote dramas after the Greek models (220-130 B.C.).
PADANG (15), a town and free port on the W. coast of Sumatra, the
largest town on the island, and the Dutch official capital.
PADEREWSKI, IGNACE JAN, a celebrated pianist, born at Podolia, in
Russian Poland; master of his art by incessant practice from early
childhood, made his _début_ in 1887 with instant success; his first
appearance created quite a _furore_ in Paris and London; has twice
visited the United States; is a brilliant composer as well as performer,
and has composed numerous pieces both for the voice and the piano; _b_.
1860.
PADILLA, JUAN LOPEZ DE, a celebrated Castilian noble, who headed a
rebellion against Charles V., which he heroically maintained till his
defeat at Villalos in 1521, and which his wife, Donna Maria, no less
heroically maintained against a strong besieging force after his capture
and execution.
PADISHAH, from two Persian words meaning "protector prince," is a
title given to the Shah of Persia and the Sultan of Turkey, and at one
time applied, among others, to the Emperors of Austria and Russia.
PADUA (79), a walled city of Venetia, 23 m. by rail W. of Venice,
has some manufactures of leather and musical-instrument strings, but is
chiefly interesting for its artistic treasures; these include the
municipal buildings, cathedral, and nearly fifty churches, innumerable
pictures and frescoes, and Donatello's famous equestrian statue of
Gattamelata; there is also a renowned university, library, museum, and
the oldest botanical garden in Europe; after very varied fortunes it was
held by Venice 1405-1797, then by Austria till its incorporation in Italy
1866. Livy was a native, as also Andrea Mantegna.
PÆSTUM, an ancient Greek city of Lucania, in South Italy, with
remains of Greek architecture second only to those of Athens.
PAGAN, ISABEL, Scotch poetess, authoress of the plaintive song "Ca'
the Yowes to the Knowes" (1740-1821).
PAGANINI, NICOLO, a celebrated Italian violinist, born at Genoa of
humble origin; widely famous for his astonishing feats on a
single-stringed instrument; was a composer of musical pieces for both
violin and guitar; died rich (1784-1840).
PAGANISM, HEATHENISM (q. v.), so called as lingering among
the "pagani" or country people, after Christianity had taken root in the
large towns.
PAGODA, an Indian or Chinese temple, associated chiefly with
Buddhism, of a more or less pyramidal form and of several storeys, the
most imposing being the Greek Pagoda of Tanjore; the name is applied also
to a gold coin worth 7s. 6d. stamped with a pagoda.
PAHLEVI, name given to a translation of the ZENDAVESTA (q. v.) in the
Zend dialect for the use of the priesthood.
PAINE, THOMAS, a notorious free-thinker and democrat, born in
Thetford; emigrated to America, contributed, as he boasted, by his
pamphlet "Common Sense," to "free America," by rousing it to emancipate
itself from the mother-country; wrote the "Rights of Man" against Burke's
"Reflections"; had to emigrate to France; took part in the Revolution to
aid in its emancipation also, offended Robespierre, and was put in
prison, where he wrote the first part of his "Age of Reason," a book
which offended the Christian world and procured him ignominy and even
execration in many quarters; died in New York, but his bones were
conveyed to England by Cobbett in 1819 (1737-1809).
PAINTER, WILLIAM, author of "Palace of Pleasure," a collection of
tales chiefly from Italian sources, which proved suggestive in furnishing
the dramatists with interesting subjects for representation (1540-1594).
PAISIELLO, GIOVANNI, an Italian composer, born at Taranto; his great
work, the opera "Il Barbiere di Seviglia"; composed besides other operas,
cantatas, requiems, &c.
PAISLEY (66), a Renfrewshire town, 7 m. W. of Glasgow, on the White
Cart. It is the chief centre of manufacture of cotton thread in the
world, and its other industries include dyeing, bleaching, woollen goods,
and engineering. There are several fine buildings, a Baptist Church is
said to be the finest modern ecclesiastical building in Scotland. The
ornithologist Wilson, Professor Wilson ( Christopher North), and
Tannahill were born here.
PALACKY, FRANCIS, distinguished Bohemian historian and politician,
born in Moravia, author of a "History of Bohemia," in 5 vols., his chief
work and a notable (1798-1876).
PALADIN, the name given to the peers of Charlemagne, such as Roland,
and also to knights-errant generally.
PALÆOGRAPHY, the name given to the study and the deciphering of
ancient manuscripts.
PALÆOLOGUS, the name of a Byzantine family, several members of which
attained imperial dignity, the last of the dynasty dying in 1453; they
came into prominence in the 11th century.
PALÆONTOLOGY, the name given to the study of fossil remains, a
branch of geology.
PALAFOX, DON JOSEPH, a Spanish soldier, born of a noble Aragonese
family, who immortalised himself by his heroic defence of Saragossa
against the French in 1808-9; on the fall of the place was taken to
France and imprisoned till 1813; on his release was created Duke of
Saragossa and promoted to other high honours at home (1780-1847).
PALAIS ROYAL, a pile of buildings in Paris, of which the nucleus was
a palace built in 1629 by Lemercier for Richelieu, and known afterwards
as the Palais Cardinal, and which at length by gift of Louis XIV. became
the town residence of the Orleans family; these buildings suffered much
damage in 1848 and in 1871, but have been restored since 1873.
PALAMEDES, one of the chiefs of the Greeks at the siege of Troy, a
man of inventive genius; discovered the assumed madness of Ulysses, but
incurred his resentment in consequence, which procured his death.
PALANQUIN, in India and China a covered conveyance for one person
borne on the shoulders of men.
PALATINATE, the name of two States, originally one, of the old
German empire, one called the Lower Palatinate or the Palatinate of the
Rhine, partitioned in 1815 among the States of Baden, Bavaria, Prussia,
and Hesse-Darmstadt, and the other called the Upper Palatinate, now
nearly all included in Bavaria; the former has for principal towns Spires
and Landau, and the latter Ratisbon.
PALATINE, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome, and, according to
tradition, the first to be occupied, and forming the nucleus of the city;
it became one of the most aristocratic quarters of the city, and was
chosen by the first emperors for their imperial residence.
PALATINE COUNT, a judicial functionary of high rank under the early
Frankish kings over what was called a palatinate.
PALATINE COUNTIES, certain frontier counties in England, such as
Chester, Durham, and Lancaster, which possess royal privileges and
rights.
PALE, THE, that part of Ireland in which after the invasion of 1172
the supremacy of English rule and law was acknowledged, the limits of
which differed at different times, but which generally included all the
eastern counties extending 40 or 50 m. inland.
PALENQUE, a town in the State of Chiapas, Mexico, discovered in
1760, buried under a dense forest with extensive structures in ruins.
PALERMO (273), capital of Sicily, picturesquely situated in the
midst of a beautiful and fertile valley called the Golden Shell; is a
handsome town, with many public buildings and nearly 300 churches in
Moorish and Byzantine architecture, a university, art school, museum, and
libraries; industries are unimportant, but a busy trade is done with
Britain, France, and the United States, exporting fruits, wine, sulphur,
&c., and importing textiles, coals, machinery, and grain.
PALES, in Roman mythology the tutelary deity of shepherds and their
flocks, the worship of whom was attended with numerous observances, as in
the case of the nature divinities generally.
PALESTINE, or the HOLY LAND, a small territory on the SE.
corner of the Mediterranean, about the size of Wales, being 140 m. from
N. to S., and an average of 70 m. from E. to W., is bounded on the N. by
Lebanon, on the E. by the Jordan Valley, on the S. by the Sinaitic
Desert, and on the W. by the sea; there is great diversity of climate
throughout its extent owing to the great diversity of level, and its
flora and fauna are of corresponding range; it suffered much during the
wars between the Eastern monarchies and Egypt, and in the wars between
the Crescent and the Cross, and is now by a strange fate in the hands of
the Turk; it has in recent times been the theatre of extensive exploring
operations in the interest of its early history.
PALESTRINA, an Italian town, 22 m. SE. of Rome, on a slope of the
Apennines, 2546 ft. above sea-level, on the site of the ancient Præneste,
with the remains of Cyclopean walls, with a palace of the
BARBERINI (q. v.).
PALESTRINA, GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DE, celebrated composer of sacred
music, surnamed the Prince of Music, born at Palestrina; resided chiefly
at Rome, where he wrought a revolution in church music, produced a number
of masses which at once raised him to the foremost rank among composers;
was the author of a well-known _Stabat Mater_ (1524-1594).
PALEY, FREDERICK ALTHORP, classical scholar, grandson of the
succeeding, born near York; became a Roman Catholic, contributed to
classical literature by his editions of the classics of both Greece and
Rome, remarkable alike for their scholarship and the critical acumen they
show (1816-1886).
PALEY, WILLIAM, "one of the most masculine and truly English of
thinkers and writers," born at Peterborough; studied at Christ's College,
Cambridge, where he was Senior Wrangler, and obtained a Fellowship, held
afterwards various Church preferments, and died archdeacon of Carlisle;
was a clear writer and cogent reasoner on common-sense lines, and was
long famous, if less so now, as the author of "Horæ Paulinæ," "Evidences
of Christianity," and "Natural Theology," as well as "Moral and Political
Philosophy"; they are genuine products of the time they were written in,
but are out of date now (1743-1806).
PALGRAVE, SIR FRANCIS, historian, born in London, of Jewish parents
of the name of Cohen; was called to the bar in 1827, and became
Deputy-Keeper of Her Majesty's Records in 1838; was the author of a
history of the "Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth" and of a
"History of England," tracing it back chiefly to the Anglo-Norman period,
among other works (1788-1861).
PALGRAVE, FRANCIS TURNER, poet, son of preceding, born in London,
professor of Poetry at Oxford, editor of "Golden Treasury of Songs and
Lyrics," as well as author of lyrics, rhymes, &c.; _b_. 1824.
PALGRAVE, WILLIAM GIFFORD, Arabic scholar, born at Westminster,
brother of preceding; after a brief term of service in the army joined
the Society of Jesus, and served as a member of the order in India, Rome,
and in Syria, where he acquired an intimate knowledge of Arabic, by means
of which he contributed to our knowledge of both the Arabic language and
the Arab race; wrote a narrative of a year's journey through Arabia
(1826-1888).
PÂLI, the sacred language of the Buddhists, once a living language,
but, like Sanskrit, no longer spoken.
PALIMPSEST, the name given to a parchment manuscript written on the
top of another that has been erased, yet often not so thoroughly that it
cannot be in a measure restored.
PALINGENESIA, name equivalent to "new birth," and applied both to
regeneration and restoration, of which baptism in the former case is the
symbol; in the Stoic philosophy it is preceded by dissolution, as in the
rejuvenescence process of MEDEA (q. v.).
PALINURUS, the pilot of one of the ships of Æneas, who, sleeping at
his post, fell into the sea, and was drowned.
PALISSY, BERNARD, the great French potter and inventor of a new
process in the potter's art, born in Périgord, of humble parentage;
celebrated for his fine earthenware vases ornamented with figures
artistically modelled, but above all for his untiring zeal and patience
in the study of his art and mastery in it, making fuel of his very
furniture and the beams of his house in the conduct of his experiments;
he was a Huguenot, but was specially exempted, by order of Catherine de'
Medici, from the massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1672, although he was in
1585, as a Huguenot, imprisoned in the Bastille, where he died
(1510-1590).
PALK'S STRAIT, the channel which separates Ceylon from the mainland
of India, 100 m. long and 40 m. wide, generally shallow. See ADAM'S
BRIDGE.
PALLADIO, ANDREA, an Italian architect, born at Vicenza, of poor
parents; was precursor of the modern Italian style of architecture, and
author of a treatise on architecture that has borne fruit; his works,
which are masterpieces of the Renaissance, consist principally of palaces
and churches, and the finest specimens are to be met with in Venice and
in his native place (1518-1580).
PALLADIUM, a statue of Pallas in Troy, on the preservation of which
depended the safety of the city, and from the date of the abstraction of
which by Ulysses and Diomedes the fate of it was doomed; it was fabled to
have fallen from heaven upon the plain of Troy, and to have after its
abstraction been transferred to Athens and Argos; it is now applied to
any safeguard of the liberty of a State.
PALLADIUS, ST., is called the "chief apostle of the Scottish
nation," but his connection with Scotland during his lifetime is
doubtful; he was sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine in A.D. 430, whence,
after his death, his remains were brought by St. Ternan to Fordoun,
Kincardineshire.
PALLAS, one of the names of ATHENA (q. v.) considered as
the goddess of war; a name of uncertain derivation.
PALLAS, PETER SIMON, a German traveller and naturalist, born in
Berlin, professor of Natural History in St. Petersburg; explored Siberia,
and contributed to the geographical knowledge of the Russian empire
(1741-1811).
PALLAVICINO, FERRANTE, Italian patriot, who gave offence by his
pasquinades to the Papal Court and the Barberini; was betrayed and
beheaded (1618-1644).
PALLAVICINO, SFORZA, cardinal and historian, born at Rome; was of
the Jesuit order, and wrote a "History of the Council of Trent," in
correction of the work of Paul Sarpi (1607-1667).
PALLICE, LA, port of La Rochelle, from which it is 3 m. distant,
with harbourage for ocean-going steamers.
PALM, JOHANN PHILIPP, a Nürnberg bookseller, tried by court-martial
at the instance of Napoleon, and shot, for the publication of a pamphlet
reflecting on Napoleon and his troops, an act, from the injustice of it,
that aroused the indignation of the whole German people against him;
"better," thinks Carlyle, "had he lost his best park of artillery, or his
best regiment drowned in the sea, than shot that poor German bookseller"
(1768-1806).
PALM SUNDAY, the Sunday before Easter, is so called from its being
commemorative of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem; it is observed
by the Greek and Roman Churches; in the latter palm branches are blessed
by the priest before mass, carried in procession, distributed to the
congregation, carried home by them, and kept throughout the year.
PALMA, 1, capital of the Balearic Islands (61), on the Bay of Palma,
SW. coast of Majorca; has a Gothic cathedral, a Moorish palace, and a
collection of pictures in the old Town Hall; manufactures silks,
woollens, and jewellery, and does a busy trade. 2, One of the Canary
Islands (39), 67 m. NW. of Teneriffe; grows sugar, and exports honey,
wax, and silk manufactures.
PALMA, JACOPO, or The Old, a celebrated painter of the Venetian
school, was a pupil of Titian; painted sacred subjects and portraits, all
much esteemed (1480-1548).
PALMA, JACOPO, The Young, nephew of the preceding, also a painter,
but of inferior merit, though he aimed to be the rival of Tintoretto and
Paul Veronese (1544-1628).
PALMER, the name given to a pilgrim to the Holy Land who had
performed his vow, in sign of which he usually bore a palm branch in his
hand, which he offered on the altar on his return home.
PALMER, EDWARD HENRY, Oriental scholar, born at Cambridge; had an
aptitude for languages, and was especially proficient in those of the
East; by his knowledge of Arabic contributed to the success of exploring
expeditions to S. Palestine and Sinai; was appointed professor of Arabic
at Cambridge in 1871; produced a Persian-English Dictionary, an Arabic
Grammar, and a translation of the Korân, and in 1882 undertook two
missions to Egypt, in the latter of which he and his party were betrayed
and murdered; he was a man of varied gifts and accomplishments, and the
loss in scholarship to his country by his fate is incalculable
(1840-1882).
PALMER, SAMUEL, English landscape-painter, chiefly in water-colours
(1805-1881).
PALMERSTON, HENRY JOHN TEMPLE, VISCOUNT, English statesman, born, of
an Irish family, at Broadlands, Hants; was educated at the universities
of Edinburgh and Cambridge; succeeded to his father's title, an Irish
peerage, in 1802, and entered Parliament in 1807 as member for Newport,
Isle of Wight; during his long career he subsequently represented
Cambridge University (1811-1831), Bletchingly, South Hampshire, and
Tiverton; from 1809 to 1828 under five Premiers he was Junior Lord of the
Admiralty and Secretary at War; and separating himself finally from the
Tory party, he joined Earl Grey's Cabinet as Foreign Secretary in 1830;
contrary to all expectation he kept the country out of war, and during
the next 11 years he associated England's influence with that of France
in Continental affairs; returning to office in 1846, he remained at his
old post till 1851, steering England skilfully through the Spanish
troubles and the revolutionary reaction of 1848; a vote of censure on his
policy was carried in the Lords in 1850, but, after a five hours' speech
from him, the Commons recorded their approval; he resigned owing to
differences with the Premier, Lord John Russell; in 1852 joined Lord
Aberdeen's coalition ministry, and on its fall became himself Prime
Minister in 1855; he prosecuted the Crimean War and the Chinese War of
1857, and suppressed the Great Mutiny in India; defeated in 1858, he
returned to office next year with a cabinet of Whigs and Peelites; his
second administration furthered the cause of free trade, but made the
mistake of allowing the _Alabama_ to leave Birkenhead; he was Prime
Minister when he died; a brusque, high-spirited, cheery man, sensible and
practical, unpretending as an orator, but a skilful debater, he was a
great favourite with the country, whose prosperity and prestige it was
his chief desire to promote (1784-1865).
PALMISTRY, the art of reading character from the lines and marks on
the palm of the hand, according to which some pretend to read fortunes as
well.
PALMY`RA, a ruined city of Asia Minor, 150 m. NE. of Damascus, once
situated in an oasis near the Arabian desert; a place of importance, and
said to have been founded by Solomon for commercial purposes; of imposing
magnificence as it ruins testify, as notably under Zenobia; it was taken
by the Romans in 272, and destroyed by Aurelian, after which it gradually
fell into utter decay; its ruins were discovered in 1678; it contains
the ruins of a temple to Baal, 60 of the 300 columns of which were still
standing.
PALO ALTO, 33 m. SE. of San Francisco; is the seat of a remarkable
university founded by Senator Stanford, and opened in 1891, to provide
instruction, from the Kindergarten stage to the most advanced and varied,
to students and pupils boarded on the premises; of these there were 1000
in 1897.
PALUDAN-MÜLLER, FREDERICK, distinguished Danish poet, born in Fünen;
his greatest poem, "Adam Homo," a didactico-humorous composition; was an
earnest man and a finished literary artist (1809-1876).
PAMELA, a novel of Richardson's, from the name of the heroine, a
girl of low degree, who resists temptation and reclaims her would-be
seducer.
PAMIRS, THE, or the "Roof of the World," a plateau traversed by
mountain ridges and valleys, of the average height of 13,000 ft., NW. of
the plateau of Thibet, connecting the mountain system of the Himalayas,
Tian-Shan, and the Hindu Kush, and inhabited chiefly by nomad Kirghiz
bands; territorial apportionments have for some time past been in the
hands of Russian and British diplomatists.
PAMPAS, vast grassy, treeless, nearly level plains in South America,
in the Argentine State; they stretch from the lower Paraná to the S. of
Buenos Ayres; afford rich pasture for large herds of wild horses and
cattle, and are now in certain parts being brought under tillage.
PAMPELUNA or PAMPLONA (31), a fortified city of Northern Spain,
is 80 m. due SE. of Bilbao. It has a Gothic cathedral and a surgical
college, with manufactures of pottery and leather, and a trade in wine.
Formerly capital of Navarre, it has suffered much in war; has this
century several times resisted the Carlists.
PAN, in the Greek mythology a goat-man, a personification of rude
nature, and the protector of flocks and herds; originally an Arcadian
deity, is represented as playing on a flute of reeds joined together of
different lengths, called Pan's pipes; and dancing on his cloven hoofs
over glades and mountains escorted by a bevy of nymphs side by side, and
playing on his pipes. There is a remarkable tradition, that on the night
of the Nativity at Bethlehem an astonished voyager heard a voice
exclaiming as he passed the promontory of Tarentum, "The great Pan is
dead." The modern devil is invested with some of his attributes, such as
cloven hoofs, &c.
PANAMA (15), a free port in the State of Colombia, on the Pacific
coast of the isthmus of the same name, and an oppressively hot and humid
place, is the terminus of the Panama railroad and the seat of a great
transit trade. It has a Spanish cathedral. The population, of Indian and
negro descent chiefly, is only half what it was when the canal works were
in full operation.
PANAMA CANAL Geographers were familiar with the idea of connecting
the two oceans by a canal through Central America as early as the
beginning of the 16th century, and Dutch plans are said to exist dating
from the 17th century. The first practical steps were taken by Ferdinand
de Lesseps in 1879; two years later work was begun; the cost was
estimated at £24,000,000, but on January 1, 1889, the company was forced
into liquidation after spending over £70,000,000, and accomplishing but a
fifth of the work. Extravagance and incapacity were alleged among the
causes of failure; but the apparently insurmountable difficulties were
marshes, quicksands, and the overflow of the Chagres River, the
prevalence of earthquakes, the length of the rainy season, the cost of
labour and living, and the extreme unhealthiness of the climate.
PANATHENÆA, a festival, or rather two festivals, the Lesser and the
Greater, anciently celebrated at Athens in honour of Athena, the
patron-goddess of the city.
PANCHATANTRA, an old collection of fables and stories originally in
Sanskrit, and versions of which have passed into all the languages of
India, have appeared in different forms, and been associated with
different names.
PANCRAS, ST., a boy martyr of 16, who suffered under the Diocletian
persecution about 304, and is variously represented in mediæval legend as
bearing a stone and sword, or a palm branch, and trampling a Saracen
under foot, in allusion to his hatred of heathenism.
PANDECTS, the digest of civil law executed at the instance of the
Emperor Justinian between the years 530 and 533.
PANDORA (i. e. the All-Gifted) in the Greek mythology a woman of
surpassing beauty, fashioned by Hephæstos, and endowed with every gift
and all graces by Athena, sent by Zeus to EPIMETHEUS (q. v.) to
avenge the wrong done to the gods by his brother Prometheus, bearing with
her a box full of all forms of evil, which Epimetheus, though cautioned
by his brother, pried into when she left, to the escape of the contents
all over the earth in winged flight, Hope alone remaining behind in the
casket.
PANDOURS, a name given to a body of light-infantry at one time in
the Austrian service, levied among the Slavs on the Turkish frontier, and
now incorporated as a division of the regular army.
PANDULF, CARDINAL, was the Pope's legate to King John of England,
and to whom, on his submission, John paid homage at Dover; _d_. 1226.
PANGE LINGUA, a hymn in the Roman Breviary, service of Corpus
Christi, part of which is incorporated in every Eucharistic service; was
written in rhymed Latin by Thomas Aquinas.
PÁNINI, a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian, whose work is of standard
authority among Hindu scholars, and who lived some time between 600 and
300 B.C.
PANIPAT (29), a town in the Punjab, 53 m. N. of Delhi; was the scene
of two decisive battles, one in 1526 to the establishment of the Mogul
dynasty at Delhi, and another in 1701 to the extinction of the Mahratta
supremacy in North-West India.
PANIZZI, ANTONIO, principal librarian of the British Museum from
1850 to 1866, born at Modena; took refuge in England in 1821 as
implicated in a Piedmontese revolutionary movement that year; procured
the favour of Lord Brougham and a post in the Museum, in which he rose to
be one of the chiefs (1797-1879).
PANNONIA, a province of the Roman empire, conquered between 35 B.C.
and A.D. 8; occupied a square with the Danube on the N. and E. and the
Save almost on the S. border; it passed to the Eastern Empire in the 5th
century, fell under Charlemagne's sway, and was conquered by the modern
Hungarians shortly before A.D. 1000.
PANOPTICON, a prison so arranged that the warder can see every
prisoner in charge without being seen by them.
PANSLAVISM, the name given to a movement for union of all the
Slavonic races in one nationality, a project which lags heavily owing to
the jealousy on the part of one section or another.
PANTAGRUEL, the principal character of one of the two great works of
Rabelais, and named after him; he and his father Gargantua figured as
two enormous giants, being personifications of royalty with its
insatiable lust of territory and power.
PANTHEISM, the doctrine or creed which affirms the immanency of God
in nature, or that God is within nature, but ignores or denies His
transcendency, or that He is above nature; distinguished from deism,
which denies the former but affirms the latter, from theism, which
affirms both, and from atheism, which denies both.
PANTHEON, a temple in Rome, first erected by Agrippa, son-in-law of
Augustus, circular in form, 150 ft. in height, with niches all round for
statues of the gods, to whom in general it was dedicated; it is now a
church, and affords sepulture to illustrious men. Also a building in
Paris, originally intended to be a church in honour of the patron saint
of Paris, but at the time of the Revolution converted into a receptacle
for the ashes of the illustrious dead, Mirabeau being its first occupant,
and bearing this inscription, _Aux grands hommes la patrie
reconnaissant_; it was subsequently appropriated to other uses, but under
the third republic it became again a resting-place for the ashes of
eminent men.
PANTOGRAPH, the name given to a contrivance for copying a drawing or
a design on an enlarged or a reduced scale.
PANURGE, one of the principal characters in the "Pantagruel" of
Rabelais, an exceedingly crafty knave, a libertine, and a coward.
PANZA, SANCHO, Don Quixote's squire, a squat, paunchy peasant
endowed with rude common-sense, but incapable of imagination.
PAOLI, PASQUALE DE, a Corsican patriot; sought to achieve the
independence of his country, but was defeated by the Genoese, aided by
France, in 1769; took refuge in England, where he was well received and
granted a pension; returned to Corsica and became lieutenant-general
under the French republic, raised a fresh insurrection, had George III.
proclaimed king, but failed to receive the viceroyalty, and returned to
England, where he died a disappointed man (1726-1807).
PAPAL STATES, a territory in the N. of Italy extending irregularly
from Naples to the Po, at one time subject to the temporal sovereignty of
the Pope, originating in a gift to his Holiness of Pepin the Short, and
taking shape as such about the 11th century, till in the 16th and 17th
centuries the papal power began to assert itself in the general politics
of Europe, and after being suppressed for a time by Napoleon it was
formally abolished by annexation of the territory to the crown of
Sardinia in 1870.
PAPHOS, the name of two ancient cities in the SW. of Cyprus; the
older (now Kyklia) was a Phoenician settlement, in which afterwards stood
a temple of Venus, who was fabled to have sprung from the sea-foam close
by; the other, 8 m. westward, was the scene of Paul's interview with
Sergius Paulus and encounter with Elymas.
PAPIAS, bishop of Hierapolis, in Phrygia, who flourished in the
middle of the 2nd century, and wrote a book entitled "Exposition of the
Lord's Sayings," fragments of which have been preserved by Eusebius and
others; he was, it is said, the companion of Polycarp.
PAPIER-MÂCHE is a light, durable substance made from paper pulp or
sheets of paper pasted together and variously treated with chemicals,
heat, and pressure, largely used for ornamental trays, boxes, light
furniture, &c., in which it is varnished and decorated to resemble
lacquer-work, and for architectural decoration, in which it is made to
imitate plaster moulding; the manufacture was learned from the Eastern
nations. Persia, India, and Japan having been long familiar with it;
America has adapted it to use for railroad wheels, &c.
PAPIN, DENIS, French physicist, born at Blois, practised medicine at
Angers; came to England and assisted Boyle in his experiments, made a
special study of the expansive power of steam and its motive power,
invented a steam-digester with a safety-valve, since called after him,
for cooking purposes at a high temperature; became professor of
Mathematics at Marburg (1647-1712).
PAPINIANUS, ÆMILIUS, a celebrated Roman jurist; was put to death by
Caracalla for refusing, it is said, when requested, to vindicate his
conduct in murdering his brother (142-212).
PAPIRIUS, a Roman pontiff to whom is ascribed a collection of laws
constituting the Roman code under the kings.
PAPPENHEIM, COUNT VON, imperial general, born in Bavaria; played a
prominent part in the Thirty Years' War; was distinguished for his zeal
as well as his successes on the Catholic side; was mortally wounded at
Lützen, expressed his gratitude to God when he learned that Gustavas
Adolphus, who fell in the same battle, had died before him (1594-1632).
PAPPUS OF ALEXANDRIA, a Greek geometer of the third or fourth
century, author of "Mathematical Collections," in eight books, of which
the first and second have been lost.
PAPUANS, the name of the members of the negro race inhabiting
certain islands of Oceania, including New Guinea, New Hebrides, New
Caledonia, Fiji Islands, &c.
PAPY`RUS, the Greek name of the Egyptian _papu_, is a kind of sedge
growing 10 ft. high, with a soft triangular stem, the pith of which is
easily split into ribbons, found still in Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia, &c.;
the pith ribbons were the paper of the ancient Egyptians, of the Greeks
after Alexander, and of the later Romans; they were used by the Arabs of
the 8th century, and in Europe till the 12th; at first long strips were
rolled up, but later rectangular pages were cut and bound together book
fashion; though age has rendered the soft white pages brown and brittle,
much ancient literature is still preserved on papyrus; the use of papyrus
was superseded by that of parchment and rag-made paper.
PARÁ (40), a Brazilian port at the mouth of the Guama, on the E.
shore of the Pará estuary, is a compact, regularly-built, thriving town,
with whitewashed buildings, blue and white tiled roofs, tree-shaded
streets, tram-cars, telephones, theatre, and cathedral; it is the
emporium of the Amazon trade, exporting india-rubber and cacao, and
sending foreign goods into the interior; though hot, it is healthy.
PARABLE, a short allegorical narrative intended to illustrate and
convey some spiritual instruction.
PARABOLA, a conic section formed by the intersection of a cone by a
plane parallel to one of its sides.
PARACELSUS, a Swiss physician, alchemist, and mystic, whose real
name was Theophrastus Bombastus, born at Einsiedeln, in Schwyz; was a
violent revolutionary in the medical art, and provoked much hostility, so
that he was driven to lead a wandering and unsettled life;
notwithstanding, he contributed not a little, by his knowledge and
practice, to inaugurate a more scientific study of nature than till his
time prevailed (1493-1541).
PARAFFIN, name given by Baron Reichenbach to a transparent
crystalline substance obtained by distillation from wood, bituminous
coal, shale, &c., and so called because it resists the action of the
strongest acids and alkalies.
PARAGUAY (400), except Uruguay the smallest State in South America,
is an inland Republic whose territories lie in the fork between the
Pilcomayo and Paraguay and the Paraná Rivers, with Argentina on the W.
and S., Bolivia on the N., and Brazil on the N. and E.; it is less than
half the size of Spain, consists of rich undulating plains, and, in the
S., of some of the most fertile land on the continent; the climate is
temperate for the latitude; the population, Spanish, Indian, and
half-caste, is Roman Catholic; education is free and compulsory; the
country is rich in natural products, but without minerals; timber,
dye-woods, rubber, Paraguay tea (a kind of holly), gums, fruits, wax,
honey, cochineal, and many medicinal herbs are gathered for export;
maize, rice, cotton, and tobacco are cultivated; the industries include
some tanning, brick-works, and lace-making; founded by Spain in 1535,
Paraguay was the scene of an interesting experiment in the 17th century,
when the country was governed wholly by the Jesuits, who, excluding all
European settlers, built up a fabric of Christian civilisation; they were
expelled in 1768; in 1810 the country joined the revolt against Spain,
and was the first to establish its independence; for 26 years it was
under the government of Dr. Francia; from 1865 to 1870 it maintained a
heroic but disastrous war against the Argentine, Brazil, and Uruguay, as
a consequence of which the population fell from a million and a half to a
quarter of a million; it is again prosperous and progressing. The capital
is Asunçion (18), at the confluence of the Pilcomayo and Paraguay.
PARAGUAY RIVER, a South American river 1800 m. long, the chief
tributary of the Paraná, rises in some lakes near Matto Grosso, Brazil,
and flows southward through marshy country till it forms the boundary
between Brazil and Bolivia, then traversing Paraguay, it becomes the
boundary between that State and the Argentine Republic, and finally
enters the Paraná above Corrientes; it receives many affluents, and is
navigable by ocean steamers almost to its source.
PARAKLETE, the Holy Spirit which Christ promised to His disciples
would take His place as their teacher and guide after He left them. Also
the name of the monastery founded by Abelard near Nogent-sur-Seine, and
of which HELOÏSE (q. v.) was abbess.
PARALLAX, an astronomical term to denote an apparent change in the
position of a heavenly body due to a change in the position or assumed
position of the observer.
PARAMAR`IBO (24), the capital of Dutch Guiana, on the Surinam, 10 m.
from the sea, and the centre of the trade of the colony.
PARAMO, the name given to an elevated track of desert on the Andes.
PARANÁ RIVER, a great river of South America, formed by the
confluence of the Rio Grande and the Paranahyba, in SE. Brazil, flows SW.
through Brazil and round the SE. border of Paraguay, then receiving the
Paraguay River, turns S. through the Argentine, then E. till the junction
of the Uruguay forms the estuary of the Plate. The river is broad and
rapid, 2000 m. long, more than half of it navigable from the sea; at the
confluence of the Yguassu it enters a narrow gorge, and for 100 m. forms
one of the most remarkable rapids in the world; the chief towns on its
banks are in the Argentine, viz. Corrientes, Santa Fé, and Rosario.
PARCÆ, the Roman name of the THREE FATES (q. v.), derived
from "pars," a part, as apportioning to every individual his destiny.
PARCHMENT consists of skins specially prepared for writing on, and
is so called from a king of Pergamos, who introduced it when the export
of papyrus from Egypt was stopped; the skins used are of sheep, for fine
parchment or vellum, of calves, goats, and lambs; parchment for drumheads
is made from calves' and asses' skins.
PARCS-AUX-CERFS, the French name for clearings to provide hunting
fields for the French aristocracy prior to the Revolution.
PARÉ, AMBROISE, great French surgeon, born at Laval; was from the
improved methods he introduced in the treatment of surgical cases
entitled to be called, as he has been, the father of modern surgery, for
his success as an operator, in particular the tying of divided arteries
and the treatment of gunshot wounds; he was in the habit of saying of any
patient he had successfully operated upon, "I cared for him; God healed
him"; his writings exercised a beneficent influence on the treatment of
surgical cases in all lands (1517-1590).
PARIAH, a Hindu of the lowest class, and of no caste; of the class
they are of various grades, but all are outcast, and treated as such.
PARIS (2,448), the capital of France, in the centre of the northern
half of the country, on both banks of the Seine, and on two islands (La
Cité and St. Louis) in the middle, 110 m. from the sea; is the largest
city on the Continent, and one of the most beautiful in the world. No
city has finer or gayer streets, or so many noble buildings. The Hôtel de
Cluny and the Hôtel de Sens are rare specimens of 15th-century civic
architecture. The Palace of the Tuileries, on the right bank of the
Seine, dates from the 16th century, and was the royal residence till the
Revolution. Connected with it is the Louvre, a series of galleries of
painting, sculpture, and antiquities, whose contents form one of the
richest collections existing, and include the peerless "Venus de Milo."
The Palais Royal encloses a large public garden, and consists of shops,
restaurants, the Théâtre Français, and the Royal Palace of the Orleans
family. South of the river is the Luxembourg, where the Senate meets, and
on the Ile de la Cité stands the Palais de Justice and the Conciergerie,
one of the oldest Paris prisons. St.-Germain-des-Prés is the most ancient
church, but the most important is the cathedral of Notre Dame, 12th
century, which might tell the whole history of France could it speak.
Saint-Chapelle is said to be the finest Gothic masterpiece extant. The
Pantheon, originally meant for a church, is the burial-place of the great
men of the country, where lie the remains of Voltaire, Rousseau, and
Carnot. The oldest hospitals are the Hôtel Dieu, La Charité, and La
Pitié. The University Schools in the Quartier Latin attract the youth of
all France; the chief are the Schools of Medicine and Law, the Scotch
College, the College of France, and the Sorbonne, the seat of the
faculties of letters, science, and Protestant theology. Triumphal arches
are prominent in the city. There are many museums and charitable
institutions; the Bibliothèque Nationale, in the Rue Richelieu, rivals
the British Museum in numbers of books and manuscripts. The Palace of
Industry and the Eiffel Tower commemorate the exhibitions of 1854 and
1889 respectively. Great market-places stand in various parts of the
city. The Rue de Rivoli, Rue de la Paix, Rue du Faubourg St.-Honoré, and
the Rue Royale are among the chief streets; beautiful squares are
numerous, the most noted being the Place de la Concorde, between the
Champs Elysées and the Gardens of the Tuileries, in the centre of which
the Obelisk of Luxor stands on the site of the guillotine at which Louis
XVI. and Marie Antoinette, Philippe Egalité, Danton, and Robespierre
died. Boulevards lined with trees run to the outskirts of the city. The
many roads, railways, canals, and rivers which converge on Paris have
made it the most important trading centre in France, and the concourse of
wealthy men of all nations has given it a high place in the financial
world. It is a manufacturing city, producing jewellery, ornamental
furniture, and all sorts of artistic "articles de Paris." The centre of
French, and indeed European, fashion, it is noted for its pleasure and
gaiety. The concentration of Government makes it the abode of countless
officials. It is strongly fortified, being surrounded by a ring of forts,
and a wall 22 m. long, at the 56 gates of which the octroi dues are
levied. The Préfect of the Seine, appointed by the Government, and
advised by a large council, is the head of the municipality, of the
police and fire brigades, cleansing, draining, and water-supply
departments. The history of Paris is the history of France, for the
national life has been, and is, in an extraordinary degree centred in the
capital. It was the scene of the great tragic drama of the Revolution,
and of the minor struggles of 1830 and 1849. In recent times its great
humiliation was its siege and capture by the Germans in 1870-71.
PARIS, the second son of Priam and Hecuba; was exposed on Mount Ida
at his birth; brought up by a shepherd; distinguished himself by his
prowess, by which his parentage was revealed; married OENONË (q. v.);
appealed to to decide to whom the "apple of discord" belonged, gave
it to Aphrodité in preference to her two rivals Hera and Athena; was
promised in return that he should receive the most beautiful woman in the
world to wife, Helen of Sparta, whom he carried off to Greece, and which
led to the TROJAN WAR (q. v.); slew Achilles, and was mortally
wounded by the poisoned arrows of Hercules.
PARIS, MATTHEW, English chronicler; a Benedictine monk of St.
Albans; author of "Chronica Majora," which contains a history written in
Latin of England from the Conquest to the year in which he died
(1195-1259).
PARK, MUNGO, African traveller, born at Foulshiels, near Selkirk;
was apprenticed to a surgeon, and studied medicine at Edinburgh; 1791-93
he spent in a voyage to Sumatra, and in 1795 went for the first time to
Africa under the auspices of the African Association of London; starting
from the Gambia he penetrated eastward to the Niger, then westward to
Kamalia, where illness seized him; conveyed to his starting-point by a
slave-trader, he returned to England and published "Travels in the
Interior of Africa," 1799; he married and settled to practice at Peebles,
but he was not happy till in 1805 he set out for Africa again at
Government expense; starting from Pisania he reached the Niger, and
sending back his journals attempted to descend the river in a canoe, but,
attacked by natives, the canoe overturned; and he and his companions were
drowned (1771-1805).
PARKER, JOHN HENRY, archæologist and writer on architecture;
originally a London publisher, his chief work the "Archæology of Rome,"
in nine vols., a subject to which he devoted much study (1800-1884).
PARKER, JOSEPH, an eminent Nonconformist divine, born in Hexham;
minister of the City Temple; a vigorous and popular preacher, and the
author of numerous works bearing upon biblical theology and the defence
of it; his _magnum opus_ is the "People's Bible," of which 25 vols. are
already complete; _b_. 1830.
PARKER, MATTHEW, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Norwich; was a
Fellow of Cambridge; embraced the Protestant doctrines; became Master of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford; was chaplain to Anne Boleyn, and made
Dean of Ely by Edward VI.; was deprived of his offices under Mary, but
made Primate under Elizabeth, and the Bishop's Bible was translated and
issued under his auspices (1504-1575).
PARKER, THEODORE, an American preacher and lecturer; adopted and
professed the Unitarian creed, but discarded it, like Emerson, for a
still more liberal; distinguished himself in the propagation of it by his
lectures as well as his writings; was a vigorous anti-slavery agitator,
and in general a champion of freedom; died at Florence while on a tour
for his health (1810-1860).
PARKMAN, FRANCIS, American historian, born in Boston; his writings
valuable, particularly in their bearing on the dominion of the French in
America, its rise, decline, and fall (1823-1893).
PARLEMENT, the name given to the local courts of justice in France
prior to the Revolution, in which the edicts of the king required to be
registered before they became laws; given by pre-eminence to the one in
Paris, composed of lawyers, or gentlemen of the long robe, as they were
called, whose action the rest uniformly endorsed, and which played an
important part on the eve of the Revolution, and contributed to further
the outbreak of it, to its own dissolution in the end.
PARLIAMENT is the name of the great legislative council of Britain
representing the three estates of the realm--Clergy, Lords, and Commons.
The Clergy are represented in the Upper House by the archbishops and
bishops of sees founded prior to 1846, in number 26; the rest of the
Upper House comprises the dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons
of the peerage of Great Britain who sit in virtue of their titles, and
representatives of the Scotch and Irish peerages elected for life; the
total membership is over 550; the House of Lords may initiate any bill
not a money bill, it does not deal with financial measures at all except
to give its formal assent; it also revises bills passed by the Commons,
and may reject these. Of late years this veto has come to be exercised
only in cases where it seems likely that the Commons do not retain the
confidence of the people, having thus the effect of referring the
question for the decision of the constituencies. The Lords constitute the
final court of appeal in all legal questions, but in exercising this
function only those who hold or have held high judicial office take part.
The House of Commons comprises 670 representatives of the people; its
members represent counties, divisions of counties, burghs, wards of
burghs, and universities, and are elected by owners of land and by
occupiers of land or buildings of £10 annual rental who are commoners,
males, of age, and not disqualified by unsoundness of mind, conviction
for crime, or receipt of parochial relief. The Commons initiates most of
the legislation, deals with bills already initiated and passed by the
Lords, inquires into all matters of public concern, discusses and
determines imperial questions, and exercises the sole right to vote
supplies of money. To become law bills must pass the successive stages of
first and second reading, committee, and third reading in both Houses,
and receive the assent of the sovereign, which has not been refused for
nearly two centuries.
PARLIAMENT, THE LONG, the name given to the last English Parliament
convoked by Charles I. in 1640, dissolved by Cromwell in 1653, and
recalled twice after the death of the Protector before it finally gave up
the ghost.
PARLIAMENT OF DUNCES, name given to a parliament held at Coventry by
Henry IV. in 1494, because no lawyer was allowed to sit in it.
PARLIAMENTARIAN, one who, in the English Civil War, supported the
cause of the Parliament against the king.
PARMA (44), a cathedral and university town in N. Italy, on the
Parma, a tributary of the Po, 70 m. NE. of Genoa; is rich in art
treasures, has a school of music, picture-gallery, and museum of
antiquities; it manufactures pianofortes, silks, and woollens, and has a
cattle and grain market; Parma was formerly the capital of the duchy of
that name; it was the residence of Correggio as well as the birthplace of
Parmigiano.
PARMENION, an able and much-esteemed Macedonian general,
distinguished as second in command at Granicus, Issus, and Arbela, but
whom Alexander in some fit of jealousy and under unfounded suspicion
caused to be assassinated in Media.
PARMENIDES, a distinguished Greek philosopher of the Eleatic school,
who flourished in the 5th century B.C.; his system was developed by him
in the form of an epic poem, in which he demonstrates the existence of an
Absolute which is unthinkable, because it is without limits, and which he
identifies with thought, as the one in the many.
PARMIGIANO, a Lombard painter whose proper name was Girolamo
Mazzola, born at Parma; went to Rome when 19 and obtained the patronage
of Clement VII.; after the storming of the city in 1527, during which he
sat at work in his studio, he went to Bologna, and four years later
returned to his native city; failing to implement a contract to paint
frescoes he was imprisoned, and on his release retired to Casalmaggiore,
where he died; in style he followed Correggio, and is best known by his
"Cupid shaping a Bow" (1504-1540).
PARNASSUS, a mountain in Phocis, 10 m. N. of the Gulf of Corinth,
8000 ft. high, one of the chief seats of Apollo and the Muses, and an
inspiring source of poetry and song, with the oracle of Delphi and the
Castalian spring on its slopes; it was conceived of by the Greeks as in
the centre of the earth.
PARNELL, CHARLES STUART, Irish Home-Ruler, born at Avondale, in
Wicklow; was practically the dictator of his party for a time and carried
matters with a high hand, but at the height of his popularity he suffered
a fall, and his death, which was sudden, happened soon after (1846-1891).
PARNELL, THOMAS, English minor poet of the Queen Anne period, born
in Dublin, of a Cheshire family; studied at Trinity College, took orders,
and became archdeacon of Clogher; is best known as the author of "The
Hermit," though his odes "The Night-Piece on Death" and the "Hymn to
Contentment" are of more poetic worth; he was the friend of Swift and
Pope, and a member of the Scriblerus Club (1679-1718).
PAROS (7), one of the Cyclades, lying between Naxos and Siphanto,
exports wine, figs, and wool; in a quarry near the summit of Mount St.
Elias the famous Parian marble is still cut; the capital is Paroekia (2).
PARR, CATHERINE, sixth wife of Henry VIII., daughter of Sir Thomas
Parr of Kendal, was a woman of learning and great discretion, acquired
great power over the king, persuaded him to consent to the succession of
his daughters, and surviving him, married her former suitor Sir Thomas
Seymour, and died from the effects of childbirth the year after
(1512-1548).
PARR, SAMUEL, a famous classical scholar, born at Harrow; became
head-master of first Colchester and then Norwich Grammar-School and a
prebend of St. Paul's; he had an extraordinary memory and was a great
talker; he was a good Latinist, but nothing he has left justifies the
high repute in which he was held by his contemporaries (1747-1825).
PARR, THOMAS, called OLD PARR, a man notable for his long life,
being said to have lived 152 years and 9 months, from 1483 to 1635.
PARRAMATTA (12), next to Sydney, from which it is 14 m. W., the
oldest town in New South Wales; manufactures colonial tweeds and
Parramatta cloths, and is in the centre of orange groves and fruit
gardens.
PARRHASIUS, a gifted painter of ancient Greece, born at Ephesus;
came to Athens and became the rival of Zeuxis; he was the contemporary of
Socrates and a man of an arrogant temper; his works were characterised by
the pains bestowed on them.
PARRY, SIR WILLIAM EDWARD, celebrated Arctic explorer, born at Bath;
visited the Arctic Seas under Ross in 1818, conducted a second expedition
himself in 1819-20, a third in 1821-23, a fourth in 1824-26 with unequal
success, and a fifth in 1827 in quest of the North Pole _viâ_
Spitzbergen, in which he was baffled by an adverse current; received
sundry honours for his achievements; died governor of Greenwich Hospital,
and left several accounts of his voyages (1790-1855).
PARSEES (i. e. inhabitants of Pars or Persia), a name given to the
disciples of Zoroaster or their descendants in Persia and India, and
sometimes called Guebres; in India they number some 90,000, are to be
found chiefly in the Bombay Presidency, form a wealthy community, and are
engaged mostly in commerce; in religion they incline to deism, and pay
homage to the sun as the symbol of the deity; they neither bury their
dead nor burn them, but expose them apart in the open air, where they are
left till the flesh is eaten away and only the bones remain, to be
removed afterwards for consignment to a subterranean cavern.
PARSIFAL, the hero of the legend of the HOLY GRAIL (q. v.),
and identified with GALAHAD (q. v.) in the Arthurian legend.
PARSON ADAMS, a simple-minded 18th-century clergyman in Fielding's
"Joseph Andrews."
PARSONS, ROBERT, English Jesuit, born in Somersetshire, educated at
Oxford and a Fellow of Balliol College; he became a convert to Roman
Catholicism and entered the Society of Jesus in 1575; conceived the idea
of reclaiming England from her Protestant apostasy, and embarked on the
enterprise in 1580, but found it too hot for him, and had to escape to
the Continent; after this he busied himself partly in intrigues to force
England into submission and partly in organising seminaries abroad for
English Roman Catholics, and became head of one at Rome, where he died;
he appears to have been a Jesuit to the backbone, and to have served the
cause of Jesuitry with his whole soul (1546-1610).
PARTHENOGENESIS, name given to asexual reproduction, that is, to
reproduction of plants or animals by means of unimpregnated germs or ova.
PARTHENON, a celebrated temple of the Doric order at Athens,
dedicated to Athena, and constructed under Phidias of the marble of
Pentelicus, and regarded as the finest specimen of Greek architecture
that exists; it is 228 ft. in length and 64 ft. in height. Parthenon
means the chamber of the maiden goddess, that is, Athena.
PARTHENOPE, in the Greek mythology one of the three SIRENS
(q. v.), threw herself into the sea because her love for Ulysses was
not returned, and was drowned; her body was washed ashore at Naples,
which was called Parthenope after her name.
PARTHIA, an ancient country corresponding to Northern Persia; was
inhabited by a people of Scythian origin, who adopted the Aryan speech
and manners, and subsequently yielded much to Greek influence; after
being tributary successively to Assyria, Media, Persia, Alexander the
Great, and Syria, they set up an independent kingdom in 250 B.C. In two
great contests with Rome they made the empire respect their prowess;
between 53 and 36 B.C. they defeated Crassus in Mesopotamia, conquered
Syria and Palestine, and inflicted disaster on Mark Antony in Armenia;
the renewal of hostilities by Trajan in A.D. 115 brought more varied
fortunes, but they extorted a tribute of 50,000,000 denarii from the
Emperor Macrinus in 218. Ctesiphon was their capital; the Euphrates lay
between them and Rome; they were over thrown by Ardashir of Persia in
224. The Parthians were famous horse-archers, and in retreat shot their
arrows backwards often with deadly effect on a pursuing enemy.
PARTICK (36), a western suburb of Glasgow, has numerous villas, and
its working population is very largely engaged in shipbuilding.
PARTINGTON, MRS., an imaginary lady, the creation of the American
humorist Shillaber, distinguished for her misuse of learned words; also
another celebrity who attempted to sweep back the Atlantic with her mop,
the type of those who think to stave back the inevitable.
PASCAL, BLAISE, illustrious French thinker and writer, born at
Clermont, in Auvergne; was distinguished at once as a mathematician, a
physicist, and a philosopher; at 16 wrote a treatise on conic sections,
which astonished Descartes; at 18 invented a calculating machine; he
afterwards made experiments in pneumatics and hydrostatics, by which his
name became associated with those of Torricelli and Boyle; an accident
which befell him turned his thoughts to religious subjects, and in 1654
he retired to the convent of PORT ROYAL (q. v.), where he spent
as an ascetic the rest of his days, and wrote his celebrated "Provincial
Letters" in defence of the Jansenists against the Jesuits, and his no
less famous "Pensées," which were published after his death; "his great
weapon in polemics," says Prof. Saintsbury, "is polite irony, which he
first brought to perfection, and in the use of which he has hardly been
equalled, and has certainly not been surpassed since" (1623-1662).
PAS-DE-CALAIS, the French name for the Strait of Dover; also the
name of the adjacent department of France.
PASHA, a Turkish title, originally bestowed on princes of the blood,
but now extended to governors of provinces and prominent officers in the
army and navy.
PASIPHAË, the wife of MINOS (q. v.) and mother of the
MINOTAUR (q. v.).
PASKIEVITCH, a Russian general, born at Poltava; took part in
repelling the French in 1812, defeated the Persians in 1826-27 and the
Turks in 1828-29; suppressed a Polish insurrection in 1831 and a Magyar
revolution in 1849; was wounded at Silistria in 1854 and resigned
(1782-1856).
PASQUINO, a cobbler or tailor who lived in Rome at the end of the
15th century, notable for his witty and sarcastic sayings, near whose
shop after his death a fragment of a statue was dug up and named after
him, on which, as representing him, the Roman populace claim to this day,
it would seem, the privilege of placarding jibes against particularly the
ecclesiastical authorities of the place, hence Pasquinade.
PASSAU (17), a Bavarian fortified town, situated at the confluence
of the Inn and the Danube, 105 m. E. of Münich by rail; is a picturesque
place, strategically important, with manufactures of leather, porcelain,
and parquet, and trade in salt and corn.
PASSING-BELL, a bell tolled at the moment of the death of a person
to invite his neighbours to pray for the safe passing of his soul.
PASSION PLAY, a dramatic representation of the several stages in the
passion of Christ.
PASSION SUNDAY, the fifth Sunday in Lent, which is succeeded by what
is called the Passion Week.
PASSION WEEK is properly the week preceding Holy Week, but in common
English usage the name is given to Holy Week itself, i. e. to the week
immediately preceding Easter, commemorating Christ's passion.
PASSIONISTS, an order of priests, called of the Holy Cross, founded
in 1694 by Paul Francisco, of the Cross in Sardinia, whose mission it is
to preach the Passion of Christ and bear witness to its spirit and
import, and who have recently established themselves in England and
America; they are noted for their austerity.
PASSOVER, the chief festival of the Jews in commemoration of the
passing of the destroying angel over the houses of the Israelites on the
night when he slew the first-born of the Egyptians; it was celebrated in
April, lasted eight days, only unleavened bread was used in its
observance, and a lamb roasted whole was eaten with bitter herbs, the
partakers standing and road-ready as on their departure from the land of
bondage.
PASSOW, FRANZ, German philologist, born in Mecklenburg, professor at
Breslau; his chief work "Hand-Wörterbuch der Griechischen Sprache"; an
authority in subsequent Greek lexicography (1786-1833).
PASTA, JUDITH, a famous Italian operatic singer, born near Milan, of
Jewish birth; her celebrity lasted from 1822 to 1835, after which she
retired into private life; she had a voice of great compass (1798-1865).
PASTEUR, LOUIS, an eminent French chemist, born at Dôle, in dep. of
Jura, celebrated for his studies and discoveries in fermentation, and
also for his researches in hydrophobia and his suggestion of inoculation
as a cure; the Pasteur Institute in Paris was the scene of his researches
from 1886 (1822-1895).
PASTON LETTERS, a series of letters and papers, over a thousand in
number, belonging to a Norfolk family of the name, and published by Sir
John Fenn over a century ago, dating from the reign of Henry V. to the
close of the reign of Henry VII.; of importance in connection with the
political and social history of the period.
PASTORAL STAFF, a bishop's staff with a crooked head, symbolical of
his authority and function as a shepherd in spiritual matters of the
souls in his diocese.
PATAGONIA is the territory at the extreme S. of South America, lying
between the Rio Colorado and the Strait of Magellan. Chilian Patagonia is
a narrow strip W. of the Andes, with a broken coast-line, many rocky
islands and peninsulas. Its climate is temperate but very rainy, and much
of it is covered with dense forests which yield valuable timber; coal is
found at Punta Arenas on the Strait. The population (3) consists chiefly
of migratory Araucanian Indians and the Chilian settlers at Punta Arenas.
Eastern or Argentine Patagonia is an extensive stretch of undulating
plateaux intersected by ravines, swept by cold W. winds, and rainless for
eight months of the year. The base of the Andes is fertile and
forest-clad, the river valleys can be cultivated, but most of the plains
are covered with coarse grass or sparse scrub, and there are some utterly
desolate regions. Lagoons abound, and there are many rivers running
eastward from the Andes. Herds of horses and cattle are bred on the
pampas. The Indians of this region (7) are among the tallest races of the
world. There are 2000 settlers at Patagones on the Rio Negro, and a Welsh
colony on the Chubut.
PATANJALI is the name of two ancient Indian authors, of whom one is
the author of the "Yoga," a theistic system of philosophy, and the other
of a criticism on the Sanskrit grammarian Pánini.
PATCHOULI, a perfume with a strong odour, derived from the dried
roots of an Indian plant introduced into the country in 1844.
PATER, WALTER HORATIO, an English prose-writer, specially studious
of word, phrase, and style, born in London; studied at Oxford, and became
a Fellow of Brasenose College; lived chiefly in London; wrote studies in
the "History of the Renaissance," "Marcus the Epicurean," "Imaginary
Portraits," "Appreciations," along with an essay on "Style"; literary
criticism was his forte (1839-1894).
PATERCULUS, MARCUS VELLEIUS, a Latin historian of the 1st century,
author of an epitome, especially of Roman history, rather disfigured by
undue flattery of Tiberius his patron, as well as of Cæsar and Augustus.
PATERSON, ROBERT, the original of Scott's "Old Mortality," a
stone-mason, born near Hawick; devoted 40 years of his life to restoring
and erecting monumental stones to the memory of the Scotch Covenanters
(1712-1801).
PATERSON, WILLIAM, a famous financier, born in Tinwald parish,
Dumfriesshire; originated the Bank of England, projected the ill-fated
Darien scheme, and lost all in the venture, though he recovered
compensation afterwards, an indemnity for his losses of £18,000; he was a
long-headed Scot, skilful in finance and in matters of trade (1658-1719).
PATHOS, the name given to an expression of deep feeling, and
calculated to excite similar feelings in others.
PATLOCK, ROBERT, English novelist, author of "Peter Wilkins," an
exquisite production; the heroine, the flying girl Youwarkee (1697-1767).
PATMORE, COVENTRY, English poet, born in Essex, best known as the
author of "The Angel in the House," a poem in praise of domestic bliss,
succeeded by others, superior in some respects, of which "The Unknown
Eros" is by many much admired; he was a Roman Catholic by religious
profession (1823-1896).
PATMOS, a barren rocky island in the Ægean Sea, S. of Samos, 28 m.
in circuit, where St. John suffered exile, and where it is said he wrote
the Apocalypse.
PATNA (165), the seventh city of India, in Bengal, at the junction
of the Son, the Gandak, and the Ganges; is admirably situated for
commerce; has excellent railway communication, and trades largely in
cotton, oil-seeds, and salt. It is a poor city with narrow streets, and
except the Government buildings, Patna College, a Roman Catholic
cathedral, and a mosque, has scarcely any good buildings. At Dinapur, its
military station, 6 m. to the W., mutiny broke out in 1857. It is famous
for its rice, but this is largely a re-export.
PATOIS, a name the French give to a corrupt dialect of a language
spoken in a remote province of a country.
PATON, JOHN GIBSON, missionary to the New Hebrides, son of a
stocking-weaver of Kirkmahoe, Dumfriesshire; after some work in Glasgow
City Mission was ordained by the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and
laboured in Tanna and Aniwa for twenty-five years; his account of his
work was published in 1890; _b_. 1824.
PATON SIR JOSEPH NOEL, poet and painter, born at Dunfermline; became
a pattern designer, but afterwards studied in Edinburgh and London, and
devoted himself to art; his early subjects were mythical and legendary,
later they have been chiefly religious; he was appointed Queen's Limner
for Scotland in 1865, knighted in 1867, and in 1876 received his LL.D.
from Edinburgh University; his "Quarrel" and "Reconciliation of Oberon
and Titania" are in the National Gallery, Edinburgh; the illustrations of
the "Dowie Dens o' Yarrow," and the series of religious allegories,
"Pursuit of Pleasure," "Lux in Tenebris," "Faith and Reason," &c., are
familiar through the engravings; "Poems by a Painter" appeared in 1861;
_b_. 1821.
PATRAS (37), on the NW. corner of the Morean Peninsula, on the
shores of the Gulf of Patras; has a fine harbour; is the chief western
port of Greece, shipping currants, olive-oil, and wine, and importing
textiles, machinery, and coal; it is a handsome city, in the present
century rebuilt and fortified.
PATRIARCH, in Church history is the name given originally to the
bishops of Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria, and later to those also of
Constantinople and Jerusalem, who held a higher rank than other bishops,
and exercised a certain authority over the bishops in their districts.
The title is in vogue in the Greek, Syrian, Armenian, and other Churches.
It was originally given to the chief of a race or clan, the members of
which were called after him.
PATRICIANS AND PLEBEIANS, the two classes into which, from the
earliest times, the population of the Roman State was divided, the former
of which possessed rights and privileges not conceded to the latter, and
stood to them as patrons to clients, like the baron of the Middle Ages to
the vassals. This inequality gave rise to repeated and often protracted
struggles in the commonalty, during which the latter gradually encroached
on the rights of the former till the barrier in civic status, and even in
social to some extent, was as good as abolished, and members of the
plebeian class were eligible to the highest offices and dignities of the
State.
PATRICK, ORDER OF ST., an Irish order of knighthood, founded in 1783
by George III., comprising the sovereign, the Lord-Lieutenant, and
twenty-two knights, and indicated by the initial letters K.P.
PATRICK, ST., the apostle and patron saint of Ireland; his
birthplace uncertain; flourished in the 5th century; his mission, which
extended over great part of Ireland, and over thirty or forty years of
time, was eminently successful, and at the end of it he was buried in
Downpatrick, henceforth a spot regarded as a sacred one. Various miracles
are ascribed to him, and among the number the extirpation from the soil
of all venomous reptiles.
PATRICK, SIMON, English prelate; distinguished himself, when he was
rector of St. Paul's, by his self-denying devotion during the Plague of
London; became bishop in succession of Chichester and Ely, and was the
author of a number of expository works (1652-1707).
PATRISTIC LITERATURE, the name given to the writings of the early
Fathers of the Christian Church.
PATROCLUS, a friend of Achilles, who accompanied him to the Trojan
War, and whose death by the hand of Hector roused Achilles out of his
sullenness, and provoked him to avenge the deed in the death of Hector.
PATTESON, JOHN COLERIDGE, bishop of Melanesia, grand-nephew of
Coleridge; a devoted bishop, in material things no less than spiritual,
among the Melanesian islanders; was murdered, presumably through mistake,
by the natives of one of the Santa Cruz groups (1827-1871).
PATTI, ADELINA, prima donna, born in Madrid, of Italian extraction;
made her first appearance at New York in 1859, and in London at Covent
Garden, as Amina in "La Somnambula," in 1861, and has since made the
round once and again of the Continent and America, North and South; has
been married three times, being divorced by her first husband, and lives
at Craig-y-nos Castle, near Swansea, Wales; _b_. 1843.
PATTISON, MARK, a distinguished English scholar, born at Hornby,
Yorkshire; studied at Oxford, and was for a time carried away with the
Tractarian Movement, but when his interest in it died out he gave himself
to literature and philosophy; wrote in the famous "Essays and Reviews" a
paper on "The Tendency of Religious Thought in England"; became rector of
Lincoln College, Oxford; wrote his chief literary work, a "Life of Isaac
Casaubon," a mere fragment of what it lay in him to do, and left an
autobiography, which revealed a wounded spirit which no vulnerary known
to him provided by the pharmacopoeia of earth or heaven could heal
(1813-1889).
PATTISON'S PROCESS, the name of a process for desilverising lead,
dependent on the fact that lead which has least silver in it solidifies
first on liquefaction.
PAU (31), chief town of the French province of Basses-Pyrénées, on
the Gave de Pau, 60 m. E. of Bayonne; is situated amid magnificent
mountain scenery, and is a favourite winter resort for the English; linen
and chocolate are manufactured; it was the capital of Navarre, and has a
magnificent castle; it stands on the edge of a high plateau, and commands
a majestic view of the Pyrenees on the S.
PAUILLAC, a port for Bordeaux, on the left bank of the Gironde.
PAUL, the name of five popes: PAUL I., Pope from 757 to 797;
PAUL II., pope from 1464 to 1471; PAUL III., Pope from 1534 to
1549, was zealous against the Protestant cause, excommunicated Henry
VIII. in 1536, sanctioned the Jesuit order in 1540, convened and convoked
the Council of Trent in 1545; PAUL IV., Pope from 1555 to 1559,
originally an ascetic, was zealous for the best interests of the Church
and public morality, established the Inquisition at Rome, and issued the
first _Index Expurgatorius_; PAUL V., Pope from 1605 to 1621, his
pontificate distinguished by protracted strife with the Venetian
republic, arising out of the claim of the clergy for immunity from the
civil tribunals, and which was brought to an end through the intervention
of Henry IV. of France in 1607; it need not be added that he was zealous
for orthodoxy, like his predecessors.
PAUL, ST., originally called Saul, the great Apostle of the
Gentiles, born at Tarsus, in Cilicia, by birth a Jew and a Roman citizen;
trained to severity by Gamaliel at Jerusalem in the Jewish faith, and for
a time the bitter persecutor of the Christians, till, on his way to
Damascus, in the prosecution of his hostile purposes, the overpowering
conviction flashed upon him that he was fighting against the cause that,
as a Jew, he should have embraced, and which he was at once smitten with
zeal to further, as the one cause on which hinged the salvation, not of
the Jews only, but of the whole world. He did more for the extension, if
not the exposition, of the Christian faith at its first promulgation than
any of the Apostles, and perhaps all of them together, and it is
questionable if but for him it would have become, as it has become, the
professed religion of the most civilised section of the world.
PAUL I., Czar of Russia, son of the Empress Catharine II., and her
successor in 1796; was a despotic and arbitrary ruler; fought with the
allies against France, but entered into an alliance with Napoleon in
1799; was murdered by certain of his nobles as he was being forced to
abdicate (1734-1801).
PAUL AND VIRGINIA, a celebrated novel by Saint-Pierre, written on
the eve of the French Revolution, in which "there rises melodiously, as
it were, the wail of a moribund world: everywhere wholesome Nature in
unequal conflict with diseased, perfidious art; cannot escape from it in
the lowest hut, in the remotest island of the sea"; it records the fate
of a child of nature corrupted by the false, artificial sentimentality
that prevailed at the time among the upper classes of France.
PAUL SAMOSATA, so called as born at Samosata, on the Euphrates, a
heresiarch who denied the doctrine of three persons in one God, was
bishop of Antioch, under the sway of Zenobia, but deposed on her defeat
by Aurelian in 272.
PAULDING, American writer, born in New York State; author of
"History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan," and the novels "The
Dutchman's Fireside" and "Westward Ho" (1779-1860).
PAULI, REINHOLD, German historian of England, born in Berlin;
studied much in England, and became professor of History at Göttingen;
wrote "Life of King Alfred," "History of England from the Accession of
Henry II. to the Death of Henry VII.," "Pictures of Old England," and
"Simon de Montfort" (1823-1882).
PAULICIANS, a heretical sect founded by Constantine of Mananalis
about A.D. 660 in Armenia, and persisting in spite of severe
persecution, were transferred to Thrace in 970, where remnants were found
as late as the 13th century; they held that an evil spirit was the
creator and god of this world, and that God was the ruler of the next;
they refused to ascribe divinity to Christ, to worship Mary, to reverence
the cross, or observe the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist; their name
was derived from the special regard in which they held the writings of
St. Paul, from which they professed to derive their tenets; they were
charged with Manichæism, but they indignantly repudiated the imputation.
PAULINE, Browning's first poem, written at 19 and published at 21,
"breathless, intense, melodramatic," says Professor Saintsbury,
"eschewing incident, but delighting in analysis, which was to be one of
the poet's points throughout, and ultimately to prevail over the others."
PAULINUS, the first archbishop of York, sent in company with
Augustin from Rome by Gregory to Britain in 601: laboured partly in Kent
and partly in Northumbria, and persuaded Edwin of Northumbria to embrace
Christianity in 629; _d_. 644.
PAULUS, HEINRICH, one of the founders of German rationalism, born
near Stuttgart; held in succession sundry professorships; denied the
miraculous in the Scripture history, and invented ingenious rational
explanations, now out of date (1761-1851).
PAUSANIAS, a famous Spartan general, the grandson of Leonidas, who,
as commander-in-chief of the Greeks, overthrew the Persian army under
Mardonius at Platæa in 479, but who, elated by this and other successes,
aimed at the sovereignty of Greece by alliance with Xerxes, and being
discovered, took refuge in a temple at Athens, where he was blockaded and
starved to death in 477 B.C., his mother throwing the first stone of the
pile that was cast up to bar his exit.
PAUSANIAS, a Greek traveller and topographer, lived during the
reigns of Antoninus Pius and M. Aurelius; wrote an "Itinerary of Greece"
in 10 books, the fruit of his own peregrinations, full of descriptions of
great value both to the historian and the antiquary.
PAVIA (30), on the Ticino, in Lombardy, is an imposing "city of a
hundred towers," with little industry or commerce; in its unfinished
cathedral St. Augustine was buried; San Michele, where the early kings of
Italy were crowned, dates from the 7th century; the University was
founded by Charlemagne, and has now attached to it colleges for poor
students, a library, museum, botanic garden, and school of art; stormed
by Napoleon in 1796, Pavia was in Austrian possession from 1814 till its
inclusion in the kingdom of Italy 1859.
PAXTON, SIR JOSEPH, architect of the Crystal Palace, born in
Bedfordshire, was originally a gardener in the service of the Duke of
Devonshire, and promoted to the charge of the duke's gardens at
Chatsworth, where he displayed the architectural ability in the
construction of large glass conservatories which developed itself in the
construction of the Great Exhibition of 1851, for which he received the
honour of knighthood (1803-1865).
PAYN, JAMES, English novelist, born at Cheltenham; edited
_Chambers's Journal_ and _Cornhill Magazine_; his novels were numerous
and of average quality, "Lost Sir Massingberd" and "By Proxy" among the
most successful (1830-1899).
PAYNE, JOHN, actor and playwright, born in New York; resided in
London from 1813 to 1832; most of his days a stranger in a strange land,
immortalised himself as the author of "Home, Sweet Home"; only his
remains buried at home 30 years after his death at Tunis (1792-1852).
PEABODY, GEORGE, philanthropist, born at Danvers, now Peabody, in
Massachusetts, U.S.; made a large fortune as a dry-goods merchant in
Baltimore and as a stockbroker as well in London; gave away for
benevolent purposes in his lifetime a million and a half of money, and
left to his relatives one million more; died in London; his body was laid
beside his mother's at South Danvers, U.S. (1795-1869).
PEACE SOCIETY, a society founded in 1816 for the promotion of
permanent and universal peace; advocates a gradual, proportionate, and
simultaneous disarmament of all nations and the principle of arbitration.
PEACOCK, THOMAS LOVE, English novelist, born at Weymouth; was pretty
much a self-taught scholar, and no mean one, as his literary activity
over half a century abundantly showed; held a post in the India House,
his predecessor being James Mill and his successor John Stuart Mill; was
an intimate friend of Shelley and the father-in-law of George Meredith;
he made his first literary appearance as a poet in two small volumes of
poems, and his first novel was "Headlong Hall" as his latest was "Gryll
Grange," all of them written in a vein of conventional satire, and more
conspicuous for wit than humour; Thackeray owed not a little to him,
little as the generality did, he being "too learned for a shallow age"
(1785-1866).
PEARSON, JOHN, English prelate, born in Norfolk; held a succession
of preferments in the Church, and in the end the bishopric of Chester,
author of a very learned work "Exposition of the Creed," of which Bentley
said, "its very dross is gold" (1612-1686).
PEASANT WAR or BAUERNKRIEG, revolt of the peasantry in the S.
and W. of Germany against the oppression and cruelty of the nobles and
clergy which broke out at different times from 1500 to 1525, and which,
resulting in their defeat, rendered their lot harder than before. The
cause of the Reformation, held answerable for the movement, suffered
damage as well, but indeed the excesses of the insurgents were calculated
to provoke the retribution that was meted out to them.
PECHILI, GULF OF, a great land-locked bay opening in the NW. of the
Yellow Sea, receives the waters of the Hoang-ho, and on opposite tongues
of land at the mouth of it stand Port Arthur and Wei-hai-Wei.
PECKSNIFF, a pronounced hypocrite in Dickens's "Martin Chuzzlewit,"
and who lies and cants whether he is drunk or sober.
PECOCK, REGINALD, bishop in succession of St. Asaph and Chichester,
born in Wales; the author, among other works, of the "Repressor of Over
Much Blaming of the Clergy" and the "Book of Faith"; he wrote on behalf
of the Church against Lollards, but he offended Churchmen as well as the
latter--Churchmen because he agreed with the Lollards in regard to the
Bible as the rule of faith, and the Lollards because he appealed to
reason as the interpreter of the Bible; he displeased the clergy also by
his adoption in theological debate of the mother-tongue, but figures
since in literature as the first English theologian; he was accused of
treating authority with disrespect as well as setting up reason above
revelation, obliged to recant in a most humiliating manner, deprived of
his bishopric, and condemned to solitary confinement, away from his
books, all to a few, and denied the use of writing materials (1390-1460).
PEDRO I., emperor of Brazil, second son of John VI. of Portugal;
reigned from 1822 to 1831, when he abdicated in favour of his son
(1798-1834).
PEDRO II., emperor of Brazil, son of preceding, ascended the throne
in 1831; reigned peacefully till 1889, when a sudden revolution obliged
him to resign, and retire to Europe and take up his abode in France,
where he indulged his taste for science and learning (1825-1891).
PEEBLES, PETER, a character in Scott's "Redgauntlet."
PEEBLESSHIRE (19), a lowland Scottish county bordered by Lanark,
Midlothian, Selkirk, and Dumfries; comprises hilly pastoral land watered
by the upper Tweed; Windlestraw, Hartfell, and Broadlaw are the highest
of its grassy hills; among the lesser rivers are the Leithen and Quair;
some crops are grown, but most of the land is devoted to sheep grazing; a
little coal is found in the N.; the only towns are Innerleithen (3) and
PEEBLES (5), the county town, engaged in Tweed manufacture. The
county is known also by the name of Tweeddale; its representation in
Parliament is united with that of Selkirk.
PEEL (4), a fishing town and holiday resort on the W. coast of the
Isle of Man, 12 m. NW. of Douglas; it is noted for its castle.
PEEL, SIR ROBERT, English statesman, born near Bury, Lancashire, the
son of a wealthy cotton-spinner, to whose large fortune and baronetcy he
succeeded; graduated at Oxford in 1808, and next year entered Parliament
as Tory member for Cashel; he afterwards sat for his own university, and
after 1832 for Tamworth; he was appointed Under-Secretary for the
Colonies in 1811. and from 1812 till 1818 was Secretary for Ireland; in
1822 he became Home Secretary, but seceded from the Government when
Canning became Premier in 1827; the question at issue was Catholic
Emancipation, and it was characteristic of Peel that in the Government
which succeeded Canning's he had the courage, having changed his
opinions, to introduce the measure which removed the disabilities;
opposed to Reform he became leader of the Conservative opposition in the
Parliament of 1833; called to the Premiership in 1834 he could not
maintain his administration, and it was not till 1841 that the victory of
protection over the free-trade agitation gave him a stable majority in
the Commons; his first measure was a modification of the corn laws on
protectionist principles, 1842; then followed the 7d. income-tax and
general tariff revision; in 1845 the agitation for free-trade in corn was
brought to a crisis by the Irish potato famine; Peel yielded, and next
year carried the final repeal of the corn laws; his "conversion" split
the Tory party and he retired from office, becoming a supporter of the
Whig ministry in its economical and ecclesiastical policy; he was a
master of finance, an easy speaker, slow to form but conscientious to act
upon his convictions, a man of the highest character; his death was the
result of a fall from horseback (1788-1850).
PEEL TOWERS, the name given to fortresses of the moss-troopers on
the Scottish border.
PEELE, GEORGE, dramatist, of the Elizabethan period, born in London;
author of "Arraignment of Paris" and "David and Bathsabe," full of
passages of poetic beauty; has been charged with having led the life of a
debauchee and to have died of a disease brought on by his profligacy, but
it is now believed he has been maligned (1548-1597).
PEEPING TOM OF COVENTRY. See GODIVA.
PEERS, THE TWELVE, the famous warriors or paladins at the court of
Charlemagne, so called from their equality in prowess and honour.
PEGASUS, the winged horse, begotten of Poseidon, who sprung from the
body of Medusa when Perseus swooped off her head, and who with a stroke
of his hoof broke open the spring of Hippocrene on Mount Helicon, and
mounted on whom Bellerophon slew the Chimera, and by means of which he
hoped, if he had not been thrown, to ascend to heaven, as Pegasus did
alone, becoming thereafter a constellation in the sky; this is the winged
horse upon whose back poets, to the like disappointment, hope to scale
the empyrean, who have not, like Bellerophon, first distinguished
themselves by slaying Chimeras.
PEGU (6), a town of Lower Burma, in the province and on the river of
the same name, 46 m. NE. of Rangoon, is a very ancient city; the province
(1,162) is a rice-growing country, with great teak forests on the
mountain slopes.
PEI-HO, a river of North China, 350 miles long; formed by the
junction of four other rivers, on the chief of which stands Pekin; has a
short navigable course south-eastward to the Gulf of Pechili, where it is
defended by the forts of Taku.
PEIRCE, BENJAMIN, American mathematician and astronomer, born in
Massachusetts, U.S.; wrote on the discovery of Neptune and Saturn's
rings, as well as a number of mathematical text-books (1809-1880).
PEISHWAH, the name of the overlord or chief minister of Mahratta
chiefs in their wars with the Mohammedans, who had his head-quarters at
Poonah, the last to hold office putting himself under British protection,
and surrendering his territory; nominated as his successor Nana Sahib,
who became the chief instigator of the Mutiny of 1857, on account, it is
believed, of the refusal of the British Government to continue to him the
pension of his predecessor who had adopted him.
PEKIN (1,000), the capital of China, on a sandy plain in the basin
of the Pei-ho, is divided into two portions, each separately walled, the
northern or Manchu city and the southern or Chinese. The former contains
the Purple Forbidden city, in which are the Imperial palaces; surrounding
it is the August city, in which are a colossal copper Buddha and the
Temple of Great Happiness. Outside this are the government offices,
foreign legations, the temple of Confucius, a great Buddhist monastery, a
Roman Catholic cathedral, and Christian mission stations. The Chinese
city has many temples, mission stations, schools, and hospitals; but it
is sparsely populated, houses are poor, and streets unpaved. Pekin has
railway communication with Hankow, and is connected with other cities and
with Russia by telegraph. Its trade and industry are inconsiderable. It
is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was Kubla Khan's capital,
and has been the metropolis of the empire since 1421.
PELAGIUS, a celebrated heresiarch of the 5th century, born in
Britain or Brittany; denied original sin and the orthodox doctrine of
divine grace as the originating and sustaining power in redemption, a
heresy for which he suffered banishment from Rome in 418 at the hands of
the Church. A modification of this theory went under the name of
Semi-Pelagianism, which ascribes only the first step in conversion to
free-will, and the subsequent sanctification of the soul to God's grace.
PELASGI, a people who in prehistoric times occupied Greece, the
Archipelago, the shores of Asia Minor, and great part of Italy, and who
were subdued, and more or less reduced to servitude, by the Hellenes, and
supplanted by them. They appear to have been, so far as we find them, an
agricultural people, settled and not roving about, and to have had
strongholds enclosed in cyclopean walls, that is, walls consisting of
huge boulders unconnected with cement.
PELEUS, the son of Æacus, the husband of Thetis, the father of
Achilles, and one of the Argonauts, after whom Achilles is named Pelides,
i. e. Peleus' boy.
PELEW ISLANDS (10), twenty-six in number, of coral formation, and
surrounded by reefs; are in the extreme W. of the Caroline Archipelago in
the North Pacific, and SE. of the Philippines. They belong to Spain; are
small but fertile, and have a healthy climate. The natives are Malays,
and though gentle lead a savage life.
PELHAM, a fashionable novel by Bulwer Lytton, severely satirised by
Carlyle in "Sartor" in the chapter on "Dandies" as the elect of books of
this class.
PELIAS, king of Iolchus, and son of Poseidon, was cut to pieces by
his own daughters, which were thrown by them into a boiling caldron in
the faith of the promise of Medea, that he might thereby be restored to
them young again. It was he who, to get rid of Jason, sent him in quest
of the golden fleece in the hope that he might perish in the attempt.
PELICAN, a bird, the effigy of which was used in the Middle Ages to
symbolise charity; generally represented as wounding its breast to feed
its young with its own blood, and which became the image of the Christ
who shed His blood for His people.
PELIDES, a patronymic of Achilles, as the son of Peleus.
PELION, a range, or the highest of a range, of mountains in the E.
of Thessaly, upon which, according to Greek fables, the Titans hoisted up
Mount Ossa in order to scale heaven and dethrone Zeus, a strenuous
enterprise which did not succeed, and the symbol of all such.
PELISSIER, a French marshal, born near Rouen; was made Duc de
Malakoff for storming the Malakoff tower, which led to the fall of
Sebastopol in 1855; rose from the ranks to be Governor-General of
Algeria, the office he held when he died (1794-1864).
PELLA, the capital of Macedonia, and the birthplace of Alexander the
Great, stood on a hill amid the marches NW. of Thessalonica.
PELLEGRINI, CARLO, a caricaturist, born in Capua; came to London;
was distinguished for the inimitable drollery of his cartoons
(1838-1889).
PELLICO, SILVIO, Italian poet and patriot, born in Piedmont;
suffered a fifteen years' imprisonment in the Spielberg at Brünn for his
patriotism, from which he was liberated in 1830; he wrote an account of
his life in prison, which commanded attention all over Europe, both for
the subject-matter of it and the fascination of the style (1789-1854).
PELLISSON, PAUL, a man of letters and a wit of the age of Louis
XIV.; spent some five years in the Bastille, but after his release was
appointed historiographer-royal; in his captivity he made a companion of
a spider, who was accustomed to eat out of his hand (1624-1693).
PELOPIDAS, a Theban general, and leader of the "sacred band"; the
friend of Epaminondas; contributed to the expulsion (379 B.C.) of the
Spartans from the citadel of Thebes, of which they had taken possession
in 380, after which he was elected to the chief magistracy; gained a
victory over Alexander of Pheræ the tyrant of Thessaly, but lost his life
in 362 while too eagerly pursuing the foe.
PELOPONNESIAN WAR, a war of thirty years' duration (431-404 B.C.)
between Athens and Sparta, which ended in the supremacy of the latter,
till the latter was overthrown at Leuctra by the Thebans under
Epaminondas in 371 B.C. This war is the subject of the history of
Thucydides.
PELOPONNESUS (lit. the Isle of Pelops), the ancient name of the
Morea of Greece, the chief cities of which were Corinth, Argos, and
Sparta; it was connected with the rest of Greece by the Isthmus of
Corinth.
PELOPS, in the Greek mythology the grandson of Zeus and son of
Tantalus, who was slain by his father and served up by him at a banquet
he gave the gods to test their omniscience, but of the shoulder of which
only Demeter in a fit of abstraction partook, whereupon the gods ordered
the body to be thrown into a boiling caldron, from which Pelops was drawn
out alive, with the shoulder replaced by one of ivory.
PEMBROKESHIRE (89), a maritime county, the farthest W. in Wales; is
washed by St. George's Channel except on the E., where it borders on
Cardigan and Carmarthen. It is a county of low hills, with much indented
coast-line. Milford Haven, in the S., is one of the best harbours in the
world. The climate is humid; two-thirds of the soil is under pasture;
coal, iron, lead, and slate are found. ST. DAVID'S is a cathedral
city; the county town is PEMBROKE (18) on Milford Haven, and near it
is the fortified dockyard and arsenal PEMBROKE DOCK (10).
PEMMICAN, a food for long voyages, particularly in Arctic
expeditions, consisting of lean meat or beef without fat dried, pounded,
and pressed into cakes. The use of it is now suppressed.
PENANCE, in the Roman Catholic Church an expression of penitence as
well as the sacrament of absolution; also the suffering to which a
penitent voluntarily subjects himself, according to the schoolmen, as an
expression of his penitence, and in punishment of his sin; the three
steps of penitence were contrition, confession, and satisfaction.
PENANG or PRINCE OF WALES ISLANDS (91), a small fertile island
near the northern opening of the Straits of Malacca, off the Malay coast,
and 360 m. NW. of Singapore; is one of the British Straits Settlements,
of value strategically; it is hilly, and covered with vegetation; the
population are half Chinese, a fourth of them Malays; figs, spices, and
tobacco are exported. The capital is GEORGETOWN (25), on the island.
PROVINCE WELLESLEY (97), on the mainland, belongs to the same
settlement; it exports tapioca and sugar. The DINDINGS (2), 80 m.
S., are another dependency.
PENATES, the name given by the Romans to their household deities,
individually and unitedly, in honour of whom a fire, in charge of the
vestal virgins, was kept permanently burning.
PENDA, a Mercian king of the 7th century, who headed a reactionary
movement of heathenism against the domination of Christianity in England,
and for a time seemed to carry all before him, but Christianity, under
the preaching of the monks, had gained too deep a hold, particularly in
Northumbria, and he was overpowered in 665 in one final struggle and
slain.
PENDENNIS, the name of a novel by Thackeray, from the name of the
hero, and published in 1849-50 in succession to "Vanity Fair."
PENDLETON, a NW. suburb of Manchester, in the direction of Bolton,
with extensive manufactures and collieries.
PENDRAGON, a title bestowed on kings by the ancient Britons, and
especially on the chiefs among them chosen by election, so called from
their wearing a dragon on their shields or as a crest in sign of
sovereignty.
PENELOPE, the wife of Ulysses, celebrated for her conjugal fidelity
during his twenty years' absence, in the later half of which an army of
suitors pled for her hand, pleading that her husband would never return;
but she put them all off by a promise of marriage as soon as she finished
a web (called after Penelope's web) she was weaving, which she wove by
day and undid at night, till their importunities took a violent form,
when her husband arrived and delivered her.
PENINSULAR STATE, the State of Florida, from its shape.
PENINSULAR WAR, a war carried on in Spain and Portugal during the
years 1808 and 1814, between the French on the one hand and the Spanish,
Portuguese, and British, chiefly under Wellington, on the other, and
which was ended by the victory of the latter over the former at Toulouse
just after Napoleon's abdication.
PENITENTIAL PSALMS or PSALMS OF CONFESSION, is a name given
from very early times to Psalms vi., xxxii., xxxviii., li., cii., cxxx.,
which are specially expressive of sorrow for sin. The name belonged
originally to the fifty-first Psalm, which was recited at the close of
daily morning service in the primitive Church.
PENITENTS, ORDER OF, a religious order established in 1272 for the
reception to the Church of reformed courtesans.
PENN, WILLIAM, founder of Pennsylvania, the son of an admiral, born
in London; was converted to Quakerism while a student at Oxford, and for
a fanatical attack on certain fellow-students expelled the University;
his father sent him to travel in France, and afterwards placed him in
charge of his Irish estates; his religious views occasioned several
disputes with his father, and ultimately brought him into conflict with
the Government; he spent several periods of imprisonment writing books in
defence of religious liberty, among them "The Great Cause of Liberty of
Conscience" (1671); then travelled in Holland and Germany propagating his
views; his father's death brought him a fortune and a claim upon the
crown which he commuted for a grant of land in North America, where he
founded (1682) the colony of Pennsylvania--the prefix Penn, by command of
Charles II. in honour of the admiral; here he established a refuge for
all persecuted religionists, and laying out Philadelphia as the capital,
governed his colony wisely and generously for two years; he returned to
England, where his friendship with James II. brought many advantages to
the Quakers, but laid him under harassing and undeserved prosecutions for
treason in the succeeding reign; a second visit to his colony (1699-1701)
gave it much useful legislation; on his return his agent practically
ruined him, and he was a prisoner in the Fleet in 1708; the closing years
of his life were clouded by mental decay (1644-1718).
PENNANT, THOMAS, traveller and naturalist, born near Holywell,
Flintshire; studied at Oxford, but took no degree; in 1746 he made a tour
of Cornwall; among his subsequent journeys, of which he published
accounts, were tours in Ireland (1754), the Continent (1764), Scotland
(1769 and 1772), and Wales; he wrote several works on zoological
subjects, and published an amusing "Literary Life of the late Thomas
Pennant, Esq., by Himself," 1793 (1726-1798).
PENNSYLVANIA (5,258), most populous but one of the American States,
lies N. of Mason and Dixon's Line, separated by New Jersey, on the E. by
the Delaware River, with Ohio on the W., New York on the N., and Lake
Erie at the NW. corner. The country is hilly, being traversed by the Blue
Mountains and the Alleghany ranges, with many fertile valleys between the
chains, extensive forests, and much picturesque scenery. The Cumberland
Valley in the W. is one of the best farming lands in New England. The
Alleghany River in the W. and the two branches of the Susquehanna in the
centre water the State. Pennsylvania is the greatest mining State in the
Union; its iron-mines and petroleum-wells supply half the iron and most
of the oil used in the country; its bituminous coal-beds in the W. are
extremely rich, and the anthracite deposits of the E. are unrivalled; in
manufactures, too, it ranks second among the States; these are very
varied, the most valuable being iron, steel, and shipbuilding. Founded by
Swedes, it passed to English settlers in 1664; the first charter was
granted to William Penn in 1681. In the Revolution it took a prominent
part, and was among the first States of the Union. Education is well
advanced; there are 20 State colleges. The mining population includes
many Irish, Hungarian, and Italian immigrants, among whom riots are
frequent. Of the agriculturists many are of Dutch descent, and about two
millions still speak a Low German _patois_ known as Pennsylvanian Dutch.
HARRISBURG (39) is the capital; the metropolis is PHILADELPHIA
(1,047), the second largest city in the country; while PITTSBURG
(239), ALLEGHANY (105), SCRANTON (75), and READING (59)
are among the many large towns.
PENNY, originally a silver coin, weighed in the 7th century 1/240-th
of a Saxon pound, but decreased in weight till in Elizabeth's time it was
1/63 of an ounce troy. It was at first indented with a cross so as to be
broken for halfpennies and farthings, but silver coins of these
denominations were coined by Edward I. Edward VI. stopped the farthings,
and the halfpence were stopped in the Commonwealth. Copper coinage was
established in 1672. The present coins were issued first in 1860. They
are half the size of their predecessors, and intrinsically worth
one-seventh of their nominal value.
PENNY WEDDING, a wedding at which the guests pay part of the charges
of the festival.
PENRITH (9), a market town of Cumberland, and tourist centre for the
English lakes; contains a very old church and school, and ruins of a
picturesque castle. Brewing, iron-founding, and timber-sawing are its
industries.
PENRYN (3), a Cornish market town at the head of Falmouth harbour;
has manufactures of paper, woollen cloth, and gunpowder. It has
considerable fishing industry, and ships the Penryn granite quarried
near.
PENSEROSO, II, a famous Italian poem by Milton, written in 1633.
PENSIONARY, THE GRAND, a State functionary of Holland, whose office,
abolished in 1795, it was to superintend State interests, register
decrees, negotiate with other countries, and take charge of the revenues,
&c.
PENTACLE. See PENTAGRAM.
PENTAGRAM, a symbol presumed to possess a magical influence,
particularly to charm away evil spirits, formed by placing the figure of
an equilateral triangle athwart another.
PENTAMERONE, a collection of tales in the Neapolitan dialect,
supposed to be told during five days by ten old women to a
pseudo-princess, and published at Naples 1637; is of great value to
students of folk-lore.
PENTATEUCH, the name given by Origen to the first five books of the
Bible, which the Jews call the Law or Five-fifths of the Law, the
composition of which has of late years been subjected to keen critical
investigation, and the whole ascribed to documents of different dates and
diverse authorship, to the rejection of the old traditional hypothesis
that it was the work of Moses, first called in question by Spinoza, and
shown to be untenable by JEAN ASTRUC (q. v.).
PENTECOST (i. e. fiftieth), a great feast of the Jews, so called
as held on the fiftieth day after the second of the Passover. It is
called also the Feast of Harvest, or Weeks of First-Fruits, the Passover
feast being connected with the commencement and this with the conclusion
of harvest. It is regarded by the Jews as commemorative of the giving of
the law on Mount Sinai, and will never cease to be associated in the
Christian memory with the great awakening from which dates the first
birth of the Christian consciousness in the Christian Church, the moment
when the disciples of Christ first realised in common that their Master
was not dead but alive, and nearer to them than He had been when present
in the flesh.
PENTELICUS, a range of mountains in Attica between Athens and
Marathon, famous for its quarries of fine white marble.
PENTHESILEA, the daughter of Ares and the queen of the Amazons; on
the death of Hector she came to the assistance of the Trojans, but was
slain by Achilles, who mourned over her when dying on account of her
beauty, her youth, and her courage.
PENTHEUS, a king of Thebes, opposed to the introduction of the
Bacchus worship into his kingdom, was driven mad by the god, and torn in
pieces by his mother and sisters, who, under the Bacchic frenzy, mistook
him for a wild beast.
PENTHIÈVRE, DUC DE, the father-in-law of Philippe Egalité, and the
protector of Florian (1725-1793).
PENTLAND FIRTH is the strait between the Orkneys and the Scottish
mainland connecting the North Sea with the Atlantic, 12 m. long by 6
broad, and swept by a rapid current very dangerous to navigation; 5000
vessels traverse it annually.
PENTONVILLE, a populous district of London, in the parishes of St
James's, Clerkenwell, and Islington, where is the Pentonville Model
Prison, built in 1840-42 on the radiating principle to accommodate 520
prisoners.
PENUMBRA, the name given to the partial shadow on the rim of the
total shadow of an eclipse, also to the margin of the light and shade of
a picture.
PENZANCE (14), the largest town in Cornwall, most westerly borough
in England, and terminus of the Great Western Railway, is beautifully
situated on the rocky W. shore of Mount's Bay; its public buildings
chiefly of granite. It has a fine harbour and docks, and is the centre of
the mackerel and pilchard fishing industries. Its mild climate makes it a
favourite watering-place.
PEOPLE'S PALACE, Mile End Road, London, is an institution for the
recreation and instruction of the East-end population, opened by the
Queen in May 1887, and owing its origin to the impulse given by Sir W.
Besant's "All Sorts and Conditions of Men." In it are a library, art
galleries, concert and reading rooms, baths, gymnasium, &c., and
technical classes and handicraft schools are held; these are attended by
5000 pupils, and the institution is visited by a million and a quarter
people annually.
PEPIN THE SHORT, king of the Franks, was the son of Charles Martel,
and at first shared with his brother Carloman the viceroyalty of the
kingdom under Hilderik III.; in 747 Carloman retired to a monastery, and
five years later Pepin deposed Hilderik and ascended the throne; his
kingdom embraced the valleys of the Rhine, the Rhône, and the Seine; he
united his interests with those of the Church, and in 756 entered Italy
to rescue the Pope from the threatened domination of the Lombards;
reduced Aistulf of Lombardy to vassalage, assumed the title of Patrician
of Rome, and by bestowing on Pope Stephen III. the "Exarchate" of the
Roman empire, laid the foundation of papal temporal sovereignty, five
cities being placed under his jurisdiction; his subsequent exploits
included the conquest of the Loire Valley and the expulsion of the Moors
from France; his fame was overshadowed by that of his son Charlemagne;
_d_. 678.
PEPSIN, an essential constituent of the gastric juice extracted from
the stomach of the calf, sheep, and pig, and used in medicine to supply
any defect of it in the stomach of a patient.
PEPYS, SAMUEL, author of a famous Diary, a scholarly man and
respected as connected with different grades of society; held a clerkship
in the Admiralty, and finally the secretaryship; kept a diary of events
from 1660 to 1669, which remained in MS. till 1826, when it was published
in part by Lord Braybrooke, and is of interest for the insight it gives
into the manners of the time and the character of the author; the latest
and completest edition of this Diary is that of H. B. Wheatley, published
in 1893-96, in eight vols. (1633-1703).
PERA, a suburb of Constantinople, on the N. side of the Golden Horn,
and the foreign diplomatic quarter.
PERÆA, "the country beyond," designated that part of Palestine
beyond or E. of the Jordan.
PERCEVAL, a hero of the legends of chivalry, famed for his
adventures in quest of the Holy Graal.
PERCEVAL, SPENCER, English statesman, born in London, son of the
Earl of Egmont; bred to the bar; entered Parliament as a supporter of
Pitt, and held a succession of posts under different administrations,
attaining the Premiership, which he held from 1800 to 1812, on the 11th
of May, of which year he was shot dead by a madman of the name of
Bellingham in the lobby of the House; he was devoted to the throne, and a
man of upright character but narrow sympathies (1762-1812).
PERCIVAL, JAMES GATES, American poet and geologist, born at
Kensington, Connecticut; took his degree at Yale in 1815, and qualified
as a medical practitioner; he was for a few months professor of Chemistry
at West Point, but retired and gave himself to literature and geology;
his scientific works are valuable; "Prometheus and Clio" appeared in
1822, "Dream of a Day" in 1843; he died at Hazel Green, Wisconsin
(1795-1856).
PERCY, a noble English family of Norman origin, the founder of which
accompanied the Conqueror, and was rewarded with grants of land for his
services; a successor of whom in the female line, Henry, the father of
the famous Hotspur, was created Duke of Northumberland in 1377.
PERCY, THOMAS, English prelate and antiquary, born at Bridgenorth,
Shropshire, the son of a grocer; devoted himself to the collection of old
ballads, and published in 1765 "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry"; he
published also ballads of his own, among them "The Hermit of Warkworth,"
and was the author of "O Nannie, wilt thou gang wi' me?" he associated
with Johnson, Burke, and other notables of the period, and was a member
of Dr. Johnson's Literary Club; became bishop of Dromore in 1782, where
he was held in affectionate regard; was blind for some years before he
died (1729-1811).
PERDICCAS, a favourite general of Alexander the Great, who, when on
his deathbed, took his signet ring off his finger and gave it to him; he
became an object of distrust after Alexander's death, and was
assassinated in Egypt.
PEREIRA, JONATHAN, pharmacologist, born in London; author of the
"Elements of Materia Medica," a standard work; was examiner on the
subject in London University (1804-1853).
PEREKOP, ISTHMUS OF, connects the Crimea with the S. of Russia; is
pierced by a ship-canal.
PEREZ, ANTONIO, Spanish statesman, and minister of Philippe II.,
born in Aragon; was the tool of the king in the murder of Escoveda, the
confidant of John of Austria; was convicted of betraying State secrets
and imprisoned, but escaped; being in possession of royal secrets, which
he published, Philippe tried every means to arrest him, but Perez evaded
capture, and found refuge in France, where he died in poverty
(1539-1611).
PERFECTIONISM, the doctrine that moral perfection is by divine grace
attainable in the present life.
PERFECTIONISTS, an American sect or society founded by John Humphrey
Noyes in 1848 at Oneida, New York State, on Communistic principles, but
owning no law save that of the Spirit, and subject to no criticism but
the judgment they freely passed on one another, a system which they were
obliged to modify in 1880 so far as to recognise the rights of matrimony
and the family, and to adopt the principle of a joint-stock limited
liability company, on which lines the community is proving a prosperous
one.
PERGAMOS, the citadel of Troy, a name frequently given by the poets
to the city itself.
PERGAMOS, an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor; founded by a
colony of Greek emigrants in 3rd century B.C., and eventually the centre
of a province of the name, which was subject for a time to Macedonia, but
threw off the yoke and became independent, till it became a Roman
province by bequest on the part of Attalus III. in 133 B.C. The city
possessed a library second only to that of Alexandria, contained one of
the seven churches mentioned in the Revelation, and gave its name to
parchment, alleged to have been invented there.
PERI, in the Eastern mythology a fairy being of surpassing beauty,
begotten of fallen spirits, and excluded from Paradise, but represented
as leading a life of pleasure and endowed with immortality; there were
male Peris as well as female, and they were intermediate between angels
and demons.
PERIANDER, the tyrant of Corinth from 625 to 585 B.C., was one of
the seven sages of Greece, and a patron of literature and the arts; Arion
and Anacharsis lived at his Court.
PERICLES, the great Athenian statesman, born in Athens, of noble
parentage; was a devoted disciple of Anaxagoras; entered public life 467
B.C. as a democrat, and soon became head of the democratic party, to the
increase of the power of the citizens and annihilation of the domination
of the oligarchy centred in the Areopagus; hostile to territorial
aggrandisement, he sought, as his chief ambition, the unification of
Greece in one grand confederacy, but was defeated in this noble aim by
the jealousy of Sparta; he put down all rivalry, however, in Athens
itself, and established himself as absolute ruler with the consent of the
citizens, reforming the laws, adorning the city, and encouraging
literature and the arts, masters, many wise in the one and skilful in the
other, he had at his disposal, such as few or none of the cities of the
world had ever before or have had since; the resulting prosperity did but
enhance the envy of the other States, Sparta in particular, and two years
before he died the spirit of hostility took shape in the outbreak of the
PELOPONNESIAN WAR (q. v.); he had surrounded the city with
walls, and his policy was to defend it from within them rather than face
the enemy in the field, but it proved fatal, for it tended to damp rather
than quicken the ardour of the citizens, and to add to this a plague
broke out among them in 430 B.C., which cut down the most valiant of
their number, and he himself lay down to die the year after; he was a
high-souled, nobly-bred man, great in all he thought and did, and he
gathered around him nearly all the noble-minded and noble-hearted men of
his time to adorn his reign and make Athens the envy of the world; _d_.
429 B.C.
PÉRIER, CASIMIR, a French banker and politician, born at Grenoble;
took part in the Revolution of 1830, became Minister of the Interior in
1831; suppressed the insurrections at Paris and Lyons; died of cholera
(1777-1832).
PERIGEE, the point in the orbit of the moon or a planet nearest the
earth.
PÉRIGORD, an ancient territory of France, S. of Guienne, famous for
its truffles, of which PÉRIGUEUX (q. v.) was the capital; united
to the Crown of France by Henry IV. in 1589, it is now part of the
department of Dordogne and part of Lot-et-Garonne.
PÉRIGUEUX (31), chief town of the department of Dordogne, France, on
the Isle, 95 m. by rail NE. of Bordeaux, is a narrow irregular town with
a cathedral after St. Mark's in Venice, museum of antiquities, and
library; iron and woollens are the industries; truffles and truffle pies
are exported.
PERIHELION, the point on the orbit of a planet or comet nearest the
sun.
PERIM, a small barren, crescent-shaped island at the mouth of the
Red Sea, belonging to Britain, and used as a coaling-station.
PERIPATETIC PHILOSOPHY, the name given to the philosophy of
Aristotle, from his habit of walking about with his disciples as he
philosophised in the shady walks of the Lyceum.
PERNAMBUCO (130), a seaport in N. Brazil, consists of three portions
connected by bridges: Recife, on a peninsula, the business quarter; San
Antonio, the modern quarter, on an intermediate island; and Bon Vista, on
the mainland; manufactures cotton and tobacco, and has shipbuilding
yards; the trade chiefly with England, the United States, and France; it
is the capital of a province (1,100) of the name, producing sugar and
cotton.
PERONELLA, in fairy legend a pretty country lass who exchanges
places with an old wizened queen, and receives the homage due to royalty,
but gladly takes back her rags and beauty.
PEROWNE, STEWART, Bishop of Worcester, born at Burdwân, of Huguenot
extraction, educated at Cambridge; became a Fellow of Corpus Christi;
held several academic and ecclesiastical appointments; an eminent Hebrew
scholar and exegete; his chief work a commentary on the Psalms; _b_.
1823.
PERPIGNAN (28), a town on the Têt, 7 m. from the sea; a fortress in
the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales; has a cathedral of the 14th
century and a bourse in Moorish-Gothic, and manufactures wine and brandy;
belonged originally to Aragon; was taken by France in 1475, and retaken,
after restoration to Spain, in 1642, since which time it has belonged to
France.
PERRAULT, CHARLES, French man of letters, born in Paris; bred to the
bar; distinguished as the author of inimitable fairy tales, which have
immortalised his name, as "Puss in Boots," "Cinderella," "Bluebeard,"
&c., as also "Parallel des Anciens et des Modernes," in which his aim was
to show--an ill-informed attempt--that the ancients were inferior in
everything to the moderns (1628-1703).
PERSECUTIONS OF THE CHURCH, by which are meant those at the hands of
Imperial Rome, are usually reckoned 10 in number, viz., those under Nero
in 64, Domitian 95, Trajan 107, Hadrian 125, Marcus Aurelius 165, Severus
202, Maximinus 235, Decius 249, Valerianus 257, and Diocletian 303;
besides these there were others quite as deadly within the Church itself
on the part of orthodox against heterodox, or Catholic against
Protestant, and Established against Nonconformist.
PERSEPHONE, in the Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and Demeter,
the Proserpine of the Romans. See PROSERPINE.
PERSEPOLIS, the ancient capital of Persia, represented now by its
ruins, which stand 25 m. from the NW. shores of Lake Niris, on the banks
of the Murghab River, though in its palmy days it was described as "the
Glory of the East."
PERSEUS, in the Greek mythology the son of Zeus and Danaë, and the
grandson of Acrisius, king of Argos, of whom it was predicted before his
birth that he would kill his grandfather, who at his birth enclosed both
his mother and him in a chest and cast it into the sea, which bore them
to an island where they became slaves of the king, Polydectes, who sought
to marry Danaë; failing in his suit, and to compel her to submission, he
ordered Perseus off to fetch him the head of the Medusa; who, aided by
Hermes and Athena, was successful in his mission, cut off the head of the
Medusa with the help of a mirror and sickle, brought it away with him in
a pouch, and after delivering and marrying Andromeda in his return
journey, exposed the head before Polydectes and court at a banquet, which
turned them all into stone, whereupon he gave the Gorgon's head to Athena
to place on her shield, and set out for Argos; Acrisius hearing of his
approach fled, but was afterwards killed accidentally by his grandson,
who in throwing a discus had crushed his foot.
PERSIA (7,000), occupies the tableland 5000 ft. high between the
Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on the S., the Caspian Sea and Turkestan on
the N., Armenia on the W., and Afghanistan and Beluchistan on the E., and
is a country three times as large as France; lofty mountain ranges
traverse it from NW. to SE. and gird its northern boundary; the highest
peak is Mount Demavend, 18,500 ft., in the Elburz, overlooking the
Caspian. Most of the rivers evaporate inland; only one is navigable, the
Karun, in the SW.; Lake Urumiyah, in the NW., is the largest, a very salt
and shallow sheet of water. The eastern half of the country is largely
desert, where the sand is swept about in clouds by the winds. With little
rain, the climate is intensely hot in summer and cold in winter. Forests
clothe the outer slopes of the mountains, and scanty brushwood the inner
plains. Wheat and barley are grown on higher levels, and cotton, sugar,
and fruits on the lower, all with the help of Irrigation. Agriculture is
the chief industry; there are manufactures of carpets, shawls, and
porcelain. The internal trade is carried on by caravans; foreign trade is
not extensive, and is chiefly in Russian hands; the exports include
opium, carpets, pearls, and turquoises. The capital is Teheran (210), a
narrow, crooked, filthy town, at the southern foot of the Elburz. Tabriz
(180), in the NW., is the emporium of trade. Ispahân (60), Meshed (60),
Barfurush (60), and Shiraz (30) are the other important towns. The
Government is despotic; the emperor is called the Shah. The people are
courteous and refined in manner, witty, and fluent in speech; they are of
Aryan stock and Mohammedan faith. The original empire of Persia was
established by Cyrus 537 B.C. A century later decay set in. Revival
under Parthian and Sassanian dynasties lasted from 138 B.C. till A.D.
639. Persia became then a province of the Arabs. From the 14th century it
fell under Mongol sway, and again in the 16th century under Turkish. The
present dynasty was founded in 1795. The future of the country is in
Russian and British hands.
PERSIAN GULF, a great inland sea lying between Arabia and Persia,
and entered from the Indian Ocean through the Gulf of Oman; is 650 m.
long and from 50 to 250 m. broad. The Arabian coast is low and sandy, the
Persian high. The chief islands are in the W., where also is the Great
Pearl Bank. The only river of importance received is the Shat-el-Arab,
which brings down the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris.
PERSIAN WARS, wars conducted by Persia in the three expeditions
against Greece, first in 490 B.C. under Darius, and defeated by the
Athenians under Miltiades at Marathon; the second, 480 B.C., under
Xerxes, opposed by Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at Thermopylæ and
defeated by the Athenians under Themistocles at Salamis by sea; and the
third, in 479 B.C., under Xerxes, by the Greeks under the Spartan
Pausanius at Platæa.
PERSIANS, a name given to sculptured draped male figures used as
columns.
PERSIANS, THE, belonged to the Aryan race, hence Iran, the original
name of their country; they were related rather to the Western than the
Eastern world, and it is from them that continuous history takes its
start; they first recognised an ethereal essence, which they called
Light, as the principle of all good, and man as related to it in such a
way that, by the worship of it, he became assimilated to it himself.
Among them first the individual subject stood face to face with a
universal object, and claimed a kinship with it as the light of life. The
epoch thus created was the emancipation of the human being from dependent
childhood to self-dependent manhood, and it constituted the first epoch
in the self-conscious history, which is the history proper, of the human
race. The idea the Persians formed of the principle of good came far
short of the reality indeed, but they first saw that it was of purely
illuminating quality and universal, and that the destiny of man was to
relate himself to it, to know, worship, and obey it. With the ethereal
principle of good they associated an equally ethereal principle of evil,
and, as they identified the one with light, they identified the other
with darkness. Man they regarded as related to both, and his destiny to
adore the one and disown the other as master. As the light had no portion
in the darkness, and the darkness no portion in the light, the religion
arose which pervades that of the Bible, which requires the children of
the former to separate from those of the latter.
PERSIFLAGE, a French term for a light, quizzing mockery, or
scoffing, specially on serious subjects, out of a cool, callous contempt
for them.
PERSIGNY, FIALIN, DUC DE, a French statesman, a supporter all along
of Louis Napoleon, abetting him in all his efforts to attain the throne
of France, from the affair of Strasburg in 1836 to the _coup d'état_ of
December 1851, and becoming in the end Minister of the Interior under
him; had to leave France at his fall (1806-1872).
PERSIUS, the last king of Macedonia; was conquered by Paulus
Æmilius, and died captive at Rome 167 B.C.
PERSIUS, Roman satirist, born in Etruria, was a pupil and friend of
Cornutus the Stoic; a man much esteemed, who died young, only 28; wrote
six short satires in the purity of a white-souled manhood, of much native
vigour, though not equal to those of Horace and Juvenal, and that have
commanded the regard of all scholars down to the present time; they have
often been translated (34-62).
PERTH (30), the county-town of Perthshire, on the Tay, 22 m. W. of
Dundee: is a beautifully situated town, with fine buildings, the only
old one being the restored St. John's Church. Its industries are dyeing
and ink-making. At Scone, 2 m. distant, the kings of Scotland were
crowned; and the murder of James I., the Gowrie conspiracy, and the
battle of Tippermuir are but a few of its many historical associations.
"The Five Articles of Perth," adopted by a General Assembly held there in
1618, did much to precipitate the conflict between the Royal power and
the Scottish Church; they enjoined kneeling at the Lord's Supper,
observance of Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost,
confirmation, and the private administration of the sacraments.
PERTH (8), the capital of West Australia, on the Swan River.
PERTHSHIRE (122), the most beautiful and varied county in Scotland,
occupies the whole of the Tay Valley and part of the Forth, and is
bounded by nine other counties. The N. and W. are mountainous, with many
rivers and lakes, and much of the finest scenery in Scotland; the
Trossachs and Loch Katrine are world famed. In the E. is extensive
woodland and the Carse of Gowrie, one of the most fertile of Scottish
plains. Ben Lawers is the highest mountain, Loch Tay the largest lake.
Much of the soil is good only for sheep farms, deer forests, and grouse
moors; the county is visited annually by thousands of tourists and
sportsmen.
PERTINAX, HELVIUS, Roman emperor in succession to Commodus; rose
from the ranks by his military services to the imperial dignity, which he
was pressed to accept against his will, and was assassinated by the
Prætorian Guards less than three months after, in consequence of the
reforms he projected in order to restore the ancient discipline of the
army (126-193).
PERTURBATIONS, name given to irregularities or slight deviations in
the movement of a heavenly body, due chiefly to the neighbourhood of
another point in its orbit.
PERU (3,000), a country in the W. of South America, twice the size
of Austro-Hungary, lies between Brazil and Bolivia and the Pacific, with
Ecuador on the N. and Chile on the S.; it consists of a seaboard plain,
hot and rainless, but intersected by rich river courses, in which sugar,
cotton, and coffee are grown; the Andes chains, snow-tipped and
presenting every kind of climate and variety of vegetation on their
slopes and in their valleys, rich in minerals and yielding chiefly great
quantities of silver; and the Montana, the eastward slopes of the Andes,
clad with valuable forests where the cinchona is cultivated, and the
upland basins of the Ucayalé River and the Upper Amazon, very fertile,
with great coffee and cacao plantations and abundant rain; the chief
articles of export are silver, nitre, guano, sugar, and wool. Lima (200),
the capital, is 8 m. inland from its port Callao (35); has an old
cathedral, and is the chief centre of commerce; its principal merchants
are Germans. The government is republican; the ruling classes are of
Spanish descent, but half of the population are Inca Indians and a
quarter are half-castes. From the 12th to the 16th centuries the Incas
enjoyed a high state of civilisation and an extensive empire administered
on socialistic principles; they attained great skill in the industries
and arts. The Spanish conqueror Pizarro, landing in 1532, overthrew the
empire and established the colony; after three centuries of oppression
Peru threw off the Spanish yoke in 1824. The history of the republic has
been one of continual restlessness, and a war with Chile 1879-84 ended in
complete disaster; recovery is slowly progressing.
PERUGIA (17), Italian walled city on the right bank of the Tiber,
127 m. by rail N. of Rome, with a cathedral of the 15th century, some
noteworthy churches, a Gothic municipal palace, picture gallery,
university, and library; is rich in art treasures and antiquarian
remains; it has silk and woollen industries; it was anciently called
Perusia, and one of the cities of ancient Etruria, and in its day has
experienced very varied fortunes; it was the centre of the Umbrian school
of painting.
PERUGINO, his proper name VANNUCCI, Italian painter, born near
Perugia, whence his name; studied with Leonardo da Vinci at Florence,
where he chiefly resided; was one of the teachers of Raphael, painted
religious subjects, did frescoes for churches that have nearly all
perished, a "Christ giving the Keys to Peter" being the best extant;
Ruskin contrasts his work with Turner's; "in Turner's distinctive work,"
he says, "colour is scarcely acknowledged unless under influence of
sunshine ... wherever the sun is not, there is melancholy and evil," but
"in Perugino's distinctive work"--to whom he therefore gives "the
captain's place over all"--"there is simply _no_ darkness, _no_ wrong.
Every colour is lovely and every space is light; the world, the universe,
is divine; all sadness is a part of harmony, and all gloom a part of
light" (1446-1524).
PESCHIERA, one of the fortresses of the QUADRILATERAL (q. v.),
on an island in the Mincio, 14 m. W. of Verona.
PESHAWAR or PESHAWUR (84), a town on the Indian frontier, and
centre of trade with Afghanistan, is 10 m. from the entrance of the
Khyber Pass, on the Kabul River, and though ill-fortified is a bulwark of
the empire, being provided with a large garrison of infantry and
artillery.
PESHITO (i. e. simple), a version of the Bible in Syriac, executed
not later than the middle of the 2nd century for Judaic Christians in the
Syrian Church, the version of the Old Testament being executed direct
from the Hebrew and that of the New being the first translation of the
Greek of it into a foreign tongue, and both of value in questions
affecting exegesis and the original text; the New Testament version
contains all the books now included except the Apocalypse, Jude, 2 Peter,
and 2 and 3 John.
PESSIMISM, a name given now to a habit of feeling, now to a system
of opinion; as the former it denotes a tendency to dwell on the dark or
gloomy side of things, culminating in a sense of their vanity and
nothingness, while in the latter it is applied to all systems of opinion
which lay the finger on some black spot in the structure of the life of
the world or of the universe, which so long as it remains is thought to
render it unworthy of existence.
PESTALOZZI, JOHANN HEINRICH, a celebrated educationist, born at
Zurich; founder of a natural system of education, beginning with
childhood, and who, however unsuccessful in the working of it himself
from his want of administrative faculty, persuaded others by his writings
to adopt it, especially in Germany, and to adopt it both enthusiastically
and successfully; his method, which he derived from Rousseau, was based
on the study of human nature as we find it born in the child, and it
aimed at the harmonious development of all its innate capabilities,
beginning with the most rudimentary (1745-1827).
PESTH or BUDAPEST (492), on the left bank of the Danube,
forming one municipality with Buda on the right, is the capital of
Hungary, and 173 m. by rail E. of Vienna; Pesth is built on a plain,
joined to Buda by three bridges, the last on the Danube, and is a
thriving modern city, with picture galleries, parliament house, library,
university, science schools, many baths, and public gardens; it makes
machinery, agricultural implements, cutlery, flour, &c., and does a great
trade in corn, wool, hides, wines, and bacon.
PETALISM, banishment in Sparta similar to ostracism in Athens,
procured by writing the name on an olive leaf.
PETARD, a cone-shaped explosive machine for bursting open gates,
barriers, &c., made of iron and filled with powder and ball.
PETASUS, the winged-cap of the god Mercury.
PETCHORA, the largest river in Northern Russia, rises in the Ural
Mountains and flows N. through Vologda and Archangel, then westward and
N. again, entering the Arctic Ocean by a large, island-studded estuary,
after a course of 1000 m. through sombre forests and wild, sombre
scenery.
PETER, THE APOSTLE, originally called Simon, was a fisherman on the
Sea of Galilee; one of the first called by Christ to become a disciple;
the first to recognise, as the foundation-stone of the Church, the
divinity in the humanity of His Master, and the first thereafter to
recognise and proclaim that divinity as glorified in the cross, to whom
in recognising which, especially the former, was committed the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and who accordingly was the first to open the door
of it to the Gentile world. He was the principal figure in the history of
the early Christian Church, but was soon eclipsed by the overpowering
presence and zeal of Paul. Tradition, indeed, has something to tell of
him, but from it little of trustworthy can be gathered except that he
finished his career by martyrdom in the city of Rome. This Apostle is
represented in Christian art as an old man, bald-headed, with a flowing
beard, dressed in a white mantle, and holding a scroll in his hand, his
attributes being the keys, and a sword in symbol of his martyrdom.
PETER, THE FIRST EPISTLE OF, addressed especially to Jewish
Christians in certain churches of Asia Minor, the members of which were
suffering persecution at the hands of their adversaries as evil-doers;
was written to exhort them to rebut the charge by a life of simple
well-doing, and to comfort them under it with the promise of the return
of the Lord.
PETER, THE SECOND EPISTLE OF, addressed to all who anywhere bore the
Christian name; appears to have been written not long before his death to
counteract certain fatal forms of error, at once doctrinal and practical,
that had already begun to creep into the Church, and against which we
meet with the same warnings in the Epistle of Jude, the doctrinal error
being the denial of Christ as Lord, and the practical the denial of Him
as the way, the truth, and the life, to the peril of the forfeiture of
eternal life.
PETER, THE WILD BOY, a savage creature of 13 years of age, found in
1725 in a forest of Hanover, who was accustomed to walk on all fours, and
climb trees like a squirrel, living on wild plants, grass, and moss, and
who could not be weaned from these habits, or taught to speak more than a
syllable or two; he wore a brass collar with his name on it; at length
refused all food, and died in 1786.
PETER MARTYR, 1, a Dominican notorious for his severity as a member
of the Inquisition, murdered by a mob at Como in 1252, became the patron
saint of the Inquisition. 2, A Protestant reformer, born at Florence,
became a monk and abbot at Lucca, from which, on embracing the doctrines
of the Reformation, he was forced to flee, first to Switzerland and then
to England in the reign of Edward VI., but had to retreat from thence
also on the accession of Mary to Strasburg, and at length to Zurich,
where he died (1500-1562). 3, A historian, born at Arona, rose to become
bishop of Jamaica, wrote on the discovery of America, _d_. 1525.
PETER THE GREAT, emperor of Russia, son of the Czar Alexei, born at
Moscow; succeeded his half-brother Feodor in 1682, but was forced for a
time to share the throne with his half-sister Sophia, acting as regent
for her brother Ivan; conscious of his imperfect education, he chose a
Genoese named Lefort as his preceptor, and after some years' careful
training he deposed Sophia, and entered Moscow as sole ruler in 1689;
with the help of Lefort and Patrick Gordon, a Scotsman, he proceeded to
raise and discipline an army on the European model, and determined also
to construct a navy; to reach the sea he made war on the Turks, and
possessed himself of the port of Azov, at the mouth of the Don; hither he
invited skilled artificers from Austria, Venice, Prussia, and Holland,
and a navy was built; from 1697 to 1698 he visited the countries on the
Baltic and England, acquiring vast stores of information, working as a
shipwright in the Dutch yards, and finally taking back with him an army
of mechanics; on his return he vigorously reformed the Russian press,
schools, and church, introduced European manners and literature, and
encouraged foreign trade; desirous now of an opening on the Baltic, he
began in 1700 a long contest with Sweden, marked first by many defeats,
notably that of Narva, then the seizure of Ingria, and founding of the
new capital St. Petersburg 1703, the victory of Pultowa 1712, seizure of
the Baltic provinces and part of Finland 1713, and finally by the Peace
of 1721, which ceded the conquered territories to Russia; in 1711 the
Turks had recovered Azov; in 1722 war with Persia secured him three
Caspian provinces; Peter pursued a vigorous and enlightened policy for
the good of Russia, but his disposition was often cruel; his son Alexei
was put to death for opposing his reforms, and on his own death he was
succeeded by the Empress Catherine I., the daughter of a peasant, who had
been his mistress, and whom he had married in 1712 (1672-1725).
PETER THE HERMIT, a monk, born in Amiens, of good family, who is
credited with having by his preaching kindled the enthusiasm in Europe
which led to the first Crusade; he joined it himself as the leader of an
untrained rabble, but made a poor figure at the siege of Antioch, where
he was with difficulty prevented from deserting the camp; he afterwards
founded a monastery near Liège, where he died (1050-1115).
PETERBOROUGH (25), an English cathedral city, on the Nen, partly in
Huntingdonshire and partly in Northamptonshire, on the edge of the Fen
country, 76 m. N. of London; has an old town-hall, manufactures of farm
implements, trade in malt and coal, and is a great railway centre; the
cathedral is one of the finest in Britain, of very varied architecture,
was restored and reopened afterwards in 1890.
PETERBOROUGH, CHARLES MORDAUNT, EARL OF, saw some active service as
a volunteer in Charles II.'s navy, and on the accession of James II.
threw himself into politics as an opponent of the king; William III.
showed him great favour; he was of the Queen's Council of Regency when
William was in Ireland, but imprudent intriguing brought him a short
confinement in the Tower in 1697; the war of the Spanish Succession was
the opportunity which brought him fame; appointed to the command of the
British and Dutch forces, which fought for Charles of Austria, he reduced
Barcelona 1705, and Valencia 1706; retook Barcelona from the French, and
but for Charles's hindrance would have entered Madrid; differences with
other generals led to his recall in 1707; the rest of his life was spent
in retirement; he was the friend of Pope, and held by him in genuine
esteem; he died in Lisbon (1658-1735).
PETERHEAD (12), a seaport on the E. coast of Aberdeenshire, 30 m.
NE. of Aberdeen; built irregularly of reddish granite; has a free library
and museum, and is the seat of a convict prison; the chief industry is
herring-fishing; there are two harbours, and a third, a great harbour of
refuge, is in course of construction.
PETERHOF (14), a town on the Gulf of Finland, 18 m. W. of St.
Petersburg, with a palace of the Czar built in 1711 by Peter the Great.
PETERLOO, a name, suggested by Waterloo, given to an insurrectionary
gathering in 1819 of workers in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, to demand
Parliamentary reform, and which was dispersed by the military to the
sacrifice of 13 lives and the wounding of 600, a proceeding which excited
wide-spread indignation, and contributed to promote the cause which it
was intended to defeat.
PETER'S, ST., church at Rome, is built, it is alleged, over the tomb
of St. Peter, and on the site of the basilica erected by Constantine and
Helena in 306. The original structure after falling into decay was begun
to be rebuilt in 1450, and finally consecrated by Urban XIII. in 1626. It
is the largest and grandest church in Christendom, covers an area of over
26,000 square yards, the interior of it in length being 206 yards, the
transept 150 yards, the nave 150, and the dome 465. It contains thirty
altars, and is adorned with numerous statues and monuments.
PETER'S PENCE, an annual tribute of a silver penny per household in
England to support the chair of St. Peter at Rome, and which continued
more or less to be levied from the end of the 8th century till the days
of Elizabeth, when it ceased. The payment has been revived since 1848 in
Britain, France, and Belgium in compensation to the Pope for loss of his
territorial possessions.
PETERWARDEIN (4), a strong Austrian fortress on the right bank of
the Danube, near the Servian frontier, 40 m. NW. of Belgrade; stands
among unhealthy marshes.
PÉTION DE VILLENEUVE, JÉRÔME, born at Chartres; figured in the
French Revolution as a zealous republican, member of the Tiers État, one
of the commission to reconduct the royal family from Varennes; was mayor
of Paris in the year of the September massacres, 1792; was first
President of the Convention, and, though his influence was declining,
member of the first Committee of Defence, 1793; his attack on Robespierre
proving unsuccessful he committed suicide; his body was afterwards found
on the Landes of Bordeaux half devoured by wolves; was surnamed the
"Virtuous," as Robespierre the "Incorruptible"; was of the Girondist
party; had "unalterable beliefs, not hindmost of them," says Carlyle,
"belief in himself" (1783-1793).
PETITE NATURE, a French term applied to pictures containing figures
less than life-size, but with the effect of life-size.
PETITION OF RIGHT, a petition presented to Charles I. by the Commons
in 1628, and that became law by the king's acceptance of it. It sought
for and obtained the abolition of certain grievances which the country
unconstitutionally suffered from, such as taxation or levying of money
without consent of Parliament, imprisonment without cause shown,
billeting of troops, and recourse to martial law in a time of peace. This
petition Charles I. would at first fain have evaded, but the Commons
would be satisfied with nothing less than its acceptance entire.
PETÖFI, SANDOR, celebrated Magyar poet and patriot, born in the
county of Pesth, of poor parents; first announced himself as a poet in
1844; wrote a number of war-songs; fought in the cause of the revolution
of 1848, and fell in the battle of Schässburg; his poetry inaugurated a
new era in the literature of his country (1823-1849).
PETRA, a ruined city, and once the rock capital of Edom, and
afterwards of Arabia Petræa; was a place of some importance at one time
as a commercial centre; the name Petra signifies rock.
PETRARCH, FRANCESCO, the famous Italian lyric poet, born at Arezzo,
in Tuscany, whither his father had gone when exiled with Dante from
Florence; spent his youth in Avignon; intended for the profession of law,
devoted his time to the study of Cicero and Virgil; met Laura in the
church of St. Clare there in 1327, a lady of surpassing beauty; conceived
a passion for her which she could not return, and wrote sonnets in praise
of her, which immortalised both himself and her; after travel in France
and Germany he retired in 1337 to the valley of Vaucluse, where he
composed the most of his poems, and his reputation reached its height in
1341, when he was crowned laureate in the Capitol of Rome; he was in
Italy when tidings reached him of the death of Laura in 1348, on the
anniversary of the day when he first met her, upon which he gave
expression to his feelings over the event in a touching note of it in his
Virgil; we find him again at Rome in 1350, and after moving from place to
place settled in Arqua in 1370, where he died; his Latin works are
numerous, and include an epic on the Second Punic war, Eclogues, Epistles
in verse, and Letters of value giving the details of his life; his fame
rests on his lyrics; by those alone he still lives, and that more from
the finished art in which they are written than from any glow of feeling
they kindle in the reader's heart (1304-1374).
PETRI, LAURENTIUS, a Swedish Reformer; was a disciple of Luther;
became professor of Theology and first Protestant archbishop of Upsala,
and superintended the translation of the Bible into Swedish (1499-1573).
PETRIE, FLINDERS, Egyptologist, son of an Australian explorer; after
explorations at Stonehenge, surveyed the pyramids and temples of Ghizeh
in 1881-82; excavated for the Egyptian Exploration Fund Nankratis, Am,
and Defenneh; has achieved many other important works of the kind, and
issued a popular work, "Ten Years' Diggings in Egypt"; _b_. 1853.
PETRIE, GEORGE, Irish archæologist, born in Dublin, of Scottish
parentage; bred to art; executed Irish landscapes, but is best known for
his "Essay on the Round Towers of Ireland," a work of no small interest
(1790-1866).
PETROLEUM, is the common name of a series of rock oils found in
large quantities in the United States and Canada, near Rangoon, and in
the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea. The oil issues from the rocks, or
is drawn from subterranean reservoirs, where its presence is supposed to
result from natural distillation of vegetable and animal substances, and
after refining, put in the market as benzoline, paraffin, and lubricating
oil. It is extensively used in the industries, and has been applied as
fuel to steamships.
PÉTROLEUSE, was a name given to certain Parisian women of the
Commune of 1871, who poured petroleum on the Hôtel de Ville and other
buildings to burn them.
PETRONIUS, a Roman satirist and accomplished voluptuary at the court
of Nero, and the director-in-chief of the imperial pleasures; accused of
treason, and dreading death at the hands of the emperor his master, he
opened his veins, and by bandaging them bled slowly to death, showing the
while the same frivolity as throughout his life; he left behind him a
work, extant now only in fragments, but enough to expose the abyss of
profligacy in which the Roman world was then sunk at that crisis of its
fate; _d_. 63.
PETTIE, JOHN, painter, born at Edinburgh; his works, chiefly
historical, were numerous, and of a high character (1839-1893).
PETTY, SIR WILLIAM, political economist, born in Hampshire; was a
man of versatile genius, varied attainments, and untiring energy; was
skilled in medicine, in music, in mechanics, and in engineering, as well
as economics, to which especially he contributed by his pen (1623-1687).
PETTY JURY, a jury of 12 elected to try a criminal case after a true
bill against the accused has been found by a Grand Jury.
PETTY OFFICERS, officers in the navy, consisting of four grades, and
corresponding in function and responsibility to non-commissioned officers
in the army.
PETTY SESSIONS, name given to sessions of justices of the peace to
try small cases without a jury.
PEUTINGER, CONRAD, an Augsburg antiquary, left at his death a
13th-century copy of a 3rd-century map of the Roman military roads, now
in the Imperial Library at Vienna, known as the "Tabula Peutingeriana"
(1465-1547).
PFÄFERS, hot springs near a village of the same name in the Swiss
canton of St. Gall; have been in use for 800 years.
PFAHLBAUTEN, lake dwellings of prehistoric date in Switzerland.
PFALZ, the German name for the Palatinate.
PFEIFFER, IDA, a celebrated traveller, born in Vienna; being
separated from her husband, and having completed the education of her two
sons and settled them in life, commenced her career of travel in 1842, in
which year she visited Palestine, in 1845 visited Scandinavia, in 1846
essayed a voyage round the world by Cape Horn, in 1851 a second by the
Cape of Good Hope, and in 1856 an expedition to Madagascar, returning at
the end of each to Vienna and publishing accounts of them (1797-1858).
PFFLEIDERER, OTTO, a philosophical theologian, born in Würtemberg,
professor at Jena, and afterwards at Berlin; has written on religion, the
philosophy of it and sundry developments of it, in an able manner, as
well as lectured on it in Edinburgh in connection with the Gifford trust,
on which occasion he was bold enough to overstep the limits respected by
previous lecturers between natural and revealed religion, to the
inclusion of the latter within his range; _b_. 1830.
PFORZHEIM (29), manufacturing town in Baden, in the N. of the Black
Forest; manufactures gold and silver ornaments, and has chemical and
other factories.
PHÆDRUS, a Latin fabulist, of the age of Augustus, born in
Macedonia, and settled in Rome; originally a slave, was manumitted by
Augustus; his fables, 97 in number, were written in verse, and are mostly
translations from Æsop, the best of them such as keep closely to the
original.
PHAËTHON (i. e. the shining one, and so called from his father),
the son of HELIOS (q. v.); persuaded his father to allow him for
one day to drive the chariot of the sun across the heavens, but was too
weak to check the horses, so that they rushed off their wonted track and
nearly set the world on fire, whereupon Zeus transfixed him with a
thunderbolt, metamorphosed his sisters who had yoked the horses for him
into poplars and their tears into amber.
PHALANSTERY, a body of people living together on the Communistic
principle of Fourier; also the building they occupy.
PHALANX, among the Greeks a body of heavy infantry armed with long
spears and short swords, standing in line close behind one another,
generally 8 men deep, the Macedonian being as much as 16; its movements
were too heavy, and it was dashed in pieces before the legions of Rome to
its extinction; it was superseded by the Roman legion.
PHALARIS, a tyrant of Agrigentum, in Sicily, in the 6th century, who
is said, among other cruelties, to have roasted the victims of his
tyranny in a brazen bull which bears his name; the "Letters of Phalaris,"
at one time ascribed to him, have been proved to be spurious.
PHALLUS, a symbol of the generative power of nature, being a
representation of the male organ of generation, and associated with rites
and ceremonies of nature-worship in the early stages of civilised life,
and the worship of which was supposed to have a magic influence in
inducing fertility among the flocks and herds, as well as in the soil of
the earth.
PHARAMOND, a Knight of the Round Table, and the reputed first king
of the Franks.
PHARAOH, a name, now proper, now common, given in the Old Testament
to the kings of Egypt, identified with that of the sun-god Phra, and
applied to the king as his representative on earth; some 10 of the name
occur in the Bible, and it is matter of difficulty often to distinguish
one from another.
PHARISEES (i. e. Separatists), a sect of the Jews who adopted or
received this name because of the attitude of isolation from the rest of
the nation which they were compelled to assume at the time of their
origin. This was some time between the years 165 and 105 B.C., on their
discovery that the later Maccabæan chiefs were aiming at more than
religious liberty, and in their own interests contemplating the erection
of a worldly kingdom that would be the death of the theocratic, which it
was the purpose of Providence they should establish; this was the
separate ground which they at first assumed alone, but they in the end
carried the great body of the nation along with them. They were
scrupulously exact in their interpretation and observance of the Jewish
law as the rule to regulate the life of the Jewish community in every
department, and were the representatives of that legal tendency which
gave character to the development of Judaism proper during the period
which elapsed between the date of the Captivity and the advent of
Christianity. The law they observed, however, was not the written law as
it stood, but that law as expounded by the oral law of the Scribes, as
the sole key to its interpretation, so that their attitude to the Law of
Moses was pretty much the same as that of the Roman Catholics and the
High Churchmen in relation to the Scriptures generally, and they were
thus at length the representatives of clericalism as well as legalism in
the Jewish Church, and in doing so they took their ground upon a
principle which is the distinctive article of orthodox Judaism in the
matter to the present day. In the days of Christ they stood in marked
opposition to the SADDUCEES (q. v.) both in their dogmatic views
and their political principles. As against them, on the dogmatic side,
they believed in a spiritual world and in an established moral order, and
on the political their rule was to abstain from politics, except in so
far as they might injuriously affect the life and interests of the
nation; but at that time they had degenerated into mere formalists, whose
religion was a conspicuous hypocrisy, and it was on this account and
their pretensions to superior sanctity that they incurred the indignation
and exposed themselves to the condemnation of Christ.
PHAROS, an island of ancient Egypt, near Alexandria, on which the
first lighthouse was erected by Ptolemy Philadelphus in 48 B.C.
PHARSALIA, a district in the N. of Greece, the southern portion of
the modern province of Larissa; was the scene of Cæsar's victory over
Pompey, 48 B.C.
PHELPS, ELIZABETH STUART, American authoress, born at Andover; wrote
"Gates Ajar" and other popular stories, is a great advocate, by lecturing
and otherwise, for social reform and the emancipation of women; _b_.
1844.
PHELPS, SAMUEL, an English actor, born in Devonport; made his
_début_ as Shylock in London at the Haymarket in 1837, achieved his
greatest successes in Sadler's Wells by his representation of
Shakespeare's plays and the works of eminent dramatists of the 18th
century; was distinguished in comedy as well as tragedy, in which last he
primarily appeared and established his fame (1804-1878).
PHERECYDES, an ancient Greek philosopher, born in Syros in 6th
century B.C.; distinguished as having had Pythagoras among his pupils,
and believed to have been the author of many of the doctrines promulgated
by his disciple and named Pythagorean.
PHIDIAS, the greatest sculptor and statuary of ancient Greece, born
at Athens; flourished in the time of Pericles, and was appointed by him
to direct the works of art projected to the beautifying of the city, and
expressly commissioned to execute certain of these works himself; the
chief work that he superintended was the erection of the Parthenon, much
of which he himself adorned; and of the statues he executed the most
famous were one of Athena of ivory and gold for the Parthenon, and a
colossal one of Zeus, his masterpiece, also of ivory and gold, for
Olympia; accused of having appropriated some of the gold intended for the
statue of Athena he was acquitted, but was afterwards charged with
impiety for carving his own likeness and that of Pericles on the shield
of the goddess, and was thrown into prison, where he died, 432 B.C.
PHILADELPHIA (1,293), largest city in Pennsylvania, on the Delaware,
100 m. from the sea and 90 m. by rail SW. of New York; is the third city
in the Union in population, manufactures, and commerce, regularly built
with plain substantial dwelling-houses; recently more splendid public
buildings have been erected, the town-hall, of white marble, is the
second highest structure in the world; a masonic temple and Government
offices of granite and the Mint are also fine buildings; there is a
university and colleges of science, medicine, art, and music, many
churches, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and many hospitals and charitable
institutions; the industries include locomotive building, saw-making,
woollen and cotton goods, sugar and oil refining, and chemical works; it
trades largely in coal. Founded by William Penn in 1682, it was the
central point of the War of Independence; the first Congress met here,
and the Declaration of Independence was signed (1776) in a building still
standing; here too the Federal Union was signed (1778) and the
constitution drawn up (1787), and from 1790 to 1800 it was the capital of
the United States.
PHILADOR, FRANÇOIS ANDRÉ, a celebrated composer and chess-player,
born at Dreux; wrote a number of operas; in regard to chess his great
maxim was "Pawns are the soul of chess"; fled at the time of the
Revolution to London, where he died (1726-1795).
PHILÆ, an island of syenite stone in the Nile, near Assouan, in
Nubia, 1200 ft. long and 50 ft. broad; is almost covered with ancient
buildings of great beauty, among which is a temple of Isis, with a great
gateway dating from 361 B.C., which was converted into a church in 577.
PHILATORY, a transparent reliquary to contain and exhibit the bones
and relics of saints.
PHILEMON, EPISTLE TO, a short letter by Paul to a member of the
Church at Colossæ on behalf of a slave, Onesimus, who had deserted his
service, gone off with some of his property, and taken refuge in Rome,
but had been converted to Christ, and whom he begs not to manumit, but
simply to receive back as a brother for his sake.
PHILEMON AND BAUCIS, in the Greek mythology a pair of poor people
who, in fond attachment to each other, lived in a small cottage in
Phrygia by themselves and gave hospitality to gods in disguise when every
other door was shut against them, and to whom, in the judgment that
descended upon their inhospitable neighbours, the gods were propitious,
and did honour by appointing them to priesthood, when they would rather
have been servants, in a temple metamorphosed out of their cottage. Here
they continued to minister to old age, and had but one prayer for
themselves, that they might in the end die together; when as they sat at
the door of the temple one day, bent with years, they were changed, he
into an oak and she into a linden. This is Ovid's version of the story,
to which he adds as the moral of it, "Those who piously honour the gods
are themselves held in honour."
PHILIP, an Indian chief whose father had been a staunch friend of
the Pilgrim settlers, was himself friendly to the colonists, till in 1671
their encroachments provoked him to retaliation; after six years'
fighting, in which many colonists perished and great massacres of Indians
took place, he was defeated and slain, 1676.
PHILIP OF MACEDON, the father of Alexander the Great, usurped the
kingdom from the infant king Amyntas, his nephew and ward, in 360 B.C.;
having secured his throne, he entered on a series of aggressive wars,
making expeditions into Thrace and Thessaly; the siege of Olynthus
brought him into conflict with Athens, the two cities being allies, and
occasioned some of the most brilliant orations of Demosthenes; the
successive appeals for his aid against their enemies by the Thebans and
the Argives led him into Greece and into the Peloponnesus; in 339 B.C. a
council of Greek cities appointed him commander-in-chief of their leagued
forces in a projected war against the Locrians, but the Athenians and
Thebans opposed his coming; the defeat of their armies at Chæronea, 338
B.C., placed all Greece at his feet; his next project was an expedition
against Persia, but while preparations were on foot he was assassinated
at Ægæ; a man of unbridled lust, he was an astute and unscrupulous
politician, but of incomparable eloquence, energy, and military skill
(382-336 B.C.).
PHILIP II., Philip-Augustus, king of France, shared the throne with
his father, Louis VII., from 1179, and succeeded him as sole ruler in
1180; marrying Isabella of Hainault, he united the Capet and Carlovingian
houses; his grand aim was to secure to himself some of the English
possessions in France; his alliance with Richard of England in the third
crusade ended in a quarrel; returning to France he broke his oath to
Richard by bargaining with John for portions of the coveted territory; an
exhausting war lasted till 1119; on Richard's death Philip supported
Arthur against John in his claim to Anjou, Maine, and Touraine; after
Arthur's murder, the capture of Château Gaillard in 1204 gave him
possession of these three provinces with Normandy and part of Poitou; the
victory of Bouvines 1214 secured his throne, and the rest of his reign
was spent in internal reforms and the beautifying of Paris (1165-1223).
PHILIP IV., the Fair, king of France, succeeded his father Philip
III. in 1285; by his marriage with Joanna of Navarre added Navarre,
Champagne, and Brie to his realm; but the sturdy valour of the Flemish
burghers at Courtrai on the "Day of Spurs" prevented the annexation of
Flanders; his fame rests on his struggle and victory over the papal
power; a tax on the clergy was condemned by Boniface VIII. in 1296;
supported by his nobles and burghers Philip burnt the papal bull,
imprisoned the legate, and his ambassador in Rome imprisoned the Pope
himself; Boniface died soon after, and in 1305 Philip made Clement V.
Pope; kept him at Avignon, and so commenced the seventy years'
"captivity"; he forced Clement to decree the suppression of the Templars,
and became his willing instrument in executing the decree; he died at
Fontainebleau, having proved himself an avaricious and pitiless despot
(1268-1314).
PHILIP VI., of Valois, king of France, succeeded Charles IV. in
1328; Edward III. of England contested his claim, contending that the
Salic law, though it excluded females, did not exclude their male heirs;
Edward was son of a daughter, Philip son of a brother, of Philip IV.;
thus began the Hundred Years' War between France and England, 1337; the
French fleet was defeated off Sluys in 1340, and the army at Crécy in
1346; a truce was made, when the war was followed by the Black Death; the
worthless king afterwards purchased Majorca (1293-1350).
PHILIP II., king of Spain, only son of the Emperor Charles V.;
married Mary Tudor in 1554, and spent over a year in England; in 1555 he
succeeded his father in the sovereignty of Spain, Sicily, Milan, the
Netherlands, Franche-Comté, Mexico, and Peru; a league between Henry II.
of France and the Pope was overthrown, and on the death of Mary he
married the French princess Isabella, and retired to live in Spain, 1559.
Wedding himself now to the cause of the Church, he encouraged the
Inquisition in Spain, and introduced it to the Netherlands; the latter
revolted, and the Seven United Provinces achieved their independence
after a long struggle in 1579; his great effort to overthrow Protestant
England ended in the disaster of the Armada, 1588; his last years were
embittered by the failure of his intrigues against Navarre, raids of
English seamen on his American provinces, and by loathsome disease; he
was a bigot in religion, a hard, unloved, and unloving man, and a foolish
king; he fatally injured Spain by crushing her chivalrous spirit, by
persecuting the industrious Moors, and by destroying her commerce by
heavy taxation (1527-1598).
PHILIP V., grandson of Louis XIV., first Bourbon king of Spain;
inherited his throne by the testament of his uncle Charles II. in 1700;
the rival claim of the Archduke Charles of Austria was supported by
England, Austria, Holland, Prussia, Denmark, and Hanover; but the long
War of the Spanish Succession terminated in the peace of Utrecht, and
left Philip his kingdom; after an unsuccessful movement to recover Sicily
and Sardinia for Spain he joined England and France against the Emperor,
and gained the former island for his son Charles III.; he died an
imbecile at Madrid (1683-1746).
PHILIP THE BOLD, Duke of Burgundy, was the fourth son of John the
Good, king of France; taken captive at Poitiers 1356; on his return to
France he received for his bravery the duchies of Touraine and Burgundy;
on his brother's accession to the French throne as Charles V. he
exchanged the former duchy for the hand of Margaret of Flanders, on the
death of whose father he assumed the government of his territories; his
wise administration encouraged arts, industries, and commerce, and won
the respect and esteem of his subjects; he was afterwards Regent of
France when Charles V. became imbecile (1342-1404).
PHILIP THE GOOD, grandson of the above, raised the duchy to its
zenith of prosperity, influence, and fame; he was alternately in alliance
with England, and at peace with his superior, France; ultimately
assisting in driving England out of most of her Continental possessions
(1396-1467).
PHILIPHAUGH, a battlefield on the Yarrow, 3 m. W. of Selkirk, was
the scene of Leslie's victory over Montrose in 1645.
PHILIPPI, a Macedonian city, was the scene of a victory gained in 42
B.C. by Octavianus and Antony over Brutus and Cassius, and the seat of a
church, the first founded by St. Paul in Europe.
PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO THE, an Epistle of Paul written at Rome
during his imprisonment there to a church at Philippi, in Macedonia, that
had been planted by himself, and the members of which were among the
first-fruits of his ministry in Europe. The occasion of writing it was
the receipt of a gift from them, and to express the joy it gave him as a
token of their affection. It is the least dogmatic of all his Epistles,
and affords an example of the Apostle's statement of Christian truth to
unbiased minds; one exhortation, however, shows he is not blind to the
rise of an evil which has been the bane of the Church of Christ since the
beginning, the spirit of rivalry, and this is evident from the prominence
he gives in chapter ii. 5-8 to the self-sacrificing lowliness of Christ,
and by the counsel he gives them in chapter iv. 8.
PHILIPPIC, the name originally applied to Demosthenes' three great
orations against Philip of Macedon, then to Cicero's speeches against
Mark Antony; now denotes any violent invective written or spoken.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (8,500), a large and numerous group in the north
of the Malay archipelago, between the China Sea and the Pacific, of which
the largest, Luzon, and the next Mindanao, are both much greater than
Ireland; are mountainous and volcanic, subject to eruptions and
continuous earthquakes. In the N. of the group cyclones too are common.
The climate is moist and warm, but fairly healthy; the soil is very
fertile. Rice, maize, sugar, cotton, coffee, and tobacco are cultivated;
the forests yield dye-woods, hard timber, and medicinal herbs, and the
mines coal and iron, copper, gold, and lead. The chief exports are sugar,
hemp, and tobacco. The aboriginal Negritoes are now few; half-castes are
numerous; the population is chiefly Malayan, Roman Catholic at least
nominally in religion, and speaking the Tagal or the Visayan language.
Discovered by Magellan in 1521, who was killed on the island of Mactan;
they were annexed by Spain in 1569, and held till 1898, when they fell to
the Americans. The capital is Manilla (270), on the W. coast of Luzon;
Laoag (37), San Miguel (35), and Banang (33) among the largest towns.
PHILIPS, AMBROSE, minor poet, born in Leicester, of good family;
friend of Addison and Steele, and a Whig in politics; held several
lucrative posts, chiefly in Ireland; wrote pastorals in vigorous and
elegant verse, and also some short sentimental verses for children, which
earned for him from Henry Carey the nickname of "Namby-Pamby"
(1678-1749).
PHILIPS, JOHN, littérateur, born in Oxfordshire, author of "The
Splendid Shilling," an admirable burlesque in imitation of Milton, and a
poem, "Cider," an imitation of Virgil (1676-1708).
PHILIPS, KATHERINE, poetess, born in London; was the daughter of a
London merchant and the wife of a Welsh squire, a highly sentimental but
worthy woman; the Society of Friendship, in which the members bore fancy
names--hers, which also served her for a _nom de plume_, was Orinda--had
some fame in its day, and brought her, as the foundress, the honour of a
dedication from Jeremy Taylor; her work was admired by Cowley and Keats;
she was a staunch royalist (1631-1664).
PHILISTINE, the name given by the students in Germany to a
non-university man of the middle-class, or a man without (university)
culture, or of narrow views of things.
PHILISTINES, a people, for long of uncertain origin, but now
generally believed to have been originally emigrants from Crete, who
settled in the plain, some 40 m. long by 15 broad, extending along the
coast of Palestine from Joppa on the N. to the desert on the S., and
whose chief cities were Ashdod, Askelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath; they were
a trading and agricultural people, were again and again a thorn in the
side of the Israelites, but gradually tamed into submission, so as to be
virtually extinct in the days of Christ; their chief god was DAGON
(q. v.).
PHILLIP, JOHN, painter, born in Aberdeen; his early pictures
illustrate Scottish subjects, his latest and best illustrate life in
Spain, whither he had gone in 1851 for his health (1817-1867).
PHILLIPS, WENDELL, slavery abolitionist and emancipationist
generally, born at Boston, U.S., and bred to the bar; was Garrison's
aide-de-camp in the cause, and chief after his death (1811-1884).
PHILO JUDÆUS (i. e. Philo the Jew), philosopher of the 1st
century, born in Alexandria; studied the Greek philosophy, and found in
it, particularly the teaching of Plato, the rationalist explanation of
the religion of Moses, which he regarded as the revelation to which
philosophy was but the key; he was a man of great learning and great
influence among his people, and was in his old age one of an embassy sent
by the Jews of Alexandria in A.D. 40 to Rome to protest against the
imperial edict requiring the payment of divine honours to the emperor; he
identified the Logos of the Platonists with the Word in the New
Testament.
PHILOCRETES, a famous archer, who had been the friend and
armour-bearer of Hercules who instructed him in the use of the bow, and
also bequeathed his bow with the poisoned arrows to him after his death;
he accompanied the Greeks to the siege of Troy, but one of the arrows
fell on his foot, causing a wound the stench of which was intolerable, so
that he was left behind at Lemnos, where he remained in misery 10 years,
till an oracle declared that Troy could not be taken without the arrows
of Hercules; he was accordingly sent for, and being healed of his wound
by Æsculapius, assisted at the capture of the city.
PHILOMELA, daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, and sister of
Progne; she was the victim of an outrage committed by her brother-in-law
Tereus, who cut out her tongue to prevent her exposing him, and kept her
in close confinement; here she found means of communicating with her
sister, when the two, to avenge the wrong, made away with Itys, Tereus'
son, and served him up to his father at a banquet; the fury of Tereus on
the discovery knew no bounds, but they escaped his vengeance, Philomela
by being changed into a nightingale and Progne into a swallow.
PHILOPOEMON, the head of the Achæcan League, born at Megalopolis,
and the last of the Greek heroes; fought hard to achieve the independence
of Greece, but having to struggle against heavy odds, was overpowered;
rose from a sick-bed to suppress a revolt, was taken prisoner, thrown
into a dungeon, and forced to drink poison (252-183 B.C.).
PHILOSOPHE, name for a philosopher of the school of 18th century
Enlightenment, represented by the ENCYCLOPEDISTS (q. v.) of France; the
class have been characterised by the delight they took in outraging the
religious sentiment. See AUFKLÄRUNG and ILLUMINATION, THE.
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE was, with the Elixir of Life, the object of the
search of the mediæval alchemists. Their theory regarded gold as the most
perfect metal, all others being removed from it by various stages of
imperfection, and they sought an amalgam of pure sulphur and pure
mercury, which, being more perfect still than gold, would transmute the
baser metals into the nobler.
PHILOSOPHISM, FRENCH, a philosophy such as the philosophers of
France gave instances of, founded on the notion and cultivated in the
belief that scientific knowledge is the sovereign remedy for the ills of
life, summed up in two articles--first, that "a lie cannot be believed";
and second, that "in spiritual supersensual matters no belief is
possible," her boast being that "she had destroyed religion by
extinguishing the abomination" (_l'Infame_).
PHILOSOPHY, the science of sciences or of things in general,
properly an attempt to find the absolute in the contingent, the immutable
in the mutable, the universal in the particular, the eternal in the
temporal, the real in the phenomenal, the ideal in the real, or in other
words, to discover "the single principle that," as Dr. Stirling says,
"possesses within itself the capability of transition into all existent
variety and varieties," which it presupposes can be done not by induction
from the transient, but by deduction from the permanent as that
spiritually reveals itself in the creating mind, so that a _Philosopher_
is a man who has, as Carlyle says, quoting Goethe, "stationed himself in
the middle (between the outer and the inner, the upper and the lower), to
whom the Highest has descended and the Lowest mounted up, who is the
equal and kindly brother of all." "Philosophy dwells aloft in the Temple
of Science, the divinity of the inmost shrine; her dictates descend among
men, but she herself descends not; whoso would behold her must climb with
long and laborious effort; may still linger in the forecourt till
manifold trial have proved him worthy of admission into the interior
solemnities." Indeed philosophy is more than SCIENCE (q. v.); it
is a divine wisdom instilled into and inspiring a thinker's life. See
THINKER, THE.
PHILOXENUS, a Greek poet who lived at the court of Dionysius the
Elder, tyrant of Syracuse; condemned to prison for refusing to praise
some verses of the tyrant, he was led forth to criticise others, but
returned them as worse, begging the officers who handed them to lead him
back, which when the tyrant was told, he laughed and released him.
PHILPOTTS, HENRY, bishop of Exeter, born in Bridgwater, a keen Tory
and uncompromising High-Churchman, the chief actor in the celebrated
GORHAM CASE (q. v.), and noted for his obstinate opposition to
political reform as the opening of the floodgates of democracy, which he
dreaded would subvert everything that was dear to him (1778-1869).
PHILTRE, the name given to certain concoctions of herbs, often
deleterious and poisonous, supposed to secure for the person
administering it the love of the person to whom it was administered;
these love potions were popular in the declining days of Greece and Rome,
throughout mediæval Europe, and continue to be compounded to this day in
the superstitious East.
PHIZ, the pseudonym of Hablot K. Browne, the illustrator of the
first edition of the "Pickwick Papers" of Dickens.
PHLEGETHON, in the Greek mythology a river in the lower world which
flowed in torrents of fire athwart it, and which scorched up everything
near it.
PHLOGISTON, a name given by the old chemists to an imaginary
principle of fire, latent in bodies, and which escaped during combustion.
PHOCAS, a common soldier who raised himself by the aid of a faction
to the throne of the East, and for twenty years defied attempts to
dethrone him, but, being deserted by his party, was taken, subjected to
torture, and beheaded in 610. "His reign," says Gibbon, "afflicted Europe
with ignominious peace, and Asia with desolating war."
PHOCION, a distinguished Athenian general and statesman, a disciple
of Plato and Xenocrates; was wise in council as well as brave in war;
opposed to the democracy of Athens, led on by Demosthenes in the frantic
ambition of coping with Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander; and pled
for a pacific arrangement with them; but having opposed war with
Antipater, the successor of the latter, he was accused of treason, and
condemned to drink hemlock; the Athenians afterwards repented of the
crime, raised a bronze statue to his memory, and condemned his accuser to
death.
PHOCIS, a province of ancient Greece, W. of Boeotia, and N. of the
Gulf of Corinth; was traversed by the mountain range of Parnassus, and
contained the oracle of Apollo at Delphi; allied to Athens in the
Peloponnesian War, the Phocians were crushed in the "Sacred War" after
ten years' fighting by Philip of Macedon, 346 B.C.
PHOEBUS (i. e. the radiant one), an epithet originally applied to
Apollo for his beauty, and eventually to him as the sun-god.
PHOENICIA, a country on the E. shore of the Levant, stretching
inland to Mount Lebanon, at first extending only 20 m. N. of Palestine,
but later embracing 200 m. of coast, with the towns of Tyre, Zarephath,
Sidon, Gebal, and Arvad. The country comprised well-wooded hills and
fertile plains, was rich in natural resources, richer still in a people
of remarkable industry and enterprise. Of Semitic stock, they emerge from
history with Sidon as ruling city about 1500 B.C., and reach their
zenith under Tyre 1200-750, thereafter declining, and ultimately merging
in the Roman Empire. During their prosperity their manufactures, purple
dye, glass ware, and metal implements were in demand everywhere; they
were the traders of the world, their nautical skill and geographical
position making their markets the centres of exchange between East and
West; their ships sailed every sea, and carried the merchandise of every
country, and their colonists settled all over the Mediterranean, Ægean,
and Euxine, and even beyond the Pillars of Hercules, in Africa, in
Britain, and the countries on the Baltic. Her greatest colony was
Carthage, the founding of which (823 B.C.) sapped the strength of the
mother-country, and which afterwards usurped her place, and contended
with Rome for the mastery of the world. But Phoenicia's greatest gift to
civilisation was the alphabet, which she herself may have developed from
Egyptian hieroglyphics, and which, with its great merit of simplicity,
has, slightly altered, at length superseded among civilised nations every
other system.
PHOENIX, a bird which was fabled at the end of certain cycles of
time to immolate itself in flames, and rise renewed in youth from the
ashes. It has become the appropriate symbol of the death-birth that ever
introduces a new era in the history of the world, and is employed by
Carlyle in "Sartor" as symbol of the crisis through which the present
generation is now passing, the conflagration going on appearing nowise as
a mere conflagration, but the necessary preliminary of a new time, with
the germinating principles of which it is pregnant.
PHOENIX PARK, a magnificent public park of 2000 acres in Dublin; is
much used for military reviews; it was rendered notorious in 1882 through
the murder by the "Invincibles" of Lord Frederick Cavendish, who had just
been appointed Irish Secretary, and his subordinate, Thomas Burke.
PHONOGRAPH, an instrument invented by EDISON (q. v.) in
1877 for recording and reproducing articulate sounds of the voice in
speech or song, and to which the name of phonogram is given.
PHOTIUS, patriarch of Constantinople; was the great promoter of the
schism on the question of the procession of the Holy Ghost, between the
Eastern and the Western divisions of the Church, denying as he did, and
erasing from the creed the _FILIOQUE_ article (q. v.); _d_. 891.
PHOTOGRAVURE, a process of reproducing pictures from the negative of
a photograph on a gelatine surface with the assistance of certain
chemical preparations.
PHOTOSPHERE, name given to the luminous atmosphere enveloping the
sun.
PHOTOTYPE, a block with impressions produced by photography from
which engravings, &c., can be printed.
PHRENOLOGY claims to be a science in which the relation of the
functions of mind to the material of the brain substance is observed. It
asserts that just as speech, taste, touch, &c., have their centres in
certain convolutions of the brain, so have benevolence, firmness,
conscientiousness, &c., and that by studying the configuration of the
brain, as indicated by that of the skull, a man's character may be
approximately discovered. As a science it is usually discredited, and
held to be unsupported by physiology, anatomy, and pathology. It is held
as strongly militating against its claims that it takes no account of the
convolutions of the brain that lie on the base of the skull. Its
originators were Gall, Spurzheim, and Andrew and George Combe.
PHRYGIA, a country originally extending over the western shores of
Asia Minor, but afterwards confined to the western uplands, where are the
sources of the Hermus, Mæander, and Sangarius; was made up of barren
hills where sheep famous for their wool grazed, and fertile valleys where
the vine was cultivated; marble was quarried in the hills, and gold was
found; several great trade roads from Ephesus crossed the country, among
whose towns the names of Colosse and Laodicea are familiar; the Phrygians
were an Armenian people, with a mystic orgiastic religion, and were
successively conquered by Assyrians, Lydians, and Persians, falling under
Rome in 43 B.C.
PHRYGIAN CAP, a cap worn by the Phrygians, and worn in modern times
as the symbol of freedom.
PHRYNÉ, a Greek courtesan, celebrated for her beauty; was the model
to Praxiteles of his statue of Venus; accused of profaning the Eleusinian
Mysteries, she was brought before the judges, to whom she exposed her
person, but who acquitted her of the charge, to preserve to the artists
the image of divine beauty thus recognised in her.
PHTAH, a god of ancient Egypt, worshipped at Memphis; identified
with Osiris and Socaris, and placed by the Egyptians at the head of the
dynasty of the kings of Memphis.
PHYLACTERIES, strips of vellum inscribed with certain texts of
Scripture, enclosed in small cases of calf-skin, and attached to the
forehead or the left arm; originally connected with acts of worship, they
were eventually turned to superstitious uses, and employed sometimes as
charms and sometimes by way of ostentatious display.
PHYSIOCRATIC SCHOOL, a school of economists founded by Quesney, who
regarded the cultivation of the land as the chief sources of natural
well-being, and argued for legislation in behalf of it.
PIACENZA (35), an old Italian city on the Po, 43 m. by rail SE. of
Milan; has a cathedral, and among other churches the San Sisto, which
contains the Sistine Madonna of Raphael, a theological seminary, and
large library; it manufactures silks, cottons, and hats, and is a
fortress of great strategical importance.
PIA-MATER, a membrane which invests the brain and the spinal cord;
it is of a delicate vascular tissue.
PIARISTS, a purely religious order devoted to the education of the
poor, founded in 1599 by a Spanish priest, and confirmed in 1617 by Paul
V., and again in 1621 by Gregory XV.
PIAZZI, Italian astronomer; discovered in 1801 a planet between Mars
and Jupiter, which he named Ceres, and the first of the planetoids
recognised, as well as afterwards catalogued the stars (1746-1826).
PIBROCH, the Highland bagpipe; also the wild, martial music it
discourses.
PICADOR, a man mounted on horseback armed with a spear to incite the
bull in a bull-fight.
PICARDY, a province in the N. of France, the capital of which was
Amiens; it now forms the department of Somme, and part of Aisne and
Pas-de-Calais.
PICCOLOMINI, the name of an illustrious family of science in Italy,
of which Æneas Silvius (Pope Pius II.) was a member; also Octavio I.,
Duke of Amalfi, who distinguished himself, along with Wallenstein, in the
Thirty Years' War at Lützen in 1632, at Nordlinger in 1634, and at
Thionville in 1639; was one of the most celebrated soldiers that had
command of the imperial troops (1599-1656).
PICHEGRU, CHARLES, French general, born at Arbois, in Jura; served
with distinguished success in the army of the Republic on the Rhine and
in the Netherlands, but sold himself to the Bourbons, and being convicted
of treason, was deported to Cayenne, but escaped to England, where in
course of time he joined the conspiracy of Georges Cadoudal against the
First Consul, and being betrayed, was imprisoned in the Temple, where one
morning after he was found strangled (1761-1804).
PICKWICK, SAMUEL, the hero of Dickens's "Pickwick Papers," a
character distinguished for his general goodness and his honest
simplicity.
PICO, one of the Azores, consisting of a single volcanic mountain,
still in action; produces excellent wine.
PICO DELLA MIRAN`DOLO, a notable Italian champion of the scholastic
dogma, who challenged all the learned of Europe to enter the lists with
him and controvert any one of 900 theses which he undertook to defend, a
challenge which no one, under ban of the Pope, dared accept; he was the
last of the schoolmen as well as a humanist in the bud, and was in his
lifetime, with an astonishing forecast of destiny, named the
PHOENIX (q. v.) (1463-1494).
PICQUART, COLONEL, French military officer; was distinguished as a
student at the military schools; served in Algiers; became a captain in
1880; was appointed to the War Office in 1885; served with distinction in
Tonquin; became professor at the Military School; rejoined the War Office
in 1893, and was made head of the Intelligence Department in 1896; moved
by certain discoveries affecting Esterhazy, began to inquire into the
Dreyfus case, which led to his removal out of the way to Tunis; returned
and exposed the proceedings against Dreyfus, with the result that a
revision was demanded, and the charge confirmed; _b_. 1854.
PICTON, SIR THOMAS, British general, born in Pembroke; served in the
West Indies, and became governor of Trinidad, also in the Walcheren
Expedition, and became governor of Flushing, and in the Peninsula and at
Waterloo, where he fell as he was leading his men to the charge
(1758-1815).
PICTS, a race of people now believed to be of Celtic origin, that
from 296 to 844 inhabited the NE. of Caledonia from the Forth to the
Pentland Firth, and were divided into northern and southern by the
Grampians, while the W. of the country, or Argyll, was occupied by the
Dalriads or Scots from Ireland, who eventually gained the ascendency over
them, to their amalgamation into one nation.
PICTS' HOUSES, the name popularly given to EARTH-HOUSES (q. v.)
in several parts of Scotland.
PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN, the hero of an old German legend, had come to
a German town, offered to clear it of the rats which infested it for a
sum of money, but after executing his task was unrewarded, upon which he
blew a blast on his magic pipe, the sound of which drew the children of
the town into a cave, which he locked when they entered, and shut them up
for ever.
PIEDMONT, a district of Italy, formerly a principality, ruled by the
house of Savoy, surrounded by the Alps, the Apennines, and the river
Ticino; occupies the W. end of the great fertile valley of the Po, a
hilly region rich in vines and mulberries, and a mountainous tract with
forests and grazing land intersected by lovely valleys, which send
streams down into the Po; the people are industrious; textile
manufactures are extensive, and agriculture is skilful; Turin, the
largest town, was the capital of Italy 1859-1865; in the glens of the
Cottian Alps the Vaudois or Waldenses, after much persecution, still
dwell.
PIERCE, FRANKLIN, the fourteenth President of the United States,
born in New Hampshire, was the lifelong friend of Nathaniel Hawthorne;
bred to the bar; served in the Mexican War, and was elected President in
1852; his period of office was one of trouble, he supported the States'
rights doctrine, and served with the South in the Civil War (1804-1869).
PIERIA, a district in Macedonia E. of Olympus, inhabited by
Thracians, and famous as the seat of the worship of the Muses and their
birthplace, giving rise to the phrase Pierian Spring, as the source of
poetic inspiration.
PIERIDES, the name given to the Muses from their fountain
PIERIA (q. v.).
PIERS PLOWMAN, VISION OF, a celebrated satirical poem of the 14th
century ascribed to Robert Langland.
PIETÀ (i. e. piety), the name given to a picture, the subject of
which is the dead Christ in the embrace of his sorrowing mother,
accompanied by sorrowing women and angels; that sculptured by Michael
Angelo, in St. Peter's at Rome, representing the Virgin at the foot of
the cross, and the dead Christ in her lap.
PIETERMARITZBURG (16), capital of Natal, 73 m. by rail N. of Durban;
well situated on the Umgeni River, with fine streets, an ample
water-supply, and a fine climate; has railroad connection with
Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Charlestown. A third of the population
consists of Kaffirs and coolies.
PIETISTS, the name given to a religious party that arose in Germany
at the end of the 17th century, but without forming a separate sect; laid
more stress on religious feeling than dogmatic belief, and who at length,
as all who ground religion on mere feeling are apt to do, distinguished
themselves more by a weak sentimentality than by a sturdy living faith.
PIETRA DURA, a name given to the purest kind of Florentine mosaic
work, consists of hard stones characterised by brilliancy of colour.
PIGEON ENGLISH, a jargon used in commercial dealings with the
Chinese, being a mixture of English, Portuguese, and Chinese.
PIG-PHILOSOPHY, the name given by Carlyle in his "Latter-Day
Pamphlets," in the one on Jesuitism, to the wide-spread philosophy of the
time, which regarded the human being as a mere creature of appetite
instead of a creature of God endowed with a soul, as having no nobler
idea of well-being than the gratification of desire--that his only
Heaven, and the reverse of it his Hell.
PIGWIGGIN, an elf in love with Queen Mab, who fights the jealous
Oberon in furious combat.
PILATE, PONTIUS, Roman procurator of Judea and Samaria in the days
of Christ, from A.D. 26 to 36; persuaded of the innocence of Christ when
arraigned before his tribunal, would fain have saved Him, but yielded to
the clamour of His enemies, who crucified Him; he protested before they
led Him away by washing his hands in their presence that he was guiltless
of His blood.
PILATUS, MOUNT, an isolated mountain at the W. end of Lake Lucerne,
opposite the Rigi; is ascended by a mountain railway, and has hotels on
two peaks. A lake below the summit is said to be the last receptacle of
the body of Pontius Pilate, hence the adoption of the name of "Mons
Pilatus."
PILCOMAYO, a tributary of the Rio Paraguay, in South America, which
it joins after a course of 1700 miles from its source in the Bolivian
Andes.
PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE, a rising in the northern counties of England in
1536 against the policy of Cromwell, Henry VIII.'s Chancellor, in regard
to the temporalities of the Church, which, though concessions were made
to it that led to its dispersion, broke out afresh with renewed violence,
and had to be ruthlessly suppressed.
PILGRIM FATHERS, the name given to the Puritans, some 100 in all,
who sailed from Plymouth in the _Mayflower_ in 1620 and settled in
Massachusetts, carrying with them "the life-spark of the largest nation
on our earth."
PILLAR-SAINTS, a class of recluses, called Stylites, who, in early
Christian times, retired from the world to the Syrian Desert, and,
perched on pillars, used to spend days and nights in fasting and praying,
in the frantic belief that by mortification of their bodies they would
ensure the salvation of their souls; their founder was Simon, surnamed
Stylites; the practice, which was never allowed in the West, continued
down to the 12th century.
PILLARS OF HERCULES. See HERCULES, PILLARS OF.
PILLORY, an obsolete instrument of punishment for centuries in use
all over Europe, consisted of a platform, an upright pole, and at a
convenient height cross-boards with holes, in which the culprit's neck
and wrists were placed and fastened; so fixed he was exposed in some
public place to the insults and noxious missiles of the mob. Formerly in
England the penalty of forgery, perjury, &c., it became after the
Commonwealth a favourite punishment for seditious libellers. It was last
inflicted in London in 1830, and was abolished by law in 1837.
PILOTY, KARL VON, a modern German painter of the new Münich school,
and professor of Painting at the Münich Academy; did portraits, but his
masterpieces are on historical subjects, such as "Nero on the ruins of
Rome," "Galileo in Prison," "The Death of Cæsar," &c.; he was no less
eminent as a teacher of art than as an artist (1826-1886).
PILSEN (50), a town in Bohemia, 67 m. SW. of Prague; has numerous
industries, and rich coal and iron mines, and produces an excellent beer,
which it exports in large quantities. It was an important place during
the Thirty Years' War.
PINDAR, the greatest lyric poet of Greece, and for virgin purity of
imagination ranked by Ruskin along with Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Scott;
born near Thebes, in Boeotia, of a musical family, and began his musical
education by practice on the flute, while he was assisted in his art by
the example of his countrywoman Corinna, who competed with and defeated
him more than once at the public festivals; he was a welcome visitor at
the courts of all the Greek princes of the period, and not the less
honoured that he condescended to no flattery and attuned his lyre to no
sentiment but what would find an echo in every noble heart; he excelled
in every department of lyric poetry, hymns to the gods, the praises of
heroes, pæans of victory, choral songs, festal songs and dirges, but of
these only a few remain, his Epinikia, a collection of triumphal odes in
celebration of the successes achieved at the great national games of
Greece; he was not only esteemed the greatest of lyric poets by his
countrymen, but is without a rival still; when Alexander destroyed Thebes
he spared the house of Pindar (522-442 B.C.).
PINDAR, PETER. See WOLCOTT, JOHN.
PINDAREES or PINDARIS, a set of freebooters who at the
beginning of the present century ravaged Central India and were the
terror of the districts, but who under the governor-generalship of
Hastings were driven to bay and crushed in 1817.
PINDUS, MOUNT, is the range of mountains rising between Thessaly and
Epirus, which forms the watershed of the country.
PINEAL GLAND, a small cone-shaped body of yellowish matter in the
brain, the size of a pea, and situated in the front of the cerebellum,
notable as considered by Descartes to be the seat of the soul, but is now
surmised to be a rudimentary remnant of some organ, of vision it would
seem, now extinct.
PINEL, PHILIPPE, a French physician, distinguished for the
reformation he effected, against no small opposition, in the treatment of
the insane, leading to the abandonment everywhere of the cruel, inhuman
methods till then in vogue (1745-1826).
PINERO, ARTHUR WING, dramatic author, born in London; bred to law,
took to the stage and the writing of plays, of which he has produced a
goodly number; collaborated with Sir Arthur Sullivan and Mr. Comyns Carr
in a romantic musical drama entitled "The Beauty Stone"; _b_. 1855.
PINEROLO (12), a town 23 m. SW. of Turin, now a fortress in an
important military position, and in which the "Man with the Iron Mask"
was imprisoned.
PINKERTON, JOHN, a Scottish antiquary and historian, born in
Edinburgh; was an original in his way, went to London, attracted the
notice of Horace Walpole and Gibbon; died in Paris, poor and neglected
(1758-1826).
PINKIE, a Scottish battlefield, near Musselburgh, Midlothian, where
the Protector Somerset, in his expedition to secure the hand of Mary
Stuart for Edward VI., defeated and slaughtered a Scottish army 1547.
PINTO, MENDEZ, a Portuguese traveller; wrote in his "Peregriniçam"
an account of his marvellous adventures in Arabia, Persia, China, and
Japan, extending over a period of 21 years (1527-1548), of which, amid
much exaggeration, the general veracity is admitted (1510-1583).
PINTURICCHIO, Italian painter, born at Perugia; was assistant to
Perugino (q. v.) when at work in the Sistine Chapel, Rome, did frescoes
and panel paintings, one of the "Christ bearing the Cross" (1454-1513).
PINZEN, the name of two brothers, companions of Christopher
Columbus, and one of whom, Vicente Yanez, discovered Brazil in 1500.
PIOZZI, HESTER, a female friend of Johnson under the name of Mrs.
Thrale, after her first husband, a brewer in Southwark, whose home for
her sake was the rendezvous of all the literary celebrities of the
period; married afterwards, to Johnson's disgust, an Italian
music-master, lived with him at Florence, and returned at his death to
Clifton, where she died; left "Anecdotes of Johnson" and "Letters"; was
authoress of "The Three Warnings" (1741-1821).
PIPE OF PEACE, a pipe offered by an American Indian to one whom he
wishes to be on good terms with.
PIRÆUS (36), the port of Athens 5 m. SW. of the city, planned by
Themistocles, built in the time of Pericles, and afterwards connected
with the city for safety by strong walls, which was destroyed by the
Spartans at the end of the Peloponnesian War, but restored, to fall
afterwards into neglect and ruins.
PIRANO (9), a seaport of Austria, on the Adriatic, 12 m. SW. of
Trieste; has salt-works in the neighbourhood, and manufactures glass,
soap, &c.
PIRITHOUS, king of the Lapithæ and friend of Theseus, on the
occasion of whose marriage an intoxicated Centaur ran off with his bride
Hippodamia, which gave rise to the famous fight between the Centaurs and
the Lapithæ, in which Theseus assisted, and the former were defeated; on
the death of Hippodamia, Pirithous ran off with Persephone and Theseus
with Helen, for which both had to answer in the lower world before Pluto;
Hercules delivered the latter, but Pluto would not release the former.
PIRKE ABOTH (i. e. sayings of the Fathers), the name given to a
collection of aphorisms in the manner of Jesus the Son of Sirach by 60
doctors learned in the Jewish law, representative of their teaching, and
giving the gist of it; they inculcate the importance of familiarity with
the words of the Law.
PIRNA (11), a town in Saxony, on the Elbe, 11 m. SE. of Dresden; has
sandstone quarries in the neighbourhood which employ 8000 quarrymen.
PISA (38), on the Arno, 49 m. by rail W. of Florence, is one of the
oldest cities in Italy; formerly a port, the river has built up the land
at its mouth so that the sea is now 4 m. off, and the ancient trade of
Pisa has been transferred to Leghorn. There are a magnificent cathedral,
rich in art treasures, a peculiar campanile of white marble which
deviates 14 ft. from the perpendicular, known as the leaning tower of
Pisa, several old and beautiful churches, a university, school of art,
and library. Silks and ribbons are woven, and coral ornaments cut. In the
11th century Pisa was at the zenith of its prosperity as a republic, with
a great mercantile fleet, and commercial relations with all the world.
Its Ghibelline sympathies involved it in terrible struggles, in which it
gradually sank till its fortunes were merged in those of Tuscany about
1550. The council of Pisa, 1409, held to determine the long-standing
rival claims of Gregory XII. and Benedict XII. to the Papal chair, ended
by adding a third claimant, Alexander V. Pisa was one of the twelve
cities of ancient Etruria.
PISANO, NICOLA, Italian sculptor and architect of Pisa; his most
famous works are the pulpit in the Baptistery at Pisa, and that for the
Duomo at Siena, the last being the fountain in the piazza of Perugia
(1206-1278).
PISGAH, a mountain range E. of the Lower Jordan, one of the summits
of which is Mount Nebo, from which Moses beheld the Promised Land, and
where he died and was buried.
PISHIN (60), a district of South Afghanistan, N. of Quetta, occupied
by the British since 1878 as strategically of importance.
PISIDIA, a division of ancient Asia Minor, N. of Pamphilia, and
traversed by the Taurus chain.
PISISTRATUS, tyrant of Athens, was the friend of Solon and a
relative; an able but an ambitious man; being in favour with the citizens
presented himself one day in the Agora, and displaying some wounds he had
received in their defence, persuaded them to give him a bodyguard of 50
men, which grew into a larger force, by means of which in 560 B.C. he
took possession of the citadel and seized the sovereign power, from which
he was shortly after driven forth; after six years he was brought back,
but compelled to retire a second time; after 10 years he returned and
made good his ascendency, reigning thereafter peacefully for 14 years,
and leaving his power in the hands of his sons Hippias and Hipparchus; he
was a good and wise ruler, and encouraged the liberal arts, and it is to
him we owe the first written collection or complete edition of the poems
of Homer (600-527 B.C.).
PISTOIA (20), a town of N. Italy, at the foot of the Apennines, 21
m. NW. of Florence, with palaces and churches rich in works of art;
manufactures iron and steel wares.
PISTOL, ANCIENT, a swaggering bully and follower of Falstaff in the
"Merry Wives of Windsor."
PISTOLE, an obsolete gold coin of Europe, originally of Spain, worth
some 16s. 2d.
PIT`AKA` (lit. a basket), the name given to the sacred books of
the Buddhists, and constituting collectively the Buddhistic code. See
TRIPITAKA.
PITAVAL, a French advocate, compiler of a famous collection of
_causes célèbres_ (1673-1743).
PITCAIRN ISLAND, a small volcanic island 2½ m. long and 1 broad,
solitary, in the Pacific, 5000 m. E. of Brisbane, where, in 1790, nine
men of H.M.S. _Bounty_ who had mutinied landed with six Tahitians and a
dozen Tahitian women; from these have sprung an interesting community of
islanders, virtuous, upright, and contented, of Christian faith, who,
having sent a colony to Norfolk Island, numbered in 1890 still 128.
PITCAIRNE, ARCHIBALD, Scottish physician and satirist, born at
Edinburgh; studied theology and law, and afterwards at Paris, medicine;
he practised in Edinburgh, and became professor at Leyden; returning, he
acquired great fame in his native city; in medicine he published a
treatise on Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood; being an
Episcopalian and Jacobite, he wrote severe satires on all things
Presbyterian, e. g. "Babel, or the Assembly, a Poem," 1692 (1652-1713).
PITHOM, a town of Rameses, one of the treasure-cities built by the
children of Israel in Lower Egypt, now, as discovered by M. Naville,
reduced to a small village between Ismailia and Tel-el-Kebir.
PITMAN, SIR ISAAC, inventor of the shorthand system which bears his
name, born at Trowbridge, Wiltshire; his first publication was
"Stenographic Sound-Hand" in 1837, and in 1842 he started the _Phonetic
Journal_, and lectured extensively as well as published in connection
with his system (1813-1897).
PITRÈ, GIUSEPPE, eminent Italian folk-lorist, born at Palermo, after
serving as a volunteer in 1860 under Garibaldi, and graduating in
medicine in 1866, threw himself into the study of literature, and soon
made the folk-lore of Italy, the special study of his life, and to which
he has devoted himself with unsparing assiduity, the fruits from time to
time appearing principally in two series of his works, one in 19 vols.
and another in 10 vols.; _b_. 1841.
PITRIS (i. e. Fathers), in the Hindu mythology an order of divine
beings, and equal to the greatest of the gods, who, by their sacrifice,
delivered the world from chaos, gave birth to the sun and kindled the
stars, and in whose company the dead, who have like them lived
self-sacrificingly, enter when they lay aside mortality. See Rev. vii.
14.
PITACOTTIE, ROBERT LINDSAY OF, proprietor in the 16th century of the
Fifeshire estate name of which he bore, was the author of "The Chronicles
of Scotland," to which Sir Walter Scott owed so much; his work is quaint,
graphic, and, on the whole, trustworthy.
PITT, WILLIAM. See CHATHAM, EARL OF.
PITT, WILLIAM, English statesman, second son of Lord Chatham, born
near Bromley, Kent, grew up a delicate child in a highly-charged
political atmosphere, and studied with such diligence under the direction
of his father and a tutor that he entered Cambridge at 14; called to the
bar in 1780, he speedily threw himself into politics, and contested
Cambridge University in the election of 1781; though defeated, he took
his seat for the pocket burgh of Appleby, joined the Shelburne Tories in
opposition to North's ministry, and was soon a leader in the House; he
supported, but refused to join, the Rockingham Ministry of 1782,
contracted his long friendship with Dundas, afterwards Viscount Melville,
and became an advocate of parliamentary reform; his first office was
Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Shelburne; his reputation steadily
rose, but on Shelburne's resignation he refused the Premiership, and went
into opposition against the Portland, Fox, and North coalition; that
minority being defeated (1783) on their Indian policy by the direct and
unconstitutional interference of the king, he courageously formed a
government with a majority of 100 against him; refusing to yield to
adverse votes, he gradually won over the House and the country, and the
dissolution of 1784 gave a majority of 120 in his favour, and put him in
office, one of England's strongest ministers; during his long
administration, broken only for one month in 20 years, he greatly raised
the importance of the Commons, stamped out direct corruption in the
House, and abolished many sinecures; he revised taxation, improved the
collection of revenue and the issue of loans, and set the finances in a
flourishing condition; he reorganised the government of India, and aimed
strenuously to keep England at peace; but his abandonment of
parliamentary reform and the abolition of the slave-trade suggests that
he loved power rather than principles; his Poor-Law schemes and Sinking
Fund were unsound; he failed to appreciate the problems presented by the
growth of the factory system, or to manage Ireland with any success; on
the outbreak of the French Revolution he failed to understand its
significance, did not anticipate a long war, and made bad preparations
and bad schemes; his vacillation in Irish policy induced the rebellion of
1798; by corrupt measures he carried the legislative union of 1801, but
the king refused to allow the Catholic emancipation he promised as a
condition; Viscount Melville was driven from the Admiralty on a charge of
malversation, his own health broke down, and the victory of Trafalgar
scarcely served to brighten his closing days; given to deep drinking, and
culpably careless of his private moneys, he yet lived a pure, simple,
amiable life; with an overcharged dignity, he was yet an attractive man
and a warm friend; England has had few statesmen equal to him in the
handling of financial and commercial problems, and few orators more
fluent and persuasive than the great peace minister.
PITT DIAMOND, a diamond brought from Golconda by the grandfather of
the elder Pitt, who sold it to the king of France; it figured at length
in the hilt of the State sword of Napoleon, and was carried off by the
Prussians at Waterloo.
PITTACUS, one of the seven sages of Greece, born at Mitylene, in
Lesbos, in the 7th century B.C.; celebrated as a warrior, a statesman, a
philosopher, and a poet; expelled the tyrants from Mitylene, and held the
supreme power for 10 years after by popular vote, and resigned on the
establishment of social order; two proverbs are connected with his name:
"It is difficult to be good," "Know the fit time."
PITTSBURG (321), second city of Pennsylvania, is 350 m. by rail W.
of Philadelphia, where the junction of the Alleghany and the Monongahela
Rivers forms the Ohio; the city extends for 10 miles along the rivers'
banks, and climbs up the surrounding hills; there are handsome public
buildings and churches, efficient schools, a Roman Catholic college, and
a Carnegie library; domestic lighting and heating and much manufacture is
done by natural gas, which issues at high pressure from shallow borings
in isolated districts 20 m. from the city; standing in the centre of an
extraordinary coal-field--the edges of the horizontal seams protrude on
the hillsides--it is the largest coal-market in the States; manufactures
include all iron goods, steel and copper, glassware, and earthenware; its
position at the eastern limit of the Mississippi basin, its facilities of
transport by river and rail--six trunk railroads meet here--give it
enormous trade advantages; its transcontinental business is second in
volume only to Chicago; in early times the British colonists had many
struggles with the French for this vantage point; a fort built by the
British Government in 1759, and called after the elder Pitt, was the
nucleus of the city.
PITYRIASIS, a skin eruption attended with branlike desquamation.
PIUS, the name of nine Popes, of which only six call for particular
mention: P. II., Pope from 1458 to 1464, was of the family of the
Piccolomini, and is known to history as Æneas Sylvius, and under which
name he did diplomatic work in Britain and Germany; as Pope he succeeded
Callistus III.; he was a wily potentate, and is distinguished for
organising a crusade against the Turks as well as his scholarship; the
works which survive him are of a historical character, and his letters
are of great value. P. IV., from 1559 to 1563, was of humble birth;
during his popehood the deliberations of the Council of Trent were
brought to a close, and the Tridentine Creed was named after him. P.
V., Pope 1566 to 1572, also of humble birth, was severe in his civil
and ecclesiastical capacity, both in his internal administration and
foreign relationships, and thought to browbeat the world back into the
bosom of Mother Church; issued a bull releasing Queen Elizabeth's
subjects from their allegiance; but the great event of his reign, and to
which he contributed, was the naval victory over the Turks at Lepanto in
1571. P. VI., Pope from 1775 to 1799; the commencement of his
popehood was signalised by beneficent measures for the benefit of the
Roman city, but he was soon in trouble in consequence of encroachments on
Church privileges in Austria and the confiscation of all Church property
in France, which ended, on his resisting, to still further outrages, in
his capture by the French under Bonaparte and his expatriation from Rome.
P. VII., Pope from 1800 to 1823, concluded a concordat with France,
crowned Napoleon emperor at Paris, who thereafter annexed the papal
territories to the French empire, which were in part restored to him only
after Napoleon's fall; he was a meek-spirited man, and was much tossed
about in his day. P. IX., or Pio Nono, from 1846 to 1878, was a
"reforming" Pope, and by his concessions awoke in 1848 a spirit of
revolution, under the force of which he was compelled to flee from Rome,
to return again under the protection of French bayonets against his own
subjects, to devote himself to purely ecclesiastical affairs; in 1854 he
promulgated the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and in 1869 the
Infallibility of the Pope; upon the outbreak of the Franco-German War in
1871 the French troops were withdrawn and Victor Emmanuel's troops
entered the city; Pius retired into the Vatican, where he lived in
seclusion till his death.
PIX, the name of a little chest in which the consecrated host is
kept in the Roman Catholic Church. See PYX.
PIXIES, Devonshire Robin Goodfellows, said to be the spirits of
infants who died unbaptized.
PIZARRO, FRANCISCO, the conqueror of Peru, born at Truxillo, in
Spain, the son of a soldier of distinction; received no education, but
was of an adventurous spirit, and entered the army; embarked with other
adventurers to America, and having distinguished himself in Panama, set
out by way of the Pacific on a voyage of discovery along with another
soldier named Almagra; landed on the island of Gallo, on the coast of
Peru, and afterwards returned with his companion to Spain for authority
to conquer the country; when in 1529 he obtained the royal sanction he
set sail from Spain with three ships in 1531, and on his arrival at Peru
found a civil war raging between the two sons of the emperor, who had
just died; Pizarro saw his opportunity; approached Atahualpa, the
victorious one, now become the reigning Inca, with overtures of peace,
was admitted into the interior of the country; invited him to a banquet,
had him imprisoned, and commenced a wholesale butchery of his subjects,
upon which he forced Atahualpa to disclose his treasures, and then put
him perfidiously to death; his power, by virtue of the mere terror he
inspired, was now established, and he might have continued to maintain
it, but a contest having arisen between him and his old comrade Almagro,
whom after defeating he put to death, the sons and friends of the latter
rose against him, seized him in his palace at Lima, and took away his
life (1476-1541).
PLAGUE, THE, is a very malignant kind of highly contagious fever,
marked by swellings of the lymphatic glands. From the development of
purple patches due to subcutaneous hæmorrhages the European epidemic of
1348-50 was called the Black Death. A quarter of the European population
perished on that occasion. Other visitations devastated London in 1665,
Northern Europe 1707-14, Marseilles and Provence 1720-22, and South-East
Russia 1878-79. The home of the Plague was formerly Lower Egypt, Turkey,
and the shores of the Levant. From these it has been absent since 1844.
Its home since then has been in India, where it has assumed epidemic form
1836-38 and 1896-99.
PLAIN, THE, the name given to the Girondists or Moderate party in
the French National Convention, in contrast with THE MOUNTAIN
(q. v.) or JACOBIN PARTY.
PLANCHÉ, JAMES ROBINSON, antiquary and dramatist, born in London, of
French descent; author of a number of burlesques; an authority on
heraldry and costumes; he produced over 200 pieces for the stage, and
held office in the Heralds' Court (1796-1880).
PLANETOIDS, the name given to a number of very small planets
revolving between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, originally called
Asteroids, all of recent discovery, and the list, amounting to some 400,
as yet made of them understood to be incomplete. They are very difficult
of discovery, many of them from the smallness of their size and their
erratic movements.
PLANETS, bodies resembling the earth and of different sizes, which
revolve in elliptical orbits round the sun, and at different distances,
the chief of them eight in number, two of them, viz., Mercury and Venus,
revolving in orbits _interior_ to that of the earth, and five of them,
viz., Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, _exterior_, the whole
with the PLANETOIDS (q. v.) and comets constituting the solar
system.
PLANTAGENETS, the name attached to a dynasty of kings of England,
who reigned from the extinction of the Norman line to the accession of
the Tudor, that is, from the beginning of Henry II.'s reign in 1154 to
the end of Richard III.'s on Bosworth Field in 1458. The name was adopted
by Geoffrey of Anjou, the husband of Matilda, the daughter of Henry I.,
whose badge was a sprig of broom (which the name denotes), and which he
wore in his bonnet as descended from the Earl of Anjou, who was by way of
penance scourged with twigs of it at Jerusalem.
PLANTIN, CHRISTOPHE, a printer of Antwerp, born near Tours, in
France; celebrated for the beauty and accuracy of the work that issued
from his press, the most notable being the "Antwerp Polyglot"; he had
printing establishments in Leyden and Paris, as well as Antwerp, all
these conducted by sons-in-law (1514-1589).
PLASSEY, a great battlefield in Bengal, now swept away by changes in
the course of the river, scarcely 100 m. N. of Calcutta; was the scene of
Clive's victory in 1757 with 800 Europeans and 2200 unreliable native
troops over Suraj-ud-Dowlah, the ruler of Bengal, which laid that
province at the feet of Britain, and led to the foundation of the British
Empire in India.
PLASTER OF PARIS, a compound of lime, sand, and water used for
coating walls, taking casts, and forming moulds.
PLATÆA, a city of ancient Greece, in western Boeotia, neighbour and
ally of Athens, suffered greatly in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.
It was destroyed by the Persians 480 B.C., by the Peloponnesian forces
429 B.C., and again by the Thebans 387 B.C. Philip of Macedon restored
the exiles to their homes in 338 B.C.
PLATO, the great philosopher, born in Athens, of noble birth, the
year Pericles died, and the second of the Peloponnesian War; at 20 became
a disciple of Socrates, and passed eight years in his society; at 30,
after the death of Socrates, quitted Athens, and took up his abode at
Megara; from Megara he travelled to Cyrene, Egypt, Magna Græcia, and
Sicily, prolonging his stay in Magna Græcia, and studying under
Pythagoras, whose philosophy was then at its prime, and which exercised a
profound influence over him; after ten years' wandering in this way he,
at the age of 40, returned to Athens, and founded his Academy, a
gymnasium outside the city with a garden, which belonged to his father,
and where he gathered around him a body of disciples, and had Aristotle
for one of his pupils, lecturing there with undiminished mental power
till he reached the advanced age of 81; of his philosophy one can give no
account here, or indeed anywhere, it was so unsectarian; he was by
pre-eminence the world-thinker, and though he was never married and left
no son, he has all the thinking men and schools of philosophy in the
world as his offspring; enough to say that his philosophy was philosophy,
as it took up in its embrace both the ideal and the real, at once the
sensible and the super-sensible world (429-347 B.C.).
PLATOFF, MATVEI IVANOVICH, COUNT, hetman of Cossacks, and Russian
commander in the Napoleonic wars; took part in the campaigns of 1805-7,
and scourged the French during their retreat from Moscow in 1812, and
again after their defeat at Leipzig 1813; he commanded at the victory of
Altenburg 1813, and for his services obtained the title of count
(1757-1818).
PLATONIC LOVE, love between persons of different sexes, in which as
being love of soul for soul no sexual passion intermingles; is so named
agreeably to the doctrine of Plato, that a man finds his highest
happiness when he falls in with another who is his soul's counterpart or
complement.
PLATONIC YEAR, a period of 26,000 years, denoting the time of a
complete revolution of the equinox.
PLATT-DEUTSCH or LOW GERMAN, a dialect spoken by the peasantry
in North Germany from the Rhine to Pomerania, and derived from Old Saxon.
PLATTE, the largest affluent of the Missouri, which joins it at
Plattsmouth after an easterly course of 900 m.
PLATTEN-SEE. See BALATON, LAKE.
PLAUEN (46), a town in Saxony, on the Elster, 78 m. S. of Leipzig,
with extensive textile and other manufactures.
PLAUTUS, a Latin comic poet, born in Umbria; came when young to
Rome, as is evident from his mastery of the Latin language and his
knowledge of Greek; began to write plays for the stage at 30, shortly
before the outbreak of the second Punic War, and continued to do so for
40 years; he wrote about 130 comedies, but only 20 have survived, the
plots mostly borrowed from Greek models; they were much esteemed by his
contemporaries; they have supplied material for dramatic treatment in
modern times (227-184 B.C.).
PLAYFAIR, JOHN, Scotch mathematician, born at Benvie; bred for the
Church, became professor first of Mathematics and then of Natural
Philosophy at Edinburgh University; wrote on geometry and geology, in the
latter supported the Huttonian theory of the earth (1748-1819).
PLEIADES, in the Greek mythology seven sisters, daughters of Atlas,
transformed into stars, six of them visible and one invisible, and
forming the group on the shoulders of Taurus in the zodiac; in the last
week of May they rise and set with the sun till August, after which they
follow the sun and are seen more or less at night till their conjunction
with it again in May.
PLEIADES, THE, the name given to the promoters of a movement in the
middle of the 16th century that aimed at the reform of the French
language and literature on classical models, and led on by a group of
seven men, Ronsard, Du Bellay, Belleau, Baïf, Daurat, Jodelle, and Pontus
de Tyard. The name "Pleiad" was originally applied to seven contemporary
poets in ancient Greece, and afterwards to seven learned men in the time
of Charlemagne.
PLENIST, name given to one who holds the doctrine that all space is
filled with matter.
PLESIOSAURUS, an extinct marine animal with a small head and a long
neck.
PLEURA, the serous membrane that lines the interior of the thorax
and invests the lungs.
PLEURA-PNEUMONIA, an inflammation of the lungs and pleura, Pleurisy
being the inflammation of the pleura alone.
PLEVNA (14), a fortified town in Bulgaria, in which Osman Pasha
entrenched himself in 1877, and where he was compelled to capitulate and
surrender to the Russians with his force of 42,000 men.
PLEYDELL, MR. PAULUS, a shrewd lawyer in Scott's "Guy Mannering."
PLIMSOLL, SAMUEL, "the sailor's friend," born at Bristol; after
experience in a Sheffield brewery entered business in London as a
coal-dealer; interesting himself in the condition of the sailor's life in
the mercantile marine, he directed public attention to many scandalous
abuses practised by unscrupulous owners, the overloading, under-manning,
and insufficient equipment of ships and sending unseaworthy vessels out
to founder for the sake of insurance money; entering Parliament for Derby
in 1868, he secured the passing of the Merchant Shipping Act in 1876
levelled against these abuses; his name has been given to the circle with
horizontal line through the centre, now placed by the Board of Trade on
the side of every vessel to indicate to what depth she may be loaded in
salt water (1824-1898).
PLINLIMMON (i. e. five rivers), a mountain 2469 ft. high, with
three summits, on the confines of Montgomery and Cardigan, so called as
source of five different streams.
PLINY, THE ELDER, naturalist, born at Como, educated at Rome, and
served in the army; was for a space procurator in Spain, spent much of
his time afterwards studying at Borne; being near the Bay of Naples
during an eruption of Vesuvius, he landed to witness the phenomenon, but
was suffocated by the fumes; his "Natural History" is a repertory of the
studies of the ancients in that department, being a record, more or less
faithful, from extensive reading, of the observation of others rather
than his own; _d_. A.D. 79.
PLINY, THE YOUNGER, nephew of the preceding, the friend of Trajan;
filled various offices in the State; his fame rests on his "Letters," of
special interest to us for the account they give of the treatment of the
early Christians and their manner of worship, as also of the misjudgment
on the part of the Roman world at the time of their religion, as in their
eyes, according to him, "a perverse and extravagant superstition"
(62-115).
PLOTINUS, an Alexandrian philosopher of the Neo-Platonic school,
born at Lycopolis, in Egypt; he taught philosophy at Rome, a system in
opposition to the reigning scepticism of the time, and which based itself
on the intuitions of the soul elevated into a state of mystical union
with God, who in His single unity sums up all and whence all emanates,
all being regarded as an emanation from Him (207-270).
PLUGSTON OF UNDERSHOT, Carlyle's name in "Past and Present" for a
member or "Master-Worker" of the English mammon-worshipping manufacturing
class in rivalry with the aristocracy for the ascendency in the land, who
pays his workers his wages and thinks he has done his duty with them in
so doing, and is secure in the fortune he has made by that cash-payment
gospel of his as all the law and the prophets, called of "Undershot," his
mill being driven by a wheel, the working power of which is hidden
unheeded by him, to break out some day to the damage of both his mill and
him.
PLUMPTRE, EDWARD HAYES, distinguished English divine and scholar,
born in London; was Dean of Wells; as a divine he wrote commentaries on
books of both the Old and New Testaments, and as a scholar executed able
translations in verse of Sophocles, Æschylus, and the "Commedia" of
Dante, the last perhaps his greatest and most enduring work (1821-1891).
PLUNKET, LORD, Chancellor of Ireland, born in Ireland, bred to the
bar; entered the Irish House of Commons; opposed the Union with Great
Britain; after the Union practised at the bar, and held legal
appointments; was made a peer, and materially aided the Duke of
Wellington in the House of Lords in carrying the Catholic Emancipation
Bill of 1829 (1764-1854).
PLUTARCH, celebrated Greek biographer and moralist, born at
Chæronea, in Boeotia; studied at Athens; paid frequent visits to Rome,
and formed friendships with some of its distinguished citizens; spent his
later years at his native place, and held a priesthood; his fame rests on
his "Parallel Lives" of 46 distinguished Greeks and Romans, a series of
portraitures true to the life, and a work one of the most valuable we
possess on the illustrious men of antiquity, and an enduring memorial of
them (50-120).
PLUTO, god of the nether world, son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of
Zeus and Poseidon, and husband of Persephone; on the dethronement of
Kronos the universe was divided among themselves by the three brothers,
Zeus assuming the dominion of the upper world and Poseidon that of the
ocean, leaving the nether kingdom to him, a domain over which and forth
of which he ruled with a greater and more undisputed authority than the
other two over heaven, earth, and sea.
PLUTONIC THEORY, the theory that unstratifled rocks were formed by
fusion in fire.
PLUTUS, the god of riches, son of Jason and Demeter. Zeus is said to
have put out his eyes that he might bestow his gifts without respect to
merit, that is, on the evil and the good impartially.
PLYMOUTH (87), the largest town in Devonshire, stands on the N.
shore of Plymouth Sound, 250 m. W. of London by rail; adjacent to it are
the towns of Stonehouse and Devonport. Among the chief buildings are a
Gothic town-hall, a 15th-century church, and a Roman Catholic cathedral.
The chief industry is chemical manufactures. There is a large coasting
and general trade, and important fisheries. Many sea-going steamship
companies make it a place of call. The Sound is an important naval
station, and historically famous as the sailing port of the fleet that
vanquished the Armada.
PLYMOUTH BRETHREN, an anti-clerical body of Christians, one of the
earliest communities of which was formed in Plymouth about 1830; they
accept, along with Pre-Millenarian views, generally the Calvinistic view
of the Christian religion, and exclude all unconverted men from their
communion, while all included in the body are of equal standing, and
enjoy equal privileges as members of Christ. They appear to regard
themselves as the sole representatives in these latter days of the Church
of Christ, and as the salt of the earth, for whose sake it exists, and on
whose decease it and its works of darkness will be burnt up. They are
known also by the name of Darbyites, from the name of one of their
founders, a barrister, John Nelson Darby, an able man, and with all his
exclusiveness a sincere disciple of Christ (1800-1882).
PNEUMONIA, name given to acute inflammation of the lungs.
PO, the largest river in Italy, rises 6000 ft. above sea-level in
the Cottian Alps, and after 20 m. of rocky defiles emerges on the great
Lombardy plain, which it crosses from W. to E., receiving the Ticino,
Adda, Mincio, and Trebbia, tributaries, and enters the Adriatic by a
rapidly growing delta. Its total course is 360 m.; the width and volume
of its stream make it difficult to cross and so a protection to all
Italy. The chief towns on its banks are Turin, Piacenza, and Cremona.
POCAHONTAS, the daughter of an Indian chief in Virginia, who
favoured the English settlers there, saving the life of Captain Smith the
coloniser, and afterwards married John Rolfe, one of the settlers; came
to England, and was presented at Court; several Virginian families trace
their descent to her.
POCKET BOROUGH, a borough in which the influence of some magnate of
the place determines the voting at an election time, a thing pretty much
of the past.
POCOCK, EDWARD, English Arabic and Hebrew scholar, born at Oxford,
and occupied both the chairs of Arabic and Hebrew there, and left works
in evidence of his scholarship and learning in both languages, quite
remarkable for the time when he lived (1604-1691).
POCOCKE, RICHARD, English prelate, born at Southampton; travelled
extensively, particularly in the East; wrote a description of the
countries of the East and of others, among them "Tours In Scotland" and a
"Tour in Ireland," all deemed of value (1704-1765).
PODESTA, the name given to the chief magistrate of an Italian town,
with military as well as municipal authority; he was salaried, and
annually elected to the office by the council, and had to give an account
of his administration at the end of his term.
PODIEBRAD, GEORGE, king of Bohemia; rose, though a Hussite, and in
spite of the Pope, from the ranks of the nobles to that elevation; forced
his enemies to come to terms with him, and held his ground against them
till the day of his death (1420-1471).
POE, EDGAR ALLAN, an American poet, born in Boston, Massachusetts; a
youth of wonderful genius, but of reckless habits, and who came to an
unhappy and untimely end; left behind him tales and poems, which, though
they were not appreciated when he lived, have received the recognition
they deserve since his death; his poetical masterpiece, "The Raven," is
well known; died at Baltimore of inflammation of the brain, insensible
from which he was picked up in a street one evening (1809-1849).
POERIO, CARLO, Italian patriot; was conspicuous in the revolutionary
movement of 1848; was arrested and banished, but escaped to England,
where he was received with sympathy by Mr. Gladstone among others; he
rose into power on the establishment of the kingdom of Italy (1803-1867).
POET LAUREATE, the English court poet, an office which dates from
the reign of Edward IV., the duty of the holder of it being originally to
write an ode on the birthday of the monarch.
POETICAL JUSTICE, ideal justice as administered in their writings by
the poets.
POETRY, the gift of penetrating into the inner soul or secret of a
thing, and bodying it forth rhythmically so as to captivate the
imagination and the heart.
POET'S CORNER, a corner in the SW. transept of Westminster Abbey, so
called as containing the tombs of Chaucer, Spenser, and other eminent
English poets.
POGGENDORF, JOHANN CHRISTIAN, a German physicist and chemist, born
at Hamburg; professor of Physics at Berlin; was the editor for more than
half a century of the famous _Annalen der Physik und Chimie_, and the
author of numerous papers (1796-1877).
POGGIO, BRACCIOLINI, an Italian scholar, born in Florence, was a
distinguished humanist, and devoted to the revival of classical learning,
collecting MSS. of the classics wherever he could find them that might
otherwise have been lost, including Quintilian's "Institutions," great
part of Lucretius, and several orations of Cicero, &c.; wrote a "History
of Florence," where he died; he was the author of a collection of stories
and of jests in Latin at the expense of the monks (1380-1459).
POINT DE GALLE (33), a town on a promontory in the SW. of Ceylon,
with a good harbour, and the great port of call for the lines of steamers
in the Eastern waters.
POISSON, SIMEON-DENIS, a celebrated French mathematician, born at
Pithiviers; was for his eminence in mathematical ability and physical
research raised to the peerage; wrote no fewer than 300 memoirs
(1781-1840).
POITIERS (34), the capital of the dep. of Vienne, 61 m. SW. of
Tours; has a number of interesting buildings, a university and large
library; in its neighbourhood Clovis defeated Alaric II. in 507, Charles
Martel the Moors in 732, and the Black Prince the troops of King John in
1356.
POITOU, formerly a province in France, lying S. of the Loire,
between the Vienne River and the sea; passed to England when its
countess, Eleanor, married Henry I., 1152; was taken by Philip Augustus
1205, ceded to England again 1360, and retaken by Charles V. 1369.
POLA (31), the chief naval station of Austria, 73 m. S. of Trieste,
in the Adriatic; the harbour is both spacious and deep; was originally a
Roman colony, and a flourishing seat of commerce.
POLAND, formerly a kingdom larger than modern Austro-Hungary, with a
population of 24 millions, lying between the Baltic and the Carpathians,
with Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Silesia on the W., and the Russian
provinces of Smolensk, Tchernigoff, Poltava, and Kherson on the E.; the
Dwina, the Memel, and the Vistula flowed through its northern plains; the
Dnieper traversed the E., the Dniester and the Bug rose in its SE.
corner. The country is fertile; great crops of cereals are raised; there
are forests of pine and oak, and extensive pasture lands; vast salt-mines
are wrought at Cracow; silver, iron, copper, and lead in other parts.
Poland took rank among European powers in the 10th century under
Mieczyslaw, its first Christian king. During the 12th and 13th centuries
it sank to the rank of a duchy. In 1241 the Mongols devastated the
country, and thereafter colonies of Germans and Jewish refugees settled
among the Slav population. The first Diet met in 1331, and Casimir the
Great, 1333-1370, raised the country to a high level of prosperity,
fostering the commerce of Danzig and Cracow. The dynasty of the Jagellons
united Lithuania to Poland, ended two centuries' contest with the
Teutonic knights, and yielded to the nobles such privileges as turned the
kingdom into an oligarchy and elective monarchy. At the time of the
Reformation Poland was the leading power in Eastern Europe. The new
doctrines gained ground there in spite of severe persecution. Warsaw
became the capital in 1569. The power and arrogance of the nobles grew;
the necessity for unanimity in the votes of the Diet gave them a weapon
to stop all progress and all correction of their own malpractices.
Sigismund III. made unsuccessful attempts to seize the crowns of Russia
and Sweden. In the middle of the 17th century a terrible struggle against
Russia, Sweden, Brandenburg and the Cossacks ended in the complete defeat
of Poland, from which she never recovered. Wars with the Turks,
dissensions among her own nobles, quarrels at the election of every king,
the continuance of serfdom, and the persecution of the adherents of the
Greek Church and the Protestants, rendered her condition more and more
deplorable. Austria, Russia, and Prussia began to interfere in her
affairs. She was unfortunate in her choice of kings, and in the second
half of the 18th century she was without natural boundaries, and
Frederick the Great started the idea of partition. The first seizure of
territory by the three interfering powers took place in 1772. A movement
for reform reorganised the Diet, improved the condition of the serfs,
established religious toleration, and promulgated a new constitution in
1781; but a party of unpatriotic nobles resented it, and laid the country
open to a second seizure of territory by Prussia and Russia in 1793. The
Poles now made a desperate stand under Kosciusko, but their three
powerful neighbours were too strong, and the final partition of Poland
between them took place in 1795. The Congress of Vienna rearranged the
division in 1815, and reconstituted the Russian portion as a kingdom,
with the Czar as king; but discontent broke into rebellion, and led to
the final repression of independence in 1832.
POLDERS, low marshy lands in Holland and Belgium, drained and
reclaimed from sea or river; they form an important part of the former,
and are conspicuous from the verdure they display; they include nearly
150 acres of good land, the largest being that of Haarlem Meer, which is
70 square miles in extent, and was drained by steam.
POLE, the name given to the extremities of the imaginary axis of the
earth, round which it is conceived to revolve.
POLE, REGINALD, cardinal, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Stourton
Castle, Staffordshire, of royal blood; studied at Oxford; took holy
orders, and was appointed to various benefices by Henry VIII., who held
him in high favour; but he opposed the project of divorcing Catherine,
and was driven from the royal presence and deprived of his power; but
elected to the cardinalate by the Pope, he tried to return after Henry's
death, but was not received back till Mary's accession, when he came as
Papal legate, and was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury after the death
of Cranmer, whom he refused to supersede as long as he lived; he was not
obsequious enough to the Pope, and his legation was cancelled; the
Queen's illness accelerated his own end, and he died the day after her;
he has been charged with abetting the Marian persecution, but it is
highly questionable how far he was answerable for it (1506-1558).
POLE-STAR or POLARIS, a star in the northern hemisphere, in
Ursa Minor, the nearest conspicuous one to the N. pole of the heavens,
from which it is at present 1½° distant; a straight line joining the two
"pointers" in Ursa Major passes nearly through it.
POLIGNAC, DUC DE and DUCHESS DE, husband and wife; were
chargeable with the extravagances of the court of Louis XVI., and were
the first to emigrate at the outbreak of the Revolution, the former dying
in 1817 and the latter in 1793.
POLIGNAC, PRINCE DE, French statesman, born at Versailles, of an old
noble family, prime minister of Charles X., to whose fall he contributed
by his arbitrary measures; in attempting flight at the Revolution was
captured and sentenced to death, which was converted into banishment; he
was allowed to return at length (1780-1847).
POLITIAN, ANGELO, eminent Italian scholar, born in Tuscany; was
patronised by Lorenzo de' Medici, was made professor of Greek and Latin
at the university of Florence, his fame in which capacity drew to his
class students from all parts of Europe; he did much to forward the
Renaissance movement, and was distinguished as a poet no less than as a
scholar; he became a priest towards the close of his life (1454-1494).
POLITICAL ECONOMY, the name given to the modern _soi-disant_ science
concerned with the production, distribution, and exchange of wealth,
against the relevancy of which to the economics of the world Ruskin has,
for most part in vain, during the last forty years emitted a scornful
protest, affirming that this is "mercantile" and not "political economy
at all," which he insists is the "economy of a state or of citizens,"
consisting "simply in the production and distribution at fittest time and
place of useful or pleasurable things ... a science which teaches nations
to desire and labour for the things that lead to life, and to scorn and
destroy those that lead to destruction ... though, properly speaking, it
is neither an art nor a science, but a system of conduct and legislature,
founded on the sciences, directing the arts, and impossible, except under
certain conditions of moral culture," with which last, however, the
modern political economists maintain their science has nothing whatever
to do.
POLIZIANO. See POLITIAN.
POLK, JAMES KNOX, eleventh President of the United States, of Irish
descent; admitted to the bar in 1820, entered Congress in 1825, became
President in 1844, his term of office having been signalised by the
annexation of Texas and California (1795-1849).
POLLIO, CAIUS ASINIUS, orator, historian, and poet, born at Rome;
sided with Cæsar against Pompey, and after the death of the former with
Antony; was a patron of letters and the friend of Virgil and Horace, both
of whom dedicated poems to him; he was the first to establish a public
library in Rome (76 B.C. to A.D. 4).
POLLOCK, SIR EDWARD, an eminent English judge, born in London,
contemporary of Brougham, a Tory in politics, represented Huntingdon, was
twice over Attorney-General, became Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1844,
and made a baronet on his retirement from the bench (1783-1870).
POLLOCK, SIR GEORGE, field-marshal, born at Westminster, brother of
the preceding; distinguished himself in Nepal and the Afghan War, in the
latter forced the Kyber Pass, defeated Akbar Khan, and relieved Sir
Robert Sale, who was shut up in Jelallabad (1786-1872).
POLLOK, ROBERT, Scottish poet, born in Renfrewshire; bred for the
Secession Church, wrote one poem, "The Course of Time," in 10 books, on
the spiritual life and human destiny, which was published when he was
dying of consumption, a complaint accelerated, it is believed, by his
studious habits (1799-1827).
POLLUX, the twin brother of Castor (q. v.).
POLO, a game similar to hockey, played on horseback with mallets,
and devised by British officers in India in place of football.
POLO, MARCO, a celebrated traveller, born in Venice of a noble
family in 1271; accompanied his father and uncle while a mere youth to
the court of the Great Khan, the Tartar emperor of China, by whom he was
received with favour and employed on several embassies; unwilling to part
with him the emperor allowed him along with his father and uncle to
escort a young princess who was going to be married to a Persian prince
on the promise that they would return, but the prince having died before
their arrival, and deeming themselves absolved from their promise by his
death, they moved straight home for Venice, where they arrived in 1295,
laden with rich presents which had been given them; having fallen into
the hands of the Genoese in a hostile expedition, Marco was put in
prison, where he wrote the story of his adventures, originally in French
it would seem, which proved to be the first account that opened up to
wondering Europe the magnificence of the Eastern world (1255-1323).
POLYANDRY, the name given to a form of polygamy met with among
certain rude races, under which a woman is united and lives in marriage
to several husbands.
POLYBIUS, a Greek historian, born at Megalopolis, in Arcadia; sent
to Rome as a hostage, he formed an intimate friendship with Scipio
Æmilianus, who aided him in his historical researches, and whom he
accompanied to Africa on the expedition which issued in the destruction
of Carthage, after which he returned to Greece and began his literary
labours, the fruit of which was a history of Greece and Rome from 220 to
146 B.C. in 40 books, of which 5 have come down to us complete, a work
characterised by accurate statement of facts and sound judgment of their
import, written with a purpose to instruct in practical wisdom; he has
been called "the first pragmatical historian" (204-122 B.C.).
POLYCARP, bishop of Smyrna, one of the early Fathers of the Church,
a disciple of the Apostles and in particular of St. John; was for nearly
70 years bishop, and suffered martyrdom for refusing to renounce Christ,
"after having served Him," as he said, "for 86 years"; of his writings
the only one extant is an "Epistle to the Philippians," the genuineness
of which, at one time questioned, is now established, and is of value
chiefly in questions affecting the canon of Scripture and the origin of
the Church.
POLYCRATES, the tyrant of Samos, and friend of Anacreon and art and
literature generally; formed an alliance with Amasis, king of Egypt, who,
struck with his prosperity, ascribed it to the envy of the gods,
insinuating that they intended his ruin thereby, and advised him, in
order to avert his impending doom, to throw the most valuable of his
possessions into the sea, upon which he threw a signet ring of great
price and beauty, to find it again in the mouth of a fish a fisherman had
sold him; still, though upon this Amasis broke alliance with him, his
prosperity clung to him, till one day he was allured by a Persian satrap,
his enemy, away from Samos, and by him crucified to death, 521 B.C.
POLYGNOTUS, an early Greek painter, born in Thasos, and settled in
Athens 463 B.C.; is considered the founder of historical painting, and
is praised especially by Aristotle, who pays a high tribute to him; was
the first to attempt portrait-painting and exhibit character by his art.
POLYHYMNIA, one of the nine MUSES (q. v.); she is
represented as in a pensive mood, with her forefinger on her mouth; she
was the inventress of the lyre and the mother of Orpheus.
POLYNESIA is the collective name of all the islands of the Pacific
of coral or volcanic origin. These South Sea islands are scattered,
isolated, or more usually in groups over a stretch of ocean 7000 m. from
N. to S. and 6000 from E. to W.; with the exception of the two chief
members of the New Zealand archipelago they are mostly small, and exhibit
wonderful uniformity of climate; the temperature is moderate, and where
there are any hills to intercept the moisture-laden trade-winds the
rainfall is high; they are extremely rich in flora; characteristic of
their vegetation are palms, bread fruit trees, and edible roots like yams
and sweet potatoes, forests of tree-ferns, myrtles, and ebony, with
endless varieties of beautiful flowering plants; their fauna is
wonderfully poor, varieties of rats and bats, a few snakes, frogs,
spiders, and centipedes, with the crocodile, being the chief indigenous
animals; the three divisions of Polynesia are Micronesia, comprising five
small archipelagoes in the NW., N. of the equator, of which the chief are
the Mariana and Caroline groups; Melanesia, comprising eleven
archipelagoes in the W., S. of the equator, of which the largest are the
Solomon, Bismarck, Fiji, New Caledonia, and New Hebrides groups; and
Eastern Polynesia, E. of these on both sides of the equator, including
New Zealand, Hawaii, and Samoa, ten other archipelagoes, and numerous
sporadic islands; the first of these divisions is occupied by a mixed
population embracing many distinct elements, the second by the black,
low-type Melanesians, the third by the light brown, tall Polynesians;
traces of extinct civilisation are found in Easter Island and the
Carolines; most of the islands are now in the possession of European
powers, and are more or less Christianised; New Zealand is one of the
most enterprising and flourishing colonies of Great Britain; everywhere
the native races are dying out before the immigration of Europeans.
POLYPHEMUS, in Homeric legend a son of Neptune, the most celebrated
of the Cyclops, a huge monster with one eye, who dwelt in Sicily in a
cave near Ætna, and whose eye, after making him drunk, Ulysses burnt out,
lest he should circumvent him and devour him, as he had done some of his
companions.
POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL, an institution for teaching the practical arts
and the related sciences, especially such as depend on mathematics.
POLYTHEISM, a belief in a plurality of gods each with a sphere of
his own, and each in general a personification of some elemental power
concerned in the government of the world.
POMBAL, MARQUIS DE, a great Portuguese statesman, born in Coimbra;
was Prime Minister of Joseph I.; partial to the philosophic opinions of
the 18th century, he set himself to fortify the royal power, to check
that of the aristocracy, and to enlighten the people; he was the
pronounced enemy of the Jesuits, reformed the University of Coimbra,
purified the administration, encouraged commerce and industry, whereby he
earned for himself at the hands of the people the name of the Great
Marquis; on the accession of Maria, Joseph's daughter and successor, he
was, under Jesuit influence, dispossessed of power, to die in poverty
(1699-1782).
POMERANIA (1,521), a Prussian province lying between the Baltic and
Brandenburg, with West Prussia on the E. and Mecklenburg on the W., is a
flat and in some parts sandy country, with no hills, many lakes, and a
large lagoon, the Stettiner Haff, into which the chief river, the Oder,
falls; the islands of Wallin, Usedom, and Rügen belong to the province;
the main industry is agriculture, principal products rye and potatoes;
poultry-rearing and fishing are extensively carried on; there are
shipbuilding, machine-works, sugar and chemical factories; Stettin, the
capital, and Stralsund are important trading centres; a university is at
Greifswald; the Slavic population embraced Christianity in the 12th
century; shortly afterwards the duke joined the German Empire; after the
Thirty Years' War much of the province fell to Sweden, and the whole was
not finally ceded to Prussia till 1815.
POMONA, or MAINLAND, the largest island in the Orkneys, has a
low treeless surface, many lakes, and extensive pasture-land; agriculture
has of late improved, and, with stock-raising and fishing, is the chief
industry; the only towns are Kirkwall and Stromness.
POMONA, in the Roman mythology is the goddess of fruits, who
presided over their ripening and in-gathering, and was generally
represented bearing fruits in her lap or in a basket.
POMPADOUR, MARQUISE DE, a famous mistress of Louis XV., born in
Paris; celebrated for her beauty and wit; throwing herself, though a
married woman, in the king's way, she took his fancy, and was installed
at Versailles; for 20 years exercised an influence both over him and the
affairs of the kingdom, to the corruption and ruin of both, and the
exasperation of the nation; she was preceded as mistress of Louis by La
Châteroux, and succeeded by Du Barri (1721-1764).
POMPEII, an ancient Italian seaport on the Bay of Naples, fell into
the possession of Rome about 80 B.C., and was converted into a
watering-place and "the pleasure haunt of paganism"; the Romans erected
many handsome public buildings, and their villas and theatres and baths
were models of classic architecture and the scenes of unbounded luxury;
the streets were narrow, provided with side-walks, the walls often
decorated with painting or scribbled over by idle gamins; the number of
shops witnesses to the fashion and gaiety of the town, the remains of
painted notices to its municipal life; a terrible earthquake ruined it
and drove out the inhabitants in A.D. 63; they returned and rebuilt it,
however, in a tawdry and decadent style, and luxury and pleasure reigned
as before till in A.D. 79 an eruption of Vesuvius buried everything in
lava and ashes; the ruins were forgotten till accidentally discovered in
1748; since 1860 the city has been disinterred under the auspices of the
Italian Government, and is now a favourite resort of tourists and
archæologists.
POMPEY, CNEIUS, surnamed the Great, Roman general and statesman;
entered into public life after the death of Marius; associated himself
with Sulla; distinguished himself in Africa and in the Mithridatic War;
was raised to the consulate with Crassus in 71 B.C.; cleared the
Mediterranean Sea of pirates in 67-66; formed against the Senate, along
with Cæsar and Crassus, the first triumvirate, and in 54 entered into
rivalry with Cæsar; after a desperate struggle he was defeated at
Pharsalia, and escaping to Egypt, was assassinated there by orders of
Ptolemy XII. (106-48 B.C.).
POMPEY'S PILLAR, a block of red granite near Alexandria, forming a
pillar 98 ft. 3 in. high; erected in honour of the Emperor Diocletian,
who conquered Alexandria in 296. The name is an invention of some
mistaken early traveller.
PONCE DE LEON, Spanish navigator; conquered Porto Rico in 1510, and
discovered Florida in 1512. Also the name of a Spanish poet; was a
professor of Theology at Salamanca; was translator of the Song of
Solomon, and wrote a commentary on it in Latin.
PONCHO, a kind of cloak or shawl, of woollen or alpaca cloth, oblong
in shape, with a slit in the centre, through which the wearer passes his
head, allowing the folds to cover his shoulders and arms to the elbows,
and to fall down before and behind; worn by the native men in Chili and
Argentina. Ponchos of waterproof are used by the United States cavalry.
PONDICHERRY (173), a small French colony on the E. coast of India,
53 m. S. of Madras; was first occupied in 1674. It was captured by the
Dutch in 1693, and by the English successively in 1761, 1778, and 1793,
but on each occasion restored. The capital, Pondicherry (41), is the
capital of the French possessions in India; has handsome tree-lined
streets, government buildings, college, lighthouse, cotton mills, and
dye-works. The harbour is an open roadstead; trade is small, the chief
export oil seeds.
PONDOS, a branch of Zulu-Kaffirs, 200,000 in number, occupying
territory called Pondo Land, annexed to Cape Colony, in South Africa.
PONIATOWSKI, PRINCE JOSEPH, Polish general, born in Warsaw;
commanded the Polish contingent that accompanied Napoleon in his
expedition into Russia in 1812; was created Marshal of France on the
field of Leipzig; covered the retreat of the French army, and was drowned
crossing the Elster; his chivalrous bravery earned him the honourable
appellation of the Polish Bayard; he was buried at Cracow, and his
remains placed beside those of Sobieski and Kosciusko (1762-1813).
PONS ASINORUM (i. e. Bridge of Asses), the fifth proposition in
the 1st book of Euclid, so called for the difficulty many a tyro has in
mastering it.
PONSONBY, SIR FREDERICK CAVENDISH, military officer; served in the
Peninsular War; distinguished himself at Waterloo; lay wounded all night
after the engagement; was conveyed next day in a cart to the village with
seven wounds in his body; was a great favourite with the army
(1783-1837).
PONTEFRACT (16), an ancient market-town of Yorkshire, 13 m. SE. of
Leeds; has a castle in which Richard II. died, and which suffered four
sieges in the Civil War, a market hall, grammar school, and large
market-gardens, where liquorice for the manufacture of Pomfret cakes is
grown.
PONTIFEX MAXIMUS, the chief of the college of priests in ancient
Rome, the officiating priests being called Flamens.
PONTIFICAL, a service-book of the Romish Church, containing prayers
and rites for a performance of public worship by the Pope or bishop; also
in the plural the name of the full dress of an officiating priest.
PONTINE MARSHES, a district, 26 m. by 17, in the S. of the Campagna
of Rome, one of the three malarial districts of Italy, and the most
unhealthy of the three, extending about 30 m. in length and 10 or 11 in
varying breadth, is grazing ground for herds of cattle, horses, and
buffaloes. Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to drain these
marshes.
PONTUS, the classical name of a country on the SE. shores of the
Black Sea, stretching from the river Halys to the borders of Armenia; is
represented by the modern Turkish provinces of Trebizond and Sivas.
Originally a Persian province, it became independent shortly after 400
B.C., and remained so till part was annexed to Bithynia in 65 B.C., and
the rest constituted a Roman province in A.D. 63.
POOLE (15), a seaport of Dorsetshire, 5 m. W. of Bournemouth; has a
trade in potters' and pipe-clay, with considerable shipping.
POOLE, MATTHEW, English controversialist and commentator, born at
York, educated at Cambridge; became rector of St. Michael le Querne in
London, but was expelled from his living by the Act of Uniformity 1662;
retiring to Holland he died at Amsterdam; besides polemics against Rome
he compiled a "Synopsis Criticorum Biblicorum," containing the opinions
of 150 Biblical critics (1624-1679).
POONA (160), 119 m. by rail SE. of Bombay, is the chief military
station in the Deccan, and in the hot season the centre of government in
the Bombay Presidency; with narrow streets and poor houses, it is
surrounded by gardens; here are the Deccan College, College of Science,
and other schools; the English quarters are in the cantonments; silk,
cotton, and jewellery are manufactured; it was the capital of the
Mahrattas, and was annexed by Britain in 1818.
POOR RICHARD, the name assumed by FRANKLIN (q. v.) in his
almanacs.
POPE (i. e. Papa), a title originally given to all bishops of the
Church, and eventually appropriated by Leo the Great, the bishop of Rome,
as the supreme pontiff in 449, a claim which in 1054 created the Great
Schism, and which asserted itself territorially as well as spiritually,
till now at length the Pope has been compelled to resign all territorial
power. The present Pope, Pius X., is the successor of 258 who occupied
before him the Chair of St. Peter.
POPE, ALEXANDER, eminent English poet, born in London, of Roman
Catholic parents; was a sickly child, and marred by deformity, and
imperfectly educated; began to write verse at 12 in which he afterwards
became such a master; his "Pastorals" appeared in 1709, "Essay on
Criticism" in 1711, and "Rape of the Lock" in 1712, in the production of
which he was brought into relationship with the leading literary men of
the time, and in particular Swift, between whom and him a lifelong
friendship was formed; in 1715-20 appeared his translation of the
"Iliad," and in 1723-25 that of the "Odyssey," for which two works, it is
believed, he received some £9000; afterwards, in 1728, appeared the
"Dunciad," a scathing satire of all the small fry of poets and critics
that had annoyed him, and in 1732 appeared the first part of the famous
"Essay on Man"; he was a vain man, far from amiable, and sometimes
vindictive to a degree, though he was capable of warm attachments, and
many of his faults were due to a not unnatural sensitiveness as a
deformed man; but as a poet he is entitled to the homage which Professor
Saintsbury pays when he characterises him as "one of the greatest masters
of poetic form that the world has ever seen" (1688-1744).
POPISH PLOT, an imaginary plot devised by TITUS OATES (q. v.)
on the part of the Roman Catholics in Charles II.'s reign; in the
alleged connection a number of innocent people lost their lives.
PORCH, THE, the name given to the school of ZENO (q. v.),
so called from the Arcade in Athens, in which he taught his philosophy, a
"many-coloured portico," as decorated with the paintings of
POLYGNOTUS (q. v.).
PORCUPINE, PETER, a pseudonym assumed by WILLIAM COBBETT (q. v.).
PORPHYRY, a Neo-Platonic philosopher of Alexandria, born at Tyre;
resorted to Rome and became a disciple of PLOTINUS (q. v.),
whose works he edited; he wrote a work against Christianity, known only
from the replies (233-305).
PORSENA, a king of Etruria, famous in the early history of Rome, who
took up arms to restore Tarquin, the last king, but was reconciled to the
Roman people from the brave feats he saw, certain of them accomplished,
as well as the formidable power of endurance they displayed.
PORSON, RICHARD, eminent Greek scholar, born in Norfolk; was a
prodigy of learning and critical acumen; edited the plays of Æschylus and
four of Euripides, but achieved little in certification to posterity of
his ability and attainments; was a man of slovenly and intemperate
habits, and died of apoplexy (1759-1808).
PORT ARTHUR, a naval station on the peninsula extending S. into the
Gulf of Pechili; conceded to Russia on a lease of 99 years.
PORT DARWIN, one of the finest harbours in Australia; is on the N.
coast opposite Bathurst Island; on its shores stands Palmerston, terminus
of the overland telegraph, the cable to Java, and a railway to the gold
mines 150 m. inland.
PORT ELIZABETH (25), the third largest town and chief trading centre
of Cape Colony; stands on Algoa Bay, 85 m. SW. of Grahamstown; it has
magnificent public buildings, parks, and squares, a college, library, and
museum. It is the chief port in the E. of the colony and for Natal, the
principal exports being wools, hides, and ostrich feathers.
PORT GLASGOW (15), a Renfrewshire seaport on the S. shore of the
Firth of Clyde, 3 m. E. of Greenock and 20 W. of Glasgow; was founded by
the magistrates of Glasgow in 1668 as a port for that city before the
deepening of the river was projected. In the beginning of the 18th
century it was the chief port on the Clyde, but has since been surpassed
by Greenock and Glasgow itself. There are shipbuilding, iron and brass
founding industries, and extensive timber ponds.
PORT LOUIS (62), capital of Mauritius, on the NW. coast; is the
chief port of the colony, with an excellent harbour, and contains the
British government buildings, a Protestant and a Roman Catholic
cathedral, barracks, and military store-houses. It is a naval
coaling-station.
PORT ROYAL, a convent founded in 1204, 8 m. SW. of Versailles, and
which in the 17th century became the head-quarters of JANSENISM
(q. v.), and the abode of Antoine Lemaitre, Antoine Arnauld, and
others, known as the "Solitaires of the Port Royal." They were
distinguished for their austerity, their piety, and their learning, in
evidence of which last they established a school of instruction, in
connection with which they prepared a series of widely famous educational
works.
PORT-AU-PRINCE (20), on the W. coast of Hayti, on Port-au-Prince
Bay, is the capital; a squalid town; exports coffee, cocoa, logwood,
hides, and mahogany.
PORTCULLIS, a strong grating resembling a harrow hanging over the
gateway of a fortress, let down in a groove of the wall in the case of a
surprise.
PORTE, SUBLIME, or simply the Porte, is a name given to the Turkish
Government.
PORTEOUS MOB, the name given a mob that collected in the city of
Edinburgh on the night of the 7th September 1736, broke open the Tolbooth
jail, and dragged to execution in the Grassmarket one Captain Porteous,
captain of the City Guard, who on the occasion of a certain riot had
ordered his men to fire on the crowd to the death of some and the
wounding of others, and had been tried and sentenced to death, but, to
the indignation of the citizens, had been respited. The act was one for
which the authorities in the city were held responsible by the
Government, and the city had to pay to Porteous' widow £1500.
PORTER, JANE, English novelist, born in Durham; her most famous
novels were "Thaddeus of Warsaw" (1803) and "The Scottish Chiefs" (1810),
both highly popular in their day, the latter particularly; it induced
Scott to go on with Waverley; died at Bristol (1776-1850).
PORTER, NOAH, American philosophical writer, born at Farmington,
Connecticut, educated at Yale; was a Congregationalist minister 1836-46,
then professor of Moral Philosophy at Yale, and afterwards President of
the college; Edinburgh University granted him the degree of D.D. in
1886; among his works are "The Human Intellect" and "Books and Reading";
_b_. 1811.
PORTEUS, BEILBY, English churchman, born at York, of American
parentage; graduated and became Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge,
and took orders in 1757; from the rectory of Hunton, Kent, he was
preferred to that of Lambeth in 1767, thence to the bishopric of Chester
in 1776, and to that of London 1787; a poor scholar, he yet wrote some
popular books, especially a "Summary of Christian Evidences," and
"Lectures on St. Matthew's Gospel"; he posed as a Sabbatarian and an
advocate of the abolition of slavery (1731-1809).
PORTIA, the rich heiress in the "Merchant of Venice," whose destiny
in marriage depended, as ordained by her father, on the discretion of the
wooer to choose the one of the three caskets that contained her
portrait.
PORTLAND, 1, the largest city (50) and principal seaport of Maine,
stands on a peninsula in Casco Bay, 108 in. NE. of Boston by rail. It has
extensive wharfs, dry-docks, and grain-elevators, engineer shops,
shoe-factories, and sugar-refineries. Settled as an English colony in
1632, it was ravaged by fire in 1866. Longfellow was born here. 2,
largest city (90) in Oregon, on the Willamette River, nearly 800 m. N. of
San Francisco; is a handsome city, with numerous churches and schools;
there are iron-foundries, mechanics' shops, canneries, and flour-mills;
railway communication connects it with St. Paul and Council Bluffs, and
the river being navigable for deep-sea steamers, it is a thriving port of
entry.
PORTLAND, ISLE OF, a rocky peninsula in the SW. of Dorsetshire,
connected by Chesil Bank and the Mainland; is famous as the source of
great quantities of fine building limestone; here is also a
convict-prison opened 1848, accommodating 1500 prisoners.
PORTLAND VASE, an ancient cinerary urn of dark blue glass ornamented
with Greek mythological figures carved in a layer of white enamel found
near Rome about 1640, and which came into the possession of the Portland
family in 1787, and is now in the British Museum. It is ten inches high
and seven inches round.
PORTO RICO (814), a West Indian island, half the size of Wales, 75
m. E. of Hayti, is well watered and very fertile. Ranges of hills run
from E. to W., and are covered with valuable timber. Sugar, coffee, and
rice are the principal crops; tobacco and tropical fruits are grown;
cattle and horses are reared. Textile goods, hardware, and provisions are
imported; the exports are sugar, coffee, tobacco, and cattle. The capital
is St. John's (24), Mayaguez (27), and Ponce (40), the other towns. The
island was discovered by Columbus, who called it Hispaniola, in 1493.
Colonised by Spain in 1510, it attempted unsuccessfully to gain
independence in 1820-23. The abolition of slavery in 1873, and the growth
of population, marked the remainder of its history as a Spanish colony.
It was seized by the United States in the war of 1898.
PORTOBELLO (8), a Midlothian watering-place on the Firth of Forth, 3
m. E. of Edinburgh, with which it is now incorporated for municipal
purposes; has a fine esplanade and promenade pier, and manufactures of
pottery, bricks, and bottles.
PORTSMOUTH, 1, largest city (10) of New Hampshire, and only seaport
in the State, on the Piscataqua River, 3 m. from the ocean; is by rail 57
m. NE. of Boston, a handsome old town and favourite watering-place; near
it is a U.S. navy-yard. 2, (12), On the Ohio River, in Ohio; is the
centre of an extensive iron industry. 3, (13), Seaport and naval station
on the Elizabeth River, Virginia.
PORTSMOUTH (159), the most important British naval station, a
seaport and market-town, is situated on Portsea Island, on the coast of
Hants, 15 m. SE. of Southampton. It is an unimposing town, but strongly
fortified. St. Thomas's and Garrison Chapel are old churches with
historical associations. The naval dockyards contain 12 docks lined with
masonry, vast store-houses, wood-mills, anchor-forges, and
building-slips. Some of the docks are roofed over, as also is a large
building-slip on which four vessels may be constructed at once. The
harbour can receive the largest war-vessels, and in Spithead roadstead
1000 ships can anchor at once. The trade of Portsmouth is dependent on
the dockyards. It owes its defences to Edward IV. Elizabeth, and William
III. It was the scene of Buckingham's assassination and of the loss of
the _Royal George_. Three novelists were born here--Dickens, Meredith,
and Besant.
PORTUGAL (5,000), a country as large as Ireland, bounded on the S.
and W. by the Atlantic, on the N. and E. by Spain, from which at
different places it is separated by the rivers Minho, Douro, Tagus, and
Guadiana; consists of the Atlantic slopes of the great peninsular
tableland, and has a moist, warm atmosphere, heavy rains, and frequent
fogs. The above rivers and the Mondego traverse it; their valleys are
fertile, the mountain slopes covered with forests. In the N. the oak
abounds, in the centre the chestnut, in the S. cork-trees and palms.
Agriculture, carried on with primitive implements, is the chief industry.
Indian corn, wheat, and in the S. rice, are extensively grown; the vine
yields the most valuable crops, but in the N. it is giving place to
tobacco. There are a few textile factories. The largest export is wine;
the others, cork, copper ore, and onions, which are sent to Great
Britain, Brazil, and France. The principal imports, iron, textiles, and
grain. The capital is Lisbon, on the Tagus, one of the finest towns in
the world. Oporto, the chief manufacturing centre, and second city for
commerce, is at the mouth of the Douro. Braga was once the capital.
Coimbra, on the Mondego, is the rainiest place in Europe. There are good
roads between the chief towns, 1200 m. of railway and 3000 m. of
telegraph. The people are a mixed race, showing traces of Arab, Berber,
and Negro blood, with a predominance of northern strains. They are
courteous and gentle; the peasantry hard-working and thrifty. Roman
Catholic is the national faith, but they are tolerant of other religions.
The language is closely akin to Spanish. Education is backward. The
Government is a limited monarchy, there being two houses of
Parliament--Peers and Deputies. The Azores and Madeira are part of the
kingdom; there are colonies in Africa and Asia, in which slavery was
abolished only in 1878. The 14th and 15th centuries saw the zenith of
Portugal's fortunes. At that time, in strict alliance with England, she
raised herself by her enterprise to the foremost maritime and commercial
power of Europe; her navigators founded Brazil, and colonised India. Diaz
in 1487 discovered and Vasco da Gama in 1497 doubled the Cape of Good
Hope. In 1520 Magellan sailed round the world; but in the 16th century
the extensive emigration, the expulsion of the Jews, the introduction of
the Inquisition, and the spread of Jesuit oppression, led to a speedy
downfall. For a time she was annexed to Spain. Regaining her
independence, she threw herself under the protection of England, her
traditional friend, during the Napoleonic struggle. She is now an
inconsiderable power, commercially thriving, politically restless,
financially unsound.
POSEIDON, in the Greek mythology the god of the sea, a son of Kronos
and Rhea, and brother of Zeus, Pluto, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter; had his
home in the sea depths, on the surface of which he appeared with a long
beard, seated in a chariot drawn by brazen-hoofed horses with golden
manes, and wielding a trident, which was the symbol of his power,
exercised in production of earthquake and storms. See PLUTO.
POSEN (1,752), a province of Prussia on the Russian frontier,
surrounded by West Prussia, Brandenburg, and Silesia; belongs to the
great North German plain; has several lakes, and is traversed by the
navigable Warthe, Netze, and Vistula. The prevailing industry is
agriculture; the crops are grain, potatoes, and hops; there are some
manufactures of machinery and cloth. Originally part of Poland, half the
population are Poles; except the Jews, most of the people are Catholics.
The capital is POSEN (70), on the Warthe, by rail 185 m. E. of
Berlin. It is a pleasant town, with a cathedral, museum, and library,
manufactures of manure and agricultural implements, breweries and
distilleries. It is now a fortress of the first rank. Gnesen and Bromberg
are the other chief towns.
POSIDONIUS, an eminent Stoic philosopher, born in Syria; established
himself in Rhodes, where he rose to eminence; was visited by Cicero and
Pompey, both of whom became his pupils; maintained that pain was no evil;
"in vain, O Pain," he exclaimed one day under the pangs of it, "in vain
thou subjectest me to torture; it is not in thee to extort from me the
reproach that thou art an evil" (135-34 B.C.).
POSITIVISM, the philosophy so called of AUGUSTE COMTE (q. v.),
the aim of which is to propound a new arrangement of the sciences
and a new theory of the evolution of science; the sciences he classes
under the categories of abstract and concrete, and his law of evolution
is that every department of knowledge passes in the history of it through
three successive stages, and only in the last of which it is entitled to
the name of science--the Theological stage, in which everything is
referred to the intervention of the gods; the Metaphysical, in which
everything is referred to an abstract idea; and the Positive, which,
discarding at once theology and philosophy, contents itself with the
study of phenomena and their sequence, and regards that as science
proper. Thus is positivism essentially definable, in Dr. Stirling's
words, as "a method which replaces all outlying agencies, whether
Theological deities or Metaphysical entities, by Positive laws; which
laws, and in their phenomenal relativity, as alone what can be known,
ought alone to constitute what is sought to be known." See Dr. Stirling's
"SCHWEGLER."
POSSE COMITATUS, a Latin expression, signifies the whole coercive
power of a county called out in the case of a riot, and embraces all
males over 15 except peers, ecclesiastics, and infirm persons. These may
be summoned by the sheriff to assist in maintaining the public peace,
enforcing a writ, or capturing a felon; but usually the constabulary is
sufficient for these duties.
POST RESTANTE, department of a post-office where letters lie till
they are called for.
POTEMKIN, Russian officer, born at Smolensk, of Polish descent; a
handsome man with a powerful physique, who attracted the attention of
Catharine II., became one of her chief favourites, and directed the
foreign policy of Russia under her for 13 years; is understood to have
been an able man, but unscrupulous (1736-1771).
POTOMAC RIVER, rising in the Alleghany Mountaine, flows 400 m.
eastward between Maryland and the Virginias into Chesapeake Bay; the
Shenandoah is the chief tributary. The river is navigable as far up as
Cumberland, and is tidal up to Washington, which is on its banks.
POTOSI (12), an important mining and commercial town of Bolivia,
situated 13,000 ft. above sea-level on the slopes of the Cerro de Potosi;
is one of the loftiest inhabited places on the globe, but a dilapidated,
squalid place. There is a cathedral, next to Lima the finest in South
America, a mint, and extensive reservoirs; the streets are steep and
without vehicles; the climate is cold, and the surrounding hillsides
barren; the industry is silver mining, but the mines are becoming
exhausted and flooded.
POTSDAM (54), 18 m. SW. of Berlin, stands on an island at the
confluence of the Nuthe and Havel, and is the capital of the Prussian
province of Brandenburg; a handsome town, with broad streets, many parks
and squares, numberless statues and fine public buildings; it is a
favourite residence of Prussian royalty, and has several royal palaces;
was the birthplace of Alexander von Humboldt; has sugar and chemical
works, and a large violet-growing industry.
POTT, AUGUST FRIEDRICH, eminent philologist, born in Hanover; wrote
on the Indo-Germanic languages, a work which ranks next in importance to
Bopp's "Comparative Grammar"; he was the author of a number of
philological papers which appeared in the learned journals of the day
(1802-1887).
POTTER, JOHN, archbishop of Canterbury, born in Yorkshire, son of a
draper, a distinguished scholar; author of "Archæologia Græca," a work on
the antiquities of Greece, and for long the authority on that subject
(1674-1747).
POTTER, PAUL, a great Dutch animal-painter, lived chiefly at
Amsterdam and The Hague; his most celebrated picture, life-size, is the
"Young Bull," now at The Hague (1625-1654).
POTTERIES, THE, a district in North Staffordshire, 9 m. long by 3
broad, the centre of the earthenware manufacture of England; it includes
Hanley, Burslem, Stoke-upon-Trent, &c.
POT-WALLOPERS (i. e. Pot-boilers), a popular name given prior to
the Reform Bill of 1832 to a class of electors in a borough who claimed
the right to vote on the ground of boiling a pot within its limits for
six months.
POURPARLER, a diplomatic conference towards the framing of a treaty.
POUSSIN, NICOLAS, one of the most illustrious of French painters,
born near Andelys, in Normandy; studied first in Paris and then at Rome,
where he first attained celebrity, whence he was in 1640 invited to Paris
by Louis XIII., who appointed him painter-in-ordinary, with a studio in
the Tuileries, returning three years after to Rome, where he died; he is
the author of numerous great works, among which may be mentioned the
"Shepherds of Arcadia," "The Deluge," "Moses drawn out of the Water,"
"The Flight into Egypt," &c., all of which display simplicity of taste,
nobility of character, and artistic talent of a high order (1594-1665).
POWELL, BADEN, physicist, rationalist in theology, born in London;
was Savilian professor of Geometry at Oxford, wrote a number of treatises
on physical subjects, and contributed to the famous "Essays and Reviews"
an essay on the evidences of Christianity which gave no small offence to
orthodox people (1796-1860).
POWELL, MAJOR, American geologist and ethnologist, born in New York
State; served in the Civil War, explored the cañon of Colorado, and
became Director of the U.S. Geological Survey; has written on geological
and ethnological subjects; _b_. 1834.
POWERS, HIRAM, American sculptor, born in Vermont; began his career
by modelling busts at Washington, in 1837 emigrated to Italy, and resided
the rest of his life at Florence, where he produced his "Eve," his "Greek
Slave," and other works (1807-1873).
POYNINGS'S LAW, an Act of Parliament held at Drogheda in 1495 in the
reign of Henry VII., declaring that all statutes hitherto passed in
England should be also in force in Ireland, so called from Sir Edward
Poynings, the lieutenant of Ireland at the time.
POYNTER, EDWARD JOHN, painter, born in Paris; was educated in
England, studied in Rome and Paris, and settled in London in 1860; held
appointments at University College and at Kensington, but resigned them
in 1881 to prosecute his art, which he has since assiduously done, and
with distinction; was elected President of the Royal Academy in 1896; is
the author of "Lectures on Art"; _b_. 1836.
POZZO DI BORGO, COUNT, the lifelong enemy of Napoleon, born in
Ajaccio, Corsica; was a partisan of Paoli; obliged to flee from Corsica,
took refuge in London, in Vienna, and then in Russia, and plotted
everywhere to compass the ruin of his arch-enemy; seduced, out of simple
hatred of him, Bernadotte from the service of Napoleon, and egged on the
allies against France; represented Russia at the Congress of Vienna, and
died in Paris (1764-1842).
POZZUOLI (12), an Italian city on the Bay of Naples, is noted for
its classical remains; the cathedral was once the temple of Augustus;
there are ruins of other temples, a forum, and the ancient harbour of
Puteoli, where St. Paul landed; the town has been submerged and partially
raised again by volcanic action; Mount Solfatara, behind, supplies
medicinal gases and springs; near it are the Italian works of Armstrong
of Elswick.
P. P., CLERK OF THIS PARISH, the feigned author of a volume of
memoirs written by Arbuthnot in ridicule of Burnet's "History of My Own
Times."
PRAED, WINTHROP MACKWORTH, witty facile versifier and politician,
born in London; practised in verse-making from a boy, notably at Eton;
bred for the bar, entered Parliament as a Tory in 1830, and rose into
office; wrote several verse-tales, some pieces of promise, such as
"Arminius" and "My Pretty Josephine," a grotesque production called "The
Red Fisherman," and exquisite _vers de société_ (1802-1839).
PRÆTOR, a Roman magistrate at first, virtually a third consul, with
administrative functions, chiefly judiciary, originally in the city, and
ultimately in the provinces as well, so that the number of them increased
at one time to as many as 16.
PRÆTORIAN GUARD, a select body of soldiers distributed in cohorts,
as many as ten of a thousand each, to guard the person and maintain the
power of the emperors, and who at length acquired such influence in the
State as to elect and depose at will the emperors themselves, disposing
at times of the imperial purple to the highest bidder, till they were in
the end outnumbered and dispersed by Constantine in 312.
PRAGMATIC SANCTION, a term applied to "an ordinance of a very
irrevocable nature which a sovereign makes in affairs belonging wholly to
himself, or what he reckons within his own right," but applied more
particularly to the decree promulgated by Charles VI., emperor of
Germany, whereby he vested the right of succession to the throne of
Austria in his daughter, Maria Theresa, wife of Francis of Lorraine, a
succession which was guaranteed by France, the States-General, and the
most of the European Powers.
PRAGUE (310), capital of Bohemia, on the Moldau, 217 m. by rail NW.
of Vienna, is a picturesque city with over 70 towers, a great royal
palace, unfinished cathedral, an old town-hall, a picture-gallery,
observatory, botanical garden, and museums; the University, partly German
and partly Czech, has 300 teachers, 4000 students, and a magnificent
library; the centre of an important transit trade, Prague is the chief
commercial city of Bohemia; has manufactures of machinery, chemicals,
leather, and textile goods; four-fifths of the population are Czechs;
founded in the 12th century, it has suffered in many wars; was captured
by the Hussites 1424, fell frequently during the Thirty Years' War,
capitulated to Frederick the Great 1757, and in 1848 was bombarded for
two days by the Austrian Government in quelling the democratic
demonstrations of the Slavonic Congress of that year.
PRAIRIE, name given by the French to an extensive tract of flat or
rolling land covered with tall, waving grass, mostly destitute of trees,
and forming the great central plain of North America, which extends as
far N. as Canada.
PRAKRIT, name given to a group of Hindu languages based on Sanskrit.
PRATIQUE, license given to a ship to enter port on assurance from
the captain to convince the authorities that she is free from contagious
disease.
PRAXITELES, great Greek sculptor, born at Athens; executed statues
in both bronze and marble, and was unrivalled in the exhibition of the
softer beauties of the human form, especially the female figure, his most
celebrated being the marble one of Aphrodité at Cnidus; he executed
statues of Eros, Apollo, and Hermes as well, but they have all perished.
PRAYING-WHEELS, cylinders with printed prayers on them, driven by
hand, water, or wind-power, in use among the Buddhists of Thibet.
PRE-ADAMITES, a race presumed to have existed on the earth prior to
Adam; traditional first fathers of the Jews.
PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES, name given to the gradual shifting of
the equinoctial points along the ecliptic from east to west. See
EQUINOXES.
PRÉCIEUSES RIDICULES, a play of Molière's, published in 1653,
directed against the affectations of certain literary coteries of the
day.
PREDESTINATION, the eternal decree which in particular foreordains
certain of the human family to life everlasting and others to death
everlasting, or the theological dogma which teaches these. See
ELECTION, THE DOCTRINE OF.
PREDICABLES, the five classes of terms which can be predicated of a
subject, viz.--GENUS, containing species; SPECIES, contained in
a genus; DIFFERENTIA, distinguishing one species from another;
PROPERTY, quality possessed by every member of a species; and
ACCIDENT, attribute belonging to certain individuals of a species
and not others.
PREGEL, a navigable river in E. Prussia, 120 m. long and 730 ft.
broad, which falls into the Frische Haff below Königsberg.
PREJEVALSKI, NICHOLAS, Russian explorer, born in Smolensk; joined
the army, served against the Poles in 1861, and was appointed to Siberia
in 1867; his first explorations were in the country S. of the Amur; in
1871-73 he travelled through Southern Mongolia from Pekin to the upper
Yangtse-kiang region; thereafter his energies were devoted to Thibet; he
made repeated unsuccessful attempts to reach Lhassa, exploring by the way
the desert of Gobi and the upper Hoang-ho, and died finally at Karakol,
in West Turkestan; he discovered the wild camel and wild horse, and
brought back valuable zoological and botanical collections, which are now
in St. Petersburg (1839-1888)
PRE-RAPHAELITISM, a movement headed by Rossetti, Holman Hunt, and
Millais, of revolt against the style of art in vogue, traceable all the
way back to Raphael, and of a bold return to the study of nature itself,
agreeably to the advice of Ruskin, that "they should go to Nature in all
singleness of heart, and walk with her laboriously and trustingly, having
no other thought than how best to penetrate her meaning: rejecting
nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing"; the principle of the
movement, as having regard not merely to what the outer eye sees in an
object, but to what the inner eye sees of objective truth and reality in
it.
PRESBURG (52), the ancient capital of Hungary, close to the Austrian
frontier, on the Danube, by rail 40 m. E. of Vienna; is a pleasant town,
with a cathedral, a town-house, and a Franciscan church, all of the 13th
century, the old Parliament House, and a ruined royal castle;
manufactures beer, dynamite, and starch, and trades largely in live stock
and corn.
PRESBYOPIA, diminution of sight due to age, occurring usually about
forty-five, when near objects are less distinctly seen than distant, an
affliction due to the flattening of the lens.
PRESBYTERIANISM, that form of Church government which, discarding
prelacy, regards all ministers in conclave as on the same level in rank
and function, and which is the prevailing form of Church government in
Scotland; inherited from Geneva, as also prevailing extensively in the
United States of America. The government is administered by a gradation
of courts, called "Kirk-Sessions," of office-bearers in connection with a
particular congregation; "Presbyteries," in connection with a small
district; "Synods," in connection with a larger; and finally a General
Assembly or a Synod of the whole Church, which, besides managing the
affairs of the collective body, forms a court of final appeal in disputed
matters or cases.
PRESCOTT, WILLIAM HICKLING, American historian, born at Salem,
Massachusetts; son of a lawyer; graduated at Harvard in 1814, and applied
himself to study law; by-and-by he travelled in Europe, married, and
turned to literature as a profession; growing blind, the result of an
accident at college, he fortunately inherited means, employed assistants,
and with great courage in 1826 began to study Spanish history. "Ferdinand
and Isabella" appearing in 1838, established his reputation in both
worlds; "The Conquest of Mexico" was published in 1843, and "The Conquest
of Peru" in 1847; he was elected corresponding member of the French
Institute; his style is vivid, direct, and never dull; though not
philosophical, his histories are masterpieces of narrative and incident;
he died of apoplexy at Boston before completing the "History of Philip
II." (1796-1859).
PRESENT TIME, defined impressively by Carlyle as "the youngest born
of Eternity, child and heir of all the past times, with their good and
evil, and parent of all the future with new questions and significance,"
on the right or wrong understanding of which depend the issues of life or
death to us all, the sphinx riddle given to all of us to rede as we would
live and not die.
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, is popularly elected for four years,
or rather by delegates so elected to each State, and sometimes re-elected
for other four; is commander-in-chief of the army and navy; sees to the
administration of the laws, signs bills before they pass into law, makes
treaties, grants reprieves and pardons, and receives an annual salary of
50,000 dollars.
PRESS-GANG, a party armed with powers to impress men into the naval
service in times of emergency, a practice which often gave rise to
serious disturbances, and is not in any circumstances likely to be had
recourse to again. See IMPRESSMENT.
PRESSENSÉ, EDMOND DE, eminent French Protestant theologian, born at
Luasanne, in Paris; studied under Vinet and Neander at Berlin; became
Protestant minister in Paris; was elected a deputy in the National
Assembly in 1871, and a senator in 1883; wrote a "Life of Christ," and on
numerous subjects of theological and ecclesiastical interest (1824-1891).
PRESTER, JOHN. See JOHN, PRESTER.
PRESTON (112), Lancashire manufacturing town on the Ribble, 31 m. N
W. of Manchester; is a well laid out brick town, with three parks, a
magnificent town-hall, a market, public baths, free library, museum, and
picture-gallery; St. Walburge's Roman Catholic church has the highest
post-Reformation steeple in England, 306 ft. The deepening of the river
and construction of docks have added to the shipping trade. The chief
industry is cotton, but there are also shipbuilding yards, engineer
shops, and foundries. One of Cromwell's victories was won here; it was
the birthplace of Richard Arkwright, and the scene of the beginning of
the English total abstinence movement in 1832.
PRETENDERS, THE, the names given to the son and the grandson of
James II. (Prince Charlie) as claiming a right to the throne of England,
and called respectively the Elder and the Younger Pretender; the elder,
who made one or two attempts to secure his claim, surrendered it to his
son, who in 1745 was defeated at Culloden.
PRETORIA (whites, 10), capital of the Transvaal, stands on a
mountain-enclosed plain 1000 m. NE. of Cape Town, and nearly 300 m. W. of
Lorenzo Marquez, Delagoa Bay, with both of which and with Natal it is
connected by rail. It is a thriving town, growing rapidly with
flourishing trade, the see of a bishop, and containing twenty English
schools. Coal is found near, and wheat, tobacco, cotton, and indigo
grown. It is the seat of the government of the Transvaal.
PRÉVOST D'EXILES, ANTOINE FRANÇOIS, or ABBÉ PRÉVOST, a French
romancer, born in Heslin, Artois; was educated by the Jesuits, and became
a Benedictine monk, but proving refractory, fled to Holland and England;
wrote several novels, but his fame rests on one entitled "Manon Lescaut,"
a work of genius, charming at once in matter and style; a "story," says
Professor Saintsbury, "chiefly remarkable for the perfect simplicity and
absolute life-likeness of the character-drawing"; derives its name from
the subject of it, a young girl named Manon (1697-1763).
PRÉVOST-PARADOL, LUCIEN ANATOLE, French littérateur and publicist,
born in Paris; distinguished himself as journalist and essayist; was an
enemy of the Empire, but accepted a post under Ollivier as envoy to the
United States in 1870, and committed suicide at Washington almost
immediately after landing; it was on the eve of the Franco-German War,
and he had been the subject of virulent attacks from the republican press
of the day (1829-1870).
PRIAM, the old king of Troy during the Trojan War; was the son of
Laomedon, who with the help of Apollo and Poseidon built the city; had a
large family by his wife Hecuba, Hector, Paris, and Cassandra, the most
noted of them; was too old to take part in the war; is said to have
fallen by the hand of Pyrrhus on the capture of Troy by the Greeks.
PRIAPUS, an ancient deity, the personification of the generating or
fructifying power, and worshipped as the protector of flocks of sheep and
goats, of bees, of the vine and other garden products; a worship known as
the Priapus worship prevailed extensively all over the East.
PRICE, RICHARD, English moralist, born in Glamorganshire; wrote on
politics and economics as well as ethics, in which last he followed
CUDWORTH (q. v.), and insisted on the unimpeachable quality of
moral distinctions, and the unimpeachable authority of the moral
sentiments (1723-1791).
PRICHARD, JAMES COWLES, founder of ethnology and a philologist, born
in Hereford; bred to medicine, and practised in Bristol; wrote
"Researches into the Physical History of Mankind," "The Eastern Origin of
the Celtic Nations," "Analysis of Egyptian Mythology," and the "Natural
History of Man"; maintained the original unity of the race, and that the
original pair were negroes; philology was in his hands the handmaid of
ethnology, and he made himself master of the primitive languages
(1786-1848).
PRIDEAUX, HUMPHREY, English prelate and scholar; remembered chiefly
as the author of a learned work entitled "The Connection of the History
of the Old and New Testaments"; wrote a "Life of Mahomet," popular in its
day and for long after (1648-1724).
PRIDE'S PURGE, the name given to a violent exclusion, in 1649, at
the hands of a body of troops commanded by Colonel Pride of about a
hundred members of the House of Commons disposed to deal leniently with
the king, after which some eighty, known as the Rump, were left to deal
with his Majesty and bring him to justice.
PRIESSNITZ, founder of the water-cure, in connection with which he
had a large establishment at Gräfenberg, in Austrian Silesia; was a mere
empiric, having been bred to farming (1799-1851).
PRIEST, properly a man in touch with the religious life of the
people, and for the most part consecrated to mediate between them and the
Deity; the prophet, on the other hand, being one more in touch with the
Deity, being at times so close to Him as to require a priest to mediate
between him and the laity.
PRIESTLEY, JOSEPH, a Socinian divine, born near Leeds; wrote in
defence of Socinianism, and in defence of Christianity; gave himself to
physical research, particularly pneumatic chemistry; is claimed as the
discoverer of oxygen; sympathised with the French Revolution; was mobbed,
and had to flee to America, where he died, believing in immortality
despite his materialistic philosophy (1733-1804).
PRIM, JUAN, a Spanish general; distinguished as a statesman; rose to
be Minister of War, but aspiring to dictatorship, was shot by an
assassin; he was the leader of the movement that overthrew Isabella in
1868 and installed Amadeo in her stead (1814-1870).
PRIMROSE, the name of a family in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield."
PRIMROSE LEAGUE, a politico-Conservative organisation founded in
1883 in memory of Lord Beaconsfield, and so called because the primrose
was popularly reported to be his favourite flower. It includes a large
membership, nearly a million, comprising women as well as men; is divided
into district habitations; confers honours and badges in the style of
Freemasonry, and has extensive political influence under a grand-master.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (109), an island province of Canada, in the S.
of Gulf of St. Lawrence, occupies a great bay formed by New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, and is somewhat larger than Northumberland.
The coast-line is exceedingly broken, the surface low and undulating, and
very fertile. The chief industry is agriculture, oats and potatoes are
the best crops; decayed shells found in beds on the shore are an
excellent manure; sheep and horses are raised with great success. The
climate is healthy, milder and clearer than on the mainland, but with a
tedious winter. Coal exists, but is not wrought. The fisheries are the
best on the Gulf, but are not developed. Manufactures are inconsiderable.
Discovered by the Cabots, it was settled by the French in 1715, and ceded
to Great Britain in 1763. Constituted a province in 1768, the name was
changed from St. John to Prince Edward in 1799. Since 1875 the local
government have bought out most of the great proprietors, and resold the
land to occupying owners. Education is free. There are normal schools and
two colleges. Half the people are Roman Catholics. A railway traverses
the island, and there is daily steam communication with the mainland. The
capital is Charlottetown (13); Summerside, Georgetown, and Sourio are the
other towns.
PRINCE OF PEACE, a title given by Charles IV. of Spain to his Prime
Minister, DON MANUEL GODOY (q. v.).
PRINCETON (3), a town of New Jersey, 50 m. SW. of New York; was the
scene of a battle in the War of Independence, and the meeting-place of
the Continental Congress of 1783; now noted as the seat of the College of
New Jersey, founded at Newark 1746, and removed to Princeton ten years
later, with now 50 teachers and 600 students; Jonathan Edwards and Dr.
James M'Cosh as presidents, James Madison and others as alumni, have
given it lustre. The Theological Seminary, the oldest and largest
Presbyterian one in the States, was founded in 1812, and a School of
Science in 1871. The college is rich in museums, observatories,
laboratories, libraries, and funds.
PRINGLE, THOMAS, minor poet, born in Roxburghshire; edited the
_Monthly Magazine_; emigrated to South Africa; held a small government
appointment; was bullied out of it; returned home, and became Secretary
to the Anti-Slavery Society (1789-1834).
PRINTED PAPER, Carlyle's satirical name for the literature of France
prior to the Revolution.
PRINZENRAUB (the stealing of the princes), name given to an attempt,
to satisfy a private grudge of his, on the part of Kunz von Kaufingen to
carry off, on the night of the 7th July 1455, two Saxon princes from the
castle of Altenburg, in which he was defeated by apprehension at the
hands of a collier named Schmidt, through whom he was handed over to
justice and beheaded. See CARLYLE'S ACCOUNT OF THIS IN HIS
"MISCELLANIES."
PRIOR, MATTHEW, English poet and diplomatist, born near Wimborne,
East Dorset; studied at Cambridge; became Fellow of Trinity College; was
ambassador to France; involved himself in an intrigue, was imprisoned,
and on his release lived in retirement; he is remembered as a poet; wrote
in 1687 a parody of Dryden's "Hind and Panther," entitled "The Story of
the Country Mouse and the City Mouse," and afterwards, "Solomon on the
Vanity of the World," "Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind," after Butler,
as well as tales, lyrics, and epigrams; Professor Saintsbury calls him
"the king of 'verse of society'" (1664-1721).
PRISCIAN, Latin grammarian of the 6th century, born in Cæsarea; was
author of "Grammatical Commentaries" in 18 books, a standard work during
the Middle Ages, and in universal use at that time.
PRISCILLIAN, a Spaniard of noble birth, who introduced a Gnostic and
Manichæan heresy into Spain, and founded a sect called after him, and was
put to death by the Emperor Maximius in 385; his followers were an idly
speculative sect, who practised a rigidly ascetic style of life, and
after being much calumniated did not survive him over 60 years.
PRISMATIC COLOURS, the seven colours a ray of pure white light is
resolved into when refracted through a prism, applied figuratively by
Carlyle to the pure light refracted through the soul of a man of genius.
PRISONER OF CHILLON, the name given to FRANÇOIS DE BONIVARD
(q. v.), who was for six years kept prisoner in the castle of Chillon,
on the Lake of Geneva, and is the subject of a well-known poem by Byron.
PRIVATEER, a private vessel licensed by Government under a letter of
marque to seize and plunder the ships of an enemy, otherwise an act of
the kind is treated as piracy.
PRIVY COUNCIL, is theoretically a council associated with the
sovereign to advise him in matters of government. As at present
constituted it includes the members of the royal family, the Cabinet, the
two archbishops and the bishop of London, the principal English and
Scotch judges, some of the chief ambassadors and governors of colonies,
the Commander-in-Chief, the First Lord of the Admiralty, &c. No members
attend except those summoned, usually the Cabinet, the officers of the
Household, and the Primate. The functions of the Privy Council may be
grouped as: (1) executive, in which its duties are discharged by the
Cabinet, which is technically a committee of the Privy Council; (2)
administrative--the Board of Trade, the Local Government Board, and the
Board of Agriculture originated in committees; the Education Department
is still a committee, and the Council retains such branches as the
supervision of medical, pharmaceutical, and veterinary practice, the
granting of municipal charters, &c.; (3) judicial--the Judicial Committee
is a court of law, whose principal function is the hearing of appeals
from ecclesiastical courts and from Indian and colonial courts.
PRIVY SEAL, the seal of the sovereign appended to grants that do not
require to pass the great seal.
PROBUS, MARCUS AURELIUS, Roman emperor from 276 to 282, born in
Pannonia; having distinguished himself in the field as a soldier, was
elected by the army and the citizens to succeed Tacitus; defended the
empire successfully against all encroachments, and afterwards devoted
himself to home administration, but requiring the service of the soldiers
in public works, which they considered degrading, was seized by a body of
them compelled so to drudge, and put to death.
PROCLUS, a Neo-Platonic philosopher, born in Constantinople; appears
to have held a Trinitarian view of the universe, and to have regarded the
All abstractly viewed as contained in the Divine ever emerging from it
and returning into it, a doctrine Implied in John i. 1, but far short of
the corresponding trinity in the ripe philosophy of Hegel (412-485).
PROCONSUL, name given to the governor of a Roman province who was
absolute ruler of it, disposed of the army, dispensed justice, controlled
administration, and was represented by legates.
PROCOP, the name of two Hussite leaders of the Taborites, who after
leading successful forays on all hands from their head-quarters in
Bohemia, fell in battle with their rivals the Calixtines at Lippau in
1434.
PROCOPIUS, a Greek historian, born at Cæsarea, the secretary of
Belisarius, and author of a History of the Wars of Justinian, which is
still the chief authority for the events of his reign; _d_. 565.
PROCRUSTES, a brigand of ancient Attica, who when any one fell into
his hands placed him on a bed, stretching him out if he was too short for
it and amputating him if he was too long till he died; he was one day
overpowered by Theseus, who tortured him to death as he had done his own
victims; his practice has given name to any attempt to enforce conformity
by violent measures.
PROCTER, BRYAN WALTER, English lyrist, known by his pseudonym as
Barry Cornwall, born in London; was bred to the bar, and was for 30 years
a Commissioner of Lunacy, and is chiefly memorable as the friend of all
the eminent literary men of two generations, such as Wordsworth, Lamb,
and Scott on the one hand and Carlyle, Thackeray, and Tennyson on the
other; he was no great poet (1787-1874).
PROCTOR, RICHARD ANTONY, astronomer and lecturer on Astronomy;
determined the rotation of the planet Mars, and propounded the theory of
the solar corona (1837-1888).
PROCURATOR-FISCAL, is a Scottish law officer appointed by the
sheriff, and irremovable on efficient and good behaviour, whose duties
are to initiate the prosecution of crimes and inquire into deaths under
suspicious circumstances.
PROGNE, the sister of Philomela and wife of Tereus, changed into a
swallow by the gods. See TEREUS.
PROGRESS OF THE SPECIES MAGAZINES, Carlyle's name for the literature
of the day which does nothing to help the progress in question, but keeps
idly boasting of the fact, taking all the credit to itself, like Æsop's
fly on the axle of the careering chariot soliloquising, "What a dust I
raise!"
PROHIBITIONIST, one who would prohibit the sale of all intoxicating
liquors.
PROLETARIAT, the name given to the lowest and poorest class in the
State, and which still retains the original Roman meaning, as denoting,
from _proles_, offspring, one who enriches the State not by his
prosperity, but by his progeny.
PROMETHEUS (i. e. Forethought), a Titan, the son of lapetus and
Klymene, and the brother of EPIMETHEUS (q. v.), who, when the
gods, just installed on Olympus, met with men at Mekone to arrange with
them as to their dues in sacrifice, came boldly forth as the
representative and protector of the human race and slew a bullock in
sacrifice, putting the flesh of it in one pile and the entrails with the
bones in another, veiled temptingly with fat, and invited Zeus to make
his choice, whereupon, knowing well what he was about, Zeus chose the
latter, but in revenge took away with him the fire which had been
bestowed by the gods upon mortals. It was a strife of wit _versus_ wit,
and Prometheus, as the defender of the rights of man, was not to be
outwitted even by the gods, so he reached up a hollow fennel stalk to the
sun and brought the fire back again, whereupon the strife was transformed
into one of force _versus_ force, and Zeus caught the audacious Titan and
chained him to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where an eagle gnawed all day at
his liver which grew again by night, though, in inflicting this
punishment, Zeus was soon visited with a relenting heart, for it was by
express commission from him that Hercules, as a son of his, scaled the
rock and slew the eagle. The myth is one of the deepest significance,
reflecting an old belief, and one which has on it the seal of Christ, as
sanctioned of Heaven, that the world was made for man and not man for
the world, only there is included within it an expression of the jealousy
with which Heaven watches the use mankind make of the gifts that, out of
her own special store, she bestows upon them. Prometheus is properly the
incarnation of the divine fire latent from the beginning in the soul of
man.
PROPAGANDA, a congregation, as it is called, at Rome, originated by
Gregory XIII., and organised in 1622 by Gregory XV., the object of which
is to propagate the faith of the Church among heathen nations and in
countries where there is no established hierarchy, connected with which
there is a college at Rome called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide,
where pupils are instructed for different fields of missionary
enterprise.
PROPERTIUS, SEXTUS, a Latin elegaic poet, born in Umbria; went to
Rome and became a protégé of Mæcenas; devoted himself to the cultivation
of the poetic art; came under the spell of a gifted lady, to whom, under
the name of Cynthia, he dedicated the first products of his muse, and
whom he has immortalised in his poems; in his elegies he follows Greek
models; his poetry, and the poetic quality it displays, have been much
admired by Goethe (51-14 B.C.).
PROPHECY, properly not a forecasting of particular events and the
succession of them, but so far as it refers to the future at all is an
insight into the course of things in the time to come from insight into
the course of them in days gone by or now, and that is believed to be the
character of Hebrew prophecy, founded on faith in the immutability of the
divine order of things.
PROPHETS. See PRIESTS, HEBREW PROPHECY.
PROSELYTES, converts from heathenism to Judaism, of which there were
two classes: Proselytes of the Temple, those who accepted the ceremonial
law and were admitted into the inner court of The temple; and Proselytes
of the Gate, who accepted only the moral law, and were admitted only into
the outer court. They were a numerous class after the Dispersion, and
were reckoned at hundreds of thousands.
PROSERPINA, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, who was carried off
while gathering flowers by PLUTO (q. v.), became Queen of Hades,
and is represented as sitting on an ebony throne beside him wearing a
crown. According to later tradition Pluto had to allow her to revisit the
upper world for two-thirds of the year to compromise matters with her
mother, her arrival being coincident with the beginning of spring and her
return to Hades coincident with the beginning of winter. She became by
Pluto the mother of the Furies.
PROSPERO, one of the chief characters in Shakespeare's "Tempest," an
exiled king of Milan, who, during his exile, practises magic, and breaks
his wand when he has accomplished his purpose.
PROTAGORAS, one of the earliest of the Greek Sophists, born at
Abdera, and who flourished in 440 B.C., and taught at Athens, from which
he was banished as a blasphemer, as having called in question the
existence of the gods; he taught that man was the measure of all things,
of those that exist, that they are; and of those things that do not
exist, that they are not; and that there is nothing absolute, that all is
an affair of subjective conception.
PROTECTION, name given to the encouragement of certain home products
of a country by imposing duties on foreign products of the class, opposed
to free-trade.
PROTESTANTISM, the name given to a movement headed by Luther in the
16th century, in protestation of the supremacy in spiritual things
claimed by the Church of Rome, and made on the ground of the authority of
conscience enlightened by the Word of God, conceived of as the ultimate
revelation of God to man.
PROTESTANTS, a name given to the adherents of Luther, who, at the
second Diet of Spires in 1529, protested against the revocation of
certain privileges granted at the first Diet in 1526.
PROTEUS, in the Greek mythology a divinity of the sea endowed with
the gift of prophecy, but from whom it was difficult to extort the
secrets of fate, as he immediately changed his shape when any one
attempted to force him, for it was only in his proper form he could
enunciate these secrets.
PROTOGENES, a Greek painter of the time of Alexander the Great, born
in Caria; lived chiefly at Rhodes; was discovered by Apelles, who brought
him into note; his masterpiece is a picture of Ialysus, the tutelary hero
of Rhodes, on which he spent seven years, and which he painted four times
over.
PROTOPLASM, a name given to presumed living matter forming the
physical bases of all forms of animal and vegetable life; the term is now
superseded by the term bioplasm. See DR. STIRLING, "AS REGARDS
PROTOPLASM."
PROUDHON, PIERRE JOSEPH, French Socialist, born at Besançon, the son
of a cooper; worked in a printing establishment, spent his spare hours in
study, specially of the social problem, and in 1840 published a work
entitled "What is Property?" and in which he boldly enunciated the
startling proposition, "Property is theft"; for the publication of this
thesis he was at first unmolested, and only with its application was he
called to account, and for which at last, in 1849, he was committed to
prison, where, however, he kept himself busy with his pen, and whence he
from time to time emitted socialistic publications till his release in
1852, after which he was in 1858 compelled to flee the country, to return
again under an act of amnesty in 1860 and die; he was not only the
assailant of property, but of government itself, and preached anarchy as
the goal of all social progress and not the starting-point, as so many
unfortunately fancy; but by anarchy, it would seem, he meant the right of
government spiritually free, and, in the Christian sense of that
expression, to exemption from all external control (see I Tim. i. 9)
(1809-1865).
PROUT, SAMUEL, eminent English water-colour artist, born at
Plymouth; had from a child an irrepressible penchant for drawing, which,
though discouraged at first by his father, was fostered by his
schoolmaster; was patronised by Britton the antiquary, and employed by
him to assist him in collecting materials for his "Beauties of England
and Wales," but it was not till his visit to Rouen in 1818 that he was
first fascinated with the subject that henceforth occupied him; from this
time excursions were continually made to the Continent, and every corner
of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy ransacked for its
fragments of carved stone; the old architecture that then fascinated him
henceforth became a conspicuous feature in all his after-works; "the
works of Prout," says Ruskin, "will one day become memorials of the most
precious of things that have been ... A time will come when that zeal
will be understood, and his works will be cherished with a melancholy
gratitude, when the pillars of Venice shall be mouldering in the salt
shallows of her sea, and the stones of the goodly towers of Rouen have
become ballast for the barges of the Seine" (1789-1852).
PROUT, FATHER. See MAHONY, FRANCIS.
PROVENÇAL LANGUAGE, one of the Romance dialects of France, spoken in
the South of France, and different from that spoken in the N. as in
closer connection with the original Latin than that of the N., which was
modified by Teutonic influence.
PROVENCE, a maritime province in the South of France, originally
called Provincia by the Romans, and which included the departments of
Bouches-du-Rhône, Basses-Alpes, Var, and part of Vaucluse.
PROVERBS, BOOK OF, a book of the Hebrew Scriptures, full of the
teachings of wisdom bearing on the conduct of life, and though ascribed
to Solomon, obviously not all of his composition, or even collection, and
probably ascribed to him because of his fondness for wisdom in that form,
and from his having procured the first collection. The principles
inculcated are purely ethical, resting, however, on a religious basis,
and concern the individual not as a member of any particular community,
but as a member of the human race; the lessons of life and death are the
same as in the covenant with Moses, and the condition in both cases is
the observance or non-observance of God's commandments. There is no
change in the principle, but in the expansion of it, and that amounts to
the foundation of a kingdom of God which shall include all nations. In
them the bonds of Jewish exclusiveness are burst, and a catholic religion
virtually established.
PROVIDENCE (175), a seaport and semi-capital of Rhode Island, U.S.,
on a river of the name, 44 m. SW. of Boston; it is a centre of a large
manufacturing district, and has a large trade in woollens, jewellery, and
hardware; has a number of public buildings, and institutions, churches,
schools, libraries, and hospitals, as well as beautiful villas and
gardens.
PRUDENTIUS, MARCUS AURELIUS CLEMENS. Christian poet of the 4th
century, born in Spain; after spending the greater part of his life in
secular affairs, gave himself up to religious meditation, and wrote
hymns, lyrics, and polemics in verse.
PRUSSIA (24,690), the leading State of the German Empire, occupies
about two-thirds of the imperial territory, and contributes three-fifths
of the population; it stretches from Holland and Belgium in the W. to
Russia in the E., has Jutland and the sea on the N., and Lorraine,
Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Saxony, and Austria on the S.; the SW. portion
is hilly and the soil often poor, but containing valuable mineral
deposits; the N. and E. belongs to the great European plain, devoted to
agriculture and grazing; Hesse-Cassel is extremely fertile, and Nassau
produces excellent wine; in the E. and in Hanover are extensive forests;
Silesia, Westphalia, and Rhenish Prussia contain the chief coal-fields,
and are consequently the chief industrial provinces; half the zinc of the
world is mined in Prussia; lead, iron, copper, antimony, &c., are also
wrought; the Hartz Mountains are noted for their mines; Salt, amber, and
precious stones are found on the Baltic shores; textiles, metal wares,
and beer are the main industries; Berlin and Elberfeld are the two chief
manufacturing centres on the Continent; the great navigable rivers,
Niemen, Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Weser, Rhine, and their tributaries and
canals, excellent railways, and her central European position all favour
Prussia's commerce, while her coast-line, harbours, and growing
mercantile fleet put her in communication with the markets of the world;
seven-eighths of the people are Germans; Slavonic races are represented
by Poles, Wends, Lithuanians, and Czechs, while the Danes appear in
Schleswig-Holstein; the prevailing religion is Protestant; education is
compulsory and good; there are ten universities, and many great libraries
and educational institutions; the Prussian is the largest contingent in
the German army; the king of Prussia is emperor of Germany. The basis of
the Prussian people was laid by German colonists placed amid the pagan
Slavs whom they had conquered by the Teutonic knights of the 13th
century; in 1511 their descendants chose a Hohenzollern prince; a century
later the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg succeeded; despite the Thirty
Years' War Prussia became a European State, and was recognised as a
kingdom in 1703; Frederick the Great (1740-1786) enlarged its bounds and
developed its resources; the successive partitions of Poland added to her
territory; humiliated by the peace of Tilsit 1807, and ruined by the
French occupation, she recovered after Waterloo; William I. and Bismarck
still further increased her territory and prestige; by the Austrian War
of 1866 and the French War of 1870-71 her position as premier State in
the German Confederation was assured.
PRYNNE, WILLIAM, a Puritan _censor morum_, born near Bath, bred to
the bar; wrote a book or pamphlet called "Histrio-Mastix, or the Player's
Scourge," against the stage, for which and a reflection in it against the
virtue of the queen he was brought before the Star Chamber in 1634,
sentenced to the pillory, and had his ears cropped off, and for an
offence against Laud, whether by order of the Star Chamber or not is
uncertain, was in 1637 sentenced anew, and "lost his ears a second and
final time, having had them 'sewed on again' before; this time a heroine
on the scaffold," adds Carlyle, "received them on her lap and kissed
him"; after this the zeal of Prynne appears to have waxed cold, for he
was as a recalcitrant imprisoned by Cromwell, after whose death he
espoused the Royalist cause, and was appointed Keeper of the Records of
the Tower (1600-1669).
PRYTANE`UM, name given to the public hall in Greek cities, and the
head-quarters of the Executive.
PSALMANAZAR, GEORGE, an impostor, born in the South of France, who,
being brought to London, imposed on Compton, bishop of London, by
fabricating a history of Formosa, of which he professed to be a native,
but was convicted of the error of his ways by Law's "Serious Call," and
led afterwards what seemed a sober life, and one to commend the regard of
Johnson (1679-1763).
PSALMS, THE BOOK OF, the name given in the Septuagint to a
collection of sacred songs in the Hebrew Bible, which are all of a
lyrical character, and appear to have been at first collected for
liturgical purposes. Their range is co-extensive with nearly all divine
truth, and there are tones in them in accord with the experience and
feelings of devout men in all ages. Nay, "the Psalter alone," says
Ruskin, "which practically was the service-book of the Church for many
ages, contains, merely in the first half of it, the sum of personal and
social wisdom,... while the 48th, 72nd, and 75th have in them the law and
the prophecy of all righteous government, and every real triumph of
natural science is anticipated in the 104th." The collection bears the
name of David, but it is clear the great body of them are of later date
as well as of divers authorship, although it is often difficult to
determine by whom some of them were written, and when. The determination
of this, however, is of the less consequence, as the question is more a
speculative one than a spiritual one, and whatever may be the result of
inquiry in this matter now going on, the spiritual value of the Psalms,
which is their real value, is nowise affected thereby. It matters nothing
who wrote them or when they were written; they are _there_, are conceived
from situations such as are obvious enough and common to the lot of all
good men, and they bear on spiritual interests, which are our primary
ones, and these, still, as in every other time, the alone really pressing
ones. They express the real experiences of living men, who lay under an
inner necessity to utter such a song, relieving themselves by the effort
and ministering a means of relief to others in a like situation of soul.
PSYCHE (i. e. the soul), in the later Greek mythology the youngest
of three daughters of a king, and of such beauty as to eclipse the
attractions and awake the jealousy of Venus, the goddess of beauty, who
in consequence sent Cupid, her son, to inspire her with love for a
hideous monster, and so compass her ruin. Cupid, fascinated with her
himself, spirited her away to a palace furnished with every delight, but
instead of delivering her over to the monster, visited her himself at
night as her husband, and left her before daybreak in the morning,
because she must on no account know who he was. Here her sisters came to
see her, and in their jealousy persuaded her to assure herself that it
was not a monster that she slept with, so that she lit a lamp the next
night to discover, when a drop of oil from it fell on his shoulder as he
lay asleep beside her, upon which he at a bound started up and vanished
out of sight. She thereupon gave way to a long wail of lamentation and
set off a-wandering over the wide world in search of her lost love, till
she came to the palace of Venus, her arch-enemy, who seized on her person
and made her her slave, subjecting her to a series of services, all of
which she accomplished to the letter, so that Venus was obliged to relent
and consent that, in the presence of all the gods of Olympus, Cupid and
she should be united in immortal wedlock. It is the story of the trials
of the soul to achieve immortality. See "Stories from the Greek
Mythology," by the Editor.
PSYCHICAL RESEARCH, SOCIETY FOR, a society founded in 1882 to
inquire into the phenomena of spiritualism and kindred subjects of a
recondite kind, the subject of Telepathy having engaged recently a good
deal of attention.
PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM, the highly complex system of astronomy ascribed to
Claudius Ptolemy, which assumed that the earth was the centre of a sphere
which carried the heavenly bodies along in its daily revolution,
accounted for the revolutions of the sun and moon by supposing they moved
in eccentric circles round the earth, and regarded the planets as moving
in epicycles round a point which itself revolved in an eccentric circle
round the earth like the sun and moon.
PTOLEMAÏS, the name of certain cities of antiquity, the most
celebrated being Acre, in SYRIA (q. v.).
PTOLEMY, the name of the Macedonian kings of Egypt, of which there
were 14 in succession, of whom Ptolemy I., SOTER, was a favourite
general of Alexander the Great, and who ruled Egypt from 328 to 285 B.C.;
Ptolemy II., PHILADELPHUS, who ruled from 285 to 247, a patron
of letters and an able administrator; Ptolemy III., EUERGETES, who
ruled from 247 to 222; Ptolemy IV., PHILOPATOR, who ruled from 222
to 205; Ptolemy V., EPIPHANES, who ruled from 205 to 181; Ptolemy
VI., PHILOMETOR, who ruled from 181 to 146; Ptolemy VII., EUERGETES
II., who ruled from 146 to 117; Ptolemy VIII., SOTER, who ruled
from 117 to 107, was driven from Alexandria, returning to it in 88, and
reigning till 81; Ptolemy X., ALEXANDER I., who ruled from 107 to
88; Ptolemy X. ALEXANDER II., who ruled from 81 to 80; Ptolemy XI.,
AULETES, who ruled from 80 to 51; Ptolemy XII., who ruled from 51
to 47; Ptolemy XIII., the INFANT KING, who ruled from 47 to 43;
Ptolemy XIV., CESARION, the son of Julius Cæsar and Cleopatra, who
ruled from 43 to 30.
PTOLEMY (CLAUDIUS PTOLEMÆUS), ancient astronomer and geographer,
born in Egypt; lived in Alexandria in the 2nd century; was the author of
the system of astronomy called after him; left behind him two writings
bearing one on astronomy and one on geography, along with other works of
inferior importance.
PUBLICANS or PUBLICANI, a name given by the Romans to persons
who farmed the public revenues; specially a class of the Jewish people,
often mentioned in the New Testament, and specially odious to the rest of
the community as the farmers of the taxes imposed upon them, mostly at
the instance of their foreign oppressors the Romans, and in the
collection of which they had recourse to the most unjust exactions. They
were in their regard not merely the tools of a foreign oppression, but
traitors to their country and apostates from the faith of their fathers,
and were to be classed, as they were, with heathens, sinners, and
harlots.
PUCCINOTTI, FRANCESCO, eminent Italian pathologist, born in Urbino,
and author of the "Storia delle Medicina" (History of Medicine), the
fruit of the labour of twenty years (1794-1872).
PUCELLE LA (i. e. the Maid), Joan of Arc, the maid _par
excellence_.
PUCK, a tricky, mischievous fairy, identified with Robin Goodfellow,
and sometimes confounded with a house spirit, propitiated by kind words
and the liberty of the cream-bowl.
PUEBLA (79), on an elevated plateau 7000 ft. above the sea, 68 m.
due SE. of Mexico, is the third city of the republic, and a beautiful
town, with Doric cathedral, theological, medical, and other schools, a
museum, and two libraries; cotton goods, iron, paper, and glass are
manufactured; it is a commercial city, and carries on a brisk trade. Is
the name also of a Colorado town (24) on the Arkansas River; it is in a
rich mineral district, and is engaged in the manufacture of steel and
iron wares.
PUERTO DE SANTA MARIA (22), a seaport in Spain, on the Bay of Cadiz,
9 m. SW. of Xeres, and the chief place of export of Xeres port or sherry
wines.
PUERTO PLATA (15), the chief port of the Dominican Republic, on the
N. of Hayti; exports tobacco, sugar, coffee, &c.
PUERTO PRINCIPE (46), a town on the E. of Cuba; manufactures cigars,
and exports sugar, hides, and molasses; originally on the shore, but
removed inland.
PUFFENDORF, SAMUEL, Baron von, eminent German jurist, born at
Chemnitz, Saxony; wrote several works on jurisprudence, one of which,
under the ban of Austria, was burned there by the hangman, but his "De
Jure Naturæ et Gentium" is the one on which his fame rests; was
successively in the service of Charles XI. of Sweden and the Elector of
Brandenburg (1632-1694).
PUGIN, AUGUSTUS WELBY, architect, born in London, of French
parentage; made a special study of Gothic architecture; assisted in
decorating the new Houses of Parliament, but becoming a Roman Catholic he
gave himself to designing a good number of Roman Catholic churches,
including cathedrals; he wrote several works on architecture, and was
the chief promoter of the "Mediæval Court" in the Crystal Palace; he was
afflicted in the prime of life with insanity, and died at Ramsgate
(1812-1852).
PULCI, LUINI, Italian poet, born at Florence; the personal friend of
Lorenzo de' Medici, and the author of a burlesque poem of which Roland is
the hero, entitled in Tuscan "Il Morgante Maggiore" ("Morgante the
Great"); he wrote also several humorous sonnets; two brothers of his had
similar gifts (1432-1484).
PULQUE, a favourite beverage of the Mexicans and in Central America,
from the fermented juice of the agave.
PULTENEY, WILLIAM, Earl of Bath, English statesman; in 1705 entered
Parliament zealous in the Whig interest; was for years the friend and
colleague of Walpole, but afterwards, from a slight, became his bitterest
enemy and most formidable opponent; he contributed a good deal to his
fall, but, unable to take his place, contented himself with a peerage,
his popularity being gone (1682-1764).
PULTOWA (43), a town in Southern Russia, 90 m. by rail SW. of
Kharkoff, on an affluent of the Dnieper; manufactures leather and
tobacco; here Peter the Great won his victory over Charles XII. of Sweden
in 1709.
PULTUSK, a Polish town, 33 m. N. of Warsaw; here Charles XII. gained
a victory over the Saxons in 1703, and the French over the Russians in
1806.
PULU, a kind of silk obtained from the fibres of a fern-tree of
Hawaii.
PUNCH, the name of the chief character in a well-known puppet show
of Italian origin, and appropriated as the title of the leading English
comic journal, which is accompanied with illustrations conceived in a
humorous vein and conducted in satire, from a liberal Englishman's
standpoint, of the follies and weaknesses of the leaders of public
opinion and fashion in modern social life. It was started in 1841 under
the editorship of Henry Mayhew and Mark Lemon; and the wittiest literary
men of the time as well as the cleverest artists have contributed to its
pages, enough to mention of the former Thackeray, Douglas Jerrold, and
Tom Hood, and of the latter Doyle, Leech, Tenniel, Du Maurier, and
Lindley Sambourne.
PUNDIT, a Brahmin learned in Sanskrit and in the language,
literature, and laws of the Hindus.
PUNIC FAITH, a plighted promise that one can put no trust in, such
as the Romans alleged they systematically had experience of at the hands
of the Poeni or Carthaginians.
PUNIC WARS, the name given to the wars between Rome and Carthage for
the empire of the world, of date, the first from 264 to 241, the second
from 218 to 201, and the third from 149 to 146 B.C., due all to
transgressions on the one side or the other of boundaries fixed by
treaty, which it was impossible for either in their passion of empire to
respect. It was a struggle which, though it ended in the overthrow of
Carthage, proved at one time the most critical in the history of Rome.
PUNJAB (25,130), "five rivers," a province in the extreme NW. of
India, watered by the Indus and its four tributaries, Jhelum, Chenab,
Ravee, and Sutlej; its frontiers touch Afghanistan and Cashmir. Mountain
ranges traverse the N., W., and S; little rain falls; the plains are dry
and hot in summer. There is little timber, cow-dung is common fuel; the
soil is barren, but under irrigation there are fertile stretches; wheat,
indigo, sugar, cotton, tobacco, opium, and tea are largely grown; cotton,
silk, lace, iron, and leather are manufactured; indigo, grain, cotton,
and manufactured products are exported in exchange for raw material,
dyes, horses, and timber. The population is mixed, Sikhs, Jats, and
Rajputs predominate; more than a half are Mohammedan, and more than a
third Hindu. Lahore is the capital, but Delhi and Amritsar are larger
towns. Several railways run through the province. The natives remained
loyal throughout the Mutiny of 1857-58, Sikhs and Pathans joining the
British troops before Delhi.
PURÁNAS, a body of religious works which rank second to the Vedas,
and form the basis of the popular belief of the Hindus. There are 18
principal Puránas and 18 secondary Puránas, of various dates, but
believed to be of remote antiquity, though modern critical research
proves that in their present form they are not of very ancient origin.
PURBECK, ISLE OF, the peninsula in South Dorsetshire lying between
the river Frome, Poole Harbour, and the English Channel; formerly a royal
deer-forest; has a precipitous coast, and inland consists of chalk downs;
nearly 100 quarries are wrought of "Purbeck marble."
PURCELL, HENRY, eminent English musician, born at Westminster; was
successively organist at Westminster Abbey and to the Chapel Royal;
excelled in all forms of musical composition; was the author of anthems,
cantatas, glees, &c., which attained great popularity; he set the songs
of Shakespeare's "Tempest" to music (1658-1695).
PURCHAS, SAMUEL, collector of works of travel and continuator of the
work of Hakluyt, in two curious works entitled "Purchas his Pilgrimage,"
and "Hakluyt's his Posthumous, or Purchas his Pilgrimmes," and was rector
of St. Martin's, Ludgate, and chaplain to Archbishop Abbot (1577-1626).
PURGATORIO, region in Dante's "Commedia" intermediate between the
Inferno, region of lost souls, and the Paradiso, region of saved souls,
and full of all manner of obstructions which the penitent, who would pass
from the one to the other, must struggle with in soul-wrestle till he
overcome, the most Christian section, thinks Carlyle, of Dante's poem.
PURGATORY, in the creed of the Church of Rome a place in which the
souls of the dead, saved from hell by the death of Christ, are chastened
and purified from venial sins, a result which is, in great part, ascribed
to the prayers of the faithful and the sacrifice of the Mass. The creed
of the Church in this matter was first formulated by Gregory the Great,
and was based by him, as it has been vindicated since, on passages of
Scripture as well as the writings of the Fathers. The conception of it,
as wrought out by Dante, Carlyle considers "a noble embodiment of a true
noble thought." See his "Heroes."
PURIM, THE FEAST OF, or LOTS, an annual festival of the Jews in
commemoration of the preservation, as recorded in "Esther," of their race
from the threatened wholesale massacre of it in Persia at the instance of
Haman, and which was so called because it was by casting "lots" that the
day was fixed for the execution of the purpose. It lasts two days, being
observed on the 14th and 15th of the month Adar.
PURITAN CITY, name given to Boston, U.S., from its founders and
inhabitants who were originally of Puritan stock.
PURITANS, a name given to a body of clergymen of the Church of
England who refused to assent to the Act of Uniformity passed in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, because it required them to conform to Popish
doctrine and ritual; and afterwards applied to the whole body of
Nonconformists in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, who insisted on
rigid adherence to the simplicity prescribed in these matters by the
sacred Scriptures. In the days of Cromwell they were, "with musket on
shoulder," the uncompromising foes of all forms, particularly in the
worship of God, that affected to be alive after the soul had gone out of
them.
PURSUIVANT, one of the junior officers in the Heralds' College, four
in England, named respectively Rouge Croix, Blue Mantle, Rouge Dragon,
and Portcullis; and three in Scotland, named respectively Bute, Carrick,
and Unicorn.
PUSEY, EDWARD BOUVERIE, English theologian, born in Berkshire, of
Flemish descent; studied at Christ's Church, Oxford, and became a Fellow
of Oriel, where he was brought into relationship with Newman, Keble, and
Whately; spent some time in Germany studying Rationalism, and, after his
return, was in 1828 appointed Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford; in
1833 he joined the Tractarian Movement, to which he contributed by his
learning, and which, from his standing in the University, as well as from
the part he played in it, was at length called by his name; he was not so
conspicuous as other members of the movement, but he gained some
notoriety by a sermon he preached on the Eucharist, which led to his
suspension for three years, and notwithstanding his life of seclusion, he
took an active part in all questions affecting the interests he held to
be at stake; he was the author of several learned works, among them the
"Minor Prophets, a Commentary," and "Daniel the Prophet" (1800-1882).
PUSEYISM, defined by Carlyle to be "a noisy theoretic demonstration
and laudation of _the_ Church, instead of some unnoisy, unconscious, but
_practical_, total, heart-and-soul demonstration of _a_ Church, ... a
matter to strike one dumb," and apropos to which he asks pertinently, "if
there is no atmosphere, what will it serve a man to demonstrate the
excellence of lungs?"
PUSHKIN, a distinguished Russian poet, considered the greatest, born
at Moscow; his chief works are "Ruslan and Liudmila" (a heroic poem),
"Eugene Onegin" (a romance), and "Boris Godunov" (a drama); was mortally
wounded in a duel (1799-1837).
PUSHTOO or PUSHTO, the language of the Afghans, said to be
derived from the Zend, with admixtures from the neighbouring tribes.
PUTEAUX (17), a suburb of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, a
favourite residence of the Parisians, who have villas here.
PUTNEY (18), a London suburb on the Surrey side, 6 m. from Waterloo,
has a bridge across the Thames 300 yards long; the parish church tower
dates from the 15th century. The river here affords favourite rowing
water, the starting-place of the inter-universities boat-race; Putney
Heath was a favourite duelling resort; Gibbon was a native; Pitt and
Leigh Hunt died here.
PUY, LE (20), a picturesque town, 70 m. SW. of Lyons, a bishop's
seat, with a 10th-century cathedral; is the centre of a great lace
manufacture.
PUY-DU-DÔME (564), a department in Central France, in the upper
valley of the Allier, on the slopes of the Auvergne Mountains. The soil
is poor, but agriculture and cattle-breeding are the chief industries; in
the mountains coal and lead are found, and there are many mineral
springs; there are paper and oil manufactures. The principal town is
Clermont-Ferrand (45), where Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade.
PYGMALION, king of Cyprus, is said to have fallen in love with an
ivory statue of a maiden he had himself made, and to have prayed
Aphrodité to breathe life into it. The request being granted, he married
the maiden and became by her the father of Paphus.
PYGMIES, a fabulous people, their height 13½ inches, mentioned by
Homer as dwelling on the shores of the ocean and attacked by cranes in
spring-time, the theme of numerous stories.
PYM, JOHN, Puritan statesman, born in Somersetshire, educated at
Oxford; bred to law, entered Parliament in 1621, opposed the arbitrary
measures of the king, took a prominent part in the impeachment of
Buckingham; at the opening of the Long Parliament procured the
impeachment of the Earl of Strafford, and conducted the proceedings
against him; he was one of the five members illegally arrested by Charles
I., and was brought back again in triumph to Westminster; was appointed
Lieutenant of the Ordnance, and a month after died (1584-1643).
PYRAMIDS, ancient structures of stone or sometimes brick, resting
generally on square bases and tapering upwards with triangular sides,
found in different parts of the world, but chiefly in Egypt, where they
exist to the number of 70 or 80, and of which the most celebrated are
those of Ghizeh, 10 m. W. of Cairo, three in number, viz., the Great
Pyramid of Cheop, 449 ft. high, and the sides at base 746 ft. long, that
named Chefren, nearly the same size, and that of Mykerinos, not half the
height of the other two, but excelling them in beauty of execution. The
original object of these structures has been matter of debate, but there
seems to be now no doubt that they are sepulchral monuments of kings of
Egypt from the first to the twelfth dynasty of them.
PYRAMUS AND THISBE, two lovers who lived in adjoining houses in
Babylon, and who used to converse with each other through a hole in the
wall, because their parents would not allow them open intimacy, but who
arranged to meet one evening at the tomb of Nisus. The maiden appearing
at the spot and being confronted by a lioness who had just killed an ox,
took to flight and left her garment behind her, which the lioness had
soiled with blood. Pyramus arriving after this saw only the bloody
garment on the spot and immediately killed himself, concluding she had
been murdered, while she on return finding him lying in his blood, threw
herself upon his dead body and was found a corpse at his side in the
morning.
PYRENE, a crystalline substance obtained from coal tar, fats, &c.
PYRENEES, a broad chain of lofty mountains running from the Bay of
Biscay, 276 m. eastwards, to the Mediterranean, form the boundary between
France and Spain. They are highest in the centre, Mount Maladetta
reaching 11,168 ft. The snow-line is about 8000 or 9000 ft., and there
are glaciers on the French side. Valleys run up either side, ending in
precipitous "pot-holes," with great regularity. The passes are very
dangerous from wind and snow storms. The streams to the N. feed the Adour
and Garonne; those to the S., the Ebro and Douro. Vegetation in the W. is
European, in the E. sub-tropical. Minerals are few, though both iron and
coal are worked. The basis of the system is granite with limestone strata
superimposed.
PYROXYLINE, an explosive substance obtained by steeping vegetable
fibre in nitro-sulphuric acid and drying after it is washed.
PYRRHA, in Greek mythology the wife of DEUCALION (q. v.).
PYRRHIC DANCE, the chief war-dance of the Greeks, of quick, light
movement to the music of flutes; was of Cretan or Spartan origin. It was
subsequently danced for display by the Athenian youths and by women to
entertain company, and in the Roman empire was a favourite item in the
public games.
PYRRHO, the father of the Greek sceptics, born in Elis, a
contemporary of Aristotle; his doctrine was, that as we cannot know
things as they are, only as they seem to be, we must be content to
suspend our judgment on such matters and maintain a perfect
imperturbability of soul if we would live to any good.
PYRRHONISM, philosophic scepticism. See PYRRHO.
PYRRHUS, king of Epirus, and kinsman of Alexander the Great; essayed
to emulate the Macedonian by conquering the western World, and in 280 B.C.
invaded Italy with a huge army, directed to assist the Italian Greeks
against Rome; in the decisive battles of that year and the next, he won
"Pyrrhic victories" over the Romans, losing so many men that he could not
pursue his advantage; 278 to 276 he spent helping the Greek colonies in
Sicily against Carthage; his success was not uniform, and a Carthaginian
fleet inflicted a serious defeat on his fleet returning to Italy; in 274
he was thoroughly vanquished by the Romans, and retired to Epirus;
subsequent wars against Sparta and Argos were marked by disaster; in the
latter he was killed by a tile thrown by a woman (318-272 B.C.).
PYRRHUS, called also NEOPTOLEMUS, son of Achilles; was one of
the heroes concealed in the wooden horse by means of which Troy was
entered, slew Priam by the altar of Zeus, and sacrificed Polyxena to the
manes of his father. Andromache, the widow of Hector, fell to him on the
division of the captives after the fall of Troy, and became his wife.
PYTHAGORAS, a celebrated Greek philosopher and founder of a school
named after him Pythagoreans, born at Samos, and who seems to have
flourished between 540 and 500 B.C.; after travels in many lands settled
at Crotona in Magna Græcia, where he founded a fraternity, the members of
which bound themselves in closest ties of friendship to purity of life
and to active co-operation in disseminating and encouraging a kindred
spirit in the community around them, the final aim of it being the
establishment of a model social organisation. He left no writings behind
him, and we know of his philosophy chiefly from the philosophy of his
disciples.
PYTHAGOREANS, the school of philosophy founded by Pythagoras, "the
fundamental thought of which," according to SCHWEGLER, "was that
of proportion and harmony, and this idea is to them as well the principle
of practical life, as the supreme law of the universe." It was a kind of
"arithmetical mysticism, and the leading thought was that law, order, and
agreement obtain in the affairs of Nature, and that these relations are
capable of being expressed in number and in measure." The whole tendency
of the Pythagoreans, in a practical aspect, was ascetic, and aimed only
at a rigid castigation of the moral principle in order thereby to ensure
the emancipation of the soul from its mortal prison-house and its
transmigration into a nobler form. It is with the doctrine of the
transmigration of souls that the Pythagorean philosophy is specially
associated.
PYTHEAS, a celebrated Greek navigator of Massilia, in Gaul, probably
lived in the time of Alexander the Great; in his first voyage visited
Britain and Thule, and in his second coasted along the western shore of
Europe from Cadiz to the Elbe.
PYTHIAN GAMES, celebrated from very early times till the 4th century
A.D. every four years, near Delphi, in honour of Apollo, who was said to
have instituted them to commemorate his victory over the Python;
originally were contests in singing only, but after the middle of the 6th
century B.C. they included instrumental music, contests in poetry and
art, athletic exercises, and horse-racing.
PYTHON, in the Greek mythology a serpent or dragon produced from the
mud left on the earth after the deluge of Deucalion, a brood of sheer
chaos and the dark, who lived in a cave of Parnassus, and was slain by
Apollo, who founded the Pythian Games in commemoration of his victory,
and was in consequence called Pythius.
PYTHONESS, the priestess of APOLLO AT DELPHI (q. v.), so
called from the PYTHON (q. v.), the dragon slain by the god.
PYX, the name of a cup-shaped, gold-lined vessel, with lid, used in
the Roman Catholic churches for containing the eucharistic elements after
their consecration either for adoration in the churches or for conveying
to sick-rooms. Pyx means "box." Hence TRIAL OF THE PYX is the annual
test of the British coinage, for which purpose one coin in every 15 lbs.
of gold and one in every 60 lbs. of silver coined is set aside in a pyx
or box.
Q
QUADRAGESIMA (i. e. fortieth), a name given to Lent because it
lasts forty days, and assigned also to the first Sunday in Lent, the
three Sundays which precede it being called respectively Septuagesima,
Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima.
QUADRANT, an instrument for taking altitudes, consisting of the
graduated arc of a circle of ninety degrees.
QUADRATIC EQUATION, an equation involving the square of the unknown
quantity.
QUADRIGA, a two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses abreast, used
in the ancient chariot races.
QUADRILATERAL, THE, the name given to a combination of four
fortresses, or the space enclosed by them, in North Italy, at Mantua,
Legnago, Verona, and Peschiera.
QUADROON, the name given to a person quarter-blooded, in particular
the offspring of a mulatto and a white person.
QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE, an alliance formed in 1719 between England,
France, Austria, and Holland to secure the thrones of France and England
to the reigning families, and to defeat the schemes of Alberoni to the
aggrandisement of Spain.
QUÆSTORS, the name given in Roman history to the officers entrusted
with the care of the public treasury, originally two in number, one of
them to see to the corn supply in Rome, but eventually, as the empire
extended, increased, till in Cæsar's time they amounted to forty. Under
the kings they were the public prosecutors in cases of murder.
QUAIGH, a name formerly given to a wooden drinking-cup in Scotland.
QUAIN, JONES, anatomist, born at Mallow, Ireland; was professor of
Anatomy and Physiology in London University; was author of "Elements of
Anatomy," of which the first edition was published in 1828, and the tenth
in 1800 (1796-1865).
QUAIN, RICHARD, anatomist, born at Fermoy, Ireland, brother of
preceding, and professor in London University; author of a number of
medical works; bequeathed a large legacy to the university for "education
in modern languages" (1800-1887).
QUAIN, SIR RICHARD, physician, born at Mallow, cousin of preceding;
edited "Dictionary of Medicine," and was President of Medical Council in
1891 (1816-1898).
QUAIR, an old Scotch name for a book.
QUAKERS, the SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (q. v.), so called first by
Justice Bennet of Derby, because Fox bade him quake before the Lord.
QUARANTINE, the prescribed time, generally 40 days (hence the name),
of non-intercourse with the shore for a ship suspected of infection,
latterly enforced, and that very strictly, in the cases of infection with
yellow fever or plague; since November 1896, the system of quarantine as
regards the British Islands has ceased to exist.
QUARLES, FRANCIS, religious poet, born in Essex, of good family; a
member of Christ's College, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn; held divers
offices at the Court, in the city, and the Church; was a bigoted Royalist
and Churchman, a voluminous author, both in prose and verse, but is now
remembered for his "Divine Emblems," and perhaps his "Enchiridion"; he
wrote in his quaint way not a few good things (1592-1644).
QUARTER DAYS, in England and Ireland Lady Day, 25th March; Midsummer
Day, 24th June; Michaelmas Day, 29th September; and Christmas Day, 25th
December; while in Scotland the legal terms are Whitsunday, 15th May, and
Martinmas, 11th November, though the Whitsunday term is now changed to
the 28th May.
QUARTER-DECK, the part of a ship abaft the main-mast, or between the
main and mizzen, where there is a poop.
QUARTER-SESSIONS, a court held every quarter by justices of the
peace in the several divisions of a county to try offences against the
peace.
QUARTER-STAFF, strong wooden staff 6½ ft. long, shod with iron,
grasped in the middle; formerly used in England for attack and defence.
QUARTERLY REVIEW, a review started by John Murray, the celebrated
London publisher, in February 1809, in rivalry with the _Edinburgh_,
which had been seven years in possession of the field, and was exerting,
as he judged, an evil influence on public opinion; in this enterprise he
was seconded by Southey and Scott, the more cordially that the
_Edinburgh_ had given offence to the latter by its criticism of
"Marmion." It was founded in the Tory interest for the defence of Church
and State, and it had Gifford for its first editor, while the
contributors included, besides Southey and Scott, all the ablest literary
celebrities on the Tory side, of which the most zealous and frequent was
John Wilson Croker.
QUARTERMASTER, in the army an officer whose duty it is to look after
the quarters, clothing, rations, stores, ammunition, &c., of the
regiment, and in the navy a petty officer who has to see to the stowage,
steerage, soundings, &c., of the ship.
QUARTETTE, a musical piece in four parts, or for four voices or
instruments.
QUARTO, a book having the sheet folded into four leaves.
QUASIMODO SUNDAY, the first Sunday after Easter.
QUASS, a beer made in Russia from rye grain, employed as vinegar
when sour.
QUATRE-BRAS (i. e. four arms), a village 10 m. SE. of Waterloo,
where the roads from Brussels to Charleroi and from Nivelles to Namur
intersect: was the scene of an obstinate conflict between the English
under Wellington and the French under Ney, two days before the battle of
Waterloo.
QUATREFAGES DE BRÉAU, French naturalist and anthropologist, born at
Berthezenne (Gard); studied medicine at Strasburg; was professor at the
Natural History Museum in Paris; devoted himself chiefly to anthropology
and the study of annelides (1810-1892).
QUATREMÈRE, ÉTIENNE MARC, French Orientalist, born in Paris; was
professor at the College of France; was distinguished for his knowledge
of Arabic and Persian, as well as for his works on Egypt; was of vast
learning, but defective in critical ability (1782-1857).
QUATREMÈRE DE QUINCY, a learned French archæologist and writer on
art, born in Paris; was involved in the troubles of the Revolution;
narrowly, as a constitutionalist, escaped the guillotine, and was
deported to Cayenne in 1797, but after his return took no part in
political affairs; wrote a "Dictionary of Antiquities" (1755-1849).
QUATRO CENTO (i. e. four hundred), a term employed by the Italians
to signify one thousand four hundred, that is, the 15th century, and
applied by them to the literature and art of the period.
QUEBEC (1,359), formerly called Lower Canada, one of the Canadian
provinces occupying that part of the valley of the St. Lawrence, and a
narrow stretch of fertile, well-cultivated land on the S. of the river,
which is bounded on the S. by the States of New York and Maine, and on
the E. by New Brunswick; it is twice the size of Great Britain, and
consists of extensive tracks of cultivated land and forests interspersed
with lakes and rivers, affluents of the St. Lawrence; the soil, which is
fertile, yields good crops of cereals, hay, and fruit, and excellent
pasturage, and there is abundance of mineral wealth; it was colonised by
the French in 1608, was taken by the English in 1759-60, and the great
majority of the population is of French extraction.
QUEBEC (63), the capital of the above province, and once of all
Canada, a city of historical interest, is situated on the steep
promontory, 333 feet in height, of the NW. bank of the St. Lawrence, at
the mouth of the St. Charles River, 300 m. from the sea, and 180 m. below
Montreal; it is divided into Upper and Lower, the latter the business
quarter and the former the west-end, as it were; there are numerous
public buildings, including the governor's residence, an Anglican
cathedral, and a university; it is a commercial centre, has a large trade
in timber, besides several manufacturing industries; the aspect of the
town is Norman-French, and there is much about it and the people to
remind one of Normandy.
QUEDLINBURG (19), an old town of Prussian Saxony, on the river Bode,
at the foot of the Harz Mountains, 32 m. SW. of Magdeburg, founded by
Henry the Fowler, and where his remains lie; was long a favourite
residence of the emperors of the Saxon line; it has large nurseries, an
extensive trade in flower seeds, and sundry manufactures.
QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY, a fund established in 1704 for the augmentation
of the incomes of the poorer clergy, the amount of which for distribution
in 1890 was £176,896; it was the revenue from a tax on the Church prior
to the Reformation, and which after that was appropriated by the Crown.
QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, a small group of islands on the W. coast of
North America, N. of Vancouver's Island, 80 m. off the coast of British
Columbia, a half-submerged mountain range, densely wooded, with peaks
that rise sheer up 2000 ft.
QUEENBOROUGH, a town on the Isle of Sheppey, 2 m. S. of Sheerness,
between which and Flushing, in Holland, a line of steamers plies daily.
QUEEN'S COLLEGE, a college for women in Harley Street, London,
founded in 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1853, of which
Maurice, Trench, and Kingsley were among the originators; attendance of
three years entitles to the rank of "Associate," and of six or more to
that of "Fellow"; it is self-supporting.
QUEEN'S COLLEGES, colleges established in Ireland in 1845 to afford
a university education to members of all religious denominations, and
opened at Belfast, Cork, and Galway in 1849, the first having 23
professors, with 343 students; the second 23 professors, with 181
students; and the third 37 professors, with 91 students. There is also a
Queen's College in Melbourne.
QUEEN'S COUNTY (6), one of the inland counties of Leinster, in
Ireland, N. of King's County, mostly flat; agriculture and dairy-farming
are carried on, with a little woollen and cotton-weaving; population
mostly Roman Catholics.
QUEEN'S METAL, an alloy of nine parts tin and one each of antimony,
lead, and bismuth, is intermediate in hardness between pewter and
britannia metal.
QUEENSLAND, a British colony occupying the NE. of Australia, 1300 m.
from N. to S. and 800 m. from E. to W., two-thirds of it within the
tropics, and occupying an area three times as large as that of France.
Mountains stretch away N. parallel to the coast, and much of the centre
is tableland; one-half of it is covered with forests, and it is fairly
well watered, the rivers being numerous, and the chief the Fitzroy and
the Burdekin. The population is only half a million, and the chief towns
are Brisbane, the capital, Gympie, Maryborough, Rockhampton, and
Townsville. The pastoral industry is very large, and there is
considerable mining for gold. The mineral resources are great, and a
coal-field still to be worked exists in it as large as the whole of
Scotland. Maize and sugar are the principal products of the soil, and
wool, gold, and sugar are the principal exports; the colony is capable of
immense developments. Until 1859 the territory was administered by New
South Wales, but in that year it became an independent colony, with a
government of its own under a Governor appointed by the Crown; the
Parliament consists of two Houses, a Legislative Council of 41 members,
nominated by the Governor, and the Legislative Assembly of 72 members,
elected for three years by manhood suffrage.
QUEENSTOWN, a seaport, formerly called the Cove of Cork, on the S.
shore of Great Island, and 14 m. SE. of Cork; a port of call for the
Atlantic line of steamers, specially important for the receipt and
landing of the mails.
QUELPART (10), an island 52 m. S. of the Corea, 40 m. long by 17
broad, surrounded with small islets in situation to the Corea as Sicily
to Italy.
QUERCITRON, a yellow dye obtained from the bark of a North American
oak.
QUERÉTARO (36), a high-lying Mexican town in a province of the same
name, 150 m. NW. of Mexico; has large cotton-spinning mills; here the
Emperor Maximilian was shot by order of court-martial in 1867.
QUERN, a handmill of stone for grinding corn, of primitive
contrivance, and still used in remote parts of Ireland and Scotland.
QUESNAY, FRANÇOIS, a great French economist, born at Mérez
(Seine-et-Oise), bred to the medical profession, and eminent as a medical
practitioner, was consulting physician to Louis XV., but distinguished
for his articles in the "Encyclopédie" on political economy, and as the
founder of the PHYSIOCRATIC SCHOOL (q. v.), the school which
attaches special importance in State economy to agriculture (1694-1774).
QUESNEL, PASQUIER, a French Jansenist theologian, born in Paris; was
the author of a great many works, but the most celebrated is his
"Reflexions Morales"; was educated at the Sorbonne, and became head of
the congregation of the Oratory in Paris, but was obliged to seek refuge
in Holland with Arnauld on embracing Jansenism; his views exposed him to
severe persecution at the hands of the Jesuits, and his "Reflexions" were
condemned in 101 propositions by the celebrated bull _Unigenitus_; spent
his last years at Amsterdam, and died there (1634-1719).
QUÉTELET, ADOLPHE, Belgian astronomer and statistician, born at
Ghent; wrote on meteorology and anthropology, in the light especially of
statistics (1796-1874).
QUETTA, a strongly fortified town in the N. of Beluchistan,
commanding the Bolan Pass, and occupied by a British garrison. It is also
a health resort from the temperate climate it enjoys.
QUEUES, BAKERS', "long strings of purchasers arranged _in tail_ at
the bakers' shop doors in Paris during the Revolution period, so that
first come be first served, were the shops once open," and that came to
be a Parisian institution.
QUEVEDO Y VILLEGAS, Francisco Gomez de, a Spanish poet, born at
Madrid, of an old illustrious family; left an orphan at an early age, and
educated at Alcalá, the university of which he left with a great name for
scholarship; served as diplomatist and administrator in Sicily under the
Duke of Ossuna, the viceroy, and returned to the Court of Philip IV. in
Spain at his death; struggled hard to purify the corrupt system of
appointments to office in the State then prevailing but was seized and
thrown into confinement, from which, after four years, he was released,
broken in health; he wrote much in verse, but only for his own solace and
in communication with his friends, and still more in prose on a variety
of themes, he being a writer of the most versatile ability, of great
range and attainment (1580-1645).
QUIBÉRON, a small fishing village on a peninsula of the name,
stretching southward from Morbihan, France, near which Hawke defeated a
French fleet in 1759, and where a body of French emigrants attempted to
land in 1795 in order to raise an insurrection, but were defeated by
General Hoche.
QUICHUAS, a civilised people who flourished at one time in Ecuador,
Peru, and Bolivia, and spoke a highly-cultivated language called Quichua
after them.
QUICK, ROBERT HEBERT, English educationist; wrote "Essays on
Educational Reformers"; was in holy orders (1832-1891).
QUICKSAND, sandbank so saturated with water that it gives way under
pressure; found near the mouths of rivers.
QUIETISM, the name given to a mystical religious turn of mind which
seeks to attain spiritual illumination and perfection by maintaining a
purely passive and susceptive attitude to Divine communication and
revelation, shutting out all consciousness of self and all sense of
external things, and independently of the observance of the practical
virtues. The high-priest of Quietism was the Spanish priest
MOLINOS (q. v.), and his chief disciple in France was Madame de
Guyon, who infected the mind of the saintly Fénélon. The appearance of it
in France, and especially Fénélon's partiality to it, awoke the hostility
of Bossuet, who roused the Church against it, as calculated to have an
injurious effect on the interests of practical morality; indeed the
hostility became so pronounced that Fénélon was forced to retract, to the
gradual dying out of the fanaticism.
QUILIMANE (6), a seaport of East Africa, on the Mozambique Channel,
in a district subject to Portugal; stands 15 m. from the mouth of a river
of the name.
QUILON, a trading town on the W. coast of Travancore, 85 m. N. of
Comorin.
QUIMPER (17), a French town 63 m. SE. of Brest, with a much admired
cathedral; has sundry manufactures, and a fishing industry.
QUIN, JAMES, a celebrated actor, born in London; was celebrated for
his representation of Falstaff, and was the first actor of the day till
the appearance of Garrick in 1741 (1693-1766).
QUINAULT, French poet; his first performances procured for him the
censure of Boileau, but his operas, for which Luini composed the music,
earned for him a good standing among lyric poets (1635-1688).
QUINCEY, DE. See DE QUINCEY.
QUINCY (31), a city in Illinois, U.S., on the Mississippi, 160 m.
above St. Louis; a handsome city, with a large trade and extensive
factories; is a great railway centre.
QUINCY, JOSIAH, American statesman, born at Boston; was bred to the
bar, and entered Congress in 1804, where he distinguished himself by his
oratory as leader of the Federal party, as the sworn foe of
slave-holding, and as an opponent of the admission of the Western States
into the Union; in 1812 he retired from Congress, gave himself for a time
to purely local affairs in Massachusetts, and at length to literary
labours, editing his speeches for one thing, without ceasing to interest
himself in the anti-slavery movement (1772-1864).
QUINET, EDGAR, a French man of letters, born at Bourg, in the
department of Ain; was educated at Bourg and Lyons, went to Paris in
1820, and in 1823 produced a satire called "Les Tablettes du
Juif-Errant," at which time he came under the influence of HERDER
(q. v.) and executed in French a translation of his "Philosophy of
Humanity," prefaced with an introduction which procured him the
friendship of Michelet, a friendship which lasted with life; appointed to
a post in Greece, he collected materials for a work on Modern Greece, and
this, the first fruit of his own view of things as a speculative Radical,
he published in 1830; he now entered the service of the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, and in the pages of it his prose poem "Ahasuérus" appeared,
which was afterwards published in a book form and soon found a place in
the "Index Expurgatorius" of the Church; this was followed by other
democratic poems, "Napoleon" in 1835 and "Prometheus" in 1838; from 1838
to 1842 he occupied the chair of Foreign Literature in Lyons, and passed
from it to that of the Literature of Southern Europe in the College of
France; here, along with Michelet, he commenced a vehement crusade
against the clerical party, which was brought to a head by his attack on
the Jesuits, and which led to his suspension from the duties of the chair
in 1846; he distrusted Louis Napoleon, and was exiled in 1852, taking up
his abode at Brussels, to return to Paris again only after the Emperor's
fall; through all these troubles he was busy with his pen, in 1838
published his "Examen de la Vie de Jésus," his "Du Genie des Religions,"
"La Révolution Religieuse au xix^{e} Siècle," and other works; he was a
disciple of Herder to the last; he believed in humanity, and religion as
the soul of it (1803-1875).
QUININE, an alkaloid obtained from the bark of several species of
the cinchona tree and others, and which is employed in medicine specially
as a ferbrifuge and a tonic.
QUINISEXT, an ecclesiastical council held at Constantinople in 692,
composed chiefly of Eastern bishops, and not reckoned among the councils
of the Western Church.
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY, the Sunday before the beginning of Lent.
QUINSY, inflammation of the tonsils of the throat.
QUINTANA, MANUEL JOSÉ, a Spanish lyric and dramatic poet, born in
Madrid; was for a time the champion of liberal ideas in politics, which
he ceased to advocate before he died; is celebrated as the author of a
classic work, being "Lives of Celebrated Spaniards" (1772-1857).
QUINTETTE, a musical composition in obligato parts for five voices
or five instruments.
QUINTILIAN, MARCUS FABIUS, celebrated Latin rhetorician, born in
Spain; went to Rome in the train of Galba, and began to practise at the
bar, but achieved his fame more as teacher in rhetoric than a
practitioner at the bar, a function he discharged with brilliant success
for 20 years under the patronage and favour of the Emperor Vespasian in
particular, being invested by him in consequence with the insignia and
title of consul; with posterity his fame rests on his "Institutes," a
great work, being a complete system of rhetoric in 12 books; he commenced
it in the reign of Domitian after his retirement from his duties as a
public instructor, and it occupied him two years; it is a wise book, ably
written, and fraught with manifold instruction to all whose chosen
profession it is to persuade men (35-92).
QUIPO, knotted cords of different colours used by the ancient
Mexicans and Peruvians for conveying orders or recording events.
QUIRINAL, one of the seven hills on which Rome was built, N. of the
Palatine, and one of the oldest quarters of the city.
QUIRITES, the name the citizens of Rome assumed in their civic
capacity.
QUITO (80), the capital of Ecuador, situated at an elevation of
nearly 9000 ft. above the sea-level, and cut up with ravines; stands in a
region of perpetual spring and amid picturesque surroundings, the air
clear and the sky a dark deep blue. The chief buildings are of stone, but
all the ordinary dwellings are of sun-dried brick and without chimneys.
It is in the heart of a volcanic region, and is subject to frequent
earthquakes, in one of which, in 1797, 40,000 of the inhabitants
perished. The population consists chiefly of Indians, whose religious
interests must be well cared for, for there are no fewer than 400 priests
to watch over their spiritual welfare.
QUITO, CORDILLERA OF, a chain of mountains, the chief of them
volcanic, in Ecuador, containing the loftiest peaks of the Andes, and
including among them Antisana, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo.
QUIT-RENT, a rent the payment of which frees the tenant of a
holding from other services such as were obligatory under feudal tenure.
QUORRA, the name given to the middle and lower course of the Niger.
QUORUM, the number of the members of a governing body required by
law to give legality to any transaction in the name of it.
QURÂN. See KORÂN.
R
RAAB (20), a town in Hungary, 67 m. NW. of Buda Pesth, manufactures
tobacco and cutlery.
RAASAY, one of the Inner Hebrides, belonging to Inverness-shire,
lies between Skye and Ross-shire; bare on the W., picturesque on the E.;
has interesting ruins of Brochel Castle.
RABANT DE ST. ÉTIENNE, a moderate French Revolutionary; member of
the Constituent Assembly; one of the Girondists; opposed the extreme
party, and concealed himself between two walls he had built in his
brother's house; was discovered, and doomed to the guillotine, as were
also those who protected him (1743-1793).
RABAT (26), known also as NEW SALLEE, a declining port in
Morocco, finely situated on elevated ground overlooking the mouth of the
Bu-Ragrag River, 115 m. SE. of Fez; is surrounded by walls, and has a
commanding citadel, a noted tower, interesting ruins, &c.; manufactures
carpets, mats, &c., and exports olive-oil, grain, wool, &c.
RABBI (lit. my master), an appellation of honour applied to a
teacher of the Law among the Jews, in frequent use among them in the days
of Christ, who was frequently saluted by this title.
RABBISM, the name applied in modern times to the principles and
methods of the Jewish Rabbis, particularly in the interpretation of the
Jewish Scriptures.
RABELAIS, FRANÇOIS, great French humorist, born at Chinon, the son
of a poor apothecary; was sent to a convent at nine; became a Franciscan
monk; read and studied a great deal, but, sick of convent life, ran away
at forty years of age; went to Montpellier, and studied medicine, and for
a time practised it, particularly at Lyons; here he commenced the series
of writings that have immortalised his name, his "Gargantua" and
"Pantagruel," which he finished as curé of Meudon, forming a succession
of satires in a vein of riotous mirth on monks, priests, pedants, and all
the incarnate solecisms of the time, yet with all their licentiousness
revealing a heart in love with mankind, and a passionate desire for the
establishment of truth and justice among men (1495-1553).
RACES OF MANKIND. These have been divided into five, the
CAUCASIAN (q. v.) or Indo-European, the Mongolian or Yellow, the
Negro or Black, the Malayan or Tawny, and the India or Copper-coloured.
RACHEL, ELIZA, a great French tragédienne, born in Switzerland, of
Jewish parents; made her _début_ in Paris in 1838, and soon became famous
as the interpreter of the principal characters in the masterpieces of
Racine and Corneille, her crowning triumph being the representation, in
1843, of Phèdre in the tragedy of Racine; she made a great impression
wherever she appeared, realised a large fortune, and died of decline
(1821-1858).
RACINE (21), a flourishing city of Wisconsin, U.S.A., capital of
Racine County, at the entrance of Root River into Lake Michigan, 62 m. N.
of Chicago; has an Episcopal university: trades in lumber, flax, and the
products of various factories.
RACINE, JEAN, great French tragic poet, born at La Ferté Milon, in
the dep. of Aisne; was educated at Beauvais and the Port Royal; in 1663
settled in Paris, gained the favour of Louis XIV. and the friendship of
Boileau, La Fontaine, and Molière, though he quarrelled with the latter,
and finally lost favour with the king, which he never recovered, and
which hastened his death; he raised the French language to the highest
pitch of perfection in his tragedies, of which the chief are "Andromaque"
(1667), "Britannicus" (1669), "Mithridate" (1673), "Iphigénie" (1774),
"Phèdre" (1677), "Esther" (1688), and "Athalie" (1691), as well as an
exquisite comedy entitled "Les Plaideurs" (1669); when Voltaire was asked
to write a commentary on Racine, his answer was, "One had only to write
at the foot of each page, _beau, pathétique, harmonieux, admirable,
sublime_" (1639-1699).
RACK, an instrument of torture; consisted of an oblong wooden frame,
fitted with cords and levers, by means of which the victim's limbs were
racked to the point of dislocation; dates back to Roman times, and was
used against the early Christians; much resorted to by the Spanish
Inquisition, and also at times by the Tudor monarchs of England, though
subsequently prohibited by law in England.
RADCLIFFE (20), a prosperous town of Lancashire, on the Irwell, 7 m.
NW. of Manchester; manufactures cotton, calico, and paper; has bleaching
and dye works, and good coal-mines.
RADCLIFFE, MRS. ANN, _née_ WARD, English novelist, born in
London; wrote a series of popular works which abound in weird tales and
scenes of old castles and gloomy forests, and of which the best known is
the "Mysteries of Udolpho" (1764-1823).
RADCLIFFE, JOHN, physician, born at Wakefield, studied at Oxford;
commenced practice in London; by his art and professional skill rose to
eminence; attended King William and Queen Mary; summoned to attend Queen
Anne but did not, pleading illness, and on the queen's death was obliged
to disappear from London; left £40,000 to found a public library in the
University of Oxford (1650-1714).
RADETZKY, JOHANN, COUNT VON, Austrian field-marshal, born in
Bohemia; entered the Austrian army in 1784; distinguished himself in the
war with Turkey in 1788-89, and in all the wars of Austria with France;
checked the Revolution in Lombardy in 1848; defeated and almost
annihilated the Piedmontese army under Charles Albert in 1849, and
compelled Venice to capitulate in the same year, after which he was
appointed Governor of Lombardy (1766-1858).
RADICALS, a class of English politicians who, at the end of the 18th
century and the beginning of the 19th, aimed at the political
emancipation of the mass of the people by giving them a share in the
election of parliamentary representatives. Their Radicalism went no
farther than that, and on principle could not go farther.
RADNORSHIRE (22), the least populous of the Welsh counties; lies on
the English border between Montgomery (N.) and Brecknock (S.); has a wild
and dreary surface, mountainous and woody. RADNOR FOREST covers an
elevated heathy tract in the E.; is watered by the Wye and the Teme. The
soil does not favour agriculture, and stock-raising is the chief
industry. Contains some excellent spas, that at Llandrindod the most
popular. County town, Presteign.
RADOWITZ, JOSEPH VON, Prussian statesman; entered the army as an
artillery officer, rose to be chief of the artillery staff; by marriage
became connected with the aristocracy; at length head of the
Anti-Revolutionary party in the State, and the political adviser of
William IV., in which capacity he endeavoured to effect a reform of the
German Diet, and to give a political constitution to Germany (1797-1853).
RAE, JOHN, Arctic voyager, born in Orkney, studied medicine in
Edinburgh; first visited the Arctic regions as a surgeon; was engaged in
three expeditions to these regions, of which he published reports; was
made a LL.D. of Edinburgh University on the occasion of Carlyle's
installation as Lord Rector (1813-1893).
RAEBURN, SIR HENRY, portrait-painter, born at Stockbridge,
Edinburgh; was educated at George Heriot's Hospital; apprenticed to a
goldsmith in the city, and gave early promise of his abilities as an
artist; went to Italy; was introduced to Reynolds by the way, and after
two years' absence settled in Edinburgh, and became famous as one of the
greatest painters of the day; the portraits he painted included
likenesses of all the distinguished Scotsmen of the period, at the head
of them Sir Walter Scott; was knighted by George IV. a short time before
his death (1756-1823).
RAFF, JOACHIM, musical composer of the Wagner School, born at
Lachen, in Switzerland; began life as a schoolmaster; was attracted to
music; studied at Weimar; lived near Liszt, and became Director of the
Conservatorium at Frankfort-on-Main; his works include symphonies,
overtures, with pieces for the violin and the piano (1822-1882).
RAFFLES, SIR THOMAS STAMFORD, English administrator, born in
Jamaica; entered the East India Company's service, and rose in it; became
Governor of Java, and wrote a history of it; held afterwards an important
post in Sumatra, and formed a settlement at Singapore; returned to
England with a rich collection of natural objects and documents, but lost
most of them by the ship taking fire (1781-1826).
RAFN, KARL CHRISTIAN, Danish archæologist, born in Fünen; devoted
his life to the study of northern antiquities; edited numerous Norse
MSS.; executed translations of Norse literature; wrote original treatises
in the same interest, and by his researches established the fact of the
discovery of America by the Norsemen in the 10th century (1796-1864).
RAGGED SCHOOLS, a name given to the charity schools which provide
education and, in most cases, food, clothing, and lodging for destitute
children; they receive no Government support. The movement had its
beginning in the magnanimous efforts of John Pounds (_d_. 1839), a
shoemaker of Portsmouth; but the zeal and eloquence of Dr. GUTHRIE
(q. v.) of Edinburgh greatly furthered the development and spread of
these schools throughout the kingdom.
RAGLAN, FITZROY SOMERSET, LORD, youngest son of the Duke of
Beaufort; entered the army at sixteen; served with distinction all
through the Peninsular War; became aide-de-camp to the Duke of
Wellington, and his military secretary; lost his right arm at Waterloo;
did diplomatic service at Paris in 1815, and held afterwards a succession
of important military posts; was appointed commander-in-chief of the
British forces in the Crimea, and was present at all the engagements till
attacked by cholera, aggravated by a repulse and unjust reflections on
his conduct of the war, he sank exhausted and died (1788-1855).
RAGMAN ROLL, the name given to a record of the acts of fealty and
homage done by the Scottish nobility and gentry in 1296 to Edward I. of
England, and of value for the list it supplies of the nobles, gentry,
burgesses, and clergy of the country at that period. The original written
rolls of parchment have perished, but an abridged form is extant, and
preserved in the Tower of London.
RAGNARÖK, in the Norse mythology the twilight of the gods, when it
was predicted "the Divine powers and the chaotic brute ones, after long
contest and partial victory by the former, should meet at last in
universal, world-embracing wrestle and duel, strength against strength,
mutually extinctive, and ruin, 'twilight' sinking into darkness, shall
swallow up the whole created universe, the old universe of the Norse
gods"; in which catastrophe Vidar and another are to be spared to found a
new heaven and a new earth, the sovereign of which shall be Justice.
"Insight this," says Carlyle, "of how, though all dies, and even gods
die, yet all death is but a Phoenix fire-death, and new birth into the
greater and the better as the fundamental law of being."
RAGUSA, a decayed Austrian city on the Dalmatian coast, fronting the
Adriatic; has interesting remains of its ancient greatness, and still
contains several fine monastic and other buildings.
RAHEL, wife of Varnhagen von Ense, born in Berlin, of Jewish
parentage; was a woman of "rare gifts, worth, and true genius, and equal
to the highest thoughts of her century," and lived in intimate relation
with all the intellectual lights of Germany at the time; worshipped at
the shrine of Goethe, and was the foster-mother of German genius
generally in her day; she did nothing of a literary kind herself; all
that remains of her gifts in that line are her Letters, published by her
husband on her death, which letters, however, are intensively subjective,
and reveal the state rather of her feelings than the thoughts of her mind
(1771-1833).
RAIKES, ROBERT, the founder of Sunday Schools, born in Gloucester;
by profession a printer; lived to see his pet institution established far
and wide over England; left a fortune for benevolent objects (1735-1811).
RAILWAY KING, name given by Sydney Smith to GEORGE HUDSON
(q. v.), the great railway speculator, who is said to have one day in
the course of his speculations realised as much in scrip as £100,000.
RAINY, ROBERT, eminent Scottish ecclesiastic, born in Glasgow;
professor of Church History and Principal in the Free Church College,
Edinburgh; an able man, a sagacious and an earnest, a distinguished
leader of the Free Church; forced into that position more by
circumstances, it is believed, than by natural inclination, and in that
situation some think more a loss than a gain to the Church catholic, to
which in heart and as a scholar he belongs; _b_. 1826.
RAJAH, a title which originally belonged to princes of the Hindu
race, who exercised sovereign rights over some tract of territory; now
applied loosely to native princes or nobles with or without territorial
lordship.
RAJMAHAL (4), an interesting old Indian town, crowns an elevated
site on the Ganges, 170 m. NW. of Calcutta; has ruins of several palaces.
RAJON, PAUL ADOLPHE, French etcher, born at Dijon; made his mark in
1866 with his "Rembrandt at Work"; carried off medals at the Salon;
visited England in 1872, and executed notable etchings of portraits of
J.S. Mill, Darwin, Tennyson, &c. (1842-1888).
RAJPUT, a name given to a Hindu of royal descent or of the high
military caste. See CASTE.
RAJPUTANA (12,016), an extensive tract of country in the NW. of
India, S. of the Punjab, embracing some twenty native States and the
British district, Ajmere-Merwara. The Aravalli Hills traverse the S.,
while the Thar or Great Indian Desert occupies the N. and W. Jodhpur is
the largest of the native territories, and the Rajputs, a proud and
warlike people are the dominant race in many of the States.
RAKOCZY MARCH, the national anthem of the Hungarians, composed about
the end of the 17th century by an unknown composer, and said to have been
the favourite march of Francis Rakoczy II. of Transylvania.
RAKSHASAS, in the Hindu mythology a species of evil spirits, akin to
ogres.
RALEIGH, SIR WALTER, courtier, soldier, and man of letters, born
near Budleigh, in E. Devon, of ancient family; entered as student at
Oxford, but at 17 joined a small volunteer force in aid of the
Protestants in France; in 1580 distinguished himself in suppressing a
rebellion in Ireland; was in 1582 introduced at court, fascinated the
heart of the Queen by his handsome presence and his gallant bearing, and
received no end of favours at her hand; joined his half-brother, Sir
Humphrey Gilbert, in an expedition to North America, founded a colony,
which he called Virginia in honour of the queen, and brought home with
him the potato and the tobacco plants, till then unknown in this country;
rendered distinguished services in the destruction of the Armada; visited
and explored Guiana, and brought back tidings of its wealth in gold and
precious things; fell into disfavour with the queen, but regained her
esteem; under King James he became suspected of disloyalty, and was
committed to the Tower, where he remained 12 years, and wrote his
"History of the World"; on his release, but without a pardon, he set out
to the Orinoco in quest of gold-mines there, but returned heart-broken
and to be sentenced to die; he met his fate with calm courage, and was
beheaded in the Old Palace Yard; of the executioner's axe he smilingly
remarked, "A sharp medicine, but an infallible cure" (1552-1618).
RALSTON, WILLIAM SHEDDEN, a noted Russian scholar and translator,
born in London; studied at Cambridge, and in 1862 was called to the bar,
but never practised; assistant in the British Museum library till 1875;
visited Russia; his works embrace "Songs of the Russian People," "Russian
Folk-Tales," &c. (1828-1889).
RÂMA, in the Hindu mythology an avatar of Vishnu, being the seventh,
in the character of a hero, a destroyer of monsters and a bringer of joy,
as the name signifies, the narrative of whose exploits are given in the
"RÂMÂYANA" (q. v.).
RAMADAN, the ninth month of the Mohammedan year, a kind of Lent,
held sacred as a month of fasting by all Moslems, being the month in the
life of Mahomet when, as he spent it alone in meditation and prayer, his
eyes were opened to see, through the shows of things, into the one
eternal Reality, the greatness and absolute sovereignty of Allah.
RÂMÂYANA, one of the two great epic poems, and the best, of the
Hindus, celebrating the life and exploits of Râma, "a work of art in
which an elevated religious and moral spirit is allied with much poetic
fiction, ... written in accents of an ardent charity, of a compassion, a
tenderness, and a humility at once sweet and plaintive, which ever and
anon suggest Christian influences."
RAMBLER, a periodical containing essays by Johnson in the
_Spectator_ vein, issued in 1750-52, but written in that "stiff and
cumbrous style which," as Professor Saintsbury remarks, "has been rather
unjustly identified with Johnson's manner of writing generally."
RAMBOUILLET, MARQUISE DE, a lady of wealth and a lover of literature
and art, born in Rome, who settled in Paris, and conceiving the idea of
forming a society of her own, gathered together into her salon a select
circle of intellectual people, which, degenerating into pedantry, became
an object of general ridicule, and was dissolved at her death
(1588-1665).
RAMEAU, JEAN PHILIPPE, French composer, born at Dijon; wrote on
harmony, and, settling in Paris, composed operas, his first "Hippolyte et
Aricie," and his best "Castor et Pollux" (1683-1764).
RAMESES, the name of several ancient kings of Egypt, of which the
most famous are R. II., who erected a number of monuments in token of his
greatness, and at whose court Moses was brought up; and R. III., the
first king of the twentieth dynasty, under whose successors the power of
Egypt fell into decay.
RAMILLIES, Belgian village in Brabant, 14 m. N. of Namur; scene of
Marlborough's victory over the French under Villeroy in 1706.
RAMMOHUN ROY, a Brahman, founder of the Brahmo-Somaj, born at
Burdwân, Lower Bengal; by study of the theology of the West was led to
embrace deism, and tried to persuade his countrymen to accept the same
faith, by proofs which he advanced to show that it was the doctrine of
their own sacred books, in particular the Upanishads; with this view he
translated and published a number of texts from them in vindication of
his contention, as well as expounded his own conviction in original
treatises; in doing so he naturally became an object of attack, and was
put on his defence, which he conducted in a succession of writings that
remain models of controversial literature; died in Bristol (1772-1833).
RAMSAY, ALLAN, Scottish poet, born in Crawford, Lanarkshire; bred a
wig-maker; took to bookselling, and published his own poems, "The Gentle
Shepherd," a pastoral, among the number, a piece which describes and
depicts manners very charmingly (1686-1758).
RAMSAY, ALLAN, portrait-painter, son of preceding; studied three
years in Italy, settled in London, and was named first painter to George
III. (1715-1764).
RAMSAY, EDWARD BANNERMAN, dean of Edinburgh, born at Aberdeen,
graduated at Cambridge; held several curacies; became incumbent of St.
John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, in 1830, and dean of the diocese in
1840; declined a bishopric twice over; is widely known as the author of
"Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character"; was a most genial,
lovable man, a great lover of his country, and much esteemed in his day
by all the citizens of Edinburgh (1793-1872).
RAMSBOTTOM (17), a busy manufacturing town in Lancashire, on the
Irwell, 4 m. N. of Bury, engaged in cotton-weaving, calico-printing,
rope-making, &c.
RAMSDEN, JESSE, mathematical instrument-maker and inventor, born in
Yorkshire; invented the theodolite for the Ordnance Survey of Great
Britain (1735-1800).
RAMSEY, a beautifully situated, healthy watering-place, 14 m. NE. of
Douglas, in the Isle of Man.
RAMSGATE (25), a popular watering-place in the Isle of Thanet, Kent,
fronting the Downs, 72 m. E. by S. of London; has a famous harbour of
refuge; to the W. lies Pegwell Bay with Ebbsfleet.
RAMUS, PETER, or PIERRE DE LA RAMÉE, a French philosopher and
humanist, son of poor parents; became a servant in the College of
Navarre; devoted his leisure to study, and became a great scholar;
attacked scholasticism in a work against Aristotle as the main pillar of
the system, and was interdicted from teaching philosophy, but the
judgment was reversed by Henry II., and he was made a royal professor; he
turned Protestant in the end, and was massacred on the eve of St.
Bartholomew (1515-1572).
RANAVALONA III., queen of Madagascar; was crowned in 1883, but her
kingdom and capital were taken from her by the French in 1893, and she is
now queen only in name; _b_. 1861.
RANCHING, a term of Spanish derivation applied to the business of
rearing cattle, as carried on in the southern and western States of
America; vast herds of cattle in a half-wild condition are raised on the
wide stretches of prairie land, and are tended by "cowboys," whose free,
adventurous life attracts men of all sorts and conditions.
RANDALL, JAMES RYDER, American journalist; author of "Maryland, my
Maryland," "Stonewall Jackson," and other popular lyrics, which greatly
heartened the Southern cause in the Civil War; born in Baltimore; engaged
in teaching till he took to journalism; _b_. 1839.
RANDOLPH, JOHN, a noted eccentric American politician, born at
Cawsons, Virginia; entered Congress in 1799, and held a commanding
position there as leader of the Democratic party; was a witty, sarcastic
speaker; sat in the Senate from 1825 to 1827, and in 1830 was Minister to
Russia; liberated and provided for his slaves (1773-1833).
RANDOLPH, SIR THOMAS, English diplomatist, was sent on diplomatic
missions by Queen Elizabeth, and particularly mixed up in Scotch
intrigues, and had to flee from Scotland for his life; left Memoirs
(1523-1590).
RANDOLPH, THOMAS, English poet, wrote odes and sundry dramas, of
which the "Muses' Looking-Glass" and "Amyntas" are the best, though not
absolutely good (1605-1634).
RANEE, name given to a Hindu princess or queen; a rajah's wife.
RANELAGH, a place of resort in grounds at Chelsea of people of
fashion during the last half of the 18th century, with a promenade where
music and dancing were the chief attractions.
RANGOON (180), capital and chief port of British Burmah, situated 20
m. inland from the Gulf of Martaban, on the Hlaing or Rangoon River, the
eastmost of the delta streams of the Irrawaddy; British since 1852; a
well-appointed city of modern appearance, strongly fortified; contains
the famous Shway-Dagon pagoda erected in the 6th century B.C.; has
extensive docks, and negotiates the vast bulk of Burmese exports and
imports; the former include teak, gums, spices, and rice.
RANJIT SINGH, the maharajah of the Sikhs, after taking possession of
Lahore, became undisputed master of the Punjab, and imposed on his
subjects the monarchical form of government, which was shattered to
fragments after his death; he was the possessor of the Koh-i-Nur diamond
(1797-1839).
RANJITSINHJI, Indian prince, born at Sarodar; studied at Cambridge;
devoted himself to cricket, and became famous for his brilliant play;
_b_. 1872.
RANKE, LEOPOLD VON, distinguished German historian, born in
Thüringia just 16 days after Thomas Carlyle; began life similarly as a
teacher and devoted his leisure hours to the study of history and the
publication of historical works; was in 1825 appointed professor of
History at Berlin; was commissioned by the Prussian government to explore
the historical archives of Vienna, Rome, and Venice, the fruit of which
was seen in his subsequent historical labours, which bore not only upon
the critical periods of German history, but those of Italy, France, and
even England; of his numerous works, all founded on the impartial study
of facts, it is enough to mention here his "History of the Popes in the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" and his "German History in the Times
of the Reformation" (1795-1886).
RANKINE, W. J. MACQUORN, mathematician and physicist, born in
Edinburgh; devoted himself to engineering, and held the chair of
Engineering in Glasgow University; wrote extensively on mathematical and
physical subjects, both theoretical and practical (1820-1872).
RANNOCH, an elevated, dreary moorland in NW. of Perthshire, crossed
by the West Highland Railway; Lochs Rannoch and Tummel lie to the E. and
Loch Lydoch in the W.
RANTERS, a name given to the Primitive Methodists who seceded from
the Wesleyan body on account of a deficiency of zeal.
RANZ DES VACHES, a simple melody, played on the horn by the Swiss
Alpine herdsmen as they drive their cattle to or from the pasture, and
which, when played in foreign lands, produces on a Swiss an almost
irrepressible yearning for home.
RAPE OF THE LOCK, a dainty production of Pope's, pronounced by
Stopford Brooke to be "the most brilliant occasional poem in the
language."
RAPHAEL, one of the seven archangels and the guardian of mankind,
conducted Tobias to the country of the Medes and aided him in capturing
the miraculous fish, an effigies of which, as also a pilgrim's staff, is
an attribute of the archangel.
RAPHAEL, SANTI, celebrated painter, sculptor, and architect, born at
Urbino, son of a painter; studied under Perugino for several years,
visited Florence in 1504, and chiefly lived there till 1508, when he was
called to Rome by Pope Julius II., where he spent the rest of his short
life and founded a school, several of the members of which became eminent
in art; he was one of the greatest of artists, and his works were
numerous and varied, which included frescoes, cartoons, madonnas,
portraits, easel pictures, drawings, &c., besides sculpture and
architectural designs, and all within the brief period of 37 years; he
had nearly finished "The Transfiguration" when he died of fever caught in
the excavations of Rome; he was what might be called a learned artist,
and his works were the fruits of the study of the masters that preceded
him, particularly Perugino and the Florentines, and only in the end might
his work be called his own; it is for this reason that modern
Pre-Raphaelitism is so called, as presumed to be observant of the simple
dictum of Ruskin, "Look at Nature with your own eyes, and paint only what
yourselves see" (1483-1520). See PRE-RAPHAELITISM.
RAPIN DE THOYRAS, French historian, born at Castres; driven from
France by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled in Holland, came
over to England with and served under the Prince of Orange, withdrew to
Holland and wrote a "History of England," deservedly much in repute for
long, if not still (1661-1725).
RAPP, GEORGE, German fanatic, born in Würtemberg, emigrated to
America, and founded a fraternity called Harmonites, who by tillage of
land on the Ohio and otherwise amassed great wealth, to be kept in store
for the service of Christ at His second coming (1770-1847).
RAPP, JEAN, French general, born at Colmar; served under Napoleon
with distinction all through his wars, held Danzig for a whole year
against a powerful Russian army, was kept prisoner by the Russians after
surrender, returned to France, and submitted to Louis XVIII. after
Waterloo (1772-1821).
RAPPAHANNOCK, a navigable river of Virginia State, rises in the
Alleghanies, and after a course of 125 m. to the SE. discharges into
Chesapeake Bay.
RASHI, a Jewish scholar and exegete, born at Troyes; was an expert
in all departments of Jewish lore as contained in both the Scriptures and
the Talmud, and indulged much in the favourite Rabbinical allegorical
style of interpretation (1040-1105).
RASK, RASMUS CHRISTIAN, Danish philologist, born near Odense;
studied first the primitive languages of the North, chiefly Icelandic,
and then those of the East, and published the results of his researches
both by his writings and as professor of Oriental Languages and of
Icelandic in the university of Copenhagen (1787-1832).
RASKOLINK (lit. a separatist), in Russia a sect, of which there
are many varieties, of dissenters from the Greek Church.
RASPAIL, FRANÇOIS VINCENT, French chemist, physiologist, and
socialist; got into trouble both under Louis Philippe and Louis Napoleon
for his political opinions (1794-1878).
RASSAM, HORMUZD, Assyriologist, born at Mosul; assisted Layard in
his explorations at Nineveh, and was subsequently, under support from
Britain, engaged in further explorations both there and elsewhere; being
sent on a mission to Abyssinia, was put in prison and only released after
the defeat of Theodore; _b_. 1826.
RASSELAS, a quasi-novel written in 1759 by Johnson to pay the
expenses of his mother's funeral, the subject of which is an imaginary
prince of Abyssinia, and its aim a satire in sombre vein on human life.
RASTATT or RASTADT (12), a town in Baden, on the Murg, 15 m.
SW. of Carlsruhe; is fortified, and manufactures hardware, beer, and
tobacco.
RATAÑA, a brandy flavoured with kernels of fruits.
RATHLIN (1), a picturesque, cliff-girt island (6½ by 1-1/3 m.) off
the N. coast of Antrim; fishing is the chief industry; has interesting
historical associations.
RATICH, WOLFGANG, German educationalist, born in Wilster (Holstein);
a forerunner of Comenius; his theory of education, which in his hands
proved a failure, was based on Baconian principles; proceeded from things
to names, and from the mother tongue to foreign ones (1571-1635).
RATIONAL HORIZON, a great circle parallel to the horizon, the centre
of which is the centre of the earth.
RATIONALISM, MODERN, a speculative point of view that resolves the
supernatural into the natural, inspiration into observation, and
revelation into what its adherents called reason, when they mean simply
understanding, and which ends in stripping us naked, and leaving us empty
of all the spiritual wealth accumulated by the wise in past ages, and
bequeathed to us as an inheritance that had cost them their life's blood.
RATISBON or REGENSBURG (38), one of the oldest and most
interesting of German towns in Bavaria, on the Danube, 82 m. NE. of
Münich; has a quaint and mediæval appearance, with Gothic buildings and
winding streets; associated with many stirring historical events; till
1806 the seat of the imperial diet; does an active trade in salt and
corn, and manufactures porcelain, brass, steel, and other wares.
RATTAZZI, URBANO, Italian statesman, born at Alessandria; was leader
of the extreme party in the Sardinian Chamber in 1849, and was several
times minister, but was unstable in his politics (1808-1873).
RAUCH, CHRISTIAN, eminent Prussian sculptor, born in Waldeck;
patronised by royalty; studied at Rome under Thorwaldsen and Canova;
resided chiefly in Berlin; executed statues of Blücher, Dürer, Goethe,
Schiller, and others, as well as busts; his masterpiece is a colossal
monument in Berlin of Frederick the Great (1777-1857).
RAUHES HAUS ("Rough House"), a remarkable institution for the
reclamation and training of neglected children, founded (1831), and for
many years managed by Johann Heinrich Wichern at Hoon, near Hamburg; it
is affiliated to the German Home Mission.
RAUMER, FRIEDRICH LUDWIG GEORG VON, German historian; was professor
of History at Berlin; wrote the "History of the Hohenstaufen and their
Times," and a "History of Europe from the End of the 15th Century"
(1781-1873).
RAVAILLAC, FRANÇOIS, the assassin of Henry IV., born at Angoulême; a
Roman Catholic fanatic, who regarded the king as the arch-enemy of the
Church, and stabbed him to the heart as he sat in his carriage; was
instantly seized, subjected to torture, and had his body torn by horses
limb from limb (1578-1640).
RAVANA, in the Hindu mythology the king of the demons, who carried
off Sita, the wife of Râma, to Ceylon, which, with the help of the
monkey-god Hanuman, and a host of quadrumana, Râma invaded and conquered,
slaying his wife's ravisher, and bringing her off safe, a story which
forms the subject of the Hindu epic, "Râmâyana."
RAVENNA (12), a venerable walled city of Italy; once a seaport, now
5 m. inland from the Adriatic, and 43 m. E. of Bologna; was capital of
the Western Empire for some 350 years; a republic in the Middle Ages, and
a papal possession till 1860; especially rich in monuments and buildings
of early Christian art; has also picture gallery, museum, library,
leaning tower, etc.; manufactures silk, linen, paper, etc.
RAVENNA, EXARCH OF, the viceroy of the Byzantine Empire in Italy
while the latter was a dependency of the former, and who resided at
Ravenna.
RAVENSCROFT, THOMAS, musical composer, born in London; was a
chorister in St. Paul's Cathedral; composed many part-songs, etc., but is
chiefly remembered for his "Book of Psalmes," which he edited and partly
composed; some of the oldest and best known Psalms (e. g. Bangor, St
David's) are by him (1592-1640).
RAVENSWOOD, a Scottish Jacobite, the hero of Scott's "Bride of
Lammermoor."
RAVIGNAN, GUSTAVE DELACROIX DE, a noted Jesuit preacher, born at
Bayonne; won wide celebrity by his powerful preaching in Notre Dame,
Paris; wrote books in defence of his order (1795-1858).
RAWAL PINDI (74), a trading and military town in the Punjab, 160 m.
NW. of Lahore; has an arsenal, fort, etc., and is an important centre for
the Afghanistan and Cashmere trades.
RAWLINSON, GEORGE, Orientalist, brother of following, Canon of
Canterbury; has written extensively on Eastern and Biblical subjects:
_b_. 1815.
RAWLINSON, SIR HENRY, Assyriologist, born in Oxfordshire; entered
the Indian Army in 1827; held several diplomatic posts, particularly in
Persia; gave himself to the study of cuneiform inscriptions, and became
an authority in the rendering of them and matters relative (1810-1895).
RAY, JOHN, English naturalist, born in Essex; studied at Cambridge;
travelled extensively collecting specimens in the departments of both
botany and zoology, and classifying them, and wrote works on both as well
as on theology (1628-1705).
RAYLEIGH, LORD, physicist, was senior wrangler at Cambridge; is
professor of Natural Philosophy in the Royal Institution; author of "The
Theory of Sound"; discovered, along with Professor Ramsay, "argon" in the
atmosphere; _b_. 1842.
RAYMOND, name of a succession of Counts of Toulouse, in France,
seven in number, of which the fourth count, from 1088 to 1105, was a
leader in the first crusade, and the sixth, who became Count in 1194, was
stripped of his estate by Simon de Montfort.
RAYNAL, THE ABBÉ, French philosopher; wrote "Histoire des Indes" and
edited "Philosophic History," distinguished for its "lubricity,
unveracity, loose, loud eleutheromaniac rant," saw it burnt by the common
hangman, and his wish fulfilled as a "martyr" to liberty (1713-1796).
RAYNOUARD, FRANÇOIS, French littérateur and philologist, born in
Provence; was of the Girondist party at the time of the Revolution, and
imprisoned; wrote poems and tragedies, but eventually gave himself up to
the study of the language and literature of Provence (1761-1836).
RÉ, ISLE OF (16), small island, 18 m. by 3, off the French coast,
opposite La Rochelle; salt manufacturing chief industry; also oysters and
wine are exported. Chief town, St. Martin (2).
READE, CHARLES, English novelist, born at Ipsden, in Oxfordshire;
studied at Oxford; became a Fellow of Magdalen College, and was called to
the bar in 1842; began his literary life by play-writing; studied the art
of fiction for 15 years, and first made his mark as novelist in 1852,
when he was nearly 40, by the publication of "Peg Woffington," which was
followed in 1856 by "It is Never too Late to Mend," and in 1861 by "The
Cloister and the Hearth," the last his best and the most popular; several
of his later novels are written with a purpose, such as "Hard Cash" and
"Foul Play"; his most popular plays are "Masks and Faces" and "Drink"
(1814-1884).
READING (61), capital of Berkshire, on the Kennet, 36 m. N. of
London; a town of considerable historic interest; was ravaged by the
Danes; has imposing ruins of a 12th-century Benedictine abbey, &c.; was
besieged and taken by Essex in the Civil War (1643); birthplace of
Archbishop Laud; has an important agricultural produce-market, and its
manufactures include iron-ware, paper, sauce, and biscuits.
READING (79), capital of Berks Co., Pennsylvania, on the Schuylkill
River, 58 m. NW. of Philadelphia; has flourishing iron and steel works;
population includes a large German settlement.
REAL, an old Spanish silver coin still in use in Spain, Mexico, and
some other of the old Spanish colonies, also is a money of account in
Portugal; equals one-fourth of the _peseta_, and varies in value from 2½
d. to 5d. with the rise and fall of exchange.
REAL, a legal term in English law applied to property of a permanent
or immovable kind, e. g. land, to distinguish it from _personal_ or
movable property.
REAL PRESENCE, the assumed presence, really and substantially, in
the bread and wine of the Eucharist of the body and blood, the soul and
divinity, of Christ, a doctrine of the Romish and certain other Churches.
REALISM, as opposed to Nominalism, is the belief that general terms
denote real things and are not mere names or answerable to the mere
conception of them, and as opposed to idealism, is in philosophy the
belief that we have an immediate cognition of things external to us, and
that they are as they seem. In art and literature it is the tendency to
conceive and represent things as they are, however unsightly and immoral
they may be, without any respect to the beautiful, the true, or the good.
In Ruskin's teaching mere realism is not art; according to him art is
concerned with the rendering and portrayal of ideals.
REALM, ESTATES OF THE, the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the
House of Commons in Great Britain.
REAL-SCHULE, a German school in which languages, sciences, and arts
are taught to qualify for apprenticeship in some special business or
craft.
REASON, in philosophy is more than mere understanding or reasoning
power; it is the constitutive and regulative soul of the universe assumed
to live and breathe in the inner life or soul of man, as that develops
itself in the creations of human genius working in accord with and
revealing the deep purpose of the Maker.
REASON, in German _Vernunft_, defined by Dr. Stirling "the faculty
that unites and brings together, as against the understanding," in German
_Verstand_, "the faculty that separates, and only in separation knows,"
and that is synthetic of the whole, whereof the latter is merely analytic
of the parts, sundered from the whole, and without idea of the whole, the
former being the faculty which construes the diversity of the universe
into a unity or the one, whereas the latter dissolves the unity into
diversity or the many.
REASON, GODDESS OF, a Mrs. Momoro, wife of a bookseller in Paris,
who, on the 10th November 1793, in the church of Notre Dame, represented
what was called Reason, but was only scientific analysis, which the
revolutionaries of France proposed, through her representing such, to
install as an object of worship to the dethronement of the Church,
_l'infâme_.
RÉAUMUR, French scientist, born in La Rochelle; made valuable
researches and discoveries in the industrial arts as well as in natural
history; is best known as the inventor of the thermometer that bears his
name, which is graduated into 80 degrees from the temperature of melting
ice to that of boiling water (1683-1757).
REBECCA THE JEWESS, a high-souled Hebrew maiden, who is the heroine
in Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe."
REBECCAITES, a band of Welsh rioters who in 1843, dressed as
females, went about at nights and destroyed the toll-gates, which were
outrageously numerous; they took their name from Gen. xxiv. 60.
REBELLION, name of two risings of Jacobites in Scotland to restore
the exiled Stuart dynasty to the throne, one in behalf of the Pretender
in 1715, headed by the Earl of Mar, and defeated at Sheriffmuir, and the
other in behalf of the Young Chevalier, and defeated at Culloden in April
1746.
RÉCAMIR, MADAME, Frenchwoman, born at Lyons; became at 15 the wife
of a rich banker In Paris thrice her own age; was celebrated for her wit
her beauty, and her salon; was a friend of Madame de Staël and
Châteaubriand, whom she soothed in his declining years, and a good woman
(1777-1849).
RECANATI (6), a pretty Italian town, 15 m. S. of the Adriatic port
Ancona, the birthplace of Leopardi; has a Gothic cathedral.
RECENSION, the name given to the critical revision of the text of an
author, or the revised text itself.
RECHABITES, a tribe of Arab origin and Bedouin habits who attached
themselves to the Israelites in the wilderness and embraced the Jewish
faith, but retained their nomadic ways; they abstained from all strong
drink, according to a vow they had made to their chief, which they could
not be tempted to break, an example which Jeremiah in vain pleaded with
the Jews to follow in connection with their vow to the Lord (See Jer.
xxxv.).
RECIDIVISTS, a name applied to the class of habitual delinquents or
criminals of France.
RECIPROCITY, a term used in economics to describe commercial
treaties entered into by two countries, by which it is agreed that, while
a strictly protective tariff is maintained as regards other countries,
certain articles shall be allowed to pass between the two contracting
countries free of or with only light duties; this is the cardinal
principle of Fair Trade, and is so far opposed to Free Trade.
RECLUS, ELISÉE, a celebrated French geographer; from his extreme
democratic opinions left France In 1851, lived much in exile, and spent
much time in travel; wrote "Géographie Universelle," in 14 vols., his
greatest work; _b_. 1830.
RECORDE, ROBERT, mathematician, born in Pembroke; a physician by
profession, and physician to Edward VI. and Queen Mary; his works on
arithmetic, algebra, &c., were written in the form of question and
answer; died in the debtors' prison (1500-1558).
RECORDER, an English law official, the chief Judicial officer of a
city or borough; discharges the functions of judge at the
Quarter-Sessions of his district; must be a barrister of at least five
years' standing; is appointed by the Crown, but paid by the local
authority; is debarred from sitting on the licensing bench, but is not
withheld from practising at the bar; the sheriff in Scotland is a similar
official.
RECTOR, a clergyman of the Church of England, who has a right to the
great and small tithes of the living; where the tithes are impropriate he
is called a vicar.
RECUSANTS, a name given to persons who refused to attend the
services of the Established Church, on whom legal penalties were first
imposed in Elizabeth's reign, that bore heavily upon Catholics and
Dissenters; the Toleration Act of William III. relieved the latter, but
the Catholics were not entirely emancipated till 1829.
RED CROSS KNIGHT, St. George, the patron saint of England, and the
type and the symbol of justice and purity at feud with injustice and
impurity.
RED CROSS SOCIETY, an internationally-recognised society of
volunteers to attend to the sick and wounded in time of war, so called
from the members of it wearing the badge of St. George.
RED REPUBLICANS, a party in France who, at the time of the
Revolution of 1848, aimed at a reorganisation of the State on a general
partition of Property.
RED RIVER, an important western tributary of the Mississippi; flows
E. and SE. through Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana; has a course of 1600
m. till it joins the Mississippi; is navigable for 350 m.
RED RIVER OF THE NORTH, flows out of Elbow Lake, Minnesota; forms
the boundary between North Dakota and Minnesota, and flowing through
Manitoba, falls into Lake Winnipeg after a course of 665 m.; is a
navigable river.
RED SEA, an arm of the Arabian Sea, and stretching in a NW.
direction between the desolate sandy shores of Turkey in Asia and Africa;
is connected with the Gulf of Aden in the SE. by the Strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb, and in the NW. divides into the Gulfs of Suez and Akaba,
between which lies the Sinai Peninsula; the SUEZ CANAL (q. v.)
joins it to the Mediterranean; is 1200 m. long, and averages 180 in
breadth; has a mean depth of 375 fathoms (greatest 1200); receives no
rivers, and owing to the great evaporation its water is very saline; long
coral reefs skirt its shores, and of many islands Jebel Zugur, in the
Farisan Archipelago, and Dahlak are the largest; the dangerous Dædalus
Reef is marked by a lighthouse; as a seaway between Europe and the East
its importance was greatly diminished by the discovery of the Cape route,
but since the opening of the Suez Canal it has much more than regained
its old position; owes its name probably to the deep red tint of the
water often seen among the reefs, due to the presence of microscopic
organisms.
REDAN, a rampart shaped like the letter V, with its apex toward the
enemy.
REDDITCH (11), a flourishing town of Worcester, on the Warwick
border, 13 m. SW. of Birmingham, busy with the manufacture of needles,
pins, fish-hooks, &c.
REDEMPTIONISTS, better known as TRINITARIANS (q. v.), a
name bestowed on an order of monks consecrated to the work of redeeming
Christian captives from slavery.
REDESDALE, in Northumberland, the valley of the river Reed, which
rises in the Cheviots and flows SE. through pastoral and in part dreary
moorland till it joins the North Tyne; at the S. end is the field of
OTTERBURN (q. v.).
REDESWIRE, RAID OF THE, a famous Border fight took place in July
1575 at the Cheviot pass which enters Redesdale; through the timely
arrival of the men of Jedburgh the Scots proved victorious; is the
subject of a Border ballad.
REDGAUNTLET, an enthusiastic Jacobite character in Sir Walter
Scott's novel of the name, distinguished by a "horse-shoe vein on his
brow, which would swell up black when he was in anger."
REDGRAVE, RICHARD, painter, born at Pimlico, in London; studied at
the Royal Academy, won his first success in "Gulliver on the Farmer's
Table," became noted for his _genre_ and landscape paintings, held
Government appointments, and published among other works "Reminiscences"
and "A Century of English Painters" (1804-1888).
REDING, ALOYS VON, a Swiss patriot, born in Schwyz; was the bold
defender of Swiss independence against the French, in which he was in the
end defeated (1755-1818).
REDOUBT KALI, a Russian fort on the E. coast of the Black Sea, 10 m.
N. of Poti, the chief place for shipping Circassian girls to Turkey;
captured by the British in 1854.
REDRUTH (10), a town of Cornwall, on a hilly site nearly 10 m. SW.
of Truro, in the midst of a tin and copper mining district.
RED-TAPE, name given to official formality, from the red-tape
employed in tying official documents, whence "red-tapism."
REES, ABRAHAM, compiler of "Rees' Cyclopedia" (45 vols.), born in
Montgomeryshire; became a tutor at Hoxton Academy, and subsequently
ministered in the Unitarian Chapel at Old Jewry for some 40 years
(1743-1825).
REEVE, name given to magistrates of various classes in early English
times, the most important of whom was the SHIRE-REEVE or sheriff,
who represented the king in his shire; others were BOROUGH-REEVES,
PORT-REEVES, &c.
REEVE, CLARA, an English novelist, born, the daughter of a rector,
at Ipswich; the best known of her novels is "The Champion of Virtue,"
afterwards called "The Old English Baron," a work of the school of Mrs.
Radcliffe and of Walpole (1725-1803).
REEVES, JOHN SIMS, distinguished singer, born at Shooter's Hill,
Kent; made his first appearance at the age of 18 as a baritone at
Newcastle, and then as a tenor, and the foremost in England at the time;
performed first in opera and then as a ballad singer at concerts, and
took his farewell of the public on May 11, 1891, though he has frequently
appeared since; _b_. 1822.
REFERENDUM, a practice which prevails in Switzerland of referring
every new legislative measure to the electorate in the several electoral
bodies for their approval before it can become law.
REFORM, the name given in England to successive attempts and
measures towards the due extension of the franchise in the election of
the members of the House of Commons.
REFORMATION, the great event in the history of Europe in the 16th
century, characterised as a revolt of light against darkness, on the
acceptance or the rejection of which has since depended the destiny for
good or evil of the several States composing it, the challenge to each of
them being the crucial one, whether they deserved and were fated to
continue or perish, and the crucial character of which is visible to-day
in the actual conditions of the nations as they said "nay" to it or
"yea," the challenge to each at bottom being, is there any truth in you
or is there none? Austria, according to Carlyle, henceforth "preferring
steady darkness to uncertain new light"; Spain, "people stumbling in
steep places in the darkness of midnight"; Italy, "shrugging its
shoulders and preferring going into Dilettantism and the Fine Arts"; and
France, "with accounts run up on compound interest," had to answer the
"writ of summons" with an all too indiscriminate "Protestantism" of its
own.
REFORMATION, MORNING STAR OF THE, the title given to
JOHN WYCLIFFE (q. v.).
REFORMATORIES, schools for the education and reformation of
convicted juvenile criminals (under 16). Under an order of court
offenders may be placed in one of these institutions for from 2 to 5
years after serving a short period of imprisonment. They are supported by
the State, the local authorities, and by private subscriptions and sums
exacted from parents and guardians. Rules and regulations are supervised
by the State. The first one was established in 1838. There are now 62 in
Great Britain and Ireland; but the numbers admitted are diminishing at a
remarkable rate.
REFORMED CHURCH, the Churches in Switzerland, Holland, Scotland, and
elsewhere under Calvin or Zwingle, or both, separated from the Lutheran
on matter of both doctrine and policy, and especially in regard to the
doctrine of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
REFRACTION. Light travels in straight lines; but when a ray
travelling through one medium passes obliquely into another of either
greater or less density it is bent at the point of incidence. This
bending or breaking is called refraction. The apparent bend in a stick
set sloping in a sheet of water is due to this phenomenon, as are also
many mirages and other optical illusions.
REGALIA, the symbols of royalty, and more particularly those used at
a coronation. The English regalia include the crown, the sceptre with the
cross, the verge or rod with the dove, St. Edward's staff (in reality
dating from Charles II.'s coronation), the orbs of king and queen, the
sword of mercy called Curtana, the two swords of spiritual and temporal
justice, the ring of alliance with the nation, bracelets, spurs,
vestments, &c. These are to be seen in the Tower of London, and are
valued at £3,000,000. The regalia of Scotland consist of the crown, the
sceptre, and sword of State, and are on exhibition in the Crown-room in
Edinburgh Castle.
REGENERATION, THE, "new or second birth" required of Christ before
any one can become a member of His kingdom, and which, when achieved, is
a resolute and irreversible No to the spirit of the world, and a no less
resolute and irreversible Yea to the spirit of Christ, the No being as
essential to it as the Yea. For as in the philosophy of Hegel, so in the
religion of Christ, the negative principle is the creative or the
determinative principle. Christianity begins in No, subsists in No, and
survives in No to the spirit of the world; this it at first peremptorily
spurns, and then disregards as of no account, what things were _gain_ in
it becoming _loss_. A stern requirement, but, as Carlyle says, and knew,
one is not born the second time any more than the first without sore
birth-pangs. See HIS "EVERLASTING NO" IN "SARTOR," LAST PARAGRAPH.
REGENERATION, BAPTISMAL, the doctrine that the power of spiritual
life, forfeited by the Fall, is restored to the soul in the sacrament of
baptism duly administered.
REGENSBURG. See RATISBON.
REGGIO (24), an Italian seaport; capital of a province of the same
name; occupies a charming site on the Strait of Messina; built on the
ruins of ancient Rhegium; is the seat of an archbishop; manufactures
silks, gloves, hose, &c.
REGICIDES, murderers of a king, but specially applied to the 67
members of the court who tried and condemned Charles I. of England,
amongst whom were Cromwell, Bradshaw, Ireton, and others, of whom 10
living at the time of the Restoration were executed, and 25 others
imprisoned for life.
REGILLUS, LAKE, celebrated in ancient Roman history as the scene of
a great Roman victory over the Latins in 496 B.C.; site probably near
the modern town of Frascati.
REGINA, ST., a virgin martyr of the 3rd century, usually depicted as
undergoing the torments of martyrdom, or receiving spiritual consolation
in prison by a beautiful vision of a dove on a luminous cross.
REGIOMONTANUS, name adopted by Johann Müller, a celebrated German
astronomer and mathematician, born at Königsberg, in Franconia; appointed
professor of Astronomy in Vienna (1461); sojourned in Italy; settled in
Nüremberg, where much of his best work was done; assisted Pope Sixtus IV.
in reforming the Calendar; was made Bishop of Ratisbon; died at Rome; was
regarded as the most learned astronomer of the time in Europe, and his
works were of great value to Columbus and other early navigators
(1436-1476).
REGISTRAR-GENERAL, an official appointed to superintend
registration, specially of births, deaths, and marriages.
REGIUM DONUM, an annual grant formerly voted by Parliament to
augment the stipends of the Presbyterian clergy in Ireland, discontinued
from 1869.
REGNARD, JEAN FRANÇOIS, comic dramatist, born in Paris; inherited a
fortune, which he increased by gambling; took to travelling, and was at
22 captured by an Algerine pirate, and when ransomed continued to travel;
on his return to Paris wrote comedies, twenty-three in number, the best
of them being "Le Joueur" and "Le Légataire," following closely in the
steps of Molière; he was admired by Boileau (1656-1710).
REGNAULT, HENRI, French painter, born in Paris; son of following; a
genius of great power and promise, of which several remarkable works by
him are proof; volunteered in the Franco-German War, and fell at Buzenval
(1843-1871).
REGNAULT, HENRI VICTOR, a noted French physicist, born at
Aix-la-Chapelle; from being a Paris shopman he rose to a professorship in
Lyons; important discoveries in organic chemistry won him election to the
Academy of Sciences in 1840; lectured in the "Collège de France and the
École Polytechnique;" became director of the imperial porcelain
manufactory of Sèvres; did notable work in physics and chemistry, and was
awarded medals by the Royal Society of London (1810-1878).
REGNIER, MATHURIN, French poet, born at Chartres; led when young a
life of dissipation; ranks high as a poet, but is most distinguished in
satire, which is instinct with verve and vigour (1572-1613).
REGULARS, in the Romish Church a member of any religious order who
has taken the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
REGULUS, a Roman of the Romans; was twice over Consul, in 267 and
256 B.C.; defeated the Carthaginians, both by sea and land, but was at
last taken prisoner; being sent, after five years' captivity, on parole
to Rome with proposals of peace, dissuaded the Senate from accepting the
terms, and despite the entreaties of his wife and children and friends
returned to Carthage according to his promise, where he was subjected to
the most excruciating tortures.
REGULUS, ST., or ST. RULE, a monk of the East who, in the 4th
century, it is said, came to Scotland with the bones of St. Andrew, and
deposited them at St. Andrews.
REHAN, ADA, actress, born in Limerick; made her _début_ at 16 in
Albany, New York; came to London in 1884, and again in 1893; plays
Rosalind in "As You Like It," Lady Teazle in "School for Scandal," and
Maid Marian in the "Foresters," and numerous other parts; _b_. 1859.
REHOBOAM, the king of the Jews on whose accession at the death of
Solomon, in 976 B.C., the ten tribes of Israel seceded from the kingdom
of Judah.
REICH, THE, the old German Empire.
REICHENBACH, KARL, BARON VON, expert in the industrial arts,
particularly in chemical manufacture; he was a zealous student of animal
magnetism, and the discoverer of Od (1788-1869).
REICHENBERG (31), a town in North Bohemia, on the Neisse, 86 m. NE.
of Prague; chief seat of the Bohemian cloth manufacture.
REICHENHALL (4), a popular German health resort, in South-East
Bavaria, 10 m. SW. of Salzburg; is charmingly situated amidst Alpine
scenery, and has a number of mineral springs; is the centre of the great
Bavarian salt-works.
REICHSRATH, the Parliament of the Austrian Empire.
REICHSTADT, DUKE OF, the son and successor of Napoleon as Napoleon
II.; died at Vienna in 1832.
REICHSTAG, the German Imperial Legislature, representative of the
German nation, and which consists of 397 members, elected by universal
suffrage and ballot for a term of five years.
REID, SIR GEORGE, a distinguished portrait-painter, born in
Aberdeen; his portraits are true to the life, and are not surpassed by
those of any other living artist; _b_. 1841.
REID, RIGHT HON. G. H., Premier of Australia, born at Johnstone,
Renfrewshire; emigrated with his parents in 1852; adopted law as his
profession; became Minister of Education in 1883; became Premier of
N.S.W. in 1894; is a great Free Trader, and visited England for the Jubilee
in 1897; Prime Minister of the Australian Commonwealth, 1904; _b_. 1845.
REID, CAPTAIN MAYNE, novelist, born in Co. Down; led a life of
adventure in America, and served in the Mexican War, but settled
afterwards in England to literary work, and wrote a succession of tales
of adventure (1819-1883).
REID, THOMAS, Scottish philosopher, and chief of the Scottish
school, born in Kincardineshire, and bred for the Scotch Church, in which
he held office as a clergyman for a time; was roused to philosophical
speculation by the appearance in 1730 of David Hume's "Treatise on Human
Nature," and became professor of Philosophy in Aberdeen in 1752, and in
Glasgow in 1763, where the year after he published his "Inquiry into the
Human Mind," which was followed in course of time by his "Philosophy of
the Intellectual and Active Powers"; his philosophy was a protest against
the scepticism of Hume, founded on the idealism of Berkeley, by appeal to
the "common-sense" of mankind, which admits of nothing intermediate
between the perceptions of the mind and the reality of things
(1710-1796).
REID, SIR WEMYSS, journalist and man of letters, born in
Newcastle-on-Tyne; editor of the _Leeds Mercury_ (1870-86), and of the
_Speaker_ since 1890; has written novels and biographies; is President of
the Institute of Journalists, and was knighted in 1894; _b_. 1842.
REID, SIR WILLIAM, soldier and scientist; served in the Royal
Engineers with distinction under Wellington; became Governor successively
of Bermudas, Barbadoes, and Malta, and was the author of a scientific
work on "The Law of Storms" (1791-1858).
REIGATE (23), a flourishing market-town in Surrey, 21 m. S. of
London; is a busy railway centre; has interesting historic ruins; an old
church, among others containing the grave of Lord Howard of Effingham.
REIGN OF A HUNDRED DAYS, the period during which Napoleon reigned in
Paris from his return from Elba in the beginning of March till he left on
the 12th June 1815 to meet the Allies in the Netherlands.
REIGN OF TERROR, the name given to the bloody consummation of the
fiery French Revolution, including a period which lasted 420 days, from
the fall of the Girondists on the 31st May 1793 to the overthrow of
Robespierre and his accomplices on 27th July 1794, the actors in which at
length, seeing nothing but "Terror" ahead, had in their despair said to
themselves, "Be it so. _Que la Terreur soit à l'ordre du jour_ (having
sown the wind, come let us reap the whirlwind). One of the frightfulest
things ever born of Time. So many as four thousand guillotined,
fusilladed, noyaded, done to dire death, of whom nine hundred were
women."
REIMARUS, a philosopher of the _AUFKLÄRUNG_ (q. v.), born
at Hamburg; author of the "Wolfenbüttel Fragments," published by Lessing
in 1777, and written to disprove the arguments for the historical truth
of the Bible, and in the interest of pure deism and natural religion
(1694-1768).
REIS EFFENDI, one of the chief Ministers of State in Turkey, who is
Lord Chancellor, and holds the bureau of foreign affairs.
REITERS, the cavalry of the German Empire in the 14th and 15th
centuries.
RELATIVITY OF KNOWLEDGE, the doctrine that all knowledge is of
things as they appear to us and not of things as they are in themselves,
is subjective and not objective, is phenomenal and not noumenal.
RELIEF, prominence of a sculpture from a plain surface; works in
relief are of three kinds: _alto-relievo_, high relief; _mezzo-relievo_,
medium relief; _basso-relievo_, low relief.
RELIGIO MEDICI, a celebrated work of Sir Thomas Browne's,
characterised as a "confession of intelligent, orthodox, and logical
supernaturalism couched in some of the most exquisite English ever
written."
RELIGION, a sense, affecting the whole character and life, of
dependence on, reverence for, and responsibility to a Higher Power; or a
mode of thinking, feeling, and acting which respects, trusts in, and
strives after God, and determines a man's duty and destiny in this
universe, or "the manner in which a man feels himself to be spiritually
related to the unseen world."
RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, society founded in 1799 for the circulation
of religious works in home and foreign parts, has published in 220
languages, and is conducted by an annually elected body, consisting of
four ministers and eight laymen in London.
RELIQUARY, name given to a portable shrine or case for relics of
saints or martyrs; they assumed many forms, and were often rich in
material and of exquisite design.
REMBRANDT or VAN REJN, a celebrated Dutch historical and
portrait painter as well as etcher, born at Leyden, where he began to
practise as an etcher; removed in 1630 to Amsterdam, where he spent the
rest of his life and acquired a large fortune, but lost it in 1656 after
the death of his first wife, and sank into poverty and obscurity; he was
a master of all that pertains to colouring and the distribution of light
and shade (1608-1669).
REMIGIUS, ST., bishop and confessor of the 6th century, represented
as carrying or receiving a vessel of holy oil, or as anointing Clovis,
who kneels before him.
REMINGTON, PHILO, inventor of the Remington breech-loading rifle,
born at Litchfield, in New York State; 25 years manager of the mechanical
department in his father's small-arms factory; Remington type-writer also
the outcome of his inventive skill; retired in 1886; _b_. 1816.
REMONSTRANCE, THE, the name given to a list of abuses of royal power
laid to the charge of Charles I. and drawn up by the House of Commons in
1641, and which with the petition that accompanied it contributed to
bring matters to a crisis.
REMONSTRANTS, a name given to the Dutch Arminians who presented to
the States-General of Holland a protest against the Calvinist doctrine
propounded by the Synod of Dort in 1610.
REMUS, the twin-brother of Romulus, and who was slain by him because
he showed his scorn of the city his brother was founding by leaping over
the wall.
RÉMUSAT, ABEL, Orientalist, born in Paris; studied and qualified in
medicine, but early devoted himself to the study of Chinese literature
and in 1814 became professor of Chinese in the College of France; wrote
on the language, the topography, and history of China, and founded the
Asiastic Society of Paris (1788-1832).
RÉMUSAT, CHARLES, COMTE DE, French politician and man of letters,
born in Paris; was a Liberal in politics; drew up a protest against the
ordinances of Polignac, which precipitated the revolution of July; was
Minister of the Interior under Thiers, was exiled after the _coup
d'état_, and gave himself mainly to philosophical studies thereafter
(1797-1875).
RENAISSANCE, the name given to the revolution in literature and art
in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, caused by the revival of
the study of ancient models in the literature and art of Greece and Rome,
especially the former, and to the awakening in the cultured classes of
the free and broad humanity that inspired them, an epoch which marks the
transition from the rigid formality of mediæval to the enlightened
freedom of modern times.
RENAIX (17), a busy manufacturing town in East Flanders, Belgium, 22
m. SW. of Ghent; has large cotton and linen factories, breweries, and
distilleries.
RENAN, ERNEST, Orientalist and Biblical scholar, born in Brittany,
son of a sailor, who, dying, left him to the care of his mother and
sister, to both of whom he was warmly attached; destined for the Church,
he entered the seminary of St. Sulpice, where his studies threw him out
of the relation with the Church and obliged him to abandon all thoughts
of the clerical profession; accomplished in Hebrew, he was appointed
professor of that language in the College of France in 1861, though not
installed till 1870, and made a member of the French Academy in 1878;
having distinguished himself by his studies in the Semitic languages, and
in a succession of essays on various subjects of high literary merit, he
in 1863 achieved a European reputation by the publication of his "Vie de
Jésus," the first of a series bearing upon the origin of Christianity and
the agencies that contributed to its rise and development; he wrote other
works bearing more immediately on modern life and its destiny, but it is
in connection with his views of Christ and Christianity that his name
will be remembered; he entertained at last an overweening faith in
science and scientific experts, and looked to the latter as the elect of
the earth for the redemption of humanity (1823-1893).
RENDSBURG (12), a fortified town in Schleswig-Holstein, on the North
Sea and Baltic Canal, 19 m. W. of Kiel; manufactures cotton, chemicals,
brandy &c.
RENÉ I., titular king of Naples, born at Angers, son of Louis II.,
Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence; on the death of his father-in-law,
Duke of Lorraine, he in 1431 claimed the dukedom; was defeated and
imprisoned; bought his liberty and the dukedom in 1437, in which year he
also made an ineffectual attempt to make good his claim to the throne of
Naples and Sicily; settled down in Provence and devoted himself to
literature and art and to developing the country (1409-1480).
RENFREW (7), a royal burgh and county-town of Renfrewshire, situated
on the Clyde, 6 m. below Glasgow; dates back to the 12th century as a
burgh; industries include thread, cotton cloths, shawl factories, and
shipbuilding.
RENFREWSHIRE (291), a south-western county of Scotland; faces the
Firth of Clyde on the W., between Ayr on the S. and SW., and the river
Clyde on the N.; bordered on the E. by Lanark; hilly on the W. and S.,
flat on the E.; is watered by the Gryfe, the Black Cart, and the White
Cart; dairy-farming is carried on in extensive scale, stimulated by the
proximity of Glasgow; nearly two-thirds of the county is under
cultivation; coal and iron are mined, and in various parts the
manufacture of thread, cotton, chemicals, shipbuilding, &c., is actively
engaged in.
RENNELL, JAMES, geographer, born near Chudleigh, Devonshire; passed
from the navy to the military service of the East India Company; became
surveyor-general of Bengal; retired in 1782; author of many works on the
topography of India, hydrography, &c.; the "Geographical System of
Herodotus Examined and Explained" is his most noted work (1742-1830).
RENNES (65), a prosperous town in Brittany, capital of the
department of Ille-et-Vilaine, situated at the junction of the Ille and
the Vilaine; consists of a high and low town, separated by the river
Vilaine, mostly rebuilt since the disastrous fire in 1720; has handsome
buildings, a cathedral, &c.; is the seat of an archbishop, a military
centre, and manufactures sail-cloth, linen, shoes, hats, &c.; where the
court-martial was held which condemned Captain Dreyfus on a second trial
in 1899.
RENNIE, JOHN, civil engineer, born in East Linton, East Lothian;
employed by the firm of Messrs. Boulton & Watt at Soho, Birmingham, and
entrusted by them to direct in the construction of the Albion Mills,
London, he became at once famous for his engineering ability, and was in
general request for other works, such as the construction of docks,
canals, and bridges, distinguishing himself most in connection with the
latter, of which Waterloo, Southwark, and London over the Thames, are
perhaps the finest (1761-1821).
RENTE, name given to the French funds, or income derivable from
them.
RENTON (5), a town in Dumbartonshire, on the Leven, 2 m. N. of
Dumbarton; engaged in calico-printing, dyeing, &c.; has a monument in
memory of Tobias Smollett, who was born in the neighbourhood.
RENWICK, JAMES, Scottish martyr, born at Moniaive, Dumfriesshire;
educated at Edinburgh University, but was refused his degree for
declining to take the oath of allegiance; completed his studies in
Holland, and in 1683 was ordained at Gröningen; came to Scotland; was
outlawed in 1684 for his "Apologetic Declaration"; refused to recognise
James II. as king; was captured after many escapes, and executed at
Edinburgh, the last of the martyrs of the Covenant (1662-1688).
REPEALER, an advocate of the repeal of the Union of Great Britain
and Ireland.
REPLICA, is properly the copy of an original picture done by the
hand of the same master.
REPOUSSÉ, a name applied to a style of raised ornamentation in metal
obtained by beating out from behind a convex design, which is then chased
in front; was known to the Greeks, and carried to a high pitch of
perfection by Benvenuto Cellini in the 16th century; has been
successfully revived, especially in France, in this century.
REPTON (2), a village of Derbyshire, 6½ m. SW. of Derby, dates back
to the 7th century, and is associated with the establishment of
Christianity in England; has a fine Public school, founded in 1556.
REPUBLIC, the name given to a State in which the sovereign power is
vested in one or more elected by the community, and held answerable to it
though in point of fact, both in Rome and the Republic of Venice the
community was not free to elect any one outside of a privileged order.
REPUBLICANS, THE, the name given latterly in the United States to
the party opposed to the Democrats (q. v.) and in favour of federalism.
REQUIEM, a mass set to music, sung for the repose of the soul of a
dead person.
REREDOS, the name given to the decorated portion of the wall or
screen behind and rising above a church altar; as a rule it is richly
ornamented with niches and figures, and stands out from the east wall of
the church, but not unfrequently it is joined to the wall; splendid
examples exist at All Souls' College, Oxford, Durham Cathedral, St.
Albans, &c.
RESINA (14), a town of South Italy, looks out upon the sea from the
base of Vesuvius, 4 m. SE. of Naples, built on the site of ancient
Herculaneum; manufactures wine and silk.
RESPONSIONS, the first of the three examinations for a degree at
Oxford University, or the Little Go.
RESSAIDAR, in India, a native cavalry officer in command of a
Ressalah, or a squadron of native cavalry.
RESTORATION, THE, the name given in English history to the
re-establishment of monarchy and the return of Charles II. to the throne,
29th May 1660, after the fall of the Commonwealth.
RESTORATIONISTS, name of a sect in America holding the belief that
man will finally recover his original state of purity.
RESURRECTIONIST, one who stealthily exhumed bodies from the grave
and sold them for anatomical purposes.
RETFORD, EAST (11), market-town of Nottinghamshire, on the Idle, 24
m. E. by S. of Sheffield; has foundries, paper and flour mills, &c.
RETINA, a retiform expansion of the sensatory nerves, which receives
the impression that gives rise to vision, or visual perception.
RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, justice which rewards good deeds, and inflicts
punishment on offenders.
RETZ, CARDINAL DE, born at Montmirail, of Italian descent, and much
given to intrigue, obtained the coadjutorship of the archbishopric of
Paris, plotted against Mazarin, played an important part in the troubles
of the Fronde, and was in 1652 thrown into prison, from which he escaped;
he left "Memoirs" which are valuable as a record of the times, though the
readers are puzzled to construe from them the character of the author
(1614-1679).
RETZ, GILLES DE, marshal of France, born in Brittany; distinguished
himself under Charles VII. against the English; was condemned to be
burned alive at Nantes in 1440 for his unnatural crimes and his
cruelties.
RETZCH, MORITZ, painter and engraver, born at Dresden, where he
became a professor of Painting; is famous for his etchings illustrative
of Goethe's "Faust," of certain of Shakespeare's plays, as well as of
Fouqué's "Tales"; the "Chess-Players" and "Man _versus_ Satan," which is
considered his masterpiece (1779-1857).
REUCHLIN, JOHANN, a learned German humanist, born in the Black
Forest, devoted himself to the study of Greek and Hebrew, and did much to
promote the study of both in Germany, and wrote "Rudiments of the Hebrew
Language"; though he did not attach himself to the Reformers, he
contributed by his works and labours to advance the cause of the
Reformation; his special enemies were the Dominicans, but he was backed
up against them by all the scholars of Germany (1455-1522).
REUNION (formerly Île de Bourbon) (166), mostly Creoles, a French
island in the Indian Ocean, 358 m. E. of Madagascar, 38 m. by 28; a
volcanic range intersects the island; the scenery is fine; streams
plentiful, but small; one-third of the land is uncultivated, and grows
fruits, sugar (chief export), coffee, spices, &c. St. Denis (33), on the
N. coast, is the capital; has been a French possession since 1649.
REUSS, name of two German principalities stretching between Bavaria
on the S. and Prussia on the N.; they belong to the elder and younger
branches of the Reuss family. The former is called Reuss-Greiz (63), the
latter Reuss-Schleiz-Gera (120); both are hilly, well wooded, and well
watered; farming and textile manufacturing are carried on. Both are
represented in the Reichstag; the executive is in the hands of the
hereditary princes, and the legislative powers are vested in popularly
elected assemblies.
REUTER, FRITZ, a German humourist, born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin;
when a student at Jena took part in a movement among the students in
behalf of German unity; was arrested and condemned, after commutation of
sentence of death, to thirty years' imprisonment, but was released, after
seven of them, in broken health; and after eleven more took to writing a
succession of humorous poems in Low German, which placed him in the front
rank of the humourists of Germany (1810-1874).
REUTER, BARON PAUL JULIUS, the organiser of the conveyance of news
by telegraph, born at Cassel; commenced with Berlin for centre in 1851;
transferred his head-quarters to London, and now the "system," which is
in the hands of a limited liability company, has connections with even
the remotest corner of the globe; _b_. 1818.
REUTLINGEN (19), a picturesque old town in Würtemberg, on the
Echatz, 20 m. S. of Stuttgart; formerly one of the free imperial cities
of the Swabian League; has a splendid Gothic church; manufactures cloth,
cutlery, leather, woollen and cotton yarns, &c.
REVEL or REVAL (52), capital of the government of Esthonia, in
Russia, is a flourishing seaport on the S. side of the Gulf of Finland,
232 m. W. of St. Petersburg; has a castle, fortifications, cathedral,
mediæval antiquities, &c.; chiefly engaged in commerce; exports largely
oats and other cereals, spirits, flax, &c.
REVELATION, name properly applicable to the knowledge of God, or of
divine things, imparted to the mind of man, by the operation of the
Divine Spirit in the human soul, and as apprehended by it.
REVELATION, BOOK OF, or THE APOCALYPSE, the book that winds up
the accepted canon of Holy Scripture, of the fulfilment of the prophecies
of which there are three systems of interpretation: the Præteritist,
which regards them all as fulfilled; the Historical, which regards them
as all along fulfilling; and the Futurist, which regards them as still
all to be fulfilled. The first is the one which finds favour among modern
critics, and which regards it as a forecast of the struggle then
impending between the Church under the headship of Christ and the civil
power under the emperor of Rome, though this view need not be accepted as
excluding the second theory, which regards it as a forecast of the
struggle of the Church with the world till the cup of the world's
iniquity is full and the day of its doom is come. The book appears to
have been written on the occurrence of some fierce persecution at the
hands of the civil power, and its object to confirm and strengthen the
Church in her faith and patience by a series of visions, culminating in
one of the Lamb seated on the throne of the universe as a pledge that all
His slain ones would one day share in His glory.
REVELS, MASTER OF THE, also called LORD OF MISRULE, in olden
times an official attached to royal and noble households to superintend
the amusements, especially at Christmas time; he was a permanent officer
at the English court from Henry VIII.'s reign till George III.'s, but
during the 18th century the office was a merely nominal one.
REVERBERATORY FURNACE, a furnace with a domed roof, from which the
flames of the fire are reflected upon the vessel placed within.
REVERE, PAUL, American patriot, born in Boston, U.S., bred a
goldsmith; conspicuous for his zeal against the mother-country, and one
of the first actors in the revolt (1735-1818).
REVEREND, a title of respect given to the clergy, Very Reverend to
deans, Right Reverend to bishops, and Most Reverend to archbishops.
RÉVILLE, ALBERT, a distinguished French Protestant theologian, born
at Dieppe; was from 1851 to 1872 pastor at Rotterdam, in 1880 became
professor of the History of Religions in the College of France, and six
years later was made President of the Section des Études Religieuses at
the Sorbonne, Paris; has been a prolific writer on such subjects as "The
Native Religions of Mexico and Peru" (Hibbert Lectures for 1884),
"Religions of Non-civilised Peoples," "The Chinese Religion," &c.; _b_.
1826.
REVIVAL OF LETTERS, revival in Europe in the 15th century of the
study of classical, especially Greek, literature, chiefly by the arrival
in Italy of certain learned Greeks, fugitives from Constantinople on its
capture by the Turks in 1453, and promoted, by the invention of printing,
to the gradual extinction of the dry, barren scholasticism previously in
vogue. See RENAISSANCE.
REVIVAL OF RELIGION, a reawakening of the religious consciousness
after a period of spiritual dormancy, ascribed by many to a special
outpouring of the Spirit in answer to prayer, and in connection with
evangelical preaching.
REVOLUTION, a sudden change for most part in the constitution of a
country in consequence of internal revolt, particularly when a monarchy
is superseded by a republic, as in France in 1789, in 1848, and 1870,
that in 1830 being merely from one branch of the Bourbon family to
another, such as that also in England in 1658. The French Revolution of
1798 is the revolution by pre-eminence, and the years 1848-49 were years
of revolutions in Europe.
REVUE DES DEUX MONDES, a celebrated French review, devoted to
literature, science, art, politics, &c., established in 1829, and
conducted afterwards by Buloz.
REYBAUD, MARIE ROCH LOUIS, a versatile littérateur and politician,
born at Marseilles; travelled in India, established himself as a Radical
journalist in Paris in 1829, and edited important works of travel, wrote
popular novels, published important studies in social science; elected a
member of the Academy of Moral Sciences (1850); was an active politcian,
investigated for government the agricultural colonies in Algeria; author
of "Scenes in Modern Life," "Industry in Europe," &c. (1799-1879).
REYKJAVIK (i. e. reeky town), (3), capital of Iceland, situated in
a barren misty region on the SW. coast, practically a village of some 100
wooden houses; has a brick cathedral, and is the see of a bishop.
REYNARD THE FOX, an epic of the Middle Ages, in which animals
represent men, "full of broad rustic mirth, inexhaustible in comic
devices, a world Saturnalia, where wolves tonsured into monks and nigh
starved by short commons, foxes pilgrimaging to Rome for absolution,
cocks pleading at the judgment-bar, make strange mummery." The principal
characters are Isengrim the wolf and Reynard the fox, the former
representing strength incarnated in the baron and the latter representing
cunning incarnated in the Church, and the strife for ascendency between
the two one in which, though frequently hard pressed, the latter gets the
advantage in the end.
REYNOLDS, JOHN FULTON, an American general, born at Lancaster,
Pennsylvania; graduated at 21 at West Point, entered the army,
distinguished himself during the Civil War, especially at the second
battle of Bull Run; was killed at the battle of Gettysburg (1820-1863).
REYNOLDS, SIR JOSHUA, the chief of English portrait-painters, born
near Plymouth; went to London in 1740 to study art, and remained three
years; visited Italy and the great centres of art there, when he lost his
hearing, and settled in London in 1752, where he began to paint
portraits, and had as the subjects of his art the most distinguished
people, "filled England with the ghosts of her noble squires and dames";
numbered among his friends all the literary notabilities of the day; he
was the first President of the Royal Academy, and though it was no part
of his duty, delivered a succession of discourses to the students on the
principles and practice of painting, 15 of which have been published, and
are still held in high esteem (1723-1792).
RHABDOMANCY, a species of divination by means of a hazel rod to
trace the presence of minerals or metals under ground.
RHADAMANTHUS, in the Greek mythology a son of Zeus and Europa, and a
brother of MINOS (q. v.), was distinguished among men for his
strict justice, and was after his death appointed one of the Judges of
the dead in the nether world along with Æacus and Minos.
RHAPSODISTS, a class of minstrels who in early times wandered over
the Greek cities reciting the poems of Homer, and through whom they
became widely known, and came to be translated with such completeness to
us.
RHEA, in the Greek mythology a goddess, the daughter of Uranus and
Gaia, the wife of Kronos, and mother of the chief Olympian deities, Zeus,
Pluto, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia, and identified by the Greeks
of Asia Minor with the great earth goddess Cybele, and whose worship as
such, like that of all the other earth deities, was accompanied with wild
revelry.
RHEA SILVIA, a vestal virgin, the mother of Romulus and Remus,
twins, whom she bore to Mars, the god of war, who had violated her.
RHEIMS (104), an important French city in the department of Marne,
on the Vesle, 100 m. NE. of Paris; as the former ecclesiastical
metropolis of France it has historical associations of peculiar interest;
the French monarchs were crowned in the cathedral (a Gothic structure of
unique beauty) from 1179 to 1825; has a beautiful 12th-century Romanesque
church, an archiepiscopal palace, a Roman triumphal arch, a Lycée,
statues, &c.; situated in a rich wine district, it is one of the chief
champagne entrepôts, and is also one of the main centres of French
textiles, especially woollen goods; is strongly fortified.
RHEINGAU, a fruitful wine district in the Rhine Valley, stretching
along the right bank of the river in Hesse-Nassau; has a sunny, sheltered
situation, and its wines are famed for their quality.
RHENISH PRUSSIA (4,710), the most westerly and most densely
populated of the Prussian provinces, lies within the valleys of the Rhine
and the Lower Moselle, and borders on Belgium and the Netherlands; is
mountainous and forest-clad, except in the fertile plains of the N. and
in the rich river valleys, where vines, cereals, and vegetables are
extensively cultivated; large quantities of coal, iron, zinc, and lead
are mined; as an industrial and manufacturing province it ranks first in
Germany. Coblenz (capital), Aix-la-Chapelle, Bonn, and Cologne are among
its chief towns; was formed in 1815 out of several smaller duchies.
RHEOCHORD, a wire to measure the resistance or variability of an
electric current.
RHEOMETRY, measurement of the force or the velocity of an electric
current.
RHESUS, a monkey held sacred in several parts of India.
RHETORIC, the science or art of persuasive or effective speech,
written as well as spoken, and that both in theory and practice was
cultivated to great perfection among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and
to some extent in the Middle Ages and later, but is much less cultivated
either as a science or an art to-day.
RHINE, one of the chief rivers of Europe; of several small Alpine
head-streams, the Nearer and the Farther Rhine are the two principal,
issuing from the eastern flanks of Mount St Gothard; a junction is formed
at Reichenau, whence the united stream--the Upper Rhine--flows N. to Lake
Constance, and issuing from the NW. corner curves westward to Basel,
forming the boundary between Switzerland and Germany. From Basel, as the
Middle Rhine, it pursues a northerly course to Mainz, turns sharply to
the W. as far as Bingen, and again resumes its northward course. The
Rhine-Highland between Bingen and Bonn is the most romantic and
picturesque part of its course. As the Lower Rhine it flows in a
sluggish, winding stream through the Rhenish Lowlands, enters Holland
near Clèves, at Nimeguen bends to the W., and flowing through Holland
some 100 m. reaches the German Ocean, splitting in its lowest part into
several streams which form a rich delta, one-third of Holland. It is 800
m. in length; receives numerous affluents, _e. g_. Neckar, Main, Moselle,
Lippe; is navigable for ships to Mannheim.
RHINOPLASTIC OPERATION, an operation of repairing destroyed portions
of the nose by skin from adjoining parts.
RHODE ISLAND (346), the smallest but most densely populated of the
United States, and one of the original 13; faces the Atlantic between
Connecticut (W.) and Massachusetts (N. and E.); is split into two
portions by Narragansett Bay (30 m. long); hilly in the N., but elsewhere
level; enjoys a mild and equable climate, and is greatly resorted to by
invalids from the S.; the soil is rather poor, and manufactures form the
staple industry; coal, iron, and limestone are found. Providence,
Pawtucket, and Newport are the chief towns.
RHODES (10), a Turkish island in the Mediterranean, 12 m. distant
from the SW, coast of Asia Minor, area 49 m. by 21 m.; mountainous and
woody; has a fine climate and a fertile soil, which produces fruit in
abundance, also some grain; it is ill developed, and has a retrogressive
population, most of whom are Greeks; sponges, chief export; figures
considerably in ancient classic history; was occupied by the Knights
Hospitallers of St. John for more than two centuries, and was taken from
them by the Turks in 1523.
RHODES, CECIL, statesman, born in Hertfordshire, son of a vicar;
went to South Africa; became director of the diamond mines at Kimberley,
and amassed a large fortune; entered the Cape Parliament, and became
Prime Minister in 1890; he has been active and successful to extend the
British territories in South Africa, aiming at destroying the race
prejudices that prevail in it, and at establishing among the different
colonies a federated union; _b_. 1853.
RHODESIA, the territory in South Africa occupied and administered by the
British South Africa Company, under the leadership of Mr. Cecil Rhodes,
and founded by royal charter in 1889, hence the name it goes under, is
bounded on the E. by Portuguese East Africa, on the N. by German East
Africa and the Congo Free State, on the W. by Angola and German
South-West Africa, and on the S. by Bechuanaland and the Transvaal; is
traversed by the Zambesi, which divides it into Northern and Southern
Rhodesia; the Northern has been little prospected, though the land is
being cultivated, crops raised, and cattle-breeding commenced, besides a
new industry started in fibre; the Southern is divided into two
provinces, MASHONALAND (q. v.) and MATABELELAND (q. v.); in Rhodesia
public roads have been made to the extent of 2230 miles, and telegraph
lines to the extent of 1856 miles of line and 2583 of wire; it is
favourable to the breeding of stock, though the rinderpest raged in it
disastrously for a time; the climate is suitable for the cultivation of
cereals of all kinds, and vegetables, tobacco, india-rubber, and indigo
are indigenous, and well repay cultivation; there are forests of timber,
and gold, silver, copper, coal, tin, &c., have been discovered; it is,
roughly speaking, as large as the German Empire, and in consequence of
the Jameson raid the control of the military forces, formerly under the
control of the Company, is now in the hands of the Imperial Government.
RHÔNE, one of the four great rivers of France, rises on Mount St.
Gothard, in the Swiss Alps; passes through the Lake of Geneva, and
flowing in a south-westerly course to Lyons, is there joined by its chief
affluent, the Saône, hence it flows due S.; at Arles it divides into two
streams, which form a rich delta before entering the Gulf of Lyons, in
the Mediterranean; length, 504 m.; navigable to Lyons, but the rapid
current and shifting sandbanks greatly impede traffic.
RHÔNE (807), a department of France lying wholly within the western
side of the Saône and Rhône basin, hilly and fruitful; wine is produced
in large quantities; has an active industrial population; capital, Lyons.
RHUMB LINE, a circle on the earth's surface making a given angle
with the meridian; applied to the course of a ship in navigation.
RHYL (6), a popular watering-place of Flintshire, North Wales,
situated on the coast at the mouth of the Clwyd, 16 m. E. of Conway; has
a fine promenade pier, esplanade, gardens, &c.
RHYMER, THOMAS THE, or TRUE THOMAS, Thomas of Ercildoune, or
Earlston, a Berwickshire notability of the 13th century, famous for his
rhyming prophecies, who was said, in return for his prophetic gift, to
have sold himself to the fairies.
RHYS, JOHN, Celtic scholar, born in Wales; professor of Celtic at
Oxford; has written on subjects related to that of the chair; _b_. 1840.
RIBBONISM, the principles of secret associations among the lower
Irish Catholics, organised in opposition to Orangeism, the name being
derived from a green ribbon worn as a badge in a button-hole by the
members; they were most active between 1835 and 1855.
RIBERA, JUSEPE, a Spanish painter, born near Valencia; indulged in a
realism of a gruesome type; had Salvator Rosa and Giordano for pupils
(1588-1656).
RICARDO, DAVID, political economist, born in London, of Jewish
parentage; realised a large fortune as a member of the Stock Exchange;
wrote on political economy on abstract lines, and from a purely
mercantile and materialistic standpoint (1772-1823).
RICASOLI, BARON, Italian statesman, born at Florence; devoted to the
cultivation of the vine, the olive, and the mulberry; was drawn into
political life in 1847 in the interest of Italian unity, succeeded Cavour
as Prime Minister, but retired from political life in 1866; his "Letters
and Papers," in 5 vols., were published posthumously (1806-1880).
RICCI, LORENZO, last general of the Jesuits, born in Florence;
entered the order when 15; became general in 1736; on the suppression of
the order retired to the castle of St. Angelo, where he died 1775.
RICCI, MATTEO, founder of the Jesuit mission in China, born in
Macerato, Italy; accommodated himself to the manners of the Chinese, and
won their confidence (1552-1610).
RICCIO, DAVID. See RIZZIO.
RICE, JAMES, novelist, born at Northampton, educated at Cambridge;
designed for the law, but took to literature; owned and edited _Once a
Week_; best known as the successful _collaborateur_ of WALTER
BESANT (q. v.) in such popular novels as "The Golden Butterfly,"
"Ready-Money Mortiboy," &c. (1844-1882).
RICH, EDMUND. See EDMUND, ST.
RICHARD I., (surnamed Coeur de Lion), king of England from 1189 to
1199, third son and successor of Henry II.; his early years were spent in
Poitou and Aquitaine, where he engaged in quarrels with his father; after
his accession to the throne he flung himself with characteristic ardour
into the Crusade movement; in 1190 joined his forces with Philip Augustus
of France in the third crusade; upheld the claims of Tancred in Sicily;
captured Cyprus, and won great renown in the Holy Land, particularly by
his defeat of Saladin; was captured after shipwreck on the coast on his
way home by the Archduke of Austria, and handed over to the Emperor Henry
VI. (1193); was ransomed at a heavy price by his subjects, and landed in
England in 1194; his later years were spent in his French possessions
warring against Philip, and he died of an arrow wound at the siege of
Chalus; not more than a year of his life was spent in England, and his
reign is barren of constitutional change (1157-1199).
RICHARD II., king of England from 1377 to 1399, son of the Black
Prince, born at Bordeaux; succeeded his grandfather, Edward III.; during
his minority till 1389 the kingdom was administered by a council; in 1381
the Peasants' Revolt broke out, headed by Wat Tyler, as a result of the
discontent occasioned by the Statutes of Labour passed in the previous
reign, and more immediately by the heavy taxation made necessary by the
expense of the Hundred Years' War still going on with France; a corrupt
Church called forth the energetic protests of Wycliffe, which started the
LOLLARD (q. v.) movement; an invasion of Scotland (1385),
resulting in the capture of Edinburgh, was headed by the young king;
coming under French influence, and adopting despotic measures in the
later years of his reign, Richard estranged all sections of his people; a
rising headed by Henry of Lancaster forced his abdication, and by a
decree of Parliament he was imprisoned for life in Pontefract Castle,
where he died (probably murdered) soon after (1367-1400).
RICHARD III., king of England from 1483 to 1486, youngest brother of
Edward IV., and last of the Plantagenets, born at Fotheringhay Castle; in
1461 was created Duke of Gloucester by his brother for assisting him to
win the crown; faithfully supported Edward against Lancastrian attacks;
married (1473) Anne, daughter of Warwick, the King-Maker; early in 1483
was appointed Protector of the kingdom and guardian of his young nephew,
Edward V.; put to death nobles who stood in the way of his ambitious
schemes for the throne; doubts were cast upon the legitimacy of the young
king, and Richard's right to the throne was asserted; in July 1483 he
assumed the kingly office; almost certainly instigated the murder of
Edward and his little brother in the Tower; ruled firmly and well, but
without the confidence of the nation; in 1488 Henry, Earl of Richmond,
head of the House of Lancaster, invaded England, and at the battle of
Bosworth Richard was defeated and slain (1452-1485).
RICHARD OF CIRENCESTER, an English chronicler, born at Cirencester;
flourished in the 14th century; was a monk in the Benedictine monastery
of St. Peter, Westminster; wrote a History of England from 447 to 1066;
for long the reputed author of a remarkable work on Roman Britain, now
proved to be a forgery; _d_. 1401.
RICHARDS, ALFRED BATE, journalist and author; turned from law to
literature; author of a number of popular dramas, volumes of poems,
essays, &c.; was the first editor of the _Daily Telegraph_, and
afterwards of the _Morning Advertiser_; took an active interest in the
volunteer movement (1820-1876).
RICHARDSON, SIR BENJAMIN WARD, a distinguished physician and author,
born at Somerby, Leicestershire; took the diploma of the Royal College of
Physicians in 1850, and graduated in medicine at St. Andrews four years
later; founded the _Journal of Public Health_ in 1855, and _The
Asclepiad_ in 1861, and the _Social Science Review_ in 1862; won the
Fothergilian gold medal and the Astley-Cooper prize of 300 guineas; made
many valuable medical inventions, and was an active lecturer on sanitary
science, &c.; was knighted in 1893 (1828-1896).
RICHARDSON, CHARLES, lexicographer; was trained for the bar, but
took to literature and education; pensioned in 1852; his chief works are
"Illustrations of English Philology" and the "New Dictionary of the
English Language" (1837), according to Trench the best dictionary of his
day (1775-1865).
RICHARDSON, SIR JOHN, M.D., naturalist and Arctic explorer, born at
Dumfries; graduated at Edinburgh; for some time a navy surgeon;
accompanied Franklin on the expeditions in 1819-22 and 1825-27, and later
commanded one of the Franklin search expeditions (1848); held government
appointments, and was knighted in 1846 (1787-1865).
RICHARDSON, SAMUEL, novelist, born in Derbyshire, the son of a
joiner; was apprenticed to a printer in London, whose daughter he
married; set up in the business for himself, and from his success in it
became Master of the Stationers Company in 1754, and King's Printer in
1761; was 50 before he came out as a novelist; published his "Pamela" in
1740, his masterpiece "Clarissa," written in the form of letters, in
1748, and "Sir Charles Grandison" in 1753; they are all three novels of
sentiment, are instinct with a spirit of moral purity, and are more
praised than read (1689-1761).
RICHELIEU, ARMAND-JEAN DUPLESSIS, CARDINAL DE, born in Paris, of a
noble family; was minister of Louis XIII., and one of the greatest
statesmen France ever had; from his installation as Prime Minister in
1624 he set himself to the achievement of a threefold purpose, and rested
not till he accomplished it--the ruin of the Protestants as a political
party, the curtailment of the power of the nobles, and the humiliation of
the House of Austria in the councils of Europe; his administration was
signalised by reforms in finance, in the army, and in legislation; as the
historian Thierry has said of him, "He left nothing undone that could be
done by statesmanship for the social amelioration of the country; he had
a mind of the most comprehensive grasp, and a genius for the minutest
details of administration"; he was a patron of letters, and the founder
of the French Academy (1585-1642).
RICHMOND, 1, an interesting old borough (4) in Yorkshire, on the
Swale, 49 m. N.W. of York; has a fine 11th-century castle, now partly
utilised as barracks, remains of a Franciscan friary, a racecourse, &c.
2, A town (23) in Surrey, 9 m. W. of London; picturesquely situated on
the summit and slope of Richmond Hill, and the right bank of the Thames;
has remains of the royal palace of Sheen, a magnificent deer park, a
handsome river bridge, &c.; supplies London with fruit and vegetables;
has many literary and historical associations. 3, Capital (85) of
Virginia, U.S.; has a hilly and picturesque site on the James River, 116
m. S. of Washington; possesses large docks, and is a busy port, a
manufacturing town (tobacco, iron-works, flour and paper mills), and a
railway centre; as the Confederate capital it was the scene of a
memorable, year-long siege during the Civil War, ultimately falling into
the hands of Grant and Sheridan in 1865.
RICHMOND, LEGH, an evangelical clergyman of the Church of England,
born in Liverpool, famed for a tract "The Dairyman's Daughter"
(1772-1827).
RICHTER, JEAN PAUL FRIEDRICH, usually called Jean Paul simply, the
greatest of German humourists, born at Wunsiedel, near Baireuth, in
Bavaria, the son of a poor German pastor; had a scanty education, but his
fine faculties and unwearied diligence supplied every defect; was an
insatiable and universal reader; meant for the Church, took to poetry and
philosophy, became an author, putting forth the strangest books with the
strangest titles; considered for a time a strange, crack-brained mixture
of enthusiast and buffoon; was recognised at last as a man of infinite
humour, sensibility, force, and penetration; his writings procured him
friends and fame, and at length a wife and a settled pension; settled in
Baireuth, where he lived thenceforth diligent and celebrated in many
departments of literature, and where he died, loved as well as admired by
all his countrymen, and more by those who had known him most
intimately ... his works are numerous, and the chief are novels,
"'Hesperus' and 'Titan' being the longest and the best, the former of
which first (in 1795) introduced him into decisive and universal
estimation with his countrymen, and the latter of which he himself,
as well as the most judicious of his critics, regarded as his
masterpiece" (1763-1825).
RICHTHOFEN, BARON VON, traveller and geographer, born in Carlsruhe,
Silesia; accompanied in 1861 the Prussian expedition to Eastern Asia,
travelled in 1862-68 in California, and in 1869-72 in China; has since
been professor of Geography successively at Bonn, Leipzig, and Berlin;
has written a great work on China; _b_. 1833.
RICORD, PHILIPPE, a famous French physician, born at Baltimore,
U.S.; came to Paris, was a specialist in a department of surgery, and
surgeon-in-chief to the hospital for venereal diseases (1800-1889).
RIDLEY, NICOLAS, martyred bishop, born in Northumberland, Fellow and
ultimately Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge; on a three years' visit
to the Continent fell in with certain of the Reformers and returned
convinced of and confirmed in the Protestant faith; became king's
chaplain, bishop of Rochester, and finally of London; favoured the cause
of Lady Jane Grey against Mary, who committed him to the Tower, and being
condemned as a heretic was at Oxford burnt at the stake along with
Latimer (1500-1555).
RIEHM, EDWARD, Protestant theologian, born at Diersburg, Baden, was
professor at Halle; wrote many theological works, among them
"Handwörterbuch des biblischen Alterthums" (1830-1888).
RIENZI, COLA DI, Roman tribune, born at Rome, of humble origin; gave
himself to the study of the ancient history of the city, became inspired
with a noble ambition to restore its ancient glory, and being endowed
with an eloquent tongue, persuaded, with sanction of Pope Clement VI.,
who was then at Avignon, his fellow-citizens to rise against the tyranny
to which they were subjected at the hands of the nobles, in which he at
length was successful; but his own rule became intolerable, and he was
assassinated in an _émeute_ just seven years after the commencement of
his political career (1313-1354).
RIESENGEBIRGE (i. e. Giant Mountains), a range dividing Bohemia
from Silesia; Schneekoppe (5260 ft.) is the highest peak; is a famous
summer resort for Germans.
RIFACIMENTO, a literary work recast to adapt it to a change in the
circumstances of the time.
RIFF, the name given to the N. coast-lands of Morocco from Tangiers
to Algeria; is a mountainous and woody region, with a rugged foreshore,
inhabited by lawless Berbers.
RIGA (182), the third seaport of Russia and capital of Livonia, on
the Dwina, 7 m. from its entrance into the Gulf of Riga (a spacious inlet
on the E. side of the Baltic); has some fine mediæval buildings; is the
seat of an archbishop, and is a busy and growing commercial and
manufacturing town, exporting grain, timber, flax, linseed, wool, &c.
RIGDUM FUNNIDOS, Scott's nickname for JOHN BALLANTYNE (q. v.).
RIGHTS, DECLARATION OF, a declaration of the fundamental principles
of the constitution drawn up by the Parliament of England and submitted
to William and Mary on their being called to the throne, and afterwards
enacted in Parliament when they became king and queen. It secures to the
people their rights as free-born citizens and to the Commons as their
representatives, while it binds the sovereign to respect these rights as
sacred.
RIGI, an isolated mountain, 5900 ft. high, in the Swiss canton of
Schwyz, with a superb view from the summit, on which hotels have been
built for the convenience of the many who visit it; is reached by two
toothed railways with a gradient of 1 ft. in 4.
RIGVEDA, the first of the four sections into which the VEDAS
(q. v.) are divided, and which includes the body of the hymns or verses
of invocation and praises; believed to have issued from a narrow circle
of priests, and subsequently recast many of them.
RIMINI (11, with suburbs 20), a walled city of N. Italy, of much
historic interest both in ancient and mediæval times, on the small river
Marecchia, spanned by a fine Roman bridge close to its entrance into the
Adriatic, 69 m. SE. of Bologna; has a 15th-century Renaissance cathedral,
an ancient castle, and other mediæval buildings, a Roman triumphal arch,
&c.; manufactures silks and sail-cloth.
RIMMON, name of a Syrian god who had a temple at Damascus called the
house of Rimmon, a symbol of the sun, or of the fertilising power of
nature.
RINALDO, one of Charlemagne's paladins, of a violent, headstrong,
and unscrupulous character, who fell into disgrace, but after adventures
in the Holy Land was reconciled to the Emperor; Angelica, an infidel
princess, fell violently in love with him, but he turned a deaf ear to
her addresses, while others would have given kingdoms for her hand.
RINDERPEST or CATTLE PLAGUE, a fever of a malignant and
contagious type; the occurrence of it in Britain is due to the
importation of infected cattle from the Asiatic steppes.
RING AND THE BOOK, a poem by Browning of 20,000 lines, giving
different versions of a story agreeably to and as an exhibition of the
personalities of the different narrators.
RIO DE JANEIRO (423), capital and chief seaport of Brazil,
charmingly situated on the E. coast of Brazil, on the W. shore of a
spacious and beautiful bay, 15 m. long, which forms one of the finest
natural harbours in the world; stretches some 10 m. along the seaside,
and is hemmed in by richly clad hills; streets are narrow and ill kept;
possesses a large hospital, public library (180,000 vols.), botanical
gardens, arsenal, school of medicine, electric tramways, &c.; has
extensive docks, and transacts half the commerce of Brazil; coffee is the
chief export; manufactures cotton, jute, silk, tobacco, &c. Great heat
prevails in the summer, and yellow fever is common.
RIO GRANDE (known also as Rio Bravo del Norte), an important river
of North America, rises in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado; flows SE.,
dividing Texas from Mexico, and enters the Gulf of Mexico after a course
of 1800 m.; is navigable for steamboats some 500 m.; chief tributary, Rio
Pecos; also the name given to the head-stream of the river Paraná in
Brazil and Argentina.
RIO GRANDE DO NORTE (310), a maritime State in the NE. corner of
Brazil, called after the Rio Grande, which flows NE. and enters the
Atlantic at Natal, the capital of the State.
RIO GRANDE DO SUL (645), the southmost state in Brazil, lies N. of
Uruguay, fronting the Atlantic; capital, Rio Grande (18).
RIO NEGRO, 1, One of the larger tributaries of the Amazon, rises as
the Guainia in SE. Columbia; crosses Venezuela and Brazil in a more or
less SE. direction, and joins the Amazon (the Marañon here) near Manaos
after a course of 1350 m.; some of its tributaries connect the Orinoco
with the Amazon. 2, Has its source in a small lake in the Chilian Andes,
flows NE. and E. to the Atlantic, is some 500 m. long, and easily
navigated.
RIOJA (80), a province of W. Argentina, embraces some of the most
fruitful valleys of the Andes which grow cereals, vines, cotton, &c.;
some mining in copper, silver, and gold is done. The capital, Rioja (6),
is prettily planted in a vine and orange district at the base of the
Sierra Velasco 350 m. NW. of Cordoba.
RIOM (10), a pretty little French town in the dep. of Puy-de-Dôme,
noted for its many quaint old houses of the Renaissance period; does a
good trade in tobacco, linen, &c.
RIP VAN WINKLE, a Dutch colonist of New York who, driven from home
by a termagant wife strolls into a ravine of the Katskill Mountains,
falls in with a strange man whom he assists in carrying a keg, and comes
upon a company of odd-looking creatures playing at ninepins, but never
uttering a word, when, seizing an opportunity that offered, he took up
one of the kegs he had carried, fell into a stupor, and slept 20 years,
to find his beard and all the world about him quite changed.
RIPLEY, 1, a manufacturing town (7) of Derbyshire, situated 10 m.
NE. of Derby, in a busy coal and iron district; manufactures silk lace.
2. A Yorkshire village on the Nidd, 3½ m. NW. of Harrowgate; has an
interesting castle, old church, &c.
RIPLEY, GEORGE, American transcendentalist, born in Massachusetts; a
friend of Emerson's and founder of BROOK FARM (q. v.); took to
Carlyle as Carlyle to him, though he was "grieved to see him" taken up
with the "Progress of Species" set, and "confusing himself" thereby
(1802-1880).
RIPON, FREDERICK JOHN ROBINSON, EARL OF, statesman, younger son of
Lord Grantham, entered Parliament in 1806 as a Tory; rose to be
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and was for a few months in 1827 Prime
Minister; was subsequently in different Cabinets Colonial Secretary, Lord
Privy Seal, and President of the Board of Trade; created an Earl In 1833
(1782-1859).
RIPON, GEORGE FREDERICK SAMUEL ROBINSON, MARQUIS OF, statesman, born
in London, son of preceding; entered House of Commons in 1852 as a
Liberal; became Secretary for War (1863), and three years later for
India; was President of the Council in 1868, a popular Viceroy of India
(1880-84), First Lord of the Admiralty in 1886, and Colonial Secretary in
1892-95; was created Marquis in 1871; went over to the Catholic Church in
1874, resigning in consequence the Grand-Mastership of the Freemasons;
_b_. 1827.
RISHANGER, WILLIAM ("Chronigraphus"), an annalist and monk of St.
Albans; wrote what is in effect a continuation of MATTHEW PARIS'S
(q. v.) "Chronicle," and practically a history of his own times from
1259 to 1307, which is both a spirited and trustworthy account, albeit in
parts not original; _b_. 1250.
RISHIS (i. e. seers), a name given by the Hindus to seven wise men
whose eyes had been opened by the study of the sacred texts of their
religion, the souls of whom are fabled to be incarnated in the seven
stars of the Great Bear.
RISTORI, ADELAIDE, distinguished Italian tragédienne; was one of a
family of strolling players; her career on the stage was a continuous
triumph; the rôle in which she specially shone was that of Lady Macbeth;
she was married in 1847 to the Marquis del Grillo, and is known as
Marquise; _b_. 1821.
RITSCHL, ALBRECHT, Protestant theologian, born at Berlin; studied at
Rome, where in 1853 he became professor extraordinarius of theology, and
in 1860 ordinary professor; after which he was in 1864 transferred to
Göttingen, where he spent the rest of his life, gathering year after year
around him a large circle of students, and enriching theological
literature by his writings; the work which defines his position as a
German theologian is entitled "The Christian Doctrine of Justification
and Reconciliation," in which he seeks to draw the line between
Christianity as exhibited respectively in the theology of the Reformation
and that of modern Pietism; by his lectures and his writings he became
the founder of what is called the Göttingen School of Theology, and
exercised an influence on the religious philosophy of the time, such as
has not been witnessed in Germany since the days of Schleiermacher; his
teaching is distinguished by the prominence it gives to the ethical side
of Christianity, and that it is only as exhibited on the ethical side
that it becomes the exponent and medium of God's grace to mankind
(1822-1889).
RITSCHL, FRIEDRICH WILHELM, German philologist, born near Erfurt;
became professor of Philology successively at Breslau, Bonn, and Leipzig;
his influence on philological study was great, and his greatest work was
an edition of Plautus (1806-1876).
RITSON, JOSEPH, a whimsical and crabbed antiquary; his industry was
great, his works numerous, among them one entitled "Ancient English
Metrical Romances," containing a long and still valuable dissertation
(1752-1803).
RITTER, HEINRICH, German philosopher, born in Anhalt; professor
successively at Berlin, Kiel, and Göttingen; is distinguished as the
author of an able "History of Philosophy" (1791-1860).
RITTER, KARL, celebrated geographer, born at Quedlinburg; the
founder of comparative geography; professor of geography at Berlin; his
chief works "Geography in its Relation to Nature," and the "History of
Man" (1779-1859).
RITUALISM, respect for forms in the conduct of religious worship,
particularly in connection with the administration of the sacraments of
the Church, under the impression or on the plea that they minister, as
they were ordained in certain cases to minister, to the quickening and
maintenance of the religious life.
RIVAROL, a French writer, born at Bagnols, in the department of Var;
famed for his caustic wit; was a Royalist emigrant at the time of the
Revolution, and aided the cause by his pamphlets; he was styled by Burke
"The Tacitus of the Revolution" (1753-1801).
RIVE-DE-GIER (13), a flourishing town in the department of Loire,
France, on the Gier, 13 m. NE. of St. Étienne; is favourably situated in
the heart of a rich coal district; has manufactures of silk, glass,
machinery, steel, &c.
RIVERS, RICHARD WOODVILLE, EARL, a prominent figure in the reigns of
Henry VI. and Edward IV.; was knighted in 1425; espoused the cause of the
Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses, but changed sides on the marriage
of his daughter with Edward IV., who created him an earl in 1460; fell
out of jealousy into disfavour with the nobility, and was beheaded in
1469; his son ANTHONY, who succeeded to the title, after acting on
the Council of Regency during Edward V.'s reign, was put to death by
Richard (III.), Duke of Gloucester, in 1483.
RIVIERA, an Italian term for coast-land flanked by mountains,
especially applied to the strip of land lying around the Gulf of Genoa
from Nice to Leghorn, which is divided by Genoa into the Western and
Eastern Riviera, the former the more popular as a health resort; but the
whole coast enjoys an exceptionally mild climate, and is replete with
beautiful scenery. Nice, Monaco, Mentone, and San Remo are among its
most popular towns.
RIVIÈRE, BRITON, celebrated painter of animals, born in London;
among his pictures, which are numerous, are "Daniel in the Lions' Den,"
"Ruins of Persepolis," "Giants at Play," and "Væ Victis"; _b_. 1840.
RIVOLI, 1, town (5) in North Italy, 8 m. W. of Turin; has two royal
castles, and manufactures silks, woollens, &c. 2, An Italian village, 12
m. NW. of Verona; scene of Napoleon's crushing victory over the Austrians
in 1797.
RIXDOLLAR, a silver coin current on the Continent, of varying value.
RIZZIO, DAVID, favourite of Mary, Queen of Scots, born in Turin; the
son of a dancing-master; was employed by the queen as her secretary, and
being offensive to the nobles, was by a body of them dragged from the
queen's presence and stabbed to death, 9th March 1566.
ROANNE (31), an old French town in the department of Loire, on the
river Loire, 49 m. NW of St. Étienne; has interesting ruins, a college
flourishing cotton and hat factories, dye-works, tanneries, &c.
ROANOKE (16), a flourishing city of Virginia, U.S., on the Roanoke
River; has rapidly sprung into a busy centre of steel, iron, machinery,
tobacco, and other factories.
ROARING FORTIES, a sailor's term for the Atlantic lying between 40°
and 50°N. latitude, so called from the storms often encountered there.
ROB ROY, a Highland freebooter, second son of Macgregor of Glengyle;
assumed the name of Campbell on account of the outlawry of the Macgregor
clan; traded in cattle, took part in the rebellion of 1715, had his
estates confiscated, and indemnified himself by raiding (1671-1734).
ROBBEN ISLAND, a small island at the entrance of Table Bay, 10 m.
NW. of Cape Town; has a lunatic asylum and a leper colony.
ROBBIA, LUCA DELIA, Italian sculptor, born in Florence, where he
lived and worked all his days; executed a series of bas-reliefs for the
cathedral, but is known chiefly for his works in enamelled terra-cotta,
the like of which is named after him, "Robbia-ware" (1400-1482).
ROBERT I. See BRUCE.
ROBERT II., king of Scotland from 1371 to 1390, son of Walter
Stewart and Marjory, only daughter of Robert the Bruce; succeeded David
II., and became the founder of the Stuart dynasty; was a peaceable man,
but his nobles were turbulent, and provoked invasions on the part of
England by their forays on the Borders (1316-1390).
ROBERT III., king of Scotland from 1390 to 1406, son of Robert II.;
was a quite incompetent ruler, and during his reign the barons acquired
an ascendency and displayed a disloyalty which greatly diminished the
power of the Crown both in his and succeeding reigns; the government fell
largely into the hands of the king's brother, the turbulent and ambitious
Robert, Duke of Albany; an invasion (1400) by Henry IV. of England and a
retaliatory expedition under Archibald Douglas, which ended in the
crushing defeat of Homildon Hill (1402), are the chief events of the
reign (1340-1406).
ROBERT THE DEVIL, the hero of an old French romance identified with
Robert, first Duke of Normandy, who, after a career of cruelty and crime,
repented and became a Christian, but had to expiate his guilt by
wandering as a ghost over the earth till the day of judgment; he is the
subject of an opera composed by Meyerbeer.
ROBERTS, DAVID, painter, born in Edinburgh; began as a
house-painter; became a scene-painter; studied artistic drawing, and
devoted himself to architectural painting, his first pictures being of
Rouen and Amiens cathedrals; visiting Spain he published a collection of
Spanish sketches, and after a tour in the East published in 1842 a
magnificently-illustrated volume entitled the "Holy Land, Syria, Idumæa,
Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia;" a great number of his pictures are
ecclesiastical interiors (1796-1864).
ROBERTS, LORD, born at Cawnpore, educated in England; entered the
Bengal Artillery in 1851; served throughout the Indian Mutiny, commanded
in the Afghan War, and achieved a brilliant series of successes, which
were rewarded with honours on his return to England; was made
commander-in-chief of the Madras army in 1881, commander-in-chief in
India in 1885, and commander of the forces in Ireland in 1895; _b_. 1832.
ROBERTSON, FREDERICK WILLIAM, distinguished preacher, born in
London; a graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford, entered the Church in
1840, was curate first at Winchester, next at Cheltenham, and finally
settled in Brighton; is known far and wide by his printed sermons for his
insight into, and his earnestness in behalf of, Christian truth
(1816-1853).
ROBERTSON, JOSEPH, antiquary, born and educated at Aberdeen;
apprenticed to a lawyer, but soon took to journalism, and became editor
of the _Aberdeen Constitutional_, and afterwards of the _Glasgow
Constitutional_; in 1849 was editor of the _Edinburgh Evening Courant_,
and four years later received the post of curator of the historical
department of the Edinburgh Register House; author of various historical,
antiquarian, and topographical works (1810-1866).
ROBERTSON, THOMAS WILLIAM, a popular dramatist, the son of an actor,
born at Newark-on-Trent; brought up amongst actors, he naturally took to
the stage, but without success; always ready with his pen, he at last
made his mark with "David Garrick," and followed it up with the equally
successful "Ours," "Caste," "School," &c. (1829-1871).
ROBERTSON, WILLIAM, historian, born in Borthwick, Midlothian; was
educated in Edinburgh; entered the Church; became minister of Gladsmuir;
distinguished himself in the General Assembly of the Church; became
leader of the Moderate party; one of the ministers of Greyfriars Church,
Edinburgh, and Principal of the University, having previously written his
"History of Scotland," which brought him other honours, and which was
followed by a "History of Charles V." and a "History of America," all of
which contributed to awaken an interest in historical studies; he was
what is called a "Moderate" to the backbone, and his cronies were men
more of a sceptical than a religious turn of mind, David Hume being one
of the number; while his history of Scotland, however well it may be
written, as Carlyle testifies, is no history of Scotland at all
(1721-1793)
ROBESPIERRE, MAXIMILIEN, leader of the Jacobins in the French
Revolution, born in Arras, of Irish origin; bred to the bar; became an
advocate and a judge; he resigned because he could not brook to sentence
a man to death; inspired by the gospel of Rousseau, became a red-hot
Republican and an "INCORRUPTIBLE" (q. v.); carried things with a
high hand; was opposed by the Girondists, and accused, but threw back the
charge on them; carried the mob along with him, and with them at his back
procured sentence of death against the king; head of the Committee of
Public Safety, he laid violent hands first on the queen and then on all
who opposed or dissented from the extreme course he was pursuing; had the
worship of reason established in June 1794, and was at the end of the
month following beheaded by the guillotine, amid the curses of women and
men (1758-1794).
ROBIN HOOD, a famous outlaw who, with his companions, held court in
Sherwood Forest, Nottingham, and whose exploits form the subject of many
an old English ballad and tale. He was a robber, but it was the rich he
plundered and not the poor, and he was as zealous in the protection of
the weak as any Knight of the Round Table; he was an expert in the use of
the bow and the QUARTER-STAFF (q. v.), and he and his men led a
merry life together.
ROBINS, BENJAMIN, father of the modern science of artillery, born,
the son of a Quaker, at Bath; established himself in London as a teacher
of mathematics, as also his reputation by several mathematical treatises;
turned his attention to the theoretical study of artillery and
fortification; upheld Newton's principle of ultimate ratios against
Berkeley, and in 1742 published his celebrated work, the "New Principles
of Gunnery," which revolutionised the art of gunnery; was appointed
engineer-in-general to the East India Company (1749), and planned the
defences of Madras (1707-1751).
ROBINSON, EDWARD, Biblical scholar, born in Connecticut; author of
"Biblical Researches in Palestine"; a professor in New York (1794-1863).
ROBINSON, HENRY CRABB, literary dilettante, born at Bury St.
Edmunds; lived some years at Weimar, and got acquainted with Goethe and
his circle; called to the English bar, and on quitting practice at it
with a pension, became acquainted with the literary notabilities in
London, and left a diary full of interesting reminiscences (1775-1807).
ROBINSON, HERCULES GEORGE ROBERT, LORD ROSMEAD, born, son of an
admiral, in 1824; withdrew from the army shortly after his first
commission, and gave himself to Government Colonial service; received a
knighthood, and held Governorship of Hong-Kong in 1859; was successively
governor of Ceylon, New South Wales, New Zealand, Cape of Good Hope, &c.;
created Lord Rosmead in 1896 (1824-1898).
ROBINSON, MARY, poetess, born at Leamington; author of various
poetical works, a translation of Euripides' "Hippolytus," a Life of Emily
Brontë, &c.; married in 1886 to M. Darmesteter, a noted French
Orientalist; _b_. 1857.
ROBSON, FREDERICK (stage name of F. R. Brownhill), a noted comedian,
born at Margate; took to the stage in 1844 after serving some time as an
apprentice to a London engraver; his greatest triumphs were won after
1853 on the boards of the Olympic Theatre, London; he combined in a high
degree all the gifts of a low comedian with a rare power of rising to the
grave and the pathetic (1821-1864).
ROCHAMBEAU, COMTE DE, marshal of France, born at Vendôme; commanded
the troops sent out by France to assist the American colonies in their
rebellion against the mother-country (1725-1807).
ROCHDALE (72), a flourishing town and cotton centre in Lancashire,
prettily situated on the Roche, 11 m. NE. Of Manchester; its woollen and
cotton trade (flannels and calicoes) dates back to Elizabeth's time; has
an interesting 12th century parish church.
ROCHE, ST., the Patron saint of the plague-stricken; being
plague-smitten himself, and overtaken with it in a desert place, he was
discovered by a dog, who brought him a supply of bread daily from his
master's table till he recovered.
ROCHEFORT, COMTE DE, commonly known as Henri Rochefort, French
journalist and violent revolutionary, who was deported for his share in
the Commune in 1871, but escaped and was amnestied, and went back to
Paris under eclipse; _b_. 1830.
ROCHELLE, LA (23), a fortified seaport of France, on an inlet of the
Bay of Biscay, 95 m. NW. of Bordeaux; capital of the department of
Charente-Inférieure; has a commodious harbour, noteworthy public
buildings, a fine promenade and gardens; shipbuilding, glass-works,
sugar-refineries, &c., are among its chief industries.
ROCHESTER, 1, an interesting old city (26), of Kent, 29 m. SE. of
London, on the Medway, lying between and practically forming one town
with Strood and Chatham; the seat of a bishop since 604; has a fine
cathedral, which combines in its structure examples of Norman, Early
English, and Decorated architecture; a hospital for lepers founded in
1078; a celebrated Charity House, and a strongly posted Norman castle. 2,
Capital (163), of Monroe County, New York, on the Genesee River, near
Lake Ontario, 67 m. NE. of Buffalo; is a spacious and well-appointed
city, with a university, theological seminary, &c.; has varied and
flourishing manufactures.
ROCHESTER, JOHN WILMOT, EARL OF, a witty profligate of the court of
Charles II.; wrote poems, many of them licentious, among them, however,
some exquisite songs; killed himself with his debauchery; died penitent;
he was the author of the epitaph, accounted the best epigram in the
English language, "Here lies our sovereign Lord the king," &c.
(1648-1680).
ROCHET, a linen vestment worn by bishops, abbots, and other
dignitaries, in the form of a surplice, but shorter and open at the
sides.
ROCK ISLAND (14), capital of Rock Island county, Illinois, on the
Mississippi; a busy centre of railway and river traffic; derives its name
from an island in the river, where there is an extensive Government
arsenal; a fine bridge spans the river.
ROCK TEMPLES, temples hewn out of solid rock, found in Western India
especially, such as those at ELLORA (q. v.) and ELEPHANTA
(q. v.).
ROCKALL, a remarkable peak of granite rock, rising some 70 ft. above
the sea-level from the bed of an extensive sandbank in the Atlantic, 184
m. W. of St. Kilda; a home and haunt for sea-birds.
ROCK-BUTTER, a soft mineral substance found oozing from alum slates,
and consisting of alum, alumina, and oxide of iron.
ROCKFORD (24), a busy manufacturing town, capital of Winnebago
County, Illinois, on the Rock River, 86 m. NW. of Chicago.
ROCKHAMPTON (12), the chief port of Central Queensland, Australia,
on the Fitzroy, 35 m. from its mouth; in the vicinity are rich
gold-fields, also copper and silver; engaged in tanning, meat-preserving,
&c.; is connected by a handsome bridge with its suburb North Rockhampton.
ROCKING STONES or LOGANS, large stones, numerous in Cornwall,
Wales, Yorkshire, &c., so finely poised as to rock to and fro under the
slightest force.
ROCKINGHAM, CHARLES WATSON WENTWORTH, MARQUIS OF, statesman, of no
great ability; succeeded to the title in 1750; opposed the policy of
Bute, and headed the Whig opposition; in 1762 became Prime Minister, and
acted leniently with the American colonies, repealing the Stamp Act; was
a bitter opponent of North's American policy of repression; held the
Premiership again for a few months in 1782 (1730-1782).
ROCKY MOUNTAINS, an extensive and lofty chain of mountains in North
America, belonging to the Cordillera system, and forming the eastern
buttress of the great Pacific Highlands, of which the Sierra Nevada and
Cascade Mountains form the western buttress, stretching in rugged lines
of almost naked rock, interspersed with fertile valleys, from New Mexico
through Canada to the Arctic Ocean, broken only by a wonderfully
beautiful tract of elevated plateau in southern Wyoming, over which
passes the Union Pacific Railroad; reaches its greatest height in
Colorado (Gray's Peak, 14,341 ft.); gold, silver, &c., are found
abundantly.
ROCOCO, name given to a debased style of architecture, overlaid with
a tasteless, senseless profusion of fantastic ornamentation, without
unity of design or purpose, which prevailed in France and elsewhere in
the 18th century.
ROCROI (2), a small fortified town of France, about 3 m. from the
Belgian frontier, in the dep. of Ardennes; memorable for a great victory
of the French under Condé over the Spaniards in 1643.
RODBERTUS, JOHANN KARL, Socialist, born in Greifswald; believed in a
Socialism that would in course of time realise itself with the gradual
elevation of the people up to the Socialistic ideal (1815-1875).
RODERIC, the last king of the Visigoths in Spain, was slain in
battle with the Moors, who had invaded Spain during a civil war, and his
army put to flight in 711.
RODERICK RANDOM, the hero of a novel of Smollett's, a young Scotch
scapegrace, rough and reckless, and bold enough.
RODEZ (15), a town of France, in the dep. of Aveyron; crowns an
eminence at the foot of which flows the Aveyron, 80 m. NE. of Toulouse;
has a beautiful Gothic cathedral, interesting Roman remains; manufactures
textiles, leather, paper, &c.
RODIN, AUGUSTE, eminent French sculptor, born in Paris,
distinguished for his statues and busts; _b_. 1840-1917.
RODNEY, LORD, English admiral, born at Walton-on-Thames; entered the
navy at the age of 12, and obtained the command of a ship in 1742; did
good service in Newfoundland; was made Admiral of the Blue in 1759, and
in that year destroyed the stores at Havre de Grace collected for the
invasion of England; in 1780 defeated the Spanish fleet off Cape St.
Vincent; in 1782 defeated the French fleet under Count de Grasse by
breaking the enemy's line; was first made a baronet and then a peer, with
a pension of £2000, for his services to the country (1718-1792).
RODOSTO (19), a Turkish town on the N. coast of the Sea of Marmora,
60 m. W. of Constantinople; is the seat of an archbishop of the Greek
Church, has many mosques; fruitful vineyards in the vicinity produce
excellent wine.
RODRIGUEZ (2), an interesting volcanic island lying far out in the
Indian Ocean, 380 m. NE. of Mauritius, of which it is a dependency;
agriculture is the chief employment; has a good climate, but is subject
to severe hurricanes.
ROE, EDWARD PAYSON, American novelist, born in New Windsor, New
York; studied for the ministry and served as a chaplain during the Civil
War; settled down as a pastor of a Presbyterian church at Highland Fells;
made his mark as a novelist in 1872 with "Barriers Burned Away"; took to
literature and fruit-gardening, and won a wide popularity with such
novels as "From Jest to Earnest," "Near to Nature's Heart," &c.
(1838-1888).
ROEBUCK, JOHN ARTHUR, English Radical politician, born at Madras;
represented first Bath and then Sheffield in Parliament, contributed to
the downfall of the Aberdeen Government, and played in general an
independent part; his vigorous procedure as a politician earned for him
the nickname of "Tear 'em" (1802-1879).
ROERMOND (12), an old Dutch town in Limburg, at the confluence of
the Roer and the Meuse, 29 m. N. by E. of Maestricht; has a splendid
13th-century cathedral; manufactures cottons, woollens, &c.
ROESKILDE, an interesting old Danish city, situated on a fjord, 20
m. W. by S. of Copenhagen, dates back to the 10th century; has a fine
13th-century cathedral, the burying-place of most of the Danish kings.
ROGATION DAYS, the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday preceding
Ascension Day, on which special litanies are sung or recited by the Roman
Catholic clergy and people in public procession; has its origin in an old
custom dating from the 6th century. In England the practice ceased after
the Reformation.
ROGER I., the youngest of the 12 sons of Tancred of Hauteville;
conquered Sicily from the Saracens after a war of 30 years, and governed
it under the title of count in part from 1071 and wholly from 1089 to
1101.
ROGER II., son and successor of the preceding, was crowned king of
the two Sicilies by the Pope; waged war advantageously against the
Emperor of the East and the Saracens of North Africa; ruled the country
well and promoted industry (1097-1154).
ROGER OF WENDOVER, an early English chronicler, lived in the 13th
century; was a monk of St. Albans and subsequently prior of Belvoir;
wrote a history of the world down to Henry III.'s reign, the only
valuable portion of it being that which deals with his own times.
ROGERS, HENRY, English essayist; contributed for years to the
_Edinburgh Review_; author of the "Eclipse of Faith" (1806-1877).
ROGERS, JAMES E. THORWOLD, political economist, born in Hampshire;
became professor of Political Economy at Oxford; author of a "History of
Agriculture and Prices in England" and "Six Centuries of Work and Wages,"
an abridgment of it (1823-1890).
ROGERS, JOHN, the first of the Marian martyrs, born at Birmingham;
prepared a revised edition of the English Bible, preached at Paul's Cross
against Romanism the Sunday after Mary's entrance into London, and was
after a long imprisonment tried for heresy, and condemned to be burned at
Smithfield (1505-1555).
ROGERS, SAMUEL, English poet, born in London, son of a banker, bred
to banking, and all his life a banker--took to literature, produced a
succession of poems: "The Pleasures of Memory" in 1792, "Human Life" in
1819, and "Italy," the chief, in 1822; he was a good conversationalist,
and told lots of good stories, of which his "Table-Talk," published in
1856, is full; he issued at great expense a fine edition of "Italy" and
early poems, which were illustrated by Turner and Stothard, and are much
prized for the illustrations (1763-1855).
ROGET, PETER MARK, physician, born in London; was professor of
Physiology at the Royal Institution; wrote on physiology in relation to
natural theology; was author of a "Thesaurus of English Words and
Phrases" (1779-1869).
ROHAN, PRINCE LOUIS DE, a profligate ecclesiastic of France who
attained to the highest honours in the Church; became archbishop and
cardinal, but who had fallen out with royalty; was debarred from court,
tried every means to regain the favour of Marie Antoinette, which he had
forfeited, was inveigled into buying a necklace for her in hope of
thereby winning it back, found himself involved in the scandal connected
with it, and was sent to the Bastille (1783-1803). See "Diamond
Necklace" in CARLYLE'S "MISCELLANIES."
ROHILKHAND (5,343), a northern division of the North-West Provinces,
British India; is a flat, well-watered, fertile district, crossed by
various railways; takes its name from the Rohillas, an Afghan tribe, who
had possession of it in the 18th century.
ROHILLAS (i. e. hillmen), a tribe of Afghans who settled in a
district N. of Oudh, called Rohilkhand after them, and rose to power in
the 18th century, till their strength was broken by the British in 1774.
ROHLFS, F. GERARD, German traveller, born near Bremen, travelled in
various directions through North Africa; undertook missions to Abyssinia,
and has written accounts of his several journeys; _b_. 1832.
ROKITANSKY, BARON, eminent physician, born at Königgrätz, professor
of Pathological Anatomy at Vienna, and founder of that department of
medicine (1804-1878).
ROLAND, one of the famous paladins of Charlemagne, and distinguished
for his feats of valour, who, being inveigled into the pass of
Roncesvalles, was set upon by the Gascons and slain, along with the
flower of the Frankish chivalry, the whole body of which happened to be
in his train.
ROLAND, MADAME, a brave, pure-souled, queen-like woman with "a
strong Minerva face," the noblest of all living Frenchwomen, took
enthusiastically to the French Revolution, but when things went too far
supported the Moderate or Girondist party; was accused, but cleared
herself before the Convention, into whose presence she had been summoned,
and released; but two days after was arrested, imprisoned in Charlotte
Corday's apartments, and condemned; on the scaffold she asked for pen and
paper "to write the strange thoughts that were rising in her," which was
refused; looking at the statue of Liberty which stood there, she
exclaimed bitterly before she laid her head on the block, "O Liberty,
what crimes are done in thy name!" (1754-1793).
ROLAND DE LA PLATIÈRE, JEAN MARIE, husband of Madame Roland, was
Inspector of Manufactures at Lyons; represented Lyons in the Constituent
Assembly; acted with the Girondists; fled when the Girondist party fled,
and on hearing of his wife's fate at Rouen bade farewell to his friends
who had sheltered him, and was found next morning "sitting leant against
a tree, stiff in the rigour of death, a cane-sword run through his heart"
(1732-1793).
ROLLIN, CHARLES, French historian, born in Paris; rector of the
University; wrote "Ancient History" in 13 vols., and "Roman History" in
16 vols., once extremely popular, but now discredited and no longer in
request (1661-1741).
ROLLO, a Norwegian, who became the chief of a band of Norse pirates
who one day sailed up the Seine to Rouen and took it, and so ravaged the
country that Charles the Simple was glad to come to terms with them by
surrendering to them part of Neustria, which thereafter bore from them
the name of Normandy; after this Rollo embraced Christianity, was
baptized by the Bishop of Rouen, and was the first Duke of Normandy
(860-932).
ROMAGNA, the former name of a district in Italy which comprised the
NE. portion of the Papal States, embracing the modern provinces of
Ferrara, Bologna, Ravenna, and Forli.
ROMAINE, WILLIAM, evangelical divine of the English Church, born at
Hartlepool, author of works once held in much favour by the evangelicals,
entitled severally "The Life, the Walk, and the Triumph of Faith"
(1714-1795).
ROMAN EMPIRE, HOLY, or the REICH, the name of the old German
Empire which, under sanction of the Pope, was established by Otho the
Great in 962, and dissolved in 1806 by the resignation of Francis II.,
Emperor of Austria, and was called "Holy" as being Christian in contrast
with the old pagan empire of the name.
ROMANCE LANGUAGES, the name given to the languages that sprung from
the Latin, and were spoken in the districts of South Europe that had been
provinces of Rome.
ROMANES, GEORGE JOHN, naturalist, born at Kingston, Canada; took an
honours degree in science at Cambridge; came under the influence of
Darwin, whose theory of evolution he advocated and developed in lectures
and various works, e. g. "Scientific Evidences of Organic Evolution,"
"Mental Evolution in Animals," "Mental Evolution in Man"; his posthumous
"Thoughts on Religion" reveal a marked advance from his early agnosticism
towards a belief in Christianity; founded the Romanes Lectures at Oxford
(1848-1894).
ROMANOFF, the name of an old Russian family from which sprung the
reigning dynasty of Russia, and the first Czar of which was Michael
Fedorovitch (1613-1645).
ROMANS (17), a town in the dep. Drôme, France, on the Isère, 12 m.
NE. of Valence; a 9th-century bridge spans the river to the opposite town
Péage; has a 9th-century abbey; manufactures silk, &c.
ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE, an epistle written from Corinth, in the year
59, by St. Paul to the Church at Rome to correct particularly two errors
which he had learned the Church there had fallen into, on the part, on
the one hand, of the Jewish Christians, that the Gentiles as such were
not entitled to the same privileges as themselves, and, on the other
hand, of the Gentile Christians, that the Jews by their rejection of
Christ had excluded themselves from God's kingdom; and he wrote this
epistle to show that the one had no more right to the grace of God than
the other, and that this grace contemplates the final conversion of the
Jews as well as the Gentiles. The great theme of this epistle is that
faith in Christ is the one way of salvation for all mankind, Jew as well
as Gentile, and its significance is this, that it contains if not the
whole teaching of Paul, that essential part of it which presents and
emphasises the all-sufficiency of this faith.
ROMANTICISM, the name of the reactionary movement in literature and
art at the close of last century and at the beginning of this against the
cold and spiritless formalism and pseudo-classicism that then prevailed,
and was more regardful of correctness of expression than truth of feeling
and the claims of the emotional nature; has been defined as the
"reproduction in modern art and literature of the life and thought of the
Middle Ages."
ROME (423), since 1871 capital of the modern kingdom of Italy (q. v.),
on the Tiber, 16 m. from its entrance into the Tyrrhenian Sea;
legend ascribes its foundation to Romulus in 753 B.C., and the story of
its progress, first as the chief city of a little Italian kingdom, then
of a powerful and expanding republic (510 B.C. to 30 B.C.), and finally
of a vast empire, together with its decline and fall in the 5th century
(476 A.D.), before the advancing barbarian hordes, forms the most
impressive chapter in the history of nations; as the mother-city of
Christendom in the Middle Ages, and the later capital of the PAPAL
STATES (q. v.) and seat of the Popes, it acquired fresh glory; it
remains the most interesting city in the world; is filled with the
sublime ruins and monuments of its pagan greatness and the priceless
art-treasures of its mediæval period; of ruined buildings the most
imposing are the Colosseum (a vast amphitheatre for gladiatorial shows)
and the Baths of Caracalla (accommodated 1600 bathers); the great
aqueducts of its Pre-Christian period still supply the city with water
from the Apennines and the Alban Hills; the Aurelian Wall (12 m.) still
surrounds the city, enclosing the "seven hills," the Palatine,
Capitoline, Aventine, &c., but suburbs have spread beyond; St. Peter's is
yet the finest church in the world; the Popes have their residence in the
Vatican; its manufactures are inconsiderable, and consist chiefly of
small mosaics, bronze and plaster casts, prints, trinkets, &c.; depends
for its prosperity chiefly on the large influx of visitors, and the court
expenditure of the Quirinal and Vatican, and of the civil and military
officials.
ROMFORD (8), an old market-town of Essex, on the Bourne or Rom, 12
m. NE. of London; noted for its cattle and corn markets; industries
include brewing, market-gardening, foundries, &c.
ROMILLY, SIR SAMUEL, English lawyer, born in London, of a Huguenot
family; was a Whig in politics, and was Solicitor-General for a time;
devoted himself to the amendment of the criminal law of the country, and
was a zealous advocate against slavery and the spy system (1751-1818).
ROMNEY, GEORGE, English portrait-painter, born in Lancashire;
married at Kendal, left his wife and two children there, and painted
portraits in London for 35 years in rivalry with Reynolds and
Gainsborough, and retired at the end of that time to Kendal to die, his
wife nursing him tenderly, though in the whole course of the term
referred to, he had visited her only twice (1734-1862).
ROMNEY, NEW (1), one of the old CINQUE PORTS (q. v.), in S.
Kent, 8 m. SW. of Hythe; the sea has receded from its shores, leaving it
no longer a port; as centre of a fine pastoral district it has an
important sheep fair; the little village of Old Romney lies 1½ m. inland.
ROMOLA, a novel by George Eliot, deemed her greatest by many, being
"a deep study of life in the city of Florence from an intellectual,
artistic, religious, and social point of view."
ROMSAY (4), a town in Hampshire, on the Test, 8 m. NW. of
Southampton; has a remarkably fine old Norman church and a corn exchange;
birthplace of Lord Palmerston.
ROMULUS, legendary founder of Rome, reputed son of Mars and RHEA
SILVIA (q. v.), daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa; exposed at
his birth, along with Remus, his twin-brother (q. v.); was suckled by a
she-wolf and brought up by Faustulus, a shepherd; opened an asylum for
fugitives on one of the hills of Rome, and founded the city in 753 B.C.,
peopling it by a rape of Sabine women, and afterwards forming a league
with the SABINES (q. v.); he was translated to heaven during a
thunderstorm, and afterwards worshipped as Quirinus, leaving Rome behind
him as his mark.
RONALDSHAY, NORTH AND SOUTH, two of the Orkney Islands; North
Ronaldshay is the most northerly of the Orkney group; South Ronaldshay
(2) lies 6¼ m. NE. of Duncansby Head; both have a fertile soil, and the
coast fisheries are valuable.
RONCESVALLES, a valley of the Pyrenees, 23 m. NE. of Pampeluna,
where in 775 the rear of the army of Charlemagne was cut in pieces by the
Basques, and ROLAND (q. v.) with the other Paladins was slain.
RONDA (19), one of the old Moorish towns of Spain, built amid grand
scenery on both sides of a great ravine (bridged in two places), down
which rushes the Guadiaro, 43 m. W. of Malaga; is a favourite summer
resort.
RONDEAU, a form of short poem (originally French) which, as in the
15th century, usually consists of 13 lines, eight of which have one rhyme
and five another; is divided into three stanzas, the first line of the
rondeau forming the concluding line of the last two stanzas; Swinburne
has popularised it in modern times.
RONDO, a form of musical composition which corresponds to the
RONDEAU (q. v.) in poetry; consists of two or more (usually
three) strains, the first being repeated at the end of each of the other
two, but it admits of considerable variation.
RONSARD, PIERRE, celebrated French poet, born near Vendôme; was for
a time attached to the Court; was for three years of the household of
James V. of Scotland in connection with it, and afterwards in the service
of the Duke of Orleans, but having lost his hearing gave himself up to
literature, writing odes and sonnets; he was of the PLÉIADE SCHOOL OF
POETS (q. v.), and contributed to introduce important changes in
the idiom of the French language, as well as in the rhythm of French
poetry (1521-1585).
RÖNTGEN, WILHELM KONRAD VON, discoverer of the Röntgen rays, born at
Lennep, in Rhenish Prussia; since 1885 has been professor of Physics at
Würzburg; his discovery of the X-rays was made in 1898, and has won him a
wide celebrity; _b_. 1845.
RÖNTGEN RAYS, described by Dr. Knott as "rays of light that pass
with ease through many substances that are optically opaque, but are
absorbed by others." "For example," he says, "the bony structures of the
body are much less transparent than the fleshy parts; hence by placing
the hand between a fluorescent screen and the source of these rays we see
the shadow of the skeleton of the hand with a much fainter shadow of the
flesh and skin bordering it." See Dr. Knott's "Physics."
ROOKE, SIR GEORGE, British admiral, born at Canterbury;
distinguished himself at the battle of Cape La Hogue in 1692; in an
expedition against Cadiz destroyed the Plate-fleet in the harbour of Vigo
in 1702; assisted in the capture of Gibraltar from the Spaniards in 1704,
and fought a battle which lasted a whole day with a superior French force
off Malaga the same year (1650-1709).
ROON, COUNT VON, Prussian general, born in Pomerania; was Minister
of War in 1859 and of Marine in 1861; was distinguished for the important
reforms he effected in the organisation of the Prussian army, conspicuous
in the campaigns of 1866 and 1871-72 (1803-1879).
ROOT, GEORGE FREDERICK, a popular American song-writer, born at
Sheffield, Massachusetts; was for some time a music teacher in Boston and
New York; took to song writing, and during the Civil War leaped into fame
as the composer of "Tramp, tramp, tramp the Boys are Marching," "Just
before the Battle, Mother," "The Battle Cry of Freedom," and other
songs; was made a Musical Doctor by Chicago University in 1872
(1820-1895).
ROOT AND BRANCH MEN, name of a party in the Commons who in 1641
supported a petition for the abolition of Episcopacy in England, and even
carried a bill through two readings, to be finally thrown out.
ROPEMAKER, THE BEAUTIFUL. See LABÉ, LOUISE.
RORKE'S DRIFT, a station on the Tugela River, Zululand, the defence
of which was on the night of the 24th January 1879 successfully
maintained by 80 men of the 24th Regiment against 4000 Zulu warriors.
ROSA, CARL, father of English opera, born at Hamburg; introduced on
the English stage the standard Italian, French, and German operas with an
English text (1842-1889).
ROSA, SALVATOR, Italian painter, born near Naples, a man of
versatile ability; could write verse and compose music, as well as paint
and engrave; his paintings of landscape were of a sombre character, and
generally representative of wild and savage scenes; he lived chiefly in
Rome, but took part in the insurrection of Masaniello at Naples in 1647
(1615-1673).
ROSAMOND, FAIR, a daughter of Lord Clifford, and mistress of Henry
II., who occupied a bower near Woodstock, the access to which was by a
labyrinth, the windings of which only the king could thread. Her retreat
was discovered by Queen Eleanor, who poisoned her.
ROSARIO (51), an important city of the Argentine Republic, on the
Paraná, 190 m. NW. of Buenos Ayres; does a large trade with Europe,
exporting wool, hides, maize, wheat, &c.
ROSARY, a string of beads used by Hindus, Buddhists, Mohammedans,
and Roman Catholics as an aid to the memory during devotional exercises;
the rosary of the Roman Catholics consists of beads of two sizes, the
larger ones mark the number of Paternosters and the smaller the number of
Ave Marias repeated; of the former there are usually five, of the latter
fifty.
ROSAS, JEAN MANUEL, Argentine statesman, born at Buenos Ayres;
organised the confederation, became dictator, failed to force the Plate
River States into the confederation, and took refuge in England, where he
died (1793-1877).
ROSCHER, WILHELM, distinguished political economist, born at
Hanover, professor at Göttingen and Leipzig, the head of the historical
school of political economy; his chief work a "System of Political
Economy" (1817-1894).
ROSCIUS, QUINTUS, famous Roman comic actor, born near Lanuvium, in
the Sabine territory; was a friend of Cicero, and much patronised by the
Roman nobles; was thought to have reached perfection in his art, so that
his name became a synonym for perfection in any profession or art.
ROSCOE, SIR HENRY, chemist, born in London, grandson of succeeding,
professor at Owens College, Manchester; author of treatises on chemistry;
_b_. 1834.
ROSCOE, WILLIAM, historian, born in Liverpool; distinguished as the
author of the "Life of Lorenzo de' Medici" and of "Leo X.," as well as of
"Handbooks of the Italian Renaissance" and a collection of poems
(1753-1831).
ROSCOMMON (114), an inland county of Connaught, SW. Ireland; is
poorly developed; one-half is in grass, and a sixth mere waste land;
crops of hay, potatoes, and oats are raised, but the rearing of sheep and
cattle is the chief industry; the rivers Shannon and Suck lie on its E.
and W. borders respectively; there is some pretty lake-scenery,
interesting Celtic remains, castle, and abbey ruins, &c. The county town,
96 m. NW. of Dublin, has a good cattle-market, and remains of a
13th-century Dominican abbey and castle.
ROSCREA (3), an old market-town of Tipperary, 77 m. SW. of Dublin;
its history reaches back to the 7th century, and it has interesting ruins
of a castle, round tower, and two abbeys.
ROSEBERY, ARCHIBALD PHILIP PRIMROSE, EARL OF, born in London;
educated at Eton and Christ's Church, Oxford; succeeded to the earldom in
1868; was twice over Secretary for Foreign Affairs under Mr. Gladstone,
in 1885 and 1892; was first Chairman of London County Council; became
Prime Minister on March 1894 on Mr. Gladstone's retirement, and resigned
in June 1895; he is one of the most popular statesmen and orators of the
day, and held in deservedly high esteem by all classes; _b_. 1847.
ROSECRANS, WILLIAM STARKE, American general, born at Kingston, Ohio;
trained as an engineer, he had settled down to coal-mining when the Civil
War broke out; joined the army in 1861, and rapidly came to the front;
highly distinguished himself during the campaigns of 1862-63, winning
battles at Iuka, Corinth, and Stone River; but defeated at Chickamauga he
lost his command; reinstated in 1864 he drove Price out of Missouri; has
been minister to Mexico, a member of Congress, and since 1885 Registrar
of the U.S. Treasury; _b_. 1819.
ROSENKRANZ, KARL, philosopher of the Hegelian school, born at
Magdeburg; professor of Philosophy at Königsberg; wrote an exposition of
the Hegelian system, a "Life of Hegel," on "Goethe and his Works," &c.
(1805-1879).
ROSES, WARS OF THE, the most protracted and sanguinary civil war in
English history, fought out during the reigns of Henry VI., Edward IV.,
and Richard III. between the adherents of the noble houses of York and
Lancaster--rival claimants for the throne of England--whose badges were
the white and the red rose respectively; began with the first battle of
St. Albans (1455), in which Richard, Duke of York, defeated Henry VI.'s
forces under the Duke of Somerset; but not till after the decisive
victory at Towton (1461) did the Yorkists make good their claim, when
Edward (IV.), Duke of York, became king. Four times the Lancastrians were
defeated during his reign. The war closed with the defeat and death of
the Yorkist Richard III. at Bosworth, 1485, and an end was put to the
rivalry of the two houses by the marriage of Henry VII. of Lancaster with
Elizabeth of York, 1486.
ROSETTA (18), a town on the left branch of the delta of the Nile, 44
m. NE. of Alexandria, famous for the discovery near it by M. Boussard, in
1799, of the Rosetta stone with inscriptions in hieroglyphic, demotic and
Greek, and by the help of which archæologists have been able to interpret
the hieroglyphics of Egypt.
ROSICRUCIANS, a fraternity who, in the beginning of the 15th
century, affected an intimate acquaintance with the secrets of nature,
and pretended by the study of alchemy and other occult sciences to be
possessed of sundry wonder-working powers.
ROSINANTE, the celebrated steed of Don Quixote, reckoned by him
superior to the Bucephalus of Alexander and the Bavieca of the Cid.
ROSLIN, a pretty little village of Midlothian, by the wooded side of
the North Esk, 6½ m. S. of Edinburgh; has ruins of a 14th-century castle,
and a small chapel of rare architectural beauty, built in the 16th
century as the choir of a projected collegiate church.
ROSMINI, ANTONIO ROSMINI-SERBATI, distinguished Italian philosopher,
born at Rovereto, entered the priesthood, devoted himself to the study of
philosophy, founded a system and an institute called the "Institute of
the Brethren of Charity" at Stresa, W. of Lake Maggiore, on a pietistic
religious basis, which, though sanctioned by the Pope, has encountered
much opposition at the hands of the obscurantist party in the Church
(1797-1865).
ROSS, SIR JOHN, Arctic explorer, born in Wigtownshire; made three
voyages, the first in 1811 under Parry; the second in 1829, which he
commanded; and a third in 1850, in an unsuccessful search for Franklin,
publishing on his return from them accounts of the first two, in both of
which he made important discoveries (1777-1856).
ROSSANO (19), a town of Southern Italy, in Calabria, 2 m. from the
SW. shore of the Gulf of Taranto; has a fine cathedral and castle;
valuable quarries of marble and alabaster are wrought in the vicinity.
ROSSBACH, a village in Prussian Saxony, 9 m. SW. of Merseburg, where
Frederick the Great gained in 1767 a brilliant victory with 22,000 men
over the combined arms of France and Austria with 60,000.
ROSSE, WILLIAM PARSONS, THIRD EARL OF, born in York; devoted to the
study of astronomy; constructed reflecting telescopes, and a monster one
at the cost of £30,000 at Parsonstown, his seat in Ireland, by means of
which important discoveries were made, specially in the resolution of
nebulæ (1800-1867).
ROSSETTI, CHARLES DANTE GABRIEL, poet and painter, born in London,
the son of Gabriele Rossetti; was as a painter one of the
PRE-RAPHAELITE BROTHERHOOD (q. v.), and is characterised by
Ruskin as "the chief intellectual force in the establishment of the
modern romantic school in England,... as regarding the external world as
a singer of the Romaunts would have regarded it in the Middle Ages, and
as Scott, Burns, Byron, and Tennyson have regarded it in modern times,"
and as a poet was leader of the romantic school of poetry, which, as
Stopford Brooke remarks, "found their chief subjects in ancient Rome and
Greece, in stories and lyrics of passion, in mediæval romance, in Norse
legends, in the old English of Chaucer, and in Italy" (1828-1882).
ROSSETTI, CHRISTINA GEORGINA, poetess, born in London, sister of
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and of kindred temper with her brother, but with
distinct qualities of her own; her first volume, called the
"Goblin-Market," contains a number of very beautiful short poems; she
exhibits, along with a sense of humour, a rare pathos, which, as
Professor Saintsbury remarks, often "blends with or passes into the
utterance of religious awe, unstained and unweakened by any craven fear"
(1830-1894).
ROSSETTI, GABRIELE, Italian poet and orator, born at Vasto; had for
his patriotic effusions to leave Italy, took refuge in London, and became
professor of Italian in King's College, London; was a man of strong
character, and student of literature as well as man of letters himself;
was the father of Dante Gabriel and Christina (1783-1854).
ROSSI, PELLEGRINO, an Italian jurist and politician, born at
Carrara, educated at Bologna, where he became professor of Law in 1812;
four years later was appointed to a chair in Geneva, where he also busied
himself with politics as a member of the Council and deputy in the Diet;
settled in Paris in 1833, became professor at the Collège de France, was
naturalised and created a peer, returned to Rome, broke off his
connection with France, won the friendship of Pius IX., and rose to be
head of the ministry; was assassinated (1787-1848).
ROSSINI, GIOACCHINO, celebrated Italian composer of operatic music,
born at Pesaro; his operas were numerous, of a high order, and received
with unbounded applause, beginning with "Tancred," followed by "Barber of
Seville," "La Gazza Ladra," "Semiramis," "William Tell," &c.; he composed
a "Stabat Mater," and a "Mass" which was given at his grave (1792-1868).
ROSTOCK (44), a busy German port in Mecklenburg, on the Warnow, 7 m.
from its entrance into the Baltic; exports large quantities of grain,
wool, flax, &c., has important wool and cattle markets; shipbuilding is
the chief of many varied industries, owns a flourishing university, a
beautiful Gothic church, a ducal palace, &c.
ROSTOFF, 1, a flourishing town (67) of South Russia, on the Don, 34
m. E. of Taganrog; manufactures embrace tobacco, ropes, leather,
shipbuilding, &c. 2, One of the oldest of Russian market-towns (12), on
the Lake of Rostoff, 34 m. SW. of Jaroslav, seat of an archbishop;
manufactures linens, silks, &c.
ROSTOPCHINE, COUNT, Russian general, governor of Moscow; was charged
with having set fire to the city against the entrance of the French in
1812; in his defence all he admitted was that he had set fire to his own
mansion, and threw the blame of the general conflagration on the citizens
and the French themselves (1763-1826).
ROSTRUM (lit. a beak), a pulpit in the forum of Rome where the
orators delivered harangues to the people, so called as originally
constructed of the prows of war-vessels taken at the first naval battle
in which Rome was engaged.
ROTHE, RICHARD, eminent German theologian, born at Posen, professor
eventually at Heidelberg; regarded the Church as a temporary institution
which would decease as soon as it had fulfilled its function by leavening
society with the Christian spirit; he wrote several works, but the
greatest is entitled "Theological Ethics" (1799-1867).
ROTHERHAM (42), a flourishing town in Yorkshire, situated on the
Don, 5 m. NE. of Sheffield; its cruciform church is a splendid specimen
of Perpendicular architecture; manufactures iron-ware, chemicals,
pottery, &c.
ROTHESAY (9), popular watering-place on the W. coast of Scotland,
capital of Buteshire, charmingly situated at the head of a fine hill-girt
bay on the NE. side of the island of Bute, 19 m. SW. of Greenock; has an
excellent harbour, esplanade, &c.; Rothesay Castle is an interesting
ruin; is a great health and holiday resort.
ROTHSCHILD, MEYER AMSCHEL, the founder of the celebrated banking
business, born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, a Jew by birth; began his career
as a money-lender and made a large fortune (1743-1812); left five sons,
who were all made barons of the Austrian empire--AMSELM VON R.,
eldest, head of the house at Frankfort (1773-1855); SOLOMON VON R.,
the second, head of the Vienna house (1774-1855); NATHAN VON R., the
third, head of the London house (1777-1836); KARL VON R., the
fourth, head of the house at Naples (1755-1855); and JACOB VON R.,
the fifth, head of the Paris house (1792-1868).
ROTROU, JEAN DE, French poet, born at Dreux; was a contemporary of
Corneille and a rival, wrote a number of plays, almost all tragedies, on
romantic and classical subjects, some of which have kept the stage till
now (1609-1650).
ROTTERDAM (223), the chief port and second city of Holland, situated
at the junction of the Rotte with the Maas, 19 m. from the North Sea and
45 m. SW. of Amsterdam; the town is cut in many parts by handsome canals,
which communicate with the river and serve to facilitate the enormous
foreign commerce; the quaint old houses, the stately public buildings,
broad tree-lined streets, canals alive with fleets of trim barges,
combine to give the town a picturesque and animated appearance. Boymans'
Museum has a fine collection of Dutch and modern paintings, and the
Groote Kerk is a Gothic church of imposing appearance; there is also a
large zoological garden; shipbuilding, distilling, sugar-refining,
machine and tobacco factories are the chief industries.
ROTTI (60), a fertile hilly island in the Indian Archipelago, SW. of
Timor, a Dutch possession.
ROUBAIX (115), a busy town in the department of Nord, N. of France;
situated on a canal 6 m. NE. of Lille; is of modern growth; actively
engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of textiles, in brewing, &c.
ROUBILLIAC, LOUIS FRANÇOIS, sculptor, born at Lyons; studied in
Paris, came to London; executed there statues of Shakespeare in the
British Museum, Sir Isaac Newton at Cambridge, and Händel at London
(1693-1762).
ROUBLE, a silver coin of the value of 3s. 2d.; the unit of the
Russian monetary system; a much depreciated paper rouble is also in
circulation; the rouble is divided into 100 copecks.
ROUEN (112), the ancient capital of Normandy, a busy manufacturing
town on the Seine, 87 m. NW of Paris; a good portion of the old, crowded,
picturesque town has given place to more spacious streets and dwellings;
the old ramparts have been converted into handsome boulevards; has
several Gothic churches unrivalled in beauty, a cathedral (the seat of an
archbishop), &c.; the river affords an excellent waterway to the sea, and
as a port Rouen ranks fourth in France; is famed for its cotton and other
textiles; Joan of Arc was burned here in 1431.
ROUGET DE LISLE, officer of the Engineers, born at Lons-le-Saulnier;
immortalised himself as the author of the "MARSEILLAISE" (q. v.);
was thrown into prison by the extreme party at the Revolution, but
was released on the fall of Robespierre; fell into straitened
circumstances, but was pensioned by Louis Philippe (1760-1836).
ROUGE-ET-NOIR (i. e. red and black), a gambling game of chance
with cards, so called because it is played on a table marked with two red
and two black diamond-shaped spots, and arranged alternately in four
different sections of the table.
ROUHER, EUGÈNE, French Bonapartist statesman, born at Riom, where he
became a barrister; entered the Constituent Assembly in 1848, and in the
following year became Minister of Justice; was more or less in office
during the next 20 years; he became President of the Senate in 1869; fled
to England on the fall of the Empire; later on re-entered the National
Assembly, and vigorously defended the ex-emperor Napoleon III.
(1814-1884).
ROULERS (20), a manufacturing town in West Flanders, 19 m. SW. of
Bruges; engaged in manufacturing cottons, lace, &c.; scene of a French
victory over the Austrians in 1794.
ROULETTE, a game of chance, very popular in France last century, now
at Monaco; played with a revolving disc and a ball.
ROUMANIA (5,800), a kingdom of SE. Europe, wedged in between Russia
(N.) and Bulgaria (S.), with an eastern shore on the Black Sea; the
Carpathians on the W. divide it from Austro-Hungary; comprises the old
principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which, long subject to Turkey,
united under one ruler in 1859, and received their independence in 1878,
in which year the province of Dobrudja was ceded by Russia; in 1881 the
combined provinces were recognised as a kingdom; forms a fertile and
well-watered plain sloping N. to S., which grows immense quantities of
grain, the chief export; salt-mining and petroleum-making are also
important industries; the bulk of the people belong to the Greek Church;
peasant proprietorship on a large scale is a feature of the national
life; government is vested in a hereditary limited monarch, a council of
ministers, a senate, and a chamber of deputies; BUCHAREST (q. v.)
is the capital, and GALATZ (q. v.) the chief port.
ROUMELIA, a former name for a district which embraced ancient Thrace
and a portion of Macedonia; the territory known as East Roumelia was
incorporated with Bulgaria in 1885.
ROUND TABLE, THE, the name given to the knighthood of King Arthur: a
larger, from including as many as 150 knights; and a smaller, from
including only 12 of the highest order.
ROUND TOWERS, ancient towers, found chiefly in Ireland, of a tall,
round, more or less tapering structure, divided into storeys, and with a
conical top, erected in the neighbourhood of some church or monastery,
and presumably of Christian origin, and probably used as strongholds in
times of danger; of these there are 118 in Ireland, and three in
Scotland--at Abernethy, Brechin, and Eglishay (Orkney).
ROUNDHEADS, the name of contempt given by the Cavaliers to the
Puritans or Parliamentary party during the Civil War, on account of their
wearing their hair close crept.
ROUS, FRANCIS, provost of Eton, born in Cornwall; sat in the
Westminster Assembly, and was the author of the metrical version of the
Psalms, as used in Presbyterian churches (1579-1659).
ROUSSEAU, JEAN BAPTISTE, French lyric poet, born in Paris, the son
of a shoemaker; gave offence by certain lampoons ascribed to him which to
the last he protested were forgeries, and was banished; his satires were
certainly superior to his lyrics, which were cold and formal; died at
Brussels in exile (1670-1741).
ROUSSEAU, JEAN JACQUES, a celebrated French philosopher, and one or
the great prose writers of French literature, born in Geneva, the son of
a watchmaker and dancing-master; was apprenticed to an engraver, whose
inhuman treatment drove him at the age of 16 into running away; for three
years led a vagrant life, acting as footman, lackey, secretary, &c.;
during this period was converted to Catholicism largely through the
efforts of Madame de Warens, a spritely married lady living apart from
her husband; in 1731 he took up residence in his patroness's house, where
he lived for nine years a life of ease and sentiment in the ambiguous
capacity of general factotum, and subsequently of lover; supplanted in
the affections of his mistress, he took himself off, and landed in Paris
in 1741; supported himself by music-copying, an occupation which was his
steadiest means of livelihood throughout his troubled career; formed a
_liaison_ with an illiterate dull servant-girl by whom he had five
children, all of whom he callously handed over to the foundling hospital;
acquaintance with Diderot brought him work on the famous Encyclopédie,
but the true foundation of his literary fame was laid in 1749 by "A
Discourse on Arts and Sciences," in which he audaciously negatives the
theory that morality has been favoured by the progress of science and the
arts; followed this up in 1753 by a "Discourse on the Origin of
Inequality," in which he makes a wholesale attack upon the cherished
institutions and ideals of society; morosely rejected the flattering
advances of society, and from his retreat at Montlouis issued "The New
Héloïse" (1760), "The Social Contract" (1762), and "Émile" (1762); these
lifted him into the widest fame, but precipitated upon him the enmity and
persecution of Church (for his Deism) and State; fled to Switzerland,
where after his aggressive "Letters from the Mountains," he wandered
about, the victim of his own suspicious, hypochondriacal nature; found
for some time a retreat in Staffordshire under the patronage of Hume;
returned to France, where his only persecutors were his own morbid
hallucinations; died, not without suspicion of suicide, at Ermenonville;
his "Confessions" and other autobiographical writings, although
unreliable in facts, reflect his strange and wayward personality with
wonderful truth; was one of the precursive influences which brought on
the revolutionary movement (1712-1778).
ROUSSEAU, PIERRE ÉTIENNE THÉODORE, an eminent French artist, born in
Paris; at 19 exhibited in the Salon; slowly won his way to the front as
the greatest French landscape painter; in 1848 settled down in Barbizon,
in the Forest of Fontainebleau, his favourite sketching ground; his
pictures (e. g. "The Alley of Chestnut Trees," "Early Summer Morning")
fetch immense prices now (1812-1867).
ROVEREDO (10), an Austrian town in the Tyrol, pleasantly situated on
the Leno, in the Lägerthal; is the centre of the Tyrolese silk trade.
ROW, JOHN, a Scottish reformer; graduated LL.D. in Padua; came over
from the Catholic Church in 1558, and two years later helped to compile
the "First Book of Discipline"; settled as a minister in Perth, and was
four times Moderator of the General Assembly (1525-1580). His son, John
Row, was minister of Carnock, near Dunfermline, and author of an
authoritative "History of the Kirk of Scotland" (1568-1646).
ROWE, NICHOLAS, dramatist and poet-laureate, born at Barford,
Bedfordshire; was trained for the law, but took to literature, and made
his mark as a dramatist, "The Fair Penitent," "Jane Shore," &c., long
maintaining their popularity; translated Lucan's "Pharsalia," which won
Dr. Johnson's commendation; edited Shakespeare; became poet-laureate in
1715; held some government posts; was buried at Westminster Abbey
(1674-1718).
ROWLANDSON, THOMAS, caricaturist, born in London; studied art in
Paris; gambled and lived extravagantly; led a roving life in England and
Wales; displayed great versatility and strength in his artistic work, _e.
g_. in "Imitations of Modern Drawings," illustrations to Sterne's
"Sentimental Journey," "Munchausen's Travels," &c.; ridiculed Napoleon in
many cartoons (1756-1827).
ROWLEY REGIS (31), a flourishing town of Staffordshire, 3 m. SE. of
Dudley; has large iron-works, potteries, &c.
ROWTON HEATH, in the vicinity of Chester, scene of a great
Parliamentary victory over the forces of Charles I. in September 1645.
ROXBURGHSHIRE (54), in Border pastoral county of Scotland, between
Berwick (NE.) and Dumfries (SW.); the Cheviots form its southern
boundary; lies almost wholly within the basin of the Tweed, which winds
along its northern border, receiving the Teviot, Jed, &c.; includes the
fine pastoral districts of Teviotdale and Liddesdale, where vast flocks
of sheep are reared; agriculture and woollen manufactures are important
industries; Hawick is the largest town, and Jedburgh the county town;
near Kelso stood the royal castle and town of Roxburgh, which gave its
name to the county, destroyed in 1460.
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, in London; was instituted in 1768 by George
III. as a result of a memorial presented to him by 29 members who had
seceded from "The Incorporated Society of Artists of Great Britain"
(founded 1765); for some years received grants from the privy purse, and
was provided with rooms in Somerset House; removed to Trafalgar Square in
1836, and to its present quarters at Burlington House in 1869; receives
now no public grant; holds yearly exhibitions, and supports an art
school; membership comprises 42 Royal Academicians, besides Associates.
The present President is Sir Edward John Poynter. The Royal Hibernian
Academy (founded 1823) and the Scottish Academy (1826) are similar
institutions.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH, THE, was incorporated by royal charter
in 1783 through the efforts of Robertson the historian, and superseded
the old Philosophical Society; held fortnightly meetings (December till
June) in the Royal Institution; receives a grant of £300; publishes
_Transactions_; has a membership of some 550, including foreign and
British Fellows.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, incorporated by royal charter in 1662, but
owing its origin to the informal meetings about 1645 of a group of
scientific men headed by Theodore Haak, a German, Dr. Wilkins, and
others; in 1665 the first number of their _Philosophical Transactions_
was published which, with the supplementary publication, _Proceedings of
the Royal Society_, begun in 1800, constitute an invaluable record of the
progress of science to the present day; encouragement is given to
scientific investigation by awards of medals (Copley, Davy, Darwin, &c.),
the equipping of scientific expeditions (e. g. the _Challenger_), &c.;
weekly meetings are held at Burlington House (quarters since 1857) during
the session (November till June); membership comprises some 500 Fellows,
including 40 foreigners; receives a parliamentary grant of £4000 a year,
and acts in an informal way as scientific adviser to Government.
ROYAN (6), a pretty seaside town of France, on the estuary of the
Gironde, 60 m. NW. of Bordeaux; trebles its population in the summer.
ROYER-COLLARD, PIERRE PAUL, politician and philosopher, born at
Sompuis; called to the Paris bar at 20; supported the Revolution, but
refused to follow the Jacobins, and during the Reign of Terror sought
shelter in his native town; was elected to the Council of the Five
Hundred in 1797, retired in 1804, and betook himself to philosophic
studies; became professor of Philosophy in Paris 1811, and exercised
great influence; re-entered political life in 1815, and was actively
engaged in administrative work till his retirement in 1842; was all
through his life a doctrinaire and rather unpractical (1763-1842).
ROYTON (13), a busy cotton town in Lancashire, 2 m. NW. of Oldham.
RUABON (18), a mining town in Denbighshire, 4½ m. SW. of Wrexham;
has collieries and iron-works.
RUBENS, PETER PAUL, the greatest of the Flemish painters, born at
Siegen, in Westphalia; came with his widowed mother in 1587 to Antwerp,
where he sedulously cultivated the painter's art, and early revealed his
masterly gift of colouring; went to Italy, and for a number of years was
in the service of the Duke of Mantua, who encouraged him in his art, and
employed him on a diplomatic mission to Philip III. of Spain; executed at
Madrid some of his finest portraits; returned to Antwerp in 1609;
completed in 1614 his masterpiece, "The Descent from the Cross," in
Antwerp Cathedral; with the aid of assistants he painted the series of 21
pictures, now in the Louvre, illustrating the principal events in the
life of Maria de' Medici during 1628-1629; diplomatic missions engaged
him at the Spanish and English Courts, where his superabundant energy
enabled him to execute many paintings for Charles I.--e. g. "War and
Peace," in the National Gallery--and Philip IV.; was knighted by both; in
all that pertains to chiaroscuro, colouring, and general technical skill
Rubens is unsurpassed, and in expressing particularly the "tumult and
energy of human action," but he falls below the great Italian artists in
the presentation of the deeper and sublimer human emotions; was a
scholarly, refined man, an excellent linguist, and a successful
diplomatist; was twice married; died at Antwerp, and was buried in the
Church of St. Jacques; his tercentenary was celebrated in 1877
(1577-1640).
RUBICON, a famous river of Italy, associated with Julius Cæsar, now
identified with the modern Fiumecino, a mountain torrent which springs
out of the eastern flank of the Apennines and enters the Adriatic N. of
Ariminum; marked the boundary line between Roman Italy and Cisalpine
Gaul, a province administered by Cæsar; when he crossed it in 49 B.C. it
was tantamount to a declaration of war against the Republic, hence the
expression "to cross the Rubicon" is applied to the decisive step in any
adventurous undertaking.
RUBINSTEIN, ANTON, a famous Russian pianist and composer, born, of
Jewish parents, near Jassy, in Moldavia; studied at Moscow, under Liszt
in Paris, and afterwards at Berlin and Vienna; established himself at St.
Petersburg in 1848 as a music-teacher; became director of the
Conservatoire there; toured for many years through Europe and the United
States, achieving phenomenal success; resumed his directorship at St.
Petersburg in 1887; composed operas (e. g. "The Maccabees," "The
Demon"), symphonies (e. g. "Ocean"), sacred operas (e. g. "Paradise
Lost"), chamber music, and many exquisite songs; as a pianist he was a
master of technique and expression; was ennobled by the Czar in 1869;
published an autobiography; his works as well as his performances display
both vigour and sensibility (1829-1894).
RUBRICS, a name, as printed originally in red ink, applied to the
rules and instructions given in the liturgy of the Prayer-Book for
regulating the conduct of divine service, hence applied in a wider
significance to any fixed ecclesiastical or other injunction or order;
was used to designate the headings or title of chapters of certain old
law-books and MSS., formerly but not now necessarily printed in red
characters.
RUBY, a gem which in value and hardness ranks next to the diamond;
is dichroic, of greater specific gravity than any other gem, and belongs
to the hexagonal system of crystals; is a pellucid, ruddy-tinted stone,
and, like the sapphire, a variety of corundum, also found (but rarely) in
violet, pink, and purple tints; the finest specimens come from Upper
Burmah; these are the true Oriental rubies, and when above 5 carats
exceed in value, weight for weight, diamonds; the Spinel ruby is the
commoner jeweller's stone; is of much less value, specific gravity and
hardness, non-dichroic, and forms a cubical crystal.
RÜCKERT, FRIEDRICH, German poet, born at Schweinfurt, in Bavaria; at
Würzburg University showed his talent for languages, and early devoted
himself to philology and poetry; was for 15 years professor of Oriental
Languages at Erlangen; introduced German readers, by excellent
translations, to Eastern poetry; filled for some time the chair of
Oriental Languages in Berlin; takes rank as a lyrist of no mean powers;
essayed unsuccessfully dramatic composition (1788-1866).
RUDDIMAN, THOMAS, author of a well-known Latin grammar, a Banffshire
man, and graduate of Aberdeen University; was school-mastering at
Laurencekirk, where his scholarly attainments won him an assistantship in
the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; spent a busy life in that; city in
scholarly occupation, editing many learned works, the most notable being
Buchanan's works and the "immaculate" edition of Livy; his famous Latin
grammar was completed in 1732; in 1730 became principal keeper of the
Advocates' Library (1674-1757).
RUDOLF I., of the House of Hapsburg, founder of the Austrian
dynasty; born, the son of a count, at Schloss Limburg (Breisgau); greatly
increased his father's domain by marriage, inheritance, and conquest,
becoming the most powerful prince in S. Germany; acquired a remarkable
ascendency among the German princes, and was elevated to the imperial
throne in 1273, and by friendly concessions to the Pope, Gregory IX.,
terminated the long struggle between the Church and the empire; shattered
the opposition of Ottocar, king of Bohemia, and brought peace and order
to Germany (1218-1291).
RUDOLF II., German Emperor, son of Maximilian II., born at Vienna;
became king of Hungary in 1573, and of Bohemia three years later;
ascended the imperial throne in 1576; indolent and incapable, he left the
empire to the care of worthless ministers; disorder and foreign invasion
speedily followed; persecution inflamed the Protestants; by 1611 his
brother Matthias, supported by other kinsmen, had wrested Hungary and
Bohemia from him; had a taste for astrology and alchemy, and patronised
Kepler and Tycho Brahé (1552-1612).
RUDOLF LAKE, in British East Africa, close to the highlands of S.
Ethiopia, practically an inland sea, being 160 m. long and 20 broad, and
brackish in taste; discovered in 1888.
RUDRA, in the Hindu mythology the old deity of the storm, and father
of the Marutz.
RUGBY (11), a town in Warwickshire, at the junction of the Swift and
the Avon, 83 m. NW. of London; an important railway centre and seat of a
famous public school founded in 1567, of which DR. ARNOLD (q. v.),
and Archbishops Tait and Temple were famous head-masters, is one of
the first public schools in England, and scholars number about 450.
RUGE, ARNOLD, a German philosophical and political writer, born at
Bergen (Rügen); showed a philosophic bent at Jena; was implicated in the
political schemes of the BURSCHENSCHAFT (q. v.), and was
imprisoned for six years; taught for some years in Halle University, but
got into trouble through the radical tone of his writings in the _Halle
Review_ (founded by himself and another), and went to Paris; was
prominent during the political agitation of 1848, and subsequently sought
refuge in London, where for a short time he acted in consort with Mazzini
and others; retired to Brighton, and ultimately received a pension from
the Prussian Government; his numerous plays, novels, translations, &c.,
including a lengthy autobiography, reveal a mind scarcely gifted enough
to grasp firmly and deeply the complicated problems of sociology and
politics; is characterised by Dr. Stirling as the "bold and brilliant
Ruge"; began, he says, as an expounder of Hegel, and "finished off as
translator into German of that 'hollow make-believe of windy conceit,' he
calls it, Buckle's 'Civilisation in England'" (1802-1880).
RÜGEN (45), a deeply-indented island of Germany, in the Baltic,
separated from the Pomeranian coast by a channel (Strela Sund) about a
mile broad; the soil is fertile, and fishing is actively engaged in.
Bergen (4) is the capital.
RUHR, an affluent of the Rhine, which joins it at Ruhrort after a
course of 142 m.; navigable to craft conveying the product of the
coal-mines to the Rhine.
RULE OF FAITH, the name given to the ultimate authority or standard
in religious belief, such as the Bible alone, as among Protestants; the
Bible and the Church, as among Romanists; reason alone, as among
rationalists; the inner light of the spirit, as among mystics.
RUM, a mountainous, forest-clad island in one of the Inner Hebrides,
lies 15 m. off Ardnamurchan Point; a handful of inhabitants cultivate a
very small portion of it; the rest is mountain, wood, and moorland; forms
a deer-forest.
RUMFORD, COUNT, Benjamin Thompson, soldier, philanthropist, and
physicist, born at Woburn, Massachusetts; a fortunate marriage lifted him
into affluence, relieving him from the necessity of teaching; fought on
the British side during the American War; became a lieutenant-colonel,
and for important services was knighted in 1782 on his return to England;
entered the Bavarian service, and carried through a series of remarkable
reforms, such as the suppression of mendicity, the amelioration of the
poorer classes by the spread of useful knowledge, culinary, agricultural,
&c.; was made a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, and placed in charge of
the War Department of Bavaria; was a generous patron of science in
England and elsewhere; retired from the Bavarian service in 1799, and
five years later married the widow of Lavoisier the chemist; his later
years were spent in retirement in a village near Paris, where he devoted
himself to physical research, especially as regards heat (1753-1814).
RUMP, THE, name of contempt given to the remnant of the Long
Parliament in 1659.
RUNCORN (20), a flourishing river-port of Cheshire, on the Mersey,
12 m. SE. of Liverpool, at the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal; is an
old place dating back to the 10th century; has excellent docks;
industries embrace shipbuilding, iron-founding, &c.
RUNEBERG, JOHAN LUDWIG, the national poet of Finland, born at
Jacobstad; educated at, and afterwards lectured in, the university of
Abo; published his first volume, "Lyric Poems," in 1830; edited a
bi-weekly paper; for forty years (till his death) was Reader of Roman
Literature in the College of Borga; his epic idylls, "The Elk Hunters,"
"Christmas Eve," his epic "King Fjalar," &c., are the finest poems in the
Swedish language; are characterised by a repose, simplicity, and artistic
finish, yet have withal the warmth of national life in them (1804-1877).
RUNES, a name given to the letters of the alphabet by heathen
Teutonic tribes prior to their coming under the influence of Roman
civilisation; are formed almost invariably of straight lines, and
scarcely exist except in inscriptions dating back to A.D. 1; found
chiefly in Scandinavia, also in Britain. There are three runic alphabets
(much alike), the oldest being the Gothic of 24 letters or runes. They
are now believed to have first come into use among the Goths in the 6th
century B.C., and to be a modified form of the old Greek alphabet
introduced by traders.
RUNNIMEDE, a meadow on the right bank of the Thames, 36 m. SW. of
London, where King John signed the Magna Charta, 15th June 1215.
RUPEE, a silver coin, the monetary unit of India, whose face value
is 2s., but which, owing to the depreciation of silver, is now valued in
outside markets at about 1s. 2½d.; a lac of rupees equals 100,000.
RUPERT, PRINCE, son of Frederick V., Elector Palatine, and grandson
of James I. of England; received an excellent education; took part in the
Thirty Years' War, and suffered three years' imprisonment at Linz; in
England, at the outbreak of the Great Rebellion, he was entrusted with a
command by Charles I., and by his dash and daring greatly heartened the
Royalist cause, taking an active part in all the great battles; finally
surrendered to Fairfax at Oxford in 1646; but two years later took
command of the Royalist ships and kept up a gallant struggle till his
defeat by Blake in 1651; escaped to the West Indies, where he kept up a
privateering attack upon English merchantmen; came in for many honours
after the Restoration, and distinguished himself in the Dutch War; the
closing years of his life were quietly spent in scientific research
(physical, chemical, mechanical), for which he had a distinct aptitude
(1619-1682).
RUPERT'S LAND, a name given by Prince Rupert to territory the
drainage of which flows into Hudson Bay or Strait.
RUSH, BENJAMIN, a noted American physician and professor, born at
Byberry, near Philadelphia; studied medicine at Princeton and Edinburgh;
became professor of chemistry at Philadelphia in 1769; sat in Congress,
and signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); held important medical
posts in the army; resigned, and assumed medical professorship in
Philadelphia; won a European reputation as a lecturer, philanthropist,
and medical investigator; published several treatises, and from 1799
acted as treasurer of the U.S. Mint (1745-1813).
RUSHWORTH, JOHN, historian and politician, born at Warkworth,
Northumberland; although a barrister he never practised, but set himself
to compile elaborate notes of proceedings at the Star Chamber and other
courts, which grew into an invaluable work of 7 vols., entitled
"Historical Collections"; acted as assistant-clerk to the Long
Parliament; sat as a member in several Parliaments, and was for some
years secretary to Fairfax and the Lord-Keeper; fell into disfavour after
the Restoration, and in 1684 was arrested for debt and died in prison; is
an authority whom Carlyle abuses as a Dry-as-dust (1607-1690).
RUSKIN, JOHN, art-critic and social reformer, born in London, son of
an honourable and a successful wine-merchant; educated with some severity
at home under the eye of his parents, and particularly his mother, who
trained him well into familiarity with the Bible, and did not object to
his study of "Robinson Crusoe" along with the "Pilgrim's Progress" on
Sundays, while, left to his own choice he read Homer, Scott, and Byron on
week days; entered Christ's Church, Oxford, as a gentleman Commoner in
1837, gained the Newdigate Prize in 1839, produced in 1843, under the
name of "A Graduate of Oxford," the first volume of "Modern Painters,"
mainly in defence of the painter Turner and his art, which soon extended
to five considerable volumes, and in 1849 "The Seven Lamps of
Architecture," in definition of the qualities of good art in that line,
under the heads of the Lamps of Sacrifice, of Truth, of Power, of Beauty,
of Life, of Memory, and Obedience, pleading in particular for the Gothic
style; these were followed in 1851 by "PRE-RAPHAELITISM" (q. v.),
and 1851-53 by the "Stones of Venice," in further exposition of his
views in the "Seven Lamps," and others on the same and kindred arts. Not
till 1862 did he appear in the _rôle_ of social reformer, and that was by
the publication of "Unto this Last," in the _Cornhill Magazine_, on the
first principles of political economy, the doctrines in which were
further expounded in "Munera Pulveris," "Time and Tide," and "FORS
CLAVIGERA" (q. v.), the principles in which he endeavoured to give
practical effect to by the Institution of St. George's Guild, with the
view of commending "the rational organisation of country life independent
of that of cities." His writings are numerous, several of them originally
lectures, and nearly all on matters of vital account, besides many others
on subjects equally so which he began, but has had, to the grief of his
admirers, to leave unfinished from failing health, among these his
"Præterita," or memories from his past life. The most popular of his
recent writings is "Sesame and Lilies," with perhaps the "Crown of Wild
Olive," and the most useful that of the series beginning with "Unto this
Last," and culminating in "Time and Tide." He began his career as an
admirer of Turner, and finished as a disciple of Thomas Carlyle, but
neither slavishly nor with the surrender of his own sense of justice and
truth; Justice is the goddess he worships, and except in her return to
the earth as sovereign he bodes nothing but disaster to the fortunes of
the race; his despair of seeing this seems to have unhinged him, and he
is now in a state of fatal collapse; his contemporaries praised his style
of writing, but to his disgust they did not believe a word he said; he
sits sadly in these days at Brantwood, in utter apathy to everything of
passing interest, and if he thinks or speaks at all it would seem his
sense of the injustice in things, and the doom it is under, is not yet
utterly dead--his sun has not even yet gone down upon his wrath; the
keynote of his wrath was, Men do the work of this world and rogues take
the pay, selling for money what God has given for nothing, or what others
have purchased by their life's blood; _b_. 1819. He died 20th January
1900.
RUSSELL, JOHN, EARL, known best as LORD JOHN RUSSELL,
statesman, youngest son of the Earl of Bedford; travelled in Spain,
studied at Edinburgh, entered Parliament in 1813, took up vigorously the
cause of parliamentary reform and Catholic Emancipation, joined Earl
Grey's ministry in 1830 as Paymaster of the Forces, framed and zealously
advocated the Reform Bill (1832), drove Peel from office in 1835, and
became, under Lord Melbourne, Home Secretary and leader of the Commons;
four years later he was appointed Colonial Secretary, warmly espoused the
cause of repeal of the Corn Laws, formed a Ministry on the downfall of
Peel in 1846, and dealt with Irish difficulties and Chartism; resigned in
1852, and in the same year became Foreign Secretary under Aberdeen,
became unpopular on account of his management of the Crimean War (1855)
and conduct at the Vienna Conference; again Foreign Secretary in
Palmerston's ministry of 1859, an earl in 1861, and premier a second time
in 1865-66; author of various pamphlets, biographies, memoirs, &c.; was
twice married; was nicknamed "Finality John" from his regarding his
Reform Bill of 1832 as a final measure (1792-1878).
RUSSELL, WILLIAM, LORD, prominent politician in Charles II.'s reign,
younger son of the Earl of Bedford; entered the first Restoration
Parliament, became a prominent leader in the Country Party in opposition
to the CABAL (q. v.) and the Popish schemes of the king;
vigorously supported the Exclusion Bill to keep James, Duke of York from
the throne in 1683; was charged with complicity in the Rye-house Plot,
was found guilty on trumped-up evidence, and beheaded (1639-1683).
RUSSELL, WILLIAM CLARK, a popular writer of nautical novels, born in
New York; gained his experience of sea life during eight years' service
as a sailor; was a journalist on the staff of the _Daily Chronicle_
before, in 1887, he took to writing novels, which include "John
Holdsworth," "The Wreck of the 'Grosvenor,'" &c.; _b_. 1844.
RUSSELL, SIR WILLIAM HOWARD, a celebrated war correspondent, born
near Dublin; was educated at Trinity College, called to the English bar
in 1850, had already acted for some years as war correspondent for the
_Times_ before his famous letters descriptive of the Crimean War won him
a wide celebrity; subsequently acted as correspondent during the Indian
Mutiny, American Civil War, Franco-German War, &c.; accompanied the
Prince of Wales to India in 1875; knighted in 1895; _b_. 1821.
RUSSELL OF KILLOWEN, CHARLES RUSSELL, LORD, a distinguished lawyer,
born at Newry; educated at Trinity College, Dublin, called to the English
bar in 1859, entered Parliament in 1880, became Attorney-General in 1886,
receiving also a knighthood; in 1894 was elevated to the Lord
Chief-Justiceship and created a life-peer; _b_. 1832.
RUSSIA (117,562), next to the British empire the most extensive empire in
the world, embracing one-sixth of the land-surface of the globe,
including one-half of Europe, all Northern and a part of Central Asia; on
the N. it fronts the Arctic Ocean from Sweden to the NE. extremity of
Asia; its southern limit forms an irregular line from the NW. corner of
the Black Sea to the Sea of Japan, skirting Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan,
East Turkestan, and the Chinese empire; Behring Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and
the Sea of Japan wash its eastern shores; Sweden, the Baltic, Germany,
and Austria lie contiguous to it in West Europe. This solid, compact mass
is thinly peopled (13 to the sq. m. over all) by some 40
different-speaking races, including, besides the dominant Russians
(themselves split into three branches), Poles, Finns, Esthonians,
Servians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians, Kurds, Persians, Turco-Tartars,
Mongols, &c. Three-fourths of the land-surface, with one-fourth of the
population, lies in Asia, and is treated under Siberia, Turkestan,
Caucasia, &c. Russia in Europe, embracing FINLAND and POLAND (q. v.), is
divided from Asia by the Ural Mountains and River and Caspian Sea; forms
an irregular, somewhat elongated, square plain sloping down to the low
and dreary coast-lands of the Baltic (W.), White Sea (N.), and Black Sea
(S.); is seamed by river valleys and diversified by marshes, vast lakes
(e. g. Ladoga, Onega, Peipus, and Ilmen), enormous forests, and in the N.
and centre by tablelands, the highest of which being the Valdai Hills
(1100 ft.); the SE. plain is called the STEPPES (q. v.). The cold and
warm winds which sweep uninterrupted from N. and S. produce extremes of
temperature; the rainfall is small. Agriculture is the prevailing
industry, engaging 90 per cent. of the people, although in all not more
than 21 per cent. of the soil is cultivated; rye is the chief article of
food for the peasantry, who comprise four-fifths of the population. The
rich plains, known as the "black lands" from their deep, loamy soil,
which stretch from the Carpathians to the Urals, are the most productive
corn-lands in Europe, and rival in fertility the "yellow lands" of China,
and like them need no manure. Timber is an important industry in the NW.,
and maize and the vine are cultivated in the extreme S.; minerals abound,
and include gold, iron (widely distributed), copper (chiefly in middle
Urals), and platinum; there are several large coal-fields and rich
petroleum wells at Baku. The fisheries, particularly those of the
Caspian, are the most productive in Europe. Immense numbers of horses and
cattle are reared, e. g. on the Steppes. Wolves, bears, and valuable
fur-bearing animals are plentiful in the N. and other parts; the reindeer
is still found, also the elk. Want of ports on the Mediterranean and
Atlantic hamper commerce, while the great ports in the Baltic are frozen
up four or five months in the year; the southern ports are growing in
importance, and wheat, timber, flax, and wool are largely exported. There
is a vast inland trade, facilitated by the great rivers (Volga, Don,
Dnieper, Dniester, Vistula, &c.) and by excellent railway and telegraphic
communication. Among its varied races there exists a wide variety of
religions--Christianity, Mohammedanism, Buddhism, Shamanism, &c.; but
although some 130 sects exist, the bulk of the Russians proper belong to
the Greek Church. Education is backward, more than 85 per cent. of the
people being illiterate; there are eight universities. Conscription is
enforced; the army is the largest in the world. Government is an absolute
monarchy, save in FINLAND (q. v.); the ultimate legislative and executive
power is in the hands of the czar, but there is a State Council of 60
members nominated by the czar. In the 50 departments a good deal of local
self-government is enjoyed through the village communes and their public
assemblies, but the imperial power as represented by the police and
military is felt in all parts, while governors of departments have wide
and ill-defined powers which admit of abuse. The great builders of the
empire, the beginnings of which are to be sought in the 9th century, have
been Ivan the Great, who in the 15th century drove out the Mongols and
established his capital as Moscow; Ivan the Terrible, the first of the
czars, who in the 16th century pushed into Asia and down to the Black
Sea; and PETER THE GREAT (q. v.). Its restless energies are still
unabated, and inspire a persistently aggressive policy in the Far East.
Within recent years its literature has become popular in Europe through
the powerful writings of Pushkin, Turgenief, and Tolstoi.
RUSTCHUK (27), a town in Bulgaria, on the Danube, 40 m. S. by W. of
Bucharest; manufactures gold and silver ware, shoes, cloth, &c.; has a
number of interesting mosques; its once important fortifications were
reduced in 1877.
RUTEBEUF or RUSTEBEUF, a celebrated trouvère of the 13th
century, of whom little is known save that he led a Bohemian life in
Paris and was unfortunate in his marriage; his songs, satires, &c., are
vigorous and full of colour, and touch a note of seriousness at times
which one hardly anticipates.
RUTHENIANS, a hardy Slavonic people, a branch of the Little Russian
stock, numbering close upon 3½ millions, dwelling in Galicia and Northern
Hungary.
RUTHERFORD, SAMUEL, a Scottish divine, born at Nisbet, near
Jedburgh; studied at Edinburgh University, became professor of Humanity,
but had to resign; studied divinity, and became minister of Anworth in
1627, and was a zealous pastor and a fervid preacher; corresponded far
and wide with pious friends by letters afterwards published under his
name, and much esteemed by pious people; became at length professor of
Divinity at St. Andrews, and represented the Scottish Church in the
Westminster Assembly in 1643; wrote several works, for one of which he
was called to account, but had to answer a summons on his deathbed before
a higher bar (1600-1661).
RUTHERGLEN (13), a town of Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 3 m. SE. of
Glasgow, of which it is practically a suburb; a handsome bridge spans the
river; has been a royal burgh since 1126, and has interesting historical
associations.
RUTHIN (3), an interesting old town of Denbighshire, on the Clwyd, 8
m. SE. of Denbigh.
RUTHVEN, RAID OF, a conspiracy entered into by certain Scottish
nobles, headed by William, first Earl of Gowrie, to seize the young king
James VI., and break down the influence of his worthless favourites,
Lennox and Arran; at Ruthven Castle, or Huntingtower, in Perthshire, on
23rd August 1582, the king was captured and held for 10 months; Arran was
imprisoned, and Lennox fled, to die in France; the conduct of the
conspirators was applauded by the country, but after the escape of the
king from St. Andrews Castle the conspirators were proclaimed guilty of
treason, and Gowrie was ultimately executed.
RUTHWELL CROSS, a remarkable sandstone cross, 17¾ ft. high, found in
Ruthwell parish, 9 m. SE. of Dumfries; dates back to the 7th century;
bears runic and Latin inscriptions, notably some verses of the Saxon
poem, "The Dream of the Holy Rood"; was broken down in 1642 by the
Covenanters as savouring of idolatry; found and re-erected in 1802.
RUTLAND (21), the smallest county of England, bounded by Lincoln,
Northampton, and Leicester; has a pleasant undulating surface, with
valleys in the E., and extensive woods; is watered by the Welland; is
largely pastoral, and raises fine sheep; dairy produce (especially
cheese) and wheat are noted; Oakham is the capital.
RUYSDAEL, JACOB, a famous Dutch landscape-painter, born and died at
Haarlem; few particulars of his life are known; his best pictures, to be
seen in the galleries of Dresden, Berlin, Paris, &c., display a fine
poetic spirit (1628-1682).
RUYTER, MICHAEL DE, a famous Dutch admiral, born of poor parents at
Flushing; from a boy of 11 served in the merchant and naval service;
commanded a ship under Van Tromp in the war with England 1652-1654; was
ennobled in 1660 by the king of Denmark for services rendered in the
Dano-Swedish war; for two years fought against Turkish pirates in the
Mediterranean; commanded the Dutch fleet in the second war against
England, and in 1667 struck terror into London by appearing and burning
the shipping in the Thames; held his own against England and France in
the war of 1672; co-operated with Spain against France; was routed and
mortally wounded off the coast of Sicily; a man of sterling worth
(1607-1675).
RYAN, LOCH, an arm of the sea penetrating Wigtownshire in a
south-easterly direction, 8 m. long and from 1½ to 3 broad; at its
landward end is STRANRAER (q. v.); forms an excellent anchorage.
RYBINSK (20, 100 in the summer), a busy commercial town in Russia,
on the Volga, 48 m. NW. of Yaroslav; connected by canal with St.
Petersburg; industries embrace boat-building, brewing, distilling, &c.
RYDE (11), a popular old watering-place on the NE. coast of the Isle
of Wight, 4½ m. SW. of Portsmouth; rises in pretty wooded terraces from
the sea; has a fine promenade, park, pier, &c.
RYE (4), an interesting old port in the SE. corner of Sussex,
situated on rising ground flanked by two streams, 63 m. SE. from London,
one of the CINQUE PORTS (q. v.); the retiral of the sea has left
it now 2 m. inland; has a fine Norman and Early English church.
RYE HOUSE PLOT, an abortive conspiracy in 1683 to assassinate
Charles II. of England and his brother James, Duke of York, planned by
Colonel Rumsey, Lieutenant-Colonel Walcot, the "plotter" Ferguson, and
other reckless adherents of the Whig party. The conspirators were to
conceal themselves at a farmhouse called Rye House, near Hertford, and to
waylay the royal party returning from Newmarket; the plot miscarried
owing to the king leaving Newmarket sooner than was expected; the chief
conspirators were executed.
RYMER, THOMAS, the learned editor of the "Foedera," an invaluable
collection of historical documents dealing with England's relations with
foreign powers, born at Northallerton; was a Cambridge man and a
barrister; turned to literature and wrote much both in prose and poetry,
but to no great purpose; was Historiographer-royal; Macaulay in
characteristic fashion calls him "the worst critic that ever lived"; but
his "Foedera" is an enduring monument to his unwearied industry
(1639-1714).
RYSBRACH, MICHAEL, a well-known sculptor in the 18th century, born
at Antwerp; established himself in London and executed busts and statues
of the most prominent men of his day, including the monument to Sir Isaac
Newton in Westminster Abbey, statue of Marlborough, busts of Walpole,
Bolingbroke, Pope, &c. (1694-1770).
RYSWICK, PEACE OF, signed on October 30, 1697, at the village of
Ryswick, 2 m. S. of The Hague, by England, Holland, Germany, and Spain on
the one hand and France on the other, terminating the sanguinary struggle
which had begun In 1688; it lasted till 1702.
S
SAADI. See SÁDI.
SAALE, the name of several German rivers, the most important of
which rises in the Fichtelgebirge, near Zell, in Upper Bavaria; flows
northward, a course of 226 m., till it joins the Elbe at Barby; has
numerous towns on its banks, including Jena, Halle, and Naumburg, to
which last it is navigable.
SAARBRÜCK (10), a manufacturing town in Rhenish Prussia, on the
French frontier, where the French under Napoleon III. repulsed the
Germans, August 2, 1870.
SABADELL (18), a prosperous Spanish town, 14 m. NW. of Barcelona;
manufactures cotton and woollen textiles.
SABÆANS, a trading people who before the days of Solomon and for
long after inhabited South Arabia, on the shores of the Bed Sea, and who
worshipped the sun and moon with other kindred deities; also a religious
sect on the Lower Euphrates, with Jewish, Moslem, and Christian rites as
well as pagan, called Christians of St. John; the term Sabæanism
designates the worship of the former.
SABAOTH, name given in the Bible, and particularly in the Epistle of
James, to the Divine Being as the Lord of all hosts or kinds of
creatures.
SABATHAI, LEVI, a Jewish impostor, who gave himself out to be the
Messiah and persuaded a number of Jews to forsake all and follow him; the
sultan of Turkey forced him to confess the imposture, and he turned
Mussulman to save his life (1625-1676).
SABBATH, the seventh day of the week, observed by the Jews as a day
of "rest" from all work and "holy to the Lord," as His day, specially in
commemoration of His rest from the work of creation, the observance of
which by the Christian Church has been transferred to the first of the
week in commemoration of Christ's resurrection.
SABELLIANISM, the doctrine of one Sabellius, who, in the third
century, denied that there were three persons in the Godhead, and
maintained that there was only one person in three functions, aspects, or
manifestations, at least this was the form his doctrine assumed in course
of time, which is now called by his name, and is accepted by many in the
present day.
SABIANISM. See SABÆANS.
SABINE, a river of Texas which, rising in the extreme N. of the
State, flows SE. and S., forming for 250 m. the boundary between
Louisiana and Texas, passes through Sabine Lake into the Gulf of Mexico
after a navigable course of 500 in.
SABINE, SIR EDWARD, a noted physicist, born in Dublin; served in
artillery in 1803, maintained his connection with it till his retirement
in 1874 as general, but owes his celebrity to his important
investigations into the nature of terrestrial magnetism; accompanied as a
scientist Boss and Parry in their search for the North-West Passage
(1819-20); was President both of the Royal Society from 1861 to 1879 and
of the British Association in 1853 (1788-1883).
SABINES, an ancient Italian people of the Aryan stock, near
neighbours of ancient Borne, a colony of whom is said to have settled on
the Quirinal, and contributed to form the moral part of the Roman people.
Numa, the second king of the city, was a Sabine. See ROMULUS.
SABLE ISLAND, a low, sandy, barren island in the Atlantic, 110 m.
off the E. coast of Nova Scotia; is extremely dangerous to navigation,
and is marked by three lighthouses; is gradually being washed away.
SABOTS, a species of wooden shoes extensively worn by the peasants
of France, Belgium, &c.; each shoe is hollowed out of a single block of
wood (fir, willow, beech, and ash); well adapted for marshy districts.
SACERDOTALISM, a tendency to attach undue importance to the order
and the ministry of priests, to the limitation of the operation of Divine
grace.
SACHEVEREL, HENRY, an English Church clergyman, born at Maryborough,
who became notorious in the reign of Queen Anne for his embittered attack
(contained in two sermons in 1700) on the Revolution Settlement and the
Act of Toleration; public feeling was turning in favour of the Tories,
and the impolitic impeachment of Sacheverel by the Whig Government fanned
popular feeling to a great height in his favour; was suspended from
preaching for three years, at the expiry of which time the Tories, then
in power, received him with ostentatious marks of favour; was soon
forgotten; was an Oxford graduate, and a friend of Addison; a man of no
real ability (1672-1724).
SACHS, HANS, a noted early German poet, born at Nürnberg; the son of
a tailor, by trade a shoemaker; learned "the mystery of song" from a
weaver; was a contemporary of Luther, who acknowledged his services in
the cause of the Reformation; in his seventy-fourth year (1568), on
examining his stock for publication, found that he had written 6048
poetical pieces, among them 208 tragedies and comedies, and this besides
having all along kept house, like an honest Nürnberg burgher, by
assiduous and sufficient shoemaking; a man standing on his own basis;
wrote "Narrenschneiden," a piece in which the doctor cures a bloated and
lethargic patient by "cutting out half-a-dozen fools from his interior";
he sunk into oblivion during the 17th century, but his memory was revived
by Goethe in the 18th (1494-1576).
SACHS, JULIUS, a German botanist and professor, born at Breslau; has
written several works on botany, and experimented on the physiology of
plants; _b_. 1832.
SACKVILLE, THOMAS, EARL OF DORSET, poet and statesman, born at
Buckhurst; bred for the bar; entered Parliament in 1558; wrote with
Thomas Norton a tragedy called "Gorboduc," contributed to a collection of
British legends called the "Mirror of Magistrates" two pieces in noble
verse (1536-1608).
SACRAMENT, a ceremonial observance in the Christian Church divinely
instituted as either really or symbolically a means, and in any case a
pledge, of grace.
SACRAMENTARIAN, a High Churchman who attaches a special sacred
virtue to the sacraments of the Church.
SACRAMENTO, largest river of California, rises in the NE. in the
Sierra Nevada; follows a south-westerly course, draining the central
valley of California; falls into Suisund Bay, on the Pacific coast, after
a course of 500 miles, of which 250 are navigable.
SACRAMENTO (29), capital of California, situated at the confluence
of the Sacramento and American Rivers, 90 m. NE. of San Francisco;
industries embrace flour and planing mills, foundries, potteries, &c.;
has an art gallery, court-house, &c.; the tropical climate is tempered at
night by cool sea breezes.
SACRED WARS. See AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL.
SACRIFICE, anything of value given away to secure the possession of
something of still higher value, and which is the greater and more
meritorious the costlier the gift.
SACRING-BELL, or SANCTUS-BELL, the bell which rings when the
Host is elevated at the celebration of High Mass.
SACY, ANTOINE ISAAC, BARON SILVESTRE DE, the greatest of modern
Orientalists, born at Paris; by twenty-three was a master of classic,
Oriental, and modern European languages; was appointed in 1795 professor
of Arabic in the School of Oriental Languages, and in 1806 of Persian in
the College de France, besides which he held various other appointments;
founded the Asiatic Society in 1822; was created a baron by Napoleon
Bonaparte, and entered the Chamber of Peers in 1832; published
"Biographies of Persian Poets," a standard Arabic grammar, &c.; his
writings gave a stimulus to Oriental research throughout Europe
(1758-1838).
SADDA, the name given to a Persian epitome of the Zend-Avesta.
SADDUCEES, a sect of the Jews of high priestly origin that first
came into prominence by their opposition to the Pharisees, being the
party in power when Pharisaism arose in protestation against their policy
as tending to the secularisation of the Jewish faith, or the prostitution
of it to mere secular ends. They represented the Tory or Conservative
party among the Jews, as the Pharisees did the High Church party among
us. The antagonism which thus arose on political grounds gradually
extended to religious matters. In regard to religion they were the old
orthodox party, and acknowledged the obligation of only the written law,
and refused to accept tradition at the hands of the Scribes. They denied
the immortality of the soul, the separate existence of spirits, and this
they did on strictly Old Testament grounds, but this not from any real
respect for the authority of Scripture, only as in accord with the main
article of their creed, which attached importance only to what bears upon
this present life, and which in modern times goes under the name of
secularism. They were at bottom a purely political party, and they went
out of sight and disappeared from Jewish history with the fall of the
Jewish State, only the Pharisaic party surviving in witness of what
Judaism is.
SADE, DONATIEN ALPHONSE FRANÇOIS, MARQUIS DE, French novelist, who,
after fighting in the Seven Years' War, was sentenced to death for odious
crimes, effected his escape, but was caught and imprisoned in the
Bastille, where he wrote a number of licentious romances; died a lunatic
(1740-1814).
SÁDI, a celebrated Persian poet, born at Shiraz, of noble lineage,
but born poor; bred up in the Moslem faith; made pilgrimages to Mecca no
fewer than 15 times; spent years in travel; fell into the hands of the
Crusaders; was ransomed by a merchant of Aleppo, who thought him worth
ransoming at a cost; retired to a hermitage near Shiraz, where he died
and was buried; his works, both in prose and verse, are numerous, but the
most celebrated is the "Gulistan" (the rose-gardens), a collection of
moral tales interlarded with philosophical reflections and maxims of
wisdom, which have made his name famous all over both the East and the
West (1184-1291).
SADLER, SIR RALPH, a politician and diplomatist; was employed by
Henry VIII. in carrying out the dissolution of the monasteries, and
conducted diplomatic negotiations with Scotland; distinguished himself at
the battle of Pinkie; enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth; was Queen Mary's
keeper in the Castle of Tutbury; was the bearer of the news of Queen
Mary's execution to King James (1507-1587).
SADOLETO, JACOPO, cardinal, born in Modena; acted as secretary under
Leo X., Clement VII., and Paul III., the latter of whom created him a
cardinal in 1536; was a faithful Churchman and an accomplished scholar,
and eminent in both capacities (1477-1547).
SADOWA. See KÖNIGGRÄTZ.
SAFED (17), a town of Palestine, 12 m. N. of Tiberias, occupied
principally by Jews attracted thither in part by the expectation that the
Messiah, when He appears, will establish His kingdom there; it spreads in
horse-shoe fashion round the foot of a hill 2700 ft. high; is a seat of
Hebrew learning.
SAFETY LAMP, name of a variety of lamps for safety in coal-mines
against "fire-damp," a highly explosive mixture of natural gas apt to
accumulate in them; the best known being the "Davey Lamp," invented by
Sir Humphrey Davy; the "Geordie," invented by George Stephenson, both of
which, however, have been superseded by the Gray, Muesler, Marsant, and
other lamps; all are constructed on the principle discovered by Davy and
Stephenson, that a flame enveloped in wire gauze of a certain fineness
does not ignite "fire-damp."
SAFFI, or ASFI (9), a decayed seaport of Morocco, on the
Mediterranean coast, 120 m. NW. of the city of Morocco; has ruins of a
castle of the Sultans and of the old Portuguese fortifications; has still
a fair export trade in beans, wool, olive-oil, &c.
SAGAR, a low island at the mouth of the Hûgli, a sacred spot and a
place of pilgrimage to the Hindus; mostly jungle; sparsely peopled.
SAGAS, a collection of epics in prose embodying the myths and
legends of the ancient Scandinavians, originally transmitted from mouth
to mouth, and that began to assume a literary form about the 12th
century.
SAGASTA, PRAXEDES MATEO, Spanish statesmen of liberal sympathies;
took part in the insurrections of 1856 and 1866, and was for some time a
fugitive in France; entered Prim's Cabinet, supported the elected King
Amadeus, and since his abdication has led the Liberal party; has twice
been Prime Minister; _b_. 1827.
SAGHALIEN (12), a long narrow island belonging to Russia, situated
close to the E. coast of Siberia, from which it is separated by the
so-called Gulf of Tartary; stretches N. from the island of Yezo, a
distance of 670 m.; is mountainous and forest-clad in the interior; has
excellent coast fisheries, but a cold, damp climate prevents successful
agriculture; rich coal-mines exist, and are wrought by 4000 or 5000
convicts. Ceded by Japan to Russia in 1875.
SAGUENAY, a large and picturesque river of Canada; carries off the
surplus waters of Lake St. John, replenished by a number of large
streams, and issuing a full-bodied stream, flows SE. through magnificent
forest and mountain scenery till it falls into the St. Lawrence, 115 m.
below Quebec, after a course of 100 m.; is remarkable for its depth, and
is navigable by the largest ships.
SAGUNTUM, a town of ancient Spain, was situated where now stands the
town of Murviedro, 18 m. NE. of Valencia; famous in history for its
memorable siege by Hannibal in 219 B.C., which led to the Second Punic
War.
SAHARA, the largest desert region in the world, stretches E. and W.
across Northern Africa, from the Atlantic to the valley of the Nile, a
distance of 3000 m., and on the N. is limited by the slopes of the Atlas
Mountains, and on the S. by the valleys of the Senegal and Niger Rivers.
The surface is diversified by long sweeps of undulating sand-dunes,
elevated plateaux, hill and mountain ranges (8000 ft. highest) furrowed
by dried-up water-courses, and dotted with fertile oases which yield
date-palms, oranges, lemons, figs, &c. The most sterile tract is in the
W., stretching in a semicircle between Cape Blanco and Fezzan. Rain falls
over the greater part at intervals of from two to five years. Temperature
will vary from over 100°F. to below freezing-point in 24 hours. There are
a number of definite caravan routes connecting Timbuctoo and the Central
Soudan with the Niger and coast-lands. Dates and salt are the chief
products; the giraffe, wild ass, lion, ostrich, python, &c., are found;
it is chiefly inhabited by nomadic and often warlike Moors, Arabs,
Berbers, and various negro races. The greater part is within the sphere
of French influence. "When the winds waken, and lift and winnow the
immensity of sand, the air itself is a dim sand-air, and dim looming
through it, the wonderfullest uncertain colonnades of sand-pillars whirl
from this side and from that, like so many spinning dervishes, of a
hundred feet of stature, and dance their huge Desert waltz there."
SAHARANPUR (59), a town in the North-West Provinces of India, 125 m.
N. of Delhi, in a district formerly malarious, but now drained and
healthy; the population principally Mohammedans, who have recently built
in it a handsome mosque.
SAHIB (i. e. master), used in India when addressing a European
gentleman; Mem Sahib to a lady.
SAIGON (16), capital of French Cochin-China, on the river Saigon,
one of the delta streams of the Mekhong, 60 m. from the China Sea; is
handsomely laid out with boulevards, &c.; has a fine palace, arsenal,
botanical and zoological gardens, &c.; Cholon (40), 4 m. SW., forms a
busy trading suburb, exporting rice, cotton, salt, hides, &c.
SAINT, a name applied to a holy or sacred person, especially one
canonised; in the plural it is the name assumed by the Mormons.
ST. ALBANS (13), an old historic city of Hertfordshire, on an
eminence by the Ver, a small stream, which separates it from the site of
the ancient Verulamium; has a splendid ancient abbey church, rebuilt in
1077; industries include brewing, straw-plaiting, silk-throwing, &c.;
scene of two famous battles (1455 and 1461) during the Wars of the Roses.
ST. ALOYSIUS, Italian marquis, who renounced his title, became a
Jesuit, devoted himself to the care of the plague-stricken in Rome; died
of it, and was canonised (1568-1591).
ST. ANDREWS (7), a famous city of Fife, occupies a bold site on St.
Andrews Bay, 42 m. NE. of Edinburgh; for long the ecclesiastical
metropolis of Scotland, and associated with many stirring events in
Scottish history; its many interesting ruins include a 12th-century
priory, a cathedral, "robbed" in 1559, a castle or bishop's palace built
in the 13th century; has a university (St. Salvator's 1521 and St.
Leonard's 1537) the first founded in Scotland, and is still an important
educational centre, having several excellent schools (Madras College the
chief); since the Reformation its trade has gradually dwindled away;
fishing is carried on, but it depends a good deal on its large influx of
summer visitors, attracted by the splendid golf links and excellent
sea-bathing.
SAINT ARNAUD, JACQUES LEROY DE, a noted French marshal, born at
Bordeaux; was already a distinguished soldier when he entered actively
into the plans of Louis Napoleon to overthrow the Republic; assisted at
the _coup d'état_, and was created a marshal in reward; commanded the
French forces at the outbreak of the Crimean War, and took part in the
battle of the Alma, but died a few days later (1796-1854).
ST. ASAPH (2), a pretty little city in Flintshire, 6 m. SE. of Rhyl;
its cathedral, the smallest in the kingdom, was rebuilt after 1284,
mainly in the Decorated style.
ST. BEES (1), a village on the Cumberland coast, 4 m. S. of
Whitehaven; has a Church of England Theological College, founded in 1816
by Dr. Law, bishop of Chester; designed for students of limited means; a
ruined priory church of Henry I.'s time was renovated for the
accommodation of the college.
ST. BERNARD, the name of two mountain passes in the Alps: 1, GREAT
ST. BERNARD, in the Pennine Alps, leading from Martigny to Aosta, is
8120 ft. high, near the top of which stands a famous hospice, founded in
962, and kept by Augustinian monks, who, with the aid of dogs called of
St. Bernard, do noble service in rescuing perishing travellers from the
snow; 2, LITTLE ST. BERNARD, in the Graian Alps, crosses the
mountains which separate the valleys of Aosta and Tarantaise in Savoy.
Hannibal is supposed to have crossed the Alps by this pass.
ST. BRIEUC (16), capital of the dep. of Côtes du Nord, Brittany, on
the Gouet, and 2 m. from its mouth; has a 13th-century cathedral, ruins
of an interesting tower, lyceum, &c.; at the mouth of the river is the
port Le Ligné.
ST. CHRISTOPHER or ST. KITTS (30), one of the Leeward Islands,
in the West Indies archipelago, 45 m. NW. of Guadeloupe; a narrow
mountainous island, 23 m. long; produces sugar, molasses, rum, &c.;
capital is Basse-terre (7).
ST. CLAIR, a river of North America, flowing in a broad navigable
stream from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, which in turn pours its
surplus waters by means of the Detroit River into Lake Erie.
ST. CLOUD (5), a town in the dep. of Seine-et-Oise, France; occupies
an elevated site near the Seine, 10 m. W. of Paris; the fine château,
built by Louis XIV.'s brother, the Duke of Orleans, was for long the
favourite residence of the Emperor Napoleon, since destroyed; a part of
the park is occupied by the Sèvres porcelain factory.
ST. CYR (3), a French village, 2 m. W. of Versailles, where Louis
XIV., at the request of Madame de Maintenon, founded an institution for
the education of girls of noble birth but poor, which was suppressed at
the time of the Revolution, and afterwards converted into a military
school by Napoleon.
SAINT-CYR, LAURENT GOUVION, MARQUIS DE, marshal of France, born at
Toul; joined the army in 1792, and in six years had risen to the command
of the French forces at Rome; fought with distinction in the German and
Italian campaigns, and in the Peninsular War; won his marshal's baton
during the Russian campaign of 1812; was captured at the capitulation of
Dresden in 1813, much to the regret of Napoleon; created a peer after the
Restoration, and was for some time Minister of War; wrote some historical
works (1764-1830).
ST. DAVIDS (2), an interesting old cathedral town in Pembrokeshire,
on the streamlet Alan, and not 2 m. from St. Brides Bay; its cathedral,
rebuilt after 1180 in the Transition Norman style, was at one time a
famous resort of pilgrims. On the other side of the Alan stand the ruins
of Bishop Gower's palace.
ST. DENIS (48), a town of France, on a canal of the same name, 4 m.
N. of Paris, noted for its old abbey church, which from the 7th century
became the burying-place of the French monarchs. During the Revolution in
1793 the tombs were ruthlessly desecrated; there is also a school for the
daughters of officers of the Legion of Honour, founded by Napoleon;
manufactures chemicals, printed calicoes, &c.
ST. ELIAS, MOUNT, an isolated, inaccessible volcanic mountain in the
extreme NW. of Canada, close to the frontier of Alaska, 18,010 ft. high;
has never been scaled.
ST. ELMO'S FIRE. See ELMO'S FIRE, ST.
ST. ÉTIENNE (133), a busy industrial town of France, capital of
department of Loire, on the Furens, 36 m. SW. of Lyons; has been called
the "Birmingham of France"; is in the centre of a rich coal district, and
produces every kind of hardware; the manufacture of ribbons is also an
important industry; there is a school of mines.
SAINT-ÉVREMOND, CHARLES MARGUETEL DE SAINT-DENIS, SEIGNEUR DE, a
celebrated French wit and author; won distinction as a soldier, and rose
to be a field-marshal; his turn for satiric writing got him into trouble,
and in 1661 he fled to England, where the rest of his life was spent;
wrote charming letters to his friend Ninon de l'Enclos; enjoyed the
favour of Charles II., and published satires, essays, comedies, &c.,
which are distinguished by their polished style and genial irony; was
buried in Westminster (1613-1703).
ST. GALL (230), a NE. canton of Switzerland, on the Austrian
frontier; its splendid lake and mountain scenery and mineral springs
render many of its towns popular holiday resorts; the embroidery of
cottons and other textiles is an important industry. ST. GALL (28),
the capital, is situated on the Steinach, 53 m. E. of Zurich; is a town
of great antiquity, and celebrated in past ages for its monastic schools;
its magnificent mediæval cathedral has been restored; the old Benedictine
monastery is used now for government purposes, but still contains its
famous collection of MSS.; embroidering textiles is the chief industry.
ST. GOTHARD, a noted mountain in the Lepontine Alps, 9850 ft. high,
crossed by a pass leading from Lake Lucerne to Lake Maggiore; since 1882
traversed by a railway with a tunnel through from Göschenen to Airolo, a
distance of 9¼ m.
ST. HELENA (4), a precipitous cliff-bound island lying well out in
the Atlantic, 1200 m. off the W. coast of Africa; belongs to Britain;
celebrated as Napoleon Bonaparte's place of imprisonment from 1815 till
his death in 1821. Jamestown (2), the capital, is a second-class coaling
station for the navy, and is fortified.
ST. HELENS (71), a thriving manufacturing town of Lancashire, on
Sankey Brook, a feeder of the Mersey, 21 m. W. by S. of Manchester; is
the chief centre of the manufacture of crown, plate, and sheet glass.
ST. HELIER (29), capital of Jersey Island, on St. Aubin Bay, on the
S. side; is well fortified by Fort Regent and Elizabeth Castle, on a
rocky islet near the shore; has a college, public library, &c.; fishing
and shipbuilding are important industries.
ST. IVES, 1, a town in Cornwall, 8 m. N. of Penzance, the
inhabitants of which are chiefly engaged in the pilchard fisheries. 2, A
town in Huntingdonshire, on the Ouse, 5 m. E. of Huntingdon, where
Cromwell lived and Theodore Watts the artist was born.
ST. JAMES'S PALACE, an old, brick-built palace in Pall Mall, London,
originally a hospital, converted into a manor by Henry VIII., and became
eventually a royal residence. It gives name to the British court.
ST. JOHN, a river of North America, rises in the highlands of North
Maine and crosses the continent in an easterly direction and falls into
the Bay of Fundy after a course of 450 m., of which 225 m. are in New
Brunswick; is navigable for steamers as far as Fredericton.
ST. JOHN (39), embracing the adjacent town of Portland, chief
commercial city of New Brunswick, on the estuary of St. John River, 277
m. NW. of Halifax; has an excellent harbour; shipbuilding, fishing, and
timber exporting are the chief industries; has a great variety of
prosperous manufactures, such as machine and iron works, cotton and
woollen factories, &c.; does a good trade with the West Indies.
ST. JOHNS (26), capital of Newfoundland, situated on a splendid
harbour on the peninsula or Avalon, in the E. of the island: is the
nearest port of America to the continent of Europe; has oil and tan
works, &c.
ST. JOSEPH (103), a city of Missouri, on the Missouri River (here
spanned by a fine bridge), 110 m. above Kansas City, is an important
railway centre; as capital of Buchanan County it possesses a number of
State buildings and Roman Catholic colleges; does a large trade in
pork-packing, iron goods, &c.
SAINT-JUST, LOUIS FLORELLE DE, a prominent French Revolutionist,
born at Decize, near Nevers; as a youth got into disgrace with his family
and fled to Paris, where, being bitten already by the ideas of Rousseau,
he flung himself heart and soul into the revolutionary movement, became
the faithful henchman of Robespierre, and finally followed his master to
the guillotine, having in his zeal previously declared "for
Revolutionists there is no rest but in the tomb"; "he was a youth of
slight stature, with mild mellow voice, enthusiast olive-complexioned,
and long black hair" (1767-1794).
ST. KILDA. See KILDA, ST.
ST. LAWRENCE, one of the great rivers of North America; issues in a
noble stream from Lake Ontario, and flowing due NE. discharges into the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, forming a broad estuary; is 750 m. long and from 1
to 4 m. broad; the scenery in parts is very grand, notably in the
expansion--the Lake of the Thousand Isles; is navigable for large
steamers as far as Montreal: the Ottawa is its chief tributary; in winter
navigation is suspended on account of the ice.
ST. LÓ (10), a town in Normandy, on a rocky eminence 60 m. SE. of
Cherbourg; has textile manufactures; was the birthplace of Leverrier.
ST. LOUIS, 1, One of the great commercial cities (575) of the United
States, capital of Missouri State; situated on the Mississippi (here
spanned by two fine bridges), 21 m. below its confluence with the
Missouri; is a handsomely built city, and equipped with every modern
convenience, entirely lit by electric light, &c.; has spacious parks, two
universities, public libraries, &c.; is a centre for 18 railroads, which
with the great river-way enables it to carry on a vast trade in grain,
cotton, wool, furs, live stock, &c.; its tobacco manufacture is the
greatest in the world. 2, Also capital (17) of the French colony of
Senegal, in West Africa.
ST. LUCIA (42), a rocky, forest-clad island in the West Indies, the
largest of the Windward group; exports sugar, cocoa, logwood, &c.;
capital is Castries (8).
ST. MALO (12), a strongly fortified seaport of France, on the
Brittany coast (department of Ille-et-Vilaine), at the mouth of the
Ranee; the old town is built over the Rocher d'Auron, an islet connected
with the mainland by a causeway 215 yards long; there is a good harbour,
and a considerable amount of shipping is done; potatoes, dairy-produce,
and some cereals are exported. It was the birthplace of several
distinguished French authors and sailors.
ST. MICHAEL'S (126), the largest and most fertile of the Azores, 40
m. long by from 5 m. to 10 m. in breadth; is of volcanic origin; yields
cereals, oranges, &c.
ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, an islet, forming a precipitous granite mass,
in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, connected with the mainland by a low causeway
passable only at low tides; a fine old castle crowns its rocky height,
and a small fishing village lies sheltered on the northern side.
ST. MICHEL, MONT, a remarkable islet in St. Michel Bay, SW. corner
of Normandy, 18 m. W. of Avranches; is formed of a single cone of
granite, 242 ft. high, crowned by a historic Benedictine monastery; on
the lower slopes is built a little fortified town; a causeway 1 m. long
joins it to the mainland.
ST. NAZAIRE (26), a flourishing seaport of France, on the Loire, 40
m. W. of Nantes, where large sums have been expended in improving its
spacious docks to accommodate an increasing shipping-trade; its exports,
brandy, coal, wheat, &c., are mainly from Nantes and the interior.
ST. NEOTS (4), an old market-town of Huntingdonshire, on the Ouse, 8
m. SW. of Huntingdon; has an interesting old parish church, a corn
exchange, and iron and paper works.
ST. NICHOLAS, the patron saint of boys, who was fabled to bring
presents to good children on Christmas eve; was bishop of Myra in the 4th
century, and had taken a special interest in the young.
ST. OMER (20), a fortified town of France, on the Aa, 26 m. SE. of
Calais; has a fine old Gothic cathedral, a ruined Benedictine abbey
church, a Catholic college, arsenal, &c.; manufactures embrace light
textiles, tobacco pipes, &c.
ST. PAUL (168), capital of Minnesota State, finely situated on the
Mississippi, a little below the mouth of the Minnesota River; in 1849 a
village of 500 inhabitants; is now a beautiful and spacious city,
equipped with colleges, libraries, government buildings, electric
street-railways, &c.; is a centre for 10 railways, and carries on a large
trade in distributing groceries and dry goods throughout the State.
ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, at West Kensington, London, a famous charity
school founded by JOHN COLET (q. v.), dean of St. Paul's, for
children of "every nation, country, and class"; originally stood in St.
Paul's Churchyard, but was burned out by the Great Fire of 1666; the
present building was opened in 1884. The endowment amounts to £10,000 a
year, and 1000 boys and 400 girls are provided with education and board.
There are a number of Oxford and Cambridge exhibitions.
ST. PETERSBURG (1,036), capital of Russia, an imposing city,
occupying a dreary, isolated site at the head of the Gulf of Finland, on
the banks and delta islands (100) of the Neva, founded in 1702 by Peter
the Great; a large number of bridges span the main stream and its
numerous divisions; massive stone quays hold back the waters, but a rise
of 12 ft. floods the city (a yearly occurrence in the poorer parts); the
river is ice-bound nearly half the year, and is given over to sleighing,
&c.; the short summer is hot; covers nearly 48 sq. m.; its palaces and
government buildings for number and grandeur are unsurpassed; Neva View
is the finest street in Europe; is the centre of Russian political,
literary, scientific, and artistic life; has a university, numerous
academies, cathedral, technical and training colleges, and libraries (the
Imperial Public Library contains 1,200,000 vols.); connected with the
Volga basin by a canal, and the centre of four railways, it is the
commercial metropolis and chief port of Russia, and carries on half the
foreign trade; exports one-fifth of the corn of Russia, besides flax,
linseed, leather, petroleum, &c.; imports coal, machinery, &c.; principal
manufactures are cotton goods and other textiles, leather, sugar,
porcelain goods, &c.
ST. PIERRE, HENRI BERNARDIN DE, French novelist, born at Havre; an
engineer by profession, was a disciple of Rousseau both sentimentally and
speculatively; his chief work, "PAUL AND VIRGINIA" (q. v.),
shows here as in his other writings, says Professor Saintsbury, "a
remarkable faculty of word-painting, and also of influencing the
feelings" (1737-1814).
ST. QUENTIN (48), a manufacturing town of France, on the Somme, 95
m. NE. of Paris; manufactures all kinds of cotton and woollen goods,
machinery, paper, &c.; has a fine old Gothic church and town-hall; here
the French were routed by the Spaniards in 1557, and by the Germans in
1871.
ST. RÉAL, ABBÉ DE, historian, born at Chambéry, where he settled in
1679, and where he died; was historiographer to the Duke of Savoy, and
wrote the "History of the Conspiracy of Spain against Venice," a
masterpiece of its kind, and modelled on Sallust (1639-1692).
SAINT SAËNS, CHARLES CAMILLE, a French musician, born in Paris; for
19 years organist of the Madeleine; composer of a number of operas (e. g.
"Henri VIII.") indifferently successful, and of much orchestral and
chamber music of a masterly kind; is held to be one of the greatest of
living pianists and organists; also noted for his musical critiques; _b_.
1835.
ST. SIMON, CLAUDE HENRI, COMTE DE, founder of French Socialism, and
of a sect called after him St. Simonians, born in Paris, of an old noble
family; grand-nephew of the succeeding, but renounced his title and
devoted his life and all his means of living to the promotion of his
Socialist scheme, reducing himself in the end to utter penury; he made
few disciples, though some of them were men of distinction; he is
credited by Carlyle with having discovered, "not without amazement, that
man is still man, of which forgotten truth," he bids us remark, "he had
made a false application"; that is, we presume, by reorganisation from
without instead of regeneration from within; his scheme was a
reconstruction of society by the abolition of the hereditary principle,
and the vesting of the instruments of production in the State and the
administration of these for the welfare of all its members (1760-1825).
ST. SIMON, LOUIS DE ROUVROY, DUC DE, French courtier and diplomatist
in the reign of Louis XIV.; left "Memoirs" in record of the times he
lived in, depicting with remarkable sagacity the manners of the Court and
the characters of the courtiers (1676-1755).
ST. SIMONIANS. See ST. SIMON, COMTE DE.
ST. TAMMANY, an American-Indian chief, popularly canonised as a
saint, and adopted as the tutelary genius by a section of the democratic
party in the States; his motto was "Unite in peace for happiness; in war
for defence."
ST. THOMAS, 1, an unhealthy volcanic island (20) in the Gulf of
Guinea, belonging to Portugal; produces coffee, cocoa, and some spices;
chief town, St. Thomas (3), a port on the NE. 2, One of the Virgin
Islands (14), 37 m. E. of Porto Rico; belongs to Denmark; since the
abolition of slavery its prosperous sugar trade has entirely departed;
capital, St. Thomas (12), is now a coaling-station for steamers.
ST. THOMAS'S, a handsome hospital on the S. side of the Thames,
opposite Westminster, founded in 1553, and with an annual revenue of
£40,000.
SAINT-VICTOR, PAUL DE, an ornate French writer, born in Paris; from
1851 was engaged in dramatic and other criticism, and established his
reputation as a stylist of unusual brilliance. "When I read Saint-Victor
I put on blue spectacles," said Lamartine; author of several works on
historical and æsthetic subjects (e. g. "Anciens et Modernes," "Hommes
et Dieux") was for a number of years General Inspector of Fine Arts
(1827-1881).
ST. VINCENT (41), one of the Windward Islands, in the West Indies,
105 m. W. of Barbadoes, belongs to Britain; a coaling and cable station;
mountainous and volcanic; warm, but healthy climate; exports sugar, rum,
spices, &c.; chief town is Kingston (6), a port on the SW. coast.
ST. VINCENT, CAPE, a lofty and rugged headland in the extreme SW. of
Portugal, off which have been fought several naval battles, the most
memorable being the great victory on February 14, 1797, when Jervis and
Nelson annihilated the Franco-Spanish fleet.
ST. VINCENT, JOHN JERVIS, EARL, a noted English admiral, born at
Meaford Hill, Staffordshire; ran away to sea when a boy, and by gallantry
at Quebec in 1759 and otherwise rose rapidly in the service; commanded
the naval attack upon the French West Indies (1793), and four years
later, as admiral of the Mediterranean fleet, shared with Nelson the
honours of a brilliant victory over the combined fleets of France and
Spain off Cape St. Vincent; was created an earl in reward; during
1801-1804 was a successful First Lord of the Admiralty (1734-1823).
SAINTE-BEUVE, CHARLES AUGUSTIN, the greatest of French literary
critics, born at Boulogne-sur-Mer; adopted medicine as a profession in
deference to the wishes of his widowed mother, and for some years studied
at Paris, but even as a student had begun his career as a literary critic
by contributions to the _Globe_ newspaper; in 1827 became acquainted with
Victor Hugo, whose commanding influence drew him into the Romantic
movement, and determined for him a literary career; a critical work on
French poetry in the 16th century (1828), two volumes of mediocre poetry
(1829-1830), and a psychological novel, "Volupté" (1834), the fruit of
spiritual and mental unrest, preceded his lectures at Lausanne on
Port-Royal (1837), which, afterwards elaborated and published, contain
some of his finest writings; an appointment in the Mazarin Library, Paris
(1840), brought him a modest competence, and allowed him during the next
8 years to contribute without strain or stress to the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_; was elected in 1845 to the Academy; three years later lectured
for a session at Liège University; during 1849-1869 he contributed a
weekly literary article to the _Constitutionnel_; these form his famous
"Causeries du Lundi" and "Nouveaux Lundis," which, for variety of human
interest, critical insight, and breadth of sympathy, remain unsurpassed;
was appointed professor of Latin in the Collège de France (1854), but his
unpopularity with the students, owing to his support of Napoleon III.,
led to his resignation; as a senator in 1865 his popularity revived by
his eloquent advocacy of freedom of thought, and on his decease some
10,000 people attended his funeral (1804-1869).
SAINTE-CLAIRE DEVILLE, HENRI ÉTIENNE, a noted French chemist, born
in St. Thomas, West Indies; occupied for many years the chair of
Chemistry in the Sorbonne, Paris; his important contributions to chemical
knowledge include a process for simplifying the extraction of aluminium
and platinum (1818-1881).
SAINTES (15), an interesting old town in West France, dep.
Charente-Inférieure, on the Charente, 28 m. SE. of Rochefort; known in
ancient times as Mediolanum; has some splendid Roman remains, a
cathedral, &c.; manufactures copper and iron goods, leather, &c.
SAINTSBURY, GEORGE, literary critic, born at Southampton; graduated
at Merton College, Oxford; was engaged in scholastic work for a number of
years at Manchester, Guernsey, and Elgin; in 1876 settled in London, and
made a reputation for vigorous and scholarly criticism, devoting much of
his time to French literature; elected to the Chair of English Literature
in Edinburgh University, 1895; is the author of a "Short History of
French Literature," a "Short History of English Literature," besides
several volumes of essays, &c.; _b_. 1845.
SAÏS, a city of ancient Egypt, on the delta, on the right bank of
the W. branch of the Nile; gave name to two Egyptian dynasties founded by
natives of it, was a religious centre, and eventually for a time capital,
the temple of which was said to contain a veiled statue which became a
subject of legend.
SAIVAS, in the Hindu religion the worshippers of Siva, one of the
two great sections of the Hindus, the worshippers of Vishnu being the
other.
SAKI, a beer of alcoholic quality made in Japan from rice by
fermentation. It is drunk hot at meals, and is in a small way
intoxicating.
SAKUNTALA, in Hindu mythology a benignant female character, made the
subject of a famous drama of KÁLIDÁSA (q. v.), translated in
1789 by Sir William Jones.
SAKYAMUNI (i. e. the solitary of the Sakyas), the name given to
Buddha, one of the tribe of the Sakyas in Northern India.
SALA, GEORGE AUGUSTUS, a well-known journalist, born in London, of
Italian and English parentage; had some training in art before he began
writing for Dickens's _Household Words_, &c.; lived a busy, rambling
life; founded and edited _Temple Bar;_ acted as war-correspondent for the
_Daily Telegraph_; author of several popular novels, "Captain Dangerous"
and "Quite Alone" among them, and books of travel, "A Trip to Barbary"
and "America Revisited" (1828-1895).
SALAAM, an Oriental term of salutation meaning "Peace," especially
among the Mohammedans.
SALADIN, sultan of Egypt and Syria, the hero of the third crusade on
the Saracen side; a man of noble and chivalrous character; served first
as a soldier under Nureddin; rose to be vizier of Egypt, and ultimately
sovereign in 1174; distinguished himself by the capture of Damascus,
Aleppo, &c., and entering the Holy Land defeated the Christians at
Tiberias, thereafter taking Jerusalem and laying siege to Tyre; found in
Richard Coeur de Lion a foeman worthy of his steel, concluded a truce in
1192, and died the year after (1137-1193).
SALAMANCA (22), an interesting old city of Spain, capital of a
province of the same name, occupies a hilly site on the Tormes, here
spanned by a Roman bridge, 110 m. NW. of Madrid, long famous for its
university, which in its heyday (16th century) numbered 8000 students,
now fallen to 400; holds within its surrounding walls many fine old
cathedrals, colleges, and other buildings; its industries are greatly
fallen off, and consist mainly of cloth, linen, leather, and pottery
manufacturing; in this neighbourhood Wellington won a great victory over
the French on July 22, 1812.
SALAMANDER, an elemental spirit conceived in the Middle Ages as an
animal that lived in the fire as its proper element.
SALAMIS, a mountainous island of Greece, on the NW. coast of Attica,
the strait between which and the mainland was the scene of a naval
victory over the armament of Xerxes by the combined fleets of Athens,
Sparta, and Corinth in 480 B.C.
SALDANHA OLIVEIRA E DAUN JOÃO CARLOS, DUKE OF, Portuguese statesman
and soldier, played an honourable and patriotic part in many wars and
crises of his country, notably in Brazil in the struggle between Dom
Pedro and Dom Miguel, and during his occupancy of the Premiership on
three several occasions between 1846-70; proved a mild constitutionalist,
and enjoyed the confidence and support of England; was created a duke in
1846 (1790-1876).
SALE, GEORGE, Orientalist, born in Kent, and bred for the bar,
contributed to the "Universal History" and the "General Dictionary," but
is best known as the translator of the "Korân," with a preliminary
dissertation and notes; he left a body of MSS. behind him (1690-1736).
SALE, SIR ROBERT HENRY, British general; saw a great deal of
fighting; was distinguished in the Burmese War of 1824-25, and in the war
against Afghanistan in 1834, in both of which he was wounded, and
afterwards in the latter country during 1841-42; he was killed at the
battle of Mudki fighting against the Sikhs (1782-1865).
SALEM, 1, a city (36) and seaport of the United States, founded in
1626 on a peninsula in Massachusetts Bay, 15 m. NE. of Boston; its
foreign trade has fallen away, but a good coasting trade is done in ice
and coal; manufactures include cottons, jutes, shoes, &c. 2, Capital (5)
of Oregon, on the Willamette River, 720 m. N. of San Francisco.
SALERNO (22), a city of South Italy, on a gulf of the name, 33 m.
SE. of Naples; has some fine Gothic buildings, notably the cathedral of
St. Matthew; had a European fame in the Middle Ages for its medical
school and university, closed in 1817; cotton-spinning is the chief
industry; in the neighbourhood are the ruins of Pæstum and an old Norman
castle.
SALETTE, LA, a French village amid Alpine scenery, 28 m. SE. of
Grenoble; has become a place of pilgrimage, since the alleged appearance
of the Virgin to two peasant children on 19th September 1846.
SALFORD (198), a suburb of Manchester, with cotton factories and
iron-works, and with Manchester forms the second largest city in England.
SALIC LAW, a law which obtained among the Salian Franks, as also in
certain German States, which excluded females from succession to the
throne.
SALICYLIC ACID, produced in commercial quantities from carbolic
acid; is a white crystalline powder, soluble in water, odourless, of a
sweetish acid taste; largely used as an external antiseptic, and
internally in the form of salicylate of sodium as a febrifuge and cure
for acute rheumatism.
SALISBURY (17), a cathedral city, and capital of Wiltshire, 84 m.
WSW. of London; the cathedral, founded in 1225, and frequently added to
and restored, is one of the finest specimens of Early English
architecture; has a number of other interesting old buildings--churches,
almshouses, inns, an endowed school, &c.; agriculture is the staple
industry; also called New Sarum, and a mile to the N. is the
half-obliterated site of Old Sarum, with many interesting historical
associations; while round the neighbourhood sweeps the wide, undulating,
pastoral Salisbury Plain, with its Druidical circle of STONEHENGE
(q. v.).
SALISBURY, ROBERT ARTHUR TALBOT GASCOIGNE CECIL, MARQUIS OF,
statesman, educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; as Lord Cecil,
represented Stamford in Parliament in 1853; was, as Lord Cranborne,
Secretary for India in 1866 under Lord Derby; entered the House of Lords
as Lord Salisbury in 1867, and distinguished himself as foremost in
debate; became Secretary for India under Disraeli in 1874, and Secretary
for Foreign Affairs in 1881, in which latter year he, on the death of
Beaconsfield, became leader of the Conservative party; after this he was
three times raised to the Premiership, the last time on Lord Roseberys
retirement in 1890, by coalition with the LIBERAL UNIONISTS (q. v.);
was at one time a contributor to the _Saturday Review_, and is
interested in scientific pursuits, chemistry in particular; _b_. 1830.
SALLUST, Roman historian, born at Amiternum, in the territory of the
Sabines, and attained the quæstorship and the tribunate, though a
plebeian; for a misdemeanour was expelled the Senate; joined Cæsar's
party in the Civil War, and became governor of Numidia; enriched himself
by extortions, and returned to Rome a rich man, and gave himself to
literature; wrote the "Catiline Conspiracy," and the "War with Jugurtha,"
among other works, in a terse and forcible style, and was the precursor
of Livy and Tacitus; as a writer he affects the moralist, though he lived
in vice (86-35 B.C.).
SALMASIUS, eminent French scholar, learned in Greek, Latin, Hebrew,
Arabic, and other languages; succeeded Scaliger at Leyden, and associated
with Casaubon, Grotius, and other scholars; embraced Protestantism; wrote
a number of learned works, but his "Defence of Charles I." proved a
failure, and provoked from Milton a crushing reply; died a disappointed
man, though he refused to sell his literary talent for money, when
Richelieu tried hard to bribe him (1588-1653).
SALMON, GEORGE, mathematician and divine, born in Dublin, and there
in 1839 graduated with mathematical honours at Trinity College; became a
Fellow, entered the Church, and in 1866 was elected regius professor of
Divinity, becoming provost of the college in 1888; has carried on with
eminent success his dual studies, mathematics and theology, and has
published some notable works in both sciences, e. g. in theology,
"Non-Miraculous Christianity," "Gnosticism and Agnosticism," a scholarly
and popular "Introduction to the New Testament," and in mathematics
"Analytic Geometry," "The Higher Plane Curves," &c. _b_. 1819.
SALOMON, JOHANN PETER, a violinist and composer, born at Bonn; was
in his youth attached, to the court of Prince Henry of Prussia, at which
time he wrote some operas; came to London, and is remembered for the
great stimulus he gave to musical culture, and especially the study of
Haydn in England by his Philharmonic Concerts (1790) and production of
that great master's symphonies; composed songs, glees, violin pieces,
&c.; buried in Westminster Abbey (1745-1815).
SALONICA or SALONIKI (122), the Thessalonica of the Scriptures,
the second port and city of Turkey in Europe; occupies a bold and rocky
site at the head of the Gulf of Salonica, 370 m. SW. of Constantinople;
is surrounded by walls, is well laid out, drained, &c.; contains many
fine old mosques; has an increasing commerce, exporting corn, cotton,
opium, wool, &c.; founded in 315 B.C., and has ever since been a place
of considerable importance.
SALSETTE (108), an island N. of Bombay, and connected with it by a
causeway, with richly cultivated fields and rock temples among other
ruins.
SALT, SIR TITUS, English manufacturer, born near Leeds; introduced
the manufacture of alpaca, planted his factory at Saltaire, near Leeds,
which he made a model village for his workers as a philanthropic employer
of labour (1803-1876).
SALT LAKE CITY (53), the capital of Utah, a high-lying city and
stronghold of Mormonism, 11 m. from Great Salt Lake; contains the Mormon
temple, which it took 40 years to build, and it has besides many fine
churches, and the university of Deseret.
SALT RANGE, a tract of lofty tableland buttressed on either side by
mountain ranges 3000 to 5000 ft. high, and stretching across the Punjab
E. and W., between Jhelum and Indus Rivers; derives its name from the
remarkably rich deposits of rock-salt, which are extensively worked.
SALTS, in chemistry an important class of compound substances formed
by the union of an acid with a metal or a base, that is, a substance
having, like a metal, the power of replacing in part or in whole the
hydrogen of the acid employed.
SALTUS, EDGAR, an interesting American writer, born in New York; a
busy writer in fiction, biography (Balzac), and philosophy, e. g. "The
Philosophy of Disenchantment" and "The Anatomy of Negation," studies in a
somewhat cheerful pessimism; _b_. 1858.
SALVADOR (780), the smallest but the most densely populated of the
republics of Central America, about one-sixth the size of England and
Wales; has a western foreshore between Guatemala (N.) and Nicaragua (S.),
fronting the Pacific for 140 m.; slopes up from rich alluvial coast-lands
to high plateaus, which stretch, seamed and broken by rivers and
volcanoes, to the Cordillera frontier of Honduras on the E.; soil is
extremely fertile and naturally irrigated by numerous streams, and
produces in abundance coffee and indigo (chief exports), balsam, tobacco,
sugar, cereals, &c.; has a warm, healthy climate. The natives are chiefly
Indians of Aztec descent, but speaking Spanish. The government is vested
in a president and chamber of deputies. Education is free and compulsory.
Broke away from Spanish control in 1821; was a member of the Central
American Confederacy, but since 1853 has enjoyed complete independence.
Capital, SAN SALVADOR (q. v.).
SALVATION ARMY, a modern religious organisation and propaganda,
remarkable alike for its novel methods and phenomenal expansion; assumed
its present quasi-military form in 1878, but is in reality the outgrowth
of a mission founded in London in 1865 by the Rev. WILLIAM BOOTH
(q. v.), and nobly furthered by his wife. It is in essence a protest
against the older conventional methods of propagating the Christian
religion, and would seem by its remarkable success to have ministered to
some latent and wide-spread need among the poorer classes. In 1895 it
numbered 500,000 enrolled soldiers, 25,126 local officers, and 11,740
officers; these are spread over 35 countries. The members assume
semi-military attire, march through the streets to the sound of musical
instruments, displaying banners; but while these and other sensational
devices bring its purposes home to the hearts of the people, its vitality
rests upon the real spiritual devotion and self-sacrifice of its members.
Various agencies of a more directly philanthropic kind (homes of rest,
rescues, workshops, farms, etc.) have become attached to it, and are
generously supported by the public. Funds are raised by means of the _War
Cry_ and other periodicals.
SALVINI, TOMMASO, a celebrated Italian tragedian, born, the son of
an actor, at Milan; was trained to the stage, and joined Ristori's
company; served with distinction in the revolutionary war of 1849, and
returning to the stage won for himself a European fame, appearing in
France, Spain, United States, England, &c.; achieved his greatest success
in "Othello"; retired after 1884, and published "Leaves from My
Autobiography"; _b_. 1830.
SALWEEN, a river of Asia whose source is still uncertain; forms in
its lower part the boundary between Siam and British Burma, and falls
into the Gulf of Martaban; its upper course traverses the northern Shan
district; only 80 m. of it are navigable.
SALZBURG (174), a western province and duchy of Austria, borders on
Bavaria between the Tyrol and Upper Austria; is woody and mountainous,
especially in the S., where fine scenery is formed by the Alps; excellent
meadowland favours a prosperous industry in the rearing of cattle and
horses. The inhabitants, being Protestants, were severely persecuted by
the Church, and 30,000 of them emigrated in 1730, and on the invitation
of Frederick William of Prussia settled in Lithuania, that had been
desolated by plague. Salzburg (28), the capital, occupies a fine site on
the hill-girt banks of the Salzach (crossed by 3 bridges), 80 m. E. by S.
of Münich; is a handsome and interesting city, with many fine old
buildings, including a cathedral, archbishop's palace, imperial palace,
monasteries, &c.; has a theological college, libraries, &c.; birthplace
of Mozart; manufactures musical instruments, &c.
SALZKAMMERGUT (18), a beautiful mountain district of Austria,
between Salzburg (W.) and Styria (E.); salt mines and springs give a rich
yield of salt.
SAM SLICK. See SLICK.
SAM WELLER. See WELLER.
SAMARCAND (33), a city of West Turkestan, situated at the western
base of the Tian-Shan Mountains, 130 m. SE. of Bokhara. Suffered at the
hands of Genghis Khan in the 13th century; was Timur's capital in the
14th century, and has since been held sacred by the Moslems. Captured by
the Russians in 1868, who have improved it, and built a handsome suburb
on the west. Manufactures silk, cotton, paper, &c.
SAMARIA, a city of a district of the name between Judea and Galilee
in the Holy Land, and which became the capital of the North Kingdom of
Israel after the revolt from the Southern; was desolated by the hosts of
Assyria in 720 B.C., and repeopled afterwards by Assyrian settlers, who
were converted to the Jewish faith, and ministered to by a Jewish priest;
when the Jews rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem, the Samaritans' offer to
aid was rejected, and the refusal led to a bitter hostility between the
Jews and Samaritans ever after.
SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH, a version of the Pentateuch in use among the
Samaritans, and alone accepted by them as canonical. It is of value from
its independence of other versions.
SAMARITANS. See SAMARIA.
SAMAVEDA, the section of the Veda that contains the chants, intended
for singers.
SAMIAN SAGE, name given to Pythagoras as a native of Samos.
SAMNITES, a warlike people of ancient Italy in territory SE. of
Rome; gave the Romans much trouble till, after two successive wars in 343
and 327 B.C., they were subdued in 290 B.C. A revolt in 90 B.C. led to
their extermination as an nation.
SAMOA, or NAVIGATORS' ISLANDS (36), a group of 14 volcanic
islands in the W. Pacific, of which three alone are of any size--Savaii,
Upolu, and Tutuila; all are mountainous and richly wooded; climate is
moist and warm; copra is the chief export, and cotton, coffee, tobacco,
&c., are grown; the natives, a vigorous Polynesian race, have been
Christianised; the islands are under the joint suzerainty of Britain,
Germany, and the United States; the chief town of the group is Apia (2),
at the head of a pretty bay in Upolu; near here R. Louis Stevenson spent
the last five years of his life.
SAMOS, a fertile island in the Ægean Sea, about 30 m. long and 8
wide, separated from the coast of Ionia, three-quarters of a mile wide;
had an extensive trade with Egypt and Crete; came through various
fortunes under the chief Powers of ancient and mediæval Europe till it
became subject to Turkey; had a capital of the same name, which in the
fifth century B.C. was one of the finest cities in the world.
SAMOTHRACE, a mountainous, bleak island in the Ægean Sea, NW. of the
mouth of the Dardanelles; has only one village of 2000 inhabitants; was
in ancient times place of CABIRI WORSHIP (q. v.).
SAMOYEDES, a people of the Mongolian race, occupying the N. shores
of Russia and Siberia from the White Sea to the Yenisei; live by hunting
and fishing, and are idol-worshippers; they are fast disappearing.
SAMPSON, DOMINIE, a character in Scott's "Guy Mannering."
SAMSON, ranked as judge of Israel, but the story of his life is as
of a Jewish hero, distinguished for his feats of strength; employed in
the service of his country against the Philistines.
SAMSON AGONISTES, the strong man of a nation or race caught in the
net of his and their enemies, and, encompassed by them, wrestling in his
soul's agony to free himself from them; the imagery here being suggested
by the story of Samson in the hands of the Philistines.
SAMUEL, a Jewish prophet, born, of the tribe of Levi, about 1155
B.C.; consecrated by his mother from earliest years to the service of the
Lord; who became a judge when he was 40, anointed first Saul and then
David to be king over the till then disunited tribes of Israel, and thus
became the founder of the Jewish monarchy.
SAMUEL, BOOKS OF, two books of the Old Testament, originally one,
and divided in the Septuagint into two, entitled respectively the First
and Second Books of Kings; the narrative embraces a period of 125 years,
and extends from the time of the Judges to the close of the reign of
David, including the intermediate judgeship of Samuel and the reign of
Saul, with the view of exalting the prophetic office on the one hand and
the kingly office on the other.
SAN ANTONIO (53), the second city of Texas, of Spanish origin, on a
river of the name, 80 m. W. of Austin; has a Catholic college, cathedral,
arsenal, &c.; does a good trade in the produce of a fertile
neighbourhood, and manufactures flour, leather, beer, &c.
SAN DIEGO (16), a thriving port in S. California, situated on a
handsome bay of the same name, 124 m. SE. of Los Angeles; wool is the
chief export.
SAN DOMINGO (25), capital of the Dominican Republic, a fortified
port on the S. coast of Hayti; has a 16th-century Gothic cathedral,
college, hospital, &c.; founded by Columbus.
SAN FRANCISCO (342), capital of California, and commercial
metropolis of the W. coast of America; occupies the NE. corner of a
tongue of land stretching between the Pacific and San Francisco Bay,
which, with San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay--extensions to the N.--forms a
handsome land-locked sheet of water 65 m. long, communicating with the
ocean by Golden Gate Strait; has practically sprung into existence since
the discovery of gold in 1847, and is now a spacious and evenly laid-out
city, with every modern convenience--electric light, cable tramways, &c.;
many of the dwelling-houses are of wood, but marble and granite give
dignity to Government buildings, hotels, theatres, &c.; there is a
remarkable number of religious sects; has a fine park, many free schools,
a number of colleges, and a university; as the western terminus of the
great continental railroads and outlet for the produce of a rich wheat
district it has a large shipping trade; important industries are
shipbuilding, whale-fishing, sugar-refining, iron-works, &c.
SAN JOSÉ (18), a city of California, and capital of Santa Clara
county, on the Guadalupe River, 50 m. SE. of San Francisco; has a couple
of Catholic colleges, a Methodist university, pretty orchards, &c.;
fruit-canning and the manufacture of flour and woollen goods are the
chief industries. The name also of small towns in Guatemala, Lower
California, and Uruguay.
SAN JOSÉ (19), capital of Costa Rica, situated on a fertile and
elevated plain between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific; grain, the
vine, and many fruits are grown in the neighbourhood; flour-milling and
distilling (Government works) are the principal town industries; there is
a university.
SAN JUAN (125), a mountainous province of the Argentine Republic, on
the Chilian border; is rich in metals, but, save coal, not worked;
agriculture is the chief industry. San Juan (12), on a river of the same
name, is the capital, lies 98 m. N. of Mendoza; has public baths, a
bull-ring, library, &c.; exports cattle and fodder, chiefly to Chile. The
name of numerous other towns in different parts of Spanish South America.
SAN MARINO (8), a little republic of Europe which has maintained its
independence since the 4th century; comprises a town (same name) and
several villages occupying rocky and elevated sites on the eastern slopes
of the Apennines; some agriculture and cattle-rearing are done; is under
the friendly protection of Italy.
SAN REMO (12), a town in Northern Italy, on a bay in the Gulf of
Genoa, in the Riviera, 26 m. NE. of Nice; is sheltered by a semicircle of
hills, and from its mild climate is a favourite winter resort; trades in
olive-oil, palms, and lemons.
SAN SALVADOR (20), capital of SALVADOR (q. v.), situated on
a fertile and elevated plain at the base of an extinct volcano; has
suffered frequently and severely from earthquakes, and after the disaster
of 1854 a new town, Nueva San Salvador, was built 12 m. to the SW., only
to suffer a similar fate.
SAN SEBASTIAN (30), a fortified seaport of North Spain, on a small
peninsula jutting into the Bay of Biscay, 10 m. from the French frontier;
is guarded by a strong citadel, and since its bombardment by Wellington
in 1813 has been spaciously rebuilt; has a beautiful foreshore, and is a
favourite watering-place; has a fair export trade.
SAN STEFANO, a Turkish village, a few miles W. of Constantinople,
where a preliminary treaty was signed between Turkey and Russia after the
war of 1877-78.
SANCHEZ, THOMAS, a Spanish casuist, born at Cordova; author of a
treatise on the "Sacrament of Marriage," rendered notorious from the
sarcastic treatment it received at the hands of Pascal and Voltaire
(1550-1610).
SANCHO PANZA, the immortal squire of Don Quixote. See PANZA,
SANCHO.
SANCHONIATHON, a Phoenician historian of uncertain date; author of a
history of Phoenicia, of which only a few fragments remain, and that of a
translation into Greek; he is supposed to have lived in the time of
Semiramus.
SANCROFT, WILLIAM, an English prelate, born in Suffolk; rose through
a succession of preferments to be Archbishop of Canterbury; was with six
other bishops committed to the Tower for petitioning against James II.'s
second Declaration of Indulgence; refused to take the oath of allegiance
to William and Mary, and was driven from his post, after which he retired
to his native place (1616-1693).
SAND, GEORGE, the assumed name of Aurore Dupin, notable French
novelist, born in Paris; married Baron Dudevant, a man of means, but with
no literary sympathies; became the mother of two children, and after nine
years effected a separation from him (1831) and went to Paris to push her
way in literature, and involved herself in some unhappy _liaisons_,
notably with ALFRED DE MUSSET (q. v.) and Chopin; after 1848 she
experienced a sharp revulsion from this Bohemian life, and her last
twenty-five years were spent in the quiet "Châtelaine of Nohant"
(inherited) in never-ceasing literary activity, and in entertaining the
many eminent _littérateurs_ of all countries who visited her; her
voluminous works reflect the strange shifts of her life; "Indiana,"
"Lélia," and other novels reveal the tumult and revolt that mark her
early years in Paris; "Consuelo," "Spiridion," &c., show her engaged with
political, philosophical, and religious speculation; "Elle et Lui" and
"Lucrezia Floriani" are the outcome of her relations with Musset and
Chopin; the calm of her later years is reflected in "La Petite Fadette,"
"François le Champi," and other charming studies of rustic life; her
"Histoire de ma Vie" and posthumous letters also deserve notice; her work
is characterised by a richly flowing style, an exuberant imagination, and
is throughout full of true colour and vivid emotion (1804-1876).
SANDEAU, LÉONARD JULES, French novelist, born at Aubusson; gave up
law for literature; was George Sands first "friend" in Paris, and wrote
with her "Rose et Blanche"; contributed to the _Revue des Deux Mondes_;
wrote many novels and plays, and was elected to the Academy (1858), and
during his later life held the librarianship at St. Cloud (1811-1883).
SANDEMANIANS. See GLASSITES.
SANDERSON, BURDON, English physiologist; professor of Physiology
first at University College, London, and since 1882 at Oxford; is one of
the greatest authorities on the subject; _b_. 1828.
SANDERSON, ROBERT, English prelate, great casuist; became chaplain
to Charles I. in 1631, and bishop of Lincoln in 1660 (1587-1663).
SANDHURST or BENDIGO (27), a mining city of Victoria,
Australia, on Bendigo Creek, 101 m. NW. of Melbourne; came into existence
with the "gold rush" of 1851; mines are still of value; a good trade in
grain, brewing, iron-founding, &c., is also done.
SANDRINGHAM, an estate in Norfolk of over 7000 acres, 7½ m. NE. of
Lynn, the property of the Prince of Wales since 1862.
SANDWICH (3), one of the old CINQUE PORTS (q. v.) in Kent,
on the Stour, and once on the sea, but now, by the receding of the sea, 2
m. distant; 12 m. E. of Canterbury; an interesting place of many
historical associations; has a splendid golf course, which attracts
summer visitors.
SANDWICH ISLANDS. See HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
SANGHA, the Buddhist Church, and the third term of the Triratna or
Buddhist trinity, the two other being Buddha and Dharma, his law.
SANGRAAL. See GRAAL, HOLY.
SANHEDRIM, a council of the Jews which held its sittings in
Jerusalem, and claimed authority and jurisdiction over the whole Jewish
people; it was an aristocratic body, and was presided over by the
high-priest; its authority was limited from time to time, and it ceased
to exist with the fall of Jerusalem; there is no note of its existence
prior to the Grecian period of Jewish history.
SANKARA, a Hindu teacher of the philosophy or the Vedas, who lived
some time between 800 and 200 B.C., and was the author of a number of
commentaries on the sacred writings of the Hindus, the teachings of
which he contributed to develop.
SANKHYA, one of three systems of Hindu philosophy, Yoga and Vedânta
being the other two, and the system which is most in affinity with the
doctrine of Buddha.
SANNAZARO, JACOPO, an Italian poet, enjoyed the favour of King
Frederick III. of Naples, and wrote amongst other things a pastoral
medley in verse and prose called "Arcadia," which ranks as an Italian
classic (1458-1530).
SANS SOUCI (i. e. No Bother), "an elegant, commodious little
'country box,' one storey high, on a pleasant hill-top near Potsdam"; the
retreat of Frederick the Great after his wars were over, and in part
sketched by himself, and where he spent the last 40 years of his life,
specially as years advanced; it is 20 m. from Berlin, and the name is
Frederick's own invention.
SANSCULOTTES (i. e. fellows without breeches), a name of contempt
applied by the aristocratic party in France to the Revolutionists, and at
length accepted by the latter as a term of honour, as men who asserted
their claim to regard on their naked manhood.
SANSCULOTTISM, belief in the rights of man, stript of all the
conventional vestures and badges by which alone, and without any other
ground of right, one man maintains an ascendency over another.
SANSKRIT, the name given to the ancient literary language of the
Hindus, still preserved in their literature, belongs to the Aryan family
of languages, in their purest form and most perfect development.
SANTA-ANNA, ANTONIO DE, a noted soldier and President of Mexico,
entered the army as a boy, and from the proclamation of the Republic in
1822 till his final exile in 1867 was embroiled in all the wars,
intrigues, and revolutions of his country; was four times President, and
on the last occasion (1853) was appointed for life, but his habitual
harshness alienated the people in two years; fled the country as on many
former crises in his life; intrigued against the newly-established
empire, but was captured and sentenced to death (1867); allowed to
expatriate himself, and died in exile; he was one of the most forceful
characters in Mexican history (1795-1876).
SANTA CLAUS, contraction of ST. NICHOLAS (q. v.).
SANTA CRUZ or NITENDI (5), the largest of the Queen Charlotte
or Santa Cruz Islands, in the South Pacific, 100 m. N. of the New
Hebrides; on one of the smaller islands Bishop Patteson was brutally
murdered by the natives in 1871.
SANTA CRUZ or ST. CROIX (20), one of the Virgin Islands;
produces sugar, rum, and cotton; ceded by France to Denmark in 1733; a
serious nigger revolt took place in 1878; capital is Christianstadt (6).
SANTA CRUZ or TENERIFFE (13), capital and chief seaport of the
Canary Islands, situated on the NE. side of Teneriffe; has an excellent
and strongly-fortified harbour; is an important coaling port for ocean
steamers; cochineal, wine, and garden-produce are the chief exports.
SANTA FÉ, 1, on the Rio Solado, capital (15) of a rich agricultural
province (240) of the Argentine Republic, lying N. of Buenos Ayres. 2,
Capital (7) of New Mexico, U.S.; holds an elevated site amid the
Rockies; is the centre of a good mining district; has the oldest Spanish
cathedral in the United States.
SANTALS, one of the aboriginal tribes of India, inhabiting a
district in the province of Bengal, which stretches southward from the
Ganges; they are chiefly hunters, but also agriculturists; dwell by the
forest edges, are fond of music, and are sun-worshippers; number
considerably over a million.
SANTANDER (42), a flourishing port of North Spain, stands on a fine
bay facing the Bay of Biscay, 316 m. N. of Madrid; actively engaged in
cigar-making, brewing, cotton-spinning, flour-milling, &c.; exports
flour, wine, and cereals; a popular seaside resort.
SANTERRE, ANTOINE JOSEPH, a popular wealthy brewer, born in Paris;
assisted at the fall of the Bastille; played a conspicuous part during
the Revolution; became commander of the National Guard in 1792; proposed
as a relief in famine that every citizen should live two days a week on
potatoes, and that every man should hang his dog; conducted King Louis
into the judgment, holding him by the arm; with a stamp of his foot
ordered him to mount the guillotine; failed in quelling the insurrection
in La Vendée, and was recalled; was made brigadier-general by Napoleon as
a reward for keeping the peace which he would fain have disturbed on the
18th Brumaire in 1797 (1752-1809).
SANTIAGO (393), capital of Chile, beautifully situated on a wide
fertile and elevated plain overhung on the N. and E. by the snow-clad
peaks of the Andes, 90 m. SE. of Valparaiso; the Mapocho, a mountain
stream, passes through the N. part of the city, is handsomely laid out
with spacious plazas, a noble alameda, and well-paved streets; has many
fine public buildings, hotels, a cathedral, a university, art,
agricultural, and military schools, botanical and zoological gardens,
&c.; in the pretty neighbourhood there is a popular racecourse; is an
important commercial centre, with a stock exchange, law-courts, and
manufactures of cloth, flour, ships' biscuits, beer, ice, &c.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLA (23), a city of Spain, in Galicia, of which
it was formerly the capital, 26 m. NE. of Carril, on the coast; has an
interesting old Romanesque cathedral, a noted place of pilgrimage in the
Middle Ages, a university, and several ruined monasteries; manufactures
linen, leather, &c.
SANTIAGO DE CUBA (71), formerly capital of Cuba, on a beautiful
land-locked bay on the S. coast; the harbour is strongly fortified; is
the see of an archbishop, and has an old Spanish cathedral, also
flourishing sugar-factories, foundries, &c.
SANTLEY, CHARLES, a well-known baritone singer, born in Liverpool;
studied at Milan; made his _début_ in 1857, and ever since has been an
accepted favourite with the public both as an oratorio and operatic
singer; has published a volume of reminiscences; _b_. 1834.
SANTORIN or THERA (17), a volcanic island in the Ægean, one of
the Cyclades; is the southmost of the group, and lies 70 m. N. of Crete;
the vine grows luxuriantly, and there is a good wine trade; has many
interesting prehistoric remains; chief town, Thera or Phera, on the W.
coast.
SÃO FRANCISCO, one of the great rivers of Brazil, for the most part
navigable; rises in the SW., near the source of the Paraná, and flows N.,
NE., and SE. till it reaches the S. Atlantic after a course of 1800 m.,
forming in its lower part the boundary between the maritime provinces
Sergipe and Alagoas; higher it divides Bahia and Pernambuco.
SÃO PAULO (35), a manufacturing town of Brazil (minerals, coffee);
capital of a productive and healthy State (1,387) of the same name,
situated on a plain 310 m. W. by S. from Rio de Janeiro; has pretty
suburbs, electric light, &c.; is the chief centre of the Brazilian coffee
trade, and has manufactories of cotton, tobacco, spirits, &c.; is the
seat of a law-school.
SAÔNE, a tributary of the Rhône; rises among the Faucelles
Mountains, in Vosges, and flows SW. and S. to the Rhône at Lyons; length
282 m., of which one-half is navigable.
SAÔNE, HAUTE- (281), a department in the E. of France, near the
Alsace border, between Vosges (N.) and Doubs (S.); forests abound; about
one-half is under cultivation, and there are fine cherry orchards;
watered by the Saône and its affluents.
SAÔNE-ET-LOIRE (620), an east-midland department of France, bounded
SE. and W. by the Saône and Loire; has a fine fertile surface, and is
noted for its cattle and abundant output of wine; iron and coal are
wrought, and its towns are busy with the manufacture of cotton goods,
pottery, machinery, &c.
SAPPHIRE, a precious stone of the corundum class, and differing from
the RUBY (q. v.) only in colour, which is a blue of various
shades; the finest specimens are found in Ceylon; its value depends
chiefly on quality, and not so much (like the ruby) on size.
SAPPHO, a lyric poetess of Greece of the 7th century B.C., and a
contemporary of Alcæus; was a woman of strong passions and of
questionable morality, but of undoubted genius, her lyrics being among
the masterpieces of antiquity, though only two of her odes and some short
fragments of others remain; of her history little is known, and what is
known is far from reliable.
SARACENS, the name given in mediæval times to the Arabs or
Mohammedans, and extended to all the non-Christian races with whom the
Crusaders or Christian races came to grips.
SARAGOSSA (95), an interesting city of Spain, and capital of Aragon,
on the Ebro, which flows through it, 212 m. NE. of Madrid; its history
goes back to far Roman times, and includes fierce struggles between
Goths, Moors, and Spaniards, and a memorable siege by the French in 1808;
being one of the earliest Christian cities of Spain it contains many
interesting relics, cathedrals, &c.; there is a university, citadel,
archiepiscopal palace, &c.; manufactures embrace cloth, silks, leather,
&c.
SARASATE, MARTIN MELITON, a Spanish violinist, and one of the most
finished of the day, a Basque by birth, but educated at Paris; has
travelled over the world, winning fame and a fortune; made his first
appearance in London in 1874; is composer of some light pieces; _b_.
1844.
SARASVATI, a Hindu goddess, and ultimately the wife of Brahma and
goddess of music and eloquence.
SARATOFF (122), a handsome city of Russia, on the Volga, 500 m. SE.
of Moscow; has thriving industries in distilling, flour, oil, and
tobacco, and trades in corn, salt, textiles, &c.; the government of
Saratoff (2,433) is a prosperous agricultural district.
SARATOGA SPRINGS (12), one of the best-known watering-places of the
United States, in New York State, 38 m. N. of Albany; plentifully
supplied with mineral springs; once a village, now growing into a town of
hotels, &c.; 12 m. to the E. is the scene of Burgoyne's surrender to
Gates, October 17, 1777.
SARA`WAK (320), a principality of North-West Borneo, fronting the
Chinese Sea on the NW. and contiguous to Dutch Borneo; was granted as an
independent Rajahship to Sir James Brooke by the sultan of Borneo in
1841, and governed by him and afterwards by his son, by whom it was put
under British protection in 1888; is very fertile, and grows sugar,
coco-nuts, rice, sago, rubber, tea, &c.; is rich in minerals, and mining
is carried on of antimony, quicksilver, gold, and coal; capital Kuching
(25), on the Sarawak River.
SARDANAPÁLUS, the last king of Assyria; led a luxurious, effeminate
life, but surprised when at his ease by a large army of invaders he
suddenly developed into a hero, till hard pressed at length and shut up
in Nineveh, and after two years' defence finding resistance hopeless, he
reared a funeral pile, and setting fire to it, threw himself upon it and
perished in the flames.
SARDINIA (682), an island of the Mediterranean, 170 m. long and 75
m. broad, the second largest, Sicily being larger, and to the S. of
Corsica; is since 1859 part of the kingdom of Italy; it has a fruitful
soil, and presents a diversified surface of hill and valley; the chief
export is salt, and there are extensive fisheries; the capital is
Cagliari, in the S.; it is rich in mineral resources, but the
exploitation of these is in a backward state.
SARDIS, capital of ancient Lydia, in Asia Minor, at the foot of
Mount Tmolus, celebrated for its wealth, its trade, and luxury, through
the market-place of which the river Pactolus flowed with its sands of
gold.
SARDOU, VICTORIEN, a popular French playwright, born at Paris; gave
up medicine for literature, and his first successes were "Monsieur Garat"
and "Les Prés Saint-Gervais," both in 1800; from that date his popularity
and wealth began to flow in upon him; his work has been taken up by Sarah
Bernhardt, for whom he wrote "Fédora," "Théodora," and "La Tosca" (1887);
a number of his plays have been translated into English, such as "A Scrap
of Paper," "Diplomacy," &c.; was elected to the Academy in 1877; his
plays are characterised by clever dialogue and stage effects, and an
emotionalism rather French than English; _b_. 1831.
SARMATIANS or SARMATS, an ancient race, embracing several
warlike nomadic tribes, who spoke the Scythian language, and inhabited
the shores of the Black Sea and Eastern Europe as far as the Caucasus;
fought with Mithridates against the Romans; were overwhelmed by the Goths
in the 4th century A.D., and afterwards gradually absorbed by the Slavs.
SARPEDON, the "Nestor" and king of the Lycians, was son of Zeus and
Europa.
SARPI, PAUL, an Italian historian of the monastic order, born at
Venice; was a man of wide attainments and liberal views; was the champion
of the Republic against the Pope; was summoned to Rome, and on his
refusal to obey, excommunicated; his life being in peril he retired into
his monastery, and wrote the "History of the Council of Trent," with
which his name has ever since been associated; he was held in high honour
by the Venetians, and was honoured at his death by a public funeral
(1565-1623).
SARTO, ANDREO DEL (i. e. Andrew, the tailors son), a Florentine
artist; painted in oil and fresco numerous works; died of the plague at
Florence, his work displays accuracy of drawing and delicacy of feeling
(1486-1531).
SARTOR RESARTUS (i. e. the tailor patched), a book written by
Carlyle at CRAIGENPUTTOCK (q. v.) in 1831, published piecemeal
in _Frazer's Magazine_ in 1833-34, and that first appeared in a book form
in America, under Emerson's auspices, in 1836, but not in England till
1838. It professes to be on the PHILOSOPHY OF "CLOTHES" (q. v.),
and is divided into three sections, the first in exposition of the
philosophy, the second on the life of the philosopher, and the third on
the practical bearings of his idea. It is a book in many respects
unparalleled in literature, and for spiritual significance and worth the
most remarkable that has been written in the century. It was written _in_
the time and _for_ the time by one who understood the time as not another
of his contemporaries succeeded in doing, and who interprets it in a
light in which every man must read it who would solve its problems to any
purpose. Its style is an offence to many, but not to any one who loves
wisdom and has faith in God. For it is a brave book, and a reassuring, as
well as a wise, the author of it regarding the universe not as a dead
thing but a living, and athwart the fire deluges that from time to time
sweep it, and seem to threaten with ruin everything in it we hold sacred,
descrying nothing more appalling than the phoenix-bird immolating herself
in flames that she may the sooner rise renewed out of her ashes and soar
aloft with healing in her wings. See CARLYLE, THOMAS, EXODUS FROM
HOUNDSDITCH, NATURAL SUPERNATURALISM, &C.
SASKATCHEWAN, one of the great and navigable rivers of Canada, rises
among the Rockies in two great branches, called respectively the North
and South Saskatchewan, 770 and 810 m., which flowing generally E.,
unite, and after a course of 282 m. pass into Lake Winnipeg, whence it
issues as the Nelson, and flows 400 m. NE. to Hudson's Bay. The upper
branches traverse and give their name to one of the western territories
of Canada.
SASSARI (32), the second city of Sardinia, in the NW., prettily
situated amid olive and orange groves, 12 m. from the Gulf of Asinara;
has an old cathedral, castle, and university, and does a good trade in
olive-oil, grain, &c.
SATAN, an archangel who, according to the Talmud, revolted against
the Most High, particularly when required to do homage to Adam, and who
for his disobedience was with all his following cast into the abyss of
hell. See DEVIL.
SATANIC SCHOOL, name applied by Southey to a class of writers headed
by Byron and Shelley, because, according to him, their productions were
"characterised by a Satanic spirit of pride and audacious impiety," and
who, according to Carlyle, wasted their breath in a fierce wrangle with
the devil, and had not the courage to fairly face and honestly fight him.
SATELLITES (lit. attendants), name given to the secondary bodies
which revolve round the planets of the solar system, of which the Earth
has one, Mars two, Jupiter four, Saturn eight, Uranus four, and Neptune
is known to have at least one, as Venus is surmised to have.
SATIRE, a species of poetry or prose writing in which the vice or
folly of the times is held up to ridicule, a species in which Horace and
Juvenal excelled among the Romans, and Dryden, Pope, and Swift among us.
SATRAP, a governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarchy,
with large military and civil powers; when the central authority began to
wane, some of them set up as independent rulers.
SATURN, in the Roman mythology a primitive god of agriculture in
Italy, often confounded with the Greek Kronos, the father of Zeus, and
sovereign of the Golden Age; was represented as an old man bearing a
sickle.
SATURN, the planet of the solar system whose orbit is outside that
of Jupiter, is 880 millions of miles from the sun, round which it takes
10,759 days or nearly 30 years to revolve, revolving on its own axis in
about 10½ hours; its diameter is nine times greater than that of the
earth; it is surrounded by bright rings that appear as three, and is
accompanied by eight moons; the rings are solid, and are supposed to
consist of a continuous belt of moons.
SATURNALIA, a festival in ancient Rome in honour of Saturn, in which
all classes, free and bond, and young and old, enjoyed and indulged in
all kinds of merriment without restraint.
SATYRS, in the Greek mythology semi-animal woodland deities who
roamed the hills generally in the train of DIONYSUS (q. v.),
dancing to rustic music; represented with long pointed ears, flat noses,
short horns, and a hair-clad man's body, with the legs and hoofs of a
goat; they are of lustful nature, and fond of sensual pleasure generally.
SAUERKRAUT, a favourite article of food in Germany and elsewhere in
North Europe; formed of thinly sliced young cabbage laid in layers, with
salt and spice-seeds, pressed in casks and allowed to ferment.
SAUERTEIG (i. e. leaven), an imaginary authority alive to the
"celestial infernal" fermentation that goes on in the world, who has an
eye specially to the evil elements at work, and to whose opinion Carlyle
frequently appeals in his condemnatory verdict on sublunary things.
SAUL, a Benjamite, the son of Kish, who fell in with Samuel as he
was on the way in search of his father's asses that had gone astray, and
from his stature and stately bearing was anointed by him to be first king
of Israel; he distinguished himself in the field against the enemies of
his people, but fell at the hands of the Philistines after a reign of 40
years, and after several insane attempts on the life of David, who had
been elected to succeed him.
SAUMAREZ, JAMES, BARON DE, English admiral, born at Guernsey;
entered the navy at 13, distinguished himself in the American War,
captured a French frigate in 1793, which brought him knighthood; was
second in command at the battle of the Nile, and gained a great victory
off Cadiz in 1801; was raised to the peerage in 1831 (1757-1836).
SAUMUR (14), a town of France, in the department of Maine-et-Loire,
situated on the Loire and partly on an island in the river, 32 m. SE. of
Angers; once famous for its Protestant theological seminary, and till the
Edict of Nantes a stronghold of the Huguenots; has interesting churches,
a castle (still used as an arsenal), and a noted cavalry school; has
trade in grain, dried fruits, rosaries, &c.
SAUSSURE, HORACE BENEDICT DE, geologist and physicist, born in
Geneva; was the first to ascend Mont Blanc in the interest of science,
and was distinguished for his researches in the same interest all over
the Alps and on other mountain ranges; he invented or improved several
scientific instruments (1740-1799).
SAVAGE, RICHARD, English poet, with a worthless character, who
gained the regard of Johnson; his chief poem, "The Wanderer," of no
poetic merit (1697-1743).
SAVANNAH, a name used chiefly in Florida and neighbouring States to
designate the wide treeless plains of these parts; is practically an
equivalent for "pampa," "prairie," &c.; comes from a Spanish word meaning
"a sheet."
SAVANNAH (54), a city and port of the United States, capital of
Chatham County, Georgia, on the Savannah River, 18 m. from its mouth;
well equipped with parks, electric light, handsome churches, government
buildings, &c., an important naval stores station and second cotton port
of the U.S., and has foundries, rice, flour, cotton, and paper-mills,
&c.
SAVE, a tributary of the Danube, rises in the Julian Alps and flows
SE. across Southern Austria till it joins the Danube at Belgrade after a
course of 556 m., of which 366 are navigable.
SAVIGNY, KARL VON, a German jurist, born in Frankfort-on-the-Main,
of French parentage; wrote a treatise on the Right of Property, became
professor of Roman Law at Berlin; his chief works were the "History of
Roman Law in the Middle Ages" and the "History of Roman Law in Modern
Times" (1779-1861).
SAVILLE, SIR HENRY, a learned scholar, born in Yorkshire; was tutor
to Queen Elizabeth and provost of Eton, and founder of the Savilian
professorships of Geometry and Astronomy at Oxford (1549-1642).
SAVONA (24), a seaport of Italy, on the Gulf of Genoa, in the
Riviera, 26 m. SW. of Genoa, in the midst of orange groves, &c.;
handsomely laid out; has a 16th-century cathedral, castle, palace,
picture gallery, &c.; exports pottery and has prosperous iron-works,
glass-works, tanneries, &c.
SAVONAROLA, GIROLAMO, Italian reformer, born at Ferrara of a noble
family; was in his youth of a studious ascetic turn, became at 24 a
Dominican monk, was fired with a holy zeal for the purity of the Church,
and issued forth from his privacy to denounce the vices that everywhere
prevailed under her sanction, with threats of divine judgment on her
head, so that the impressions his denunciations made were deep and
wide-spread; the effect was especially marked in Florence, where for
three years the reformer's influence became supreme, till a combination
of enemies headed by the Pope succeeded in subverting it to his ejection
from the Church, his imprisonment, and final execution, preceded by that
of his confederates Fra Domenico and Fra Silvestro; it was as a reformer
of the morals of the Church and nowise of its dogmas that Savonarolo
presented himself, while the effect of his efforts was limited pretty
much to his own day and generation (1452-1498).
SAVOY, DUCHY OF (532), in the SE. of France, on the Italian
frontier, comprises the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie;
previous to 1860 constituted a province of the kingdom of Sardinia; Lake
of Geneva bounds it on the N. and the lofty Graian Alps flank it on the
E., forming part of the Alpine highlands; it is charmingly picturesque,
with mountain, forest, and river (numerous tributaries of the Rhône); has
excellent grazing lands; grows the vine abundantly, besides the usual
cereals; the people are industrious and thrifty, but for the most part
poor. Aix-les-Bains, Evian, and Challes are popular watering-places.
Chambéry was the old capital.
SAVOY, HOUSE OF, an ancient royal house of Europe (represented now
by the king of Italy), whose territorial possessions were constituted a
county of the empire in the 12th century under the name Savoy; was
created a duchy in the 15th century. By the treaty of Utrecht (1713) the
island of Sicily was ceded to Savoy and the title of king bestowed upon
the duke; in 1720 Victor Amadeus II. was forced to cede Sicily to Austria
in exchange for Sardinia, which with Savoy and Piedmont, &c., constituted
the kingdom of Sardinia till its dissolution in 1860, when Savoy was
ceded to France and the remaining portion merged in the new Italian
kingdom under Victor Emmanuel.
SAVOY, THE, a district of the Strand, London, in which a palace was
built in 1245 called of the Savoy, in which John of France was confined
after his capture at Poitiers; was burnt at the time of the Wat Tyler
insurrection, but rebuilt in 1505 as a hospital; it included a chapel,
which was damaged by fire in 1864, but restored by the Queen.
SAXE, MAURICE, marshal of France, natural son of Augustus II., king
of POLAND (q. v.) distinguished himself under various war
captains, Marlborough and Prince Eugene in particular, and eventually
entered the service of France; commanding in the War of the Austrian
Succession he took Prague and Egra, and was made a marshal, and appointed
to the command of the army of Flanders, in which he gained victories and
captured fortresses, and was thereafter loaded with honours by Louis XV.;
was one of the strongest and most dissolute men of his age; died of
dropsy, the result of his debaucheries (1698-1750).
SAXE-COBURG, DUKE OF, second son of the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh;
married a daughter of Alexander II., czar of Russia; succeeded to the
dukedom in 1893; retains his annuity as an English prince of £10,000;
_b_. 1844.
SAXE-WEIMAR, AMALIA, DUCHESS OF, was of the Guelph family, and
married to the duke, and in two years was left a widow and in government
of the duchy, attracting to her court all the literary notabilities of
the day, Goethe the chief, till in 1775 she resigned her authority to her
son, who followed in her footsteps (1739-1807).
SAXO GRAMMATICUS, a Danish chronicler who flourished in the 12th
century; wrote "Gesta Danorum," which brings the history of Denmark down
to the year 1158, and is in the later sections of great value.
SAXON SWITZERLAND, name given to a mountainous region in Saxony, SE.
of Dresden.
SAXONS, a people of the Teutonic stock who settled early on the
estuary of the Elbe and the adjoining islands, who in their piratical
excursions infested and finally settled in Britain and part of Gaul, and
who, under the name of Anglo-Saxons, now hold sovereign sway over large
sections of the globe.
SAXONY (3,502), a kingdom of Germany, lies within the basin of the
Elbe, facing on the E., between Bavaria (S.) and Prussia (N.), the
mountainous frontier of Bohemia; a little less in size than Yorkshire,
but very densely inhabited; spurs of the Erzgebirge, Fichtelgebirge, and
Riesengebirge diversify the surface; is a flourishing mining and
manufacturing country; Dresden is the capital, and other important towns
are Leipzig, Chemnitz, and Freiburg; the government is vested in the king
and two legislative chambers; is represented in the Reichstag and
Reichsrath of the empire; by the time of the Thirty Years' War the
electorate of Saxony, which in its heyday had stretched to the North Sea,
and from the Rhine to the Elbe, had sadly dwindled away; it suffered much
at the hands of Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War, and in
1815, having sided with Napoleon, a portion of its territory was, by the
Congress of Vienna, ceded to Prussia; was defeated along with Austria in
1866, and thus joined the North German Confederation, to be incorporated
afterwards in the new German Empire.
SAXONY, PRUSSIAN (2,580), a province of Prussia, chiefly comprises
that part of SAXONY (q. v.) added to Prussia in 1815; situated
in the centre of Prussia, N. of the kingdom of Saxony; is watered by the
Elbe and its numerous affluents, and diversified by the Harz Mountains
and Thuringian Forest; contains some of the finest growing land in
Prussia; salt and lignite are valuable products, and copper is also
mined; the capital is Magdeburg, and other notable towns are Halle (with
its university), Erfurt, &c.
SAYCE, ALEXANDER HENRY, philologist, born near Bristol; has written
works on the monuments of the East, bearing chiefly on Old Testament
history; _b_. 1846.
SCÆVOLA, CAIUS MUCIUS, a patriotic Roman who, when sentenced to be
burnt alive by Lars Porsena the Etrurian, then invading Rome, for
attempting to murder him, unflinchingly held his right hand in a burning
brazier till it was consumed, as a mark of his contempt for the sentence.
Porsena, moved by his courage, both pardoned him, and on hearing that 300
as defiant had sworn his death, made peace with Rome and departed. The
name Scævola (i. e. left-handed) was given him from the loss of his
right hand on the occasion.
SCAFELL, a Cumberland mountain on the borders of Westmorland, with
two peaks, one 3210 ft., and the other 3161 ft. high, the highest in
England.
SCALE, DELFA, a prince of Verona, and a general of the Ghibellines
in Lombardy, who offered Dante an asylum when expelled from Florence
(1291-1329).
SCALIGER, JOSEPH JUSTUS, eminent scholar, son of the following, born
at Agen; educated by his father; followed in his father's footsteps, and
far surpassed him in scholarship; travelled over Europe, and became a
zealous Protestant; accepted the chair of _belles lettres_ in the
University of Leyden on condition that he should not be called upon to
lecture, and gave himself up to a life of study, especially on matters
philological and literary; was a man of universal knowledge, and the
creator of modern chronology (1540-1609).
SCALIGER, JULIUS CÆSAR, surnamed the Elder, classical scholar,
became page to the Emperor Maximilian, and served him in war and peace
for 17 years; at 40 quitted the army, and took to study the learned
languages among other subjects; wrote a treatise on poetics and a
commentary on the physics and metaphysics of Aristotle, and became an
authority on the Aristotelian philosophy (1484-1558).
SCANDERBEG (i. e. Prince or Bey Alexander), the patriot chief of
Albania, and the great hero of Albanian independence, who in the 15th
century renounced Islamism for Christianity, and by his military prowess
and skill freed Albania from the Turkish yoke; throughout his lifetime
maintained its independence, crushing again and again the Turkish armies;
was known among the Christians as George Castriot (1403-1468).
SCANDEROON or ALEXANDRETTA (2), the port of Aleppo, in Turkey
in Asia, situated in the Gulf of Scanderoon, in the NE. of the Levant, 77
m. NW. of Aleppo; is itself an insignificant place, but has a large
transit trade.
SCANDINAVIA, the ancient name (still used) of the great northern
peninsula of Europe, which embraces NORWAY (q. v.) and SWEDEN (q. v.);
also used in a broader sense to include Denmark and Iceland.
SCARBOROUGH (34), a popular seaside town and watering-place on the
Yorkshire coast; built on rising ground on the shores of a fine bay; is a
place of great antiquity, with interesting ruins; has churches, harbour,
piers, and a fine promenade; noted for the manufacture of jet.
SCARPA, ANTONIO, Italian anatomist, professor at Pavia (1747-1832).
SCARRON, PAUL, a French humourist, writer of the burlesque, born, of
good parentage, in Paris; entered the Church, and was for some years
somewhat lax-living abbé of Mans, but stricken with incurable disease
settled in Paris, and supported himself by writing; is chiefly remembered
for his "Virgile Travesti" and "Le Roman Comique," which "gave the
impulse out of which sprang the masterpieces of Le Sage, Defoe, Fielding,
and Smollett"; married in 1652 Françoise d'Aubigné, a girl of fifteen,
afterwards the famous MADAME DE MAINTENON (q. v.); was a man who
both suffered much and laughed much (1610-1660).
SCATTERY ISLAND, in the Shannon estuary, 3 m. SW. of Kilrush; an
early Christian place of pilgrimage, with ruins and a "round tower"; is
fortified and marked by a lighthouse.
SCEPTICISM, primarily doubt respecting, and ultimately disbelief in,
the reality of the super-sensible, or the transcendental, or the validity
of the evidence on which the belief in it is founded, such as reason or
revelation, and in religious matters is tantamount to infidelity more or
less sweeping.
SCEPTRE, the symbol of royal power, power to command and compel,
originally a club, the crown being the symbol of dominion.
SCHADOW, JOHANNES GOTTFRIED, sculptor, born in Berlin; was trained
in Rome under the best masters, returned to Berlin, and became Director
of the Academy of Arts; laboured here for 62 years, and produced works
which placed him among the first rank of artists; he had two sons, one of
whom distinguished himself as a sculptor, and the other as a painter
(1764-1850).
SCHAFF, PHILIP, a theologian, born in Switzerland; studied in
Germany; came recommended by high names to the United States, and became
professor first in Pennsylvania, and finally in New York (1819-1893).
SCHAFFHAUSEN (38), a canton in the extreme N. of Switzerland,
surrounded NE. and W. by Baden; the Rhine flanks it on the S.; is hilly,
with fertile valleys sloping to the Rhine, and is chiefly given up to
agriculture. The capital, Schaffhausen (19), occupies a picturesque site
on the Rhine, 31 m. NW. of Constance; has a 12th-century cathedral, an
interesting old castle, &c. The famous falls, the finest on the Rhine,
are 3 m. below the town.
SCHÄFFLE, DR. ALBERT, eminent German economist, born in Würtemberg;
has written, besides other works, "The Quintessence of Socialism," an
able _exposé_; _b_. 1831.
SCHALL, JOHANN ADAM VON, Jesuit missionary to China, born at
Cologne; was received with honours at the Imperial Court; obtained
permission to preach, and founded churches to the spread of Christianity,
a privilege which was revoked by the next emperor; he was subjected to
imprisonment, which shortened his life (1591-1669).
SCHAMYL. See SHAMYL.
SCHARNHORST, GERHARD VON, a Prussian general, distinguished as the
organiser of the Prussian army, to the establishment of a national force
instead of a mercenary; died of a wound in battle (1756-1813).
SCHEELE, CARL WILHELM, Swedish chemist, born in Pomerania, was an
apothecary at Upsala and Köping; during his residence at the latter made
numerous important discoveries, and published many chemical papers, his
chief work "Experiments on Air and Fire" (1742-1786).
SCHEFFEL, JOSEPH VICTOR VON, German poet, bred to law, but abandoned
it for literature; his first and best work "Der Trompeter von Sakkingen,"
a charming tale in verse of the Thirty Years' War, succeeded by
"Gaudeamus," a collection of songs and ballads familiar to the German
students all over the Fatherland (1826-1886).
SCHEFFER, ARY, painter, born at Dordrecht, of German and Dutch
parentage; settled in Paris; began as a _genre_-painter; illustrated
Dante, Goethe, and Byron, and in the end painted religious subjects; he
did excellent portraits also; was of the Romantic school (1795-1858).
SCHEHERAZADE, daughter of the grand vizier, who, in the "Arabian
Nights," marries the Sultan and saves her life by entertaining him night
after night with her tales.
SCHELDT, an important river of Belgium and Holland, rises in the
French dep. of Aisne, and flows northwards past Cambrai (its highest
navigable point) and Valenciennes, entering Belgium a little S. of
Tournay and continuing northward, with Oudenarde, Ghent, and Antwerp on
its banks; enters Holland, and at the island of S. Beveland splits into
the Wester Scheldt and the Ooster Scheldt, which enter the North Sea, the
former at Flushing, the latter at Bergen-op-Zoom; length 267 m., much the
greater part being in Belgium.
SCHELLING, FRIEDRICH WILHELM JOSEPH, German philosopher, born in
Würtemberg; studied at Tübingen, where he became acquainted with Hegel;
wrote first on theological subjects and then on philosophical; went to
Jena and became a disciple and follower of Fichte; gradually abandoned
Fichte's position and began to develop ideas of his own, and in
conjunction with Hegel edited the _Critical Journal of Philosophy_; held
afterwards a professorship at Münich and a lectureship at Berlin; his
philosophy is no finished or completed system, but is essentially a
history of the progressive stages through which he himself passed; during
the reign of Hegel he kept silence, and only broke it when Hegel was
dead; thought to outstrip him by another philosophy, but the attempt has
proved fruitless of any important results (1775-1854).
SCHEMNITZ (15), a town of Hungary, noted as a mining centre since
Roman times, situated in the midst of a mountainous region, 65 m. N. by
W. of Pesth; gold, silver, copper, and lead are largely wrought, chiefly
in the interests of the State.
SCHENKEL, DAVID, German theologian, born in Switzerland, became,
after a pastorate at Schaffhausen, professor first at Basel and then at
Heidelberg; was a man of liberal principles, and was zealous for the
union of the Protestants, Lutheran and Reformed, in one body on a broad
basis; is noted as author of a work entitled "Das Characterbild Jesu,"
being an attempt to construe the character of Christ on rationalistic
lines (1813-1885).
SCHERER, EDMOND, French critic, born in Paris, spent his early years
in England, his mother being English; was for some time devoted to
theology and the Church, but changed his views; settled in Paris, and
took to journalism and politics, distinguishing himself more especially
in literary criticism (1815-1889).
SCHILLER, FRIEDRICH, German poet and dramatist, born at Marbach on
the Neckar, son of an army-surgeon; bred first to law and then to
medicine, but took chief interest in philosophy and literature, to the
cultivation of which he by-and-by devoted his life; his first work, a
play, "The Robbers," which on its publication in 1782 produced quite a
ferment, and was followed in 1783 by two tragedies, "Fresco" and "Kabale
und Liebe"; but it was with "Don Carlos" in 1787 his mature authorship
began, and this was followed by the "History of the Netherlands" and
"History of the Thirty Years' War," to be succeeded by "Wallenstein"
(1799), "Maria Stuart" (1800), "The Maid of Orleans" (1801), "The Bride
of Messina" (1803), and "Wilhelm Tell" (1804); he Wrote besides a number
of ballads and lyrics; in 1794 his friendship with Goethe began, and it
was a friendship which was grounded on their common love for art, and
lasted with life; he was an earnest man and a serious writer, and much
beloved by the great Goethe (1759-1805). See CARLYLE'S "LIFE OF
SCHILLER," and his essay on him in his "MISCELLANIES."
SCHLEGEL, AUGUST WILHELM VON, German man of letters, born at
Hanover; studied theology at first, but turned to literature and began
with poetry; settled in Jena, and in 1798 became professor of Fine Arts
there; was associated in literary work with Madame de Staël for 14 years;
delivered "Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature" at Vienna in 1708,
and finished with a professorship of Literature at Bonn, having
previously distinguished himself by translations into German of
Shakespeare, Dante, &c.; he devoted himself to the study of Sanskrit when
at Bonn, where he had Heine for pupil (1767-1845).
SCHLEGEL, FRIEDRICH VON, German critic and author, born at Hanover,
brother of preceding, joined his brother at Jena, and collaborated with
him; became a zealous promoter of all the Romantic movements, and sought
relief for his yearnings in the bosom of the Catholic Church; wrote
lectures, severally published, on the "Philosophy of History," of
"Literature," of "Life," and on "Modern History," and book on Sanskrit
and the philosophy of India (1772-1829).
SCHLEICHER, AUGUST, German philologist, did eminent service by his
studies in the Indo-Germanic languages, and particularly in the Slavonic
languages (1821-1868).
SCHLEIERMACHER, FRIEDRICH ERNEST DANIEL, great German theologian,
born at Breslau; brought up among the Moravians, his mind revolted
against the narrow orthodoxy of their creed, which was confirmed by his
study of Plato and the philosophy of the school of Kant, as it for him
culminated in Schelling, though the religious feeling he inherited never
left him; under these influences he addressed himself to the task of
elaborating a theology in which justice should be done to the claims of
the intellect and the emotions of the heart, and he began by translating
Plato; soon he formed a school, which included among its members men such
as Neander and others, distinguished at once for their learning and their
piety, and to which all the schools of theology in Germany since have
been more or less affiliated; his great merit lay in the importance he
attached to the religious consciousness as derived from that of Christ,
and the development therefrom in the life and history of the Church of
Christ; it was to the religious interest he dedicated his life and
consecrated all his learning, which was immense (1768-1834).
SCHLEMIHL, PETER, the name of a man who in Chamisso's tale sold his
shadow to the devil, a synonym of one who makes a desperate or silly
bargain.
SCHLIEMANN, HEINRICH, a German explorer, born in
Mecklenburg-Schwerin; excavated at his own cost the ruins, among others
in Greece, of Hissarlik, in the Troad, believing them to be those of
Troy; spent 12 years in this enterprise, collecting the spoils and
depositing them in safe keeping in Berlin; died at Naples before his
excavations were complete (1822-1890).
SCHLOSSNER, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH, German historian, born in
Oldenburg; was studios of the moral factor in history, and gave especial
prominence to it (1776-1861).
SCHMALKALDIC LEAGUE, a league of the Protestant States of Germany
concluded in 1531 at Schmalkalden, Prussia, in defence of their
religious and civil liberties against the Emperor Charles V. and the
Catholic States.
SCHNITZER, EDUARD, physician, born in Breslau; went to Turkey,
entered the Turkish medical service, adopted the name Emin Pasha, and was
appointed by Gordon medical officer of the Equatorial Province of Egypt,
and raised to the rank of Pasha; soon after the outbreak of the Mahdist
insurrection he was cut off from civilisation, but was discovered by
Stanley in 1889 and brought to Zanzibar, after which he was murdered by
Arabs (1840-1893).
SCHOLASTICISM, the name given to the philosophy that prevailed in
Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in the second half of them,
and has been generally characterised as an attempt at conciliation
between dogma and thought, between faith and reason, an attempt to form a
scientific system on that basis, founded on the pre-supposition that the
creed of the Church was absolutely true, and capable of rationalisation.
SCHOLIASTS, name given to a class of grammarians who appended
annotations to the margins of the MSS. of the classics.
SCHOLIUM, a marginal note explanatory of the text of a classic
author.
SCHOLTEN, HENDRIK, a Dutch theologian of the rationalistic school
(1811-1885).
SCHOMBERG, DUKE OF, French marshal, of German origin and the
Protestant persuasion; took service under the Prince of Orange, and fell
at the battle of the Boyne (1618-1690).
SCHÖNBRUNN, imperial palace near Vienna, built by Maria Theresa in
1744.
SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY ROWE, a noted American ethnologist, born in New
York State; at 24 was geologist to an exploring expedition undertaken by
General Cass to Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi; married the
educated daughter of an Ojibway chief; founded the Historical Society of
Michigan and the Algic Society at Detroit; discovered the sources of the
Mississippi in 1832; was an active and friendly agent for the Indians,
and in 1847 began, under Government authorisation, his great work of
gathering together all possible information regarding the Indian tribes
of the United States, an invaluable work embodied in six great volumes;
author also of many other works treating of Indian life, exploration,
etc. (1793-1864).
SCHOOLMEN, teachers of the SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHY (q. v.).
SCHOPENHAUER, ARTHUR, a bold metaphysical thinker, born in Danzig,
of Dutch descent; was early dissatisfied with life, and conceived
pessimistic views of it; in 1814 jotted down in a note-book, "Inward
discord is the very bane of human nature so long as a man lives," and on
this fact he brooded for years; at length the problem solved itself, and
the solution appears in his great work, "Die Welt als Wille und
Vorstellung" ("The World as Will and Idea"), which he published in 1718;
in it, as in others of his writings, to use the words of the late
Professor Wallace of Oxford, Schopenhauer "draws close to the great heart
of life, and tries to see clearly what man's existence and hopes and
destiny really are, which recognises the peaceful creations of art as the
most adequate representation the sense-world can give of the true inward
being of all things, and which holds the best life to be that of one who
has pierced, through the illusions dividing one conscious individuality
from another, into that great heart of eternal rest where we are each
members one of another essentially united in the great ocean of Being, in
which, and by which, we alone live." Goethe gives a similar solution in
his "Wilhelm Meister"; is usually characterised as a pessimist, and so
discarded, but such were all the wise men who have contributed anything
to the emancipation of the world, which they never would have attempted
but for a like sense of the evil at the root of the world's misery; and
as for his philosophy, it is a protest against treating it as a science
instead of an art which has to do not merely with the reasoning powers,
but with the whole inmost nature of man (1788-1860).
SCHOUVALOFF, COUNT PETER, a Russian ambassador, born at St.
Petersburg; became in 1806 head of the secret police; came to England in
1873 on a secret mission to arrange the marriage of the Emperor Alexander
II.'s daughter with the Duke of Edinburgh; was one of Russia's
representatives at the Congress of Berlin (1827-1889). His brother, Count
Paul, fought in the Crimean War, helped to liberate the Russian serfs,
fought in the Russo-Turkish War, and was governor of Warsaw during
1895-1897; _b_. 1830.
SCHREINER, OLIVE, authoress, daughter of a Lutheran clergyman at
Cape Town; achieved a great success by "The Story of an African Farm" in
1883, which was followed in 1890 by "Dreams," also later "Dream Life and
Real Life"; she is opposed to the South African policy of Mr. Rhodes.
SCHREINER, RIGHT HON. W. P., Premier of the Cape Parliament, brother
of preceding; bred to the bar, favours arbitration in the South African
difficulty, and is a supporter of the Africander Bond in politics.
SCHUBERT, FRANZ PETER, composer, born, the son of a Moravian
schoolmaster, at Vienna; at 11 was one of the leading choristers in the
court-chapel, later on became leading violinist in the school band; his
talent for composition in all modes soon revealed itself, and by the time
he became an assistant in his father's school (1813) his supreme gift of
lyric melody showed itself in the song "Erl King," the "Mass in F," etc.;
his too brief life, spent chiefly in the drudgery of teaching, was
harassed by pecuniary embarrassment, embittered by the slow recognition
his work won, though he was cheered by the friendly encouragement of
Beethoven; his output of work was remarkable for its variety and
quantity, embracing some 500 songs, 10 symphonies, 6 masses, operas,
sonatas, etc.; his abiding fame rests on his songs, which are infused, as
none other are, by an intensity of poetic feeling--"divine fire"
Beethoven called it (1797-1828).
SCHULZE-DELITZSCH, HERMANN, founder of the system of "people's
savings-banks," born at Delitzsch, and trained to the law; he settled in
his native town and give himself to social reform, sat in the National
Assembly in Berlin on the Progressionist side, but opposed Lasalle's
socialistic programme; his project of "people's savings-banks" was
started in 1850, and immediately took root, spreading over the country
and into Austria, Italy, Belgium, etc. (1808-1883).
SCHUMANN, ROBERT, an eminent German composer and musical critic,
born at Zwickau, in Saxony; law, philosophy, and travel occupied his
early youth, but in 1831 he was allowed to follow his bent for music, and
settled to study it at Leipzig; two years later started a musical paper,
which for more than 10 years was the vehicle of essays in musical
criticism; during these years appeared also his greatest pianoforte
works, songs, symphonies, and varied chamber music; "Paradise and the
Part" and scenes from "Faust" appeared in 1843; symptoms of cerebral
disease which in the end proved fatal, began to manifest themselves, and
he withdrew to a quieter life at Dresden, where much of his operatic and
other music was written; during 1850-54 he acted as musical director at
Düsseldorf, but insanity at length supervened, and after attempting
suicide in the Rhine he was placed in an asylum, where he died two years
later; his work is full of the fresh colour and variety of Romanticism,
his songs being especially beautiful (1810-1856).
SCHÜRER, EMIL, biblical scholar, born at Augsburg, professor of
Theology at Kiel, author of "History of the Jewish People"; _b_. 1844.
SCHUYLER, PHILIP JOHN, leader in the American War of Independence,
born at Albany, of Dutch descent; served in arms under Washington, and
health failing for action, became one of Washington's most sagacious
advisers (1733-1804).
SCHUYLKILL, a river of Pennsylvania, rises on the N. side of the
Blue Mountains and flows SE. 130 m. to its junction with the Delaware
River at Philadelphia; is an important waterway for the coal-mining
industry of Pennsylvania.
SCHWANN, THEODOR, German physiologist, born at Neuss; made several
discoveries in physiology, and established the cell theory (1810-1882).
SCHWANTHALER, LUDWIG, German sculptor, born at Münich, of an old
family of sculptors; studied at Rome; has adorned his native city with
his works both in bas-reliefs and statues, at once in single figures and
in groups; did frescoes and cartoons also (1802-1848).
SCHWÄRMEREI (lit. going off in swarms, as bees under their queen),
name given to a more or less insane enthusiasm with which a mass of men
is affected.
SCHWARZ, BERTHOLD, an alchemist of the 13th century, born at
Fribourg, a monk of the order of Cordeliers; is credited with the
discovery of gunpowder when making experiments with nitre.
SCHWARZ, CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH, German missionary in India, born in
Brandenburg; laboured 16 years at Trichinopoly, gained the friendship of
the Rajah of Tanjore, and settled there in 1778; succeeded also in
winning the favour of Hyder Ali of Mysore, and proved himself to be in
all senses a minister of the gospel of peace (1726-1798).
SCHWARZBURG, HOUSE OF, one of the oldest noble families of Germany;
first comes into authentic history in the 12th century with Count Sizzo
IV. (the first to take the title of Schwarzburg), and in the 16th century
divides into the two existing branches, the Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt--which give their names to two sovereign
principalities of Central Germany wedged in between Prussia and the
lesser Saxon States, the latter embracing part of the Thuringian Forest;
both are prosperous agricultural and mining regions.
SCHWARZENBURG, KARL PHILIP, PRINCE VON, Austrian general, born at
Vienna, of a noble family there; entered the army and distinguished
himself in the wars against the Turks, the French Republic, and Napoleon;
fought at Austerlitz and Wagram, negotiated the marriage of Napoleon with
Maria Louisa, commanded the Austrian contingent sent to aid France in
1812, but joined the allies against Napoleon at Dresden and Leipzig, and
captured Paris in 1814 at the head of the army of the Rhine (1771-1820).
SCHWARZWALD, the Black Forest in Germany.
SCHWEGLER, ALBERT, theologian, born at Würtemberg; treated first on
theological subjects, then on philosophical; is best known among us by
his "History of Philosophy," translated into English by Dr. Hutcheson
Stirling, "written, so to speak, at a single stroke of the pen, as, in
the first instance, an article for an encyclopædia," ... the author being
"a remarkably ripe, full man" (1819-1857).
SCHWEINFURTH, GEORG AUGUST, German traveller in Africa, born at
Riga; wrote "The Heart of Africa," which gives an account of his travels
among the mid-African tribes; _b_. 1836.
SCHWENCKFELD, CASPAR VON, a Protestant sectary, born in Lower
Silesia, of a noble family; as a student of the Scriptures embraced the
Reformation, but differed from Luther on the matter of the dependence of
the divine life on external ordinances, insisting, as George Fox
afterwards did, on its derivation from within; like Fox he travelled from
place to place proclaiming this, and winning not a few disciples, and
exposed himself to much persecution at the hands of men of whom better
things were to be expected, but he bore it all with a Christ-like
meekness; died at Ulm; his writings were treated with the same indignity
as himself, and his followers were after his death driven from one place
of refuge to another, till the last remnant of them found shelter under
the friendly wing of COUNT ZINZENDORF (q. v.) (1490-1561).
SCHWERIN (34), capital of the grand-duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin;
has a pretty site on Lake of Schwerin (14 m. by 3), 47 m. SE. of Lübeck;
has a 14th-century cathedral, Renaissance castle, arsenal, &c., and
manufactures of lacquered ware, machinery, &c.
SCHWYZ (50), one of the three original cantons of Switzerland,
German speaking and Catholic; Lake Zurich forms part of the N. border,
and Lake Lucerne part of the S.; Zug with its lake is on the W.; is
mountainous, but good pasturage favours cattle-breeding, sheep and goat
rearing, &c.; important industries in cotton and silk are carried on;
Einsiedeln, with its famous monastery, attracts thousands of pilgrims,
and the Rigi is a favourite resort of summer visitors. The capital (7),
same name, is prettily situated 26 m. E. of Lucerne.
SCIENCE, as it has been said, "has for its province the world of
phenomena, and deals exclusively with their relations, consequences, or
sequences. It can never tell us what a thing really and intrinsically is,
but only why it has become so; it can only, in other words, refer us to
one inscrutable as the ground and explanation of another inscrutable." "A
science," says Schopenhauer, "anybody can learn, one perhaps with more,
another with less trouble; but from art each receives only so much as he
brings, yet latent within him.... Art has not, like science, to do merely
with the reasoning powers, but with the inmost nature of man, where each
must count only for what he really is."
SCILLY ISLANDS, a rugged group of islands belonging to Cornwall, 27
m. SW. of Land's End; consists of six larger islands--St. Mary's (1528
acres, pop. 1200), the largest--and some 30 smaller, besides numerous
rock clusters, the name Scilly being strictly applicable to a rocky islet
in the NW. of the group; climate is damp and mild; the cultivation and
export of large quantities of lilies is the principal industry, but
generally industries have decayed, lighthouses have reduced greatly the
hereditary occupation of pilotage, and emigration goes on; the only town
is Hugh Town (with two hotels, banks, pier, &c.), on St. Mary's; there
are some interesting ecclesiastical ruins, &c.; since 1834 much has been
done to improve the condition of the islanders by the then proprietor Mr.
A. J. Smith, and his nephew, T. A. Darien Smith, who succeeded in 1872.
SCIOPPIUS, CASPAR, a Protestant renegade, born in the Palatinate;
turned Catholic on a visit to Rome, and devoted his life to vilify his
former co-religionists, and to invoke the Catholic powers to combine to
their extermination; he was a man of learning, but of most infirm temper
(1576-1649).
SCIPIO, P. CORNELIUS, THE ELDER, surnamed Africanus Major, a
celebrated Roman general; was present at the engagement near the Tacinus
and at Cannæ; was appointed proconsul of Spain at the age of 24, and made
himself master of nearly the whole of it against the Carthaginians; on
his return to Rome was made consul; transferred the seat of war against
Carthage to Africa, and landed at Utica; met Hannibal on the field of
Zama, and totally defeated him, and ended the Second Punic War in 202
B.C. (234-183 B.C.).
SCIPIO, P. CORNELIUS, THE YOUNGER, surnamed Africanus Minor, adopted
by the preceding, the proper name being L. Paullus Æmelius; after
distinguishing himself in Spain proceeded to Africa to take part in the
Third Punic War; laid siege to Carthage, took it by storm, and levelled
it with the ground in 146 B.C.; he was afterwards sent to Spain, where
he captured Numantia after a stubborn resistance, to the extension of the
sway of Rome; he was an upright and magnanimous man, but his character
was not proof against assault; he died by the hand of an assassin.
SCONE (pronounced Scoon), a, village in Perthshire, on the left bank
of the Tay, 2 m. N. of Perth; once the capital of the Pictish kingdom,
and the place of the coronation of the Scottish kings; near it is the
seat of the Earl of Mansfield.
SCOPAS, Greek sculptor, born at Paros, who flourished in 4th century
B.C.
SCORESBY, WILLIAM, scientist, born at Whitby; began life as a
sailor; visited the Arctic regions twice over, and wrote an account of
his explorations; took to the Church, and held several clerical charges,
but retired in 1849, and gave himself to scientific researches, both at
home and abroad (1787-1857).
SCORY, JOHN, a Cambridge Dominican friar in 1530, who became bishop
of Rochester in 1551, and later of Chichester; was deprived of his living
on Queen Mary's accession; recanted, but fled abroad, whence he issued
his "Epistle to the Faytheful in Pryson in England"; returned in
Elizabeth's reign, and became bishop of Hereford; _d_. 1585.
SCOT, REGINALD, author of a famous work, "The Discoverie of
Witchcraft" (1584), remarkable as one of the earliest exposures of the
absurdities of witchcraft and kindred superstitions, which provoked King
James's foolish defence "Dæmonology"; son of a Kentish baronet; educated
at Oxford, and spent a peaceful life gardening and studying; wrote also
"The Hoppe Garden" (1538-1599).
SCOTLAND (4,026), the northern portion of the island of Great
Britain, separated from England by the Solway, Cheviots, and Tweed, and
bounded N. and W. by the Atlantic and E. by the German Ocean; inclusive
of 788 islands (600 uninhabited), its area, divided into 33 counties, is
slightly more than one-half of England's, but has a coast-line longer by
700 m.; greatest length from Dunnet Head (most northerly point) to Mull
of Galloway (most southerly) is 288 m., while the breadth varies from 32
to 175, Buchan Ness being the eastmost point and Ardnamurchan Point the
westmost; from rich pastoral uplands in the S.--Cheviots, Moffat Hills,
Lowthers, Moorfoots, and Lammermoors--the country slopes down to the
wide, fertile lowland plain--growing fine crops of oats barley, wheat,
&c.--which stretches, with a varying breadth of from 30 to 60 m., up to
the Grampians (highest peak Ben Nevis, 4406 ft.), whence the country
sweeps northwards, a wild and beautiful tract of mountain, valley, and
moorland, diversified by some of the finest loch and river scenery in the
world; the east and west coasts present remarkable contrasts, the latter
rugged, irregular, and often precipitous, penetrated by long sea-lochs
and fringed with numerous islands, and mild and humid in climate; the
former low and regular, with few islands or inlets, and cold, dry, and
bracing; of rivers the Tweed, Forth, Tay, Dee, and Clyde are the
principal, and the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Hebrides the chief island
groups; coal and iron abound in the lowlands, more especially in the
plain of the Forth and Clyde, and granite in the Grampians; staple
industries are the manufacture of cottons, woollens, linen, jute,
machinery, hardware, paper, and shipbuilding, of which Glasgow is the
centre and commercial metropolis, while Edinburgh (capital) is the chief
seat of law, education, &c.; of cultivated land the percentage varies
from 74.8 in Fife to 2.4 in Sutherland, and over all is only 24.2; good
roads, canals, extensive railway and telegraph systems knit all parts of
the country together; Presbyterianism is the established form of
religion, and in 1872 the old parish schools were supplanted by a
national system under school-boards similar to England; the lowlanders
and highlanders still retain distinctive characteristics of their
Teutonic and Celtic progenitors, the latter speaking in many parts of the
Highlands their native Gaelic; originally the home of the PICTS
(q. v.), and by them called Alban or Albyn, the country, already
occupied as far as the Forth and Clyde by the Romans, was in the 5th
century successfully invaded by the Scots, a Celtic tribe from Ireland;
in 843 their king Kenneth was crowned king of Picts and Scots, and by the
10th century the country (known to the Romans as Caledonia) began to be
called Scotia or Scotland; government and power gradually centred in the
richer lowlands, which, through contact with England, and from the number
of English immigrants, became distinctively Anglo-Saxon; since the Union
with ENGLAND (q. v.) the prosperity of Scotland has been of
steady and rapid growth, manufactures, commerce, and literature (in all
branches) having flourished wonderfully.
SCOTS, THE, a tribe of Celts from Ireland who settled in the W. of
North Britain, and who, having gained the ascendency of the Picts in the
E., gave to the whole country the name of Scotland.
SCOTT, DAVID, Scotch painter, born in Edinburgh; he was an artist of
great imaginative power, and excelled in the weird; his best picture,
exhibited in 1828, was "The Hopes of Early Genius Dispelled by Death,"
though his first achievements in art were his illustrations of the
"Ancient Mariner"; but his masterpiece is "Vasco da Gama encountering the
Spirit of the Cape"; he was a sensitive man, and disappointment hastened
his death (1806-1849).
SCOTT, SIR GEORGE GILBERT, English architect, born in
Buckinghamshire, son of Scott the commentator; was the builder or
restorer of buildings both in England and on the Continent after the
Gothic, and wrote several works on architecture.
SCOTT, MICHAEL, a sage with the reputation of a wizard, who lived
about the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, of whose
art as a magician many legends are related.
SCOTT, THOMAS, commentator, born in Lincolnshire; became rector of
Aston Sandford, Bucks; was a Calvinist in theology, author of the "Force
of Truth" and "Essays on Religion," the work by which he is best known
being his "Commentary on the Bible," a scholarly exposition (1747-1821).
SCOTT, SIR WALTER, the great romancer, born in Edinburgh, through
both father and mother of Scottish Border blood; his father, a lawyer, a
man "who passed from the cradle to the grave without making an enemy or
losing a friend," his mother a little kindly woman, full of most vivid
memories, awakening an interest in him to which he owed much; was a
healthy child, but from teething and other causes lost the use of his
right limb when 18 months old, which determined, to a marked extent, the
course of his life; spent many of the months of his childhood in the
country, where he acquired that affection for all natural objects which
never left him, and a kindliness of soul which all the lower animals that
approached him were quick to recognise; he was from the first home-bred,
and to realise the like around his own person was his fondest dream, and
if he failed, as it chanced he did, his vexation was due not to the
material loss it involved, but to the blight it shed on his home life and
the disaster on his domestic relationships; his school training yielded
results of the smallest account to his general education, and a writer of
books himself, he owed less to book-knowledge than his own shrewd
observation; he proceeded from the school (the High School, it was) at 15
to his father's office and classes at the University, and at both he
continued to develop his own bent more than the study of law or learning;
at his sixteenth year the bursting of a blood-vessel prostrated him in
bed and enforced a period of perfect stillness, but during this time he
was able to prosecute sundry quiet studies, and laid up in his memory
great stores of knowledge, for his mind was of that healthy quality which
assimilated all that was congenial to it and let all that did not concern
it slip idly through, achieving thereby his greatest victory, that of
becoming an altogether _whole_ man. Professionally he was a lawyer, and a
good lawyer, but the duties of his profession were not his chief
interest, and though he received at length a sheriffship worth £300 a
year, and a clerkship to the court worth £1500, he early turned his mind
to seek promotion elsewhere, and chose a literary career. His first
literary efforts were translations in verse from the German, but his
first great literary success was the publication, in 1802, of "The
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," and in this he first gave evidence
both of the native force and bent of his genius; it gave the keynote of
all that subsequently proceeded from his pen. This was followed the same
year by "Cadzow Castle," a poem instinct with military ardour, and this
by "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" in 1805; the first poem which gained
him popular favour, by "Marmion" in 1808, and by "The Lord of the Isles"
in 1814. Much as the rise of Scott's fame was owing to his poetical
works, it is on the ground of his prose writings, as the freest and
fullest exhibition of his genius, that it is now mainly founded. The
period of his productivity in this line extended over 18 years in all,
commencing with the year 1814. This was the year of the publication of
"Waverley," which was followed by that of "Guy Mannering," "The
Antiquary," "Rob Roy," "Old Mortality," and "The Heart of Midlothian" in
the year 1819, when he was smitten down by an illness, the effects of
which was seen in his after-work. "The Bride of Lammermoor," "Ivanhoe,"
"The Monastery," "The Abbot," "Kenilworth," and "The Pirate" belong to
the years that succeeded that illness, and all more or less witness to
its sorrowful effects, of which last "The Abbot" and "The Monastery" are
reckoned the best, as still illustrating the "essential powers" of Scott,
to which may be added "Redgauntlet" and "The Fortunes of Nigel,"
characterised by Ruskin as "quite noble ones," together with "Quentin
Durward" and "Woodstock," as "both of high value." Sir Walter's own life
was, in its inner essence, an even-flowing one, for there were in it no
crises such as to require a reversal of the poles of it, and a spiritual
new birth, with crucifixion of the old nature, and hence it is easily
divisible, as it has been divided throughout, into the three natural
periods of growth, activity, and death. His active life, which ranges
from 1796 to 1826, lay in picturing things and traditions of things as in
youth, a 25 years' period of continuous crescent expansiveness, he had
learned to view them, and his slow death was the result, not of mere
weariness in working, but of the adverse circumstances that thwarted and
finally wrecked the one unworthy ambition that had fatally taken
possession of his heart. Of Scott Ruskin says, "What good Scott had in
him to do, I find no words full enough to express... Scott is beyond
comparison the greatest intellectual force manifested in Europe since
Shakespeare... All Scott's great writings were the recreations of a mind
confirmed in dutiful labour, and rich with organic gathering of boundless
resource" (1771-1832).
SCOTT, WILLIAM BELL, painter and poet, brother of David Scott, born
in Edinburgh; did criticism and wrote on artists; is best known by his
autobiography (1811-1890).
SCRANTON (102), capital of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, on the
Lackawanna River, 144 m. NW. of New York; does a large trade in coal, and
is the centre of a busy steel, iron, and machinery industry.
SCRIBE, EUGENE, French dramatist, a prolific and a successful, who
produced plays for half a century, well adapted for the stage, if
otherwise worthless (1791-1861).
SCRIBES, THE (i. e. writers), a non-priestly class among the Jews
devoted to the study and exposition of the Law, and who rose to a
position of importance and influence in the Jewish community, were known
in the days of Christ also by the name of Lawyers, and were addressed as
Rabbis; their disciples were taught to regard them, and did regard them
with a reverence superior to that paid to father or mother, the spiritual
parent being reckoned as much above the natural, as the spirit and its
interests are above the flesh and its interests.
SCRIBLERUS, MARTINUS, the subject of a fictitious memoir published
in Pope's works and ascribed to ARBUTHNOT (q. v.), intended to
ridicule the pedantry which affects to know everything, but knows nothing
to any purpose.
SCRIVENER, FREDERICK HENRY AMBROSE, New Testament critic, born at
Bermondsey, Surrey, educated at Cambridge; head-master of Falmouth School
from 1846 to 1856, and after 15 years' rectorship of Gerrans, became
vicar of Hendon and prebendary of Exeter; his "Plain Introduction to the
Criticism of the New Testament" ranks as a standard work; was editor of
the Cambridge Paragraph Bible, and one of the New Testament revisers
(1813-1891).
SCROGGS, SIR WILLIAM, an infamous Judge of Charles II.'s reign, who
became Chief-Justice of the King's Bench in 1678, and whose name is
associated with all manner of injustice and legal corruption; was
impeached in 1680, and pensioned off by the king; _d_. 1683.
SCUDÉRY, MADELEINE DE, French novelist, born at Havre, came to Paris
in her youth, and there lived to an extreme old age; was a prominent
figure in the social and literary life of the city; collaborated at first
with her brother Georges, but subsequently was responsible herself for a
set of love romances of an inordinate length, but of great popularity in
their day, e. g. "Le Grand Cyrus" and "Clélie," &c., in which a real
gift for sparkling dialogue is swallowed up in a mass of improbable
adventures and prudish sentimentalism (1607-1701).
SCULPTURED STONES, a name specially applied to certain varieties of
commemorative monuments (usually rough-hewn slabs or boulders, and in a
few cases well-shaped crosses) of early Christian date found in various
parts of the British Isles, bearing lettered and symbolic inscriptions of
a rude sort and ornamental designs resembling those found on Celtic MSS.
of the Gospels; lettered inscriptions are in Latin, OGAM (q. v.),
and Scandinavian and Anglican runes, while some are uninscribed;
usually found near ancient ecclesiastical sites, and their date is
approximately fixed according to the character of the ornamentation; some
of these stones date as late as the 11th century; the Scottish stones are
remarkable for their elaborate decoration and for certain symbolic
characters to which as yet no interpretation has been found.
SCUTARI (50), a town of Turkey in Asia, on the Bosporus, opposite
Constantinople; has several fine mosques, bazaars, &c.; large barracks on
the outskirts were used as hospitals by Florence Nightingale during the
Crimean War; has large and impressive cemeteries; chief manufactures are
of silks, cottons, &c. Also name of a small town (5) in European Turkey,
situated at the S. end of Lake Scutari, 18 by 16 m., in North Albania.
SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS, two rocks opposite each other at a narrow pass
of the strait between Italy and Sicily, in the cave of one of which dwelt
the former, a fierce monster that barked like a dog, and under the cliff
of the other of which dwelt the latter, a monster that sucked up
everything that came near it, so that any ship passing between in
avoiding the one become a prey to the other.
SCYTHIANS, the name of a people of various tribes that occupied the
steppes of SE. of Europe and W. of Asia adjoining eastward, were of
nomadic habit; kept herds of cattle and horses, and were mostly in a
semi-savage state beyond the pale of civilisation; the region they
occupied is called Scythia.
SEABURY, SAMUEL, American prelate, born at Groton, Connecticut,
graduated at Yale and studied medicine in Edinburgh; entered the Church
of England in 1753, and devoted himself at first to missionary work;
subsequently held "livings" in Long Island and New York State in 1782;
was appointed bishop by the clergy of Connecticut; sought consecration at
the hands of the English archbishops who were afraid to grant it, and had
to resort to the bishops of the Scotch Episcopal Church for the purpose;
did notable work in establishing and consolidating Episcopacy in America
(1729-1796).
SEALED ORDERS, the orders given the commanding officer of a ship or
squadron that are sealed up, which he is not allowed to open till he has
proceeded a certain length into the high seas; an arrangement in order to
ensure secrecy in a time of war.
SEA-SERPENT, a marine monster of serpent-like shape whose existence
is still a matter of question, although several seemingly authentic
accounts have been circulated in attestation. The subject has given rise
to much disputation and conjecture on the part of naturalists, but
opinion mostly favours the supposition that these gigantic serpent-like
appearances are caused by enormous cuttlefish swimming on the surface of
the water, with their 20 ft. long tentacles elongated fore and aft. Other
fishes which might also be mistaken for the sea-serpent are the
barking-shark, tape-fish, marine snake, &c.
SEBASTIAN. ST., a Roman soldier at Narbonne, and martyred under
Diocletian when it was discovered he was a Christian; is depicted in art
bound naked to a tree and pierced with arrows, and sometimes with arrows
in his hand offering them to Heaven on his knees, he having been shot
first with arrows and then beaten to death.
SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO, Italian painter, born at Venice; was an
excellent colourist, and collaborated with Michael Angelo (1485-1547).
SEBASTOPOL (34), a fortified seaport of Russia, situated on a
splendid natural harbour (4½ m. by ½), on the SW. of the Crimea; during
the Crimean War was destroyed and captured by the French and English
after a siege lasting from October 9, 1854, to September 18, 1855; has,
since 1885, been restored, and is now an important naval station; exports
large quantities of grain.
SEBILLOT, PAUL, celebrated French folk-lorist; _b_. 1843.
SECKER, THOMAS, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Sibthorpe,
Nottinghamshire; first studied medicine and graduated at Leyden in 1721,
but was induced to take orders, and after a year at Oxford was ordained a
priest in 1723; held various livings till his appointment to the Primacy
in 1758; noted as a wise and kindly ecclesiastic (1693-1768).
SECOND-SIGHT, name given to the power of seeing things future or
distant; a power superstitiously ascribed to certain people in the
Highlands of Scotland.
SECULARIST, name given to one who, discarding as irrelevant all
theories and observances bearing upon the other world and its interests,
holds that we ought to confine our attention solely to the immediate
problems and duties of this, independently of all presumed dependence on
revelation and communications from a higher sphere.
SEDAN (20), a town of France, in department of Ardennes, on the
Maas, 164 m. NE. of Paris; once a strong fortress, but dismantled in
1875, where in 1870 Napoleon III. and 86,000 men under Marshal Macmahon
surrendered to the Germans; noted for its cloth manufactories. Previous
to the Edict of Nantes was a celebrated centre of Huguenot industry and
theological learning.
SEDGEMOOR, district in central Somersetshire, 5 m. SE. of
Bridgwater, scene of a famous battle between the troops of James II. and
those of the Duke of Monmouth on July 6, 1685, in which the latter were
completely routed.
SEDGWICK, ADAM, geologist, born at Dent, Yorkshire; graduated at
Cambridge in 1808, became a Fellow in the same year, and in 1818 was
elected to the Woodward chair of Geology; co-operated with Murchison in
the study of the geological formation of the Alps and the Devonian system
of England; strongly conservative in his scientific theories, he stoutly
opposed the Darwinian theory of the origin of species; his best work was
contributed in papers to the Geological Society of London, of which he
was President 1829-1831; published "British Palæozoic Rocks and Fossils"
(1785-1873).
SEELEY, SIR JOHN ROBERT, author of "Ecce Homo," born in London;
studied at Cambridge, became professor of History there in 1869 on
Kingsley's retirement; his "Ecce Homo" was published in 1865, a piece of
perfect literary workmanship, but which in its denial of the
self-originated spirit of Christ offended orthodox belief and excited
much adverse criticism; wrote in 1882 a work entitled "Natural Religion,"
in which he showed the same want of sympathy with supernatural ideas, as
also several historical works (1834-1895).
SEGOVIA (14), a quaint old Spanish city, capital of a province (154)
of the same name; crowns a rocky height looking down on the river Eresma,
32 m. NW. of Madrid; its importance dates from Roman times; has a great
aqueduct, built in Trajan's reign, and a fine Moorish castle and Gothic
cathedral; cloth-weaving the only important industry.
SEGU (36), a town of West Africa, on the Joliba, 400 m. SW. of
Timbuctoo; chiefly occupied by trading Arabs; once the capital of a now
decayed native State.
SEINE, an important river of France, rises in the tableland of
Langres, takes a winding course to the NW., passing many important towns,
Troyes, Fontainebleau, Paris, St. Denis, Rouen, &c., and discharges into
the English Channel by a broad estuary after a course of 482 m., of which
350 are navigable.
SEINE (3,142), the smallest but most populous department of France,
entirely surrounded by the department of Seine-et-Oise; Paris and its
adjacent villages cover a considerable portion of the area; presents a
richly wooded, undulating surface, traversed by the Seine in a NW.
direction.
SEINE-ET-MARNE (356), a north-midland department of France lying E.
of Seine; the Marne crosses the N. and the Seine the S.; has a fertile
soil, which grows in abundance cereals, vegetables, and fruits; many fine
woods, including Fontainebleau Forest, diversify its undulating surface.
Melun (capital) and Fontainebleau are among its important towns.
SEINE-ET-OISE (628), a department of NW. France, encloses the
department of Seine; grain is grown in well-cultivated plains and the
vine on pleasant hill slopes; is intersected by several tributaries of
the Seine, and the N. is prettily wooded. Versailles is the capital;
Sèvres and St. Cloud are other interesting places.
SEINE-INFÉRIEURE (839), a maritime department of North-West France,
in Normandy, facing the English Channel; is for the most part a fertile
plain, watered by the Seine and smaller streams, and diversified by fine
woods and the hills of Caux; is a fruit and cider producing district; has
flourishing manufactures. Rouen is the capital, and Havre and Dieppe are
important trading centres.
SELBORNE, ROUNDELL PALMER, EARL OF, Lord Chancellor, born in
Oxfordshire; called to the bar in 1837, and after a brilliant career at
Oxford entered Parliament in 1847, and in 1861 became Solicitor-General
in Palmerston's ministry, receiving at the same time a knighthood; two
years later was advanced to the Attorney-Generalship; in 1872 was elected
Lord Chancellor, a position he retained till 1874, and again held from
1880 to 1885; refused to adopt Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy for
Ireland and joined the Liberal-Unionists, but declined to take office
under Lord Salisbury; was raised to an earldom in 1882, received various
honorary degrees; greatly interested himself in hymnology, and edited
"The Book of Praise"; wrote also several works on Church questions
(1812-1895).
SELBY (6), a market-town of Yorkshire, on the Ouse, 15 m. S. of
York; has a noted cruciform abbey church, founded in the 12th century,
and exhibiting various styles of architecture; has some boat-building;
manufactures flax, ropes, leather, bricks, &c.
SELDEN, JOHN, born at Salvington, Sussex; adopted law as a
profession, and was trained at Clifford's Inn and the Inner Temple,
London; successful as a lawyer, he yet found time for scholarly pursuits,
and acquired a great reputation by the publication of various erudite
works bearing on old English jurisprudence and antiquities generally; a
"History of Tithes" (1618), in which he combats the idea that "tithes"
are divinely instituted, got him into trouble with the Church; was
imprisoned in 1621 for encouraging Parliament to repudiate James's
absolutist claims; from his entrance into Parliament in 1623 continued to
play an important part throughout the troublous reign of Charles;
sincerely attached to the Parliamentary side, he was one of the framers
of the Petition of Right, and suffered imprisonment with Holies and the
others; sat in the Long Parliament, but, all through out of sympathy with
the extremists, disapproved of the execution of Charles; held various
offices, e. g. Keeper of the Rolls and Records in the Tower; continued
to write learned and voluminous works on biblical and historical
subjects, but is best remembered for his charming 'Table-talk, a book of
which Coleridge remarked, "There is more weighty bullion sense in this
book than I can find in the same number of pages of any uninspired
writer" (1584-1654).
SELENE, in the Greek mythology the moon-goddess, the sister of
Helios, and designated Phoebe as he was Phoebus; she became by Endymion
the mother of 50 daughters.
SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE, a resolution of the Long Parliament passed
in 1644, whereby the members bound themselves not to accept certain
executive offices, particularly commands in the army.
SELIM I., a warlike sultan of Turkey, who, having dethroned and put
to death his father, Bajazet II., entered upon a victorious career of
military aggrandisement, overcoming the Persians in 1515, conquering and
annexing Egypt, Syria, and the Hejaz in 1517, finally winning for himself
the position of Imâm or head of the Mohammedan world; greatly
strengthened his country, and strove according to his lights to deal
justly with and ameliorate the condition of the peoples whom he conquered
(1467-1520).
SELJUKS, a Turkish people who in the 10th century, headed by a chief
named Seljuk (whence their name), broke away from their allegiance to the
khan of Kirghiz, adopted the Mohammedan faith, and subsequently conquered
Bokhara, but were driven across the Oxus and settled HI Khorassan; under
Toghril Beg, grandson of Seljuk, they in the 11th century won for
themselves a wide empire in Asia, including the provinces of Syria and
Asia Minor, whose rulers, by their cruel persecution of Christian
pilgrims, led to the Crusade movement in Europe. The Seljuks were in part
gradually absorbed by the advancing Mongol tribes, while numbers fled
westward, where they were at length incorporated in the Ottoman Empire in
the 14th century.
SELKIRK (6), county town of Selkirkshire, on the Ettrick, 40 m. SE.
of Edinburgh; famed at one time for its "Souters"; is a centre of the
manufacture of tweeds.
SELKIRKSHIRE (27), a south inland county of Scotland; extends S.
from the corner of Midlothian to Dumfriesshire, between Peebles (W.) and
Roxburgh (E.); the grassy slopes of its hills afford splendid pasturage,
and sheep-farming is a flourishing industry; manufactures are mainly
confined to Galashiels and Selkirk; is traversed by the Ettrick and the
Yarrow, whose romantic valleys are associated with much of the finest
ballad literature of Scotland.
SELWYN, GEORGE, a noted wit in the social and literary life of
London in Horace Walpole's time, born, of good parentage, in
Gloucestershire; was expelled from Oxford in 1743 for blasphemy; four
years later entered Parliament, and supported the Court party, and
received various government favours; his vivacious wit won him ready
entrance into the best London and Parisian society; is the chief figure
in Jesse's entertaining "George Selwyn and his Contemporaries"
(1719-1791).
SELWYN, GEORGE AUGUSTUS, the first bishop of New Zealand, in which
capacity he wrought so zealously, that his diocese, by his extension of
Episcopacy, was subdivided into seven; on his return to England he was
made bishop of Lichfield (1809-1878).
SEMAPHORE, a name applied to the mechanism employed for telegraphing
purposes prior to the discovery of the electric telegraph; invented in
1767 by Richard Edgeworth, but first extensively used by the French in
1794, and afterwards adopted by the Admiralty in England; consisted at
first of six shutters set in two rotating circular frames, which, by
opening and shutting in various ways, were capable of conveying
sixty-three distinct signals; these were raised on the tops of wooden
towers erected on hills; later a different form was adopted consisting of
a mast and two arms worked by winches. The speed at which messages could
be transmitted was very great; thus a message could be sent from London
to Portsmouth and an answer be received all within 45 seconds. The
railway signal now in use is a form of semaphore.
SEMELE, in the Greek mythology the daughter of Cadmus and the mother
of Dionysus by Zeus, was tempted by Hera to pray Zeus to show himself to
her in his glory, who, as pledged to give her all she asked, appeared
before her as the god of thunder, and consumed her by the lightning. See
DIONYSUS.
SEMINOLES, a nomadic tribe of American Indians who from 1832 to 1839
offered a desperate resistance to the Americans before yielding up their
territory SE. of the Mississippi (Florida, etc.); finally settled in the
Indian Territory, where they now number some 3000, and receive an annuity
from the American Government; missionary enterprise among them has been
successful in establishing schools and churches.
SEMIPALATINSK (586), a mountainous province of Asiatic Russia,
stretching between Lake Balkash (S.) and Tomsk; encloses stretches of
steppe-land on which cattle and horses are reared; some mining of silver,
lead, and copper is also done. Semipalatinsk, the capital (18), stands on
the Irtish; has two annual fairs, and is an important trading mart.
SEMI-PELAGIANISM. See PELAGIUS.
SEMIRAMIS, legendary queen of Assyria, to whom tradition ascribes
the founding of Babylon with its hanging gardens, and is said to have
surpassed in valour and glory her husband Ninus, the founder of Nineveh;
she seems to have in reality been the Venus or Astarte of the Assyrian
mythology. The story goes that when a child she was deserted by her
mother and fed by doves.
SEMIRAMIS OF THE NORTH, a name given to Margaret, Queen of Denmark;
also to Catharine II. of Russia.
SEMIRETCHINSK (758), a mountainous province of Asiatic Russia,
stretches S. of Lake Balkash to East Turkestan and Ferghana on the S.; is
traversed E. and W. by the lofty ranges of the Alatau and Tian-Shan
Mountains; the vast bulk of the inhabitants are Kirghiz, and engaged in
raising horses, camels, and sheep.
SEMITIC RACES, races reputed descendants of Shem, including the
Jews, the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the Syrians, the Phoenicians, and the
Arabs, and are "all marked," as the editor has observed elsewhere, "by
common features; such appear in their language, their literature, their
modes of thinking, social organisation, and religious belief. Their
language is poor in inflection, has few or no compound verbs or
substantives, has next to no power of expressing abstract ideas, and is
of simple primitive structure or syntax. Their literature has neither the
breadth nor the flow of that of Greece or Rome, but it is instinct with a
passion which often holds of the very depths of being, and appeals to the
ends of the earth. In their modes of thinking they are taken up with
concrete realities instead of abstractions, and hence they have
contributed nothing to science or philosophy, much as they have to faith.
Their social order is patriarchal, with a leaning to a despotism, which
in certain of them, such as the Jews and Arabs, goes higher and higher
till it reaches God; called, therefore, by Jude 'the Only Despot.'"
SEMMERING, a mountain of Styria, Austria, 60 m. SW. of Vienna, 4577
ft. above sea-level; is crossed by the Vienna and Trieste railway, which
passes through 15 tunnels and over 16 viaducts.
SEMPACH (1), a small Swiss town, 9 m. NW. of Lucerne, on the Lake of
Sempach; here on the 9th of July 1386 a body of 1500 Swiss soldiers
completely routed the Austrians, 4000 strong, under Leopold, Duke of
Austria.
SEN, CHUNDER. See CHUNDER SEN.
SÉNANCOUR, ÉTIENNE PIVERT DE, French writer, born at Paris; delicate
in his youth; was driven by an unsympathetic father to quit his home at
19, and for some time lived at Geneva and Fribourg, where a brief period
of happy married life was closed by the death of his young wife; returned
to Paris in 1798; supported himself by writing, and latterly by a small
Government pension granted by Louis Philippe; is best known as the author
of "Obermann," a work of which Matthew Arnold wrote, "The stir of all the
main forces by which modern life is and has been impelled, lives in the
letters of Obermann.... To me, indeed, it will always seem that the
impressiveness of this production can hardly be rated too high"
(1770-1846).
SENATE (i. e. "an assembly of elders"), a name first bestowed by
the Romans on their supreme legislative and administrative assembly; its
formation is traditionally ascribed to Romulus; its powers, at their
greatest during the Republic, gradually diminished under the Emperors; in
modern times is used to designate the "Upper House" in the legislature of
various countries, e. g. France and the United States of America; is
also the title of the governing body in many universities.
SENECA, ANNÆUS, rhetorician, born at Cordova; taught rhetoric at
Rome, whither he went at the time of Augustus, and where he died A.D.
32.
SENECA, L. ANNÆUS, philosopher, son of the preceding, born at
Cordova, and brought to Rome when a child; practised as a pleader at the
bar, studied philosophy, and became the tutor of Nero; acquired great
riches; was charged with conspiracy by Nero as a pretext, it is believed,
to procure his wealth, and ordered to kill himself, which he did by
opening his veins till he bled to death, a slow process and an agonising,
owing to his age; he was of the Stoic school in philosophy, and wrote a
number of treatises bearing chiefly on morals; _d_. A.D. 65.
SENEGAL, an important river of West Africa, formed by the junction,
at Bafulabé, of two head-streams rising in the highlands of Western
Soudan; flows NW., W., and SW., a course of 706 m., and discharges into
the Atlantic 10 m. below St. Louis; navigation is somewhat impeded by a
sand-bar at its mouth, and by cataracts and rapids in the upper reaches.
SENEGAL (136), a French colony of West Africa, lying along the banks
of the Senegal River. See SENEGAMBIA.
SENEGAMBIA, a tract of territory lying chiefly within the basins of
the rivers Senegal and Gambia, West Africa, stretching from the Atlantic,
between Cape Blanco and the mouth of the Gambia, inland to the Niger;
embraces the French colony of Senegal, and various ill-defined native
States under the suzerainty of France; the interior part is also called
the French Soudan; the vast expanse of the contiguous Sahara in the N.,
and stretches of territory on the S., extending to the Gulf of Guinea,
are also within the French sphere of influence, altogether forming an
immense territory (1,000), of which ST. LOUIS (q. v.) in
Senegambia proper, is considered the capital; ground-nuts, gums,
india-rubber, &c., are the chief exports.
SENESCHAL, an important functionary at the courts of Frankish
princes, whose duty it was to superintend household feasts and
ceremonies, functions equivalent to those of the English High Steward.
SENNAAR (8), capital of a district of the Eastern Soudan, which lies
between the Blue and the White Nile, situated on the Blue Nile, 160 m.
SE. of Khartoum.
SENNACHERIB, a king of Assyria, whose reign extended from 702 to 681
B.C., and was distinguished by the projection and execution of extensive
public works; he endeavoured to extend his conquests westward, but was
baffled in Judea by the miraculous destruction of his army. See 2 Kings
xix. 35.
SENS (14), an old cathedral town of France, on the Yonne, 70 m. SE.
of Paris; the cathedral is a fine Gothic structure of the 12th century;
has also an archbishop's palace, and is still surrounded by massive stone
walls; does a good trade in corn, wine, and wool.
SENUSSI, a Mohammedan brotherhood in the Soudan, founded by
Mohammed-es-Senussi from Mostaganem, in Algeria, who flourished between
1830 and 1860. The brotherhood, remarkable for its austere and fanatical
zeal, has ramified into many parts of N Africa, and exercises
considerable influence, fostering resistance to the encroachments of the
invading European powers.
SEPOY, the name given to a native of India employed as a soldier in
the British service in India.
SEPTEMBER, the ninth month of the year, so called as having been the
seventh in the Roman calendar.
SEPTEMBER MASSACRES. An indiscriminate slaughter in Paris which
commenced on Sunday afternoon, September 2, 1792, "a black day in the
annals of men," when 30 priests on their way to prison were torn from the
carriages that conveyed them, and massacred one after the other, all save
Abbé Secard, in the streets by an infuriated mob; and continued
thereafter through horror after horror for a hundred hours long, all done
in the name of justice and in mock form of law--a true Reign of Terror.
SEPTUAGINT, a version, and the oldest of any known to us, of the
Hebrew Scriptures in Greek, executed at Alexandria, in Egypt, by
different translators at different periods, commencing with 280 B.C.; it
is known as the Alexandria version, while the name Septuagint, or LXX.,
was given to it on the ground of the tradition that it was the work of
70, or rather 72, Jews, who had, it is alleged, been Drought from
Palestine for the purpose, and were fabled, according to one tradition,
to have executed the whole in as many days, and, according to another, to
have each done the whole apart from the rest, with the result that the
version of each was found to correspond word for word with that of all
the others; it began with the translation of the Pentateuch and was
continued from that time till 130 B.C. by the translation of the rest,
the whole being in reality the achievement of several independent
workmen, who executed their parts, some with greater some with less
ability and success; it is often literal to a painful degree, and it
swarms with such pronounced Hebraisms, that a pure Greek would often fail
to understand it. It was the version current everywhere at the time of
the planting of the Christian Church, and the numerous quotations in the
New Testament from the Old are, with few exceptions, quotations from it.
SEPULVEDA, JUAN GINES, Spanish historian, born at Pozo-Blanco, near
Cordova; in 1536 became historiographer to Charles V. and tutor to the
future Philip II.; was subsequently canon of Salamanca; author of several
historical works, of which a "History of Charles V." is the most
important, a work characterised by broad humanistic proclivities unusual
in his day and country; _d_. 1574.
SERAGLIO, in its restricted sense applied in the East to a harem or
women's quarters in a royal household; the former residence of the sultan
of Turkey, occupies a beautiful site on the E. side of Constantinople, on
a projecting piece of land between the Golden Horn and the Sea of
Marmora, enclosing within its 3 m. of wall government buildings, mosques,
gardens, &c., chief of which is the harem, which occupies an inner
enclosure.
SERAING (34), a manufacturing town of Belgium, on the Meuse, 4 m.
SW. of Liège; noted for its extensive machine-shops (locomotives, &c.);
established in 1817 by John Cockerill, and now, with forges, coal-mines,
&c., giving employment to some 12,000 men.
SERAMPUR (36), a town of modern aspect in India, on the Hooghly, 13
m. N. of Calcutta; originally Danish, was purchased by the British in
1845; manufactures paper and mats, and is associated with the successful
missionary enterprise of the Baptists Carey, Marshman, and Ward.
SERAPHIC DOCTOR, appellation applied to ST. BONAVENTURA (q. v.); also by
Carlyle to the doctors of the modern school of Enlightenment, or
march-of-intellect school. See _AUFKLÄRUNG_.
SERAPHIM, angels of the highest order and of etheriel temper,
represented as guarding with veiled faces the Divine glory, and
considered to have originally denoted the lightning darting out from the
black thunder-cloud.
SERAPIS, an Egyptian divinity of partly Greek derivation and partly
Egyptian, and identified with Apis.
SERASKIER, a Turkish general, in especial the commander-in-chief or
minister of war.
SERBONIAN BOG, a quagmire in Egypt in which armies were fabled to be
swallowed up and lost; applied to any situation in which one is entangled
from which extrication is difficult.
SERFS, under the feudal system a class of labourers whose position
differed only from that of slaves in being attached to the soil and so
protected from being sold from hand to hand like a chattel, although they
could be transferred along with the land; liberty could be won by
purchase, military service, or by residing a year and a day in a borough;
these and economic changes brought about their gradual emancipation in
the 15th and 16th centuries; mining serfs, however, existed in Scotland
as recently as the 18th century, and in Russia their emancipation only
took place in 1861.
SERINGAPATAM (10), a decayed city of S. India, formerly capital of
Mysore State, situated on an island in the Kaveri, 10 m. NE. of Mysore
city; in the later 18th century was the stronghold of Tippoo Sahib, who
was successfully besieged and slain by the British in 1799; has
interesting ruins.
SERJEANT-AT-ARMS, an officer attendant on the Speaker of the House
of Commons, whose duty it is to preserve order and arrest any offender
against the rules of the House.
SERPENT, THE, is used symbolically to represent veneration from the
shedding of its skin, and sometimes eternity, and not unfrequently a
guardian spirit; also prudence and cunning, especially as embodied in
Satan; is an attribute of several saints as expressive of their power
over the evil one.
SERPUKOFF (21), an ancient and still prosperous town of Russia, on
the Nara, 57 m. S. of Moscow; has a cathedral, and manufactures of
cottons, woollens, &c.
SERRANO Y DOMINGUEZ, Duke de la Torre, Spanish statesman and
marshal; won distinction in the wars against the Carlists, and turning
politician, became in 1845 a senator and favourite of Queen Isabella; was
prominent during the political unrest and changes of her reign; joined
Prim in the revolution of 1868, defeated the queen's troops; became
president of the Ministry; commander-in-chief of the army, and in 1869
Regent of Spain, a position he held till Amadeus's succession in 1871;
won victories against the Carlists in 1872 and 1874; was again at the
head of the executive during the last months of the republic, but retired
on the accession of Alfonso XII.; continued in active politics till his
death (1810-1885).
SERTORIUS, Roman statesman and general; joined the democratic party
under MARIUS (q. v.) against Sulla; retired to Spain on the
return of Sulla to Rome, where he sought to introduce Roman civilisation;
was assassinated 73 B.C.
SERVETUS, MICHAEL, physician, born at Tudela, in Navarre; had a
leaning to theology, and passing into Germany associated with the
Reformers; adopted Socinianism, and came under ban of the orthodox, and
was burnt alive at Geneva, after a trial of two months, under sanction,
it is said, of Calvin (1511-1553).
SERVIA (2,227), a kingdom of Europe occupying a central position in
the Balkan Peninsula between Austria (N.) and Turkey (S. and W.), with
Roumania and Bulgaria on the E.; one-third the size of England and Wales;
its surface is mountainous and in many parts thickly forested, but wide
fertile valleys produce in great abundance wheat, maize, and other
cereals, grapes and plums (an important export when dried), while immense
herds of swine are reared on the outskirts of the oak-forests; is well
watered by the Morava flowing through the centre and by the Save and
Danube on the N.; climate varies considerably according to elevation; not
much manufacturing is done, but minerals abound and are partially
wrought; the Servians are of Slavonic stock, high-spirited and patriotic,
clinging tenaciously to old-fashioned methods and ideas; have produced a
notable national literature, rich in lyric poetry; a good system of
national education exists; belong to the Greek Church; the monarchy is
limited and hereditary; government is vested in the King, Senate, and
National Assembly; originally emigrants in the 7th century from districts
round the Carpathians, the Servians had by the 14th century established a
kingdom considerably larger than their present domain; were conquered by
the Turks in 1389, and held in subjection till 1815, when a national
rising won them Home Rule, but remained tributary to Turkey until 1877,
when they proclaimed their independence, which was confirmed by the
Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
SERVIUS TULLIUS, the sixth king of Rome from 578 to 534 B.C.,
divided the Roman territory into 30 tribes, and the people into 5
classes, which were further divided into centuries.
SESOSTRIS, a legendary monarch of Egypt, alleged to have achieved
universal empire at a very remote antiquity, and to have executed a
variety of public works by means of the captives he brought home from his
conquests.
SESTERTIUS, a Roman coin either bronze or silver one-fourth of a
denarius, originally worth 2½ asses but afterwards 4 asses, up to the
time of Augustus was worth fully 2d., and subsequently one-eighth less;
Sestertium, a Roman "money of account," never a coin, equalled 1000
sestertii, and was valued at £8, 15s.
SETTLE, ELKANAH, a playwright who lives in the pages of Dryden's
satire "Absalom and Achitophel"; was an Oxford man and littérateur in
London; enjoyed a brief season of popularity as author of "Cambyses," and
"The Empress of Morocco"; degenerated into a "city poet and a puppet-show
keeper," and died in the Charterhouse; was the object of Dryden's and
Pope's scathing sarcasms (1648-1723).
SETUBAL (English, St. Ubes) (15), a fortified seaport of Portugal,
at the mouth of the Sado, on a bay of the same name, 17 m. SE. of Lisbon;
has a good trade in wine, salt, and oranges; in the neighbourhood is a
remarkable stalactite cave.
SEVEN CHAMPIONS OF CHRISTENDOM, St. George, of England; St. Denis,
of France; St. James, of Spain; St. Anthony, of Italy; St. Andrew, of
Scotland; St. Patrick, of Ireland; and St. David, of Wales--often alluded
to by old writers.
SEVEN DEADLY SINS, Pride, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, and
Sloth.
SEVEN DOLOURS OF THE VIRGIN, the prediction of Simeon (Luke ii. 35);
the flight into Egypt; the loss of the child in Jerusalem; the sight of
her Son bearing the cross; the sight of Him upon the cross; the descent
from the cross; and the entombment--the festival in connection with which
is celebrated on the Friday before Palm Sunday.
SEVEN SAGES OF GREECE, Solon of Athens, his motto "Know thyself";
Chilo of Sparta, his motto "Consider the end"; Thales of Miletus, his
motto "Whoso hateth suretyship is sure"; Bias of Priene, his motto "Most
men are bad"; Cleobulus of Lindos, his motto "Avoid extremes"; Pittacus
of Mitylene, his motto "Seize Time by the forelock"; Periander of
Corinth, his motto "Nothing is impossible to industry."
SEVEN SLEEPERS, seven noble youths of Ephesus who, to escape the
persecution of Decius, fled into a cave, where they fell asleep and woke
up at the end of two centuries.
SEVEN WISE MASTERS, the title of a famous cycle of mediæval tales
which centre round the story of a young prince who, after baffling all
efforts of former tutors, is at last, at the age of 20, instructed in all
knowledge by Sindibad, one of the king's wise men, but having cast his
horoscope Sindibad perceives the prince will die unless, after
presentation at the court, he keeps silence for seven days; one of the
king's wives, having in vain attempted to seduce the young man, in
baffled rage accuses him to the king with tempting her virtue, and
procures his death-sentence; the seven sages delay the execution by
beguiling the king with stories till the seven days are passed, when the
prince speaks and reveals the plot; an extraordinary number of variants
exist in Eastern and Western languages, the earliest written version
being an Arabian text of the 10th century: a great mass of literature has
grown round the subject, which is one of the most perplexing as well as
interesting problems of storiology.
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, the pyramids of Egypt, the hanging
gardens of Babylon, the tomb of Mausolus, the temple of Diana at Ephesus,
the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue of Jupiter by Phidias at Olympia, and
the Pharos at Alexandria.
SEVEN YEARS' WAR, the name given to the third and most terrible
struggle between Frederick the Great of Prussia and Maria Theresa,
empress of Austria, for, the possession of Silesia, which embroiled
almost all Europe in war, and which had far-reaching effects on the
destinies of England and France as well as Prussia; began in 1756 by
Frederick's successful advance on Dresden, anticipating Maria Theresa's
intention of attempting the recovery of Silesia, lost to her in the
previous two wars. With Austria were allied France, Sweden, Poland, and
Russia, while Prussia was supported till 1761 by England. In 1762 Peter
III. of Russia changed sides, and Frederick, sometimes victorious, often
defeated, finally emerged successful in 1763, when the war was brought to
a close by the Peace of Hubertsburg. Besides demonstrating the strength
and genius of Frederick and raising immensely the prestige of Prussia, it
enabled England to make complete her predominance in North America and to
establish herself securely in India, while at the same time it gave the
death-blow to French hopes of a colonial empire.
SEVERN, the second river of England, rises on the E. side of
Plinlimmon, in Montgomeryshire, and flows in a circuitous southerly
direction through Montgomeryshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, and
Gloucestershire, falling into the Bristol Channel after a course of 210
m.; is navigable to Welshpool (180 m.); chief tributaries are the Terne,
Wye, and the Stratford Avon; there is a "bore" perceptible 180 m. from
the mouth.
SEVERUS, L. SEPTIMIUS, Roman emperor, born in Leptis Magna, in
Africa; was in command at Pannonia, and elected emperor on the murder of
Pertinax, and after conquering his rivals achieved victories in the East,
especially against the Parthians, and thereafter subdued a rebellion in
Britain, and secured South Britain against invasions from the north by a
wall; died at York (146-211).
SÉVIGNÉ, MADAME DE, maiden name Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the most
charming of letter-writers, born at Paris; married at 18 the dissolute
Marquis de Sévigné, who left her a widow at 25; her beauty and rare
charms attracted many suitors, to one and all of whom, however, she
turned a deaf ear, devoting herself with touching fidelity to her son and
daughter, and finding all her happiness in their affection and in the
social intercourse of a wide circle of friends; her fame rests on her
letters, written chiefly to her daughter in Provence, which reflect the
brightest and purest side of Parisian life, and contain the tender
outpourings of her mother's heart in language of unstudied grace
(1626-1696).
SEVILLE (144), a celebrated Spanish city and river port on the
Guadalquivir, 62 m. NE. of Cadiz; an iron bridge connects it with Triana,
a large suburb on the other side of the river; many of the old
picturesque Moorish buildings have given place to modern and more
commodious structures and broader streets; the great Gothic cathedral
(15th century), containing paintings by Murillo, &c., is among the finest
in Europe; the Moorish royal palace, the great Roman aqueduct (in use
until 1883), the museum, with masterpieces of Murillo, Velasquez, &c.,
the university, archbishop's palace, Giralda Campanile, and the vast
bull-ring, are noteworthy; chief manufactures embrace cigars, machinery,
pottery, textiles, &c.; while lead, quicksilver, wines, olive-oil, and
fruits are exported; is capital of a province (545).
SÈVRES (7), a French town on the Seine, 10½ m. SW. of Paris,
celebrated for its fine porcelain ware (especially vases), the
manufacture of which was established in 1755; has a school of mosaic work
and museums for pottery ware of all ages and countries.
SÈVRES, DEUX- (354), a department of West France; is watered by two
rivers, and in the N. thickly wooded; a varied agriculture, cattle and
mule breeding, and cloth manufacture are the principal industries. Niort
is the capital.
SEWARD, ANNA, poetess, born at Eyam, Derbyshire, but from the age of
seven spent her life at Lichfield, where her father was residentiary
canon; was a friend and indefatigable correspondent of Mrs. Piozzi, Dr.
Darwin, Southey, Scott, and others; author of "Louisa," a novel in
poetry, "Sonnets" and other poems, which had in their day considerable
popularity; her correspondence is collected in 6 vols. (1747-1809).
SEWARD, WILLIAM HENRY, American statesman, born at Florida, New York
State; was called to the bar at Utica in 1822, and soon took rank as one
of the finest forensic orators of his country; engaged actively in the
politics of his State, of which he was governor in 1838 and 1840; entered
the U.S. senate in 1849 as an abolitionist, becoming soon the recognised
leader of the Anti-Slavery party; was put forward by the Republican party
as a candidate for presidential nomination, but failing in this he
zealously supported Lincoln, under whom he served as Secretary of State,
conducting with notable success the foreign affairs of the country during
the Civil War and up to the accession of President Grant in 1869; spent
his closing years in travel and retirement (1801-1872).
SEXTANT, an instrument used in navigation (sometimes also in
land-surveying) for measuring the altitudes of celestial bodies and their
angular distances; consists of a graduated brass sector, the sixth part
of a circle, and an arrangement of two small mirrors and telescope;
invented in 1730 by John Hadley.
SEYCHELLES (16), a group of some 30 islands, largest Mahé (59 sq.
m.), situated in the Indian Ocean, 600 m. NE. of Madagascar; taken from
the French by Britain in 1798, and now under the governor of Mauritius;
are mountainous and mostly surrounded by coral reefs; export fibres,
nuts, palm-oil, &c.; Victoria, in Mahé, is the chief town, and an
imperial coaling station.
SFORZA (i. e. stormer), Italian family celebrated during the 15th
and 16th centuries, founded by a military adventurer, a peasant of the
name of Muzia Allendolo, and who received the name; they became dukes of
Milan, and began by hiring their services in war, in which they were
always victorious, to the highest bidder, the first of the number to
attain that rank being Francesco Sforza, the son of the founder, in 1450
(1401-1466), the last of the series being François-Marie (1492-1535).
SGRAFFITO, a decorative wall painting, produced by layers of plaster
applied to a moistened surface and afterwards operated on so as to
produce a picture.
SHADWELL, THOMAS, dramatist, who lives as the "MacFlecknoe" of
Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel," born, of a good family, in Norfolk;
studied law and adopted literature, in which he made a successful start
with the comedy "The Sullen Lovers" (1668); his numerous plays, chiefly
comedies, are of little poetic value, but serve as useful commentaries on
the Restoration period; quarrelled with and satirised Dryden in the
"Medal of John Bayes," which drew forth the crushing retort in Dryden's
famous satire; succeeded Dryden as poet-laureate in 1688 (1640-1692).
SHAFITES, a sect of the Sunnites or orthodox Mohammedans, so called
from Shafei, a descendant of Mohammed.
SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, EARL OF, a notable politician,
prominent in the times of Cromwell and Charles II., born, of good
parentage, in Dorsetshire; passed through Oxford and entered Lincoln's
Inn; sat in the Short Parliament of 1640; changed from the Royalist to
the Parliamentary side during the Civil War, and was a member of
Cromwell's Council of State, but latterly attacked the Protector's
Government, and was one of the chief promoters of the Restoration;
Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1661, and later a member of the "Cabal";
he in 1672 was created an earl and Lord Chancellor, but, hoodwinked by
Charles in the secret Treaty of Dover, went over to the Opposition, lost
his chancellorship, supported an Anti-Catholic policy, leagued himself
with the Country Party, and intrigued with the Prince of Orange; came
into power again, after the "Popish Plot," as the champion of toleration
and Protestantism, became President of the Council, and passed the Habeas
Corpus Act; his virulent attacks on James and espousal of Monmouth's
cause brought about his arrest on a charge of high treason (1681), and
although acquitted he deemed it expedient to flee to Holland, where he
died; one of the ablest men of his age, but of somewhat inscrutable
character, whose shifting policy seems to have been chiefly dominated by
a regard for self; is the "Achitophel" of Dryden's great satire
(1621-1683).
SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, EARL OF, grandson of the
preceding, philosopher, born in London; was an ardent student in his
youth, made the grand tour, and entered Parliament in 1694, moving to the
Upper House on the death of his father in 1699, where, as a staunch Whig,
he gave steady support to William III.; withdrew from politics, never a
congenial sphere to him, on the accession of Anne, and followed his bent
for literature and philosophy; in 1711 his collected writings appeared
under the title "Characteristics," in which he expounds, in the polite
style of the 18th century, with much ingenuity and at times force, a
somewhat uncritical optimism, enunciating, among other things, the
doubtful maxim that ridicule is the test of truth (1671-1713).
SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, SEVENTH EARL OF, statesman and
philanthropist, born in London; was a distinguished graduate of Oxford,
and entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1826, took office under
Wellington in 1828, and was a lord of the Admiralty in Peel's ministry of
1834; succeeded to the earldom in 1851; but his name lives by virtue of
his noble and lifelong philanthropy, which took shape in numerous Acts of
Parliament, such as the Mines and Collieries Act (1842), excluding women
and boys under 13 working in mines; the Better Treatment of Lunatics Act
(1845), called the Magna Charta of the insane; the Factory Acts (1867);
and the Workshop Regulation Act (1878); while outside Parliament he
wrought with rare devotion in behalf of countless benevolent and
religious schemes of all sorts, notably the Ragged School movement and
the better housing of the London poor; received the freedom of Edinburgh
and London; was the friend and adviser of the Prince Consort and the
Queen (1801-1885).
SHAH (Pers. "King"), an abbreviation of Shah-in-Shah ("King of
Kings"), the title by which the monarchs of Persia are known; may also be
used in Afghanistan and other Asiatic countries, but more generally the
less assuming title of Khan is taken.
SHAH-JEHAN ("King of the World"), fifth of the Mogul emperors of
Delhi; succeeded his father in 1627; a man of great administrative
ability and a skilled warrior; conquered the Deccan and the kingdom of
Golconda, and generally raised the Mogul Empire to its zenith; his court
was truly Eastern in its sumptuous magnificence; the "Peacock Throne"
alone cost £7,000,000; died in prison, a victim to the perfidy of his
usurping son Aurungzebe; _d_. 1666.
SHAKERS, a fanatical sect founded by one Ann Lee, so called from
their extravagant gestures in worship; they are agamists and communists.
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM, great world-poet and dramatist, born in
Stratford-on-Avon, in Warwickshire; his father, John Shakespeare, a
respected burgess; his mother, Mary Arden, the daughter of a well-to-do
farmer, through whom the family acquired some property; was at school at
Stratford, married Anne Hathaway, a yeoman's daughter, at 18, she eight
years older, and had by her three daughters; left for London somewhere
between 1585 and 1587, in consequence, it is said, of some deer-stealing
frolic; took charge of horses at the theatre door, and by-and-by became
an actor. His first work, "Venus and Adonis," appeared in 1593, and
"Lucrece" the year after; became connected with different theatres, and a
shareholder in certain of them, in some of which he took part as actor,
with the result, in a pecuniary point of view, that he bought a house in
his native place, extended it afterwards, where he chiefly resided for
the ten years preceding his death. Not much more than this is known of
the poet's external history, and what there is contributes nothing
towards accounting for either him or the genius revealed in his dramas.
Of the man, says Carlyle, "the best judgment not of this country, but of
Europe at large, is slowly pointing to the conclusion that he is the
chief of all poets hitherto--the greatest intellect, in our recorded
world, that has left record of himself in the way of literature. On the
whole, I know not such a power of vision, such a faculty of thought, if
we take all the characters of it, in any other man--such a calmness of
depth, placid, joyous strength, all things in that great soul of his so
true and clear, as in a tranquil, unfathomable sea.... It is not a
transitory glance of insight that will suffice; it is a deliberate
illumination of the whole matter; it is a calmly _seeing_ eye--a great
intellect, in short.... It is in delineating of men and things,
especially of men, that Shakespeare is great.... The thing he looks at
reveals not this or that face, but its inmost heart, its generic secret;
it dissolves itself as in light before him, so that he discerns the
perfect structure of it.... It is a perfectly _level_ mirror we have
here; no _twisted_, poor convex-concave mirror reflecting all objects
with its own convexities and concavities, that is to say, withal a man
justly related to all things and men, a good man.... And his intellect is
an unconscious intellect; there is more virtue in it than he himself is
aware of.... His art is not artifice; the noblest worth of it is not
there by plan or pre-contrivance. It grows up from the deeps of Nature,
through this noble sincere soul, who is a voice of Nature.... It is
Nature's highest reward to a true, simple, great soul that he got thus to
be _part of herself_." Of his works nothing can or need be said here;
enough to add, as Carlyle further says, "His works are so many windows
through which we see a glimpse of the world that was in him.... Alas!
Shakespeare had to write for the Globe Playhouse; his great soul had to
crush itself, as it could, into that and no other mould. It was with him,
then, as it is with us all. No man works save under conditions. The
sculptor cannot set his own free thought before us, but his thought as he
could translate into the stone that was given, with the tools that were
given. _Disjecta membra_ are all that we find of any poet, or of any
man." Shakespeare's plays, with the order of their publication, are as
follows: "Love's Labour's Lost," 1590; "Comedy of Errors," 1591; 1, 2, 3
"Henry VI.," 1590-1592; "Two Gentlemen of Verona," 1592-1593;
"Midsummer-Night's Dream," 1593-1594; "Richard III.," 1593; "Romeo and
Juliet," 1591-1596 (?); "Richard II.," 1594; "King John," 1595; "Merchant
of Venice," 1596; 1 and 2 "Henry IV.," 1597-1598; "Henry V.," 1599;
"Taming of the Shrew," 1597 (?); "Merry Wives of Windsor," 1598; "Much Ado
about Nothing," 1598; "As You Like It," 1599; "Twelfth Night," 1600-1601;
"Julius Cæsar," 1601; "All's Well," 1601-1602 (?); "Hamlet," 1602,
"Measure for Measure," 1603; "Troilus and Cressida," 1603-1607 (?);
"Othello," 1604; "Lear," 1605; "Macbeth," 1606; "Antony and Cleopatra,"
1607; "Coriolanus," 1608; "Timon," 1608; "Pericles," 1608; "Cymbeline,"
1609; "Tempest," 1610; "Winter's Tale," 1610-1611; "Henry VIII.,"
1612-1613 (1564-1616).
SHAKESPEARE OF DIVINES, an epithet sometimes applied to JEREMY
TAYLOR (q. v.) on account of his poetic style.
SHALOTT, LADY OF, subject of a poem of Tennyson's in love with
Lancelot; wove a web which she must not rise from, otherwise a curse
would fall on her; saw Lancelot pass one day, entered a boat and glided
down to Camelot, but died on the way.
SHAMANISM, the religion of the native savage races of North Siberia,
being a belief in spirits, both good and evil, who can be persuaded to
bless or curse by the incantations of a Priest called a Shaman.
SHAMMAI, an eminent Jewish rabbi of the time of Herod, who held the
position of supreme judge in the Sanhedrim under the presidency of
HILLEL (q. v.), and whose narrow, rigid orthodoxy and repressive
policy became the leading principles of his school, "the House of
Shammai," which, however, carried the system to a pitch of fanatical zeal
not contemplated by its originator.
SHAMROCK, a small trefoil plant, the national emblem of Ireland; it
is matter of dispute whether it is the wood-sorrel, a species of clover,
or some other allied trefoil; the lesser yellow trefoil is perhaps the
most commonly accepted symbol.
SHAMYL, a great Caucasian chief, head of the Lesghians, who combined
the functions of priest and warrior; consolidated the Caucasian tribes in
their resistance to the Russians, and carried on a successful struggle in
his mountain fastnesses for thirty years, till his forces were worn out
and himself made captive in 1859; _d_. 1871.
SHANGHAI (380), the chief commercial city and port of China, on the
Wusung, an affluent of the Yangtse-kiang, 12 m. from the coast, and 160
m. SE. of Nanking; large, densely-peopled suburbs have grown round the
closely-packed and walled city, which, with its narrow, unclean streets,
presents a slovenly appearance; the French and English occupy the
broad-streeted and well-built suburbs in the N.; the low-lying site
exposes the city to great heat in the summer, and to frequent epidemics
of cholera and fever; an extensive system of canals draws down a great
part of the interior produce, and swells the export trade in tea, silk,
cotton, rice, sugar, &c.
SHANNON, the first river of Ireland, and largest in the British
Islands, rises in the Cuilcagh Mountains, Co. Cavan; flows in a
south-westerly direction through Loughs Allen, Ree, and Derg, besides
forming several lough expansions, to Limerick, whence it turns due W.,
and opens out on the Atlantic in a wide estuary between Kerry (S.) and
Clare (N.); has an entire course of 254 m., and is navigable to Lough
Allen, a distance of 213 m.
SHANS or LAOS, the name of a people, descendants of aborigines
of China, forming several large tribes scattered round the frontiers of
Burma, Siam, and South China, whose territory, roughly speaking, extends
N. as far as the Yunnan Plateau of South China; some are independent, but
the bulk of the tribes are subject to Siam, China, and the British in
Burma; practise slavery, are Buddhists, somewhat superstitious, indolent,
pleasure-loving, and for the most part peaceable and content; chased gold
and silver work, rice, cotton, tobacco, &c., are their chief exports.
SHARON, a fertile region in Palestine of the maritime plain between
Carmel and Philistia.
SHARP, ABRAHAM, a schoolmaster of Liverpool, and subsequent
bookkeeper in London, whose wide knowledge of mathematics, astronomy,
&c., attracted FLAMSTEED (q. v.), by whom he was invited in 1688
to enter the Greenwich Royal Observatory, where he did notable work,
improving instruments, and showing great skill as a calculator; published
"Geometry Improved," logarithmic tables, &c. (1651-1742).
SHARP, BECKY, an intriguing character in Thackeray's "Vanity Fair,"
very clever, but without heart.
SHARP, GRANVILLE, a noted abolitionist, born in London; trained for
the bar, but accepted a post in the London Ordnance Office, which he held
until the outbreak of the American War; was a voluminous writer on
philology, law, theology, &c., but mainly devoted himself to the cause of
negro emancipation, co-operating with Clarkson in founding the
Association for the Abolition of Negro Slavery, and taking an active
interest in the new colony for freedom in Sierra Leone; won a famous
decision in the law-courts to the effect that whenever a slave set foot
on English soil he becomes free; he was also one of the founders of the
Bible Society (1734-1813).
SHARP, JAMES, archbishop of St. Andrews, born in Banff Castle;
educated at Aberdeen University, visited England, where he formed
important friendships, and in 1643 was appointed "regent" or professor of
Philosophy at St. Andrews, a post he resigned five years later to become
minister of Crail; during the Protectorate he sided with the
"Resolutioners" or Moderates, and appeared before Cromwell in London to
plead their cause; in 1660 received a commission to go to London to
safeguard the interests of the Scottish Church, a trust he shamefully
betrayed by intriguing with Charles at Breda, and with Clarendon and the
magnates of the English Church to restore Prelacy in Scotland, he himself
(by way of reward) being appointed Archbishop of St. Andrews;
henceforward he was but a pliant tool in the hands of his English
employers, and an object of intense hatred to the Covenanters; in 1668
his life was attempted in Edinburgh by Robert Mitchell, a covenanting
preacher, and ultimately on Magus Muir, May 1679, he was mercilessly
hacked to pieces by a band of Covenanters headed by Hackston and John
Balfour (1618-1679).
SHASTER, a book containing the institutes of the Hindu religion or
its legal requirements.
SHAWNEES, a tribe of American Indians located originally in the
eastern slopes of the Alleghanies, but now removed to Missouri, Kansas,
and the Indian Territory.
SHEBA, believed to be a region in South Arabia, along the shore of
the Red Sea.
SHECHINAH, a glory as of the Divine presence over the mercy-seat in
the Jewish Tabernacle, and reflected from the winged cherubim which
overshadowed it, the reality of which it is the symbol being the Divine
presence in man.
SHEEPSHANKS, JOHN, art collector, born at Leeds, son of a
manufacturer; presented in 1856 a collection of works by British artists
to the nation, now housed in South Kensington (1787-1863).
SHEERNESS (14), a fortified seaport and important garrison town with
important naval dockyards in Kent, occupying the NW. corner of Sheppey
Isle, where the Medway joins the Thames, 52 m. E. of London; is divided
into Blue-town (within the garrison, and enclosing the 60 acres of
docks), Mile-town, Banks-town, and Marina-town (noted for sea-bathing).
SHEFFIELD (324), a city of Yorkshire, and chief centre of the
English cutlery trade, built on hilly ground on the Don near its
confluence with the Sheaf, whence its name, 41 m. E. of Manchester; is a
fine, clean, well-built town, with notable churches, public halls,
theatres, &c., and well equipped with libraries, hospitals, parks,
colleges (e. g. Firth College), and various societies; does a vast
trade in all forms of steel, iron, and brass goods, as well as plated and
britannia-metal articles; has of late years greatly developed its
manufactures of armour-plate, rails, and other heavier goods; its
importance as a centre of cutlery dates from very early times, and the
Cutlers' Company was founded in 1624; has been from Saxon times the
capital of the manor district of Hallamshire; it is divided into five
parliamentary districts, each of which sends a member to Parliament.
SHEFFIELD, JOHN, Duke of Buckinghamshire, son of the Earl of
Mulgrave, whose title he succeeded to in 1658; served in the navy during
the Dutch wars of Charles II.; held office under James II., and was by
William III. created Marquis of Normanby; a staunch Tory in Anne's reign,
he was rewarded with a dukedom, lost office through opposing Marlborough,
but was reinstated after 1710, and in George I.'s reign worked in the
Stuart interest; wrote an "Essay on Poetry," &c. (1649-1721).
SHEIKH, the chief of an Arab tribe; used often as a title of
respect, Sheikh-ul-Islam being the ecclesiastical head of Mohammedans in
Turkey.
SHEIL, RICHARD LALOR, Irish patriot, born in Tipperary; bred to the
bar; gave himself for some time to literature, living by it; joined the
Catholic Association; was distinguished for his oratory and his devotion,
alongside of O'Connell, to Catholic emancipation; supported the Whig
Government, and held office under Melbourne and Lord John Russell
(1791-1851).
SHEKEL, among the ancient Hebrews originally a weight, and
eventually the name of a coin of gold or silver, or money of a certain
weight, the silver = 5s. per oz., and the gold = £4.
SHELBURNE, WILLIAM PETTY, EARL OF, statesman, born in Dublin;
succeeded to his father's title in 1761, a few weeks after his election
to the House of Commons; held office in the ministries of Grenville
(1763), of Chatham (1766), and of Rockingham (1782); his acceptance of
the Premiership in 1782, after Rockingham's death, led to the resignation
of Fox and the entry of William Pitt, at the age of 23, into the Cabinet;
his short ministry (July 1782 to Feb. 1783) saw the close of the
Continental and American wars, and the concession of independence to the
colonies, collapsing shortly afterwards before the powerful coalition of
Fox and North; in 1784, on his retirement from politics, was created
Marquis of Lansdowne; was a Free-Trader, supporter of Catholic
emancipation, and otherwise liberal in his views, but rather tactless in
steering his way amid the troublous politics of his time (1737-1805).
SHELDONIAN THEATRE, "Senate House" of Oxford; so called from Gilbert
Sheldon, archbishop of Canterbury, who built it.
SHELLEY, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT, author of "Frankenstein," daughter of
William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft; became the wife of the poet
Shelley in 1816 after a two years' illicit relationship; besides
"Frankenstein" (1828), wrote several romances, "The Last Man," "Lodore,"
&c., also "Rambles in Germany and Italy"; edited with valuable notes her
husband's works (1797-1851).
SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE, born at Field Place, near Horsham, Sussex,
eldest son of Sir Timothy Shelley, a wealthy landed proprietor; was
educated at Eton, and in 1810 went to Oxford, where his impatience of
control and violent heterodoxy of opinion, characteristic of him
throughout, burst forth in a pamphlet "The Necessity of Atheism," which
led to his expulsion in 1811, along with Jefferson Hogg, his subsequent
biographer; henceforth led a restless, wandering life; married at 19
Harriet Westbrook, a pretty girl of 16, a school companion of his sister,
from whom he was separated within three years; under the influence of
WILLIAM GODWIN (q. v.) his revolutionary ideas of politics and
society developed apace; engaged in quixotic political enterprises in
Dublin, Lynmouth, and elsewhere, and above all put to practical test
Godwin's heterodox view on marriage by eloping (1814) to the Continent
with his daughter Mary, whom he married two years later after the
unhappy suicide of Harriet; in 1816, embittered by lord Eldon's decision
that he was unfit to be trusted with the care of Harriet's children, and
with consumption threatening, he left England never to return; spent the
few remaining years of his life in Italy, chiefly at Lucca, Florence, and
Pisa, in friendly relations with Byron, Leigh Hunt, Trelawney, &c.;
during this time were written his greatest works, "Prometheus Unbound,"
"The Cenci," his noble lament on Keats, "Adonais," besides other longer
works, and most of his finest lyrics, "Ode to the South Wind," "The
Skylark," &c.; was drowned while returning in an open sailing-boat from
Leghorn to his home on Spezia Bay; "An enthusiast for humanity
generally," says Professor Saintsbury, "and towards individuals a man of
infinite generosity and kindliness, he yet did some of the cruellest and
some of not the least disgraceful things from mere childish want of
realising the _pacta conventa_ of the world;" Shelley is pre-eminently
the poet of lyric emotion, the subtle and most musical interpreter of
vague spiritual longing and intellectual desire; his poems form together
"the most sensitive," says Stopford Brooke, "the most imaginative, and
the most musical, but the least tangible lyrical poetry we possess"
(1792-1821).
SHENANDOAH, a river of Virginia, formed by two head-streams rising
in Augusta Co., which unite 85 m. W. of Washington, and flowing NE.
through the beautiful "Valley of Virginia," falls into the Potomac at
Harper's Ferry, after a course of 170 m.; also the name of a town (16) in
Pennsylvania, 138 m. NW. of Philadelphia; centre of an important coal
district.
SHENSTONE, WILLIAM, poet, born, the son of a landed proprietor, at
Hales-Owen, Shropshire; was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, and
during the years 1737-42 produced three vols. of poetry, the most noted
being "The Schoolmistress"; succeeded to his father's estate in 1745, and
entered with much enthusiasm and reckless expenditure into
landscape-gardening, which won him in his day a wider reputation than his
poetry; his "Essays" have considerable critical merit and originality,
while his poetry--ballads odes, songs, &c.--has a music and grace despite
its conventional diction (1714-1763).
SHEOL, the dark underworld or Hades of the Hebrews, inhabited by the
shades of the dead.
SHEPHERD KINGS or HYKSOS, a tribe of shepherds, alleged to have
invaded Lower Egypt 2000 years before Christ, overthrown the reigning
dynasty, and maintained their supremacy for 200 years.
SHEPHERD OF SALISBURY PLAIN, name of the hero, a shepherd of the
name of Saunders, in a tract written by Hannah More, characterised by
homely wisdom and simple piety.
SHEPPARD, JACK, a notorious criminal, whose audacious robberies and
daring escapes from Newgate Prison made him for a time the terror and
talk of London; drew some 200,000 people to witness his execution at
Tyburn; figures as the hero of a well-known novel by Harrison Ainsworth
(1702-1724).
SHEPPEY, ISLE OF, an islet in the estuary of the Thames, at the
mouth of the Medway, belonging to Kent, from which it is separated by the
Swale (spanned by a swing-bridge); great clay cliffs rise on the N., and
like the rest of the island, are rich in interesting fossil remains; corn
is grown, and large flocks of sheep raised; chief town is
SHEERNESS (q. v.), where the bulk of the people are gathered; is
gradually diminishing before the encroaching sea.
SHERBORNE (4), an interesting old town of Dorsetshire, pleasantly
situated on rising ground overlooking the Yeo, 118 m. SW. of London; has
one of the finest Perpendicular minsters in South England, ruins of an
Elizabethan castle, and King Edward's School, founded in 1550, and
ranking among the best of English public schools.
SHERBROOKE, ROBERT LOW, VISCOUNT, statesman, born, the son of a
rector, at Bingham, Notts; graduated at Oxford; obtained a Fellowship,
and in 1836 was called to the bar; six years later emigrated to
Australia; made his mark at the Sydney bar, taking at the same time an
active part in the politics of the country; returned to England in 1850,
and entered Parliament, holding office under Lord Aberdeen (1853) and
Lord Palmerston (1855); education became his chief interest for some
time, and in 1866 he fiercely opposed the Whig Reform Bill, but
subsequently made amends to his party by his powerful support of
Gladstone's Irish Church Disestablishment Bill, and was included in the
Liberal ministry of 1868 as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post he held
till 1873, when he became Home Secretary; a man of great intellectual
force and independency of judgment; created a viscount in 1880; was
D.C.L. of Oxford and LL.D. of Edinburgh (1811-1892).
SHERE ALI, Ameer of Afghanistan, son and successor of Dost Mohammed,
at first favoured by Britain, but at last distrusted and was driven from
the throne (1823-1879).
SHERIDAN, PHILIP HENRY, a distinguished American general, born, of Irish
parentage, in Albany, New York; obtained a cadetship at West Point
Military Academy, and entered the army as a second-lieutenant in 1853;
served in Texas and during the Civil War; won rapid promotion by his
great dash and skill as commander of a cavalry regiment; gained wide
repute by his daring raids into the S.; cleared the Confederates out of
the Shenandoah Valley in 1864, and by his famous ride (October 19, 1864)
from Winchester to Cedar Creek snatched victory out of defeat, routing
the conjoined forces of Early and Lee; received the thanks of Congress,
and was created major-general; took an active part under Grant in
compelling the surrender of Lee, and in bringing the war to a
close; subsequently during Grant's presidency was promoted to
lieutenant-general; visited Europe in 1870 to witness the Franco-German
War, and in 1883 succeeded Sherman as general-in-chief of the American
army (1831-1888).
SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY BUTLER, dramatist and politician, born in
Dublin; educated at Harrow; was already committed to literature when, in
1773, he settled down in London with his gifted young wife, Elizabeth
Linley, and scored his first success with the "Rivals" in 1775, following
it up with the overrated "Duenna"; aided by his father-in-law became
owner of Drury Lane Theatre, which somewhat lagged till the production of
his most brilliant satirical comedy, "The School for Scandal" (1777) and
the "Critic" set flowing the tide of prosperity; turning his attention
next to politics he entered Parliament under Fox's patronage in 1780, and
two years later became Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in
Rockingham's ministry; his great speech (1787) impeaching Hastings for
his treatment of the Begums placed him in the front rank of orators, but
although he sat for 32 years in Parliament, only once again reached the
same height of eloquence in a speech (1794) supporting the French
Revolution, and generally failed to establish himself as a reliable
statesman; meanwhile his theatrical venture had ended disastrously, and
other financial troubles thickening around him, he died in poverty, but
was accorded a burial in Westminster Abbey (1751-1816).
SHERIF or SHEREEF, a title of dignity among Mohammedans of
either sex bestowed upon descendants of the Prophet through his daughters
Fatima and Ali; as a distinguishing badge women wear a green veil, and
men a green turban.
SHERIFF, in England the chief officer of the Crown in every county,
appointed annually, and intrusted with the execution of the laws and the
maintenance of peace and order, with power to summon the _posse
commitatus_. The office originated in Anglo-Saxon times, when it
exercised wide judicial functions which have been gradually curtailed,
and such duties as remain--the execution of writs, enforcement of legal
decisions, &c., are mostly delegated to an under-sheriff (usually a
lawyer) and bound-bailiffs, while the sheriff himself, generally a person
of wealth (the office being unsalaried and compulsory, but not
necessarily for more than one year) discharges merely honorary duties. In
Scotland the sheriff, or sheriff-depute as he is called, is the chief
judge of the county, and has under him one or more sheriffs-substitute,
upon whom devolves the larger portion of the important and multifarious
duties of his office. In America the sheriff is the chief administrative
officer of the county, but exercises no judicial functions at all.
SHERIFFMUIR, a barren spot stretching N. of the Ochils, in
Perthshire, 5 m. NE. of Stirling; was the scene of an indecisive conflict
between 9000 Jacobites under the Earl of Mar and 3500 Royalists under the
Duke of Argyll, November 13, 1715.
SHERLOCK, THOMAS, English prelate, born in London; became bishop in
succession of Bangor, Salisbury, and London, declining the Primacy; wrote
several theological works, and took up arms against the rationalists of
the day, such as Collins and Woolston (1678-1761).
SHERLOCK HOLMES, an amateur detective, a creation of Dr. Conan
Doyle.
SHERMAN, WILLIAM TECUMSEH, a distinguished American general, born,
the son of a judge, in Lancaster, Ohio; first saw service as a lieutenant
of artillery in the Indian frontier wars in Florida and California;
resigned from the army in 1853, and set up as a banker in San Francisco,
but at the outbreak of the Civil War accepted a colonelcy in the
Federalist ranks; distinguished himself at the battles of Bull Run (1861)
and Shiloh (1862); received promotion, and as second in command to Grant
rendered valuable service in reducing Vicksburg and Memphis; was present
at the victory of Chattanooga, and during 1864 entered into command of
the SW.; captured the stronghold of Atlanta, and after a famous march
seaward with 65,000 men took Savannah, which he followed up with a series
of victories in the Carolinas, receiving, on 26th April 1865, the
surrender of General Johnston, which brought the war to a close; was
created general and commander-in-chief of the army in 1869, a position he
held till 1869; published memoirs of his military life (1820-1891).
SHERWOOD FOREST, once an extensive forest, the scene of Robin Hood's
exploits, in Nottinghamshire, stretching some 25 m. between Worksop and
Nottingham, but now a hilly, disafforested tract occupied by country
houses and private parks, several villages, and the town of Mansfield.
SHETLAND or ZETLAND (29), a group of over 100 islands, islets,
and skerries, of which 29 are inhabited, forming the northernmost county
of Scotland, lying out in the Atlantic, NNE. of the Orkneys; Mainland
(378 sq. m.), Fell, and Unst are the largest; the coast-line is boldly
precipitous and indented, while the scenery all over the island is very
grand; the soil is peaty, ill adapted to cultivation, but there is
considerable rearing of stock, and the little shaggy pony is well known;
fishing is the chief industry, herring, cod, ling, &c. LERWICK
(q. v.) is the capital.
SHIBBOLETH, a word by which the Gileadites distinguished an
Ephraimite from his inability to sound the _sh_ in the word, and so
discovered whether he was friend or foe; hence it has come to denote a
party cry or watchword.
SHIELDS, NORTH, a flourishing seaport of Northumberland, on the
Tyne, near the mouth, 8 m. NE. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and lying within
the municipal borough of Tynemouth (47); is of quite modern growth, and
of a plain, uninteresting appearance; has a theatre, free library,
Mariners' Home, fine park, &c.; the docks cover 79 acres, and a large
export trade in coal is carried on.
SHIELDS, SOUTH (78), a busy seaport and popular watering-place in
Durham, with a frontage of 2 m. on the south bank of the Tyne, 9 m. NE.
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a place of residence from ancient times, with
Roman remains, &c.; has a theatre, public library, marine school, two
fine parks with central parade, 50 acres of docks, &c.; exports immense
quantities of coal and coke.
SHIITES, a sect of the Mohammedans, who reject the "SUNNA"
(q. v.) and championed the claims of Ali Mahommed's cousin and
son-in-law to succeed to the Caliphate, and maintain the divine right of
his descendants to represent the prophet in the Mohammedan Church. The
Persians belong to this sect.
SHIKARPUR (42), capital of a district (853) in N. Sind, India,
situated on rich alluvial ground, 18 m. W. of the Indus, and 330 m. N. of
Karachi; since the opening of the Indus Valley Railway it has lost much
of its importance as a commercial entrepôt between India and Khorassan;
vicinity produces excellent grain crops, and carpets, cottons, &c., are
manufactured in the town.
SHILOH, a village 20 m. N. of Jerusalem, sacred as the site of the
resting-place of the Tabernacle on the settlement of the Jews in the land
of promise. Is a name also of the Messiah.
SHINAR, the vast alluvial plain extending along the Tagus and
Euphrates, forming the country of Chaldea and Babylonia.
SHINTOISM, the native religion of Japan; a system of ancestor
worship chiefly, combined with which is a religious homage paid to the
Mikado.
SHIP-MONEY, a tax levied by Charles I. at the suggestion of Noy, the
Attorney-General, who based its imposition on an old war-tax leviable on
port-towns to furnish a navy in times of danger, and which Charles
imposed in a time of peace without consent of Parliament, and upon inland
as well as port-towns, provoking thereby wide-spread dissatisfaction, and
Hampden's refusal to pay, which with the trial and decision in favour of
Charles contributed to bring about the Civil War, which cost Charles his
life; was declared illegal by the Long Parliament in 1640.
SHIPTON, MOTHER, a prophetess of English legend, whose preternatural
knowledge revealed in her prophecies, published after her death, was
ascribed to an alliance with the devil, by whom it was said she became
the mother of an ugly impish child.
SHIRAZ (30), a celebrated city of Persia, occupying a charming site
on an elevated plain, 165 m. NE. of Bushire; founded in the 8th century;
was for long a centre of Persian culture, and a favourite resort of the
royal princes; its beauties are celebrated in the poems of Häfiz and
Sádi, natives of the place; has been thrice wrecked by earthquakes, and
presents now a somewhat dilapidated appearance.
SHIRÉ, a river of East Africa, flows out of Lake Nyassa, and passes
in a southerly course through the Shiré Highlands, a distance of 370 m.,
till it joins the Zambesi; discovered by Livingstone.
SHIRLEY, JAMES, dramatist, born in London, educated at Oxford and
Cambridge; entered the Church, but turning Catholic resigned, and after
trying teaching established himself in London as a play-writer; wrote
with great facility, producing upwards of thirty plays before the
suppression of theatres in 1642; fell back on teaching as a means of
livelihood, and with a temporary revival of his plays after the
Restoration eked out a scanty income till fear and exposure during the
Great Fire brought himself and his wife on the same day to a common
grave; of his plays mention may be made of "The Witty Fair One," "The
Wedding," "The Lady of Pleasure," "The Traitor," etc. (1596-1666).
SHISHAK, the name of several monarchs of Egypt of the twenty-second
dynasty, the first of whom united nearly all Egypt under one government,
invaded Judea and plundered the Temple of Jerusalem about 962 B.C.
SHITTIM WOOD, a hard, close-grained acacia wood of an orange-brown
colour found in the Arabian Desert, and employed in constructing the
Jewish Tabernacle.
SHOA (1,500), the southmost division of ABYSSINIA (q. v.);
was an independent country till its conquest by Theodore of Abyssinia in
1855; is traversed by the Blue Nile, and has a mixed population of Gallas
and Abyssinians.
SHODDY, a stuff woven of old woollen fabrics teased into fibre and
of new wool intermixed.
SHOEBURYNESS, a town in Essex, near Southend, a stretch of moorland
utilised by the Government for gunnery practice.
SHOLAPUR (61), chief town in the Presidency of Bombay, in a district
(750) of the name, 283 m. E. of Bombay; has cotton and silk manufactures.
SHORE, JANE, the celebrated mistress of Edward IV.; was the young
wife of a respected London goldsmith till she was taken up by the king,
through whom, till the close of the reign, she exercised great power,
"never abusing it to any man's hurt, but to many a man's comfort and
relief"; was ill-treated and persecuted by Richard III. for political
purposes; subsequently lived under the patronage of Lord Hastings, and
afterwards of the Marquis of Dorset, surviving till 1527; the story of
her life has been made the subject of many ballads, plays, etc.
SHOREDITCH (120), parliamentary borough of East London; returns two
members to Parliament; manufactures furniture, boot and shoes, beer, etc.
SHOREHAM, NEW, a seaport 6 m. W. of Brighton; has oyster and other
fisheries, and shipbuilding yards.
SHORTHOUSE, JOSEPH HENRY, author of "John Inglesant," born in
Birmingham; wrote also "Sir Percival" and "Little Schoolmaster Mark,"
etc.; is remarkable for his refined style of writing, latterly too much
so; his first work, "John Inglesant," published in 1881, is his best;
_b_. 1834.
SHOVEL, SIR CLOUDESLEY, a celebrated English admiral, born at Clay,
in Norfolk; was apprenticed to a cobbler, but ran away to sea, and rose
from grade to grade till in 1674 we find him a lieutenant in the
Mediterranean fleet; was knighted in 1689 for his gallantry as commander
of a ship in the battle of Bantry Bay, and in the following year as
rear-admiral was prominent at the engagement off Beachy Head; in 1692
gave heroic assistance to Admiral Russell at La Hogue, and in 1702 to
Rooke at Malaga; elevated to the commandership of the English fleets he
in 1705 captured Barcelona, but on his way home from an unsuccessful
attack upon Toulon was wrecked on the Scilly Isles and drowned
(1650-1707).
SHREWSBURY (27), county town of Shropshire, situated on a small
peninsula formed by a horse-shoe bend of the Severn, 42 m. W. by N. of
Birmingham; three fine bridges span the river here, connecting it with
several extensive suburbs; a picturesque old place with winding streets
and quaint timber dwelling-houses, a Norman castle, abbey church, ruined
walls, etc. The public school, founded by Edward VI., ranks amongst the
best in England; figures often in history as a place where Parliament met
in 1397-98, and in 1403 gave its name to the battle which resulted in the
defeat of Hotspur and the Earl of Douglas by Henry IV.; it was taken by
the Parliamentarians in 1644; chief industries are glass-painting,
malting, and iron-founding.
SHROPSHIRE or SALOP (236), an agricultural and mining county of
England, on the Welsh border, facing Montgomery chiefly, between Cheshire
(N.) and Hereford (S.); is divided into two fairly equal portions by the
Severn, E. and N. of which is low, level, and fertile, excepting the
Wrekin (1320 ft.), while on the SW. it is hilly (Clee Hills, 1805 ft.);
Ellesmere is the largest of several lakes; Coalbrookdale is the centre of
a rich coal district, and iron and lead are also found. Shrewsbury is the
capital; it consists of four Parliamentary divisions.
SHROVETIDE, confession-time, especially the days immediately before
Lent, when, in Catholic times, the people confessed their sins to the
parish priest and afterwards gave themselves up to sports, and dined on
pancakes, Shrove Tuesday being Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, or the first
day of Lent.
SHUMLA or SHUMNA (24), a fortified city of Bulgaria, 80 m. SE.
of Rustchuk; has an arsenal, barracks, etc., is an important strategical
centre between the Lower Danube and the East Balkans.
SHYLOCK, the Jew in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice."
SIAM (9,000 of Siamese, Chinese, Shans, and Malays), occupies the
central portion of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, wedged in between Annam
and Cambodia (E.) and Burma (W.), and extending down into the Malay
Peninsula; the wide Gulf of Siam forms the southern boundary; the rich
alluvial valleys of the Menam and the Mekhong produce great quantities of
rice (chief export), teak-wood, hemp, tobacco, cotton, etc., but of the
land surface only about one-twentieth is cultivated, a large portion of
the rest lying under forest and jungle; the Siamese are indolent,
ignorant, ceremonious, and the trade is mainly in the hands of the
Chinese; the mining of gold, tin, and especially rubies and sapphires, is
also carried on. Buddhism is the national religion, and elementary
education is well advanced; government is vested in a king (at present an
enlightened and English-educated monarch) and council of ministers; since
Sir J. Bowring's treaty in 1856, opening up the country to European trade
and influences, progress has been considerable in roads and railway,
electric, telephonic, and postal communication. BANGKOK (q. v.)
is the capital. In 1893 a large tract of territory NE. of the Mekhong was
ceded to France.
SIAMESE TWINS, twins born in Siam, of Chinese parents, whose bodies
were united by a fleshy band extended between corresponding breast-bones;
were purchased from their mother and exhibited in Europe and America,
realised a competency by their exhibitions, married and settled in the
States; having lost by the Civil War, they came over to London and
exhibited, where they died, one 2½ hours after the other (1811-1874).
SIBBALD, SIR ROBERT, physician and naturalist, born in Edinburgh, of
Balgonie, Fife; established a botanic garden in Edinburgh, and was one of
the founders of the Royal College of Physicians (16411712).
SIBERIA (5,000), a vast Russian territory in North Asia (one and a
third times the size of Europe), stretching from the Ural Mountains (W.)
to the seas of Behring, Okhotsk, and Japan (E.), bounded on the N. by the
Arctic Ocean and on the S. by China and the Central Asiatic provinces of
Russia; forms in the main an immense plain, sloping from the Altai and
other mountain ranges on the S. to the dreary, ice-bound littoral on the
N., drained by the northward-flowing Obi, Irtish, Yenesei, Lena, &c.,
embracing every kind of soil, from the fertile grain-growing plains of
the S. and rich grazing steppe-land of the W. to the forest tracts and
bogland of the N. and experiencing a variety of climates, but for the
most part severely cold; hunting, fishing, and mining are the chief
industries, with agriculture and stock-raising in the S. and W. The great
Trans-Siberian Railway, in construction since 1891, is opening up the
country, which is divided into eight "governments," the chief towns being
Tomsk, Irkutsk, Omsk, and Tobolsk; three-fifths of the population are
Russians, chiefly exiles and descendants of exiles. Russian advance in
Asia against the Tartars was begun in 1850, and was carried on by warlike
Cossack marauders, followed by hunters, droves of escaping serfs, and
persecuted religious sects.
SIBYL, name given to a woman, or rather to a number of women, much
fabled of in antiquity, regarded by Ruskin as representing the voice of
God in nature, and, as such, endowed with visionary prophetic power, or
what in the Highlands of Scotland is called "second-sight"; the most
famous of the class being the Sibyl of Cumæ, who offered King Tarquin of
Rome nine books for sale, which he refused on account of the exorbitant
sum asked for them, and again refused after she had burnt three of them,
and in the end paid what was originally asked for the three remaining,
which he found to contain oracular utterances bearing on the worship of
the gods and the policy of Rome. These, after being entrusted to keepers,
were afterwards burned, and the contents replaced by a commission
appointed to collect them in the countries around, to share the same fate
as the original collection. The name is applied in mediæval times to
figures representative of the prophets who foretold the coming of Christ;
the prophets so represented were reckoned sometimes 10, sometimes 12 in
number; they are, says Fairholt, "of tall stature, full of vigour and
moral energy; the costume rich but conventional, ornamented with pearls
and precious stones."
SICILIAN VESPERS, name given to a massacre of the French in Sicily
at the hour of vespers on the eve of Easter Monday in 1282, the signal
for the commencement being the first stroke of the vesper bell; the
massacre included men and women and children to the number of 8000 souls,
and was followed by others throughout the island.
SICILY (3,285), the largest island in the Mediterranean, lying off
the SW. extremity of Italy, to which it belongs, and from which it is
separated by the narrow strait of Messina, 2 m. broad; the three
extremities of its triangular configuration form Capes Faro (NE.),
Passaro (S.), and Boco (W.); its mountainous interior culminates in the
volcanic Etna, and numerous streams rush swiftly down the thickly-wooded
valleys; the coast-lands are exceptionally fertile, growing (although
agricultural methods are extremely primitive) excellent crops of wheat
and barley, as well as an abundance of fruit; sulphur-mining is an
important industry, and large quantities of the mineral are exported;
enjoys a fine equable climate, but malaria is in parts endemic; the
inhabitants are a mixed--Greek, Italian, Arabic, &c.--race, and differ
considerably in language and appearance from Italians proper; are
ill-governed, and as a consequence discontented and backward, even
brigandage not yet being entirely suppressed. Palermo, the largest city,
is situated on the precipitous N. coast. As part of the "Kingdom of the
Two Sicilies," comprising Sicily and Naples, it was overrun by Garibaldi
in 1860, and in the same year was incorporated with the kingdom of Italy.
SICKINGEN, FRANZ VON, a German free-lance, a man of a knightly
spirit and great prowess; had often a large following, Götz von
Berlichingen of the number, and joined the cause of the Reformation; lost
his life by a musket-shot when besieged in the castle of Landstuhl; he
was a warm friend of Ulrich von Hutten (1481-1523).
SICYON, a celebrated city of ancient Greece, was situated near the
Corinthian Gulf, 7 m. NW. of Corinth; was an important centre of Grecian
art, especially of bronze sculptures and painting; in the time of Aratus
(251 B.C.) figured as one of the chief cities of the Achæan League; only
a few remains now mark its site.
SIDDONS, SARAH, the greatest tragic actress of England, born at
Brecon, the daughter and eldest child of Roger Kemble, manager of an
itinerant theatrical company; became early a member of her father's
company, and at 19 married an actor named Siddons who belonged to it; her
first appearance in Drury Lane as Portia in 1755 was a failure; by 1782
her fame was established, after which she joined her brother, John
Kemble, at Covent Garden, and continued to act there till her retirement
in 1812; she was distinguished in many parts, and above all Lady Macbeth,
in which character she took farewell of the stage; she appeared once
again in London after this in 1815, for the benefit of her brother
Charles, and again a few nights in Edinburgh in aid of a widowed
daughter-in-law (1755-1831).
SIDEREAL YEAR, the period during which the earth makes a revolution
in its orbit with respect to the stars.
SIDGWICK, HENRY, writer on ethics, born at Shipton, Yorkshire;
professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge; "Methods of Ethics," being a
compromise between the intuitionalists and utilitarians, "the Principles
of Political Economy," and the "Elements of Politics"; he holds a high
place in all these three studies; _b_. 1838.
SIDLAW HILLS, a range of hills extending from Kinnoul Hill, near
Perth, NE. to Brechin, in Forfarshire; most interesting point Dunsinane
(1114 ft.).
SIDMOUTH (4), a pretty little watering-place on the S. Devonshire
coast, 14 m. ESE. of Exeter; lies snugly between high cliffs at the mouth
of a small stream, the Sid; is an ancient place, and has revived in
popularity since the opening of the railway; has a fine promenade 1½ m.
long.
SIDMOUTH, HENRY ADDINGTON, VISCOUNT, statesman, born in London, the
son of a physician; studied at Oxford, and was called to the bar, but
gave up law for politics, entered Parliament in 1783, and was Speaker
from 1789 till 1801, in which year, after the fall of Pitt over Catholic
emancipation, he formed a ministry, assuming himself the offices of First
Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. This ministry of
the "King's Friends" went out of office in 1804, after negotiating the
Peace of Amiens (1802), and in subsequent governments of Pitt Sidmouth
held various offices, being an unpopular Home Secretary from 1812 to
1821; created viscount in 1805 (1757-1844).
SIDNEY or SYDNEY, ALGERNON, a noted politician and soldier
of extreme republican views, second son of Robert, second Earl of
Leicester; first came into public notice in 1641-1642 by his gallant
conduct as leader of a troop of horse in the Irish Rebellion; came over
to England in 1643, joined the Parliamentarians, rose to a colonelcy and
command of a regiment in 1645; was subsequently governor of Dublin and of
Dover (1647), entered Parliament (1646), and although appointed one of
the commissioners to try Charles I., absented himself from the
proceedings, but afterwards approved of the execution; withdrew from
politics during Cromwell's Protectorate, but on the reinstating of the
Long Parliament (1659) became a member of the Council of State; was on a
diplomatic mission to Denmark when the Restoration took place, and till
his pardon in 1677 led a wandering life on the Continent; intrigued with
Louis XIV. against Charles II., assisted William Penn in drawing up the
republican constitution of Pennsylvania, was on trumped-up evidence tried
for complicity in the Rye House Plot and summarily sentenced to death by
Judge Jeffreys, the injustice of his execution being evidenced by the
reversal of his attainder in 1689 (1622-1683).
SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP, poet, and one of the most attractive figures at
Elizabeth's court, born at Penshurst, Kent, the son of Sir Henry Sidney,
lord-deputy of Ireland; quitted Oxford in 1572, and in the manner of the
time finished his education by a period of Continental travel, from which
he returned imbued with the love of Italian literature; took his place at
once in the court of Elizabeth, his uncle, the Earl of Leicester, being
then high in favour, and received rapid promotion, being sent as
ambassador in 1576 to the court of Vienna; nor was his favour with the
queen impaired by his bold "Remonstrance" against her marriage with the
Duke of Anjou, and in 1583 received a knighthood; two years later, "lest
she should lose the jewel of her dominions" the queen forbade him to
accompany Drake to the West Indies, and appointed him governor of
Flushing, but in the following year he received his death-wound at the
battle of Zutphen gallantly leading a troop of Netherlander against the
Spaniards; his fame as an author rests securely on his euphuistic prose
romance "Arcadia," his critical treatise "The Defence of Poesy," and
above all on his exquisite sonnet-series "Astrophel and Stella," in which
he sings the story of his hapless love for Penelope Devereux, who married
Lord Rich; was the friend of Edmund Spenser, and the centre of an
influential literary circle (1554-1586).
SIDON, an ancient Phoenician city on the E. of the Mediterranean, 20
m. N. of Tyre, with an extensive commerce; was famed for its glass and
purple dye; also suffered many a reverse of fortune.
SIEBENGEBIRGE, a range of hills on the right bank of the Rhine, 20
m. above Köln, distinguished by its seven high peaks.
SIEGFRIED, a hero of various Scandinavian and Teutonic legends, and
especially of the "NIBELUNGEN LIED" (q. v.), was rendered
invulnerable by bathing in the blood of a dragon which he had slain,
except at a spot on his body which had been covered by a falling leaf; he
wore a cloak which rendered him invisible, and wielded a miraculous sword
named BALMUNG (q. v.).
SIEMENS, WERNER VON, a celebrated German electrician and inventor,
born at Lenthe, Hanover; served in the Prussian artillery, and rendered
valuable services in developing the telegraphic system of Prussia;
patented a process for electro-plating in gold and silver, and was the
first to employ electricity in exploding submarine mines; retired from
the army in 1849, and along with Halske established a business in Berlin
for telegraphic and electrical apparatus, which has become notable
throughout the world, having branches in several cities; made many
contributions to electrical science; was ennobled in 1888 (1816-1892).
SIEMENS, SIR WILLIAM (Karl William), younger brother of the
preceding, born at Lenthe, Hanover; like his brother took to science, and
in 1844 settled in England, naturalising in 1859; was manager of the
English branch of the Siemens Brothers firm, and did much to develop
electric lighting and traction (Portrush Electric Tramway); his inventive
genius was productive of a heat-economising furnace, a water-meter,
pyrometer, bathometer, &c.; took an active part in various scientific
societies; was President of the British Association (1882), and received
a knighthood in 1883 (1823-1883).
SIENNA or SIENA (28), an interesting old Italian city of much
importance during the Middle Ages, in Central Italy, 60 m. S. of
Florence, is still surrounded by its ancient wall, and contains several
fine Gothic structures, notably its cathedral (13th century) and
municipal palace; has a university and institute of fine arts; silk and
cloth weaving, and a wine and oil trade are the chief industries.
SIERRA, the name given to a range of mountains with a saw-like
ridge.
SIERRA LEONE (75), a British maritime colony since 1787, on the W.
coast of Africa, having a foreshore of 180 m. between Rivières du Sud
(N.) and Liberia (S.); includes the peninsula of Sierra Leone proper with
its densely-wooded Sugar-Loaf Mountain, and a number of coast islands,
and stretches back to a highland eastern frontier ill defined; the
climate is hot, humid, and unhealthy; has been called "The White Man's
Grave"; is fertile, but not well exploited by the indolent negro
population, half of whom are descendants from freed slaves; ground-nuts,
kola-nuts, ginger, hides, palm-oil, &c., are the principal exports.
FREETOWN (q. v.) is the capital. The executive power is
exercised by a governor and council of five.
SIERRA MADRE, the main cordillera system of Mexico, extending in a
northerly direction to Arizona, and forming the western buttress of a
fertile plateau stretching eastwards; to the W. the States of Sinaloa and
Sonora slope downwards to the sea.
SIERRA MORENA, a mountain chain in South Spain, forming the
watershed between the valleys of the Gaudiana (N.) and Guadalquivir (S.);
has valuable deposits of lead, silver, quicksilver, and other metals.
SIERRA NEVADA, 1, a mountain range in South Spain, 60 m. in length;
lies for the most part in Granada, crossing the province E. and W. in
bold, rugged lines, and clad on its higher parts with perpetual snow,
whence the name; Mulhacen (11,660 ft.) is the highest peak. 2, A mountain
system in California, stretching NW. and SE. 450 m., and forming the
eastern buttress of the Great Central Valley; highest peak Mount Whitney
(14,886 ft.). 3, A lofty mountain group in Colombia, South America,
stretching NE. almost to the borders of Venezuela.
SIEYÈS, ABBÉ, a conspicuous figure all through the French
Revolution, the Consulate, and the Empire, who thought in his simplicity
that the salvation of France and the world at large depended on sound
political institutions, in the drafting of which he spent his life; was
born in Frèjus, of the bourgeois class; represented Paris in the States
General; sat in the Centre in the Legislative Assembly; renounced the
Christian religion in favour of the Goddess of Reason; projected a
constitution which was rejected; supported Napoleon; fled to Belgium on
the return of the Bourbons, and returned to France in 1830, by which time
he was politically defunct (1748-1836).
SIGISMUND, emperor of Germany, son of the Emperor Charles IV., was
markgrave of Brandenburg, king of Hungary, and palatine of the Rhine;
struggled hard to suppress the Hussites; held the Council of Constance,
and gave HUSS (q. v.) a safe-conduct to his doom; he is the
"Super Grammaticam" of Carlyle's "Frederick" (1362-1437).
SIGISMUND is the name of three kings of Poland, the last of whom
died in 1632.
SIGNORELLI, LUCA, the precursor of Michael Angelo in Italian art,
born at Cortona; studied at Arezzo under Piero della Francesca, and
became distinguished for the accurate anatomy of his figures and for the
grandeur and originality of design exhibited in his admirable frescoes of
religious subjects at Loretto, Orviëto, and elsewhere (1441-1525).
SIGOURNEY, MRS., American authoress, was a prolific writer; wrote
tales, poems, essays, chiefly on moral and religious subjects; was called
the American Hemans (1791-1863).
SIGURD. See SIEGFRIED.
SIKHS (lit. disciples), a native religious and military community,
scattered, to the number of nearly two millions, over the Punjab, and
forming some fifteen States dependent on the Punjab government; founded
(1469) by Baber Nanak as a religious monotheistic sect purified from the
grosser native superstitions and practices; was organised on a military
footing in the 17th century, and in the 18th century acquired a
territorial status, ultimately being consolidated in to a powerful
military confederacy by Ranjit Singh, who, at the beginning of the 19th
century, extended his power over a wider territory. In 1845-46 they
crossed their E. boundary, the Sutlej, and invaded English possessions,
but were defeated by Gough and Hardinge, and had to cede a considerable
portion of their territory; a second war in 1848-49 ended in the
annexation of the entire Punjab, since when the Sikhs have been the
faithful allies of the English, notably in the Indian Mutiny.
SIKKIM (7), a small native State in North-East India, lying on the
southern slopes of the Himalayas, between Nepal (W.) and Bhotan (E.);
under British protection; the ruling family being Buddhist, and of
Tibetan descent.
SILAGE, the name given to green fodder, vegetables, &c., stored in
stacks or pits (or silos) under heavy pressure, the process being known
as ensilage. The practice of thus preserving green crops for fodder dates
from earliest times, but its general adoption in Britain only began in
1882 since when its spread has been rapid. Originally the process in
vogue involved slight fermentation, resulting in "sour silage," but in
1884 it was found that by delaying the application of pressure for a day
or two a rise of temperature took place sufficiently great to destroy the
bacteria producing fermentation, the result being "sweet silage." Both
kinds are readily eaten by cattle.
SILENCE, WORSHIP OF, Carlyle's name for the sacred respect for
restraint in speech till "thought has silently matured itself, ... to
hold one's tongue till _some_ meaning lie behind to set it wagging," a
doctrine which many misunderstand, almost wilfully, it would seem;
silence being to him the very womb out of which all great things are
born.
SILENUS, a satyr who attended Dionysus, being his foster-father and
teacher; assisted in the war of the giants, and slew Enceladus; had the
gift of vaticination; is represented as mounted on an ass and supported
by other satyrs.
SILESIA (4,224), a province of South-East Prussia, stretching S.
between Russian Poland (E.) and Austria (W. and S.); the Oder flows NW.
through the heart of the country, dividing the thickly forested and in
parts marshy lands of the N. and E. from the mountainous and extremely
fertile W.; rich coal-fields lie to the S., and zinc is also a valuable
product; agriculture and the breeding of cattle, horses, and sheep
flourish, as also the manufacture of cottons, linens, &c.; Breslau is the
capital; for long under the successive dominions of Poland and Bohemia,
the Silesian duchies became, in the 18th century, a _casus belli_ between
Austria and Prussia, resulting in the SEVEN YEARS' WAR (q. v.)
and the ultimate triumph of Frederick the Great of Prussia.
SILESIA, AUSTRIAN (602), that portion of the original Silesian
country preserved to Austria after the unsuccessful struggle with
Prussia; forms a duchy and crownland of Austria, and extends SW. from the
border of Prussian Silesia; agriculture and mining are the chief
industries.
SILHOUETTE, name given to the profile of a portrait filled in with
black; a design familiar to the ancients, and in vogue in France during
the reign of Louis XV.
SILISTRIA (12), a town of Bulgaria, on the Danube, 70 m. below
Rustchuk; occupies a fine strategical position, and is strongly
fortified; withstood successfully a 39 days' siege by the Russians during
the Crimean War; cloth and leather are the chief manufactures.
SILIUS ITALICUS, a Roman poet; was consul in the year of Nero's
death, and his chief work an epic "Punica," relating the events of the
Second Punic War, a dull performance.
SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN, American chemist and geologist, born in North
Stratford (now Trumbull), Connecticut; graduated at Yale, and was called
to the bar in 1802, but in the same year threw up law for science; became
professor of Chemistry at Yale, a position he held for 50 years (till
1853); did much to stimulate the study of chemistry and geology by
lectures throughout the States; founded (1818) the _American Journal of
Science_, and was for 28 years its editor; during 1853-55 was lecturer on
Geology at Yale; his writings include "Journals of Travels in England,
Holland, and Scotland" (1779-1864). BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, son of
preceding, also an active scientist along his father's lines; founded the
Yale School of Science, and filled the chairs of Chemistry at Louisville
(1849-1854) and at Yale (till 1869); was co-editor of the _Journal of
Science_ (1845-85), and wrote various popular text-books of chemistry and
physics (1816-1885).
SILLOTH (3), a watering-place of Cumberland, on the Solway Firth, 20
m. W. of Carlisle; has good docks and an increasing commerce.
SILURES, one of the ancient British tribes occupying the SE. of
Wales; conjectured to be of Non-Aryan stock, and akin to the Iberians;
offered a fierce resistance to the invading Romans.
SILVANUS, an Italian divinity, the guardian of trees, fields, and
husbandmen; represented as a hale, happy, old man.
SILVER AGE, the age in the Greek mythology in succession to the
Golden; gold being viewed as the reality, and silver the idle reflection.
See AGES and GOLDEN AGE.
SIMEON, ST., the aged seer who received the infant Christ in his
arms as He was presented to the Lord by His mother in the Temple; usually
so represented in Christian art.
SIMEON STYLITES, famous as one of the PILLAR SAINTS (q. v.).
SIMFEROPOL (36), a town in the Crimea, 49 m. NE. of Sebastopol;
surrounded by gardens, orchards, and vineyards; exports a great quantity
of fruit.
SIMLA (15, but largely increased in summer), the chief town of a
district in the Punjab, and since 1864 the summer hill-quarters of the
British Government in India; beautifully situated on the wooded southern
slopes of the Himalayas, 7156 ft. above sea-level, and 170 m. N. of
Delhi; has a cool and equable climate, and possesses two vice-regal
palaces, government buildings, beautiful villas, &c.
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE, a prolific American writer, born at
Charleston, South Carolina; turned from law to literature; engaged in
journalism for some years, and found favour with the public as a writer
of poems, novels, biographies, &c., in which he displays a gift for
rapid, vivid narrative, and vigour of style; "Southern Passages and
Pictures" contains characteristic examples of his poetry, and of his
novels "The Yemassee," "The Partisan," and "Beauchampe" may be mentioned
(1806-1870).
SIMON, JULES, French statesman and distinguished writer on social,
political, and philosophic subjects, born at Lorient; succeeded Cousin in
the chair of Philosophy at the Sorbonne; entered the Chamber of Deputies
in 1848; lost his post at the Sorbonne in 1852 for refusing to take the
oath of allegiance to Napoleon III.; subsequently became Minister of
Education under Thiers (1871-73), a life-senator in 1875, and in 1876
Republican Prime Minister; later more conservative in his attitude, he
edited the _Echo Universel_, and was influential as a member of the
Supreme Educational Council, and as permanent secretary of the Academy of
Moral and Political Sciences; his voluminous works include treatises on
"Liberty," "Natural Religion," "Education," "Labour," &c., and various
philosophic and political essays (1814-1896).
SIMON, RICHARD, a celebrated French biblical scholar, born at
Dieppe; entered the Congregation of the Oratory in 1659, and became
professor of Philosophy at the College of Juilly; was summoned to Paris,
and under orders of his superiors spent some time in cataloguing the
Oriental MSS. in the library of the Oratory; his free criticisms and love
of controversy got him into trouble with the Port-Royalists and the
Benedictines, and the heterodoxy of his "Histoire Critique du Vieux
Testament" (1678) brought about his withdrawal to Belleville, where he
remained as curé till 1682, when he retired to Dieppe to continue his
work on Old and New Testament criticism; he ranks as among the first to
deal with the scriptural writings as literature, and he anticipated not a
few of the later German theories (1638-1712).
SIMON MAGUS, a sorcerer, one who by his profession of magic
aggrandised himself at the expense of the people of Samaria, and who,
when he saw the miracles wrought by the Apostles, and St. Peter in
particular, offered them money to confer the like power on himself;
Peter's well-known answer was not without effect on him, but it was only
temporary, for he afterwards appeared in Rome and continued to impose
upon the people so as to persuade them to believe him as an incarnation
of the Most High. Hence Simony, the sin of making gain by the buying or
selling of spiritual privileges for one's material profit.
SIMONIDES OF AMORGOS, a Greek poet who flourished in the 7th century
B.C.; dealt in gnome and satire, among the latter on the different
classes of women.
SIMONIDES OF CEOS, one of the most celebrated lyric poets of Greece;
spent most of his life in Athens, employed his poetic powers in
celebrating the events and heroes of the Persian wars; gained over
Æschylus the prize for an elegy on those who fell at Marathon; composed
epigrams over the tombs of the Spartans who fell at Thermopylæ, and in
his eightieth year was crowned victor at Athens; shortly after this was
invited by Hiero to Syracuse, at whose court he died; his poetry was
distinguished at once for sweetness and finish; he was a philosopher as
well as a poet (556-467 B.C.).
SIMOOM or SIMOON, a hot, dry wind-storm common to the arid
regions of Africa, Arabia, and parts of India; the storm moves in cyclone
(circular) form, carrying clouds of dust and sand, and produces on men
and animals a suffocating effect.
SIMPLON, a mountain in the Swiss Alps, in the canton of Valais,
traversed by the famous Simplon Pass (6594 ft. high), which stretches 41
m. from Brieg in Valais to Domo d'Ossola in Piedmont, passing over 611
bridges and through many great tunnels, built by Napoleon 1800-6.
SIMPSON, SIR JAMES YOUNG, physician, born, the son of a baker, at
Bathgate, Linlithgowshire; graduated M.D. at Edinburgh in 1832; was
assistant to the professor of Pathology and one of the Presidents of the
Royal Medical Society before his election to the chair of Midwifery in
1840; as an obstetrician his improvements and writings won him wide
repute, which became European on his discovery of chloroform in 1847; was
one of the Queen's physicians, and was created a baronet in 1866;
published "Obstetric Memoirs," "Archæological Essays," &c. (1811-1870).
SIMROCK, KARL JOSEPH, German scholar and poet, born at Bonn; studied
at Bonn and Berlin, where he became imbued with a love for old German
literature, in connection with which he did his best-known work;
modernised the "Nibelungen Lied" (1827), and after his withdrawal from
the Prussian service gave himself to his favourite study, becoming
professor of Old German in 1850, and popularising and stimulating inquiry
into the old national writings by volumes of translations, collections of
folk-songs, stories, &c.; was also author of several volumes of original
poetry (1802-1876).
SIMS, GEORGE ROBERT, playwright and novelist, born in London; was
for a number of years on the staff of _Fun_ and a contributor to the
_Referee_ and _Weekly Dispatch_, making his mark by his humorous and
pathetic Dagonet ballads and stories; has been a busy writer of popular
plays (e. g. "The Lights o' London," "The Romany Rye") and novels (e. g.
"Rogues and Vagabonds," "Dramas of Life"); contributed noteworthy
letters to the Daily News on the condition of the London poor; _b_. 1847.
SIMSON, ROBERT, mathematician, born in Ayrshire; abandoned his
intention of entering the Church and devoted himself to the congenial
study of mathematics, of which he became professor in the old university
at Glasgow (1711), a position he held for 50 years; was the author of the
well-known "Elements of Euclid," but is most celebrated as the first
restorer of Euclid's lost treatise on "Porisms" (1687-1768).
SINAI, MOUNT, one of a range of three mountains on the peninsula
between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Akaba, at the head of the Red
Sea, and from the summit or slopes of which Moses is said to have
received the Ten Commandments at the hands of Jehovah.
SINCERITY, in Carlyle's ethics the one test of all worth in a human
being, that he really with his whole soul means what he is saying and
doing, and is courageously ready to front time and eternity on the stake.
SINCLAIR, name of a Scottish family of Norman origin whose founder
obtained from David I. the grant of Roslin, near Edinburgh.
SINCLAIR, SIR JOHN, philanthropist and statistician, born at Thurso
Castle, bred to the bar; succeeding to the family estate devoted himself
to his duties as a landed proprietor; sat for different constituencies in
Parliament; published in 1784 "History of the Revenue of the British
Empire," and in 1791-99, in 21 vols., "Statistical Account of Scotland"
(1754-1835).
SIND, SINDH, or SCINDE (2,903), a province of North-West India,
in the Presidency of Bombay; extends from Beluchistan and Punjab (N.) to
the Indian Ocean and Runn of Cutch (S.); traversed by the Indus, whose
delta it includes, and whose broad alluvial valley-tracts yield abundant
crops of wheat, barley, hemp, rice, cotton, etc., which are exported, and
give employment to the majority of the people; N. and E. are wide
stretches of desert-land, and in the S. are the Hala Mountains; was
annexed to the British possessions after the victories of Sir Charles
Napier in 1843; chief city and port is Kurrachee.
SINDIA, the hereditary title of the Mahratta dynasty in Gwalior,
Central India, founded in 1738 by Ranojee Sindia, who rose from being
slipper-bearer to the position of hereditary prime minister of the
Mahrattas; these princes, both singly and in combination with other
Mahratta powers, offered determined resistance to the British, but in
1803 the confederated Mahratta power was broken by Sir Arthur Wellesley,
and a large portion of their territory passed into British hands. Gwalior
having been restored (1805), and retaken in 1844, the Sindia dynasty was
reinstated under a more stringent treaty, and Boji Rao Sindia proved
faithful during the Mutiny, receiving various marks of good-will from the
British; was succeeded by his adopted son, a child of six, in 1886.
SINGAPORE, 1, (185, chiefly Chinese), the most important of the
BRITISH STRAITS SETTLEMENTS (q. v.); consists of the island of
Singapore and upwards of 50 islets, off the southern extremity of the
Malay Peninsula, from which it is separated by a narrow strait (2 to ½ m.
broad); is hot, humid, and low-lying, yet healthy, and possessing a
fertile soil which grows all kinds of spices, fruits, sugar-cane, coffee,
etc.; purchased by the British in 1824. 2, Capital (160) and port, on the
Strait of Singapore, close to the equator; the chief emporium of trade
with the East Indies and South-Eastern Asia generally; is a picturesque
and handsome town, strongly fortified, and an important naval coaling
station and depôt, with spacious harbour, docks, etc.
SINOLOGY, the science treating of the language, literature, laws,
and history of the Chinese.
SINON, a wily Greek who beguiled the Trojans and persuaded them to
admit the Wooden Horse into the city, to its ruin.
SINOPE (8), a seaport of Turkey in Asia, situated on a narrow
isthmus connecting with the mainland the rocky headland of Cape Sinope
which projects into the Black Sea, 350 m. NE. of Constantinople;
possesses two fine harbours, naval arsenal, Byzantine ruins, etc.; an
ancient Greek town, the birthplace of Diogenes, and capital of
Mithridates; it was captured by the Turks in 1461, who themselves in 1853
suffered a disastrous naval defeat in the Bay of Sinope at the hands of
the Russians.
SION, capital of the Swiss canton of Valais, on the Rhine, 42 m. E.
of Lausanne; is a mediæval town, with an old Gothic cathedral, and in the
neighbourhood ruined castles.
SIOUT or ASIOOT (32), capital of Upper Egypt; commands a fine
view near the Nile, 200 m. S. of Cairo; has a few imposing mosques and a
government palace; is a caravan station, and noted for its red and black
pottery; occupies the site of the ancient city of Lycopolis.
SIOUX or DAKOTA INDIANS, a North American Indian tribe, once
spread over the territory lying between Lake Winnipeg (N.) and the
Arkansas River (S.), but now confined chiefly to South Dakota and
Nebraska. Failure on the part of the United States Government to observe
certain treaty conditions led to a great uprising of the Sioux in 1862,
which was only put down at a great cost of blood and treasure; conflicts
also took place in 1876 and 1890, the Indians finding in their chief,
Sitting Bull, a determined and skilful leader.
SIRDAR, a name given to a native chief in India.
SIREN, an instrument for measuring the number of aërial vibrations
per second, and thereby the pitch of a given note.
SIRENS, in the Greek mythology a class of nymphs who were fabled to
lure the passing sailor to his ruin by the fascination of their music;
Ulysses, when he passed the beach where they were sitting, had his ears
stuffed with wax and himself lashed to the mast till he was at a safe
distance from the influence of their charm. Orpheus, however, as he
passed them in the Argonautic expedition so surpassed their music by his
melodious notes, that in very shame they flung themselves into the sea
and were changed into boulders.
SIRIUS or THE DOG-STAR, the brightest star in the heavens, one
of the stars of the Southern constellation of _Canis Major_; is
calculated to have a bulk three times that of the sun, and to give 70
times as much light. See DOG-DAYS.
SIRKAR, a name used in India to designate the government.
SIROCCO. See SIMOOM.
SISMONDI, JEAN CHARLES LÉONARD SIMONDE DE, celebrated Swiss
historian, born at Geneva; son of a Protestant clergyman of Italian
descent; the family fortune was lost in the troublous days of the French
Revolution, and exile in England and Italy followed, but in 1800 Sismondi
returned to Geneva, and having received a municipal appointment gave
himself to literary pursuits; the works which have established his
reputation are his great histories of "The Italian Republics in the
Middle Ages," "European Literature," and "A. History of the French";
wrote also on political economy (1773-1842).
SISTINE CHAPEL, celebrated chapel of the Vatican at Rome,
constructed by order of Pope Sixtus IV., and decorated with frescoes by
Michael Angelo, representing a succession of biblical subjects, including
among others the "Creation of the World," the "Creation of Man," the
"Creation of Woman," the "Temptation of Eve," the "Deluge," "Judith and
Holophernes," "David and Goliath," "The Last Judgment," &c.
SISTOVA (12), a town of Bulgaria, on the Danube, 33 m. above
Rustchuk; carries on trade in wine, leather, and cereals; was captured by
the Russians in 1877.
SISYPHUS, a mythical king of Corinth, who for some offence he gave
the gods was carried off to the nether world, and there doomed to roll a
huge block up a hill, which no sooner reached the top than it bounded
back again, making his toil endless.
SITKA or NEW ARCHANGEL (1), capital of Alaska, on the W. coast
of Baranof Island, overhung by snowy mountains; has a good harbour;
salmon fishing and curing the chief employment of most of the
inhabitants, mostly Indians.
SIVA or ÇIVA, the Destroyer in the Hindu trinity, in which
Brahma is the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver; Vishnu representing, as
it were, death issuing in life, and Siva life issuing in death, the
transition point, and Brahma, who, by means of them, "kills that he may
make alive." He is worshipped as "Mahâdêva" or the great god, and his
worshippers are called Saivas or Çaivas, as distinct from those of
Vishnu, which are called Vaishnavas. The LINGA (q. v.) is his
symbol, in emblem of the creation which follows destruction. See Psalm
xc. 3.
SIVAJI, the founder of the Mahratta power in India, a bold warrior
but an unlettered, of Rajput descent, brought up at Poona; began his
career at 19; on his succession assumed the title of rajah in 1664, and
was enthroned at Raigpur in 1674, and died sovereign of the whole Deccan
(1627-1680).
SIX ARTICLES. See BLOODY STATUTE.
SIXTUS, the name of five popes. S. I., St., Pope from 116 to
125; S. II., st., pope from 257 to 259; S. III., Pope from 432
to 440; S. IV., pope from 1471 to 1484; S. V., Pope from 1585
to 1590; of whom only two are of any note.
SIXTUS IV., born near Savona, the son of a fisherman; became general
of the Franciscans; succeeded Paul II. as Pope; was notorious for his
nepotism; abetted Pazzi in his conspiracy against the Medici at Florence,
but was a good administrator, and a man of liberal views; _b_. 1414.
SIXTUS V., born near Monalto, of poor parents, was of the Franciscan
order, and famed as a preacher; was elected successor to Gregory XIII.,
during whose pontificate he affected infirmity, to reveal himself a
vigorous pontiff as soon as he was installed; set himself at once to
stamp out disorder, reform the administration, and replenish the
exhausted treasury of the Church; he allowed freedom of worship to the
Jews, and yet was zealous to put down all heresy in the Christian States
of Europe; his services to Rome were not repaid with gratitude, for the
citizens destroyed his statue on his death; _b_. 1521.
SIZAR, a poor student at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford,
so called from the size or allowance of food they were recipients of out
of the college buttery.
SKAGER-RACK, an arm of the North Sea stretching NE. between Norway
and Denmark, and connecting the Cattegat with the North Sea, 140 m. long
and 70 broad, the deep water being on the Norwegian coast.
SKALD, an old Scandinavian poet, a reciter or singer of poems in
praise of the Norse warriors and their deeds.
SKEAN-DHU, a small dirk which a Highlander wears in his stocking.
SKEAT, WALTER WILLIAM, English philologist, born in London;
professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge; author of "Etymological Dictionary
of the English Language," and a great authority on Early English
literature; the first Director of the Dialect Society, established in
1873; _b_. 1835.
SKEGGS, MISS, a character in the "Vicar of Wakefield," boastful for
her aristocratic connections and delicacy of taste, but vulgar at bottom.
SKELTON, JOHN, early English satirist, his chief poetic works being
"Why come ye not to Courte," a satire against Wolsey; the "Book of Colin
Clout," against the corruption of the Church; and the "Book of Phyllyp
Sparrow," the grief of a nun for the death of her sparrow; Erasmus calls
him "the glory and light of English letters" (1460?-1528).
SKENE, WILLIAM FORBES, Scottish historian, born in Kincardineshire,
bred to law; devoted 40 years of his life to the study of the early, in
particular the Celtic, periods of Scottish history, and was from 1881
historiographer for Scotland (1809-1892).
SKERRYVORE, a rock with a lighthouse, one of an extensive reef 10 m.
W. of Tiree, on the west coast of Scotland; the light is a revolving one;
is seen at the distance of over 18 nautical miles.
SKIDDAW, a mountain in Cumberland, 3054 ft. in height; is some 6 m.
from Keswick, whence it is of easy ascent.
SKIMPOLE, HAROLD, a plausible character in "Bleak House," who was in
the habit of sponging his friends.
SKINNER, JOHN, author of "Tullochgorum," born in Bervie,
Aberdeenshire; originally a schoolmaster; became an Episcopal clergyman
(1721-1807).
SKIPTON (10), a market-town in Yorkshire, 26 m. NW. of Leeds;
population largely engaged in agriculture; has manufactures of cotton and
woollen goods.
SKOBELEFF, MICHAEL, a Russian general, distinguished himself by his
bravery in the Russian service, particularly in the Russo-Turkish War of
1877-78; was a leader in the Panslavist movement; died suddenly
(1841-1882).
SKYE (16), next to Lewis the largest of the Hebrides Islands,
belongs to the Inner group, and is included in Inverness-shire, from the
mainland of which it is separated by the narrow channel Kyle Rhea; has a
deeply indented coast-line, and a picturesquely diversified surface of
mountain, moor, and loch; the most notable features being the lofty
Coolin Hills (highest point 3234 ft.), Loch Coruisk, Glen Sligachan, and
the wild columnar height of basalt, the Quiraing; sheep and Highland
cattle are raised, and valuable ling, cod, and herring fisheries are
carried on in the coastal waters. Portree is the chief town and port, but
is little better than a small village.
SLADE, FELIX, antiquary and art-collector; left his art-collection
to the British Museum, and money to found Slade professorships of art at
Oxford, Cambridge, and London Universities (1789-1868).
SLAVE COAST, name given to the Bight of Benin, in West Africa, from
Lagos to the Volta River.
SLAVONIA, a kingdom that at one time included Croatia and that lies
between the Drave and the Military Frontier.
SLAVS, an important branch of the Aryan race-stock, comprising a
number of European peoples chiefly in East Europe, including the
Russians, Bulgarians, Servians, Bohemians, Poles, Croatians, Moravians,
Silesians, Pomeranians, &c. At the dawn of history we find them already
settled in Europe, chiefly in the neighbourhood of the Carpathians,
whence they spread N., S., and W., assuming their present position by the
7th century. They are estimated to number now 100,000,000, and the
various languages spoken by them are notable, compared with the Teutonic
and Celtic tongues, for their rich inflections.
SLAWKENBERGIUS, an author quoted and referred to in "Tristram
Shandy," distinguished by the length of his nose, and a great authority
on the subject of noses.
SLEEPING BEAUTY, a princess who was by enchantment shut up to sleep
100 years in a castle surrounded by a dense forest, and was delivered
from her trance at the end of that term by a prince, to admit whom the
forest opened of itself.
SLEIPNIR, in the Scandinavian mythology the horse of Odin, which had
eight legs, as representing the wind with its eight principal "airts."
SLESWICK-HOLSTEIN (1,217), a province of North Prussia, stretching
up to Denmark, between the North Sea and the Baltic; various canals cross
the country, bearing to the coast the export produce--corn and cattle;
the land is highly cultivated, and fishing is an important industry on
the Baltic coast; Flensburg, the chief seaport, and Sleswick (15), the
capital, are both situated on inlets of the Baltic; the latter lies 28 m.
NW. of Kiel, consists of a single street 3½ m. long, and possesses a fine
Gothic cathedral with a fine altar-piece, &c., the sections representing
the history of the Passion of Christ.
SLICK, SAM, a clockmaker and pedlar, a character illustrating Yankee
peculiarities, and remarkable for his wit, his knowledge of human nature,
and his use of "soft sawder," a creation of JUDGE HALIBURTON'S
(q. v.).
SLIGO, 1, a maritime county of North-West Ireland (98), in the
province of Connaught; fronts the Atlantic on the N. between Mayo (W.)
and Leitrim (E.), Roscommon forming the S. boundary; the land, sloping N.
to the coast from the Ox Mountains, is chiefly under grass for cattle
pasture, and divided into small holdings; Sligo Bay is a fine sheet of
water, and in the S. and E. are the picturesque Loughs Arrow and Gill;
the manufacture of coarse woollens and linens and fishing are the
principal industries; the Moy, Owenmore, and Garvogue are navigable
rivers. 2, At the mouth of the Garvogue stands Sligo (10), the county
town, 137 m. NW. of Dublin; has ruins of a 13th-century Dominican abbey,
a Roman Catholic cathedral, and exports cattle, corn, butter, &c.
SLOANE, SIR HANS, physician and naturalist, born in co. Down,
Ireland, of Scotch descent; settled as a physician in London; attained
the highest distinction as a professional man; his museum, which was a
large one, of natural objects, books, and MSS. became by purchase the
property of the nation, and formed the nucleus of the British Museum
(1660-1753).
SLÖJD (sleight), a system of manual training adopted to develop
technical skill originally in the schools of Sweden and Finland; is
education of the eye as well as the hand.
SLOP, DOCTOR, a choleric physician in "Tristram Shandy."
SLOUGH OF DESPOND, a deep bog in the "Pilgrim's Progress," into
which Christian sinks under the weight of his sins and his sense of their
guilt.
SLOVAKS, a Slavonic peasant people numbering some 2,000,000, subject
to the crown of Hungary since the 11th century, and occupying the
highlands of North-West Hungary; speak a dialect of Czech.
SLOVENIANS, a Slavonic people akin to the Servians and Croatians in
Austro-Hungary, dwelling chiefly in Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola.
SLY, CHRISTOPHER, a drunken sot of a tinker in the "Induction" to
"Taming of the Shrew."
SMART, CHRISTOPHER, English poet, born in Kent; was a Fellow of
Cambridge and a friend of Johnson's; author of the "Song to David," now
famous, much overrated, think some; he was subject to insanity, and it
was written during lucid intervals; he was the author of a prose
translation of Horace (1722-1771).
SMEATON, JOHN, civil engineer, born near Leeds; began life as a
mathematical instrument-maker; made improvements in mill-work, and gained
the Copley Medal in 1758; visited the principal engineering works in
Holland and Belgium; was entrusted with the rebuilding of EDDYSTONE
LIGHTHOUSE (q. v.) after it was in 1755 burnt down, which he
finished in 1759; did other engineering work in the construction of
canals, harbours, and mills, rising to the summit of his profession
(1724-1792).
SMECTYMNUUS, a pamphlet written in 1641, the title of which is made
up of the initial letters of the names of the authors.
SMELFUNGUS, a name given by Sterne to Smollett as author of volume
of "Travels through France and Italy," for the snarling abuse he heaps on
the institutions and customs of the countries he visited; a name Carlyle
assumes when he has any seriously severe criticisms to offer on things
particularly that have gone or are going to the bad.
SMILES, SAMUEL, author of "Self-Help," born in Haddington; was bred
to medicine, and professed it for a time, but abandoned it for literary
and other work; wrote the "Life of George Stephenson" in 1857, followed
by "Self-Help" two years after; _b_. 1812.
SMITH, ADAM, political economist, born in Kirkcaldy, Fife; studied
at Glasgow and Oxford, went to Edinburgh and became acquainted with David
Hume and his confrères; was appointed to the chair of Logic in Glasgow in
1751, and the year after of Moral Philosophy; produced in 1759 his
"Theory of Moral Sentiments," visited Paris with the young Duke of
Buccleuch, got acquainted with Quesnay, D'Alembert, and Necker, and
returning in 1766, settled in his native place under a pension from the
Duke of Buccleuch, where in 1776 he produced his "Inquiry into the Nature
and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," a work to which he devoted 10 years
of his life, and which has had a world-wide influence, and that has
rendered his name world-famous; in 1778 he settled in Edinburgh as
Commissioner of Customs for Scotland, and in 1787 was elected Lord Rector
of Glasgow University (1723-1790).
SMITH, ALEXANDER, poet, born in Kilmarnock; began life as a
pattern-designer, contributed to the _Glasgow Citizen_, wrote a volume of
poems, "A Life Drama," and produced other works in a style characterised
as "spasmodic," and which, according to Tennyson, "showed fancy, but not
imagination" (1880-1807).
SMITH, GEORGE, Assyriologist, born at London; trained as a bank-note
engraver, but attracted the attention of Sir Henry Rawlinson by his
interest in cuneiform inscriptions, and in 1867 received an appointment
in the British Museum; acquired great skill as an interpreter of Assyrian
inscriptions, published "Annals of Assurbanipal," and in 1872 discovered
a tablet with the "Chaldean Account of the Deluge"; carried through
important expeditions (1871-3-6) in search of antiquities in Nineveh and
other parts of Assyria, accounts of which he published; wrote also
histories of Babylonia, Assyria, Sennacherib, &c. (1840-1876).
SMITH, GOLDWIN, English man of letters, born in Berks; was at one
time intimately associated with Oxford University, went to America and
became professor of English History in Cornell University, and since 1871
has settled in Canada, and believes that Canada will be annexed to the
United States; has written a number of books and pamphlets, one on the
"Relations between England and America" and another on "The Political
Destiny of Canada"; he is an ultra-Liberal; _b_. 1823.
SMITH, JAMES AND HORACE, authors of the famous parodies "The
Rejected Addresses," born at London: James, in business as a solicitor,
and Horace, a wealthy stockbroker; both were occasional contributors to
the periodical press before the public offer of a prize for the best
poetical address to be spoken at the re-opening of Drury Lane Theatre
prompted them to issue a series of "Rejected Addresses," parodying the
popular writers of the day--Wordsworth, Southey, Coleridge, Scott, Byron,
&c.; intensely clever, these parodies have never been surpassed in their
kind; Horace was also a busy writer of novels now forgotten, and also
published two vols. of poetry; James subsequently wrote a number of
Charles Mathews' "Entertainments" (James, 1775-1839; Horace, 1779-1849).
SMITH, JOHN, Cambridge Platonist, born in Northamptonshire; left
"Select Discourses," giving signs both of spiritual insight and vigour of
thinking (1616-1652).
SMITH, JOHN, sailor, born in Lincolnshire; had a life of adventure
and peril, and became leader of the English colonists of Virginia;
established friendly relations with the Indians, returned to this country
twice over, and introduced POCAHONTAS (q. v.) to the Queen; died
at Gravesend (1580-1631).
SMITH, SYDNEY, political writer and wit, born at Woodford, Essex, of
partly English and partly Huguenot blood; educated at Westminster and
Oxford, bred for the Church; after a brief curacy in Wiltshire settled in
Edinburgh from 1798 to 1803, where, while officiating as a clergyman, he
became one of the famous editors of the _Edinburgh Review_, and a
contributor; settled for a time afterwards in London, where he delivered
a series of admirable lectures on ethics, till he was appointed to a
small living in Yorkshire, and afterwards to a richer living in Somerset,
and finally a canonry in St. Paul's; his writings deal with abuses of the
period, and are, except his lectures perhaps, all out of date now
(1771-1845).
SMITH, SIR WILLIAM, classical and biblical scholar, born in London;
distinguished himself at the university there and took a course of law at
Gray's Inn, but followed his bent for scholarship, and in 1840-42 issued
his great "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities," following it up
with the "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology" and the
"Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography"; did eminent service to the
cause of education by a series of popular editions of Greek and Latin
texts, school grammars, dictionaries, &c.; not less valuable are his
"Dictionary of the Bible," &c.; was editor of the _Quarterly Review_ from
1867, and in 1892 received a knighthood (1813-1893).
SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON, biblical scholar and critic, born at Keig,
Aberdeenshire; educated for the Scottish Free Church, became professor of
Hebrew in the connection at Aberdeen; was prosecuted for heresy in the
matter of the origin of the books of the Old Testament, and finally
removed from the chair; became joint-editor of the "Encyclopædia
Britannica," and finally professor of Arabic at Cambridge; he was a man
of versatile ability, extensive scholarship, keen critical acumen, and he
contributed not a little to vindicate the claims of the scholar in regard
to the Bible (1846-1894).
SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY, British admiral, born at Westminster;
entered the navy at 12, became a captain after many gallant services at
18, was naval adviser to the king of Sweden and knighted, joined Lord
Hood off Toulon and helped to burn the French fleet; was taken prisoner
by the French in 1796, and after two years made his escape; forced
Napoleon to raise the siege of Acre, and was wounded at Aboukir; was
rewarded with a pension of £1000, and raised in the end to the rank of
admiral (1764-1840).
SMITHFIELD or SMOOTHFIELD, an open space of ground in London,
N. of Newgate, long famous for its live-stock markets; in olden times lay
outside the city walls, and was used as a place of recreation and of
executions; the scene of William Wallace's execution and the death of Wat
Tyler; gradually surrounded by the encroaching city, the cattle-market
became a nuisance, and was abolished in 1855; is partly laid out as a
garden.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, a celebrated American institution "for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," in Washington; founded
and endowed by James Macie Smithson, a natural son of the Duke of
Northumberland, a zealous chemist and mineralogist, after having had a
paper rejected by the Royal Society, of which he was a Fellow. The
building is one of the finest in the capital; is under government
control, and the President of the United States is _ex officio_ the head
of the institution; encourages scientific research, administers various
funds, and directs expeditions for scientific purposes.
SMOKY CITY, Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, from the effect produced by
the bituminous coal used in the manufactories.
SMOLENSK (34), an ancient town of Russia, and capital of a
government (1,412) of the same name, on the Dnieper, 244 m. SW. of
Moscow; is surrounded by walls; has a fine cathedral, and is strongly
fortified; carries on a good grain trade; here in 1812 Napoleon defeated
the Russians under Barclay de Tolly and Bagration on his march to Moscow
in August 1812.
SMOLLETT, TOBIAS GEORGE, novelist, born at Dalquhurn,
Dumbartonshire, of good family; bred to medicine, but drifted to
literature, in prosecution of which he set out to London at the age of
18; his first effort was a failure; he took an appointment as a surgeon's
mate on board a war-ship in 1746, which landed him for a time in the West
Indies; on his return to England in 1748 achieved his first success in
"Roderick Random," which was followed by "Peregrine Pickle" in 1751,
"Count Fathom" in 1755, and "Humphrey Clinker" in 1771, added to which he
wrote a "History of England," and a political lampoon, "The Adventures
of an Atom"; his novels have no plot, but "in inventive tale-telling and
in cynical characterisation he is not easily equalled" (1721-1771).
SMRITI, in the Hindu religion the name given to traditional usage,
as opposed to Sruti, or revelation, and from which proceeded, at a later
date, the body of laws, such as that of Manu, in which the morality
prescribed is, "sound, solid, and practical."
SMYRNA (210), a town of great antiquity, since ancient times the
chief port of Asia Minor; is situated amid surrounding hills at the head
of the Gulf of Smyrna, an arm of the Ægean Sea; has no imposing
structures, and is, especially in the Turkish quarter, ill-drained and
crowded; is the seat of the Turkish Governor-General of the province, of
archbishops, Roman Catholic, Greek, and Armenian; manufactures embrace
carpets, pottery, cottons and woollens; a splendid harbour favours a
large import and export trade; for long a possession of Greece and then
of Rome, it finally fell into the hands of the Turks in 1424.
SMYRNA, GULF OF, an inlet of the Ægean Sea, 40 m. in length by 20 m.
in breadth, with an excellent anchorage.
SNAKE RIVER, chief tributary of the Columbia; rises in Wyoming amid
the Rockies; flows S. and NW. through Idaho, forming the Shoshone Falls,
rivalling Niagara, which they exceed in height; through Southern
Washington it flows W. under the name of the Lewis River or Fork, and
discharges into the Columbia after a course of 1050 m.
SNAKE-STONES, stones popularly believed to cure the bites of snakes,
probably due to a porosity in their substance drawing off the poison.
SNIDER, JACOB, American mechanical genius; invented a method of
converting muzzle-loading rifles into breech-loading; died unrewarded in
1866.
SNODGRASS, AUGUSTUS, a member of the Pickwick Club in the "Pickwick
Papers."
SNORRI STURLASON, Icelandic historian and poet; published the
collection of sagas entitled "Heimskringla," among which were many songs
of his own composition; was a man of position and influence in Iceland,
but having provoked the ill-will of Haco was at his instigation
assassinated in 1241. See EDDA.
SNOWDON, a mountain range in Carnarvon, North Wales, extending from
the coast to near Conway; it has five distinct summits, of which
Moel-y-Wyddfa (the conspicuous peak) is the highest, being 3560 ft.; the
easiest ascent is from Llanberis on the N., and is the route usually
taken by tourists, for whose behoof there is a house on the summit.
SOANE, SIR JOHN, English architect, who left his house in Lincoln's
Inn Fields with art collection to the nation at his death in 1837.
SOBIESKI, surname of the great patriot king of Poland, John III., in
the 17th century; born at Olesko, in Galicia; was elected king of Poland
in 1674, having, by repeated victories over the Turks and Russians, shown
himself the greatest soldier of his country; proved a wise and brave
ruler, a true leader of his people, and with unbroken success defied the
utmost efforts of the infidel Turks (1624-1696).
SOBRAON (4), a town in the Punjab, India, on the Sutlej, in the
vicinity of which Sir Henry Gough won the decisive victory over the
Sikhs, 10th February 1846.
SOCAGE, name given to a feudal tenure by a certain and determinate
service other than knight service.
SOCIAL WAR, name given to an Insurrection of the allied States in
Italy against the domination of Rome, and which lasted from 90 to 88 B.C.,
in consequence of their exclusion from the rights of citizenship and
the privileges attached; they formed a league to assert their rights,
which ended in defeat.
SOCIALISM, a social system which, in opposition to the competitive
system that prevails at present, seeks to reorganise society on the
basis, in the main, of a certain secularism in religion, of community of
interest, and co-operation in labour for the common good, agreeably to
the democratic spirit of the time and the changes required by the rise of
individualism and the decay of feudalism.
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, a society founded in 1698
which during the last 200 years has originated and supported a number of
agencies, both in this country and abroad, for propagating Christian
knowledge; distributed into a number of separate departments.
SOCIETY ISLANDS (24), an archipelago in the South Pacific,
consisting of 13 principal islands and numerous islets, the chief being
Tahiti; they are mountainous, and engirdled by belts of flat land as well
as coral reefs; have a fertile soil and luxuriant vegetation, while the
climate is healthy though enervating; the inhabitants are intelligent but
indolent, and the land is worked by immigrant races.
SOCIETY OF JESUS, the Jesuit order founded by IGNATIUS LOYOLA
(q. v.).
SOCINIANS, a sect of the Unitarian body who, in the 16th century,
take their name from FAUSTUS SOCINUS (q. v.), who, besides
denying the doctrine of the Trinity, deny the divinity of Christ and the
divine inspiration of Scripture; they arose into importance originally in
Poland, and in the 17th century spread by degrees in Prussia, the
Netherlands, and England.
SOCINUS, FAUSTUS, a theologian, born in Italy; had for his views to
exile himself for years, and was much persecuted for his opinions; in
Cracow, where he dwelt for a time, he was by a mob dragged from a
sick-bed half-naked along the street, had his house robbed and his papers
burned (1530-1601).
SOCIOLOGY, the science which treats of the nature and the
developments of society and of social institutions; a science to which
Herbert Spencer, in succession to Comte, has contributed more than any
other scientist, deducing, as he does, a series of generalisations by
comparison of individual organisms with social.
SOCOTRA (10), an island off the E. coast of Africa, 148 m. NE. of
Cape Guardafui, over 70 m. long and 20 m. broad; it is mountainous,
surrounded by a margin of plain land from 2 to 4 m. broad; is
comparatively barren; is inhabited by Mohammedans, who rear sheep, goats,
and cattle; exports aloes, hides, and pearls; the sultan is a feudatory
of Britain.
SOCRATES, Athenian philosopher, pronounced by the Delphic oracle the
wisest of men; was the son of Sophroniscus, a statuary, and Phænarete, a
midwife; was brought up to his father's profession, in which it would
seem he gave promise of success; he lived all his days in Athens, and
gathered about him as his pupils all the ingenuous youth of the city; he
wrote no book, propounded no system, and founded no school, but was ever
abroad in the thoroughfares in all weather talking to whoso would listen,
and instilling into all and sundry a love of justice and truth; of quacks
and pretenders he was the sworn foe, and he cared not what enmity he
provoked if he could persuade one and another to think and do what was
right; "he was so pious," says Xenophon in his "Memorabilia," "that he
did nothing without the sanction of the gods; so just, that he never
wronged any one, even in the least degree; so much master of himself,
that he never preferred the agreeable to the good; so wise, that in
deciding on the better and the worse he never faltered; in short, he was
the best and happiest man that could possibly exist;" he failed not to
incur enmity, and his enemies persecuted him to death; he was charged
with not believing in the State religion, with introducing new gods, and
corrupting the youth, convicted by a majority of his judges and condemned
to die; thirty days elapsed between the passing of the sentence and its
execution, during which period he held converse with his friends and
talked of the immortality of the soul; to an offer of escape he turned a
deaf ear, drank the hemlock potion prepared for him with perfect
composure, and died; "the difference between Socrates and Jesus Christ,"
notes Carlyle in his "Journal," "the great Conscious, the immeasurably
great Unconscious; the one cunningly manufactured, the other created,
living and life-giving; the epitome this of a grand and fundamental
diversity among men; but did _any_ truly great man ever," he asks, "go
through the world without _offence_, all rounded in, so that the current
moral systems could find no fault in him? most likely never"
(469-399 B.C.).
SOCRATES, APOLOGY OF, a work of Plato's, being a speech put into the
mouth of Socrates before the AREOPAGUS (q. v.) in his defence in
answer to the charge brought against him, and which Plato wrote after his
death.
SOCRATES, Church historian of the 4th century, born at Byzantium;
bred to the bar; his "Ecclesiastical History" embraces a period from 306
to 439, a work of no great merit.
SODOM AND GOMORRAH, two ancient cities which, for their wickedness
were, as the Bible relates, consumed with fire from heaven; they are
supposed to have stood near the S. border of the Dead Sea, though they
were not, as was at one time supposed, submerged in the waters of it.
SOFALA, a Portuguese maritime district of South-East Africa,
stretching from the Zambesi S. to Delagoa Bay, and forming the S. portion
of the colony of Mozambique. Sofala (1), chief port on a bay of the same
name, is a place of little importance.
SOFIA (50), capital since 1878 of Bulgaria; is a fortified town,
situated in the broad valley of the Isker, a tributary of the Danube, 75
m. NW. of Philippopolis; has recently largely undergone reconstruction,
and with hotels, banks, a government palace, &c., presents a fine modern
appearance; has a national university; is an important trade emporium,
and is on the Constantinople and Belgrade railway; manufactures cloth,
silks, leather, &c., and has long been famed for its hot mineral springs.
SOFRONIA, a Christian maiden of Jerusalem, who, to avert a general
massacre of the Christians by the Mohammedan king, accused herself of the
crime for which they were all to suffer, and whose story with the issue
is touchingly related in Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered."
SOISSONS (11), a fortified town of North France, dep. Aisne, on the
Aisne, 65 m. NE. of Paris; has a 12th-century cathedral and ruins of a
famous abbey; chief industries are brewing and the manufacture of various
textiles; was a place of much importance in early times, and figures in
the wars of Clovis and Pepin, frequently in the Hundred Years' War, and
in 1870 was captured by the Germans; is considered the key to Paris from
the Netherlands side.
SOKOTO (11,000), a native kingdom of West Central Africa, within
territories administered now by the British Government; lies between the
Soudan (N.) and the river Benuë (S.), the main affluent of the Niger; the
dominant people are the Fulahs, exercising sway over various native
tribes; is a country capable of much agricultural development, and has
large deposits of iron. Wurno (15), the capital, is on the Gandi, 18 m.
E. of the town of Sokoto.
SOLANO, name given to a hot oppressive wind in the Mediterranean.
SOLAR CYCLE, a period of 28 years, within which the first day of the
year passes successively through the same sequence of week-days.
SOLAR MYTH, a myth, the subject of which is a deified
personification of the sun or phenomena connected with it.
SOLAR YEAR, the period of 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 52 seconds
which the earth takes to complete a revolution of the sun.
SOLDAN, a corruption of Sultan, and denoting in mediæval romance the
Saracen king.
SOLECISM, the name given to a violation of the syntax or idiom of a
language, as well as to an incarnate absurdity of any kind, whether in
mind or morals.
SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT. See COVENANT.
SOLENT, the western portion, SPITHEAD (q. v.) being the
eastern, of the strait which separates the Isle of Wight from the
mainland of Hants, 17 m. long, with an average breadth of 3 m., but at
its W. entrance, opposite Hurst Castle, contracts to ¾ m.
SOLEURE (86), a canton of North-West Switzerland, between Bern (W.
and S.) and Aargau (E); is hilly, but fertile and well cultivated,
especially in the valley of the Aar; inhabitants are mainly Catholics and
German-speaking. Soleure, the capital (8), situated on the Aar, 18 m. NE.
of Berne, has a fine cathedral, and manufactures of cottons, clocks, and
cement.
SOLFATA`RA, a fissure or crevice in the earth which emits sulphurous
and other vapours, and in regions where volcanoes have ceased to be
active; they are met with in South Italy, the Antilles, Mexico, and Java.
SOLFERINO, a village in North Italy, 20 m. NW. of Mantua, where the
Austrians were defeated by the French and Piedmontese in 1859.
SOLIDARITY, community of interest or responsibility; also that
community of being which binds humanity into one whole, so that each
affects and is affected by all.
SOLIDUS, a Roman gold coin adopted by the Franks, and first coined
by them in gold, but subsequently in silver, when it was equivalent to
one-twentieth of the libra, or pound; as the "sol" or "sou" it
depreciated greatly in value; was minted in copper, and on the
introduction of the decimal system its place was taken by a five-centime
piece; the "soldo" in Italy, and the Solidus L.S.D. owe their origin to
this coin.
SOLINGEN (37), a manufacturing town of Prussia, situated near the
Wupper, 13 m. E. of Düsseldorf; has long been famed for its steel and
iron works and cutlery manufactures.
SOLOMON, king of Israel from 1015 to 977 B.C., second son of David
and Bathsheba, and David's successor; in high repute far and wide for his
love of wisdom and the glory of his reign; he had a truly Oriental
passion for magnificence, and the buildings he erected in Jerusalem,
including the Temple and a palace on Mount Zion, he raised regardless of
an expense which the nation resented after he was gone; the burden of
which it would seem had fallen upon them, for when his successor,
following in his courses, ascended the throne, ten of the tribes
revolted, to the final rupture of the community, and the fall of first
the one section and then the other under alien sway.
SOLOMON OF ENGLAND, an appellation conferred on Henry VII., and also
satirically on James I., characterised by Sully as "the wisest fool in
Christendom."
SOLOMON OF FRANCE, a title bestowed on Louis IX.
SOLOMON ISLANDS (167), a large group of islands in the West Pacific,
500 m. E. of New Guinea, the N. islands of which belong to Germany, and
the S. to Britain; are volcanic in origin, mountainous, wooded, and
thickly populated by Melanesian savages, who are totem worshippers, and
still practise cannibalism.
SOLOMON'S RING, a ring worn by Solomon, in which was a stone from
which, according to the Rabbins, he learned whatever he wished to know.
SOLON, the great Athenian law-giver, and one of the seven sages of
GREECE (q. v.), born in Athens, was of royal degree, and kinsman
of Pisistratus; began life as a trader, and in that capacity acquired a
large experience of the world, and he soon turned his attention to
political affairs, and showed such wisdom in the direction of them that
he was elected archon in 594 B.C., and in that office was invested with
full power to ordain whatever he might deem of advantage for the benefit
of the State; he accordingly set about the framing of a constitution in
which property, not birth, was made the basis of the organisation, and
the title to honour and office in the community; he divided the citizens
into four classes, gave additional power to the assemblies of the people,
and made the archons and official dignitaries responsible to them in the
administration of affairs; when he had finished his work, he ordered the
laws he had framed to be engraved on tablets and set up in a public
place, then took oath of the people to observe them for ten years, after
which he left the country and set out on travel; at the end of the ten
years he returned, to find things lapsing into the old disorder, and
Pisistratus ready to seize the sovereignty of the State, whereupon he
withdrew into private life, and died the subject of a tyrant at the age
of eighty (640-559 B.C.).
SOLSTICE, summer and winter, the two recurring periods of the year
at which the sun is farthest distant N. or S. from the equator, which
mark midsummer and midwinter, the times being the 21st of June and 22nd
of December; also applied to the two points in the ECLIPTIC (q. v.),
which the sun appears to reach on these two dates.
SOLWAY FIRTH, an arm of the Irish Sea, and in its upper part forming
the estuary of the river Esk, separating Cumberland from the S. of
Scotland (Kirkcudbright and Dumfries); stretches inland from Balcarry
Point 36 m., and from 2 to 20 m. broad; receives the Annan, Dee, Nith,
Eden, and Derwent, and has valuable salmon-fishings; the spring tides ebb
and flow with remarkable rapidity, the "bore" often reaching a speed of
from 8 to 10 m. an hour; is spanned near Annan by a railway viaduct 1960
yards long.
SOLWAY MOSS, a moss, now drained and cultivated, in Cumberland, on
the Scottish border, that was the scene of the defeat of the Scotch army
in 1542, a disaster which broke the heart of James V.
SOLYMAN II., surnamed THE MAGNIFICENT, the tenth and greatest of
the Ottoman sultans, the son and successor of Selim I.; succeeded his
father at 24; set himself at once to reform abuses and place the internal
administration on a strict basis, and after making peace with Persia and
allaying tumult in Syria, turned his arms westwards, captured Belgrade,
and wrested the island of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John; he twice
over led his army into Hungary; in connection with the latter invasion
laid siege to Vienna, from which he was obliged to retire after the loss
of 40,000 men, after which he turned his arms to the east, adding to his
territory, and finally to the North of Africa, to the conquest of the
greater part of it; he died at Szigeth while opening a new campaign
against Hungary; _d_. 1566.
SOMA, the intoxicating juice of a plant offered in libation to a
Hindu god, especially to INDRA (q. v.), to strengthen him in his
war with the demons, and identified with the invigorating and inspiring
principle in nature which manifests itself at once in the valour of the
soldier and the inspiration of the poet; as a god Soma is the counterpart
of AGNI (q. v.).
SOMAI, BRAHMO. See BRAHMO-SOMAJ.
SOMALILAND, a broad plateau of East Africa, bounded by the Gulf of
Aden on the N. and the Indian Ocean on the SE.; inhabited by the Somalis,
a pastoral people, who rear camels, sheep, and oxen, and are of the
Mohammedan faith; are under chiefs, and jealous of strangers.
SOMERSET HOUSE, a handsome Government building in London, with a
double frontage on the Strand and the Victoria Embankment, built on the
site of the palace of the Protector Somerset, and opened in 1786;
accommodates various civil departments of the Government--the Inland
Revenue, Audit and Exchequer, Wills and Probate, Registry-General. The
east wing is occupied by King's College and School.
SOMERSETSHIRE (484), a maritime county of England, fronting the
Bristol Channel, between Devon (N.) and Gloucester (SW.), with Wilts and
Dorset on the E. and S.; diversified by the Mendips (NE.), Quantock
Hills, Exmoor (SW.), and other smaller elevations; is yet in the main
occupied by wide level plains largely given over to pastoral and dairy
farming; watered by the Bristol Avon, the Parret, and other lesser
streams; its orchards rank next to those of Devon; is prolific in Roman,
Saxon, and ancient British remains; Taunton is the county town, but Bath
the largest.
SOMERVILLE, MRS. MARY, a lady skilled in mathematics and physics,
born at Jedburgh; was brought up at Burntisland and Edinburgh;
contributed to the _Transactions of the Royal Society_; wrote a book
entitled the "Mechanism of the Heavens" on the suggestion of Lord
Brougham, as a popularisation of Laplace's "Mechanique Céleste," which
was followed by her "Connection of the Physical Sciences," "Physical
Geography," and "Molecular and Microscopic Science," the last published
in her ninetieth year; died at Naples (1770-1872).
SOMME, 1, a river of North France; rises in the department of Aisne,
near St. Quentin, and flows 150 m. SW. and NW. to the English Channel;
navigable as far as Abbeville. 2, A department (546) of North France,
fronting the English Channel, between Seine-Inférieure (S.) and
Pas-de-Calais (N.); one of the most prosperous agricultural and
manufacturing districts of France; AMIENS (q. v.) is the chief
town.
SOMNATH (7), an ancient maritime town of Oujarat, India, in the SW.
of the peninsula of Kathiawar; has interesting memorials of Krishna,
who, it is alleged, is hurled in the vicinity; close by is a famous
ruined Hindu temple, despoiled in the 11th century of its treasures,
sacred idol, and gates; in 1842 Lord Ellenborough brought hack from
Afghanistan gates which he thought to be the famous "Gates of Somnath,"
but doubt being cast on their authenticity, they were eventually placed
in the arsenal of Agra.
SOMNATH, IDOL OF, "a mere mass of coarse crockery," says Jepherson
Brick, an imaginary friend of Carlyle's, "not worth five shillings, sat
like a great staring god, with two diamonds for eyes, which one day a
commander of the Faithful took the liberty to smite once as he rode up
with grim battle-axe and heart full of Moslem fire, and which thereupon
shivered into a heap of ugly potsherds, yielding from its belly half a
waggon-load of gold coins; the gold coins, diamond eyes, and other
valuables were carefully picked up by the Faithful; confused jingle of
potsherds was left lying; and the idol of Somnath, once showing what it
_was_, had suddenly come to a conclusion."
SOMNUS, the god of Sleep, a brother of Death, and a son of Night,
represented, he and Death, as two youths sleeping or holding inverted
torches in their hands; near the dwelling of Somnus flowed the river of
Lethe, which crept along over pebbles, and invited to sleep; he was
attended by Morpheus, who inspired pleasing dreams.
SONATA, a musical composition chiefly designed for solo instruments,
especially the pianoforte, and consisting generally of three or four
contrasted movements--the allegro, adagio, rondo, minuetto or scherzo;
reaches its noblest expression in the sonatas of Beethoven.
SONDERBUND, the name given to the union of the Catholic cantons
(Lucerne, Zug, Freiburg, and Valais) of Switzerland, which led to the
civil disturbances of 1845-1846, and the war of 1847.
SONNET, a form of poetical composition invented in the 13th century,
consisting of 14 decasyllabic or hendecasyllabic iambic lines, rhymed
according to two well-established schemes which bear the names of their
two most famous exponents, Shakespeare and Petrarch. The Shakespearian
sonnet consists of three four-lined stanzas of alternate rhymes clinched
by a concluding couplet; the Petrarchan of two parts, an octave, the
first eight lines rhymed abbaabba, and a sestet, the concluding six lines
arranged variously on a three-rhyme scheme.
SONS OF THE PROPHETS. See NEBIIM.
SONTAG, HENRIETTA, a German singer, born at Coblenz; made her
_début_ at 15; had a brilliant career twice over (1806-1854).
SOOCHOO (500), a large city in China, 50 m. NW. of Shanghai; is
intersected by canals, walled all round, and manufactures fine silk.
SOPHERIM, THE, the name by which the SCRIBES (q. v.) are
designated in Jewish literature.
SOPHIA, ELECTRESS OF HANOVER, youngest daughter of ELIZABETH,
QUEEN OF BOHEMIA (q. v.), and mother of George I. (1630-1714).
SOPHIA, ST., the personification of the Divine wisdom, to whom, as
to a saint, many churches have been dedicated, especially the Church of
Constantinople.
SOPHIE CHARLOTTE, wife of Friedrich I. of Prussia, born in Hanover,
daughter of Electress Sophia; famous in her day both as a lady and a
queen; was, with her mother, of a philosophic turn; "persuaded," says
Carlyle, "that there was some nobleness for man beyond what the tailor
imparts to him, and even very eager to discover it had she known how";
she had the philosopher Leibnitz often with her, "eagerly desirous to
draw water from that deep well--a wet rope with cobwebs sticking to it
often all she got--endless rope, and the bucket never coming to view"
(1668-1705).
SOPHISTS, a sect of thinkers that arose in Greece, and whose radical
principle it was that we have only a subjective knowledge of things, and
that we have no knowledge at all of objective reality, that things are as
they seem to us, and that we have no knowledge of what they are in
themselves; "on this field," says SCHWEGLER, "they disported,
enjoying with boyish exuberance the exercise of the power of
subjectivity, and destroying, by means of a subjective dialectic, all
that had been ever objectively established," such as "the laws of the
State, inherited custom, religious tradition, and popular belief.... They
form, in short, the German AUFKLÄRUNG (q. v.), the Greek
Illumination (q. v.). They acknowledged only _private_ judgment and
ignored the existence of a judgment that is not private, and has absolute
rights irrespective of the sentiments of the individual."
SOPHOCLES, Athenian tragic poet, born at Colonos, a suburb of
Athens; when but 16, such was his musical talent, he was selected to lead
the choir that sang the song of triumph over the victory of Salamis; his
first appearance as a dramatist was in 488 B.C., when he had Æschylus as
his rival and won the prize, though he was seven years afterwards
defeated by Euripides, but retrieved the defeat the year following by the
production of his "Antigone." That same year one of the 10 _strategi_ (or
generals) and he accompanied Pericles in his war against the aristocrats
of Samos. He wrote a number of dramas, over 100 it is alleged, but only 7
survive, and these in probable order are "Ajax," "Antigone," "Electra,"
"Oedipus Tyrannus," "Trachineæ," "Oedipus Coloneus," and "Philoctetes."
Thus are all his subjects drawn from Greek legend, and they are all alike
remarkable for the intense humanity and sublime passion that inspires
them and the humane and the high and holy resolves they stir up.
SORATA, a volcanic peak in the Bolivian Andes, 21,470 ft. in height.
SORBONNE, a celebrated college of Paris, taking its name from its
founder, Robert of Sorbon, chaplain to Saint Louis in the 13th century;
was exclusively devoted to theology, and through the rigour of its
discipline and learning of its professors soon exercised a predominant
influence on the theological thought of Europe, which it maintained until
the new learning of the Renaissance (16th century), together with its own
dogmatic conservatism, left it hopelessly stuck in the "Sorbonnian bog"
of derelict scholastic theology; became an object of satiric attacks by
Boileau, Voltaire, and others, and was suppressed in 1789 at the outburst
of the Revolution; was revived by Napoleon in 1808; is at present the
seat of the Académie Universitaire de Paris, with faculties of theology,
science, and literature.
SORDELLO, a Provençal poet whom Dante and Virgil met in Purgatory
sitting solitary and with a noble haughty mien, but who sprang up at
sight of Virgil and embraced him and accompanied him a part of his way;
Browning used his name, as the title of a poem showing the conflict a
minister experiences in perfecting his craft.
SOREL, AGNES, the mistress of Charles VII. of France, who had a
great influence over him; had been maid of honour to the queen
(1409-1450).
SORROW, SANCTUARY OF, Goethe's name for the fold of Christ, wherein,
according to His promise (Matt. v. 4) the "mourners" who might gather
together there would find relief and be comforted, the path of sorrow
leading up to the "porch" of the sanctuary.
SORROW, WORSHIP OF, Goethe's name for the Christian religion, "our
highest religion, for the Son of Man," Carlyle adds, interpreting this,
"there is no noble crown, well worn or even ill worn, but is a crown of
thorns."
SORROWS OF THE VIRGIN. See SEVEN DOLOURS.
SORROWS OF WERTHER, a work by Goethe and one of his earliest, the
production of which constituted a new era in the life of the poet, and
marks a new era in the literature of Europe, "as giving expression to a
class of feelings deeply important to modern minds, but for which our
older poetry offered no exponent, and perhaps could offer none, because
they are feelings that arise from Passion incapable of being converted
into Action, and belong to an ignorant, uncultivated, and unbelieving age
such as ours," feelings that Byronically, "in dark wayward" mood reflect
a mere sense of the miseries of human life.
SORTES VIRGILIANÆ, consulting the pages of Virgil to ascertain one's
fortune, by opening the book at random, putting the finger on a passage
and taking that for the oracle of fate one is in quest of.
SOSTRATUS, architect of the Pharos of Alexandria, lived in the 3rd
century B.C., and was patronised by Ptolemy Philadelphus.
SOTHERN, EDWARD ASKEW, comedian, born in Liverpool; at 23 went on
the stage, and for some time was a member of the stock company of the
Theatre Royal, Birmingham; afterwards acted in America, and made his mark
in Tom Taylor's "Our American Cousin" (1858) in the small part of Lord
Dundreary, which he gradually developed into an elaborate and
phenomenally successful caricature of an English peer, and in which he
appeared thousands of times in America and England; scored a great
success also as David Garrick in Robertson's well-known comedy
(1826-1881).
SOUBISE, DUC DE, French soldier; served first under Prince Maurice
of Orange, and commanded the Huguenots against Louis XIII., but after
some successes was compelled to take refuge in England; distinguished
himself at the defence of Rochelle, but was defeated again and had to
betake himself to England as before, where he died (1589-1641).
SOUBISE, PRINCE DE, marshal of France; was aide-de-camp to Louis XV.
in Flanders, was favoured by Pompadour, held an important command in the
Seven Years' War, but was defeated by Frederick the Great at Rossbach
(1713-1787).
SOUDAN or "THE LAND OF THE BLACKS," the cradle of the negro
race, a vast tract of territory stretching E. and W. across the African
continent from the Atlantic (W.) to the Red Sea and Highlands of
Abyssinia (E.), between the Sahara (W.) and the Gulf of Guinea and the
central equatorial provinces (S.); divided into (a) Upper Soudan,
embracing Senegambia, Sierra Leone, Ashanti, Dahomey, Liberia, and west
coast-lands; (6) Lower Soudan, including the Fulah States, Massina,
Gando, Sokoto, &c.; (c) Egyptian Soudan, which in 1882 was subdivided
into (1) West Soudan, including Dar-Fur, Kordofan, Bahr-el-Ghazal, and
Dongola; (2) Central Soudan, comprising Khartoum, Sennaar, Berber,
Fashoda, and the Equatorial Province, &c.; (3) Eastern Soudan, bordering
on the Red Sea, and embracing Taka, Suakim, and Massowah; (4) Harar,
stretching E. of Abyssinia. The extension of Egyptian rule into this
territory began in 1819 with the capture of Khartoum, which became the
base of military operations, ending in the gradual conquest of the
surrounding regions in 1874. A serious revolt, fanned by religious
fanaticism, broke out in 1882, and headed by the MAHDI (q. v.)
and his lieutenant Osman Digna, ended in the utter rout of the Egyptian
forces under Hicks Pasha and Baker Pasha; Gordon, after a vain attempt to
relieve him, perished in Khartoum; but Stanley was more successful in
relieving Emin Bey in the Equatorial Province. Anarchy and despotism
ensued until the victorious campaign of KITCHENER (q. v.) again
restored the lost provinces to Egypt.
SOUFFLOT, French architect of the Pantheon of Paris (1713-1780).
SOUL, the name given to the spiritual part of man, the SEAT OF
REASON (q. v.) and conscience, by which he relates and subordinates
himself to the higher spiritual world, inspiring him with a sense of
individual responsibility.
SOULT, NICOLAS-JEAN DE DIEU, duke of Dalmatia and marshal of France,
born at St. Amans-la-Bastide, department of Tarn; enlisted as a private
in 1785, and by 1794 was general of a brigade; gallant conduct in Swiss
and Italian campaigns under Masséna won him rapid promotion, and in 1804
he was created a marshal; served with the emperor in Germany, and led the
deciding charge at Austerlitz, and for his services in connection with
the Treaty of Tilsit received the title of Duc de Dalmatia; at the head
of the French army in Spain he outmanoeuvred the English in 1808,
conquered Portugal, and opposed to Wellington a skill and tenacity not
less than his own, but was thwarted in his efforts by the obstinate
incompetence of Joseph Bonaparte; turned Royalist after the abdication of
Napoleon, but on his return from Elba rallied to the emperor's standard,
and fought at Waterloo; was subsequently banished, but restored in 1819;
became active in the public service, and was honoured as ambassador in
England in 1838; retired in 1845 with the honorary title of
"Marshal-General of France" (1769-1851).
SOUND, THE, a strait, 50 m. long, between Sweden and Denmark, which
connects the Cattegat with the Baltic Sea; dues at one time levied on
ships passing through the channel were abolished in 1857, and over three
millions paid in compensation, Britain contributing one-third and
undertaking to superintend the navigation and maintain the lighthouses.
SOUTH, ROBERT, an English divine, born at Hackney; obtained several
preferments in the Church, but refused a bishopric; was distinguished for
his hostility to the Dissenters, and was never tired of heaping ridicule
on them and their principles; wrote a book in defence of the Trinity in a
somewhat rationalistic view of it, which involved him in a furious
controversy with Dr. Sherlock; was a man of great wit and good sense as
well as refinement; his chief writings consist of "Sermons" (1633-1716).
SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY. See RHODESIA.
SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. See TRANSVAAL.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA (320), second largest of the five colonies of
Australia, stretches N. and S. in a broad band, 1850 in. long, through
the heart of the continent from the Southern Ocean to the Gulf of
Carpentaria and the Arafura Sea, having Queensland, New South Wales, and
Victoria on the E., and Western Australia on the W.; ten times the size
of Great Britain, but the greater portion comprises the Northern
Territory, which consists, save a low alluvial coastal strip, of parched
and uninhabited tableland. South Australia proper begins about 26° S.
latitude, and is traversed southwards by the Finke River as far as Eyre
Lake (3706 sq. m.), by the Flinders Range, and the lower Murray River in
the E., and diversified here and there by low ranges and Lake Amadeus
(NW.), Torrens and Gairdner (S.); the S. coast is penetrated by the great
gulfs of Spencer and St. Vincent, round and to the N. and E. of which the
bulk of the population is gathered in a region not much larger than
Scotland; is the chief wheat-growing colony, and other important
industries are mining (chiefly copper), sheep-rearing, and wine-making;
chief exports, wool, wheat, and copper; the railway and telegraph systems
are well developed, the Overland Telegraph Line (1973 m.) stretching
across the continent from Adelaide to Port Darwin being a marvel of
engineering enterprise. Adelaide is the capital. The governor is
appointed by the crown, and there are a legislative council or upper
house, and an assembly or lower house. State education is free. Began to
be settled in 1836, and five years later became a Crown colony.
SOUTH SEA BUBBLE, the name given to the disastrous financial project
set on foot by HARLEY (q. v.) to relieve the national debt and
restore public credit, which produced an unparalleled rush of
speculation, ending in the ruin of thousands of people. Through the
efforts of Harley a company of merchants was induced in 1711 to buy up
the floating national debt of £10,000,000 on a government guarantee of 6
per cent. interest, and a right to a monopoly of trade in the South Seas.
The shares rose by leaps and bounds as tales of the fabulous wealth of
the far South Seas circulated, till, in 1720, £200 shares were quoted at
£1000; earlier in the same year the company had taken over the entire
national debt of upwards of 30 millions. In the craze for speculation
which had seized the public hundreds of wild schemes were floated. At
length the "Bubble" burst. The chairman and several directors of the
company sold out when shares had reached £1000; suspicion followed,
confidence vanished, stock fell, and in a few days thousands from end to
end of the country were bewailing their ruin. The private estates of the
fraudulent directors were confiscated for the relief of the sufferers. To
Sir Robert Walpole belongs the credit of extricating the finances of the
country from the muddle into which they had fallen.
SOUTHAMPTON (94), an important seaport of South Hampshire, 79 m. SW.
of London, situated on a small peninsula at the head of Southampton Water
(a fine inlet, 11 m. by 2), between the mouths of the Itchen (E.) and the
Test (W.); portions of the old town-walls and four gateways still remain;
is the head-quarters of the Ordnance Survey; has splendid docks, and is
an important steam-packet station for the West Indies, Brazil, and South
Africa; yacht and ship building and engine-making are flourishing
industries.
SOUTHCOTT, JOANNA, a prophetess, born in Devon, of humble parents;
became a Methodist; suffered under religious mania; gave herself out as
the woman referred to in Revelation xii.; imagined herself to be with
child, and predicted she would on a certain day give birth to the
promised Prince of Peace, for which occasion great preparations were
made, but all to no purpose; she died of dropsy two months after the time
predicted; she found numbers to believe in her even after her death; she
traded in passports to heaven, which she called "seals," and persuaded
numbers to purchase them (1750-1814).
SOUTHERN CROSS, a constellation of the southern heavens, the five
principal stars of which form a rough and somewhat irregular cross, the
shape of which is gradually changing; it corresponds in the southern
heavens to the Great Bear in the northern.
SOUTHEY, ROBERT, poet-laureate, born, the son of a linen-draper, at
Bristol; was expelled from Westminster School for a satirical article in
the school magazine directed against flogging; in the following year
(1793) entered Balliol College, where he only remained one year, leaving
it a Unitarian and a red-hot republican; was for a time enamoured of
Coleridge's wild pantisocratic scheme; married (1795) clandestinely Edith
Frickes, a penniless girl, sister to Mrs. Coleridge, and in disgrace with
his English relatives visited his uncle in Lisbon, where in six months he
laid the foundation of his knowledge of Spanish history and literature;
the Church and medicine had already, as possible careers, been abandoned,
and on his return to England he made a half-hearted effort to take up
law; still unsettled he again visited Portugal, and finally was relieved
of pecuniary difficulties by the settlement of a pension on him by an old
school friend, which he relinquished in 1807 on receiving a pension from
Government; meanwhile had settled at Keswick, where he prosecuted with
untiring energy the craft of authorship; "Joan of Arc," "Thalaba,"
"Madoc," and "The Curse of Kehama," won for him the laureateship in 1813,
and in the same year appeared his prose masterpiece "The Life of Nelson";
of numerous other works mention may be made of his Histories of Brazil
and the Peninsular War, Lives of Bunyan and Wesley, and "Colloquies on
Society"; declined a baronetcy offered by Peel; domestic affliction--the
death of children, and the insanity and death of his wife--saddened his
later years, which were brightened in the last by his second marriage
(1839) with the poetess and his twenty years' friend, Caroline Bowles; as
a poet Southey has few readers nowadays; full of miscellaneous interest,
vigour of narrative, and spirited rhythm, his poems yet lack the finer
spirit of poetry; but in prose he ranks with the masters of English prose
style "of a kind at once simple and scholarly" (1774-1843).
SOUTHPORT (41), a watering-place of Lancashire, situated on the
southern shore of the Ribble estuary, 18 m. N. of Liverpool; is a town of
quite modern growth and increasing popularity; has a fine sea-shore,
esplanade, park, theatre, public library, art gallery, etc.
SOUTHWARK (339), or the BOROUGH, a division of London, on the
Surrey side of the Thames, opposite the City, and annexed to it in 1827;
it sends three members to Parliament, and among its principal buildings
are St. Saviour's Church and Guys Hospital.
SOUTHWELL, ROBERT, poet, born in Norfolk; studied at Douay, and
became a Jesuit priest; came to England as a missionary, was thrown into
prison, tortured ten times by the rack, and at length executed at Tyburn
as a traitor for disseminating Catholic doctrine; his poems are religious
chiefly, and excellent, and were finally collected under the title "St.
Peter's Complaint," "Mary Magdalen's Tears, and Other Works"; "The
Burning Babe" is characterised by Professor Saintsbury as a "splendid
poem" (1560-1595).
SOUVESTRE, ÉMILE, French novelist and playwright, born at Morlaix;
at 30 he established himself in Paris as a journalist, and became noted
as a writer of plays and of charming sketches of Breton life, essays, and
fiction; "Les Derniers Bretons" and "Foyer Breton" are considered his
best work (1806-1854).
SOUZA, MADAME DE (maiden name Adelaide Filleul), French novelist,
born in Paris, and educated in a convent, on her leaving which she was
married to the Comte de Flahaut, a man much older than herself, and with
whom she lived unhappily; fled to Germany and then to England on the
outbreak of the Revolution; afterwards returned to Paris, and as the wife
of the Marquis de Souza-Botelho presided over one of the most charming of
_salons_, in which the chief attraction was her own bright and gifted
personality; her novels, "Eugène de Rothelin," "Eugénie et Mathilde,"
etc., breathe the spirit of the old régime, and are full of natural and
vivacious pictures of French life (1761-1836).
SOWERBY BRIDGE (10), manufacturing town in West Riding of Yorkshire,
3 m. SW. of Halifax; cotton-spinning, woollen manufactures, and dyeing
are the chief; it was the birthplace of Tillotson.
SOY, a sauce or condiment used in Japan and China; prepared from a
bean which is extensively cultivated in those countries.
SOYER, ALEXIS, a famous cook, born at Meaux; turned aside from a
tempting career as a vocalist and took up gastronomy as a profession;
during the 1830 Revolution he narrowly escaped with his life to London,
which he henceforth made his head-quarters, rising to the position of
cook to the Reform Club; rendered important services as a culinary expert
in Ireland during the 1847 famine, and at the Crimea (1855); was the
author of various highly popular works on the art of cooking, "The Modern
Housewife," "Shilling Cookery Book," etc. (1809-1858).
SPA (7), a watering-place in Belgium, 20 m. SE. of Liège; a
favourite health and fashionable resort on account of its springs and its
picturesque surroundings, the number of visitors during the season
amounting to 12,000.
SPAHI, an Algerine cavalry soldier serving in the French army.
SPAIN (17,800), a kingdom of South-West Europe, which with Portugal
(less than one-fifth the size of Spain) occupies the entire Iberian
Peninsula, and is divided from France on the N. by the Pyrenees
Mountains, and on the E. and S. is washed by the Mediterranean; the NW.
corner fronts the Bay of Biscay (N.) and the Atlantic (W.), while
Portugal completes the western boundary; its area, three and one-third
times the size of England and Wales, is, along with the Canaries and the
Balearic Isles, divided into 49 provinces, although the more familiar
names of the 14 old kingdoms, states, and provinces (New and Old Castile,
Galicia, Aragon, etc.) are still in use; forms a compact square, with a
regular, in parts precipitous, coast-line, which is short compared with
its area; is in the main a highland country, a vast plateau (2000 to 3000
ft. high) occupying the centre, buttressed and crossed by ranges (Sierra
Nevada in the S., Sierra de Guadarrama, Sierra Morena, etc.), and
diversified by the long valleys of the Ebro, Douro, Tagus, Guadalquivir,
and other lesser rivers, all of which are rapid, and only a few
navigable; climate varies considerably according as one proceeds to the
central plains, where extremes of heat and cold are experienced, but over
all is the driest in Europe; agriculture, although less than a half of
the land is under cultivation, is by far the most important industry, and
Valencia and Catalonia the provinces where it is most successfully
carried out, wheat and other cereals, the olive and the vine, being the
chief products; other important industries are mining, the Peninsula
being extremely rich in the useful minerals; Merino sheep farming,
anchovy and sardine fisheries, wine-making, and the manufacture of
cotton, silk, leather, and paper; chief exports are wine, fruits, mineral
ores, oil and cork; Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Malaga are
the chief towns; the widest variety of character exists among the natives
of the various provinces, from the hard-working, thrifty Catalan to the
lazy, improvident Murcian, but all possess the southern love "of song,
dance, and colour," and have an inherent grace and dignity of manner;
Roman Catholicism is the national religion; and although systems of
elementary and secondary schools are in vogue, education over all is in a
deplorably backward condition; the Government is a hereditary and
constitutional monarchy; the Cortes consists of the Senate and the
Chamber of Deputies; universal suffrage and trial by jury are recent
innovations. The outstanding fact in the history of Spain, after the
downfall of the Roman Empire, of which she had long formed a part, is the
national struggle with the Moors, who overran the peninsula in the 8th
century, firmly established themselves, and were not finally overthrown
till Granada, their last possession, was taken in 1492; sixteen years
later the country became a united kingdom, and for a brief period, with
its vast American colonies and wide European possessions, became in the
16th century the dominant power of Europe; since then she has lagged more
and more in the race of nations, and her once vast colonial empire has
gradually crumbled away till now, since the unsuccessful war with America
in 1898, only an island or two remains to her.
SPALATO (15), a historic and flourishing town of Dalmatia, finely
situated on a promontory on the E. side of the Adriatic, 160 m. SE. of
Fiume; a place of considerable antiquity, and one of the great cities of
the Roman world; is chiefly famed for the vast palace built by
Diocletian, and which became his residence after his abdication;
subsidiary buildings and grounds were enclosed by walls, within which now
a considerable part of the town stands; the noblest portions of the
palace are still extant; the modern town carries on an active trade in
grain, wine, cattle, etc.; is noted for its liqueurs.
SPALDING, a market-town in Lincolnshire, 34 m. SE. of Lincoln, in
the heart of the Fens; is a very ancient place; has a trade in
agricultural produce, and is a railway centre.
SPALLANZANI, LAZARO, a noted Italian scientist, born at Scandiano,
in Modena; held chairs of Philosophy and Greek in the Universities of
Reggio and Modena, but more attracted to natural science he in 1768
became professor of Natural History at Pavia; wrote elaborate accounts of
expeditions to Sicily and elsewhere; overturned Button's theory of
spontaneous generation, and in important works made some valuable
contributions to physiological science (1729-1799).
SPANDAU (45), an important town and fortress of Prussia, in
Brandenburg, at the confluence of the Spree and Havel, 8 m. W. by N. of
Berlin; fortifications are of the strongest and most modern kind, and in
the "Julius Tower" of the powerful citadel the German war-chest of
£6,000,000 is preserved; there is an arsenal and large Government
cannon-foundries, powder-factories, etc.
SPANHEIM, FRIEDRICH, a theological professor at Geneva (1631), and
afterwards at Leyden (1641); author of the work on "Universal Grace"
(1600-1648). His son, EZECHIEL SPANHEIM (1629-1710) became professor
of Eloquence in his native town, Geneva, and after acting as tutor to
the sons of the Elector Palatine was employed on several important
diplomatic missions to Italy, England, and France; meanwhile devoted his
leisure to ancient law and numismatics, publishing learned works on these
subjects. FRIEDRICH SPANHEIM, brother of preceding, was a learned
Calvinistic professor of Theology at Heidelberg (1685), and afterwards at
Leyden (1632-1701).
SPANISH MAIN (i. e. mainland), a name given at one time to the
Central American provinces of Spain bordering on the Caribbean Sea, and
also to the Caribbean Sea itself.
SPARKS, JAMES, president of Harvard University, born in Connecticut;
bred a carpenter, took to study, attended Harvard, where he graduated,
studied theology, and became Unitarian, becoming a minister in that body,
but retired from the ministry and settled in Boston; edited the _North
American Review_; wrote and edited biographies of eminent Americans, and
edited the writings of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington
(1789-1866).
SPARTA or LACEDEMON, the capital of ancient Laconia, in the
Peloponnesus, on the right bank of the Eurotas, 20 m. from the sea; was 6
m. in circumference, consisted of several distinct quarters, originally
separate villages, never united into a regular town; was never surrounded
by walls, its walls being the bravery of its citizens; its mythical
founder was Lacedemon, who called the city Sparta from the name of his
wife; one of its early kings was Menelaus, the husband of Helen;
LYCURGUS (q. v.) was its law-giver; its policy was aggressive,
and its sway gradually extended over the whole Peloponnesus, to the
extinction at the end of the Peloponnesian War of the rival power of
Athens, which for a time rose to the ascendency, and its unquestioned
supremacy thereafter for 30 years, when all Greece was overborne by the
Macedonian power.
SPARTACUS, leader of the revolt of the slaves at Rome, which broke
out about 73 B.C.; was a Thracian by birth, a man of powerful physique,
in succession a shepherd, a soldier, and a captain of banditti; was in
one of his predatory expeditions taken prisoner and sold to a trainer of
gladiators, and became one of his slaves; persuaded his fellow-slaves to
attempt their freedom, and became their chief and that of other runaways
who joined them; for two years they defied and defeated one Roman army
after another sent to crush them, and laid Italy waste, till at the end
of that time Licinius Crassus, taking up arms in earnest, overpowered
them in a decisive battle at the river Silarus, in which Spartacus was
slain.
SPASMODIC SCHOOL, name given to a small group of minor poets about
the middle of the 19th century, represented by Philips, James Bailey,
Sydney Dobell, and Alexander Smith, from their strenuous, overstrained,
and unnatural style.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY, the weight of a body compared with another of
equal bulk taken as a standard, such as the weight of a cubic inch of
water.
SPECTRUM, the name given to coloured and other rays of pure light
separated by refraction in its transmission through a prism, as exhibited
on a screen in a darkened chamber.
SPECTRUM ANALYSIS, name given to the method of determining the
composition of a body by means of the spectrum of light which it gives
forth or passes through it, founded on the principle that a substance
powerfully absorbs exactly the rays it radiates, and every substance has
its own absorbing powers; or it may be defined the method of
distinguishing different kinds of matter by their properties in relation
to light.
SPECULATIVE, THE, that which we think and which as such goes no
deeper than the intellect, which is but the eye of the soul, not the
heart of it. See SPIRITUAL, THE.
SPEDDING, JAMES, editor of Bacon, born at Mirehouse, near Keswick,
son of a Cumberland squire; scholar and honorary Fellow of Cambridge;
became in 1847 Under-Secretary of State with £2000 a year; devoted his
life to the study of Bacon, the fruit of which the "Letters and the Life
of Francis Bacon, including all his Occasional Works, newly selected and
set forth with a Commentary, Biographical and Historical," in 7 vols.; a
truly noble man, and much esteemed by his contemporaries in literature
(1808-1881).
SPEKE, JOHN BANNING, African explorer, born in Somersetshire; became
a soldier, and served in the Punjab; joined Burton in 1854 in an
expedition into Somaliland, and three years after in an attempt to
discover the sources of the Nile, and setting out alone discovered
Victoria Nyanza, which he maintained was the source of the river, but
which Burton questioned; on his return he published in 1863 an account of
his discovery, which he was about to defend in the British Association
when he was shot by the accidental discharge of his gun while he was out
hunting (1827-1864).
SPENCE, JOSEPH, a miscellaneous writer, born in Hants; educated at
and a Fellow of Oxford; his principal work, "Polymetis; or, an Inquiry
into the Agreement between the Works of the Roman Poets and the Remains
of Ancient Artists"; his "Anecdotes" are valuable from his acquaintance
with the literary class of the time, and have preserved his name
(1699-1768).
SPENCER, HERBERT, systematiser and unifier of scientific knowledge
up to date, born at Derby, son of a teacher, who early inoculated him
with an interest in natural objects, though he adopted at first the
profession of a railway engineer, which in about eight years he abandoned
for the work of his life by way of literature, his first effort being a
series of "Letters on the Proper Sphere of Government" in the
_Nonconformist_ in 1842, and his first work "Social Statics," published
in 1851, followed by "Principles of Psychology" four years after; in 1861
he published a work on "Education," and his "First Principles" the
following year, after which he began to construct his system of
"Synthetic Philosophy," which fills a dozen large volumes, and has
established his fame as the foremost scientific philosopher of the time.
Following in the lines of Auguste Comte and John Stuart Mill, he takes a
wider sweep than either of them, fills the field he occupies with fuller
and riper detail, resolves the whole of science into still more ultimate
principles, and works the whole up into a more compact and comprehensive
system. He is valiant before all for science, and relegates everything
and every interest to Agnosticism that cannot give proof of its
scientific rights. "What a thing is in itself," he says, "cannot be
known, because to know it we must strip it of all that it becomes, of all
that has come to adhere to it." The ultimate thus arrived at he finds to
be, and calls, Energy, and that therefore, he says, we don't and can't
know. That a thing _is_ what it becomes seems never to occur to him, and
yet only the knowledge of that is the knowledge of the ultimate of being,
which is the thing he says we cannot know. To trace life to its roots he
goes back to the cell, whereas common-sense would seem to require us, in
order to know what the cell is, to inquire at the fruit. This is the
doctrine of St. John, "The Word was God." In addition to agnosticism
another doctrine of Spencer's is Evolution, but in maintaining this he
fails to see he is arguing for an empty conception barren of all thought,
which thought is the alpha and omega of the whole process, and is as much
an ultimate as and still more so than the energy in which he absorbs God.
Indeed, his philosophy is what is called the AUFKLÄRUNG (q. v.)
in full bloom, and in which he strips us of all our spiritual content or
_Inhalt_, and under which he would lead us out of "HOUNDSDITCH"
(q. v.), not _with_, but _without_, all that properly belongs to us;
_b_. 1820.
SPENCER GULF, a deep inlet on the coast of South Australia, 180 m.
by 90 m.
SPENER, PHILIP JACOB, German Protestant theologian, founder of the
PIETISTS (q. v.), born in Alsace, studied in Strasburg; in 1670
held a series of meetings which he called "Collegia Pietatis," whence the
name of his sect; established himself in Dresden and in Berlin, but Halle
was the centre of the movement; he was an earnest and universally
esteemed man (1636-1705).
SPENSER, EDMUND, author of the "Faërie Queene," and one of England's
greatest poets; details of his life are scanty and often hypothetical;
born at London of poor but well-connected parents; entered Pembroke Hall,
Cambridge, as a "sizar" in 1569, and during his seven years' residence
there became an excellent scholar; took a master's degree, and formed an
important friendship with Gabriel Harvey; three years of unsettled life
followed, but were fruitful in the production of the "Shepheards'
Calendar" (1579), which at once placed him at the head of the English
poets of his day; had already taken his place in the best London literary
and political circles as the friend of Sir Philip Sidney and Leicester,
and in 1580 was appointed private secretary to Lord Grey, then proceeding
to Ireland as the Lord Deputy, and although his master soon returned to
England Spencer continued to make his home in Ireland, where he obtained
some civil appointments, and in 1591 entered into possession of a
considerable portion of the forfeited estates of the Earl of Desmond,
adjacent to his house, Kilcolman Castle, co. Cork; seems to have been a
pretty stern landlord, and, as expounded in his admirable tract, "A View
of the Present State of Ireland," the advocate of a policy of
"suppression and repression"; consequently was little loved by the Irish,
and on the outbreak of Tyrone's rebellion in 1598 his house was sacked
and burned, and he himself forced to flee to London, where he died a few
weeks later "a ruined and heart-broken man"; the rich promise of the
"Shepheards' Calendar" had been amply fulfilled in the "Complaints,"
"Amoretti," "Colin Clout's Come Home Again," the "Epithalamium" the
finest bridal song in any language, and above all in the six published
books of "The Faërie Queene" (1589 and 1596), in which all his gifts and
graces as a poet are at their best; "He may be read," says Professor
Saintsbury, "in childhood, chiefly for his adventure; in later youth, for
his display of voluptuous beauty; in manhood, for his historical and
ethical weight; in age, for all combined" (1552-1599).
SPERMACETI, a white waxy matter obtained in an oily state from the
head of the sperm-whale inhabiting the Pacific and Indian Oceans; candles
made of it yield a particularly steady and bright light.
SPEY, a river in the N. of Scotland which, rising in Badenoch, flows
NE. through Inverness, Elgin, and Banffshire, falls into the Moray Firth
after a course of 107 miles; the salmon-fisheries are valuable; it is the
swiftest of the rivers of Great Britain.
SPEZIA (20), the chief naval station, "the Portsmouth," of Italy;
occupies a strongly fortified site at the head of a bay on the W. side of
Italy, 56 m. SE. of Genoa; here are the naval shipbuilding yards,
national arsenal, navy store-houses, besides schools of navigation,
manufactures of cables, sail-cloth, &c.
SPHINX, a fabled animal, an invention of the ancient Egyptians, with
the body and claws of a lioness, and the head of a woman, or of a ram, or
of a goat, all types or representations of the king, effigies of which
are frequently placed before temples on each side of the approach; the
most famous of the sphinxes was the one which waylaid travellers and
tormented them with a riddle, which if they could not answer she devoured
them, but which Oedipus answered, whereupon she threw herself into the
sea. "Such a sphinx," as we are told in "Past and Present," "is this life
of ours, to all men and nations. Nature, like the Sphinx, is of womanly
celestial loveliness and tenderness, the face and bosom of a goddess, but
ending in the claws and the body of a lioness ... is a heavenly bride and
conquest to the wise and brave, to them who can discern her behests and
do them; a destroying fiend to them who cannot. Answer her
riddle--Knowest thou the meaning of to-day?--it is well with thee. Answer
it not; the solution for thee is a thing of teeth and claws."
SPICE ISLANDS. See MOLUCCAS.
SPINELLO, ARETINO, a celebrated Italian fresco-painter, born at
Arezzo, where, with visits to Florence, his life was chiefly spent; was
in his day the rival of Giotto, but few of his frescoes are preserved,
and such of his paintings as are to be found in various galleries of
Europe are inferior to his frescoes (1330-1410).
SPINOLA, AMBROSIO, MARQUIS OF, great Spanish general under Philip
II. of Spain, born at Genoa, with a following of 9000, maintained at his
own expense, took Ostend after a resistance of 3 years, in consequence of
which feat he was appointed commander-in-chief, in which capacity
maintained and again maintained a long struggle with Prince Maurice of
Nassau, terminated only with the death of the latter; his services on
behalf of Spain, in the interest of which he spent his fortune, were
never acknowledged, and he died with poignant grief (1571-1630).
SPINOZA, BENEDICT, great modern philosopher, born in Amsterdam, of
Jews of Portuguese extraction in well-to-do circumstances, and had been
trained as a scholar; began with the study of the Bible and the Talmud,
but soon exchanged the study of theology in these for that of physics and
the works of Descartes, in which study he drifted farther and farther
from the Jewish creed, and at length openly abandoned it; this exposed
him to a persecution which threatened his life, so that he left Amsterdam
and finally settled at The Hague, where, absorbed in philosophic study,
he lived in seclusion, earning a livelihood by polishing optical glasses,
which his friends disposed of for him; his days were short; he suffered
from ill-health, and died of consumption when he was only 44; he was a
man of tranquil temper, moderate desires, purity of motive, and kindly in
heart; his great work, his "Ethica," was published a year after his
death; he had held it back during his lifetime because he foresaw it
would procure him the name of atheist, which he shrank from with horror;
Spinoza's doctrine is summed up by Dr. Stirling thus, "Whatever is, is;
and that is extension and thought. These two are all that is; and
besides these there is nought. But these two are one; they are attributes
of the single substance (that which, for its existence, stands in need of
nothing else), very God, in whom, then, all individual things and all
individual ideas (modes of extension those, of thought these) are
comprehended and take place"; thus we see Spinoza includes under the term
extension all individual objects, and under thought all individual ideas,
and these two he includes in God, as He in whom they live and move and
have their being,--a great conception and a pregnant, being the
speculative ground of the being of all that lives and is; not without
good reason does Novalis call him "Der Gott-getrunkene Mensch," the
God-intoxicated man (1632-1677).
SPINOZISM, the pantheism of SPINOZA (q. v.), which regards
God as the one self-subsistent substance, and both matter and thought
attributes of Him.
SPIRES or SPEYER, an old German town on the left bank of the
Rhine, in the Palatinate, 14 m. SW. of Heidelberg, the seat of a bishop
and with a cathedral, of its kind one of the finest in Europe, and the
remains of the Retscher, or imperial palace, where in 1529 the Diet of
the Empire was held at which the Reformers first got the name of
Protestants, because of their protestation against the imperial decree
issued at Worms prohibiting any further innovations in religion.
SPIRIT (lit. breath of life), in philosophy and theology is the
Divine mind incarnating itself in the life of a man, and breathing in all
he thinks and does, and so is as the life-principle of it; employed also
to denote any active dominating and pervading principle of life inspired
from any quarter whatever and coming to light in the conduct.
SPIRIT, THE HOLY, the Divine Spirit manifested in Christ which
descended upon His disciples in all its fulness when, shortly after His
decease, their eyes were opened to see the meaning of His life and their
hearts to feel the power of it.
SPIRITUAL, THE, the fruit of the quickening and abiding action of a
higher principle at the centre of the being, operating so as to suffuse
the whole of it, pervade the whole of it, to its utmost limits, which,
seating itself in the heart of the thoughts and affections, works and
weaves itself into all the life tissues and becomes part and parcel of
the very flesh and blood. No idea, however true, however elevated or
elevating one may feel it, is spiritual till it centralises in the heart
and affects all the issues thereof.
SPIRITUALISM, a term that has two very different meanings, denoting
at one time the doctrine that the only real is the SPIRITUAL (q. v.),
and at another time a belief in the existence of spirits whom we,
by means of certain media, can hold correspondence with, and who, whether
we are conscious of it or not, exercise in some cases an influence over
human destiny, more particularly of the spirits of dead men with whom in
their disembodied state we can by means of certain mediums hold
correspondence, and who, from their continued interest in the world, do
in that state keep watch and ward over its affairs as well as mingle in
them, forming a world of spirits gone from hence, yet more or less active
in the sense world.
SPITHEAD, the eastern portion of the strait which separates the Isle
of Wight from the Hampshire coast, 14 m. long, with an average breadth of
4 m.; is a sheltered and safe riding for ships, and as such is much used
by the British navy; receives its name from a long "spit" of sandbank
jutting out from the mainland. See the _SOLENT_.
SPITZBERGEN, the name of an Arctic archipelago lying 400 m. N. of
Norway, embracing West Spitzbergen (15,260 sq. m.), North-East Land,
Stans Foreland, King Charles land or Wiche Island, Barents Land, Prince
Charles Foreland, besides numerous smaller islands; practically lies
under great fields of ice, enormous glaciers, and drifts of snow, pierced
here and there by mountain peaks, hence the name Spitzbergen; the home of
vast flocks of sea-birds, of polar bears, and Arctic foxes, while herds
of reindeer are attracted to certain parts by a scanty summer vegetation;
there are no permanent inhabitants, but the fiord-cut shores are
frequented in summer by Norwegian seal and walrus hunters.
SPLÜGEN, an Alpine pass in the Swiss canton of the Grisons; the
roadway 24 m. long, opened in 1822, crosses the Rhætian Alps from Chur,
the capital of Grisons, to Chiavenna, in Lombardy, and reaches a height
of 6595 ft.
SPOHR, LUDWIG, musical composer and violinist, born in Brunswick;
produced both operas and oratorios, "Faust" among the former, the "Last
Judgment" and the "Fall of Babylon" among the latter; his violin-playing
was admirable, producing from the tones of the instrument the effects of
the human voice; wrote a handbook for violinists (1784-1859).
SPOLETO (8), an ancient city of Central Italy, built on the rocky
slopes of a hill, in the province of Umbria, 75 m. NE. of Rome; is
protected by an ancient citadel, and has an interesting old cathedral
with frescoes by Lippo Lippi, and an imposing 7th-century aqueduct; was
capital of a Lombard duchy, and in 1220 was joined to the Papal States.
SPONTINI, GASPARO, Italian operatic composer, born at Majolati;
settled in Paris in 1803, and a year later made his mark with the little
opera "Milton," and subsequently established his fame with the three
grand operas, "La Vestale," "Ferdinand Cortez," and "Olympia"; from 1820
to 1842 was stationed at Berlin under court patronage, and in the face of
public and press opposition continued to write in a strain of elevated
and melodious music various operas, including his greatest work "Agnes
von Hohenstaufen" (1774-1851).
SPORADES, a group of islands in the Ægean Sea, of which the largest
is the Mitylene.
SPOTTISWOODE, JOHN, archbishop of St. Andrews; accompanied James VI.
to London, was zealous for the establishment of Episcopacy in Scotland;
was archbishop of Glasgow before he was translated to St. Andrews;
officiated at coronation of Charles I. at Holyrood in 1633, and was two
years after made Chancellor of Scotland; wrote a "History of the Church
of Scotland"; was buried in Westminster (1565-1639).
SPOTTISWOODE, WILLIAM, mathematician and physician, born in London;
was Queen's printer, as his father had been before him; published
numerous important papers on scientific subjects, his greatest work "The
Polarization of Light," a subject on which he was a great authority
(1825-1883).
SPREE, a river of Prussia, rises in East Saxony close to the
Bohemian border, follows a winding and generally N. and NW. course of 227
m. till its Junction with the Havel at Spandau; chief towns on its banks
are Bautzen, Kottbus, Lübben, and Berlin; is connected with the Oder by
the Frederick William Canal.
SPRENGEL, CARL, physician and botanist, born in Pomerania; held
professorship in Halle; wrote on the history of both medicine and botany
(1766-1833).
SPRENGER, ALOYS, eminent Orientalist, born in the Tyrol; studied in
Vienna; went to India in 1843, where he diligently occupied his mind in
study, and on his return in 1857 was appointed professor of Oriental
Languages at Bern, from which he was translated to Heidelberg; edited
Persian and Arabic works, and wrote the "Life and Doctrine of Mohammed";
_b_. 1813.
SPRINGFIELD, 1, capital (34) of Illinois, situated in a flourishing
coal district, 185 m. SW. of Chicago; has an arsenal, two colleges, and a
handsome marble capitol; coal-mining, foundries, and flour, cotton, and
paper mills are the chief industries; the burial-place of Abraham
Lincoln. 2, A nicely laid out and flourishing city (62) of Massachusetts,
capital of Hampden County, on the Connecticut River (spanned here by five
bridges), 99 m. W. by S. of Boston; settled in 1635; has important
manufactories of cottons, woollens, paper, and a variety of other
articles, besides the United States armoury. 3, Capital (22) of Greene
County, Missouri, 232 m. WSW. of St. Louis; has rapidly increasing
manufactories of cottons, woollens, machinery, &c.; in the vicinity was
fought the battle of Wilson's Creek, 10th August 1861. 4, Capital (38) of
Clark County, Ohio, on Lagonda Creek and Mad River, 80 m. NE. of
Cincinnati; is an important railway centre, and possesses numerous
factories of machinery, bicycles, paper, &c.
SPURGEON, CHARLES HADDON, a great preacher, born at Kelvedon, Essex;
had no college training; connected himself with the Baptists; commenced
as an evangelist at Cambridge when he was but a boy, and was only 17 when
he was appointed to a pastorate; by-and-by on invitation he settled in
Southwark, and held meetings which were always requiring larger and
larger accommodation; at length in 1861 the Metropolitan Tabernacle,
capable of accommodating 6000, was opened, where he drew about him large
congregations, and round which he, in course of time, established a
number of institutions in the interest at once of humanity and religion;
his pulpit addresses were listened to by thousands every Sunday, and were
one and all printed the week following, and circulated all over the land
and beyond it till they filled volumes; no preacher of the time had such
an audience, and none such a wide popularity; he preached the old Puritan
gospel, but it was presented in such a form and in such simple, idiomatic
phrase, as to commend it as no less a gospel to his own generation:
besides his sermons as published, other works were also widely
circulated; special mention may be made of "John Ploughman's Talk"
(1834-1892).
SPURZHEIM, JOHANN CASPAR, phrenologist, born in Trèves; went to
study medicine at Vienna; attended the lectures of Gall and became a
disciple, accompanying him on a lecturing tour through Central Europe,
and settling with him in 1807 in Paris; in 1813 he separated from Gall,
and went to lecture in England with much acceptance; in 1832 he proceeded
to America with the same object, but he had hardly started on his mission
when he died at Boston; he wrote numerous works bearing on phrenology,
education, &c. (1776-1832).
SRUTI, the name given to sacred and revealed tradition, or
revelation generally, among the Hindus.
STAAL, JEAN, a French lady of humble circumstances, of metaphysical
turn; skilled in the philosophies of Descartes and Malebranche; was in
the Bastille for two years for political offences; was a charming woman,
and captivated the Baron de Staal; left Memoirs and Letters (1693-1750).
STABAT MATER, A Latin hymn on the dolours of the Virgin, beginning
with these words, and composed in the 13th century by Jacopone da Todi, a
Franciscan monk, and set to music by several composers, the most popular
being Rossini's.
STADIUM, the course on which were celebrated the great games
(foot-racing, wrestling, &c.) of ancient Greece, held at Olympia, Athens,
and other places; the most famous was that laid out at Olympia; length
600 Greek feet, which was adopted as the Greek standard of measure, and
equalled 606½ English feet.
STADTHOLDER, an anglicised form of the Dutch "stadhouder" (i. e.
stead-holder), a title conferred on the governors of provinces in the Low
Countries, but chiefly associated with the rulers of Holland, Zealand,
and Utrecht; in 1544 the title was held by William the Silent, and
continued to be the designation of the head of the new republic of the
United Provinces of the Netherlands until 1802, when William V. was
compelled to resign his stadtholdership to France, the country afterwards
assuming a monarchical government.
STAËL, MADAME DE, distinguished French lady, born in Paris, daughter
of Necker, and only child; a woman of eminent ability, and an admirer of
Rousseau; wrote "Letters" on his character and works; married a man ten
years older than herself, the Baron de Staël-Holstein, the Swedish
ambassador in Paris, where she lived all through the events of the
Revolution in sympathy with the royal family; wrote an appeal in defence
of the queen, and quitted the city during the Reign of Terror; on her
return in 1795 her _salon_ became the centre of the literary and
political activity of the time; the ambition of Napoleon excited her
distrust, and forced her into opposition so expressed that in 1801 she
was ordered to leave Paris within 24 hours, and not to come within 40
leagues of it; in 1802 she was left a widow, and soon after she went
first to Weimar, where she met Goethe and Schiller, and then to Berlin;
by-and-by she returned to France, but on the publication of her
"Corinne," was ordered out of the country; after this appeared her great
epoch-making work on Germany, "L'Allemagne," which was seized by the
French censors; after this she quitted for good the soil of France, to
which she had returned; settled in Switzerland, at Coppet, where she died
(1766-1817).
STAFFA ("pillar Island"), an uninhabited islet of basaltic formation
off the W. coast of Scotland, 54 m. W. of Oban; 1½ m. in circumference,
and girt with precipitous cliffs, except on the sheltered NE., where
there is a shelving shore; is remarkable for its caves, of which Fingal's
Cave is the most famous, having an entrance 42 ft. wide and 66 ft. high,
and penetrating 227 ft.
STAFFORD (20), county town of Staffordshire, on the Sow, 29 m. NNW.
of Birmingham; has two fine old churches, St. Mary's and St. Chad's,
interesting architecturally, King Edward's grammar school, and Stafford
Castle finely situated on the outskirts; is an important railway centre,
and noted for its boot and shoe manufactures.
STAFFORDSHIRE (1,083), a midland mining and manufacturing county of
England, wedged in on the N. between Cheshire (W.) and Derby (N.), and
extending southward to Worcester, with Shropshire on the W., and
Leicester and Warwick on the E.; with the exception of the wild and hilly
"moorland" in the N. consists of an undulating plain crossed by the
Trent, and intersected in all directions by canals and railways; embraces
two rich coal-fields, one in the "Black Country" of the S., where rich
deposits of iron-stone are also worked, and one in the N., embracing the
district of the "Potteries"; famous breweries exist at Burton;
Wolverhampton is the largest town.
STAGIRITE, THE, ARISTOTLE (q. v.), so called from his
native place Stagira.
STAHL, FRIEDRICH JULIUS, writer of jurisprudence, born at Münich, of
Jewish parents; embraced Christianity; wrote "The Philosophy of Law";
became professor thereof at Berlin; was a staunch Lutheran, and a
Conservative in politics (1802-1861).
STAHL, GEORG ERNEST, a German chemist, born at Anspach; was
professor of Medicine at Halle; author of the theory of PHLOGISTON
(q. v.) and of ANIMISM (q. v.) (1650-1735).
STAINES (5), a pretty little town of Middlesex, on the Thames
(spanned here by a fine granite bridge), 6 m. SE. of Windsor; St. Mary's
church has a tower designed by Inigo Jones; has breweries, mustard-mills,
and other factories; in the neighbourhood are RUNNYMEDE and
COOPER'S HILL (q. v.).
STAIR, JOHN DALRYMPLE, 1ST EARL OF, eldest son of James Dalrymple
(1619-1695) of Stair (a distinguished lawyer in his day, who rose to be
President of the Court of Session; wrote a well-known work, "Institutes
of the Law of Scotland"; as a Protestant supported the Prince of Orange,
and by him was raised to the peerage as viscount in 1690); adopted law as
a profession, and was called to the bar in 1672; got into trouble with
Claverhouse, and was fined and imprisoned, but in 1687 was received into
royal favour, became Lord Advocate, a Lord Ordinary in the Court of
Session, and subsequently as Secretary of State for Scotland was mainly
responsible for the MASSACRE OF GLENCOE (q. v.); was created an
earl in 1703, and later was active in support of the union of the English
and Scottish Parliaments (1648-1707).
STAIR, JOHN DALRYMPLE, 2ND EARL OF, second son of preceding; entered
the army at 19, and fought with his regiment, the Cameronians, at
Steinkirk; studied law for some time at Leyden, but went back to the
army, and by 1701 was a lieutenant-colonel in the Scots Foot Guards, and
in 1706 colonel of the Cameronians; fought with distinction under
Marlborough at Venlo, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and, as commander of a
brigade, at the siege of Lille and at Malplaquet; was active in support
of the Hanoverian succession, and subsequently in the reigns of George I.
and II. filled important diplomatic and military posts (1673-1747).
STALACTITE, a cone of carbonate of lime attached like an icicle to
the roof of a cavern, and formed by the dripping of water charged with
the carbonate from the rock above; Stalagmite being the name given to the
cone formed on the floor by the dripping from a stalactite above.
STALYBRIDGE (44), a manufacturing town of Cheshire and Lancashire,
on both banks of the Tame, 7½ m. E. by N. of Manchester; is of modern
growth, and noted for its large cotton-yarn and calico factories,
iron-foundries and machine-shops.
STAMFORD (8), an interesting old town, partly in Lincolnshire and
partly in Northamptonshire, on the Welland, 12 m. WNW. of Peterborough;
was one of the five Danish burghs, and is described in DOMESDAY
BOOK (q. v.); a massacre of Jews occurred here in 1140, and in
Plantagenet times it was a place of ecclesiastical, parliamentary, and
royal importance; figures in the Wars of the Roses and the Civil War of
Charles I.'s time; has three fine Early English churches, a corn
exchange, two handsome schools, Browne's Hospital, founded in Richard
III.'s reign, and Burghley House, a noble specimen of Renaissance
architecture; the _Stamford Mercury_ (1695) is the earliest provincial
newspaper; the district is mainly agricultural.
STAMFORD (16), a town of Connecticut, situated amid surrounding
hills in Long Island Sound, 33 m. NE. of New York; is a summer resort,
and has iron and bronze foundries, etc.
STAMFORD BRIDGE, a village of Yorkshire, on the Derwent, 9¼ m. NE.
of York; the scene of Harold's victory over the invading forces of Harold
Haarfager on September 25, 1066.
STAMP ACT, a measure passed by Grenville's Ministry in 1765 enacting
that all legal documents used in the colonies should bear Government
stamps. The Americans resisted on the ground that taxation without
representation in Parliament was unjust. Riots broke out, and the stamped
paper was carefully avoided. In 1766 Pitt championed the cause of the
colonists, and largely through his eloquence Government in that year was
induced to repeal the Act.
STANDING STONES, rude unhewn stones standing singly or in groups in
various parts of the world, and erected at remote periods, presumably in
memory of some great achievement or misfortune, or as having some
monumental reference.
STANDISH, MILES, one of the Puritan fathers, of Lancashire birth,
and a cadet of a family of knightly rank in the county; served in the
Netherlands as a soldier, and went to America in the Mayflower in 1620,
and was helpful to the colony in its relations both with the Indians and
the mother-country; is the hero of a poem of Longfellow's.
STANFIELD, CLARKSON, English landscape-painter, born in Sunderland,
of Irish descent; began as a scene-painter; his first picture,
"Market-boats on the Scheldt," proving a success, he devoted himself to
easel-painting, and his principal works were "Wreckers off Fort Rouge,"
"A Calm at Sea," "The Abandoned," "The Bass Rock"; his frequent visits to
the Continent supplied him with fresh subjects; and Ruskin says of one of
his pictures, "it shows as much concentrated knowledge of the sea and sky
as, diluted, would have lasted any of the old masters for life"
(1793-1866).
STANHOPE, LADY HESTER LUCY, born at Chevening, Kent, the eldest
daughter of the third Earl of Stanhope, and niece of William Pitt; a
woman of unusual force of character and attractiveness; from 1803 to 1806
was, as the confidant and housekeeper of her uncle William Pitt, a leader
of society; retired with a Government pension after Pitt's death, but
impelled by her restless nature, led an unsettled life in Southern
Europe, and finally settled in Syria in 1814, making her home in the old
convent of Mar Elias, near Mount Lebanon, where, cut off from Western
civilisation, for 25 years she exercised a remarkable influence over the
rude tribes of the district; assumed the dress of a Mohammedan chief, and
something of the religion of Islam, and in the end came to look upon
herself as a sort of prophetess; interesting accounts of her strange life
and character have been published by her English physician, Dr. Madden,
and others (1776-1839).
STANHOPE, PHILIP HENRY, EARL, historian, born at Walmer, only son of
the fourth Earl of Stan hope; graduated at Oxford in 1827, and three
years later entered Parliament as a Conservative; held office as
Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in Peel's Ministry of 1834-35, and as
Secretary to the Indian Board of Control during 1845-46; succeeded his
father in 1855, before which he was known by the courtesy title of Lord
Mahon; literature was his chief interest, and as a historian and
biographer he has a deservedly high reputation for industry and
impartial judgment; a "History of England from 1713 to 1783," a "History
of Spain under Charles II.," "Historical and Critical Essays," and Lives
of Pitt, Condé, and Belisarius, are his most important works (1805-1875).
STANISLAS I., LECZINSKI, king of Poland, born in Lemberg; afterwards
sovereign of the Duchies of Bar and Lorraine; became the father-in-law of
Louis XV. (1677-1766).
STANLEY. ARTHUR PENRHYN, widely known as Dean Stanley, having been
dean of Westminster, born at Alderley, in Cheshire, son of the rector,
who became bishop of Norwich; was educated at Rugby under Dr. Arnold, and
afterwards at Balliol College, Oxford; took orders, and was for 12 years
tutor in his college; published his "Life of Dr. Arnold" in 1844, his
"Sinai and Palestine" in 1855, after a visit to the East; held a
professorship of Ecclesiastical History in Oxford for a time, and
published lectures on the Eastern Church, the Jewish Church, the
Athanasian Creed, and the Church of Scotland; accompanied the Prince of
Wales to the East in 1862, and became dean of Westminster next year in
succession to Trench; wrote "Historical Monuments of Westminster Abbey"
and "Christian Institutions"; he had been married to Lady Augusta Bruce,
and her death deeply affected him and accelerated his own; he was buried
beside her in Henry VII.'s chapel; he was an amiable man, an interesting
writer, and a broad churchman of very pronounced views (1815-1881).
STANLEY, HENRY MORTON, African explorer, born in Denbigh, Wales, in
humble circumstances, his parental name being Rowlands, he having assumed
the name of Stanley after that of his adopted father, Mr. Stanley, New
Orleans; served in the Confederate army; became a newspaper foreign
correspondent, to the _New York Herald_ at length; was summoned to go and
"find Livingstone"; after many an impediment found Livingstone on 10th
November 1871, and after staying with him, and accompanying him in
explorations, returned to England in August next year; in 1874 he set out
again at the head of an expedition, solved several problems, and returned
home; published "Congo and its Free State," "In Darkest Africa," &c.;
represents Lambeth, North, in Parliament, having been elected in 1895;
_b_. 1840.
STANNARY, a general term used to cover the tin mines of a specified
district, the miners themselves, and such customs and privileges as
appertain to the workers and the mines. In England the term is specially
associated with the stannaries of Devon and Cornwall, which by an Act of
Edward III. were conferred in perpetuity upon the Prince of Wales as Duke
of Cornwall, who holds the title of Lord Warden of the Stannaries.
Special Stannary Courts for the administration of justice amongst those
connected with the mines are held in the two counties, and are each
presided over by a warden and a vice-warden. Up to 1752 representative
assemblies of the miners, called Stannary Parliaments, were held. Appeals
from the Stannary Courts may be made now to the higher courts of England.
STAR-CHAMBER, a court which originated in the reign of Edward III.,
and consisted practically of the king's ordinary council, meeting in the
Starred Chamber, and dealing with such cases as fell outside the
jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery; was revived and remodelled by
Henry VII., and in an age when the ordinary courts were often intimidated
by powerful offenders, rendered excellent service to the cause of
justice; was further developed and strengthened during the chancellorship
of Wolsey, and in the reign of James I. had acquired jurisdiction as a
criminal court over a great variety of misdemeanours--perjury, riots,
conspiracy, high-treason, &c. Already tending to an exercise of
unconstitutional powers, it in the reign of Charles I. became an
instrument of the grossest tyranny, supporting the king in his absolutist
claims, and in 1641 was among the first of the many abuses swept away by
the Long Parliament.
STARS, THE, are mostly suns, but being, the nearest of them, at a
distance from us more than 500,000 times our distance from the sun, are
of a size we cannot estimate, but are believed to be 300 times larger
than the earth; they are of unequal brightness, and are, according to
this standard, classified as of the first, second, down to the sixteenth
magnitude; those visible to the naked eye include stars from the first to
the sixth magnitude, and number 3000, while 20,000,000 are visible by the
telescope; of these in the MILKY WAY (q. v.) alone there are
18,000,000; they are distinguished by their colours as well as their
brightness, being white, orange, red, green, and blue according to their
temperature and composition; they have from ancient date been grouped
into constellations of the northern and the southern hemispheres and of
the ZODIAC (q. v.), the stars in each of which being noted by
the Greek letters, as [Greek: alpha], [Greek: beta], according to their
brightness; they all move more or less, and some go round each other, and
are called double according as there are two or more of them so
revolving; besides stars singly visible there are others called
CLUSTERS OR NEBULÆ (q. v.).
STARS AND STRIPES, the flag of the United States, the stripes
representing the original States of the Union, and stars those annexed
since.
STATEN ISLAND, 1, belonging to New York State (52), and comprising
the county of Richmond; is a picturesque island (14 m. long), 5 m. SW. of
New York, separated from Long Island by the Narrows and from New Jersey
by the Kill van Kull and Staten Island Sound; pretty watering-villages
skirt its shores, and Forts Richmond and Wadsworth guard the entrance to
the Narrows. 2, A lofty, precipitous, and rugged island, snow-clad most
of the year, belonging to Argentina, lying to the SE. of Tierra del
Fuego, from which it is separated by Le Maire Strait (40 m.).
STATES-GENERAL, name given to an assembly of the representatives of
the three estates of nobles, clergy, and bourgeoisie, or the _Tiers État_
as it was called, in France prior to the Revolution of 1789, and which
was first convoked in 1302 by Philip IV.; they dealt chiefly with
taxation, and had no legislative power; they were convoked by Louis XIII.
in 1614, and dismissed for looking into finance, and not convoked again
till the last time in 1789, for the history of which see Carlyle's
"French Revolution."
STATES-RIGHTS, doctrine of the contention of the Democrats in the
United States that the several States of the Union have all the rights,
powers, and privileges not expressly made over to the central government,
and by extremists even the right of secession.
STATIONERS' HALL, the hall of the old Company of London Stationers,
incorporated in 1557, who enjoyed till the Copyright Act of 1842 the sole
right of having registered at their offices every pamphlet, book, and
ballad published in the kingdom. Although no longer compulsory, the
practice of entering books at Stationers' Hall is still found useful for
copyright purposes. The register-rolls of books entered at Stationers'
Hall have been carefully preserved, and are of the highest value to the
literary historian.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS, steps in the passage of Jesus from the
judgment-hall to Calvary, or representations of these, before each one of
which the faithful are required to kneel and offer up a prayer.
STATIUS, PUBLIUS PAPINIUS, a Latin poet, born in Naples; lived at
Rome, flourished at court, particularly that of Domitian, whom he
flattered, but retired to his native place after defeat in a competition;
his chief work is the "Thebaïs," an epic in 12 books, embodying the
legends connected with the war against Thebes; he ranks first among the
poets of the silver age; a collection of short pieces of his named
"Silvæ" have been often reprinted (61-96).
STAUBBACH (dust stream), a famous waterfall in Bern, near
Lauterbrunnen, 8 m. S. of Interlaken, with a sheer descent of 980 ft.; in
the sunlight it has the appearance of a rainbow-hued transparent veil,
and before it reaches the ground it is dissipated in silvery spray.
STAUNTON, HOWARD, a famous chess-player; was an Oxford man, and led
a busy life as a journalist and miscellaneous writer in London; won the
chess championship in 1843, and did much to extend the scientific study
of the game by various publications, "The Chess-Player's Handbook," &c.;
was also held in high repute as a Shakespearian scholar; published
well-annotated editions of Shakespeare's works and a facsimile of the
first folio (1810-1874).
STAVANGER (24), a flourishing port of Norway, on a fiord on the SW.
coast, 100 m. S. of Bergen; is of modern aspect, having been largely
rebuilt; has two excellent harbours, a fine 11th-century Gothic
cathedral, and is the centre of important coast fisheries.
STAVROPOL (657), a Russian government on the Caspian Sea, the
inhabitants of which are chiefly nomads and breed horses, with a capital
of the same name (36) on a hill, a modern town and a prosperous, both in
manufacture and trade.
STEEL, SIR JOHN, sculptor, born at Aberdeen; studied at Edinburgh
and Rome; made his mark in 1832 by a model of a statue, "Alexander and
Bucephalus," and soon took rank with the foremost and busiest sculptors
of his day; his works are mostly to be found in Edinburgh, and include
the equestrian statue of Wellington, statues of Sir Walter Scott (in the
Scott Monument), Professor Wilson, Dr. Chalmers, Allan Ramsay, etc.; the
splendid figure of Queen Victoria over the Royal Institution gained him
the appointment (1844) of sculptor to Her Majesty in Scotland, and on the
unveiling of his fine equestrian statue of Prince Albert in 1876 he was
created a knight (1804-1891).
STEELE, SIR RICHARD, a famous English essayist, born, the son of an
attorney, in Dublin; educated as a foundationer at the Charterhouse and
at Oxford; enamoured of a soldier's life, enlisted (1694) as a cadet in
the Life Guards; in the following year received an ensigncy in the
Coldstream Guards, and continued in the army till 1706, by which time he
had attained the rank of a captain; a good deal of literary work was done
during his soldiering, notably "The Christian Hero" and several comedies;
appointed Gazetteer (1707), and for some two years was in the private
service of the Prince Consort, George of Denmark; began in 1709 to issue
the famous tri-weekly paper the _Tatler_, in which, with little
assistance, he played the part of social and literary censor about town,
couching his remarks in light and graceful essays, which constituted a
fresh departure in literature; largely aided by Addison, his old school
companion, he developed this new form of essay in the _Spectator_ and
_Guardian_; sat in Parliament as a zealous Whig, and in George I.'s reign
was knighted and received various minor court appointments; continued a
busy writer of pamphlets, &c., but withal mismanaged his affairs, and
died in Wales, secured from actual penury by the property of his second
wife; as a writer shares with Addison the glory of the Queen Anne Essay,
which in their hands did much to purify, elevate, and refine the mind and
manners of the time (1671-1729).
STEEN, JAN, Dutch painter, born in Leyden; was a _genre_ painter of
the style of Rembrandt, and his paintings display severity with sympathy
and a playful humour; he is said to have led a dissipated life, and to
have left his wife and a large family in extreme destitution (1626-1679).
STEEVENS, GEORGE, commentator on Shakespeare, born at Stepney; in
1736 edited 20 of Shakespeare's plays carefully reprinted from the
original quartos, and in 1731 his notes with those of Johnson in another
edition; a further edition, with a number of gratuitous alterations of
the text, was issued by him in 1793, and that was the accepted one till
the publication of Knight's in 1838 (1736-1800).
STEIN, BARON VON, Prussian statesman, born at Nassau; rose rapidly
in the service of the State, and became Prussian Prime Minister under
William III. in 1807, in which capacity he effected important changes in
the constitution of the country to its lasting benefit, till Napoleon
procured his dismissal, and he withdrew to Austria, and at length to St.
Petersburg, where he was instrumental in turning the general tide against
Napoleon (1757-1831).
STEIN, CHARLOTTE VON, a lady friend of Goethe's, born at Weimar;
Goethe's affection for her cooled on his return from Italy to see her so
changed; she never forgave him for marrying a woman beneath him; letters
by Goethe to her were published in successive editions, but hers to him
were destroyed by her (1742-1827).
STEINMETZ, CARL FRIEDRICH VON, Prussian general, born at Eisenach;
distinguished himself in the war of 1813-1814, and inflicted crushing
defeats on the Austrians in 1866; fell below his reputation in the
Franco-German War, and was deprived of his command after the battle of
Gravelotte, but was elected Governor-General of Posen and Silesia
(1796-1877).
STEINTHAL, HEYMANN, German philologist, born at Gröbzig, in Anhalt;
studied at Berlin, where in 1863 he became professor of Comparative
Philology, and in 1872 lecturer at the Jewish High School on Old
Testament Criticism and Theology; author of various learned and acute
works on the science of language; _b_. 1823.
STELLA, the name under which Swift has immortalised Hester Johnson,
the story of whose life is inseparably entwined with that of the great
Dean; was the daughter of a lady-companion of Lady Gifford, the sister of
Sir William Temple, who, it is conjectured, was her father. Swift first
met her, a child of seven, when he assumed the duties of amanuensis to
Sir William Temple in 1688, and during his subsequent residence with Sir
William (1696-1699) stood to her in the progressive relationship of
tutor, friend, and lover; but for some unaccountable reason it would seem
they never married, although their mutual affection and intimacy endured
till her death; to her was addressed, without thought of publication, the
immortal "Journal to Stella," "the most faithful and fascinating diary
the world has ever seen," which throws an invaluable flood of light on
the character of Swift, revealing unsuspected tendernesses and affections
in the great satirist (1681-1728).
STENCILLING, a cheap and simple process of printing on various
surfaces letters or designs; the characters are cut out in thin plates of
metal or card-board, which are then laid on the surface to be imprinted,
and the colour, by means of a brush, rubbed through the cut spaces.
STENO, NICHOLAS, a noted anatomist, born at Copenhagen, where he
studied medicine and kindred sciences with great enthusiasm; became
widely known in European medical circles by his important investigations
into the natural functions of glands (salivary and parotid), the heart,
brain, &c.; in 1667 became physician to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany,
residing at Florence, where he renounced Lutheranism for Catholicism;
made valuable geological investigations, but finally gave himself up to a
religious life; was created a bishop, and in 1677 Vicar-Apostolic of
North Germany; chiefly remembered for his contributions to anatomical
science (1638-1687).
STENTOR, a Grecian herald who accompanied the Greeks in the Trojan
War, and whom Homer describes as "the great-hearted, brazen-voiced
Stentor, whose shout was as loud as that of fifty other men," hence the
epithet stentorian.
STEPHEN, king of England from 1135 to 1154, nephew of Henry I., his
mother being Adela, daughter of William I.; acquired French possessions
through the favour of his uncle and by his marriage; in 1127 swore fealty
to his cousin Matilda, daughter of Henry I., as his future sovereign, but
on the death of his uncle usurped the throne, an action leading to a
violent civil war, which brought the country into a state of anarchy; the
Scots invaded on behalf of Matilda, but were beaten back at Northallerton
(the Battle of the Standard, 1138); foreign mercenaries introduced by the
king only served to embitter the struggle; the clergy, despoiled by the
king, turned against him, and in the absence of a strong central
authority the barons oppressed the people and fought with one another;
"Adulterine Castles" sprang up over the country, and "men said openly
that Christ and His saints were asleep"; in 1141 Matilda won the battle
of Lincoln and for a few months ruled the country, but "as much too harsh
as Stephen was too lenient," she rapidly became unpopular, and Stephen
was soon again in the ascendant; the successes of Henry, son of Matilda,
led in 1153 to the treaty of Wallingford, by which it was arranged that
Stephen should retain the crown for life, while Henry should be his heir;
both joined in suppressing the turbulent barons and the "Adulterine
Castles"; more fortunately circumstanced, Stephen had many qualities
which might have made him a popular and successful king (1105-1154).
STEPHEN, the name of nine popes; S. I., Pope from 253 to 257,
signalised by his zeal against the heresies of his time; S. II.,
Pope from 752 to 757, in whose reign, under favour of Pepin le Bref,
began the temporal power of the Popes; S. III., Pope from 768 to
772, sanctioned the worship of saints and images; S. IV., Pope from
816 to 817; S. V., Pope from 885 to 891, distinguished for his
charity; S. VI., Pope from 896 to 897, strangled after a reign of 18
months; S. VII., Pope from 829 to 831, entirely under the control of
his mistresses; S. VIII., pope from 939 to 942; S. IX., Pope
from 1057 to 1058, vigorously opposed the sale of benefices and the
immorality of the clergy.
STEPHEN, GEORGE, archæologist, born in Liverpool; settled in Sweden,
and became professor of English in Copenhagen; his great work entitled
"Old Northern Runic Monuments of Scandinavia and England"; _b_. 1813.
STEPHEN, JAMES, slavery abolitionist, born in Dorsetshire; held a
post in the West Indies; wrote "Slavery in the British West Indies," an
able book; had sons more or less distinguished in law and law practice
(1759-1832).
STEPHEN, LESLIE, man of letters, born at Kensington, educated at
Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow; became
editor of the _Cornhill_ and of the first 26 volumes of the "Dictionary
of National Biography"; is the author of "Hours in a Library" and
"History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century," books that have
produced a deep impression; has also produced several biographies,
distinguished at once by accuracy, elegance, and critical acumen; _b_.
1832.
STEPHEN, ST., protomartyr of the Christian Church, who was (Acts
vii.) stoned to death in A.D. 33; his death is a frequent subject of the
old painters, the saint himself being less frequently depicted, but when
so he is represented usually in a deacon's dress, bearing a stone in one
hand and a palm-branch in the other, or both hands full of stones.
STEPHENS, JAMES, Fenian conspirator, born in Kilkenny; became "Head
Centre," and zealous in the Fenian cause both in Ireland and America; was
arrested in Dublin, but escaped; found his way to New York, but was
deposed, and has sunk out of sight; _b_. 1824.
STEPHEN'S, ST., the Parliament House of Westminister, distinguished
from St. James's, which denotes the Court, as Downing Street does the
Government.
STEPHENSON, GEORGE, inventor of the locomotive, born, the son of a
poor colliery engineman, at Wylam, near Newcastle; was early set to work,
first as a cowherd and then as a turnip-hoer, and by 15 was earning 12s.
a week as fireman at Throckley Bridge Colliery, diligently the while
acquiring the elements of education; married at 21, and supplemented his
wage as brakesman at Killingworth Colliery by mending watches and shoes;
in 1815 invented a safety-lamp for miners, which brought him a public
testimonial of £1000; while at Killingworth turned his attention to the
application of steam to machinery, and thus constructed his first
locomotive in 1814 for the colliery tram-road; railway and locomotive
construction now became the business of his life; superintended the
construction of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (1821-25), the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1826-29), over which he ran his
locomotive the "Rocket" at a maximum rate of 35 m. an hour; in the
outburst of railway enterprise which now ensued Stephenson's services
were in requisition all over the country; became principal engineer on
many of the new railways; bought the country-seat of Tapton, near
Chesterfield, to which he retired for much-needed rest; a man of
character, gentle and simple in his affections, strong and purposeful in
his labours, who, as he himself says, "fought for the locomotive
single-handed for nearly 20 years," and "put up with every rebuff,
determined not to be put down" (1781-1848).
STEPHENSON, ROBERT, son of preceding, born at Willington Quay, was
well educated at Newcastle, and for a session at Edinburgh University;
began in 1823 to assist his father, and from 1824 to 1827 fulfilled an
engineering engagement in Colombia, South America; rendered valuable
service in the construction of the "Rocket," and as joint-engineer with
his father of the London and Birmingham line, was mainly responsible for
its construction; turning his attention specially to bridge-building he
constructed the Britannia and Conway Tubular bridges, besides many
others, including those over the Nile, St. Lawrence, &c.; was returned to
the House of Commons in 1847; received the Grand Cross of the Legion of
Honour from the French emperor, and many other distinctions at home and
abroad; was buried in Westminster Abbey (1803-1859).
STEPNIAK, Russian Nihilist and apostle of freedom; exiled himself to
England; author of "Underground Russia" (1852-1895).
STEPPES, the name given to wide, treeless plains, barren except in
spring, of the SE. of Russia and SW. of Siberia.
STEREOSCOPE, a simple optical apparatus which, when two photographs
of an object taken from slightly different standpoints (so as to secure
the appearance it presents to either eye singly) are placed under its
twin magnifying lenses, presents to the eyes of the looker a single
picture of the object standing out in natural relief.
STERLING, JOHN, a friend of Carlyle's, born at Kames Castle, Bute,
son of Captain Sterling of the _Times_; studied at Glasgow and Cambridge;
a man of brilliant parts and a liberal-minded, but of feeble health; had
Julius Hare for tutor at Cambridge, and became Hare's curate at
Hurstmonceaux for eight months; wrote for reviews, and projected literary
enterprises, but achieved nothing; spent his later days moving from place
to place hoping to prolong life; formed an acquaintanceship with Carlyle
in 1832; became an intelligent disciple, and believed in him to the last;
Hare edited his papers, and wrote his life as a clergyman, and Carlyle,
dissatisfied, wrote another on broader lines, and by so doing
immortalised his memory (1806-1843).
STERN, DANIEL. See AGOULT.
STERNE, LAURENCE, English humourist, born at Clonmel, Ireland, son
of Roger Sterne, captain in the army; his mother an Irishwoman; was
educated at Halifax and Cambridge, by-and-by took orders, and received
livings in Sutton and Shillington, became a prebend at York, and finally
got a living at Coxwold; in 1759 appeared the first two volumes of
"Tristram Shandy," and in 1767 the last two; in 1768 his "Sentimental
Journey," and in the interim his "Sermons," equally characteristic of the
man as the two former productions. Stopford Brooke says, "They have no
plot, they can scarcely be said to have any story. The story of 'Tristram
Shandy' wanders like a man in a labyrinth, and the humour is as
labyrinthine as the story. It is carefully invented, and whimsically
subtle; and the sentiment is sometimes true, but mostly affected. But a
certain unity is given to the book by the admirable consistency of the
characters," his masterpieces, among which is "Uncle Toby"; the author
died in London of pulmonary consumption (1713-1763).
STERNHOLD, THOMAS, principal author of the first English metrical
version of the Psalms, originally attached to the Prayer-Book as
augmented by John Hopkins; continued in general use till Tate and Brady's
version of 1696 was substituted in 1717; was a Hampshire man, and held
the post of Groom of the Robes to Henry VIII. and Edward VI. (1500-1549).
STEROPES, one of the three CYCLOPS (q. v.).
STESICHORUS, a celebrated Greek lyric poet, born in Sicily;
contemporary of Sappho, Aleacus, and Pittacus; at his birth it is said a
nightingale alighted on his lips and sang a sweet strain (632-652 B.C.).
STETTIN (116), capital of Pomerania, and a flourishing river-port on
both banks of the Oder, 30 m. from its entrance into the Baltic, and 60
m. NE. of Berlin; lies contiguous to, and is continuous with, the smaller
towns of Bredow, Grabow, and Züllchow; principal buildings are the royal
palace (16th century), the Gothic church of St. Peter (12th century), and
St. James's (14th century); is a busy hive of industry, turning out
ships, cement, sugar, spirits, &c., and carrying on a large export and
import trade.
STEUBEN, BARON VON, general in the American War of Independence,
born in Magdeburg; originally in the Prussian service under Frederick the
Great, and had distinguished himself at the siege of Prague and at
Rossbach; emigrating to America at the end of the Seven Years' War he
offered his services, which were readily welcomed, and contributed to
organise and discipline the army, to the success of the revolution
(1730-1794).
STEVENSON, ROBERT, an eminent Scottish engineer, born at Glasgow,
the son of a West India merchant; adopted the profession of his
stepfather Thomas Smith, and in 1796 succeeded him as first engineer to
the Board of Northern Lighthouses, a position he held for 47 years,
during which he planned and erected as many as 23 lighthouses round the
coasts of Scotland, his most noted erection being that on the Bell Rock;
introduced the catoptric system of illumination and other improvements;
was also much employed as a consulting engineer in connection with
bridge, harbour, canal, and railway construction (1772-1850).
STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS BALFOUR, novelist and essayist, grandson of
the preceding, born at Edinburgh, where in 1875 he was called to the bar,
after disappointing his father by not following the family vocation of
engineering; had already begun to write for the magazines, and soon
abandoned law for the profession of letters, in which he rapidly came to
the front; in 1878 appeared his first book, "An Inland Voyage," quickly
followed by "Travels with a Donkey," "Virginibus Puerisque," "Familiar
Studies"; with "Treasure Island" (1883) found a wider public as a writer
of adventure and romance, and established himself permanently in the
public favour with "Kidnapped" (1886, most popular story), "The Master of
Ballantrae," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," &c.; his versatility in letters
was further revealed in his charming "A Child's Garden of Verse,"
"Ballads," "Memories and Portraits," and "A Footnote to History" (on
Samoan politics); in 1890 failing health induced him to make his home in
the island of Samoa, where he died and is buried; "His too short life,"
says Professor Saintsbury, "has left a fairly ample store of work, not
always quite equal, seldom quite without a flaw, but charming,
stimulating, distinguished as few things in this last quarter of a
century have been" (1850-1894).
STEWARD, LORD HIGH, in early times the highest office of state in
England, ranking in power next to the sovereign; hereditary during many
centuries, the office lapsed in the reign of Henry IV., and since has
been revived only on special occasions, e. g. a coronation, a trial of
a peer, at the termination of which the office is demitted, the Lord High
Steward himself breaking in two his wand of office.
STEWART, BALFOUR, physicist, born in Edinburgh; after finishing his
university curriculum went to Australia and engaged for some time in
business; returned to England; became director at Kew Observatory, and
professor of Natural Philosophy at Owens College, Manchester; made
discoveries in radiant heat, and was one of the founders of SPECTRUM
ANALYSIS (q. v.); published text-books on physics, in wide repute
(1828-1887).
STEWART, DUGALD, Scottish philosopher, born in Edinburgh, son of
Matthew Stewart; attended the High School and the University; studied one
session at Glasgow under Dr. Reid; assisted his father in conducting the
mathematical classes in Edinburgh, and succeeded Adam Ferguson in the
Moral Philosophy chair in 1785, a post, the active duties of which he
discharged with signal success for twenty-five years, lecturing on a wide
range of subjects connected with metaphysics and the science of mind; he
wrote "Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind," "Philosophical
Essays," &c.; "His writings," says Carlyle, who held him in high
veneration, "are not a philosophy, but a making ready for one. He does
not enter on the field to till it; he only encompasses it with fences,
invites cultivators, and drives away intruders; often (fallen on evil
days) he is reduced to long arguments with the passers-by to prove that
it _is_ a field, that this so highly-prized domain of his is, in truth,
soil and substance, not clouds and shadows. It is only to a superficial
observer that the import of these discussions can seem trivial; rightly
understood, they give sufficient and final answer to Hartley's and
Darwin's and all other possible forms of Materialism, the grand Idolatry,
as we may rightly call it, by which, in all times, the true Worship, that
of the Invisible, has been polluted and withstood" (1753-1858).
STEWART, HOUSE OF. See STUART.
STEWART, MATTHEW, mathematician, born at Rothesay; bred for the
Church, was for a time minister of Roseneath, and succeeded Maclaurin as
professor of Mathematics in Edinburgh in 1747; was the author of a
mathematical treatise or two, and the lifelong friend of Robert Simson
(1717-1785).
STEYER (17), a manufacturing town of Upper Austria, at the junction
of the Steyer and Enns, 20 m. NE. of St. Valentin; noted for its
flourishing iron and steel manufactures, of which it is the chief seat in
Austria.
STHENO, one of the THREE GORGONS (q. v.).
STIELER, a celebrated German cartographer, born at Gotha; his
atlases are deservedly held in high esteem for their excellence
(1775-1836).
STIER, RUDOLF EWALD, German theologian; was a devout student of the
Bible as the very Word of God, and is best known as the author of the
"Words of the Lord Jesus" (1800-1862).
STIGAND, archbishop of Canterbury and favourite of Edward the
Confessor, who advanced him to the bishoprics of Elmham and Winchester
and to the Primacy in 1052; his appointment was popularly regarded as
uncanonical, and neither Harold nor William the Conqueror allowed him to
perform the ceremony of coronation; through William's influence was by
the Pope deprived of his office and condemned to imprisonment.
STIGMATA, impressions of marks corresponding to certain wounds
received by Christ at His crucifixion, and which certain of the saints
are said to have been supernaturally marked with in memory of His. St.
Francis in particular showed such marks.
STILICHO, a Roman general, son of a Vandal captain under the emperor
Valens; on the death of Theodosius I., under whom he served, became the
ruler of the West, and by his military abilities saved the Western
Empire; defeated Alaric the Goth in a decisive battle and compelled him
to retire from Italy, as he did another horde of invading barbarians
afterwards; aspired to be master of the Roman empires, but was
assassinated at Ravenna in 403.
STILL, JOHN, bishop of Bath and Wells, born at Grantham; rose in the
Church through a succession of preferments: is credited with the
authorship of one of the oldest comedies in the English language, "Gammer
Gurton's Needle," turning on the loss and recovery by her of the needle
with which she was mending her goodman's breeches (1543-1607).
STILLING, JUNG, a German mystic; studied medicine at Strasburg, and
when there became acquainted with Goethe, who took a liking for him and
remained his warm friend; settled as a physician at Elberfeldt and became
professor at Marburg and at Heidelberg; he was distinguished for his
skill in operations on the eye, and is said to have restored to sight
without fee or reward 3000 poor blind persons; he is best known by his
autobiography; Carlyle defines him as the German "Dominie Sampson."
STILLINGFLEET, EDWARD, bishop of Worcester, born in Dorsetshire; was
a scholarly man, wrote on apologetics, in defence of the Church of
England as a branch of the Church Catholic, in support of the doctrine of
the Trinity, and in advocacy of harmony in the Church; was an able
controversialist and a generous minded; was a handsome man, and popularly
called the "Beauty of holiness" (1635-1699).
STIPPLE, a mode of engraving by dots instead of lines, each dot when
magnified showing a group of small ones.
STIRLING, JAMES HUTCHISON, master in philosophy, born in Glasgow;
bred to medicine and practised for a time in South Wales; went to Germany
to study the recent developments in philosophy there, on his return to
Scotland published, in 1863, his "Secret of Hegel: being the Hegelian
System in Origin, Principle, Form, and Matter," which has proved
epoch-making, and has for motto the words of Hegel, "The Hidden Secret of
the Universe is powerless to resist the might of thought! It must unclose
before it, revealing to sight and bringing to enjoyment its riches and
its depths." It is the work of a master-mind, as every one must feel who
tackles to the study of it, and of one who has mastered the subject of it
as not another in England, or perhaps even in Germany, has done. The grip
he takes of it is marvellous and his exposition trenchant and clear. It
was followed in 1881 by his "Text-book to Kant," an exposition which his
"Secret" presupposes, and which he advised the students of it to expect,
that they might be able to construe the entire Hegelian system from its
root in Kant. It is not to the credit of his country that Dr. Stirling
has never been elected to a chair in any of her universities, though it
is understood that is due to the unenlightened state of mind of electoral
bodies in regard to the Hegelian system and the prejudice against it,
particularly among the clergy of the Church. He was, however, elected to
be the first Gifford Lecturer in Edinburgh University, and his admirers
have had to content themselves with that modicum of acknowledgment at
last. He is the author of a critique on Sir William Hamilton's theory of
perception, on Huxley's doctrine of protoplasm, and on Darwinianism,
besides a translation of SCHWEGLER'S "History of Philosophy," with
notes, a highly serviceable work. His answer to Huxley is crushing. He is
the avowed enemy of the Aufklärung and of all knowledge that consists of
mere Vorstellungen and does not grasp the ideas which they present; _b_.
1820.
STIRLING, WILLIAM ALEXANDER, EARL OF, poet, born at Menstrie, near
Alloa; was for a time tutor to the family of Argyll; was the author of
sonnets called "Aurora," some curious tragedies, and an "Elegy on the
Death of Prince Henry"; he was held in high honour by James VI. and
followed him to London, obtained a grant of Nova Scotia, and made
Secretary of State for Scotland; he has been ranked as a poet with
Drummond of Hawthornden, who was his friend (1580-1640).
STIRLING-MAXWELL, See MAXWELL, STIRLING.
STIRLING (17), the county town of Stirlingshire, and one of the most
ancient and historically-interesting cities of Scotland; occupies a fine
site on the Forth, 36 m. NW. of Edinburgh and 29 m. NE. of Glasgow; most
prominent feature is the rocky castle hill, rising at the westward end of
the town to a height of 420 feet, and crowned by the ancient castle, a
favourite Stuart residence, and associated with many stirring events in
Scottish history, and utilised now as a garrison-station; interesting
also are "Argyll's Lodging," Greyfriars Church (Pointed Gothic of the
15th century), the fine statue of Bruce, &c.; has manufactures of
tartans, tweeds, carpets, &c., and a trade in agricultural and mining
products.
STIRLINGSHIRE (126), a midland county of Scotland, stretching E. and
W. from Dumbarton (W.) to the Forth (E.); between Lanark (S.) and Perth
(N.) it forms the borderland between the Lowlands and the Highlands; Loch
Lomond skirts the western border, and on the northern Loch Katrine,
stretching into Perthshire; Ben Lomond and lesser heights rise in the
NW.; main streams are the Avon, Carron, Bannock, &c.; between Alloa and
Stirling stretches the fertile and well-cultivated plain, "The Carse of
Stirling"; in the W. lies a portion of the great western coal-field, from
which coal and iron-stone are largely extracted; principal towns are
STIRLING (q. v.), Falkirk, and Kilsyth; interesting remains of
Antoninus' Wall, from Forth to Clyde, still exist; within its borders
were fought the battles of Bannockburn, Sauchieburn, Stirling Bridge,
Falkirk, &c.
STIRRUP CUP, a "parting cup" given by the Highlanders to guests when
they are leaving and have their feet in the stirrups.
STOBSÆUS, JOANNES, a native of Stobi, in Macedonia; flourished at
the end of the 5th and beginning of the 6th century; celebrated as the
compiler (about 500 A.D.) of a Greek Anthology, through which many
valuable extracts are preserved to us from works which have since his day
been lost.
STOCK EXCHANGE, a mart for the buying and selling of Government
stocks, company shares, and various securities, carried on usually by the
members of an associated body of brokers having certain rules and
regulations. Such associations exist now in most of the important cities
of the United Kingdom and commercial world generally (on the Continent
are known as _Bourses_). The London Stock Exchange, transacting business
in handsome buildings in Capel Court, facing the Bank of England, was
established in 1801, stock-exchange transactions previous to then being
carried on in a loose, ill-regulated fashion by private parties chiefly
in and around Change Alley, the scene of the memorable SOUTH SEA
BUBBLE (q. v.) speculation. The great development in stock-exchange
business in recent times is due chiefly to the sale of foreign and
colonial bonds, and the remarkable growth and spread of joint-stock
companies since the Joint-Stock Company Act of 1862.
STOCKHOLM (246), capital of Sweden; occupies a charming site on the
channel leading out of Lake Mälar into a bay of the Baltic; stands partly
on the mainland and partly on nine islands, communication between which
is facilitated by handsome bridges and a busy service of boats; its
wooded and rocky islands, crowned with handsome buildings, its winding
waterways, peninsulas, crowded wharves, and outlook over the isleted
lake, combine to make it one of the most picturesque cities of Europe;
Town Island, the nucleus of the city, is occupied by the royal palace,
House of Nobles, principal wharf, &c., while on Knights' Island stand the
Houses of Parliament, law-courts, and other public buildings; Norrmalm,
with the Academy of Science, National Museum, Academy of Fine Arts, Hop
Garden, &c., is the finest quarter of the city; manufactures embrace
sugar, tobacco, silks, linen, cotton, &c., besides which there are
flourishing iron-works and a busy export trade in iron and steel, oats,
and tar, despite the hindrance caused by the ice during three or four
months in winter; founded in 1255 by Birger Jarl.
STOCKMAR, BARON DE, statesman, born at Coburg; bred to medicine,
became physician to Leopold I. of Belgium, and at length his adviser; was
adviser also of Queen Victoria before her accession; accompanied Prince
Albert to Italy before his marriage, and joined him thereafter in England
as the trusted friend of both the queen and him; he had two political
ideals--a united Germany under Prussia, and unity of purpose between
Germany and England (1757-1863).
STOCKPORT (70), a cotton town of East Cheshire; occupies a site on
the slopes of a narrow gorge overlooking the confluence of the Thame and
Goyt (forming the Mersey), 37 m. E. of Liverpool; a handsome viaduct
spans the river; has an old grammar-school, free library, technical
school, &c.; during the present century has grown to be a busy centre of
cotton manufactures, and has besides flourishing iron and brass
foundries, machine-shops, breweries, &c.
STOCKTON-ON-TEES (69), a prosperous manufacturing town and port of
Durham, on the Tees, 4 m. from its mouth; an iron bridge spanning the
river connects it with Thornaby-on-Tees; has the usual public buildings;
steel and iron shipbuilding building, potteries, foundries, machine-shops
are flourishing industries; iron and earthenware are the chief exports,
and with imports of corn and timber give rise to a busy and increasing
shipping, facilitated by the excellent river-way.
STOICS, the disciples of Zeno; derived their name from the _stoa_ or
portico in Athens where their master taught and founded the school in 340
B.C. The doctrines of the school were completely antagonistic to those
of Epicurus, and among the disciples of it are to be reckoned some of the
noblest spirits of the heathen world immediately before and after the
advent of Christ. These appear to have been attracted to it by the
character of its moral teachings, which were of a high order indeed. The
principle of morality was defined to be conformity to reason, and the
duty of man to lie in the subdual of all passion and a composed
submission to the will of the gods. It came short of Christian morality,
as indeed all Greek philosophy did, in not recognising the Divine
significance and power of humility, and especially in its failure to see,
still more to conform to, the great doctrine of Christ which makes the
salvation of a man to depend on the interest he takes in, as well as in
the fact of the salvation of, other men. The Stoic was a proud man, and
not a humble, and was content if he could only have his own soul for a
prey. He did not see--and no heathen ever did--that the salvation of one
man is impossible except in the salvation of other men, and that no man
can save another unless he descend into that other's case and stand, as
it were, in that other's stead. It is the glory of Christ that He was the
first to feel Himself, and to reveal to others, the eternal validity and
divinity of this truth. The Stoic morality is selfish; the morality of
Christ is brotherly.
STOKE-UPON-TRENT (24), chief seat of the "Potteries," in
Staffordshire, on the Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal, 15 m. SE. of
Crewe; is of modern growth, with free library, infirmary, public baths,
statue to Wedgwood, &c., and is busily engaged in the manufacture of all
sorts of porcelain ware, earthenware, encaustic tiles, &c., besides which
there are flourishing iron-works, machine-shops, coal-mines, &c.
STOKES, SIR GEORGE GABRIEL, mathematician and physicist, born in
Skreen, co. Sligo; he is great in the department of mathematical physics,
and has been specially devoted to the study of hydro-dynamics and the
theory of light; has opened new fields of investigation, and supplied
future experimenters with valuable hints; he was one of the foremost
physicists of the day; _b_. 1819.
STOLBERG, CHRISTIAN, COUNT, German poet of the Göttingen school, to
which Bürger and Voss belonged, born in Hamburg; was with his brother a
friend of Goethe's, and held a civil appointment in Holstein (1748-1821).
STOLBERG, FRIEDRICH LEOPOLD, COUNT OF, German poet, born in
Holstein, brother of preceding; held State appointments in Denmark;
joined the Romish Church, and showed a religious and ascetic temper
(1750-1819).
STOLE, a long scarf worn by bishops and priests in the
administration of the sacraments of the Church, and sometimes when
preaching, as well as in symbol of authority.
STONE AGE, the name given to that period in the history of
civilisation when the weapons of war and the chase and the implements of
industry were made of stone, prior to employment for these purposes of
bronze, characteristic of the age succeeding.
STONE CIRCLES, circles of STANDING STONES (q. v.) found in
various parts of Great Britain, North Europe generally, and also, but of
more recent origin, in North India; were certainly, in the most of cases,
set up to mark the circular boundary of a place of burial; erroneously
ascribed to the Druids; from the character of numerous cinerary urns
exhumed, seem to have belonged to the bronze age in Great Britain; most
interesting are those of Stennis, in Orkney, with a circumference of 340
ft., Avebury, in Wiltshire, and STONEHENGE (q. v.).
STONEHAVEN (4), fishing port and county town of Kincardineshire,
situated at the entrance of Carron Water (dividing the town) into South
Bay, 16 m. SSW. of Aberdeen; has a small harbour, and is chiefly engaged
in herring and haddock fishing.
STONEHENGE, the greatest and best preserved of the STONE
CIRCLES (q. v.) of Britain, situated in Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire,
7 m. N. of Salisbury; "consists of two concentric circles, enclosing two
ellipses"; the diameter of the space enclosed is 100 ft.; the stones are
from 13 ft. to 28 ft. high; is generally regarded as an exceptional
development of the ordinary stone circle, but the special purpose of its
unusual construction is still a matter of uncertainty.
STONYHURST, a celebrated Roman Catholic college in East Lancashire,
10 m. N. of Blackburn; established in 1794 by certain Jesuit fathers who,
after the suppression of their seminary at St. Omer, in France, by the
Bourbons, took up their residence at Bruges and then at Liège, but fled
thence to England during the Revolution, and accepted the shelter offered
them at Stonyhurst by Mr. Weld of Lulworth; there are about 300 students,
and upwards of 30 masters; a preparatory school has been established at
Hodder, a mile distant; in 1840 was affiliated to the University of
London, for the degrees of which its students are chiefly trained;
retains in its various institutions many marks of its French origin.
STOOL OF REPENTANCE, in Scotland in former times an elevated seat in
a church on which for offences against morality people did penance and
suffered rebuke.
STORM, THEODORE WOLDSEN, German poet and exquisite story-teller,
born in Sleswig; was a magistrate and judge in Sleswig-Holstein
(1817-1888).
STORM-AND-STRESS PERIOD, name given in the history of German
literature to a period at the close of the 18th century, when the nation
began to assert its freedom from artificial literary restraint, a period
to which Goethe's "Goetz von Berlichingen" and Schiller's "Robbers"
belong, and the spirit of which characterises it; the representatives of
the period were called Kraftmänner (Power-men), who "with extreme
animation railed against Fate in general, because it enthralled free
virtue, and with clenched hands or sounding shields hurled defiance
towards the vault of heaven."
STORMS, CAPE OF, name originally given in 1486 to the Cape of Good
Hope by the Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Dias.
STORNOWAY, a fishing-port, the capital of Lewis, and the chief town
in the Outer Hebrides, with Stornoway Castle adjoining.
STORTHING (i. e. great court), the national Parliament of Norway,
composed of two chambers, the Lagthing or Upper Chamber, and the
Odelsthing or Lower.
STORY, JOSEPH, American jurist and judge, born in Massachusetts
(1779-1845).
STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE, poet and sculptor, son of preceding; _b_.
1819.
STOTHARD, THOMAS, artistic designer and book illustrator, as well as
painter, born in London, son of an innkeeper; illustrated, among other
works, "Pilgrim's Progress," and along with Turner, Rogers' "Italy"
(1755-1834).
STOURBRIDGE, manufacturing town in Worcestershire; its staple
manufactures are glass and pottery.
STOW, JOHN, English antiquary, born in London; bred a tailor; took
to antiquarian pursuits, which he prosecuted with the zeal of a devotee
that spared no sacrifice; wrote several works on antiquities, the chief
and most valuable being his "Survey of London and Westminster"; he ended
his days in poverty (1525-1605).
STOWELL, WILLIAM SCOTT, eminent English judge, born at Heworth,
brother of Lord Eldon; famed for his judicial decisions (1745-1836).
STRABO, ancient geographer, born at Amasia, in Pontus; flourished in
the reign of Augustus, and the early part of that of Tiberius; was a
learned man, lived some years in Rome, and travelled much in various
countries; wrote a history of 43 books, all lost, and a work on
geography, in 17 books, which has come down to us entire all to the 7th;
the work is in general not descriptive; it comprehends principally
important political events in connection with the countries visited, with
a notice of their illustrious men, or whatever seemed to him
characteristic in them or was of interest to himself; born about 63 B.C.
STRADDHA, the funeral rites and funeral offerings for the dead among
the Hindus.
STRAFFORD, THOMAS WENTWORTH, EARL OF, English statesman, born in
London, of an old Yorkshire family; studied at Cambridge; after some
months' travel on the Continent entered Parliament in 1614, but took no
active part in affairs till 1621; he took sides at first with the party
for freedom, but in 1622 felt compelled to side with the king, to his
elevation of greater and greater influence as his counsellor; his policy,
named "Thorough," was to establish a strong Government with the king at
the head, and to put down with a strong hand all opposition to the royal
authority; appointed Lord-Deputy in Ireland in 1633, he did all he could
to increase the royal resources, and was at length, in 1640, exalted to
the Lord-Lieutenancy, being at the same time created Earl of Strafford;
he had risen by this time to be the chief adviser of the king, and was
held responsible for his arbitrary policy; after the meeting of the Long
Parliament he was impeached for high treason; the impeachment seemed
likely to fail, when a Bill of Attainder was produced; to this the king
refused his assent, but he had to yield to the excitement his refusal
produced, and as the result Strafford was beheaded on Tower Hill
(1593-1641).
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS (507, of which 150 are Chinese), British colony
in the East Indies, embracing the British possessions in the Malay
Peninsula (on the Strait of Malacca), Singapore, Malacca, Penang, and the
Keeling Islands and Christmas Island; were under the jurisdiction of the
Governor-General of India till 1867, in which year they passed under the
control of the Colonial Office at home.
STRALSUND (28), a fortified seaport of North Prussia, on Strela
Sound, opposite the island of Rügen, in the Baltic, and 66 m. NW. of
Stettin, forms of itself an islet, and is connected with the mainland
(Pomerania) by bridges; is a quaint old town, dating back to the 13th
century; figures often in the wars of Prussia, and is now a place of
considerable commercial importance.
STRANGFORD, PERCY C. S. SMYTHE, VISCOUNT, diplomatist; graduated at
Trinity College, Dublin, in 1800; entered the diplomatic service, and in
the following year succeeded to the title; was ambassador to Portugal,
Sweden, Turkey, and Russia; translated the "Rimas" of Camoëns, and was
raised to the peerage (1825) as Baron Penshurst (1780-1855).
STRANGFORD, PERCY E. F. W. SMYTHE, son of preceding, diplomatist and
noted philologist, born at St. Petersburg; passed through Harrow and
Oxford; entered the diplomatic service; became attaché at Constantinople,
and during the Crimean War served as Oriental Secretary, acquiring the
while a profound grip of the Eastern Question, and an unrivalled
knowledge of European and Asiatic languages--Turkish, Persian, Arabic,
Slavonic, Afghan, Basque, &c.; succeeded to the title in 1855, and
henceforth resided chiefly in London; was President of the Asiatic
Society, and was considered by Freeman "our greatest English
philologist"; author of various articles on political, geographical, and
philological subjects (1825-1869).
STRANRAER (6), a royal burgh and seaport of Wigtownshire, finely
situated at the southern extremity of Loch Ryan, 73 m. W. of Dumfries;
has an interesting 16th-century castle, and a handsome town-hall and
court-house; there is some shipping in agricultural produce, and steamers
ply daily between Stranraer and Larne, in Ireland.
STRAPAROLA, GIOVANNI FRANCESCO, author of a famous collection of
stories after the style of Boccaccio's "Decameron," partly borrowed and
partly genuine folk-stories, which ranks as an Italian classic, and has
been translated into various European languages; flourished in the 16th
century.
STRAP, HUGH, a simple-hearted friend and adherent of Roderick Random
in Smollett's novel of that name.
STRAPPADO, an obsolete military punishment by drawing a culprit to
the top of a beam and then letting him drop the length of the rope.
STRASBURG (124), capital, since 1871, of Alsace-Lorraine, on the
Ill, a few miles above its confluence with the Rhine, 89 m. N. of Basel;
a place of great strategical importance, and a fortress of the first
class; is a city of Roman origin, and contains a magnificent Gothic
cathedral (11th century) with a famous astronomical clock, an imperial
palace, university, &c.; manufactures embrace beer, leather, cutlery,
jewellery, &c.; there is also a busy transit trade; a free town of the
German empire in the 13th century; fell into the hands of the French in
1681, and was captured by the Germans, after a seven weeks' siege, on
28th September 1870, after which it became finally German, as it was
originally, by the peace of Frankfort, May 1871.
STRATFORD (40), manufacturing town in Essex, on the Lee, 4 m. NE. of
London.
STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE, SIR STAFFORD CANNING, FIRST VISCOUNT, a
distinguished ambassador, born in London, son of a well-connected
merchant, and cousin to Canning the statesman; passed from Cambridge to
the Foreign Office in 1807 as a précis-writer to his cousin; in three
years had risen to the post of minister-plenipotentiary at
Constantinople, where he speedily gave evidence of his remarkable powers
as a diplomatist by arranging unaided the treaty of Bucharest (1814)
between Russia and Turkey, and so setting free the Russian army to fall
upon Napoleon, then retreating from Moscow; as minister to Switzerland
aided the Republic in drawing up its constitution, and in the same year
(1815) acted as commissioner at the Congress of Vienna; was subsequently
employed in the United States and various European capitals, but his
unrivalled knowledge of the Turkish question brought him again, in 1842,
to Constantinople as ambassador, where his remarkable power and influence
over the Turks won him the title of "Great Elchi"; exerted in vain his
diplomatic skill to prevent the rupture between Turkey and Russia, which
precipitated the Crimean War; resigned his embassy in 1858; was raised to
the peerage in 1852; sat in Parliament for several years previous to
1842, but failed to make his mark as a debater; ranks among the great
ambassadors of England (1786-1880).
STRATFORD-ON-AVON (8), a pleasant old market-town of Warwickshire,
on the right bank of the Avon, 8 m. SW. of Warwick and 110 m. NW. of
London; forever famous as the birth and burial place of Shakespeare, with
whom all that is of chief interest in the town is associated, the house
he was born in, his old school, Anne Hathaway's cottage on the
outskirts, the fine Early English church (14th century), where he lies
buried, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, museum, &c.; is Visited
annually by some 20,000 pilgrims; a thriving agricultural centre.
STRATHCLYDE or NORTHERN CUMBRIA, an ancient kingdom of the
Britons, which originated in the 8th century, and comprised the W. side
of Scotland between the Solway and the Clyde; Alclyde or Dumbarton was
the capital; was permanently annexed to Scotland in 1124 under David I.
STRATHFIELDSAYE, an estate in Hampshire with a fine Queen Anne
mansion, 7 m. NE. of Basingstoke, purchased by Parliament for £263,000,
and presented to the Duke of Wellington in 1817.
STRATHMORE ("Great Valley"), the great plain of Scotland stretching
for 100 m. (5 to 10 m. broad), in a north-easterly direction from
Dumbartonshire to Stonehaven, in Kincardineshire, between the great
mountain barrier of the Highlands, the Grampians, and the Southern
Lennox, Ochil, and Sidlaw Hills; in a more restricted sense denotes the
plain between Perth and Brechin.
STRATHPEFFER, a watering-place in Ross and Cromarty, 5 m. W. of
Dingwall, a great health-resort, and much frequented on account of its
mineral waters and bracing air and other attractions.
STRAUSS, DAVID FRIEDRICH, German theological and biblical critic,
born at Ludwigsburg, in Würtemberg; studied in the Theological Institute
of Tübingen under Baur, was ordained in 1830, and went in 1834 to Berlin
to attend the lectures of Hegel and Schleiermacher, and returning to
Tübingen gave lectures on Hegel in 1832, he the while maturing his famous
theory which, published in 1835, made his name known over the whole
theological world; this was his "Leben Jesu," the first volume of which
appeared that year, in which he maintained that, while the life of Christ
had a historical basis, all the supernatural element in it and the
accounts of it were simply and purely mythical, and the fruit of the idea
of His person as Divine which at the foundation of the Christian religion
took possession of the mind of the Church; the book proved epoch-making,
and the influence of it, whether as accepted or as rejected, affected, as
it still does, the whole theology of the Church; the effect of it was a
shock to the whole Christian world, for it seemed as if with the denial
of the supernatural the whole Christian system fell to pieces; and its
author found the entire Christian world opposed to him, and he was cast
out of the service of the Church; this, however, did not daunt his
ardour, for he never abandoned the ground he had taken up; his last work
was entitled "Der Alte und der Neue Glaube," in which he openly
repudiates the Christian religion, and assigns the sovereign authority in
spiritual matters to science and its handmaid art. In a spiritual
reference the whole contention of Strauss against Christianity is a
tissue of irrelevancies, for the spirit of it, which is its life and
essence, is true whatever conclusion critics in their seraphic wisdom may
come to regarding the facts (1808-1874).
STRAUSS, JOHANN, musical composer, born at Vienna; was a musical
conductor and composer, chiefly of waltz music.
STREATHAM (48), a Surrey suburb of London, 6½ m. SW. of St. Paul's.
STREET, GEORGE EDMUND, architect, born in Essex; was the architect
of the New Law Courts in London; had been trained under Gilbert Scott
(1824-1881).
STRELITZES, the name given to the life-guards of the czar, which at
one time numbered 40,000; became so unruly and dangerous to the State
that they were dissolved by Peter the Great, and dispersed in 1705.
STRETTON, HESBA, the _nom de plume_ of Sarah Smith, daughter of a
Shropshire bookseller, whose semi-religious stories, chiefly for the
young, have won wide acceptance in English homes since the publication of
"Jessica's First Prayer" in 1867; was a regular contributor to _Household
Words_ and _All the Year Round_ during Dickens's editorship; has written
upwards of 40 volumes.
STRICKLAND, AGNES, biographer of the queens of England, born at
Roydon Hall, near Southwold, Suffolk; had already published poems and
some minor works before she conceived the plan of writing a series of
biographies of the queens of England; these appeared in 12 vols. during
1840-1848, and such was their popularity that a similar work dealing with
the queens of Scotland was immediately undertaken; was aided in these by
her sister Elizabeth (1794-1875); was the author of various other works,
"Lives of the Seven Bishops," "Bachelor Kings of England," &c.; her
writings are of no value as history, but are full of entertaining details
(1806-1874).
STRINDBERG, AUGUST, the most noted of modern Swedish writers, born
at Stockholm; accumulated stores of valuable experience during various
early employments, which he utilised in his first successful work, "The
Red Room" (1879), a satire on social life in Sweden, "The New Kingdom"
(1882), equally bitter in its attack on social conventions, got him into
trouble, and since then his life has been spent abroad; "Married Life," a
collection of short stories, brought upon him a charge of "outraging
Christianity," but after trial at Stockholm, in which he eloquently
defended himself, he was acquitted; a prolific writer in all kinds of
literature, and imbued with modern scientific and socialistic ideas, his
writings lack the repose necessary to the highest literary achievement;
_b_. 1849.
STROMBOLI, one of the Lipari Islands; has an active volcano, the
cone 3022 ft., which erupts every five minutes what happens to be little
else than steam; it is 12 m. in circuit, and contains about 1000
inhabitants.
STROMKARL, a Norwegian spirit who has 11 different music strains, to
10 of which people may dance, the 11th being his night strain, to the
tune of which every one and everything begins to dance.
STROMNESS, a seaport on the Orkney island of Pomona.
STROUD (10), a busy manufacturing town of Gloucestershire; stands on
rising ground overlooking the confluence of the Frome and Slade, which
unite to form the Frome or Stroud Water, 10 m. SE. of Gloucester;
numerous cloth and dye works are built along the banks of the river; in
the town are several woollen factories.
STRUCK JURY, a jury of men who possess special qualifications to
judge of the facts of a case.
STRUENSEE, Danish statesman, bred to medicine; became minister of
Charles VII., took advantage of his imbecility and directed the affairs
of government, roused the jealousy of the nobles, and he was arrested,
tried on false charges, and was beheaded (1737-1776).
STRUTT, JOSEPH, antiquary, born in Essex; wrote the "Regal and
Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England," followed by other works on the
manners and customs of the English people, that on their "Sports and
Pastimes" the chief (1742-1802).
STRYPE, JOHN, historian and biographer, born in London; was a
voluminous writer, wrote Lives of eminent English Churchmen and upon the
English Reformation (1643-1737).
STUART, ARABELLA, daughter of the Earl of Lennox, and, as descended
from Margaret Tudor, heiress to the English throne in default of James
VI. of Scotland and his family, and towards whom James all along
cherished a jealous feeling, and who was subjected to persecution at his
hands; when she chose to marry contrary to his wish he confined her in
the Tower, where she went mad and died.
STUART DYNASTY, a dynasty of Scotch and finally English kings as
well, commenced with Robert II., who was the son of Marjory, Robert the
Bruce's daughter, who married Walter, the Lord High Steward of Scotland,
hence the name, his successors being Robert III., James I., James II.,
James III., James IV., and James V., Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI.
in Scotland, and ended with James II. of England, who was expelled from
the throne for an obstinacy of temper which characterised all the members
of his house, "an unfortunate dynasty," too, being appointed at length to
rule at a time and over a people that thought kings were born for the
country and not the country for kings, a dictum which they stubbornly
refused to concede, thinking that the nation existed for them instead of
them for the nation. The line became extinct by the death of Cardinal
York in 1807, who survived his brother Charles Edward 19 years.
STUART, GILBERT CHARLES, American portrait-painter, born at
Narragansett, Rhode Island; was taken up by a Scotch painter named
Alexander, whom he accompanied to Edinburgh, but was set adrift by the
death of his patron, and for some years led a wandering life in America
and London till his great gift of portrait-painting was recognised; in
1792 returned to America, and there painted portraits of Washington,
Jefferson, and other noted Americans (1756-1828).
STUART, JOHN, Scottish antiquary; author of "The Sculptured Stones
of Scotland," "The Book of Deer," and frequent contributor to the
_Proceedings of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries_; held a post in the
Register House for 24 years (1813-1877).
STUBBS, C. W., English clergyman, born in Liverpool; has held
several incumbencies; is rector at Wavertree, near Liverpool, and takes a
great interest in the working-classes and in social subjects; is liberal
both in his political and in his theological opinions; has written on
questions of the day in a Christian reference; _b_. 1845.
STUBBS, WILLIAM, historian, born at Knaresborough; studied at
Oxford; became a Fellow of Trinity and of Oriel, professor of Modern
History at Oxford, and finally bishop; was author of "Constitutional
History of England," an epoch-making book in three volumes, and editor of
a collection of mediæval Chronicles, with valuable prefaces accompanying;
his writings are distinguished by their learning and accuracy; _b_. 1825.
STUHLWEISSENBURG (25), an old historic Hungarian town, 42 m. SW. of
Pesth; was for long the residence of the Hungarian kings, in the
cathedral of which they were crowned and buried.
STUKELEY, WILLIAM, antiquary, born at Holbeach, Lincolnshire;
graduated in medicine at Cambridge, and practised in London and elsewhere
till 1729, when he took holy orders, and, after holding livings at
Stamford and Somerby, was presented in 1747 to the rectory of St George
the Martyr in London; maintained a lifelong interest in antiquarian
research, and published many volumes on British and Roman antiquities, in
which he displays unflagging industry and an exuberant fancifulness; "I
have used his materials," says Gibbon, "and rejected most of his fanciful
conjectures"; his credulous works on the supposed Druidical remains at
Stonehenge and elsewhere gained him the title of the "Arch-Druid"
(1687-1765).
STUMP ORATOR, one who is ready to take up any question of the day,
usually a political one, and harangue upon it from any platform offhand;
the class, the whole merely a talking one, form the subject, in a pretty
wide reference, of one of Carlyle's scathing "Latter-Day Pamphlets."
STURM, JOHANN, educational reformer, born In Luxemburg; settled in
Paris; established a school there for dialectics and rhetoric for a time,
but left it on account of his Protestantism for Strasburg at the
invitation of the civic authorities, and became rector of the gymnasium
there, which under him acquired such repute that the Emperor Maximilian
constituted it a university with him at the head; his adoption of the
theological views of Zwingli in opposition to those of Luther made him
many enemies, and he was dismissed from office, but was allowed a
pension; he was a great student of Cicero; he wrote many works in Latin
in a style so pure and elegant that he was named the German Cicero
(1507-1589).
STURM-UND-DRANG. See STORM-AND-STRESS.
STURT, CHARLES, a noted Australian explorer, and a captain in the
army; during 1828-45 was the determined leader of three important
exploratory expeditions into Central Australia, the results of which he
embodied in two works; became colonial secretary of South Australia, but
failing health and eyesight led to his retirement, and he was pensioned
by the first Parliament of South Australia; he returned to England
totally blind (1795-1869).
STUTTGART (140), capital of Würtemberg, stands amid beautiful
vine-clad hills in a district called the "Swabian Paradise," on an
affluent of the Neckar, 127 m. SE. of Frankfort; is a handsome city with
several royal palaces, a 16th-century castle, interesting old churches, a
royal library (450,000 vols.), a splendid royal park, conservatory of
music, picture gallery, and various educational establishments; ranks
next to Leipzig as a book mart, and has flourishing manufactures of
textiles, beer, pianofortes, chemicals, &c.
STYLITES. See PILLAR-SAINTS.
STYMPHALIAN BIRDS, fabulous birds with brazen claws, wings, and
beaks, that used their feathers as arrows, ate human flesh, and infested
Arcadia; Hercules startled them with a rattle, and with his arrows either
shot them or drove them off.
STYRIA (1,281), a central duchy of Austria, stretching in a
semicircle from Upper Austria and Salzburg on the NW. to Croatia and
Slavonia on the SE., and flanked by Hungary on the E.; a mountainous
region crossed by various eastern ranges of the Alpine system, and
drained by the Drave, Save, Inn, and other rivers; more than half lies
under forest; agriculture flourishes, but mineral products, iron, salt,
coal, &c., constitute the chief wealth. The principal manufactures are
connected therewith; was joined to the Austrian crown in 1192.
STYX, name (from the Greek verb signifying "to abhor") of the
principal river of the nether world, which it flows sluggishly round
seven times; is properly the river of death, which all must cross to
enter the unseen world, and of which, in the Greek mythology, Charon was
the ferryman. In their solemn engagements it was by this river the gods
took oath to signify that they would forego their godhood if they swore
falsely. The Styx was a branch of the Great Ocean which girds the
universe. See OCEANUS.
SUAKIN or SAWAKIN (11), a seaport under Egyptian control, and
since the Mahdi's revolt garrisoned by the English, on the Nubian coast
of the Red Sea; stands on a rocky islet, and is connected with El Keff on
the mainland by a causeway; is the starting-point of caravans to Berber
and Khartoum, and as such has a large transit trade, exporting silver
ornaments, ivory, gums, hides, gold, &c.; here African pilgrims to Mecca
embark to the number of 6000 or 7000 annually.
SUAREZ, FRANCISCO, scholastic philosopher, born at Grenada; after
joining the Jesuit body became professor of Theology at Coimbra,
attempted to reconcile realism with nominalism, and adopted in theology a
system called "Congruism," being a modification of Molinism; wrote a
"Defence of the Catholic Faith against the Errors of the Anglican Sect"
at the instance of the Pope against the claims of James I. in his oath of
allegiance (1548-1617).
SUBAHDAR, a title given to governors of provinces in the times of
the Mogul dynasty, now bestowed upon native officers in the Indian army
holding rank equivalent to an English captaincy.
SUBIACO (7), an ancient and interesting town of Central Italy;
occupies a pleasant site amid encircling hills on the Teverone, 32 m. E.
by N. of Rome; has a quaint, mediæval appearance, and is overlooked by an
old castle, a former residence of the Popes; there are two Benedictine
monasteries dating from the 6th century, and in a grotto near St.
Benedictine lived, in his youth, a hermit life for three years.
SUBJECTIVE, THE, that, in contrast to objective, which rests on the
sole authority of consciousness, and has no higher warrant.
SUBJECTIVISM, the doctrine of the pure relativity of knowledge, or
that it is purely subjective.
SUBLAPSARIANISM, same as INFRALAPSARIANISM (q. v.).
SUBLIMATION, the vaporisation of a solid body and its resumption
thereafter of the solid form.
SUBLIME PORTE, a name given to the Ottoman Government, so called
from a lofty gateway leading into the residence of the Vizier.
SUBSTITUTION, in theology the doctrine that Christ in His obedience
and death stood in the place of the sinner, so that His merits on their
faith in Him are imputed to them.
SUBTLE DOCTOR, name given to DUNS SCOTUS (q. v.) for his
hairsplitting acuteness and extreme subtlety of distinction.
SUCCESSION WARS, the general title of several European wars which
arose in the 18th century consequent on a failure of issue in certain
royal lines, most important of which are (1) WAR OF THE SPANISH
SUCCESSION (1701-1713). The death (1700) of Charles II. of Spain
without direct issue caused Louis XIV. of France and the Emperor Leopold
I. (the former married to the elder sister of Charles, the latter to the
younger sister, and both grandsons of Philip III. of Spain) to put forth
claims to the crown, the one on behalf of his grandson, Philip of Anjou,
the other for his second son, the Archduke Charles. War broke out on the
entry of Philip into Madrid and his assumption of the crown, England and
the United Netherlands uniting with the emperor to curb the ambition of
Louis. During the long struggle the transcendent military genius of
Marlborough asserted itself in the great victories of Blenheim,
Ramillies, and Oudenarde, but the lukewarmness of England in the
struggle, the political fall of Marlborough, and the Tory vote for peace
prevented the allies reaping the full benefit of their successes. The
Treaty of Utrecht (1713) left Philip in possession of his Spanish
kingdom, but the condition was exacted that the crowns of Spain and
France should not be united. The emperor (the Archduke Charles since
1711) attempted to carry on the struggle, but was forced to sign the
Treaty of Rastadt (1714), acknowledging Philip king of Spain. Spain,
however, ceded her Netherlands Sardinia, &c., to the emperor, while
Gibraltar, Minorca, and parts of North America fell to England. (2) WAR
OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION (1740-1748) followed on the death (1740)
of the Emperor Charles VI. without male issue. His daughter, Maria
Theresa, entered into possession of Bohemia, Hungary, and the Archduchy
of Austria, but was immediately attacked by the Elector Charles Albert of
Bavaria and Augustus of Saxony and Poland, both rival claimants for the
imperial crown, while Frederick II. of Prussia seized the opportunity of
Maria's embarrassment to annex Silesia. France, Spain, and England were
drawn into the struggle, the last in support of Maria. Success oscillated
from side to side, but the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which brought the
war to a close, left Maria pretty well in possession of her inheritance
save the loss of Silesia to Frederick.
SUCHET, LOUIS GABRIEL, DUC D'ALBUFERA, marshal of France, born in
Lyons; distinguished himself in Italy, Egypt, Austria, and Prussia, and
became general in command in Aragon, by his success in ruling which last
he gained the marshal's baton and a dukedom; he rejoined Napoleon during
the Hundred Days; after Waterloo he lost his peerage, but recovered it in
1819 (1770-1826).
SUCKLING, SIR JOHN, poet, born, of good parentage, at Whitton,
Middlesex; quitted Cambridge in 1628 to travel on the Continent, and for
a time served in the army of Gustavus Adolphus in Germany; returning to
England about 1632 he became a favourite at Court, where he was noted for
his wit, prodigality, and verses; supported Charles in the Bishops' Wars
against the Scots; sat in the Long Parliament; was involved in a plot to
rescue Strafford, and to bring foreign troops to the aid of the king, but
discovered, had to flee the country; died, probably by his own hand, in
Paris; wrote several forgotten plays, a prose treatise on "Religion by
Reason," and miscellaneous poems, amongst which are his charming songs
and ballads, his title to fame (1609-1642).
SUDARIUM, the handkerchief given by ST. VERONICA (q. v.) to
Christ as He was passing to crucifixion, and on which His face was
miraculously impressed as He wiped the sweat off it.
SUDBURY (7), a borough of Suffolk, on the Stour, where it crosses
the Essex border, 58 m. NE. of London; has three old churches
(Perpendicular style), a grammar-school founded in the 15th century, a
corn-exchange, &c.; manufactures embrace cocoa-nut matting, silk, &c.
SUDETIC MOUNTAINS stretch in irregular broken masses and subsidiary
chains for 120 m. across South-East Germany, separating Bohemia and
Moravia from Saxony and Prussian Silesia, and forming a link between the
Carpathians and mountains of Franconia; highest and central position is
known as the RIESENGEBIRGE (q. v.); Schneekoppe is the culminating point
of the range.
SUDRAS, the fourth and lowest of the HINDU CASTES (q. v.);
are by some alleged to be of the aboriginal race of India who to retain
their freedom adopted Brahmanism.
SUE, MARIE-JOSEPH-EUGÈNE, a writer of sensational novels, born at
Paris; was for some years an army surgeon, and served in the Spanish
campaign of 1823; his father's death (1829) bringing him a handsome
fortune, he retired from the army to devote himself to literature; his
reputation as a writer rests mainly on his well-known works "The
Mysteries of Paris" (1842) and "The Wandering Jew" (1845), which,
displaying little skill on the artistic side, yet rivet their readers'
attention by a wealth of exciting incident and plot; was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies in 1850, but the _coup d'état_ of 1852 drove him an
exile to Annecy, in Savoy, where he died (1804-1859).
SUETONIUS, TRANQUILLUS, Roman historian; practised as an advocate in
Rome in the reign of Trajan; was a friend of the Younger Pliny, became
private secretary to Hadrian, but was deprived of this post through an
indiscretion; wrote several works, and of those extant the chief is the
"Lives of the Twelve Cæsars," beginning with Julius Cæsar and ending with
Domitian, a work which relates a great number of anecdotes illustrating
the characters of the emperors; _b_. A.D. 70.
SUEZ (13), a town of Egypt, stands at the edge of the desert at the
head of a gulf of the same name and at the S. end of the Suez Canal, 75
m. E. of Cairo, with which it is connected by railway; as a trading
place, dating back to the times of the Ptolemies, has had a fluctuating
prosperity, but since the completion of the canal is growing steadily in
importance; is still for the most part an ill-built and ill-kept town;
has a large English hospital and ship-stores.
SUEZ CANAL, a great artificial channel cutting the isthmus of Suez,
and thus forming a waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea;
was planned and undertaken by the French engineer Lesseps, through whose
untiring efforts a company was formed and the necessary capital raised;
occupied 10 years in the construction (1859-69), and cost some 20 million
pounds; from Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez at the head of the
Red Sea the length is about 100 m., a portion of which lies through Lakes
Menzaleh, Ballah, Timsah, and the Bitter Lakes; as widened and deepened
in 1886 it has a minimum depth of 28 ft., and varies from 150 to 300 ft.
in width; traffic is facilitated by electric light during the night, and
the passage occupies little more than 24 hours; has been neutralised and
exempted from blockade, vessels of all nations in peace or war being free
to pass through; now the highway to India and the East, shortening the
voyage to India by 7600 m.; three-fourths of the ships passing through
are English; an annual toll is drawn of close on three million pounds,
the net profit of which falls to be divided amongst the shareholders, of
whom since 1875 the British Government has been one of the largest.
SUFFOLK (371), eastmost county of England, fronts the North Sea
between Norfolk (N.) and Essex (S.); is a pleasant undulating county with
pretty woods and eastward-flowing streams (Waveney, Aide, Orwell, Stour,
&c.); long tracts of heathland skirt the coast; agriculture is still the
staple industry, wheat the principal crop; is famed for its antiquities,
architecture, historic associations, and long list of worthies. Ipswich
is the county town.
SUFFREN, BAILLI DE, a celebrated French admiral, who entered the
navy a boy of 14 during the wars with England, and rose to be one of his
country's greatest naval heroes, especially distinguishing himself as
commander of a squadron in the West Indies, proving himself a master of
naval tactics in more or less successful engagements with the English; is
regarded by Professor Laughton as "the most illustrious officer that has
ever held command in the French navy"; sprang from good Provence stock
(1729-1788).
SUFISM, the doctrine of the Sufis, a sect of Mohammedan mystics;
imported into Mohammedanism the idea that the soul is the subject of
ecstasies of Divine inspiration in virtue of its direct emanation from
the Deity, and this in the teeth of the fundamental article of the
Mohammedan creed, which exalts God as a being passing all comprehension
and ruling it by a law which is equally mysterious, which we have only to
obey; this doctrine is associated with the idea that the body is the
soul's prison, and death the return of it to its original home, a
doctrine of the dervish fraternity, of which the Madhi is high-priest.
SUGER, ABBÉ, abbot of St. Denis, minister of Louis VI. and Louis
VII.; reformed the discipline in his abbey, emancipated the serfs
connected with it, maintained the authority of the king against the great
vassals; he was regent of the kingdom during the second Crusade, and
earned the title of Father of his Country; he wrote a Life of Louis VI.
(1082-1152).
SUIDAS, name of a grammarian and lexicographer of the 10th or 11th
century; his "Lexicon" is a kind of encyclopædic work, and is valuable
chiefly for the extracts it contains from ancient writers.
SUIR, a river of Ireland which rises in Tipperary and joins the
Barrow after a course of 100 m.
SUKKUR (29), a town on the Indus (here spanned by a fine bridge), 28
m. SE. of Shikarpur; has rail communication with Kurrachee and
Afghanistan, and considerable trade in various textiles, opium,
saltpetre, sugar, &c.; 1 m. distant is Old Sukkur; the island of Bukkur,
in the river-channel and affording support to the bridge, is occupied and
fortified by the British.
SULEIMAN PASHA, a distinguished Turkish general, born in Roumelia;
entered the army in 1854, fought in various wars, became director of the
Military Academy at Constantinople; distinguished himself in the Servian
War of 1876, and was elected governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina; during
the Russian-Turkish War made a gallant attempt to clear the enemy from
the Shipka Pass, but as commander of the Danube army was defeated near
Philippopolis (1878), and subsequently court-martialled and sentenced to
15 years' imprisonment, but was pardoned by the sultan (1838-1883).
SULIMAN or SULEIMAN MOUNTAINS, a bare and rugged range,
stretching N. and S. for upwards of 350 m. from the Kyber Pass almost to
the Arabian Sea, and forming the boundary between Afghanistan and the
Punjab, India.
SULIOTES, a Græco-Albanian race who in the 17th century, to escape
their Turkish oppressors, fled from their old settlement in Epirus to the
mountains of Suli, in South Albania, where they prospered in the
following century in independence; driven out by the Turks in 1803, they
emigrated to the Ionian Islands; came to the aid of Ali Pasha against the
sultan in 1820, but, defeated and scattered, found refuge in Cephalonia,
and later gave valuable assistance to the Greeks in their struggle for
independence. The treaty of 1829 left their district of Suli in the hands
of the Turks, and since then they have dwelt among the Greeks, many of
them holding high government rank.
SULLA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS, a Roman of patrician birth; leader of the
aristocratic party in Rome, and the rival of Marius (q. v.), under whom
he got his first lessons in war; rose to distinction in arms afterwards,
and during his absence the popular party gained the ascendency, and
Marius, who had been banished, was recalled; the blood of his friends had
been shed in torrents, and himself proscribed; on the death of Marius he
returned with his army, glutted his vengeance by the sacrifice of
thousands of the opposite faction, celebrated his victory by a triumph of
unprecedented splendour, and caused himself to be proclaimed Dictator 81
B.C.; he ruled with absolute power two years after, and then resigning
his dictatorship retired into private life; _d_. 76 B.C. at the age of
60.
SULLAN PROSCRIPTIONS, sentences of proscription issued by Sulla
against Roman citizens in 81 B.C. under his dictatorship.
SULLIVAN, SIR ARTHUR SEYMOUR, English composer, born in London; won
the Mendelssohn scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, and by means
of it completed his musical education at Leipzig; in 1862 composed
incidental music for "The Tempest," well received at the Crystal Palace;
since then has been a prolific writer of all kinds of music, ranging from
hymns and oratorios to popular songs and comic operas; his oratorios
include "The Prodigal Son" (1868), "The Light of the World," "The Golden
Legend," &c., but it is as a writer of light and tuneful operas
(librettos by W. S. GILBERT, q. v.) that he is best known; these
began with "Cox and Box" (1866), and include "Trial by Jury," "The
Sorcerer" (1877), "Pinafore," "Patience" (1881), "Mikado" (1885), &c., in
all of which he displays great gifts as a melodist, and wonderful
resource in clever piquant orchestration; received the Legion of Honour
in 1878, and was knighted in 1883; _b_. 1842.
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, a long and narrow island, a favourite sea-bathing
resort, on the N. of the entrance to Charleston Harbour, South Carolina,
U.S.
SULLY, MAXIMILIEN DE BÉTHUNE, DUKE OF, celebrated minister of Henry
IV. of France, born at the Château of Rosny, near Mantes, whence he was
known at first as the Baron de Rosny; at first a ward of Henry IV. of
Navarre, he joined the Huguenot ranks along with him, and distinguished
himself at Coutras and Ivry, and approved of Henry's policy in changing
his colours on his accession to the throne, remaining ever after by his
side as most trusted adviser, directing the finances of the country with
economy, and encouraging the peasantry in the cultivation of the soil;
used to say, "Labourage et pasteurage, voilà les deux mamelles dont La
France est alimentée, les vraies mines et trésors de Pérou," "Tillage and
cattle-tending are the two paps whence France sucks nourishment; these
are the true mines and treasures of Peru;" on the death of the king he
retired from court, and occupied his leisure in writing his celebrated
"Memoirs," which, while they show the author to be a great statesman,
give no very pleasant idea of his character (1560-1611).
SULLY-PRUDHOMME, French poet, born in Paris; published a volume of
poems in 1865 entitled "Stances and Poèmes," which commanded instant
regard, and have been succeeded by others which have deepened the
impression, and entitled him to the highest rank as a poet; they give
evidence of a serious mind occupied with serious problems; was elected to
the Academy in 1881; _b_. 1839.
SULPICIUS SEVERUS, an ecclesiastical historian, born in Aquitaine;
wrote a "Historia Sacra," and a Life of St. Martin (363-406).
SULTAN, the title of a Mohammedan sovereign, Sultana being the
feminine form.
SULU ISLANDS (75), an archipelago of 162 islands in Asiatic waters,
lying to the NE. of Borneo, and extending to the Philippines; belongs to
the Spaniards who, in 1876, subdued the piratical Malay inhabitants; the
trade in pearls and edible nests is mainly carried on by Chinese.
SUMATRA (3,572, including adjacent islands), after Borneo the
largest of the East Indian islands, stretches SE. across the Equator
between the Malay Peninsula (from whose SW. coast it is separated by the
Strait of Malacca) to Java (Strait of Sunda separating them); has an
extreme length of 1115 m., and an area more than three times that of
England; is mountainous, volcanic, covered in central parts by virgin
forest, abounds in rivers and lakes, and possesses an exceptionally rich
flora and peculiar fauna; rainfall is abundant; some gold and coal are
worked, but the chief products are rice, sugar, coffee, tobacco,
petroleum, pepper, &c.; the island is mainly under Dutch control, but
much of the unexplored centre is still in the hands of savage tribes who
have waged continual warfare with their European invaders. Padang (150)
is the official Dutch capital.
SUMBAWA (150), one of the Sunda Islands, lying between Lombok (W.)
and Flores (E.); mountainous and dangerously volcanic; yields rice,
tobacco, cotton, &c.; is divided among four native rulers under Dutch
authority.
SUMNER, CHARLES, American statesman and abolitionist, born in
Boston; graduated at Harvard (1830), and was called to the bar in 1834,
but found a more congenial sphere in writing and lecturing; during
1837-40 pursued his favourite study of jurisprudence in France, Germany,
and England; was brought into public notice by his 4th of July oration
(1845) on "The True Grandeur of Nations," an eloquent condemnation of
war; became an uncompromising opponent of the slave-trade; was one of the
founders of the Free Soil Party, and in 1851 was elected to the National
Senate, a position he held until the close of his life, and where he did
much by his eloquent speeches to prepare the way for emancipation, and
afterwards to win for the blacks the rights of citizenship (1811-1874).
SUMNER, JOHN BIRD, archbishop of Canterbury; rose by a succession of
preferments to the Primacy, an office which he discharged with discretion
and moderation (1780-1862).
SUMPTUARY LAWS, passed in various lands and ages to restrict excess
in dress, food, and luxuries generally; are to be found in the codes of
Solon, Julius Cæsar, and other ancient rulers; Charles VI. of France
restricted dinners to one soup and two other dishes; appear at various
times in English statutes down to the 16th century against the use of
"costly meats," furs, silks, &c., by those unable to afford them; were
issued by the Scottish Parliament against the extravagance of ladies in
the matter of dress to relieve "the puir gentlemen their husbands and
fathers"; were repealed in England in the reign of James I.; at no time
were they carefully observed.
SUMTER, FORT, a fort on a shoal in Charleston harbour, 3½ m. from
the town; occupied by Major Anderson with 80 men and 62 guns in the
interest of the secession of South Carolina from the Union, and the
attack on which by General Beauregard on 12th April 1861 was the
commencement of the Civil War; it held out against attack and bombardment
till the month of July following.
SUN, THE, is a star; is the centre of the solar system, as it is in
consequence called, is a globe consisting of a mass of vapour at white
heat, and of such enormous size that it is 500 times larger than all the
planets of the system put together, or of a bulk one million and a half
times greater than the earth, from which it is ninety-two and a half
million miles distant; the bright surface of it is called the
_photosphere_, and this brightness is diversified with brighter spots
called _faculæ_, and dark ones called _sun-spots_, and by watching which
latter as they move over the sun's disk we find it takes 25 days to
revolve on its axis, and by means of SPECTRUM ANALYSIS (q. v.)
find it is composed of hydrogen and a number of vaporised metals.
SUNDA ISLANDS, a name sometimes applied to the long chain of islands
stretching SE. from the Malay Peninsula to North Australia, including
Sumatra, Timor, &c., but more correctly designates the islands Bali,
Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sandalwood Island, &c., which lie between Java
and Timor, are under Dutch suzerainty, and produce the usual East Indian
products. See various islands named.
SUNDERBUNDS or SUNDARBANS, a great tract of jungle, swamp, and
alluvial plain, forming the lower portion of the Ganges delta; extends
from the Hooghly on the W. to the Meghna on the E., a distance of 165 m.;
rice is cultivated on the upper part by a sparse population; the lower
part forms a dense belt of wild jungle reaching to the sea, and is
infested by numerous tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, pythons, cobras, &c.
SUNDERLAND (142), a flourishing seaport of Durham, situated at the
mouth of the Wear, 12 m. SE. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; embraces some very
old parishes, but as a commercial town has entirely developed within the
present century, and is of quite modern appearance, with the usual public
buildings; owes its prosperity mainly to neighbouring coal-fields, the
product of which it exports in great quantities; has four large docks
covering 50 acres; also famous iron shipbuilding yards, large iron-works,
glass and bottle works, roperies, &c.
SUNDERLAND, CHARLES SPENCER, THIRD EARL, son of succeeding, and son
in law of the Duke of Marlborough; was a Secretary of State in Queen
Anne's reign during 1706-1710, and in the following reign, as leader of
the Whigs, exercised unbounded influence over George I.; narrowly
escaped, chiefly through Walpole's help, being found guilty of accepting
heavy bribes from the South Sea Company; lost office, and was displaying
his father's propensity to underhand scheming by intriguing with the
Tories and the Pretender's party when death cut short his career
(1675-1722).
SUNDERLAND, ROBERT SPENCER, SECOND EARL OF, an English statesman
prominent in the reign of Charles II., James II., and William III.; was
for some years engaged in embassies abroad before being appointed
Secretary of State in 1679; adroit and insinuating, and with great
capacity for business, he soon became a leading minister; attached
himself to the Duchess of Portsmouth, and in the corrupt politics of the
two Stuart kings played his own hand with consummate if unscrupulous
skill, standing high in King James's favour as Prime Minister, although
he had formerly intrigued in favour of Monmouth; supported the Exclusion
Bill, and even then was in secret communication with the Prince of
Orange; after the Revolution rose to high office under William; was
instrumental in bringing the Whigs into power, and during 1695-1697 was
acknowledged head of his Government (1640-1702).
SUNNITES, the orthodox Mohammedans, a name given to them because
they accept the _Sunna_, i. e. traditional teaching of the Prophet, as
of the same authority as the Korân, in the matter of both faith and
morals, agreeably to a fundamental article of Mohammedanism, that not
only the rule of life, but the interpretation of it, is of divine
dictation.
SUN-WORSHIP, the worship of the sun is conceived of as an
impersonation of the deity, that originated among races so far advanced
in civilisation as to recognise what they owed to its benignant
influence, in particular as tillers of the soil, and, is associated with
advance as the worship of Bacchus was, which could not originate prior to
cultivation of the vine.
SUONADA, the Inland Sea of Japan, separating Kyushu and Shikoku from
the Main Island, Honshiu, a fine sheet of water (250 m. by 50),
picturesquely studded with islands which, however, render navigation
difficult.
SUPEREROGATION, WORKS OF, name given in the Roman Catholic theology
to works or good deeds performed by saints over and above what is
required for their own salvation, and the merit of which is held to be
transferable to others in need of indulgence.
SUPER-GRAMMATICAM (above grammar), name given to Sigismund, emperor
of Germany, from his rejoinder to a cardinal who one day on a high
occasion mildly corrected a grammatical mistake he had made in a grand
oration, "I am King of the Romans, and above grammar."
SUPERIOR, LAKE, largest fresh-water lake on the globe, lies between
the United States and Canada, the boundary line passing through the
centre; area, 31,200 sq. m., almost the size of Ireland; maximum depth,
1008 ft.; St. Mary's River, the only outlet, a short rapid stream,
carries the overflow to Lake Huron; receives upwards of 200 rivers, but
none of first-class importance, largest is the St. Louis; is dotted with
numerous islands; water is singularly clear and pure, and abounds with
fish; navigation is hindered in winter by shore-ice, but the lake never
freezes over.
SUPERSTITION, the fear of that which is not God, as if it were God,
or the fear of that which is not the devil, as if it were the devil; or,
as it has in more detail been defined by Ruskin, "the fear of a spirit
whose passions and acts are those of a man present in some places and not
others; kind to one person and unkind to another, pleased or angry,
according to the degree of attention you pay him, or the praise you
refuse him; hostile generally to human pleasure, but may be bribed by
sacrificing part of that pleasure into permitting the rest."
SUPRALAPSARIANISM, the doctrine of the extreme Calvinists, that the
decree of God as regards the eternal salvation of some and the eternal
reprobation of others is unconditional.
SUPREMACY, ROYAL, the supremacy of the sovereign in matters
ecclesiastical and matters of civil right to the exclusion of matters
spiritual and the jurisdiction in the former claimed by the Pope.
SURABAYA (127), a seaport on the NE. coast or Java, is the
head-quarters of the Dutch military, and exports tropical products; of
the population 6000 are European, and 7000 or so Chinese.
SURAT (109), a city of India, Bombay Presidency, on the Tapti, 14 m.
from its entrance into the Gulf of Bombay; stretches along the S. bank of
the river, presenting no architectural features of interest save some
Mohammedan, Parsee, and Hindu temples, and an old castle or fortress;
chief exports are cotton and grain; the English erected here their first
factory on the Indian continent in 1612, and with Portuguese and Dutch
traders added, it became one of the principal commercial centres of
India; in the 18th century the removal of the English East India Company
to Bombay drew off a considerable portion of the trade of Surat, which it
has never recovered.
SURINAM. See GUIANA, DUTCH.
SURPLICE, a linen robe with wide sleeves worn by officiating
clergymen and choristers, originating in the rochet or alb of early
times.
SURREY (1,731), an inland county, and one of the fairest of England,
in the SE. between Kent (E.) and Hampshire (W.), with Sussex on the S.,
separated from Middlesex on the N. by the Thames; the North Downs
traverse the county E. and W., slope gently to the Thames, and
precipitously in the S. to the level Weald; generally presents a
beautiful prospect of hill and heatherland adorned with splendid woods;
the Wey and the Mole are the principal streams; hops are extensively
grown round Farnham; largest town is Croydon; the county town, Guildford.
SURREY, HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF, poet, son of the Duke of Norfolk;
early attached to the court of Henry VIII., he attended his royal master
at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold," and took part in the coronation
ceremony of Anne Boleyn (1533); was created a Knight of the Garter in
1542, and two years later led the English army in France with varying
success; imprisoned along with his father on a charge of high treason,
for which there was no adequate evidence, he was condemned and executed;
as one of the early leaders of the poetic renaissance, and introducer of
the sonnet and originator of blank verse, he deservedly holds a high
place in the history of English literature (1516-1547).
SURYA, in the Hindu mythology the sun conceived of as a female
deity.
SUSA (the Shushan of Daniel, Esther, &c.), an ancient city of
Persia, now in ruins, that spread over an area of 3 sq. m., on the
Kerkha, 250 m. SE. of Bagdad; was for long the favourite residence of the
Persian kings, the ruins of whose famous palace, described in Esther, are
still extant.
SUSAN, ST., the patron saint and guardian of innocence and saviour
from infamy and reproach. See SUSANNA.
SUSANNA, THE HISTORY OF, a story in the Apocrypha, evidently
conceived to glorify Daniel as a judge, and which appears to have been
originally written by a Jew in Greek. She had been accused of adultery by
two of the elders and condemned to death, but was acquitted on Daniel's
examination of her accusers to their confusion and condemnation to death
in her stead. The story has been allegorised by the Church, and Susanna
made to represent the Church, and the two elders her persecutors.
SUSQUEHANNA, a river of America, formed by the junction at
Northumberland, Pennsylvania, of the North Branch (350 m.) flowing out of
Schuyler Lake, central New York, and the West Branch (250 m.) rising in
the Alleghany Mountains; flows in a shallow, rapid, unnavigable course S.
and SE. through beautiful scenery to Port Deposit, at the N. end of
Chesapeake Bay; length, 150 m.
SUSSEX (550), a S. maritime county of England, fronts the English
Channel between Hampshire (W.) and Kent (E.), with Surrey on its northern
border; is traversed E. and W. by the South Downs, which afford splendid
pasturage for half a million sheep, and terminates in Beachy Head; in the
N. lies the wide, fertile, and richly-wooded plain of the Weald; chief
rivers are the Arun, Adur, Ouse, and Rother, of no great size; is a fine
agricultural county, more than two-thirds of its area being under
cultivation; was the scene of Cæsar's landing (55 B.C.), of Ælla's, the
leader of the South Saxons (whence the name Sussex), and of William the
Conqueror's (1066); throughout the country are interesting antiquities;
largest town, Brighton; county town, Lewes.
SUTHERLAND (22), a maritime county of N. Scotland; presents a N. and
a W. shore to the Atlantic, between Ross and Cromarty (S.) and Caithness
(E.), and faces the North Sea on the SE., whence the land slopes upwards
to the great mountain region and wild, precipitous loch-indented coasts
of the W. and N.; scarcely 3 per cent, of the area is cultivated, but
large numbers of sheep and cattle are raised; the Oykell is the longest
(35 m.) of many streams, and Loch Shin the largest of 300 lochs; there
are extensive deer forests and grouse moors, while valuable salmon and
herring fisheries exist round the coasts; is the most sparsely populated
county in Scotland. Dornoch is the county town.
SUTLEJ, the eastmost of the five rivers of the Punjab; its
head-waters flow from two Thibetan lakes at an elevation of 15,200 ft.,
whence it turns NW. and W. to break through a wild gorge of the
Himalayas, thence bends to the SW., forms the eastern boundary of the
Punjab, and joins the Indus at Mithankot after a course of 900 m.
SUTRAS, name given to a collection of aphorisms, summaries of the
teachings of the Brahmans, and of rules regulative of ritual or religious
observances, and also given to these aphorisms and rules themselves.
SUTTEE, a Hindu widow who immolates herself on the funeral pile of
her husband, a term applied to the practice itself. The practice was of
very ancient date, but the custom was proclaimed illegal in 1829 under
Lord William Bentinck's administration, and it is now very seldom that a
widow seeks to violate the law. In 1823, in Bengal alone, 575 widows gave
themselves to be so burned, of whom 109 were above sixty, 226 above
forty, 209 above twenty, and 32 under twenty.
SUWARROW or SUVOROFF, Russian field-marshal, born at Moscow;
entered the army as a private soldier, distinguished himself in the Seven
Years' War, and after 20 years' service rose to command; in command of a
division he in 1773 routed an army of the Turks beyond the Danube, and in
1783 he reduced a tribe of Tartars under the Russian yoke; his greatest
exploit perhaps was his storming of Ismail, which had resisted all
attempts to reduce it for seven months, and which he, but with revolting
barbarities however, in three days succeeded by an indiscriminate
massacre of 40,000 of the inhabitants; his despatch thereafter to Queen
Catharine was "Glory to God and the Empress, Ismail is ours!" he after
this conducted a cruel campaign in Poland, which ended in its partition,
and a campaign in Italy to the disaster of the French and his elevation
to the peerage as a prince, with the title of Italinski; he was all along
the agent of the ruthless purposes of POTEMKIN (q. v.) (1730-1800).
SVEABORG, a strong fortress in Finland, protecting Helsingfors, in
the Baltic, 3 m. distant from that town, and called the "Gibraltar of the
North."
SVIR, a Russian river that flows into Lake Ladoga.
SWABIA, an ancient duchy in the SW. of Germany, and most fertile
part, so called from the Suevi, who in the 1st century displaced the
aboriginal Celts, and which, along with Bavaria, formed the nucleus of
the Fatherland; was separated by the Rhine from France and Switzerland,
having for capital Augsburg, and being divided now into Würtemberg,
Bavaria, Baden, and Lichtenstein.
SWAHILI (i. e. coast people), a people of mixed Bantu and Arab
stock occupying Zanzibar and the adjoining territory from nearly Mombasa
to Mozambique; they are an enterprising race, and are dispersed as
traders, hunters, carriers, &c., far and wide over Central Africa.
SWALE, a river in the North Riding of Yorkshire, uniting, after a
course of 60 miles, with the Ure to form the Ouse.
SWAMMERDAM, JAN, a Dutch entomologist, born at Amsterdam, where he
settled as a doctor, but turning with enthusiasm to the study of insect
life, made important contributions to, and practically laid the
foundations of, entomological science (1637-1680).
SWAN OF AVON, sweet name given by Ben Jonson to Shakespeare.
SWAN OF MANTUA, name given to Virgil, as born at Mantua.
SWANSEA (90), a flourishing and progressive seaport of
Glamorganshire, at the entrance of the Tawe, 45 m. into Swansea Bay; has
a splendid harbour, 60 acres of docks, a castle, old grammar-school, &c.;
is the chief seat of the copper-smelting and of the tin-plate manufacture
of England, and exports the products of these works, as well as coal,
zinc, and other minerals, in large quantities.
SWATOW (30), a seaport of China, at the mouth of the Han, 225 m. E.
of Canton; has large sugar-refineries, factories for bean-cake and
grass-cloth; since the policy of "the open door" was adopted in 1867 has
had a growing export trade.
SWAZILAND (64), a small South African native State to the E. of the
Transvaal, of which in 1893 it became a dependency, retaining, however,
its own laws and native chief; is mountainous, fertile, and rich in
minerals; the Swazis are of Zulu stock, jealous of the Boers, and
friendly to Britain.
SWEATING SICKNESS, an epidemic of extraordinary malignity which
swept over Europe, and especially England, in the 15th and 16th
centuries, attacking with equal virulence all classes and all ages, and
carrying off enormous numbers of people; was characterised by a sharp
sudden seizure, high fever, followed by a foetid perspiration; first
appeared in England in 1485, and for the last time in 1551.
SWEATING SYSTEM, a term which began to be used about 1848 to
describe an iniquitous system of sub-contracting in the tailoring trade.
Orders from master-tailors were undertaken by sub-contractors, who
themselves farmed the work out to needy workers, who made the articles in
their own crowded and foetid homes, receiving "starvation wages." The
term is now used in reference to all trades in cases where the conditions
imposed by masters tend to grind the rate of payment down to a bare
living wage and to subject the workers to insanitary surroundings by
overcrowding, &c., and to unduly long hours. Kingsley's pamphlet, "Cheap
Clothes and Nasty," and novel, "Alton Locke," did much to draw public
attention to the evil. In 1890 an elaborate report by a committee of the
House of Lords was published, and led in the following year to the
passing of the Factory and Workshops Act and the Public Health Act, which
have greatly mitigated the evil.
SWEDEN (4,785), a kingdom of Northern Europe, occupying the eastern
portion of the great Scandinavian Peninsula, bounded W. by Norway, E. by
Russian Finland, Gulf of Bothnia, and the Baltic, and on the N. stretches
across the Arctic circle between Norway (NW.) and Russia (NE.), while its
southern serrated shores are washed by the Skager-Rack, Cattegat, and
Baltic. From the mountain-barrier of Norway the country slopes down in
broad terrace-like plains to the sea, intersected by many useful rivers
and diversified by numerous lakes, of which Lakes Wenner, Wetter, and
Mälar (properly an arm of the sea) are the largest, and lying under
forest to the extent of nearly one-half its area; is divided into three
great divisions: 1, Norrland in the N., a wide and wild tract of
mountainous country, thickly forested, infested by the wolf, bear, and
lynx, in summer the home of the wood-cutter, and sparsely inhabited by
Lapps. 2, Svealand or Sweden proper occupies the centre, and is the
region of the great lakes and of the principal mineral wealth (iron,
copper, &c.) of the country. 3, Gothland, the southern portion, embraces
the fertile plains sloping to the Cattegat, and is the chief agricultural
district, besides possessing iron and coal. Climate is fairly dry, with a
warm summer and long cold winter. Agriculture (potatoes, grain, rye,
beet), although scarcely 8 per cent. of the land is under cultivation, is
the principal industry, and with dairy-farming, stock-raising, &c., gives
employment to more than one-half of the people; mining and timber-felling
are only less important; chief industries are iron-works,
sugar-refineries, cotton-mills, &c.; principal exports timber (much the
largest), iron, steel, butter, &c., while textiles and dry-goods are the
chiefly needed imports. Transit is greatly facilitated by the numerous
canals and by the rivers and lakes. Railways and telegraphs are well
developed in proportion to the population. As in Norway, the national
religion is Lutheranism; education is free and compulsory. Government is
vested in the king, who with the advice of a council controls the
executive, and two legislative chambers which have equal powers, but the
members of the one are elected for nine years by provincial councils,
while those of the other are elected by the suffrages of the people,
receive salaries, and sit only for three years. The national debt amounts
to 14½ million pounds. In the 14th century the country became an appanage
of the Danish crown, and continued as such until freedom was again won in
the 16th century by the patriot king, Gustavus Vasa. By the 17th century
had extended her rule across the seas into certain portions of the
empire, but selling these in the beginning of the 18th century, fell from
her rank as a first-rate power. In 1814 Norway was annexed, and the two
countries, each enjoying complete autonomy, are now united under one
crown.
SWEDENBORG, EMMANUEL, a mystic of the mystics, founder of the "New
Church," born at Stockholm, son of a bishop, a boy of extraordinary gifts
and natural seriousness of mind; carefully educated under his father,
attended the university of Upsala and took his degree in philosophy in
1709; in eager quest of knowledge visited England, Holland, France, and
Germany; on his return, after four years, was at 28 appointed by Charles
XII. assessor of the Royal College of Mines; in 1721 went to examine the
mines and smelting-works of Europe; from 1716 spent 30 years in the
composition and publication of scientific works, when of a sudden he
threw himself into theology; in 1743 his period of illumination began,
and the publication of voluminous theological treatises; the Swedish
clergy interfered a little with the publication of his works, but he kept
the friendship of people in power. He was never married, his habits were
simple, lived on bread, milk, and vegetables, occupied a house situated
in a large garden; visited England several times, but attracted no
special attention; died in London of apoplexy in his eighty-fifth year.
"He is described, in London, as a man of quiet, clerical habit, not
averse to tea and coffee, and kind to children. He wore a sword when in
full velvet dress, and whenever he walked out carried a gold-headed
cane." This is Emerson's account in brief of his outer man, but for a
glimpse or two of his ways of thinking and his views the reader is
referred to Emerson's "Representative Men." The man was a seer; what he
saw only himself could tell, and only those could see, he would say, who
had the power of transporting themselves into the same spiritual centre;
to him the only real world was the spirit-world and the world of sense
only in so far as it reflected to the soul the great invisible
(1688-1772).
SWEDENBORGIANS, the members of the "New Jerusalem Church," founded
on the teaching of EMMANUEL SWEDENBORG (q. v.) on a belief in
direct communion with the world of spirits, and in God as properly
incarnate in the divine humanity of Christ.
SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE, name popularly given to JENNY LIND (q. v.).
SWERGA or SVARGA, the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu Olympus,
the heaven or abode of INDRA (q. v.) and of the gods in general.
SWETCHINE, MADAME, a Russian lady, Sophie Soymanof, born at Moscow,
who married General Swetchine, and, after turning Catholic, became
celebrated in Paris during 1817-51 as the gracious hostess of a salon
where much religious and ethical discussion went on; plain and unimposing
in appearance, she yet exercised a remarkable fascination over her
"coterie" by the elevation of her character and eager spiritual nature
(1782-1857).
SWIFT, JONATHAN, born at Dublin, a posthumous son, of well-connected
parents; educated at Kilkenny, where he had Congreve for companion, and
at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was a somewhat riotous and a by no
means studious undergraduate, only receiving his B.A. by "special grace"
in 1686; two years later the Revolution drove him to England; became
amanuensis to his mother's distinguished relative Sir William Temple,
whose service, however, was uncongenial to his proud independent nature,
and after taking a Master's degree at Oxford he returned to Dublin, took
orders, and was presented to the canonry of Kilroot, near Belfast; the
quiet of country life palling upon him, he was glad to resume secretarial
service in Temple's household (1696), where during the next three years
he remained, mastering the craft of politics, reading enormously, and
falling in love with STELLA (q. v.); was set adrift by Temple's
death in 1699, but shortly afterwards became secretary to Lord Berkeley,
one of the Lord-Deputies to Ireland, and was soon settled in the vicarage
of Laracor, West Meath; in 1704 appeared anonymously his famous satires,
the "Battle of the Books" and the "Tale of a Tub," masterpieces of
English prose; various squibs and pamphlets followed, "On the
Inconvenience of Abolishing Christianity," &c.; but politics more and
more engaged his attention; and neglected by the Whigs and hating their
war policy, he turned Tory, attacked with deadly effect, during his
editorship of the _Examiner_ (1710-11), the war party and its leader
Marlborough; crushed Steele's defence in his "Public Spirit of the
Whigs," and after the publication of "The Conduct of the Allies" stood
easily the foremost political writer of his time; disappointed of an
English bishopric, in 1713 reluctantly accepted the deanery of St.
Patrick's, Dublin, a position he held until the close of his life; became
loved in the country he despised by eloquently voicing the wrongs of
Ireland in a series of tracts, "Drapier's Letters," &c., fruitful of good
results; crowned his great reputation by the publication (1726) of his
masterpiece "Gulliver's Travels," the most daring, savage, and amusing
satire contained in the world's literature; "Stella's" death and the slow
progress of a brain disease, ending in insanity, cast an ever-deepening
gloom over his later years (1667-1745).
SWILLY, LOUGH, a narrow inlet of the Atlantic, on the coast of
Donegal, North Ireland, running in between Dunaff Head (E.) and Fanad
Point (W.), a distance of 25 m.; is from 3 to 4 m. broad; the entrance is
fortified.
SWINBURNE, ALGERNON CHARLES, poet and prose writer, born in London,
son of Admiral Swinburne; educated at Balliol College, Oxford, went to
Florence and spent some time there; his first productions were plays, two
of them tragedies, and "Poems and Ballads," his later "A Song of Italy,"
essay on "William Blake," and "Songs before Sunrise," instinct with
pantheistic and republican ideas, besides "Studies in Song," "Studies in
Prose and Poetry," &c.; he ranks as the successor of Landor, of whom he
is a great admirer, stands high both as a poet and a critic, and is a man
of broad and generous sympathies; his admirers regard it as a reproach to
his generation that due honour is not paid by it to his genius; _b_.
1837.
SWINDON (32), a town in Wiltshire, 77 m. W. of London; contains the
Great Western Company's engineering works, which cover 200 acres, and
employ 10,000 hands.
SWINEMÜNDE (9), a fortified seaport on the island of Usedom, in the
Baltic, near the mouth of the Swine, one of the outlets of the Oder.
SWISS CONFEDERATION, a league of the several Swiss cantons to resist
an attempt on the part of the Emperor Albrecht to incorporate certain of
the free towns into his family possessions.
SWISS GUARDS. See GARDES SUISSES.
SWITHIN, ST., bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862; was buried by
his own request in Winchester Churchyard, "where passers-by might tread
above his head, and the dews of heaven fall on his grave." On his
canonisation, a century after, the chapter resolved to remove his body to
a shrine in the cathedral, but their purpose was hindered on account of a
rain which lasted 40 days from the 15th July; hence the popular notion
that if it rained that day it would be followed by rain for 40 days
after.
SWITZERLAND (2,918), a republic of Central Europe, bounded by
Germany (N.), France (W.), Italy (S.), and Austria and Germany (E.); in
size is slightly more than one-half of Scotland, of semicircular shape,
having the Jura Alps on its French border, and divided from Italy by the
great central ranges of the Alpine system, whence radiate the Swiss
Alps--Pennine, Lepontine, Bernese, &c.--covering the E. and S., and
occupying with intervening valleys two-thirds of the country; the
remaining third is occupied by an elevated fertile plain, extending
between Lakes of Constance and Geneva (largest of numerous lakes), and
studded with picturesque hills; principal rivers are the Upper Rhône, the
Aar, Ticino, and Inn; climate varies with the elevation, from the high
regions of perpetual snow to warm valleys where ripen the vine, fig,
almond, and olive; about one-third of the land surface is under forest,
and one quarter arable, the grain grown forming only one-half of what is
required; flourishing dairy farms exist, prospered by the fine meadows
and mountain pastures which, together with the forests, comprise the
country's greatest wealth; minerals are exceedingly scarce, coal being
entirely absent. Despite its restricted arable area and lack of minerals
the country has attained a high pitch of prosperity through the thrift
and energy of its people, who have skilfully utilised the inexhaustible
motive-power of innumerable waterfalls and mountain streams to drive
great factories of silks, cottons, watches, and jewellery. The beauty of
its mountain, lake, and river scenery has long made Switzerland the
sanatorium and recreation ground of Europe; more than 500 health resorts
exist, and the country has been described as one vast hotel. The Alpine
barriers are crossed by splendid roads and railways, the great tunnels
through St. Gothard and the Simplon being triumphs of engineering skill
and enterprise. In 1848, after the suppression of the SONDERBUND
(q. v.), the existing league of 22 semi-independent States
(constituting since 1798 the Helvetic Republic) formed a closer federal
union, and a constitution (amended in 1874) was drawn up conserving as
far as possible the distinctive laws of the cantons and local
institutions of their communes. The President is elected annually by the
Federal Assembly (which consists of two chambers constituting the
legislative power), and is assisted in the executive government by a
Federal Council of seven members. By an institution known as the
"Referendum" all legislative acts passed in the Cantonal or Federal
Assemblies may under certain conditions be referred to the mass of the
electors, and this is frequently done. The public debt amounts to over
two million pounds. The national army is maintained by conscription; 71
per cent. of the people speak German, 22 per cent. French, and 5 per
cent. Italian; 59 per cent. are Protestants, and 41 per cent. Catholics.
Education is splendidly organised, free, and compulsory; there are five
universities, and many fine technical schools.
SYBARIS, an ancient city of Magna Græcia, on the Gulf of Tarentum,
flourished in the 17th century B.C., but in 510 B.C. was captured and
totally obliterated by the rival colonists of Crotona; at the height of
its prosperity the luxury and voluptuousness of the inhabitants was such
as to become a byword throughout the ancient world, and henceforth a
Sybaris city is a city of luxurious indulgence, and Sybarite a devotee of
pleasure.
SYBEL, HEINRICH VON, German historian, born at Düsseldorf; was a
pupil of RANKE'S (q. v.), and became professor of History at
Münich and Bonn; he was a Liberal in politics; his great works are a
"History of the Period of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1795, and
then to 1800," in five volumes, and the "History of the Founding of the
German Empire under William I.," in five volumes; he has also written a
"History of the First Crusade" (1817-1895).
SYCORAX, a hag in the "Tempest," the dam of Caliban.
SYDENHAM, a district of Kent and suburb of London, to the SE. of
which it lies 7 m., includes the Surrey parish of Lambeth, where in
1852-54 the Crystal Palace was erected and still stands, a far-famed
sight of London, containing valuable collections illustrative of the arts
and sciences, and surrounded by a magnificent park and gardens.
SYDENHAM, FLOYER, Greek scholar; translated some of the Dialogues of
Plato into English, and wrote a dissertation on Heraclitus, which failed
of being appreciated, and involved in embarrassment, he was thrown into
prison because he could not pay a small bill for provisions, and there
died; his sad fate led to the foundation of the Literary Fund
(1710-1787).
SYDENHAM, THOMAS, the "English Hippocrates," born in Dorsetshire,
educated at Oxford, and a Fellow of All Souls'; practised medicine in
London, where, though regarded with disfavour by the faculty, he stood in
high regard, and had an extensive practice, from his study of the
symptoms of disease, and the respect he paid to the constitution of the
patient; he used his own sense and judgment in each case, and his
treatment was uniformly successful; he commanded the regard of his
contemporaries Locke and Boyle, and his memory was revered by such
experts as Boerhaave, Stahl, Pinel, and Haller; he ranks as a great
reformer in the healing art (1624-1689).
SYDNEY (488), the capital of New South Wales, the oldest city in
Australia, and one of the first in the world, on the S. shore of the
basin of Port Jackson; and the entrance of a magnificent, almost
land-locked, harbour for shipping of the largest tonnage; the situation
of the city is superb, and it is surrounded by the richest scenery; the
shores of the basin are covered with luxuriant vegetation, studded with
islands and indented with pretty bays; it is well paved, has broad
streets, and some fine buildings, the principal being the university, the
two cathedrals, the post-office, and the town hall. It is a commercial
rather than a manufacturing city, though its resources for manufacture
are considerable, for it is in the centre of a large coal-field, in
connection with which manufacturing industries may yet develop.
SYDNEY, ALGERNON. See SIDNEY, ALGERNON.
SYLLOGISM, an argument consisting of three propositions, of which
two are called premises, major and minor, and the one that necessarily
follows from them the conclusion.
SYLPHS, elemental spirits of the air, as salamanders, are of fire,
of light figure with gliding movements and procreative power.
SYLVESTER, ST., the name of three popes: S. I., Pope from 314
to 335; S. II., Pope from 999 to 1003, alleged, from his recondite
knowledge as an alchemist, to have been in league with the devil; and S.
III., Anti-Pope from 1041 to 1046.
SYLVESTER, ST., the first Pope of the name, said to have converted
Constantine and his mother by restoring a dead ox to life which a
magician for a trial of skill killed, but could not restore to life; is
usually represented by an ox lying beside him, and sometimes in baptizing
Constantine.
SYMBOLISM has been divided into two kinds, symbolism of colour and
symbolism of form. Of colours, BLACK typifies grief and death; BLUE,
hope, love of divine works, divine contemplation, piety, sincerity; PALE
BLUE, power, Christian prudence, love of good works, serene conscience;
GOLD, glory and power; GREEN, faith, immortality, resurrection, gladness;
PALE GREEN, baptism; GREY, tribulation; PURPLE, justice, royalty; RED,
martyrdom for faith, charity, divine love; ROSE-COLOUR, martyrdom;
SAFFRON, confessors; SCARLET, fervour and glory; SILVER, chastity and
purity; VIOLET, penitence; WHITE, purity, temperance, innocence,
chastity, and faith in God. Instances of form: ANCHOR typifies hope;
PALM, victory; SWORD, death or martyrdom; the LAMB, christ; UNICORN,
purity. Of stones, moreover, the AMETHYST typifies humility; DIAMOND,
invulnerable faith; SARDONYX, sincerity; SAPPHIRE, hope, &c.
SYME, JAMES, a great surgeon, born in Edinburgh; was demonstrator
under Liston; was elected to the chair of Clinical Surgery in 1833; gave
up the chair to succeed Liston in London in 1848, but returned a few
months after; was re-elected to the chair he had vacated; he was much
honoured by his pupils, and by none more than Dr. John Brown, who
characterised him as "the best, ablest, and most beneficent of men"; he
wrote treatises and papers on surgery (1799-1870).
SYMONDS, JOHN ADDINGTON, English man of letters, born at Bristol;
educated at Harrow and Oxford; author of "The Renaissance in Italy," a
work which shows an extensive knowledge of the subject, and is written in
a finished but rather flowery style, and a number of other works of a
kindred nature showing equal ability and literary skill; his translation
of Benvenuto Cellini's autobiography is particularly noteworthy; was
consumptive, and spent his later years at Davos, in the Engadine
(1840-1893).
SYMPHLAGADES, two fabulous floating rocks at the entrance of the
Euxine, which, when driven by the winds, crushed every vessel that
attempted to pass between them; the ship ARGO (q. v.) managed to
pass between them, but with the loss of part of her stern, after which
they became fixed.
SYMPHONY, an elaborate orchestral composition consisting usually of
four contrasted and related movements; began to take distinctive shape in
the 17th century, and was for long merely a form of overture to operas,
&c., but as its possibilities were perceived was elevated into an
independent concert-piece, and as such exercised the genius of Mozart and
Haydn, reaching its perfection of form in the symphonies of Beethoven.
SYNAGOGUE, a Jewish institution for worship and religious
instruction which dates from the period of the Babylonian Captivity,
specially to keep alive in the minds of the people a knowledge of the
law. The decree ordaining it required the families of a district to meet
twice every Sabbath for this purpose, and so religiously did the Jewish
people observe it that it continues a characteristic ordinance of Judaism
to this day. The study of the law became henceforth their one vocation,
and the synagogue was instituted both to instruct them in it and to
remind them of the purpose of their separate existence among the nations
of the earth. High as the Temple and its service still stood in the
esteem of every Jew, from the period of the Captivity it began to be felt
of secondary importance to the synagogue and its service. With the
erection and extension of the latter the people were being slowly trained
into a truer sense of the nature of religious worship, and gradually made
to feel that to know the will of God and do it was a more genuine act of
homage to Him than the offering of sacrifices upon an altar or the
observance of any religious rite. Under such training the issue between
the Jew and the Samaritan became of less and less consequence, and he and
not the Samaritan was on the pathway which led direct to the final
worship of God in spirit and in truth (John iv. 22).
SYNAGOGUE, THE GREAT, the name given to a council at Jerusalem,
consisting of 120 members, there assembled about the year 410 B.C. to
give final form to the service and worship of the Jewish Church. A Jewish
tradition says Moses received the law from Sinai; he transmitted it to
Joshua, Joshua to the elders, the elders to the prophets, to the men of
the Great Assembly, who added thereto these words: "Be circumspect in
judgment, make many disciples, and set a hedge about the law." To them
belong the final settlement and arrangement of the Jewish Scriptures, the
introduction of a new alphabet, the regulation of the synagogue worship,
and the adoption of sundry liturgical forms, as well as the establishment
of the FEAST OF PURIM (q. v.), and probably the "schools" of the
Scribes.
SYNCRETISM, name given to an attempted blending of different, more
or less antagonist, speculative or religious systems into one, such as
Catholic and Protestant or Lutheran and Reformed.
SYNDICATE, in commercial parlance is a name given to a number of
capitalists associated together for the purpose of carrying through some
important business scheme, usually having in view the controlling and
raising of prices by means of a monopoly or "corner."
SYNERGISM, the theological doctrine that divine grace requires a
correspondent action of the human will to render it effective, a doctrine
defended by Melanchthon when he ascribes to the will the "power of
seeking grace," the term "synergy" meaning co-operation.
SYNESIUS, BISHOP PTOLEMAIS, born at Cyrene; became a pupil of
HYPATIA (q. v.) and was to the last a disciple, "a father of the
Church without having been her son," and is styled by Kingsley "the
squire bishop," from his love of the chase; "books and the chase," on one
occasion he writes, "make up my life"; wrote one or two curious books,
and several hymns expressive of a longing after divine things (375-414).
SYNOD, name given to any assembly of bishops in council, and in the
Presbyterian Church to an assembly of a district or a general assembly.
SYNOPTIC GOSPELS, the first three Gospels, so called because they
are summaries of the chief events in the story, and all go over the same
ground, while the author of the fourth follows lines of his own.
SYRA (31), an island of the Cyclades group, in the Ægean Sea, 10 m,
by 5 m., with a capital called also Hermoupolis; on the E. coast is the
seat of the government of the islands, and the chief port.
SYRACUSE, 1, one of the great cities of antiquity (19), occupied a
wide triangular tableland on the SE. coast of Sicily, 80 m. SW. of
Messina, and also the small island Ortygia, lying close to the shore;
founded by Corinthian settlers about 733 B.C.; amongst its rulers were
the tyrants DIONYSIUS THE ELDER and DIONYSIUS THE YOUNGER
(q. v.) and Hiero, the patron of Æschylus, Pindar, &c.; successfully
resisted the long siege of the Athenians in 414 B.C., and rose to a
great pitch of renown after its struggle with the Carthaginians in 397
B.C., but siding with Hannibal in the Punic Wars, was taken after a two
years' siege by the Romans (212 B.C.), in whose hands it slowly
declined, and finally was sacked and destroyed by the Saracens in 878 A.D.
Only the portion on Ortygia was rebuilt, and this constitutes the
modern city, which has interesting relics of its former greatness, but is
otherwise a crowded and dirty place, surrounded by walls, and fortified;
exports fruit, olive-oil, and wine. 2, A city (108) of New York State,
United States, 148 m. W. of Albany, in the beautiful valley of Onondaga;
is a spacious and handsomely laid-out city, with university, &c.; has
flourishing steel-works, foundries, rolling-mills, &c., and enormous salt
manufactures.
SYRIA (2,000), one of three divisions of Asiatic Turkey, slightly
larger than Italy, forms a long strip of mountains and tableland
intersected by fertile valleys, lying along the eastern end of the
Mediterranean from the Taurus range in the N. to the Egyptian border on
the 8., and extending to the Euphrates and Arabian desert The coastal
strip and waters fall within the LEVANT (q. v.). In the S. lies
Palestine, embracing Jordan, Dead Sea, Lake of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee),
Jerusalem, Gaza, &c.; in the N., between the parallel ranges of Lebanon
and Anti-Lebanon, lies the valley of Coele-Syria, through which flows the
Orontes. Important towns are Aleppo, Damascus, Beyrout (chief port), &c.;
principal exports are silk, wool, olive-oil, and fruits. Four-fifths of
the people are Mohammedans of Aramæan (ancient Syrian) and Arabic stock.
Once a portion of the ASSYRIAN EMPIRE (q. v.), it became a
possession successively of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs,
Egyptians, and finally fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1516,
under whose rule it now languishes. For further particulars see various
names and places mentioned.
SYRIANUS, a Greek Neoplatonic philosopher of the 5th century; had
PROCLUS (q. v.) for a disciple; left a valuable commentary on
the metaphysics of Aristotle.
SYRINX, an Arcadian nymph, who, being pursued by Pan, fled into a
river, was metamorphosed into a reed, of which Pan made his flute.
SYRTIS, MAJOR AND MINOR, the ancient names of the Gulfs of Sidra and
Cabes on the N. coast of Africa, the former between Tripoli and Barca,
the latter between Tunis and Tripoli.
SYRUS, PUBLIUS, a slave brought to Rome, and on account of his wit
manumitted by his master; made his mark by composing memoirs and a
collection of pithy sayings that appear to have been used as a
school-book; flourished in 45 B.C.
SYSTÈME DE LA NATURE, a book, the authorship of which is ascribed to
BARON HOLBACH (q. v.), which appeared in 1770, advocating a
philosophical materialism and maintaining that nothing exists but matter,
and that mind is either naught or only a finer kind of matter; there is
nowhere anything, it insists, except matter and motion; it is the
farthest step yet taken in the direction of speculative as opposed to
political nihilism.
SYZYGY, the point on the orbit of a planet, or the moon when it is
in conjunction with, or in opposition to, the sun.
SZECHUAN (71,000), the largest province of China, lies in the W.
between Thibet (NW.) and Yunnan (SW.); more than twice the size of Great
Britain; a hilly country, rich in coal, iron, &c., and traversed by the
Yangtse-kiang and large tributaries; Chingtu is the capital; two towns
have been opened to foreign trade, opium, silk, tobacco, musk, white wax,
&c., being chief exports.
SZEGEDIN (89), a royal free city of Hungary, situated at the
confluence of the Maros and Theiss, 118 m. SE. of Budapest, to which it
ranks next in importance as a commercial and manufacturing centre; has
been largely rebuilt since the terribly destructive flood of 1879, and
presents a handsome modern appearance.
T
TABARD, a tunic without sleeves worn by military nobles over their
arms, generally emblazoned with heraldic devices. "Toom Tabard," empty
king's cloak, nickname given by the Scotch to John Balliol as nothing
more.
TABERNACLE, a movable structure of the nature of a temple, erected
by the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness; it was a
parallelogram in shape, constructed of boards lined with curtains, the
roof flat and of skins, while the floor was the naked earth, included a
sanctum and a sanctum sanctorum, and contained altars for sacrifice and
symbols of sacred import, especially of the Divine presence, and was
accessible only to the priests. See FEASTS, JEWISH.
TABLE MOUNTAIN, a flat-topped eminence in the SW. of Cape Colony,
rising to a height of 3600 ft. behind Cape Town and overlooking it, often
surmounted by a drapery of mist.
TABLES, THE TWELVE, the tables of the Roman laws engraven on brass
brought from Athens to Rome by the decemvirs.
TABLETS, name given to thin boards coated with wax and included in a
frame for writing on with a stylus.
TABLE-TURNING, movement of a table ascribed to the agency of spirits
or some recondite spiritual force acting through the media of a circle of
people standing round the edge touching it with their finger-tips in
contact with those of the rest.
TABOO or TABU, a solemn prohibition or interdict among the
Polynesians under which a particular person or thing is pronounced
inviolable, and so sacred, the violation of which entails malediction at
the hands of the supernatural powers.
TABOR, MOUNT, an isolated cone-shaped hill, 1000 ft. in height and
clothed with olive-trees, on the NE. borders of ESDRAËLON (q. v.),
7 m. E. of Nazareth. A tradition of the 2nd century identifies it
as the scene of the Tranfiguration, and ruins of a church, built by the
Crusaders to commemorate the event, crown the summit.
TABRIZ (170), an ancient and still important commercial city of
Persia, 320 m. SE. of Tiflis, 4500 ft. above sea-level; occupies an
elevated site on the Aji, 40 m. E. of its entrance into Lake Urumiah;
carries on a flourishing transit trade and has notable manufactures of
leather, silk, and gold and silver ware; has been on several occasions
visited by severe earthquakes.
TACITUS, CORNELIUS, Roman historian, born presumably at Rome, of
equestrian rank, early famous as an orator; married a daughter of
Agricola, held office under the Emperors Vespasian, Domitian, and Nerva,
and conducted along with the younger Pliny the prosecution of Marius
Priscus; he is best known and most celebrated as a historian, and of
writings extant the chief are his "Life of Agricola," his "Germania," his
"Histories" and his "Annals"; his "Agricola" is admired as a model
biography, while his "Histories" and "Annales" are distinguished for
"their conciseness, their vigour, and the pregnancy of meaning; a single
word sometimes gives effect to a whole sentence, and if the meaning of
the word is missed, the sense of the writer is not reached"; his great
power lies in his insight into character and the construing of motives,
but the picture he draws of imperial Rome is revolting; _b_. about A.D.
54.
TACNA (14), capital of a province (32) in North Chile, 38 m. N. of
Arica, with which it is connected by rail; trades in wool and minerals;
taken from Peru in 1883.
TACOMA (38), a flourishing manufacturing town and port of Washington
State, on Puget Sound; has practically sprung into existence within the
last 15 years, and is the outlet for the produce of a rich agricultural
and mining district.
TADMOR. See PALMYRA.
TAEL, a Chinese money of account of varying local value, and rising
and falling with the price of silver, but may be approximately valued at
between 6s. and 5s. 6d. The customs tael, equivalent in value to about 4s
9d., has been superseded by the new dollar of 1890, which is equal to
that of the United States.
TAGANROG (50), a Russian seaport on the N. shore of the Sea of Azov;
is the outlet for the produce of a rich agricultural district, wheat,
linseed, and hempseed being the chief exports. Founded by Peter the Great
in 1698.
TAGLIONI, MARIA, a famous ballet-dancer, born at Stockholm, the
daughter of an Italian ballet-master; made her _début_ in Paris in 1827
and soon became the foremost _danseuse_ of Europe; married Count de
Voisins in 1832; retired from the stage in 1847 with a fortune, which she
subsequently lost, a misfortune which compelled her to set up as a
teacher of deportment in London (1804-1884).
TAGUS, the largest river of the Spanish peninsula, issues from the
watershed between the provinces of Guadalajara and Teruel; follows a more
or less westerly course across the centre of the peninsula, and, after
dividing into two portions below Salvaterra, its united waters enter the
Atlantic by a noble estuary 20 m. long; total length 566 m., of which 190
are in Portugal; navigable as far as Abrantes.
TAHITI (11), the principal island of a group in the South Pacific;
sometimes called the Society Islands, situated 2000 m. NE. of New
Zealand; are mountainous, of volcanic origin, beautifully wooded, and
girt by coral reefs; a fertile soil grows abundant fruit, cotton, sugar,
&c., which, with mother-of-pearl, are the principal exports; capital and
chief harbour is Papeete (3); the whole group since 1880 has become a
French possession.
TAILLANDIER, SAINT-RENÉ, French littérateur and professor, born at
Paris; filled the chair of Literature at the Sorbonne from 1863; wrote
various works of literary, historical, and philosophical interest, and
did much by his writings to extend the knowledge of German art and
literature in France; was a frequent contributor to the _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, and in 1873 was elected a member of the Academy (1817-1879).
TAILORS, Carlyle's humorsome name in "Sartor" for the architects of
the customs and costumes woven for human wear by society, the inventors
of our spiritual toggery, the truly _poetic_ class.
TAILORS, THE THREE, OF TOOLEY STREET, three characters said by
Canning to have held a meeting there for redress of grievances, and to
have addressed a petition to the House of Commons beginning "We, the
people of England."
TAIN (2), a royal burgh of Ross-shire, on the S. shore of the
Dornoch Firth, 44 m. NE. of Inverness; has interesting ruins of a
13th-century chapel, a 15th-century collegiate church, an academy, &c.
TAINE, HIPPOLYTE ADOLPHE, an eminent French critic and historian,
born at Vouziers, in Ardennes; after some years of scholastic drudgery in
the provinces returned to Paris, and there, by the originality of his
critical method and brilliancy of style soon took rank among the foremost
French writers; in 1854 the Academy crowned his essay on Livy; ten years
later became professor of Æsthetics at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris,
and in 1878 was admitted to the French Academy; his voluminous writings
embrace works on the philosophy of art, essays critical and historical,
volumes of travel-impressions in various parts of Europe; but his finest
work is contained in his vivid and masterly studies on "Les Origines de
la France Contemporaine" and in his "History of English Literature"
(1833-4; Eng. trans, by Van Laun), the most penetrative and sympathetic
survey of English literature yet done by a foreigner; he was a disciple
of Sainte-Beuve, but went beyond his master in ascribing character too
much to external environment (1828-1893).
TAI-PINGS, a name bestowed upon the followers of Hung Hsiû-ch`wan, a
village schoolmaster of China, who, coming under the influence of
Christian teaching, sought to subvert the religion and ruling dynasty of
China; he himself was styled "Heavenly King," his reign "Kingdom of
Heaven," and his dynasty "Tai-Ping" (Grand Peace); between 1851 and 1855
the rising assumed formidable dimensions, but from 1855 began to decline;
the religious enthusiasm died away; foreign auxiliaries were called in,
and under the leadership of GORDON (q. v.) the rebellion was
stamped out by 1865.
TAIT, ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, archbishop of Canterbury, of Scotch
descent, born in Edinburgh; educated at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Oxford;
when at Oxford led the opposition to the Tractarian Movement; in 1842
succeeded Arnold as head-master at Rugby; in 1850 became Dean of
Carlisle; in 1856 Bishop of London; and in 1868 Primate. This last office
he held at a critical period, and his episcopate was distinguished by
great discretion and moderation (1811-1882).
TAIT, PETER GUTHRIE, physicist and mathematician, born at Dalkeith;
educated in Edinburgh; became senior wrangler at Cambridge, and Smith's
prizeman in 1852; was in 1854 elected professor of Mathematics at
Belfast, and in 1860 professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh; has
done a great deal of experimental work, especially in thermo-electricity,
and has contributed important papers on pure mathematics; wrote, along
with Lord Kelvin, "Treatise on Natural Philosophy," and along with
Balfour Stewart "The Unseen Universe," followed by "Paradoxical
Philosophy"; _b_. 1831.
TAI-WAN (70), capital of FORMOSA (q. v.), an important
commercial emporium, situated about 3 m. from the SW. coast, on which,
however, it has a port, ranking as a treaty-port.
TAJ MAHAL. See AGRA.
TALARIA, wings attached to the ankles or sandals of Mercury as the
messenger of the gods.
TALAVERA DE LA REINA (10), a picturesque old Spanish town on the
Tagus, situated amid vineyards, 75 m. SE. of Madrid; scene of a great
victory under Sir Arthur Wellesley over a French army commanded by Joseph
Bonaparte, Marshals Jourdan and Victor, 27th July 1809.
TALBOT, WILLIAM HENRY FOX, one of the earliest experimenters and a
discoverer in photography, born in Chippenham, which he represented in
Parliament; was also one of the first to decipher the Assyrian cuneiform
inscriptions (1800-1877).
TALE OF A TUB, a great work of Swift's, characterised by Professor
Saintsbury as "one of the very greatest books of the world, in which a
great drift of universal thought receives consummate literary form ...
the first great book," he announces, "in prose or verse, of the 18th
century, and in more ways than one the herald and champion at once of its
special achievements in literature."
TALENT, a weight, coin, or sum of money among the ancients, of
variable value among different nations and at different periods; the
Attic weight being equal to about 57 lbs. troy, and the money to £243,
15s.; among the Romans the great talent was worth £99, and the little
worth £75.
TALFOURD, SIR THOMAS NOON, lawyer and dramatist, born at Doxey, near
Stafford; was called to the bar in 1821, and practised with notable
success, becoming in 1849 a justice of Common Pleas and a knight; was for
some years a member of Parliament; author of four tragedies, of which
"Ion" is the best known; was the intimate friend and literary executor of
Charles Lamb (1795-1854).
TALISMAN, a magical figure of an astrological nature carved on a
stone or piece of metal under certain superstitious observances, to which
certain wonderful effects are ascribed; is of the nature of a charm to
avert evil.
TALLARD, COMTE DE, marshal of France; served in the War of the
Spanish Succession; was taken prisoner by Marlborough at Hochstädt, on
which occasion he said to the duke, "Your Grace has beaten the finest
troops in Europe," when the duke replied, "You will except, I hope, those
who defeated them" (1652-1728).
TALLEMANT DES RÉAUX, GÉDÉON, French writer, native of La Rochelle;
author of a voluminous collection of gossipy biographies, or anecdotes
rather, "Historiettes," filling five volumes, which throw a flood of
light on the manners and customs of 17th-century life in France, though
allowance must be made for exaggerations (1619-1692).
TALLEYRAND DE PÉRIGORD, CHARLES MAURICE, PRINCE OF BENEVENTO, French
statesman and diplomatist, born in Paris, of an illustrious family;
rendered lame by an accident, was cut off from a military career; was
educated for the Church, and made bishop of Autun; chosen deputy of the
clergy of his diocese to the States-General in 1789, threw himself with
zeal into the popular side, officiated in his pontifical robes at the
feast of the Federation in the Champs de Mars, and was the first to take
the oath on that side, but on being excommunicated by the Pope resigned
his bishopric, and embarked on a statesman's career; sent on a mission to
England in 1792, remained two years as an _émigré_, and had to deport
himself to the United States, where he employed himself in commercial
transactions; recalled in 1796, was appointed Minister of Foreign
Affairs; supported Bonaparte in his ambitious schemes, and on the latter
becoming Emperor, was made Grand Chamberlain and Duke of Benevento, while
he retained the portfolio of Foreign Affairs; in a fit of irritation
Napoleon one day discharged him, and he refused to accept office again
when twice over recalled; he attached himself to the Bourbons on their
return, and becoming Foreign Minister to Louis XVIII., was made a peer,
and sent ambassador to the Congress of Vienna; went into opposition till
the fall of Charles X., and attached himself to Louis Philippe in 1830;
Carlyle in his "Revolution" pronounced him "a man living in falsehood and
on falsehood, yet, as the specialty of him, not what you can call a false
man ... an enigma possible only in an age of paper and the burning of
paper," in an age in which the false was the only real (1754-1838).
TALLIEN, JEAN LAMBERT, a notable French Revolutionist, born in
Paris; a lawyer's clerk; threw in his lot with the Revolution, and became
prominent as the editor of a Jacobin journal, _L'Ami des Citoyens_; took
an active part in the sanguinary proceedings during the ascendency of
Robespierre, notably terrorising the disaffected of Bordeaux by a
merciless use of the guillotine; recalled to Paris, and became President
of the Convention, but fearing Robespierre, headed the attack which
brought the Dictator to the block; enjoyed, with his celebrated wife,
Madame de Fontenay, considerable influence; accompanied Napoleon to
Egypt; was captured by the English, and for a season lionised by the
Whigs; his political influence at an end, he was glad to accept the post
of consul at Alicante, and subsequently died in poverty (1769-1820).
TALLIS, THOMAS, "the father of English cathedral music," born in the
reign of Henry VIII., lived well into the reign of Elizabeth; was an
organist, and probably "a gentleman of the Chapel Royal"; composed
various anthems, hymns, Te Deums, etc., including "The Song of the Forty
Parts" (c. 1515-1585).
TALLY, a notched stick used in commercial and Exchequer transactions
when writing was yet a rare accomplishment; the marks, of varying
breadth, indicated sums paid by a purchaser; the stick was split
longitudinally, and one-half retained by the seller and one by the buyer
as a receipt. As a means of receipt for sums paid into the Exchequer, the
tally was in common use until 1782, and was not entirely abolished till
1812. Tally System, a mode of credit-dealing by which a merchant provides
a customer with goods, and receives in return weekly or monthly payments
to account.
TALMA, FRANÇOIS JOSEPH, a famous French tragedian, born in Paris,
where in 1787 he made his _début_; from the first his great gifts were
apparent, and during the Revolution he was the foremost actor at the
Théâtre de la République, and subsequently enjoyed the favour of
Napoleon; his noble carriage and matchless elocution enabled him to play
with great dignity such characters as Othello, Nero, Orestes, Leicester,
etc.; introduced, like Kemble in England, a greater regard for historical
accuracy in scenery and dress (1763-1826).
TALMUD, a huge limbo, in chaotic arrangement, consisting of the
Mishna, or text, and Gemara, or commentary, of Rabbinical speculations,
subtleties, fancies, and traditions connected with the Hebrew Bible, and
claiming to possess co-ordinate rank with it as expository of its meaning
and application, the whole collection dating from a period subsequent to
the Captivity and the close of the canon of Scripture. There are two
Talmuds, one named the Talmud of Jerusalem, and the other the Talmud of
Babylon, the former, the earlier of the two, belonging in its present
form to the close of the 4th century, and the latter to at least a
century later. See HAGGADAH and HALACHA.
TALUS, a man of brass, the work of Hephæstos, given to Minos to
guard the island of Crete; he walked round the island thrice a day, and
if he saw any stranger approaching he made himself red-hot and embraced
him.
TAMATAVE, the chief town of Madagascar, on a bay on the E. coast.
TAMERLANE or TIMUR, a great Asiatic conqueror, born at Hesh,
near Samarcand; the son of a Mongol chief, raised himself by military
conquest to the throne of Samarcand (1369), and having firmly established
his rule over Turkestan, inspired by lust of conquest began the wonderful
series of military invasions which enabled him to build up an empire that
at the time of his death extended from the Ganges to the Grecian
Archipelago; died whilst leading an expedition against China; was a
typical Asiatic despot, merciless in the conduct of war, but in
peace-time a patron of science and art, and solicitous for his subjects'
welfare (1336-1405).
TAMESIS, the Latin name for the Thames, and so named by Cesar in his
"Gallic War."
TAMIL, a branch of the Dravidian language, spoken in the S. of India
and among the coolies of Ceylon.
TAMMANY SOCIETY, a powerful political organisation of New York
City, whose ostensible objects, on its formation in 1805, were charity
and reform of the franchise; its growth was rapid, and from the first it
exercised, under a central committee and chairman, known as the "Boss,"
remarkable political influence on the Democratic side. Since the gigantic
frauds practised in 1870-1871 on the municipal revenues by the then
"Boss," William M. Tweed, and his "ring," the society has remained under
public suspicion as "a party machine" not too scrupulous about its ways
and means. The name is derived from a celebrated Indian chief who lived
in Penn's day, and who has become the centre of a cycle of legendary
tales.
TAMMERFORS (20), an important manufacturing city of Finland,
situated on a rapid stream, which drives its cotton, linen, and woollen
factories, 50 m. NW. of Tavastehuus.
TAMMUZ, a god mentioned in Ezekiel, generally identified with the
GREEK ADONIS (q. v.), the memory of whose fall was annually
celebrated with expressions first of mourning and then of joy all over
Asia Minor. Adonis appears to have been a symbol of the sun, departing in
winter and returning as youthful as ever in spring, and the worship of
him a combined expression of gloom, connected with the presence of
winter, and of joy, associated with the approach of summer.
TAMPICO (5), a port of Mexico, on the Panuco, 9 m. from its entrance
into the Gulf of Mexico; the harbour accommodation has been improved, and
trade is growing.
TAMWORTH (7), an old English town on the Stafford and Warwickshire
border, 7 m. SE. of Lichfield; its history goes back to the time of the
Danes, by whom it was destroyed in 911; an old castle, and the church of
St. Edith, are interesting buildings; has prosperous manufactures of
elastic, paper, &c.; has a bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel, who
represented the borough in Parliament.
TANAÏS, the Latin name for the Don.
TANCRED, a famous crusader, hero of Tasso's great poem; was the son
of Palgrave Otho the Good, and of Emma, Robert Guiscard's sister; for
great deeds done in the first crusade he was rewarded with the
principality of Tiberias; in the "Jerusalem Delivered" Tasso, following
the chroniclers, represents him as the very "flower and pattern of
chivalry"; stands as the type of "a very gentle perfect knight"; died at
Antioch of a wound received in battle (1078-1112).
TANDY, JAMES NAPPER, Irish patriot, born in Dublin, where he became
a well-to-do merchant, and first secretary to the United Irishmen
association; got into trouble through the treasonable schemes of the
United Irishmen, and fled to America; subsequently served in the French
army, took part in the abortive invasion of Ireland (1798); ultimately
fell into the hands of the English Government, and was sentenced to death
(1801), but was permitted to live an exile in France (1740-1803).
TANGANYIKA, a lake of East Central Africa, stretching between the
Congo Free State (W.) and German East Africa (E.); discovered by Speke
and Burton in 1858; more carefully explored by Livingstone and Stanley in
1871; the overflow is carried off by the Lukuga into the Upper Congo; is
girt round by lofty mountains; length 420 m., breadth from 15 to 80 m.
TANGIER or TANGIERS (20), a seaport of Morocco, on a small bay
of the Strait of Gibraltar; occupies a picturesque site on two hills, but
within its old walls presents a dirty and crowded appearance; has a
considerable shipping trade; was a British possession from 1662 to 1683,
but was abandoned by them, and subsequently became infested by pirates.
TANIS, an ancient city of Egypt, whose ruins mark its site on the
NE. of the Nile delta; once the commercial metropolis of Egypt, and a
royal residence; fell into decay owing to the silting up of the Tanitic
mouth of the Nile, and was destroyed in A.D. 174 for rebellion.
TANIST STONE, monolith erected by the Celts on a coronation,
agreeably to an ancient custom (Judges ix. 6).
TANISTRY, a method of tenure which prevailed among the Gaelic Celts;
according to this custom succession, whether in office or land, was
determined by the family as a whole, who on the death of one holder
elected another from its number; the practice was designed probably to
prevent family estates falling into the hands of an incompetent or
worthless heir.
TANJORE (54), capital of a district (2,130) of the same name, in
Madras Province, India, situated in a fertile plain 180 m. SW. of Madras,
and about 45 m. from the sea; surrounded by walls; contains a rajah's
palace, a British residency, and manufactures silk, muslin, and cotton.
TANNAHILL, ROBERT, Scottish poet, born at Paisley; the son of a
weaver, was bred to the hand-loom, and with the exception of a two years'
residence in Lancashire, passed his life in his native town; an
enthusiastic admirer of Burns, Fergusson, and Ramsay, he soon began to
emulate them, and in 1807 published a volume of "Poems and Songs," which,
containing such songs as "Gloomy Winter's noo Awa," "Jessie the Flower o'
Dunblane," "The Wood o' Craigielea," &c., proved an immediate success;
disappointment at the rejection by Constable of his proffered MSS. of a
new and enlarged edition of his works and a sense of failing health led
to his committing suicide in a canal near Paisley; his songs are marked
by tenderness and grace, but lack the force and passion of Burns
(1774-1810).
TANNER, THOMAS, bishop and antiquary, born at Market Lavington,
Wiltshire; became a graduate and Fellow of Oxford; took orders, and rose
to be bishop of St. Asaph; his reputation as a learned and accurate
antiquary rests on his two great works "Notitia Monastica, or a Short
Account of the Religious Houses in England and Wales," and "Bibliotheca
Britannico-Hibernica," a veritable mine of biographical and
bibliographical erudition; bequeathed valuable collections of charters,
deeds, &c., to the Bodleian Library (1674-1735).
TANNHÄUSER, a knight of medieval legend, who wins the affection of a
lady, but leaves her to worship in the cave-palace of Venus, on learning
which the lady plunges a dagger into her heart and dies; smitten with
remorse he visits her grave, weeps over it, and hastens to Rome to
confess his sin to Pope Urban; the Pope refuses absolution, and protests
it is no more possible for him to receive pardon than for the dry wand in
his hand to bud again and blossom; in his despair he flees from Rome, but
is met by Venus, who lures him back to her cave, there to remain till the
day of judgment; meanwhile the wand he left at Rome begins to put forth
green leaves, and Urban, alarmed, sends off messengers in quest of the
unhappy knight, but they fail to find him.
TANNIN, an astringent principle found in gallnuts and the bark
chiefly of the oak.
TANTALUS, in the Greek mythology a Lydian king, who, being admitted
from blood relationship to the banquets of the gods, incurred their
displeasure by betraying their secrets, and was consigned to the nether
world and compelled to suffer the constant pangs of hunger and thirst,
though he stood up to the chin in water, and had ever before him the
offer of the richest fruits, both of which receded from him as he
attempted to reach them, while a huge rock hung over him, ever
threatening to fall and crush him with its weight.
TANTIA TOPEE, the most daring and stubborn of Nana Sahib's
lieutenants during the Indian Mutiny; in alliance with the Rani of Jhansi
he upheld for a time the mutiny after the flight of his chief, but was
finally captured and executed in 1859.
TAOISM, the religious system of LAOTZE (q. v.).
TAORMINA (2), a town of Sicily; crowns the summit of Monte Tauro, 35
m. SW. of Messina; chiefly celebrated for its splendid ruins of an
ancient theatre, aqueducts, sepulchres, &c.
TAPAJOS, one of the greater affluents of the Amazon; its head-waters
rise in the Serra Diamantina, in the S. of Matto-Grosso State; has a
northward course of over 1000 m. before it joins the Amazon; is a broad
and excellent waterway, and navigable in its lower course for 150 m.
TAPLEY, MARK, body-servant to Martin Chuzzlewit, in Dickens's novel
of the name.
TAPTI, a river of Bombay; has its source in the Betul district of
the Central Provinces, and flows westward across the peninsula 450 m. to
the Gulf of Cambay; is a shallow and muddy stream, of little commercial
use.
TARA, HILL OF, a celebrated eminence, cone-shaped (507 ft.), in
county Meath, 7 m. SE. of Navan; legend points to it as the site of the
residence of the kings of Ireland, where something like a parliament was
held every three years.
TARANAKI (22), a provincial district of New Zealand, occupying the
SW. corner of North Island; remarkable for its dense forests, which cover
nearly three-fourths of its area, and for its beds (2 to 5 ft. deep) of
titaniferous iron-sand which extend along its coasts, out of which the
finest steel is manufactured; New Plymouth (4) is the capital.
TARANTO (25), a fortified seaport of South Italy, situated on a
rocky islet which lies between the Gulf of Taranto and the Mare Piccolo,
a broad inlet on the E., 72 m. S. of Bari; is well built, and contains
various interesting buildings, including a cathedral and castle; is
connected with the mainland on the E. by a six-arched bridge, and by an
ancient aqueduct on the W.; some textile manufactures are carried on, and
oyster and mussel fisheries and fruit-growing are important; as the
ancient Tarentum its history goes back to the time when it was the chief
city of Magna Græcia; was captured by the Romans in 272 B.C., and after
the fall of the Western Empire was successively in the hands of Goths,
Lombards, and Saracens, and afterwards shared the fate of the kingdom of
Naples, to which it was united in 1063.
TARAPACA (47), a maritime province of North Chili, taken from Peru
in 1883; its immense deposits of nitrate of soda are a great source of
wealth to the country; capital IQUIQUE (q. v.)
TARARE (12), a town of France, dep. of Rhône, 21 m. NW. of Lyons;
busy with the manufacture of muslins, silks, and other fine textiles.
TARASCON (7), a picturesque old town of France, 18 m. SW. of
Avignon; is surrounded by walls, has a 15th-century castle (King Rent's),
a Gothic church, silk and woollen factories.
TARBES (25), an old historic town of France, on the Adour, 100 m.
SW. of Toulouse; has a fine 12th-century cathedral, a Government cannon
factory, etc.
TARE AND TRET, commercial terms, are deductions usually made from
the gross weight of goods. Tare is the weight of the case or covering,
box, or such-like, containing the goods; deducting this the _net weight_
is left. Tret is a further allowance (not now so commonly deducted) made
at the rate of 4 lb. for every 104 lb. for waste through dust, sand, etc.
TARENTUM. See TARANTO.
TARGUMS, translations, dating for the most part as early as the time
of Ezra, of several books of the Old Testament into Aramaic, which both
in Babylonia and Palestine had become the spoken language of the Jews
instead of Hebrew, executed chiefly for the service of the Synagogue;
they were more or less of a paraphrastic nature, and were accompanied
with comments and instances in illustration; they were delivered at first
orally and then handed down by tradition, which did not improve them. One
of them, on the Pentateuch, bears the name of Onkelos, who sat at the
feet of Gamaliel along with St. Paul, and another the name of Jonathan,
in the historical and prophetical books, though there are others, the
Jerusalem Targum and the Pseudo-Jonathan, which are of an inferior stamp
and surcharged with fancies similar to those in the TALMUD (q. v.).
TARIFA (13), an interesting old Spanish seaport, the most southerly
town of Europe, 21 m. SW. of Gibraltar, derives its name from the Moorish
leader Tarif, who occupied it 710 A.D.; held by the Moors for more than
500 years; still thoroughly Moorish in appearance, dingy, crowded, and
surrounded by walls; is connected by causeway with the strongly-fortified
Isleta de Tarifa.
TARNOPOL (26), a town of Galicia, Austria, on the Sereth, 80 m. SE.
of Lemberg; does a good trade in agricultural produce; inhabitants
chiefly Jews.
TARNOV (25), a town of Galicia, Austria, on the Biala, 48 m. SE. of
Cracow; is the see of a bishop, with cathedral, monastery, etc.;
manufactures linen and leather.
TARPEIAN ROCK, a precipitous cliff on the W. of the Capitoline Hill
at Rome, from which in ancient times persons guilty of treason were
hurled; named after Tarpeia, a vestal virgin, who betrayed the city to
the Sabine soldiers, then besieging Rome, on condition that they gave her
what they wore on their left arms, meaning their golden bracelets;
instead the soldiers flung their shields (borne on their left arms) upon
her, so keeping to the letter of their promise, but visiting perfidy with
merited punishment; at the base of the rock her body was buried.
TARQUINIUS, name of an illustrious Roman family of Etruscan origin,
two of whose members, according to legend, reigned as king in Rome:
LUCIUS TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS, fifth king of Rome; the friend and
successor of Ancus Martius; said to have reigned from 616 to 578 B.C.,
and to have greatly extended the power and fame of Rome; was murdered by
the sons of Ancus Martius. LUCIUS TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS, seventh and
last king of Rome (534-510), usurped the throne after murdering his
father-in-law, King Servius Tullius; ruled as a despot, extended the
power of Rome abroad, but was finally driven out by a people goaded to
rebellion by his tyranny and infuriated by the infamous conduct of his
son Sextus (the violator of Lucretia); made several unsuccessful attempts
to regain the royal power, failing in which he retired to Cumæ, where he
died.
TARRAGONA (27), a Spanish seaport, capital of a province (349) of
its own name, situated at the entrance of the Francoli into the
Mediterranean, 60 m. W. of Barcelona; contains many interesting remains
of the Roman occupation, including an aqueduct, still used, and the Tower
of the Scipios; possesses also a 12th-century Gothic cathedral; has a
large shipping and transport trade, and manufactures silk, jute, lace,
&c.
TARRYTOWN (4), a village of New York State, on the Hudson, 21 m. N.
of New York; associated with the arrest of Major André in 1780, and the
closing scenes of Washington Irving's life.
TARSHISH, a place frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, now
generally identified with Tartessus, a Phoenician settlement in the SW.
of Spain, near the mouth of the Guadalquivir, which became co-extensive
with the district subsequently known as Andalusia; also conjectured to
have been Tarsus, and also Yemen.
TARSUS (8), a city of great antiquity and interest, the ancient
capital of Cilicia, now in the province of Adana, in Turkey in Asia, on
the Cydnus, 12 m. above its entrance into the Mediterranean; legend
ascribes its foundation to Sennacherib in 690 B.C.; in Roman times was a
famous centre of wealth and culture, rivalling Athens and Alexandria;
associated with the meeting of Antony and Cleopatra and the deaths of the
emperors Tacitus and Maximinus; here St. Paul was born and notable Stoic
philosophers; in the hands of the Turk has decayed into a squalid
residence of merchants busy with the export of corn, cotton, wool, hides,
&c. In winter the population rises to 30,000.
TARTARS (originally TATARS), a name of no precise ethnological
signification, used in the 13th century to describe the Mongolic,
Turkish, and other Asiatic hordes, who, under GENGHIS KHAN (q. v.),
were the terror of Eastern Europe, and now bestowed upon various
tribes dwelling in Tartary, Siberia, and the Asiatic steppes.
TARTARUS, a dark sunless waste in the nether deeps, as far below
earth as heaven is above it, into which Zeus hurled the Titans that
rebelled against him; the term was subsequently sometimes used to denote
the whole nether world and sometimes the place of punishment.
TARTESSUS, the Greek and Roman name for the Scriptural Tarshish.
TARTINI, GIUSEPPE, a famous Italian violinist and composer, born at
Pirano, in Istria; got into trouble over his clandestine marriage with
the niece of the archbishop of Padua, and fled for sanctuary to a
monastery at Assisi; subsequently reunited to his wife established
himself in Padua as a teacher and composer; wrote a "Treatise on Music,"
and enjoyed a wide celebrity, and still ranks as one of the great
violinists of the past (1692-1770).
TARTUFFE, a knave, a creation of Molière's, who makes a cloak of
religion to cover his knaveries, and the name of the play in which the
character appears, Molière's greatest.
TASHKAND or TASHKENT (100), capital of Russian Turkestan, on
the Tchirshik, 300 m. NE. of Samarcand; an ancient place still surrounded
by its 12 m. circuit of wall, and fortified; Russian enterprise has done
much for it, introducing schools, &c.; carries on a brisk trade, and
manufactures silks, leather, porcelain ware, &c.
TASMAN SEA, the sea lying between the New Zealand group and the
islands of Australia and Tasmania.
TASMANIA (146), an island and colony of Britain, lying fully 100 m.
S. of Australia, from which it is separated by Bass Strait; about the
size of Scotland; the beauty of its mountain and lake scenery has won it
the name of "the Switzerland of the South"; extensive stretches of
tableland diversified by lakes--largest Great Lake, 90 m. in
circumference--occupy the centre; wide fertile valleys stretch down to
the coastal plains, often richly wooded with lofty eucalyptus and various
pine trees; rivers are numerous, and include the Derwent and Tamar, which
form excellent waterways into the interior; enjoys a genial and temperate
climate, more invigorating than that of Australia; sheep-farming and
latterly mining (coal in particular), and fruit-growing are the principal
industries; gold, silver, and tin are also wrought; the flora, as also
the fauna, is practically identical with that of Australia; has a long,
irregular coast-line, with many excellent harbours; chief exports are
wool, tin, fruit, timber, coal, and gold; was discovered in 1642 by
Tasman, a Dutchman, and first settled by Englishmen in 1803; the
aborigines are now completely extinct; was till 1852 a penal settlement,
and received representative government in 1855; is divided into 18
counties; government is conducted by a legislative council, a house of
assembly, and a crown-appointed governor; most of the colonists belong to
the Church of England; compulsory education is in vogue; is well supplied
with railways and telegraphs; was formerly called Van Diemen's Land after
Van Diemen, the Dutch governor-general of Batavia, who despatched Tasman
on his voyage of discovery.
TASSO, BERNARDO, an Italian poet of some repute in his own day, but
now chiefly remembered as the father of the greater Torquato, born in
Venice (1493-1569).
TASSO, TORQUATO, an illustrious Italian poet, son of preceding, born
at Sorrento, near Naples; educated at a Jesuit school in Naples, he
displayed unusual precocity, and subsequently studied law at the
university of Padua, but already devoted to poetry, at 18 published his
first poem "Rinaldo," a romance in 12 cantos, the subject-matter of which
is drawn from the Charlemagne legends; in 1566 he entered the service of
Cardinal Luigi d'Este, by whom he was introduced to Alfonso, Duke of
Ferrara, brother of the cardinal, within whose court he received the
needful impulse to begin his great poem "La Gerusalemme Liberata"; for
the court stage he wrote his pastoral play "Aminta," a work of high
poetic accomplishment, which extended his popularity, and by 1575 his
great epic was finished; in the following year the symptoms of mental
disease revealed themselves, and after a confinement of a few days he
fled from Ferrara, and for two years led the life of a wanderer, the
victim of his own brooding, religious melancholy, passing on foot from
city to city of Italy; yielding to a pent-up longing to revisit Ferrara
he returned, but was coldly received by the duke, and after an outburst
of frenzy placed in confinement for seven years; during these years the
fame of his epic spread throughout Italy, and the interest created in its
author eventually led to his liberation; in 1595 he was summoned by Pope
Clement VIII., from a heartless and wandering life, to appear at Rome to
be crowned upon the Capitol the poet-laureate of Italy, but, although he
reached the city, his worn-out frame succumbed before the ceremony could
take place; "One thing," says Settembrini, the literary historian of
Italy, "Tasso had, which few in his time possessed, a great heart, and
that made him a true and great poet, and a most unhappy man;" Fairfax's
translation of the "Jerusalem Delivered" is one of his great
translations in the English language (1544-1595).
TATAR, a word derived from a Turanian root signifying "to pitch a
tent," hence appropriate to nomadic tribes, became converted by European
chroniclers into Tartar, a fanciful derivative from Tartaros (Gr. hell),
and suggestive of fiends from hell. Tartary, as a geographical expression
of the Middle Ages, embraced a vast stretch of territory from the
Dnieper, in Eastern Europe, to the Sea of Japan; but subsequently
dwindled away to Chinese and Western Turkestan.
TATE, NAHUM, poet-laureate, born in Dublin, where he was educated at
Trinity College; came to London to ply the craft of letters, and in 1690
succeeded Shadwell in the laureateship; improvident, and probably
intemperate, he died in the Mint, the refuge of bankrupts in those days;
wrote some dramatic pieces, but is to be remembered mainly for his
metrical version of the Psalms, executed in conjunction with Nicholas
Brady, which superseded the older version done by STERNHOLD (q. v.)
and Hopkins (1652-1715).
TATIUS, ACHILLES, a Greek romancer who flourished about the
beginning of the 4th century A.D.; wrote the romance of "Leucippe and
Cleitophon."
TATTERSALL'S, a noted horse-mart and haunt of racing men at
Knightsbridge, London, established by Richard Tattersall (1724-1795), an
auctioneer, who in 1766 obtained a 99 years' lease from Lord Grosvenor of
premises in Hyde Park Corner; the present premises were occupied on the
expiry of the lease in 1867.
TATTOOING, a practice of imprinting various designs, often
pictorial, upon the skin by means of colouring matter, e. g. Chinese
ink, cinnabar, introduced into punctures made by needles; widely in vogue
in past and present times amongst uncivilised peoples, and even to some
extent amongst civilised races; like the use of rouge, was mainly for the
purpose of ornamentation and for improving the appearance, but also in
some cases for religious purposes; reached its highest perfection in
Japan, where it seems to have been largely resorted to as a substitute
for clothing, and was never employed on the face, feet, or hands; among
the South Sea islanders the custom is universal, and is still practised
by considerable numbers of the lower-class criminals of Europe.
TAU, CROSS OF, or ST. ANTHONY'S CROSS, a cross resembling the
letter T.
TAUCHNITZ, KARL CRISTOPH TRAUGOTT, a noted German printer and
bookseller, born at Grosspardau, near Leipzig; trained as a printer, he
started on his own account in Leipzig in 1796, flourished, and became
celebrated for his neat and cheap editions of the Roman and Greek
classics; introduced stereotyping into Germany (1761-1836). The
well-known "British Authors" collection was started in 1841 by CHRISTIAN
BERNARD, BARON VON TAUCHNITZ, a nephew of the preceding, who
established himself as a printer and publisher in Leipzig in 1837; was
ennobled in 1860, and made a Saxon life-peer in 1877; _b_. 1816.
TAULER, JOHANN, a German mystic, born in Strasburg, bred a monk of
the Dominican order, had, along with the rest of his order, to flee the
city, and settled in Basel, became a centre of religious life there, and
acquired repute as one of the most eloquent preachers of the day; his
sphere was not speculative thought but practical piety, and his "Sermons"
take rank among the aboriginal monuments of German prose literature
(1300-1361).
TAUNTON, 1, (18), a trim, pleasantly-situated town of Somersetshire
(18), on the Tone, 45 m. SW. of Bristol; has a fine old castle founded in
the 8th century, rebuilt in the 12th century, and having interesting
associations with Perkin Warbeck, Judge Jeffreys, and Sydney Smith; has
various schools, a college, barracks, &c.; noted for its hosiery, glove,
and silk manufactures, and is also a busy agricultural centre. 2, Capital
(31) of Bristol County, Massachusetts, on the Taunton River, 34 m. S. of
Boston, a well equipped and busy manufacturing town.
TAURIDA (1,060), a government of South Russia, of extensive area,
jutting down in peninsular shape into the Black Sea, and including the
Crimea and isthmus of Perekop; forms the western boundary of the Sea of
Azov; cattle-breeding and agriculture the staple industries.
TAURUS, or THE BULL, a constellation, the second in size of the
zodiac, which the sun enters towards the 20th of April.
TAURUS, MOUNT, a mountain range of Turkey in Asia, stretching W. for
about 500 m. in an unbroken chain from the head-waters of the Euphrates
to the Ægean Sea, and forming the S. buttress of the tableland of Asia
Minor; in the E. is known as the Ala Dagh, in the W. as the Bulghar Dagh.
The Anti-Taurus is an offshoot of the main range, which, continuing to
the NE., unites with the systems of the Caucasus.
TAVERNIER, JEAN BAPTIST, BARON D'AUBONNE, a celebrated French
traveller, born in Paris, the son of an Antwerp engraver; was a wanderer
from his boyhood, starting on his travels at the age of 15, and by the
end of 1630 had made his way as valet, page, &c., over most of Europe;
during the years 1630-1669 he in six separate expeditions traversed most
of the lands of Asia in the capacity of a dealer in jewels; reaped large
profits; was honoured by various potentates, and returned with stores of
valuable information respecting the commerce of those countries, which
with much else interesting matter lie embodied in his great work, "Six
Voyages," a classic now in travel-literature; was ennobled in 1669 by
Louis XIV. (1605-1689).
TAVIRA (11), a seaport in the S. of Portugal; has a Moorish castle,
and good sardine and tunny fisheries.
TAVISTOCK (6), a market-town of Devon, situated at the western edge
of Dartmoor, on the Tavy, 11 m. N. of Plymouth; has remains of a
10th-century Benedictine abbey, a guild-hall, grammar school, &c.; is one
of the old stannary towns, and still largely depends for its prosperity
on the neighbouring tin, copper, and arsenic mines.
TAXIDERMY, the art of preparing and preserving the skins of animals
for exhibition in cabinets.
TAY, a river of Scotland whose drainage area lies almost wholly
within Perthshire; rises on the northern slope of Ben Lui, on the Argyll
and Perthshire border, and flowing 25 m. NE. under the names of Fillan
and Dochart, enters Loch Tay, whence it sweeps N., SE., and E., passing
Aberfeldy, Dunkeld, Perth, and Dundee, and enters the North Sea by a
noble estuary 25 m. long and from ½ m. to 3½ m. broad; chief affluents
are the Tummel, Isla, Almond, and Earn; discharges a greater body of
water than any British stream; is renowned for the beauty of its scenery,
and possesses valuable salmon fisheries; has a total length of 120 m.,
and is navigable to Perth; immediately W. of Dundee it is spanned by the
TAY BRIDGE, the longest structure of its kind in the world,
consisting of 95 spans, with a total width of 3440 yards; Loch Tay, one
of the finest of Highland lochs, lies at the base of Ben Lawers,
stretches 14½ m. NE. from Killin to Kenmore, and varies from ½ m. to 1½
m. in breadth.
TAYGETUS, a range of mountains in the Peloponnese, separating
Laconia from Messina.
TAYLOR, BAYARD, a noted American writer and traveller, born at
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; was bred to the printing trade, and by 21
had published a volume of poems, "Ximena," and "Views Afoot, or Europe
seen with Knapsack and Staff," the fruit of a walking tour through
Europe; next for a number of years contributed, as travel correspondent,
to the _Tribune_, visiting in this capacity Egypt, the greater part of
Asia, Central Africa, Russia. Iceland, etc.; during 1862-1863 acted as
Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg, and in 1878 was appointed
ambassador at Berlin; his literary reputation rests mainly on his poetic
works, "Poems of the Orient," "Rhymes of Travel," etc., and an admirable
translation of Goethe's "Faust"; also wrote several novels (1825-1878).
TAYLOR, SIR HENRY, poet, born at Bishop. Middleham, in Durham; after
a nine months' unhappy experience as a midshipman obtained his discharge,
and having acted for some years as clerk in the Storekeeper-General's
Department, entered the Colonial Office in 1823, where he continued till
his retirement in 1872; literature engaged his leisure hours, and his
four tragedies--the best of which is "Philip van Artevelde"--are an
important contribution to the drama of the century, and characterised as
the noblest effort in the true taste of the English historical drama
produced within the last century; published also a volume of lyric poems,
besides other works in prose and verse, including "The Statesman," and a
charming "Autobiography," supplemented later by his no less charming
"Correspondence"; received the distinctions of K.C.M.G. (1869) and
D.C.L. (1800-1886).
TAYLOR, ISAAC, a voluminous writer on quasi-philosophic subjects,
born in Lavenham, Suffolk; passed his life chiefly at Ongar engaged in
literary pursuits; contributed to the _Eclectic Review_, _Good Words_,
and wrote amongst other works "Natural History of Enthusiasm," "Natural
History of Fanaticism," "Spiritual Despotism" and "Ultimate Civilisation"
(1787-1865). His eldest son, Isaac, entered the Church, and rose to be
rector of Settrington, in Yorkshire, and was collated to a canonry of
York in 1885; has a wide reputation as a philologist, and author of
"Words and Places," and "The Alphabet, an Account of the Origin and
Development of Letters," besides "Etruscan Researches," "The Origin of
the Aryans," etc.; _b_. 1829.
TAYLOR, JEREMY, great English divine and preacher, born at
Cambridge, son of a barber; educated at Caius College; became a Fellow of
All Souls', Oxford; took orders; attracted the attention of Laud; was
made chaplain to the king, and appointed to the living of Uppingham; on
the sequestration of his living in 1642 joined the king at Oxford, and
adhered to the royal cause through the Civil War; suffered much
privation, and imprisonment at times; returning to Wales, he procured the
friendship and enjoyed the patronage of the Earl of Carberry, in whose
mansion at Grove he wrote a number of his works; before the Restoration
he received preferment in Ireland, and after that event was made bishop,
first of Down and then of Dromore; his life here was far from a happy
one, partly through insubordination in his diocese and partly through
domestic sorrow; his works are numerous, but the principal are his
"Liberty of Prophesying," "Holy Living and Holy Dying," "Life of Christ,"
"Ductor Dubitantium," a work on casuistry; he was a good man and a
faithful, more a religious writer than a theological; his books are read
more for their devotion than their divinity, and they all give evidence
of luxuriance of imagination, to which the epithet "florid" has not
inappropriately been applied; in Church matters he was a follower of Laud
(1613-1667).
TAYLOR, JOHN, known as the "Water-Poet," born at Gloucester; was
successively a waterman on the Thames, a sailor in the navy, public-house
keeper in Oxford, etc.; walked from London to Edinburgh, "not carrying
any money to or fro, neither begging, borrowing, or asking meat, drink,
or lodging," and described the journey in his "Penniless Pilgrimage";
wrote also "Travels in Germanie," and enjoyed considerable repute in his
time as a humorous rhymester (1580-1654).
TAYLOR, TOM, a noted playwright and journalist, born at Sunderland;
was elected to a Fellowship at Cambridge, for two years filled the chair
of English Literature at University College, London; in 1845 was called
to the bar, but shortly afterwards took to journalism, writing leaders
for the _Morning Chronicle_ and _Daily News_; during 1850-1872 held
secretarial appointments to the Board of Health and in the Local
Government Act Office; succeeded Shirley Brooks as editor of _Punch_ in
1874; was throughout his life a prolific writer and adapter of plays,
staging upwards of 100 pieces, of which the best known are "To Parents
and Guardians," "Still Waters Run Deep," "Our American Cousin,"
"Ticket-of-Leave Man," etc. (1817-1880).
TAYLOR, WILLIAM, literary historian and critic, born at Norwich;
residence on the Continent enabled him to master French, Italian, and
especially German, and confirmed him in his taste for literature, to
pursue which he abandoned business; various essays and reviews formed the
groundwork of his elaborate "Historic Survey of German Literature," the
first systematic survey of German literature presented to English
readers; taught German to George Borrow, who in "Lavengro" sketched his
interesting personality, which may be further studied in his
correspondence with Southey, Scott, etc. (1765-1836).
TAYLOR, ZACHARY, twelfth President of the United States, born in
Orange County, Virginia; obtained a lieutenancy in the navy in 1808;
first saw service in Indian wars on the north-west frontier; in 1836
cleared the Indians from Florida and won the brevet of brigadier-general;
great victories over the Mexicans on the Texan frontier during 1845-48
raised his popularity to such a pitch that on his return he was carried
triumphantly into the Presidency; the burning questions of his brief term
of office were the proposed admission of California as a free State and
the extension of slavery into the newly-acquired territory; was a man of
strong character, a daring and skilful general, of unassuming manners,
and loved by the mass of the people, to whom he was known as "Old Rough
and Ready" (1784-1850).
TAYLOR INSTITUTE, a building in Oxford erected from bequests by Sir
Robert Taylor and Dr. Randolph as a gallery to contain works of art left
to the university, and which contains a noble collection.
TE DEUM (Thee, O God), a grand hymn in Latin, so called from the
first words, sung at matins and on occasions of joy and thanksgiving; of
uncertain authorship; is called also the Ambrosian Hymn, as ascribed,
though without foundation, to St. Ambrose; is with more reason seemingly
ascribed to Hilary, bishop of Aries.
TEAZLE, LADY, the heroine in Sheridan's "School for Scandal,"
married to a man old enough to be her father, Sir Peter Teazle.
TECK, a German principality, named after a castle which crowns an
eminence called "The Teck," in the Swabian Alb, 20 m. SE. of Stuttgart,
conferred in 1868 on Duke Albert of Würtemberg's son, who in 1866 married
the Princess Mary of Cambridge; their daughter, Princess May, became in
1893 the Duchess of York.
TEES, English river, rises on Cross Fell, Cumberland, and flows E.,
forming the boundary between Durham and York; enters the North Sea 4 m.
below Stockton.
TEGNER, ESAIAS, a popular Swedish poet, born at Kyrkerud, the son of
a country parson; graduated with distinction at Lund University in 1802,
and shortly afterwards became lecturer in Philosophy; in 1812, already a
noted poet, he was called to the chair of Greek, and in later years was
the devoted bishop of Vexiö; his poems, of which "Frithiof's Saga" is
reckoned the finest, have the clearness and finish of classic models, but
are charged with the fire and vigour of modern romanticism (1782-1846).
TEGUCIGALPA (12), capital of Honduras, situated near the centre of
the country at a height of 3400 ft., in the fertile valley of the Rio
Grande, surrounded by mountains; has a cathedral and university.
TEHAMA, a low, narrow plain in Arabia, W. of the mountain range
which overlooks the Red Sea.
TEHERAN (210), capital of Persia, stands on a plain near the Elburz
Mountains, 70 m. S. of the Caspian Sea; is surrounded by a bastioned
rampart and ditch, 10 m. in circumference, and entered by 12 gateways;
much of it is of modern construction and handsomely laid out with parks,
wide streets, and imposing buildings, notable among which are the shah's
palace and the British Legation, besides many of the bazaars and wealthy
merchant's houses; heat during the summer drives the court, foreign
embassies, and others to the cooler heights in the N.; staple industries
are the manufactures of carpets, silks, cottons, &c.
TEHUANTEPEC, an isthmus in Mexico, 140 m. across, between a gulf of
the name and the Bay of Campeachy; it contains on the Pacific coast a
town (24) of the same name, with manufactures and pearl fisheries.
TEIGNMOUTH (8), a watering-place and port of Devonshire, on the
estuary of the Teign (here crossed by a wooden bridge 1671 ft. long), 12
m. S. of Exeter; has a Benedictine nunnery, baths, pier, &c.; does some
shipbuilding.
TEINDS, in Scotland tithes derived from the produce of the land for
the maintenance of the clergy.
TELAMONES, figures, generally colossal, of men supporting
entablatures, as Caryatides of women.
TEL-EL-KEBIR (the "Great Mound"), on the edge of the Egyptian
desert, midway between Ismaila and Cairo, the scene of a memorable
victory by the British forces under Sir Garnet Wolseley over the Egyptian
forces of Arabi Pasha (September 13, 1882), which brought the war to a
close.
TELEMACHUS, the son of Ulysses and Penelope (q. v.), who an infant
when his father left for Troy was a grown-up man on his return; having
gone in quest of his father after his long absence found him on his
return in the guise of a beggar, and whom he assisted in slaying his
mother's suitors.
TELEOLOGY, the doctrine of final causes, particularly the argument
for the being and character of God from the being and character of His
works, that the end reveals His purpose from the beginning, the end being
regarded as the thought of God at the beginning, or the universe viewed
as the realisation of Him and His eternal purpose.
TELEPATHY, name given to the supposed power of communication between
mind and mind otherwise than by the ordinary sense vehicles.
TELFORD, THOMAS, a celebrated engineer, born, the son of a shepherd,
in Westerkirk parish, Eskdale; served an apprenticeship to a stone-mason,
and after a sojourn in Edinburgh found employment in London in 1782; as
surveyor of public works for Shropshire in 1787 constructed bridges over
the Severn, and planned and superintended the Ellesmere Canal connecting
the Dee, Mersey, and Severn; his reputation now made, he was in constant
demand by Government, and was entrusted with the construction of the
Caledonian Canal, the great road between London and Holyhead (including
the Menai Suspension Bridge), and St. Katherine Docks, London; but his
bridges, canals, harbours, and roads are to be found in all parts of the
kingdom, and bear the stamp of his thorough and enduring workmanship;
"the Colossus of Roads," Southey called him (1757-1834).
TELL, a fertile strip of land of 47 m. of average breadth in
North-West Africa, between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea;
produces cereals, wine, &c.
TELL, WILLIAM, Swiss hero and patriot, a peasant, native of the
canton of Uri, who flourished in the beginning of the 14th century;
resisted the oppression of the Austrian governor Gessler, and was taken
prisoner, but was promised his liberty if with his bow and arrow he could
hit an apple on the head of his son, a feat he accomplished with one
arrow, with the second arrow in his belt, which he told Gessler he had
kept to shoot him with if he had failed. This so incensed the governor
that he bound him to carry off to his castle; but as they crossed the
lake a storm arose, and Tell had to be unbound to save them, when he
leapt upon a rock and made off, to lie in ambush, whence he shot the
oppressor through the heart as he passed him; a rising followed, which
ended only with the emancipation of Switzerland from the yoke of Austria.
TELLEZ, GABRIEL, the assumed name of Tirso de Molina, Spanish
dramatist, born in Madrid; became a monk; wrote 58 comedies, some of
which keep their place on the Spanish stage; as a dramatist ranks next to
Lope de Vega, whose pupil he was (1583-1648).
TELLICHERRI (27), a seaport on the Malabar coast, Madras Presidency,
India; is fortified and garrisoned; surrounding country is pretty, as
well as productive of coffee, cardamoms, and sandal-wood.
TELLURIUM, a rare metal usually found in combination with other
metals.
TEMESVAR (40), a royal free city of Hungary, on the Bega Canal, 75
m. NE. of Belgrade; is a strongly-fortified, well-built city, equipped
with theatre, schools, colleges, hospitals, &c., and possesses a handsome
Gothic cathedral and ancient castle; manufactures flour, woollens, silks,
paper, &c.
TEMPE, VALE OF, a valley in the NE. of Thessaly, lying between
Olympus on the N. and Ossa on the S., traversed by the river Peneus, and
for the beauty of its scenery celebrated by the Greek poets as a
favourite haunt of Apollo and the Muses; it is rather less than 5 m. in
length, and opens eastward into a spacious plain.
TEMPLARS, a famous order of knights which flourished during the
Middle Ages, and originated in connection with the Crusades. Its founders
were Hugues de Payen and Geoffroi de St. Omer, who, along with 17 other
French knights, in 1119 formed themselves into a brotherhood, taking vows
of chastity and poverty, for the purpose of convoying, in safety from
attacks of Saracens and infidels, pilgrims to the Holy Land. King Baldwin
II. of Jerusalem granted them a residence in a portion of his palace,
built on the site of the Temple of Solomon, and close to the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre, which became the special object of their protection.
Hence their assumption of the name "Templars." The order rapidly
increased in numbers, and drew members from all classes. "The Templar was
the embodiment of the two strongest passions of the Middle Ages--the
desire for military renown and for a monk's life." A constitution was
drawn up by Bernard of Clairvaux (1128), and later three ranks were
recognised--the knights, who alone wore the mantle of white linen and red
cross, men-at-arms, and lower retainers, while a grand-master, seneschal,
and other officers were created. During the first 150 years of their
existence the Templars increased enormously in power; under papal
authority they enjoyed many privileges, such as exemption from taxes,
tithes, and interdict. After the capture of Jerusalem by the infidels
Cyprus became in 1291 their head-quarters, and subsequently France. But
their usefulness was at an end, and their arrogance, luxury, and quarrels
with the Hospitallers had alienated the sympathies of Christendom.
Measures of the cruellest and most barbarous kind were taken for their
suppression by Philip the Fair of France, supported by Pope Clement IV.
Between 1306 and 1314 hundreds were burned at the stake, the order
scattered, and their possessions confiscated.
TEMPLE, FREDERICK, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Santa Maura, in
Leukas, one of the Ionian Islands; was highly distinguished at Balliol
College, Oxford, as graduate, fellow, and tutor; in 1846 became Principal
of Kneller Hall Training College, was one of H.M. Inspectors of Schools,
and during 1858 and 1869 was head-master of Rugby; a Liberal in politics,
he supported the disestablishment of the Irish Church, and as a
Broad-Churchman was elected to the bishopric of Exeter (1869), of London
(1885), and in 1896 was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury; contributed
to the celebrated "Essays and Reviews"; published "Sermons Preached in
Rugby Chapel," and in 1884 was Bampton Lecturer; _b_. 1821.
TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, diplomatist and essayist, born in London, and
educated at Cambridge; travel on the Continent, courtship, and marriage,
and some years of quiet and studious retirement in Ireland, occupied him
during the Protectorate; in 1660 was returned to the Convention
Parliament at Dublin, and five years later, having resettled in England,
began his diplomatic career, the most notable success in which was his
arrangement in 1668 of the Triple Alliance between England, Holland, and
Sweden to hold in check the growing power of France; as ambassador at The
Hague became friendly with the Prince of Orange, whose marriage with the
Princess Mary (daughter of James II.) he negotiated; was recalled in
1671, but after the Dutch War returned to his labours at The Hague, and
in 1679 carried through the Peace of Nimeguen; although offered a State
Secretaryship more than once, shrank from the responsibilities of office
under Charles II., a diffidence he again showed in the reign of William
III.; the later years of his life were spent in Epicurean ease, in the
enjoyment of his garden, and in the pursuit of letters at his villa at
Sheen, and, after 1686, at Moor Park, in Surrey, where he had Swift for
secretary; is remembered in constitutional history for his scheme (a
failure ultimately) to put the king more completely under the check of
the Privy Council by remodelling its constitution; was a writer of
considerable distinction, his miscellaneous essays and memoirs being
notable for grace and perspicuity of style (1628-1699).
TEMPLE, THE, of Jerusalem, a building constructed on the same plan
and for the same purpose as the TABERNACLE (q. v.), only of
larger dimensions, more substantial and costly materials, and a more
ornate style; it was a magnificent structure, contained treasures of
wealth, and was the pride of the Hebrew people. There were three
successive structures that bore the name--Solomon's, built by Solomon in
1004 B.C., and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 588 B.C.; Zerubbabel's,
built in 515, and pillaged and desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167
B.C.; and Herod's, on the ruins of the former, begun in 16 B.C.,
finished in 29 A.D., and destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D. All three were
built on Mount Moriah, on the spot where Abraham offered up Isaac, and
where David afterwards raised an altar to the Lord; and of the number the
palm must be given to the Temple of Solomon, it was the Temple _par
excellence_.
TEMPLE BAR, a famous London gateway, which formerly divided Fleet
Street from the Strand; pressure of traffic caused its removal in 1879;
now stands in Theobald's Park, Cheshunt.
TENASSERIM (972), the southernmost division of Burma, forms a long
coastal strip facing the Bay of Bengal and backed by the mountain barrier
of Siam; acquired by the British in 1825.
TENBY (5), a popular little watering-place of Pembrokeshire, has a
rocky site on Carmarthen Bay coast; ruins of its old wall and of a castle
still remain; has a fine 13th-century Gothic church, marble statue of the
Prince Consort, &c., while its extensive sands and splendid bathing
facilities attract crowds of summer visitors.
TENCIN, MADAME DE, a French writer of romances, a woman of clever
wit and of personal charms, who abandoned a religious life and, coming to
Paris in 1714, immersed herself in the political and fashionable life of
the city; was not too careful of her morals, and ranked among her lovers
the Regent, Fontenelle, and Cardinal Dubois; used her influence against
the Jansenists; more circumspect in later life she presided over a
fashionable salon; was the mother of D'Alembert (1681-1749).
TENDON ACHILLES, name given to the tendon of the leg above the heel,
so called as being the tendon by which Thetis held Achilles when she
dipped him in the Styx, and where alone he was in consequence vulnerable.
TENEDOS, a rocky but fertile little island belonging to Turkey, in
the Ægean, 3 m. off the mainland of Turkey in Asia, and 12 m. S. of the
entrance to the Dardanelles; it was the place the Greeks made a feint
they had returned to during the Trojan War.
TENERIFE (108), the largest of the Canary Islands (q. v.), of
volcanic formation, with cliff-bound coast; richly fruit-bearing; chief
exports, cochineal, tobacco, and wine; capital, SANTA CRUZ (q. v.);
most notable natural feature is the famous Peak of Tenerife, a
conical-shaped dormant volcano, 12,000 ft. in height, at the summit of
which there is a crater 300 ft. in circuit; last eruption took place in
1798.
TENIERS, DAVID, the elder (1582-1649), and DAVID TENIERS, the
younger (1610-1690), father and son, both famous masters of the Flemish
school of painting, and natives of Antwerp; the greater genius belonged
to the younger, who carried his father's gift of depicting rural and
homely life to a higher pitch of perfection.
TENNANT, WILLIAM, a minor Scottish poet, born at Anstruther, Fife;
was educated at St. Andrews, and after a short experience of business
life betook himself to teaching in 1813, filling posts at Dunino,
Lasswade, and Dollar; his most notable poem, "Anster Fair" (1812), was
warmly received, and in 1835 his knowledge of Eastern languages won him
the chair of Oriental Languages in St. Andrews (1784-1848).
TENNEMANN, W. GOTTLIEB, German historian of philosophy; was
professor at Marburg; wrote both a history and a manual of philosophy
(1761-1819).
TENNESSEE (1,768, of which 434 are coloured), one of the central
States of the American Union, lies S. of Kentucky, and stretches from the
Mississippi (W.) to North Carolina (E.); is one-third larger than
Ireland; politically it is divided into three districts with
characteristic natural features; East Tennessee, mountainous, with ridges
of the Appalachians, possessing inexhaustible stores of coal, iron, and
copper; Middle Tennessee, an undulating, wheat, corn, and tobacco-growing
country; and West Tennessee, with lower-lying plains growing cotton, and
traversed by the Tennessee River, the largest affluent of the Ohio;
Nashville is the capital and largest city; became a State in 1796.
TENNIEL, JOHN, a celebrated cartoonist who, since 1864, has week by
week drawn the chief political cartoon in _Punch_, the merits of which
are too well known to need comment; illustrations to "Æsop's Fables,"
"Ingoldsby Legends," "Alice in Wonderland," and other works, reveal the
grace and delicacy of his workmanship; born in London, and practically a
self-taught artist; joined the staff of _Punch_ in 1851; was knighted in
1893; _b_. 1820.
TENNYSON, ALFRED, LORD, poet-laureate, born at Somersby, in
Lincolnshire, son of a clergyman, and of aristocratic descent; was
educated at the grammar school of Louth and at Trinity College,
Cambridge, which latter he left without taking a degree; having already
devoted himself to the "Ars Poetica," an art which he cultivated more and
more all his life long; entered the university in 1828, and issued his
first volume of poems in 1830, though he had four years previously
contributed to a small volume conjointly with a brother; to the poems of
1830 he added others, and published them in 1833 and 1842, after which,
endowed by a pension from the Civil List of £200, he produced the
"Princess" in 1847, and "In Memoriam" in 1850; was in 1851 appointed to
the laureateship, and next in that capacity wrote his "Ode on the Death
of the Duke of Wellington"; in 1855 appeared his "Maud," in 1859 the
first four of his "Idylls of the King," which were followed by "Enoch
Arden" and the "Northern Farmer" in 1864, and by a succession of other
pieces too numerous to mention here; he was raised to the peerage in 1884
on the recommendation of Mr. Gladstone; he was a poet of the ideal, and
was distinguished for the exquisite purity of his style and the harmony
of his rhythm; had a loving veneration for the past, and an adoring
regard for everything pure and noble, and if he indulged in a vein of
sadness at all, as he sometimes did, it was when he saw, as he could not
help seeing, the feebler hold regard for such things had on the men and
women of his generation than the worship of Mammon; Carlyle thought
affectionately but plaintively of him, "One of the finest-looking men in
the world," he writes to Emerson; "never had such company over a pipe!...
a truly interesting son of earth and son of heaven ... wanted a _task_,
with which that of spinning rhymes, and naming it 'art' and 'high art' in
a time like ours, would never furnish him" (1809-1892).
TENTERDEN, a market-town in Kent, once a Cinque Port; the steeple of
the church of which is reported to have been the cause of the Goodwin
Sands, the stones intended for the dyke which kept the sea off having
been used instead to repair the church.
TENTERDEN, LORD, English judge, born at Canterbury; wrote a
"Treatise on the Law relative to Merchant Ships and Seamen"; was raised
to the peerage; an obstinate enemy of Reform (1762-1832).
TEOCALLI, among the ancient Mexicans a spirally-terraced pyramidal
structure surmounted by a temple containing images of the gods.
TEPLITZ (15), a popular health resort in N. Bohemia, finely situated
in a valley between the Erzgebirge and Mittelgebirge, 20 m. NW. of
Leitmeritz; its thermal springs are celebrated for the cure of gout,
rheumatism, &c.
TERAPHIM, small images, a sort of household gods among the Hebrews,
consulted as oracles, and endowed with some magic virtue.
TERATOLOGY, the branch of biology which treats of malformations or
departures from the normal type.
TERBURG, GERHARD, a noted Dutch painter, whose portraits and _genre_
pictures are to be found in most of the great European galleries; born at
Zwolle; after travelling in Germany, Italy, England, and Spain, settled
at Deventer, where he became burgomaster; his most famous pictures are a
portrait of William of Orange, "Father's Advice," and his "Congress of
Münster, 1648," which last was bought for £7280 and presented to the
National Gallery, London (16081681).
TERCEIRA (45), the second largest of the Azores; rears cattle, and
yields grain, oranges, &c.; chief town Angra, capital of the group.
TERENCE, Roman comic poet, born at Carthage; brought thence as a
slave; educated by his master, a Roman senator, and set free; composed
plays, adaptations of others in Greek by Menander and Apollodorus; they
depict Greek manners for Roman imitation in a pure and perfect Latin
style, and with great dramatic skill (185-159 B.C.).
TEREUS. See PHILOMELA.
TERMINUS, in Roman mythology a deity who presided over boundaries,
the worship of whom was instituted by _Numa_ (q. v.).
TERPSICHORË, the Muse of choral song and dancing.
TERRA-COTTA, a composition of fine clay and fine colourless sand
moulded into shapes and baked to hardness.
TERRAY, ABBÉ, "dissolute financier" of Louis XV.; "paying eightpence
in the shilling, so that wits exclaim in some press at the play-house,
'Where is Abbé Terray that he might reduce it to two-thirds!'"; lived a
scandalous life, and ingratiated himself with Madame Pompadour; he held
his post till the accession of Louis XVI., and fell with his iniquitous
colleagues (1715-1778).
TERRE-HAUTE (37), capital of Vigo County, Indiana, stands on a
plateau overlooking the Wabash, 178 m. S. of Chicago; is situated in a
rich coal district, and has numerous foundries and various factories; is
well equipped with schools and other public institutions.
TERRY, ELLEN (Mrs. Charles Kelly), the most celebrated of living
English actresses, born at Coventry; made her _début_ at the early age of
eight, appearing as Mamilius in "The Winter's Tale," at the Princess
Theatre, then under the management of Charles Kean; during 1864--74 she
lived in retirement, but returning to the stage in 1875 achieved her
first great success in the character of Portia; played for some time with
the Bancrofts and at the Court Theatre; in December 1878 made her first
appearance at the Lyceum Theatre, then under the management of HENRY
IRVING (q. v.), with whose subsequent successful career her own is
inseparably associated, sharing with him the honours of a long list of
memorable Shakespearian and other performances; _b_. 1848.
TERSANCTUS, the ascription of praise, Holy, Holy, Holy, preliminary
to the consecrating prayer in Holy Communion.
TERTULLIAN, QUINTUS SEPTIMIUS FLORENS, one of the Latin Fathers,
born at Carthage, the son of a Roman centurion; was well educated; bred a
rhetorician; was converted to Christianity, became presbyter of Carthage,
and embraced MONTANIST VIEWS (q. v.); wrote numerous works,
apologetical, polemical, doctrinal, and practical, the last of an ascetic
tendency (150-230).
TEST ACT, act of date 1673, now repealed, requiring all officials
under the crown to take the oath of allegiance and supremacy, &c.;
directed equally against Dissenters, Roman Catholics, &c.
TESTUDO (tortoise-shell), in ancient Roman warfare a covering of the
shields of the soldiers held over their heads as protection against
missiles thrown from the walls when besieging a city.
TETANUS or LOCK-JAW, a nervous affection of a most painful and
fatal character, which usually begins with intensely painful and
persistent cramp of the muscles of the throat and jaws, spreading down to
the larger muscles of the body. As the disease progresses the muscles
become more and more rigid, while the paroxysms of pain increase in
violence and frequency. Death as a rule results from either sheer
exhaustion or failure of breath through the spasmodic closure of the
glottis. The cause of the disease is now ascertained to be due to the
action of a microbe, which may find an entrance through any wound or
abrasion of the skin, not necessarily of the thumb as is the popular
belief.
TETHYS, in the Greek mythology a daughter of Uranus and Gaia, wife
of OCEANUS (q. v.), and mother of the river-gods.
TETRAGRAMMATON, the mystic number "four," symbolical of deity, whose
name in different languages is composed of four letters.
TETUAN (22), a port and walled town of Morocco, on the Martil, 4 m.
above its entrance into the Mediterranean and 22 m. S. of Ceuta; has a
fortified castle and wall-towers; exports provisions to Ceuta, and has a
good trade in fruit, wool, silk, cotton, &c.
TETZEL, JOHN, a Dominican monk, born at Leipzig; was employed in the
sale of indulgences to all who subscribed to the fund for building St.
Peter's at Rome, in opposition to whom and his doings Luther published
his celebrated theses in 1517, and whose extravagances involved him in
the censure of the Church (1455-1519).
TEUFELSDRÖCK, the hero of "Sartor" and prototype of the author as a
thinker and a man in relation to the spirit of the time, which is such
that it rejects him as its servant, and he rejects it as his master; the
word means "outcast of the devil," and the devil is the spirit of the
time, which the author and his prototype here has, God-compelled, risen
up in defiance of and refused to serve under; for a time the one or the
other tried to serve it, till they discovered the slavery the attempt
more and more involved them in, when they with one bold effort tore
asunder the bands that bound them, and with an "Everlasting No" achieved
at one stroke their emancipation; a man this born to look through the
show of things into things themselves.
TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, like the TEMPLARS (q. v.) and
Hospitallers, a religious order of knighthood which arose during the
period of the Crusades, originally for the purpose of tending wounded
crusaders; subsequently became military in character, and besides the
care of the sick and wounded included among its objects aggressive
warfare upon the heathen; was organised much in the same way as the
Templars, and like them acquired extensive territorial possessions;
during the 14th and 15th centuries were constantly at war with the
heathen Wends and Lithuanians, but the conversion of these to
Christianity and several defeats destroyed both the prestige and
usefulness of the knights, and the order thenceforth began to decline. As
a secularised, land-owning order the knighthood lasted till 1809, when it
was entirely suppressed in Germany by Napoleon; but branches still exist
in the Netherlands and in Austria, where care for the wounded in war has
been resumed.
TEUTONS, the most energetic and progressive section of the Aryan
group of nations, embracing the following races speaking languages
traceable to a common stock: (1) Germanic, including Germans, Dutch,
Flemings, and English; (2) Scandinavian, embracing Danes, Swedes,
Norwegians, Icelanders. But naturally Celts and other race-elements have
in the course of centuries entered into the composition of these peoples.
TEWFIK PASHA, MOHAMMED, khedive of Egypt from the time of his
father's abdication in 1879; a man of simple tastes and religious
disposition, friendly and loyal to the English; Arabi Pasha's
insurrection, closed at TEL-EL-KEBIR (q. v.), the Mahdi's rising
and capture of Khartoum, occurred during his reign, which, however, also
witnessed Egypt's steadily increasing prosperity under English rule
(1852-1892).
TEWKESBURY (5), a market-town of Gloucestershire, at the confluence
of the Avon and Severn (here spanned by one of Telford's bridges), 10 m.
NE. of Gloucester; possesses one of the finest of old English churches in
the Norman style; trades chiefly in agricultural produce; half a mile
distant is the field of the battle of Tewkesbury (May 4, 1471), where the
Yorkists under Edward IV. crushed the Lancastrians.
TEXAS (2,236, including 493 coloured), the largest of the United
States of America, in the extreme SW., fronts the Gulf of Mexico for 400
m. between Mexico (W.) and Louisiana (E.); has an area more than twice
that of the British Isles, exhibiting a great variety of soil from rich
alluvial valleys and pastoral prairies to arid deserts of sand in the S.
Climate in the S. is semi-tropical, in the N. colder and drier. The
useful metals are found in abundance, but agriculture and stock-raising
are the chief occupations, Texas being the leading cattle-raising and
cotton State in the Union; seceded from the republic of Mexico in 1835,
and was an independent State till 1845, when it was annexed to the
American Union. Austin is the capital and Galveston the principal port.
TEXEL (7), an island of North Holland, situated at the entrance to
the Zuider Zee and separated from the mainland by a narrow strait called
the Marsdiep, the scene of several memorable naval engagements between
the Dutch and English; staple industries are sheep and dairy farming.
TEZCUCO (15), a city of Mexico which, under the name Acolhuacan, was
once a centre of Aztec culture, of which there are interesting remains
still extant; is situated on a salt lake bearing the same name, 25 m. NE.
of Mexico City.
THACKERAY, WILLIAM MAKEPEACE, novelist, born in Calcutta, educated
at the Charterhouse and at Trinity College, Cambridge; after leaving
college, which he did without taking a degree, travelled on the
Continent, making long stays at Rome and Paris, and "the dear little
Saxon town (Weimar) where Goethe lived"; his ambition was to be an
artist, but failing in that and pecuniary resources, he turned to
literature; in straitened circumstances at first wrote for the journals
of the day and contributed to _Punch_, in which the well-known "Snob
Papers" and "Jeames's Diary" originally appeared; in 1840 he produced the
"Paris Sketch-Book," his first published work, but it was not till 1847
the first of his novels, "Vanity Fair," was issued in parts, which was
followed in 1848 by "Pendennis," in 1852 by "Esmond," in 1853 by "The
Newcomes," in 1857 by "The Virginians," in 1862 by "Philip," and in 1863
by "Denis Duval"; in 1852 he lectured in the United States on "The
English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century," and in 1855 on "The Four
Georges," while in 1860 he was appointed first editor of _Cornhill_. When
"Vanity Fair" was issuing, Mrs. Carlyle wrote her husband: "Very good
indeed; beats Dickens out of the world"; but his greatest effort was
"Esmond," which accordingly is accounted "the most perfect, artistically,
of his fictions." Of Thackeray, in comparison with Dickens, M. Taine
says, he was "more self-contained, better instructed and stronger, a
lover of moral dissertations, a counsellor of the public, a sort of lay
preacher, less bent on defending the poor, more bent on censuring man;
brought to the aid of satire a sustained common-sense, great knowledge of
the heart, consummate cleverness, powerful reasoning, a store of
meditated hatred, and persecuted vice with all the weapons of
reflection... His novels are a war against the upper classes of his
country" (1811-1863).
THAÏS, an Athenian courtezan who accompanied Alexander the Great on
his expedition into Asia; had children after his death to Ptolemy Lagi.
THALBERG, SIGISMUND, a celebrated pianist, born at Geneva; early
displayed a talent for music and languages; was intended and trained for
a diplomatic career, but, overcoming his father's scruples, followed his
bent for music, and soon took rank as one of the most brilliant pianists
of the age; "Thalberg," said Liszt, "is the only pianist who can play the
violin on the key-board"; composed a large number of pianoforte pieces,
chiefly fantasias and variations (1812-1871).
THALES, philosopher of Greece, and one of her seven sages; was a
philosopher of the physical school, and the father of philosophy in
general, as the first to seek and find within Nature an explanation of
Nature; "the principle of all things is water," he says; "all comes from
water, and to water all returns"; flourished about the close of the 7th
century B.C.
THALIA, one of the THREE GRACES (q. v.), as also of the
NINE MUSES (q. v.).
THALLIUM, a rare metallic element similar to lead, but heavier,
discovered in 1861 by the green in the spectrum in the flame as it was
being volatilised.
THAMES, the most important river of Great Britain, formed by the
junction at Lechdale of four head-streams--the Isis, Churn, Coln, and
Leach--which spring from the SE. slope of the Cotswold Hills; winds
across the southern midlands eastwards till in a wide estuary it enters
the North Sea; forms the boundary-line between several counties, and
passes Oxford, Windsor, Eton, Richmond, London, Woolwich, and Gravesend;
navigable for barges to Lechdale, and for ocean steamers to Tilbury
Docks; tide is felt as far as Teddington, 80 m.; length estimated at 250
m.
THANE or THEGN, a title of social distinction among the
Anglo-Saxons, bestowed, in the first instance, upon men bound in military
service to the king, and who came to form a nobility of service as
distinguished from a nobility of blood; these obtained grants of land,
and had thegns under them; in this way the class of thegns widened;
subsequently the name was allowed to the ceorl who had acquired four
hides of land and fulfilled certain requirements; after the Norman
Conquest the thegnhood practically embraced the knighthood; the name
dropped out of use after Henry II.'s reign, but lasted longer in
Scotland.
THANET, ISLE OF (58), forms the NE. corner of Kent, from the
mainland of which it is separated by the Stour and the rivulet
Nethergong; on its shores, washed by the North Sea, stand the popular
watering-places, Ramsgate, Margate, and Broadstairs; the north-eastern
extremity, the North Foreland, is crowned by a lighthouse.
THASOS (5), an island of Turkey, in the Ægean Sea, near the
Macedonian coast; is mountainous and richly wooded; inhabited almost
entirely by Greeks.
THAUMUZ. See TAUMUZ.
THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS, theatre in the Palais Royal, Paris, where the
French classic plays are produced and rendered by first-class artistes.
THEBAÏDE, a desert in Upper Egypt; the retreat in early times of a
number of Christian hermits.
THEBANS, name given to the inhabitants of Boeotia, from Thebes, the
capital; were reckoned dull and stupid by the Athenians.
THEBES, an ancient city of Egypt of great renown, once capital of
Upper Egypt; covered 10 sq. m. of the valley of the Nile on both sides of
the river, 300 m. SE. of Cairo; now represented by imposing ruins of
temples, palaces, tombs, and statues of colossal size, amid which the
humble dwellings of four villages--Luxor, Karnack, Medinet Habu, and
Kurna--have been raised. The period of its greatest flourishing extended
from about 1600 to 1100 B.C., but some of its ruins have been dated as
far back as 2500 B.C.
THEBES, capital of the ANCIENT GRECIAN STATE BOEOTIA (q. v.),
whose site on the slopes of Mount Teumessus, 44 m. NW. of Athens,
is now occupied by the village of Thiva; its legendary history, embracing
the names of Cadmus, Dionysus, Hercules, Oedipus, &c., and authentic
struggles with Athens and Sparta during the Peloponnesian War, its rise
to supremacy under Epaminondas over all Greece, and its destruction by
Alexander, have all combined to place it amongst the most famous cities
of ancient Greece.
THEISM, belief in the existence of God associated in general with a
belief in Providence and Revelation.
THEISS, the longest river of Hungary and largest of the affluents of
the Danube; is formed in East Hungary by the confluence of the White
Theiss and the Black Theiss, both springing from south-western slopes of
the Carpathians; after a great sweep to the NW. bends round to the S.,
and flows steadily southward through the centre of Hungary until it joins
the Danube 20 m. above Belgrade, after a course of 750 m.; with its
greater tributaries, the Maros and the Bodrog, it forms a splendid means
of internal commerce.
THEMIS, in the Greek mythology the goddess of the established order
of things; was a daughter of Uranos and Gaia, and the spouse of Zeus,
through whom she became the mother of the divinities concerned in
maintaining order among, at once, gods and men.
THEMISTOCLES, celebrated Athenian general and statesman; rose to
political power on the ostracism of Aristides, his rival; persuaded the
citizens to form a fleet to secure the command of the sea against Persian
invasion; commanded at Salamis, and routed the fleet of Xerxes, and
afterwards accomplished the fortification of the city in spite of the
opposition of Sparta, but falling in popular favour was ostracised, and
took refuge at the court of Artaxerxes of Persia, where he died in high
favour with the king (520-453 B.C.).
THEOBALD, LEWIS, Shakespearian critic, born at Sittingbourne, Kent;
bred to the law by his father, an attorney, but took to literature; wrote
a tragedy; contributed to _Mist's Journal_, and in 1716 began his
tri-weekly paper, the _Censor_; roused Pope's ire by his celebrated
pamphlet, "Shakespeare Restored," an exposure of errors in Pope's
edition, and although ruthlessly impaled in his "Dunciad," of which he
was the original hero, made good his claim to genuine Shakespearian
scholarship by his edition, in 1733, of the dramatist's works, an edition
which completely superseded Pope's (1688-1744).
THEOCRACY, government of a State professedly in the name and under
the direction as well as the sanction of Heaven.
THEOCRATES, great pastoral poet of Greece, born at Syracuse; was the
creator of bucolic poetry; wrote "Idyls," as they were called,
descriptive of the common life of the common people of Sicily, in a
thoroughly objective, though a truly poetical, spirit, in a style which
never fails to charm, being as fresh as ever; wrote also on epic subjects
(300-220 B.C.).
THEODICY, name given to an attempt to vindicate the order of the
universe in consistency with the presence of evil, and specially to that
of Leibnitz, in which he demonstrates that this is the best of all
possible worlds.
THEODORA, the famous consort of the ROMAN EMPEROR JUSTINIAN
I. (q. v.), who, captivated by her extraordinary charms of wit and
person, raised her from a life of shame to share his throne (527), a high
office she did not discredit; scandal, busy enough with her early years,
has no word to say against her subsequent career as empress; the poor and
unfortunate of her own sex were her special care; remained to the last
the faithful helpmate of her husband (508-548).
THEODORE, "King of Corsica," otherwise Baron Theodore de Neuhoff,
born in Metz; a soldier of fortune under the French, Swedish, and Spanish
flags successively, whose title to fame is his expedition to Corsica,
aided by the Turks and the Bey of Tunis, in 1736, to aid the islanders to
throw off the Genoese yoke; was crowned King Theodore I., but in a few
months was driven out, and after unsuccessful efforts to regain his
position came as an impoverished adventurer to London, where creditors
imprisoned him, and where sympathisers, including Walpole, subscribed for
his release (1686-1756).
THEODORE, bishop of Mopsuestra, in Cilicia, born at Antioch; was a
biblical exegete, having written commentaries on most of the books of the
Bible, eschewing the allegorical method of interpretation, and accepting
the literal sense; he held Nestorian views, and his writings were
anathematised; he was a friend of St. Chrysostom; _b_. 429.
THEODORET, Church historian, born at Antioch; as bishop of the
Syrian city, Cyrus, gave himself to the conversion of the Marcionites; a
leader of the Antioch school of theology, he took an active part in the
Nestorian and Eutychian controversies, and was deposed by the so-called
robber-council of Ephesus, but was reinstated by the Council of Chalcedon
in 451 (about 390-457).
THEODORIC, surnamed the Great, founder of the monarchy of the Ostro- or
East Goths, son of Theodemir, the Ostrogothic king of Pannonia; was
for ten years during his youth a hostage at the Byzantine Court at
Constantinople; succeeded his father in 475, and immediately began to
push the fortunes of the Ostrogoths; various territories fell into his
hands, and alarm arose at the Imperial Court; in 493 advanced upon Italy,
overthrew Odoacer, and after his murder became sole ruler; was now the
most powerful of the Gothic kings, with an empire embracing Italy,
Sicily, and Dalmatia, besides German possessions; as a ruler proved
himself as wise as he was strong; became in after years one of the great
heroes of German legend, and figures in the "Nibelungenlied" (455-526).
THEODOSIUS I., THE GREAT, Roman emperor; was the son of Theodosius
the Elder, a noted general, whose campaigns in Britain and elsewhere he
participated in; marked out for distinction by his military prowess he,
in 379, was invited by the Emperor Gratian to become emperor in the East,
that he might stem the advancing Goths; in this Theodosius was
successful; the Goths were defeated, conciliated, had territory conceded
to them, and became in large numbers Roman citizens; rebellions in the
Western Empire and usurpations of the throne compelled Theodosius to
active interference, which led to his becoming sole head of the empire
(394), after successfully combating the revolutionaries, Franks and
others; was a zealous Churchman, and stern suppressor of the "Arian
Heresy"; the close of his reign marks the beginning of the end of the
Roman Empire, for his death opened the floodgates of barbarian invasion,
and from this date begins the formation of the new kingdoms of Europe
(346-395).
THEOGNIS, an elegiac poet of Megara; flourished in the second half
of the 6th century B.C.; lost his possessions during a revolution at
Megara, in which the democrats overpowered the aristocrats, to which
party he belonged; compelled to live in exile, he found solace in the
writing of poetry full of a practical and prudential wisdom, bitterly
biased against democracy, and tinged with pessimism.
THEOLOGY, the science which treats of God, particularly as He
manifests Himself in His relation to man in nature, reason, or
revelation.
THEOPHRASTUS, a peripatetic philosopher, born in Lesbos; pupil,
heir, and successor of Aristotle, and the great interpreter and expounder
of his philosophy; was widely famous in his day; his writings were
numerous, but only a few are extant, on plants, stars, and fire; _d_. 286
B.C.
THEOSOPHY (lit. divine wisdom), a mystic philosophy of very
difficult definition which hails from the East, and was introduced among
us by Madame Blavatsky, a Russian lady, who was initiated into its
mysteries in Thibet by a fraternity there who professed to be the sole
custodiers of its secrets as the spiritual successors of those to whom it
was at first revealed. The radical idea of the system appears to be
reincarnation, and the return of the spirit to itself by a succession of
incarnations, each one of which raises it to a higher level until, by
seven stages it would seem, the process is complete, matter has become
spirit, and spirit matter, God has become man, and man God, agreeably
somewhat to the doctrine of Amiel, that "the complete spiritualisation of
the animal element in us is the task of our race," though with them it
seems rather to mean its extinction. The adherents of this system, with
their head-quarters at Madras, are numerous and wide-scattered, and form
an organisation of 300 branches, having three definite aims: (1) To
establish a brotherhood over the world irrespective of race, creed,
caste, or sex; (2) to encourage the study of comparative philosophy,
religion, and science; and (3) to investigate the occult secrets of
nature and the latent possibilities of man. The principal books in
exposition of it are, "The Secret Doctrine," "Isis Unveiled," "The Key to
Theosophy," by Mme. Blavatsky; "Esoteric Buddhism," "The Occult World,"
&c., by Sinnett; "The Ancient Wisdom," "The Birth and Evolution of the
Soul," &c., by Annie Besant.
THERAPEUTÆ, a Jewish ascetic sect in Egypt, who lived a life of
celibacy and meditation in separate hermitages, and assembled for worship
on Sabbath.
THERMO-DYNAMICS, name given to the modern science of the relation
between heat and work, which has established two fundamental principles,
that when heat is employed to do work, the work done is the exact
equivalent of the heat expended, and when the work is employed to produce
heat, the heat produced is exactly equivalent to the work done.
THERMOPYLÆ (i. e. "the hot gates"), a famous pass in N. Greece,
the only traversable one leading southward into Thessaly, lies 25 m. N.
of Delphi, and is flanked on one side by Mount Oeta, and on the other by
the Maliac Gulf (now the Gulf of Zeitouni); for ever memorable as the
scene of Leonidas' heroic attempt with his 300 Spartans to stem the
advancing Persian hordes under Xerxes (480 B.C.); also of Greece's
futile struggles against Brennus and the Gauls (279 B.C.), and Philip
the Macedonian (207 B.C.)
THERSITES, a deformed Greek present at the siege of Troy,
distinguished for his insolent raillery at his betters, and who was slain
by Achilles for deriding his lamentation over the death of
PENTHESILEA (q. v.).
THESEUS, legendary hero of Attica, and son of Ægeus, king of Athens;
ranks second to Hercules, captured the Marathonian bull, and slew the
MINOTAUR (q. v.) by the help of ARIADNE (q. v.); waged war against the
Amazons, and carried off the queen; assisted at the Argonautic
expedition, and is famed for his friendship for Perithous, whom he aided
against the Centaurs.
THESPIS, the father of Greek tragedy, hence Thespian art for the
drama.
THESSALONIANS, EPISTLE TO THE, epistles of St. Paul to the Church at
Thessalonica; of which there are two; the first written from Corinth
about A.D. 53 to exhort them to beware of lapsing, and comforting them
with the hope of the return of the Lord to judgment; the second, within a
few months after the first, to correct a false impression produced by it
in connection with the Lord's coming; they must not, he argued, neglect
their ordinary avocations, as though the day of the Lord was close at
hand; that day would not come till the powers of evil had wrought their
worst, and the cup of their iniquity was full; this is the first purely
dogmatic epistle of St. Paul.
THESSALONICA. See SALONICA.
THESSALY, the largest division of ancient Greece, a wide, fertile
plain stretching southward from the Macedonian border to the Maliac Gulf,
and entirely surrounded by mountains save the Vale of Tempe in the NE.
between Mounts Ossa and Olympus; was conquered by Philip of Macedon in
the 4th century B.C., and subsequently incorporated in the Roman Empire,
on the break up of which it fell into the hands of the Venetians, and
eventually of the Turks (1335), and remained a portion of the Ottoman
Empire till 1881, when the greater and most fertile part was ceded to
Greece. Chief town, Larissa.
THETFORD (4), a historic old market-town on the Norfolk and Suffolk
border, at the confluence of the Thet and Little Ouse, 31 m. SW. of
Norwich; a place of importance in Saxon times, and in Edward III.'s reign
an important centre of monasticism; has interesting ruins, a notable
Castle Hill, and industries in brewing, tanning, &c.
THETIS, in the Greek mythology the daughter of NEREUS (q. v.)
and Doris, who being married against her will to Peleus, became the
mother of Achilles; she was therefore a NEREID (q. v.), and
gifted with prophetic foresight.
THEURIET, ANDRÉ, modern French poet and novelist, born at Marly le
Roi, near Paris; studied law, and in 1857 received a post in the office
of the Minister of Finance; has published several volumes of poems,
dealing chiefly with rustic life, but is more widely known by his novels,
such as "Mademoiselle Guignon," "Le Mariage de Gérard," "Deux Soeurs,"
&c., all of them more or less tinged with melancholy, but also inspired
by true poetic feeling; _b_. 1833.
THIALFI, in the Norse mythology the god of manual labour, Thor's
henchman and attendant.
THIERRY, JACQUES NICOLAS AUGUSTIN, French historian, born at Blois;
came early under the influence of Saint-Simon, and during 1814-17 lived
with him as secretary, assimilating his socialistic ideas and ventilating
them in various compositions; Comte became his master next, and history
his chief study, an outlet for his views on which he found in the
_Censeur Européen_, and the COURRIER FRANÇAIS, to which he
contributed his "Letters on French History" (1820); five years later
appeared his masterpiece, the "Conquest of England," to be followed by
"Letters on History" and "Dix Ans d'Études" (1835), in which same year he
was appointed librarian at the Palais Royal; in 1853 appeared his "Tiers
État," the last of his works; has been called the "father of romantic
history," and was above all a historical artist, giving life and colour
to his pictures of bygone ages, but not infrequently at the cost of
historic accuracy (1795-1856).
THIERS, LOUIS ADOLPHE, French statesman and historian, born at
Marseilles, of parents in poor circumstances; studied law at Aix, became
acquainted with Mignet the historian; went with him to Paris, and took to
journalism; published in 1827 his "History of the French Revolution,"
which established his rank as a writer; contributed to the July
revolution; supported Louis Philippe, and was in 1832 elected a deputy
for Aix; obtained a post in the ministry, and eventually head; was swept
out of office at the revolution of 1848; voted for the presidency of
Louis Napoleon, but opposed the _coup d'état_; withdrew from public life
for a time; published in 1860 the "History of the Consulate and the
Empire" a labour of years; entered public life again, but soon retired;
at the close of the Franco-German War raised the war indemnity, and saw
the Germans off the soil; became head of the Provisional Government, and
President of the Republic from 1871 to 1873; his histories are very
one-sided, and often inaccurate besides; Carlyle's criticism of his
"French Revolution" is well known, "Dig where you will, you come to
water" (1795-1877).
THING, name for a legislative or judicial assembly among the
Scandinavians.
THINKER, THE, defined to be "one who, with fresh and powerful
glance, reads a new lesson in the universe, sees deeper into the secret
of things, and carries up the interpretation of nature to higher levels;
one who, unperturbed by passions and undistracted by petty detail, can
see deeper than others behind the veil of circumstance, and catch
glimpses into the permanent reality."
THIRLMERE, one of the lakes in the English Lake District, in
Cumberland, 5 m. SE. of Keswick; since 1885 its waters have been
impounded for the use of Manchester, the surface raised 50 ft. by
embankments, and the area more than doubled.
THIRLWALL, CONOP, historian, born at Shepney; was a precocious
child, was educated at the Charterhouse, had Grote for a school-fellow,
and was a student of Trinity College, Cambridge; called to the bar, but
took orders in 1827, having two years previously translated
Schleiermacher's "Essay on St. Luke," and was thus the first to introduce
German theology into England; wrote a "History of Greece," which, though
superior in some important respects, was superseded by Grote's as wanting
in realistic power, a fatal blemish in a history; was a liberal man, and
bishop of St. David's for half a lifetime (1797-1875).
THIRTY YEARS' WAR, the name given to a series of wars arising out of
one another in Germany during 1618-48; was first a war of Catholics
against Protestants, but in its later stages developed into a struggle
for supremacy in Europe. On the Catholic side were Austria, various
German Catholic princes, and Spain, to whom were opposed successively
Bohemia, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, and France; originated in Bohemia,
where the Protestants were goaded to revolt against the intolerance of
the empire, Moravians and Hungarians came to their assistance, but the
imperial forces were too powerful and the rising was suppressed, only to
be renewed in 1624, when Denmark espoused the Protestant cause, but
struggled vainly against Catholic armies under Wallenstein and Tilly. The
tactless oppression of the Emperor Ferdinand again fanned into flame the
fires of rebellion; Swedish armies now came to the assistance of the
Protestants, and under Gustavus Adolphus waged successful war against the
emperor, but the death of Gustavus at Lützen (1632) turned the tide in
favour of the imperial forces; the German Protestant prince made a
disadvantageous peace in 1635, but Sweden, now joined by France,
continued the struggle against the Austrian empire. Turenne and Condé
became the heroes of the war, and a series of decisive victories rolled
back the imperial armies, and by 1848 were converging upon Austria, when
diplomacy brought the war to an end by the Peace of Westphalia, the chief
gains of which were the securing of religious tolerance and the
recognition of the independence of Switzerland and the United Provinces.
THISBE. See PYRAMUS.
THISTLE, ORDER OF THE, an order of Scottish knighthood, sometimes
called the Order of St. Andrew, instituted in 1687 by James VII. of
Scotland (James II. of England); fell into abeyance during the reign of
William and Mary, but was revived by Queen Anne in 1703; includes the
sovereign, 16 knights, and various officials. The principal article in
the insignia is a gold collar composed of thistles intertwined with
sprigs of rue.
THOLUCK, FRIEDRICH AUGUST, theologian, born at Breslau; came under
the influence of Neander (q. v.) and became professor of Theology at
Halle, where he exercised a considerable influence over the many students
who were attracted from far and near by his learning and fervour
(1799-1877).
THOM, WILLIAM, a minor Scottish vernacular poet, author of "The
Mitherless Bairn," &c.; was a native of and hand-loom weaver at Aberdeen;
endured much hardship and poverty (1799-1848).
THOMAS, AMBROISE, French composer, born at Metz; proved himself a
brilliant student at the Paris Conservatoire; became professor of
Composition in 1852, and nine years later succeeded Auber as director of
the Conservatoire; a prolific writer in all forms of musical composition,
but has won celebrity mainly as a writer of, operas, the most popular of
which are "La Double Échelle," "Mignon," "Hamlet," &c.; was decorated
with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour in 1880 (1811-1896).
THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING, composer, born near Eastbourne; studied at
the Paris Conservatoire and Royal Academy for Music, London; became
popular through the merit of his operas "Esmeralda," "Nadeshda," the
cantata "Sun-worshippers," and songs; committed suicide (1851-1892).
THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY, American general, born in Virginia; a man of
fine character, lacking none of the sterner stuff of the soldier, but
blended with modesty and gentleness; universally popular in the army,
which he joined in 1840 and continued in till his death, rising to be
general of a division through gallantry in the Indian frontier wars and
in the Civil War, in which, at the battle of Nashville (1864), he
completely routed the Confederate forces; had command of the military
division of the Pacific at the time of his death (1816-1870).
THOMAS, ST., the Apostle, is represented in art as bearing a spear
in his hand, and sometimes an arrow, a book, and a carpenter's square.
THOMAS THE RHYMER. See RHYMER, THOMAS THE.
THOMASIUS, CHRISTIAN, a German jurist, born at Leipzig; was the
first to prelect on jurisprudence in the German tongue, on which account,
as on account of his advanced theological views, he encountered no small
persecution; became at length professor of Jurisprudence at Halle, his
influence on the study of which was considerable (1655-1728).
THOMISM, the doctrine of THOMAS AQUINAS (q. v.),
particularly in reference to predestination and grace.
THOMS, WILLIAM JOHN, a noted antiquary and bibliographer, born in
Westminster; a clerk for 20 years in the Chelsea Hospital and
subsequently in the House of Lords, where during 1863-1882 he was
deputy-librarian; his leisure was given to his favourite pursuits, and
bore fruit in many volumes dealing with "folk-lore" (a word of his own
invention) and the like; was secretary of the Camden Society, and in 1849
founded, and continued to edit till 1872, _Notes and Queries_
(1803-1885).
THOMSON, SIR CHARLES WYVILLE, zoologist, born at Bonsyde,
Linlithgow; educated at Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh, and at the
university there; a lecturer on botany at Aberdeen (1850), professor of
Natural History in Queen's College, Cork (1853), of Geology at Belfast
(1854), and of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh (1870);
accompanied the _Challenger_ expedition (1872-1876) as head of the
scientific department; knighted 1876; wrote "The Depths of the Sea" and
"The Voyage of the _Challenger_" (1830-1882).
THOMSON, GEORGE, a noted collector of songs, who set himself to
gather in one work every existing Scotch melody; his untiring zeal
resulted in the publication of 6 vols. of Scotch songs, the words of
which had been adapted and supplied by a host of writers, including
Scott, Campbell, Joanna Baillie, and above all, Robert Burns, who
contributed upwards of 120; Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Weber, and others
were engaged to supply instrumental preludes and codas; also published
collections of Irish songs and Welsh melodies; was a native of Limekilns,
Fife, and for 60 years principal clerk to the Board of Trustees,
Edinburgh (1759-1851).
THOMSON, JAMES, the poet of the "Seasons," born, the son of the
parish minister, at Ednam, Roxburghshire; was educated and trained for
the ministry at Edinburgh University, but already wooing the muse, he,
shortly after his father's death in 1725, went to London to push his
fortune; his poem "Winter," published in the following year, had
immediate success, and raised up a host of friends and patrons, and what
with tutoring and the proceeds of "Summer," "Spring," "Autumn," various
worthless tragedies, and other products of his pen, secured a fair
living, till a pension of £100 from the Prince of Wales, to whom he had
dedicated the poem of "Liberty," and a subsequent £300 a year as
non-resident Governor of the Leeward Islands, placed him in comparative
affluence; the "Masque of Alfred," with its popular song "Rule
Britannia," and his greatest work "The Castle of Indolence" (1748), were
the outcome of his later years of leisure; often tediously verbose, not
infrequently stiff and conventional in diction and trite in its
moralisings, the poetry of Thomson was yet the first of the 18th century
to shake itself free of the town, and to lead, as Stopford Brooke says,
"the English people into that new world of nature which has enchanted us
in the work of modern poetry" (1700-1748).
THOMSON, JAMES, the poet of pessimism, born, a sailor's son, at
Port-Glasgow, and brought up in an orphanage; was introduced to
literature by MR. BRADLAUGH (q. v.), to whose _National
Reformer_ he contributed much of his best poetry, including his gloomy
yet sonorous and impressive "The City of Dreadful Night," besides essays
(1834-1882).
THOMSON, JOHN, the artist minister of Duddingston, born at Dailly,
in Ayrshire; succeeded his father in the parish of Dailly (1800), and
five years later was transferred to Duddingston parish, near Edinburgh;
faithful in the discharge of his parochial duties, he yet found time to
cultivate his favourite art of painting, and in the course of his 35
years' pastorate produced a series of landscapes which won him wide
celebrity in his own day, and have set him in the front rank of Scottish
artists (1778-1840).
THOMSON, JOSEPH, African explorer, born at Thornhill, studied at
Edinburgh University, and in 1878 was appointed zoologist to the Royal
Geographical Society's expedition to Lake Tanganyika, which, after the
death of the leader, Keith Johnston, at the start, he, at the age of 20,
carried through with notable success; in 1882 explored with important
geographical results Massai-land, and subsequently headed expeditious up
the Niger and to Sokoto, and explored the Atlas Mountains; published
interesting accounts of his various travels (1858-1895).
THOMSON, SIR WILLIAM, LORD KELVIN, great physicist, born at Belfast;
studied at St. Peter's College, Cambridge; was senior wrangler in 1845,
and elected professor of Natural Philosophy in Glasgow in 1846; it is in
the departments of heat and electricity he has accomplished his greatest
achievements, and his best-known work is the invention of the
siphon-recorder for the Atlantic cable, on the completion of which, in
1866, he was knighted, to be afterwards raised to the peerage in 1892; he
has invented a number of ingenious and delicate scientific instruments,
as well as written extensively on mathematical and physical subjects;
_b_. 1824.
THOR, in the Norse mythology "the god of thunder; the thunder was
his wrath, the gathering of the black clouds is the drawing down of
Thor's angry brows; the fire-bolt bursting out of heaven is the
all-rending hammer flung from the hand of Thor; he urges his loud chariot
over the mountain tops--that is the peal; wrathful he 'blows in his
beard'--that is the rustling of the storm-blast before the thunder
begin"; he is the strongest of the gods, the helper of both gods and men,
and the mortal foe of the chaotic powers.
THOREAU, HENRY DAVID, an American author who, next to his friend and
neighbour Emerson, gave the most considerable impulse to the
"transcendental" movement in American literature, born in Concord, where
his life was mostly spent, of remote French extraction; was with
difficulty enabled to go to Harvard, where he graduated, but without
distinction of any sort; took to desperate shifts for a living, but
simplified the problem of "ways and means" by adopting Carlyle's plan of
"lessening your denominator"; the serious occupation of his life was to
study nature in the woods around Concord, to make daily journal entries
of his observings and reflections, and to preserve his soul in peace and
purity; his handicrafts were unwelcome necessities thrust upon him; "What
after all," he exclaims, "does the practicalness of life amount to? The
things immediate to be done are very trivial; I could postpone them all
to hear this locust sing. The most glorious fact in my experience is not
anything I have done or may hope to do, but a transient thought or vision
or dream which I have had"; his chief works are "Walden," the account of
a two years' sojourn in a hut built by his own hands in the Concord Woods
near "Walden Pool," "A Week on the Concord and Merrimac River," essays,
poems, etc. (1817-1862).
THORN (27), a town and fortress of the first rank in West Prussia,
on the Vistula, 115 m. NW. of Warsaw; formerly a member of the
HANSEATIC LEAGUE (q. v.); was annexed by Prussia in 1815; the
birthplace of Copernicus; carries on a brisk trade in corn and timber.
THORNBURY, GEORGE WALTER, a miscellaneous writer, author of numerous
novels, "Songs of the Cavaliers and Roundheads," "Life of Turner," "Old
and New London," etc.; born in London, where his life was spent in
literary work (1828-1876).
THORNHILL, SIR JAMES, an English artist of the school of Le Brun,
born at Woodland, Dorsetshire; treated historical subjects in allegorical
fashion, and was much in request for decorative work, his most notable
achievements being the decoration of the dome of St. Paul's, of rooms in
Hampton Court, Blenheim House, and Greenwich Hospital; was
sergeant-painter to Queen Anne, and was knighted by George I.; member of
Parliament from 1719 till his death (1676-1734).
THORNYCROFT, HAMO, sculptor, born in London; has done statues of
General Gordon (1885), John Bright (1892), and Oliver Cromwell (1899);
_b_. 1850.
THOROUGH, name given by the EARL OF STRAFFORD (q. v.) to a
scheme of his to establish absolute monarchy in England.
THORWALDSEN, BERTEL, an eminent Danish sculptor, born near
Copenhagen, the son of a poor Icelander; won a Government scholarship at
the Academy of Copenhagen in 1793, which enabled him to study in Rome,
where he was greatly inspired by the ancient Greek sculptures, and fired
with the ambition of emulating the classical masters; Canova encouraged
him, and a fine statue of Jason established his reputation; his life
henceforth was one of ever-increasing fame and prosperity. Denmark
received him with highest honour in 1819, but the milder Italian climate
better suited his health, and he returned to Rome, where he executed all
his great works; these deal chiefly with subjects chosen from the Greek
mythology, in which he reproduces with marvellous success the classic
spirit and conception; executed also a colossal group of "Christ and the
Twelve Apostles," "St. John Preaching in the Wilderness," and other
religious subjects, besides statues of Copernicus and Galileo, and the
celebrated reliefs "Night" and "Morning": bequeathed to his country his
large fortune and nearly 300 of his works, now in the Thorwaldsen Museum,
one of the great sights of Copenhagen (1770-1844).
THOTH, the Egyptian Mercury, inventor of arts and sciences;
represented as having the body of a man and the head of a lamb or ibis.
THOU, JACQUES-AUGUSTE DE, a celebrated historian, born at Paris;
enjoyed the favour of Henry III., and by Henry IV. was appointed keeper
of the royal library; his history of his own times is a work of great
value as a clear and remarkably impartial survey of an interesting period
of European history (1553-1617).
THOUSAND ISLANDS, 2000 islands which stud the river St. Lawrence
below Kingston, at the outlet of the river from Lake Ontario.
THRACE, in ancient Greece, was a region, ill defined, stretching N.
of Macedonia to the Danube, and W. of the Euxine (Black Sea); appears
never to have been consolidated into one kingdom, but was inhabited by
various Thracian tribes akin to the Greeks, but regarded by them as
barbarians; since the capture of Constantinople by the Turks the northern
portion of Thrace has been annexed to Eastern Roumelia, while the
remainder has continued a portion of the Turkish empire.
THRASYBULUS, famous Athenian general and democratic statesman; came
to the front during the later part of the Peloponnesian War; took an
active share in overturning the oligarchy of the Four Hundred, and in
recalling Alcibiades (411 B.C.); was exiled by the Thirty Tyrants, and
withdrew to Thebes, but subsequently was permitted to return, and later
was engaged in commanding Athenian armies against Lesbos and in support
of Rhodes; was murdered (389 B.C.) by natives of Pamphylia.
THREE HOURS' AGONY, a service held on Good Friday from 12 noon till
3 o'clock to commemorate the Passion of Christ.
THREE RIVERS (9), capital of St. Maurice Co., Quebec, 95 m. NE. of
Montreal; does a considerable trade in lumber, iron-ware, &c.; is the
seat of a Roman Catholic bishop.
THRING, EDWARD, a celebrated educationist, born at Alford Rectory,
Somersetshire; educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he obtained a
Fellowship; entered the Church, and served in various curacies till in
1853 he began his true lifework by an appointment to the head-mastership
of Uppingham School, which he raised to a high state of efficiency, and
stamped with the qualities of his own strong personality, as did Arnold
at Rugby; published various educational works, "The Theory and Practice
of Teaching," "Addresses," "Poems and Translations," &c. (1821-1887).
THROGMORTON, SIR NICHOLAS, English diplomatist; was ambassador in
Paris under Elizabeth, and afterwards to Scotland; fell into disgrace as
involved in an intrigue for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with
the Duke of Norfolk (1513-1571).
THUCYDIDES, historian of the Peloponnesian War, born in Athens nine
years after the battle of Salamis, of a wealthy family; was in Athens
during the plague of 430 B.C.; was seized, but recovered; served as
naval commander in 424 in the Peloponnesian War, but from neglect of duty
was banished; returned from exile 20 years after; his great achievement
is his history, all derived from personal observation and oral
communication, the materials of which were collected during the war, and
the whole executed in a style to entitle it to rank among the noblest
literary monuments of antiquity; it is not known how or when he died, but
he died before his history was finished.
THUGS, a fraternity of professed worshippers of the goddess Kali,
the wife of Siva, who, professedly to propitiate her, practised murder,
and lived on the spoils of the victims. THUGGEE, a name for the
practice, originally by strangling and at times by poisoning.
THULE, ULTIMA, name given by the ancients to the farthest N. part of
Europe, which they conceived as an island.
THUN (6), a quaint old town of Switzerland, on the Aar, 17 m. SE. of
Bern, and barely 1 m. distant from Lake of Thun (12 m. by 2 m.); has a
12th-century castle, &c.
THUNDERER, name given to the _Times_, from certain powerful articles
in it ascribed to the editor, Captain Edward Stirling.
THURGAU (105), a canton of Switzerland, on the NE. frontier, where
Lake Constance for a considerable distance forms its boundary;
inhabitants are mainly Protestant; country is hilly but not mountainous,
fertile, and traversed by the river Thur, a tributary of the Rhine;
capital Frauenfeld.
THURIBLE, a censer suspended by chains and held in the hand by a
priest during mass and other offices of the Romish Church.
THÜRINGIA, originally the territory of the Thuringians (an ancient
German tribe), now an integral portion of the German empire, occupies a
central position, with Saxony on its N. and E., and Bavaria on the S.; a
considerable portion of it is covered by the Thuringian Forest.
THURLES (5), a town of Tipperary, on the Suir, 87 m. SW. of Dublin;
is the seat of a Catholic archbishop, college, and cathedral; in the
vicinity are the fine ruins of Holy Cross Abbey.
THURLOW, EDWARD, BARON, a noted lawyer and politician of George
III.'s reign, born, a clergyman's son, at Bracon-Ash, Norfolk; quitted
Cambridge without a degree, and with a reputation for insubordination and
braggadocio rather than for scholarship; called to the bar in 1754, he
soon made his way, aided by an imposing presence, which led Fox to
remark, "No man ever was so wise as Thurlow looked"; raised his
reputation by his speeches in the great Douglas case, and through
influence of the Douglas family was made a King's counsel; entered
Parliament in 1768; became a favourite of the king, and rose through the
offices of Solicitor-General and Attorney-General to the Lord
Chancellorship in 1778, being raised to the peerage as Baron; lost his
position during the Coalition Ministry of Fox and North, but was restored
by Pitt, who, however, got rid of him in 1792, after which his
appearances in public life were few; not a man of fine character, but
possessed a certain rough vigour of intellect which appears to have made
considerable impression on his contemporaries (1732-1806).
THURSDAY, fifth day of the week, dedicated to THOR (q. v.).
THURSDAY ISLAND, a small island in Normanby Sound, Torres Strait,
belonging to Queensland, and used as a Government station; has a fine
harbour, Port Kennedy, largely used for the Australian transit trade;
also the centre of valuable pearl fisheries.
THURSO (4), a seaport in Caithness, at the mouth of the Thurso
River, 21 m. NW. of Wick; does a brisk trade in agricultural produce,
cattle, and paving stones.
THYRSUS, an attribute of Dionysus, being a staff or spear entwined
with ivy leaves and a cone at the top; carried by the devotees of the god
on festive occasions; the cone was presumed to cover the spear point, a
wound from which was said to cause madness.
TIAN-SHAN ("Celestial Mountains"), a great mountain range of Central
Asia, separating Turkestan from Eastern and Chinese Turkestan; highest
summit Kaufmann Peak, 22,500 ft.
TIBER, a river of Italy celebrated in ancient Roman history, rises
in the Apennines, in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany; rapid and turbid in
its upper course, but navigable 100 m. upwards from its mouth; flows
generally in a S. direction, and after a course of about 260 m. enters
the Mediterranean about 15 m. below Rome.
TIBERIUS, second Roman emperor, born at Rome; was of the Claudian
family; became the step-son of Augustus, who, when he was five years old,
had married his mother; was himself married to Agrippina, daughter of
Agrippa, but was compelled to divorce her and marry Augustus's daughter
Julia, by whom he had two sons, on the death of whom he was adopted as
the emperor's successor, whom, after various military services in various
parts of the empire, he succeeded A.D. 14; his reign was distinguished
by acts of cruelty, specially at the instance of the minister Sejanus,
whom out of jealousy he put to death; given up to debauchery, he was
suffocated in a fainting fit by the captain of the Prætorian Guards in
A.D. 37, and succeeded by Caligula; it was during his reign Christ was
crucified.
TIBERT, SIR, the cat in "Reynard the Fox."
TIBET (6,000), a country of Central Asia, and dependency of China
since 1720, called by the natives themselves Bod or Bodyul, comprises a
wide expanse of tableland, "three times the size of France, almost as
cold as Siberia, most of it higher than Mount Blanc, and all of it,
except a few valleys, destitute of population"; enclosed by the lofty
ranges of the Himalaya and Kuen-lun Mountains, it has been left
practically unexplored; possesses great mineral wealth, and a large
foreign trade is carried on in woollen cloth (chief article of
manufacture); polyandry and polygamy are prevailing customs among the
people, who are a Mongolic race of fine physique, fond of music and
dancing, jealous of intrusion and wrapt up in their own ways and customs;
the government, civil and religious, is in the hands of the clergy, the
lower orders of which are numerous throughout the country; a variation of
Mongol Shamanism is the native religion, but Lamaism is the official
religion of the country, and the supreme authority is vested in the Dalai
Lama, the sovereign pontiff, who resides at Lhassa, the capital.
TIBULLUS, ALBIUS, Roman elegiac poet, a contemporary of Virgil and
Horace, the latter of whom was warmly attached to him; he accompanied
Messala his patron in his campaigns to Gaul and the East, but had no
liking for war, and preferred in peace to cultivate the tender
sentiments, and to attune his harp to his emotions.
TICHBORNE, a village and property of Hampshire, which became
notorious in the "seventies" through a butcher, from Wagga Wagga, in
Australia, named Thomas Castro, otherwise Thomas Orton, laying claim to
it in 1866 on the death of Sir Alfred Joseph Tichborne; the "Claimant"
represented himself as an elder brother of the deceased baronet, supposed
(and rightly) to have perished at sea; the imposture was exposed after a
lengthy trial, and a subsequent trial for perjury resulted in a sentence
of 14 years' penal servitude. Orton, after his release, confessed his
imposture in 1895.
TICINO (127), the most southerly canton of Switzerland, lies on the
Italian frontier; slopes down from the Lepontine Alps in the N. to
fertile cultivated plains in the S., which grow olives, vines, figs, &c.;
the inhabitants speak Italian, and the canton, from the mildness of its
climate and richness of its soil, has been called the "Italian
Switzerland," embraces most of Lakes Lugano and Maggiore, and is
traversed by the St. Gothard Railway.
TICINO, a river of Switzerland and North Italy; springs from the S.
side of Mount St. Gothard, flows southwards through Lake Maggiore and SE.
through North Italy, joining the Po 4 m. below Pavia, after a course of
120 m.
TICKELL, THOMAS, a minor English poet, born at Bridekirk,
Cumberland; enjoyed the friendship and favour of Addison, who praised him
in the _Spectator_, and held till his death the appointment of secretary
to the Lords Justices of Ireland; his poetry does not count for much in
the history of English literature, but he was happy in the composition of
occasional poems, e. g. "The Prospect of Peace," "The Royal Progress,"
and in ballads, such as "Colin and Lucy," &c., and his translation of the
first book of the "Iliad" was so good as to rouse the jealousy of Pope
(1686-1740).
TICKNOR, GEORGE, American man of letters, born in Boston; studied in
various European cities, where he was received in the best literary
circles, and of which he has left in his journal interesting impressions;
held the professorship of French and Spanish in Harvard University for a
number of years; published in 1849 his "History of Spanish Literature,"
the standard work on the subject; also wrote lives of Lafayette and
Prescott, &c. (1791-1871).
TICONDEROGA (3), a township of New York, on Lake Champlain, 100 m.
N. of Albany; has various factories, mines in the vicinity, &c.; a place
of much prominence during the struggles with the French and later during
the revolutionary war.
TIECK, LUDWIG, German poet, born in Berlin; was one of the founders
of the Romantic school in Germany, was a friend of the Schlegels and
Novalis; wrote novels and popular tales and dramas; his tales, in
particular, are described by Carlyle as "teeming with wondrous shapes
full of meaning; true modern denizens of old fairyland ... shows a gay
southern fancy living in union with a northern heart;... in the province
of popular traditions reigns without a rival" (1773-1853).
TIENTSIN (950), an important city and river-port of China, on the
Pei-ho, 34 m. from its mouth and 80 m. SE. of Peking, of which it is the
port; since 1858 has been one of the open treaty ports, and in 1861 a
British consulate was established; three months of the year the Pei-ho is
frozen over; there is an increasing transit trade with Russia.
TIERRA DEL FUEGO, a compact island-group at the southern extremity
of the South American continent, from which it is separated by the Strait
of Magellan; the most southerly point is CAPE HORN (q. v.); of
the group Tierra del Fuego, sometimes called King Charles South Land,
belongs partly to the Argentine and partly to Chile, to which also belong
the other islands, except Staten Island, an Argentine possession; save
for a few fertile plains in the N., where some sheep-farming goes on, the
region is bleak, barren, and mountainous, with rocky, fiord-cut coasts
swept by violent and prolonged gales; scantily peopled by now harmless
Indians of a low type.
TIERS ÉTAT (third estate), name given to the Commons section in the
States-General of France.
TIFLIS (105), capital of a mountainous, forest-clad government (875)
of the same name and of Russian Caucasia, on the Kar, 165 m. SE. of the
Black Sea; is a city of considerable antiquity and note, and owes much
to-day to the energy of the Russians, who annexed it in 1802; noted for
its silver and other metal work.
TIGRIS, an important river of Turkey in Asia; rises in the mountains
of Kurdistan, flows SE. to Diarbekir, E. to Til (where it receives the
Bitlis), and hence SE. through a flat and arid country, till, after a
course of 1100 m., it unites with the Euphrates to form the Shat-el-Arab,
which debouches into the Persian Gulf 90 m. lower; is navigable for 500
m. to Bagdad; on its banks are the ruins of Nineveh, Seleucia, and
Ctesiphon.
TILBURY FORT, on the Essex bank of the Thames, opposite Gravesend;
the main defence of the river above Sheerness; in 1886 extensive docks,
quays, a tidal basin, &c., were opened.
TILLOTSON, JOHN ROBERT, archbishop of Canterbury, born in Sowerby,
Yorkshire, of a Puritan family, and trained on Puritan lines; studied at
Clare Hall, Cambridge, came under the influence of CUDWORTH (q. v.),
conformed to the Established Church at the Restoration and became
king's chaplain and a prebend of Canterbury, till at length he rose to be
dean and primate; was an eloquent preacher, a man of moderate views, and
respected by all parties; his "Sermons" were models for a time, but are
so no longer (1630-1694).
TILLY, JOHANN TSERKLAES, COUNT OF, one of the great generals of the
THIRTY YEARS' WAR (q. v.), born in Brabant; was designed for the
priesthood and educated by Jesuits, but abandoned the Church for the
army; was trained in the art of war by Parma and Alva, and proved himself
a born soldier; reorganised the Bavarian army, and, devoted to the
Catholic cause, was given command of the Catholic army at the outbreak of
the Thirty Years' War, during the course of which he won many notable
battles, acting later on in conjunction with Wallenstein, whom in 1630 he
succeeded as commander-in-chief of the imperial forces, and in the
following year sacked with merciless cruelty the town of Magdeburg, a
deed which Gustavus Adolphus was swift to avenge by crushing the Catholic
forces in two successive battles--at Breitenfeld and at Rain--in the
latter of which Tilly was mortally wounded (1559-1632).
TILSIT (25), a manufacturing town of East Prussia, on the Memel or
Niemen, 65 m. NE. of Königsberg; here was signed in 1807 a memorable
treaty between Alexander I. of Russia and Napoleon, as the result of
which Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia was deprived of the greater part
of his dominions.
TIMBUCTOO (20), an important city of the Western Soudan, situated at
the edge of the Sahara, 8 m. N. of the Upper Niger, at the centre of five
caravan routes which lead to all parts of North Africa; carries on a
large transit trade, exchanging European goods for native produce; was
occupied by the French in 1894.
TIMOLEON, a celebrated general of ancient Greece, born, of a noble
family, in Corinth, about 395 B.C.; ardently espoused the cause of the
Greeks in Sicily, who were in danger of forfeiting their liberties to the
Carthaginians, and headed an army to Syracuse, where he defeated and
drove out Dionysius the Younger (344), subsequently cleared the island of
the oppressors, and brought back order and good government, after which
he quietly returned to private life, and spent his later years at
Syracuse, beloved by the Sicilians as their liberator and benefactor;
_d_. 337 B.C.
TIMON OF PHLIUS, a Greek philosopher, a disciple of PYRRHO
(q. v.), flourished 280 B.C.; wrote a satirical poem on the whole
Greek philosophy up to date, which is the source of our knowledge of his
master's opinions. Also the name of a misanthrope of Athens, a
contemporary of Socrates.
TIMOR (500), the largest of the long chain of islands which
stretches eastward from Java, of volcanic formation, mountainous, wooded,
and possessing deposits of various metals, but mainly exports maize,
sandal-wood, wax, tortoise-shell, &c.; population consists chiefly of
Papuans, whose native chiefs are the real rulers of the island, which
belongs, the W. portion of it to Holland and the E. to Portugal; E. of
Timor lies a group of three low-lying islands of coral formation, known
as Timor-Laut or Tenimber Islands (25); Dutch possession.
TIMOTHY, a convert of St. Paul's, associate and deputy, to whom, as
in charge of the Church at Ephesus, he wrote two epistles in the interval
between his imprisonment and death at Rome, the First Epistle to direct
him in the discharge of his pastoral duties, and the Second to invite him
to Rome, and counsel him, should he not be dead before he arrived.
TIMUR THE TARTAR. See TAMERLANE.
TINDAL, MATTHEW, English deistical writer, born in Devonshire;
studied at Oxford, became Fellow of All Souls', was first a Protestant,
then a Catholic, and then a free-thinker of a very outspoken type,
exhibited in a polemic which provoked hostility on all sides; his most
famous work was "Christianity as old as Creation; or, the Gospel a
Republication of the Religion of Nature," a work which did not attack
Christianity, but rationalised it (1656-1733).
TINEWALD, THE, name of the Manx Parliament.
TINNEVELLI (23), a town of Madras Presidency, SE. India, capital of
a district (1,916) of the same name; lies 50 m. N. of Cape Comorin, and
adjoins Pallamcotta, head-quarters of the British military and
government; is a centre of Protestant mission work, and possesses a Sind
temple and a Hindu college.
TINTAGEL HEAD, a rocky headland, 300 ft high, on the W. Cornish
coast, 22 m. W. of Launceston; associated with the Arthurian legend as
the site of King Arthur's castle and court; 6 m. distant lies Camelford,
the famous Camelot.
TINTERN ABBEY, one of the most beautiful ruined abbeys of England,
founded by the Cistercian monks in 1131 on the Wye, in Monmouthshire, 5
m. above Chepstow; associated with Wordsworth's great poem, "Lines
composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey."
TINTORETTO, baptized JACOPO ROBUSTI, a famous Italian artist,
one of Ruskin's "five supreme painters," born at Venice; save for a few
lessons under Titian he seems to have been self-taught; took for his
models Titian and Michael Angelo, and came specially to excel in grandeur
of conception and in strong chiaroscuro effects; amongst his most notable
pictures are "Belshazzar's Feast," "The Last Supper," "The Crucifixion,"
"The Last Judgment," "The Resurrection," &c.; some of these are of
enormous size (1518-1594).
TIPPERARY (173), a south-midland county of Ireland, in the province
of Munster, stretching N. of Waterford, between Limerick (W.) and
Kilkenny (E.); possesses a productive soil, which favours a considerable
agricultural and dairy-farming industry; coal is also worked; the Suir is
the principal stream; the generally flat surface is diversified in the S.
by the Galtees (3008 ft.) and Knockmeledown (2609 ft.), besides smaller
ranges elsewhere; county town Tipperary (7), 110 m. SW. of Dublin; noted
for its butter market.
TIPPOO SAIB, son of HYDER ALI (q. v.), whom he succeeded in
the Sultanate of Mysore in 1782; already a trained and successful warrior
in his father's struggles with the English, he set himself with
implacable enmity to check the advance of British arms; in 1789 invaded
Travancore, and in the subsequent war (1790-1792), after a desperate
resistance, was overcome and deprived of half of his territories, and
compelled to give in hostage his two sons; intrigued later with the
French, and again engaged the English, but was defeated, and his capital,
Seringapatam, captured after a month's siege, himself perishing in the
final attack (1749-1799).
TIPTON (29), an iron-manufacturing town of Staffordshire, 8½ m. NW.
of Birmingham.
TIRABOSCHI, GIROLAMO, an Italian writer, who for some time filled
the chair of Rhetoric at Milan University, and subsequently became
librarian to the Duke of Modena; is celebrated for his exhaustive survey
of Italian literature in 13 vols., a work of the utmost value
(1731-1794).
TIRESIAS, in the Greek mythology a soothsayer, who had been struck
blind either by Athena or Hera, but on whom in compensation Zeus had
conferred the gift of prophecy, and length of days beyond the ordinary
term of existence.
TIRNOVA (11), a fortified town of Bulgaria, 35 m. SSE. of Sistova;
is the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch; formerly the State capital.
TIRYNS, an ancient city of Greece, excavated by Schliemann in
1884-1885; situated in the Peloponnesus, in the plain of Argolis, 3 m.
from the head of the Argolic Gulf; legend associates it with the early
life of Hercules; has ruins of a citadel, and of Cyclopean walls
unsurpassed in Greece.
TISCHENDORF, CONSTANTIN VON, biblical scholar, born in Saxony; spent
his life in textual criticism; his great work "Critical Edition of the
New Testament" (1815-1874).
TISIPHONE, one of the three FURIES (q. v.).
TITANIA, the wife of Oberon and the queen of the fairies.
TITANIUM, a rare, very hard metal, always found in combination.
TITANS, in the Greek mythology sons of Uranos and Gaia, beings of
gigantic strength, and of the dynasty prior to that of Zeus, who made war
on Zeus, and hoped to scale heaven by piling mountain on mountain, but
were overpowered by the thunderbolts of Zeus, and consigned to a limbo
below the lowest depths of Tartarus; they represent the primitive powers
of nature, as with seeming reluctance submissive to the world-order
established by Zeus, and symbolise the vain efforts of mere strength to
subvert the ordinance of heaven; they are not to be confounded with the
Giants, nor with their offspring, who had learned wisdom from the failure
of their fathers, and who, Prometheus one of them, represented the idea
that the world was made for man and not man for the world, and that all
the powers of it, from highest to lowest, were there for his behoof.
TITHONUS, in the Greek mythology son of Laomedon, who was wedded to
Eos, who begged Zeus to confer on him immortality but forgot to beg for
youth, so that his decrepitude in old age became a burden to him; he was
changed into a cicada.
TITIAN, VECELLIO, great Italian painter, born at Capo del Cadore,
the prince of colourists and head of the Venetian school; studied at
Venice, and came under the influence of Giorgione; he was a master of his
art from the very first, and his fame led to employment in all directions
over Italy, Germany, and Spain; his works were numerous, and rich in
variety; he was much in request as a portrait-painter, and he painted
most of the great people he knew; he ranks with Michael Angelo and
Raphael as the head of the Italian renaissance; lived to a great age
(1477-1576).
TITIENS, TERESA, a famous operatic singer, born of Hungarian parents
in Hamburg; made her _début_ in 1849 at Altona, in the character of
Lucrezia Borgia (1849), and soon took rank as the foremost singer on the
German lyric stage; appeared with triumphant success in London (1858),
and henceforth made her home in England, associated herself with the
management of Mapleson; visited America in 1875; her commanding physique
and powerful acting, together with her splendid voice, made her an ideal
interpreter of such tragic characters as Norma, Fidelio, Margarita,
Ortrud, &c. (1834-1877).
TITMARSH, MICHAEL ANGELO, pseudonym assumed for a series of years by
Thackeray.
TITUS, a convert of St. Paul, a Greek by birth, appears to have
accompanied St Paul on his last journey, and to have been with him at his
death; Paul's Epistle to him was to instruct and encourage him during his
ministry in Crete.
TITUS, FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS, Roman emperor, born at Rome, the son of
Vespasian, served in Germany and Britain, and under his father in Judæa;
on his father's elevation to the throne persecuted the Jews, laid siege
to Jerusalem, and took the city in A.D. 70; on his accession to the
throne he addressed himself to works of public beneficence, and became
the idol of the citizens; his death was sudden, and his reign lasted only
three years; during that short period he won for himself the title of the
"Delight of Mankind" (40-81).
TITYUS, a giant whose body covered nine acres of land, son of Zeus
and Gaia, who for attempting to force Latona was punished in the nether
world by two vultures continually gnawing at his liver.
TIVERTON (11), an interesting old town of Devonshire, pleasantly
situated between the Exe and Loman, 12 m. N. by E. of Exeter; possesses
public baths, assembly rooms, almshouses, and a 17th-century
grammar-school; noted for its lace manufactures.
TIVOLI (9), a town of Italy, known to the ancients as Tibur,
beautifully situated on the Teverone, 18 m. E. of Rome; was much resorted
to by the wealthy Roman citizens, and is celebrated by Horace; is full of
interesting remains.
TLAXCALA (138), a State of North Mexico, and formerly an Aztec
republic; capital, Tlaxcala (4); has woollen manufactures.
TOBAGO (21), one of the WINDWARD ISLANDS (q. v.), the most
southerly of the group; a British possession since 1763, politically
attached to Trinidad; is hilly, picturesque, and volcanic; exports rum,
molasses, and live-stock.
TOBIT, THE BOOK OF, a book of the Apocrypha giving account of the
life and vicissitudes of a pious Israelitish family in the Assyrian
captivity, that consisted of Tobit, Anna his wife, and Tobias his son;
all three are held up to honour for their strict observance of the Law of
the Lord and their deeds of charity to such as loved it, and notable for
the prominence given in it to the ministry of angels, both good and bad,
among the former Raphael and among the latter Asmodeus, and is the work
of a Jew whose mind was imbued with Oriental imagery.
TOBOLSK (20), a town and government (1,313), of W. Siberia,
picturesquely planted at the confluence of the Irtish and Tobol, 2000 m.
E. of St. Petersburg; has a cathedral, barracks, theatre, prison for
Siberian slaves, &c.
TOBY, UNCLE, the hero of Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," a retired
captain, distinguished for his kindness, gallantry, and simplicity.
TOCANTINS, one of the great rivers of Brazil, rises in the State of
Goyaz; flows northwards, and after a course of 1500 m. enters the estuary
of the Pará, one of the mouths of the Amazon, 138 m. from the Atlantic;
receives the Araguay from the S., an affluent 1600 m. long.
TOCQUEVILLE, ALEXIS CLÉREL DE, French economist, born at Verneuil,
of an old Norman family, bred to the bar, and specially distinguished as
the author of two works in high repute, "La Democratie en Amérique" and
"L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution"; died at Cannes, leaving much of his
work unfinished (1805-1861).
TODHUNTER, ISAAC, mathematician, born at Rye; educated at University
College, London, and at Cambridge, where he graduated senior wrangler and
Smith's prizeman in 1848; elected Fellow and principal mathematical
lecturer of his college (St. John's), and soon became widely known in
educational circles by his various and excellent handbooks and treatises
on mathematical subjects (1820-1884).
TODLEBEN, EDUARD IVANOVITCH, a noted Russian general of German
descent, who, trained in the engineer corps, greatly distinguished
himself by his defensive operations at Sebastopol during its siege by the
French and English in the Crimean War, and subsequently by the reduction
of Plevna, his greatest achievement, which brought to a close the war
with Turkey in 1877; subsequently became commander-in-chief in Bulgaria
(1818-1884).
TODMORDEN (25), a cotton town prettily situated amid hills on the
border of Lancashire and Yorkshire, on the Calder, 21 m. NE. of
Manchester; coal abounds in the vicinity.
TOGA, an outer garment, usually of white wool like a large blanket,
folded about the person in a variety of ways, but generally with the
right arm free, thrown over the left shoulder, and hanging down the back;
it was at once the badge of manhood and Roman citizenship.
TOGOLAND, a German protectorate on the Slave Coast, in Upper Guinea,
Gold Coast Colony on the W., and Dahomey on the E.; exports palm-oil and
ivory.
TOKAY (5), a Hungarian town on the Theiss, 130 m. NE. of Pesth;
greatly celebrated for its wines, of which it manufactures 34 different
sorts.
TOKYO or TOKEI (1,376), formerly called Yeddo, capital of the
Japanese Empire, situated on a bay of the same name on the SE. coast of
Hondo, and partly built on the delta of the river Sumida; is for the most
part flat and intersected by canals and narrow irregular streets, and has
a finely-wooded river-side avenue 5 m. long; on account of frequent
earthquakes most of the houses are of light bamboo structure, which,
however, renders them liable to destructive fires; has a fine castle,
government offices, university, and some 700 schools and colleges; as the
political, commercial, and literary metropolis it possesses an
overshadowing influence over the national life of the empire. Yokohama,
17 m. distant, is the port of entry.
TOLA, a weight in India for gold and silver, equal to 180 grains
troy.
TOLAND, JOHN, political and deistical writer, born in Derry, of
Catholic parents; abandoned the Catholic faith; studied at Leyden and
Oxford; his first work, "Christianity not Mysterious," which created a
great stir, and was burned in Ireland by the common hangman; it was
succeeded, along with others, by "Nazarenus," which traced Christianity
to conflicting elements in the early Church; he was a disciple of Locke
(1669-1722).
TOLEDO (20), a city of Spain, capital of a province (360), and
former capital of the kingdom, occupies a commanding site amid hills, on
the Tagus, 40 m. SW. of Madrid; within and without presents a sombre and
imposing appearance; is the see of the primate of Spain, and possesses a
noble Gothic cathedral, ruins of the Cid's castle, and remains of the
Moorish occupation (712-1085); the manufacture of sword-blades, famous in
Roman times, is still carried on in a government establishment a mile out
of the city.
TOLEDO (131), capital of Lucas County, Ohio, on the Maumee River, 80
m. W. of Lake Erie; is a busy centre of iron manufactures, and does a
large trade in grain, flour, lumber, &c., facilitated by a fine harbour,
canal, and railway systems.
TOLERATION ACT, a statute passed in 1689 to relieve all Dissenters
from certain penalties, except Roman Catholics and Unitarians.
TOLSTOI, COUNT LEO, novelist, social reformer, and religious mystic,
born in Tula, of a noble family; served for a time in the army, soon
retired from it, and travelled; married, and settled on his estate near
Moscow in 1862; his two great works are "War and Peace" (1865-68) and
"Anna Karenina" (1875-78); has written many works since, all more or less
in a religious vein, and in the keenest, deepest sympathy with the
soul-oppression of the world, finding the secret of Christianity to lie
in the precept of Christ, "Resist not evil," and exemplifying that as the
principle of his own life; _b_. 1828.
TOMMY ATKINS, the British soldier, as Jack Tar is the British
sailor, from a hypothetical name inserted in a War Office schedule at one
time issued to each soldier.
TOMSK (37), a town and government (1,300) of W. Siberia, on the
Tom, 55 m. from its confluence with the Obi; has a university, and is an
important depôt on the trade-route to China.
TONE, THEOBALD WOLFE, Irish patriot, born in Dublin; called to the
bar in 1789; found a congenial sphere for his restless, reckless nature
in the disturbed politics of his time, and was active in founding the
"United Irishmen," whose intrigues with France got him into trouble, and
forced him to seek refuge in America, and subsequently France, where he
schemed for a French invasion of Ireland; eventually was captured by the
English while on his way with a small French squadron against Ireland;
was condemned at Dublin, but escaped a death on the gallows by committing
suicide in prison (1763-1798).
TONGA ISLANDS or FRIENDLY ISLANDS (19), an archipelago in the
S. Pacific, 250 m. SE. of Fiji; Tonga-tabu is the largest; volcanic and
fruit-bearing; missionary enterprise (Wesleyan Methodist) has done much
to improve the mental, moral, and material condition of the natives, who
belong to the fair Polynesian stock, and are a superior race to the other
natives of Polynesia, but are diminishing in numbers. See FRIENDLY
ISLANDS.
TONGALAND (100), a native State on the E. coast of South Africa,
stretching N. of Zululand.
TONGKING, TONQUIN, or TONKIN (9,000), a fertile northern
province of ANNAM (q. v.), ceded to France in 1884; is richly
productive of rice, cotton, sugar, spices, &c., but has an unhealthy
climate.
TONGRES (9), an episcopal city of Belgium, 12 m. NW. of Liège; its
church of Notre Dame dates from 1240.
TONNAGE AND POUNDAGE, the name given to certain duties first levied
in Edward II.'s reign on every _tun_ of imported wine, and on every
_pound_ weight of merchandise exported or imported; Charles I.'s attempt
to levy these without parliamentary sanction was one of the complaints of
his Long Parliament; were swept away by the Customs Consolidation Act of
1787.
TOOKE, JOHN HORNE, baptismal name JOHN HORNE, born, the son of
a well-to-do poulterer, in London; graduated at Cambridge, and to please
his father took holy orders in 1760, but after some years, during which
he had tutored abroad, zealously assisted Wilkes in his election to
Parliament, and successfully encountered "Junius"; he abandoned the
Church and studied for the bar, to which, on account of his holy orders,
he was refused a call; became an active political free-lance, and
acquired great popularity as a strenuous advocate of parliamentary
reform; entered Parliament in 1801, but in the following year was
excluded by an Act making it illegal for any one in priest's orders to be
returned; inherited the fortune and assumed the name of his friend
William Tooke of Purley; is best known as the author of the "Diversions
of Purley," "a witty medley of etymology, grammar, metaphysics, and
politics" (1736-1812).
TOOLE, JOHN LAWRENCE, a celebrated comedian, born in London, where
he was educated at the City School, and afterwards put to business, but
soon took to the stage, serving his apprenticeship and gaining a
considerable reputation in the provinces before making his appearance at
St. James's Theatre in London in 1854; became the leading low-comedian of
his day, and in 1880 took over the management of the Folly Theatre, which
he re-named Toole's Theatre; has unrivalled powers of blending pathos
with burlesque, and in such characters as Paul Pry, Caleb Plummer,
Chawles, &c., is a special favourite all over the English-speaking world;
_b_. 1832.
TOOM TABARD. See TABARD.
TOPE, the popular name in Buddhist countries for a species of
cupola-shaped tumulus surmounted by a finial, in shape like an open
parasol, the emblem of Hindu royalty; these parasol finials were often
placed one upon the top of the other until a great height was reached;
one in Ceylon attains a height of 249 ft., with a diameter of 360 ft.;
were used to preserve relics or to commemorate some event.
TOPEKA (34), capital of Kansas, on the Kansas River, 67 m. W. of
Kansas City; is a spacious, well laid out town, the seat of an Episcopal
bishop, well supplied with schools and colleges, and busy with the
manufacture of flour, heavy iron goods, &c.
TÖPFFER, RUDOLF, caricaturist and novelist of Geneva, where he
founded a boarding-school, and became professor of Rhetoric in the Geneva
Academy; author of some charming novels, "Nouvelles Genévoises," "La
Bibliothèque de mon Oncle," &c. (1799-1846).
TOPLADY, AUGUSTUS MONTAGUE, hymn-writer, born at Farnham, Surrey;
became vicar of Broad Hembury, Devonshire, in 1768; was an uncompromising
Calvinist, and opponent of the Methodists; survives as the author of
"Rock of Ages," besides which he wrote "Poems on Sacred Subjects," and
compiled "Psalms and Hymns," of which a few are his own (1740-1778).
TORGAU (11), a fortified town of Prussia, on the Elbe, 70 m. SW. of
Berlin; has a church consecrated by Luther, and in the town-church the
wife of the great reformer lies buried; scene of a victory of Frederick
the Great over the Austrians in November 1760.
TORONTO (181), the second city of Canada, and metropolis of the W.
and NW. regions, capital of Ontario; situated on a small bay on the NW.
coast of Lake Ontario, 315 m. SW. of Montreal; is a spacious and
handsomely built city, with fine churches, a splendidly equipped
university, Parliament buildings, law courts, theological colleges,
schools of medicine and music, libraries, &c.; does a large shipping and
railway trade in lumber, fruit, grain, coal, &c.
TORQUAY (26), a popular watering-place of South Devon, on Tor Bay,
23 m. S. of Exeter; with a fine climate and beautiful surroundings, has
since the beginning of the century grown from a little fishing village to
be "the Queen of English watering-places"; a great yachting centre, &c.
TORQUEMADA, THOMAS DE, a prior of a Dominican monastery who became
in 1483, during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, head of the
Inquisition, a "holy office" he administered with merciless cruelty
(1420-1498).
TORRES STRAIT separates Australia from New Guinea, 80 m. broad, and
from its numerous islands, shoals, and reefs is exceedingly difficult to
navigate.
TORRES-VEDRAS (5), a town of Portugal, 26 m. N. of Lisbon;
celebrated for the great lines of defence Wellington constructed in 1810,
and behind which he successfully withstood the siege of the French under
Massena, thus saving Lisbon, and preparing the way for his subsequent
expulsion of the French from the Peninsula.
TORRICELLI, EVANGELISTA, a celebrated Italian physicist; devoted
himself to science, and attracted the attention of Galileo, whom he
subsequently succeeded as professor at the Florentine Academy; discovered
the scientific principle of the barometer, which is sometimes called the
Torricellian tube, and made notable advances in mathematical and physical
science (1608-1647).
TORRINGTON (3), a market-town of North Devon, built on an eminence
overlooking the Torridge, 10 m. SW. of Barnstaple; manufactures gloves;
was the scene of a Parliamentary victory in 1646, during the great
rebellion.
TORTURE, JUDICIAL, torture to extort a confession, practised in
England till 1588, and in Scotland by thumbscrews and the boot till 1690.
TORY, the old name for a Conservative in politics, generally of very
decided type; originally denoted an Irish robber of the English in
Ireland.
TOTEMISM, division of a race into tribes, each of which has its own
Totem, or animal, as the symbol of it and the name, and as such treated
with superstitious veneration, as involving religious obligation.
TOTNES (4), a quaint old market-town of Devonshire, overlooking the
Dart, 29 m. SW. of Plymouth; has interesting Norman and other remains; a
centre of agricultural industry.
TOUL (12), a strongly-fortified town of France, on the Moselle, 20
m. W. of Nancy; has a noble Gothic cathedral and lace and hat
manufactures; was captured by the Germans in 1870.
TOULON (74), chief naval station of France, on the Mediterranean,
situated 42 m. SE. of Marseilles; lies at the foot of the Pharon Hills,
the heights of which are strongly fortified; has a splendid 11th-century
cathedral, and theatre, forts, citadel, 240 acres of dockyard, arsenal,
cannon foundry, &c.; here in 1793 Napoleon Bonaparte, then an artillery
officer, first distinguished himself in a successful attack upon the
English and Spaniards.
TOULOUSE (136), a historic and important city of South France,
capital of Haute-Garonne, pleasantly situated on a plain and touching on
one side the Garonne (here spanned by a fine bridge) and on the other the
Canal du Midi, 160 m. SE. of Bordeaux; notable buildings are the
cathedral and Palais de Justice; is the seat of an archbishop, schools of
medicine, law, and artillery, various academies, and a Roman Catholic
university; manufactures woollens, silks, &c.; in 1814 was the scene of a
victory of Wellington over Soult and the French. Under the name of Tolosa
it figures in Roman and mediæval times as a centre of learning and
literature, and was for a time capital of the kingdom of the Visigoths.
TOURCOING (65), a thriving textile manufacturing town of France, 9
m. NE. of Lille.
TOURNAMENTS, real or mock fights by knights on horseback in proof of
skill in the use of arms and in contests of honour.
TOURNAY (35), a town of Hainault, Belgium, on the Scheldt, 35 m. SW.
of Brussels; in the 5th century was the seat of the Merovingian kings,
but now presents a handsome modern appearance; has a fine Romanesque
cathedral and flourishing manufactures of hosiery, linen, carpets, and
porcelain.
TOURNEUR, CYRIL, a later Elizabethan dramatist, who seems to have
led an adventurous life, and whose "Atheist's Tragedy" and "Revenger's
Tragedy" reach a high level of dramatic power, and have been greatly
praised by Swinburne; wrote also the "Transformed Metamorphosis" and
other poems; lived into James I.'s reign; almost nothing is known of his
life.
TOURS (60), a historic old town of France, on the Loire, 145 m. SW.
of Paris; presents a spacious and handsome appearance, and contains a
noble Gothic cathedral, archbishop's palace, Palais de Justice, besides
ancient châteaux and interesting ruins; is a centre of silk and woollen
manufactures, and does a large printing trade; suffered greatly by the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and during the Franco-German War;
became the seat of government after the investment of Paris and until its
capitulation to the Germans.
TOURVILLE, ANNE HILARION DE COTENTIN, COUNT DE, a French naval hero,
born at Tourville, La Manche; entered the navy in 1660, established his
reputation in the war with the Turks and Algerines, and in 1677 won a
victory over the Dutch and Spanish fleets; supported James II. in 1690,
and in the same year, as commander of the French Channel fleet, inflicted
a crushing defeat on the Dutch and English; but off Cape La Hogue in
1692, after a five days' engagement, had his fleet all but annihilated, a
memorable victory which freed England from the danger of invasion by
Louis XIV.; was created a marshal in 1693, and a year later closed his
great career of service by scattering an English mercantile fleet and
putting to flight the convoy squadron under Sir George Rooke (1642-1701).
TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE, a negro hero of Hayti, born, the son of an
African slave at Breda; took part in the native insurrection of 1791, and
in 1797 became a general of brigade in the service of the French, and by
gallant soldiership cleared the English and Spanish out of Hayti; became
president for life of the republic of Hayti, and began to work for the
complete independence of the island; in 1801, when Napoleon endeavoured
to re-introduce slavery, he revolted, but was subdued by a strong French
force and taken to France, where he died in prison; is the subject of a
well-known sonnet by Wordsworth (1743-1803).
TOWER HAMLETS, a parliamentary division of London E. of the city,
originally a group of hamlets at one time within the jurisdiction of the
Lieutenant of the Tower.
TOWERS OF SILENCE, towers in Persia and India, some 60 ft. in
height, on the top of which the Parsees deposit their dead to be gnawed
by vultures.
TOWNSHEND, CHARLES, VISCOUNT, statesman, born at Raynham, Norfolk;
succeeded to the title on his father's death, and after taking his seat
in the Upper House turned Whig, and soon became prominent in the party;
was one of the commissioners who arranged the Scottish Union; accompanied
Marlborough as joint-plenipotentiary to the Gertruydenburg Conference
(1709); got into political trouble for signing the Barrier Treaty while
acting as ambassador to the States-General; under George I. rose to high
favour, became acknowledged leader of the Whigs, passed the Septennial
Act, but after 1721 was eclipsed in the party by the greater abilities of
Walpole, and after unpleasant rivalries was forced to withdraw from the
ministry (1730); gave himself then to agricultural pursuits (1674-1738).
TOWNSHEND, CHARLES, statesman and orator, grandson of preceding;
entered Parliament in 1747 as a Whig, and after his great speech against
the Marriage Bill of 1753 ranked among the foremost orators of his day;
held important offices of State under various ministers, Bute, Chatham,
and Rockingham, and as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1767 was
responsible for the imposition of the paper, tea, and other duties on the
American colonies which provoked the War of Independence and led to the
loss of the colonies; a man of brilliant gifts and noted wit, but led by
what Burke termed "an immoderate love of fame" to play "the weathercock"
in politics; died when on the point of attaining the premiership
(1725-1767).
TOWTON, a village of Yorkshire, 3 m. SE. of Tadcaster, where in
1461 Edward IV. at the head of the Yorkists completely routed the
Lancastrians under the Duke of Somerset.
TOYNBEE HALL, an institution in Whitechapel, London, founded in 1885
for the social welfare of the poor in the district, established in memory
of Arnold Toynbee (1852-1883), who had come under Ruskin's influence and
took a deep interest in the working-classes, his zeal for whose benefit
shortened his days.
TRACTARIANISM, the tenets of the High Church party in the English
Church advocated in "Tracts for the Times," published at Oxford between
1833 and 1841, the chief doctrine of which was that the Church, through
its sacraments in the hands of a regularly-ordained clergy, is the only
divinely-appointed channel of the grace of Christ.
TRADE, BOARD OF, a Government office which, as now constituted,
dates from 1786, but whose functions within recent times have been
considerably widened; consists of a president (a Cabinet minister), and
_ex officio_ the Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of Canterbury, First Lord of
the Treasury, the principal Secretaries of State, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, the Speaker, and others, but the actual work of the Board is
left in the hands of the president and his secretarial staff; comprises
five departments: (1) statistical and commercial; (2) railway; (3)
marine; (4) harbour; (5) financial.
TRAFALGAR, CAPE, on the S. coast of Spain, at the NW. entrance of
the Strait of Gibraltar; scene of naval engagements in which Nelson lost
his life after inflicting (October 21, 1805) a crushing defeat on the
combined fleets of France and Spain.
TRAJAN, MARCUS ULPIUS, Roman emperor, born in Spain; his great deeds
in arms won him a consulship in 91, and in 97 Nerva invited him to be his
colleague and successor; a year later he became sole emperor, ruled the
empire with wisdom and vigour, set right the finances, upheld an
impartial justice, and set on foot various schemes of improvement;
suppressed the Christians as politically dangerous, but with no fanatic
extravagance; remained above all a warrior and true leader of the
legions, and crowned his military fame by his successful conquest of
Dacia, in commemoration of which he is said to have erected the famous
Trajan Column, which still stands in Rome (56-117).
TRAJAN'S COLUMN, a column erected by Trajan in the Forum at Rome in
memory of his victory over the Dacians, and sculptured with the story of
his exploits, is 125 ft. in height, and ascended by 185 steps; was
surmounted by a statue of Trajan, for which Pope Sextus V. substituted
one of St. Peter.
TRANSCAUCASIA, an extensive tract of Russian territory stretching E.
and W. between the Caucasus (N.) and Turkey in Asia and Persia (S.). See
CAUCASIA.
TRANSCENDENTALISM, name now principally employed to denote the great
doctrine of Kant and his school, that there are principles of _a priori_
derivation, that is, antecedent to experience, that are regulative and
constitutive of not only our thoughts but our very perceptions, and the
operation of which is antecedent to and sovereign over all our mental
processes; which principles are denominated the categories of thought;
the name is also employed to characterise every system which grounds
itself on a belief in a supernatural of which the natural is but the
embodiment and manifestation. See NATURAL SUPERNATURALISM.
TRANSMIGRATION, the doctrine prevalent in the East, that the soul is
immortal, and that when it leaves the body at death it passes into
another, a transition which in certain systems goes under the name of
reincarnation.
TRANSUBSTANTIATION, the doctrine of Roman Catholics as defined by
the Council of Trent, that the bread and wine of the Eucharist is, after
consecration by a priest, converted mystically into the body and blood of
Christ, and is known as the docrine of the Real Presence.
TRANSVAAL, formerly SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC (1350), a country of
SE. Africa, stretching northwards from the Vaal River, and bounded N. by
Matabeleland, E. by Portuguese E. Africa and Swaziland, S. by Natal and
the Orange River Colony, and W. by Bechuanaland and Bechuanaland
Protectorate; comprises elevated plateaux, but is mountainous in the E.;
about the size of Italy; has a good soil and climate favourable for
agriculture and stock-raising, to which latter the inert Dutch farmer
chiefly devotes himself; its chief wealth, however, lies in its extremely
rich deposits of gold, especially those of the "Rand," of which it
exports now more than any country in the world; its advance since the
gold discoveries has been great, but the trade is almost entirely in the
hands of the British immigrants; JOHANNESBURG (q. v.) is the
largest town, and Pretoria (15) the seat of Government. In 1856 the
region was settled by Dutch farmers, who had "trekked" from Natal
(recently annexed by Britain) to escape British Rule, as in 1835, for a
similar reason, they had come from the Cape to Natal. Fierce encounters
took place with the native Basutos, but in the end the "Boers" made good
their possession. In 1877 the Republic, then in a disorganised and
impoverished condition, and threatened with extinction by the natives,
came under the care of the British, by whom the natives were reduced and
the finances restored. In 1880 a rising of the Boers to regain complete
independence resulted in the Conventions of 1881 and 1884, by which the
independence of the Republic was recognised, but subject to the right of
Britain to control the foreign relations. Within recent years agitations
were carried on by the growing "Uitlander" population to obtain a share
in the government to which they contributed in taxes the greater part of
the revenue, and a succession of attempts were made by the British
Government to get the Boers to concede the franchise to the "Uitlanders"
and remedy other grievances; but the negotiations connected therewith
were suddenly arrested by an ultimatum of date 9th October 1899,
presented to the British Government by the Transvaal, and allowing them
only 48 hours to accept it. It was an ultimatum they were bound to
ignore, and accordingly, the time having expired on the 11th, war was
declared by the Boers. It proved a costly and sanguinary one to both
sides in the conflict; but the resistance of the Boers was ultimately
overcome, and hostilities ceased in May 1902. Previously to this, the
Colony had been annexed by Great Britain (1900). It is at present (1905)
administered by a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and an Executive
Council; but it is proposed that, in the near future, representative
institutions should be granted.
TRANSYLVANIA (2247), eastern division of the Austrian Empire; is a
tableland enclosed NE. and South by the Carpathians, contains wide tracts
of forests, and is one-half under tillage or in pasture; yields large
crops of grain and a variety of fruits, and has mines of gold, silver,
copper, iron, &c., though the manufactures and trade are insignificant;
the population consists of Roumanians, Hungarians, and Germans; it was
united to Hungary in 1868.
TRAPANI (32), an ancient seaport of Sicily, known in Roman times as
DREPANUM, in the NW., 40 m. W. of Palermo; presents now a handsome
modern appearance, and trades in wheat, wine, olives, &c.
TRAPPISTS, an order of Cistercian monks founded in 1140 at La
Trappe, in the French department of Orne, noted for the severity of their
discipline, their worship of silence and devotion to work, meditation,
and prayer, 12 hours out of the 24 of which they pass in the latter
exercise; their motto is "Memento Mori"; their food is chiefly
vegetables.
TRASIMENE LAKE, a historic lake of Italy; lies amid hills between
the towns Cortona and Perugia; shallow and reedy, 10 m. long; associated
with Hannibal's memorable victory over the Romans 217 B.C.
TRAVANCORE (2,557), a native State in South India, under British
protection, between the Western Ghâts and the Arabian Sea; it is
connected with the Madras Presidency; it is traversed by spurs of the
Western Ghâts, beyond which, westward, is a plain 10 m. wide, covered
with coco-nut and areca palms; the population mainly Hindus; there are
native Christians and some black Jews; Trivandrum is the capital.
TRAVIATA, an opera representing the progress of a courtezan.
TREBIZOND (50), a city and thriving seaport NE. of Asia Minor, the
outlet of Persia and Armenia, on the Black Sea; is walled, and outside
are various suburbs; manufactures silks.
TRELAWNEY, EDWARD JOHN, friend of Shelley and Byron; entered the
navy as a boy, but deserted and took to adventure; met with Shelley at
Pisa; saw to the cremation of his body when he was drowned, and went with
Byron to Greece; was a brave, but a restless mortal; wrote "Recollections
of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron" (1792-1881).
TRELAWNEY, SIR JONATHAN, one of the seven bishops tried under James
II.; is the hero of the Cornish ballad, "And shall Trelawney die?" _d_.
1721.
TRENCH, RICHARD CHEVENIX, archbishop of Dublin, born in Dublin;
educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge; took orders; became
curate to Samuel Wilberforce, and wrote "Notes on the Miracles and
Parables" and "The Study of Words"; was Dean of Westminster before he
became archbishop (1807-1886).
TRENCK, BARON VON, general, first in the service of Austria, then of
Russia; dismissed from both; commanded a regiment of pandours in the
Austrian Succession War in the interest of Maria Theresa; tried to
capture Frederick the Great; was caught, tried, and condemned to prison,
escaped, was captured, and took poison; had a cousin with a similar fate
(1711-1749).
TRENT, an English river, rises in NW. of Staffordshire, flows NE.,
and unites with the Ouse, 15 m. W. of Hull.
TRENT (21), an Austrian town in S. of Tyrol, in a valley on the
Adige, 60 m. N. of Verona; has an Italian appearance, and Italian is
spoken.
TRENT, COUNCIL OF, an oecumenical council, the eighteenth, held at
Trent, and whose sittings, with sundry adjournments, extended from 13th
December 1545 until 4th December 1563, the object of which was to define
the position and creed of the Church of Rome in opposition to the
doctrines and claims of the Churches of the Reformation.
TRENTON (73), capital of New Jersey State, on the Delaware River, 57
m. SW. of New York; divided into two portions by Assanpink Creek, and
handsomely laid out in broad, regular streets; public buildings include a
state-house, federal buildings, &c.; is the great emporium in the United
States of crockery and pottery manufactures.
TREPANNING, an operation in surgery whereby portions of the skull
are removed by means of an instrument called a trepan, which consists of
a small cylindrical saw; resorted to in all operations on the brain.
TREVELYAN, SIR GEORGE OTTO, politician and man of letters, born at
Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, son of Sir Charles Trevelyan (a
distinguished servant of the East India Company, governor of Madras,
baronet, and author) and Hannah, sister of Lord Macaulay; educated at
Harrow and Cambridge, and entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1865; has
held successively the offices of parliamentary secretary to the Board of
Admiralty, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster with a seat in the Cabinet, and Secretary for Scotland;
resigned his seat in 1897; has written "Life and Letters of Lord
Macaulay," "Early History of Charles James Fox," "The American
Revolution," &c., all of which are characterised by admirable lucidity
and grace of style; _b_. 1838.
TRÈVES (36), a famous old city of Prussia, beautifully situated on
the Moselle, 69 m. SW. of Coblenz; held to be the oldest city in Germany,
and claiming to be 1300 years older than Rome; is full of most striking
Roman remains, and possesses an interesting 11th-century cathedral,
having among many relics the celebrated seamless "Holy Coat," said to
have been the one worn by Christ; manufactures woollens, cottons, and
linens, and wine.
TRIBUNES, in ancient Rome officers elected by the plebs to preserve
their liberties and protect them from the tyranny of the aristocratic
party, their institution dating from 493 B.C., on the occasion of a
civil tumult.
TRICHINOPOLI (91), capital of a district of same name in Madras
Presidency, on the Kaveri, 56 m. inland; is a fortified town, with an
imposing citadel, barracks, hospital, &c.; noted for its cheroots and
jewellery; seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric and college.
TRICOLOUR, a flag adopted by the French Revolutionists in 1789, and
consisting of three vertical stripes, blue, white, and red, the blue next
the staff.
TRIDENT, originally a three-pronged fork used by fishermen, and at
length the symbol, in the hands of Poseidon and Britannia, of sovereignty
over the sea.
TRIESTE (158), an ancient town and still the first seaport of
Austro-Hungary; at the head of the NE. arm of the Adriatic, 214 m. SW. of
Vienna; an imperial free city since 1849; consists of an old and a new
town on the level fronting the sea; has a fine harbour and extensive
manufactures, embracing shipbuilding, rope-making, &c.
TRIM, CORPORAL, Uncle Toby's attendant in "Tristram Shandy."
TRIMURTI, the Hindu trinity, embracing BRAHMA THE CREATOR, VISHNU THE
PRESERVER, and SIVA (q. v.) the Destroyer; represented sometimes as a
body with three heads, that of Brahma in the centre, of Vishnu on the
right, and of Siva on the left.
TRINCOMALEE (10), an important naval station and seaport on the NE.
coast of Ceylon, 110 m. NE. of Kandy; possesses barracks, official
residences, and a splendid harbour, a haven of shelter to shipping during
the monsoons, and is strongly fortified.
TRINIDAD (208), the largest of the Windward Islands, and most
southerly of the ANTILLES (q. v.), lies off the mouth of the
Orinoco, 7 m. from the coast of Venezuela; is of great fertility, with a
hot, humid, but not unhealthy climate; sugar, coffee, tobacco, and cocoa
are the chief exports; a source of great wealth is a wonderful pitch lake
which, despite the immense quantities annually taken from it, shows no
perceptible diminution; inhabitants are mainly French; taken by the
British in 1797, and forms, with Tobago, a crown colony; capital, Port of
Spain.
TRINITARIANS, name applied to those who believe in an ontological as
well as those who believe in a theological trinity, that is to say, who
recognise the like principle pervading the universe of being.
TRINITY, the doctrine, variously interpreted, that in the godhead or
divine nature there are three persons, respectively denominated Father,
Son, and Spirit--Father, from whom; Son, to whom; and Spirit, through
whom are all things; is essentially triunity in unity.
TRIPITAKA, (the three baskets), name given to the collection of the
sacred books of Buddhism, as being formed of three minor collections,
bearing the Sutras on discipline, the Vinaya on doctrine, and the
Abidharma on metaphysics.
TRIPOD, seat with three legs on which the priestess of Apollo sat
when delivering her oracles.
TRIPOLI (17), a seaport of Syria, 40 m. NE. of Beyrout; a place of
great antiquity, and successively in the hands of the Phoenicians,
Crusaders, and Mamelukes; it has many interesting Saracenic and other
remains; its trade is passing over to Beyrout.
TRIPOLI (1,000), a province (since 1835) of Turkey, in North Africa,
most easterly of the Barbary States; stretches northwards from the Libyan
Desert, lies between Tunis (W.) and Fezzan (E.), with which latter, as
also with Barca, it is politically united; carries on a brisk caravan
trade with Central Africa; capital, Tripoli (20), situated on a spit of
rocky land jutting into the Mediterranean; surrounded by high walls, and
Moorish in appearance.
TRIPTOLEMUS, in the Greek mythology the favourite of DEMETER
(q. v.), the inventor of the plough, and of the civilisation therewith
connected; played a prominent part in the Eleusinian Mysteries; was
favoured by Demeter for the hospitality he showed her when she was in
quest of her daughter.
TRISMEGISTUS (thrice greatest), the Egyptian Hermes, regarded as the
fountain of mysticism and magic.
TRISTAN DA CUNHA, the largest of three small islands lying out in
the South Atlantic, about 1300 m. SW. of St. Helena; 20 m. in
circumference; taken possession of by the British in 1817, and utilised
as a military and naval station during Napoleon's captivity on St.
Helena; now occupied by a handful of people, who lead a simple,
communistic life.
TRISTRAM, SIR, one of the heroes of mediæval romance, whose
adventures form an episode in the history of the Round Table.
TRITON, in the Greek mythology a sea deity, son of Poseidon and
Amphitrite; upper part of a man with a dolphin's tail; often represented
as blowing a large spiral shell; there were several of them, and were
heralds of Poseidon.
TRITRATNA, name given to the BUDDHIST TRINITY, BUDDHA,
THE DHARMA, and the SANGHA (q. v.).
TROCHU, LOUIS JULES, a distinguished French general, who came to the
front during the Crimean end Italian campaigns, but fell into disfavour
for exposing in a pamphlet (1867) the rotten state of the French army;
three years later, on the outbreak of the Franco-German War, was
appointed Governor of Paris, and, after the proclamation of the Republic,
general of the defence of the city till its capitulation, after which he
retired into private life (1815-1896).
TROLLOPE, ANTHONY, English novelist; belonged to a literary family;
his mother distinguished as a novelist no less; educated at Winchester
and Harrow; held a high position in the Post Office; his novels were
numerous; depict the provincial life of England at the time; the chief
being "Barchester Towers," "Framley Parsonage," and "Dr. Thorne"; wrote a
"Life of Cicero," and a biography of Thackeray; he was an enthusiastic
fox-hunter (1815-1882).
TROMP, CORNELIUS, Dutch admiral, son of succeeding, born at
Rotterdam; fought many battles with the English and proved himself a
worthy son of a heroic father; was created a baron by Charles II. of
England (1675); aided the Danes against Sweden, and subsequently
succeeded Ruyter as lieutenant admiral-general of the United Provinces
(1629-1691).
TROMP, MARTIN HARPERTZOON, famous Dutch admiral, born at Briel;
trained to the sea from his boyhood, in 1637 was created
lieutenant-admiral, and in two years' time had twice scattered Spanish
fleets; defeated by Blake in 1652, but six months later beat back the
English fleet in the Strait of Dover, after which he is said to have
sailed down the Channel with a broom to his masthead as a sign he had
swept his enemies from the seas; in 1653 Blake renewed the attack and
inflicted defeat on him after a three days' struggle; in June and July
Tromp was again defeated by the English, and in the last engagement off
the coast of Holland was shot dead (1597-1653).
TROMSÖ, a town (6) and island (65) of Norway, in the NW.
TRONDHJEM (29), an important town, the ancient capital of Norway, on
Trondhjem Fjord, 250 m. N. of Christiania; is well laid out with broad
level streets, most of the houses are of wood; possesses a fine
13th-century cathedral, where the kings of Norway are crowned; carries on
a flourishing trade in copper ore, herrings, oil, &c.; is strongly
fortified.
TROPHONIUS, in Greek legend, along with his brother Agamedes, the
architect of the temple of Apollo at Delphi; had a famous oracle in a
cave in Boeotia, which could only be entered at night.
TROPICS, two parallels of latitude on either side of the equator,
which mark the limits N. and S. of the sun's verticality to the earth's
surface, the distance being in each case 23½°; the northern tropic is
called the Tropic of Cancer, and the southern the Tropic of Capricorn.
TROPPAU (21), capital of Austrian Silesia, 184 m. E. of Vienna;
contains a castle, gymnasium, and an extensive library; manufactures
linen and woollen textiles, beetroot sugar, &c.
TROSSACHS, a romantic pass in the Perthshire Highlands, 8 m. W. of
Callander, stretching for about a mile between Lochs Katrine and Achray,
is charmingly wooded; is celebrated by Sir Walter Scott in his "Lady of
the Lake."
TROUBADOURS, a class of poets who flourished in Provence, Eastern
Spain, and Northern Italy from the 11th to the 13th century, whose songs
in the Langue d'Oc were devoted to subjects lyrical and amatory, and who
not infrequently were men of noble birth and bore arms as knights, and as
such were distinguished from the Jongleurs, who were mere strolling
minstrels.
TROUVÈRES, a class of ancient poets in Northern France, who like the
Troubadours of Southern France were of court standing, but whose poems,
unlike those of the Troubadours, were narrative or epic.
TROWBRIDGE (12), a market-town of Wiltshire, 25 m. NW. of Salisbury;
has a fine 15th-century Perpendicular church, in which the poet Crabbe is
buried; has woollen and fine cloth manufactures.
TROY, a city of Troas, a territory NW. of Mysia, Asia Minor,
celebrated as the scene of the world-famous legend immortalised by the
"Iliad" of Homer in his account of the war caused by the rape of Helen,
and which ended with the destruction of the city at the hands of the
avenging Greeks.
TROY (61), capital of Rensselaer County, New York, on the Hudson
River, 5 m. above Albany; possesses handsome public buildings, and is a
busy centre of textile, heavy iron goods, and other manufactures; has
daily steamship service with New York.
TROYES (50), a quaint old town of France, capital of the department
of Aube, on the Seine, 100 m. SE. of Paris; possesses a fine Flamboyant
Gothic cathedral, founded in 872, several handsome old churches, a large
public library; has flourishing manufactures of textile fabrics, and
trades in agricultural produce; here in 1420 was signed the Treaty of
Troyes, making good the claims of Henry V. of England to the French
crown.
TRUCK-SYSTEM, the paying of workmen's wages in goods in place of
money; found useful where works are far distant from towns, but liable to
the serious abuse from inferior goods being supplied; Acts of Parliament
have been passed to abolish the system, but evasions of the law are not
uncommon.
TRUMBULL, JONATHAN, an American patriot, judge and governor of
Connecticut, who supported the movement for independence with great zeal;
was much esteemed and consulted by Washington, whose frequent phrase,
"Let us hear what Brother Jonathan says," gave rise to the appellation
"Brother Jonathan" (1710-1785).
TRUNNION, COMMODORE HAWSER, an eccentric retired naval officer in
Smollett's "Peregrine Pickle," affects the naval commander in his
retirement.
TRURO (11), an episcopal city and seaport of Cornwall; exports
largely tin and copper from surrounding mines; its bishopric was revived
in 1876, and a handsome Early English cathedral is nearing completion;
has also infirmary, old grammar-school, libraries, &c.
TUAM (4), a town of Galway, Ireland, 129 m. NW. of Dublin; is the
seat of an Anglican bishop and of a Catholic archbishop.
TÜBINGEN (13), a celebrated university town of Würtemberg, 18 m. SW.
of Stuttgart; is quaint and crowded in the old town, but spreads out into
spacious and handsome suburbs, where is situated the new university.
Under Melanchthon and Reuchlin the old university became a distinguished
seat of learning, and later, during the professorship of BAUR (q. v.),
acquired celebrity as a school of advanced biblical criticism,
which gave great stimulus to a more rationalistic interpretation of the
Scripture narratives; has now an excellent medical school; also book
printing and selling, and other industries are actively carried on.
TUCKER, ABRAHAM, author of "The Light of Nature Pursued"; educated
at Oxford and the Inner Temple, but possessed of private means betook
himself to a quiet country life near Dorking and engaged in philosophical
studies, the fruit of which he embodied in seven volumes of miscellaneous
theological and metaphysical writing (1705-1774).
TUCUMAN, a north-central province (210) and town (26) of the
Argentine Republic, the latter on the Rio Sil, 723 m. NW. of Buenos
Ayres.
TUDELA (9), ecclesiastical city of Spain, on the Ebro, 46 m. NW. of
Saragossa.
TUDOR, the family name of the royal house that occupied the English
throne from 1485 (accession of Henry VII.) to 1603 (death of Queen
Elizabeth), founded by Owen Tudor, a Welsh gentleman, who became Clerk of
the Household, and subsequently the husband of Catherine of Valois, widow
of Henry V.; their son, Edmund, Earl of Richmond, married Margaret
Beaufort, a direct descendant of Edward III., and became the father of
Henry VII.
TULA (64), capital of a government (1,409) of the same name in
Central Russia, 107 m. S. of Moscow, the residence of a military and of a
civil governor, the seat of a bishop, and a busy centre of firearms,
cutlery, and other manufactures.
TULCHAN BISHOPS, bishops appointed in Scotland by James VI. to draw
the Church revenues for his behoof in part, a tulchan being "a calf-skin
stuffed into the rude similitude of a calf" to induce the cow to give her
milk freely; "so of the bishops, which the Scotch lairds were glad to
construct and make the milk come without disturbance."
TULLE (15), a town of France, capital of the dep. of Corrèze, 115 m.
NE. of Bordeaux; possesses a cathedral, episcopal palace, &c.; chief
manufacture firearms; the fine silk fabric which takes its name from it
is no longer manufactured here.
TUNBRIDGE (10), a market-town of Kent, 11 m. SW. of Maidstone, with
a fine old castle, a notable grammar-school, and manufactures of fancy
wood-wares.
TUNBRIDGE WELLS (28), a popular watering-place on the border of Kent
and Sussex, 34 m. SE. of London; with chalybeate waters noted for upwards
of 250 years.
TUNIS (1,500), a country of North Africa, slightly larger than
Portugal; since 1882 a protectorate of France; forms an eastern
continuation of Algeria, fronting the Mediterranean to the N. and E., and
stretching S. to the Sahara and Tripoli; is inhabited chiefly by Bedouin
Arabs; presents a hilly, and in parts even mountainous, aspect; its
fertile soil favours the culture of fruits, olives, wheat, and esparto,
all of which are in gradually increasing amounts exported; fine marble
has been recently found, and promises well. The capital is Tunis (134),
situated at the SW. end of the Lake of Tunis, a few miles SE. of the
ruined city of CARTHAGE (q. v.); is for the most part a crowded
unwholesome place, but contains well-supplied bazaars, finely decorated
mosques, the bey's palace, a citadel, and is showing signs of improvement
under French management.
TUNSTALL (16), a market-town of Staffordshire, 4½ m. NE. of
Newcastle-under-Lyme, is a coal-centre, with manufactures of earthenware
and iron.
TUPPER, MARTIN, author of "Proverbial Philosophy," born in
Marylebone; bred to the bar; wrote some 40 works, but the "Philosophy"
(1838), though dead now, had a quite phenomenal success, having sold in
thousands and hundreds of thousands, as well as being translated into
various foreign languages (1810-1889).
TURENNE, VICOMTE DE, a famous marshal of France, born at Sedan of
noble parentage; was trained in the art of war under his uncles Maurice
and Henry of Nassau in Holland, and entered the French service in 1630
under the patronage of Richelieu; gained great renown during the Thirty
Years' War; during the wars of the FRONDE (q. v.) first sided
with the "Frondeurs," but subsequently joined Mazarin and the court
party; crushed his former chief Condé; invaded successfully the Spanish
Netherlands, and so brought the revolt to an end; was created
Marshal-General of France in 1660; subsequently conducted to a triumphant
issue wars within Spain (1667), Holland (1672), and during 1674 conquered
and devastated the Palatinate, but during strategical operations
conducted against the Austrian general Montecuculi was killed by a
cannon-ball (1611-1675).
TURGOT, ANNE ROBERT JACQUES, French statesman, born at Paris, of
Norman descent; early embraced the doctrines of the _philosophe_ party,
and held for 13 years the post of intendant of Limoges, the affairs of
which he administered with ability, and was in 1774 called by Louis XVI.
to the management of the national finances, which he proceeded to do on
economical principles, but in all his efforts was thwarted by the
privileged classes, and in some 20 months was compelled to resign and
leave the matter to the fates, he himself retiring into private life
(1727-1781).
TURIN (230), a celebrated city of North Italy, a former capital of
Piedmont, 80 m. NW. of Genoa; although one of the oldest of Italian
cities it presents quite a modern appearance, with handsome streets,
statues, squares, gardens, a Renaissance cathedral, palaces, university
(over 2000 students), large library, colleges and museums, &c.;
manufactures are chiefly of textiles; has an interesting history from the
time of its first mention in Hannibal's day.
TURKESTAN, a wide region in Central Asia, divided by the Pamir plateau
into sections: (1) WESTERN TURKESTAN, which embraces Russian Turkestan
(3,342), the KHANATES OF KHIVA (q. v.) and BOKHARA (q. v.), and Afghan
Turkestan. (2) EASTERN TURKESTAN (600), formerly called Chinese Tartary;
unproductive in many parts, and but sparsely populated; produces some
gold, and a considerable quantity of silk, besides linens and cottons.
TURKEY or THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, a great Mohammedan State embracing wide
areas in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, besides the province of Tripoli
in North Africa, and the tributary States Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina (under Austria), Cyprus (under Britain), Samos and
Egypt (practically controlled by Britain). EUROPEAN TURKEY (4,786), which
during the last 200 years has been gradually losing territory, now
comprises a narrow strip of land between the Adriatic (W.) and the Black
Sea (E.), about twice the size of England; is traversed by the Dinaric
Alps and Pindus Mountains, which strike southwards into Greece, while
offshoots from the BALKANS (q. v.) diversify the E.; climate is very
variable, and is marked by high winds and extremes of cold and heat; the
soil is remarkably fertile and well adapted for the cultivation of
cereals, but agricultural enterprise is hampered by excessive taxation;
there is abundance of the useful metals; is the only non-Christian State
in Europe. ASIATIC TURKEY (16,000) is bounded N. by the Black Sea, S. by
the Arabian Desert and the Mediterranean, E. by Persia and Transcaucasia,
and W. by the Archipelago; has an area more than ten times that of Turkey
in Europe, is still more mountainous, being traversed by the Taurus,
Anti-Taurus, and the Lebanon ranges; is ill watered, and even the valleys
of the Euphrates, Tigris, and Jordan are subject to great drought in the
summer; embraces ASIA MINOR (q. v.), SYRIA (q. v.), PALESTINE (q. v.),
and the coast strips of Arabia along the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf;
chief exports are fruits, silk, cotton, wool, opium, &c. The population
of the Ottoman Empire is of a most heterogeneous character, embracing
Turks, Greeks, Slavs, Albanians, Armenians, Syrians, Arabs, Tartars, &c.
The government is a pure despotism, and the Sultan is regarded as the
Caliph or head of Islam; military service is compulsory, and the army on
a war footing numbers not less than 750,000, but the navy is small; since
1847 there has been considerable improvement in education; the finances
have long been mismanaged, and an annual deficit of two millions sterling
is now a usual feature of the national budget; the foreign debt is
upwards of 160 millions. From the 17th century onwards the once wide
empire of the Turks has been gradually dwindling away. The Turks are
essentially a warlike race, and commerce and art have not flourished with
them. Their literature is generally lacking in virility, and is mostly
imitative and devoid of national character.
TURNER, CHARLES TENNYSON, an elder brother of Alfred Tennyson; a man
of fine nature and delicate susceptibility as a poet, whose friendship
and "heart union" with his greater brother is revealed in "Poems by Two
Brothers" (1808-1879).
TURNER, JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM, great English landscape painter,
born probably in London, the son of a hairdresser; had little education,
and grew up illiterate, as he remained all his days; took to art from his
earliest boyhood; soon became acquainted with the artist class, and came
under the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds; began to exhibit at 15; was
elected Associate of the Royal Academy at 24, and made an Academician at
28; he took interest in nothing but art, and led the life of a recluse;
was never married, and was wedded solely to his work; travelled much in
England and on the Continent, sketching all day long; produced in
water-colour and oil scene after scene, and object after object, as they
impressed him, and represented them as _he_ saw them; being a man of
moderate desires he lived economically, and he died rich, leaving his
means to found an asylum for distressed artists; of his works there is no
space to take note here; yet these are all we know of the man, and they
stamp him as a son of genius, who saw visions and dreamed dreams; he
early fascinated the young Ruskin; Ruskin's literary career began with
the publication of volume after volume in his praise, and in his
enthusiasm he characterised him as the "greatest painter of all time"
(1775-1851). See PERUGINO.
TURNER, SHARON, historian, born in London, where he led a busy life
as an attorney; devoted his leisure to historical studies, the first of
which were "History of Anglo-Saxons" and "History of England from the
Norman Conquest to the Death of Elizabeth," essays, &c. (1768-1847).
TURPIN, DICK, a felon executed at York for horse-stealing;
celebrated for his ride to York in Ainsworth's "Rookwood."
TUSCANY (2,274), a department of Italy, formerly a grand-duchy, lies
S. and W. of the Apennines, fronting the Tyrrhenian Sea on the W.;
mountainous in the N. and E., but otherwise consisting of fertile dale
and plain, in which the vine, olive, and fruits abound; silk is an
important manufacture, and the marble quarries of Siena are noted; formed
a portion of ancient ETRURIA (q. v.); was annexed to Sardinia
in 1859, and in 1861 was incorporated in the kingdom of Italy. Capital,
Florence.
TUSCULUM, a ruined Roman city, 15 m. SE. of Rome; at one time a
favourite country resort of wealthy Romans; Brutus, Cæsar, Cicero, and
others had villas here; was stormed to ruins in 1191; has many
interesting remains.
TUSSAUD, MADAME, foundress of the famous waxwork show in London,
born at Berne, and trained in her art in Paris; patronised by the sister
of Louis XVI.; was imprisoned during the Revolution, and in 1802 came to
London (1760-1850).
TWEED, a famous river of Scotland, rises in the S. of Peeblesshire,
and flows for 97 m. in a generally north-eastward direction; enters the
German Ocean at Berwick; is a noted salmon river, and inseparably
associated with the glories of Scottish literature and history.
TWICKENHAM (16), a town of Middlesex, on the Thames, 11½ m. SW. of
London; a fashionable resort in the 18th century; the dwelling-place of
Pope, Horace Walpole, Turner, and others.
TWISS, SIR TRAVERS, jurist and economist, born in Westminster;
professor of Political Economy at Oxford, and subsequently of Civil Law;
drew up in 1884 a constitution for the Congo Free State; his writings
include "View of the Progress of Political Economy since the Sixteenth
Century," "International Law," "The Law of Nations," all of which rank as
standard and authoritative works (1809-1897).
TWIST, OLIVER, hero of Dickens's novel of the name.
TYCHE, the Greek name of the Latin goddess Fortuna, represented with
various attributes to symbolise her fickleness, her influence, her
generosity, &c.
TYLER, EDWARD BURNET, a distinguished anthropologist, born at
Camberwell; in 1856 he travelled through Mexico in company with Henry
Christy, the ethnologist; five years later published "Anahuac; or, Mexico
and the Mexicans"; in 1883 became keeper of the Oxford University Museum
and reader in Anthropology; in 1888 was appointed Gifford Lecturer at
Aberdeen, and in 1891 president of the Anthropological Society; his great
works are "Researches into the Early History of Mankind" and "Primitive
Culture"; _b_. 1832.
TYLER, JOHN, president of the United States, born in Charles City
County, Virginia; became a barrister; elected vice-president of the
United States in 1840, and on the death of Harrison succeeded to the
presidential office; showed much independence and strength of mind,
exercising his veto on several occasions; the ASHBURTON (q. v.)
Treaty and the annexation of Texas were the principal events of his
presidency; made strenuous endeavours to secure peace in 1861, but
failing sided with the South, and was a member of the Confederate
Congress (1790-1862).
TYLER, WAT, a tiler in Dartford, Kent, who roused into rebellion the
long-discontented and over-taxed peasantry of England by striking dead in
1381 a tax-gatherer who had offered insult to his young daughter; under
Tyler and Jack Straw a peasant army was mustered in Kent and Essex, and a
descent made on London; the revolters were disconcerted by the tact of
the young king RICHARD II. (q. v.), and in a scuffle Tyler was
killed by Walworth, Mayor of London.
TYNDAL, JOHN, physicist, born in co. Carlow, Ireland; succeeded
Faraday at the Royal Institution; wrote on electricity, sound, light, and
heat, as well as on the "Structure and Motion of the Glaciers," in
opposition to Forbes, whose theory was defended in strong terms by
Ruskin; wrote also "Lectures on Science for Unscientific People," much
praised by Huxley (1820-1893).
TYNE, river of North England, formed by the confluence near Hexham
of the N. Tyne from the Cheviots, and the S. Tyne, which rises on Cross
Fell, in E. Cumberland; forms the boundary between Durham and
Northumberland, and after a course of 32 m. enters the sea between
Tynemouth and South Shields.
TYNEMOUTH (28 township, 46 borough), a popular watering-place of
Northumberland, at the mouth of the Tyne, 9 m. E. of Newcastle; has a
fine sweep of promenaded shore, an aquarium, pier, lighthouse, baths,
&c.; North Shields and several villages lie within the borough
boundaries.
TYPHON, in the Greek mythology a fire-breathing giant, struck by a
thunderbolt of Jupiter, and buried under Etna.
TYRANTS, in ancient Greece men who usurped or acquired supreme
authority in a State at some political crisis, who were despotic in their
policy, but not necessarily cruel, often the reverse.
TYRCONNEL, RICHARD TALBOT, EARL OF, a Catholic politician and
soldier, whose career during the reigns of Charles II. and James II. is a
record of infamous plotting and treachery in support of the Catholic
Stuarts; was created an earl and lord-deputy of Ireland by James II.;
fled to France after the battle of the Boyne (1625-1691).
TYRE, a famous city of ancient PHOENICIA (q. v.), about 30
m. N. of Acre; comprised two towns, one on the mainland, the other on an
island opposite; besieged and captured in 332 B.C. by Alexander the
Great, who connected the towns by a causeway, which, by silting sands,
has grown into the present isthmus; its history goes back to the 10th
century B.C., when it was held by Hiram, the friend of Solomon, and
sustained sieges by Nebuchadnezzar and others; was reduced by Cæsar
Augustus, but again rose to be one of the most flourishing cities of the
East in the 4th century A.D.; fell into ruins under the Turks, and is
now reduced to some 5000 of a population.
TYROL (929), a crownland of Austria; lies between Bavaria (N.) and
Italy (S. and W.); traversed by three ranges of the Alps and by the
rivers Inn and Adige; it is famed for the beauty of its scenery;
inhabited by Catholic Germans and Italians; sheep-farming, mining, and
forest, fruit, and wine cultivation are the chief industries; capital
INNSBRUCK (q. v.).
TYRONE (171), a central county of Ulster, Ireland; is hilly,
picturesque, and fertile in the lower districts; a considerable portion
is taken up by barren mountain slopes and bogland, and agriculture is
backward; coal and marble are wrought; Omagh is the capital, and Strabane
and Dungannon are prosperous towns.
TYRONE, HUGH O'NEIL, EARL OF, a notable Irish rebel; assumed the
title of "The O'Neil," and offered open rebellion to Queen Elizabeth's
authority, but, despite assistance from Spain, was subdued by Essex and
Mountjoy; was permitted to retain his earldom, but in James I.'s reign
was again discovered intriguing with Spain; fled the country, and had his
lands confiscated; _d_. 1616.
TYRRHENIAN SEA, an arm of the Mediterranean, stretching between
Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily on the W., and Italy on the E.
TYRTÆUS, a lyric poet of ancient Greece, of the 7th century B.C.,
and whose war-songs greatly heartened the Spartans in their struggle with
the Messenians.
TYRWHITT, THOMAS, English scholar, the son of an English Church
canon, born in London; was a Fellow of Merton in 1755, and in 1762 became
clerk to the House of Commons, a post, however, which proved too arduous
for him, and in 1768 he resigned; the remainder of his life was given to
literary pursuits; produced the first adequate edition of Chaucer (1775),
besides an edition of Aristotle's "Poetics," and books on Chatterton's
"Rowley Poems," &c. (1730-1786).
TYTLER, PATRICK FRASER, historian, son of Alexander Fraser Tytler, a
lord of Session under the title of Lord Woodhouselee, author of the
"Elements of History" (1747-1813), born in Edinburgh; abandoned the bar
for literature, and established his fame by his scholarly "History of
Scotland"; wrote biographies of Wycliffe, Raleigh, Henry VIII., &c.;
received a Government pension from Sir Robert Peel (1791-1849).
U
UCAYALI, a tributary of the Amazon, which rises in the S. Peruvian
Andes, and which it joins after a northward course of over 1000 m.
UDALL, NICHOLAS, author of "Ralph Roister-Doister," the earliest of
English comedies, and "the earliest picture of London manners," born in
Hants; was a graduate of Oxford, and head-master first of Eton and
subsequently of Westminister School (1505-1556).
UEBERWEG, FRIEDRICH, German philosopher, professor at Königsberg;
author of a "History of Philosophy," an excellent text-book (1826-1871).
UGANDA, a territory in East Africa along the N. and NW. shore of
Victoria Nyanza, with a population of from 300,000 to 500,000, and the
seat of an active mission propaganda on the part of both the Catholic and
Protestant Churches; has since 1890 been under British protection. The
capital is Mengo.
UGOLINO, COUNT, tyrant of Pisa; was of the Guelph party; celebrated
for his tragic fate; having fallen into the hands of his enemies, he was
in 1288 thrown into a dungeon along with his two sons and two grandsons,
and starved to death, a fate which suggested to Dante one of the most
terrible episodes in his "Inferno"; the dungeon referred to has since
borne the name of the "Tower of Hunger."
UHLAND, JOHANN LUDWIG, German poet, born at Tübingen; studied law,
and wrote essays as well as poems, but it is on the latter his fame
rests, and that is as wide as the German world; he was a warm-hearted
patriot, and in keen sympathy with the cause of German liberation
(1787-1862).
UHLANS, a body of light cavalry in the German army, introduced first
into the Polish service, and of Tartar origin it is said.
UIST, two islands of the Outer Hebrides, called respectively North
and South, forming part of Inverness-shire; separated by the island of
Benbecula, with a population of over 3000 each; engaged chiefly in
fishing.
UKASE, an edict issued by the Czar, having the force of a law.
UKRAINE (frontier), a fertile Russian province of undefined limits
in the basin of Dnieper, originally a frontier territory of Poland
against the Tartars.
ULEABORG (11), a seaport town in Russian Finland, near the head of
the Gulf of Bothnia; trades in wood and tar.
ULEMA, a body in Turkey, or any Mohammedan country, of the learned
in the Mohammedan religion and law, such as the Imams, or religious
teachers, the Muftis, or expounders of the law and the Cadis, or judges;
its decrees are called "fetvas."
ULLMANN, KARL, German theologian; was professor at Heidelberg: wrote
"Reformers before the Reformation," but is best known as author of "The
Sinlessness of Jesus" (1796-1865).
ULLSWATER, second largest of the English lakes, lies between
Cumberland and Westmorland, 8 m. long, and its average breadth 1 m.; is
looked down upon by Helvellyn, on the SW.
ULM (36), city of Würtemberg, on the Danube, 46 m. SE. of Stuttgart;
was an imperial free city, and is a place of great importance; is famed
for its cathedral, which for size ranks next to Cologne, as well as for
its town hall; has textile manufactories and breweries, and is famed for
its confectionery; here General Mack, with 28,000 Austrians, surrendered
to Marshal Key in 1805.
ULOTRICHI, name given to the races that have crisp or woolly hair.
ULPHILAS, Gothic bishop; famous for his translation of the
Scriptures into Gothic, the part which remains being of great
philological value; was an Arian in theology (311-381).
ULRICI, HERMANN, German philosopher and literary critic, born in
Lower Lusatia; professor at Halle; wrote against the Hegelian philosophy
as pantheistic, and also studies in Shakespeare (1806-1884).
ULSTER (1,617), the northern province of Ireland, is divided into
the nine counties of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh,
Londonderry, Monaghan, and Tyrone, and has an area of 8560 sq. m.; became
an English settlement in 1611, and was largely colonised from Scotland;
it is the most Protestant part of the island, though the Catholics
predominate, and is the most enterprising and prosperous part; the land
is extensively cultivated, and flax growing and spinning the chief
industries.
ULTIMUS ROMANORUM (the last of the Romans), name given by Cæsar to
Brutus, as one with whom the old Roman spirit would become extinct;
applied to the last of any sturdy race.
ULTRAMONTANISM, name given to extreme views in the matter of the
prerogatives and authority of the Pope, so called in France as prevailing
on the other side of the Alps.
ULUGH-BEG, a Tartar prince, grandson of Tamerlane; astronomy was a
favourite study of his, and in the patronage of it he founded an
observatory at Samarcand; after a reign of 40 years conjointly with his
father and by himself, he was put to death by a son who had rebelled
against him (1394-1449).
ULYSSES (i. e. Greek Odysseus), chieftain of Ithaca, one of the Greek
heroes in the Trojan War, in which he was with difficulty persuaded to
join, but in which, however, he did good service both by his courage and
his counsels; he is less famed for what he did before Troy than for what
befell him in his ten years' wandering homeward after, as recorded by
Homer in a separate poem called after him the "ODYSSEY" (q. v.), which
relates his stay among the LOTUS-EATERS (q. v.), his encounter with
POLYPHEMUS (q. v.), the enchantments of CIRCE (q. v.), the SIRENS (q.
v.), and CALYPSO (q. v.), and his shipwreck, &c. Tennyson represents him
as impatient of the humdrum life of Ithaca on his return, and as longing
to join his Trojan comrades in the Isles of the Blessed. See PENELOPE and
TELEMACHUS.
ULYSSES' BOW, a bow which only Ulysses could wield.
UMA (the gracious one), the consort of SIVA (q. v.), and
sometimes also of RUDRA (q. v.).
UMBALLA (499), a city in the Punjab, 150 m. NW. of Delhi; is an
important military station and a railway centre; carries on a large
trade.
UMBRIA, a province of ancient Italy, between Cisalpine Gaul and the
territory of the Sabines; inhabited originally by a powerful Latin race.
UMLAUT, name given by Grimm to the modification of a vowel in a
syllable through the influence of a vowel in the succeeding.
UNA (i. e. who is one), the personification of Truth, the
companion of St. George in his adventures, and who, after various
adventures herself, is at last wedded to him.
UNCIAL LETTERS, large round characters or letters used in ancient
MSS.
UNCLE SAM, name given to the United States Government, derived from
a humorous translation of the initials U.S.
UNCONSCIOUS, THE, name given to a spiritual supernatural influence
operating in and affecting the life and character, but which we are not
sensible of ourselves, and still less reveal a conscious sense of to
others.
UNDERSTANDING, THE. See REASON.
UNDINE, a female spirit of the watery element, naturally without,
but capable of receiving, a human soul, particularly after being wedded
to a man and after giving birth to a child.
UNDULATORY THEORY, the theory that light is due to vibrations or
undulations in the ether as the medium through which it is transmitted
from its source in a luminous body.
UNEARNED INCREMENT, increase in the value of land or any property
without expenditure of any kind on the part of the proprietor.
UNICORN, a fabulous animal like a horse, with a cubit and a half
long horn on the forehead; was adopted by James I. as the symbol of
Scotland on the royal arms; is in Christian art a symbol of the
incarnation, and an emblem of female chastity.
UNIFORMITY, ACT OF, an Act passed in England in 1662 regulating the
form of public prayers and rites to be observed in all churches, and
which had the effect of driving hundreds of clergymen from the
Established Church.
UNIGENITUS, THE BULL, a bull beginning with this word, issued by
Pope Clement XI. in 1713 against JANSENISM (q. v.) in France,
and which was in 1730 condemned by the civil authorities in Paris.
UNION, FEDERAL, name given to a union of several States in defence
or promotion of the common good, while each State is independent of the
rest in local matters.
UNION, THE, a name applied in the English history to (1) the Union
of England and Scotland in 1603 under one crown, by the accession of
James VI. of Scotland to the throne of England on the death of Elizabeth;
(2) the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, under one Parliament
seated at Westminster, into the United Kingdom of Great Britain; and (3)
to the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain to Ireland in 1801,
when the Irish Parliament was abolished, and was represented, as it still
is, in the Imperial.
UNION JACK, originally the flag of Great Britain, on which the
crosses of St. George and St. Andrew are blended, with which certain
white streaks were blended or fimbriated after the Union with Ireland.
UNIONISTS, name given to the Liberal party opposed to Mr.
Gladstone's measure to grant Home Rule to Ireland.
UNITARIANS, a designation applicable to all monotheists in religion,
including Jews and Mohammedans, but generally and more specially applied
to those who deny the Church doctrine of the Trinity, and in particular
the divinity of Christ, and who have at different times and in different
countries assumed an attitude, both within the pale of the Church and
outside of it, of protestation against the opposite orthodox creed in the
interests of rationalistic belief; the name is also employed in
philosophy to designate those who resolve the manifold of being into the
operation of some single principle.
UNITED BRETHREN, name given to the MORAVIANS (q. v.).
UNITED PRESBYTERIANS, a body of Presbyterians in Scotland who
dissent from the Established Church on chiefly ecclesiastical grounds,
and had their origin in union in 1847 of the Secession Church of 1733
with the Relief Church of 1752, bodies previously in dissent as well. A
further union of the United Presbyterian body with the Free Church is to
all appearance about to be consummated.
UNITED PROVINCES. See HOLLAND.
UNITED STATES (62,622), the great Western republic; occupies an area
nearly as large as all Europe, bounded on the N. by the Dominion of
Canada, on the E. by the Atlantic, on the S. by Mexico and the Gulf, and
on the W. by the Pacific, extending 2700 m. from E. to W., and on an
average 1600 m. from N. to S.; on the coasts are few capes, inlets, and
islands, except on that of New England; there are two great mountain
systems, the Appalachians on the E. and the Rockies, the Cascade ranges,
&c., on the W., which divide the territory into four regions--an eastern,
which slopes from the Appalachians to the Atlantic, a manufacturing
region; a central, which slopes S., formed by the Mississippi Valley, an
agricultural and pastoral region; a plateau supported by the Rocky and
Cascade ranges, a metalliferous region; and a territory with the valley
of the Sacramento, which slopes to the Pacific, of varied resources. The
great rivers are in the Mississippi Valley, as also the two largest
lakes, the Michigan and Great Salt Lake, though there are important
rivers both for navigation and water-power on the Atlantic and Pacific
slopes. The climate is of every variety, from sub-arctic to sub-tropic,
with extremes both as regards temperature and moisture, in consequence of
which the vegetation is varied. The mineral wealth is immense, and
includes, besides large beds of coal, all the useful metals. The
industries, too, are manifold, and embrace manufactures of all kinds,
with agriculture, grazing, mining, and fishing, while commerce is
prosecuted with an activity that defies all rivalry, the facilities in
railway and waterway being such as no other country can boast of, for
there are over 182,000 miles of railway, not to mention street railways
and traction lines, with telegraphic and telephonic communication. The
population is mostly of British and German descent, with eight million
negroes, who are all English-spoken. The Government is a federal republic
of 45 States; the legislature consists of two Houses--a Senate
representing the States, each one sending two members, and a House of
Representatives representing the people, every citizen over 21 having a
vote, and every 170,000 voters having a representative--the head of the
Government being the President, elected for a term of four years, and
commander-in-chief of both army and navy. Religious equality prevails
through all the States, though the Protestant section of the Church is in
the ascendant, and education is free and general, though backward in
some of the former slave-holding States, the cost being met by State or
local funds, supplemented by the Federal Government.
UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTS OF, George Washington (1789-1797); John
Adams (1797-1801); Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809); James Maddison
(1809-1817); James Munroe (1817-1825); John Quincy Adams (1825-1829);
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837); Martin Van Buren (1837-1841); John Tyler
(1841-1845); John K. Polk (1845-1849); Zachary Taylor (1849-1850);
Millard Fillmore (1850-1853); Franklin Pierce (1853-1857); James Buchanan
(1857-1861); Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865); Andrew Johnson (1865-1869);
Ulysses D. Grant (1869-1877); Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881); James A.
Garfield (1881); Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885); Grover Cleveland
(1885-1889); Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893); Grover Cleveland (1893-1897);
William McKinley (1897-1901); Theodore Roosevelt (1901).
UNITIES, THREE, name given to the rule laid down by Aristotle that a
tragedy should be limited to one subject, to one place, and a single day.
UNIVERSALISTS, a body of Christians who profess to believe in the
final restoration of all the fallen, angels as well as men; a body
chiefly of American growth, having an ecclesiastical organisation, and
embracing a membership of 40,000; there are many of them Unitarians, and
all are more or less Pelagian in their views of sin.
UNKNOWN, THE GREAT, name given to Sir Walter Scott from withholding
his name in publishing the Waverley novels.
UNTERWALDEN (27), a canton of Switzerland S. and E. of Lucerne,
consisting of two parallel valleys 15 m. long running N. and S.; an
entirely pastoral country, and exports articles of husbandry.
UNYANYEMBE, a district of German East Africa, with a town of the
name, with a settlement of Arabs who cultivate the soil, the fruits of
which they export.
UNYORO (1,500), a native State of Central Africa, between Lake
Albert Nyanza and the territory of Uganda.
UPAN`ISHADS (Instructions), a voluminous heterogeneous collection of
treatises connected with the Vedas, and the chief source of our knowledge
of the early metaphysical speculations and ethical doctrines of the
Hindus; they are to a great extent apocryphal, and are posterior to the
rise of Buddhism.
UPAS TREE, a poison-yielding-tree, at one time fabled to exhale such
poison that it was destructive to all animal and vegetable life for miles
round it.
UPOLU (16), the principal island in the SAMOAN GROUP (q. v.),
is 140 m. in circumference, and rises in verdure-clad terraces from
a belt of low land on the shore, with Apia, the capital of the group, on
the N. border.
UPPINGHAM, market-town in Rutland, with a famous public school.
UPSALA (21), the ancient capital of Sweden, on the Sala, 21 m. NW.
of Stockholm, the seat of the Primate, and of a famous university with
1900 students, and a library of 250,000 volumes; its cathedral, built of
brick in the Gothic style, is the largest in Sweden, contains the tombs
of Linnæus and of Gustavus Vasa.
URAL, a river of Russia, which rises in the E. of the Urals and
forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia, and falls after a
course of 870 m. by a number of mouths into the Caspian Sea.
URALS, THE, a range of mountains rich in precious as well as useful
metals, extending from the Arctic Sea to the Sea of Aral, and separating
European from Asiatic Russia, and is 1330 m. in length, 60 m. in breadth,
and 3000 ft. in average height.
URALSK (26), a town, a Cossack centre, on the Ural River, 280 m.
from the Caspian Sea, and a place of considerable trade.
URANIA, the muse of astronomy, is represented with a globe in her
hand, to which she points with a small rod.
URANUS, a planet, the outermost but one of the solar system, is 1770
millions of miles from the sun, takes 30,686 of our days, or 84 of our
years, to revolve round it, has four times the diameter of the earth, and
is accompanied by four moons; it was discovered in 1781 by Herschel, and
called by him Georgium Sidus in honour of George III.
URANUS (Heaven), in the Greek mythology the son of Gaia (the Earth),
and by her the father of the Titans; he hated his children, and at birth
thrust them down to Tartarus, to the grief of Gaia, at whose instigation
Kronos, the youngest born, unmanned him, and seized the throne of the
Universe, to be himself supplanted in turn by his son Zeus.
URBAN, the name of eight popes: URBAN I., Pope from 223 to 230;
URBAN II., Pope from 1088 to 1099, warm promoter of the first
Crusade; URBAN III., pope from 1185 to 1187; URBAN IV., Pope
from 1261 to 1264; URBAN V., Pope from 1362 to 1370, man of an
ascetic temper; URBAN VI., Pope from 1378 to 1389, in his reign the
schism in the papacy began which lasted 40 years; URBAN VII., Pope
in 1590; and URBAN VIII., Pope from 1623 to 1644, founded the
College de Propaganda Fide.
URBINO, an ancient town of Central Italy, 20 m. SW. of Pesaro; was
once the capital of a duchy; is the seat of an archbishop, and was the
birthplace of Raphael.
URI (17), a Swiss canton N. of Unterwalden; is almost entirely
pastoral; is overlooked by Mount St. Gothard; Altdorf is the capital.
URIM AND THUMMIM, two ornaments attached to the breastplate of the
Jewish high-priest which, when consulted by him, at times gave
mysteriously oracular responses.
URQUHART, SIR THOMAS, of Cromarty, a cavalier and supporter of
Charles I., and a great enemy of the Covenanters in Scotland; travelled
much, and acquired a mass of miscellaneous knowledge, which he was fain
to display and did display in a most pedantic style; posed as a
philologist and a mathematician, but executed one classical work, a
translation of Rabelais; is said to have died in a fit of laughter at the
news of the restoration of Charles II. (1605-1660).
URSA MAJOR, the Greater Bear, a well-known constellation in the
northern hemisphere, called also the Plough, the Wagon, or Charles's
Wain, consists of seven bright stars, among others three of which are
known as the "handle" of the Plough, and two as the pointers, so called
as pointing to the pole-star.
URSA MINOR, the Lesser Bear, an inconspicuous constellation, the
pole-star forming the tip of the tail.
URSULA, ST., virgin saint and martyr, daughter of a British king;
sought in marriage by a heathen prince, whom she accepted on condition
that he became a Christian and that he would wait three years till she
and her 11,000 maidens accomplished a pilgrimage to Rome; this pilgrimage
being accomplished, on their return to Cologne they were set upon and all
save her slain by a horde of Huns, who reserved her as a bride to Etzel,
their king, on the refusal of whose hand she was transfixed by an arrow,
and thereby set free from all earthly bonds; is very often represented
in art with arrows in her hands, and sometimes with a mantle and a group
of small figures under it, her martyred sisters.
URSULINES, an order of nuns founded in 1537 by St. Angela Merici of
Brescia in honour of St. Ursula, devoted to the nursing of the sick and
the instruction of the young, and now established in homes in different
cities of both Europe and North America.
URUGUAY (730), the smallest State in South America and a republic,
formerly called Banda Oriental; lies between the Atlantic and the Uruguay
River, and is bounded on the S. by the estuary of the Plata; it covers an
area of over 70,000 sq. m., and is little more than one-third the size of
France; the mineral wealth is abundant, but little has been done to
exploit it; the cultivation of the soil is only begun, and the land is
mostly given over to pasture, cattle-rearing and sheep-farming being the
chief industries, and the chief products and exports being hides, wool,
preserved meats, and similar articles of commerce. The people are mostly
natives of mixed race, with some 30 per cent. of Europeans; primary
education is compulsory; there are numerous schools, and a university,
and though the established religion is Roman Catholic, all others are
tolerated. Montevideo is the capital.
URUMIYA (32), a town in Persia, near a lake of the name, SW. of the
Caspian Sea, the seat of a Nestorian bishop and the birthplace of
Zoroaster.
USEDOM (33), island belonging to Prussia, at the mouth of the Oder,
with Schwinemünde on the N.
USHANT, island off the W. coast of France, in department of
Finisterre, where Howe gained a signal victory over the French in 1794.
USHER, JAMES, Irish episcopal prelate, born in Dublin of good
parentage, educated at Trinity College, Dublin; took orders and devoted
years to the study of the Fathers of the Church; was in 1607 appointed
professor of Divinity in his Alma Mater, in 1620 bishop of Meath, and in
1621 archbishop of Armagh; in 1640 he went to England, and during the
rebellion next year his house was broken into and plundered, after which
he settled in London and was eight years preacher at Lincoln's Inn;
adhered to the royal cause, but was favoured by Cromwell, and by him
honoured with burial in Westminster; he was a most saintly man,
evangelical in his teaching, and wrote a number of learned works
(1581-1656).
UTAH (207), a territory on the western plateau of the United States,
W. of Colorado, traversed by the Wahsatch range, at the foot of which
lies the Great Salt Lake, is in extent nearly three times as large as
Scotland, and occupied by a population four-fifths of which are Mormons,
a territory rich in mines of the precious and useful metals as well as
coal; originally wholly a desert waste, but now transformed where the
soil has admitted of it, into a fruit-bearing region. SALT LAKE
CITY (q. v.) is the capital.
UTAKAMAND, the summer capital of the Presidency of Madras, India, on
the Nilgherries, 7000 ft. above the sea-level, and where the temperature
in summer is as low as 60°.
UTGARD (out-yard), in the Norse mythology a place or circle of rocks
on the extreme borders of the world, the abode of the giants, the same as
Jötunheim.
UTICA, an ancient city of North Africa, founded by the Phoenicians
on a site 20 m. NW. of Carthage; was in alliance with Carthage during the
first and second Punic Wars, but took part with the Romans in the third,
and became afterwards the capital of the Roman province.
UTICA (56), a city in New York State, U.S., 232 m. NW. of New York
City; is on the Erie Canal, in the heart of a dairy-farming district; has
a noted market for cheese, and has various manufactures.
UTILITARIANISM, the theory which makes happiness the end of life and
the test of virtue, and maintains that "actions are right in proportion
as they tend to promote happiness, and wrong as they tend to produce the
reverse," a theory characterised by Carlyle, who is never weary of
denouncing it, as "reducing the infinite celestial soul of man to a kind
of hay-balance for weighing hay and thistles on, pleasures and pains on."
The great apostle of this theory was John Stuart Mill, and the great
father of it Jeremy Bentham.
UTOPIA (Nowhere), an imaginary island described by Sir Thomas More,
and represented as possessing a perfect political organisation, and which
has given name to all schemes which aim at the like impossible
perfection, though often applied to such as are not so much impossible in
themselves as impracticable for want of the due individual virtue and
courage to realise them.
UTRAQUISTS (i. e. both kinders), followers of Huss who maintained
that the Eucharist should be administered to the people in both kinds,
both bread and wine.
UTRECHT (60), an old town, the capital of a province of the name
(224), in Holland, on the Old Rhine, 23 m. SE. of Amsterdam; it is
fortified by strong forts, and the old walls have been levelled into
beautiful promenades; has a number of fine buildings, a Gothic cathedral,
St. Martin's, a famous university with 700 students, and a library of
160,000 volumes, besides a town-hall and the "Pope's house" (Pope Adrian
VI., who was born here), &c.; manufactures iron goods, textiles,
machinery, &c., and trades in butter and cheese; here in 1713 the treaty
was signed which closed the Spanish Succession War. Is the name also of a
S. province of the Transvaal.
UTTOXETER, market-town of Staffordshire, 14 m. NE. of Stafford; has
sundry manufactures and brewing; here Dr. Johnson did public penance,
with head uncovered, as a man, for want of filial duty when, as a boy, he
refused to keep his father's bookstall in the market-place when he was
ill.
UXBRIDGE, town of Middlesex, 16 m. W. of London; has two fine
churches, and a large corn-market.
UZBEGS, a race of Tartar descent and Mohammedan creed, dominant in
Turkestan, the governing class in Khiva, Bokhara, and Khokand especially;
territory now annexed to Russia.
V
VAAL, a river of South Africa, which rises in the Drakenberg
Mountains, separates the Free State from the Transvaal, and after a
course of 500 m. in a SW. direction joins the Nu Gariep to form the
Orange River.
VACCINATION. Inoculation with the matter of cowpox as a protection
against smallpox, was introduced 1796-98 by EDWARD JENNER (q. v.),
and at length adopted by the faculty after much opposition on the
part of both medical men and the public.
VAIGATZ, an island in the Arctic Ocean, 67 m. long by 26 m. broad,
the "Holy Island" of the SAMOYEDES (q. v.), an abode of furred
animals, seals, &c.
VAISHNAVAS, in India, name given to the worshippers of Vishnu.
VAISYAS. See CASTE.
VALAIS, a Swiss canton, between Berne on the N. and Italy on the S.,
in a wide valley of the Rhône, and shut in by lofty mountains;
cattle-rearing is the chief industry.
VALDAI HILLS, a plateau rising to the height of 1100 ft. above the
sea-level in Russia, forming the only elevation in the Great European
Plain.
VALENCIA (180), a city of Spain, once the capital of a kingdom, now
of a fertile province of the name; is situated on the shores of the
Mediterranean, 3 m. from the mouth of the Guadalaviar, in the midst of a
district called the Huerta, which is watered by the river, and grows
oranges, citron, almond, mulberry-trees in richest luxuriance, the fruits
of which it exports; is an archbishop's see, and contains a large Gothic
cathedral, a picture gallery, and a university with a large library; has
silk, cloth, leather, cigar, floor-tile manufactures, and exports grain
and silk besides fruits.
VALENCIA (40), a city of Venezuela, in a rich district, on a lake of
the same name; large numbers of cattle, horses, and mules are reared in
the neighbourhood.
VALENCIENNES (24), an ancient fortified city in the dep. Nord,
France, on the Scheldt, 32 m. SE. of Lille, with a citadel planned by
Vauban, a fine town-hall, and a modern Gothic church and other buildings;
has textile manufactures, besides iron-works, and was once famous for its
lace.
VALENS, FLAVIUS, Emperor of the East from 364 to 378; nominated by
his brother Valentinian I. emperor of the West; was harassed all his
reign by the Goths, who had been allowed to settle in the empire, and
whom he drove into revolt, to the defeat of his army in 378, in a battle
in which he was himself slain; the controversy between the orthodox and
the Arians was at its height in this reign, and to the latter party both
he and his victors belonged; _b_. 328.
VALENTIA, an island in co. Kerry, Ireland, is the European terminus
of the Atlantic telegraph system.
VALENTINE, BASIL, a German alchemist of the 15th century, is said to
have been a Benedictine monk at Erfurt, and is reckoned the father of
analytical chemistry.
VALENTINE'S DAY, the 14th of February, on which young people of both
sexes were wont (the custom seems gradually dying out) to send
love-missives to one another; it is uncertain who the Valentine was that
is associated with the day, or whether it was with any of the name.
VALENTINIAN I., Roman emperor from 364 to 375, born in Pannonia, of
humble birth; distinguished himself by his capacity and valour; was
elected emperor by the troops at Nicæa; his reign was spent in repelling
the inroads of the barbarians.
VALENTINIANS, a Gnostic sect, called after their leader Valentine, a
native of Egypt of the 2nd century, regarded heathenism as preparatory to
Christianity, and Christ as the full and final development in human form
of a series of fifteen stages of emanation from the infinite divine to
the finite divine in Him "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all,"
each stage in the process achieved by the union of a male element with a
female, that is, a conceptive and a susceptive.
VALERIANUS, LUCINIUS, Roman emperor from 253 to 260, elected by the
legions in Rhætia; the empire being assailed on all hands he set out to
defend it on the E.; was defeated at Edessa, taken prisoner, and cruelly
treated; when he died his skin, it is said, was stuffed and paraded as a
trophy.
VALERIUS MAXIMUS, a Roman writer of the age of Tiberius, who
compiled a collection of the sayings and doings of notable Romans; it is
of very miscellaneous character, and is written in a bombastic style, and
dedicated to the emperor.
VALETTA (62), a fortress city, the capital of Malta, on a promontory
on the NE. coast of the island, between two bays; the streets are steep,
and the harbour is strongly fortified; it contains several fine
buildings, a cathedral, the palace of the Grand-Masters of the Knights
Templar, and the hospital of St. John; there is also a university and a
large public library.
VALETTE, JEAN PARISOT DE LA, grand-master of the order of St. John,
famous for his military exploits and for his defence of Malta against the
Turks in 1565 (1494-1565).
VALHALLA, Hall of Odin, the heaven of the brave in the Norse
mythology, especially such as gave evidence of their valour by dying in
battle, the "base and slavish" being sent to the realm of Hela, the
Death-Goddess.
VALKYRS, in the Norse mythology daughters of Odin, who selected such
as were worthy to be slain in battle, and who conducted them to
VALHALLA (q. v.).
VALLA, LAURENCE, a learned humanist, born in Rome, and a valiant
defender of the claims of scholarship; was a distinguished Latinist
(1405-1457).
VALLADOLID (62), a famous city of Spain, the capital of old Castile,
and now of a province of the name, 150 m. N. of Madrid; is a fortress
town; is the seat of an archbishop; has a university and a number of
churches; manufactures textile fabrics, iron, and leather.
VALLOMBROSA (shady valley), a Benedictine abbey 15 m. E. of
Florence, in a valley of the Apennines, surrounded by forests of beech,
firs, &c.; is a classic spot.
VALMY, a village of France, 20 m. NE. of Châlons, where the
Prussians, under the Duke of Brunswick, were defeated by the troops of
the French Republic under Kellermann in 1792.
VALOIS, an ancient duchy of France, which now forms part of the
departments of Oise and Aisne, a succession of the counts of which
occupied the throne of France, beginning with Philippe VI. in 1328 and
ending with Henry III. in 1574.
VALPARAISO (Vale of Paradise) (150), the second city and chief port
in Chile, over 100 m. NW. of Santiago, at the head of a bay which looks
N., and where the anchorage is dangerous; is quite a commercial city;
exports ores, nitre, wheat, hides, &c., the business affairs of which are
largely in the hands of foreigners, chiefly English, American, and
Germans; it has been on various occasions visited by severe earthquakes;
was bombarded by a Spanish fleet in 1866 and suffered in the Civil War of
1891.
VAMBÉRY, ARMINIUS, traveller and philologist, born in Hungary, of
poor Jewish parentage; apprenticed to a costumier; took to the study of
languages; expelled from Pesth as a revolutionary in 1848, settled in
Constantinople as a teacher, travelled as a dervish in Turkestan and
elsewhere, and wrote "Travels and Adventures in Central Asia," a most
valuable and notable work; _b_. 1832.
VAMPIRE, the ghost of a dead person accursed, fabled to issue from
the grave at night and suck the blood of the living as they sleep, the
victims of whom are subject to the same fate; the belief is of Slavonic
origin, and common among the Slavs.
VAN (35), a town in the Kurdistan Highlands, on the SE. shore of
Lake Van, and 145 m. SE. of Erzerum; inhabited by Turks and Armenians.
VAN BUREN, MARTIN, the eighth President of the United States, born
in New York; devoted from early years to politics, and early made his
mark; elected President in 1835, an office which he adorned with honour,
though to the sacrifice of his popularity (1782-1862).
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. See TASMANIA.
VANADIUM, a metallic silver-white elementary body of rare
occurrence, and occurring in very small quantities; discovered first in
1801 by Del Rio.
VANBRUGH, SIR JOHN, dramatist, of uncertain birth; his dramas
adaptations from the French of Molière and others; had been a soldier;
was Clarencieux King-at-Arms, and is noted as an architect; _d_. 1726.
VANCOUVER ISLAND (30), a rugged-coasted island on the W. of North
America; belongs to British Columbia; is separated from it by a strait of
the sea; is 278 m. long and 50 to 65 m. of average breadth; is covered
with forests, and only partially cultivated; is rich in minerals, and has
extensive fisheries.
VANDALS, a fierce nation of the Teutonic race, who, from the NE. of
Europe, invaded Rome on the E., mutilating and destroying the works of
art in the city.
VANDERBILT, CORNELIUS, American millionaire, born on Staten Island;
began life as a ferryman, acquired his fortune by enterprise in steamship
navigation, and speculating in railway extensions (1794-1877).
VANDEVELDT, WILLIAM, the Elder, marine painter, born at Leyden;
painted sea-fights; was patronised by Charles II. and James II.
(1611-1693).
VANDEVELDT, WILLIAM, the Younger, marine painter, son of preceding;
patronised likewise by Charles II. (1633-1707).
VANDYCK, SIR ANTHONY, great portrait-painter, born in Antwerp;
studied under Rubens, whose favourite pupil he was; visited Italy, and
devoted himself to the study of the great masters; on his return to
Antwerp painted "Christ Crucified between Two Thieves"; came to England
in 1632, and was patronised by Charles I.; was knighted, and made court
painter; painted the royal family, the king, queen, and their two
children, and during the next eight years executed portraits of all the
court people; his portraits are very numerous, and the most celebrated
are in England; died at Blackfriars, and was buried in St. Paul's
(1599-1641).
VANE, SIR HENRY, a notability of the Civil War period in England;
was a Puritan of the republican type, born in Kent; studied at Oxford;
emigrated for a time to New England, but returned, entered Parliament,
took an active part against the Royalists, withstood Cromwell, and was
openly rebuked by him; his opposition to the Protectorate led to his
imprisonment for a time; at the Restoration he was arrested and beheaded
on Tower Hill (1612-1662).
VAR (288), a department in the SE. of France; is in part
mountainous, with fertile valleys; yields wine, tobacco, and various
fruits.
VARENNES, a small town near Verdun, in France, where in 1791 Louis
XVI. was intercepted in his attempt to escape from France.
VARNA (25), a port of Bulgaria, on a bay in the Black Sea; a place
of considerable trade, specially in exporting corn; here the French and
English allied forces encamped for four months in 1854 prior to their
invasion of the Crimea.
VARNHAGEN, VON ENSE, German memoir writer, and excellent in that
department; a man of many vicissitudes; memorable chiefly as the editor
of his wife's letters. See RAHEL.
VARRO, MARCUS TERENTIUS, "the most learned of the Romans," wrote a
number of works both in prose and verse, of which only fragments remain,
but enough to prove the greatness of the loss; was the friend of Pompey,
then Cæsar, then Cicero, but survived the strife of the time and spent
his leisure afterwards in literary labours (116-27 B.C.).
VARUNA, in the Hindu mythology the god of the luminous heavens,
viewed as embracing all things and as the primary source of all life and
every blessing. "In connection with no other god," says M. Barth, "is the
sense of the divine majesty and of the absolute dependence of the
creature expressed with the same force. We must go to the Psalms to find
similar accents of adoration and supplication." He was the prototype of
the Greek Uranus, the primeval father of gods and men.
VARUS, PUBLIUS QUINTILIUS, Roman consul, appointed by Augustus
governor of Germany; being attacked by Arminius and overpowered with loss
of three Roman legions under his command, he committed suicide; when the
news of the disaster reached Rome Augustus was overwhelmed with grief,
and in a paroxysm of despair called upon the dead man to restore him his
legions.
VASARI, GIORGIO, Italian painter and architect, born in Arezzo; was
the author of biographies of Italian artists, and it is on these, with
the criticism they contain, that his title to fame rests (1511-1574).
VASSAR COLLEGE, a college 2 m. E. of Poughkeepsie, New York, founded
by Matthew Vassar, a wealthy brewer, in 1861 for the higher education of
women.
VATHEC, an Oriental potentate and libertine, guilty of all sorts of
crimes, and hero of a novel of the name by WILLIAM BECKFORD (q. v.).
VATICAN, THE, the palace of the Pope in Rome and one of the largest
in the world; contains a valuable collection of works of art, and is one
of the chief attractions in the city; it is a storehouse of literary
treasures as well and documents of interest bearing on the history of the
Middle Ages.
VATICAN COUNCIL, a Church council attended by 764 ecclesiastics
under the auspices of Pius IX., which assembled on December 8, 1869, and
by a majority of nearly 481 decreed the doctrine of Papal Infallibility.
VAUBAN, SEBASTIEN LE PRESTRE DE, marshal of France in the reign of
Louis XIV.; military engineering was his great forte, and as such he
"conducted 53 sieges, was present at 104 battles, erected 33 fortresses,
and restored the works of 300 old ones"; he was originally in the service
of Spain, and was enlisted in the French service by Cardinal Mazarin; he
was a political economist as well as engineer, but his animadversions
only procured for him the royal disfavour (1633-1707).
VAUCLUSE (valley shut in) (235), department in the SE. of France;
chief industries agriculture, silk-weaving, pottery, &c., and with a
village of the name, 19 m. E. of Avignon, famous for its fountain and as
the retreat of Petrarch for 16 years.
VAUD (247), a canton in the W. of Switzerland, between Jura and the
Bernese Alps; is well cultivated, yields wines, and its inhabitants
Protestants; the capital is Lausanne.
VAUDEVILLE, a light, lively song with topical allusions; also a
dramatic poem interspersed with comic songs of the kind and dances.
VAUDOIS, the name given to Waldenses who, driven forth from France
or Vaud, found refuge and settled down in the mountain fastnesses of
Piedmont.
VAUGHAN, CHARLES JOHN, English clergyman, born at Leicester; was a
pupil of Dr. Arnold's at Rugby; for many years famous as Master of the
Temple, a post he resigned in 1894; held in high esteem as a preacher and
for his fine spirit (1816-1897).
VAUGHAN, HENRY, English poet, self-styled the "Silurist" from the
seat of his family in South Wales; studied at Oxford, was a partisan of
the royal cause; wrote four volumes of poems in the vein of George
Herbert, but was much more mystical and had deeper thoughts, could he
have expressed them; of his poems the first place has been assigned to
"Silex Scintillans," the theme the flinty heart when smelted giving out
sparks. "At times," adds Prof. Saintsbury, "there is in him genuine blood
and fire; but it is not always, or even often, that the flint is kindled
and melted to achieved expression" (1622-1695).
VAUGHAN, HERBERT, CARDINAL, archbishop of Westminster, born at
Gloucester, son of Lieut.-Colonel Vaughan; educated at Stonyhurst and
abroad; succeeded Cardinal Manning as archbishop in 1872, having
previously been bishop of Salford; _b_. 1832.
VAUVENARGUES, MARQUIS DE, celebrated French essayist, born at Aix,
Provence, poor, but of an old and honourable family; entered the army at
18, served in the Austrian Succession War, resigned his commission in
1744, settled in Paris and took to literature; his principal work was
"Introduction à la Connaissance de l'Esprit Humain," followed by
reflections and maxims on points of ethics and criticism; he suffered
from bad health, and his life was a short one (1715-1747).
VEDANGA, one of the six commentaries on the Vedas.
VEDÂNTA, a system of Hindu speculation in interpretation of the
Vedas, founded on the pre-supposition of the identity of the spiritual
working at the heart of things and the spiritual working in the heart of
man.
VEDAS, the sacred books of the Hindus, of sacerdotal origin and
ancient date, of which there are four collections, severally denominated
the Rig-Veda, the Atharva-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, to each of
which are attached Brahmanas in elucidation.
VEDDAS, the aborigines of Ceylon, of whom some 2000, still in a wild
state, are extant between Kandy and the E. coast.
VEGA, LOPEZ DE LA, known as Lope, Spanish dramatist, born in Madrid;
began life as a soldier; served in the Armada; was secretary to the Duke
of Alva; took orders, and became an officer of the Inquisition; wrote a
heroic pastoral entitled "Arcadia" at the instance of the duke, and the
"Dragonica" over the death of Drake as the destroyer of the supremacy of
Spain on the sea; was a man of fertile inventiveness, and is said to have
written 2000 plays, besides no end of verses, and was called by Cervantes
a "Prodigy of Nature" (1562-1635).
VEHMGERICHTE or FEHMGERICHT, a tribunal in Germany during the
Middle Ages, of which there were several, all powerful, in connection
with a secret organisation under sanction of the emperor for the
enforcement of justice and punishment of crime at a period when the
States severally were too weak to uphold it. These courts were held in
secret places at night, and inspired great terror in the 13th and 14th
centuries.
VEII, an ancient city of Etruria, and in early times a formidable
rival of Rome, from which it was only 12 m. distant. The Romans under
Camillus laid siege to it, and it baffled them for 10 years.
VEIT, PHILIPP, painter of the Romanticist school, born at Berlin;
his best-known work is a fresco, "Christianity bringing the Fine Arts to
Germany."
VELASQUEZ, DIEGO DE SILVA, greatest of Spanish painters, born at
Seville, of Portuguese family; studied under FRANCISCO HERRERA
(q. v.), who taught him to teach himself, so that but for the hint he
was a self-taught artist, and simply painted what he saw and as he saw
it; portrait-painting was his forte, one of his earliest being a portrait
of Olivarez, succeeded by one of Philip IV. of Spain, considered the most
perfect extant, and by others of members of the royal family; specimens
of his work are found in different countries, but the best are in Spain,
in Madrid, and they include sacred subjects, genre, landscape, and animal
paintings, as well as portraits (1599-1660).
VENDÉE, LA (442), a dep. of France, on the Bay of Biscay, S. of
Loire-Inférieure; marshy on the W., wooded on the N., and with an open
fertile tract in the middle and S.; it is famous as the seat of a
stubborn resistance to the Revolution, and for the bloody violence with
which it was suppressed.
VENDÉMIAIRE (vintage month), the first month of the French
Revolution year, from 22nd September to 21st October.
VENDETTA, the practice which existed in Corsica and Sicily on the
part of individuals of exacting vengeance for the murder of a relative on
the murderer or one of his relations.
VENDÔME, LOUISE JOSEPH, DUC DE, French general, born at Paris,
great-grandson of Henry IV.; served in the wars of Louis XIV., and gained
several victories; was defeated by Marlborough and Prince Eugene at
Oudenarde in 1708, but by his victory at Villaviciosa contributed to the
restoration of Philip V. to the Spanish throne in 1711; was a man of
gross sensuality, and has been pilloried by Saint Simon for the
execration of all mankind (1654-1712).
VENEZUELA (2,323), a federal republic in South America, founded in
1830, over three times as large as Spain, consisting of nine States and
several territories; composed of mountain and valley, and in great part
of llanos, within the basin of the Orinoco; between the Caribbean Sea,
Colombo, Brazil, and British Guiana, and containing a population of
Indian, Spanish, and Negro descent; on the llanos large herds of horses
and cattle are reared; the agricultural products are sugar, coffee,
cotton, tobacco, &c.; the forests yield mahogany, ebony, and dye-wood,
while the mines yield iron, copper, &c., and there are extensive
gold-fields, considered the richest in the world; the boundary line
between the British colony and Venezuela was for long matter of keen
dispute, but by the intervention of the United States at the request of
the latter a treaty between the contending parties was concluded,
referring the matter to a court of arbitration, which met at Paris in
1895, and settled it in 1899, in vindication, happily, of the British
claim, the Schomburgk line being now declared to be the true line, and
the gold-fields ours.
VENGEUR, LE, a war-vessel of the French fabled to have gone down
rather than surrender to the English in a battle off Ushant on 1st June
1794, the crew shouting "Vive la République," when it was really a cry
for help.
VENICE, a city of Italy, in a province of the same name, at the head
of the Adriatic, in a shallow lagoon dotted with some eighty islets, and
built on piles partly of wood and partly of stone, the streets of which
are canals traversed by gondolas and crossed here and there by bridges;
the city dates from the year 432, when the islands were a place of refuge
from the attacks of the Huns, and took shape as an independent State with
magistrates of its own about 687, to assume at length the form of a
republic and become "Queen of the Adriatic Sea," the doge, or chief
magistrate, ranking as one of the sovereign powers of the Western world;
from its situation it became in the 10th century a great centre of trade
with the East, and continued to be till the discovery of the route round
the Cape, after which it began to decline, till it fell eventually under
the yoke of Austria, from which it was wrested in 1866, and is now part
of the modern kingdom of Italy, with much still to show of what it was in
its palmy days, and indications of a measure of recovery from its
down-trodden state; for an interesting and significant sketch in brief of
its rise and fall see the "SHADOW ON THE DIAL" in Ruskin's "St.
Mark's Rest."
VENTNOR, a town and favourite watering-place on the S. shore of the
Isle of Wight, with a fine beach; much resorted to in winter from its
warm Southern exposure.
VENUS, the Roman goddess of love, of wedded love, and of beauty
(originally of the spring), and at length identified with the Greek
APHRODITÉ (q. v.); she was regarded as the tutelary goddess of
Rome, and had a temple to her honour in the Forum.
VENUS, an interior planet of the solar system, revolving in an orbit
outside that of Mercury and within that of the earth, nearly as large as
the latter; is 67 millions of miles from the sun, round which it revolves
in 224 days, while it takes 23¼ hours to rotate on its own axis; it is
the brightest of the heavenly bodies, and appears in the sky now as the
morning star, now as the evening star, according as it rises before the
sun or sets after it, so that it is always seen either in the E. or the
W.; when right between us and the sun it is seen moving as a black spot
on the sun's disk, a phenomenon known as "Transit of Venus," the last
instance of which occurred in 1882, and that will not occur again till
after 105½ years.
VERA CRUZ (24), a chief seaport of Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico,
263 m. SE. of the capital; is regularly built and strongly fortified, but
is unhealthily situated, and the yellow and other fevers prevail; trade
is chiefly in the hands of foreigners; exports ores, cochineal, indigo,
dye-woods, &c.
VERDI, GIUSEPPE, Italian composer, born at Roncole, Parma; his
musical talent was slow of recognition, but the appearance of his
"Lombardi" and "Ernani" in 1843-44 established his repute, which was
confirmed by "Rigoletto" in 1851 and "Il Trovatore" and "La Traviata" in
1853; _b_. 1813.
VERDUN (18), a strongly fortified town in the department of Meuse,
35 m. W. of Metz; capitulated to the Germans in 1870 after a siege of six
weeks.
VERESTCHAGIN, Russian painter, is realistic to an extreme degree and
anti-conventional; _b_. 1842.
VERGIL, POLYDORE, historian and miscellaneous writer, born at
Urbino; was a friend and correspondent of Erasmus; was sent to England by
the Pope as deputy-collector of Peter's pence, and was there promoted to
ecclesiastical preferments; wrote in Latin an able and painstaking
history of England, bringing it down to the year 1538 (1470-1555).
VERIGNIAUD, an eloquent orator of the French Revolution; a man of
indolent temper, but by his eloquence became leader of the Girondins;
presided at the trial of the king, and pronounced the decision of the
court--sentence of death, presided as well "at the Last Supper of his
party, with wild coruscations of eloquence, with song and mirth," and was
guillotined next day, the last of the lot (1753-1793).
VERLAINE, PAUL, French poet, born in Metz; has written lyrics of a
quite unique type (1844-1896).
VERMONT (green mount) (332), an inland New England State, W. of New
Hampshire and a little larger in size, includes large tracts of both
pastoral and arable land; rears live-stock in great numbers, yields
cereals, and produces the best maple sugar in the States, and has large
quarries of granite, marble, and slate.
VERNE, JULES, French story-teller, born at Nantes, inventor and
author of a popular series of semi-scientific novels; _b_. 1828.
VERNET, CLAUDE, French marine-painter, born at Avignon; executed
more than 200 paintings, both landscape and sea pieces (1712-1789).
CARLO, son of preceding, painter of battle-pieces, born at Bordeaux
(1768-1833). HORACE, son of latter, born in Paris, distinguished
also for his battle-pieces in flattery of French Chauvinism (1789-1863).
VERNON, DI, the heroine in Sir Walter Scott's "Rob Roy," an
enthusiastic royalist, distinguished for her beauty and talents.
VERONA (72), an old Italian town on the Adige, in Venetia, 62 m. W.
of Venice; is a fortress city and one of the famous Quadrilateral; has
many interesting buildings and some Roman remains, in particular of an
amphitheatre; has manufactures of silk, velvet, and woollen fabrics, and
carries on a large local trade.
VERONESE, PAOLO, painter of the Venetian school, born at Verona,
whence his name; studied under an uncle, painted his "Temptation of St.
Anthony" for Mantua Cathedral, and settled in Venice in 1555, where he
soon earned distinction and formed one of a trio along with Titian and
Tintoretto; the subjects he treated were mostly scriptural, the most
celebrated being the "Marriage Feast at Cana of Galilee," now in the
Louvre (1528-1588).
VERONICA, ST., according to legend a woman who met Christ on His way
to crucifixion and offered Him her veil to wipe the sweat off His face.
See SUDARIUM.
VERSAILLES (51), a handsome city of France, capital of the
department of Seine-et-Oise, 11 m. by rail SW. of Paris, of which it is
virtually a suburb, and was during the monarchy, from Louis XIV.'s time,
the seat of the French court; has a magnificent palace, with a gallery
embracing a large collection of pictures; was occupied by the Germans
during the siege of Paris, and in one of its halls the Prussian king was
proclaimed emperor of Germany as William I.
VERTUMNUS in Roman mythology the god of the seasons, wooed Pomona
under a succession of disguises, and won her at last.
VESPASIAN, TITUS FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS, Roman emperor (from 70 to 79)
and tenth of the 12 Cæsars, born in the Sabine territory of humble
parentage; rose by his valour to high rank in the army and in favour with
it, till at length he was elected by it to the throne; he had waged war
successfully in Germany, Britain, and at Jerusalem, and during his
reign, and nearly all through it, the temple of Janus was shut at Rome.
VESPUCCI, AMERIGO, navigator, born at Florence; made two voyages to
America in 1499 and in 1501, and from him the two continents derived
their name, owing, it is said, to his first visit being misdated in an
account he left, which made it appear that he had preceded Columbus
(1451-1512).
VESTA, the Roman goddess of the hearth, identified with the Greek
Hestia; was the guardian of domestic life and had a shrine in every
household; had a temple in Rome in which a heaven-kindled fire was kept
constantly burning and guarded by first four then six virgins called
Vestals, whose persons were held sacred as well as their office, since
any laxity in its discharge might be disastrous to the city.
VESTAL VIRGINS. See VESTA.
VESUVIUS, a flattened conical mountain, 4161 ft. in height, and an
active volcano on the Bay of Naples, 10 m. SE. of the city; it was by
eruption of it that the two cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were
overwhelmed in 79 A.D.; its crater is half a mile in diameter, and has a
depth of 350 ft.; there are some 60 eruptions on record, the latest being
in 1891.
VETURIA, a Roman matron, the mother of Coriolanus.
VIA DOLOROSA, way leading from the Mount of Olives to Golgotha,
which Christ traversed from the Agony in the Garden to the Cross.
VIATICUM, name given to the Eucharist administered by a priest to a
person on the point of death.
VICAR OF BRAY. See BRAY.
VICAR OF CHRIST, title assumed by the Pope, who claims to be the
Vicegerent of Christ on earth.
VICENZA (27), a town in the NE. of Italy, in a province of the name,
bordering on the Tyrol, 42 m. W. of Venice; has fine palaces designed by
Palladio, a native of the place; manufactures woollen and silk fabrics,
and wooden wares; was a place of some importance under the Lombards.
VICHY, a fashionable watering-place in Central France, on the
Allier, at the foot of the volcanic mountains of Auvergne; has hot
alkaline springs, much resorted to for their medicinal virtues.
VICKSBURG (13), largest city on the Mississippi, on a bluff above
the river, fortified by the Confederates in the Civil War; after a siege
of over a year surrendered to General Grant, 4th July 1864, with 30,000
men.
VICO, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, Italian philosopher, born at Naples, where
he was for 40 years professor of rhetoric; his great work "Scienza
Nuova," by which he became the father of the philosophy of history, which
he resolved Calvinistically into a spiritual development of the purpose
of God (1668-1744).
VICTOR, CLAUDE PERRIN, marshal of France, served with distinction
all through the wars of Napoleon, and held command, not to his honour,
under the Bourbons after his fall (1764-1841).
VICTOR, ST., the name of two martyrs, one of Marseilles and one of
Milan, distinguished for their zeal in overthrowing pagan altars.
VICTOR EMMANUEL II., king of Sardinia, and afterwards of united
Italy, born in Turin, eldest son of Charles Albert; became king in 1849
on the abdication of his father; distinguished himself in the war against
Austria, adding Austrian Lombardy and Tuscany to his dominions, and by
the help of Garibaldi, Naples and Sicily, till in 1861 he was proclaimed
King of Italy, and in 1870 he entered Rome as his capital city
(1820-1878).
VICTORIA (1,140), a colony of Great Britain, the smallest and most
populous in Australia, lying S. of New South Wales, from which it was
separated in 1851; originally settled as Port Phillip in 1834, it
developed gradually as a pastoral and agricultural region till, in 1851,
the discovery of gold led to an enormous increase in both the population
and the revenue, and the sudden rise of a community, with Melbourne for
centre, which, for wealth and enterprise, eclipsed every other in the
southern hemisphere of the globe; the wealth thus introduced led to a
further development of its resources, and every industry began to
flourish to a proportionate extent; the chief exports are wool, gold,
live-stock, bread-stuffs, hides and leather, and the imports are no less
manifold; the climate is remarkably healthy, and ice and snow are hardly
known; there is no State religion; 75 per cent. of the people are
Protestants, 22 per cent. Catholics, and ½ per cent. Jews, and every
provision is made for education in the shape of universities, State
schools, technical schools and private schools, and the legislative
authority is vested in a Parliament of two chambers, a Legislative
Council of 48, and a Legislative Assembly of 95.
VICTORIA, ALEXANDRINA, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland and Empress of India, born at Kensington Palace, the only
child of the Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III., who died in 1820,
leaving her an infant eight months old; educated under the eye of her
mother with special regard to her prospective destiny as Queen;
proclaimed, on the death of William IV., on 20th June 1837; crowned at
Westminster 28th June 1838; married Prince Albert 10th February 1840; in
1877 added "Empress of India" to her titles; during 1861 became a widow
through the death of Prince Albert. Her reign was long and prosperous;
1887 being celebrated as her "Jubilee" year, and 1897 as her "Diamond
Jubilee"; was the mother of four sons and five daughters; had
grandchildren and great-grandchildren, William II., Emperor of Germany,
being a grandchild, and Nicholas II., Czar of Russia, being married to
another; _b_. 1819; died at Osborne, Isle of Wight, Jan. 22, 1901.
VICTORIA CROSS, a naval and military decoration in the shape of a
Maltese cross, instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856 for conspicuous
bravery in the presence of an enemy.
VICTORIA NYANZA, a lake in East Central Africa, on the Equator, is
about the size of Ireland, 300 m. long and 20 m. broad, at an elevation
of 3500 ft. above the sea-level; discovered by Captain Speke in 1858, and
circumnavigated by Stanley in 1875; is regarded as the head-source of the
Nile, the waters of it flowing through Albert Nyanza 80 m. to the N.,
between which two lakes lies the territory of Uganda.
VIDAR, in the Scandinavian mythology the god of wisdom and silence,
whose look penetrates the inmost thoughts of men.
VIENNA (1,364), the capital of the Austrian empire, on a southern
branch of the Danube, in a situation calculated to make it the central
city of the Continent; it is the residence of the emperor and the seat of
the government; has noble buildings, a university, and numerous large
libraries, a large promenade called the Prater, and a varied industry,
and ample means of both external and internal communication; in the SW.
of it is Schönbrunn, the summer residence of the emperor, amid gardens of
matchless beauty; it has been the scene of the signing of important
treaties, and it was here the Congress met to undo the work of Napoleon
in 1815.
VIENNE (22), an ancient town of France, on the Rhône, 19 m. S. of
Lyons; was the chief town of the Allobroges in Cæsar's time, and
possesses relics of its connection with Rome; it manufactures silk and
woollen fabrics, paper and iron goods, and has a trade in grain and wine.
VIGFUSSON, GUDBRAND, Scandinavian scholar, born in Iceland, of good
family; well familiar with the folk-lore of his country from boyhood, and
otherwise educated at home, he entered Copenhagen University in 1850,
occupying himself with the study of his native literature, and of every
document he could lay his hands on, and out of which he hoped to obtain
any light; in 1855 he published a work on the chronology of the sagas,
and this was followed by editions of the sagas themselves; after this he
came to Oxford, where he produced an Icelandic-English Dictionary and
other works in the same interest, and died and was buried there
(1827-1889).
VIGNY, ALFRED, COMTE DE, French poet of the Romanticist school, born
at Loches; entered the army, but left after a few years for a life of
literary ease; produced a small volume of exquisitely finished poems
between 1821 and 1829, and only another "Poèmes Philosophiques," which
were not published till after his death; wrote also romances and dramas,
and translated into French "Othello" and "Merchant of Venice"
(1798-1864).
VIGO (15), a seaport in Galicia, NW. of Spain, on a bay of the name;
beautifully situated, and a favourite health resort.
VIKINGS (creekers), name given to the Scandinavian sea-rovers and
pirates who from the 8th to the 10th centuries ravaged the shores chiefly
of Western Europe.
VILLARI, Italian author, born at Naples; professor of History at
Florence; has written the Lives of Savonarola and Macchiavelli; _b_.
1827.
VILLARS, DUC DE, marshal of France, born at Moulins; one of the most
illustrious of Louis XIV.'s generals, and distinguished in diplomacy as
well as war; served in Germany under Turenne, and in the war of the
Spanish Succession; suppressed the Camisards in the Cévennes, but was
defeated by Marlborough at Malplaquet (1653-1734).
VILLENAGE, in feudal times the condition of a "villein," one of the
lowest class in a state of menial servitude.
VILLENEUVE, SILVESTRE, French admiral, born at Vilensoles,
Basses-Alpes; entered the navy at 15, became captain at 30; commanded the
rear at the battle of the Nile; was placed in command at Toulon, steered
his fleet to the West Indies to draw Nelson off the shores of France, but
was chased back by Nelson and blockaded in Cadiz to the defeat of
Napoleon's scheme for invading England, but felt constrained to risk a
battle with the English admiral, which he did to his ruin at Trafalgar
(1763-1806).
VILLEROI, DUC DE, marshal of France; was a courtier but no soldier,
being defeated in Italy by Prince Eugene and at Ramillies by Marlborough;
was guardian to Louis XV. (1644-1730).
VILLIERS, CHARLES PELHAM, reformer, brother of the Earl of
Clarendon; bred to the bar; entered Parliament; M.P. for Wolverhampton,
which he represented to the end; was an advocate from the first, and one
of the sturdiest, for free trade and poor-law reform, and had a marble
statue raised in his honour at Wolverhampton before his death
(1802-1898).
VILLON, FRANÇOIS, French poet, born in Paris; studied at the
university, but led a singular life; had again and again to flee from
Paris; was once condemned to death, but set free after a four years'
imprisonment into which the sentence was commuted; is the author of two
poems, entitled the "Petit Testament" and the "Grand Testament," with
minor pieces bearing on the swindling tricks of Villon, the name he
assumed, and his companions (1431-1485).
VINCENNES (24), an eastern suburb of Paris, in the famous Bois de
Vincennes, which contains a large artillery park and training place for
troops; it is a favourite resort for Parisians of the middle class.
VINCENT, ST., a Spanish martyr who in 304 was tortured to death; is
represented with the instruments of his torture, a spiked gridiron for
one, and a raven beside him such as drove away the beasts and birds of
prey from his dead body.
VINCENT DE PAUL, ST., a Romish priest, born in Gascony, of humble
parents; renowned for his charity; he founded the congregation of the
Sisters of Charity, and that of the Priests of the Missions, afterwards
called Lazarites, from the priory of St. Lazare, where they first
established themselves, and instituted the Foundling Hospital in Paris;
he was canonised by Pope Clement XII. in 1737 (1576-1660).
VINDHYA MOUNTAINS, a range of hills, 500 m. in length, forming the
N. scarp of the plateau of the Deccan in India, the highest peak of which
does not exceed 6000 ft.
VINEGAR BIBLE, an edition of the Bible printed at Oxford, in which
the page containing the "Parable of the Vineyard" in Luke xx. was headed
"Parable of the Vinegar."
VINEGAR HILL, a hill (385 ft.) near Enniscorthy, co. Wexford,
Ireland, where General Lake defeated the Irish rebels on June 21, 1798,
to the utter annihilation then and after of almost every man of them.
VINET, ALEXANDRE RODOLPHE, a Protestant theologian, born near
Lausanne, where he studied and ultimately became professor of Practical
Theology; was a zealous defender of the liberty of conscience and of the
freedom of the Church from State connection and control; he was a
littérateur as well as an able and eloquent divine (1797-1847).
VIOTTI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, celebrated violinist, born in Piedmont
(1753-1824).
VIRCHOW, RUDOLF, eminent pathologist, born in Pomerania; is
distinguished as a politician as well as a man of science, and is in the
former regard a strenuous Liberal; his services not only in the interests
of medicine but of science generally and its social applications have
been very great; _b_. 1821.
VIRGIL, great Latin poet, born near Mantua, author in succession of
the "Eclogues," the "Georgics," and the "Æneid"; studied at Cremona and
Milan, and at 16 was sent to Rome to study rhetoric and philosophy, lost
a property he had in Cremona during the civil war, but recommended
himself to Pollio, the governor, who introduced him to Augustus, and he
went to settle in Rome; here, in 37 B.C., he published his "Eclogues," a
collection of 10 pastorals, and gained the patronage of Mæcenas, under
whose favour he was able to retire to a villa at Naples, where in seven
years he, in 30 B.C., produced the "Georgics," in four books, on the art
of husbandry, after which he devoted himself to his great work the
"Æneid," or the story of Æneas of Troy, an epic in 12 books, connecting
the hero with the foundation of Rome, and especially with the Julian
family, and which was finished in 19 B.C.; on his deathbed he expressed
a wish that it should be burned, and left instructions to that effect in
his will; he was one of the purest-minded poets perhaps that ever lived
(70-19 B.C.).
VIRGIN ISLANDS (45), a group of islands in the West Indies, few of
them of any size, belonging partly to Denmark, Britain, and Spain.
VIRGIN QUEEN, appellation popularly given to Queen Elizabeth.
VIRGINIA (1,655), one of the United States of America, a State
somewhat larger than Scotland, between Maryland and North Carolina, so
named by its founder Sir Walter Raleigh in honour of Queen Elizabeth; is
divided from West Virginia by the Appalachians; it is well watered; the
soil, which is fertile, yields the finest cotton and tobacco, and
minerals, particularly coal and iron, are abundant; the largest city is
Richmond, with flour-mills.
VIRGINIA, WEST (762), formed originally one State with the
preceding, but separated in 1861 to join the Federal cause; is nearly the
same in size and resources; is a great mining region, and is rich in coal
and iron; its largest city is Wheeling, on the Ohio.
VISHNU, the Preserver, the second god of the Hindu triad, BRAHMA (q. v.)
being the first and SIVA (q. v.) the third; revealed himself by a
succession of avatars, RÂMA (q. v.) being the seventh and KRISHNA (q. v.)
the eighth; he has had nine avatars, and on the tenth he will come to
judgment; he is extensively worshipped, and his worshippers, the
Vaishnavas, are divided into a great number of sects.
VISIGOTHS, a branch of the Goths that settled in the South of France
and in Spain.
VISTULA, a central river of Europe, which rises in the Carpathians
and after a course of 600 m. falls into the Baltic; it is almost
navigable throughout, and carries down great quantities of timber, grain,
and other produce to the Baltic ports.
VITALIS, ST., a martyr of the 1st century, who was stoned to death,
is represented as buried in a pit with stones on his head.
VITELLIUS, AULUS, Roman emperor; reigned only eight months and some
days of the year 69; was notorious for his excesses, and was murdered
after being dragged through the streets of Rome.
VITRUVIUS, POLLIO, Roman architect and engineer; wrote on
architecture, lived in the days of Augustus.
VITTORIA (127), the capital of Alava, a Basque province in the North
of Spain, famous as the scene of one of Wellington's victories in June
1813; has a fine old 12th-century cathedral and extensive manufactures;
it is one of the most prosperous towns in Spain.
VIVES, LUDOVICUS, a humanist, born at Valencia, studied in Paris;
wrote against scholasticism, taught at Oxford, and was imprisoned for
opposing Henry VIII.'s divorce; died at Bruges (1492-1540).
VIVIAN, an enchantress in Arthurian legend. See MERLIN.
VLADIMIR (12), capital of a government in the centre of Russia, 120
m. NE. of Moscow; once practically the capital of the country, with many
remains of its ancient grandeur.
VLADIMIR I. THE GREAT OR ST., grand-duke of Russia; converted to
Christianity through his wife Anna Romanovna, laid the foundation of the
Russian empire; has been canonised by the Russian Church; _d_. 1015.
VLADIMIR II., surnamed Monomachus; succeeded to the throne of Russia
in 1113, and consolidated it by the establishment and enforcement of just
laws; was married to Gida, a daughter of King Harold of England
(1063-1126).
VOGLER, ABBÉ, composer, born in Würzburg; distinguished once both as
a musical performer and teacher; lives only in Browning's "Dramatis
Personæ" (1749-1814).
VOGT, CARL, German naturalist, born at Giessen; a materialist and
disciple of Darwin; has written on geology and anthropology; _b_. 1817.
VOGULS, a Finnish tribe on the E. slope of the Urals; are
Christianised, but still practise many Shamanist rites; number some
20,000.
VOLAPÜK, a universal language by Schleyer, a German pastor; as yet
practically limited to its applicability to commercial intercourse.
VOLGA, a river of European Russia, the largest in Europe, which
rises in the Valdai Hills, and after a course of 2200 m. falls by a delta
with 200 mouths into the Caspian Sea; it is navigable almost throughout,
providing Russia with 7200 m. of water-carriage, and has extensive
fisheries, especially of salmon and sturgeon.
VOLNEY, French philosopher, born at Craon; travelled in Egypt and
Syria; wrote an account of his travels in his "Voyage"; was imprisoned
during the Reign of Terror; patronised and promoted to honour by
Napoleon, and by the Bourbons on their return; his principal work,
"LES RUINES, OU MÉDITATIONS SUR LES RÉVOLUTIONS DES EMPIRES," was
an embodiment of 18th-century enlightenment (q. v.) (1757-1820).
VOLSUNGS, a race figuring in Norse and German legend of the 12th
century, and with the fate in whose history it is so widely occupied, and
that of its heroes.
VOLTA, ALESSANDRINO, Italian physicist, born at Como; professor of
Physics at Pavia; made electrical discoveries which laid the foundation
of what is called after him voltaic electricity; volt, the unit of
electric motive force, being a term among sundry others in electric
science similarly derived (1745-1827).
VOLTAIC ELECTRICITY, a current of electricity generated by chemical
action between metals and different liquids as arranged in a voltaic
battery.
VOLTAIRE, FRANÇOIS MARIE AROUET DE, great French "persifleur" and
"Coryphæus of Deism," born in Paris, son of a lawyer; trained to scoff at
religion from his boyhood, and began his literary career as a satirist
and in the production of lampoons which cost him twice over imprisonment
in the Bastille, on his release from which he left France in 1726 and
went to England, where he stayed three years, and got acquainted with the
free-thinking class there; on his return to Paris he engaged in some
profitable commercial speculations and published his "Charles XII.,"
which he had written in England, and retired to the château of Cirey,
where he lived five years with Madame du Châtelet, engaged in study and
diligent with his pen, with whom he left France and went to Poland, after
her death paying his famous visit to Frederick the Great, with whom
before three years were out he quarrelled, and from whom he was glad to
escape, making his head-quarters eventually within the borders of France
at Ferney, from which he now and again visited Paris, where on his last
visit he was received with such raptures of adulation that he was quite
overcome, and had to be conveyed home to die, giving up the ghost exactly
two months after. He was a man of superlative adroitness of faculty and
shiftiness, without aught that can be called great, but more than any
other the incarnation of the spirit of his time; said the word which all
were waiting to hear and who replied yea to it--a poor word indeed yet a
potent, for it gave the death-blow to superstition, but left religion out
in the cold. The general, the great offence Carlyle charges Voltaire
with is, that "he intermeddled in religion without being himself in any
measure religious; that he entered the Temple and continued there with a
levity which, in any temple where men worship, can beseem no brother man;
that, in a word, he ardently, and with long-continued effort, warred
against Christianity, without understanding, beyond the mere superficies,
what Christianity was" (1694-1778).
VOLUNTARYISM, the doctrine that the Church should not depend on the
State, but should be supported exclusively by the voluntary contributions
of its members.
VOODOO, name given to a system of magic and superstitious rites
prevalent among certain negro races.
VORTIGERN, a British prince of the 5th century, who, on the
withdrawal of the Romans, invited the Saxons to aid him against the
incursions of the Picts, to, as it proved, their own installation into
sovereign power in South Britain.
VOSGES, a range of mountains in the NE. of France, since 1871
forming the Franco-German frontier by the inclusion of Alsace in German
territory; they separate the basin of the Moselle from that of the Rhine.
VOSS, JOHANN HEINRICH, German poet and scholar, born in Mecklenburg;
spent most of his life in Heidelberg; his fame rests chiefly on his
idyllic poem "Luise" and his translations, particularly of Homer
(1751-1826).
VOSSIUS, GERARD, Dutch philologist, born near Heidelberg; wrote a
history of Pelagianism, which brought him disfavour with the orthodox;
was made a prebendary of Canterbury through the influence of Laud; was,
on some apology to orthodoxy in 1633, called to the chair of History in
the Gymnasium of Amsterdam; he was a friend of Grotius; he fell from a
ladder in his library, and was found dead (1577-1649).
VULCAN, the Roman god of fire and an artificer In metals, identified
with the Greek HEPHÆSTUS (q. v.); had a temple to his honour in
early Rome; was fabled to have had a forge under Mount Etna, where he
manufactured thunderbolts for Jupiter, the Cyclops being his workmen.
VULGATE, a version of the Bible in Latin executed by ST.
JEROME (q. v.), and was in two centuries after its execution
universally adopted in the Western Christian Church as authoritative for
both faith and practice, and from the circumstance of its general
reception it became known as the Vulgate (i. e. the commonly-accepted
Bible of the Church), and it is the version accepted as authentic to-day
by the Roman Catholic Church, under sanction of the Council of Trent.
"With the publication of it," says Ruskin, "the great deed of fixing, in
their ever since undisturbed harmony and majesty, the canon of Mosaic and
Apostolic Scripture, was virtually accomplished, and the series of
historic and didactic books which form our present Bible (including the
Apocrypha) were established in and above the nascent thought of the
noblest races of men living on the terrestrial globe, as a direct message
to them from its Maker, containing whatever it was necessary for them to
learn of His purposes towards them, and commanding, or advising, with
divine authority and infallible wisdom, all that it was best for them to
do and happiest to desire. Thus, partly as a scholar's exercise and
partly as an old man's recreation, the severity of the Latin language was
softened, like Venetian crystal, by the variable fire of Hebrew thought,
and the 'Book of Books' took the abiding form of which all the future art
of the Western nations was to be an hourly expanding interpretation."
VYASA, the mythical author of the Hindu Mahâbhârata and the Puránas;
was the illegitimate child of a Brahman and a girl of impure caste of the
fisher class.
W
WAAL, a S. branch of the Rhine, in Holland.
WACE, Anglo-Norman poet, born in Guernsey; author of two metrical
chronicles, "Geste des Brétons" and "Roman de Rou," the latter recording
the fortunes of the dukes of Normandy down to 1106 (1120-1183).
WACE, HENRY, Principal of King's College, London; has lectured ably
on Christian apologetics, and written valuable works in defence of
Christianity; _b_. 1836.
WADE, GEORGE, English general; commanded in Scotland during the
rebellion of 1715, has the credit of the construction in 1725-35 of the
military roads into the Highlands, to frustrate any further attempts at
rebellion in the north (1668-1748).
WADMAN, WIDOW, a lady in "Tristram Shandy" who pays court to Uncle
Toby.
WADY, an Arabic name for the channel of a stream which is flooded in
rainy weather and at other seasons dry.
WAGNER, WILHELM RICHARD, the great musical composer, born at
Leipzig; showed early a faculty for music, and began the enthusiastic
study of it under Beethoven; in 1835 became conductor of the orchestra of
the theatre of Magdeburg, and held the same post afterwards at Riga and
Königsberg; his principal works were "Rienzi" (1840), "The Flying
Dutchman" (1843), "Tannhäuser" (1845), "Lohengrin" (1850), "Tristan and
Isolde" (1859), "The Mastersingers of Nürnberg" (1859-60), and the "Ring
of the Nibelungen," the composition of which occupied 25 years; this last
was performed in 1876 at Bayreuth in a theatre erected for the purpose in
presence of the emperor of Germany and the principal musical artists of
the world; "Parsifal" was his last work; his musical ideas were
revolutionary, and it was some time before his works made their way in
England (1813-1883).
WAGRAM, a village, 10 m. NE. of Vienna, where Napoleon gained a
great victory over the Austrians under the Archduke Charles, on July 5
and 6, 1809.
WAHABIS, a Mohammedan sect which arose among the Nedj tribe in
Central Arabia, whose aims were puritanic and the restoration of Islamism
to its primitive simplicity in creed, worship, and conduct; in creed they
were substantially the same as the SUNNITES (q. v.).
WAIKATO, the largest river in New Zealand, in the North Island, the
outlet of the waters of Lake Taupo, the largest lake; has a course of 170
m.
WAKEFIELD (37), a borough of Yorkshire, 9 m. S. of Leeds; has large
woollen and other manufactures.
WALCHEREN, an island in the province of Zeeland, in the delta formed
by the Maas and Scheldt; was the destination of an unfortunate expedition
sent to the help of the Austrians against Napoleon in Antwerp, in which
7000 of the army composing it died of marsh fever, from which 10,000 were
sent home sick and the rest recalled.
WALDECK-PYRMONT (57), two high-lying territories in North Germany
forming one principality and subject to imperial authority; consists of
hill and valley.
WALDENSES, a Christian community founded in 1170 in the south of
France, on the model of the primitive Church, by Peter Walden, a rich
citizen of Lyons, and who were driven by persecution from country to
country until they settled in Piedmont under the name of the
VAUDOIS (q. v.), where they still exist.
WALES (1,519), one of three divisions of Great Britain; is 135 m. in
length and from 37 to 95 m. in breadth, and bounded on the NW. and S. by
the sea; it is divided into 12 counties, of which 6 form North Wales and
6 South Wales; is a mountainous country, intersected by beautiful
valleys, which are traversed by a number of streams; it is largely
agricultural; has mines of coal and iron, lead and copper, as well as
large slate-quarries, which are extensively wrought; the Church of
England is the church established, but the majority of the people are
Nonconformists; it is represented in Parliament by 30 members; the
natives are Celts, and the native language Celtic, which is still the
language of a goodly number of the people.
WALES, PRINCE OF, title borne by eldest son of the English monarch;
first conferred in 1301 on eldest son of Edward I. after subjugation of
Wales (1282); since 1901 borne by Prince George, formerly Duke of York;
entered the navy in 1877, and attained the post of commander in 1890;
became heir of the throne on death of his brother, Duke of Clarence
(1892); married Princess Mary of Teck (1893), and has by this marriage
four sons and a daughter; _b_. 1865.
WALFISH BAY, a dependency of Cape Colony, in the middle of the
coast-line of German South-West Africa.
WALKER, GEORGE, defender of Londonderry against the army of James
II., born in co. Tyrone, of English parents; was in holy orders, and by
his sermons encouraged the town's-people during the siege, which lasted
105 days; he afterwards fought in command of his Derry men at the battle
of the Boyne, where he lost his life.
WALLACE, ALFRED RUSSEL, English naturalist, born at Usk, in
Monmouthshire; was devoted to the study of natural history, in the
interest of which he spent four years (1848-52) in the valley of the
Amazon, and eight years after (1854-62) in the East India Archipelago,
from the latter of which expedition especially he returned with thousands
of specimens of natural objects, particularly insects and birds, and
during his absence he wrought out a theory in the main coincident with
Darwin's natural selection in corroboration thereof; he has since devoted
much of his time to the study of spiritualism, and in spite of himself
has come to be convinced of its claims to scientific regard; he has
written on his travels, "Contributions to the Theory of Natural
Selection," "Miracles and Modern Spiritualism," &c.; _b_. 1823.
WALLACE, SIR WILLIAM, the champion of Scottish independence, born in
Renfrewshire, second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie; was early
seized with a desire to free his country from foreign oppressors, and ere
long began to figure as chief of a band of outlaws combined to defy the
authority of Edward I., who had declared himself Lord of Scotland, till
at length the sense of the oppression became wide-spread, and he was
appointed to lead in a general revolt, while many of the nobles held
aloof or succumbed to the usurper; he drove the English from one
stronghold after another, finishing with the battle of Stirling, and was
installed thereafter guardian of the kingdom; such a reverse was more
than the "proud usurper" could brook; he accordingly mustered a large
army, and at Falkirk literally crushed Wallace and his followers with an
overwhelming force, the craven nobles still standing aloof, one of them
in the end proving traitor, and handing Wallace over to the enemy, who
carried him off to London, and had him hanged, beheaded, and quartered.
WALLACE COLLECTION, a collection of works of art bequeathed to the
nation by Lady Wallace, and now being housed in Hertford House,
Manchester Square, London.
WALLENSTEIN, general of the Imperial army in the Thirty Years' War,
born in Bohemia, of a Protestant family, but on the death of his parents
was, in his childhood, adopted and educated by the Jesuits, and bred up
in the Catholic faith; bent on a military life, he served first in one
campaign and then another; rose in imperial favour, and became a prince
of the empire, but the jealousy of the nobles procured his disgrace, till
the success of Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War and the death
of Tully led to his recall, when he was placed at the head of the
imperial army as commander-in-chief; drove the Saxons out of Bohemia, and
marched against the Swedes, but was defeated, and fell again into
disfavour; was deprived of his command, charged with treason, and
afterwards murdered in the castle of Egra; he was a remarkable man, great
in war and great in statesmanship, but of unbounded ambition; is the
subject of a drama by Schiller, in three parts (1583-1634).
WALLER, EDMUND, poet, born in Hertfordshire to great wealth, and
educated at Eton and Cambridge; early gave evidence of his genius for
poetry, which, however, was limited in practice to the production of
merely occasional pieces; he was in great favour at court; was a member
of the Long Parliament; leant to the Royalist side, though he wrote a
panegyric on Cromwell, which, too, is considered his best poem; he
revived, or rather "remodelled," the heroic couplet form of verse, which
continued in vogue for over a hundred years after (1605-1687).
WALLOONS, name given to the descendants of the ancient Belgæ, a race
of a mixed Celtic and Romanic stock, inhabiting Belgium chiefly, and
speaking a language called Walloon, a kind of Old French; in Belgium they
number to-day two and a quarter millions.
WALPOLE, HORACE, Earl of Orford, born in London, educated at Eton
and Cambridge; travelled on the Continent with Gray, the poet, who had
been a school-fellow, but quarrelled with him, and came home alone;
entered Parliament in 1741, and continued a member till 1768, but took
little part in the debates; succeeded to the earldom in 1791; his tastes
were literary; wrote "Anecdotes of Painting in England," and inaugurated
a new era in novel-writing with his "Castle of Otranto," but it is by his
"Letters" he will live in English literature, which, "malicious, light as
froth, but amusing, retail," as Stopford Brooke remarks, "with liveliness
all the gossip of the time"; he is characterised by Carlyle as "one of
the clearest-sighted men of his century; a determined despiser and
merciless dissector of cant" (1717-1797).
WALPOLE, SIR ROBERT, Earl of Orford, Whig statesman, born at
Houghton, Norfolk, educated at Eton and Cambridge; entered Parliament in
1701, and became member for King's Lynn in 1702; was favoured by the Whig
leaders, and promoted to office in the Cabinet; was accused of corruption
by the opposite party when in power, and committed to the Tower; on his
release after acquittal was re-elected for King's Lynn; in 1715 became
First Lord of the Treasury, and in 1721 became Prime Minister, which he
continued to be for twenty-one years, but not without opposition on
account of his pacific policy; on being driven against his will into a
war with Spain, which proved unsuccessful, he retired into private life;
he stood high in repute for his financial policy; it was he who
established the first Sinking Fund, and who succeeded as a financier in
restoring confidence after the bursting of the SOUTH SEA BUBBLE
(q. v.); it is to his policy in defeating the plans of the Jacobites
that the Hanoverian dynasty in great part owe their permanent occupancy
of the British throne; it was a favourite maxim of his. "Every man has
his price," and he was mortified to find that Pitt could not be bought by
any bribe of his (1677-1745).
WALPURGIS NIGHT, the eve of the 1st May, when the witches hold high
revel and offer sacrifices to the devil their chief, the scene of their
festival in Germany being the BROCKEN (q. v.). This annual
festival was in the popular belief conceded to them in recompense for the
loss they sustained when by St. Walpurga the Saxons were persuaded to
renounce paganism with its rites for Christianity.
WALSINGHAM, SIR FRANCIS, English statesman, born at Chiselhurst; was
ambassador at Paris, and was there during the St. Bartholomew massacre,
and was afterwards appointed one of Queen Elizabeth's Secretaries of
State; he was an insidious inquisitor, and had numerous spies in his pay,
whom he employed to ferret out evidence to her ruin against Mary, Queen
of Scots, and he had the audacity to sit as one of the Commissioners at
her trial (1536-1590).
WALSTON, ST., patron saint of husbandmen, of British birth; gave up
wealth for agriculture, and died at the plough; is represented with a
scythe in his hand and cattle near him.
WALTER, JOHN, London printer; the founder proper, though his father
was the projector, of the _Times_ newspaper, and forty years in the
management of it, under which it became the "leading journal" of the day,
a success due to his discernment and selection of the men with the
ability to conduct it and contribute to it (1773-1847).
WALTER THE PENNILESS, a famous mob leader, adjutant of Peter the
HERMIT (q. v.) in the first Crusade.
WALTON, IZAAK, the angler, born in Stafford; settled as a
linen-draper, first in Fleet Street and then in Chancery Lane, London;
married a lady, a grand-niece of Cranmer, and on her death a sister of
Bishop Ken, by whom he had several children; he associated with some of
the best clergymen of the Church of England, among the number Dr. Donne,
and was much beloved by them; on the death of his second wife he went to
Winchester and stayed with his friend Dr. Morley, the bishop; his
principal work was the "Complete Angler; or, the Contemplative Man's
Recreation," which was extended by his friend Charles Cotton, and is a
classic to this day; he wrote in addition Lives of Hooker, Dr. Donne,
Bishop Sanderson, Sir Henry Wotton, and George Herbert, all done, like
the "Angler," in a uniquely charming, simple style (1593-1683).
WANDERING JEW. See JEW, WANDERING.
WAPENSHAW, originally gatherings of the people of a district in
ancient times in Scotland, at which every man was bound to appear duly
armed according to his rank, and make exhibition of his skill in the use
of his weapons, against a time of war.
WARBECK, PERKIN, an impostor who affected to be Richard, Duke of
York, second son of Edward IV., alleged to have been murdered in the
Tower, and laid claim to the crown of England in preference to Henry VII.
In an attempt to make good this claim he was taken prisoner, and hanged
at Tyburn in 1499.
WARBURTON, WILLIAM, an English divine, born at Newark; was bishop of
Gloucester; was author of the famous "Divine Legation of Moses,"
characterised by Gibbon as a "monument of the vigour and weakness of the
human mind"; is a distracted waste of misapplied logic and learning; a
singular friendship subsisted between the author and Pope (1698-1779).
WARD, ARTEMUS, the pseudonym of C. F. BROWNE (q. v.).
WARD, MRS. HUMPHRY, English authoress, born at Hobart Town; is a
niece of Matthew Arnold; translated Amiel's "Journal," a suggestive
record, but is best known by her romance of "Robert Elsmere," published
in 1888, a work which was a help to some weak people and an offence to
others of the same class; _b_. 1851.
WARD, WILLIAM GEORGE, English theologian; was a zealous promoter of
the Tractarian Movement, and led the way in carrying out its principles
to their logical issue by joining the Church of Rome; he was a
broad-minded man withal, and won the regard of men of every school;
became editor of the _Dublin Review_ (1812-1882).
WARRINGTON (55), a parliamentary borough in Lancashire, on the
Mersey, 20 m. E. of Liverpool; an old town, but with few relics of its
antiquity; manufactures iron-ware, glass, soap, &c.; sends one member to
Parliament.
WARS OF THE ROSES, name given to a civil war in England from 1452 to
1486, between the Houses of York and Lancaster, so called from the badge
of the former being a _white_ rose and that of the latter being a _red_;
it terminated with the accession of Henry VII., who united in his person
the rival claims.
WARSAW (465), formerly the capital of Poland, now of the province of
Russian Poland; stands on the left bank of the Vistula, 700 m. SW. of St.
Petersburg; is almost in the heart of Europe, and in a position with many
natural advantages; is about as large as Birmingham, and the third
largest city in the Russian empire; it has a university with 75
professors and 1000 students, and has a large trade and numerous
manufactures.
WARTBURG, an old grim castle overhanging EISENACH (q. v.),
where Luther was confined by his friends when it was too hot for him
outside, and where, not forgetful of what he owed his country, he kept
translating the Bible into the German vernacular, and where they still
show the oaken table at which he did it, and the oaken ink-holder which
he threw at the devil's head, as well as the ink-spot it left on the
wall.
WARTON, THOMAS, English poet, born at Basingstoke; was professor of
Poetry at Oxford, and Poet-Laureate; wrote a "History of English Poetry"
of great merit, and a few poetic pieces in faint echo of others by Pope
and Swift for most part (1728-1790).
WARWICK (11), the county town of Warwickshire, on the Avon, 21 m.
SE. of Birmingham; it dates from Saxon times, and possesses a great
baronial castle, the residence of the earls of Warwick, erected in 1394
on an eminence by the river grandly overlooking the town; it is the seat
of several industries, and has a considerable trade in agricultural
produce.
WARWICK, RICHARD NEVILLE, EARL OF, eldest son of the Earl of
Salisbury, THE KING-MAKER (q. v.); fought in the "Wars of the
Roses," and was in the end defeated by Edward IV. and slain (1428-1471).
WARWICKSHIRE (805), central county of England; is traversed by the
Avon, a tributary of the Severn; the north portion, which was at one time
covered by the forest of Arden, is now, from its mineral wealth, one of
the busiest industrial centres of England; it contains the birthplace of
Shakespeare; Birmingham is the largest town.
WASH, THE, an estuary of the E. coast of England, between the
counties of Norfolk and Lincoln, too shallow for navigation.
WASHINGTON (278), capital of the United States, in the district of
Columbia, on the left bank of the Potomac, 35 in. SW. of Baltimore; was
founded in 1791, and made the seat of the Government in 1800; it is
regularly laid out, possesses a number of noble buildings, many of them
of marble, the chief being the Capitol, an imposing structure, where the
Senate and Congress sit; near it, 1½ m. distant, is the White House, the
residence of the President, standing in grounds beautifully laid out and
adorned with fountains and shrubbery.
WASHINGTON (340), a NW. State of the American Union, twice the size
of Ireland; lies N. of Oregon; is traversed by the Cascade Mountains, the
highest 8138 ft., and has a rugged surface of hill and valley, but is a
great wheat-growing and grazing territory, covered on the W. by forests
of pine and cedar; Olympia is the capital. Washington is the name of
hundreds of places in the States.
WASHINGTON, GEORGE, one of the founders and first President of the
United States, born at Bidges Creek, Westmoreland Co., Virginia, of a
family from the North of England, who emigrated in the middle of the 17th
century; commenced his public life in defending the colony against the
encroachments of the French, and served as a captain in a campaign
against them under General Braddock; In the contest between the colony
and the mother-country he warmly espoused that of the colony, and was in
1775 appointed commander-in-chief; his first important operation in that
capacity was to drive the English out of Boston, but the British rallying
he was defeated at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777; next year, in
alliance with the French, he drove the British out of Philadelphia, and
in 1781 compelled Cornwallis to capitulate in an attack he made on
Yorktown, and on the evacuation of New York by the British the
independence of America was achieved, upon which he resigned the command;
in 1789 he was elected to the Presidency of the Republic, and in 1793 was
re-elected, at the end of which he retired into private life after paying
a dignified farewell (1732-1799).
WATERBURY (46), a city of Connecticut, U.S., 88 m. NE. of New York,
with manufactures of metallic wares; world-famous for its cheap watches.
WATERFORD (21), a town in a county of the same name (98), in
Munster, Ireland, at the junction of the Suir and the Barrow; has a
splendid harbour formed by the estuary, and carries on an extensive
export trade with England, particularly in bacon and butter, the chief
industries of the county being cattle-breeding and dairy-farming.
WATERLOO, a village 11 m. S. of Brussels, which gives name to a
battle in which the French under Napoleon were defeated by an army under
Wellington on June 18, 1815.
WATLING STREET, a great Roman road extending from Dover and
terminating by two branches in the extreme N. of England after passing
through London, the NE. branch, by York, and the NW. by or to Chester.
WATSON, WILLIAM, poet, born in Yorkshire; the first poem which
procured him recognition was "Wordsworth's Grave," and his subsequent
poems have confirmed the impression produced, in especial his "Lachrymæ
Musarum," one of the finest tributes paid to the memory of Tennyson on
the occasion of his death; among his later productions the most important
is a volume entitled "Odes and other Poems," published in 1894; has also
written an admirable volume of essays, "Excursions in Criticism"; _b_.
1858.
WATT, JAMES, inventor of the modern steam-engine, born in Greenock,
son of a merchant; began life as a mathematical-instrument maker, opened
business in Glasgow under university patronage, and early began to
experiment on the mechanical capabilities of steam; when in 1703, while
engaged in repairing the model of a Newcomen's engine, he hit upon the
idea which has immortalised his name. This was the idea of a separate
condenser for the steam, and from that moment the power of steam in the
civilisation of the world was assured; the advantages of the invention
were soon put to the proof and established, and by a partnership on the
part of Watts with MATTHEW BOULTON (q. v.) Watt had the
satisfaction of seeing his idea fairly launched and of reaping of the
fruits. Prior to Watt's invention the steam-engine was of little other
use than for pumping water (1736-1819).
WATTEAU, ANTOINE, celebrated French painter and engraver, born at
Valenciennes; his pictures were numerous and the subjects almost limited
to pseudo-pastoral rural groups; the tone of the colouring is pleasing,
and the design graceful (1684-1721).
WATTS, GEORGE FREDERICK, eminent English painter, born in London; is
distinguished as a painter at once of historical subjects, ideal
subjects, and portraits; did one of the frescoes in the Poets' Hall of
the Houses of Parliament and the cartoon of "Caractacus led in Triumph
through the Streets of Rome"; has, as a "poet-painter," by his "Love and
Death," "Hope," and "Orpheus and Eurydice," achieved a world-wide fame;
he was twice over offered a baronetcy, but on both occasions he declined;
_b_. 1817.
WATTS, ISAAC, Nonconformist divine, born at Southampton, son of a
schoolmaster; chose the ministry as his profession, was for a time pastor
of a church in Mark Lane, but after a succession of attacks of illness he
resigned and went on a visit to his friend Sir Thomas Abney, with whom he
stayed for 36 years, at which time his friend died, and he resumed
pastoral duties as often as his health permitted; he wrote several books,
among which was a book on "Logic," long a university text-book, and a
great number of hymns, many of them of wide fame and much cherished as
helps to devotion (1674-1748).
WATTS, THEODORE, critic, born at St. Ives, bosom friend of
Swinburne, who pronounces him "the first critic of our time--perhaps the
largest-minded and surest-sighted of any age"; his influence is great,
and it has been exercised chiefly through contributions to the
periodicals of the day; has assumed the surname of Dunton after his
mother; _b_. 1836.
WAUGH, EDWIN, a Lancashire poet, born at Rochdale, bred a
bookseller; wrote, among other productions, popular songs, full of
original native humour, the first of them "Come Whoam to thy Childer and
Me" (1817-1890).
WAYLAND, the smith, a Scandinavian Vulcan, of whom a number of
legends were current; figures in Scott's "Kenilworth."
WAZIRIS, a tribe of independent Afghans inhabiting the Suleiman
Mountains, on the W. frontier of the Punjab.
WEALTH, defined by Ruskin to be the possession of things in
themselves valuable, that is, of things available for the support of
life, or inherently possessed of life-giving power.
WEBER, KARL MARIA VON, German composer, born near Lübeck, of a famed
musical family; early gave proof of musical talent; studied at Vienna
under Abbé Vogler, and at Dresden became founder and director of the
German opera; his first great production was "Der Freischütz," which
established his fame, and was succeeded by, among others, "Oberon," his
masterpiece, first produced in London, where, shortly after the event, he
died, broken in health; he wrote a number of pieces for the piano,
deservedly popular (1786-1826).
WEBER, WILHELM EDUARD, German physicist, born at Wittenberg;
professor at Göttingen; distinguished for his contributions to
electricity and magnetism, both scientific and practical (1801-1891).
WEBSTER, DANIEL, American statesman and orator, born at New
Hampshire; bred to the bar, and practised in the provincial courts;
by-and-by went to Boston, which was ever after his home; entered Congress
in 1813, where, by his commanding presence and his animated oratory, he
soon made his mark; was secretary for foreign affairs under President
Harrison, and negotiated the Ashburton Treaty in settlement of the
"boundary-line" question between England and the States; was much admired
by Emerson, and was, when he visited England, commended by him to the
regard of Carlyle as a man to "hear speak," as "_with a cause_ he could
strike a stroke like a smith"; Carlyle did not take to him; he was too
political for his taste, though he recognised in him a "man--never have
seen," he wrote Emerson, "so much _silent Berserkir-rage_ in any other
man" (1782-1852).
WEBSTER, JOHN, English dramatist of the 17th century; did a good
deal as a dramatist in collaboration with others, but some four plays are
exclusively his own work, the two best the "White Devil" and the "Duchess
of Malfi."
WEBSTER, NOAH, lexicographer, born at Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.;
bred to law; tried journalism; devoted 20 years to his "Dictionary of the
English Language" (1758-1843).
WEDGWOOD, JOSIAH, celebrated English potter, born at Burslem, son of
a potter; in 1759 started a pottery on artistic lines in his native
place; devoted himself first to the study of the material of his art and
then to its ornamentation, in which latter he had at length the good
fortune to enlist Flaxman as a designer, and so a ware known by his name
became famous for both its substantial and artistic excellence far and
wide over the country and beyond; he was a man of varied culture and of
princely generosity, having by his art amassed a large fortune
(1730-1793).
WEDNESBURY (69), a town in Staffordshire, 8 m. NW. of Birmingham;
iron-ware manufacture the chief industry; has an old church on the site
of an old temple to Woden, whence the name, it is alleged.
WEDNESDAY, fourth day of the week, Woden's Day, as Thursday is
Thor's. It is called Midwoch, i. e. Midweek, by the Germans.
WEEK, division of time of seven days, supposed to have been
suggested by the interval between the quarters of the moon.
WEEPING PHILOSOPHER, a sobriquet given to HERACLITUS (q. v.)
from a melancholy disposition ascribed to him, in contrast with
DEMOCRITUS (q. v.), designated the laughing philosopher.
WEI-HAI-WEI, a city in a deep bay on the Shantung promontory, China,
40 m. E. of Chefoo, and nearly opposite Port Arthur, which is situated on
the northern side of the entrance to the Gulf of Pechili; was leased to
Great Britain in 1898, along with the islands in the bay and a belt of
land along the coast; its harbour is well sheltered, and accommodates a
large number of vessels.
WEIMAR (24), capital of the grand-duchy of Saxe-Weimar, in a valley
on the left bank of the Ilm, 13 m. E. of Erfurt, and famous as for many
years the residence of the great Goethe and the illustrious literary
circle of which he was the centre, an association which constitutes the
chief interest of the place.
WEINGARTNER, FELIX, composer and musical conductor, born at Zara,
Dalmatia; has composed symphonic poems, operas, and songs; _b_. 1863.
WEISMANN, AUGUST, biologist, born at Frankfort-on-the-Main; studied
medicine at Göttingen; devoted himself to the study of zoology, the
first-fruit of which was a treatise on the "Development of Diptera," and
at length to the variability in organisms on which the theory of descent,
with modifications, is based, the fruit of which was a series of papers
published in 1882 under the title of "Studies on the Theory of Descent";
but it is with the discussions on the question of heredity that his name
is most intimately associated. The accepted theory on the subject assumes
that characters acquired by the individual are transmitted to offspring,
and this assumption, in his "Essays upon Heredity," he maintains to be
wholly groundless, and denies that it has any foundation in fact;
heredity, according to him, is due to the continuity of the germ-plasm,
or the transmission from generation to generation of a substance of a
uniform chemical and molecular composition; _b_. 1834.
WEISS, BERNHARD, German theologian, born at Königsberg; became
professor at Kiel and afterwards at Berlin; has written on the theology
of the New Testament, an introduction to it, and a "Leben Jesu," all able
works; _b_. 1827.
WEISSENFELS (23), a town of Prussian Saxony, 35 m. SW. of Leipzig,
with an old castle of the Duke of Weissenfels and various manufactures.
WEISSNICHTWO (Know-not-where), in Carlyle's "Sartor," an imaginary
European city, viewed as the focus, and as exhibiting the operation, of
all the influences for good and evil of the time we live in, described in
terms which characterised city life in the first quarter of the 19th
century; so universal appeared the spiritual forces at work in society at
that time that it was impossible to say _where_ they were and _where_
they were _not_, and hence the name of the city, Know-not-where.
WEIZSÄCHER, KARL, eminent German theologian; studied at Tübingen and
Berlin; succeeded BAUR (q. v.) as professor at Tübingen; was a
New Testament critic, and the editor of a theological journal, and
distinguished for his learning and lucid style; _b_. 1822.
WELLDON, JAMES EDWARD COWELL, bishop of Calcutta; educated at Eton
and Cambridge; has held several appointments, both scholastic and
clerical; has translated several of the works of Aristotle, and was
Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge in 1897; _b_. 1854.
WELLER, SAM, Mr. Pickwick's servant, and an impersonation of the
ready wit and best quality of London low life.
WELLESLEY, a small province, part of Penang Territory, in the
Straits Settlements; of great fertility, and yields tropical products in
immense quantities, such as spices, tea, coffee, sugar, cotton, and
tobacco.
WELLESLEY, RICHARD COWLEY, MARQUIS OF, statesman and administrator,
born in Dublin, eldest son of the Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer, and
eldest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and his senior by nine years;
educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he distinguished himself in
classics; in 1781 succeeded his father in the Irish House of Peers;
entered Parliament in 1784; was a supporter of Pitt, and in 1797
appointed Governor-General of India in succession to Cornwallis, and
raised to the English peerage as Baron Wellesley; in this capacity he
proved himself a great administrator, and by clearing out the French and
crushing the power of Tippoo Saib, as well as increasing the revenue of
the East India Company, laid the foundation of the British power in
India, for which he was raised to the marquisate, and voted a pension of
£5000; he afterwards became Foreign Secretary of State and Viceroy of
Ireland (1760-1842).
WELLHAUSEN, JULIUS, Old Testament scholar, born at Hameln; held the
post of professor of Theology at Greifswald, but resigned the post from
conscientious scruples and became professor of Oriental Languages at
Marburg in 1885; is best known among us as a biblical critic on the lines
of the so-called higher criticism, the criticism which seeks to arrange
the different parts of the Bible in their proper historical connection
and order; _b_. 1844.
WELLINGBOROUGH (15), a market-town in Northamptonshire, 10 m. NE. of
Northampton; has some fine buildings; the manufacture of shoes a chief
industry.
WELLINGTON (33), the capital of New Zealand, in the North Island, on
Cook Strait; has a spacious harbour, with excellent accommodation for
shipping, a number of public buildings, including government offices, and
two cathedrals, a Roman Catholic and an Anglican, and a considerable
trade; in 1865 it superseded Auckland as the capital of the whole of New
Zealand.
WELLINGTON, ARTHUR WELLESLEY (or WESLEY), DUKE OF, born
probably in Dublin, third son of the Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer,
educated first at Chelsea, then at Eton, and then at a military school at
Angers, in France; entered the army in 1787 as an ensign in the 73rd, and
stepped gradually upwards in connection with different regiments, till in
1793 he became lieutenant-colonel of the 33rd; sat for a time in the
Irish Parliament as a member for Trim, and went in 1794 to the
Netherlands, and served in a campaign there which had disastrous issues
such as disgusted him with military life, and was about to leave the army
when he was sent to India, where he distinguished himself in the storming
of Seringapatam, and in the command of the war against the Mahrattas,
which he brought to a successful issue in 1803, returning home in 1805;
next year he entered the Imperial Parliament, and in 1807 was appointed
Chief Secretary for Ireland; in 1808 he left for Portugal, where he was
successful against the French in several engagements, and in 1809 was
appointed commander-in-chief of the Peninsular army; in this capacity his
generalship became conspicuous in a succession of victories, in which he
drove the French first out of Portugal and then out of Spain, defeating
them finally at Toulouse on the 12th April 1814, and so ending the
Peninsular War; on his return home he was loaded with honours, and had
voted to him from the public treasury a grant of £400,000; on the return
of Napoleon from Elba he was appointed general of the allies against him
in the Netherlands and on 18th June 1815 defeated him in the
ever-memorable battle of Waterloo; this was the crowning feat in
Wellington's military life, and the nation showed its gratitude to him
for his services by presenting him with the estate of Strathfieldsaye, in
Hampshire, worth £263,000, the price paid for it to Lord Rivers, the
proprietor; in 1827 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, and
in 1828 was Prime Minister of the State; as a statesman he was opposed to
Parliamentary reform, but he voted for the emancipation of the Catholics
and the abolition of the Corn Laws; he died in Walmer Castle on 1st
September 1852, aged 84, and was buried beside Nelson in a crypt of St.
Paul's (1769-1852).
WELLINGTON COLLEGE, a college founded in 1853 at Wokingham, Berks,
in memory of the Duke of Wellington, primarily for the education of the
sons of deceased military officers; there is a classical school to
prepare for the university, and a modern side to prepare for the army,
&c.
WELLS, a small episcopal city in Somersetshire, 20 m. SW. of Bath;
it derives its name from hot springs near it, and is possessed of a
beautiful cruciform cathedral in the Early English style, adorned with
some 600 statues of saints, 151 of which are life-size, and some of them
colossal.
WELLS, CHARLES JEREMIAH, English poet, born in London; author of a
dramatic poem entitled "Joseph and his Brethren," published in 1824, a
poem which failed to attract attention at the time, and the singular
merits of which were first recognised by Swinburne in 1875, the author
having meantime given up literature for the law, to which he had been
bred (1800-1879).
WELSH, DAVID, a Scottish divine, a gentlemanly scholarly man,
professor of Church History in the University of Edinburgh; was Moderator
of the General Assembly on the occasion of the Disruption of the Scottish
Church (1843), and headed the secession on the day of the exodus
(1793-1845).
WELSH, or WELCH, JOHN, a Scottish divine, a Nithsdale man;
became Presbyterian minister of Ayr, and was distinguished both as a
preacher and for his sturdy opposition to the ecclesiastical tyranny of
James VI., for which latter he suffered imprisonment and exile; he was an
ancestor of Jane Welsh Carlyle, and was married to a daughter of John
Knox, who, when the king thought to win her over by offering her husband
a bishopric, held out her apron before sovereign majesty, and threatened
she would rather kep (catch) his head there than that he should live and
be a bishop; she figures in the chapter in "Sartor" on Aprons, as one of
Carlyle's apron-worthies (1570-1625).
WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODISTS, the largest Nonconformist body in
Wales, of native growth, and that originated in the middle of the 18th
century in connection with a great religious awakening; has an
ecclesiastical constitution on Presbyterian lines, and is in alliance
with the Presbyterian Church of England; it consists of 1330 churches,
and has a membership of over 150,000, that is, on their communion roll,
and two theological seminaries, one at Trevecca and one at Bala.
WELSHPOOL (6), town in Montgomeryshire, North Wales, on the left
bank of the Severn, 19 m. W. of Shrewsbury, the manufacture of flannels
and woollen goods being the chief industry.
WENDS, a horde of savage Slavs who, about the 6th century, invaded
and took possession of vacant lands on the southern shores of the Baltic,
and extended their inroads as far as Hamburg and the ocean, south also
far over the Elbe in some quarters, and were a source of great trouble to
the Germans in Henry the Fowler's time, and after; they burst in upon
Brandenburg once, in "never-imagined fury," and stamped out, as they
thought, the Christian religion there by wholesale butchery of its
priests, setting up for worship their own god "Triglaph, ugliest and
stupidest of all false gods," described as "something like three whales'
cubs combined by boiling, or a triple porpoise dead-drunk." They were at
length "fairly beaten to powder" by Albert the Bear, "and either swept
away or else damped down into Christianity and keeping of the peace,"
though remnants of them, with their language and customs, exist in
Lusatia to this day.
WENDT, HANS, German theologian, born in Hamburg, professor at Kiel
and at Heidelberg; has written an excellent "Leben Jesu" among other able
works; _b_. 1853.
WENEGELD, among the old Saxons and other Teutonic races a fine, the
price of homicide, of varying amount, paid in part to the relatives of
the person killed and in part to the king or chief.
WENER, LAKE, the largest lake in Sweden, in the SW., 150 ft. above
the sea-level and 100 m. long by 50 m. of utmost breadth, contains
several islands, and abounds in fish.
WENTWORTH. See STRAFFORD.
WEREWOLF, a person transformed into a wolf, or a being with a
literally wolfish appetite, under the presumed influence of a charm or
some demoniac possession.
WERNER, FRIEDRICH LUDWIG ZACHARIAS, a dramatist of a mystic stamp,
born at Königsberg; is the subject of an essay by Carlyle, and described
by him as a man of a very _dissolute_ spiritual texture; wrote the
"Templars of Cyprus," the "Story of the Fallen Master," &c. (1768-1823).
WERTHER, the hero of Goethe's sentimental romance, "THE SORROWS
OF WERTHER" (q. v.).
WESLEY, CHARLES, hymn-writer, born at Epworth, educated at Eton and
Oxford; was associated with his more illustrious brother in the
establishment of Methodism; his hymns are highly devotional, and are to
be found in all the hymnologies of the Church (1708-1788).
WESLEY, JOHN, the founder of Methodism, born at Epworth, in
Lincolnshire, son of the rector; was educated at the Charterhouse and at
Lincoln College, Oxford, of which he became a Fellow; while there he and
his brother, with others, were distinguished for their religious
earnestness, and were nicknamed Methodists; in 1735 he went on a mission
to Georgia, U.S., and had for fellow-voyagers some members of the
Moravian body, whose simple piety made a deep impression on him; and on
his return in two years after he made acquaintance with a Moravian
missionary in London, and was persuaded to a kindred faith; up to this
time he had been a High Churchman, but from this time he ceased from all
sacerdotalism and became a believer in and a preacher of the immediate
connection of the soul with, and its direct dependence upon, God's grace
in Christ alone; this gospel accordingly he went forth and preached in
disregard of all mere ecclesiastical authority, he riding about from
place to place on horseback, and finding wherever he went the people in
thousands, in the open air generally, eagerly expectant of his approach,
all open-eared to listen to his word; to the working-classes his visits
were specially welcome, and it was among them they bore most fruit; "the
keynote of his ministry he himself gave utterance to when he exclaimed,
'Church or no Church, the people must be saved.'" Saved or Lost? was with
him the one question, and it is the one question of all genuine Methodism
to this hour (1703-1791).
WESSEL, JOHANN, a Reformer before the Reformation, born at
Gröningen; was a man of powerful intellect; taught in the schools, and
was called by his disciples _Lux Mundi_ (1420-1489).
WESSEX, a territory in the SW. of England, inhabited by Saxons who
landed at Southampton in 514, known as the West Saxons, and who gradually
extended their dominion over territory beyond it till, under Egbert,
their king, they became supreme over the other kingdoms of the Heptarchy.
WEST, BENJAMIN, painter, born near Springfield, Pennsylvania, of
Quaker parentage; was self-taught, painted portraits at the age of 16,
went to Italy in 1760, and produced such work there that he was elected
member of several of the Italian academies; visited England on his way
back to America in 1763, where he attracted the attention of George III.,
who patronised him, for whom he painted a goodly number of pictures to
adorn Windsor Castle; he remained in England 40 years, painting hundreds
of pictures, and was in 1792 elected President of the Royal Academy in
succession to Sir Joshua Reynolds; among his paintings were "The Death of
General Wolfe," "Edward III. at Crécy," and "The Black Prince at
Poitiers" (1738-1817).
WEST AFRICA, name given to the region SW. of the Sahara, consisting
of low lands with high lands behind, and through the valleys of which
rivers flow down, and including Senegambia, Upper Guinea, and Lower
Guinea, the coast of which is occupied by trading stations belonging to
the French, the English, the Germans, the Belgians, and the Portuguese,
and who are severally forcing their way into the inland territory
connected with their several stations.
WEST AUSTRALIA (161), the largest of the Australian colonies, though
least populous, formerly called the Swan River Settlement, 1500 m. long
and 1000 m. broad, and embracing an area nearly equal to one-third of the
whole Australian continent; great part of it, particularly in the centre,
is desert, and the best soil is in the W. and NE.; emigration to it
proceeded slowly at first, but for the last 20 years it has been steadily
increasing, especially since the discovery of gold, and it is now opening
up; in 1890 it received a constitution and became self-governing like the
other possessions of Great Britain in Australia; Perth, on the Swan
River, is the capital, and the chief exports are wool and gold.
WEST BROMWICH (59), a manufacturing town of the "Black Country," in
Staffordshire, 5 m. NW. of Birmingham; has important industries connected
with the manufacture of iron ware; is of modern growth, and has developed
rapidly.
WEST INDIES (3,000), an archipelago of islands extending in a curve
between North and South America from Florida on the one side to the delta
of the Orinoco on the other, in sight of each other almost all the way,
and constituting the summits of a sunken range of mountains which run in
a line parallel to the ranges of North America; they are divided into the
Great Antilles (including Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico), the
Lesser Antilles (including the Leeward and the Windward Isles), and the
Bahamas; lie all, except the last, within the Torrid Zone, and embrace
unitedly an area larger than that of Great Britain; they yield all manner
of tropical produce, and export sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton, spices,
&c.; except Cuba, HAYTI (q. v.), and Porto Rico, they belong to
the Powers of Europe--Great Britain, France, Holland, and Denmark, and
till lately Spain. The name Indies was applied to them because when
Columbus first discovered them he believed he was close upon India, as he
calculated he would find he was by sailing west.
WEST POINT, an old fortress, the seat of the United States Military
Academy, on the right bank of the Hudson River, 12 m. N. of New York; the
Academy is on a plateau 188 ft. above the road; it was established in
1802 for training in the science and practice of military engineering,
and the cadets are organised into a battalion of four companies officered
from among themselves, all under strictest discipline.
WEST VIRGINIA. See VIRGINIA.
WESTCOTT, BROOK FOSS, biblical scholar, born near Birmingham;
studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and obtained a Fellowship; took
orders in 1851, and became Bishop of Durham in 1890; edited along with
Dr. Hort an edition of the Greek New Testament, the labour of years, and
published a number of works bearing on the New Testament and its
structure and teachings; _b_. 1825.
WESTKAPPEL DYKE, one of the strongest dykes in the Netherlands;
protects the W. coast of Walcheren; is 4000 yards long, and surmounted by
a railway line.
WESTMACOTT, SIR RICHARD, sculptor, born in London; studied at Rome
under Canova; acquired great repute as an artist on his return to
England, and succeeded Flaxman as professor of Sculpture in the Royal
Academy; he executed statues of Pitt, Addison, and others, and a number
of monuments in Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's; his latest work was the
sculptured pediment of the British Museum (1775-1856).
WESTMACOTT, RICHARD, sculptor and writer on art, born in London, son
of preceding; was distinguished for the grace, simplicity, and purity of
his style as an artist; succeeded his father as professor of Sculpture in
the Royal Academy, and wrote a "Handbook of Sculpture" (1799-1872).
WESTMEATH (71), an inland county in Leinster, Ireland; is mostly
level and gently undulating; the soil in many parts is good, but little
cultivated; the only cereal crop raised is oats, but the herbage it
yields supplies food for fattening cattle, which is a chief industry.
WESTMINSTER, a city of Middlesex, on the N. bank of the Thames, and
comprising a great part of the West End of London; originally a village,
it was raised to the rank of a city when it became the seat of a bishop
in 1451, but it was as the seat of the abbey that it developed into a
bishop's see; the abbey, for which it is so famous, was erected as it now
exists at the same period, during 1245-72, on the site of one founded by
Edward the Confessor during 1045-65; in Westminster Parliaments were held
as early as the 13th century, and it is as the seat of the legislative
and legal authority of the country that it figures most in modern times,
though the most interesting chapters in its history are connected with
the abbey round which it sprang up. See Dean Stanley's "Memorials of
Westminster."
WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES, a convocation of divines assembled
under authority of Parliament, at which delegates from England and
Scotland adopted the SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT (q. v.), fixed
the establishment of the Presbyterian form of Church government in the
three kingdoms, drew up the "Confession of Faith," the "Directory of
Public Worship," and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms; it held its first
meeting on 1st July 1643, and did not break up till 22nd February 1649.
WESTMINSTER HALL, a structure attached to the Houses of Parliament
at Westminster, built by King William Rufus, and roofed and remodelled by
Richard II.; was the scene of the trials of Wallace, Sir Thomas More,
Strafford, Charles I., Warren Hastings, and others, as well as the
installation of Cromwell as Lord Protector, and till 1883 the seat of the
High Courts of Justice; is a place of great historic interest; has a roof
composed of 13 great timber beams, and one of the largest in the world to
be unsupported.
WESTMORLAND (i. e. westmoorland) (60), a northern county of
England, 32 m. from N. to S. and 40 m. from E. to W.; is in the Lake
District, and mountainous, with tracts of fertile land and forest land,
as well as rich pasture lands.
WESTON-SUPER-MARE (15), a watering-place in Somersetshire, on the
Bristol Channel, looking across it towards Wales.
WESTPHALIA, a German duchy, now a Prussian province; made with other
territories in 1807 into a kingdom by Napoleon for his brother Jerome,
and designed to be the centre of the Confederation of the Rhine; was
assigned to Prussia in 1813 according to the Treaty of Vienna.
WETSTEIN, JOHANN JACOB, biblical scholar, born at Basel; was devoted
to the study of the New Testament text; published a Greek Testament with
his emendations and "Prolegomena" connected therewith; his emendations,
one in particular, brought his orthodoxy under suspicion for a time
(1693-1754).
WETTE, DE. See DE WETTE.
WETTER, LAKE, one of the largest lakes in Sweden, 70 m. long, 13 m.
broad, and 270 ft. above the sea-level; its clear blue waters are fed by
hidden springs, it rises and falls periodically, and is sometimes subject
to sudden agitations during a calm.
WETTERHORN (i. e. peak of tempests), a high mountain of the
Bernese Oberland, with three peaks each a little over 12,000 ft. in
height.
WEXFORD (111), a maritime county in Leinster, Ireland; is an
agricultural county, and exports large quantities of dairy produce; has a
capital (11) of the same name, a seaport at the mouth of the river
Slaney.
WEYDEN, ROGER VAN DER, Flemish painter, born at Tourney; was trained
in the school of Van Eyck, whose style he contributed to spread; his most
famous work, a "Descent from the Cross," now in Madrid (1400-1464).
WEYMOUTH (13), a market-town and watering-place in Dorsetshire, 8 m.
S. of Dorchester; has a fine beach and an esplanade over a mile in
length; it came into repute from the frequent visits of George III.
WHARTON, PHILIP, DUKE OF, an able man, but unprincipled, who led a
life of extravagance; professed loyalty to the existing government in
England; intrigued with the Stuarts, and was convicted of high-treason,
and died in Spain in a miserable condition (1698-1731).
WHATELY, RICHARD, archbishop of Dublin, born in London; studied at
Oriel College, Oxford, of which he became a Fellow, and had Arnold,
Keble, Newman, Pusey, and other eminent men as contemporaries; was a man
of liberal views and sympathies, and much regarded for his sagacity and
his skill in dialectics; his post as archbishop was no enviable one; is
best known by his "Logic," for a time the standard work of the subject;
he opposed the Tractarian movement, but was too latitudinarian for the
evangelical party (1787-1863).
WHEATSTONE, SIR CHARLES, celebrated physicist and electrician, born
near Gloucester; was a man of much native ingenuity, and gave early proof
of it; was appointed professor of Experimental Philosophy in King's
College, London, and distinguished himself by his inventions in
connection with telegraphy; the stereoscope was of his invention
(1802-1875).
WHEEL, BREAKING ON THE, a very barbarous mode of inflicting death at
one time, in which the limbs of the victim were stretched along the
spokes of a wheel, and the wheel being turned rapidly round, the limbs
were broken by repeated blows from an iron bar; this is what the French
_roué_ means, applied figuratively to a person broken with dissipation,
or what we call a rake.
WHEELING (39), largest city in West Virginia, U.S., on the Ohio
River, 67 m. SW. of Pittsburg; contains some fine buildings; is a country
rich in bituminous coal; has extensive manufactures; is a great railway
centre, and carries on an extensive trade.
WHEWELL, WILLIAM, professor of the "science of things in general,"
born at Lancaster, son of a joiner; studied at Trinity College,
Cambridge, of which he became successively fellow, tutor, professor, and
master; was a man of varied attainments, of great intellectual and even
physical power, and it was of him Sydney Smith said, "Science was his
_forte_ and omniscience his _foible_"; wrote "Astronomy and General
Physics in reference to Natural Theology," the "Philosophy of the
Inductive Sciences," the "History of Moral Philosophy," an essay on the
"Plurality of Worlds," &c. (1794-1866).
WHICHCOTE, BENJAMIN, Cambridge Platonist, born in Shropshire; was a
Fellow and Tutor of Emmanuel College; was distinguished for his personal
influence over his pupils, many of them eminent men; he gave a
philosophical turn to their theological opinions (1609-1683).
WHIGS, name given at the end of the 17th century to the Covenanters
of Scotland, and afterwards extended to the Liberal party in England from
the leniency with which they were disposed to treat the whole
Nonconformist body, to which the persecuted Scottish zealots were of kin;
they respected the constitution, and sought only to reform abuses.
WHISTLER, JAMES ABBOT M'NEILL, painter and etcher, born at Lowell,
Massachusetts; studied military engineering at WEST POINT (q. v.),
and art at Paris, and settled at length as an artist in London,
where he has exhibited his paintings frequently; has executed some famous
portraits, in especial one of his mother, and a remarkable one of Thomas
Carlyle, now the property of Glasgow Corporation; paintings of his
exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery, London, provoked a criticism from
Ruskin, which was accounted libellous, and as plaintiff he got a farthing
damages, without costs; very much, it is understood, to his critic's
disgust, and little to his own satisfaction, as is evident from the
character of the pamphlet he wrote afterwards in retaliation, entitled
"Whistler _versus_ Ruskin: Art and Art Critics"; _b_. 1834.
WHISTON, WILLIAM, divine and mathematician, born in Leicestershire;
educated at Clare College, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow; gained
reputation from his "Theory of the Earth"; succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as
Lucasian professor, but was discharged from the office and expelled from
the university for Arianism; removed to London, where he lived a
separatist from the Church, and died a Baptist; wrote "Primitive
Christianity," and translated "Josephus"; he was a crotchety but a
conscientious man (1667-1752).
WHITBY, a seaport and famous bathing-place in the North Riding of
Yorkshire, 54½ m. NE. of York; is situated at the mouth of the Esk, and
looks N. over the German Ocean; it consists of an old fishing town
sloping upwards, and a fashionable new town above and behind it, with the
ruins of an abbey; Captain Cook was a 'prentice here, and it was in
Whitby-built ships, "the best and stoutest bottoms in England," that he
circumnavigated the globe.
WHITBY, DANIEL, English divine, born in Northamptonshire; became
rector of St. Edmunds, Salisbury; involved himself in ecclesiastical
controversy first with the Catholics, then with the High Church party,
and got into trouble; had one of his books burned at Oxford; his most
important work "Paraphrase and Commentary on the New Testament"; died an
Arian (1638-1726).
WHITE, ALEXANDER, a Scottish divine, born in Kirriemuir, of humble
parentage; a man of deep religious sympathies and fervid zeal, with an
interest before all in spiritual things; studied the arts in Aberdeen and
theology in Edinburgh, in the latter of which cities he ministers to a
large attached flock; is the author of books, originally for most part
addresses, calculated to awaken in others an interest in divine things
akin to his own; _b_. 1837.
WHITE, SIR GEORGE STEWART, English general, has had a brilliant
career; entered the army in 1853; won the Victoria Cross twice over;
served in the Mutiny, in the Afghan Campaign (1879-1880), in the Nile
Expedition (1885), in the Burmese War (1885-1887), and was made
Commander-in-Chief in India in 1893, Quartermaster-General in 1898, and
is now distinguishing himself by his generalship and heroism in the South
African War; _b_. 1835.
WHITE, GILBERT, English naturalist, born in the village of Selborne,
Hants; educated at Oriel College, Oxford, in which he obtained a
Fellowship, which he retained all his life; became curate of Selborne,
and passed an uneventful life studying the habits of the animals around
him, where he "had not only no great men to look on, but not even men,
only sparrows and cockchafers; yet has he left us a 'Biography' of these,
which, under the title of 'Natural History of Selborne,' still remains
valuable to us, which has copied a little sentence or two _faithfully_
from the inspired volume of Nature, and so," adds Carlyle, "is itself not
without inspiration" (1720-1793).
WHITE, HENRY KIRKE, minor poet, born at Nottingham; published a book
of poems in 1803, which procured him the patronage of Southey; got a
sizarship in St. John's, Cambridge; through over-zeal in study undermined
his constitution and died of consumption, Southey editing his "Remains"
(1785-1806).
WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO, man of letters of an unstable creed, born in
Seville, of Irish parentage; first ordained a priest; left the Catholic
Church, and took orders in the Church of England; left the English,
became a Unitarian, and settled to miscellaneous literary work; left an
autobiography which reveals an honest quest of light, but to the last in
doubt; he lives in literature by a sonnet "Night and Death" (1775-1841).
WHITE HORSE, name given to the figure of a horse on a hill-side,
formed by removing the turf, and showing the white chalk beneath; the
most famous is one at Uffington, in Berkshire, alleged to commemorate a
victory of King Alfred.
WHITE HOUSE, name popularly given to the official residence of the
President of the United States, being a building of freestone painted
white.
WHITE LADY, a lady dressed in white fabled in popular mediæval
legend to appear by day as well as at night in a house before the death
of some member of the family; was regarded as the ghost of some deceased
ancestress.
WHITE MOUNTAINS, a range of mountains in Maine and New Hampshire,
U.S., forming part of the Appalachian system; much frequented by tourists
on account of the scenery, which has won for it the name of the
"Switzerland of America"; Mount Washington, one of the hills, has a hotel
on the summit approached by a railway.
WHITE NILE, one of the two streams forming the Nile, which flows out
of the Albert Nyanza, and which unites with the Blue Nile from Abyssinia
near Khartoum.
WHITE SEA, a large inlet of the Arctic Ocean, in the N. of Russia,
which is entered by a long channel and branches inward into three bays;
it is of little service for navigation, being blocked with ice all the
year except in June, July, and August, and even when open encumbered with
floating ice, and often enveloped in mists at the same time.
WHITEBOYS, a secret Irish organisation that at the beginning of
George III.'s reign asserted their grievances by perpetrating agrarian
outrages; so called from the white smocks the members wore in their
nightly raids.
WHITEFIELD, GEORGE, founder of Calvinistic Methodism, born at
Gloucester; was an associate of WESLEY (q. v.) at Oxford, and
afterwards as preacher of Methodism both in this country and America,
commanding crowded audiences wherever he went, and creating, in Scotland
particularly, a deep religious awakening, but who separated from Wesley
on the matter of election; died near Boston, U.S. (1714-1770).
WHITEHAVEN (18), a seaport of Cumberland, 38 m. SW. of Carlisle,
with coal and hematite iron mines in the neighbourhood; has
blast-furnaces, iron-works, and manufactures of various kinds, with a
considerable coasting traffic.
WHITELOCKE, BULSTRODE, a statesman of the Commonwealth, born in
London; studied law at the Middle Temple: sat in the Long Parliament, and
was moderate in his zeal for the popular side; at the Restoration his
name was included in the Act of Oblivion, but he took no part afterwards
in public affairs; left "Memorials" of historical value (1605-1675).
WHITGIFT, JOHN, archbishop of Canterbury, born at Great Grimsby; was
educated at Cambridge, and became Fellow and Master of Pembroke College;
escaped persecution under Queen Mary, and on the accession of Elizabeth
was ordained a priest; after a succession of preferments, both as a
theologian and an ecclesiastic, became archbishop in 1583; attended Queen
Elizabeth on her deathbed, and crowned James I.; was an Anglican prelate
to the backbone, and specially zealous against the Puritans;
contemplated, with no small apprehension, the accession of James, "in
terror of a Scotch mist coming down on him with this new Majesty from the
land of Knox, or Nox, Chaos, and Company"; his last words were, with
uplifted hands and eyes, a prayer for the Church, uttered in King James's
hearing (1530-1604).
WHITHORN, a small town in Wigtownshire, 12 m. S. of Wigtown,
celebrated as the spot where St. Ninian planted Christianity in Scotland,
and founded a church to St. Martin in 397.
WHITMAN, WALT, the poet of "Democracy," born in Long Island, U.S.,
of parents of mingled English and Dutch blood; was a large-minded,
warm-hearted man, who led a restless life, and had more in him than he
had training to unfold either in speech or act; a man eager, had he known
how, to do service in the cause of his much-loved mankind; wrote "Leaves
of Grass," "Drum-Taps," and "Two Rivulets" (1819-1892).
WHITNEY, ELI, an American inventor, born in Massachusetts; invented
the cotton-gin, a machine for cleaning seed-cotton, and became a
manufacturer of firearms, by which he realised a large fortune
(1765-1825).
WHITNEY, WILLIAM DWIGHT, American philologist, born in
Massachusetts; studied at Yale College, where he became professor of
Sanskrit, in which he was a proficient, and to the study of which he
largely contributed; has done much for the science of language
(1827-1894).
WHITSUNDAY, the seventh Sunday after Easter, a festival day of the
Church kept in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Ghost.
WHITTIER, JOHN GREENLEAF, the American "Quaker Poet," born at
Haverhill, in Massachusetts, the son of a poor farmer; wrought, like
Burns, at field work, and acquired a loving sympathy with Nature, natural
people, and natural scenes; took to journalism at length, and became a
keen abolitionist and the poet-laureate of abolition; his poems are few
and fugitive (1807-1893).
WHITTINGTON, SIR RICHARD, Lord Mayor of London, born at Pauntley,
Gloucestershire; came to London, prospered in business, was elected Lord
Mayor thrice over, and knighted; this is the Whittington of the nursery
tale, "Dick Whittington and his Cat" (1538-1623).
WHITWORTH, SIR JOSEPH, eminent mechanician, born at Stockport; the
rival of Lord Armstrong in the invention of ordnance; invented artillery
of great range and accuracy; was made a baronet in 1869 (1803-1887).
WHYTE-MELVILLE, GEORGE JOHN, novelist of the sporting-field, born at
Mount Melville, near St. Andrews; entered the army, and for a time served
in it; met his death while hunting (1821-1878).
WICK (8), county-town of Caithness, on Wick River, 161 m. NE. of
Inverness, is the chief seat of the herring fishery in Scotland; Wick
proper, with its suburbs Louisburgh and Boathaven, is on the N. of the
river, and Pultneytown on the S.; has a few manufactures, with
distilleries and breweries.
WICKED BIBLE, an edition of the Bible with the word _not_ omitted
from the Seventh Commandment, for issuing which in 1632 the printers were
fined and the impression destroyed.
WICKLOW (61), a maritime county, with a capital of the name in
Leinster, Ireland; is in great part mountainous and barren; has mines and
quarries, and some fertile parts.
WICLIFFE, JOHN, or WYCLIF, the "Morning Star of the Reformation," born at
Hipswell, near Richmond, Yorkshire; studied at Oxford, and became Master
of Balliol in 1361, professor of Divinity in 1372, and rector of
Lutterworth in 1375; here he laboured and preached with such faithfulness
that the Church grew alarmed, and persecution set in, which happily,
however, proved scatheless, and only the more emboldened him in the work
of reform which he had taken up; and of that work the greatest was his
translation of the Bible from the Vulgate into the mother-tongue, at
which, with assistance from his disciples, he laboured for some 10 or 15
years, and which was finished in 1380; he may be said to have died in
harness, for he was struck with paralysis while standing before the altar
at Lutterworth on 29th December 1384, and died the last day of the year;
his remains were exhumed and burned afterwards, and the ashes thrown into
the river Swift close by the town, "and thence borne," says Andrew
Fuller, "into the main ocean, the emblem of his doctrine, which now is
dispersed all the world over" (1325-1384).
WIDDIN (14), a town on the right bank of the Danube, Bulgaria; is a
centre of industry and trade; was a strong place, but by decree of the
Berlin Congress in 1879 the fortress was demolished.
WIELAND, CHRISTOPH MARTIN, eminent German littérateur, born near
Biberach, a small village in Swabia, son of a pastor of the pietist
school; studied at Tübingen; became professor of Philosophy at Erfurt,
and settled in Weimar in 1772 as tutor to the two sons of the Duchess
Amalia, where he by-and-by formed a friendship with Goethe and the other
members of the literary coterie who afterwards settled there; he wrote in
an easy and graceful style, and his best work is a heroic poem entitled
"Oberon" (1733-1813).
WIELICZKA (6), a town in Austrian Galicia, near Cracow, famous for
its salt mines, which have been wrought continuously since 1250, the
galleries of which extend to more than 50 m. in length, and the annual
output of which is over 50,000 tons.
WIER, JOHANN, physician, born in North Brabant; was distinguished as
the first to attack the belief in witchcraft, and the barbarous treatment
to which suspects were subjected; the attack was treated as profane, and
provoked the hostility of the clergy, and it would have cost him his life
if he had not been protected by Wilhelm IV., Duke of Jülich and Clèves,
whose physician he was (1516-1566).
WIERTZ, ANTOINE, a Belgian painter, born at Dinant, did a great
variety of pictures on a variety of subjects, some of them on a large
scale, and all in evidence of a high ideal of his profession, and an
original genius for art (1806-1865).
WIESBADEN (65), capital of Hesse-Nassau, a famous German
watering-place, abounding in hot springs, 5 m. NW. of Mainz; has a number
of fine buildings and fine parade grounds, picture-gallery, museum, and
large library; is one of the best-frequented spas in Europe, and is
annually visited by 60,000 tourists or invalids; it was famed for its
springs among the old Romans.
WIFE OF BATH, one of the pilgrims in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales."
WIGAN (55), a town in Lancashire, 18 m. NW. of Manchester, in the
centre of a large coal-field; cottons are the staple manufactures; is a
place of ancient date, and has some fine buildings.
WIGHT, ISLE OF, an island in the S. of England, included in
Hampshire, from which it is separated by the channel of the SOLENT
(q. v.); it is of triangular shape, is 23 m. of utmost length, and
about 14 m. of utmost breadth; it is traversed by a range of chalk downs
from E. to W.; the soil is fertile, especially in the E.; the scenery
rich and varied, and the climate charming; Newport is the capital in the
centre; near Cowes is Osborne House, the summer residence of Queen
Victoria.
WIGTOWNSHIRE (36), the most southerly county in Scotland, in the SW.
of which the largest town is Stranraer, and the county town Wigtown; it
is an agricultural county, and largely pastoral.
WILBERFORCE, SAMUEL, English prelate, born at Clapham, third son of
the succeeding; entered Oriel College, Oxford, at 18, where he
distinguished himself by his powers of debate; took holy orders, and rose
to eminence in the Church; was made Bishop of Oxford in 1845, and of
Winchester in 1869; was a High Churchman of the pure Anglican type, and
equally opposed to Romanism and Nonconformity; shone in society by his
wit and powers of conversation; Carlyle often "exchanged pleasant
dialogues with him, found him dexterous, stout and clever, far from being
a bad man"; "I do not hate him," he said to Froude one day, "near so much
as I fear I ought to do"; he found him "really of a religious nature,"
and secretly in sympathy with himself on religious matters; was killed by
a fall from his horse; he was popularly known by the sobriquet of "Soapy
Sam" (1805-1873).
WILBERFORCE, WILLIAM, eminent philanthropist, born at Hull, son of a
wealthy merchant; attended St. John's College, Cambridge, at 17;
represented his native town in Parliament as soon as he was of age; he
was early and deeply impressed with the inhumanity of the slave-trade,
and to achieve its abolition became the ruling passion of his life; with
that object he introduced a bill for its suppression in 1789, but it was
not till 1801 he carried the Commons with him, and he had to wait six
years longer before the House of Lords supported his measure and the
Emancipation Act was passed; he retired into private life in 1825, and
died three days after the vote of 20 millions to purchase the freedom of
the West Indian slaves; he was an eminently religious man of the
Evangelical school; wrote "Practical View of Christianity" (1759-1833).
WILD, JONATHAN, an English villain, who for housebreaking was
executed in 1725, and the hero of Fielding's novel of the name; he had
been a detective; was hanged amid execration on the part of the mob at
his execution.
WILDERNESS, a district covered with brushwood in Virginia, U.S.,
the scene of a two days' terrible conflict between the Federals and the
Confederates on the 5th and 6th May 1864.
WILDFIRE, MADGE, a character in the "Heart of Midlothian," who,
being seduced, had, in her misery under a sense of her crime, gone crazy.
WILFRID, ST., a Saxon bishop of York, born in Northumbria; brought
up at Lindisfarne; had a checkered life of it; is celebrated in legend
for his success in converting pagans, and is usually represented in the
act; _d_. 709.
WILHELMINA I., queen of the Netherlands, daughter of William III.,
and who ascended the throne on his decease in November 1890; her mother,
a sister of the Duchess of Albany, acted as regent during her minority,
and she became of age on the 11th August 1898, when she was installed as
sovereign amid the enthusiasm of her people; _b_. 1880.
WILHELMSHAVEN (13), the chief naval port of Germany, on Jahde Bay,
43 m. NW. of Bremen.
WILKES, CHARLES, American naval officer; made explorations in the
Southern Ocean in 1861; boarded on the high seas the British mail-steamer
_Trent_, and carried off two Confederate commissioners accredited to
France, who were afterwards released on the demand of the British
Government (1798-1877).
WILKES, JOHN, a notable figure in the English political world of the
18th century, born in Clerkenwell, son of a distiller; was elected M.P.
for Aylesbury in 1761; started a periodical called the _North Briton_, in
No. 45 of which he published an offensive libel, which led to his arrest
and imprisonment in the Tower, from which he was released--on the ground
that the general warrant on which he was apprehended was illegal--amid
general rejoicing among the people; he was afterwards prosecuted for an
obscene production, an "Essay on Women," and outlawed for non-appearance;
he sought an asylum in France, and on his return was elected for
Middlesex, but instead of being allowed to sit was committed to prison;
this treatment made him the object of popular favour; he was elected Lord
Mayor of London, re-elected for Middlesex, and at length allowed to take
his seat in the House; he was for years the cause of popular tumults, the
watchword of which was "Wilkes and Liberty"; the cause of civil liberty
certainly owes something to him and to the popular agitations which an
interest in him stirred up (1727-1797).
WILKIE, SIR DAVID, painter, born at Cults, Fife; executed a great
many pictures depicting homely subjects, which were very popular, and are
generally well known by the engravings of them, such as the "Rent Day,"
"The Penny Wedding," "Reading the Will," &c., which were followed by
others in a more ambitious style, and less appreciated, as well as
portraits (1785-1841).
WILKINS, JOHN, bishop of Chester, born in Northamptonshire; married
Oliver Cromwell's sister; wrote mathematical treatises, a curious one in
particular, "Discovery of a New World," and was one of the founders of
the Royal Society (1614-1672).
WILKINSON, SIR JOHN, Egyptologist, born In Westmorland; studied at
Oxford; explored the antiquities of Egypt, and wrote largely on the
subject (1797-1875).
WILL, FREEDOM OF THE, the doctrine that in and under the dominion of
pure reason the will is free, and not free otherwise; that in this
element the Will "reigns unquestioned and by Divine right"; only in minds
in which volition is treated as a synonym of Desire does this doctrine
admit of debate.
WILLEMS, JAN FRANS, Dutch poet and scholar, born near Antwerp;
translated "Reynard the Fox" into Flemish, and did much to encourage the
Flemings to preserve and cultivate their mother-tongue (1793-1846).
WILLIAM I., THE CONQUEROR, king of England, born at Falaise; became
Duke of Normandy by the death of his father; being an illegitimate son
had to establish his power with the sword; being the cousin of Edward the
Confessor was nominated by him his successor to the English throne, which
being usurped by Harold, he invaded England and defeated Harold at Senlac
in 1066 and assumed the royal power, which he established over the length
and breadth of the country in 1068; he rewarded his followers with grants
of land and lordships over them, subject to the crown; the DOOMSDAY
BOOK (q. v.) was compiled by his order, and the kingdom brought
into closer relation with the Church of Rome, his adviser in Church
matters being LANFRANC, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY (q. v.); died
by a fall from his horse when suppressing rebellion in Normandy, and was
buried at Caen. He was, as characterised by Carlyle, "in rude outline a
true God-made king, of most flashing discernment, of most strong
lion-heart--in whom, as it were, within a frame of oak and iron the gods
had planted the soul of 'a man of genius' ... the essential element, as
of all such men, not scorching fire (merely), but shining illuminative
light ... the most sure-eyed perception of what is what on this God's
earth." His invasion of England is known as the Norman Conquest, and it
involved the introduction of the feudal system and Norman manners in the
habits and speech of the English people (1027-1087).
WILLIAM II., king of England, surnamed Rufus or Ruddy, born in
Normandy, third son of William I.; succeeded his father in 1087; had to
face a rebellion, headed by Bishop Odo, in favour of his eldest brother,
Robert, Duke of Normandy, which he suppressed by favour of the mass of
the people, to whom he made promises which he did not keep, for he proved
a stern and exacting ruler; his energy was great, but was frequently
spasmodic; he added Normandy to his dominion by compact with Robert, who
went on Crusade, compelled Malcolm of Scotland to do homage for his
kingdom, conducted several campaigns against the Welsh, and had a
long-continued wrangle with Archbishop Anselm, virtually in defence of
the royal prerogative against the claims of the Church, for a humorous
account of the meaning of which see Carlyle's "Past and Present," Book
iv. chap. i.; he was accidentally shot while hunting in the New Forest by
Walter Tirel, and buried in Winchester Cathedral, but without any
religious service; in his reign the Crusades began, and Westminster Hall
was built (1066-1100).
WILLIAM III., king of England, born at The Hague, son of William
II., Prince of Orange, by Mary, the daughter of Charles I.; during a
contest on the part of the United Provinces with Louis XIV. was, in 1672,
elected Stadtholder, and by his valour and wisdom brought the war to an
end in 1678; married his cousin Mary, daughter of James II.; being
invited to England, landed with a large army at Torbay, and on the flight
of James to France, he and Mary were proclaimed king and queen of Great
Britain and Ireland in 1689; the Scotch and the Irish offered resistance
in the interest of the exiled monarch, but the former were defeated at
Killiecrankie in 1689, and the latter at the battle of the Boyne in 1690;
he was an able man and ruler, but his reign was troubled by an
interminable feud with France, and by intrigues on behalf of James both
at home and abroad; he died by a fall from his horse at Kensington just
as a great war with France was impending; he was through life the
adversary of the covetous schemes of Louis, and before his death he had
prepared the materials of that coalition which, under Marlborough and
Prince Eugene, brought Louis to the brink of ruin; his reign forms one of
the great epochs in the history of England, and is known as the
Revolution (1650-1702).
WILLIAM IV., king of England, known as the "sailor king," born in
Buckingham Palace, the third son of George III.; entered the navy in
1779; saw service under Rodney and Nelson, but practically retired in
1789, as from insubordination he had to do, though he was afterwards
promoted to be Admiral of the Fleet, and even Lord High Admiral, and
continued to take great interest in naval affairs; after living, as Duke
of Clarence, from 1792 to 1816 with Mrs. Jordan, the actress, by whom he
had 10 children, he married in 1810 Adelaide, eldest daughter of the Duke
of Saxe-Meiningen; on the death of the Duke of York in 1827 became
heir-presumptive, and on the death of George IV. in 1830 succeeded to the
throne; his reign was distinguished by the passing of the first Reform
Bill in 1832, the abolition of slavery in the colonies in 1833, the
reform of the poor-laws in 1834, and the Municipal Reform Act in 1835;
died at Windsor, and was succeeded by his niece. Queen Victoria
(1765-1837).
WILLIAM I., emperor of Germany, born at Berlin, second son of
Frederick William III. of Prussia, and brother of Frederick William IV.,
his predecessor on the Prussian throne; was bred from boyhood to military
life, having received his first commission at the age of 10; took part in
the war of liberation that preceded the fall of Napoleon, and received
his baptism of fire on 14th February 1814; visited England in 1844, and
again in 1848, and returned prepossessed in favour of constitutional
government, which he found the king had already conceded in his absence;
in 1858 he was appointed regent owing to his brother's incapacity, and on
2nd February 1861 he succeeded to the throne, having previously made the
acquaintance of Moltke in 1818 and of Bismarck in 1834; on his accession,
while professing all due respect to the representatives of the people, he
announced his intention to maintain to the uttermost all his rights as
king, and this gave rise to a threat of insurrection, but a war with
Denmark, which issued in the recovery of the German duchies of
Sleswick-Holstein, led to an outburst of loyalty, and this was deepened
by the publication of the project of Bismarck to unite all Germany under
the crown of Prussia; this provoked a war with Austria, which lasted only
seven weeks, and ended with the consent of the latter to the projected
unification of the other States, and the establishment of a confederation
of these under the headship of the Prussian king, a unification which was
consolidated into an Imperial one at the close of the Franco-German War,
when, on the 18th January 1871, the Prussian king was proclaimed emperor
of Germany in the palace of Versailles; the reign which followed was a
peaceful one, and the pledge of peace to the rest of Europe; the emperor
was a man of robust frame, of imposing figure, of temperate habits, of
firm purpose, conspicuous courage, and devoted with his whole heart to
the welfare of his people (1797-1888).
WILLIAM II., emperor of Germany, born at Berlin, grandson of the
preceding, and son of Frederick III., whom he succeeded as emperor in
1888; was trained from early boyhood for kinghood, and on his accession
to the throne gave evidence of the excellent schooling he had received to
equip him for the high post he was called to fill; he showed that the old
Hohenzollern blood still flowed in his veins, and that he was minded to
be every inch a king; one of the first acts of his reign was to compel
the resignation of Bismarck, as it was his intention to reign alone; that
he has proved himself equal to his task events since have fully
justified, and it is hoped it will be seen that his influence on public
affairs will lead to the advantage of the German people and the peace of
the world; he is by his mother the grandson of Queen Victoria, and the
relationship is full of promise for the union throughout the world of the
Teutonic peoples, who have already achieved so much for the good of the
race; _b_. 1859.
WILLIAM THE LION, king of Scotland, grandson of David I., and
brother of Malcolm IV., whom he succeeded in 1165, and whose surname is
supposed to have been derived from his substitution of the lion for the
dragon on the arms of Scotland; was taken captive when invading England
at Alnwick Castle in 1174; sent prisoner to Falaise, in Normandy, but
liberated on acknowledgment of vassalage to the English king, a claim
which Richard I. surrendered on payment by the Scots of 10,000 marks to
aid him in the Crusade; was the first king of Scotland to form an
alliance with France; died at Stirling after a reign of 49 years
(1143-1214).
WILLIAM THE SILENT, Prince of Orange, a cadet of the noble house of
Nassau, the first Stadtholder of the Netherlands, a Protestant by birth;
he was brought up a Catholic, but being at heart more a patriot than a
Catholic, he took up arms in the cause of his country's freedom, and did
not rest till he had virtually freed it from the Spanish yoke, which was
then the dominant Catholic power; his enemies procured his assassination
in the end, and he was murdered by Belthazar Gerard, at Delft; he was
brought up at the court of Charles V., where "his circumspect demeanour
procured him the surname of Silent, but under the cold exterior he
concealed a busy, far-sighted intellect, and a generous, upright, daring
heart" (1533-1584).
WILLIAMS, ISAAC, Tractarian, born in Wales; educated at Oxford; got
acquainted with Keble; wrote religious poetry and Tract LXXX. on "Reserve
in Religious Teaching" (1802-1865).
WILLIAMS, JOHN, missionary and martyr, born near London; brought up
an ironmonger; offered his services to the London Missionary Society; was
sent out in 1816 to the Society Islands; laboured with conspicuous
success among the natives; came home in 1834, and after four years
returned, but was murdered at Erromango in the New Hebrides, and his body
eaten by the cannibals (1796-1839).
WILLIAMS, SIR MONIER MONIER-, Sanskrit scholar, born at Bombay;
appointed Boden professor of Sanskrit at Oxford, 1860; author of a
Sanskrit Grammar and Lexicon, and projected the founding of the Indian
Institute; _b_. 1819.
WILLIAMS, ROGER, founder of the State of Rhode Island, U.S., born
in Wales; being a Puritan, fled the country to escape persecution, and
settled in New England, where he hoped to enjoy the religious freedom he
was denied at home, but was received with disfavour by the earlier
settlers as, from his extreme views, a "troubler of Israel," and obliged
to separate himself and establish a colony of his own, which he did at
Providence by favour of an Indian tribe he had made friends of, and under
a charter from the Long Parliament of England, obtained through Sir Henry
Vane, where he extended to others the toleration he desired for himself;
he was characterised by Milton, who knew him, as "that noble champion of
religious liberty" (1600-1683).
WILLIAMS, ROWLAND, English clergyman, born in Flintshire; was a
prominent member of the Broad Church party; was condemned, though the
judgment was reversed, by the Court of Arches, for a paper contributed to
the famous "Essays and Reviews"; wrote "Rational Godliness,"
"Christianity and Hinduism," &c. (1817-1870).
WILLIBROD, ST., the "Apostle of the Frisians," born in Northumbria;
was the chief of a company of 12 monks who went as missionaries from
Ireland to Friesland, where they were welcomed by Pépin d'Héristal, and
afterwards favoured by his son, Charles Martel; he founded an abbey near
Trèves; when he was about to baptize the Duke of Friesland, it is said
the duke turned away when he was told his ancestors were in hell, saying
he would rather be with them there than in heaven without them (658-739).
WILLIS, PARKER, American writer and journalist; had travelled much
abroad, and published his experiences; among his writings "Pencillings by
the Way," "Inklings of Adventure," "People I have Met," &c. (1806-1867)
WILLOUGHBY, SIR HUGH, early Arctic voyager; was sent out in 1553
with three vessels by a company of London merchants on a voyage of
discovery, but the vessels were separated by a storm in the North Seas,
and not one of them returned, only Richard Challoner, the captain of one
of them, found his way to Moscow, and opened up a trade with Russia and
this country; the ships, with the dead bodies of their crews, and the
journal of their commander, were found by some fishermen the year after.
WILLS, WILLIAM JOHN, Australian explorer, born at Totnes;
accompanied O'Hara Burke from the extreme S. to the extreme N. of the
continent, but died from starvation on the return journey two days before
his leader (1834-1860).
WILMINGTON (61), a large and handsome city and port in Delaware, 25
m. SW. of Philadelphia, with extensive manufactures; also the name of the
largest city (20) in North Carolina, with considerable manufactures and
trade; was a chief Confederate port during the Civil War.
WILSON, ALEXANDER, ornithologist, born at Paisley; son of a weaver,
bred to the loom; began his literary career as a poet; imprisoned for a
lampoon on a Paisley notability, went on his release to America
unfriended, with only his fowling-piece in his hand, and a few shillings
in his pocket; led an unsettled life for a time; acquired the arts of
drawing, colouring, and etching, and, so accomplished, commenced his
studies on the ornithology of America, and prevailed upon a publisher in
Philadelphia to undertake an exhaustive work which he engaged to produce
on the subject; the first volume appeared in 1808, and the seventh in
1813, on the publication of which he met his death from a cold he caught
from swimming a river in pursuit of a certain rare bird (1766-1813).
WILSON, SIR DANIEL, archæologist, was born in Edinburgh, became in
1853 professor of English Literature at Toronto; wrote "Memorials of
Edinburgh," "Prehistoric Annals of Scotland," "Prehistoric Man," &c.
(1816-1892).
WILSON, SIR ERASMUS, English surgeon, a great authority on skin
diseases, and devoted much time to the study of Egyptian antiquities; it
was at his instance that the famous Cleopatra's Needle was brought to
England; he was liberal in endowments for the advance of medical science
(1809-1884).
WILSON, GEORGE, chemist, born in Edinburgh, younger brother of Sir
Daniel; was appointed professor of Technology in Edinburgh University;
was eminent as a popular lecturer on science, and an enthusiast in
whatever subject he took up (1819-1859).
WILSON, HORACE HAYMAN, Orientalist, born in London; studied
medicine; went to India as a surgeon; mastered Sanskrit, and became Boden
professor at Oxford (1786-1860).
WILSON, JOHN, Indian missionary, born near Lauder, educated at
Edinburgh; missionary at Bombay from 1828 to his death--from 1843 in
connection with the Free Church of Scotland; from his knowledge of the
languages and religions of India, and his sagacity, was held in high
regard (1804-1875).
WILSON, JOHN, the well-known "Christopher North," born in Paisley,
son of a manufacturer, who left him a fortune of £50,000; studied at
Glasgow and Oxford; a man of powerful physique, and distinguished as an
athlete as well as a poet; took up his abode in the Lake District, and
enjoyed the society of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey; wrote two
poems, the "Isle of Palms," and the "City of the Plague"; lost his
fortune, and came to settle in Edinburgh; was called to the Scottish bar,
but never practised; became editor of _Blackwood's Magazine_, and was in
1820 elected over Sir William Hamilton professor of moral philosophy in
Edinburgh University; his health began to fail in 1840; resigned his
professorship in 1851, and received a pension from the Crown of £300; he
is described by Carlyle as "a tall, ruddy, broad-shouldered figure, with
plenteous blonde hair, and bright blue flashing eyes, and as he walked
strode rapidly along; had much nobleness of heart, and many traits of
noble genius, but the central _tie-beam_ seemed always wanting; a good,
grand ruined soul, that never would be great, or indeed _be_ anything"
(1785-1854).
WILTON, market-town in Wiltshire, 3 m. NW. of Salisbury; was the
ancient capital of Wessex, and gave name to the county; its church,
erected by Lord Herbert of Lea in 1844, is a rich Lombardic structure,
with a campanile 108 ft. high.
WILTSHIRE or WILTS (264), an inland county in SW. of England,
with Gloucestershire on the N. and Dorset on the S., 54 m. from N. to S.
and 37 m. from E. to W.; is largely an agricultural and pastoral county;
is flat, rising into hills in the N., and is broken by downs and rich
valleys in the S., except on Salisbury Plain; sheep-breeding and
dairy-farming are the chief industries, and it is famous for cheese and
bacon.
WIMBLEDON (25), a suburb of London, 7½ m. to the SW., on a common
used by the volunteers from 1860 to 1889 for rifle practice.
WINCHESTER (19), an ancient city of Hampshire, and the county town,
60 m. SW. of London, on the right bank of the Itchen; is a cathedral
city, with a noted large public school; was at one time the capital of
England; the cathedral dates from the 11th century, but it has
subsequently undergone considerable extensions and alterations; the
school was founded by William of Wykeham in 1387.
WINCKELMANN, JOHANN JOACHIM, great art critic, born at Stendal, in
Prussian Saxony, of poor parents; was a student from his boyhood, and
early devoted especially to archæology and the study of the antique;
became a Roman Catholic on the promise of an appointment in Rome, where
he would have full scope to indulge his predilections, and became
librarian to Cardinal Albani there; his great work was "Geschichte der
Kunst des Alterthums" (the "History of Ancient Art"), in particular that
of Greece, which proved epoch-making, and the beginning of a new era in
the study of art in general; he was assassinated in a hotel at Trieste on
his way to Vienna by a fellow-traveller to whom he had shown some of his
valuables, and the German world was shocked (1717-1768).
WINDERMERE, a lake on the borders of Westmorland and Lancashire, the
largest in England, 10½ m. long from N. to S., and 1 m. broad; is 240 ft.
deep and 134 ft. above sea-level; is amid beautiful scenery, and near it
is Rydal Mount, long the residence of Wordsworth.
WINDHAM, WILLIAM, English statesman, born of an ancient Norfolk
family; was opposed to the American War; took part in the impeachment of
Warren Hastings; was Secretary at War under Pitt; advocated the removal
of Catholic disabilities, but was opposed to Parliamentary reform; has
been described by his contemporaries as the model both physically and
mentally of an English gentleman, able and high minded (1780-1810).
WINDISCHGRÄTZ, PRINCE, Austrian field-marshal; took part in the
campaigns against Napoleon, and in 1848 suppressed the revolution at
Prague and Vienna; failed against the Hungarians, and was superseded
(1787-1862).
WINDSOR (12), a town in Berkshire, on the right bank of the Thames,
opposite Eton, and about 22 m. W. of London, with a castle which from
early Plantagenet times has been the principal residence of the kings of
England.
WINDWARD ISLANDS (150), a group of the West Indies, the Lesser
Antilles, belonging to Britain, extending from Martinique to Trinidad.
WINDWARD PASSAGE, a channel leading into the Caribbean Sea, between
the islands of Cuba and Hayti.
WINER, GEORGE BENEDICT, New Testament scholar, born at Leipzig, and
professor there; best known for his work on the New Testament Greek
idioms (1789-1858).
WINIFRED, ST., a British maiden who was decapitated by Prince
Caradoc in 650; where her head rolled off tradition says a spring
instantly gushed forth, the famous Holywell in Flintshire; is represented
in art carrying her head.
WINKELRIED, ARNOLD VON, a brave Swiss who, on the field of Sempach,
on 9th June 1386, rushed on the lances of the opposing Austrians, and so
opened a way for his compatriots to dash through and win the day.
WINKLE. See RIP VAN WINKLE.
WINNIPEG (25), formerly Fort Garry, the capital of Manitoba, at the
junction of the Assiniboine with the Red River, over 1400 m. NW. of
Montreal; is a well-built town, with several public buildings and all
modern appliances; stands on the Pacific Railway; is a busy trading
centre, and is growing rapidly.
WINNIPEG, LAKE, a lake in Manitoba, 40 m. N. of the city, 280 m.
long, 57 m. broad, and covering an area of over 8000 sq. m.; it drains an
area twice as large as France; the Saskatchewan flows into it, and the
Nelson flows out.
WINSTANLEY, HENRY, English engineer; erected a lighthouse on the
Eddystone Rock in 1696, and completed it in four years; it was built of
timber, and had not much strength; he perished in it in a storm in 1703.
WINT, PETER DE, water-colourist, born in Staffordshire, of Dutch
descent; famed for paintings of English scenery and rustic life
(1784-1849).
WINTER KING, name given by the Germans to Frederick V., husband of
Elizabeth, daughter of James I., his Winter Queen, who was elected king
of Bohemia by the Protestants in 1619, and compelled to resign in 1620.
WINTHROP, JOHN, "Father of Massachusetts," born in Suffolk; studied
at Trinity College; headed a Puritan colony from Yarmouth to Salem, and
was governor of the settlement at Boston till his death; was a pious and
tolerant man; left a "Journal" (1581-1649).
WISCONSIN (1,686), one of the Central States of North America,
nearly as large as England and Wales, and situated between Lake Superior
and Michigan; the surface is chiefly of rolling prairie, and the soil
fertile; yields cereals, sugar, hops, hemp, and large quantities of
lumber from the forests; lead, iron, copper, and silver are among its
mineral resources; it abounds in beautiful lakes; the Wisconsin and the
Chippewa are the chief rivers, tributaries of the Mississippi; and
Madison (the capital), Milwaukee, and La Crosse are the chief towns.
WISDOM OF JESUS. See ECCLESIASTICUS.
WISDOM OF SOLOMON, one of the most beautiful books in the Apocrypha,
written at the close of the 2nd century B.C. by one who knew both the
Greek language and Greek philosophy, to commend the superiority to this
philosophy of the divine wisdom revealed to the Jews. Its general aim, as
has been said, is "to show, alike from philosophy and history, as against
the materialists of the time, that the proper goal of life was not mere
existence, however long, or pleasure of any sort, but something nobly
intellectual and moral, and that the pious Israelite was on the surest
path to its attainment."
WISEMAN, NICHOLAS, cardinal and Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Westminster, born at Seville, of Irish parents; studied at a Roman
Catholic college near Durham and the English college at Rome, of which he
became rector; lectured in London in 1836 on the Doctrines of the
Catholic Church, and in 1840 became vicar-apostolic, first in the central
district of England, then of the London district in 1846, and was in 1850
named Archbishop of Westminster by the Pope; this was known in England as
the "papal aggression," which raised a storm of opposition in the
country, but this storm Wiseman, now cardinal, succeeded very
considerably in allaying by a native courtesy of manner which commended
him to the regard of the intelligent and educated classes of the
community; he was a scholarly man, and a vigorous writer and orator
(1802-1865).
WISHART, GEORGE, a Scottish martyr, born in Forfarshire; began life
as a schoolmaster; was charged with heresy for teaching the Greek New
Testament; left the country and spent some time on the Continent; on his
return boldly professed and preached the Reformation doctrines, and had
the celebrated John Knox, who was tutor in the district, for a disciple
among others; he was arrested in Haddingtonshire in January and burned at
St. Andrews in March 1546; Knox would fain have accompanied him on his
arrest, but was paternally dissuaded by the gentle martyr; "Go home to
your bairns" (pupils), said he; "ane is sufficient for a sacrifice."
WISMAR (15), a seaport of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the Baltic; has a
number of quaint old buildings, various manufactures, and an active
trade.
WITCH OF ENDOR, a divining woman consulted by King Saul, who
affected to call up the spirit of Samuel, who foretold his defeat and
doom.
WITENAGEMOT (assembly of the wise), name given to the national
council or Parliament of England in Anglo-Saxon times, agreeably to whose
decisions the affairs of the kingdom were managed; it consisted of the
bishops, royal vassals, and thanes.
WITHER, GEORGE, poet, born at Arlesford, in Hampshire, and educated
at Magdalen College, Oxford; was imprisoned for his first poem, a satire,
"Abuses Stript and Whipt," in 1613; his subsequent productions betray
true poetic inspiration, and special passages in them are much admired;
he was a religious poet, and is much belauded by Charles Lamb; in the
Civil War he espoused the Puritan side, and in his zeal in its behalf
raised a troop of horse (1588-1667).
WITHERSPOON, JOHN, Scottish theologian, born at Tester; was minister
at Paisley; became president of the college at New Jersey, U.S.; died at
Princeton; wrote "Ecclesiastic Characteristics" against the Moderates,
also on justification and regeneration (1722-1794).
WITSIUS, HERMANN, Dutch theologian; became professor at Leyden;
wrote on what are in old orthodox theology called the "Covenants," of
which there were reckoned two, one of works, under the Mosaic system,
and the other of grace, under the Christian (1636-1708).
WITTEKIND, leader of the Saxon struggle against Charlemagne;
annihilated the Frankish army in 783, in retaliation for which
Charlemagne executed 4500 Saxons he had taken prisoners, which roused the
entire Saxon people to arms, and led to a drawn battle at Detmold, upon
which Wittekind accepted baptism, and was promoted to a dukedom by the
Frankish king; he fell in battle with Gerold, a Swabian duke, in 807.
WITTENBERG (13), a town in Prussian Saxony, on the right bank of the
Elbe, 50 m. SW. of Berlin; was the capital of the electorate of Saxony,
and a stronghold of the Reformers; is famous in the history of Luther,
and contains his tomb; it was on the door of the Schlosskirche of which
he nailed his famous 95 theses, and at the Elster Gate of which he burned
the Pope's bull, "the people looking on and shouting, all Europe looking
on."
WIZARD OF THE NORTH, name given to Sir Walter Scott, from the magic
power displayed in his writings.
WODEN, the German and Anglo-Saxon name for ODIN (q. v.).
WODROW, ROBERT, Scottish Church historian, born at Glasgow; studied
at the University, became librarian, and settled as minister at Eastwood,
Renfrewshire; was diligent with his pen; left 50 volumes of MSS., only
one of which was published in his lifetime, "History of the Sufferings of
the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution," the rest
having been in part published by several antiquarian societies since
(1679-1734).
WOFFINGTON, PEG, actress, born in Dublin, where she made her first
appearance in 1737, and in London at Covent Garden in 1740, in a style
which carried all hearts by storm; she was equally charming in certain
male characters as in female; her character was not without reproach, but
she had not a little of that charity which covereth a multitude of sins,
in the practice of which, after her retirement in 1757, she ended her
days (1720-1768).
WOIWODE, name at one time of an elective prince among the Slavs,
originally one chosen in some emergency; superseded by Hospodar in 1716.
WOKING (9), a small town in Surrey, 24 m. SW. of London; contains a
large cemetery with crematorium near it, and not far off is Bisley
Common, with shooting-butts for practice by the Volunteers.
WOLCOT, JOHN, better known by his pseudonym Peter Pindar, born in
Devonshire; bred to and practised medicine; took orders, and held office
in the Church; took eventually to writing satires and lampoons, which
spared no one, and could not be bribed into silence; was blind for some
years before he died (1738-1819).
WOLF, FRIEDRICH AUGUST, great classical scholar, born near
Nordhausen; studied at Göttingen; was professor of Philology at Halle;
became world-famous for his theory of the Homeric poems; he maintains, in
his "Prolegomena ad Homerum," that the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" were
originally a body of independent ballads handed down by oral tradition,
and gradually collected into two groups, which finally appeared each as
one, bearing the name of Homer, who, he allows, was _probably_ the first
to attempt to weave them severally into one; the "Prolegomena" was
published in 1735, and its appearance caused a wide-spread sensation, and
gave rise to a controversy which maintains itself to the present time
(1759-1824).
WOLFE, CHARLES, author of the "Burial of Sir John Moore," born in
Dublin; became an Irish clergyman; died of consumption (1791-1823).
WOLFE, JAMES, major-general, born in Kent, son of a
lieutenant-general, who served under Marlborough; was present at the
battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, Falkirk, and Culloden, and served in the
expedition against Rochefort, which it was believed proved disastrous
because his counsel was not followed; this circumstance attracted the
attention of Pitt, who appointed him a command in Canada; here he
distinguished himself first at the siege of Louisburg, and then by the
capture of Quebec, where he fell at the moment of victory; he lived to
hear the cry "They run," and eagerly asked "Who run?" and being told the
French, exclaimed, "I thank God, and die contented" (1727-1759).
WOLFENBÜTTEL (13), an old town in Brunswick, 7 m. S. of Brunswick;
contains an old building, now rebuilt, being a library of vast extent and
rich in MSS.; has various manufactures.
WOLFF, JOHANN CHRISTIAN VON, German philosopher and mathematician,
born at Breslau; was appointed professor at Halle in 1707, but was in
1723 not only removed from his chair, but banished from Prussia by
Frederick William on account of his opinions, which, as fatalistic, were
deemed socially demoralising, but was recalled by Frederick the Great on
his accession, and afterwards promoted to the rank of baron of the
empire; he was a disciple of Leibnitz, and the father of the philosophy
that prevailed in Germany before the time of Kant; his merits as a
philosopher were threefold: he claimed for philosophy the entire field of
knowledge, he paid special attention to method in philosophical
speculation, and he first taught philosophy to express itself in German,
or made German the philosophical language (1679-1754).
WOLLASTON, WILLIAM, ethical and theological writer, born near
Stafford; wrote "Religion of Nature," a rationalistic work written in an
optimistic spirit (1659-1724).
WOLLASTON, WILLIAM HYDE, physicist and chemist, born in Norfolk,
grandson of preceding; made extensive discoveries in chemistry and
optics; invented the camera lucida and the goniometer.
WOLLSTONECRAFT, MARY. See GODWIN.
WOLSELEY, GARNET JOSEPH, LORD, field-marshal, born in co. Dublin, of
a Staffordshire family; entered the army in 1852; served in the Burmese
War of 1852-1853, in the Crimean War, where he was severely wounded, in
the Chinese War of 1860, and afterwards in Canada; commanded in the
Ashantee War in 1878, and received the thanks of Parliament, with a grant
of £25,000, for "courage, energy, and perseverance" in the conduct of it,
and after services in Natal, Egypt, and Ireland was made field-marshal in
1894, and commander-in-chief in 1895; _b_. 1833.
WOLSEY, THOMAS, cardinal, born at Ipswich, son of a well-to-do
grazier and wool-merchant; educated at Magdalen College, Oxford; entered
the Church early; gained the favour of Henry VII., and was promoted by
him for his services to the deanery of Lincoln; this was the first of a
series of preferments at the hands of royalty, which secured him one
bishopric after another until his revenue accruing therefrom equalled
that of the crown itself, which he spent partly in display of his rank
and partly in acts of munificence; of his acts of munificence the
founding of Christ Church College in the interest of learning was one,
and the presentation of Hampton Court Palace, which he had built, to the
king, was another; it was in the reign of Henry VIII. that he rose to
power, and to him especially he owed his honours; it was for his
services to him he obtained the chancellorship of the kingdom, and at his
suit that he obtained the cardinal's hat and other favours from the Pope;
this, though not the height of his ambition, was the limit of it, for he
soon learned how frail a reed is a prince's favour; he refused to
sanction his master's marriage with Anne Boleyn, and was driven from
power and bereft of all his possessions; finally, though restored to the
see of York, he was arrested on a charge of treason, took ill on the way
to London, and died at Leicester, with the words on his lips, "Had I but
served God as I have served the king, He would not have forsaken me in my
grey hairs" (1471-1530).
WOLVERHAMPTON (82), a town in Staffordshire, 12½ m. NW. of
Birmingham, in the midst of coal and iron fields; the centre of a group
of towns engaged in different kinds of iron manufacture, locks and keys
the staple, and the metropolis of the Black Country.
WOMAN'S RIGHTS, claims on the part and in the behalf of women to a
status in society which will entitle them to the legal and social
privileges of men.
WOOD, SIR ANDREW, Scottish admiral, born in Largo, Fife; was
distinguished and successful in several naval engagements, chiefly in the
Forth, against the English in the reigns of James III. and James IV.;
received for his services the honour of knighthood and the village and
lands of Largo in fee; was an eccentric old admiral; is said to have had
a canal cut from his house to the church, and to have sailed thither in
his barge every Sunday; _d_. 1540.
WOOD, ANTHONY, antiquary, born at Oxford, and educated at Merton
College, Oxford; was a gentleman of independent means; wrote "History and
Antiquities of Oxford University," which appeared in 1674, and "Athenæ
Oxonienses," which appeared in 1691, being an exact history of all the
writers and bishops educated at Oxford from 1500 to 1690 (1632-1695).
WOOD, SIR EVELYN, soldier, born in Essex; served in the Indian
Mutiny War, and received the V.C., also in the Ashanti, in the Zulu, in
the Transvaal (1880-1881) Wars, and in Egypt in 1882; _b_. 1838.
WOOD, MRS. HENRY (_née_ Price), novelist, born in Worcestershire;
her best novels "The Channings" and "Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles," though
her most popular "East Lynne"; she wrote some thirty, all popular, and
deservedly so (1820-1887).
WOODEN HORSE, a gigantic horse of wood, within which Greek warriors
were concealed, and which the Trojans were persuaded to admit into their
city, to its ruin, on the pretext that it was an offering by the Greeks
to Pallas, to atone for their abstraction of her image from the citadel.
WOODSTOCK, a small market-town on the Glyme, 8 m. NW. of Oxford,
once a royal manor, near which is BLENHEIM PARK (q. v.).
WOOLNER, THOMAS, English sculptor, born at Hadleigh, in Suffolk;
sympathised with the Pre-Raphaelite movement; did a number of statues
(one of Bacon for Oxford), busts of famous contemporaries--Carlyle,
Darwin, Tennyson, &c.--and ideal works, such as Elaine, Ophelia,
Guinevere, &c.; was a poet as well as a sculptor (1826-1892).
WOOLSACK, the seat of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords, as
Speaker of the House, being a large square cushion of wool covered with
red cloth, without either back or arms.
WOOLSTON, THOMAS, an eccentric semi-deistical writer, born at
Northampton, who maintained a lifelong polemic against the literal truth
of the Bible, and insisted that the miraculous element in it must be
allegorically interpreted, with such obstinacy that he was in the end
subjected to imprisonment as a blasphemer, from which he was never
released, because he refused to recant (1669-1731).
WOOLWICH (40), a town in Kent, on the S. bank of the Thames, 9 m.
below London; is the chief military arsenal in the country; contains a
gun factory, ammunition factory, laboratory, &c., which employ 12,000
men, besides barracks for artillery, engineers, &c., covering an area 4
m. in circumference.
WORCESTER (42), the county town of Worcestershire, on the left bank
of the Severn, 26 m. SE. of Birmingham; a very ancient place, and a
handsome city, with a noble old Gothic cathedral; is famous for its blue
porcelain ware and other industries, particularly glove-making; was the
scene in 1651 of Cromwell's victory over the Royalists, which he called
his "crowning mercy."
WORCESTER (118), the second city of Massachusetts, U.S., a place of
busy industry, and with a flourishing trade.
WORCESTER, MARQUIS OF, inventor of the steam-engine, born probably
in the Strand; early gave himself to mechanical studies; was an ardent
Royalist; negotiated with the Irish Catholics on behalf of the king; was
discovered and imprisoned on a charge of treason, but his release being
procured by the king, he spent some time in exile; on his return he was
again imprisoned and then released; wrote an account of inventions
amounting to a hundred, "A Century of Inventions" as he called it, one of
which he described as "an admirable and most forcible way of driving up
water by fire" (1601-1667).
WORCESTERSHIRE, an agricultural and pastoral county in the valley of
the Severn, the N. part of which is the Black Country, rich in coal and
iron mines, with Dudley for capital, and the SW. occupied by the Malvern
Hills, while the S. is famous for its orchards and hop-gardens; it has
also extensive manufactures at Worcester, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, and
Redditch.
WORD, THE, or LOGOS, the name given by St. John to God as
existing from the beginning as in the fulness of time He manifested
Himself in Christ, or as at first what He revealed Himself at last.
WORDSWORTH, CHARLES, bishop of St. Andrews, born in Lambeth, studied
at Christ Church, Oxford; was private tutor to Gladstone and Manning,
Warden of Glenalmond College, Perthshire, and made bishop in 1852; was a
student of Shakespeare, and distinguished as a prelate for his zeal for
Church union in Scotland; he was a nephew of the poet (1805-1892).
WORDSWORTH, WILLIAM, poet, born at Cockermouth, of a Yorkshire
stock; educated at Hawkshead Grammar School and at St. John's College,
Cambridge; travelled in France at the Revolution period, and was smitten
with the Republican fever, which however soon spent itself; established
himself in the S. of England, and fell in with Coleridge, and visited
Germany in company with him, and on his return settled in the Lake
Country; married Mary Hutchinson, who had been a school-fellow of his,
and to whom he was attached when a boy, and received a lucrative sinecure
appointment as distributor of stamps in the district, took up his
residence first at Grasmere and finally at Rydal Mount, devoting his life
in best of the Muses, as he deemed, to the composition of poetry, with
all faith in himself, and slowly but surely bringing round his admirers
to the same conclusion; he began his career in literature by publishing
along with Coleridge "Lyrical Ballads"; finished his "Prelude" in 1806,
and produced his "Excursion" in 1814, after which, from his home at Rydal
Mount, there issued a long succession of miscellaneous pieces; he
succeeded Southey as poet-laureate in 1843; he is emphatically the poet
of external nature and of its all-inspiring power, and it is as such his
admirers regard him; Carlyle compares his muse to "an honest rustic
fiddle, good and well handled, but wanting two or more of the strings,
and not capable of much"; to judge of Wordsworth's merits as a poet the
student is referred to Matthew Arnold's "Selections" (1770-1850).
WORLD, THE, the name applied in the New Testament to the collective
body of those who reject and oppose the spirit of Christ, who practically
affirm what He denies, and practically deny what He affirms, or turn His
Yea into Nay, and His Nay into Yea.
WORMS (25), an old German town in Hesse-Darmstadt, in a fertile
plain on the left bank of the Rhine, 40 m. SE. of Mainz, with a massive
Romanesque cathedral having two domes and four towers; it was here the
Diet of the empire was held under Charles V., and before which Martin
Luther appeared on 17th April 1521, standing alone in his defence on the
rock of Scripture, and deferentially declining to recant: "Here stand I;
I can do no other; so help me God."
WORSAAE, JANS JACOB, eminent Danish archæologist, born in Jutland;
has written on the antiquities of the North, specially in a Scandinavian
reference (1821-1885).
WORTHING (16), a fashionable watering-place on the Sussex coast, 10½
m. SW. of Brighton; has a mild climate, fine sands, and a long wide
parade.
WOTTON, SIR HENRY, diplomatist and scholar, born in Kent; was
ambassador of James I. for 20 years, chiefly at Venice; visited Kepler
(q. v.) on one occasion, and found him a very "ingenious person," and
came under temporary eclipse for his definition of an ambassador, "An
honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country"; was
ultimately provost of Eton, and was a friend of many good men, among
others Isaac Walton, who wrote his Life; he wished to be remembered as
the author of the saying, "The itch of controversy is the scab
(_scabies_) of the Churches," and caused it to be insculpt in his epitaph
(1568-1630).
WOUVERMANS, PHILIP, Dutch painter, born at Haarlem, where he lived
and died; painted small landscapes, hunting pieces, and battle pieces,
from which the picture-dealers profited, while he lived and died poor;
had two brothers, whose pictures are, though inferior, often mistaken for
his (1619-1668).
WRANGEL, FREDERICK, Prussian field-marshal, born at Stettin; served
with distinction in various campaigns, and commanded in the Danish War of
1864, and was present in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, though without
command; was known as Papa Wrangel among the Berliners, who loved him for
his disregard of grammar (1784-1877).
WRANGLER, name given in Cambridge University to those who have
attained the first rank in mathematics, pure and applied, the one who
heads the list being known as the Senior Wrangler.
WREDE, PHILIP, field-marshal and prince, born in Heidelberg; served
as a Bavarian general against Austria as the ally of Napoleon at Wagram,
and also in the expedition against Russia in 1812, on which occasion he
covered the retreat of the French army to the loss of nearly all the
cavalry; fought against the French at Hanau; was defeated, but was
afterwards successful on French soil, and eventually became
commander-in-chief of the Bavarian army (1767-1838).
WREN, SIR CHRISTOPHER, architect, born at East Knoyle, in Wiltshire;
educated at Westminster School and Wadham College, Oxford, and became
Fellow of All Souls; was early distinguished in mathematics and for
mechanical ingenuity, and soon became notable for his skill in
architecture, and received a commission to restore St. Paul's, London,
but on its destruction in 1666 he was appointed to design and erect an
entirely new structure; for this he had prepared himself by study abroad,
and he proceeded to construct a new St. Paul's after the model of St.
Peter's at Rome, a work which, as it occupied him from 1675 to 1710, took
him 35 years to finish; he died at the age of 90, sitting in his chair
after dinner, and was buried in the cathedral which he had erected, with
this inscription, "Si monumentum requiris, circumspice" (If you inquire
after his monument, look around); Wren was a man of science as well as an
artist; he was at one time Savilian professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and
one of the founders of the Royal Society (1631-1723).
WREN, MATTHEW, bishop of Ely; was one of the judges of the Star
Chamber; assisted in preparing the liturgy for Scotland, which, when read
in St. Giles', Edinburgh, roused the ire of JENNY GEDDES (q. v.);
was impeached, and confined in the Tower for 18 years, and released
at the Restoration (1585-1667).
WREXHAM (12), an important town in Denbighshire, North Wales, 12 m.
SW. from Chester, in the centre of a mining district, and famed for its
breweries.
WRIGHT, JOSEPH, painter, usually called "Wright of Derby," from his
birthplace and place of residence nearly all his life; he excelled in
portraits, and in the representation of the effects especially of
firelight (1734-1797).
WRIGHT, THOMAS, antiquary, born in Shropshire, but settled in
London; wrote or edited a vast number of works bearing on the
antiquities, literary and other, of England, and was connected with the
founding of sundry antiquarian societies (1810-1877).
WRITERS TO THE SIGNET, a body of solicitors in Scotland who had at
one time the exclusive privilege of practising in and drawing up cases
for the supreme courts of the country, and whose privileges are now
limited to the preparation of crown writs.
WULSTAN, ST., Saxon bishop of Worcester in the days of Edward the
Confessor; being falsely accused by his adversaries, after the king's
death, he was required to resign, but refused, and laying his crozier on
the Confessor's shrine called upon him to decide who should wear it; none
of his accusers could lift it, only himself, to his exculpation from
their accusations.
WUNDT, WILHELM MAX, distinguished German physiologist, born in
Baden, and professor at Leipzig; distinguished for his studies on the
connection of the physical with the psychical in the human organisation,
and has written on psychology as well as physiology; _b_. 1832.
WUPPERTHAL, a densely-peopled valley in Germany traversed by the
river Wupper, which after a course of 40 m. enters the right bank of the
Rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf, and which embraces the towns of
Barmen and Elberfeld.
WURMSER, COUNT VON, Austrian general, born in Alsace; took an active
part in the war with France; commanded the respect of Napoleon from his
defence of Mantua, on the capitulation of which he refused to take him
prisoner (1721-1797).
WÜRTEMBERG (2,035), a kingdom of South Germany, about one-fourth the
size of Scotland, between Baden on the W. and Bavaria on the E.; the
Black Forest extends along the W. of it, and it is traversed nearly E.
and W. by the Swabian Alp, which slopes down on the N. side into the
valley of the Neckar, and on the S. into that of the Danube; the soil is
fertile, and is in great part under cultivation, yielding corn, vines,
and fruits, agriculture being the chief industry of the population; there
are only four towns whose inhabitants exceed 20,000, of which Stuttgart
is one, and Ulm, the capital, is the other; the towns are the centres of
varied manufactures; education is of a high standard; and associated with
the country is a number of famous names-enough to mention the names of
Kepler, Schiller, Hegel, Schelling, and Strauss; the government is
constitutional, under a hereditary sovereign.
WURTZ, CHARLES ADOLPHE, celebrated French chemist, born at Strasburg
(1817-1884).
WÜRZBURG (51), a Bavarian town in a valley of the Main, 70 m. SB. of
Frankfort; its principal buildings are the Royal or Episcopal Palace, the
cathedral, and the university, with the Julius Hospital, called after its
founder, Bishop Julius, who was also founder of the university, which is
attended by 1500 students, mostly medical, and has a library of 100,000
volumes; the fortress of Marienberg, overlooking the town, was till 1720
the episcopal palace.
WUTTKE, KARL, theologian, born at Breslau, professor at Halle; wrote
on Christian ethics, stoutly maintained the incompatibility of
Christianity with democracy, that a Christian could not be a democrat or
a democrat a Christian (1819-1870).
WYANDOTS, a tribe of North American Indians of the Iroquois stock;
were nearly exterminated in 1636, but a feeble remnant of them now occupy
a small district in the Indian Territory.
WYATT, RICHARD, sculptor, born in London; studied in Home under
Canova, and had Gibson for fellow-student; a man of classical tastes, and
produced a number of exquisitely-modelled, especially female, figures
(1795-1850).
WYATT, SIR THOMAS, English poet, courtier, and statesman, born at
Allington Castle, in Kent, and educated at St. John's College, Cambridge;
was a welcome presence at court, a friend of Anne Boleyn, in high favour
with the king, and knighted in 1537; did a good deal of diplomatic work
in Spain and the Netherlands, and died on his way to meet the Spanish
ambassador and convoy him to London; he had travelled in Italy, had
studied the lyric poets of Italy, especially Petrarch, and, along with
Surrey, imported their sentiment into English verse, "amourist poetry,"
as it has been called, "a poetry extremely personal, and personal as
English poetry had scarcely ever been before" (1503-1542).
WYATT, SIR THOMAS, the younger, only son of the preceding; was
leader of the rebellion that broke out in 1554 in consequence of the
settlement of the marriage between Queen Mary and Philip of Spain, in
which, being repulsed at Temple Bar, he surrendered, was committed to the
Tower, and for which he was executed, Lady Jane Grey and her husband
following to the same doom shortly after (1520-1554).
WYCHERLEY, WILLIAM, dramatist, born in Shropshire, of good birth,
and resided for a time in Paris, being admitted to the circle of the
Précieuses, but returned to England at the Restoration, and became a
figure at the court; his plays were marked with the coarseness of the
time, and his best were "The Country Wife" (1675) and the "Plain Dealer"
(1677); married the Countess of Drogheda for her fortune, a legacy which
cost him only lawsuits and imprisonment for debt; succeeded to his
paternal estate when he was an old man; married again, and died
immediately after (1640-1715).
WYCLIFFE, JOHN. See Wicliffe.
WYCOMBE, HIGH (13), a market-town in Buckinghamshire, on the Wye, 25
m. SE. of Oxford; has a parish church built in the Norman style in 1273
and restored in 1887, and several public buildings; the manufacture of
chairs, lace, and straw-plait among the leading industries.
WYE, a lovely winding river in South Wales, which rises near the
source of the Severn on Plinlimmon, and falls into its estuary at
Chepstow, 125 m. from its head; rapid in its course at first, it becomes
gentler as it gathers volume; barges ascend it as far as Hereford, but a
high tidal wave makes navigation dangerous at its mouth.
WYKEHAM, WILLIAM OF, bishop of Winchester, born in Hampshire of
humble parentage; was patronised by the governor of Winchester Castle and
introduced by him to Edward III., who employed him to superintend the
rebuilding of Windsor Castle, and by-and-by made him Privy Seal and Lord
Chancellor, though he fell into disgrace towards the close of Edward's
reign; was restored to favour in Richard II.'s reign and once more made
Chancellor; in his later years he founded the New College, Oxford, built
and endowed St. Mary's College, Winchester, and rebuilt the cathedral
there. He was less of a theologian than an architect; was disparagingly
spoken of by John Wickliffe as a "builder of castles," and his favourite
motto was, "Manners make the man"; (1324-1404).
WYNNAD, a highland district in the Western Ghâts, Madras Presidency,
with extensive coffee plantations, and a wide distribution of auriferous
quartz rock, the working of which has been on an extravagant scale, and
has involved the loss of much capital.
WYNTOUN, ANDREW OF, Scottish chronicler; lived at the end of the
14th and beginning of the 15th centuries; was canon regular of St.
Andrews and prior of St. Serf, Lochleven; the subject of his "Original
Chronicle," as he calls it, was Scottish history, introduced by foreign
from the creation downwards, and it was written in verse that can hardly
be called poetry; it is of value historically and interesting
philologically, and consists of nine books or cantos; it is to him we owe
"When Alexander our King was dead."
WYOMING (60), a North-West State of the American Union, chiefly on
the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, an elevated region about three
times the area of Ireland and a comparatively sparse population, settled
principally along the line of the Union Pacific Railway; it has a very
rugged surface, and abounds in deep cañons and frowning precipices, the
lakes also are deep, and there are immense geysers, one, the Great
Geyser, throwing up a volume of water 300 ft. high; it is rich in
minerals, yields good crops of various grains, rears large herds of
horses and cattle, as well as game on its moors, and trout and salmon in
its rivers. See YELLOWSTONE PARK.
WYOMING VALLEY, a fertile valley in Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna
River, 20 m. long by 5 broad; it was the scene of a series of contests
between rival settlers, when the last of them were set upon by an
invading force, forced to surrender, and either massacred or driven forth
from the valley; Campbell's "Gertrude of Wyoming" relates to this last
disaster.
WYSS, JOHANN RUDOLF, Swiss littérateur, born at Bern, professor of
Philosophy there; the author of the "Swiss Family Robinson," on which
alone his title to fame rests (1781-1830).
WYVERN, a heraldic device in shape of a dragon with expanded wings,
with only two legs and the pointed tail of a scorpion.
X
XANTHUS, principal city in ancient Lycia, on a river of the same
name, celebrated for its temples and works of art; sustained two sieges,
the last of which terminated in the self-destruction of its inhabitants;
ruins of it exist, and are Cyclopean; also the name of a river in the
Troad, called also the Scamander.
XANTIPPE, the name of the wife of Socrates, a woman of a peevish and
shrewish disposition, the subject of exaggerated gossip in Athens, to the
exaltation of the temper of her husband, which it never ruffled. She is
quaintly described by an old English writer as "a passing shrewde,
curste, and wayward woman, wife to the pacient and wise philosopher
Socrates."
XAVIER, ST. FRANCIS, a Jesuit missionary, styled usually the
"Apostle of the Indies," born, of a noble family, in the north of Spain;
a student of Sainte Barbe in Paris, he took to philosophy, became
acquainted with Ignatius Loyola, and was associated with him in the
formation of the Jesuit Society; was sent in 1541, under sanction of the
Pope, by John III. of Portugal to Christianise India, and arrived at Goa
in 1542, from whence he extended his missionary labours to the Eastern
Archipelago, Ceylon, and Japan, in which enterprises they were attended
with signal success; on his return to Goa in 1552 he proceeded to
organise a mission to China, in which he experienced such opposition and
so many difficulties that on his way to carry on his work there he
sickened and died; he was buried at Goa; beatified by Paul V. in 1619,
and canonised by Gregory XV. in 1622 (1506-1552).
XEBEC, a small three-masted vessel with lateen and square sails,
used formerly in the Mediterranean by the Algerine pirates, and mounted
with guns.
XENIEN, the name, derived from Martial, of a series of stinging
epigrams issued at one time by Goethe and Schiller, which created a great
sensation and gave offence to many, causing "the solemn empire of dulness
to quake from end to end."
XENOCRATES, an ancient philosopher and a disciple of Plato, born in
Chalcedon, and a successor of Plato's in the Academy as head of it; _d_.
314 B.C.
XENOPHANES, the founder of the Eleatic school of philosophy, born in
Asia Minor; was the first to enunciate the doctrine "all is one," but
"without specifying," says SCHWEGLER, "whether this unity was
intellectual or moral.... Aristotle says he called God the one." See
ELEATICS.
XENOPHON, historian, philosopher, and military commander, born at
Athens, son of an Athenian of good position; was a pupil and friend of
Socrates; joined the expedition of Cyrus against his brother Artaxerxes,
and on the failure of it conducted the ten thousand Greeks--"the Retreat
of the Ten Thousand"--who went up with him back to the Bosphorus, served
afterwards in several military adventures, brought himself under the ban
of his fellow-citizens in Athens, and retired to Elis, where he spent 20
years of his life in the pursuits of country life and in the prosecution
of literature; the principal of his literary works, which it appears have
all come down to us, are the "Anabasis," being an account in seven books
of the expedition of Cyrus and his own conduct of the retreat; the
"Memorabilia," in four books, being an account of the life and teaching
and in defence of his master Socrates; the "Helenica," in seven books,
being an account of 49 years of Grecian history in continuation of
Thucydides to the battle of Mantinea; and "Cyropædeia," in eight books,
being an ideal account of the education of Cyrus the Elder. Xenophon
wrote pure Greek in a plain, perspicuous, and unaffected style, had an
eye to the practical in his estimate of things, and professed a sincere
belief in a divine government of the world (435-354 B.C.).
XERES (61), a town in Spain, 14 m. NE. of Cadiz, a well-built, busy
town, and the centre of the trade in sherry wine, which takes its name
from it, and of which there are large stores.
XERXES, a king of Persia, son of Darius I., whom he succeeded on the
throne in 485 B.C.; in his ambition to subdue Greece, which, after
suppressing a revolt in Egypt, he in 481 essayed to do with an immense
horde of men both by sea and land, he with his army crossed the
Hellespont by means of a bridge of boats, was checked for a time at
Thermopylæ by Leonidas and his five hundred, advanced to Athens to see
his fleet destroyed at Salamis by Themistocles, fled at the sight by the
way he came, and left Mardonius with 300,000 men to carry out his
purpose, but, as it happened, to suffer defeat on the fatal field of
Platæa in 479, and the utter annihilation of all his hopes; the rest of
his life he spent in obscurity, and he was assassinated in 465 by
Artabanus, the captain of his bodyguard, after a reign of 20 years.
XESIBELAND, a region in South Africa lying between Griqualand East
and Pondoland; was annexed to Cape Colony in 1886.
XIMENES DE CISNEROS, FRANCISCO, cardinal and statesman, born in
Castile, of a poor but noble family; studied at Salamanca and went to
Rome, where he gained favour with the Pope, who appointed him to the
first vacant ecclesiastical preferment in Spain, as the result of which
he in 1495 became archbishop of Toledo, but not till he was 60 years of
age; in 10 years after this he became regent of Spain, and conducted the
affairs of the kingdom with consummate ability. He was a severe man, and
he was careful to promote what he considered the best and highest
interests of the nation; but he was narrow-minded, and did often more
harm than good; he was intolerant of heresy such as the Church deemed it
to be, and contrived by his policy to confer more than sovereign rights
upon the crown. He was to Spain pretty much what Richelieu was to France.
XINGU, a river in Brazil, which rises in the heart of the country,
and after a course of 1300 m. falls into the Amazon 210 m. W. of Pará.
XUCAR or JUCAR, a river of Valencia, in Spain, which rises near
the source of the Tagus, and after a course of 317 m. falls diminished
into the Mediterranean, most of its water having been drained off for
purposes of irrigation in connection with orange-gardens on its way,
gardens which yield, it is said, 20 millions of oranges a year.
Y
YABLONOI MOUNTAINS, a range of mountains which extend NE. from the
Altai chain, and run S. of Lake Baikal, near the frontier of China,
dividing the basin of the Amur from that of the Lena.
YACU-MAMA, a fabulous marine monster, said to haunt the lagoons of
the Amazon, and to suck into its mouth and swallow whatever comes within
a hundred yards of it; before bathing in a lagoon, where he apprehends
its presence, the Indian sounds a horn, the effect of which is to make it
reveal itself if it is there.
YAHOO, name of a race of brutes, subject to the Houyhuhnms (q. v.),
in "Gulliver's Travels," with the form and all the vices of men.
YAJUR-VEDA, one of the books of the VEDAS (q. v.),
containing the prescribed formulæ in connection with sacrifices.
YAKSHA, a species of gnome in the Hindoo mythology.
YAKUTSK (5), a capital town in East Siberia, on a branch of the
Lena; occupied chiefly by traders in furs, hides, &c.; is said to be the
coldest town in the world.
YALE UNIVERSITY, a well-equipped university at New Haven,
Connecticut, U.S., founded in 1701, which derives its name from Elihu
Yale, a Boston man, and which was given to it in recognition of his
benefactions; it occupies a square in the heart of the city, has a staff
of 70 professors, besides tutors and lecturers, also 1200 students, and a
library of 200,000 volumes; the faculties include arts, medicine, law,
theology, fine arts, and music, while the course of study extends over
four years.
YAMA, in the Hindu mythology "a solar hero who rules over the dead;
might have lived as an immortal, but chose to die; was the first to
traverse the road from which there is no return, tracing it for future
generations; in the remotest extremity of the heavens, the abode of light
and the eternal waters, he reigns in peace and in union with
VARUNA (q. v.); there by the sound of his flute, under the
branches of the mythic tree, he assembles around him the dead who have
lived nobly, they reach him in a crowd, convoyed by AGNI (q. v.),
grimly scanned as they pass by two monstrous dogs that are the
guardians of the road."
YAMBO or YAMBU, the port of Medina, in Arabia, on the Red Sea.
YANAON (5), a small patch of territory belonging to France, on the
Godavery, enclosed in the British province of Madras, India.
YANG-TSZE-KIANG, or the Blue, or Great, River, the largest river in
China and in the East; rises in the plateau of Tibet, and after a course
of 3200 m., draining and irrigating great part of China by the way, falls
by a wide estuary into the Yellow Sea, terminating near Shanghai; it has
numerous tributaries, some of great length, and is of great value to the
country as a waterway; it is navigable 1000 m. from its mouth, and at
Hankow, 700 m. up, is a mile in width.
YANKEE, slang name for a New Englander; applied in England to the
citizens of the United States generally; it is of uncertain derivation.
YAPURA, an affluent of the Amazon, which rises in Columbia; has a
course of 1750 m., and is navigable to steamers for 970 m.
YARKAND (60), the capital or chief city of Eastern Turkestan, 100 m.
SE. of Kashgar; is in the centre of a very fertile district of the vast
continental basin of Central Asia, abounding also in large stores of
mineral wealth; it is a great emporium of trade, and the inhabitants are
mostly Mohammedans.
YARMOUTH (49), a seaport, fishing town, and watering-place of
Norfolk, 20½ m. E. of Norwich and some 2 m. above the mouth of the Yare;
is the principal seat of the English herring fishery, and is famous for
its herrings, known as bloaters; it has a fine roadstead called Yarmouth
Roads, a safe anchorage for ships, being protected by sandbanks; has a
number of public buildings, in particular a parish church, one of the
largest in England, and a fine marine parade.
YARRELL, WILLIAM, naturalist, born at Westminster; wrote "History of
British Fishes" and "History of British Birds" (1784-1856).
YARROW, a famous Scottish stream which rises on the confines of the
shires of Peebles, Dumfries, and Selkirk, passes NE. through the Loch of
the Lowes and St. Mary's Loch, and joins the Ettrick 2 m. above Selkirk
after a course of 25 m.
YATES, EDMUND, journalist, founded _The World_ newspaper; wrote a
supremely interesting "Autobiography" (1831-1894).
YEDDO. See TOKYO.
YELLOW SEA, or WHANG-HAI, an inlet of the Pacific, on the NE.
coast of China, bounded on the E. by the Corea, including in the NW. the
Gulf of Pechili, some 600 m. long, and its average breadth 300 m.; is
very shallow, and gradually silting up owing to the quantity of alluvium
brought down by the rivers which fall into it.
YELLOWSTONE, THE, a river which rises in the NW. of WYOMING
(q. v.), and falls into the Missouri as one of its chief tributaries
after a course of 1300 m.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, a high-lying tract of land in the State
of WYOMING (q. v.) traversed by the Yellowstone, about the size
of Kent, being a square about 75 m. in diameter; is set apart by Congress
as a great pleasure ground in perpetuity for the enjoyment of the people;
it abounds in springs and geysers, and care is taken that it be preserved
for the public benefit, to the exclusion of all private right or liberty.
YEMEN (3,000), a province in the SW. of Arabia, bounded on the N. by
Hedjaz, bordering on the Red Sea, and forming the Arabia Felix of the
ancients; about 400 m. in length and 150 m. in breadth; it is a highly
fertile region, and yields tropical and sub-tropical fruits, in
particular coffee, dates, gums, spices, and wheat.
YENIKALE or KERTCH, a strait 20 m. long, connecting the Sea of
Azov with the Black Sea.
YENISEI, a river which rises in the mountainous region that borders
the plateau of Gobi, its head-waters collecting in Lake Baikal, and after
a course of 3200 m. through the centre of Siberia, falls by a long
estuary or gulf into the Arctic Ocean; it is the highway of a region rich
in both mineral and vegetable products, the traffic on which is
encouraged by privileges and bounties to the trader at the hands of the
Russian government.
YENISEISK (8), a town of East Siberia, on the Yenisei, in a province
of the name, and a centre of trade in it.
YEOMANRY, name given to a cavalry volunteer force the members of
which provide their own horses and uniforms, with a small allowance from
the Government, which is increased when called out.
YEOMEN, a name given in England to a class of freeholders next in
rank to the gentry, and to certain functionaries in royal households.
YEOMEN OF THE GUARD, a body of old soldiers of soldierly presence,
employed on ceremonial occasions in conjunction with the
gentlemen-at-arms, as the bodyguard of the British sovereign; they were
constituted in 1485, and number besides officers 100 men; the Beef-eaters,
as they are called, are the wardens of the Tower, and are a different
corps.
YEOVIL (9), a town in Somerset, 4 m. S. of Bristol, is in the centre
of an agricultural district, and the staple industry is glove-making.
YETHOLM, a village of Roxburghshire, 7 m. SE. of Kelso; consists of
two parts, Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm, the latter of which has for two
centuries been the head-quarters of the gypsies in Scotland.
YEZD (40), a town in an oasis, surrounded by a desert, in the centre
of Persia, 230 m. SE. of Ispahân; a place of commercial importance;
carries on miscellaneous manufactures.
YEZIDEES, a small nation bordering on the Euphrates, whose religion
is a mixture of devil worship and Ideas derived from the Magi, the
Mohammedans, and the Christians.
YEZO or YESSO, the northernmost of the four large islands of
Japan, is about as large as Ireland; is traversed from N. to S. by rugged
mountains, several of them active volcanoes; is rich in minerals, and
particularly coal; its rivers swarm with salmon, but the climate is
severe, and it is only partially settled.
YGGDRASIL. See IGGDRASIL.
YIDDISH, a kind of mongrel language spoken by foreign Jews in
England.
YMIR, a giant in the Norse mythology, slain by the gods, and out of
whose carcass they constructed the world, his blood making the sea, his
flesh the land, his bones the rocks, his eyebrows Asgard, the
dwelling-place of the gods, his skull the vault of the firmament, and his
brains the clouds.
YNIOL, an earl of Arthurian legend, the father of Enid, who was
ousted from his earldom by his nephew the "Sparrow-Hawk," but who, when
overthrown, was compelled to restore it to him.
YOGA, in the Hindu philosophy a state of soul, emancipation from
this life and of union with the divine, achieved by a life of asceticism
and devout meditation; or the system of instruction or discipline by
which it is achieved.
YOGIN, among the Hindus one who has achieved his _yoga_, over whom
nothing perishable has any longer power, for whom the laws of nature no
longer exist, who is emancipated from this life, so that death even will
add nothing to his bliss, it being his final deliverance or _Nirvâna_, as
the Buddhists would say.
YOKOHAMA (130), principal port of entry of Japan, 18 m. SW. of Tokyo
(q. v.), situated in a spacious bay, the centre of trade with the West
and the head-quarters of foreign trade generally; foreigners are
numerous, and the exports include silk, tea, cotton, flax, tobacco, &c.
YOKUBA (150), the largest town in Sokoto, in the Lower Soudan, with
a large trade in cotton, tobacco, and indigo.
YONGE, CHARLOTTE MARY, popular novelist, born at Otterbourne, Hants;
has written "Cameos of History of England," "Landmarks of History," &c.;
has edited the _Monthly Packet_ for 30 years; _b_. 1823.
YONI, a Hindu symbol of the female principle in nature, and as such
an object of worship. See LINGA.
YONKERS (48), a city of New York, U.S., on the Hudson River. 15 m.
N. of New York; has factories of various kinds, and some beautiful villas
occupied by New York merchants.
YONNE (344), a department of the NE. of France, watered by the
Yonne, a tributary of the Seine, with forests and vineyards which yield
large quantities of wine.
YORICK, a jester at the court of Denmark, whose skull Hamlet
apostrophises in the churchyard; also a sinister jester in "Tristram
Shandy."
YORK (67), the county town of Yorkshire, situated at the confluence
of the Foss with the Ouse, 188 m. N. of London and 22 m. NE. of Leeds; is
an interesting historic town, the seat of an archbishop, and a great
railway centre; known among the Romans as Eboracum, it was the centre of
the Roman power in the North, relics of which as such still remain; its
cathedral, known as the Minster, is one of the grandest in England; it is
built on the site of a church erected as early as the 7th century, and
was finished as it now exists in 1470; it is 524 ft. in length, and the
transepts 250 ft., the breadth of the nave 140 ft., the height of the
central tower 216 ft., and of the western one 201 ft. There are other
buildings of great antiquity, and the Guildhall dates from the 15th
century. It is the military head-quarters of the northern district of
England.
YORK, CARDINAL, the last of the line of the Stuart royal family, who
died in 1807, 19 years after his brother Charles Edward.
YORK, DUKE OF, title often given to the second son of the English
sovereign, and conferred in 1892 upon Prince George, second son of the
Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VII.), and held by him till 1901.
In that year the Duke and Duchess visited Australia, in order to
inaugurate the new Commonwealth. Henry VIII. and Charles I. were Dukes of
York, while their elder brothers were alive, and James II., till he
became King.
YORKE, OLIVER, the name assumed by the editor of _Fraser's Magazine_
when it first started.
YORKSHIRE (3,208), the largest county in England, is divided into
three Ridings (i. e. thirdings or thirds) for administrative purposes,
North, East, and West, with a fourth called the Ainsty, under the
jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor and aldermen of York; of these the West is
the wealthiest and the most populous; contains a large coal-field, and is
the centre of the woollen manufacture of the county; the East being
mainly agricultural, with iron-works and shipbuilding-works; and the
North mainly pastoral, with industries connected with mining and
shipping. LEEDS (q. v.) is the largest town.
YORKTOWN, a small town in Virginia, U.S., on the York River, where
Lord Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in 1781.
YOSEMITE VALLEY, the most remarkable gorge in the world, in the
centre of California, 140 m. E. of San Francisco, 6 m. long and from ½ to
24 m. broad, girt by perpendicular walls thousands of feet deep and
traversed by the river Merced in a succession of falls of great height,
the whole presenting a scene of mingled grandeur and beauty; it was
discovered in 1851, and steps are being taken by Congress to preserve it
as a place of public resort and recreation.
YOUGHAL, a seaport in co. Cork, on the estuary of Blackwater, 27 m.
E. of Cork; has some structures of interest, and exports chiefly
agricultural produce.
YOUNG, ARTHUR, writer on agriculture, born at Whitehall; was trained
to mercantile life, which he abandoned in disgust, and took to farming,
which he studied at home and abroad and practised on scientific lines,
and became Secretary of the Board of Agriculture on its establishment in
1793; he elevated agriculture to the rank of a science and imparted
dignity to the pursuit of it (1741-1820).
YOUNG, BRIGHAM, Mormon polygamist chief, born at Whittingham,
Vermont, U.S., son of a small farmer; had no schooling, wrought as
carpenter, fell in with Joe Smith's brother, and embraced Mormonism in
1832; became one of the apostles of the Church and a preacher, and
finally the head in 1851 after the settlement of the body at Utah; with
all his fanaticism he was a worldly-wise man and a wise manager of
secular affairs; died rich, leaving his fortune to 17 wives and 56
children (1810-1877).
YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE, tragedian, born in London, made his _début_ in
1798; married in 1805 a gifted young actress, Julia Anne Grimani, with
whom he had often played in lover's parts, and whom, after a brilliant
partnership of 16 months on the stage together, he the year after lost in
giving birth to a son; he survived her 50 years, but the love with which
he loved her never faded from his heart; appeared in the Haymarket,
London, in 1807 in the character of Hamlet; played afterwards other
Shakespearian characters, such as Iago, Macbeth, and Falstaff in Covent
Garden and Drury Lane, and took leave of the stage in 1832 in the same
character in which he first appeared on it in London, and died at
Brighton (1777-1856).
YOUNG, EDWARD, poet, born in Hampshire, educated at Westminster
School; studied at Corpus Christi, Oxford, and obtained a Fellowship at
All-Souls' College; wrote plays and satires, but is best known to fame as
the author of "Night Thoughts," which has been pronounced "his best work
and his last good work," a poem which was once in high repute, and is
less, if at all, in favour to-day, being written in a mood which is a
strain upon the reader; it is "a little too declamatory," says Professor
Saintsbury, "a little too suggestive of soliloquies in an inky cloak,
with footlights in front"; his "Revenge," acted in 1721, is pronounced by
the professor to be "perhaps the very last example of an acting tragedy
of real literary merit"; his satires in the "Love of Fame; or, The
Universal Passion," almost equalled those of Pope, and brought him both
fame and fortune; he took holy orders in 1727, and became in 1730 rector
of Welwyn, in Hertfordshire; his flattery of his patrons was fulsome, and
too suggestive of the toady (1681-1765).
YOUNG, JAMES, practical chemist, born in Glasgow; discovered cheap
methods of producing certain substances of value in the chemical arts,
and made experiments which led to the manufacture of paraffin
(1811-1889).
YOUNG, ROBERT, a notorious impostor; forged certificates, and
obtained deacons' orders and curacies, and could by no penalty be
persuaded to an honest life, and was hanged in the end for coining in
1700.
YOUNG, THOMAS, physicist, born in Somersetshire, of Quaker parents;
studied medicine at home and abroad; renounced Quakerism, and began
practice in London in 1800; was next year appointed professor of Natural
Philosophy in the Royal Institution, 1802; made Secretary of the Royal
Society, and was afterwards nominated for other important appointments;
his principal work is a "Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the
Mechanical Arts," published in 1807, in which he propounded the
undulatory theory of light, and the principle of the interference of
rays; the hieroglyphic inscriptions of Egypt occupied much of his
attention, and he is credited with having anticipated Champollion in
discovering the key to them (1773-1829).
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, an association founded in London
in 1844, for the benefit of young men connected with various dry-goods
houses in the city, and which extended itself over the other particularly
large cities throughout the country, so that now it is located in 1249
centres, and numbers in London alone some 14,000 members; its object is
the welfare of young men at once spiritually, morally, socially, and
physically.
YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR, a society established
in 1881 by Dr. F. E. Clark, Portland, Maine, U.S., in 1898; has a
membership of three and a quarter million; it is undenominational, but
evangelical apparently, and its professed object is "to promote an
earnest Christian life among its members, to increase their mutual
acquaintanceship, and to make them more useful in the service of God."
YOUNGSTOWN (45), a town in Ohio, U.S., with large iron factories;
is in the heart of a district rich in iron and coal.
YPRES (16), an old Belgian town in West Flanders, 30 m. SW. of
Bruges; was at one time a great weaving centre, and famous for its diaper
linen; has much fallen off, though it retains a town-hall and a
cathedral, both of Gothic architecture in evidence of what it once was;
it was strongly fortified once, and has been subjected to many sieges;
the manufacture of thread and lace is now the most important industry.
YRIARTE, CHARLES, French littérateur, born in Paris, of Spanish
ancestry; has written works dealing with Spain, Paris, the Franco-German
War, Venice, &c.; _b_. 1832.
YRIARTE, THOMAS DE, Spanish poet; studied at Madrid; was editor of
the _Madrid Mercury_; his principal works "Musica," a poem, and "Literary
Fables" (1750-1790).
YSTAD, a seaport in the extreme S. of Sweden, with a commodious
harbour, and a trade chiefly in corn.
YSTRADYFODWG (88), a township in Glamorgan, in a rich mining
district.
YTTRIUM, a rare metal always found in combination with others, and
is a blackish-gray powder; the oxide of it, yttria, is a soft whitish
powder, and when ignited glows with a pure white light.
YUCATAN, a peninsula in Central America dividing the Gulf of Mexico
from the Caribbean Sea, and one of the few peninsulas of the world that
extend northwards; is a flat expanse; has a good climate and a fertile
soil, yielding maize, rice, tobacco, indigo, &c.; abounds in forests of
valuable wood; forms one of the States of the Mexican Republic; it bears
traces of early civilisation in the ruins of temples and other edifices.
YUGA, a name given by the Hindus to the four ages of the world, and,
according to M. Barth, of the gradual triumph of evil, as well as of the
successive creations and destructions of the universe, following each
other in the lapse of immense periods of time.
YUKON, a great river of Alaska, rises in British territory, and
after a course of 2000 m. falls, by a number of mouths forming a delta,
into the Behring Sea; it is navigable nearly throughout, and its waters
swarm with salmon three months in the year, some of them from 80 to 120
lbs. weight, and from 5 to 6 ft. long.
YULE, the old name for the festival of Christmas, originally a
heathen one, observed at the winter solstice in joyous recognition of
the return northward of the sun at that period, being a relic in the N.
of the old sun worship.
YULE, SIR HENRY, Orientalist, born at Inveresk, Mid-Lothian; was an
officer in Bengal Engineers, and engaged in surveys in the East; was
president of the Royal Asiatic Society; wrote numerous articles for
Asiatic societies; his two great works, "The Book of Marco Polo the
Venetian" and the "Anglo-Indian Glossary," known by its other title as
"Hobson Jobson" (1820-1889).
YUMBOES, fairies in African mythology, represented as about two feet
in height, and of a white colour.
YUNG-LING, a mountain range running N. and S., which forms the
eastern buttress of the tableland of Central Asia.
YUNNAN (4,000), the extreme south-western province of the Chinese
Empire; is fertile particularly in the S.; yields large quantities of
maize, rice, tobacco, sugar, and especially opium, and abounds in mineral
wealth, including gold, silver, mercury, as well as iron, copper, and
lead; the country was long a prey to revolt against the Chinese rule, but
it is now, after a war of extermination against the rebels, the Panthays,
the Burmese, reduced to order.
YUSTE, ST., called also St. Just, a village in Estremadura, Spain,
the seat of a monastery where Charles V., Emperor of Germany, spent the
last 18 years of his life, and where he died.
YVES, the patron-saint of lawyers; was a lawyer himself, and used
his knowledge of the law to defend the oppressed; is called in Brittany
"the poor man's advocate."
YVETOT (7), an old town in the dep. of Seine-Inférieure, 24 m. NW.
of Rouen, with manufactures of textile fabrics, and a trade in
agricultural produce, the seigneurs of which long bore the title of king,
"Roi d'Yvetot," a title satirically applied by Béranger to Napoleon, and
often employed to denote an insignificant potentate with large
pretensions.
Z
ZAANDAM or SAARDAM (15), a town in North Holland, 5 m. NW. of
Amsterdam; intersected with a network of canals, with various
manufactures, including shipbuilding, and a considerable trade; it was
here Peter the Great wrought as a ship carpenter in 1699, and the house
is still preserved in which he lived, with a stone tablet inscribed
"Petro Magno Alexievitch."
ZABISM. See SABIANISM.
ZACATE`CAS (40), a town of Mexico, capital of an inland province of
the same name (452), 440 m. NW. of Mexico City; a great silver-mining
centre, an industry which employs over 10,000 of the inhabitants; it is
in a valley over 6000 ft. above the sea-level, and has several fine
churches, a college, a mint, &c.
ZACHARIAS, Pope from 741 to 752; succeeded Gregory III.; set aside
the Merovingian dynasty and sanctioned the elevation of Pepin the Short
to the throne of France, in return for which Pepin twice over saved Rome
from the Lombards.
ZACOCCIA, a king of Mozambique who, according to the LUSIAD
(q. v.), received Vasco da Gama with welcome, believing him to be a
Mohammedan, but conceived feelings of bitterest hatred to him when he
discovered he was a Christian, and tried, but all in vain, to allure him
to his ruin; the agent he employed to compass it failing, in his despair
he took away his own life.
ZADIG, name of a famous novel by Voltaire, of a philosophical cast,
bearing upon life as in the hands of a destiny beyond our control.
ZADKIEL, according to the Rabbins, the name of the angel of the
planet Jupiter; also pseudonym assumed by Richard James Morrison, a naval
officer, believer in astrology, and the compiler of an astrological
almanac.
ZAGAZIG (35), a town in the Delta of Egypt, 50 m. NE. of Cairo; a
railway centre, and entrepôt for the cotton and grain grown in the
section of the delta round it, and once a centre of worship, and the site
of two temples; Tel-el-Kebir (q. v.) lies E. of it.
ZAHN, THEODOR, biblical scholar, born in Rhenish Prussia, professor
of Theology at Erlangen; distinguished for his eminent scholarship in
connection with the matter especially of the New Testament canon; _b_.
1838.
ZÄHRINGEN, a village 2 m. N. of Freiburg, in Baden, with a castle
now in ruins which gives name to the reigning grand-ducal family of
Baden, the founders of which were counts of Breisgau.
ZAIRE, name for the CONGO (q. v.) in part of its lower
course.
ZAKKUM, a tree, according to Moslem belief, growing in hell, and of
the bitter fruit of which the damned are compelled to eat so as to
intensify their torment.
ZALEUCUS, law-giver of the ancient Locrians, a Greek people settled
in Lower Italy, and who flourished in 700th century B.C.; had a supreme
respect for law, and was severe in the enforcement of it; punished
adultery with the forfeiture of sight; refused to exonerate his own son
who had been guilty of the offence, but submitted to the loss of one of
his own eyes instead of exacting the full penalty of the culprit; had
established a law forbidding any one to enter the Senate-house armed; did
so himself on one occasion in a sudden emergency, was reminded of the
law, and straightway fell upon his sword as a sacrifice to the
sovereignty of the claims of social order.
ZAMA, a fortified city of ancient Numidea, 100 m. SW. of Carthage,
where HANNIBAL (q. v.) was defeated by Scipio Africanus, and the
SECOND PUNIC WAR (q. v.) brought to an end, and the fate of
Carthage virtually sealed.
ZAMBESI, one of the four great African rivers, and the fourth
largest as regards both the volume of its waters and the area it drains,
the other three being the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger; its
head-streams being the Lungebungo, the Leeba, and Leeambye; it waters a
rich pastoral region, and it falls into the Indian Ocean after a course
of nearly 1600 m., in which it drains 600,000 sq. m. of territory, or an
area three times larger than that of France; owing to cataracts and
rapids it is only navigable in different stretches; at 900 m. from its
mouth it plunges in a cataract known as the Victoria Falls, and which
rivals in grandeur those even of Niagara.
ZAMBESIA, a territory on the Zambesi, under British protection, and
in the hands of the British South Africa Company, embracing Mashonaland,
Matabeleland, and the country of Khama.
ZAMORA (15), ancient town of Spain, on the right bank of the Douro,
150 m. NW. of Madrid; now in a decayed state; was a flourishing place in
Moorish times; contains interesting ruins; manufactures linens and
woollens, and trades in wine and fruits.
ZANGWILL, ISRAEL, littérateur, born in London, of Jewish parents in
poor circumstances; practically self-taught; studied at London
University, where he took his degree with triple honours; became a
teacher, then a journalist; has written novels, essays, and poems; among
his works the "Bachelor's Club," "Old Maid's Club," "Children of the
Ghetto," "Dreams of the Ghetto," "The Master," "Without Prejudice," &c.;
_b_. 1854.
ZANGWILL, LOUIS, man of letters, brother of preceding; self-taught;
has written several works under the pseudonym of ZZ; distinguished
himself at one time as a chess-player; _b_. 1869.
ZANTE (15), one of the Ionian Islands, 9 m. off the NW. coast of the
Morea, is 24 m. long and 12 broad; raises currants, the produce of a
dwarf vine, and exports large quantities annually. Zante (14), the
capital, on a bay on the E. coast, is a clean and prosperous town, most
so of any in the group of islands.
ZANZIBAR, a kingdom of East Africa, under British protection,
consisting of the islands of Zanzibar (150), with a capital (30) of the
same name, and the island of Pemba (50), and a strip of the coast
extending 10 m. inland from Cape Delgado to Kipini; has a hot unhealthy
climate, and a rich tropical vegetation; its products are cloves chiefly,
coco-nuts, betel-nuts, and grain, and the exports ivory, india-rubber,
gum, &c.; the natives are mostly Arab Mohammedans under a sultan.
ZAPOROGIANS, Cossacks of the Ukraine, who revolted under Mazeppa as
chief, and were transported by Catherine II to the shores of the Sea of
Azov.
ZARA (11), the capital of Dalmatia, and a seaport of Austria, on a
promontory on the coast, 129 m. SE. of Trieste; it was founded by the
Venetians, has a spacious harbour, was strongly fortified, and the chief
manufactures are glass and a liqueur called maraschino.
ZARAGOZA. See SARAGOSSA.
ZEA, the ancient Ceos, an island of the Grecian Archipelago; of
great fertility; produces wine, honey, silk, and maize.
ZEALAND, the largest island in the Danish Archipelago, situated
between the Cattegat and the Baltic, being 81 m. long and 67 m. broad,
with COPENHAGEN (q. v.) on the E. coast; the surface is nearly
everywhere fiat, and agriculture and cattle-rearing the chief industries.
ZEALAND (213), a province of the Netherlands, formed chiefly of
islands, of which WALCHEREN (q. v.) is one, constituting a delta
as if formed by the Maas and Scheldt; great part of it is reclaimed from
the sea.
ZEALAND, NEW. See NEW ZEALAND.
ZEALOTS, THE, a fanatical party among the Jews in Judea, who rose in
revolt against the Roman domination on the appointment over them of a
Roman governor instead of a native prince, which they regarded as an
insult to their religion and religious belief.
ZEBU, one of the Visaya group of the Philippine Islands, E. of
Negros.
ZECHARIAH, a Hebrew prophet who appears to have been born in Babylon
during the captivity, and to have prophesied in Jerusalem at the time of
the restoration, and to have contributed by his prophecies to encourage
the people in rebuilding the temple and reorganising its worship; his
prophecies are divided into two great sections, but the authenticity of
the latter has been much debated; he is reckoned one of the Minor
Prophets.
ZEDLITZ, JOSEPH CHRISTIAN VON, poet, born in Austrian Silesia;
entered and served in the army, and did service as a diplomatist; wrote
dramas and lyrics, and translated Byron's "Childe Harold" into German
(1790-1862).
ZEEHAN, a township of recent growth on the W. coast of Tasmania,
with large silver-lead mines wrought by several companies, and a source
of great wealth.
ZEIT-GEIST (i. e. Time-spirit), German name for the spirit of the
time, or the dominant trend of life and thought at any particular period.
ZEITUN (20), a town in the province of Aleppo, with iron mines,
inhabited chiefly by Armenian Christians; distinguished as having for
centuries maintained their independence under Turkish oppression.
ZELLER, EDUARD, German professor of Philosophy, born in Würtemberg;
studied at Tübingen; was first a disciple of Baur, and then of Hegel;
became professor at Berlin, and devoted himself chiefly to the history of
Greek philosophy, and distinguished himself most in that regard; _b_.
1814.
ZEMINDAR, in India a holder or farmer of land from the government,
and responsible for the land-tax.
ZEM-ZEM, a sacred well in Mecca, and all built round along with the
CAABA (q. v.); has its name from the bubbling sound of the
waters; the Moslems think it the Well which Hagar found with her little
Ishmael in the wilderness when he was dying of thirst.
ZENANA, in India the part of a house reserved for the women among
Hindu families of good caste, and to which only since 1860 Christian
women missionaries have been admitted, and a freer intercourse
established.
ZEND, name applied, mistakenly it would seem, by the Europeans to
the ancient Iranian language of Persia, or the language in which the
Zend-Avesta is written, closely related to the Sanskrit of the Vedas it
appears.
ZEND-AVESTA, the name given to the sacred writings of the Guebres or
Parsees, ascribed to Zoroaster, of which he was more the compiler than
the author, and of which many are now lost; they represent several stages
of religious development, and as a whole yield no consistent system.
ZENITH, name of Arab origin given to the point of the heaven
directly overhead, being as it were the pole of the horizon, the opposite
point directly under foot being called the Nadir, a word of similar
origin; the imaginary line connecting the two passes through the centre
of the earth.
ZENO, Greek philosopher of the ELEATIC SCHOOL (q. v.), and
who flourished in 500 B.C.; was the founder of the dialectic so
successfully adopted by Socrates, which argues for a particular truth by
demonstration of the absurdity that would follow from its denial, a
process of argument known as the _reductio ad absurdum_.
ZENO, Greek philosopher, the founder of Stoic philosophy, born at
Citium, in Cyprus, son of a merchant and bred to merchandise, but losing
all in a shipwreck gave himself up to the study of philosophy; went to
Athens, and after posing as a cynic at length opened a school of his own
in the Stoa, where he taught to extreme old age a gospel called Stoicism,
which, at the decline of the heathen world, proved the stay of many a
noble soul that but for it would have died without sign, although it is
thus "Sartor," in the way of apostrophe, underrates it: "Small is it that
thou canst trample the Earth with its injuries under thy feet, as old
Greek Zeno trained thee; thou canst love the Earth while it injures thee,
and even because it injures thee; for this a Greater than Zeno was
needed, and he too was sent" (342-270 B.C.). See STOICS, THE.
ZENOBIA, queen of Palmyra and ultimately of the East, whose ambition
provoked the jealousy of the Emperor Aurelian, who marched an army
against her, and after a succession of defeats subdued her and brought
her to Rome to adorn his triumph as conqueror, though afterwards he
presented her with a domain at Tivoli, where she spent the rest of her
days in queen-like dignity, with her two sons by her side; she was a
woman of great courage and surpassing beauty. See LONGINUS.
ZEPHANIAH, a Hebrew prophet who prophesied in the interval between
the decline and fall of Nineveh and the hostile advance of Babylon;
forewarned the nation of the judgment of God impending over them for
their ungodliness, and exhorted them to repentance as the only way of
averting the inevitable doom, while he at the same time encouraged the
faithful to persevere in their godly course with the assurance that the
day of judgment would be succeeded by a day of glorious deliverance, that
they would yet become "a name and a praise among the people of the
earth."
ZEPHON (searcher of secrets), name of a cherub sent, along with
ITHURIEL (q. v.), by the archangel Gabriel to find out the
whereabouts of Satan after his flight from hell.
ZEPHYRUS, a personification in the Greek mythology of the West Wind,
and in love with Flora.
ZERMATT, a small village of the canton Valais, in Switzerland, 23
in. SW. of Brieg, a great centre of tourists and the starting-point in
particular for the ascent of the Matterhorn.
ZERO, a word of Arab origin signifying a cipher, and employed to
denote a neutral point in scale between an ascending and descending
series, or between positive and negative.
ZEUS, the chief deity of the Greeks, the sovereign ruler of the
world, the father of gods and men, the mightiest of the gods, and to
whose will as central all must bow; he was the son of Kronos and Rhea; by
the help of his brothers and sisters dethroned his father, seized the
sovereign power, and appointed them certain provinces of the universe to
administer in his name--Hera to rule with him as queen above, Poseidon
over the sea, Pluto over the nether world, Demeter over the fruits of the
earth, Hestia over social life of mankind; to his dynasty all the powers
in heaven and earth were more or less related, descended from it and
dependent on it; and he himself was to the Greeks the symbol of the
intelligence which was henceforth to be the life and light of men, an
idea which is reflected in the name Jupiter given him by the Romans,
which means "father of the day"; he is represented as having his throne
in heaven, and as wielding a thunderbolt in his right hand, in symbol of
the jealousy with which he guards the order of the world established
under him as chief.
ZEUSS, JOHANN KASPAR, great Celtic scholar, and the founder of
Celtic philology, born at Voghtendorf, in Upper Franconia, professor at
Bamberg; his great work, "Grammatica Celtica" (1806-1856).
ZEUXIS, famous Greek painter, born at Heraclea, and who flourished
from 420 B.C. to the close of the century; was unrivalled in rendering
types of sensuous, specially female, beauty, and his principal works are
his pictures of "Helen," "Zeus Enthroned," "The Infant Hercules
Strangling the Serpent"; he is said to have given away several of his
works rather than sell them, as no price could pay him for them.
ZIDON, an ancient town of Phoenicia, 20 m. N. of Tyre, and the
original capital.
ZIETHEN, JOHANN JOACHIM VON, Prussian general, born in Russia;
entered the army at the age of 15, served as a cavalry officer under
Frederick the Great, was one of the greatest of his generals, became his
personal friend, and contributed to a great many of his victories, all of
which he lived through, spending his days thereafter in quiet retirement
at Berlin in favour with the people and in honour to the last with the
king; is described by Carlyle at 45 as "beautiful" to him, though with
"face one of the coarsest," but "face thrice-honest, intricately ploughed
with thoughts which are well kept silent (the thoughts indeed being
themselves mostly inarticulate, thoughts of a simple-hearted,
much-enduring, hot-tempered son of iron and oatmeal); decidedly rather
likeable" (1699-1786). See Carlyle's "Frederick."
ZIG, a giant cock in the Talmud (q. v.), which stands with its
foot on the earth, touches heaven with its head, and when it spreads its
wings causes a total eclipse of the sun.
ZILLERTHAL, a valley in the Tyrol, watered by the Ziller, an
affluent of the Inn, some 400 of the inhabitants of which were in 1837
obliged to seek a home elsewhere because of their opposition to the
practice of auricular confession, and which they found near Liegnitz, in
Prussian Silesia.
ZIMBABYE, a remarkable ruin in Mashonaland, the remains apparently
of some enterprising colony of nature-worshippers that settled there in
ancient times, in the interest of trade presumably.
ZIMMERMANN, JOHAN GEORG VON, Swiss physician, born at Brugg, in the
canton of Bern; studied at Göttingen, became the friend of HALLER
(q. v.), and settled down to practice in his native town, where he
continued 16 years, very successful both in medicine and literature, but
"tormented with hypochondria," and wrote his book on "Solitude," which
was translated into every European language; wrote also on "Medical
Experiences," a famed book in its day too, also on "National Pride," and
became "famed throughout the universe"; attended Frederick the Great on
his deathbed, and wrote an unwise book about him, "a poor puddle of
calumnies and credulities" (1728-1795). For insight into the man and his
ways see CARLYLE'S "FREDERICK," a curious record.
ZINDIKITES, a Mohammedan heretical sect, who disbelieve in Allah,
and deny the resurrection and a future life.
ZINZENDORF, a German count, born in Dresden; studied at Wittenberg,
came under the influence of the Pietist Spener, gave himself up to
evangelical labours, and established a religious community on his estate
at Herrnhut, in Saxony, consisting chiefly of a body of Moravian
Brethren, who had been driven out of Bohemia and Moravia on account of
their religious opinions, and were called Herrnhuters, of which he became
one of the leaders and chief apostles, labouring far and wide in the
propagation of their doctrines and suffering no small persecution by the
way; he was an earnest man, the author of religious writings,
controversial and devotional; wrote a number of hymns, and died at
Herrnhut, from which he was driven forth, but to which he was allowed to
return before the end (1700-1760).
ZION, that one of the four hills on which Jerusalem is built, on the
SW. of the city, and the site of the palace of King David and his
successors.
ZIONISM, the name given a movement on the part of the Jews to
re-establish themselves in Palestine as a nation.
ZIRCONIA LIGHT, an intensely brilliant light, similar to the
Drummond light, but differing from it chiefly in the employment of cones
of zirconium instead of cylinders of lime; it has been superseded by the
electric light.
ZIRCONIUM, a metallic element often found in connection with silica,
commonly in the form of a black powder.
ZIRKNITZ, LAKE, a high-lying lake in Carniola, 20 m. SW. of Laybach,
the waters of which in the dry season will sometimes disappear altogether
through the fissures, and in rainy will sometimes expand into a lake 5 m.
long and 3 m. broad.
ZISKA, JOHANN, Hussite leader, born in Bohemia of a noble family;
began life as a page at the court of King Wenceslas, but threw up a
courtier's life in disgust for a career in arms; fought and distinguished
himself by his valour against the Teutonic knights at Tannenberg in 1410,
to their utter defeat; signalised himself afterwards against the Turks,
and in 1413 fought on the English side at Agincourt; failing to rouse
Wenceslas to avenge the death of HUSS (q. v.) and of JEROME
OF PRAGUE (q. v.), he joined the Hussites, organised their forces,
assumed the chief command, and in 1420 gained, with a force of 4000 men,
a victory over the Emperor Sigismund with an army of 40,000 mustered to
crush him; captured next year the castle of Prague, erected fortresses
over the country, one in particular called Tabor, whence the name
Taborites given to his party; blind of one eye from his childhood, lost
the other at the siege of Ratz, fought on blind notwithstanding, gaining
victory after victory, but was seized with the plague and carried off by
it at Czaslav, where his remains were buried and his big mace or
battle-club, mostly iron, hung honourably on the wall close by; that his
skin was tanned and made into the cover of a drum is a fable; he was a
tough soldier, and is called once and again in Carlyle's "Frederick"
"Rhinoceros Ziska" (1360-1424).
ZITTAU (25), a town of Saxony, 71 m. SE. of Dresden, with a
magnificent Rathhaus; stands on a vast lignite deposit; manufactures
cotton, linen, machinery, &c.
ZLATOUST (21), a Russian town near the Urals, 130 m. NE. of Ufa,
with iron and gold mines near; manufactures sword-blades and other steel
ware.
ZOAR, a small village of Ohio, U.S., 91 m. S. of Cleveland, and the
seat of a German Socialistic community.
ZÖCKLER, OTTO, German theologian, professor at Greifswald; edited a
"Handbuch der theologischen Wissenschaft," and other works; _b_. 1833.
ZODIAC, the name given to a belt of the heavens extending 8° on each
side of the ecliptic, composed of twelve constellations called signs of
the zodiac, which the sun traverses in the course of a year. These signs,
of which six are on the N. of the ecliptic and six on the S., are,
commencing with the former, named successively: Aries, the Ram; Taurus,
the Bull; Gemini, the Twins; Cancer, the Crab; Leo, the Lion; Virgo, the
Virgin; Libra, the Balance; Scorpio, the Scorpion; Sagittarius, the
Archer; Capricornus, the Goat; Aquarius, the Water-bearer; and Pisces,
the Fishes. The sun enters Aries at the spring equinox and Libra at the
autumnal equinox, while the first point of Cancer marks the summer
solstice, and that of Capricorn the winter. The name Zodiac is derived
from the Greek _zoon_, an animal, and has been given to the belt because
the majority of the signs are named after animals.
ZODIACAL LIGHT, a track of light of triangular figure with its base
on the horizon, which in low latitudes is seen within the sun's
equatorial plane before sunrise in the E. or after sunset in the W., and
which is presumed to be due to a glow proceeding from some illuminated
matter surrounding the sun.
ZOHAR, a Jewish book of cabalistic commentaries on the Old
Testament.
ZOILUS, a Greek rhetorician who flourished in the 3rd century B.C.;
was distinguished for the bitterness with which he criticised Homer, and
whose name has in consequence become a synonym for a malignant critic,
hence the saying, "Every great poet has his Zoilus."
ZOLA, ÉMILE, a noted French novelist of the realistic school, or of
what he prefers to call the naturalist school, born in Paris, of Italian
descent; began literature as a journalist, specially in the critical
department, but soon gave himself up to novel-writing, ultimately on
realistic lines, and an undue catering, as some think, to a morbid
interest on the seamy side of life, to which he addressed himself with
great vigour and not a little graphic power, but in an entire
misconception of his proper functions as an artist and a man of letters,
though, it may be pleaded, he has done so from a strong conviction on his
part that his duty lay the other way, and that it was high time
literature should, regardless of merely dilettante æstheticism, address
itself to exposing, by depicting it, the extent to which the evil genius
is gnawing at and corroding the vitals of society; and it is not for a
moment to be supposed he has done so from any pleasure he takes in
gloating over the doings of the ghoul, or that he is in sympathy with
those who do; of his works suffice it to mention here some recent ones,
as the story of "Lourdes," published in 1894, "Rome" in 1896, and "Paris"
in 1897; he has recently distinguished himself by his courage in
connection with the Dreyfus affair and his bold condemnation of the
sentence under which Dreyfus was condemned; _b_. 1840.
ZOLAISM, name given to an excessive realism in depicting the worst
side of human life and society. See ZOLA.
ZOLLVEREIN (Customs Union), a union of the German States under
Prussia in 1827, and extended in 1867, to establish among them a uniform
system of customs rates.
ZONES, the name given to belts of climate on the surface of the
earth marked off by the tropical and polar circles, of which the former
are 23½° from the equator and the latter 23½° from the poles, the zone
between the tropical circles, subject to extremes of heat, being called
the Torrid Zone, the zones between the polar circles and the poles,
subject to extremes of cold, being called respectively the North Frigid
Zone and the South Frigid Zone, and the zones north and south of the
Torrid, subject to moderate temperature, being called respectively the
North Temperate, and the South Temperate Zone.
ZOROASTER, ZARATHUSTHRA, or ZERDUSHT, the founder or reformer
of the Parsee religion, of whom, though certainly a historical personage,
nothing whatever is for certain known except that his family name was
Spitama, that he was born in Bactria, and that he could not have
flourished later than 800 B.C.; he appears to have been a pure
monotheist, and not to be responsible for the Manichean doctrine of
dualism associated with his name, as Zoroastrianism, or the institution
of fire-worship.
ZOSIMUS, Greek historian; wrote a history of the Roman emperors from
the time of Augustus to the year 410, and ascribed the decline of the
empire to the decay of paganism (408-450).
ZOUAVES, the name given to a body of light infantry in the French
army wearing the Arab dress, a costume copied from that of Kabyles, in
North Africa, and adopted since the French conquest of Algiers; some
regiments of them consist of French soldiers, some of Algerines, though
originally the two were incorporated into one body.
ZOUTSPANSBERG, a ridge of mountains on the NE. of the Transvaal,
being a continuation of the Drakensberg.
ZSCHOKKE, JOHANN HEINRICH, a German writer, born in Magdeburg, lived
chiefly at Aarau, in Aargau, Switzerland, where he spent forty years of
his life, part of them in the service of his adopted country, and where
he died; wrote histories, and a series of tales, but is best known by his
"Stunden der Andacht" (i. e. hours of devotion), on ethico-rationalistic
lines (1771-1845).
ZUG (23), the smallest canton of Switzerland, and sends only one
representative to the National Council; is 12 m. long by 9 m. broad; is
hilly and pastoral in the SE., and has cultivated fields and orchards in
the NW.; all but includes Lake Zug, at the NE. of which is Zug (5), the
capital, which carries on sundry industries on a small scale.
ZUIDER ZEE (i. e. south sea), a deep inlet of the North Sea, in
the Netherlands, which includes the islands of Texel, Vlieland,
Terschelling, and Ameland, and was formed by irruptions of the North Sea
into a lake called Flevo, in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, when
thousands of people were drowned; is 85 m. long and 45 m. broad, and is
embraced in a circuit of 210 m.; it was for some time in contemplation to
reclaim this area, and after much weighing of the matter the Dutch
Government in 1897 adopted a scheme to give effect to this project;
according to the scheme adopted it is reckoned it will take 31 years to
complete the reclamation at the rate of several thousand acres every
year.
ZULEIKA, the bride of Abydos, celebrated by Byron, a pure-souled
woman of great beauty, who, in love with Selim, promises to flee with him
and become his bride, but her father shoots him, and she dies of a broken
heart.
ZULULAND (181), a territory to the NE. of Natal, from which it is
separated by the Tugela, and of which it was independent till 1898, but
it is now an integral part; it is a little larger than Belgium, is well
watered, is capable of cultivation, and has 140 m. of seaboard; it is
understood to possess some mineral wealth, though it has not yet been
wrought.
ZULUS, a section of the Bantu family which originally occupied the
SE. seaboard of Africa from Delagoa Bay to the Great Fish River; they are
a race of superior physique and intellectual endowment, as well as moral
temperament, and incline to a quiet pastoral life; they were attacked
under Cetywayo by the English in 1879, but after falling upon an English
force at Isandula, and cutting it in pieces, were overpowered at Ulundi,
and put to rout.
ZUMPT, KARL, philologist, born in Berlin, and professor at the
University; edited a number of the Latin classics, and is best known by
his Latin Grammar (1792-1849).
ZURBARAN, FRANCISCO, Spanish painter, born in Estremadura; did
mostly religious subjects; his _chef-d'oeuvre_ an altar-piece in Seville,
where he lived and worked (1598-1662).
ZURICH (392), a northern canton in Switzerland, and the second
largest; is in the basin of the Rhine, with a well-cultivated fertile
soil, and manufactures of cottons and silks, and with a capital (151) of
the same name at the foot of the Lake of Zurich; a large manufacturing
and trading centre; has a Romanesque cathedral and a university, with
silk mills and cotton mills, as well as foundries and machine shops; here
Lavater was born and Zwingli was pastor.
ZUTPHEN (17), manufacturing town in the Dutch province of
Guelderland, in the neighbourhood of which Sir Philip Sidney fell wounded
in a skirmish.
ZWICKAU (50), a town in Saxony, in a division (1,389) of the same
name, 82 m. SW. of Dresden; it is in the midst of rich beds of coal, and
has a number of manufactures.
ZWINGLI, ULRICH, the Swiss Reformer, born at Wildhaus, in the canton
of St. Gall, and founder of the Reformed Church; studied at Bern and
Vienna, afterwards theology at Basel, and was appointed pastor at Glarus;
he got acquainted with Erasmus at Basel, and gave himself to the study of
Greek, and in particular the epistles of St. Paul; attached to the
monastery of Einsiedeln he, in 1516, attacked the sale of indulgences,
and was in 1518 elected to be preacher in the cathedral of Zurich; his
preaching was attended with an awakening, and the bishop of Constance
tried to silence him, but he was silenced himself in a public debate with
the Reformer, the result of which was the abolition of the Mass and the
dispensation instead of the Lord's Supper; the movement thus begun went
on and spread, and Zwingli met in conference with Luther, but they failed
to agree on the matter of the Eucharist, and on that point the Lutheran
and the Reformed Churches separated; in 1531 the Catholic cantons
declared war against the reformers of Zurich and Bern, but the latter
were defeated at Cappel, and among the dead on the battlefield was the
Reformer; his last words were, "They may kill the body, but not the soul"
(1484-1531). See LUTHERANS.
ZWOLLE (25), a manufacturing town in the Dutch province of
Oberyssel, 50 m. NE. of Amsterdam; close to it is Agnetenberg, famous as
the seat of the monastery where Thomas à Kempis lived and died.
ZYME, name of a germ presumed to be the cause of zymotic diseases.
ZYMOTIC DISEASES, diseases of a contagious nature, presumed to be
due to some virus or organism which acts in the system like a ferment.
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